The song that plays after the home team scores a goal in a hockey game is more important than some will give it credit for. This song has to do a good job of keeping the crowd lively and energetic. At their best, goal songs can be an anthem for a team’s glory years. A great example of this is “Goons” by the band MONA, which became synonymous with the Tampa Bay Lightning’s two Stanley Cup wins.

There have been several different goal songs throughout the storied history of the Edmonton Oilers. Some of them were very generic or underwhelming, and have been forgotten. Others became synonymous with deep playoff runs. And as always, there’s a lot of in-between to cover.

As a hardcore music fan by proxy of family, this observer has taken up the task of listening to them all, and ranking them. Songs gain points based on originality, team success, and tenure, as all three contribute to a goal song’s place in team lore. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Not ranked: Rock ‘n’ Roll Part 2 – [name redacted]

First of all, the guy that performed this song did absolutely heinous things, so we’re not giving him the time of day. Even if to separate the song from the artist, about 95% of the NHL used this as their goal song in the ‘90s and 2000s, with a few holdouts into the early 2010s.

This is as basic and generic as it gets, so it gains no value on originality. It also is forgotten that the Oilers, in fact, did use this at one point, and they stopped by the turn of the millennium. For all of those reasons, we’re just going to move right past this selection.

Honourable mentions: Still The One – Orleans, Pipeline – The Chantays

At various points in the Oilers history, they have used “one-off” goal songs. These two saw action during the 1987 and 1990 Stanley Cup runs, respectively. Therefore, one bonus stipulation for this ranking is included.

A goal song has to have played regular season games. It can’t just take the “play in the Final and get your name on the Cup” route in this ranking. These are objectively decent songs, but weren’t designated as season-long goal songs.

13. Song 2 – Blur

Listen, Song 2 isn’t bad. There’s a reason it’s still talked about in this day and age. That’s because it was one of the biggest hits as far as early sports anthems go. It does not meet any of the criteria listed above, however.

No fewer than half a dozen NHL teams have had Song 2 as their goal song at some point. The Ottawa Senators still do, which is why we had this song as a Stanley Cup Playoffs anthem in the year 2025. From what one can discern, it was only used in 2005–06 by the Oilers—and would be the second-most-popular goal song, even then. The Oilers were rather middling for most of that regular season. And hardly any Oilers fan will remember this being used by the team.

This observer will still “woo-hoo!” along to this tune any given day. But as an Oilers goal song, it is undoubtedly the most forgettable.

12. Dup Dup – Mickie Krause

Hey, Toronto, quit trying to copy Edmonton. Yes, before the Toronto Maple Leafs had it as their goal song, the Oilers did once upon a time. Granted, few Oilers fans will remember it because it was right in the middle of the Decade of Darkness. Specifically, during Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’s rookie season.

Not only have the Leafs claimed it, but the Colorado Avalanche have used the similar-sounding “Chase The Sun” by Planet Funk as their goal song for several years now. And really the only moment Oilers fans can tie this song to is Sam Gagner’s historic eight-point game. It’s more original than Song 2, at least. But it still barely registers in Oilers history.

11. Lonely Boy – The Black Keys

Much like with Song 2, it’s not that the song is bad. In fact, any team willing to use a song off of the “El Camino” album deserves kudos. (reluctantly applauds the Nashville Predators) Lonely Boy also does provide much more energy than its name may suggest.

However, it did not even last a full season amidst the Decade of Darkness as the Oilers’ goal song. If it had been a playoffs intro song, it would potentially have a more favourable place in team lore. But Edmonton definitely had “a love that keeps (them) waiting” back then— and it was the playoffs.

Credit this choice for originality. If they could partner with Nashville, and the defunct Arizona Coyotes, and convince the other 29 NHL clubs to use The Black Keys for goal song music, the world would be a better place. But for everything else, “I award you no points and may (Gord) have mercy on your soul.”

10. Don’t Stop The Party – Pitbull ft. TJR

You can at least say there was a party… for the first two or three months of the abbreviated 2012–13 season. The Oilers held a playoff position on April 1, Sergei Kostitsyn willingly letting Gagner and Lennart Petrell score, vibes were good. Then everything fell apart, and the Decade of Darkness dragged on.

This song isn’t very original either, as a couple other teams (most notably Florida) have used this before. But at least it stuck for two seasons, and the Oilers tried to have a party. It just ended up being far too short.

9. Kernkraft 400 (Sport Chant Stadium Remix) – Zombie Nation

Surprisingly, this song was not long in the tooth as the Oilers’ anthem. Nor were they (or the Boston Bruins) the first team to use it; Toronto actually was. This lasted just three seasons, but represented momentous occasions in the franchise’s history.

The original Heritage Classic. The Patrik Stefan fail. And, biggest and brightest of all, the epic 2006 run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. In terms of NHL teams, the Oilers arguably popularized Kernkraft 400 first. At worst, they did it much sooner than Boston did.

Alas, it now pretty well belongs to the Bruins as their property. They won the Cup with it in 2011 and never looked back. But Oilers fans can always remind the Beantown faithful that we were here first.

