Staff Predictions for the Edmonton Oilers 2022-23 season

The Edmonton Oilers season cannot come soon enough. With the first game of the year on Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks, the Oil On Whyte staff is coming together to talk about some predictions for the year.

Are The Edmonton Oilers Better Than Last Year’s Team?

Almar Reyes(@heyitsalmar):

Yes, the Oilers are better than last year especially in net with the addition of Soup.

Mike Smith played way above expectation last season at age 50, and although Jack Campbell was inconsistent last season, he was not a bad goalie at all with 2.64 GAA and 0916 SV%. If those numbers improve, add that to an explosive Oilers offense, look out!

Gabriel Candido(@EDMOilersBR)

Yes it is. With they improving the goalie position and the defense, the Oilers can go even further next season. Keeping Kane, Puljujarvi, Yamo and McLeod was excellent for the offense as well. As a matter of fact, this topic is my second article on the Oil On Whyte.

Lane Golden:

They are marginally better. It’s a similar roster, but I think the new goaltending tandem is a minor upgrade, and I anticipate some internal growth from young players returning from last year. Dylan Holloway could be a major X-factor as well.

Phil Gretzky:

Better.  A full year of Evander Kane, a deeper bottom six forward group and bottom pairing D pairing, as well as younger – and hopefully better – goaltending should all combine to make the Oilers better next season.

Devon Hladunewich(@Nsidesandwich):

In the regular season, yes I think they will improve. As for the playoffs I think they are going to either do the same or worse. Colorado is still a strong team so it will be tough to get through them again.

I also think the changes made in Calgary this offseason will make their team a hard to play against in the playoffs.

The Edmonton Oilers win the division, but I don’t think they will make it to the Cup final.

Who will lead the Edmonton Oilers in goals?

Almar Reyes:

This year, Leon Draisaitl will lead the Oilers in goals. It is hard not to pick Drai here, who scored 55 goals last season. I think he will reach 50 again this year.

Gabriel Candido:

Leon Draisaitl will lead the team in goals. But Connor McDavid and Evander Kane shouldn’t be far from him.

Lane Golden:

Leon Draisaitl – He will lead the team in goals just like he has in 3 of the last 4 years. Being the trigger man on one of the league’s best powerplays doesn’t hurt his chances.

Phil Gretzky:

Connor McDavid – can’t go wrong with this bet.

Devon Hladunewich:

Leon Draisaitl, this is a pretty easy question. This year instead of just McDavid having a chance to catch him I think Evander Kane will be close to beating him. The way Kane was scoring late last year shows he could win the goal race. I still think Leon wins it though.

Who will lead the Edmonton Oilers in points?

Almar Reyes:

McD is the correct answer here, back-to-back Art Ross. McD had 123 points last season, need I say more? Let’s hit the turkey here!

Gabriel Candido:

Connor McDavid will lead the team and the NHL in points once again.

Lane Golden:

Connor McDavid – He’s a lock every year when healthy.

Phil Gretzky:

Connor McDavid again – same reason.

Devon Hladunewich:

Connor McDavid, he will not only lead the team in points, but he is going to lead the whole NHL in points.

Who on the Edmonton Oilers will improve from last season?

Almar Reyes:

Darnell Nurse had a down year by Edmonton standard. We need to see more from him and this year, he might be able to eclipse the 40 point mark.

Gabriel Candido:

Evan Bouchard is set to be one of the players that will improve the most. But I really expect Jesse Puljujarvi and Stuart Skinner to have a huge improvement this season.

Lane Golden:

Evan Bouchard – The youngster no doubt learned a lot from the successes and failures of last year. I expect him to continue his development into a more complete player.

Phil Gretzky:

Evander Kane – for the simple reason we have him for a full season this time around, notwithstanding injury.

Devon Hladunewich:

Warren Foegele for me is a player I think will improve from last season. Statistically he didn’t have that bad of year compared to previous seasons, but the way he played changed.

I also think Foegele will get a chance on the penalty kill this season. This should keep him in the game more, so he will have more of a chance to make a difference.

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Who on the Edmonton Oilers will have a regression from last season?

Almar Reyes:

Coin flip between Hyman and Kaner, but I think Evander will have a down year this season. This is a tough one as we only saw Kane briefly after he signed with the Oilers mid-season. We saw what he can do in the playoffs, but that scoring pace was not sustainable especially during the season.

Gabriel Candido:

Unfortunately think Warren Foegele or even Tyson Barrie can have a difficult season. But I hope we end the season saying that no one had a regression.

Lane Golden:

Evander Kane – He was a desperate man last year. Now that he has secured a paycheque and some stability, I expect there to be a slight drop-off in production.

Phil Gretzky:

I’m going to say Tyson Barrie, seems like the most likely candidate.

Devon Hladunewich:

Evan Bouchard to me will have bit of a slide. Last season he played a lot on the third pairing. This year I think he will end up playing on the second pairing. He will be facing better competition and therefore get exposed more.

