Who is the Edmonton Oilers biggest threat in the Western Conference?

When it comes to the world of North American sports I do not think there is a harder championship to win than the NHL. While it might not be the most popular sport in North America I think it is the most grueling. Playing 4 rounds of best of seven series in a game as physical as hockey is what in my mind makes it the hardest championship to win. For the Edmonton Oilers to come within one game of winning it last season, means nothing moving forward. They will once again have to go through an 82 games season and then 3 rounds of playoffs to make it to the Cup final again.

So it is not going to be a cakewalk by any means for the Oilers. Just like a lot of people, I do believe they have the skill and ability to do it all again, but I do think that there is going to be one team that is going to give the Oilers a hard time. It is a team that they didn't have to face along the way because they were taken out by another team along the way and that team to me is the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche were eliminated by the Dallas Stars in the Central Division finals in 6 games.

While the Oilers do have a reason to be concerned by other teams such as the Stars and Golden Knights, I think the way the Avalanche line up with the Oilers is the scariest from an Oilers' point of view. The Avalanche are built similarly to the Oilers. They have high-end skill up front with Nathan Mikinnon and Mikko Rantanan, but they also have what could be the best defenseman in the league in Cale Makar.

On top of those 3 players, the Colorado Avalanche are a fast team that in the past have given the Oilers some trouble. So while it may be a bit early to be getting worried about playoff match-ups I just want to let everyone know, that just because the Oilers made it to the finals last year means nothing about what they are going to do this year.