Oilers were overwhelmingly #1 cup favorites going into the season. Are they still #1 today?

[nerevarine]

As an oilers fan there isnt a single team that worries me in a 7 game series

That being said, hockey is a game of bounces and deflections of skates/sticks so anything can happen

 

[ijuka]

Panthers beat them though

So they were better than 30 of the 31 other teams in the league. As such, I'd say it's reasonable to consider them the cup favorites. It's also reasonable to consider Panthers the cup favorites.

Did you not read what I said, or just not understand it?

 

[Zerotonine]

Just wait until Kane comes back healthy. That will put us under the top. Not to mention i believe it's been said we will have roughly 9 million in cap space to spend at the deadline.
Like most have said Skinner is a big problem right now. ....

 

[Soundwave]

So they were better than 30 of the 31 other teams in the league. As such, I'd say it's reasonable to consider them the cup favorites. It's also reasonable to consider Panthers the cup favorites.

Did you not read what I said, or just not understand it?

Panthers have a good offense, but if anyone should be questioned about their D, it may well be them. Their D has sucked this year (not Edmonton's).

 

[Laus723]

The Oilers have been a good defensive team for like a year+ now, ever since Coffey and Knoblaugh arrived, this narrative really is badly outdated.

Look at the goals against even this year, even with a bit of a Cup hangover, the Oilers are way better at preventing goals than a lot of teams that somehow have the reputation of being good defensively.

Edmonton - 95GA, 2.79GA (9th best in the NHL)

Florida - 108GA, 3.09 GA (21st in the NHL)
Vancouver - 103GA, 3.18 GA (23rd in the NHL)
Colorado - 120GA, 3.33 GA (26th in the NHL)

The last three teams there is what bad defensively actually looks like.

Take out the first 3 games where the Oilers were admittedly in post-Finals funk, the GA improves to like top 3 in the NHL from the 3rd game onwards.

The system Coffey/Knoblaugh has works defensively. They wouldn't have made the Cup Final and pushed it to game 7 otherwise, the idea that this is just a "run n' gun" team is badly outdated. They play a lot more like the Penguins in their Cup window now.

Lotsa words for…ya still have Nurse, Bouchard isn’t great defensively…but ok.

 

[GoldenKnight]

They're still one of the top favorites but I'm not totally convinced they can win with Skinner in goal. They had a lot go right last year and still ended up short.

That said imo the top 4 contenders are Florida and NJ from the east, Edmonton and Vegas from the west.

Winnipeg and Carolina seem like they're perennial pretenders with no killer instinct despite being very solid teams.

LA and Washington aren't as good as their records.

Tampa and Colorado are both dangerous, but both rosters are lacking defensive depth.

Two wildcards (not literally) are Minnesota and Dallas. Not totally sure what to make of them. They could flop or go on a deep run, neither would surprise me.

Agree with this.

If Minnesota somehow trades for a legitimate top 6 C, they would be my favorites to come out of the West.

But as it stands today, I can't say that I fear them come playoff time. Center is such a critical position, and elite talent at C usually pays dividends in the postseason.

 

[Oilslick941611]

I never considered us the #1 but rather among the top.

so top 3 gets my vote.

 

[HabzSauce]

From the way Oilers insider Bob Stauffer has been talking, Matheson is our #1 target on D which makes zero sense to me. The only silver lining in that trade would be us somehow getting Evans too, who I think would kill it in our bottom six.

Very surprised about Matheson if true. He's wild lol idk if he's the type of player you guys want in your top 4 come playoff time. Nowhere near as bad as people make him out to be tho. He'll give you offence from the back end. And he's a beautiful skater.

 

[Soundwave]

Lotsa words for…ya still have Nurse, Bouchard isn’t great defensively…but ok.

Nurse is actually having a good season finally away from the boat anchor that was Cody Ceci.

Bouchard has brain farts, but overall that pairing still does well.

Florida has a weaker defense this year and has lost guys that legitimately made their D better (Mountour, OEL, etc.). Cody Ceci ... nah.

Oilers were top 6 in GA last year under Knoblaugh, good again in the playoffs, and are top 10 in the league again this season for GA/G.

