EDMONTON — Last season began under a “Cup or Bust” banner, a declaration made by the team leaders after Edmonton had lost out in Round 2 to Vegas the previous spring. And, to be fair, the Oilers did make it that far.
This year it’s a quieter theme, from a team that has now been eliminated for three consecutive years by the Stanley Cup champion.
You can’t get any closer to winning it all than a 2-1 loss in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, without actually winning the Cup yourself. So, little needs to be said — it’s more about going out and doing it.
“We know where we want to end up at the end of the season — I think everybody knows that,” Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said last week. “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.”
Connor McDavid returns bearing the scars of that Game 7 loss in Florida: “It’s something that you’ll never really get over.”
But he also said they’ve learned a few things — like letting this season unfold sequentially. After a short summer, as a team the Oilers have approached summer training a lot less aggressively than they did in the wake of that loss to Vegas.
“Last year taught us that you can’t win the Cup in September and October. But you can certainly put yourself in a tough spot,” McDavid said. “You don’t necessarily need to peak Sept. 18, but you need to peak for Oct. 9 when the first game is.
“This summer, I took some time off the ice, rested a little bit. I was working hard off the ice, but I didn’t go on the ice until August. Five great weeks on the ice, and I’m feeling good and ready to roll again.”
The biggest goal: Don’t go 2-9-1 off the start, and find yourself chasing the Pacific Division all season long like the Oilers did in 2023-24. A team that played two Game 7s on the road last spring learned that lesson the hard way.
“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.
Salary cap space: $946,000
General manager: Stan Bowman
Head coach: Kris Knoblauch
Assistant coaches: Glen Gulutzan, Paul Coffey, Mark Stuart, Dustin Schwartz (goaltending).
Unsigned players: None.
Key additions: Viktor Arvidsson Jeff Skinner, Ty Emberson, Vasili Podkolzin
Key subtractions: Warren Foegele, Ryan McLeod, Dylan Holloway, Philip Broberg, Vincent Desharnais, Cody Ceci
PTOs: Travis Dermott
CAMP BATTLES
Darnell Nurse’s partner: Who will play the right side on the second defensive pairing? That’s really the only pressing issue this team has as training camp opens.
And there’s one problem: Nurse enters camp with an injury and is not expected to play until the second last of eight pre-season games — if the injury progresses as hoped. So forging chemistry between Nurse and his partner before the season begins is going to be a problem.
With Cody Ceci shipped to San Jose in the off-season and Broberg taking that St. Louis offer sheet, the need here is acute. The best candidate, however, isn’t quite so obvious.
Troy Stecher leads the way in our books. He’s a veteran NHL right-shot defenceman who has played 494 games, skates well, and has enough experience to tailor his game to the needs of a Nurse.
Newcomer Ty Emberson will get a shot here however. He shoots right as well, and is a little bigger than Stecher at six-foot-two, 195 pounds. But Emberson has only played 30 NHL games in his short career, and will have to show he’s ready to step into a role that will command as much as 20 minutes of ice time on some nights.
Dermott is insurance here, in case of injury — to Nurse or others. He’s a left shot, though, and it seems a reach to think he’ll take over that second pairing spot for the long term.
ONE PRESSING QUESTION
Evander Kane is Edmonton’s most pressing concern as the camp opens, having not skated yet with the sports hernia injury that limited him last season and throughout the playoffs.
The lesser question revolves around replacing his 25 goals, and the toughness he brings to a skilled forward group. The more pressing issue is how the Oilers’ cap will be affected by placing his $5.125 million on injured reserve.
He is expected to get surgery soon, after which the team will have a clearer understanding on his timeline to return. If the prognosis has Kane returning mid-season, the Oilers will have to save that cap space for when he’s healthy. They won’t be able to add a replacement.
But if it turns out that surgery will keep Kane out for the season, then the Oilers would have the option to become a team in long-term injured reserve, should they choose to.
The silence has been deafening in Edmonton, but something has to happen with Kane with the season fast approaching. And if he misses the entire regular season, they would welcome a healthy Kane back for Round 1 of the playoffs.
PROJECTED LINEUP
Forwards
Skinner – McDavid – Hyman
Nugent-Hopkins – Draisaitl – Arvidsson
Janmark – Henrique – Brown
Podkolzin – Ryan – Perry
Defence
Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Stecher
Kulak – Emberson
Goalies
Skinner
Pickard