October 13, 2021 by Ryan Lotsberg

The NHL is going back to something close to normal this season after having two seasons cut short due to the pandemic. The teams will shift back to their normal divisions, with the exception of the Coyotes of course. They will all play 82 games this season, and the buildings will be full of fans once again.

The Oilers are hoping that this season is anything but normal for them. Losing was normal for the Oilers during the Decade of Darkness. Disappointing playoff performances have become normal for the Oilers after the last two seasons. They entered the 2020 playoff bubble in second place in the Pacific Division, which earned them a matchup with the 12th place Chicago Blackhawks. They lost that best of five play-in series in four games in their own arena. Last season, they finished second in the Canadian Division, but they got swept by the Jets in the first-round.

Wayne Gretzky is the GOAT, and Mario Lemieux is certainly one of the all-time greats. It took Gretzky five NHL seasons to win a Stanley Cup. Lemieux won his first Stanley Cup in his seventh NHL season. If you’re looking for a more recent example of a generational talent, Sidney Crosby is regarded as the best player of his generation. It took him five seasons to win a Stanley Cup.

Last season, Connor McDavid scored 105 points in just 56 games (1.71 points per game), which equated to the highest points per game average since Mario Lemieux’s 1.77 in 2000-01. McDavid is the best player in the game today, and he will be one of the all-time greats by the time his career is over.

If you can believe it, McDavid will start his seventh NHL season tonight when the Oilers take on the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place. Based on how other generational talents in recent memory have fared, the Oilers should be contending for Stanleys already. Instead, the Oilers are coming off of two consecutive painfully pitiful playoff performances.

It’s not good enough for Connor McDavid’s Oilers to simply make the playoffs anymore, especially when you consider that these Oilers also have Leon Draisaitl, who’s a top 3 player at worst in today’s NHL. That phase where we watched McDavid and Draisaitl emerge and win their first scoring titles and Hart Trophies was cute and fun, but it’s time for their Oilers to compete for the big trophy. It’s time for the Oilers to create a new normal. That’s the expectation in Edmonton.

The players believe that this group has the potential to be special. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins proved it when he signed his eight-year contract with the Oilers this summer. Darnell Nurse proved it when he signed his eight-year contract extension. They’re both home grown core players that want to spend their careers in Edmonton. That kind of commitment from players of their stature is a fantastic development for the Oilers.

Tyson Barrie clearly thinks the Oilers are building something special as well. He had the Oilers on his radar for a period of years before signing in Edmonton in 2020, and he doubled down on his belief in this group by signing on for another 3 years.

Zach Hyman left his hometown Maple Leafs to sign an eight-year deal with the Oilers this summer. The salary cap played a role in that decision, but Hyman felt that Edmonton was a great fit for him. The biggest name to actually make it to free agency in 2021 chose the Oilers.

Duncan Keith wanted to play for a team that’s closer to his Penticton home so that he could be closer to his son. The Oilers were his preferred choice. He knows how special McDavid and Draisaitl are, and his experience will be an asset in the Oilers’ quest to win their own Stanley Cups.

Those are all prominent players that have chosen to play for the Oilers. The Oilers have finished 2nd in their division in each of the last two seasons, and prominent players are choosing to play in Edmonton. Those are signs that things are starting to turn around for the Oilers.

Jesse Puljujarvi showed well in his first year back after taking a break from the Oilers. It didn’t take him long to work his way onto McDavid’s wing last year, and he stayed there for the entire season. He’ll be playing with McDavid once again this year, and he looked fantastic in the preseason. He’s looking like he’s going to cash in on some of that potential the hockey world saw in him during his draft year. Kailer Yamamoto had a down year last year, but he was still getting chances and being his tenacious self on the forecheck. Evan Bouchard will start the season in the Oilers lineup, and he’s expected to stay there for the whole season this year.

The emergence of kids like Puljujarvi, Yamamoto, and Bouchard is huge for the Oilers. Winning teams need to get value from somewhere on their roster, and young home-grown talent is a great way to get that value. It’s especially great when the team doesn’t have to force kids to play roles that they aren’t ready to play. That isn’t happening in Edmonton anymore.

Winning teams draft and develop a large percentage of their rosters. 9 of the 23 men on the Oilers opening night roster are Oilers draft picks. There are more quality prospects waiting for their chances as well. That’s just another sign that good things are starting to happen in Edmonton.

Ken Holland was brought here to build a winning team around McDavid and Draisaitl. He’s going into his 3rd season at the helm of the Oilers, and he’s built the deepest roster that the Oilers have had in many years. Hyman’s addition makes the top 6 forward group stronger. Warren Foegele and Derek Ryan will team up with Zack Kassian to form a third line that might not consistently get outscored. Brendan Perlini is a former 12th overall pick that has scored 30 points in an NHL season before, and he’ll be on the fourth line. That’s the type of player that the Oilers might’ve brought in to play on the third line or possibly in the top 6 in previous years.

McDavid’s contract expires in five years. Draisaitl has four years left on his contract. Holland has three years left, and coach Dave Tippett is going into the last year of his contract. There’s pressure for this team to succeed right now.

Nurse is here for nine more years. RNH will be here for another 8 years. Hyman signed for eight years. Cody Ceci signed for four years. Warren Foegele signed for three years. Puljujarvi, Yamamoto, and Bouchard will still all be under team control once McDavid’s contract ends. There’s bound to be a little bit of turnover, but the group that Holland has assembled for this season will be the group that the Oilers try to win with for the duration of the McDavid and Draisaitl contracts.

Keith has two years left on his deal. One of Philip Broberg or Dmitri Samorukov will be ready for second pairing NHL duty by the time Keith’s contract runs out. Ryan is also here for two more years. He’s likely going to be replaced by one of Ryan McLeod or Dylan Holloway at that time. The team is going to get younger two years from now, and that might slow the team’s upward ascent briefly. These next two editions of the Oilers will be the most veteran-laden squads that McDavid and Draisaitl will have seen by the time their current contracts end. These next two seasons will be hugely influential in how the McDavid and Draisaitl era will play out.

In other words, the time is now.

The time is now for the Oilers to emerge from the murky depths of the Decade of Darkness. The time is now for the Oilers to shed the mediocrity that has plagued them in recent seasons. The time is now for the Oilers to start winning those big games against true contenders in the regular season. The time is now for the Oilers to win at least one playoff round. The time is now for the Oilers to become true Stanley Cup contenders. Anything less than that will be unacceptable.

The time is now. Opening Night is upon us. It starts with the Canucks tonight at Rogers Place, and we hope that it ends in June with a parade outside of Rogers Place.