With today being Thanksgiving(in Canada) and the Edmonton Oilers regular season starting in two days there is lots of things to be thankful for at this time of year. In this article I am going to let you know three things that I think we should all be thankful for this Thanksgiving when it comes to the Edmonton Oilers and the season.
1. Connor McDavid
Ever since that card came up in the draft lottery I knew that I was going to be thankful the Edmonton Oilers were so bad for so many years in a row cause the karma earned us a generation talent in Connor McDavid.
Since McDavid was drafted first overall in 2015 he has accomplished a lot. He has won the Art Ross 4 times, Hart twice, Ted Lindsay 3 times and has been on the All-Star team 5 times.In his 487 regular season games with the Edmonton Oilers he has scored 239 goals and added 458 assists. That is a lot of points in his short time in the NHL.
He has scored a few highlight real goals in his time here. Scoring at least a few unbelievable goals each season. Here is an article written last year breaking down the top 5 goals of his career at that point.
I hope Connor McDavid will stay the Edmonton Oilers captain for his whole career. It makes these Thanksgiving articles a lot easier as he is always on the list.
2. Edmonton Oilers Finally Have A Starting Goalie
On the days leading up to the opening of free agency this year the Edmonton Oilers were rumoured to be in on Jack Campbell. The rumours were so strong that they even knew how much he was signing for and for how long.
Then when the day came and the deal became official a majority of Oilers fans could finally exhale. It has been many years since the Edmonton Oilers have had a goalie going into the season they knew would be the starter.
They finally have that now and I am thankful for that. We were all getting sick of saying “you know what your get with Koskinen, but I think Smith has a better upside”. Is there still a chance that after a couple months Skinner challenges, if course there is, but for now it is Campbell’s net and that’s a good thing.
3. Back To Normal
After having the past couple years clouded by questions about COVID and if they the NHL should play in the Olympics of not this season is finally back to normal. There is almost no concern about COVID anymore and we don’t need to wonder if players are going to the Olympics or not cause there is none.
We can now just watch hockey and look forward to games. There is no more Jesse Puljujarvi getting stranded in Seattle cause he tests positive. No more trying to figure out who will take Archibald’s spot on road games cause he can’t travel.
Now we get to look at lineups and we will know who should be playing games. It will make the season less stressful for everyone with team and the players being at the top of the list.
Season Starts Wednesday
The Edmonton Oilers open up their regular season Wednesday the 12th at 8PM. This team looks to improve or at least repeat how last season went. The chase for the Cup starts in two days and I couldn’t be more excited.