FanSided’s 30 In 30 NHL Previews: Edmonton Oilers

Your New Jersey Devils’ season preview is just five days away (I look forward to writing that up).  Today’s outlook features the Edmonton Oilers, who, for the second straight season, finished in the NHL’s basement.  Since reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in the first season after the lockout (what an exciting series that was), the Oilers have not returned to the playoffs, and finished the last two years with a lowly 62 points.  With another first overall pick in Edmonton, they look to start to rise out of the bottom of the standings, hoping that this season will start to bring some success and promise for the future.  Over at Oil On Whyte, Samson Threwittki previews 2011-2012 for his Oilers, believing, at the least, that it will be better than past seasons; a segment of his post, discussing additions in Edmonton, is below.

"My favourite addition among the forwards is not the return of Smyth, though I really like that. Looking at the current list of departures there is no obvious replacement. Instead I would argue that he is Penner’s replacement, and serves to provide Hartikainen with more development time. If he can be resigned to an affordable/reasonable extension than he could be very important for the Oilers now and for years to come. Even if not extended, the knowledge/attributes that he can pass on to the kids should be invaluable. My favourite move of the summer was the addition of Belanger. I think most would agree that he is the replacement for Cogs, and while I like Cogs, I would much rather have Belanger. He has experience, he can still produce, and he can actually win a faceoff! If he can find chemistry with the Swedes then we have an awesome third line that can be responsible defensively and contribute a lot of offense. In my opinion Eager and Hordichuk are great replacements of Jacques and Macintyre. They are better hockey players, and while Hordichuk isn’t as tough as ‘Big Mac’ he should be more of a deterrent as people will actually fight him, and he can play more than two minutes a game."

To read the rest of this Oilers’ outlook, click here.

The Devils will faceoff with the Oilers once this season, on January 11th in Edmonton.  This game is the third of a four-game road trip, which leads right into an intriguing six-game homestand.  Since the lockout, the Devils are 3-2 in matchups with Edmonton, and none of these games have been more than two-goal defeats.

Let’s take a brief look at the Oilers.  While there isn’t much hope for a run at a playoff berth this season, it is clear that this team that is built to win a few years from now.  They are very young all around, and with the likes of Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (the aforementioned first overall picks from the last two drafts) around, Edmonton has something to cheer about.  As Samson points out, some quality signings were made by the front office, which could help the Oilers be a more respectable team on the ice this year.

Edmonton now has a nice mix of veterans and youngsters up front on their forward lines; captain Shaun Horcoff, who only played in 47 games last season, looks to regain his form and give the Oilers some extra production this year.  However, their depth is not too strong, and their latter lines may struggle to produce much of anything throughout the season.  Defensively, there are some proven NHLers on the roster, who should be reliable enough to help contain an opposing top unit.  While the group is not very strong, only one player (in veteran Andy Sutton) on their defensive roster is over 28 years old, giving Edmonton some promise for their blue line’s future.  In goal, 38-year-old Nikolai Khabibulin will look to rebound from a tough 2010-2011 campaign; Yann Danis is back from the KHL (oh, the memories) to back him up in net.

Overall, we can be sure that this Oilers team is not one that will be in competition late in the season.  However, they have improved this offseason, and their young talent probably scares many Western Conference general managers about the years to come from this bunch.  This young talent should excite the fans of Edmonton, as potentially seeing Hall play alongside Nugent-Hopkins could make the Oilers a hot ticket once again.  While it should not be as bad a season points-wise for this team, finishing in last in the conference is still a strong possibility, as much of the conference has continued to improve.  Edmonton will be looking to surprise some people and rise a few spots in the conference standings; nothing wrong with having a goal in mind, right?

Tomorrow’s preview will feature the Los Angeles Kings, who after a disappointing first-round exit from the playoffs last season, look to win a series or two in 2011-2012.

-Drew