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The Edmonton Oilers head into this upcoming season on the heels of a Stanley Cup Final appearance. As such, they will look to get over the hump and bring home its first Cup since 1990.
While theu have made a key addition in Jeff Skinner, there remain pain points to address. So, here's a look at three pain points for the Edmonton Oilers to address in 2024.
Three pain points Edmonton Oilers still need to address in 2024
#3 The bottom four on the blue line
The Edmonton Oilers have a true No. 1 pairing in Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm. Both blue-liners were workhorses during last season’s playoffs. In particular, Bouchard emerged as an offensive threat, finishing second in postseason scoring.
The second pair featured Darnell Nurse and Philip Broberg. Nurse was a concern, given his largely ineffective play and substantial cap hit last season. Broberg has been a pleasant surprise but os still doubtful as a top-four defenseman.
Meanwhile, the bottom pairing of Brett Kulak and Cody Ceci was serviceable but underwhelming. Thus, the Edmonton Oilers will hopefully find a solution for the bottom=four, particularly Nurse, who has been a defensive liability at times.
#2 Another scoring winger for the top-six
The top line seems set with Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. However, the second line, featuring Leon Draisaitl at center, has lacked high-scoring wingers. Last postseason, coach Kris Knoblauch experimented with Ryan McLeod and Corey Perry.
With McLeod traded to Buffalo and Perry most likely playing in the bottom-six, newly acquired Jeff Skinner should slot in nicely alongside Draisaitl. Also, recent signing Viktor Arvidsson figures to join Draisaitl on the second line.
However, it remains to be seen if both Skinner and Draisaitl can live up to expectations of playing with an all-world center like Draisaitl. It would be naïve to think that the Edmonton Oilers won't jump at the opportunity of adding another top-six winger.
In the meantime, the Oilers will hope that Arvidsson and Skinner can provide the much-needed secondary scoring they lacked last season.
#1 Goaltending
It may seem unlikely to state that Stuart Skinner outdueled Sergei Bobrovsky during last year’s Stanley Cup Final. Skinner was steady, while Bobrovsky had two terrible games. Nevertheless, the Oilers’ goaltending situation is far from set.
While Skinner is a solid netminder, he can be shaky at times, which was evident in the Oilers’ second-round series versus the Vancouver Canucks. Skinner sat for two games as backup Calvin Pickard took the reins.
It’s worth pointing out that if the Oilers had the chance to acquire a top netminder, they would pounce on the chance. But until such an opportunity arises, the Oilers’ biggest weakness will be in net, that is, unless Skinner can prove he’s a true number-one goalie for a Stanley Cup contender.
