Five Thoughts On The Edmonton Oilers Offseason Moves

1. The offensive additions need to work.

The Oilers hypothetically have a better team today on offense than they did when the season ended. During the playoffs Edmonton showed how reliant they were on their top six to score goals, well and by top six I just mean McDavid and Draisaitl.

Now with the additions of Hyman, Foegele, Shore, and Ryan, the pressure should be off just a few players to score goals, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the group is that much better.

Yes, Edmonton went out and added Hyman to play with McDavid, but that decision also now locks in a guy like Puljujarvi to play with them on the top line. Puljujarvi and Yamamoto are still young and have not been that consistent in the past. Now in the playoffs, this team cannot rely on anyone if they can’t show up to play.

All the additions to the team need to work, but more importantly, the younger guys that are in the lineup need to step up to the plate. I am not just talking about the two guys in the top six either, I also mean the third line center in McLeod. This team will need him to step up to the plate and be a full-on third-line center, otherwise, they will have to move Derek Ryan into that role and reassess where McLeod fits into the lineup.

The offense is not the only area in the team that has seen some changes.