Connor McDavid stood in front of reporters after the Edmonton Oilers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers#google_vignette] were eliminated last spring and summed up their season in a few sentences. “We were an average team all year,” McDavid said. “An average team with high expectations. We just never found it.” But hey, wasn't it Oilers fans who had spent the season saying that? They watched Edmonton struggle to play a complete game all season. They watched them give away passes, periods, and games and spend months trying to win three games in a row. The Oilers entered the season expecting another long playoff run and finished it with two winning streaks of at least three games. McDavid acknowledged the mindset that developed after consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final. “I don't want to say we took it for granted, or (there was) complacency,” McDavid said. “You know, you go to a Cup Final two years in a row, you feel pretty good about your group. That when it matters you're going to be able to turn it on. And who knows? Without injuries, maybe we could have.” The Oilers spent much of the regular season waiting to find the level they had reached during those playoff runs. Every now and then, they found it for a period, but most of the time they spent their nights trying to recover from mistakes they had made earlier. And fans called them out for it. They wanted a team with McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to play a full 60 minutes. They wanted consistent effort throughout the schedule, and they wanted Edmonton to start doing what winning teams do before the playoffs arrived. None of which is unreasonable for people paying to watch this team. The Secret Is Out On Babcock's New Contract With Oilers [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/6f22ddbe-43d3-4b49-b15c-befde955f43a.jpeg] The Secret Is Out On Babcock's New Contract With Oilers After months of silence, details emerge regarding Mike Babcock’s multi-year commitment to Edmonton, revealing a high-stakes gamble to secure a championship during the McDavid era. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/the-secret-is-out-on-babcocks-new-contract-with-oilers] An Oilers game can cost a fan hundreds of dollars for one ticket; parking, food and drinks aren't included. Those people spend a significant amount of money by an average person's standards to watch players paid millions to win hockey games. They demanded better because the Oilers were capable of giving them better. “The league's too good — teams are too good — to not go through the checkpoints that you have to go through in a season,” McDavid said. The Oilers struggled to string together wins and reached the playoffs without having established the game they wanted to play. Draisaitl has reached the same conclusion. Where Does Connor Clattenburg Stand With The Edmonton Oilers? [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/6f09e1fb-5238-4c9f-83cc-46f41a778f0d.jpeg] Where Does Connor Clattenburg Stand With The Edmonton Oilers? Connor Clattenburg stood out with the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers#google_vignette">Edmonton Oilers</a> last season through his absolute acceptance of his role on an NHL team. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/where-does-connor-clattenburg-stand-with-the-edmonton-oilers] “We just have to understand that this is where you build your game for games (85) and on,” Draisaitl said. “Winning environments. Winning streaks. Knowing exactly what the perfect game for you as a team looks like. You have to create that over the (84) games, and I don't think we did that at all last season. I don't think we ever really figured out what our ‘A’ game really was. “That's going to be our No. 1 task in the regular season.” Winning streaks were one of the biggest frustrations around Edmonton last season. How does a team that talked nightly about the unshakable belief in their group not win three consecutive games before February? How do you tell fans that your guys can get the job done when they've only proven the opposite? It read as complacency and naivety all year Fans were talking about it throughout the season, along with slow starts, inconsistent effort and an inability to be reliable night-to-night. Edmonton kept getting opportunities to correct those issues and never found a permanent answer. “Don’t Be Sad It’s Over, Be Happy It Happened.”: Connor Ingram Says Goodbye To The NHL [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/f15a3165-0353-444f-af2e-448eaac79a92.jpeg] “Don’t Be Sad It’s Over, Be Happy It Happened.”: Connor Ingram Says Goodbye To The NHL From overcoming OCD and depression to backstopping a playoff run in Edmonton, the resilient goaltender hangs up his skates after a career defined by honesty and perseverance. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/don-t-be-sad-it-s-over-be-happy-it-happened-connor-ingram-says-goodbye-to-the-nhl] Mike Babcock has inherited a team that knows what went wrong. “He's just so clear,” Draisaitl said of Babcock. “He knows what this team needs, and he doesn't shy away from telling you straight to your face. He's a real man about it, and we're all men in here. We all want to win; we're all here for the same reason. I think he's going to be great for us.” Accountability will be part of Babcock's job in Edmonton. The Oilers have players throughout the lineup, and their expectations are already set. Babcock has to get that group playing the way McDavid and Draisaitl are now saying it needs to play. “Everything’s great in June. ‘Yeah, I’m going to do this. Yeah, I’m going to do that.’ Wait till we go to camp, and we have to do that,” Babcock said on CHED 880. “They’re going to get to know me, I’m going to get to know them, and we’re going to try to make each other better. Grading Every Defenseman's Contract On The Oilers This Season [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/273b04f5-b0a4-488a-b276-f9d006810d0c.jpeg] Grading Every Defenseman's Contract On The Oilers This Season From Evan Bouchard’s high-value deal to aging veteran extensions, we analyze which Oilers blueliners provide elite surplus value and which contracts could soon weigh down Edmonton’s cap. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/grading-every-defensemans-contract-on-the-oilers-this-season] “The bottom line is, until I’m out there with them every day — until I watch them — I’m not going to know,” he continued. “We have a plan. We know exactly what we’re going to do, but we’re ready to adjust a little bit at the start as well, and then build a foundation of just trying to get better every single day. “Making each other accountable, and having a great time doing it.” That accountability was one of the things fans demanded throughout last season. A bad period couldn't continue to become a bad game, and a bad game couldn't keep turning into a bad week. Edmonton needed to establish its standard and meet it throughout the schedule. Former Oilers' Defenseman Announces Retirement And New Role With SVT [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/b4241481-ee0e-4a2d-a855-16caf9de46c6.jpeg] Former Oilers' Defenseman Announces Retirement And New Role With SVT After three hip surgeries and 700 NHL games, John Klingberg trades his skates for a microphone, joining SVT as an analyst following a storied offensive career. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/former-oilers-defenseman-announces-retirement-and-new-role-with-svt] McDavid is talking about going through the checkpoints of a season, while Draisaitl is talking about winning environments, winning streaks and establishing the team's game. Babcock is talking about accountability and building the team's foundation every day. Those were the complaints coming from the stands all season. Fans wanted 60 minutes, winning streaks, and consistent effort from a roster built to win. They wanted players making millions of dollars to meet the expectations that came with playing for a Stanley Cup contender. The Oilers are saying those things now too, but it was the fans who said it first. See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source [https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=thehockeynews.com]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
