EDMONTON, AB – “If it wasn’t for Cal, the Oilers wouldn’t be in Edmonton.”
Truer words couldn’t have been spoken by Owner, Chairman & Governor Daryl Katz when he assumed ownership of the Edmonton Oilers on June 18, 2008, and there may be no single individual who has ensured that the future of the franchise remains here in Oil Country more than Cal Nichols.
The province lost one of its most influential business leaders, community-builders and ambassadors with the passing of former Edmonton Investors Group Chairman Cal Nichols on Saturday, Sept. 12.
Nichols leaves behind a lasting legacy best known for helping rally support to save the Oilers from relocation in the late 1990s, serving as an essential figure on more than one occasion in building the support needed to secure the team’s long-term future before overseeing the Edmonton Investors Group (EIG) as Chairman & Governor for 10 years.
Born in Paradise Hill, Sask., in 1942, Cal was an early leader in his community, serving as captain of his local baseball and hockey teams. He later built a successful business career that began at 19, when he ran an Esso Station in the nearby town of St. Walburg that was built on integrity and honesty.
Selling gas to farmers on credit, Cal earned the trust of his community and became a Town Councillor by the age of 23. He continued to play senior hockey close to home in St. Walburg, where his number was raised to the rafters in December 2002.
But it was only the beginning for Cal, who, after moving to Edmonton in 1969 with his wife Edna and having two kids, Ken and Kristine, began to take off in his business career.
Cal worked for Esso and Imperial Oil before helping found Northridge, which later formed a part of TransCanada Pipelines, Canada’s first private crude oil and natural gas marketing company. He then started Gasland Oil, which grew into one of Western Canada’s largest service station chains.
A longtime Oilers season ticket holder, Cal first came to the team’s rescue by co-chairing the Friends of the Oilers ticket drive in 1996, which more than doubled the club’s season ticket base to 13,000 and garnered the support needed to keep the franchise in Edmonton.
When the team was up for sale in 1997, Cal rallied the business community by assembling 38 investors to raise the $110 million needed to buy the team, even putting forward $3 million, and an additional $2M later, of his own funds to attract more investment.
On May 5, 1998, the EIG took control of the Oilers when the down payment was made, securing the long-term future of the franchise and Cal’s reputation as a saviour of NHL hockey in Edmonton.
Cal helped pave the way for the success the franchise enjoys today, leading the ownership transition in June 2008 and doing so with a deep belief that the Oilers were a vital part of the fabric of Oil Country.
For his community work in 2015, Nichols was awarded the Order of Canada, inducted into the Alberta Business Hall of Fame, and earned the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal from the Governor General of Canada. He later went on to co-found Alberta Enterprise Group, a leading business organization in the province.
He is survived by his loving wife Edna, children Ken (Heather) and Kristine (Scott), his grandchildren Sarah, Josh, Max, Joel, and Katie, and countless friends whose lives he touched.
Nichols remained an Oilers season seat holder to his final day. Once an Oiler, Always an Oiler.
