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Are the Edmonton Oilers forwards (already) better than last season?

By Gabriel Candido

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 16: Leon Draisaitl #29 of the Edmonton Oilers celebrates his third period power-play goal with Connor McDavid #97 against the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center on February 16, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 16: Leon Draisaitl #29 of the Edmonton Oilers celebrates his third period power-play goal with Connor McDavid #97 against the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center on February 16, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman
Jun 6, 2022; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman (18) celebrates his goal against the Colorado Avalanche during the second period in game four of the Western Conference Final of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-USA TODAY Sports /

Hockey is not a sport for only two players, and the Oilers were able to fix this issue bringing excellent names last year.

One of them was Zach Hyman, who from the first moment in Edmonton already played great, earning a lot of minutes with McDavid on the first line and had the best season of his career in points, with 54 on 76 games of the regular season and being the player with most points not named McDavid or Draisaitl on the team.

On the playoffs, he was the second with most goals of Edmonton and the third of all NHL, with 11 on 20 GP, only behind his teammate Evander Kane and Nathan MacKinnon.

With another full season and stability on the coaching staff, Hyman is another player who can deliver even more, playing either with McDavid or Draisaitl.

But if one player will finally face some stability on the NHL, it is Evander Kane. Only speaking about his on ice performance and actions here, he just signed a new 4-year 20.5M contract with the team, worth 5.125M AAV.

He was other player who delivered on his first games with the Oilers and showed he is still an elite NHL player. He could’ve earned a better contract in other team, but he choose to stay in a team he believes can fight for the cup.

Kane, who scored 13 goals on only 15 playoff games and led the NHL playoffs on goals, brings strength to the first line, such in ability and physical, leading the NHL playoffs in PIM too, with 37. Kane said the following about staying in Edmonton:

"(…) “This is a great opportunity. This group, this organization. You know, from the top down with Kenny (Holland) and Jay (Woodcroft), Connor (McDavid) and (Leon Draisaitl) and those guys. It was hard to pass up and having an opportunity to truly compete for a Stanley Cup and hopefully hoist one here on a Canadian team. “I’ve embedded myself in this team. I’m happy to be here,” “Honestly, ever since I landed at the airport back in January, everybody’s treated me really well. The fans, the community have been great, and that only continued to rise as time went on. It was no different coming back for the opening of the season.”"

Finishing the probable top 6 forward, the Oilers have Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, which is the player of the team who spent most time with the team.

And we all know how much someone who is with the Oilers since 2011 deserves some good playoffs runs and finally be able to fight for the cup.

The first pick of that year played most of last season on third line and was great, but the coaches and the fans all know he can still be valuable and worth some top 6 minutes if needed. With his 8-year contract signed last year, he is another one who believes on this team more than ever.

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