Oilers preview, your 2024 Stanley Cup Champions

[yave1964]

Saved the best for last.....

 

LAST SEASONS RECORD 50-23-9 109 points, second in Pacific. Beat the Kings in a spirited first round matchup before bowing out in six games to the eventual champion Vegas Knights. plus 65 goal differential best in division, second best in Coference.

 

ADDITIONS Added Connor Brown who they believe is the next Hyman. I dont see it but who knows. Ekholm brings his steady play to the team for the whole year allowing Bouchard to terrorize opponents on the rush all yeal long. Honestly not a whole lot of new faces.

 

SUBTRACTIONS Yamamoto and Klostin were cap casualties. Bjugstad was rumored to have been a deadline add but didnt do much and is gone back to Arizona.

 

KIDS AND ROOKIES FOR THIS YEAR Dylan Holloway did very little last year but a middle six role is his for the claiming. Same with Broberg on the back end, he didnt impress much but much more is expected this season, he could crack a talented top four. The team is in need of a third line center with the underwhelming Mcleod the leading candidate but they have two talented rookies beating on the dor in Lavoie and Bourgault who if they earn the spot may surprise.

 

WILL THIS BE THE YEAR? Yes. The Oilers will beat the Rangers in the Stanley Cup finals to take home the cup for a Canadien market for the first time in nearly a third of a century. Mcdavid and Draisatl will lead the way, They have zero cap space so additions will be difficult but deadline adds will be made to the most solid core the Oilers have ever put together around the two since they came into the league. Holloway will beat out brown for the second line winger positions and score 50ish points. The third line will be solved with Janmark/Foegele and one of the two talented kid centers for the deepest lineup the Oilers have had in years allowing RNH to stay on the wing on the Draisatl line. Kane will stay healthy and score 40 on the McJesus line and come close to leading the league in penalties.

 

  The biggest surprise will be in net where last years flop Campbell will battle and push skinner earning a 1B to Skinners 1A and the two of them will provide a fantastic goalie tandem for the Oilers.

 

  The team wins the first cup in the McDavid era. This is their year. They are more than just two players, they are a solid NHL team.

[pilldoc]

19 minutes ago, yave1964 said:

The biggest surprise will be in net where last years flop Campbell will battle and push skinner earning a 1B to Skinners 1A and the two of them will provide a fantastic goalie tandem for the Oilers.

 

 

You really think Campbell turns it around.  I have no doubt about Skinner's abilities.... I just have concerns regarding Campbell.  Campbell struggled mightily in his first season in Edmonton (3.41 GAA, 0.888 SV%), while Skinner played well enough to be nominated as a Calder Trophy finalist. Campbell, on the other hand, has a career save percentage of 0.910 on 4,845 shots at the NHL level....an at age 31, most should know is what we see is what we get.  Down the stretch last year Skinner got the vast majority of starts. (22-11 in the last 33 games of the season).  Campbell might very well turn it around ... who knows.  

 

I do like this Oilers team AND if they get consistent goaltending they will be a force to be reckoneded with.  I say it is Skinners job to lose and will only see Campbell in spot starts.  (His contract makes things difficult.)

Edited September 26, 2023 by pilldoc

[yave1964]

7 minutes ago, pilldoc said:

 

You really think Campbell turns it around.  I have no doubt about Skinner's abilities.... I just have concerns regarding Campbell.  Campbell struggled mightily in his first season in Edmonton (3.41 GAA, 0.888 SV%), while Skinner played well enough to be nominated as a Calder Trophy finalist. Campbell, on the other hand, has a career save percentage of 0.910 on 4,845 shots at the NHL level....an at age 31, most should know is what we see is what we get.  Down the stretch last year Skinner got the vast majority of starts. (22-11 in the last 33 games of the season).  Campbell might very well turn it around ... who knows.  

 

I do like this Oilers team AND if they get consistent goaltending they will be a force to be reckoneded with.  I say it is Skinners job to lose and will only see Campbell in spot starts.  (His contract makes things difficult.)

I do not see Campbell as a Vezina candidate but yes i see him as a legit 1B this season. His career goals against is 2.72 with a career save pct of .910, the league scores more now than in years, i do not expect him to match that but if he is something like 2.90 and .900 that is very solid for a guy who will start 35 games. I see something like that with a record of 22-10-3 out of him this year. IMHO he will turn it around and provide a solid safety net if Skinner slips a bit. 

[JR Ewing]

@yave1964@pilldoc

 

-I'm not bullish on Jack Campbell's ability to turn it around but would love to be wrong. He's been mostly bad since January of 2022, except for a recovery period of about six games when Skinner was out of the lineup for the birth of his son last year. He seems to be a classic instance of a goaltender who's a headcase: he stalks the crease, is gloomy, and is damned near apoplectic when he gives up a goal. His best hope lies in doing something about the mental side of his game, as his athleticism isn't in doubt.

 

-Last year, Phillip Broberg was given 3rd pairing minutes and crushed them, getting 57% of the goal share, and that was while playing on the right side as a left-handed rookie. That's every player's job: get more than you give up. My preference would be that he plays a full season as 3LD, but I imagine that Bret Kulak will get that, and my guess is that the Oilers are fixing to play him at 2RD, with Ekholm as his partner.

 

-Ryan McLeod: not a lot of offense, but he has great wheels and a good glove, and that's more of what the Oilers need than anything else right now. Strong PKer.

 

-The Oilers have lost to the eventual Cup winner two years in a row, and most would probably agree that they're a contender for the Cup this year. I'm hopeful, but so much has to go right to win it all, and history is beginning to pile up that the "right" injury and use of LTIR is what makes the strongest Cup favourite come spring time, and we don't know which team that will be this year. I said it after they lost to the Avs two years ago, and say it now: that might have been the best run this group gets. Everything has to line up, so we'll have to see how it goes.

 

[thegx.ca]

This thread prediction is looking more and more likely with each win in this 16+ streak...