Jeff Jackson Setting Edmonton Oilers Up For Success with Replenished Prospect Pipeline Evander Kane celebrates a goal with his Oilers teammates [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk2MDIxMTQ1MDYzOTI1MjE3/usatsi_19957996.jpg] Evander Kane celebrates a goal with his Oilers teammates The Edmonton Oilers are stacked at forward this coming season. With arguably the most loaded top six in the NHL, the roster also includes previous 20- and 30-goal scorers who might be looking at top-nine ice time based on how many skilled options coach Kris Knoblauch has at his disposal. But, how many goals can go around? Last season, 47 players in the league scored 30 or more goals. The Edmonton Oilers were one of five teams with three such players, joining the Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights, Vancouver Canucks and New York Islanders. The Oilers' trio included Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman. Evander Kane was just shy of the mark, finishing with 24 goals in 77 games, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins experienced a decline, ending the season with 18 goals after netting 37 the previous year. Edmonton bolstered its goal-scoring capabilities this off-season by signing Jeff Skinner, a six-time 30-goal scorer, and Viktor Arvidsson, a two-time 30-goal scorer. One of the big questions this season is how many players for the Oilers can get there again. OILERS HAVE FIVE POTENTIAL 30-GOAL SCORERS McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, Skinner and Nugent-Hopkins seem like near-locks to reach the mark. The only player of these four who won't get first-unit power-play time is Skinner, but he may see spot duty on that unit based on injuries and results. Each has proven their ability to hit the 30-goal mark without much trouble, Nugent-Hopkins being the only player whose numbers fluctuate with regularity. The Hockey News' fantasy site editor Jason Chen pointed out in a recent article [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/fantasy/latest-news/jeff-skinner-might-have-a-career-season-and-make-the-playoffs] that if all goes well like it did with Hyman, Skinner should see a have a nice rebound in Edmonton. And while Skinner's career 11.2 shooting percentage isn't necessarily elite, in seasons where he hit the 12-percent mark, he also scored a minimum of 31 goals. That number that could very well be reached with the likely increase in easy goal opportunities for Skinner in Edmonton. THE QUESTION MARKS ON THE OILERS ROSTER Evander Kane is the one player who could exceed expectations or fall well short of them. It's not clear how healthy he'll be coming into the season, or if he's still a top-six forward even when healthy on this Oilers roster. He was able to score 24 goals in a lesser role in 2023-24, while also not being at 100 percent. Could he hit the 30-goal mark if he's back to his old self? From there, Arvidsson is an interesting name to watch. Where he slots could factor into how productive he is. He's coming off a serious injury last season, but he's got a history of being able to score, with five 20-plus goal seasons, two of which saw him score more than 30. However, that was some time ago, and he too isn't a sure lock for the Oilers' top six. The Oilers finished fourth in goals-for during the 2023-24 regular season and then proceeded to dramatically outscore every other 2024 playoff team. Does this team have a handful of 30-goal players on their roster? And will that be enough to score them the two more goals they didn't get in Game 7 of the final to win the Stanley Cup? Answers to those questions and more will begin to form come the start of the 2024-25 NHL season.
