Cal Nichols' passing hits the Oilers hard as head coach Mike Babcock leads the franchise Nichols once helped keep in Edmonton.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the news with a deeply personal statement, describing Nichols as both a friend and a trusted confidant whose influence stretched far beyond the boardroom.
For Edmonton, Nichols' legacy is tied directly to the survival of its hockey club. Bettman said it was difficult to imagine the Oilers still being in the city without his intervention.
That fight became urgent during the 1990s, when the future of the franchise was uncertain and relocation was a real threat hanging over one of hockey's most passionate markets.
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Nichols co-chaired a season-ticket drive in 1996 aimed at strengthening local support and preventing the Oilers from leaving Edmonton.
One year later, with the club up for sale, he brought together dozens of local business leaders who purchased the Oilers and kept the franchise where its fans wanted it.
“If it wasn't for Cal, the Oilers wouldn't be in Edmonton,” Katz said when he assumed ownership of the team.
Cal Nichols helped keep the Oilers in Edmonton
Nichols wasn't simply a businessman attached to the team. He was an early Oilers season-ticket holder whose connection to the franchise came long before he became one of the people responsible for protecting its future.
His own story was equally remarkable. Bettman noted that Nichols came from modest beginnings, managing a single gas station as a teenager before eventually building his own oil company.
That business success gave Nichols influence, but his lasting hockey legacy came from how he used it when Edmonton needed local leadership around the Oilers.
He later served as the Oilers' governor for a decade, giving him a significant voice around the NHL while continuing to represent the franchise he had fought to preserve.
Bettman also remembered Nichols on a personal level, saying he could rely on him for wise counsel and relentless work on behalf of the Oilers.
The loss reaches beyond one organization. Nichols helped protect the connection between Edmonton and its NHL team during a period when that relationship could have been broken.
The league extended condolences to his wife, Edna, their children Ken and Kristine, their five grandchildren, and the many people who knew and admired him.
Edmonton still has its Oilers. Cal Nichols will always be part of the reason why.
Does Cal Nichols deserve to be remembered among the most important figures in Oilers history?
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