Oilers predicted by The Athletic to take that final step in 2024-25

If you spend too much time thinking about it, you realise more and more that the Edmonton Oilers wasted a golden opportunity versus the Florida Panthers. Yes all that matters is the final score(s), but the Oilers were clearly the better team overall and by rights should have the Stanley Cup back in Edmonton,

Rational thinking or not, Oilers fans can therefore be forgiven for wondering if their team will ever actually win the Stanley Cup during the Connor McDavid era? Well, the answer seems to be yes, at least according to one of the most reputable hockey media outlets around today.

On Thursday, The Athletic unveiled their self-confessed 'Way-too-early predictions for the NHL 2024-25 season'. And if you're an Oilers fan in particular, it makes for good reading. (Albeit subscription required.)

And the Stanley Cup goes to ...

The Athletic's NHL staff all got together to cast their votes on a whole host of categories. This of course included who will be the Stanley Cup champion, with the Oilers accumulating the most votes by quite a considerable percentage.

The Oilers received 46.9 percent of the votes, followed by the Dallas Stars at 21.9 percent and the New York Rangers at 9.4 percent. The Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators were tied-fourth at 6.3 percent, while the Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils and Vancouver Canucks received the remainder of the votes, at 3.1 percent each.

Now yes we've been here before, with ESPN's Greg Wyshynski predicting the Oilers would win it all prior to the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign. Take from that what you want, but there's no denying that after a bevvy of impressive free agency moves, the Oilers have an even better roster now compared to the one which just came up short against the Panthers.

With the Oilers receiving the most votes to win the Stanley Cup, it should come as no surprise that they are also at the top of the list when it comes to who will claim the Presidents' Trophy. Not quite as convincingly mind, but still with a considerable advantage.

In this respect the Oilers received 37.5 percent of the vote, followed by the Stars again, at 21.9 percent, and then the Avalanche at 9.4 percent. For what it's worth from a historical perspective, the Oilers have won the Presidents' Trophy twice in their history, in 1985-86 and 1986-87. (Interestingly though, they only won the Stanley Cup in 1986-87.)

On an individual basis

We're not going to go through all of the remaining categories, with one exception - the Hart Trophy. And McDavid is the runaway leader when it comes to votes, at a massive 87.5 percent.

Of course the Oilers superstar is no stranger to winning the Hart Memorial Trophy, having previously claimed it in 2017, 2021 and 2023. In terms of voting by The Athletic's NHL staff, only three other players received any votes: Nathan MacKinnon at 6.3 percent, along with Jack Hughes and Jason Robertson at 3.1 percent each.

Overall there's plenty for Oilers fans to like, if and when they get the time to read the whole article by The Athletic. (And it is a good read.) However, as they admit themselves, these are their way-too-early predictions; plus, no matter how good things may look on paper, it's a very different and unpredictable situation once you hit the ice.

Recent Posts