WWYDW: What need is highest on your Oilers wishlist?

The Edmonton Oilers’ first 10 games have been all that could
have been hoped for, with the team going 7-2-1 and putting enough points in the
bank that a breakthrough season is a realistic possibility.

For that to happen, though, Edmonton will need to continue
on as it’s started. In this week’s edition of What Would You Do Wednesday, we
ask our readers what area Peter Chiarelli should be most interested in
improving to consolidate the team’s gains.

Centre. Todd
McLellan has shown a few times, including in training camp, that he loves the
idea of moving Leon Draisaitl up to right wing in the Oilers’ top-six.
Unfortunately, the injury to 22-year-old rookie Drake Caggiula in training camp
knocked out Edmonton’s best internal hope of allowing such a move. A veteran
centre would give the coach some flexibility and might help stimulate offence
from the middle-six over the course of the season.

Wing. Right wing
has been flagged as a potential problem area going back to the summer, and
while both Zack Kassian and Jesse Puljujarvi have shown some positive things it
remains a position of concern. The power play could clearly benefit from the
addition of a right-shot finisher or two, and there just isn’t a lot of bona
fide offensive presence beyond Jordan Eberle (who has his own critics) at right
wing.

Defence. The blue
line has been one of the positive surprises in the early going, but some cracks
are starting to show.

For instance, Kris Russell was lauded by many in the early
going of the season, and why not – although he had a mediocre 48% Fenwick
rating five games in, the Oilers were recording 69% of the scoring chances.
Over the last five games, though, Russell’s Fenwick percentage has fallen to
46% and the Oilers have recorded just 29% of all scoring chances when he’s on
the ice. On the season, he’s at 47% by Fenwick and 50% by scoring chances, and
it’s fair to wonder if he’s really a long-term solution playing his off-side on
the second pairing.

There’s also the question of the third pairing. With Brandon
Davidson out, Edmonton has mostly leaned on Eric Gryba to complement Darnell
Nurse, compelling Nurse to be that pairing’s primary puckmover.

Goal. The signing
of backup goalie Jonas Gustavsson earned some raised eyebrows this summer, but
so far it hasn’t been possible to form a judgment based on his work this year.
That’s because he’s played all of 10 minutes and seen a single shot, as opposed
to Cam Talbot’s 589 minutes and 311 shots. Talbot, if healthy, is almost
certainly going to set all kinds of personal records for minutes played and
games started, but at some point the backup will find his way into the net and
not everyone will be comfortable with Gustavsson in that slot.

Which position are you most concerned about? What would you
try and do to shore it up? Conversely, have the Oilers been so good that the
team as-is deserves a longer run together before the general manager even
thinks about making changes? 

Let us know in the comments. Just be sure to choose wisely.