Oilers hype: Is HF buying in on a 2024 run?

[kranuck]

Season is early and they will obviously bounce back or return to form or whatever. I never bought into the idea that they were Stanley Cup contenders anyway. I was shocked when I saw what their odds to win the cup were across several betting outlets.

Betting sites are optimized to win money for the site, not predict the future accurately.

 

[PunchImlach is Alive]

Best of luck to Toronto West this year but I don't see a post season for the Oilers

 

[Sky04]

Usual suspects in here with the anti-Oilers bandwagon with a bunch of others joining the crowd cause its the flavour of the month.

Will be fun to revisit at seasons end and see how many people are willing to admit being wrong or just double-down on being blind haters.

Who would've thought the Oilers first 5 games and being 1-3-1 would be such a hot topic and the clear pathway to failure for the rest of the season

Could you point to where the Oilers proved the doubters wrong anytime in the last 15 years? Like, it took you guys a decade to make the playoffs, the last time the Oilers were in the finals Iphone didn't exist yet.

By seasons end I'm sure the topic will be the usual ones the Oilers failing for the umpteenth time due to poor goaltending and defense that remains unaddressed year after year yet they keep thinking the result will be different.

 

[geebster]

It's still early and that same group has shown they can have regular season success and their top guys show up in the playoffs in a big way. Would not be surprising to see them win a few rounds but to see them go all the way and win it they need to do a 180 on defense and somehow even more than that in net. I've seen crazier things and saying it's impossible for McDrai to turn it around would be dumb, but seeing how bad they've looked there's a lot of work between them and a cup I'd say.

Also incidentally I saw a lot of talk on the forums about Bouchard in the off-season and how he was better than Sanderson and people had him really highly rated. I watched their games this year thinking I'd see some of that...gotta say the guy gets caved in way too much. Even when Hughes was bad defensively years ago he wasn't this bad.

 

[Oleksiak]

Also incidentally I saw a lot of talk on the forums about Bouchard in the off-season and how he was better than Sanderson and people had him really highly rated. I watched their games this year thinking I'd see some of that...gotta say the guy gets caved in way too much. Even when Hughes was bad defensively years ago he wasn't this bad.

Exactly. Bouchard is Barrie/Rielly level bad in his own zone. That's simply not acceptable at the NHL level regardless of offence.

 

[jackjohnson]

Usual suspects in here with the anti-Oilers bandwagon with a bunch of others joining the crowd cause its the flavour of the month.

Will be fun to revisit at seasons end and see how many people are willing to admit being wrong or just double-down on being blind haters.

Who would've thought the Oilers first 5 games and being 1-3-1 would be such a hot topic and the clear pathway to failure for the rest of the season

Oilers will make playoffs on back of McDavid and Drai but don't be too confident about their playoff run. If all these past year failures in playoffs haven't taught you something then I don't know what will. It's clear as day what the weaknesses of the Oilers are and those critical areas of weakness will always be their downfall in the playoffs.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Well, they're facing their hardships early. Let's see if they fold or thrive under the pressure.

 

[Gurglesons]

Them going through a rough patch is probably good for them.

 

[jackjohnson]

It's still early and that same group has shown they can have regular season success and their top guys show up in the playoffs in a big way. Would not be surprising to see them win a few rounds but to see them go all the way and win it they need to do a 180 on defense and somehow even more than that in net. I've seen crazier things and saying it's impossible for McDrai to turn it around would be dumb, but seeing how bad they've looked there's a lot of work between them and a cup I'd say.

Also incidentally I saw a lot of talk on the forums about Bouchard in the off-season and how he was better than Sanderson and people had him really highly rated. I watched their games this year thinking I'd see some of that...gotta say the guy gets caved in way too much. Even when Hughes was bad defensively years ago he wasn't this bad.

Sorry but McDavid and Drai aren't superman to not only provide all the Oilers offense but also to play defense and goaltending at the same time. If it was easy to win the cup with just offense then all the teams in NHL would just spend on forwards and would not invest in a good goalie and having a decent group of dmen. You need both offense and defense to win championships and more times then not, an elite defense and goaltending can win a cup versus only having elite offense. Too bad the Oilers GM still can't figure this out and I guess some Oilers fans are still mesmerized by the aura of McDavid that they think he can do it all lol. If Oilers get a decent defense group and a goalie that doesn't let 4 goals in every game then they could definitely win it all. As a Canucks fan am happy they haven't figured that out yet lol

 

[jackjohnson]

Well, they're facing their hardships early. Let's see if they fold or thrive under the pressure.

