April 4, 2023 by Eric Friesen

When the Edmonton Oilers retired Wayne Gretzky’s number in 1999, the ceremony began with a song titled “Memories Will Last Forever” by his friend and Edmonton-born recording artist, Tim Feehan. There’s a lyric in the song that goes “To do what they say can’t be done, to prove them wrong.”

This is surely in reference to Gretzky and the Oilers getting swept by the New York Islanders in the 1983 Stanley Cup Final, before knocking off the four-time defending champions in convincing fashion the following year. Even with Gretzky at the height of his powers, few believed the Oilers could conquer the Islanders in a best-of-seven series.

But in the spring of 1984, they proved the hockey world wrong. And while the Oilers went on to win four of the next five Cups with Gretzky as captain, that first championship in 1984 is still regarded by many Oilers fans as the greatest victory in franchise history.

Now, nearly 40 years later, the Connor McDavid-led Oilers are looking to prove the hockey world wrong again.

Greater expectations

There was a plenty of hype surrounding the Edmonton Oilers going into the 2022-23 season, and for good reason. The Oilers were coming off their highest point total in 35 years, they had just reached the 2022 Western Conference Final, and they had the to best offensive players in the world in their respective primes.

However, they ran the gamut of peaks and valleys this season prior to the All-Star break. After winning seven of their first 10 games, the Oilers posted a dismal 14-15-3 mark in their next 32 outings, and were barely clinging to a wild-card spot as the calendar turned to 2023.

But since January 11, the Oilers have a league-best .771 points percentage, thanks to a 24-5-6 record and a plus-51 goal differential. Edmonton also had an 11-game unbeaten streak in regulation (9-0-2), which pulled them within one point of the Pacific Division-lead. It was the Oilers longest point streak since going 16 consecutive games without a regulation loss between February 27-March 28, 2004.

What’s even more impressive is that the Oilers made it through the toughest part of their schedule with just two regulation losses: a stretch that saw them play the Boston Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Winnipeg Jets and Vegas Golden Knights twice each, as well as games against the Dallas Stars and the Los Angeles Kings in March alone.

Related: Oilers earn important win in the playoff race as they continue to put the league on notice

The Oilers clinched a playoff berth for the fourth consecutive season with a 6-0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks at Rogers Place on Saturday. This marks the first time the Oilers have qualified for the playoffs in four straight seasons since 1997-98 through 2000-01.

But making the playoffs is just the minimum expectation for the Oilers in the McDavid era. Each season McDavid plays for the Oilers, is a year where they are in their window to win the Cup.

Reasons to believe the Oilers will win the Cup

Reaching the conference final a year ago was a massive step forward for this group, but the Oilers are even better equipped for a deep playoff run this season. Per MoneyPuck.com, the Oilers currently have the sixth-best odds in the NHL to make the second-round (60.037%), the third-best odds to make the conference final (37.1%), the second-best odds to make the Stanley Cup Final (22.8%), and the best odd to win the Cup (13.1%).

The most obvious reason to believe in the Oilers’ Cup chances is the fact that McDavid plays for them and is fully healthy. After putting up 33 points in 16 games in the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, McDavid has elevated his game even further this season.

The 26-year-old is on pace for the 66 goals, which would be the most single-season goals in the salary cap era, and 156 points, which would be the most single-season points in NHL history by a player other than Gretzky or Mario Lemieux, in a full 82-game schedule. He’s on a different level than every other superstar in the league.

McDavid, who has been the greatest offensive player in the game since 2016-17, is finally playing on the best offensive team in the league, too. The Oilers lead the NHL in goals (306), power-play goals (85) and shorthanded goals (15) through 77 games this year.

Related: 5 milestones and records Connor McDavid could reach in 2022-23

Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman are all enjoying career years, as well. While McDavid garners most of the attention around the league, Draisaitl has tallied an outstanding 50 goals and 120 points in 75 games this season. He’s already produced enough points to have won the scoring title in 13 of the last 18 seasons.

Nugent-Hopkins is just three points away from hitting the century mark for the first time is his career, and Hyman has already cracked a career-high 80 points. With Evander Kane back in the lineup, the Oilers can ice arguably the best top-six forward group in the league.

Edmonton’s power-play is running at 32.4 percent, and if that holds up until for the rest of the season, it will be the most efficient power-play unit in NHL history. Even if opportunities with the man-advantage are harder to come by in the playoffs, it’s still a massive advantage for the Oilers whenever the opposition gets called for a penalty.

Though the Oilers are a team built around their offensive prowess, they done a better job of keeping the puck out of the net over the past month. Since March 1, the Oilers rank 15th in the league in goals against per game (3.13). This is a positive sign for a team that has been in the bottom-10 in the league in goals against and on the penalty kill for most of the season.

It’s no coincidence that the Oilers’ have reduced their goal against since the arrival of Mattias Ekholm. The Ekholm trade is already one of the best moves by General Manager Ken Holland during his tenure with the organization.

Ekholm gives the Oilers the veteran two-way presence on the blueline they needed to go on a dep run, and has taken some of the tough minutes away from Darnell Nurse. He’s also helped get Evan Bouchard return to his rookie form, after struggling through most of his sophomore campaign.

Besides McDavid and Draisaitl, rookie goalie Stuart Skinner has been the team’s most valuable player this season, and he’s a big reason why they still have a shot to win the division title. Skinner’s solid starts and calmness between the pipes should give the team confidence as he head into the post-season in two weeks.

Ultimately, the Oilers need to win the Stanley Cup to silence their doubters. Anything short of that will be met with ciritism from pundits around the league.

There’s no easy road to the Final, but this is the Oilers deepest lineup since at least 1989-90 when they won their last Cup, if not longer. I picked the Oilers to win the Cup back in October, and with their terrific second-half and deadline additions, I’m even more confident in that prediction now.