Oilers Possess 7 Sure Fire 30-Goal Scorers

The Edmonton Oilers could see a sharp spike in 30-goal scorers this upcoming season.

Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports - Oilers Possess 7 Sure Fire 30-Goal Scorers

EDMONTON -- It's all about goals.

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Goals, in the sense of having targets to aim toward as a group. And in hockey, scoring more goals than your opponent. Heading into the 2024-25 season, the Edmonton Oilers have several players who have a history of scoring goals.

A lot of them.

Last season the Oilers only had three players score at least 30 goals. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman all surpassed that benchmark. With a couple new additions, and a renewed hunger in winning the Stanley Cup the Oilers could have a lot more players hit that milestone.

I've broken up the seven players into two categories. The first group are locks to hit the benchmark. The second group are players who could definitely get there, but they need a little bit of luck (and hard work) on their side.

First up, the locks.

Connor McDavid

McDavid has scored 30 goals every season except in his rookie year. Of course, that year he missed half of the season with a collarbone injury and only played 45 games. Predicting that he scores 30 goals this season is the easiest thing any hockey fan or pundit could do.

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Leon Draisaitl

The only prediction as easy as saying McDavid will score 30 goals, is saying that Draisaitl will score 30 goals. The German center signed an eight-year extension this off season and is poised to continue his dominance. He has scored at least 30 goals for six straight seasons. And, he scored 32 goals on the power play in 2022-23.

Zach Hyman

Hyman has played with the Oilers for three seasons. He has scored 27 goals, 36 goals and 54 goals respectively. He's the kind of player who seems to get better and better. While the chances of him scoring 50 goals again this season aren't favorable, he's a lock for scoring north of 30.

Jeff Skinner

Six of the 14 seasons that Jeff Skinner has spent in the NHL he has scored 30 or more goals. Two of those seasons have been in the past three years. Skinner is a pure shooter, and an ideal linemate of either Draisaitl or McDavid. Even if he falls out of the top-six from time to time, there is no reason he should have less than 30 goals by the time the playoffs hit.

There's a Really Good Chance They Hit 30

This small group of players need to have several things go right for them. If that happens, they can definitely contribute 30 goals this year.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins can do it all. He can penalty kill, he's on the top power play, and everything in-between. Unfortunately for the man affectionately referred to as "Nuge," he's only scored 30 goals one other time in his career. But with the Oilers pushing for another ticket all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, everyone is going to be pulling on the rope to get there.

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In 2022-23 Nugent-Hopkins scored 37 goals, 15 came on the power play. That was the first year that he had more than nine power play goals. If he can find that level of production on the power play again, combined with spending most of the season on McDavid's wing he should be able to hit the 30 goal mark easily.

Viktor Arvidsson

Viktor Arvidsson joined the Oilers organization this past off season. The 10-year veteran has had some health issues during his career, and hasn't played a full 82-game season, yet. Arvidsson has had two seasons of scoring more than 30 goals. If he can remain healthy and find chemistry playing alongside Draisaitl and Skinner, 30 goals is very attainable for the winger.

Evander Kane

Evander Kane is no stranger to scoring goals. He has 326 goals in 930 career games. However, in his 16-year career he has only cracked 30 goals in two of those seasons. The last time he did that was during the 2018-19 season with the San Jose Sharks.

Kane hitting 30 goals this season is a big "if." He would need to be incredibly productive for the games that he does play. There is also no way of knowing exactly how many games he will miss. But a lot of stars will need to align for Kane to hit that 30 goal mark.

He scored 24 goals last season, despite playing most of the year with a sports hernia. Kane only missed five games. If he can be healthy for 50-60 games, and find a way to be productive no matter what line he plays on, he can score 30 goals this season.

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