Edmonton Oilers Season Preview

The Oilers finally ended their decade-long playoff drought thanks to generational talent Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Cam Talbot. The defence and goaltending was finally good while the offence continued to impress helping the Oilers make it to the playoffs and knock out the Sharks. Even in a hard Pacific division the Oilers will once again be in contention for the division title with their Alberta rival Calgary Flames and Anaheim Ducks.

Arrivals/Departures

Arrivals: Ryan Strome, Jussi Jokinen, Ty Rattie, Yohann Auvitu, Brad Malone, Mitch Callahan,
Departures: Jordan Eberle, Benoit Pouliot, David Desharnais, Tyler Pitlick, Matt Hendricks, Jonas Gustavsson, Anton Lander



Forwards:

Connor McDavid is only 20 years old and he is already among the best players in the NHL as he won the Hart, Art Ross and Ted Lindsay trophies in his 100-point campaign a year ago. McDavid on his own could make the Oilers a playoff team but with the talent around him he could push for even more points and a Stanley Cup. Leon Draisaitl also dominated last season especially when he was put on McDavid's line playing as one of the best players in the league. Patrick Maroon was mainly a third-line grinder in Anaheim but since coming to Edmonton he has turned into a good offensive contributor in the top six. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has not lived up to his first-overall draft pick status but if he improves he can be a very solid second-line center. Milan Lucic is one of the toughest players in the NHL and can still score goals on the top six. Jesse Puljujarvi played some games in the NHL last year but was eventually sent down to the AHL; he should contribute this year possibly on the second line. Jordan Eberle is gone now and coming back for him is Ryan Strome who did not work out in New York; he should be a good third-line center. Veteran Jussi Jokinen was brought in to help the young guys; maybe he could help bring out the best in fellow Finn Puljujarvi. Drake Caggiula proved he can play on last year's playoff run; he should get solid top-nine minutes as he improves. Mark Letestu is what you want your fourth-line center to be: a shutdown two-way player with veteran experience and the ability to score if asked, fitting perfectly in the bottom six. Zack Kassian also is a perfect fit somewhere in the bottom six as he had a great playoffs scoring some big goals. The last forward spot will be a competition between Anton Slepyshev, Jujhar Khaira, Ty Rattie and Iiro Pakarinen.



Defenceman:

The defence lacks a true number-one defenceman but they came together last year with fantastic chemistry between the six who played. Adam Larsson is the best defenceman on the team playing a shutdown role. Everyone thought the Oilers were burned on the Taylor Hall trade but I would call them winners based on last year's performance by Larsson. Oscar Klefbom is more offensive than Larsson so they work well together on the top pair. If Klefbom stays healthy he could have a huge breakout year. Normally the third defenceman would be veteran Andrej Sekera but he will miss the first part of the year. Shot-blocking king Kris Russell was signed to a four-year extension and will play fourth-line minutes once again. The bottom pairing will be youngsters Matthew Benning and Darnell Nurse; both could play better than last year to improve the defence. Eric Gryba will be the depth defenceman but can fill in for Sekera to start the year. Mark Fayne may be the most overpaid player in the NHL as he makes more than $3 million to play in the minors, and may be the depth defenceman to start the year.



Goaltending:

Cam Talbot was just average during his first season with the Oilers but he improved greatly in 2016-17 turning into one of the league's best goalies. Talbot led the league in games played by a goalie and the extra workload did not seem to bother him as he had a very good playoffs too. The backup will be Laurent Brossoit who played decent in his time with the Oilers last season.

Projected Lineup:

Patrick Maroon	Connor McDavid	Leon Draisaitl
Milan Lucic	Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	Jesse Puljujarvi
Jussi Jokinen	Ryan Strome	Drake Caggiula
Anton Slepyshev	Mark Letestu	Zack Kassian
Jujhar Khaira	Iiro Pakarinen	Ty Rattie

Oscar Klefbom	Adam Larsson
Andrej Sekera	Kris Russell
Matthew Benning	Darnell Nurse
Mark Fayne	Eric Gryba

Cam Talbot

Laurent Brossoit

Nick Ellis

Top 10 Players:

10. Kris Russell

9. Patrick Maroon

8. Andrej Sekera

7. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

6. Oscar Klefbom

5. Adam Larsson

4. Milan Lucic

3. Cam Talbot

2. Leon Draisaitl



1. Connor McDavid

Projected Finish: 103 Points (3rd in Pacific)
Last Year: 103 Points (2nd in Pacific)

Photo credit for Ryan Strome and Connor McDavid goes to http://www.sportsnet.ca/. Adam Larsson goes to https://www.si.com/. Leon Draisaitl goes to https://www.thescore.com/trending.