The days are getting shorter, the weather is getting colder, and the pumpkin smell is in the air at every coffee shop. Fall is upon us which means one thing: hockey season is starting back up again.
At the Edmonton Oilers’ skate this past week, Leon Draisaitl was asked about the outlook on the season and the approach to another run towards the ultimate goal, the Stanley Cup. His response was, “you have to create an identity,” and later adding, “we definitely want to be a similar style of hockey team, but we’re going to be our own team and we’re not going to have anything to do with the team last year. But we want to be even better.”
So what will the Oilers’ new identity be heading into the season? What should they keep and what should they change? Let us explore this further below.
Review of last season
The Oilers’ season began in an unceremonious fashion with an 8–1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. While this helped to kickstart the Canucks campaign that largely exceeded their expectations, it had also set the Oilers into a catch-up mode until they went on a 16-game win streak. Following the streak, they remained a consistent team, only losing three games in a row once.
This would set the tone for their first trait: resiliency. Early season challenges set the team up well for their playoff run as we would see this team come back from a number of deficits. Whether it was their series against the Canucks, coming back from being two goals down in the first period of game number four against Dallas Stars, or almost winning four in a row in the Stanley Cup Final, the resilience was on full display. Watching the team’s play in May and June, it is exactly their tenacious attitude which never ceased to give us hope, even after being down 0–3 in the Cup Final.
This past season Oilers were in the top 10 in the number of goals scored, total number of shots, power play goals, and power play percentage. A true offensive firehouse. Another one of their top 10 stats? Penalty minutes. They went from being ranked 23rd in this category in 2021–22 season to 14th in 2022–22 and 10th in 2023–24. Oilers were not the most disciplined team at times and watching their games, it was purely frustrating to see some of these costly penalties. With this in mind, the Oilers were also middle of the pack in terms of their penalty kill performance. To summarize, Oilers were undisciplined and were average at best in getting themselves out of trouble.
What can we expect?
The team is once again led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draistaitl. Draistaitl’s recent eight-year extension shows this group and the city where his heart and commitment lies. In signing the contract, he demonstrated that he sees this team as the franchise that can go all the way. It also (potentially) foreshadows the other extension all the fans are patiently waiting for: Connor McDavid. Looking at this deal and the speculation around McDavid’s impending negotiations, I cannot help but find this as incredibly motivating to the team and fan base that has often had difficulty retaining and attracting top talent.
The journey that the Oilers experienced in going almost all the way last year and completing the comeback will no doubt bring this group further together. The roster from last season’s run has largely decided to stay put as players like Connor Brown, Adam Henrique, and Mattias Janmark all decided to re-sign. This helps the team to continue building chemistry and cohesiveness that we had seen last spring. In addition, the adversity that this team has encountered last season will make this team even that much more resilient.
With the first forward line of Zach Hyman, McDavid, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins staying put and the new winger additions of Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner to the second line, this team should see itself become even more offensively potent in 5-on-5 play. Furthermore, for a power play that was already fun to watch, the new additions will help make it that much more dangerous. I would not be surprised to see this roster be at the top of the NHL’s offensive metrics and power-play statistics.
Stuart Skinner has had one more year to mature and to continue building himself as the starter of this franchise. The local Edmonton product has had his fair shares of ups and downs last season but never lost the trust of his teammates or the coaching staff. Seeing his transformation late in the playoffs after early adversity in the Canucks series should surely serve as a confidence and morale boost to Skinner. If Skinner continues to build on the last season’s experience, combined with having Calvin Pickard as his tandem partner, it is not difficult to make the case that Oilers may have one of the best goaltender duos in the Pacific Division.
Questions left unanswered
While a convincing case can be made for the Oilers’ identity this season to be a more resilient and cohesive team with strong offensive and goaltending upside, the biggest question mark that remains is its’ defensive play. There is no doubt that the pairing of Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard is one of the top pairings in the league who are only expected to take a step forward. However, it is the bottom four group that has a lot of question marks about what to expect.
The loss of Cody Ceci’s veteran experience, Philip Broberg’s potential, and Vincent Desharnais’s physicality raises a lot of questions about how guys like Ty Emberson, Troy Stecher, and Josh Brown will fill this void. We have previously explored the Oilers’ roster changes and what each of these players can add to the team and as the season goes on, we will be able to better see how they will fit into the lineup.
If this team wants to have another crack at the cup, it also has to improve on its’ deficiencies. One such deficiency is the lack of disciplined play and the penalty minutes previously mentioned. Evander Kane, Darnell Nurse and Draisaitl were the PIM leaders for this team and in order to lead by example, accountability starts at the top. Only time will tell how well this roster will be able to execute that and how the new additions to the team will help to contribute to a more disciplined play.
A strong upcoming season for Edmonton
So what is the Oilers identity going to be this upcoming season? We can speculate that it will be an offensive juggernaut, formed by a cohesive and resilient roster. The experiences of the past will only serve to the team’s advantage towards its’ ultimate goal.
With that in mind, the questions that are left to be answered are about the Oilers’ defensive roster changes as well as their sliding discipline. This team is back to the beginning of its’ journey towards the ultimate goal as it begins the competition against 31 other teams and only time will tell us what the Oilers’ identity will be.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
