FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Sports

Trainwreck Oilers Are in Familiar Territory

Don't be fooled: these are the same old Oilers, who have firmly put themselves in the Auston Matthews sweepstakes.
Photo by Nam Y. Huh-The Associated Press

This story originally appeared on VICE Sports Canada.

In the fluid world of hockey, where fortunes turn on a dime, the Edmonton Oilers remain an anomaly: they are the team that doesn't change, despite the fortuitous bounces they've gotten year after year in the draft.

For all the team's promise entering this season, from new coaching and management comprised of proven winners, to a new and seemingly bona fide starting goalie, to, of course, Connor McDavid, the Oilers began the season in familiar territory: the Western Conference basement. As Edmonton knows all too well, poor play does have its perks, though. The Oilers were looking like prime candidates to land highly-touted forward and sure-fire No. 1 pick in next year's draft, Auston Matthews.

Advertisement

READ MORE: The Definitive NHL Holiday Gift Guide

That is, until, a recent six-game win streak saw the club topple some of the NHL's elite, including the Dallas Stars and New York Rangers. So, does the Oilers' recent winning ways mean they've turned a corner? Hardly. Even if McDavid returns ahead of schedule, it would take something of a miracle to turn this ship around. These are the same old Oilers, and landing the coveted, American-born Matthews is very much in play.

They went 4-8 through October, despite McDavid's best efforts. He burst onto the NHL scene, scoring 12 points, making highlight-reel plays and winning Rookie of the Month honours.

But even a dynamic, once-in-a-lifetime player like McDavid can't solve a trainwreck of a team like the Oilers in today's NHL. What the Oilers lack is hard to come by and what they have in spades is easy to find. In short, the recent winning streak was nothing more than a mirage—this is a team that will have trouble consistently putting wins together.

The six-game winning streak already seems like a distant memory. It was snapped with a loss to the Rangers, and the Oilers followed it up by getting shutout 4-0 to the Blackhawks. A lot of work needs to be done and it starts at the back.

Cam Talbot has not provided Edmonton with the stability it needs. His .897 save percentage and 3.14 goals-against average are well below league average, and among the worst in the NHL. Can Talbot really be blamed, though?

Advertisement

Talbot shouldn't have been surprised when the team in front of him began allowing the type of scoring opportunities he never faced with the Rangers. The Oilers allow more high danger scoring chances than any team in the NHL, according to War on Ice. They were fifth worst last season.

The big offseason addition of puck-moving defenceman Andrej Sekera was contrary to the shutdown option they so desperately needed. Sekera is a minus-10, last among Oilers defenceman this season.

"We've seen it many nights—there has been those one or two mistakes that have forced us to lose hockey games," Oilers veteran forward Mark Letestu acknowledged.

What's even more puzzling is how this team can manage wins against stronger teams such as Montreal, Dallas and Pittsburgh, yet get manhandled by Toronto and Carolina.

"It seems like when we play good teams we show our potential," Oilers forward Jordan Eberle says.

For the Oilers to start climbing the Western Conference standings, they'll need to start putting wins together against those weaker teams instead of six-game flare-ups.

"It's the mindset," Letestu says of what's preventing them from developing consistency. "When you're playing those elite teams if you don't show up, you're going to get blown out. There's a pride in there when you have to show up every night. And then when you come into buildings where the record maybe is not as good for the team, there's a natural bit of a letdown. And that's the part that has to get out of our game.

Advertisement

"We've had games against (Arizona) and Carolina where we've been blown out. It hasn't been good at all, really. To me, that shows that there's a bit of a mental letdown and the preparation has to be better for this type of game."

The success of the Oilers has and will continue to be a delicate balance—everything has to fall into place for this team to even hope for a playoff berth. So far, it hasn't happened. Eberle, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins all had to have career years. Nail Yakupov had to bounce back from a poor third season (which he was in the process of doing before his linemate McDavid got injured), and McDavid had to be the player everyone hoped he was capable of being. He was doing just that, scoring five times in 13 games, but has been sidelined with a shoulder injury since early November.

All of that needed to happen just to override Edmonton's abhorrent back end. There are many schools of thought on what a contending NHL roster looks like, but lately two lines of thinking have emerged: you either build with fast, skilled forwards or you build from the back with minute-devouring defenceman and strong goaltending.

This season, the Oilers' struggles have highlighted their backwards approach more than ever before: you can't depend on too much of one element of your team in the hopes that it extinguishes the problems with the other. Watching them chase the puck is enough to make you want to pull every last hair out of your head.

Advertisement

READ MORE: More Bad Teams Should Be Tanking

This current rebuild feels like the fourth or fifth edition of a big-budget movie franchise that's somehow broadcast itself into irrelevance. No one should be fooled by the Oilers' 6-2 December record—the signs have long been there that speak to an otherwise middling team.

"Obviously if you look at the big picture, we're not where we want to be," says Eberle.

They'll likely have to take a hit in the short term. Perhaps capitalizing on the recent strong play of Eberle, one of the longest-serving Oilers at 25 years old, to acquire legitimate back-end help would be worth it.

Or, if they're unable to turn this thing around, they could simply tank for a shot at Matthews, and hope for another high-end pick to build around. They've had four of the last six No. 1 overall picks, and getting McDavid and Matthews in back-to-back years would be something.

The next few weeks will be critical. The Oilers are within striking distance of a playoff spot, yet aren't far from the league's basement. Matthews might have to start getting used to wearing copper and blue while the rest of the team gets comfortable wearing black and blue, looking defeated in a way that's become status quo in Edmonton.