Edmonton Oilers’ centerman Leon Draisaitl spoke about expectations for his team recently and said that it’s “Cup or bust” this season and I’d imagine this sentiment is shared among his teammates.
Connor Brown was the big offseason addition, and because of salary cap constraints, they weren’t able to add any other significant pieces. Because of that, the organization is counting on its returning players to elevate their game beyond last season.
With that in mind, below are the top five key Oilers who need to raise the bar and elevate their play if the Oilers are going to raise the Stanley Cup this season.
#5 Dylan Holloway
The Oilers need players on cheap entry-level deals to step in and provide secondary scoring and forward Dylan Holloway takes the fifth spot on this list of Oilers who must raise their level of play, as he holds the greatest promise for point production within the bottom six.
Holloway had a promising start to last preseason by scoring a hat trick and tallying six points in six exhibition games, but he failed to gain traction throughout the regular season, dealing with rookie mistakes and injuries and scoring only three goals in 51 NHL games.
The Oilers are banking on Holloway to step up his game this season, and his consistent track record of leaving a significant mark during his second year across various leagues is a positive sign, going from 27 points his first year of junior hockey to 88 points his sophomore year, and jumping from 17 points in college to 35 points his second year playing in the NCAA.
Holloway is blessed with size, speed, and raw skill and the Oilers should be happy with a 15-goal and 20-assist campaign in 2023-24 from the former first-round pick.
#4 Ryan McLeod
Forward Ryan McLeod is slated to be the team’s third-line center and is likely the most important forward in the bottom six.
As mentioned recently in a previous article, McLeod took a step last season increasing his points per game (P/G) from 0.29 P/G in the 2021-22 season to 0.40 P/G and recorded a career-high 23 points. Also, according to Puck IQ, he played 129 minutes against elite competition and 258 against middle, whereas this season, I’d anticipate him to play even more minutes against the league’s best.
Related: Ranking Oilers’ Most Important Forwards Outside Top 6
The perfect scenario for the Oilers would’ve been to re-sign veteran forward Nick Bjugstad, who would’ve been a safety net in case McLeod finds the demands of a third-line center overwhelming. Yet, there wasn’t extra money to bring him back into the fold, so it’s important that McLeod raises the bar to become a dependable two-way 3C.
#3 Jack Campbell
Goaltender Jack Campbell was the Oilers’ big offseason signing during the summer of 2022 but was likely the team’s biggest disappointment last season; however, he’ll be relied on to backstop the team to wins this season, and as a result, he takes the third spot on this list.
He won 21 games, but his 3.41 goals-against-average (GAA) ranked 49th in the NHL and his .888 save percentage (SV%) was 87th among goaltenders and he ultimately lost the starter’s role to Stuart Skinner.
However, he had flashes of bright moments, like his remarkable performance when Skinner was pulled in Game 4 in the opening round of last season’s playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings, stopping 27 of 28 shots for a come-from-behind 5-4 Oilers win.
Moving forward, the Oilers aren’t expected to trade or buy out Campbell and I’d imagine that he’ll be given every opportunity to reclaim his starting role job, beginning as training camp kicks off.
If the Oilers are going to challenge for a championship next season, they need both goaltenders to play steady hockey. It will be healthy competition between their two netminders to see who wins the starting role, but nonetheless, they need Campbell to elevate his game whenever he gets the nod.
#2 Darnell Nurse
Oilers’ number one defenceman Darnell Nurse’s massive contract kicked in last season and the pressure of playing as a $9.25 million annual average value (AAV) player might have got the better of him, as he underwent a defensive slump from mid-November to December of last year, where he was making glaring errors that ended up in the back of the Oilers’ net.
He ended the regular season ranked seventh in the NHL defensive zone giveaways, and the defensive lapses crept into the postseason as well. On the other hand, he had good numbers offensively, registering a career-high 43 points in the regular season with limited power play time.
Nurse takes number two on this list of key Oilers who need to elevate their play this season because he’s such a vital (and expensive) piece on the back end. Despite what naysayers may think, he’s a workhorse and would leave a glaring hole on the blue line if traded.
Additionally, to be more successful this season, he needs to simplify his game and not get caught chasing forwards around the defensive zone and getting caught out of position. That said, if Edmonton adopts a new defensive structure of zone coverage, rather than man-to-man, it will benefit the blueliner immensely.
Nurse is a very important piece and if he can become a consistent defender who can be counted on to shut down the opposing team’s best lines while continuing to produce offensively, the chances of the Oilers becoming champions will be notably higher this season.
#1 Stuart Skinner
As previously mentioned, I’d imagine the team will let both goaltenders battle it out for the starter role, but I’d wager that it will be Skinner who rises above between the two netminders once again, and in my opinion, he’s the number one Oiler who needs to raise his play this season.
While Campbell was likely the team’s biggest disappointment, Skinner was likely the team’s “feel-good story” of last season. To recap, he was an NHL All-Star, he led rookies in goalie wins (29), was third in save percentage (.914), and was selected as Calder Trophy finalist.
However, his play faltered slightly in the postseason, finishing 20th among goaltenders in save percentage and 20th in GAA. Inexperience kicked in, and Skinner didn’t make the one or two extra stops that he should’ve. In order for the Oilers to go the distance in this year’s playoff, Skinner needs to become even better.
Skinner is sound technically, but one advantage he has over Campbell is that he’s mentally tougher. That said, he understands what lies ahead of him this season, saying, “Obviously, I want to go in there and I want to win the Stanley Cup. That’s the ultimate goal for the Edmonton Oilers this year and hopefully for the next few years. I’m going to do my best to bring that role of stopping as many pucks as I can and just doing what I need to do as a teammate for the team.”
The Oilers are blessed with talent, and year in and year out we’ve seen Connor McDavid, Draisaitl, and additional top-six players continually raising their own benchmarks. Nevertheless, Holloway, McLeod, Campbell, Nurse, and Skinner are key players who must take their performance to a higher level if Edmonton is going to be the team to raise Lord Stanley’s Cup this season.
