Pre-Game Talk: 2024-25 Season Predictions Pole

[K1984]

I don’t have any concerns about the roster, or aspects of the roster (age, speed, toughness, whatever). We all know about 2RD, but I don’t think that’s the end of the world either. I’m dead certain that this team will perform to expectations.

The only question is when they choose/allow themselves to perform to expectations. Up to this point, this group cannot, will not play to their capabilities until they are behind the 8 ball. Will they start properly Wednesday? Will it be next week? Will they throw away another month again? Remains to be seen.

The concerns with this team are entirely psychological and when they decide to get out of their own way. I really, really hope this is the year where they have finally grown up and this stupidity is past us, but I’ve been fooled too many times to assume that they won’t do it again.

 

[syz]

Calling Ceci "mediocre" is charitable, imo. It'll be difficult for whoever replaces him to be worse, but hopefully the TDL results in an upgrade nonetheless.

My main fear until proven otherwise is that we end up with another season of McDavid (and potentially Draisaitl after the finals run) playing through "nagging injuries." McDavid (and probably at least Hyman) will be playing even more games this year as well thanks to the Four Nations gimmick tournament in the middle of the season, so I really hope everybody is healed up.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1843289227074970072

Please forgive the Leafs blasphemy I didn’t know it would be there when I posted the Oilers link.

 

[oXo Cube]

Winning the division.

The defense will be fine. The depth scoring won't be. Skinner, who knows.

 

[Soundwave]

Team won't finish as high as a lot of people think I'm afraid. Defense is worse than last year, Kane being out will hurt, and I fully expect us to stumble right out of the gate as usual though not as bad as last year.

I doubt we're winning a conference let alone a division. The good news however is that there might be an opportunity to make a big splash at the deadline to fix our defense. Hopefully that would be enough to put us high enough in the standings to get a lot of home ice advantage for another long playoff run.

Yeah replacing (checks notes) Cody Ceci is some impossible task.

This guy was a total turd to start the season last year, now suddenly he's some magical unicorn piece?

Knoblaugh is the defense.

He's the reason we made a Cup Final, the defense wasn't doing shit until he came and put some structure in under them. That and Ekholm getting healthy. They drive the bus, not the Cody Cecis and Vinny Desharnais of the world, these guys' weren't doing shit last year when the team was in a tail spin.

 

[rboomercat90]

I’m cautiously optimistic we’ll have a good season but I’m not sure what that’s going to look like. This team changed styles last year to a more defensively minded team and while I think that’s necessary to go deep into the playoffs it was frustrating to watch at times.
As good as this team was last year after Knoblach got here they never looked dominant and never left you overly confident watching them. They just chugged along and got it done. Changes made where long time regulars have departed. They are older now and look slower. Some holes in the lineup that need to somehow be filled whether internally or with help later on. I think the coaching staff is too good here now for a repeat of the start of last year but that preseason didn’t look good and until this team wins some games the concern will be there.

 

[russ99]

Don’t really understand how that makes you more confident last year if it was about potential. I guess excitement regarding the top pair (now known to be good).

If that’s what we’re measuring it on, one could say they might be excited to see Nurse having a potentially better d man next to him than a known mediocre d man in Ceci.

I just don’t see how losing Ceci and Desharnais (Broberg was not notable until his hot run in the playoffs) for Emberson and Stecher / Dermott makes one down on the D corps

Pinning a lot of hopes on a guy with 30 NHL games...

I'm not concerned about Emberson, he will end up as 3RD, once we make the obvious need acquisition of a 2RD. But the real question I have is how much this new-look defense corps stumbles out of the gate, especially with a forward group who in the preseason forgot that being defensively responsible led them to all that success last season.

If we can get to the deadline and make the optimal deal, great. But with the pressure on this group, I'm expecting to not get to the deadline, Bowman will have to shore up the defense corps well before March.

 

[Niten Ichi Ryu]

In regards to the individual players:

Best new forward: J. Skinner
Best new defenseman: Emberson
Most improved: C. Brown
Biggest surprise: Nurse
Most regressed: Hyman
Most progressed via pts: Nugent Hopkins
Leading scorer (pts): Draisaitl
Leading goal scorer: J. Skinner
X Factor: S. Skinner

*Knoblauch for Adams finalist, Leon for Hart/Lindsay/Rocket finalist, and Bouchard for Norris finalist

1st Pacific Division finish
WCF opponent: Minnesota
SCF opponent: New Jersey
Conn Smythe: Draisaitl

 

[KCC]

The season is way too long and there will be ups and downs. But as long as they make the playoffs and play to their potential when it matters that’s all I personally care about. Though it will be funny to see how many overreact as the season goes on.

