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Edmonton Oilers: Offseason preview everything you need to know

By Jim Lynch |
EDMONTON, ALBERTA - AUGUST 05: The Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks skates in warm-ups prior to Game Three of the Western Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on August 05, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta. Due to concerns of the spread of the coronavirus, NHL games are being played without fans. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
EDMONTON, ALBERTA - AUGUST 05: The Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks skates in warm-ups prior to Game Three of the Western Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on August 05, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta. Due to concerns of the spread of the coronavirus, NHL games are being played without fans. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)

The Edmonton Oilers season is over and while watching the rest of the teams play in the playoffs is fun, I am missing Oilers hockey.

This coming season is going to be tough for the Edmonton Oilers. The team is going to have to mix and match new players into their lineup while also making sure they re-sign some critical pieces into the organization.

The Oilers have the space to get everything done, it is just going to take a lot of work and time to get this roster to the next stage. Edmonton was good this season, but they need to be great. So, let’s talk about how they get there.

I think Ken Holland needs to have a few conversations with some people. First with Dave Tippett. The Oilers are not moving on from Holland or Tippett anytime soon despite the disappointing exit, so now the two need to sit down and discuss what kind of players the team wants to have in the bottom six.

Making sure Tippett has the weapons he needs to win is going to be the only way this team can win games down the line. We cannot have another situation like this postseason where guys like Ryan McLeod and Dominik Kahun are playing under 11 minutes on average despite long overtime games.

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If Tippett cannot trust players on the team, then it is time to find new guys to fill up the lineup. Secondly, there needs to be a conversation between Holland and McDavid/Draisaitl. Personally, I feel as though the Oilers let those two guys down not doing more at the deadline. Both were having unbelievable seasons, and that means you have to give them the best chance at winning.

Bringing in some players to fill out the bottom six or even to play alongside Draisaitl and or McDavid could have been something this team did this trade deadline, and yet they did very little. I wrote a few weeks ago how this team needs to be all in every season with McDavid, and a lot of the reaction to it was “Well yeah of course” but the team did not do it this past season. It is time to move forward with that strategy in mind.

There are a number of free agents the team needs to decide whether or not they plan on bringing back, and this off-season will also feature another expansion draft and another new addition to the Pacific Division.

Check out our friends over at Kraken Chronicle for all things Seattle Kraken heading into this new season! This is going to be a busy off-season, hopefully featuring some trades and buyouts along the way. I cannot wait for the next couple of months because there definitely is going to be a lot of change throughout the league, and it starts tonight with the NHL draft lottery!

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