There are many issues facing the Edmonton Oilers this season, and supporters have many reasons for frustration. Despite entering the season as one of the Stanley Cup favorites, the squad is 2-9-1. They haven’t experienced much success, and not much has changed thus far. Before making a significant decision to alter the season’s trajectory, the club must quickly turn things around.
Frustrated supporters of any struggling club will voice their thoughts about what they think the team should be doing better as well as what those are. Although Edmonton has only participated in 15% of the team’s games, there has been no shortage of that in their instance. Let’s get straight to all of the Oilers’ legitimate annoyances fans this season.
Lack of Moves & Wrong Moves Made by Ken Holland
Although Ken Holland hasn’t held the position for very long, four years is more than plenty to leave an impression on a company. The fans may have been duped after his amazing feats with the Detroit Red Wings. He has undoubtedly made some wise decisions and signings, but he has also made some disastrous ones that he could have prevented.
Jack Campbell’s strike against Holland is the most recent and significant. Although sending him down to the American Hockey League (AHL) was the proper decision given his extremely low numbers and conspicuous lack of improvement since joining the Oilers, it was Holland who signed Campbell to a hefty contract that ultimately damaged the franchise. Not only is Campbell in the AHL, but the Oilers are locked into an AAV of $3.85 million for this season and the following three. It will be incredibly expensive for them to sell him, especially because all teams are aware of how desperate the Oilers are at the moment. Numerous more beneficial uses may be made of that $3.85 million AAV.
The deal with Darnell Nurse is frequently brought up in this conversation, and for good reason. If Holland hadn’t chosen to bridge Nurse for a second time after he joined, the Oilers ought to have been able to sign him for at least $2 million AAV less. Because of this, Nurse was able to assume the lead role, play significant minutes in all circumstances, and earn the majority of his salary. The power play is now led by Evan Bouchard, and Matthias Ekholm is a more dependable presence at the back end. It is exceedingly dangerous to bridge a player more than once, unless the arrangement is for a single year. After four years of bridge agreements, Holland learned this the hard way, and the Oilers are paying the price for it.
Those are the obvious errors, but what are we doing now? On November 8, there were rumors that the Oilers were working on something regarding a goaltender, but nothing materialized. The only goalie who signed with the Oilers was Calvin Pickard. Apart from the recall of Sam Gagner, Raphael Lavoie, and James Hamblin, no significant attempts have been made to bolster the forward, defense, or net positions. The Minnesota Wild are having trouble in one area, so they made two changes in a single day to improve. Realistically, any team could accomplish that as well, but the Oilers’ silence is worrying.
Oilers’ Inability to Score
Last season, the Oilers scored 325 goals, which was a league record. The Boston Bruins, who set a record with number 301, came the closest. You need to learn something from that. The only real alterations made to this Oilers team’s lineup were a few very small ones. That’s what makes this so startling and annoying. Despite possessing two of the world’s top players, their record in 12 games is just 31 goals scored.
There are clearly issues even though Leon Draisaitl is above Connor McDavid’s point-per-game. Nobody is blaming the team’s top scorer, Leon Draisaitl, or a still injured McDavid, in my opinion, but not enough is going in the net, and these two have always taken the lead. The remainder of the team hasn’t filled in for them in a year where they haven’t been as strong as previous years.
After leading the league in shorthanded goals in 2022–23, the Oilers have scored none this season. Additionally, the power play has not been exceptional or the offense’s engine. It has been merely mediocre. The club should look to the second unit as of late if they want to succeed. For the Oilers, that is not good news.
The Oilers are currently leading the NHL in expected goals % (57.64), high danger chance percentage (61.54), Corsi percentage (58.04), and scoring chances percentage (56.99) at five-on-five as of November 10. That ought to translate into a high offensive success rate, but it hasn’t. The Oilers are ranked thirty-first in PDO (0.944), goal percentage (38.00), and shooting percentage (5.97). Although that hasn’t happened yet, others attribute it to extreme bad luck and predict that the Oilers will soon start scoring goals as they should. I’m waiting with the group for it to click at last, and it will. However, it is annoying every time the Oilers score 0–2 goals on 40 or more shots.
Oilers Haven’t Got a Save All Season
The Oilers’ inability to score goals and their subpar goaltending have made it difficult for them to maintain a lead or even take an early advantage. Every odd-man rush against or scoring opportunity for the other side appears to result in a goal against, even though the offense is unable to capitalize. The Oilers lose their momentum and fall behind, believing they should have done better.
Stuart Skinner hasn’t performed much better this season, but Campbell was sent down after contributing dreadful numbers in net for Edmonton for the second straight season. Together, the two goalies own the second-worst five-on-five save percentage (.884) and the worst save percentage (.859) in the NHL.
Contrary to popular belief, Pickard did not receive the opening kick against the San Jose Sharks. Ultimately, Skinner allowed three goals on eighteen shots. There have been numerous shots that Skinner and Campbell should have stopped but didn’t, even though some goals have come from the team’s defenders, defensemen, and other players. Given the freedom to take the reins, Skinner needs to step up, or Pickard needs to be given a fair opportunity to support the Oilers following a stellar season opener against the Bakersfield Condors.
Depth Still Doesn’t Get It Done
The absence of depth scoring has long been a problem for the Oilers. I think that the Oilers have a solid forward depth on paper. However, they have suffered a snakebite in the game, much like the rest of the team. A lot of people are worried about Ryan McLeod’s lone assist in 12 games. However, for only one assist, Derek Ryan, Connor Brown, Adam Erne, Hamblin, Lavoie, Dylan Holloway, and Matthias Janmark astonishingly cooperate.
This is a lot worse than it was last year since the Oilers were at least getting some shots in. Although the club has the players, they aren’t supporting the top six, who are still relatively scoring. In the past, the Oilers’ inability to score from depth has prevented them from reaching their maximum potential. Usually, the Oilers decline if the stars and the top six go. This season, that has been the case, and it appears to be quite bad.
Defense & Lack of Accountability in Edmonton
Though the Oilers have a lot of high-danger chances and scoring chances that they can’t convert on, they also give up both. The reason why they’re losing so many games is that it seems like every mistake and strong chance against ends up in the back of the Oilers’ net.
Whether it is poor decisions by many different players or the lack of urgency/awareness in the defensive end, it has all been very costly for the Oilers. Defensive breakdowns or goals off the rush happen on the rare occasion when the other team gets control of the puck while the Oilers are dominating play. Jay Woodcroft spoke of accountability, but it can’t happen to the top offensive players after they make a glaring mistake if the Oilers are chasing the game and need goals. It seems like there has been no accountability because as soon as there’s a mistake, it turns into a goal against. Will there be any accountability moving forward? Maybe, or maybe Woodcroft won’t be there long enough.
The Oilers have many reasons for frustration, and before things improve, perhaps something has to change. Some simply want to see the Oilers score goals and save the puck like they should this season, but many believe that Holland’s departure will make things better. Though things in Oil Country are difficult at the moment, things must improve.
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