Post by Kraken Bobby on Nov 3, 2018 23:52:15 GMT -5
Not many had high hopes for the Edmonton Oilers heading into 2017/18 season It was fairly clear that this was a team “under constructon.”
But it was still a disappointing season for the Oilers fans, to say the least. The team got out off to a slow start and never really gained much ground as far as looking for a sniff of playoff contention
There were a few bright spots on their roster; Mathew Tkachuk led the Oilers in scoring, meanwhile, Mikko Rantanen had himself a strong season. Aside from that, there was little secondary offense provided from the rest of the forward group last year. Both those forwards along with Alex Nylander were GM Orr’s first acquisitions through a trade with Calgary
Coming into this new season we should see a much more motivated team in the Alberta capital. Expectations are high this season for the Oilers as Todd McLellan’s time in Edmonton came to an end before the start of this season and new benchboss Wendel Clark is clearly going to take a no-nonsense approach to the teams goal of playoffs or bust.
The team made some changes (signing Dustin Byfuglien to league max, Patrik Marleau as well as rookie defenceman Neal Pionk) to their roster this summer and promoted last years first round pick Nico Hischier from the farm along with Jake Debrusk. GM Orr was also busy making a significant trade with the Maple Leafs shipping Sami Vatanen, Radek Faksa and Joonas Donskoi out and acquiring veteran center Adam Henrique with RW Tyler Toffoli and selling off a small piece of the future to get Tyler Myers from the rebuilding Wings. It remains to be seen if these changes are enough to help the Oilers back into the playoffs in 2019.
Projected lineup:
Forwards:
Adam Henrique Matthew Tkachuk Mikko Rantanen
Patrick Marleau Jake DeBrusk Riley Nash
Nico Hischier Carl Hagelin Tyler Toffoli
Travis Konecny Adrian Kempe Tomas Jurco
Defense:
Dustin Byfuglien Tyler Myers
Morgan Rielly Patrik Nemeth
Brian Dumoulin Neal Pionk
Goalies:
Frederik Andersen
Juuse Saros
Best case scenario
- Oilers top line does their job and more than 1 of them gets a 70-point season.
- Big Buff and Tyler Myers adds speed, muscle and experience to this young squad and secondary offense the forward crew.
- team defence improves significantly over last season
- Nico Hischier and Jake Debrusk step forward and contribute 15-20 goals offensively.
- Steady Freddy has a great year and Juuse Saros is able to give the Oilers a solid 15-to-20 games as a backup.
Worst case scenario
- Mikko Rantanen has a mediocre coming out party and scores less than 75 points.
- New signings Byfuglien, Patrick Marleau and acquisitions Henrique Myers and Toffoli don't work out.
- Freddy Andersen struggles out of the gate and inexperienced Saros performs more like a piece of wet cardboard when peppered with shots in relief.
Prediction
The Oilers have some of the best young players in the game in Tkachuk, Rantanen, Hischier, Reilly, Debrusk and Konecny and making the playoffs should be a bare minimum for this team next season.
Overall, the Oilers have the ability to compete against the best teams in Western Conference. A top-three spot in the Pacific Division is a reasonable goal for the Oilers.
There is no reason to believe this team cant make a big step forward with the improved speed, deeper lineup ratings wise and stronger team defence in general. Its year 3 for GM Orrs 5 year plan and its time for the fat lady to at least hum a few bars to warm up.
Good luck boys!!
But it was still a disappointing season for the Oilers fans, to say the least. The team got out off to a slow start and never really gained much ground as far as looking for a sniff of playoff contention
There were a few bright spots on their roster; Mathew Tkachuk led the Oilers in scoring, meanwhile, Mikko Rantanen had himself a strong season. Aside from that, there was little secondary offense provided from the rest of the forward group last year. Both those forwards along with Alex Nylander were GM Orr’s first acquisitions through a trade with Calgary
Coming into this new season we should see a much more motivated team in the Alberta capital. Expectations are high this season for the Oilers as Todd McLellan’s time in Edmonton came to an end before the start of this season and new benchboss Wendel Clark is clearly going to take a no-nonsense approach to the teams goal of playoffs or bust.
The team made some changes (signing Dustin Byfuglien to league max, Patrik Marleau as well as rookie defenceman Neal Pionk) to their roster this summer and promoted last years first round pick Nico Hischier from the farm along with Jake Debrusk. GM Orr was also busy making a significant trade with the Maple Leafs shipping Sami Vatanen, Radek Faksa and Joonas Donskoi out and acquiring veteran center Adam Henrique with RW Tyler Toffoli and selling off a small piece of the future to get Tyler Myers from the rebuilding Wings. It remains to be seen if these changes are enough to help the Oilers back into the playoffs in 2019.
Projected lineup:
Forwards:
Adam Henrique Matthew Tkachuk Mikko Rantanen
Patrick Marleau Jake DeBrusk Riley Nash
Nico Hischier Carl Hagelin Tyler Toffoli
Travis Konecny Adrian Kempe Tomas Jurco
Defense:
Dustin Byfuglien Tyler Myers
Morgan Rielly Patrik Nemeth
Brian Dumoulin Neal Pionk
Goalies:
Frederik Andersen
Juuse Saros
Best case scenario
- Oilers top line does their job and more than 1 of them gets a 70-point season.
- Big Buff and Tyler Myers adds speed, muscle and experience to this young squad and secondary offense the forward crew.
- team defence improves significantly over last season
- Nico Hischier and Jake Debrusk step forward and contribute 15-20 goals offensively.
- Steady Freddy has a great year and Juuse Saros is able to give the Oilers a solid 15-to-20 games as a backup.
Worst case scenario
- Mikko Rantanen has a mediocre coming out party and scores less than 75 points.
- New signings Byfuglien, Patrick Marleau and acquisitions Henrique Myers and Toffoli don't work out.
- Freddy Andersen struggles out of the gate and inexperienced Saros performs more like a piece of wet cardboard when peppered with shots in relief.
Prediction
The Oilers have some of the best young players in the game in Tkachuk, Rantanen, Hischier, Reilly, Debrusk and Konecny and making the playoffs should be a bare minimum for this team next season.
Overall, the Oilers have the ability to compete against the best teams in Western Conference. A top-three spot in the Pacific Division is a reasonable goal for the Oilers.
There is no reason to believe this team cant make a big step forward with the improved speed, deeper lineup ratings wise and stronger team defence in general. Its year 3 for GM Orrs 5 year plan and its time for the fat lady to at least hum a few bars to warm up.
Good luck boys!!