The Edmonton Oilers went through a lot of change this offseason, but at least they have the preseason to get things figured out for the year.
The Edmonton Oilers season still feels like it ended just yesterday in Winnipeg. But all of a sudden we are just a mere 20 days until their first preseason matchup against the Calgary Flames. The Oilers have a lot of work they need to get done between now and the start of the season, and the preseason is the perfect time to get to work.
Edmonton added a lot of pieces this offseason, from rearranging their blueline, to trying to add some more depth in the bottom six, things were busy. So one would imagine this preseason is going to be all about those new additions.
The Preseason Schedule:
Sunday, Sept 26 – @ Calgary Flames
Tuesday, Sept 28 – Seattle Kraken
Wednesday, Sept 29 – @ Winnipeg Jets
Friday, Oct 1 – @ Seattle Kraken
Saturday, Oct 2 – Winnipeg Jets
Monday, Oct 4 – Calgary Flames
Thursday, Oct 7 – Vancouver Canucks
Saturday, Oct 9 – @ Vancouver Canucks
Personally, I have to say I am most excited about the matchups against the Seattle Kraken. It is not every day that one gets to play an expansion team during their first couple of games in the NHL. Welcoming the Kraken to town on the 28th of September will be the perfect opportunity for the team to see how their depth organizationally speaking matches up against a brand new team.
I think this entire eight-game preseason needs to be about the defence first and foremost. Yes, the depth on offence is important, but it is the blue line that is going to get the team through the year. Edmonton added a number of different players from Duncan Keith to Cody Ceci, so making sure those adjustments work and that everyone is on board with the plan on the backend needs to be at the forefront of the preseason.
Stanley Cup Champions are not made during the preseason, but they sure as heck can be destroyed during that time. Yes, the games are not significant but giving the players in the organization the time to show what they are made of and whether or not they can be a part of things moving forward is important, especially on a team that can use all the help they can get.