The Edmonton Oilers certainly don’t like to make things easy on themselves or their fan base.
For the second straight year, the Oilers have come slow out of the gates. A late blown lead last night versus the Vegas Golden Knights has resulted in their record dropping to a disappointing 6-7-1, and some on the outside are beginning to question this roster.
Many are pointing to the fact that the Oilers are an older team, losing younger forwards Dylan Holloway, Ryan McLeod, and even Warren Foegele, and instead replacing them with Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson. They also chose to bring back guys like Adam Henrique and Corey Perry.
Others are pointing to their blue line as a point of concern. They parted ways with Cody Ceci via trade, lost Philip Broberg to an offer sheet, and elected to let Vincent Desharnais walk as a free agent.
While these are all good talking points, they don’t exactly pass the smell test.
What many are forgetting is that as frustrating as the Oilers have been to begin the 2024-25 season, they were far worse a year ago. This is a team that managed just five points through their first 12 games last season. They didn’t improve immediately after, either, and at one point, found themselves with 11 points through 18 outings.
Yes, losing Holloway and Broberg to the St. Louis Blues hurt this organization. That said, Broberg played in just 12 regular season games last season, while Holloway appeared in 38. Neither had big roles in what wound up being a very successful 2023-24 campaign.
As for Ceci and Desharnais, they were more often than not whipping boys for both the media and fan base. Sure, there is likely now some realization that they weren’t as bad as some suggested, but neither are anywhere close to being game-breakers. Their absences aren’t to blame for the slow start this season.
The biggest reason for the Oilers’ struggles so far is that their best players haven’t been all that good. Connor McDavid has started out slow with just 10 points through 11 games. It’s the exact same scenario we saw a year ago, where he had 13 points through his first 14 games. He finished the season with 132.
Leon Draisaitl has been the best Oiler this season but still has just 16 points in 14 games, which puts him on pace for 93. He’s recorded north of 100 in five of the past seasons, and in the one he failed to do so, had 84 points in the 56-game shortened 2020-21 campaign. His numbers, like McDavid’s, will improve.
Zach Hyman has also struggled but is beginning to show signs of life with three goals in his last four games. Another 50+ goal campaign is unlikely, but he can be counted on to be a solid contributor the rest of the way. The same can be said for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard, who have also been in ruts to start the year.
It seems that any time the Oilers struggle, many come out of the woodwork to point out the flaws in their roster. That isn’t to say they’re wrong, as there certainly are some holes, ones not so different than what many other teams deal with in the salary cap world.
That said, the Oilers’ flaws don’t stand out nearly as much when their best players are performing as such, just like they did on their run to the Stanley Cup Final this past June.
As we wrote last year when they were in a far worse spot, those panicking or writing this team off need to sit back and let things breathe. Once their top players snap out of their slumps, they will quickly rise up the standings and be viewed as a legitimate contender once again.
- You might also like:
- Oilers’ Ekholm gives honest answer about PK failures: “It has to stop”