While the Edmonton Oilers are expected to be a very good team again in 2024-25, they will look significantly different. Following their trip to the Stanley Cup Final, they added forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner in free agency and signed defenceman Josh Brown.
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They moved on from Warren Foegele, who signed as a free agent with the LA Kings, as well as Vincent Desharnais, who signed with the Vancouver Canucks. Many expected those to be the only significant changes to the Oilers roster this offseason, but that has been far from the case.
Less than a week after free agency opened, the Oilers announced that they had traded Ryan McLeod to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for prospect Matthew Savoie. Since then, they have lost Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway to offer sheets extended by the St. Louis Blues and traded Cody Ceci to the San Jose Sharks. To help soften the blow of those losses, they have brought in forward Vasily Podkolzin and defenceman Ty Emberson.
Though the fan base has some mixed feelings about the offseason as a whole, the consensus is that the Oilers are a better team than they were a season ago, even though their blue line took a hit. Defence might not be the only area to worry about, however, as all three forwards who departed, Foegele, McLeod, and Holloway, had one thing in common that the Oilers are suddenly lacking.
Speed No Longer the Oilers’ Forte
For many years, the Oilers were known for their devastating team speed. Good skaters are more and more of an asset in the NHL, a league which seems to get quicker every season. However, the team seems to be going with a different blueprint this season (from ‘Allan Mitchell: Are the Oilers fast enough without Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway?’ The Athletic 08/22/24).
Of their free-agent signings upfront, Arvidsson is a good skater, though not as quick as he was in his early days due to numerous injuries. Skinner, meanwhile, is agile, but his overall speed is relatively average compared to his peers. The Oilers still have some speed up front, particularly in Connor McDavid, who is the fastest skater in the world. Zach Hyman also plays with plenty of pace, particularly on the forecheck. But team speed drops off dramatically in the bottom six.
The Oilers re-signed four of their bottom six forwards who were set to become unrestricted free agents this summer. Adam Henrique is the most offensively gifted of the bunch and is arguably even better defensively. He’s never been the fleetest of foot, however, and isn’t getting quicker at 34.
They also brought back Connor Brown, who, of the four, is the quickest, but by no means has blazing speed. Brown’s partner-in-crime on the penalty kill, Mattias Janmark, was also brought back. Janmark, too, is a dependable bottom-six forward but is on the slow side compared to most NHLers. Then, you have Corey Perry.
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Perry has never been known to be a great skater. Even during his Hart Trophy-winning season in 2010-11, he was rather slow, but got by thanks to some great skill around the net. That skill remains, but at 39, his speed has dropped off even more. It became an issue in the 2024 Playoffs and he watched some games from the press box as a result. This lack of speed made it a somewhat surprising decision for the Oilers to bring him back.
Playoffs Could Expose Speed Deficiencies
As has been mentioned often this offseason, the Oilers shouldn’t run into many problems throughout the 2024-25 campaign. They are undeniably one of the most skilled teams in the NHL and should be able to score at will throughout the regular season. Once the playoffs (a much faster pace) begin, however, the Oilers could come to regret losing so much speed from their forward group.
