The regular season is just around the corner, with the Calgary Flames coming to Rogers Place on Wednesday to kick it all off, Battle of Alberta style.
Here are 10 things to consider heading in:
1. Will they end up playing for the Stanley Cup for a third straight season and winning it all this time?
History is not on their side on this one. You’d have to go all the way back to 1956 the last time a team won the Stanley Cup after losing the two previous finals. Of course, that one also kicked off the Montreal Canadiens’ unprecedented five-in-a-row championships, so this might all have just been the calm before the storm Edmontonians have been dreaming of for 35 years.
Chances are it will remain in their subconscious, considering the past five teams to lose two Cup finals in a row failed to come back and win in Year 3. But the whole point of odds existing are so they can be beaten. So, who knows?
2. What more does Leon Draisaitl have in store for us this year?
He’s already done almost everything under the sun over his 11-year NHL career. But that hasn’t stopped Draisaitl from surprising everyone year in and year out. Last year, he added a Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard trophy to his collection after leading the league with 52 goals (and that wasn’t even his career high).
This year, he’s already uttered the name of Frank J. Selke, who has a trophy named after him that is awarded to the most defensive-minded forward in the NHL. Whatever the case, it is no longer a given that Draisaitl is the second-best player on this Oilers team. Not after last year.
3. How effective will Zach Hyman be coming back from injury?
His absence was felt in the Stanley Cup Final, after going down to a wrist injury against the Dallas Stars one round earlier. Or rather, it wasn’t felt by the Florida Panthers, considering Hyman was a hit machine in last year’s playoffs, leading the way with 111 body checks despite only playing 15 games.
But will he be able to return to his old self? And which self would that be? The Oilers would love nothing more than to welcome back the 54-goal scorer from two years ago (compared to the one from last year who earned half as many). But seeing as how he’ll be sitting out at least the month of October, chances are he’s not going to be able to hit that high again this year.
4. How much more does Mattias Ekholm have left?
The biggest acquisition from the Ken Holland Era has been the glue not only holding Edmonton’s defence together, but guiding it along to its current championship calibre. He also turned 35 in last year’s playoffs, the majority of which he had to sit out — along with the entire playoff stretch — due to injury.
The 65 games he played were the fewest in a non-COVID-19 seasons since his rookie year. And while he still managed to battle back and become a factor when the Oilers needed him the most, it’s the kind of thing that doesn’t get easier as years pass.
5. Will Stuart Skinner continue to take steps in his development?
Perhaps a better question is, will he develop fast enough to make a difference in the Oilers’ current Stanley Cup window?
He’s already been a Calder trophy finalist and earned the starting role in net prior to back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Finals in his first three years in the NHL. But the meteoric rise hasn’t come nearly fast enough for fans whose team in locked into win-now mode.
Can he be the difference maker the Oilers so desperately need back there this season?
6. Will this be Trent Frederic’s breakout year?
Show me a more coveted spot than on a line with the two best players in the world. I’ll wait.
The fact the Oilers are going with their nuclear option and playing McDavid and Draisaitl on the top line is not surprising in the wake of Hyman’s injury. That they’re teaming them up with someone who has yet to show much in the way of anything in the regular season or playoffs since last year’s trade deadline is.
While he’s certainly raised eyebrows over the pre-season by adding his physicality and grittiness — not to mention a bit of his own scoring touch — to an elite line, the question is whether or not he can sustain that performance against the opposition’s best that will be lined up across the faceoff dot in the regular season.
7. Is Matt Savoie ready to make a full-time jump to the NHL?
The Oilers would like to think so. They wouldn’t have him penciled in on the second line alongside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Andrew Mangiapane, if they didn’t.
So far, he has beaten out NCAA Hobey Baker award winner Ike Howard for a top-six spot, which speaks volumes for the season of pro he spent with the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League, where he earned 54 points (19 goals, 35 assists) in 66 games.
Will he have the production to avoid getting sent back down to the farm?
8. What are the chances the Oilers get off to a hot start to the regular season?
Two years ago saw the club stumble out of the gates to a franchise-worst 2-9-1 (followed shortly thereafter by an on-the-fly coaching change). Last year was better, but still saw them flirt with .500 until hitting their stride in late November.
Seeing as how both Stanley Cup finalists from last year appeared to care more about resting players down the playoff stretch for the big push to come, instead of pushing the pedal to the metal to finish as high in the standings as possible, perhaps a faster start could make things easier on the back end?
9. Will the Oilers be able to put something special back into their special teams?
Special teams took a hit last year, middling through the regular season after being at the top of their game in the previous playoffs.
While the power play managed to climb back into the top five in last year’s post-season, the penalty kill finished the in the bottom three.
It’s the kind of thing that can make a difference in, say, a tightly contested Stanley Cup Final. But last year’s championship series wasn’t nearly as close as the previous one. Will the Oilers get their special teams back to an elite level to take another run at it?
10. Will Connor McDavid be back next year?
Last but not least, the question of McDavid’s future casts a backdrop on the Oilers’ entire season. Eligible to sign an extension since July 1, the Oilers captain and 10-year NHL veteran has yet to put pen to paper on any type of deal, be it short or long.
It doesn’t mean he won’t. It could mean he could. But what if he doesn’t? The Oilers would find themselves right back at Square 1 trying to come up with ways to rationalize that which was previously unthinkable. Maybe it will all be tidily handled ahead of Wednesday’s puck drop and all the worrying will have been for nothing.
E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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