The Edmonton Oilers preseason has ended, and with the 2022 season about to kick off, there are still questions left to be answered on the ice for this team. After the Oilers were gut-punched by the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals last season, the team must find a way to take the next step and eventually challenge for the Stanley Cup this year. Any step back from this team this season will be a massive disappointment.
There is no denying the talent that this team has especially on the top with superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, however, the question lies in the supporting casts around them. Although the team vastly improved the scoring depth last season with the addition of Zach Hayman and the trade acquisition of power-forward Evander Kane, the team still needs the bottom six to be able to somehow produce to complement the top six.
The Oilers have to continually find the right chemistry and personnel on the ice who can produce offensively and defensively on a regular basis. This team cannot afford to allow the other teams to key in on just stopping McDavid and Draisaitl, and halt the offense. The Oilers had some problems last season scoring on 5-on-5, and they cannot rely on each and every game to be able to produce on their power play even though they were one of the league’s best last season.
The Oilers already have the pieces, however, there are still some concerns the Oilers had last season, and with that, here are the 3 questions they must answer this season.