The Edmonton Oilers have gotten off to a pretty rough start compared to league-wide expectations. Sitting with a 2-4-0 record through six games, the Oilers just haven’t looked like a team that went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in June.
Call it fatigue, call it a hangover, call it whatever you really want, right now the team just isn’t performing to expectations.
The biggest indicator of this has been the team’s offense, which has virtually dried up. Right now the team sits dead last in the NHL in goals per game. A debate could be had over all of the disallowed goals this season, but at the end of the day, the Oilers aren’t getting things done.
The same cannot be said for the former Oilers who are with new organizations, as they have done nothing but produce since starting with their new teams.
Castaways are thriving
The biggest moves of this offseason by the Oilers were trading away Ryan McLeod to the Buffalo Sabres, and losing both Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg to offer sheets at the hands of the St. Louis Blues.
Dylan Holloway hasn’t been lighting it up with the Blues, but his two points through six games would put him in a tie for sixth on the Oilers right now. He is the exception here.
Looking at McLeod’s start to his Buffalo tenure and with last night’s empty-net goal, McLeod has goals in three straight games and a total of four points in seven games. That would put him in a tie for the Oilers’ team lead in goals with Leon Draisaitl, as well as a tie for fourth in points. Matthew Savoie, who was acquired for McLeod, may end up having a better career down the road, but right now McLeod is helping his team win, something the Oilers could desperately use right now.
The real pain point comes when looking at Broberg. After last night’s game he now has points in six straight games, and became the ninth defenseman in NHL history to record a point in at least his first six games with a franchise.
Sounds pretty good.
Additionally, his stat line is identical to Connor McDavid’s through six games which would tie him for the team lead.
Broberg showed flashes last playoffs that he could fill that role, but for the Oilers to see him seize that opportunity on the Blues while simultaneously struggling is painful.
The Oilers will absolutely be regressing to their mean in the near future and will no doubt get back to their Cup contending form, with McDavid and Draisaitl lapping these players in terms of points. With their supporting cast not reaching those same levels though, you do wonder if the Oilers should have done what they could to retain at least one of these younger players.
A storyline that will have a close eye on it as the season progresses.
Photo via NHL Public Relations on X
