OILERS AGAIN SKATING AT EVEN STRENGTH SALARY CAP ALLOWS THEM TO BE COMPETITIVE IN NEW NHL.

Byline: RICH HAMMOND Staff Writer

Winnipeg moved to Phoenix, Quebec left for Colorado and Edmonton just faded away, into obscurity.

The 1990s weren't kind to Canadian NHL teams. The Jets and Nordiques headed south and the teams that did maintain their roots rarely thrived. Perhaps no franchise felt that sting more than the Oilers.

Edmonton won the Stanley Cup in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1990, but over the next 15 years, the Oilers never once earned the right to play in the Finals again. That drought this month, and although the Oilers trail Carolina 2-0 heading into tonight's Game 3, Edmonton has rejoiced at the team's success.

``The family went out to the West Edmonton Mall,'' Oilers forward Michael Peca said, recalling a trip he made after the Eastern Conference finals. ``I didn't know what to expect.

``It's just a tremendous amount of support. It wasn't people bombarding you with questions, just people wanting to say, `Good luck,' and, ``Congratulations on what you guys have done so far. You are doing us proud.' And that's really areflection on the people in this community.''

Perhaps this is the start of something big for the Oilers. Like the other Canadian teams, the Oilers were financially handcuffed for most of the last 15 years, victims of a system that required change.

League expansion, rising salaries and the exchange rate -- teams took in revenue in Canadian dollars but paid in American dollars -- combined to hamstring Canadian teams. From 1991 to 2004, only one team, the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, won the Cup.

Now, things are different. The new collective-bargaining agreement, reached after the lockout, introduced a salary cap and revenue sharing and made it easier for smaller market teams to compete.

The Oilers certainly have. Given some financial flexibility, Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe, a key cog on those 1980s championship teams, turned around a squad that missed the playoffs in 2004.

``It's been a huge turnaround,'' Oilers forward Ryan Smyth said. ``You look at the lockout, and it balanced the league across the board and gave some times in different markets a little more life.''

Edmonton was dreadful in the early 1990s, but Lowe and his predecessor, Glen Sather, began to turn things around late in the decade. The Oilers made the playoffs six times in seven seasons, but they payroll hovered in the $25-30 million range, approximately half of what the top teams were paying.

Fan support remained strong, as the Oilers averaged more than 95 percent of capacity in the last three years at Rexall Place, and once the lockout ended, the Oilers found a level playing field.

Edmonton is the smallest market in the NHL, with roughly one million people living in the metropolitan area, but with the salary cap set at $39 million this season, the Oilers were able to compete.

``We were able to add a couple significant players right out of the gate,'' Lowe said. ``Then, with the stronger Canadian dollar, we were able to add some players during the regular season.

``But we felt all along that we had a team, a good core group of guys that any team in the league would love to have. We just had to supplement them with a few more guys.''

They acquired major players Michael Peca and Chris Pronger in the offseason and had the financial flexibility to add Dwayne Roloson and Sergei Samsonov via midseason trades. The Oilers ended up with a team salary of roughly $36.75 million, their highest ever, but one that still made financial sense.

Unlike in 2003-04, when the Detroit Red Wings spent $78 million compared to the Oilers $33.5 million, the teams were even this year, and it showed when the Oilers, seeded No. 8 in the Western Conference, upset the top-seeded Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs.

Now there are no excuses. Any team, regardless of market size, can thrive with the right player-personnel moves. In the Oilers' eyes, this is the break they've been looking for since 1990.

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com

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THEIR CUP RUNNETH OVER

The Edmonton Oilers have a storied history in the Stanley Cup Finals. A look:

1982-83 Lost to N.Y. Islanders 4-0

1983-84 Defeated N.Y. Islanders 4-1

1984-85 Defeated Philadelphia Flyers 4-1

1986-87 Defeated Philadelphia Flyers 4-3

1987-88 Defeated Boston Bruins 4-0

1989-90 Defeated Boston Bruins 4-1

2005-06 Down 2-0 to Carolina

CAPTION(S):

photo, 3 boxes

Photo:

(color) Former Edmonton Oiler Mike York stands under a statue that depicts Wayne Gretzky holding the Stanley Cup over his head.

Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Box:

(1) THEIR CUP RUNNETH OVER (see text)

(2) EDMONTON vs. CAROLINA

(3) STANLEY CUP FINALS