Calgary Flames legend reveals he cheers for Oilers now, for one reason

Former Calgary Flames' star and NHL legend Joe Nieuwendyk believes winning breeds contempt, and claims the peace that Connor McDavid enjoys exists only because the Oilers team that he's captained has not won a Stanley Cup.

Though the Oilers have come close these past two campaigns, no Canadian team has won a Cup since 1993, when the Montreal Canadian bested the Los Angeles Kings in that year's Stanley Cup Finals. The bad blood will start again, Nieuwendyk says, when the 'Canadian Curse' breaks.

The Flames-Oilers rivalry was at its peak in the 1980's and early 1990's, but has since dwindled because of a lack of playoff opportunities, the former Calgary star believes.

The Oilers had just joined the NHL in the early 80's, as part of the WHL-NHL merger. Then, in 1980, the Atlanta Flames relocated to Alberta and were renamed the Calgary Flames. And thus the Battle of Alberta was borne.

Separated from Calgary by only 186 miles, the Edmonton Oilers were quick to build a dynasty with the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Grant Fuhr, Paul Coffey and Jari Kurri, all of them now members of the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame. By 1988, the Oilers had won 4 Stanley Cups.

The Calgary Flames, however, would not be ignored. In 1989, with legends like Lanny McDonald, Al MacInnis, Joe Mullen, Doug Gilmour, and Joe Nieuwendyk, Calgary won its first Stanley Cup.

Joe Nieuwendyk would go on to win two more Stanley Cups, one with the Dallas Stars in 1999, and one with the New Jersey Devils in 2003. Already an NHL HOFer, Nieuwendyk was also recently inducted into the Alberta HOF, cementing his Calgary legend status, and his life-long membership to the Battle of Alberta.

Though the rivalry may indeed become more heated should one of the two franchises win a Cup, the passion that each fan base demonstrates for its team, and for the BOA, cannot be denied.

One thing is certain, whenever one of the two teams enters the other's arena, the fans and players will make it known that the Battle of Alberta is alive and well, whomever wins.