3 Things The Edmonton Oilers Still Need To Do This Offseason

The Edmonton Oilers may have accomplished a large amount of things so far this offseason, but there are still things that need to be completed. The list of free agent signings and moves Jeff Jackson has done so far this offseason have been among some of the best moves the Oilers have made in any offseason as of late.

With that being said the work is still not done. As development camp is taking place Jackson still has a few important things that he needs to complete by the time the season starts, but most of these things will want to be taken care of well before that. There are more than three things that he needs to get done, but I have compiled a list of the 3 that I think are the most important.

Appoint A General Manager

The main word in the statement above is appoint, not hire. It is no secret that Jeff Jackson has done a fine job running this team since the departure of Ken Holland, marking this as one of the most successful offseasons in Oilers history. That said, I don't know why they wouldn't just add General Manager to the job title of Jackson.

While Jackson has done a good job, he does have other things around the organization to do and may not want the extra stress and work that comes with bringing a GM. If that is the case the Oilers need to start looking at getting a new GM sooner rather than later. As I said before in this article, several things still need to be done and most of the remaining things need to be handled by a GM.

While I am sure Jackson is good with handling things in the interim, he would rather have a full-time person appointed to that role moving forward. With this team having one of their best seasons in recent memory they will need to continue to get better if they hope to lift the cup this upcoming season.

Get A Leon Draisaitl Extension Done

When it comes to the face of the Edmonton Oilers there are two main players, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. McDavid still has two full years on his contract and can't extend till next offseason, Draisaitl is in the final year of his deal and can be extended at any time till it expires next year.

Leon Draisaitl is a three time 50 goal scorer and when it comes to the NHL the only player who has been a more constant goal scorer in the past couple of years has been Austin Matthews. Matthews though produces a majority of his points with his goals, only getting more assists than goals once in his career. Draisaitl on the other hand scores lots of goals and adds assists, never getting less assists than goals. This makes him a better overall player than Matthews, which should earn Draisaitl more money than Matthews.

For the Edmonton Oilers I understand that they do not want to spend too much money on Draisaitl, but they also need to realize that Draisatilis one of the best players in the world and if they can not re-sign him then this team would be taking a big step backwards.

If the Oilers let this drag on too long then doubt will creep in that the Oilers will not be able to re-sign him. Then the big question will come up if they can't sign him do they have to trade him in order to not lose him for nothing? That would be a trade the Oilers would certainly lose.

While I am sure he will re-sign with the Oilers I would much rather see this deal get done before the start of the season. The Oilers fans do not need another area of anxiety when it comes to this team, so locking in Leon Draisaitl would be greatly appreciated by fans like myself.