They haven't even played a good to elite team yet. They faced Canucks with their full roster and lost both times with one being a blow out. They lost badly against flyers and they lost to Winnipeg and these were the teams people were saying they wouldn't make the playoffs. They only won against the bubble team Nashville who is also not doing good. Let's see how Oilers do against Boston, Colorado, Vegas and other teams that are playoff contenders. If they have this much trouble against non playoff teams then it wouldn't be that much better against strong teams they might actually face in playoffs. It's only 5 or 6 games but we can assess this again at the 20 game mark and see how their season will actually go.

It's still early and that same group has shown they can have regular season success and their top guys show up in the playoffs in a big way. Would not be surprising to see them win a few rounds but to see them go all the way and win it they need to do a 180 on defense and somehow even more than that in net. I've seen crazier things and saying it's impossible for McDrai to turn it around would be dumb, but seeing how bad they've looked there's a lot of work between them and a cup I'd say.

Also incidentally I saw a lot of talk on the forums about Bouchard in the off-season and how he was better than Sanderson and people had him really highly rated. I watched their games this year thinking I'd see some of that...gotta say the guy gets caved in way too much. Even when Hughes was bad defensively years ago he wasn't this bad.

Ahh I remember how Oilers fans were saying Bouchard is equal to Hughes lol.

 

[geebster]

Ahh I remember how Oilers fans were saying Bouchard is equal to Hughes lollol

It was that comparison that really stuck with me too. Like.. at least when comparing with another really young D you can talk about potential and there's a lot of subjectivity involved but... yeah it's not even close in really any relevant area of the game. Every fanbase has blind homer takes though, so as long as most people don't think this you can't fault em too much.

 

[The Panther]

I don't get the eagerness of people on here to form extreme predictions of the negative variety after five games. Does posting nonsense give you pleasure? It's seriously weird.

The Stanley Cup has never been won in October and it never will be. The Oilers are one point behind their pace last season, when they missed finishing in first place by 1 point.

 

[daver]

I don't get the eagerness of people on here to form extreme predictions of the negative variety after five games. Does posting nonsense give you pleasure? It's seriously weird.

The Stanley Cup has never been won in October and it never will be. The Oilers are one point behind their pace last season, when they missed finishing in first place by 1 point.

"It's seriously weird to make predictions after 5 games"

"I predict the Oilers will make the playoffs this year based on how they have done after 5 games"

 

[LaCarriere]

The oilers aren't exactly playing in a tough division. Other than vegas there's not much competition.

Looking at last years standings I feel like the oilers finished probably a bit better than they should have. The avs are a step ahead of them but finished with the same point total, and the leafs are more than 2 points ahead of them on paper, as much as it kills me to say that.

The avs were possessed in 2021-22, but the oilers literally had nothing for them.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

We're going to learn a lot about the Oilers in the next two weeks with McDavid out.

I still think they are a threat, maybe just below that Vegas/Avs tier in the West.

 

[Unspecified]

Usual suspects in here with the anti-Oilers bandwagon with a bunch of others joining the crowd cause its the flavour of the month.

Will be fun to revisit at seasons end and see how many people are willing to admit being wrong or just double-down on being blind haters.

Who would've thought the Oilers first 5 games and being 1-3-1 would be such a hot topic and the clear pathway to failure for the rest of the season

Flavor of the month? Both McDavid and Drai have been on this abomination for almost a decade. This is not some new found bandwagon that people have suddenly jumped on.

 

[OG Eberle]

Could you point to where the Oilers proved the doubters wrong anytime in the last 15 years? Like, it took you guys a decade to make the playoffs, the last time the Oilers were in the finals Iphone didn't exist yet.

By seasons end I'm sure the topic will be the usual ones the Oilers failing for the umpteenth time due to poor goaltending and defense that remains unaddressed year after year yet they keep thinking the result will be different.

Can you point to anytime where the Oilers themselves (or their fans) were planning a parade route? Or saying they were the favourites to win anything except the draft lottery?

It's almost like this board forgets Oiler fans were the ones who stuck by the team the past 15yrs of sucking ass, clinging to any little bit of hope or hype we could get from the like of Omark, Eberle, Hall, MPS, etc...

