June 28, 2024 by Ryan Lotsberg

What a ride this past season was! The 2023-24 Edmonton Oilers gave us a truly unforgettable season. If I had to pick one word to describe this team, I would have to say “resilient”.

The team showed up for captain’s skates two weeks before training camp started. The disappointment of losing in the second round to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions was bitter, and they came into the season with a “Cup or bust” mentality.

They started by getting roundhouse kicked in the face. The Oilers took an 8-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks in the season opener. Their only wins in October were against the Nashville Predators thanks to a big night from Leon Draisaitl, and in the Heritage Classic against the Calgary Flames. They didn’t get a win at Rogers Place until November 13, 2023.

That date is significant for another reason. That was the debut of new Oilers Head Coach Kris Knoblauch. The Oilers made the decision to fire Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson after a November 9, 2023 loss to the last place San Jose Sharks that actually bumped the Oilers down to last place in the league with a 2-9-1 record. Woodcroft and Manson got one last game in Seattle to close out that road trip, but the decision had already been made. The Oilers made a coaching change with a record of 3-9-1.

Related: Oilers Fire Woodcroft and Manson & Name Knoblauch and Coffey as replacements

Knoblauch got two home wins to begin his Oilers tenure. Then the team took off on a four-game Eastern road trip. They took losses in Tampa Bay and Florida before moving on to Carolina to face the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes got out to a 4-0 lead within the first fifteen minutes of the game. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl gave each other taps on the thigh with 5:11 left in the second period of a game where they were down 5-1 to the Hurricanes. They lost the game 6-3, but that would be their last loss for a while.

Things are absolutely not going the Oilers way, but here's a wholesome "hang in there" glove tap exchange between McDavid and Draisaitl. pic.twitter.com/oVFdz0P2oy

— seanpangs (@seanpangs) November 23, 2023

It was American Thanksgiving, and the Oilers sat ten points back of a playoff spot. That situation usually means a lost season is ahead. They went into Washington to face the Washington Capitals, and the Oilers rolled through with a 5-0 win. It was the first of eight consecutive victories that put them back in the playoff race.

The streak lasted through the first four games of a six-game December home stand. They lost the last two games of that homestand and the first game of their next Eastern road trip against the New York Islanders. Once again, that would be their last loss for a while.

They didn’t lose again until after the All-Star break! The Oilers won sixteen games in a row, which is tied for the second longest winning streak in NHL history. The historic streak vaulted them into second place in the Pacific Division. The playoffs weren’t even a question at that point. The Oilers had thoughts of winning the division.

Related: Anatomy of a Franchise Record 10-Game Win Streak

That ultimately never came to pass, but they finished second in the Pacific Division and earned themselves another first round matchup with the Los Angeles Kings. This time, the Oilers took care of the Kings in five games.

Next up were the Vancouver Canucks. The same Canucks that stomped on the Oilers in the season opener and that beat the Oilers in all four regular season matchups. The Oilers surrendered a three-goal lead and lost in Game 1. They came back with an overtime win in Game 2 thanks to Evan Bouchard. Bouchard provided more late game heroics in Game 4 to even the series at two. JT Miller provided the late dramatics in Game 5 in a Canucks win. The Oilers needed a big home win in Game 6, and they got it by a score of 5-1. It all came down to Game 7 in Vancouver. The Oilers carried a 3-0 well into the third period. The Canucks made it interesting late, but the Oilers held on for the 3-2 victory. The Oilers didn’t lead in that entire series, but they still won the series.

That earned them their second trip to the Western Conference Final in the last three years. This time, they faced the Dallas Stars. Game 1 was a classic double overtime win finished off by McDavid. The Stars took the next two games to take a 2-1 series lead. The Oilers took over from there though. Philip Broberg entered the series, the powerplay got going, and the Oilers earned their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final since 2006.

They made their way to Florida to face the Florida Panthers in Game 1. Sergei Bobrovsky was brilliant in a 3-0 win. He was fantastic once again in Game 2, a 4-1 Panthers win. The Oilers came to Rogers Place down 2-0 in the series. It wasn’t ideal, but still manageable. Warren Foegele scored the first Oilers goal in a Stanley Cup Final game at Rogers Place to tie the game at one early in the second period. However, the Panthers exploded for three goals in the second period and held on for the 4-3 win. The Oilers suddenly found themselves down 3-0. Their backs were against the wall.

They played like it in Game 4. Mattias Janmark opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal. That was the first of eight Oilers goals on the night! An 8-1 win for the Oilers got them on the board and put doubt in the minds of Bobrovsky and the Panthers.