The system Coffey/Knoblaugh employ simply gets results, hard to argue against that at this point, it's not like they have a superstar goalie either to inflate those defensive stats.

 

[dirtydanglez]

outside the top 3. i like florida, colorado and vegas better.

 

[Fantast100]

Outside the top 3.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

It was pretty clear in the off-season that the Oilers were seen as the cup favorites. This was true among experts and media, but also amongst fans. It certainly was never unanimous, but more people considered them #1 favorites above any other team.

Then, the season started.

- Oilers were off to a horrible start. As bad as last season, although it didn't last as long
- McDavid got injured, like last year. And prognostic was he'd be out for a good while, though he ended up returning faster
- Other teams in the meantime had great starts. Jets had an insane record for a while. Vegas, champions from a year prior, as well. Even Florida current champs were doing great

But as the 2024 calendar year is ending in a few days, things seem to be rolling for Oilers again.

- They are safely in a divisional playoff spot, within striking distance of division and conference lead
- They are 8-2 in their last 10 games
- McDavid has been terrific since his return. He's not #1 in points today, but certainly within striking distance for another Ross
- Draisailt has been at least as good. Leads league for goals, and close for points too

I could go on - but suffice it to say it's been a bit of a roller coaster for Oilers in the last 3 months. So the question is - are they as of today the #1 cup favorite in your opinion? If you vote no - respond in the comments who you'd have #1.

Oilers were off to a start as bad as last season?

They got off to a bad start, but started last season like 2-9-1.

 

[Laus723]

Nurse is actually having a good season finally away from the boat anchor that was Cody Ceci.

Bouchard has brain farts, but overall that pairing still does well.

Florida has a weaker defense this year and has lost guys that legitimately made their D better (Mountour, OEL, etc.). Cody Ceci ... nah.

Oilers were top 6 in GA last year under Knoblaugh, good again in the playoffs, and are top 10 in the league again this season for GA/G.

The system Coffey/Knoblaugh employ simply gets results, hard to argue against that at this point, it's not like they have a superstar goalie either to inflate those defensive stats.

Yeah, Nurse looked better against us, and in other games I’ve seen.

There is no etc, we lost Monty and OEL, Schmidt and Balinskis has been fine, the overall team D is elite and again, both teams will make adjustments at or before the deadline.

You feel comfortable, cool.

 

[2023FriendshipTour]

There is probably 8 or so teams that have a legit shot this year and Edmonton is one of them.. parity is definitely alive and well. I also feel people are downplaying the Avs.. They're getting healthy and if they can stay healthy and get a consistent lineup going I feel they're deeper then any team in the league especially if Blackwood keeps playing the way he has this year.

 

[LevelingSolo]

I think it’s them or Vegas from the west

 

[olafsson]

Nope. Shortest answer possible

 

[Soundwave]

Yeah, Nurse looked better against us, and in other games I’ve seen.

There is no etc, we lost Monty and OEL, Schmidt and Balinskis has been fine, the overall team D is elite and again, both teams will make adjustments at or before the deadline.

You feel comfortable, cool.

I mean you guys are near bottom 10 in the league for goals against, that isn't elite right now that's a huge drop off from last year.

The Oilers are top 10 aside from a 3 game little hangover right at the start of the year it's actually more like top 3-4 in the league for best GA, they've been good generally.

The point is a lot of these narratives are based on really outdated info.

The Oilers have been a good defensive team for over a year now and the actual numbers (not opinion) support that.

 

[CupofOil]

They're still one of the top favorites but I'm not totally convinced they can win with Skinner in goal. They had a lot go right last year and still ended up short.

That said imo the top 4 contenders are Florida and NJ from the east, Edmonton and Vegas from the west.

Winnipeg and Carolina seem like they're perennial pretenders with no killer instinct despite being very solid teams.

LA and Washington aren't as good as their records.

Tampa and Colorado are both dangerous, but both rosters are lacking defensive depth.

Two wildcards (not literally) are Minnesota and Dallas. Not totally sure what to make of them. They could flop or go on a deep run, neither would surprise me.

Can't argue with the question mark in net but how did "a lot go right" for the Oilers last year?
One can argue that they fought through adversity if anything with Draisaitl barely able to skate the last two series and Kane being out.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Hopefully they trade for Hall and Murphy at the deadline. I think they’re as much of a favorite as any team.

