The Oilers have no doubt the best forward group in the league

[Hank Plank]

All the salt in this thread just confirms the Oilers absolutely killed free agency day. Haters can cry and troll all they want, but the Oilers are still Cup favorites like they were last year and just got better.

This time is different Canada's Cup curse will definitely end in 2025.

 

[TheNumber4]

To be fair, Oiler fans were spotted in droves along the bridges in Edmonton getting ready to jump.

Extreme overreactions to hockey are more of a Canucks thing though.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Extreme overreactions to hockey are more of a Canucks thing though.

Go through your own teams early season threads.

 

[PatLaFontaineASMR]

Skinner will have a Hyman-like surge in scoring when joining the Oilers. So his historical production as a Sabre has very little relevance.

Skinner is extremely slow. Always had issues joining Tage on the rush. Wonder how it works with McDavid who is 2x faster.

 

[TheNumber4]

Go through your own teams early season threads.

No storefronts burned though. So whatever.

Skinner is extremely slow. Always had issues joining Tage on the rush. Wonder how it works with McDavid who is 2x faster.

He'll feast in-zone with Drai which is probably where he starts.

 

[PatLaFontaineASMR]

He'll feast in-zone with Drai which is probably where he starts.

It will be interesting to see how one of the slowest guys in the league fits in with one of the fastest teams in the league

Per NHL EDGE

McDavid reached 20mph+ 437 times last season.

Drai reached 20mph+ 221 times last season

Hyman reached 20mph+ 131 times last season.

Skinner reached 20mph+ 8 times last season.

 

[Senor Catface]

They may as well have been. Nobody remembers 2nd place, they didn't accomplish anything.

The players themselves said it was cup or bust last year. And it ended up being bust.

You can't remember any team that lost a Stanley Cup final? What sort of wild dementia do you have.

 

[TheNumber4]

It will be interesting to see how one of the slowest guys in the league fits in with one of the fastest teams in the league

Per ESPN

McDavid reached 20mph+ 437 times last season.

Drai reached 20mph+ 221 times last season

Hyman reached 20mph+ 131 times last season.

Skinner reached 20mph+ 8 times last season.

It will be. It's something I'm conflicted about, cause yes, the Oilers are a speed-built team. Not just the top of the roster, but through out.

Henrique and Perry weren't burners and were added last year. Perry's skating stuck out as an issue at times in a role in the bottom 6 where he was expected to be a good defender. Henrique fit in well.

I think Skinner in the top 6 will just need to be sheltered as an offensive specialist for the most part. I don't expect much defence or speed from Skinner, but I think the offence will make up for it. He will also have Drai and Arviddson on his line, so he's got guys that can cover for his shortcomings.

 

[Three On Zero]

Not even the best in Canada apparently

https://thehockeynews.com/news/which-canadian-nhl-teams-are-closest-to-winning-the-cup-after-the-start-of-free-agency

(About as credible as fans on HF)

 

[McFlyingV]

Skinner definitely wasn't signed for his defensive side, so I guess that's good, I hope he scores lots of goals.

Weird to see Edmonton fans citing 5v5 as super relevant... It makes their players look worse.

How so? Edmonton was a top 5 5v5 team in GF% and just about every underlying metric last year.

 

[Spawn]

They may as well have been. Nobody remembers 2nd place, they didn't accomplish anything.

The players themselves said it was cup or bust last year. And it ended up being bust.

It was indeed a bust.

So the Oilers are retooling and trying again.

It’s the beauty of sports isn’t it. Rather be in our spot than any other Canadian team. The Oilers will enter the season as one of the odds on favourites to win it all in the league.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

They may as well have been. Nobody remembers 2nd place, they didn't accomplish anything.

The players themselves said it was cup or bust last year. And it ended up being bust.

Because Flames fans don’t whine about 2004 to this day?

Skinner is extremely slow. Always had issues joining Tage on the rush. Wonder how it works with McDavid who is 2x faster.

Connor McDavid turned Pat Maroon into a 27 goal scorer and he skates like his legs are sewn together at the knees.

Skinner’s going to think he died and sent to heaven. All he has to do is get open and bury the chances created for him.

 

[BKarchitect]

Looks great on paper and the Oilers should be very good again. But like all teams, starting from a blank slate in October.

Coming *this* close to the Cup and the finishing the job has to be one of the hardest mental things in sports to do. It can motivate you, but it is also immense pressure. I guess the Panthers essentially did it this year but I would say the 2023 Cup which they lost 4-1 really didn't leave you with that "we were literally 2 periods away" kind of heartbreak.

My baseball team, the Royals - did it in the majors in 2015. They lost the 2014 World Series in 7 games and in the 9th inning in Game 7 were 90 feet away from tying it. Cmae back in 2015 and finished the job.

So, definitely not impossible...and perhaps even more rewarding once you do it. The Oilers look built to give it a very good shot next season. But...as awesome as things look...it's a long, long path. I think if McDavid and co finish the job next spring - that'll be something special.

 

[notbias]

How so? Edmonton was a top 5 5v5 team in GF% and just about every underlying metric last year.

During the playoffs, they didn't do well there.

 

[PaulD]

They still got Nurse and Ceci...

That's one ugly pair

 

[PaulD]

Looks great on paper and the Oilers should be very good again. But like all teams, starting from a blank slate in October.

Coming *this* close to the Cup and the finishing the job has to be one of the hardest mental things in sports to do. It can motivate you, but it is also immense pressure. I guess the Panthers essentially did it this year but I would say the 2023 Cup which they lost 4-1 really didn't leave you with that "we were literally 2 periods away" kind of heartbreak.

My baseball team, the Royals - did it in the majors in 2015. They lost the 2014 World Series in 7 games and in the 9th inning in Game 7 were 90 feet away from tying it. Cmae back in 2015 and finished the job.

