Analysts Losing Faith in Oilers

It's been a rough start for the Edmonton Oilers who were expected to be Stanley Cup favorites.

Nov 9, 2024; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) celebrates with forward Zach Hyman (18) after scoring a goal against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images / Bob Frid-Imagn Images

The Edmonton Oilers came within a game of securing the Stanley Cup last season and where many analysts pick to win this year. The Oilers entered the 2024-25 season as the favorites, but they’ve gotten off to a less-than-ideal start.

With a 9-8-2 record, the Oilers currently sit outside of a playoff spot and pundits are starting to lose faith in their Stanley Cup chances. TSN’s Craig Button is already walking back his prediction of saying the Oilers were going to reach the mountaintop in 2025.

“Forgive me for I may have errored in picking the Edmonton Oilers to be the Stanley Cup favorites,” Button said. “They just don’t have a team that’s good enough to contend for the Stanley Cup.”

It was believed that the Oilers entered the 2024-25 season with a much better roster on paper and shouldn’t have an issue being a top team in the NHL. Inconsistencies around the lineup and awful goaltending to start the year have sunk the Oilers in the early stages of the season.

Starting goalie Stuart Skinner has allowed 38 goals in 12 games with a 5-5-2 record, .877 save percentage, and 3.28 goals against average.

Through the first 11 games of the season, superstar Connor McDavid only had three goals. He had seven assists for 10 points in that time, but they weren’t translating to wins often enough.

Button continued to say that this slip in contention has nothing to do with coaching or even defense. Rather, there just isn’t enough in the lineup to get them moving in the right direction.

“When you look at all the metrics, they are excellent defensively,” Button said. “They are excellent offensively, with respect to process and process has to be in order. They don’t have enough good players to be Stanley Cup contenders. That’s the bottom line.”

The Oilers believed their lineup would produce at a much high level, but some key additions are yet to pan out. Viktor Arvidsson has five points in 16 games, Jeff Skinner has six in 19 contests, and Vasily Podkolzin is yet to score a goal this year.

39-year-old Corey Perry is currently listed on the second line with Podkolzin and Leon Draisaitl.

“They’re a weaker team. They’re a lesser team.”

It’s shocking to say a team with McDavid and Draisaitl might not be a championship favorite, but that’s the way it’s been in Edmonton for their entire tenures. They’ve never been able to get over the hump.

The one year they finally did and made it all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, they lost and followed that up with a step back in performance.

If it’s any conciliation, the Oilers had a much worse start last year and still managed to make it as far as they did. The Oilers aren’t dead in the water, but people are already starting to lose faith.

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