Why now for the Edmonton Oilers? A primer on the Stanley Cup hopes of Canada's northernmost NHL team

Canada's northernmost NHL team is seeking to do what none of its peers on this side of the border have been able to do during the lifetime of Connor McDavid: Take home the Stanley Cup.

The McDavid-led Edmonton Oilers will have a chance to do that starting this Saturday, when they will face off against the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup finals.

Feeling a bit rusty on your knowledge of all things Oilers? Here's a quick review of some of the team's past glory days and a look at its 2024 playoff run so far.

Since Edmonton has won the Cup? More than 30 years.

For any team from Canada, also more than 30 years — though the Montreal Canadiens won the Cup in 1993.

It goes slightly further back than that for the Oilers.

Not quite that long — Wayne Gretzky won his last Cup while playing for Edmonton in 1988. (Then there was that whole trade thing.)

But the Oilers won another Cup in 1990, without No. 99 being a part of the team.

The Oilers won five Cups in a span of seven seasons.

They won back-to-back championships in both 1984 and 1985, and again in 1987 and 1988.

Their fifth time as champs was the post-Gretzky run of 1990.

Following the 1990 Cup win, the Oilers have returned to the post-season on 15 occasions — including the current playoff run.

Edmonton made it to the Stanley Cup finals in 2006, but lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in a seven-game series.

Just a handful of Canadian teams have been to the finals since then: Montreal did in 2021, while the Vancouver Canucks made it in 2011. The Ottawa Senators had their own shot at a Cup in 2007.

But none of these teams have managed to haul a Cup north of the U.S. border this century.

The Leafs haven't been part of the Stanley Cup final since 1967, the last year they won the