Jeff Jackson was viewed as a genius this past offseason. Filling in as general manager (GM) from the recently departed Ken Holland, Jackson made several moves that many believed would push the Edmonton Oilers over the top and allow them to win the Stanley Cup this season.
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The Oilers and Jackson had a desire to add a scoring winger to play alongside Leon Draisaitl. They were able to grab not one, but two players that fit the bill in Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson. They were also able to acquire a great prospect in Matt Savoie, and freed up some cap space by sending Cody Ceci to the San Jose Sharks.
While some of those moves, specifically the Savoie trade, are undeniably solid moves, there are other decisions Jackson made over the offseason that, looking back on, have his short tenure as GM looking like a disaster rather than the masterclass it was originally considered.
Skinner and Arvidsson Haven’t Worked Out
Early on, the Skinner signing appeared to be a success. And, when I say early on, I mean really early. Through his first five games of the season, he’d found the back of the net two times and added three helpers. Since then, it’s been pretty ugly.
Head coach Kris Knoblauch doesn’t seem to be a big fan of Skinner’s game, which calls into question why the Oilers chose to sign him in the first place. He’s spent the majority of his time in a bottom-six role, and has sat out numerous games as a healthy scratch. Through 52 games, he’s mustered up just 11 goals and 21 points.
Arvidsson hasn’t been any better. This signing really excited Oilers fans, as he brings a gritty and tenacious style similar to Zach Hyman. There were injury concerns as he’s been on the shelf plenty throughout his career, but the thought was that if he could stay healthy, he’d be effective.
Injuries have impacted Arvidsson, who has played 44 of the Oilers’ 59 games. The bigger concern than his health has been his impact, or perhaps lack thereof. The usually consistent point producer has really struggled, scoring seven goals and 19 points.
Oilers Are an Old Team
Oftentimes, when a team has as much success as the Oilers did in 2023-24, management attempts to do everything they can to get the band back together. That isn’t always a bad plan, but the Oilers were already an old team last season.
Instead of looking to add some youth to the roster last summer, Jackson elected to re-sign several players including Corey Perry, Adam Henrique, Connor Brown, and Mattias Janmark. Perry has been the best of those four, but his lack of speed is a concern. The other three, meanwhile, have had disappointing seasons.
The Oilers lack speed in their bottom six, and that’s evident to this point in the regular season. You can’t help but wonder how slow this group as a collective whole may look once the playoffs get underway in April.
Holloway & Broberg Mishap
While most of the signings, or re-signings, mentioned above were met with satisfaction at the time, they wound up leaving the Oilers with very little cap space to re-sign two of their brightest young pieces in Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. It seemed as though Jackson believed he could strong-arm them into cheap deals, and it backfired in the worst way possible.
Though Jackson isn’t solely to blame for this fiasco given that Stan Bowman had taken over and had time to sign both players, it looked terrible on both when Holloway and Broberg signed unexpectedly lucrative offer sheets with the St. Louis Blues. It was extremely well played by Blues GM Doug Armstrong, who knew the Oilers were in a tricky spot and took advantage of it.
Broberg was viewed as the bigger loss at the time, as he was quickly developing into a top-four defenceman. Many thought the signings of Skinner and Arvidsson would more than make up for any potential Holloway offence, but that hasn’t been the case. The 23-year-old is having a breakout campaign with 18 goals and 43 points through 60 games.
No Impact Defencemen Added
As mentioned, most Oilers fans, and hockey fans in general, believed the Oilers did a good job this offseason, aside from the Holloway and Broberg debacle. There were some, however, who questioned why they went all out in adding offensive weapons without addressing their back end.
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Those concerns voiced by some have been proven correct. The Broberg loss was obviously a huge blow, but many have come to realize that, despite his flaws, Ceci played a much bigger role for this team than he was credited for. They have struggled to find a replacement who can log the minutes he did for them in a top-four role.
Better Plan Needed Next Offseason
Though Jackson won’t be in the GM role this coming offseason, he remains a part of the management team and will have a say in the decisions they make. Rather than just going after big-name players that sound exciting to a fan base, they need to be sure to go after ones that actually fit into their needs. That somewhat reckless style this past summer suddenly has this team looking like one that could be in line for an early playoff exit.
