To say that the Edmonton Oilers were never close to winning the Stanley Cup is misleading and incorrect. Yes, they have taken steps back, but such comments without supporting facts are unnecessary. However, making back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances meant they were close enough to win.
Winning two overtime games to get to Game 6 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Finals has to mean something. We all know Edmonton’s rally from 3-0 in the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals against the Florida Panthers to force a Game 7, where they came up one goal short as they fell 2-1. So if the team loses by one goal, it means that they will win.
Leon Draisaitl Didn’t Say Anything About Edmonton Oilers Play
But everyone knew this year that it would be difficult, not only for the Panthers to return to the Stanley Cup Final, but also for the Oilers. Edmonton has had a tough enough time making the playoffs. As Leon Draisaitl noted, the Oilers have gone in the wrong direction.
“Yeah, I’m worried about that. And a little bit of that leads to clarity for us players. Like I said before, we haven’t done a good enough job of winning games the right way,” Draisaitl said when asked if he’s worried the team is headed in the wrong direction. “And I don’t like to use the term taking the regular season seriously, because we do. We go to every game, and we try to do it right. We say the right things.
But I think you really have to in the regular season, build these moments, you have to be comfortable in these moments. And we didn’t do that this year, and it was last seen in the first round here. So, but yes, I am worried, because we are not trending in the right direction. We’ve taken big steps back, and we have to catch this and get back on track.”
Draisaitl has been open and honest all season about how he feels the team has been doing. A common theme among the players was that the team needs to improve. Everyone has to be better from top to bottom. The mindset has to change.
What to make of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid’s comments?
As Connor McDavid said following Game 6 of the First Round series against the Anaheim Ducks, the team was just fine. He backed up those comments Saturday, along with Draisaitl’s, saying the team has backed off.
“Yes, I feel the same way. It was a few days ago that I made those comments. Obviously, I feel the same way that I did a few days ago,” McDavid said when asked if the team took a step back and if he felt the same way about the limited team. “And I agree with Leon that the organization as a whole is going backwards. And that starts with me, it starts with Leon. We can all get better. We all need to get better.”
Also, it’s hard to make the Stanley Cup Final three years in a row. While the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning have accomplished that, everything has to go smoothly, and the team needs to step up at the right time. The Oilers just didn’t have the depth they had in previous years to make that kind of run.
Can Management Improve Edmonton Oilers Around Connor McDavid
Whether the team wants to admit it or not, they have played a lot of hockey since 2022. The path back to the Stanley Cup Final is there, but all must buy. As Kris Knoblauch noted, there needs to be bigger roles for other players on the team. It will no longer be a team of three or four players. Look at the Colorado Avalanche when they overcame the depth they had.
The Edmonton Oilers have depth in 2024 with Evander Kane, Corey Perry, Ryan McLeod, Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway, Vincent Desharnais, Cody Ceci, and Warren Foegele. Leon Draisaitl called the 2024 Edmonton Oilers the best team they’ve ever had.
But who is to blame for the lack of depth in the squad now? Identify the management and how things were handled at the end of the 2024 season. Therefore, for the Edmonton Oilers to get back to where they want to be, the team must improve and take the regular season forward, find an ownership that fits their style of play, and find success.
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