Athletistic/Hockey. On November 10, a match between the main underdogs of the current NHL season took place in San Jose (California, USA). And if the disastrous start of the San Jose Sharks surprises few people, the terrible game of the Edmonton Oilers has become a thunderclap for most experts and analysts. The victory in this meeting was won by the “sharks”, who managed to quickly recover from humiliating defeats in meetings against Vancouver (1:10) and Pittsburgh (2:10).

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This victory allowed San Jose to overtake Edmonton in the Western Conference standings. Now, it is the Oilers who occupy last place in the West, with only 5 points to their credit. But many predicted that Edmonton would fight for the Stanley Cup, but this Canadian team won only two games out of 12, despite the fact that their goal difference was simply terrible (-19). In 12 matches, the team, which has incredible players in the forward line, has scored only 31 goals (an average of 2.58) and conceded 50 (an average of 4.16).

Edmonton was considered a team ready to compete for the Stanley Cup for a reason. From 2010 to 2015, “oil workers” 4 times first pick in the NHL draft. In 2010 they got Taylor Hall, in 2011 – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, in 2013 – Nail Yakupov and in 2015 – Connor McDavid. Moreover, in 2014, with the third overall pick in the draft, Edmonton chose its second team star, who regularly scores more than 100 points per season – German Leon Draisaitl. We can say that in 6 years, Edmonton has assembled the core of a team that many can only dream of. However, incompetent management combined with the failed work of the coaches does not give any fruit to such a promising team. The team has reached the Western Conference Finals only once, when in the 2021/2022 season the Oilers lost to the future Stanley Cup winner, the Colorado Avalanche (0-4 in the series).

The main driving force behind the team is Connor McDavid. All hockey fans are already accustomed to seeing him among the leaders in the NHL scoring race, but this season he has currently scored only 10 (2+8) points. According to the authoritative portal Eliteprospects, Connor is now on schedule (80=16+64) points for the season, which is almost half as good as he showed in the last campaign. This year could be the worst in the career of the best hockey player on the planet, if we do not take into account the first season where he scored 48 points and lost to Artemi Panarin in the battle for the Calder Trophy. Over the past three seasons, McDavid has become the league’s leading scorer, scoring over 100 points each time. In 2018, Connor’s 8-year contract with Edmonton began for a total of $100 million (cap hit – $12.5 million per season). It always seems like such a player is worth the money, but right now this contract represents a heavy burden on the franchise.

Photo source: NHL

Oil fans have absolutely no reason to be happy this season. Their favorite team lost to one of the weakest teams in recent decades (San Jose), the management is no longer as good as before, and the team’s microclimate leaves much to be desired. But why does a team with a good offensive line play so poorly? It all depends on the lack of balance in the composition. Edmonton now has too much bias in favor of offensive players. Edmonton pays McDavid, Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins a combined total of more than $25 million per year, and also overpays defenseman Darnell Nurse ($9.5 million). There simply isn’t any more money for other quality players, especially on the defensive line, due to the tight salary cap. It is likely that soon the owner of the club will have to make a difficult decision and invite a crisis manager to the team, who will have the difficult task of unloading the payroll.

There are obvious miscalculations not only on the part of Emonton general manager Ken Holland, but also on the part of Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft. The 47-year-old Canadian, who is in his third season as Oilers coach, is on the verge of being fired. Previously, McAvid and Draisaitl helped him stay afloat, as the offensive style of hockey was not typical in the Western Conference, where historically teams place a premium on high-quality defense and power play . Today in the West there is Vegas, Colorado and a revitalized Vancouver playing dominant hockey and forcing many others to change.

At this time, it is difficult to say how the current season will end for the Oilers. If the team doesn’t make the playoffs, they will most likely face a restructuring already familiar to fans. It’s hard to believe that the strongest player of a generation – Connor McDavid – will never be able to win the Stanley Cup. It is very possible that with such management he will have to modify his registration with the club to do this.

Nikita Serbakov, Athletistic


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