Better luck next year: It will not be easy for the Edmonton Oilers to get back
But their offseason has a decent start to it.
Welcome back to Better Luck Next Year, a series that will focus on each team as they get eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention and the Stanley Cup Playoffs. What went wrong, why it went wrong, what (if anything) went right, and what is next. We conclude today for this offseason with the next team to be officially eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention: The Edmonton Oilers.
It was my intention to wrap up this series with the Oilers closer to the end of the Stanley Cup Final, but the NHL’s compressed offseason schedule forced a lot of other stuff in there over the past week-and-a-half. So here we are now with one of the most confounding teams in the NHL.
Overall, there was a lot to like about this Oilers team from the regular season.
Obviously their top-tier players are as good as it gets anywhere in the league.
Connor McDavid is the best player in hockey.
Leon Draisaitl is not far behind.
Evan Bouchard took a huge leap forward and played at a Norris Trophy level.
Zach Hyman has been one of the best free agent signings of the salary cap era (I did NOT see that happening) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is just a rock solid player.
Their special teams? Lethal. Their 5-on-5 play during the regular season? Very quietly among the best in the NHL with the fifth best goal differential during 5-on-5 play and the BEST expected goal share.
From the time they replaced Jay Woodcroft with Kris Knoblauch early in the season they were nearly unbeatable the rest of the way. Upon making the playoffs, they cruised through the Kings (again), outlasted a Canucks team that might have been a bit of a mirage and then knocked off the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final. Then they fell down 3-0 to the Florida Panthers — in a series of games that was not quite that lopsided — rallied off three consecutive wins to force a Game 7, and then just fell short. It was a roller coaster.
But for as exciting as that playoff run was, it did expose some of the same old flaws that have plagued this franchise for the better part of the McDavid-Draisaitl era, and it does lead to questions as to whether or not they can get back or if they missed what might have been their best opportunity this season.
I will say this, however — I do like the start of their offseason when it comes to fixing some of those weaknesses.
Let’s talk about it.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Adam's Sports Stuff to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.