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

[KCC]

We need another top four defender and a goalie who can hopefully push S. Skinner into a backup role by the time the playoffs arrive. Bonus points for an experienced 4C who can skate and win draws:

RNH-McDavid-Hyman
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Arvidsson
Skinner-Henrique-Kapanen
Janmark-xxxxx-Brown
Perry, Ryan

Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-xxxxx
Kulak-Emberson
Stecher

xxxxx
Skinner

I would feel very good about that roster with some combo of Pettersson/Provorov/Murphy/Jensen and a goalie who is top 30 in most categories as opposed to top 75, and that's even without Kane who probably slots in for one of J. Skinner or Kapanen as he gets up to game speed late in the year.

Management is hell bent on sticking with Skinner unfortunately. But, he has been better lately. The problem is he's prone to bad goals, bad rebounds especially being put back into the slot and can look 3 feet in net at times. He's at his best when he's battling not just sitting there letting the puck bounce off him like a ping pong ball. We will see what happens I guess. Just have to hope he can put it all together when it matters because if he can't stop the puck, they aren't getting far these playoffs.

 

[Laus723]

no one said he's worth his cap hit...doesn't change the fact his ES goal differential is 4th on the team at +11 and has been on the ice for only 15 ES goals against all season (less than any regular Panther d-man, for example)...and that's playing almost 19 mins/night

top 10 last year in goals against, top 10 in goals against this year, excellent fancy stats...all with "poor goaltending", "bad defense" "soft forwards"....make that make sense

Good luck. I stand by the team needing upgrades, but I also said the Panthers do as well. Ekblad is still slow af, we need a stronger guy on the right side, could use a 3RW. Guys have been better, Mackie plays well and Balinskis is coming into his own, but upgrades are needed. Again, by both teams.

 

[Jumptheshark]

I am an fan and I never had them as the favourites. Top 10 yes

 

[koyvoo]

Been saying it for years.

The best player in the world can go on runs that’ll carry all the way, but it’s ridiculous to gamble the possibility of that on sub par goaltending.

 

[Jetcetera]

Teams I'd put ahead of the oilers based on this season.

Panthers
Devils
Capitals
Hurricanes
Jets
Golden Knights

They're on par with Wild, Avalanche, Kings and leafs in a tier below

 

[Mr Positive]

One thing in favor of the Oilers is that they have an obvious hole at 2nd pair RD. We are doing a great job filling it by committee, which is fine in the season but will be exploited in the playoffs.

It's a pretty safe bet that the Oilers will be significantly upgraded. We will find that RD and it won't be a marginal boost like other the deadline deals will be

 

[Regal]

One thing in favor of the Oilers is that they have an obvious hole at 2nd pair RD. We are doing a great job filling it by committee, which is fine in the season but will be exploited in the playoffs.

It's a pretty safe bet that the Oilers will be significantly upgraded. We will find that RD and it won't be a marginal boost like other the deadline deals will be

I’d be a big add if they do it, but I’m not sure how many clear second pair RDs are going to be on the market

 

[CanadienShark]

I still have them as a top 3 threat. Regular season means very little once in the playoffs.

In no order whatsoever, the three scariest teams are: Florida, Edmonton, Vegas.

 

[CanadienShark]

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

You used few words to convey a ridiculous point. Well done. Simple communication for a simply bad take.

 

[Mr Positive]

I’d be a big add if they do it, but I’m not sure how many clear second pair RDs are going to be on the market

finding a second pairing Dman is an order of magnitude easier than a first pairing one.

For context, Nurse has been unlocked this season by getting to play with a pucking moving Dman that can skate in Troy Stecher. Nurse has also got to play with Kulak more, who is better than Stecher but suffers from having to play his off side.

So the bar here is to find a right shot Kulak here, the upgrade on Stecher, and anything better than that we can swing is just gravy.

 

[Laus723]

You used few words to convey a ridiculous point. Well done. Simple communication for a simply bad take.

Nope. Pretty spot on, not varying from it. Oil want to move forward with team as is…good luck. I can see where the Panthers need attention, glad Nurse has looked better the first half of the season and everyone feels they go the distance. I don’t, and honestly hope they don’t do anything.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Skinner makes their defense seem worse than it actually is. Bad company for the starting goalie of a contender to keep. Either backup goalies and/or bad teams.

 

[SillyRabbit]

Idk how you can have the Oilers out of the top 3 with the way McDavid and Draisaitl are playing over the past year.

They already proved what they can do last season.

 

[sensfan4lifee]

No t here not top 3, they lost too much speed last season

the D is too weak beyond the first pair

 

[Skolman]

No t here not top 3, they lost too much speed last season

the D is too weak beyond the first pair.

What metric are you using as evidence that their d is too weak?

 

[sensfan4lifee]

What metric are you using as evidence that their d is too weak?

LOL I don't need metrics to look at their D and realize it has holes that need to be fixed

 

[JianYang]

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

So is this basically saying that the oilers are so great that only bounces can take them down?

 

[Skolman]

LOL I don't need metrics to look at their D and realize it has holes that need to be fixed

Great evidence, thank you.

I don't think Oiler fans would disagree that a top-4 RHD needs to be added. It's absolutely comical how casuals just assume their D is terrible, the team defense has be quite good since Knoblauch took over

 

[ChasinWaterfalls]

It's always kind of funny when people say "if you take away these games where lots of goals were scored against them, they are one of the best teams defensively!"

If you take away 3-4 of the worst games from the top teams they all look miles better defensively, that is such a ridiculous point to make.

 

[thadd]

I think you need to be a pretty big homer to exclude them from top 3.

 

[McFlash97]

Oilers even with the speed they lost last summer, also gained pretty fast players in return. Kasperi Kapanen, Arvidsson and Emberson aren't exactly slouches. However they need 1 more pace pushing player in the bottom 6 and a possible upgrade in net. In a 7 game series it would be a tall order for any team to beat the Oilers 4 times. Florida did it , don't see them beating out McDrai if the chance came again.

 

[PuckG]

LOL I don't need metrics to look at their D and realize it has holes that need to be fixed

That makes more sense. Just a shit opinion based on nothing factual.

 

[wetcoast]

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.

Pretty much this although if I only had 1 team to pick right now it would be the Oilers, but who knows with injuries, additions, matchups and just plain luck who wins it this year.

 

[GreeningOil]

Not sure if new to the Oilers but this is basically their script the last few seasons. They start slow and then get fully rolling after the new year. I expect the same this year.

As a fan, still not super confident with them. Too inconsistent for my liking personally. Some of that has been Skinner. I still don’t know what to make of their forward group. But they play a pretty solid team defense.

I don’t see many threats around the league as an Oilers fan. Vegas, Florida stand out.

They’ve been quite consistent since their trash first 5 games honestly.

You can’t win every game handily. Skinner has been great as of late.

 

[Albatros]

They have depth, but so far Draisaitl has been carrying the team.