McDavid said that they needed to “drag ‘em back to Alberta” ahead of Game 5. They did exactly that thanks in large part to McDavid and his second consecutive four-point night.

Game 6 at Rogers Place was truly special. Loud and electric don’t begin to describe the atmosphere at Rogers Place. It only got better as the game went along and the Oilers lead grew. They got up 3-0 heading into the third period. Aleksander Barkov got the Panthers on the board, but the Oilers added two empty netters to send jubilant Oilers fans onto 104 avenue to celebrate an upcoming Game 7.

The Oilers had a chance to make history. They had a chance to become the second team to ever win a Stanley Cup after being down 3-0 in the Final. They also had a chance to break the 31-year Canadian Stanley Cup drought. It was McDavid’s first chance to win a Stanley Cup.

Unfortunately, Game 7 didn’t go the Oilers’ way. It was a hard fought 2-1 loss with the difference being a Sam Reinhart wrister from the right faceoff circle. The Oilers got their chances in the third period, but Bobrovsky shut the door and the Panthers defended incredibly well.

The result wasn’t what the Oilers were hoping for, but they have a ton of reasons to be proud. They were dead in the water after a 2-9-1 start, and they made it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. They were down 3-2 against the Canucks, and they won the series. They were down 2-1 to the Stars, and they won. They were down 3-0 to the Panthers, and they forced a Game 7 and only lost by a goal.

There’s more than that though. McDavid became the fourth player to get 100 assists in the regular season in NHL history. He also recorded 42 points in the playoffs, which is fourth all-time and only five points behind Wayne Gretzky’s 47 points in 1985. McDavid also won his first Conn Smythe trophy, which was certainly bittersweet at the most. He didn’t care about that. His eyes were set on the bigger prize. McDavid did all of this with an apparent abdominal injury.

Zach Hyman got 70 goals this season, including 54 in the regular season and sixteen in the playoffs. Evan Bouchard got 32 points in the postseason, which is the second most all-time by a defenceman (Brian Leetch, 34 points in 1994). Draisaitl put up 32 points in the playoffs with broken ribs and a broken finger.

Mostly though, they should be proud of the joy that they brought Edmontonians. Oilers fans came together in a big way during these playoffs. Their passion and their pride shone brightly this spring.

Related: 2024 Oilers Playoff Run: Coming Together – Part One

The Oilers entered the season with a “Cup or bust” mentality. They lost in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, so it was a bust in their eyes. That’s not how fans see it though. They are all proud of the Oilers’ season. They showed resilience time and time again, and they did some incredible things. They gave us a year that we will never forget.

The season ended on Monday, and the NHL Draft is on Friday. The business of the offseason has already commenced. The Oilers will be eager to get back to the Stanley Cup Final in 2025, but there is a lot of work to be done before that happens.

That work will be done without Ken Holland. Holland and the Oilers mutually agreed to not renew Holland’s contract. Holland leaves the team in a better position than he found it. He inherited a 25th place team, and he left after a Game 7 Stanley Cup Final loss. There were questionable moves like there is with any general manager, but he also made a lot of great moves.

The tight turnaround between the end of the Oilers season and the draft and free agency has left CEO Jeff Jackson no time to find a replacement for Holland before those two big offseason occasions. Jackson will be the acting GM until a new GM is found, which is not likely to be until later in the summer. Jackson will lean on his newly beefed up hockey operations department to get through the draft and the start of the free agency period.

Talks have already begun with the team’s internal free agents. Cam Dineen was re-signed by the Oilers on Friday. Restricted free agents Broberg and Dylan Holloway will surely be signed. The rest of the picture is muddy at best. Here’s the situation heading into the draft:

Player Cap Hit Total: $72.5M

Active Roster: 14

I’ll spend more time on what should happen in another piece, but the cap situation is tight for the Oilers. Jackson wants to bring the gang back, but being able to bring everyone back is unrealistic. 

What I do know is that this coming season is a huge one. The Oilers came within a goal of the Stanley Cup. This is the last season of Draisaitl at $8.5 million, and the last season of Bouchard at $3.9 million. The Oilers have Cup aspirations, and new contracts for Draisaitl and Bouchard next season are only going to make the cap situation tighter, if Draisaitl decides to stay (which I believe he will, but nothing is guaranteed).

It feels like their backs are against the wall heading into this offseason with no GM, limited cap space, and entirely realistic Stanley Cup expectations. If I know one thing about this team after watching them this season is that they’re resilient. I have no doubt that they will put a great roster together and they will be in the mix for another chance to win a Stanley Cup in 2025. They still believe, and I do too.

Related: 2024 Oilers Playoff Run: Coming Together – Part Two