Oilers News: Loss to Canucks, Campbell on waivers, and more

The Edmonton Oilers are in a very bad spot. They are expected to be Stanly Cup contenders right now because of the fact that their team is led by some of the best players to ever put on skates.

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are the leaders of this very talented group but they aren’t getting it done. The depth production on this team was there last year but they have been ghosts this year so far.

Their latest mishap came against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night in British Columbia. It is one thing to lose, it is another to have absolutely no chance.

The Edmonton Oilers are in a lot of pain right now with the way things are going.

Edmonton vs Vancouver

Edmonton lost the game by a final score of 6-2. Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser, and J.T. Miller led the way for Vancouver as they torched them in every way. It got to the point where Edmonton didn’t even have a chance. That is not how Stanley Cup contenders play.

The two aforementioned stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were even rattled with the rest of the team. Leon had one of the two goals and McDavid had no points. These two just aren’t dominating games like we are used to seeing them do.

Instead, they were getting into it with Canucks players who love to see them engage. Getting those two to push and shove is a lot better than them filling your net. It was a great night for the Canucks.

We expect that they will start dominating the games again soon because of their resume but it has to come fast. At 2-8-1, things are going from bad to worse quickly and they need to start digging out of that hole now. You know things are bad when a five-game win streak in November won’t put you over NHL .500.

Jack Campbell on waivers

What a turnaround this is. Following the game against the Canucks, the Oilers are going to be putting Jack Campbell and his hefty contract on waivers. There is little to no chance that anybody is going to take him so he will be headed to the AHL to figure his game out.

So far, Campbell has been terrible this season. Right now, he is 1-4-0 with a .873 save percentage and a 4.50 goals-against average. Those are terrible numbers that this team can no longer tolerate.

Cal Pickard is going to get his chance in the NHL for the first time this season. He earned it with those amazing AHL numbers so far. Honestly, at the NHL level, he can’t be worse than Campbell has been to start the year.

Last season, Stuart Skinner came in second place for the Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie. Now, he hasn’t been much better than Campbell but he will continue getting chances (for now) because of his youth and his ceiling. He needs to be better though or they will move off him as well.

Next Up

The Oilers next matchup is about as scary for them as they could imagine. No, it is not an elite Cup contender which would be much easier for them to deal with. Instead, they have the 0-10-1 San Jose Sharks on Thursday night. San Jose couldn’t even win a single game in October.

Edmonton just cannot lose to that team. If they do, something else has to happen besides a goalie swap. Someone must be fired if they hand the Sharks their first win. The Sharks have issues of their own but nobody saw them as Cup contenders a month ago.

The Sharks don’t just lose their games. They get absolutely destroyed in most of them. They allowed 10 goals in back-to-back games and that hasn’t happened in half a century. Edmonton just can’t lose to this team. It is a must-win game in early November for them.

Nobody wants to see the Oilers in this position. We want to see the best players in the league playing well and going to the playoffs once spring is here. We can only hope that things turn around for Edmonton very soon. It better be fast.