October 12, 2022 by Mike Dirsa

We have the old proverb saying “hope springs eternal” which means it’s human nature to find fresh cause for optimism. This saying is often heard in hockey circles at the start of a new year but for the upcoming season for the Edmonton Oilers there are many reasons to be optimistic.

Last season we all watched a team that started the year on a tear but fell into a tailspin that almost seemed unrecoverable. The Edmonton Oilers started red hot at 16-5-0 and then went 7-13-3 falling out of a playoff position and it looked like a season that showed a lot of promise was imploding before our eyes. This tailspin made General Manager Ken Holland make a coaching change, Dave Tippett along with Jim Playfair were fired and Jay Woodcroft was brought in as Head Coach along with his Assistant Coach Dave Manson, and the team never looked back.

This coaching change ended up turning the tide of the season with the team making the playoffs and going on to win the Pacific Division. I emphasize winning the Pacific Division to remind Calgary Flames fans we won the Pacific Division in the season that matters. Not the regular season but the playoffs. Prior to extinguishing the Flames the Oilers played a hard-fought opening round series against the Los Angeles Kings that went the full seven games. After beating the Kings and the Flames in five games the Oilers played the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals. The Oilers were swept by the Avalanche but there were games in the series that Edmonton should have won especially game four. I am still not over that loss.

Last season also saw the Oilers bring in Evander Kane and he outperformed my expectations. He had instant chemistry with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and added another legitimate scoring threat to the team. He also gave the Oilers a needed goal scorers touch on their second unit powerplay. Kane was re-signed in the offseason to a four-year deal by the Oilers and looks to build on a promising start to his career as a member of the team.

Dylan “Hollywood” Holloway the pride of the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers and University of Wisconsin, looks to make the show full time this year as well. Coming off a season last year with the Bakersfield Condors in which Holloway had 8 goals and 14 assists in 33 games in the regular season and 2 goals and 2 assists during 4 Calder Cup playoff games before the Condors were bounced from the AHL playoffs. On June 6, 2022, Holloway made his NHL debut for the Oilers in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. He was called up due to the injury of Kailer Yamamoto and Evander Kane serving a suspension. Holloway has come through the preseason looking impressive with his speed and ability to make plays with anyone he has played with. I am not ready to hand him the Calder trophy yet, but I am excited to watch this young man make his mark on the NHL.

Jack Campbell and Stuart Skinner are the Oilers goalies this year and out are the tandem of Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen. Koskinen is playing this year in the Swiss National League for the HC Lugano after signing a two-year contract. Mike Smith is being put on LTIR by the Oilers. With Campbell and Skinner taking over as the Oilers new tandem between the pipes I think consistency in net will improve. Mike Smith was a high risk, high reward, Riverboat Gambling goalie. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it backfired miserably. Jack Campbell will play the puck also, but I don’t think he will take a lot of unnecessary risks. The other change that will be refreshing is Jack Campbell’s calm demeanor. Mike Smith had a competitive fire that often caused him to chew out his defencemen when plays ended up in the back of his net. Campbell on the other hand has a Grant Fuhr like disposition to him and I think this will be a welcome change.

The defence core is the biggest question mark on this group. Duncan Keith decided to retire in the summer leaving the team in a position of having to fill his spot. Ryan Murray and Philip Broberg appear to be the two players asked to start the season in Keith’s place. Punishing defencemen Markus Niemelainen will be starting the season with the Bakersfield Condors but ready to be called up if necessary.

Darnell Nurse looks to bounce back from his torn hip flexor injury and disappointing playoff performance and get back to the smooth skating, hard nosed defencemen the team needs him to be playing alongside his partner Cody Ceci who played well for most of the season last year. Brett Kulak also re-signed with the team in the summer for four years and looks to build on the strong showing he had to end the year with the club. Evan Bouchard gave us a taste of his potential playing most of the season alongside veteran Duncan Keith, but this upcoming season Evan will be asked to apply everything he learned with the grizzled vet last year. Bouchard is likely to start seeing more time on the powerplay this upcoming year. The chatter about trading Tyson Barrie hasn’t materialized into a trade so Barrie is back to start the year and, in my opinion, showcased himself well in the preseason.

Much of the summer was about speculating on how the Oilers could re-sign Kane. I don’t think anyone predicted correctly how it would unfold. Everyone thought a trade was the only path to making the cap work. Ken Holland is going to have to do a lot of cap gymnastics this year but this season there will be a lot of forwards competing for prominent roles. Jesse Puljujarvi, Zach Hyman, Evander Kane, Kailer Yamamoto, Dylan Holloway, Warren Foegele, Derek Ryan, Ryan Nugent Hopkins, Ryan McLeod, Brad Malone, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl round out the forward group. This is a very deep group at forward and should be a lot of fun to watch.

This season the team looks to build on the success of last year’s playoffs. Jay Woodcroft can fully implement his systems play and much of this group has stayed intact from last year. This team can definitely run it back to the Western Conference Finals, but the Colorado Avalanche are still going to stand in the way of the Oilers getting back to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Calgary Flames had a wild offseason that saw the exit of Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau and the additions of Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar. The Flames undoubtedly will want to try to redeem themselves after losing to the Oilers in the playoffs but disappointingly only play the Oilers three times this year. Clearly the NHL schedule maker forgot to look at the ratings sheet from the playoffs. The Los Angeles Kings will also be seeking to avenge their loss to the Oilers last year so the Oilers for the first time in a long time will have some targets on their backs and better not take these teams lightly.

The quest for Lord Stanley’s mug begins again tomorrow and I can’t wait to watch this team again. Going to the Western Conference Final is a steppingstone, but as Ricky Bobby would say “If you’re not first, you’re last.” So, I am left wanting more. Lets Go Oilers!