All sane Oiler fans recognize Nurse is overpaid, the defensive systems are lackluster, and the goaltending is abysmal, I don't know why fans of other teams prance into every Oilers thread and say anyone is saying otherwise when we're usually the first ones to put our hands up and admit it.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Usual suspects in here with the anti-Oilers bandwagon with a bunch of others joining the crowd cause its the flavour of the month.

Will be fun to revisit at seasons end and see how many people are willing to admit being wrong or just double-down on being blind haters.

Who would've thought the Oilers first 5 games and being 1-3-1 would be such a hot topic and the clear pathway to failure for the rest of the season

Meh. The first 5 games haven’t changed my opinion at all. They are a likely playoff team with issues in goal, D and depth. Same as the last number of years. Their biggest addition of Connor Brown in the off season didn’t move the needle at all.

 

[who_me?]

Oilers off to a terrible start, McDavid injured for 2 weeks, Evander Kane locker room drama, this season is pointing to another prime year wasted in McDavid's career.

 

[AvroArrow]

Nurse and Campbell contracts are absolutely crippling them. So much money tied up in those guys. Campbells entire cap hit is a waste. I don't see how they can become contenders without dumping Campbell.

If they're not gonna get rid of him, whatever the cost is, there's really no point in keeping McDavid/Drai.

Attach some picks to Campbell whatever it takes and just get him out and bring in a real goaltender. Nurse is still a fine second pairing guy, overpaid but still a useful player.

If they can't get rid of Campbell, they are legitimately just wasting prime McDavid years. They should be doing everything in their power to fix the goaltending situation, Campbell + two 1sts if you have to, it's either that or just more wasted years. If they can't dump him, at that point you're better off just rebuilding again, you could probably get an absurd package for McDavid, like legit like three or four 1sts + elite prospect.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Nurse and Campbell contracts are absolutely crippling them. So much money tied up in those guys. Campbells entire cap hit is a waste. I don't see how they can become contenders without dumping Campbell.

If they're not gonna get rid of him, whatever the cost is, there's really no point in keeping McDavid/Drai.

Attach some picks to Campbell whatever it takes and just get him out and bring in a real goaltender. Nurse is still a fine second pairing guy, overpaid but still a useful player.

If they can't get rid of Campbell, they are legitimately just wasting prime McDavid years. They should be doing everything in their power to fix the goaltending situation, Campbell + two 1sts if you have to, it's either that or just more wasted years. If they can't dump him, at that point you're better off just rebuilding again, you could probably get an absurd package for McDavid, like legit like three or four 1sts + elite prospect.

I wonder if EDM management have thought about these things in the past 8 years , the holes and bad moves are so obvious its incredible , they had like 9 years to improve the team and this is where the team is now , its crazy.

A professional NHL GM thats PAID to improve the team gave campbell a 5x5 with a 10 team NMC

How are edmonton fans not rioting

 

[Saga of the Elk]

Yup, all they need to do is find a taker for Soupy, trade McDavid for three or four 1sts, and hire Mike Babcock. Cup incoming.

 

[ijuka]

Betting sites are optimized to win money for the site, not predict the future accurately.

So they just happen to have far better performance than other available models? Last season sportsbooks mopped the floor with twitter analytics, for example.

For sports betting, being as accurate as possible tends to be the safest way to win money for the site. Sportsbooks have a long and proven track record for accurate predictions.

 

[AvroArrow]

Yup, all they need to do is find a taker for Soupy, trade McDavid for three or four 1sts, and hire Mike Babcock. Cup incoming.

Read slower

Either dump Soup by attaching picks and whatever else necessary, if they want to be a true contender

or

Rebuild by moving on from McDrai, if they're not gonna address the Campbell issue. They won't be competitive as long as they have 5M tied up in Campbell, all they're gonna do is waste prime McDavid years.


Eichel isn't McDavid but look at Buffalo now.

 

[Saga of the Elk]

Read slower

Either dump Soup by attaching picks and whatever else necessary, if they want to be a true contender

or

Rebuild by moving on from McDrai, if they're not gonna address the Campbell issue. They won't be competitive as long as they have 5M tied up in Campbell, all they're gonna do is waste prime McDavid years.


Eichel isn't McDavid but look at Buffalo now.

They started wasting McDavid's career moments after drafting him, by trading those picks for Reinhart. Bob Nicholson seems to still run the show in Edmonton.

Still, there's no reason that the Campbell/Skinner combo can't do for Edmonton what Adin Hill and Darcy Kuemper have done in recent years. But you need your coach to figure a few things out with regard to deploying the bottom-six.

The next step just isn't: trade a generational player for beans.