If Edmonton buckles down under new bench boss Dave Tippett, it might be enough to keep the Oilers in the hunt. But a playoff spot? That's no guarantee.
Can a defensive approach cure what ails the Oilers?
Salary-cap constraints prevented new GM Ken Holland from making wholesale changes to the lineup, but he did change the voice behind the bench. New coach Dave Tippett has a reputation of coaxing his players to respect a defense-first approach when they might be out-skilled on the ice. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl can’t be on the ice all the time, so a defensive scheme seems like a logical game plan with a largely unchanged roster of support players. It didn’t work under Ken Hitchcock, but maybe it will under Tippett.
Is there any more ‘Real Deal' in James Neal?
After two Stanley Cup final runs in two seasons with Nashville and Vegas, James Neal looked slow and disengaged in his first season with the Calgary Flames. He didn’t heed the team’s suggestion to adjust his sleeping pattern in the days leading up to Calgary’s two pre-season games against Boston in China. Then he never got out of coach Bill Peters’ doghouse. A run of 10 straight 20-plus-goal seasons came to an end when Neal produced just seven goals in 63 games. He gets a fresh start in Edmonton, where he’ll get ample playing time with any of McDavid, Draisaitl or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. With four years left on a contract that pays him $5.75 million per, the pressure is on Neal to produce. He’s 32 now, and he’s never been fleet of foot, but you’d have to think his interest level will rise again.
Is Mikko Koskinen the next Scott Darling?
The mammoth 31-year-old Finnish stopper had a good stretch of games between late November and mid-December, and deposed GM Peter Chiarelli rewarded Koskinen with a generous three-year contract extension with an AAV of $4.5 million in late January. His NHL credentials at the time were just 28 games started, plus five very good seasons in the KHL, raising questions as to whether he’d proven himself as an NHL No. 1 yet. Koskinen’s save percentage fell from .911 before signing the contract to .901 after inking the deal, a disturbing development. Skeptics think the Koskinen contract is another white elephant, and Holland was quick to sign veteran stopper Mike Smith as insurance in case Koskinen isn’t up to the task.
Stanley Cup Odds: 62/1
Rookie Watch
The Oilershave long yearned for an offensive defenseman with a big shot from the point. Evan Bouchard was one of the older players available in the 2018 draft when Edmonton selected him 10th overall. Even though he starts the season at 19, he’s eligible for the AHL, but he should step right into the NHL.