It’s August and teams are more or less set with their rosters barring a professional tryout invite or training camp trade in the coming weeks. With that idea in mind, are the Edmonton Oilers good enough to contend for the Stanley Cup in 2017-18?
To compare, let’s look at last year’s champions in Pittsburgh. I used their lineup in Game 6 when they won the Stanley Cup against Nashville:
Forwards
Jake Guentzel – Sidney Crosby – Conor Sheary
Scott Wilson – Evgeni Malkin – Phil Kessel
Chris Kunitz – Matt Cullen/Nick Bonino – Bryan Rust
Carl Hagelin – Carter Rowney- Patric Hornqvist
Defense
Trevor Daley – Olli Maatta
Brian Dumoulin – Ron Hainsey
Ian Cole – Justin Schultz
Goalie
Matt Murray
For the Oilers, the line combos are still up in the air at this point. Will Leon Draisaitl play centre? Will Ryan Strome start on the wing? Does Ryan Nugent-Hopkins play with Connor McDavid to boost his trade value or maintain his place at 2/3C? What does the defence look like before Andrej Sekera returns from injury? I used Oilers radio analyst and host of “Oilers Now” Bob Stauffer’s forward predictions in a tweet from July and guessed the defence on the assumption Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson play together.
Forwards
Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Milan Lucic – Leon Draisaitl – Anton Slepyshev
Drake Caggiula – Ryan Strome – Jesse Puljujarvi
Jussi Jokinen – Mark Letestu – Zack Kassian
Jujhar Khaira – Iiro Pakarinen
Defense
Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson
Kris Russell (Andrej Sekera) – Matt Benning
Darnell Nurse – Eric Gryba
Yohann Auvitu
Goalie
Cam Talbot
(Laurent Brossoit)
At centre, the Oilers are in good shape even if all of McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nugent-Hopkins aren’t there full time. Edmonton’s one of the few teams who can boast a talent comparable to Sidney Crosby at the top of their lineup. Leon Draisaitl isn’t Evgeni Malkin, but the Oilers should have a better third option than Nick Bonino, or at least a comparable one if Ryan Strome returns to the middle.
Pittsburgh’s options on the wing aren’t that big of names except for Phil Kessel. Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, and Conor Sheary played huge roles and cost the Penguins basically nothing, something the Oilers should look to emulate with their superstar centre. While the Penguins had a bunch of cheap youth, their veteran depth helped with Chris Kunitz, Carl Hagelin, and Patric Hornqvist playing lesser roles. Edmonton is less proven on the wings, but could certainly add a scoring option depending on how Drake Caggiula, Anton Slepyshev, and Jesse Puljujarvi perform.
The Penguins’ defence should give Oilers’ fans hope that you can win with a less than stellar blueline. Pittsburgh missed Kris Letang for the entire playoffs but managed just fine with Trevor Daley and Ron Hainsey playing big minutes, while Brian Dumoulin and Justin Schultz are underrated, capable options.
Matt Murray is very good, but Talbot’s .919 save percentage in 73 games isn’t a far cry from Murray’s .923 in 49 games.
Can Edmonton do it?
Mar 16, 2017; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers goalie Cam Talbot (33) celebrates teammates after defeating the Boston Bruins 7-4 at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-USA TODAY Sports
Edmonton only has one generational star to Pittsburgh’s two, but the Penguin’s win despite their shaky defence should be encouraging for the Oilers and their fans. The 16-17 Penguins had better depth at forward, but this is a pre-trade deadline Edmonton Oilers roster. The Stanley Cup winning Penguins added Ron Hainsey and Mark Streit for the playoffs, so the Oilers could certainly add at the deadline as well, but as it stands Pittsburgh was stronger at forward.
Pittsburgh won its third cup in eight years without their top defenceman, young, cheap wingers complimented by older veterans, and Matt Murray (and Marc-Andre Fleury) playing fantastic. Edmonton has the top of the line talent and goaltending, but lack the depth forwards Pittsburgh had.
Maybe they utilize all that cap space at the deadline, but for the first time in a while, the Oilers don’t seem too far off from last year’s Stanley Cup Champions.
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