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The Edmonton Oilers woke up this morning in a playoff spot, for the very first time this season.

As we all know, that was a minimum expectation for this club. But the awful start to the year has meant a lot of catching up.

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Well, they have now caught up. So, where to now?

Details on that and more in this edition of…

9 Things

9. It took Connor McDavid 58 games to go from 800 to 900 career points. That is the second fastest segment in his career. McDavid went from 500 to 600 points in just fifty-three games. All that is to say…as good as 97 is, he still keeps getting better.

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8. I am sorry to see Connor Bedard go down with a fractured jaw. It is good for no one and I hope he has a full, fast recovery. It will be interesting to see how this affects the Calder race. Connor McDavid was 16-32-48 in 45 games in his first injury-interrupted season and did not win it.

7. Two 7-game winning streaks for Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch in his first twenty-five games behind an NHL bench as Head Coach. No other coach has ever done that. We can fairly debate whether the firing of Jay Woodcroft was fair. But it is
damn difficult to argue with Knoblauch’s results.

6. Zach Hyman’s hat trick on Saturday night gives him twenty-five goals total on the season. People like to dump on Ken Holland for the signings that did not work out and that is fair enough. But how about some credit for acquiring Hyman? Maybe the best free agent signing in franchise history. Hyman deserves to go to the NHL All-Star Game. Let’s hope he gets the votes.

5. The Oilers are better with Sam Gagner in the lineup. In the next breath I support Kris Knoblauch keeping intact a lineup that had won six in a row. But Sam does more things for you with his additional contributions on the Power Play. Adam Erne is a solid pro who brings a physical element but does not score or PK. James Hamblin does not penalty kill either. Connor Brown’s work on the PK is keeping him in the lineup right now.

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4. I have written here numerous times about how I believe the Oilers need another goaltender. What I do not think they need is a 1A. Calder Trophy finalist Stuart Skinner has been the winningest goalie in the NHL since November 24^th (11-2-0, 2.07 GAA, .923 SV% going into Saturday’s win). And he was excellent Saturday, too. This organization has finally drafted and developed another home-grown starting goaltender. We should be in no hurry to replace him.

3. Someone asked me just the other day whether I thought Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would have his number in the rafters someday. There is a real possibility, yes. Here are his franchise numbers: Games Played – 5^th. Goals – 8^th. Assists – 8^th. Points – 8^th. And he is likely to be one or two spots higher in all those categories by the end of the year. So, The Nuge will have the numbers. What he will need, in my opinion though, is a Cup. I do admire the lofty standards the organization has set for rafter-worthy honors. It should be hard to get there. But Nugent-Hopkins is trending in the right direction.

2. There has been a fair bit of talk about upgrading the Oilers Defence. Some people would move Brett Kulak, based almost entirely on his salary, and insert Philip Broberg into the 3LD slot. I like Broberg’s skill set and am hopeful he can turn into a full time NHL’er for the Oilers. But right now, if you move Kulak, you are one injury away from Philip Broberg being your 2LD in a Stanley Cup Playoff game. As for upgrading the right-hand side, I have always felt that Cody Ceci was a relative bargain at $3.25m. When you look at how much time he spends against elite competition (next only to Darnell Nurse among Oilers D-men). And Ceci’s injury-slowed 2022-23 season has been sandwiched by very solid years. I also do not mind a guy who takes a puck to the face then comes back to block a couple of shots a shift later. Maybe you would like to acquire a veteran depth 7-8, sure. But that is not a big budget item.

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1.So, what does this Oilers club need most in order to stay in a playoff spot now that it has finally found a slot again? I have already stated the need for another goalie. The next biggest need is another center. You can never have too many centremen when you are chasing a championship. The real question is: What kind of a pivot do you need? There have been some excited rumblings over the last few days once it became known that a healthy Dylan Holloway would be playing center for Bakersfield. If you are playing him at pivot in the AHL so that when he comes up Holloway is more versitile, then I support it.

But if you plan to keep Ryan McLeod in your Top-6 and instead play a kid with sixty-five games of NHL experience (none at Center) as your 3C? Then you run the same risk (or even greater) than I described with Philip Broberg a couple paragraphs back. Turn the situation around the other way. If you are looking at the opposition and they have a young, unproven center in that same position would you not consider that a weakness in your opposition’s armor? I am a huge fan of Dylan Holloway. Bu that would not be an upgrade.

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I ultimately expect Ryan McLeod back at 3C. And while I really admire how James Hamblin has battled his way to the NHL, a bigger, more experienced, ideally right-shot Center who can PK would be an upgrade. Think the 2023-24 version of Nick Bjugstad.

Now that the Edmonton Oilers have dig themselves out of that early hole, we can actually talk about this stuff as more than just aspirational. The club still has a lot of work to do.

But now there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Now on Threads @kleavins. Also, find me on Twitter @KurtLeavins, Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, and Mastodon at [email protected]

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