Oilers' Are Set Up For Success This Upcoming Season

Caleb Kerney

Sep 8, 2023, 13:30

Caleb Kerney

Sep 8, 2023, 13:30

Reaching the Stanley Cup playoffs is one small goal on the road to the ultimate prize this season.

If you ask most people who follow hockey they would agree that the Edmonton Oilers are a virtual lock to make the playoffs. This is one of the safest bets that you can make this year - aside from betting that the Boston Bruins won't replicate last season.

The Oilers goaltending will naturally improve as Jack Campbell looks to have a bounce back year. The defence will improve despite it not being as bad as people are making it out to be. You add in a recharged Connor McDavid and all bets are off for this team.

Goaltending Will Improve

Despite a 21-9-4 win-loss-overtime loss record, Campbell posted a 3.41 goals against average (GAA) and a .888 save percentage (SV%). The amount of goals he let in this past season is not good enough. The league average GAA and SV% for the 2022-23 season was 2.97 and .904 respectively.

The Oilers were above league average in expected goals against per 60 minutes and corsi against per 60 minutes. This is because of the good defence that the team played. However, the team was below average in actual goals per 60, and that's where the goalies come in. By becoming league average - in the very least - Campbell will be doing a ton to make this team better.

Defence Will Improve

Having Mattias Ekholm around for an entire season is going to work wonders for the Oilers. His presence and two-way ability will greatly help the blueline out. More than likely, he will find himself paired with the young Philip Broberg (as we saw with the second Captain skate on September 6th).

It's highly probable that whatever pairing Ekholm is a part of - they will receive the toughest defensive minutes on the team. There isn't a better defender on the team for Broberg to be mentored by, and that should allow the young Swede to log more than the sub-13 minutes he has averaged in his career so far.

McDavid Is More Motivated Than Ever

My mind keeps coming back to the interview that Vincent Desharnais gave this off-season where he outlined the vibes of the locker room after the Oilers lost the series to the Vegas Golden Knights. He told the interviewer about how no coaches came in and how he had never seen McDavid speak with that kind of emotion before. This player is sick of losing and will find another gear this season on his quest to winning the ultimate prize - a Stanley Cup.

With Campbell and Skinner delivering league average goaltending (at minimum), Ekholm bringing stability to the defence and McDavid reaching yet another level - making it to the playoffs is the first minor goal in the crusade to win the coveted Stanley Cup.