Edmonton Oilers: Are They Really Bigger and Heavier

In 2016, the Edmonton Oilers were Bruin-ized by new General Manager Peter Chiarelli, which means they added players with size, toughness and perceived meanness, but they also are expected to play hockey with skill, too.

One way Chiarelli did this was by trading for Patrick Maroon, Zack Kassian and Adam Larsson. He also signed Milan Lucic this offseason to a $42 million, seven-year contact. Then, he had the luxury of drafting Jesse Puljüjarvi, who fell to fourth-overall and into the Oilers’ lap at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

These five players are listed at 6-foot-3 and weigh in at over 200 pounds, with Maroon and Lucic tipping the scale at 230 pounds. That is a lot of size Chiarelli added, and with that size also comes a mean, tough reputations. With those five additions, there is no doubt that the Oilers are a bigger team than they were last year.

However, when you compare the 23 man opening night roster from 2015-16 and the projected opening night roster for the 2016-17 roster, there isn’t much difference when it comes to average height and weight.

Last season’s opening night team was and 73.6 inches and 203.3 pounds on average, and the projected 2016-17 opening night roster comes in at the exact same height and 203.7 pounds. For a more in-depth look at the similarity in size, let’s look at the players.

2015-16 Opening Night Roster:

Luke Gazdic 6’4” 233 lbs

Taylor Hall 6’1” 198 lbs

Lauri Korpikoski 6’1” 205 lbs

Teddy Purcell 6’2” 198 lbs

Anton Slepyshev 6’2” 194 lbs

Eric Gryba 6’4” 225 lbs

Griffin Reinhart 6’4” 217 lbs

Justin Schultz 6”2” 196 lbs

Anders Nilsson 6’5” 227 lbs

For the 2016-17 projected opening night roster, you add:

Leon Draisaitl 6’1” 214 lbs

Jesse Puljujarvi 6’4” 203 lbs

Zack Kassian 6’3” 217 lbs

Milan Lucic 6’3” 233 lbs

Patrick Maroon 6’3” 230 lbs

Iiro Pakarinen 6’1” 215 lbs

Adam Larsson 6”3” 205 lbs

Darnell Nurse 6’4” 213 lbs

Jonas Gustavsson 6’4” 201 lbs

One of the biggest differences between these teams is the skill level. Yes, Taylor Hall is a huge loss of skill, but looking at defencemen, Larsson and Nurse are huge upgrades over Gryba and Reinhart. Also Draisaitl, Lucic, Puljüjarvi, Kassian and Maroon bring an improved combination of size and skill up front when compared to Gazdic, Korpikoski, Purcell and Slepyshev. Gustavsson and Nilsson really shouldn’t be added in to the equatio,n but they count, so they contribute almost the same height while this year’s roster loses 20 pounds in the switch.

So in reality, the team is not actually bigger or heavier, but the team has transformed the positions where the size is, and they are definitely tougher (one of the toughest in the league).

So instead of having smaller, yet skilled top lines and the larger players on the third and fourth lines, the Oilers added players with size that can play on the top six when needed. On defense instead of the bottom-pairing guys having all the size with no foot speed, they now have inserted defenders with size and speed on the top pairings.

Next: Edmonton Oilers: Talbot's Journey, From Alabama to the NHL

Chiarelli wants the Oilers to be a tougher team to play against, and think he’s definitely achieved this. No longer is it the grinder lines and the skilled lines, but there is grind and skill, all the way through the lineup.