Connor McDavid on the ice gives the Oilers the best chance to win and Todd McLellan knows that. McDavid is averaging nearly 24 minutes a game, an unprecedented amount for a forward in the NHL. His 23:51 per game is identical to teammate Oscar Klefbom and just ahead of Roman Josi. Forward’s typically don’t play…
Ty Rattie and Patrick Maroon are different style hockey players. Rattie’s much smaller, but can he mimic Maroon and break into the NHL as a full-time player at 25 and play with highly-skilled players? Up until 2013-14, Maroon was a really good AHL player that hadn’t played more than 15 odd games with the Anaheim…
Back in March, Oilers Entertainment Group Executive Officer and Vice-Chairman Bob Nicholson hopped on Hockey Night in Canada to discuss the Oilers’ disappointing season with Sportnet’s David Amber, Cassie Campbell, and Doug MacLean. Nicholson wasn’t happy with the season, and talked about evaluating, high expectations, and patience. Twitter blew up. Oilers fans heard it all…
Last week, I asked if the Oilers really improved this offseason. They signed Kyle Brodziak, Tobias Rieder, and Kevin Gravel (Mikko Koskinen earlier, too), but most of those players simply replace players sent away at the trade deadline. If the Oilers are going to move up the standings it will be based off internal development…
Since the beginning of last season, the Oilers have been aggressively adding forward prospects to fill out their American Hockey League team in Bakersfield. It looks like the Oilers will finally use their AHL team to play their prospects instead of a group of AHL veterans, but those prospects might be more quantity than quality….
It’s the middle of July, so the Edmonton Oilers roster is pretty much set. Barring an unlikely trade or signing, this is the roster the Oilers are going into the 2018-19 season with. It’s a risky plan. They’ll need many players to return to previous levels and hope an extremely green right wing produces. A…
Tobias Rieder returns to Edmonton after being drafted by the organization in 2011 and traded away in 2013. The Oilers sent him to Arizona before he finished junior hockey, and he spent a year and a little bit in the minors before making the NHL. The Oilers will now benefit from one of the few useful…
The Oilers needed to upgrade their roster. So far they’ve added Mikko Koskinen, Tobias Rieder, Kyle Brodziak, and Kevin Gravel. There may be a couple more depth additions, but otherwise this is largely the roster for next season.
Connor McDavid has been voted the league’s most outstanding player by his peers for the second straight season. McDavid finished first in Lindsay voting edging out Colorado center Nathan MacKinnon and New Jersey left wing Taylor Hall, both were also finalists for the Hart Trophy unlike McDavid this season. Despite how poor the Oilers were,…
It’s that time of year. The Montreal Canadiens made a trade late last Friday sending Alex Galchenyuk to the Arizona Coyotes for Max Domi. On the surface, they’re similar players. They both average 0.61 points per game and spent most of their time in the NHL on the wing. Galchenyuk is a better goalscorer, while…
Milan Lucic is a useful player on a bad contract. His seven-year $42-million deal was a curious choice from the start, but Lucic had a decent track record and in theory, the Oilers could get a few productive years before it truly became an anchor contract. That time has come far earlier. Both the Oilers…
The Edmonton Oilers need to improve the right side of their defence. With the Buffalo Sabres desperate for change and a move up the standings, Rasmus Ristolainen has entered the rumour mill. Would the Sabres trade Ristolainen and should the Oilers be calling?
