Oilers eyeing new identity: 'We're not the same team as last year'

EDMONTON — You can’t come any closer to winning a Stanley Cup — without winning it — than the Edmonton Oilers did a year ago.

They fell two goals short, losing Game 7 by a 2-1 score.

Win a period, win a Cup. Lose or tie that third period, which the Oilers inevitably did, and Edmonton wears the mantle as the team that has been eliminated by the Stanley Cup champs for three years running.

So, how to approach the coming season without mentally fast forwarding to April 19, 2025 — Opening Night of the Stanley Cup playoffs? We asked Leon Draisaitl, who has lived every playoff journey, all ending in disappointment.

“You have to create an identity,” said Draisaitl, skating in Edmonton just days after inking that new eight-year deal that will make him an Oiler for life. “We're not the same team as last year. There's a lot of the same pieces, but every team creates its own identity, its own look, and its own way of approaching and playing the game.

“We definitely want to be a similar style of hockey team, but we're going to be our own team and we're not going to have anything to do with the team last year. But we want to be even better.”

When you’ve been down this road a few times, as the Oilers have, experience teaches you this: no one knows what twists and turns lie ahead. Draisaitl and the rest of his leadership group in Edmonton won’t know what nuances will shape this journey until they arrive — at whatever point in the season.

“That's what the season shows,” he said, in agreement. “I think you know the adversity that we're going to face in season, you know that's going to teach us some lessons, and you just try to build week-by-week over the span of 82 games. And eventually you teach your brain and you teach your team how to take care of it in the playoffs.”

For this team, whose sluggish start a year ago got then-head coach Jay Woodcroft fired, there will be an acute focus on the start.

They may reference it as “picking up where we left off last season,” but what it amounts to is refusing to dig another hole that they spent most of a season digging out from in 2023-24.

“We want to get off to a better start and give ourselves a bit of a buffer where, you know, maybe at the end of the season we are leading the division and have home ice on more occasions than not,” said Draisaitl.

The Oilers played two Game 7’s last season — both on the road, in Vancouver and Sunrise, Fla.

It’s way too early to start thinking about the next Game 7, but not too early to begin laying the groundwork to host that game at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

“Our focus is on the regular season right now. It's much too early to talk about the playoffs,” Draisaitl said. “We know where we want to end up at the end of the season — I think everybody knows that. But we have to give ourselves a chance to get there first, and that's most important. That's our priority.

“So get off to a good start, or a better start than last year would be a good first step.”

Of course, in the spirit of the new season, there are new players. And one in particular won’t be much help when it comes playoff experience.

Jeff Skinner has played 1,006 NHL games, not a single one of those in the post-season.

He know what he signed on for here in Edmonton, and can’t wait to be part of a playoff lock like the Oilers.

“There's definitely some excitement,” the 32-year-old said after his first skate in Edmonton on Monday. “I think everyone saw the run they went on last year, and you’ve got a lot of guys that are hungry to repeat that run. I'm just looking to be a part of it, and just trying to be a piece of the puzzle.”

But even Skinner knows, “It's a long way to go.”