Owner Puts Oilers on Sale at $85 Million

Peter Pocklington is putting the Edmonton Oilers up for sale, suggesting a price of $85 million in U.S. dollars.

“My heart is with the Oilers and always will be, but objectively it’s time to move on,” he said at a news conference Thursday.

Pocklington’s announcement follows weeks of speculation about his financial status, his relationship with his bankers, and the effect all this might have on the resurgent Oilers. Edmonton has had a tough decade after winning five Stanley Cups in a seven-year period ending in 1990, with Wayne Gretzky leading the way for the first four.

Pocklington said he will sell both the team and management of the Coliseum, the Oilers’ arena. He promised the Oilers will play in Edmonton next season but would not offer any assurances beyond that.

“If we can’t find local investors and no one is willing to step forward, there is the possibility the team could be sold to an American investor who could up and move it,” he said.

He claimed he lost $6 million-$7 million this season because of the team, but denied he is being forced to sell the team due to his heavy debts. “I’m being forced by myself,” he said. “It’s just good business.”

The sale does not include the Triple-A baseball Edmonton Trappers of the Pacific Coast League but does include the Edmonton Drillers of the National Professional Soccer League.