 

[Arpeggio]

I’m cautiously optimistic we’ll have a good season but I’m not sure what that’s going to look like. This team changed styles last year to a more defensively minded team and while I think that’s necessary to go deep into the playoffs it was frustrating to watch at times.
As good as this team was last year after Knoblach got here they never looked dominant and never left you overly confident watching them. They just chugged along and got it done. Changes made where long time regulars have departed. They are older now and look slower. Some holes in the lineup that need to somehow be filled whether internally or with help later on. I think the coaching staff is too good here now for a repeat of the start of last year but that preseason didn’t look good and until this team wins some games the concern will be there.

I dunno man they won 20 games in a row lol. I was pretty confident during that stretch.

I'm concerned that they're going to underachieve and miss out on the division title again, but just get into the playoffs and see what happens. Considering that they're likely adding a healthy Kane and a top four RD for the run, it's difficult to get too worried about the first couple of months of the season, assuming they avoid a complete disaster. Assuming they make the playoffs and stay reasonably healthy, the roster is going to be stacked come round one.

 

[KlimasLoveChild]

 

[Lacaar]

I'm excited to get to some regular season Hockey. The Oilers this year will again be the most entertaining team in hockey no doubt!
They have a all the tools imo to take this division by the balls.

1. I've said this over and over and over again. This team won't win it all, nor the division playing Rocky Balboa hockey. If they have to get punched in the face in the regular season again then I personally will hold off my bets (if I did bet hehe) on winning the cup. It's fun as hell to watch the great come back. But it doesn't lead to winning the big trophy. Do I think they're in there all thinking.. aww f*** it we'll try later. Nope. They don't want to get punched in the face to start. But want and what happens are two different things.

2. f*** the right side worries imo. The biggest question mark is Darnel Nurse.

3. This team like I said is fun to watch. They can dominate the ice and the play like no other. And then have absolutely sweet f*** all to show for it. Best team in the league at creating chances imo. Perhpaps the worst team in the league at converting them. Maybe my biggest worry. They suck f***ing balls at finishing chances. They're BRUTAL at it. Could you imagine if they were just average.. they'd run away with the presidents trophy imo. But the reality is we're going to hear the word goalie'd a lot this season.

So to sum up my keys to the season.

1. Stop the Comeback kid and become the No looking back kid. No more game 1's like Vancouver season and playoffs.
2. Darnel.......
3. No more game 1's like Florida. No more backup goalie having the game of his life.. over .. and over.. and over.

 

[94 Oil Drops]

Yeah replacing (checks notes) Cody Ceci is some impossible task.

This guy was a total turd to start the season last year, now suddenly he's some magical unicorn piece?

No. I can't say that I much like the idea of having to wait until the trade deadline to replace him though. I'm also not convinced that this Emberson kid is currently better than Ceci was. I'm definitely rooting for him but he's only played 30 games in a market that doesn't give 2 hoots about hockey when their team is bad. Emberson is coming into a pressure cooker of a market and I would not be shocked to see him struggle a lot when he gets immediately tossed into a top 4 role.

Knoblaugh is the defense.

He's the reason we made a Cup Final, the defense wasn't doing shit until he came and put some structure in under them. That and Ekholm getting healthy. They drive the bus, not the Cody Cecis and Vinny Desharnais of the world, these guys' weren't doing shit last year when the team was in a tail spin.

This on the other hand is a fair point. Knob and Coffey have made a big difference. I just think it would be rather foolish to not upgrade the defense after we lost both Ceci, Daisy, and Broberg.

Again, Bowman is going to have to make a big splash at the deadline to improve it. I don't think the team is going to sink into the abyss like the start of last year but I think it will take lots of time for the team to develop chemistry with all these new forwards and defense. It will not shock me in the slightest if the Oilers go 5-5-0 in their first 10 games of the season. We shall see.

 

[Soundwave]

No. I can't say that I much like the idea of having to wait until the trade deadline to replace him though. I'm also not convinced that this Emberson kid is currently better than Ceci was. I'm definitely rooting for him but he's only played 30 games in a market that doesn't give 2 hoots about hockey when their team is bad. Emberson is coming into a pressure cooker of a market and I would not be shocked to see him struggle a lot when he gets immediately tossed into a top 4 role.

This on the other hand is a fair point. Knob and Coffey have made a big difference. I just think it would be rather foolish to not upgrade the defense after we lost both Ceci, Daisy, and Broberg.

Again, Bowman is going to have to make a big splash at the deadline to improve it. I don't think the team is going to sink into the abyss like the start of last year but I think it will take lots of time for the team to develop chemistry with all these new forwards and defense. It will not shock me in the slightest if the Oilers go 5-5-0 in their first 10 games of the season. We shall see.

Knob and Coffey didn't just make a difference. They are THE difference.

The same D corps was garbage against Vegas in 2023 playoffs and looked worse than an AHL dcorps to start the 23-24 season.

Broberg was a trending bust, Desharnais was a nothing AHL scrub in his mid-20s, Ceci is a average bottom pair defender at the best of times.

These guys didn't move the needle, the Oilers success last year defensively especially is the dictionary definition of a coaching change completely changing how a team plays.

