TSN: Mike Johnson and Craig Button discuss whether the Edmonton Oilers have done enough over the offseason to surround Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to make it back to the Stanley Cup Final again.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Johnson: “It was an incredible season last year for the Edmonton Oilers. So close to winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in forever, to game seven before losing it to the Florida Panthers. They made some changes this summer. The team looks a little bit different.
But the one big question Craig is, have the Oilers surrounded McDavid and Draisaitl with enough this year to win the cup.”
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Button: “Not yet. So it’s not a definitive No. You look at losing (Philip) Broberg and (Dylan) Holloway to the offer sheets. Now you’re looking at a team that’s trying to give themselves cap flexibility, to add something really significant over the course of the season prior to the trade deadline.
Mike, you know that their top pair of (Mattias) Ekholm and (Evan) Bouchard is one of the best duos in the National Hockey League, on the blue line. After that, if you want to compete for the Stanley Cup, it becomes a lot harder unless you bolster that blue line.
And that is where they’re going to have to look to do that work, because as great as McDavid and Draisaitl have been and are, they can’t win a Stanley Cup, in my view, with the blue line as currently constructed. It needs really significant improvement.”
Johnson: “The good news is, Craig, you’re not telling the Edmonton Oilers anything they don’t already know. They’ve made some moves this summer to keep the flexibility to answer the very question that you just addressed. That yes, we have to get a little bit better on defense. We know that Darnell Nurse and (Ty) Emberson on the second pair might not be quite enough, but we have cab space for the first time in a long time to address that very question.
I will say this, though, the forwards right now are better than the forwards they ended last season with. I think Arvinson is going to be fantastic there. I think Jeff Skinner is going to fit in quite nicely, finally make the playoffs and get over that hump for himself. We know the power plays there. We know what Hyman and Nuge and everyone else can do in that group. Adam Henrique, underrated returning player.
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Their forwards are stacked and, oh, I might add, a return around playoff time, probably right around game one of playoff time of a healthy, rejuvenated, and rested. Evander Kane, what can that do for a team as well?
So I think in net, okay, Stuart Skinner. You like what you have there. Up front, there are no questions whatsoever. Only question really is for the Edmonton Oilers, and you’ve nailed it, on defense. Because I think they have to go get a significant player, like they did when they got Mattias Ekholm. Think about what a difference he made for that team from the day he arrived, partnered up with Bouchard, they are one of the best pairings in the league. They have Darnell Nurse, who will be healthy at some point on that second pair, very likely. They need somebody to compliment him, to maximize him, to make that pairing reliable and efficient.
And if they get that Craig, then you’d have to say that the Edmonton Oilers, not only are capable when the Stanley Cup, they probably will be the favorite right now to win the Stanley Cup. Not as they’re currently built, but what they will look like when the trade deadline finally expires in the spring.”
Button: “And exactly, what they will look like. I don’t think there’s any question that when they were considering matching or not matching the offer sheets to Broberg and Holloway, yes, you got young players that get drafted in the first round that showed some really good, positive signs in the playoffs last season.
But it’s much bigger now for the Edmonton Oilers. They’re looking for something bigger than what Broberg and Holloway are capable of delivering, probably at this point in time. And that’s where the cap flexibility comes in. That’s the rationale for not matching those offer sheets.
And there’s going to be any number of really significant defenders available come trade deadline, prior to the trade deadline. And much like the Mattias Ekholm, trade which not only made the team better and stronger, it also allowed Evan Bouchard to elevate his game.
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And I think that where they sit and where they’ll be evaluating is certainly amongst those defenders available that can really make a discernible difference and root to competing for a Stanley Cup.”
Johnson: “Craig, the Oilers are in a good spot, because they’re setting themselves up to maximize on the greatness of Connor McDavid. We know he’s the best player in the world, one of the best players of all-time. He’s setting records, breaking Gretzky’s assist records in the playoffs. There is no competition that is too great for him to overcome.
And I think they understand that. Draisaitl coming back is huge for them, but really maximizing on his greatness. Got a couple more years under contract. He’s in the prime of his career. He’s as good as he’s going to get. And I think even without any additions, they would be a Stanley Cup contender because of Conor McDavid, because of that Greg, Craig,
But when they just add a little bit in the back end, coupled with, a couple of the best forwards and the best part of the world up front, then the Edmonton Oilers absolutely will you have more than enough to win a Stanley Cup for 2025.”
