The Edmonton Oilers saw their season end earlier this month, after losing in their first round series against the Anaheim Ducks in six games.
After back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals appearances, they have been ousted in the first round, following an up-and-down season. Something that is unacceptable for a team in the Oilers' position given the heights they have hit in recent years.
This season cannot be seen as anything less than a failure, one that will force the Oilers management, including general manager Stan Bowman and above him to make tough decisions this summer. He will have to be bold if he wants to improve the team.
There are a number of areas that he can do this in through player acquisitions, trades, signings, and even personnel decisions. This is especially with the reported rifts inside the organization.
Fire Kris Knoblauch
One bold move that the Oilers could make is firing their head coach, Kris Knoblauch. It may be tough for the club to justify this move internally, given Knoblauch is the first Oilers coach to oversee the team to multiple Stanley Cup Finals runs since Glen Sather in the 1980's.
However, between many reported rifts throughout the year between the coaching staff and the players and aforementioned issues behind the scenes between the coaches and Oilers management, it is not a happy marriage for all involved. It may be time for a fresh start.
This is not even mentioning the issues that fans have with the coaching staff -- specifically Knoblauch -- not giving enough playing time to their depth players. This has caused some underwhelming seasons from various young players throughout the year like; Dylan Holloway, Philip Broberg, and Isaac Howard.
Upgrade the depth
Another clear area of need within the Oilers lineup is their depth offence. It was a major failure at the trade deadline and one that hurt the team before and after as the club struggled to consistently provide supporting offence to their stars Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and Evan Bouchard.
This is an area that the Oilers management needs to address this summer and they need to come to camp next season with tangible upgrades up front. This is especially important with the Oilers having nearly $16.5 million in cap space this upcoming offseason according to puckpedia.com.
This is also important with the club having limited assets to trade having only one first rounder in the next three drafts. In total, the team has only one first, two seconds, and one third round pick over the next three drafts, giving them only four picks in the first three rounds out of the standard nine.
Oilers will need to upgrade in net
The Oilers neverending problem, their true kryptonite seems to be their goaltending. It is an issue that has plagued the club for years and an issue that if they do not properly address, could cost them their Stanley Cup window with the greatest player of his generation.
Their core of Draisaitl and McDavid is aging with both set to be 30 and above by the end of next season. This is not counting other vital pieces like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Zach Hyman who are both 33 years old. Not to mention, Mattias Ekholm will be 36 by the end of this month.
The time is now for the Oilers to make a big push and after their goaltending this past season, they will need to make some serious upgrades. This may come in the way of a big trade for young players or pursuing a veteran in free agency, such as Sergei Bobrovsky who they were reported to be targeting at the deadline.
Changes need to be coming
General manager Stan Bowman has his work cut out for him this summer. There are plenty of changes that need to be made in order for the team to get back into being a serious contendor, it is an important offseason for the club.
The looming fear of McDavid leaving like another certain captain of a Canadian team should have major impacts on how the club operates this summer. They need to make the most out of the opportunity they have.
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