What to Expect for the Edmonton Oilers in 2023?

Let’s head back to this time in 2021. The Edmonton Oilers were losing to the New Jersey Devils on New Year’s Eve in the OT after suffering the tying goal with 32 seconds to the end of the match. That loss made the Oilers 3-7-1 in the month of December, with a playoff spot and Dave Tippett’s job at risk.

After that, a new year came but the same problems remained in Edmonton. Another negative record (5-6-0) in the month and it looked like we wouldn’t see any playoff action if changes weren’t made.

But then two major changes happened. First, Evander Kane went to the Oilers with the NHL minimum salary and with the expectation he wouldn’t be the same person he was in San José. And he just excelled in Edmonton. Scoring 13 goals in 15 playoff games, he was playing at his best, focusing only on the ice and not getting one headline that wasn’t about how great he was playing.

The other change, and the main one, was changing Dave Tippett for Jay Woodcroft as the head coach. With great work in the AHL in Bakersfield, but with no prior NHL experience in the position, he completely changed the Edmonton Oilers, getting this team to the best run since 2006, reaching the Western Conference Finals.

Coming back to the present, we are again at the end of the calendar year and the Edmonton Oilers are again fighting to get into a spot in the playoff zone. No coaching changes will be made this time, so the team has to rely on trading for new players. Especially defensemen. Right now, the Oilers don’t have the defensive strength to get on where they were last year, and with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in their prime, they don’t figure as cup contenders.

But who could be the one who changes the season as Kane and Woodcroft did?

Jakob Chychrun

Chychrun is a player that a lot of teams have an interest in and with reason. Being 24 years old, he already proved to be an elite defenseman on a team like the Arizona Coyotes. And the Coyotes are willing to trade him, and for sure, with an AAV of 4.6M, one team will make a move to get him.

With an excellent defensive way of playing and some offensive help, he would fit perfectly on the left side of the Edmonton Oilers defense and be the help that Darnell Nurse needs. As Brett Kulak isn’t at his best such as last year, Chychrun can be the answer to the Oilers getting even further in the playoffs this year. But his price is something that will probably hold the Oilers staff from doing it.

To be clearer, it’s very unlikely that Chychrun will be wearing blue and orange anytime soon. , the Coyotes were asking for two A-level prospects and a first-round pick from teams at last season’s deadline. That asking price was believed to have dropped during the preseason.

But with his return, he already has 17 points in 18 games (4-13), and his trade price will improve with it. The Oilers believe involving a prospect player like Philip Broberg is a risk, but at best he will become what Chychrun is today, and that isn’t certain to happen. The only prospect the Oilers shouldn’t get into this conversation is Dylan Holloway, but any other must be at least considered because Chychrun has the potential to make the Edmonton Oilers fight again with these defensive lines, we can’t even start to think about getting far on the playoffs.

Mattias Ekholm

Another player who could improve the left defensive side is the Swedish Mattias Ekholm. Being 32, he’s almost ten years older than Chychrun and has a bigger paycheck too, with 6.25M AAV until 2026. Ekholm has played his entire career in Nashville so far and has 11 points (2-9) on 33 games this season.

Ekholm would make the team better for sure, but with Chychrun as an option, he shouldn’t be the first choice, because the Predators wouldn’t sell him cheap as well. Players like Warren Foegele (2.75M AAV), Tyson Barrie (4.5M AAV), and even Jesse Puljujarvi (3M AAV) could be involved to help with cap reasons as well.