Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
NHL Power Rankings #26: Edmonton Oilers
For the first time in almost ten years, the Oilers appear to not be the laughing stock of the NHL. While they are not yet contenders, they should avoid being the Western Conference’s doormat. They have improved their team quite a bit. Their biggest improvement? Drafting Connor McDavid at the NHL draft. The Oilers haven’t had the best of luck with number one overall picks as of late, but nobody could screw up McDavid. He’s an elite level talent who could be the next Sidney Crosby.
They also signed Andrej Sekera, who is a huge upgrade over what the Oilers trotted out on the ice last season. Granted, that’s more of an indictment of the Oilers than it is a compliment to Sekera, but you have to start somewhere. He’s at worst a second pairing caliber defenseman. The Oilers took a gamble this off-season by trading for Cam Talbot. I really don’t like goalies with a sub-100 game sample size, but Talbot has been lights out in limited playing time. This season, I imagine we’ll find out if Talbot was just a surfer riding the Rangers’ PDO wave or if he’s one of the best goalies in the NHL. Trading for Griffin Reinhart wasn’t an awful idea, considering Reinhart is still very young.
All of that said, their blueline is still one of the most unproven in the NHL. To me, that adds up to another year without the playoffs. However, things are certainly looking better in Edmonton. Also, their orange and blue jerseys? Might have to get me one. Those are quite beautiful.
Next: #25