The Edmonton Oilers are 64 days until the start of the regular season on October 13th when the team faces off against the Vancouver Canucks. Today, I want to kick off a new series that will continue until puck drop. The regular season countdown has begun!
The Edmonton Oilers are Nail Yakupov days away from puck drop, also known as 64 days!
From 2012 to 2014 Nail Yakupov wore number 64 with the Edmonton Oilers, the team’s 2012 first overall pick was not the best player to ever skate for the team, but he did put up 111 points over the course of four seasons with the Oilers from 2012-2016.
I think this season the expectations for the Oilers are at an all-time high. This organization can not waste another year of McDavid and Draisaitl. They need to be in the playoffs and on a deep playoff run.
Whether or not the additions the team made this offseason are putting them in that position still remains to be seen, but adding Darnell Nurse for the years to come with his contract extension definitely is a step in the right direction to keep the roster’s core together and on the path to a championship.
Yakupov was the last player to wear 64 with the Oilers, but who knows maybe one of the new additions will choose that number for the organization this coming season. 64 days might seem like a lot to wait until the beginning of the season but there is something interesting to keep in mind here.
Edmonton’s season ended at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets in round one of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Their season ended in four games, and game four took place on May 24th. Well, we are 78 days away from May 24th, so were are already well over halfway to the start of the season.
The roster seems to be in shape, now fans just have to wait and see what this season will turn out to be for Edmonton.