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Heading into Thanksgiving weekend, let’s all be thankful that NHL hockey is coming back. Every offseason feels too long, and every first week feels like Christmas in October. Much has been said about how much hungrier Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup. Last year’s second round loss hurt them. They can’t do it alone, though. Some factors need to help play a part in a possible Cup parade in Edmonton. They are…
- A New Flavour Of Campbell’s: Last year, Oilers fans tasted two brands of soup. The first was a $5M backup goalie who couldn’t stop two beach balls for most of the regular season. The second was one of the hottest goalies in January and saved the Oilers Playoffs in their Round 1, Game 4 come-from-behind win against the Kings. It added to the unpredictability of postseason hockey. I will always believe and stress that Jack Campbell deserved more chances after that game. But he has been a streaky goaltender throughout his career. Some Oilers fans on Twitter/X would’ve liked him traded this past summer. While you certainly can’t keep his contract for that long, it’s unfair to the player if he commits to your team for five years, and then you decide after only year one that you don’t want him anymore. That being said, this could very well be his last year in Edmonton simply for salary cap reasons. Whether or not he does move on next summer, this has to be a redeeming year for him. The Jack Campbell that we saw in the Playoffs and was being seen in the preseason is what needs to be seen in the Regular season.
- Leftover Stu?: While the aforementioned Campbell struggled in net, it was last year’s Calder Trophy nominee who saved Edmonton’s season. Then the Playoffs happened, and we remembered that Stuart Skinner was still a rookie. You have to expect growing pains with any young player, especially goalies. But Skinner still has the experience of last year’s regular season and Playoffs to learn from. If Campbell can bounce back, it should help Skinner to not have that big of a workload again.
- A Full Season Of Ekholm: Probably Ken Holland’s best move as Oilers GM was making the trade for Mattias Ekholm. He can provide some offense from time to time, but it’s play with the puck that makes him so vital to the roster and greatly improved their blueline. He seems penciled in to be paired with Philip Broberg to help be a veteran presence, as he was for Evan Bouchard last year.
- A Full Season Of Kane: Evander Kane has been an Oiler for two seasons but still hasn’t played close to 82 games. As someone with a scoring touch mixed in with swagger, he’s been a very important piece in Edmonton. Kane signed with the Oilers in the second half of the 2021-2022 season and got a point in almost every game. He was averaging a point per game last season until his wrist injury, and his point production wasn’t quite the same. He still has been effective when healthy, with 67 points in 84 games played. While I can forgive his lack of production in last year’s Playoffs due to nagging injuries, we need to see the Kane who led the previous postseason in goals. And if/when playing closer to a full 82 games on McDavid’s wing, the sky is the limit for his offensive skill.
- Are The Kids Alright?: Expectations are high for young defenseman Philip Broberg, who Edmonton drafted 9th overall in 2019. He played just over half a season last year and a quarter the year before. As I mentioned earlier, he’ll be paired with Mattias Ekholm. My thought is that Ekholm should be the team’s #1 defenseman. But that would also mean Broberg is on the top pairing, and he’s not ready for that yet. However, seeing the 22-year-old thrive in a second-pairing role would be a huge step in his development. Vincent Desharnais has always penciled in as the 7th defenseman since last year. He was great in that role and helped fill a lot of defensive issues before the Playoffs got to him. There is also Dylan Holloway, drafted 14th overall in 2020, who managed just 9 points in 51 games last year. More ice time and more offensive situations are needed for him. While I’d like to see him on the second line with Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman, as well as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins centering the third line, he’ll look to help create a really solid third line with Ryan McLeod and perhaps preseason cut free hopeful Raphael Lavoie.
- What Can Brown Do For You? Connor Brown is reunited with his former Erie Otters teammate. He expressed that McDavid wanted him to come over. There’s no better invite than from the captain and league’s best player. If he plays more than 10 games, he’ll be paid $3.25M in bonus performances next year. He had a good preseason game on a line with McDavid and Kane as I’m typing this. His ACL injury from last year looks like it’s healing well.
Happy Thanksgiving, Oil Country.
