Though the Stanley Cup Finals are still underway, the hearts and minds of Oil Country are firmly focused on the offseason. Around the league some moves have already been made, with the Columbus Blue Jackets standing out as a particularly active group. Most other teams, the Edmonton Oilers included, are left in a much more contemplative place, sorting out the charting of a course to greener pastures.
Fighting tooth and nail against the NHL’s 31 other teams, not to mention the hard salary cap, the Oilers will look to improve their roster. Time will tell how many moves the Oilers ultimately make before the start of next season, but what the team chooses to prioritise will also be telling. With a limited amount of resources and cap space available, the Oilers might have to pick and choose which areas they pursue to change aggressively.
With this in mind we asked you: What is the most important issue the Oilers have to tackle this off-season?
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Bottom six isn’t an issue
With just about 7% of the voting share, faith in the bottom six forwards is quite strong, at least relative to the other available options. The Oilers were able to ice a strong group of bottom six this past season, a group that held up their end of the bargain in the playoffs as well.
Derek Ryan continues to age like fine wine, an effective player in every situation. Ryan McLeod continued his ascending streak of play, forming very strong results when on a line with Warren Foegele throughout the season. Mattias Janmark was vital to the club’s penalty kill, while Klim Kostin managed a few much appreciated bunches of scoring. The group was adorned by the addition of Nick Bjugstad at the trade deadline, as well as the demotion of Kailer Yamamoto.
Ryan, Janmark, and Bjugstad are UFAs, free to sign elsewhere for next season, while McLeod and Kostin are RFAs, still under team control. Despite their strong standing on paper, this group might be greatly changed next season, there is no guarantee that they will all return. In fact, some turnover is likely in the bottom six.
Regardless, fans are clearly not pinpointing the depth forwards among the greatest shortcomings of the roster.
Defence is the biggest concern
Leading the poll, the blueline seems to be the main area of concern for Oilers fans. Given the presence of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the best power play in NHL history, this might be expected.
There are many positives on the blueline already. The acquisition of Mattias Ekholm, and the subsequent emergence of Evan Bouchard greatly bolstered the Oilers quality here, as the two combined to form the Oilers de-facto number one pairing.
Darnell Nurse and whoever he was paired with have held down the top minutes over the past few seasons. At this point Nurse is a bit overpaid, rather his cap hit is a bit higher than ideal, but he is a main contributor nonetheless. Though Cody Ceci has held up as a solid partner for Nurse on the top pair since joining the Oilers, this is likely the first spot where an upgrade is needed.
Brett Kulak has been solid on the third pair the past two seasons. Towards the end of this past year, Kulak was often deployed with Vincent Desharnais, a big body with a fairly one dimensional defensive game. Despite his later NHL debut, and limited upside, Desharnais was a much needed boost the the Oilers back end. Adding a defensive option on the right side behind Ceci was clearly needed.
The greatest chance for internal improvements comes from Philip Broberg. The highly touted left shot did well on his strong side on a pair with Bouchard, but was moved down the lineup after the Ekholm acquisition. From that point on Broberg served as the seventh defenceman, rotating through the lineup in low leverage situations. With Ekholm, Nurse, and Kulak all firmly ahead of him on the left side, Broberg might have to play the right side to break into a more regular spot. Thankfully, Broberg has proven some ability in doing so, playing on the right side down the stretch and through the playoffs.
This is far from the cosiest landing spot for Broberg, as the Oilers have hardly gift wrapped him a deployment that he is best suited for. Some fans might be growing impatient with Broberg, but a year and a half younger than Bouchard, it is important to remember that a breakout at the same age is still about two seasons from now. There is lots of time for Broberg, and supporting his development will continue to be a priority for the team. The worst case scenario would see Broberg reprise his role as “the seventh defenceman” while a best case scenario might see him elevated to a pairing with Nurse.
With the Vegas Golden Knights one win away from winning the Stanley Cup, their makeup of three pairings of a strong quality should be the goal. Broberg still has a ways to go in proving himself a top four defender, while the Oilers still have a ways to go in improving their blueline, maybe those ways are one and the same, or maybe the Oilers need to find some outside help. The most popular mock additions to the blueline will be defensive right shots, essentially looking to replace Ceci and/or Desharnais.
Fans believe in the Oilers goaltending
The poll finished with only about 12% of the vote going to the goaltending option, a fairly confident appraisal of the sport’s most important and volatile position. Stuart Skinner had an impressive breakout season, a true Calder trophy candidate, continuing his years-long trajectory towards a starting NHL job. Signed to a low cost deal for three more seasons, the best might still be ahead for Skinner, an optimistic possibility that is the backbone of the fans confidence in the Oilers goaltending.
It was a rough season for Jack Campbell, his first as an Oiler, though it was not without its quirky silver linings. Campbell managed a 21–9–4 record over the course of the regular season, and played quite well during multiple relief performances in the playoffs, even earning a victory. Regardless, with the league-wide trend of embracing a true tandem, the Oilers appear to have a fairly capable duo.
Though Skinner has yet to ascend to elite status, having two goalies who could start over a two month stretch or a playoff run is arguably better.
The Oilers may need improvement in all aspects
Finishing with just over a quarter of the votes, firmly in second, a good portion of Oil Country feels improvement is more general, choosing the “all of the above” option.
This can be a more holistic view of roster building and that improvements anywhere will help the team as a whole. This might speak to a lack of perceived personnel flaws, as in no area is in a clear position of weakness. Alternatively this might speak to a group that is equally pessimistic, or frustrated with the Oilers personnel across the board. Perhaps, some might even feel that the Oilers greatest weakness is somewhere outside of these options, for example in the top six forwards.
The truth is that the Oilers will need to be better next season if they wish to achieve their goal, and that no stone can be left unturned in the pursuit of such. The Oilers were an improved defensive team, especially after the Ekholm acquisition, but ultimately it was the consistency of their defensive focus, rather than the existence of their defensive capabilities, that was their downfall. This was a highly acknowledged fact at the locker clean-out media availability, in part by Ekholm, who referenced the Oilers needing a greater commitment, or at least comfortability in winning close defensive games.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
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