The Edmonton Oilers have made back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals and of course, hope to make it for a third straight season this June. Unfortunately, it does not seem like this will be the case given where the Oilers currently sit.
As of right now, the Oilers occupy the third and final division playoff spot inside the Pacific Division with 66 points in 61 games played, giving them a points percentage of .541 according to the NHL standings. Right on their heels are the Seattle Kraken with 65 points in 59 games for an even better points percentage of .551.
There are other teams with games in hand as well like the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings who both sit at 62 points with 58 and 59 games played, respectively. A bad week here or there for the Oilers could seriously jeopardize their current hold on a playoff spot and the way things have been trending, it is quite possible.
There are multiple areas that the Oilers should look to improve as the deadline approaches that will give them a better chance of holding onto their playoff spot but also improve their chances of making another long run.
Oilers need depth scoring
It is no secret that the Oilers are a top-heavy team, mainly carried by their stars like Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, and captain Connor McDavid. However, Kris Knoblauch and his coaching staff have faced criticisms for their usage at times, overly relying on his big name players and not giving the depth a chance.
This is true to an extent with all three averaging well over 20 minutes a game and sometimes with McDavid and Draisaitl playing upwards of 25 minutes in a single game. This is not sustainable over the long term and whether you disagree with Knoblauch or not, it clearly signals a need for improved depth up front.
Maybe if Knoblauch played them in more advantageous positions they would score or maybe they are just simply not good enough. Either way, there is likely a two-way street at times but it cannot be denied that the personnel within the bottom-six is largely made up of defensively-minded penalty killers and a lack of high end offensive upside.
Players such as; Mattias Janmark, Curtis Lazar, Adam Henrique, and Trent Frederic have all struggled to generate offence this season. As well, Andrew Mangiapane whose signing last summer has been such a failure that the club has been trying to move him for months.
There is a need specifically for a third line centre spot, especially if the Oilers plan to keep Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the wing inside the top-six. Right now, it is a rotating cast of Jack Roslovic and Henrique occupying this spot with the club seeming to prefer putting Roslovic on the wing and with Henrique on the fourth line.
If a move cannot be made for a third line centre, the club could also look to add a winger who can play up-and-down the lineup. Both of these would be welcomed additions but given the premium that is put on the centre ice position, adding another player into the mix who can play down the middle would be best.
Oilers need defensive help
Much ink has been spilled over the Oilers need to keep pucks out of their goal. They attempted to help this by acquiring Tristan Jarry in December and with the addition of Connor Ingram into their pipeline, now solidifying a permanent role in Edmonton.
However, even with a completely different goaltending tandem this year, they are still struggling in the goals against department, sitting sixth in terms of goals against per 60 minutes (evolving-hockey.com).
In addition to their inability to keep pucks out, they are also giving up quality chances, ranking 11th in expected goals against per 60. They do sit in a much better 22nd and 24th in fenwick and corsi against, respectively. Meaning, they are suppressing the number of chances against but are allowing high quality against.
This signals a need to improve their defence, which the club has attempted by adding Paul Coffey back into an assistant coach role behind the bench. Although, the Oilers likely will need to add another player onto their backend, someone who can help suppress chances but adding a player with puck moving ability would be good if possible.
Oilers reported trade targets
In recent days and weeks, the Oilers have been primarily connected to forwards and defencemen. Specifically, defencemen capable of playing the right side, with multiple being top-four defenders. This led to some speculation from NHL insider Frank Seravalli that the Oilers could be going after Justin Faulk and Oliver Ekman-Larsson to add to their defence corps.
Up front, the club had been reported to be targeting a top-nine winger but more recent reports suggest that general manager Stan Bowman and the front office are going after defensively responsible bottom-six centres.
Overall, I believe the club is close to hitting the mark but the lack of focus on offence is something that could harm them.
We will have to see how things pan out for the team. Whenever you have stars as great as McDavid, Bouchard, and Draisaitl, you never can fully count them out of it but they need to play better as a team if they want to take another deep run. That likely means that they will need to add to their roster in order to give themselves a better chance moving forward.