 

[Lacaar]

I was listening to got yer back this afternoon and they mentioned a saying about when the going gets tough.
I've been mentioning non stop for over a year about how the Oilers need to get punched in the face etc.


"When the going gets tough, the Oilers get going." It's a compliment on one hand but also an insight into what I think is the last hurdle to them winning the Cup.

Because IMO. "The Oilers don't get going until the going gets tough" and every year in the playoffs they run into a team that eliminates them because they were going game 1.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1843363087870767289

 

[brentashton]

Always exited about a new season.

As far as expectations, I’ll see where the team is at in 10 games personally

Based on last year’s experience , the first 10 games, although an indicator of “something”, doesn’t mean squat as to where the team ends up at year end.

 

[CornKicker]

I dunno man they won 20 games in a row lol. I was pretty confident during that stretch.

I'm concerned that they're going to underachieve and miss out on the division title again, but just get into the playoffs and see what happens. Considering that they're likely adding a healthy Kane and a top four RD for the run, it's difficult to get too worried about the first couple of months of the season, assuming they avoid a complete disaster. Assuming they make the playoffs and stay reasonably healthy, the roster is going to be stacked come round one.

yeah but teams win 20 in a row all the time? aside from the fact that the oilers were top 1-2 since KK took over they were pretty medicore

 

[Faelko]

In regards to the individual players:

Best new forward: J. Skinner
Best new defenseman: Emberson
Most improved: C. Brown
Biggest surprise: Nurse
Most regressed: Hyman
Most progressed via pts: Nugent Hopkins
Leading scorer (pts): Draisaitl
Leading goal scorer: J. Skinner
X Factor: S. Skinner

*Knoblauch for Adams finalist, Leon for Hart/Lindsay/Rocket finalist, and Bouchard for Norris finalist

1st Pacific Division finish
WCF opponent: Minnesota
SCF opponent: New Jersey
Conn Smythe: Draisaitl

I’m curious…what happened to McDavid?

 

[Aerchon]

Much worse by losing some inconsistent players and a mediocre d man in Ceci

You may also recall that while they struggled to start, they were absolutely dominant most of the rest of the season and got to game 7 of the finals

This place is depressing with so many posters seemingly hoping for the worst just so their insecurities about the team can be proven correct

"So many great players". Ceci, Desharnais, Broberg, McLeod, Foegele, Holloway.
I don't know, my definition of "great" seems far different than yours.

My feelings going into the season? That a certain portion of HFOil is absurdly in panic mode.

The reality is that the team might take a few lumps as they work in some of the new faces but this will, once again, be an elite team once they sort things out and will be even stronger come the deadline. I'll predict that the doomsdayers will have their say at times in the first half then predictably go quiet as the Oilers are humming going into the playoffs and go on another long run.

Great depth players... sorry, I thought that was very obvious.

The mix of youth and experience. The timely goals. The speed. The exact mixture that took Edmonton to game 7 of a Stanley Cup final... we have seen that twice going back 2006 on the Oilers and just in general is a major theme on a cup run... especially on defense.

We have a great top pairing and nothing else on defense to write home to Ma about. I like Kulak and I hope Nurse finds his game but... Ceci had irrational haters. He did a lot for that second pair while Nurse did bizarre Nurse things. I think it more likely than not any pairing Nurse is on will be worse than when paired with Ceci.

This just isn't THE SAME team and right now we don't know if our team can come together even remotely like our team, almost miraculously did last year.

From a 5% chance to make the playoffs to game 7... With how putrid they were to start the season.

I hope it all clicks. It just doesn't really look as strong a two way group.

 

[K1984]

I was listening to got yer back this afternoon and they mentioned a saying about when the going gets tough.
I've been mentioning non stop for over a year about how the Oilers need to get punched in the face etc.


"When the going gets tough, the Oilers get going." It's a compliment on one hand but also an insight into what I think is the last hurdle to them winning the Cup.

Because IMO. "The Oilers don't get going until the going gets tough" and every year in the playoffs they run into a team that eliminates them because they were going game 1.

Eliminate them because they were going Game 1 and/or had home ice advantage. We experienced why that matters on both fronts in the Stanley Cup Final.

It's the #1 thing preventing us from taking the next step, and it has absolutely nothing to do with micro personnel issues that we all fret about constantly. The group needs to challenge each other to be their best in Game 1 of the regular season, and I don't think that has been happening enough. The pressure has had to come from the outside to make them work, so far there doesn't appear to be enough of it internally.

I've been steaming mad at the Oilers many times in my life, but probably Top 3 was when the group chose to laugh off the 0-3 start last year. "Pfft ya we're the worst team in the league. Yep, for sure. Pfft ya everyone can panic, we aren't" right as we continued the downward spiral of ineptitude with no signs we would wake up. There is a certain culture of "we're damn good, so whatever it will work out" that permeates the room for whatever reason, and it's got to go. It's an entitlement mindset that is poison.