So, definitely not impossible...and perhaps even more rewarding once you do it. The Oilers look built to give it a very good shot next season. But...as awesome as things look...it's a long, long path. I think if McDavid and co finish the job next spring - that'll be something special.

Panthers just did it.
Oilers have a great shot.
They have to dump the walking buy out that is Darnell Nurse.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Looks great on paper and the Oilers should be very good again. But like all teams, starting from a blank slate in October.

Coming *this* close to the Cup and the finishing the job has to be one of the hardest mental things in sports to do. It can motivate you, but it is also immense pressure. I guess the Panthers essentially did it this year but I would say the 2023 Cup which they lost 4-1 really didn't leave you with that "we were literally 2 periods away" kind of heartbreak.

My baseball team, the Royals - did it in the majors in 2015. They lost the 2014 World Series in 7 games and in the 9th inning in Game 7 were 90 feet away from tying it. Cmae back in 2015 and finished the job.

So, definitely not impossible...and perhaps even more rewarding once you do it. The Oilers look built to give it a very good shot next season. But...as awesome as things look...it's a long, long path. I think if McDavid and co finish the job next spring - that'll be something special.

Very true. Plus sports can be funny. Not one single expert had the Canucks winning the Pacific last year and most had them missing the playoffs. Sometimes new additions don’t gel the way people predict and sometimes they are even better than expected. Hard to say at this point.

 

[McFlyingV]

During the playoffs, they didn't do well there.

They were still a positive GF% team in the playoffs and were 14-14 against Florida 5 on 5. I know crazy concept, but usually when you go through the best teams in the league you're not going to have a crazy 5 on 5 advantage. They also just bolstered their 5 on 5 goal scoring significantly with Skinner+Arvidsson. Skinner is a +30 at 5 on 5 the past 3 seasons and Arvidsson is a +10 and has been a positive almost every season he's been in the league. Both will be playing on a much better team with much better line mates.

 

[McFlyingV]

Panthers just did it.
Oilers have a great shot.
They have to dump the walking buy out that is Darnell Nurse.

Don't think that's possible. They need Nurse to bounce back and just be the capable middle pairing D that he has been in the past. He'll never live up to the contract. If Kane's not on LTIR I'd like them to move out Ceci and run Ekholm-Bouchard, Nurse-Broberg, and Kulak-Stetcher. Broberg had an excellent WCF and SCF and they'd be smart to facilitate more minutes for him to see if he can continue to take that next step he did in playoffs. They will have the cap space to add a very good 75% retained D at the deadline.

 

[AnInjuredJasonZucker]

They need to go farther in the playoffs this year before I'll bite.

So...game 8 of the Stanley Cup Finals?

 

[AnInjuredJasonZucker]

Skinner is extremely slow. Always had issues joining Tage on the rush. Wonder how it works with McDavid who is 2x faster.

He turned Pat Maroon into a scoring threat. You don't need to be fast. You need to know where to go to receive a pass in shooting position. McDavid will create the space. Just get to your spot.

Not sure if Skinner is that guy, but he can shoot, so that's half of the equation.

 

[PaulD]

You're only getting Arvidsson for half the season at best.

As long as that half includes play offs it's all good.

Don't think that's possible. They need Nurse to bounce back and just be the capable middle pairing D that he has been in the past. He'll never live up to the contract. If Kane's not on LTIR I'd like them to move out Ceci and run Ekholm-Bouchard, Nurse-Broberg, and Kulak-Stetcher. Broberg had an excellent WCF and SCF and they'd be smart to facilitate more minutes for him to see if he can continue to take that next step he did in playoffs. They will have the cap space to add a very good 75% retained D at the deadline.

Nurse is a bum.Will be done by age 30.

 

[McFlyingV]

He turned Pat Maroon into a scoring threat. You don't need to be fast. You need to know where to go to receive a pass in shooting position. McDavid will create the space. Just get to your spot.

Not sure if Skinner is that guy, but he can shoot, so that's half of the equation.

Skinner is that guy. He knows exactly where to go on the ice in the offensive zone and constantly find "quiet areas" around the net. I'm not exactly sure why people think he needs to be able to keep up with McDavid. It's as if some people don't even really understand McDavid's game. Hyman will be pushing the rush game keeping up with McDavid, but McDavid is not the same player he was as a rookie where he's just full speed ahead all the time and needs a guy with him on a 2 on 1. He loves to hit the trailing 3rd player on an odd man rush and Skinner can easily be that guy. But where I think Skinner will really shine is when McDavid starts hemming defences in dancing around the zone and breaking down defences. That's where Skinner is going to get lost in the slot and score a lot of goals (assuming he's on McDavid's line). Leon does a very similar thing with the drop/lateral pass to hit trailers off the rush and breaks down defences on the cycle.

I don't think there's a match made in heaven better than Skinner on either of those guys wings. Giving Draisaitl his own little Hyman clone in Arvidsson is going to make the German very very happy.

 

[lawrence]

wether you love them or hate them, you cant underestimate the Edmonton Oilers. they didn't want to load up too much because they wanted to focus on re-signing Draisltl and Mcdavid. overall they are going in with a similar roster after their playoffs so clearly they are a threat in the West again.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

You can't remember any team that lost a Stanley Cup final? What sort of wild dementia do you have.

Weird, flames fan seem to remember 2004 and still trying to convince themselves that the puck crossed the line.

Very true. Plus sports can be funny. Not one single expert had the Canucks winning the Pacific last year and most had them missing the playoffs. Sometimes new additions don’t gel the way people predict and sometimes they are even better than expected. Hard to say at this point.

And sometimes the coach tells his team to shoot at 20%.

Sometimes you never know how its going to pan out.