Battle of Alberta history: Flames and Oilers record, playoffs and CFL

Battle of Alberta history: two cities, one highway

Calgary and Edmonton sit about 300 km apart on Highway 2, close enough for a day trip and far enough apart to hold a grudge. The hockey version of the rivalry began when the Flames moved from Atlanta to Calgary in 1980, a year after the Oilers had joined the NHL from the WHA.

Through the 1980s both clubs played in the Smythe Division, so the road to the Stanley Cup Final often ran straight through the other city. Between them they won six Stanley Cups in the seven springs from 1984 to 1990: Edmonton in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1990, Calgary in 1989.

Battle of Alberta history has a civic side that is older than either team. Edmonton was named capital when Alberta became a province in 1905, and the University of Alberta ended up in Edmonton too, two early decisions that set the tone between the cities. Hockey simply gave the argument a scoreboard.

For a lot of fans in both cities, that decade is still the real Battle of Alberta, and every later season gets measured against it.

Battle of Alberta playoffs: Edmonton leads five series to one

The two teams have met six times in the NHL playoffs. Edmonton won five of those series and Calgary won one, and counted game by game the postseason record stands at 23-12 for the Oilers.

In 1983 Edmonton won the division final 4-1. In 1984 it took the division final again, this time in seven games. Calgary's only series win came in the 1986 division final, also in seven. Edmonton swept the 1988 division final 4-0 and won a seven-game division semifinal in 1991. After a 31-year gap the teams met in the second round in 2022, and Edmonton won 4-1.

Three of the six went to a seventh game, which is a fair measure of how close those 1980s springs really were, whatever the series count says.

1986, the playoff series Calgary won

The one that got away from Edmonton was the 1986 Smythe Division final. It went to a seventh game in Edmonton, and the deciding goal is still the most replayed moment of the rivalry: a clearing pass from Oilers defenceman Steve Smith struck goaltender Grant Fuhr and went into Edmonton's own net. Calgary held on to win the game and the series.

The Flames went on to the Stanley Cup Final that spring and lost to Montreal. Edmonton won the Cup the next two years and swept Calgary in 1988 on the way.

In Calgary, the name Steve Smith still needs no further explanation.

2022: the first Battle of Alberta in the playoffs for 31 years

The teams did not meet in the playoffs again until the second round in 2022. Calgary won the opening game 9-6, a score that looked as if the 1980s had come back for a night. Edmonton won the next four, and Connor McDavid ended the series with an overtime goal in Game 5 at the Saddledome.

Before that spring the Oilers led the playoff games 19-11. The 2022 series stretched the edge to 23-12, and it remains the only postseason meeting of the salary-cap era. Plenty of Calgary fans would rather talk about 1989.

The Battle of Alberta record as of the end of the 2025-26 season

Counting every regular-season and playoff game, Calgary leads the all-time series 146-134-18-7 as of the end of the 2025-26 season. The four numbers read as wins, losses, ties and overtime losses, from Calgary's side.

Split the two halves and the picture changes. The regular-season record favours Calgary 134-111-18-7, while the playoffs go the other way, 23-12 for Edmonton. That is why both fan bases can argue they are ahead, and both are right.

The NHL dropped ties when the shootout arrived in 2005-06, so all 18 draws come from older seasons. The most recent meeting before 2026-27 was on 4 February 2026, a 4-3 Calgary win that gave the Flames the 2025-26 season series, three games of four. The first meeting of 2026-27 was scheduled for 28 October 2026.

The CFL Battle of Alberta: Stampeders and Elks

Football has its own Battle of Alberta. The Calgary Stampeders and the Edmonton Elks, who played as the Eskimos until 2020, are both in the CFL's West Division. The date fans circle is the Labour Day Classic at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, usually followed by a rematch in Edmonton at Commonwealth Stadium.

This season ends in Calgary. The 113th Grey Cup is set for Sunday, 15 November 2026, at McMahon Stadium, with the Stampeders as host. It is the sixth Grey Cup played in Calgary, after 1975, 1993, 2000, 2009 and 2019, and the Grey Cup Festival runs at Stampede Park during the week before the game.

McMahon has no roof, and mid-November in Calgary can bring anything from a chinook to a snowstorm. Pack for both. For the week around the game, the bars of the Beltline and Victoria Park sit close to Stampede Park.

Arenas, streets and where to watch the rivalry

The Saddledome opened in 1983 and stays the Flames' home for the 2026-27 season. Scotia Place, the new Calgary arena, is set to open in fall 2027, and the Saddledome is due to come down after that. Edmonton moved into Rogers Place in 2016, which put the Oilers in the middle of a new downtown district.

Calgary's celebrations have their own map. During the 1986 and 1989 runs, fans gathered on 11th Avenue SW, nicknamed Electric Avenue. In 2004 the party moved to 17th Avenue SW, which became the Red Mile.

On a game night, the lists of where to watch the Flames and where to watch the Oilers cover the busy rooms in each city. If you are making the drive for a road game, the notes on visiting Rogers Place and visiting the Saddledome deal with transit, bags and food. The story of Home and Away, the Calgary bar that welcomed both sides, belongs here too.

The drive between the two arenas takes about three hours, which is why a visiting jersey is never a rare sight in either building.