Oilers could put one of Connor Brown, Warren Foegele or Dylan Holloway into the top-6 spot vacated by Kailer Yamamoto. The Edmonton Oilers [https://puckpedia.com/team/edmonton-oilers] are a power play juggernaut. Over the past four years they have had two of the best power play success rates of all time. In 2019-20 their power play had a success rate of 29.5% - good for fifth all-time. This year they set a new record with a 32.4. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins & Evan Bouchard celebrate a power play goal. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk4NjEyNTY2NDYzNzUxNjE5/usatsi_20459886_168401874_lowres.jpg] Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins & Evan Bouchard celebrate a power play goal. On the flip side, their penalty kill (PK) is not good. At a 77% kill rate, they ranked 20th overall in the NHL in PK%. Obviously they weren't the worst, but it's not good enough. Of the teams worse than them in PK%, three of them made the playoffs - Seattle Kraken [https://puckpedia.com/team/seattle-kraken], Los Angeles Kings [https://puckpedia.com/team/los-angeles-kings] and the Florida Panthers [https://puckpedia.com/team/florida-panthers]. The Oilers beat the Kings in the first round, the Kraken lost in the second round, and the Panthers made it all the way to the Cup Final. Related: Oilers' Need to Shake Up Defence Pairings to be Competitive This Year [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/opinion/oilers-need-to-shake-up-defence-pairings-to-be-competitive-this-year] Connor Brown [https://puckpedia.com/player/connor-brown] could be the missing ingredient that the Oilers need to turn themselves into a Stanley Cup Winning team. He brings secondary scoring [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/opinion/oilers-free-agent-targets-connor-brown] as well as logging significant penalty kill minutes. BROWN IS A PENALTY KILLER Brown was acquired not to become a staple on the power play or establish himself as a top offensive threat. I believe he was signed to give a huge boost to the Oilers penalty kill. Connor Brown [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk5MTY4OTE2NjYzMDUyMTc1/usatsi_19197416_168401874_lowres.jpg] Connor Brown Over his eight year career he has averaged 16:58 of time on ice [https://frozenpool.dobbersports.com/players/connor-brown] (TOI) and 2:14 on the penalty kill. The last two seasons he has averaged 2:04 & 2:38 on the penalty kill. These are the top four penalty killers from the Oilers last season in order of ice time: * undefined * undefined * undefined * undefined It may not seem like that big of a deal, but special teams can make or break you in the playoffs. We saw that with the Oilers continued dominance on the power play in this past post-season, but they still struggled to generate enough offence at even strength to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights. Connor Brown [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk4ODQ0NzM5NTEwODcxNDAz/usatsi_19182527_168401874_lowres.jpg] Connor Brown The addition of Brown gives the Oilers a top-six winger who can provide offence and play a considerable amount on the penalty kill. It might not be flashy, but it's definitely going to help the team. Related: Oilers 2023 Off-Season Guide [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/opinion/oilers-2023-off-season-guide] Related: Oilers Draft Type of Defender the Organization Needs Right Now [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/opinion/oilers-draft-type-of-defender-the-organization-needs-right-now] Related: Oilers Should Seriously Consider Signing Jonathan Toews [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/opinion/oilers-should-seriously-consider-signing-jonathan-toews]
