NHL Lessons Learned: Now Entering Oil Country

The rest of the league discovered how dangerous the Edmonton Oilers are in the latest week of NHL lessons learned.

Dec 14, 2024; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; The Edmonton Oilers celebrate a goal scored by forward Corey Perry (90) during the second period against the Vegas Golden Knights at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images / Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

The NHL season is chugging along and after two and a half months, the Edmonton Oilers finally arrived. The regular season is nearing the halfway point and the constantly shifting playoff picture has another new image to display. Let's dive into our lessons learned after the 10th week of the 2024-2025 campaign.

1. Tough Times for Veteran Defenseman

It started with the New York Rangers sending their captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks. The Rangers parted ways with a pivotal and highly-paid defender for pennies on the dollar.

The Anaheim Ducks then figured their limit on $5 million or more defensemen had been reached, so they shipped their longest tenured player, Cam Fowler, to the St. Louis Blues.

It doesn't matter whether you have term on your contract, if you wear a letter on your jersey, or how long you've been with a franchise, it's tough times for veteran defensemen in the NHL.

2. Oil Country Taking Over

The ebbs and flows of the NHL season have led to the Edmonton Oilers catching fire. Winners of five straight, the team is suddenly in third place in the Pacific Division, fifth place overall in the Western Conference, and ninth overall in the NHL standings.

Leon Draisaitl is having an other-worldly run of scoring, with nine points in the last three games alone. He's up to 22 goals and 45 points in 30 games and the Oilers are skating right behind him into the status of Stanley Cup contender.

3. Alex Ovechkin's Rapid Recovery

39 year-old Alex Ovechkin, who is just 26 goals away from tying the all-time NHL record, was dealt a blow to his historic pursuit when he fractured a bone in his leg. But a month later, and he's nearing a return for the Washington Capitals. He quickly progressed from skating on his own last week to rejoining team sessions and morning skates. The most recent buzz is that he could return on an upcoming road trip for the Caps. The pace of his recovery is an incredible physical feat, and it's just adding fuel to the fire of this impressive season Washington is having.

4. Goaltending Carousel in Colorado

Alexander Georgiev, thank you for your service and see you next time, as the Colorado Avalanche totally revamped their goaltending tandem in the middle of the season. After acquiring veteran Scott Wedgewood less than two weeks ago, they swapped Georgiev and more for Mackenzie Blackwood of the San Jose Sharks. Now the forest is guarding the Colorado crease, and the hope is that Blackwood can find his best game with the Avs and backstop them to another Stanley Cup run. Nonetheless, the carousel of goalies in Denver continues.

Georgiev could find himself shipped out of town again before the end of the season. Depending on his performance with the Sharks, the Russian net minder could continue to generate trade buzz and bring in more assets for the rebuild in San Jose.

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