8. American Bad @$$ – Kid Rock

This song was used from 2007–08 to 2008–09, which, while technically part of the Decade of Darkness, were the two years that were still competitive. Both those squads took until the end of the season to be eliminated, at least. The former finished a Battle of Alberta Game 81 win shy of the playoffs.

It’s very peculiar that a song that more befits an American patriot was used for a Canadian hockey team. But it at least energizes, is rather unique, and represented the years where “next year” didn’t feel so far-fetched. This ranking will allow it.

7. Get Out Of The Way – Econoline Crush

Also lasting two seasons, this edges out Kid Rock on the basis of being even more unique. Econoline Crush is a Canadian rock band that probably isn’t the most widely known. This song doesn’t even have its own Wikipedia page. And being released in 2008, instead of 2000 like the previous entry, this was a sign of the Oilers keeping up with the times (their 2009–10 intro song was “Our House” by Burn Halo).

It’s not the most energetic, and sounds like it got yanked out of NHL 09 right before the season opener. The only moment it can be tied to, really, is Jordan Eberle’s first NHL goal. But this is a pretty underrated selection that just got used at a really bad time.

6. Stadium Love – Metric

Before anyone calls out this observer’s Metric bias, hear this out. It’s on par with the previous two selections in terms of tenure: two lousy Decade of Darkness seasons. Uniqueness-wise, on par with the previous selection, since only baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays ever used it besides the Oilers.

But this holds a significant place in Oilers history. It heralded the beginning of the McDavid-Draisaitl era, and a team that would make the playoffs the next season after 2015–16. It was also the last goal song at the old Northlands Coliseum, aka Rexall Place. And lyrically, no other song could summarize it better: for the 42 years that the Coliseum was home, Oilers fans truly had stadium love.

They may not be as punchy as Kid Rock, or Econoline Crush. But Metric wrote the perfect song to describe a fanbase. That alone breaks the tie.

5. Hell Yeah – Rev Theory

This was an electric goal song choice. Though not original (the Winnipeg Jets previously used it), it was a keen move by the Oilers to pick it up after moving on from the next selection. This lasted three seasons, and saw the Oilers at least become competitive again and make the playoffs after two straight misses.

This certainly is remembered fondly by a lot of Oilers faithful, and still maintains a solid amount of uniqueness. Had a pandemic not struck, maybe things play out differently, and fans are still “hey, hey, hey, hey”-ing along after the fifth Oilers goal of the night. It makes the top five on vibes alone, but just doesn’t have the tenure to get it any further.

4. Stab – Thee Attacks

2017. First season of Rogers Place. Scott C. Bourgeois as the PA voice, announcing Oilers playoff goals. Leon Draisaitl humiliating the Anaheim Ducks, forcing them to face Game 7 demons of past. The David Desharnais OT winner against San Jose.

A city that waited for a decade made it back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs at long last, and this was the anthem. As a goal song it seems a bit silly on the surface, but it caught on. To the best of this observer’s knowledge, this selection wasn’t used elsewhere.

Its tenure wasn’t very long, but Stab sure made the most of its residency in Downtown Edmonton.

3. Rock and Roll All Nite – KISS

Now we’re getting into the tenured tunes. KISS’s “Rock and Roll All Nite” holds the non-redacted record at five seasons, though that could be matched by the next selection on this list. And it became relevant as the theme music to an Oilers team that escaped the threat of relocation, and consistently scratched and clawed their way into the playoffs.

To the best of this observer’s knowledge, this wasn’t used elsewhere as a goal song. It was performed at the 2014 Stadium Series, but that’s about all it can be known for in hockey. Unfortunately those four playoff teams only got past the first round once, in 1998. So the success isn’t there, but the longevity and the uniqueness is.

2. Fluxland – XL

What’s not to like? Now, this was used by the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning before. That, however, is the only strike against a song that has become synonymous with the Oilers’ new era of Western Conference supremacy. With eliminating the Los Angeles Kings on repeat, and with teams that have 20 different playoff scorers.

Though Fluxland loses points on uniqueness, it has lasted since 2021, and seen two Cup Finals and three Conference Finals. It has been embraced by most of the Oilers fanbase. And, in the same way that Boston claimed ownership of Kernkraft 400? Edmonton has claimed Fluxland as its second civic anthem, alongside The Last Saskatchewan Pirate. (Third or fourth if we’re including La Bamba and Pink Pony Club.)

This is *the* song that pretty much has it all, even if it may only be remembered by pagans of a certain age.

1. The Empire Strikes Back (Medley) – MECO

It was fitting for the Oilers to use this during the four years of the Gretzky era in which they basically were the Empire. It’s got its own variety of hype. And though not everything about 1980’s NHL can be confirmed, could this have possibly been claimed by any other team?

Three Stanley Cups before this was retired, more than any other Oilers goal song ever. That alone gives this a lofty ranking. The vibes, uniqueness, and audacity of it solidify this song as the greatest goal song in Oilers franchise history.

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