I predicted the Oilers beating the Devils in 6 games during the offseason so I’m sticking with that.

 

[JianYang]

I don't think there is a single team in the league that is head and shoulders above the rest to be considered the #1 favourite.

But I do think the Oilers are in the top three. And if anyone wants to argue there are three other teams above them, then they would not be too far outside of that.

Yea, I don't think there has been a super team (a team that had everything) since the 2021 lightning.

I don't think the oilers have done a very good job of building their roster, but then you look around the league and say why can't the oilers do it? Not sure where I'd rank them but it's a realistic possibility which is more than I would have said at this time last year about them.

 

[CanadasTeam99]

No, I would say one of a few teams. FLA looks like they can 2 peat IMO. Vegas is good. Col is dangerous. Minnesota is their achilles heel.

I will call EDM a big favorite if their goaltending holds up/or they upgrade and I know they are bringing in a dman. I bet they use the cap loophole with Kanes $$ as well

Probably already posted, but they are the top team in least HDCA/60

They dominate other categories as well. They make mistakes and shoot themselves in the foot like any other team. Blew a few games this year (FLA/TO/VEG).

Anything can happen in the playoffs. It's tough getting back to the finals.

Also, what I like about Edmonton is that I cannot think of ONE game in the past 1-2 years where we said "Geez, we had no business winning this game. It was all the goalie" lol

Playoffs I would say there were 2 games. a 1-0 win against LA and game 6 VS Dallas, but Edmonton mostly wins games despite their goaltending.

 

[independent observer]

It was pretty clear in the off-season that the Oilers were seen as the cup favorites. This was true among experts and media, but also amongst fans. It certainly was never unanimous, but more people considered them #1 favorites above any other team.

Then, the season started.

- Oilers were off to a horrible start. As bad as last season, although it didn't last as long
- McDavid got injured, like last year. And prognostic was he'd be out for a good while, though he ended up returning faster
- Other teams in the meantime had great starts. Jets had an insane record for a while. Vegas, champions from a year prior, as well. Even Florida current champs were doing great

But as the 2024 calendar year is ending in a few days, things seem to be rolling for Oilers again.

- They are safely in a divisional playoff spot, within striking distance of division and conference lead
- They are 8-2 in their last 10 games
- McDavid has been terrific since his return. He's not #1 in points today, but certainly within striking distance for another Ross
- Draisailt has been at least as good. Leads league for goals, and close for points too

I could go on - but suffice it to say it's been a bit of a roller coaster for Oilers in the last 3 months. So the question is - are they as of today the #1 cup favorite in your opinion? If you vote no - respond in the comments who you'd have #1.

In early offseason they were the clear favorites until it became evident that the oilers mgt made a major miscalculation concerning its roster mgt when they received the offersheets for Broberg and Holloway.

that set‘em two steps back by getting older and slower… horrible offseason, getting skinner and arvy maybe looked good on paper but it meant getting a soft and injury prone guy. Trading youth and skill for past their prime guys was very short sighted…

They are still good but need to improve at the deadline

 

[Stealth1616]

Oilers success in the playoffs will be entirely dependent on which Skinner shows up.

Could very easily be bounced in the first round

 

[ManofSteel55]

If they can move Jeff Skinner and use his cap space to replace Troy Stecher in the every day lineup, their odds will go up. They are playing very well right now though.

 

[Laus723]

I mean you guys are near bottom 10 in the league for goals against, that isn't elite right now that's a huge drop off from last year.

The Oilers are top 10 aside from a 3 game little hangover right at the start of the year it's actually more like top 3-4 in the league for best GA, they've been good generally.

The point is a lot of these narratives are based on really outdated info.

The Oilers have been a good defensive team for over a year now and the actual numbers (not opinion) support that.

Lol again, if you’re comfortable with it, cool.

The entire Panthers squad has been up and down this year, Bob has just looking like Bob and we’ve had a couple injuries and illnesses. They went on back to back deep runs, while I think they could do another, right now they’re getting through the season and turning it on more in bigger games. As I said, we need some upgrades, but the core is still the same.