<\/p>\n
LAST SEASON<\/p>\n
Stop me if you\u2019ve heard this one before: the Edmonton Oilers<\/a> had a sluggish start to the season, turned things around but still struggled with goaltending throughout the season, yet managed to figure things out come playoff time to get to the Stanley Cup Final, only to lose to the Florida Panthers<\/a>.<\/p>\n It was a bit of a deja vu season for the Oilers, as while their extremes weren\u2019t nearly as bad as the 2023-24 season, it was a bit of a roller coaster. But they managed to get on track, make the playoffs with ease, and make another run to the Final. Of course, the result when they got there was all too familiar.<\/p>\n But this summer was a lot different than last summer. 2024 saw the Oilers bring most of the band back together, short of their younger players in Ryan McLeod, Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. This season, not so much. Plenty of pieces have departed for new teams \u2013 some who were disappointments in Edmonton, some who were important pieces. But Edmonton didn\u2019t really replace them, either.<\/p>\n And of course, there\u2019s the massive elephant in the room that is the uncertainty surrounding captain and perennial best player Connor McDavid. He\u2019s in the final year of his contract and has yet to sign an extension. It\u2019d be an understatement to say his decision will significantly impact the Oilers\u2019 Cup chances beyond this season.<\/p>\n So what exactly should fans make of this upcoming season for Edmonton? Is this a last dance with McDavid? Did the Oilers do enough to improve the team from last season to actually win it all this time around? Let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n KEY ADDITIONS & DEPARTURES<\/p>\n Additions<\/p>\n Andrew Mangiapane, RW Departures<\/p>\n Evander Kane, LW (Van) OFFENSE<\/p>\n The Oilers usually come with a nuclear offense powered by McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but last season it felt a little bit more human. They were only 11th in goals for per game (3.16), 12th in power play percentage (23.7%), and while their 5v5 offense was much better under the hood (second in 5v5 expected goals per 60 minutes with 2.88), it was similarly human on their power play (10th in PP xGF\/60 with 9.37). Those rates did improve come playoff time, as they averaged 3.73 GF\/G and had a 25.4% PP%.<\/p>\n It\u2019s wild to say that a 100-point season for McDavid was a disappointment, but when you produce 120+ points a season in your sleep, it did feel like a down year. That said, injuries played a significant role in that solely due to a lack of games played, as his 1.49 points per game was still around where he usually produced and one of the best rates in the league.<\/p>\n Luckily for McDavid, Draisaitl picked up the slack, as he was third in scoring with 106 points and led the league in goals with 52, seven more than William Nylander in second place. Draisaitl\u2019s season earned him plenty of consideration for the Hart and Selke trophies as well. But of course, come playoff time, McDavid and Draisaitl regained their true form and were much more dominant with 33 points each. We should expect more of that from them this coming season.<\/p>\n Perhaps another reason for the Oilers\u2019 offense stepping back was the fact their other three players that make up their top power play unit also took some steps back. Zach Hyman went from scoring 54 goals in 2023-24 to only getting 44 points last season. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had 104 points in 2022-23 and had just 49 last season. Evan Bouchard went from a point-per-game defenseman to just 67 points. But like McDavid, they all rallied come playoff time, and while they may not reach those highs again, there should be some improvement from last season.<\/p>\n Beyond that, there are some question marks with the rest of Edmonton\u2019s offense. How will they replace the depth scoring of Perry, Brown, Kane, or even Skinner and Arvidsson? Can Ike Howard and Matt Savoie provide a youthful influx into their top nine? Will Andrew Mangiapane be a good complementary piece to McDavid or Draisaitl or as disappointing in that role as Brown, Skinner and Arvidsson? How much depth scoring can Adam Henrique, Vasily Podkolzin and Trent Frederic provide?<\/p>\n Edmonton should at least be good for roughly 30 points from the other key cogs of their blueline in Darnell Nurse, Mattias Ekholm, Jake Walman and Brett Kulak on the back end, although Walman is the only high-end producer of that group. But with so many moving pieces, there\u2019s a lot of uncertainty, especially for a team eyeing a Stanley Cup whose defining feature is its offense.<\/p>\n DEFENSE<\/p>\n The Oilers defense wasn\u2019t quite as effective during the regular season compared to the previous one, whether that was in their results or in their underlying numbers. They were only 14th in goals against per game (2.87), 16th in penalty kill percentage (78.2%), and tied for 11th in 5v5 xGA\/60 (2.43) and SH xGA\/60 (8.22), and those results didn\u2019t improve in the playoffs (3.32 GA\/G, 67.1% PK%). Some of that was their goaltending, but it\u2019s not like Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard had a stifling defense in front of them.<\/p>\n
Ike Howard, LW
Curtis Lazar, C
Riley Stillman, D<\/p>\n
Viktor Arvidsson, RW (Bos)
Jeff Skinner, LW (SJ)
Corey Perry, RW (LA)
Connor Brown, RW (NJ)
John Klingberg, D (SJ)
Derek Ryan, C (UFA)<\/p>\n