Ask The Staff-Oilers Post Season

Which player surprised you the most with their play?

Phil Gretzky:

For me it’s a tie between Evander Kane and Evan Bouchard.  I had a feeling Kane would do well but I didn’t think he would crack the 20 goal mark in half a season.  Bouchard, same thing, I knew he’d do well but cracking the 40 point mark in his first full season as an NHLer is phenomenal

Sean Mallon:

Cody Ceci. I hadn’t seen a great deal of live play from the defender but the storyline appeared to be that he’d played beyond himself in Pittsburgh and the most likely outcome was a return to his career averages. While his offensive numbers did dip slightly, he instead manage to improve his advanced statistics in 2022-22.

He’s not a superstar, but you didn’t notice him for the wrong reasons on a regular basis and if he can maintain that level of play, he gives the team defensive depth with a sprinkle of scoring.

Lane Golden:

The Duncan Keith trade last summer was a massive risk. Acquiring a 38 year old defenseman who was analytically one of the worst players in the league in 2021 on a $5.5m cap hit could’ve yielded disastrous results. Keith has his faults but he was relatively steady this season.

Devon Hladunewich:

For me it was Kailer Yamamoto, he finished 5th on the team in goals. After last season I didn’t know if he had much of a future, but he proved me wrong. Between him, Ryan McLeod and Jesse Puljujarvi there are 3 important RFA’s to sign this offseason.