After a slow start to the 2024-25 campaign, the Edmonton Oilers own a 34-17-4 record at the 4 Nations Face-Off break and are tied for first place in the Pacific Division.

This is a group that came into the season with Stanley Cup aspirations and they appear poised to go on another deep playoff run in the spring. The Oilers rank eighth in the NHL with 182 goals and sixth with 151 goals against while boasting a power play that’s scored on 25 percent of its opportunities.

Let’s go through who Edmonton’s main drivers have been this year and also look at which Oilers need to be better with some mid-season Report Cards. The “A” range is excellent, the “B” range is solid, the “C’ range is mediocre, and anything below that is ugly.

There’s no doubt that Leon Draisaitl has been Edmonton’s MVP this season and there’s a strong chance he’ll wind up with his second Hart Trophy when it’s all said and done. The German pivot leads the league with 40 goals, 29 even-strength goals, and nine game-winning goals. He’s also been very effective away from the puck and has completely shattered the narrative about being a one-dimensional player.

The Oilers were without Mattias Ekholm for one game because of an illness recently and it was a stark reminder of just how important the veteran is to the team’s blueline. Through 54 games, Ekholm has 24 points along with a goal differential of 49-to-38 at even-strength. He’s logged an average of 22:43 per night while playing on both the power play and penalty kill.

Likely the biggest surprise on the Oilers this season has been old man Corey Perry, who sits fifth on the team with 12 goals. The 39-year-old has been Edmonton’s most reliable depth scorer thus far and he’s been able to hold his own when playing on the top line. The Oilers are up 25-to-16 at even-strength when Perry is on the ice, the highest goals-for percentage of anybody on the team.

After missing three games to injury and three more to a suspension, Connor McDavid sits second on the Oilers with 71 points through 49 games at the break. It’s difficult to complain about that level of production but the captain is on pace for fewer points than what we’ve become used to in the past few years. McDavid is also in the middle of the pack on the Oilers in terms of goal differential at 48-to-43.

When looking at statistics alone, Evan Bouchard should be right up there with Leon Draisaitl as the most valuable player on the Oilers. The skilled defender is third on the team with 44 points in 55 games and has a goal differential of 53-to-36 at even-strength while logging 23:37 per night on average. Bouchard has been a major catalyst offensively for Edmonton but his turnovers have been costly and his play in the defensive zone leaves something to be desired.

Despite not having a consistent defensive partner this season, Darnell Nurse has done a very good job at driving Edmonton’s second pairing. He’s logging an average of 21:54 per night in all situations and has a 42-to-36 goal differential at even strength. Finding Nurse a steady partner is a top priority for the Oilers ahead of the trade deadline.

Brett Kulak has stepped up for the Oilers this season after the team lost multiple defencemen in the off-season. He’s. been an excellent mentor to Ty Emberson on the third pairing and he’s also played well on his off-side on the second pairing with Darnell Nurse.

A solid showing as Edmonton’s backup goalie last season earned Calvin Pickard a new two-year contract worth $1 million annually in the summer and he’s continued to provide solid value for the Oilers. Pickard has a .901 save percentage across 21 appearances and the Oilers have gone 14-5-0 in his starts.

It was difficult to say what to expect from Ty Emberson when the Cup-contending Oilers acquired him from the bottom-feeding San Jose Sharks in the summer. Despite coming into the season with only 30 games of NHL experience, the 24-year-old has found a home on Edmonton’s third pairing and is emerging as a reliable shutdown defender who kills penalties.

The Oilers acquired Vasily Podkolzin from the Vancouver Canucks after Dylan Holloway signed an offer sheet with the St. Louis Blues and the former tenth overall pick has done well with the change of scenery. After scoring only four goals in the NHL between 2022-23 and 2023-24, Podkolzin has six goals and 20 points through 55 games with Edmonton.

Connor Brown’s second season with the Oilers has gone much better than his first. The tenacious winger didn’t score his first goal of 2023-24 until his 55th game but earned another contract after a strong showing in the playoffs. So far in 2024-25, Brown has seven goals and 21 points while also providing sound defensive play. That’s very good value for $1 million.

It’s been another step back offensively for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins this season. He scored 104 points in 2022-23, dropped to 67 points in 2023-24, and has 35 points across 54 games in 2024-25, including only 20 points at even strength. Though RNH brings a lot of value on the defensive side of the puck, the Oilers need their $5-plus million forwards to produce more.

Zach Hyman is another player who hasn’t produced as much this year compared to previous seasons. Hyman scored 36 goals and 83 points in 2022-23 and exploded with 54 goals and 77 points in 2023-24. So far this season, the gritty winger has 19 goals and 32 points. He has excellent underlying numbers and just needs to start finding the back of the net more.

It’s been somewhat of a strange season for Adam Henrique. He has a positive even-strength goal differential as the team’s third-line centre at 21-to-16 but the versatile forward only has seven goals and 16 points through 54 games. After scoring 22 goals and 51 points between Edmonton and the Anaheim Ducks in 2023-24, the Oilers need more from Henrique.

After losing Philip Broberg, Cody Ceci, and Vincent Desharnais in the off-season, the Oilers needed Stecher to step up and take on a larger role than initially expected. Though he only has six points in 44 games, Stecher has a goal differential just shy of breaking even, which is solid for a seventh or eighth defender playing as a fourth or fifth.

The Oilers inked Jeff Skinner to a one-year, $3 million contract in the off-season to score goals and he’s buried 10 despite mostly playing bottom-six minutes. It was a difficult start for Skinner in Edmonton as the veteran forward found himself in the doghouse because of poor defensive play. He’s tightened things up as the year has gone along and is earning more trust from the coaching staff.

At a glance, Stuart Skinner appears to be improving following a slow start to the season. The Edmonton native has a .910 save percentage since December, putting him at .900 across 37 games played. The worrying thing about Skinner has been his play against elite competition, as his save percentage against top-ten teams is all the way down at .870.

Despite being one of six Oilers to suit up in all of Edmonton’s 55 games so far this season, Mattias Janmark has only two goals, and one of them was scored into an empty net. The Oilers rely on him for penalty-killing and checking but they need more offence from The Janitor if he’s going to be a regular in the lineup.

The Oilers grabbed Kasperi Kapanen off waivers from the St. Louis Blues back in October to give the team some much-needed speed up front. The Finnish winger scored five goals in his first 25 games in Edmonton but only has one goal in 17 games since. With a goal differential of 17-to-22, the Oilers are better with Kapanen as an extra skater rather than having him playing each night.

Though Viktor Arvidsson has produced at a higher clip than the other two forwards he’s sharing a grade with, much of that comes down to opportunity. After signing a two-year, $8 million contract in the summer, the pesky winger has spent most of his time playing in Edmonton’s top-six alongside Leon Draisaitl. Seven goals and 18 points through 40 games isn’t anywhere near enough for a player making $4 million annually.

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