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Are the Edmonton Oilers the Most Disappointing Team in 2023-24?

By Richard Jelinek

EDMONTON, CANADA - OCTOBER 29: The Edmonton Oilers salute the crowd after defeating the Calgary Flames during the third period of the 2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium on October 29, 2023 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The Oilers defeated the Flames 5-2. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images)
EDMONTON, CANADA - OCTOBER 29: The Edmonton Oilers salute the crowd after defeating the Calgary Flames during the third period of the 2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium on October 29, 2023 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The Oilers defeated the Flames 5-2. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images) /
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The Edmonton Oilers have had a brutal start to the 2023-24 season. While the offense has held their own, the defense and goaltending leave something to be desired. As the saying goes “a team cannot win a division in October, but they can certainly lose it.”

Edmonton Oilers Look for Answers to Rough Start

The OIlers are 2-5-1 after their 5-2 win at the 2023 Heritage Classic against the Calgary Flames and are sixth in the Pacific Division. This could be one of the more frustrating starts in recent Oilers history and, within that stretch, Connor McDavid was hurt. McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have been the usual suspects on offense as they have been the main source of offensive firepower. McDavid has two goals and seven assists for nine points in six games, while Draisaitl has four goals and nine assists for 13 points in eight games. While these two continue to contribute, forward Evander Kane and defenseman Darnell Nurse have been disappointments. Kane has two goals and four assists for three points in eight games, while Nurse has one goal and one assists for two points in the same amount of games.

Edmonton has scored 22 goals and is in the middle of the league, while the goaltending is not much better, ranking at the bottom of the league, allowing 32 goals. The power play is clicking at a good rate but the penalty kill is struggling, operating at a 72.73% clip.

Another category is the +/- ratings. Several players are a minus. Kane (-5), McDavid (-1), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (-3), Mattias Ekholm (-4), Nurse (-1),  Evan Bouochard (-7), and connor Brown (-5) azre on the ice for too many goals against. On the current roster, 14 of the 19 skaters are a  minus.

The goaltending duo needs to be shaken up as starter Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell are not getting the job done, even after last night’s win. Skinner is 1-2 with a goals-against-average of 3.51 and a save percentage of .863 safe percentage. Campbell is 1-3 with a 4.35 GAA and a .878 save percentage.

General Manager Ken Holland has his work cut out for him as the team as the Edmonton Oilers have a projected cap space of $382, 760 to fix this problem. There is no room to sign a free agent or two so the roster is set for the foreseeable future. McDavid, Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Kane, NUgent-Hopkins, Nurse, and Campbell all have no-trade clauses in their contract.

Defensemen Philip Broberg and Vincent Desharnais have one-year left on their deals and the remaining five defensemen have two or more years left on their contract. Camobell and Skinner have three or more years left on theirs.

Forwards Warren Foegle, Mattias Janmark, Dylan Holloway (one-year left on ELC), Brown, and Adam Erne have one-year left and are all trade worthy but would not fetch much in return. Edmonton has to ride this out or trade a player with a big contract to turn this thing around. They did win last night against Calgary but they looked sluggish at points in the game and their record needs work. It is not too late to turn this thing around in hopes for a playoff spot and the Edmonton Oilers fans hope last night was the start of better things to come.

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