Every season under the Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl era in Edmonton, the Oilers have been one of the favourites to win the Stanley Cup. This year is no different. Depending on the sportsbook, you’ll see the Oilers with fourth-best odds to win the Stanley Cup, somewhere between +900 and +1000.
These odds are higher than normal given the season Edmonton had last year. But it seems the hockey world still can’t get enough of betting against a team that has McDavid and Draisaitl on it. We have seen this be the case over the years with Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. While it is still hard to bet against Crosby, in more recent times the Penguins are an average team.
Go to other sports like the NFL, and all you heard during the Patriots Dynasty years was that you can’t bet against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. The same thing is being said in Kansas City with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. But like the Chiefs, the Oilers are an average team with a couple of good pieces.
As Connor McDavid told the media at the end of last season, this is an average team with high expectations. The same thing can be said this season about the Edmonton Oilers. The pressure is on them to win now. This is a big year in Edmonton. Everyone knows what is at stake with McDavid’s new extension kicking in, and next July 1st, he is eligible for an extension.
Edmonton Oilers Roster Needs Work, Team Just Doesn’t Need a Coach
This is the season for Edmonton to get things done. The players wanted Mike Babcock and got him. But what has Babcock done to warrant this hiring? He hasn’t won a playoff series since 2013. Hasn’t won a Stanley Cup since 2008. His last final appearance was 2009. Not to mention, he has won with All-Star teams.
This is going to be the biggest test for Mike Babcock in his coaching career. There are a lot of holes to fill and not a lot of depth. This version of the Oilers is not a proven team in the playoffs.
Say what you want about them going to the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and 2025; that is ancient history in terms of hockey seasons. Not to mention those teams were different, especially 2024, as Draisaitl pointed out at the end of the season. Where is the depth? Does this Oilers team not have depth or role players?
That 2024 version of the Oilers did have Vincent Desharnais, Cody Ceci, Corey Perry, Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway, Ryan McLeod, Warren Foegele, Evander Kane, Connor Brown, and Adam Henrique. Over the last two seasons, the depth that made the Oilers so successful diminished.
Oilers Add Cup-Winning Goalie Andersen as Betting Futures Odds Shift
Everyone wants to knock Kris Knoblauch for his coaching style last season, but maybe he knew there was a reason he had to keep playing 97 and 29 on the ice all the time. The bottom six of the Oilers lineup was good enough to be out there, or they didn’t know how to play the system.
Enter Mike Babcock. He will need players like Isaac Howard and Matt Savoie to take the next steps. Not to mention the defense is completely reshaped. No more Darnell Nurse on the back end. Ryan Shea and Connor Murphy are there. Murphy had to be re-signed due to what GM Stan Bowman gave up for him. Same for Sam Dickinson.
Unless Babcock can get these players to buy into team defense, a concept the previous Oilers tried and failed with, the Oilers aren’t going to be successful. Though to be fair, Knoblauch got the players to buy into that concept, going on extended winning streaks in his first two seasons. The players were able to protect Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard.
Given how Babcock wants to play with pressure on the puck in the offensive zone and needing numbers coming back, it is going to be a challenge for some of these guys to keep up. Not to mention that the Carolina Hurricanes’ defensive zone structure isn’t coming to Edmonton to protect Frederik Andersen. He is going to be asked to do a lot more. Can he do it coming off an injury in the Stanley Cup Final?
Management Made the Edmonton Oilers Worse Not Better
Andersen is the most mobile guy side to side on the ice. But he is probably better than Tristan Jarry. The wildcard and x-factor is Devon Levi. Can Levi surprise and be the next Spencer Knight? But the players have to play with more structure in both zones. It is about playing a 200-foot game in the NHL. Some of these players can do it, and others can’t.
So this could go one of two ways. Either the Edmonton Oilers figure this out and get to the playoffs, or they struggle and could find themselves on the outside looking in. So given these factors, it is okay to bet against McDavid and Draisaitl until the group proves they can actually win.
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