Edmonton Oilers Success Has Made Them Desired Destination
Now that the big rush of free agent signings is done, it has become clear that the Edmonton Oilers are now a team players want to play for.
Looking back to free agency day the Edmonton Oilers had a very successful day. Not only re-signing some of their UFAs but also bringing in a couple of the major UFAs that were testing the market. Of all the teams in the NHL I truly think that the Oilers had one of the free-agent days this year. Not only that I believe this is one of the better Edmonton Oilers free agencies in history.
The main reason I think that causes the Oilers to sign more of these coveted free agents is that the Oilers are Stanley Cup favourites. When it comes to being a hockey player every single one dreams of making the NHL and winning the cup. With these players, they have already made the NHL so there is only one thing they want to do and that is to hoist the Cup. Coming to Edmonton to play for the Oilers gives these players a great chance to do that.
Taking a look at the betting odds for next season the Edmonton Oilers are one of the top teams favoured to win the Cup this year. Coming so close this past season helps that out, looking at the roster they had it made sense that they could repeat what they did this past season. Players around the league know that and want to be a part of that.
Players like Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson saw it from the outside and wanted to become a part of a cup contender, plus a chance to play with either Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl helps as well. The players who had already played for the Oilers, already know what this team is capable of and the fact that they likely took less money to stay shows that they are choosing for an increased chance to win the cup over some more money.
If the Oilers were not having any success on the ice then these players would probably not have even taken one look at coming to Edmonton, we've seen this during the decade of darkness, and it is nice to see the fact that it is finally time for the Oilers and Edmonton to be a desired landing spot for highly sought after UFAs.