Happy Sunday and happy Thanksgiving!

Oilers Week in a Nutshell

Jack Campbell has officially entered his Reputation Era.
Now, I need to elaborate in two different ways…
Reputation Era is a Taylor Swift reference (shocker I know) that refers to her sixth album which was released in response to her being one of the most hated people in the media. The media hated her, and so did many who were paying attention to pop culture because of the whole Kanye situation. After this immense amount of hate, she thought what the world wanted from her was nothing, not to be seen and not to be heard, so nobody physically saw her for months. In this time, she focused on herself, her happiness and what was next for her career. Her comeback was iconic, and that was her entering her Reputation Era.
Jack Campbell did the same thing.
He was hated by fans all season and was catching major heat. He took some time in the off-season to work on his game and now, he is coming back better than he was. He is coming back for a revenge season, or as I like to call it, the Jack Campbell Reputation Arena Tour.
I’ve said a few times that I think Campbell was going to turn it up this year and even if it’s just the pre-season, he has done just that.  In his two pre-season games he has stopped 66 of 68 shots he has faced for a combined .970 save% and not all of these were routine saves and easy shots. He has genuinely looked good. 
I understand that this is a minuscule sample size, but it shouldn’t be ignored. 
And also, the video of him and his dog that has been circulating recently is the most adorable thing ever. 

Dog dad jack>>>>

Speaking of pre-season success stories, Raphael Lavoie was looking GOOD. He was the guy most people thought would fill the vacant roster spot in the forwards group, but this morning it was announced that Lavoie, Ben Gleason and Lane Pederson were all placed on waivers. here’s to hoping Lavoie sneaks through waivers and we get to keep him at the end of the day, but any smart GM of a team looking for bottom-six scoring would look at that and pick him up no questions asked. So for opening night, it seems the Oilers are going to sliding 
Nickelback is set to rock the Heritage Classic, and if you’ve read my past articles, I do not need to explain how this makes me feel. If you are new here, that was the tipping point for me attending the heritage classic (and the weather). Now that it’s looking like we will have nice weather for the game AND Nickelback will be there and upper bowl tickets aren’t so bad, I might have to consider it.

Around the League

The Flames finally got their new arena deal approved and it is supposed to be finished for the 2026-27 season. Then Connor McDavid will have brand new ice to demolish the flames on, so really its like a gift to us too.
News came that the NHL is also looking to expand to 33 and 34 teams in the near future. Personally, I think the league could stay as is, and not keep growing, but I understand that more teams means more money, and that’s all Bettman is looking at. I understand that this also grows the game, but I think that before expanding to other cities, the NHL should focus on marketing the teams and players they have right now that could help grow the game. I see it both ways, I just think that at a certain point, there are enough teams, especially since the ratio of Canadian to American teams is already 7:25, and I’m sure that the cities that the NHL is looking to expand to aren’t in Canada…
Trevor Zegras signed a three-year extension with the Anaheim Ducks just in time to start the season. Zegras signed a $17.25 million contract with an AAV of $5.75 million per year. Shortly after this contract was finalized, the Ducks also announced that they had signed Jamie Drysdale to a three-year $6.9 million dollar contract. This means he is making $2.3 million per year and that the ducks have upwards of 8 million dollars tied up in these two players for the next three years, which isn’t bad, but they definitely had the opportunity to lock both of these guys down on what will likely turn out to be bargain contracts, and they didn’t. Pat Verbeek did good work keeping them, but he would’ve done better work if at least one of these contracts were long-term.

Oilers Week Ahead

Ladies and Gentlemen, the regular season is finally here.
Well on Wednesday it is anyway.
speaking of Wednesday, if you are still looking for the perfect place to watch the game, and the best group of people to watch it with, I have an idea for you.
Oilersnation is going to be at our home of all watch parties, GRETA.
If you didn’t make it to any playoff watch parties, you were definitely missing out, and after the long summer break we’ve had, I think this party has the potential to be the best one yet.
We are so back.
The Oilers take on the Vancouver Canucks to kick off the season for their home opener on Wednesday, then return back to Edmonton to take them on in our own home opener on Friday. I think that this is a great way to get to a 2-0 lead on the season.

Kylie’s Tidbits

Well, another Sunday means some more Taylor and Travis talk. This time its because some people are getting seriously bent out of shape over her being shown on TV… 
First of all, let’s get one thing straight, it is not her fault that she is being shown on the football broadcasts. She is showing up to a football game to support her (reported) boyfriend, and the MEDIA are the ones doing this.
The next thing on my agenda is people saying that one ‘put the other on the map.’ Most people that say this are joking, but some people say it for real, and it should be very clear that both Travis and Taylor are at the top of their games and careers and that shouldn’t be taken away from either of them and they should not be discredited just because they are dating influential public figures. 
Ok now that I’m done my heart-felt rant, I want to talk about how beneficial this is for the NFL.
Taylor Swift is (arguably, but not to me) one of the most influential people alive right now, and she basically has the world in the palm of her hand. If her showing up to that first Chiefs game wasn’t enough proof of her influence I don’t know what is. Kelce’s (both Travis’s and Jason’s) jersey sales were up 400% in ONE DAY. The second game she attended had an average of 27 million viewers, which is the most since the Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl. All because she was inside a stadium… pretty impressive if you ask me.
Her being at the games was growing the game, and all I can think about is how much that would do for hockey and the NHL if she showed up to a game. I feel like it would be significant enough to boost the salary cap by itself. There is no better marketing than Taylor Swift.
Either way, she is not in Minnesota for the Chiefs/Vikings matchup so all the whiners that don’t like seeing her in the stands can breathe today.
In honour of Thanksgiving, I wanted to give a list of hockey things I am thankful for.
  • At the very top, naturally is Connor McDavid. No further explanation is required.
  • Next up, it has to be Leon Draisaitl
  • Third is that somehow we are blessed enough to have both Leon AND Connor on our team. We have the two best players in the NHL on the same team at the same time, it really is incredible and I think that we take it for granted.
  • We have such a nice arena we get to call home. This comes from my singular experience in the Saddledome last weekend. It is the worst, and so confusing to navigate for the first time, so yeah, Rogers Place is a dream.
  • We get to be part of such a fun fanbase. I don’t know if it’s just all of you Nation citizens that are so amazing, but I’ve made so many friendships within the Oilers community and it’s incredible.
Once again, Happy Thanksgiving, I love you ‘guys, gals & non-binary pals’ (Taylor Swift, March 18, 2023, Swift City, AZ.)
What Hockey things are you thankful for???
Let me know!