Who will be the standout player of the season?

Almar Reyes:

Bouch! Get him the top PP unit, like right now! Hard to imagine why the Oilers have not yet given Bouchard the top PP unit, when he gets that role, look out!

Gabriel Candido:

Connor McDavid is the obvious answer and probably is the right one, alongside Leon Draisaitl. But I think we all want to see Jack Campbell excel on his first Oilers’ season. We need to have confidence on our goalie again.

Lane Golden:

Connor McDavid – I know it’s the easy answer, but he stands out every time he touches the puck.

Phil Gretzky:

Evan Bouchard – I can’t wait to see what he’ll do for an encore.

Devon Hladunewich:

Connor McDavid. Until he is no longer an elite NHL player he is always going to be the standout player of the whole NHL.

One player, the team could trade for…

Almar Reyes:

Who else, but Patty Kane! Evander Kane to Patrick Kane, Kane passes to Kane, Kane shoots, Kane the rebound, Kane scores! Oh the madness! All jokes aside, and although it might be so farfetched, Patrick Kane will get the Oilers over the top this season. Which player will the other team have to focus to shut down?

Gabriel Candido:

I know the current cap space of $167 makes everything almost impossible, but Patrick Kane playing with Connor McDavid would be a historical pairing.

Lane Golden:

Carson Soucy – The Oilers may try to catch a big fish, but if that proves too difficult Soucy is a good option. He’s a great defensive defenseman with an affordable cap hit. If Broberg isn’t ready, I could see them going this route.

Phil Gretzky:

Scott Mayfield of the New York Islanders.  I already wrote about that one, so not going to go too much in depth here.

Devon Hladunewich:

I know everyone is going to be looking at Patrick Kane, but to me there is another pending UFA I think would fit better and he has a lower cap hit. Vladimir Tarasenko is a player that if the Blues are struggling they may be willing to trade if they don’t think they can re-sign him.

There has been issues between him and the team in previous years, so there is a chance he may not want to come back to St. Louis. His lower cap hit and acquisition cost make home to me more appealing than Patrick Kane.

Who will make the playoffs from the Pacific Division?

Almar Reyes:

In no particular order, Oilers, Flames, Golden Knights, Canucks. I think the Kings overachieved last season, they will fall back in the standings. The Knights were right there towards the end. The Canucks are the dark horse here, if they put it all together, they might surprise everyone.

Gabriel Candido:

The Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames (boo), and Vancouver Canucks. All Canadian division and Vegas Golden Knights get a Wild Card spot.

Lane Golden:

Oilers, Flames, Kings, and Canucks – The Golden Knights just have too many question marks in net for me to pick them above these teams. The rest of the Pacific still has a ways to go.

Phil Gretzky:

Oilers, Kings, Flames, in that order.

Devon Hladunewich:

I will even put them in the order I think they will finish. Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights. I think this season the Pacific Division will hold both Wild Card spots.

Who will win the Presidents Trophy?

Almar Reyes:

The Avs will be tough to beat in the west and have the firepower to get the presidents trophy. Why do we even doubt the Stanley Cup champ? I will not do that.

Gabriel Candido:

I want to say the Edmonton Oilers so such. But I think the Colorado Avalanche will get it.

Lane Golden:

Toronto Maple Leafs – The Leafs had some of the worst goaltending in the NHL last year and they were still among the league’s best teams. Even if the Murray-Samsonov tandem is average that might be enough to put them on top.

Phil Gretzky:

Tough question.  I can’t see a clear cut winner so just for the sake of picking a team I’m going to say….NY Rangers.

Devon Hladunewich:

I really hate to say it, but I think this the year the Toronto Maple Leafs get the Presidents Trophy. Will they make it past the first round, probably not, but that’s a Toronto problem as of late.

Who will win the Stanley Cup?

Almar Reyes:

Duh! Lets Go Oilers! The Oilers addressed what they have been missing the past couple of years and that’s the goaltending. No more 1A 1B experiment, now they can run it with Soup, every game.

Gabriel Candido:

The Edmonton Oilers will be the 2022-23 Stanley Cup Champions.

Lane Golden:

Carolina Hurricanes – The Canes have been close for a few years now. The addition of veterans like Max Pacioretty and Brent Burns could be enough to finally get them over the hump. A healthy Freddy Andersen in the playoffs would go a long way too.

Phil Gretzky:

Also a good question.  I want to say the Oilers but mostly think that’s premature.  Just because I see no clear cut favorite I’ll say St. Louis just for the sake of picking someone.

Devon Hladunewich:

This year I think the Cup will be going back to the Eastern Conference and it will be going to the Carolina Hurricanes. The injuries in goal in the playoffs last season really hurt them. Plus they added a few new players. To me they are going to be a tough team to beat in the Playoffs.