Edmonton Oilers: What the lineup could look like next season
By Jim Lynch
The Edmonton Oilers finished the first day of free agency yesterday, and the lineup seems to be taking shape.
From the addition to Zach Hyman to the trade that added Warren Foegele to the Edmonton Oilers. As of today, the Oilers lineup is deeper than they were a year ago. This team’s last time on the ice was after they got bounced out of the first round in four games, now the group looks a little different.
Saying goodbye to players is never easy, but hockey is a business. The past few weeks fans have had to say goodbye to Adam Larsson, Ethan Bear, and James Neal, but now the lineup is better off because of it.
Let’s breakdown what the entire Oilers lineup could look like next season:
The Forwards:
Zach Hyman – Connor McDavid – Jesse Puljujarvi
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Leon Draisaitl – Kailer Yamamoto
Warren Foegele – Derek Ryan – Ryan McLeod
Devin Shore – Kyle Turris – Josh Archibald
The Defence:
Darnell Nurse – Tyson Barrie
Duncan Keith – Cody Ceci
Kris Russell – Evan Bouchard
The Goalies
Mike Smith
Mikko Koskinen
Scratched: Zack Kassian, and William Lagesson
Honestly overall this is not a bad roster. The team still needs to work out contracts for Warren Foegele and Kailer Yamamoto, but once those are in the books they will be good to go.
Their defense does look significantly different from last season, but at the same time adding Duncan Keith and Cody Ceci as the team’s middle unit is not horrible.
The two will complement each other very well, and with Larsson not returning to the team this is a good option for the team as they go out and try to win a championship.
Overall the lineup is pretty good. I still think they need to make a move or two when it comes to the team goaltending. Mikko Koskinen should be traded if they can find anyone to take him. And they need to have another solid option in net to be with Mike Smith.
As of now, the team has about 1 million in projected cap space according to CapFriendly. The roster is pretty much set for opening night, minus an addition to the fourth line possible as well as another goalie. It will be interesting to see what Ken Holland does next. How do you like the Oilers lineup?