If you have read my work over the past three years (thank you if you have!) you know that I have a love/hate relationship with the Edmonton Oilers. I have been foolhardy in my belief that the young squad from central Alberta is capable of breaking through to this point. Rest assured folks. This. Is. The. Year.
I am not ready to anoint the young Oilers’ squad as the team to beat in the Western Conference, or even their own Pacific Division. What I am expecting from Edmonton is real growth, maturity and tangible results. Translation: Three head coaches in three years is not good for team development but general manager Craig MacTavish finally has the right man in Dallas Eakins.
The youthful Eakins will look to bring some of the energy that helped turn the Toronto Marlies from a last place team to a Calder Cup finalist in just three seasons. Expectations will certainly be tempered for Eakins in his first NHL gig. However, with all of the first round talent on the Oilers’ roster, the fans of this once mighty franchise will expect to see playoff tickets in their season ticket package very soon.
The strength of the Edmonton roster over the past few seasons has been the offense and the youth. While there have been flashes of greatness over that period, there has been no consistency or sustainability of NHL caliber play. The Oilers have stockpiled young, speedy wingers through the draft which has translated in to some individual success for Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle but not wins.
This past year after selecting Nail Yakupov first overall in the draft, the Oilers looked primed to finally break through the glass ceiling that they seem to have set for themselves. Unfortunately, injuries and erratic defense and goaltending proved to be their undoing yet again. Ever the Edmonton optimist, I found some silver linings for the talented young bunch. There were some late season bright spots to build upon that should give Edmonton confidence heading into their freshly re-aligned division.
The first bright spot is the goaltending of Devan Dubnyk. While his numbers hardly jump off the page at you, he withstood an obscene amount of shots in the latter half of the season. To his credit, he seemed to improve as the year wore on and his workload increased. With the official title of “starting goaltender” attached to his name, Edmonton can count on a breakout season from the 27-year old Saskatchewan native. Backing him up will be capable Jason LaBarbera and Richard Bachman, so Dubnyk won’t be looking over his shoulder worrying about his job security.
Offensively the Oilers line up almost exactly the same as they did last year. Hall , Eberle and Yakupov will headline the scoring frenzy with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, David Perron and Sam Gagner supporting. The balance of the offense looks to be spread out over three lines this year rather than jus the top two. The rest of the forwards will add grit and energy as coach Eakins will expect production from all four lines.
On defense the Oilers will look considerably more impressive than in recent years. Justin Schultz begins his second year as the top returning scorer among Oiler rearguards. He will be joined by homecoming hero Andrew Ference who returns to his hometown adding a wealth of experience. Nick Schultz, Ladislav Smid and Jeff Petry return as regulars competing with for ice time with newcomers Darnell Nurse and Anton Belov. The depth of the Edmonton defense is a luxury that they haven’t been afforded in recent years.
The main thing working against the Edmonton Oilers is the competition in the division. With four of the seven teams qualifying for the 2013 playoffs, competition will be fierce. The intent of the NHL was to create and renew historical rivalries and they have certainly accomplished that putting Edmonton with their fiercest historical rivals in Calgary, Los Angeles and Vancouver. This team looks like they are equipped to meet the challenge.
Prediction: 3rd