Oilers fans: how are you feeling about your team after a lukewarm performance in the 2024-25 NHL pre-season? If you’re a pessimist, you’re probably thinking the sky is falling in because the defense has holes, Jeff Skinner hasn’t found chemistry with Leon Draisaitl, and they could be headed for a similar start in the upcoming NHL season than they had last season.
However, if you’re a glass-half-full kind of person, there are some solid reasons why you should be excited heading into the 2024-25 NHL campaign. Here are five reasons why Oilers fans should be optimistic about the season.
1. The Oilers Have the Experience to Win it All
Like so many great NHL teams, the fear of losing is almost as powerful as the will to win. The Oilers’ current core group understands that. The 2024-25 Oilers remind me a lot of the 1982-83 Oilers who were swept in four games by the New York Islanders in the 1983 Stanley Cup Final. As former Oilers head coach and general manager (GM) Glen Sather put it, “The Islanders showed us what it took to win, because they were a difficult team to beat.”
The 2024-25 Oilers are now one of the NHL’s elite teams, and you can’t underestimate all that the team gained on their way to losing the 2024 Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers by one goal in Game 7. On a recent Lowedown with Lowetide podcast, two of my favourite hockey commentators, Alan Mitchell and Steve Lansky had a very intelligent and insightful discussion about the Oilers heading into the 2024-25 season. Lanksy summed up the Oilers current state of mind the best: “When you reach the Stanley Cup final, you become a different player. You understand what it took to get there. You understand what it took to lose and you don’t want to do that again.” Oilers fans, despite a mediocre preseason, you should be excited about your team’s chances of competing for the Stanley Cup in 2024-25.
2. Salary Cap Management
The current Oilers management group, led by CEO & President of Hockey Operations, Jeff Jackson, and new GM Stan Bowman, may have some cash to play with by the time the 2025 Trade Deadline approaches, especially if Oilers forward Evander Kane is placed on long term injured reserve (LTIR) after offseason surgery. Having…
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