Having watched the Edmonton Oilers during their dynasty years, I can’t help but notice that the 2024-25 version, especially the forward group, resembles the high-flying Oilers of the 80s and early 90s, when they were an offensive powerhouse led by Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey and anchored by Grant Fuhr in net. The 1984-85 Oilers were voted the greatest team of all time despite a few flaws, including a defense group that was solid but not as good as the Montreal Canadiens of the 70s, featuring rearguards Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe, and Ken Dryden in goal.
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The 2024-25 Oilers also boast offensive riches like the 1984-85 Oilers; however, there are question marks about their defence and goaltending.
Score Buckets of Goals and Cross Your Fingers
From preseason games, it’s apparent that the Oilers have four defencemen they can count on: Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm, Darnell Nurse, and Brett Kulak. There is hope that offseason acquisition Ty Emberson can step up to make up for the loss of Cody Ceci and Philip Broberg. There are essentially two additional spots open on defense that are up in the air. Fighting for these remaining spots is a group ranging from Josh Brown to Troy Stecher.
With an offense led by two of the top five forwards in the NHL, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the 2024-25 Oilers will be counting on their forward group to put pucks in the net – a lot. In the Oilers’ Sept. 28, 5-4 preseason victory over the Seattle Kraken, they had to score five goals to ensure victory, which is tougher today than ever and definitely not as easy as it was in the 80s. So, where does that leave the 2024-25 Oilers?
Relief Could Come By March 7 NHL Trade Deadline
So much can happen between October and March 7. Oilers General Manager Stan Bowman, CEO of Hockey Operations Jeff Jackson, and Head Coach Kris Knoblauch have a few chess moves to make before the start of the season on Oct. 9. Who do they keep? Who do they release? Who do they send down to the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League?
Keeping in mind the Oilers have very little wiggle room in available cap space, we have to wonder if and when injured forward Evander Kane will be put on long-term injured reserve. The longer the Oilers can wait into the season, the more cap space they can accumulate before the deadline. Think Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights and Nikita Kurcherov of the Tampa Lightning.
However, management must be hoping that the defence and goaltending, led by Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard, can keep it together until early March. If so, the Oilers will have a really good chance of going far in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. If not, Houston, we have a problem.
Like the 1980s Oilers, Offense Will Lead the Way in 2024-25
The Oilers will be must-see TV this season. McDavid, Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jeff Skinner, Adam Henrique and Viktor Arvidsson make up one of the best offensive forward groups since the Oilers of the 80s, but without a defense that includes Coffey, Charlie Huddy, Kevin Lowe, Lee Fogolin, Randy Gregg, Don Jackson and Steve Smith backstopped by Fuhr and the reliable Andy Moog in net.
This season will also be a good litmus test to see how much the game has changed over the past four decades. Today’s NHL plays a more two-way game than the offensively charged 80s. But can a team like the 2024-25 Oilers buck that trend? We’ll find out starting Oct. 9 when the Oilers take on the Winnipeg Jets in their season opener.
