City Tulsa, Oklahoma Operated 1964-84 Founded 1964 | League Central Hockey League Colors Blue and white Color Blue and white | |
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Home arena Tulsa Assembly Center
Expo Square Pavilion Affiliates Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers Owner Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Location Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States Arenas Cox Business Center, Expo Square Pavilion | ||
The Tulsa Oilers are a defunct professional ice hockey team. The Oilers played 20 seasons in the Central Hockey League, from 1964 to 1984, capturing the Adams Cup three times. Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the team played their home games at the Tulsa Assembly Center until the 1983–84 season when they moved to Expo Square Pavilion.
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History
The Central Professional Hockey League began operations with the 1963–64 season, with the Tulsa Oilers joining that league the following season. Maple Leaf Gardens Limited (MLGL) owned the team, and operated it as a developmental team for the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the spring of 1973 MLGL announced that they would relocate the team to become the Oklahoma City Blazers, with Tulsa getting a replacement independent team. The team suspended its operations on February 16, 1984, when its owners went bankrupt and the Tulsa Oilers went into receivership. Other teams in the league paid to keep the Oilers in operation so as not to unbalance the schedule, but the Oilers played only road games for final six weeks of 1983–84 season. Despite this difficulty, the team (under coach Tom Webster) went on to win the league championship before the CHL disbanded following the end of the season.
The Oilers won the Adams Cup as the CHL champions in 1968, 1976, and 1984.