The 22-23 season for the Edmonton Oilers ended the same way as the rest of the McDavid era has: With disappointment, a lot of questions, and no real solutions. Heading into the off-season general manager, Ken Holland had very little draft capital and cap space to work with. Most of the team’s transactions, and they were very few of them at that, were to cut bait on prospects that did not blossom into stars to open up cap space. Looking at what should be their opening night roster at the time of writing, the Oilers are a worse team than they were at the end of last season because they have not been able to get Evan Bouchard under contract yet.

So, I am going to work backwards from my usual analysis of veterans by starting with Edmonton’s acquisitions because there were not many of them. The two “large” acquisitions, and I use that term loosely, were Connor Brown and Drake Caggiula. Caggiula had a previous stint in Edmonton, but throughout his career he’s been nothing more than a fourth line replacement level producer, and may not even play in the NHL this season. Connor Brown is a more interesting acquisition as he played four games for the Washington Capitals last season. However, prior to his injury-truncated season, Brown has always been a reliable middle-six average producer, and if healthy, will add value to an Edmonton Oilers team that desperately needs depth scoring. Looking at departures, Edmonton only lost two starting players to free agency in Oscar Klefbom and Ryan Murray. Unfortunately for Murray, the injury bug will never leave him alone, and once again due to bad luck, was not able to make the impact that he envisioned for the Edmonton Oilers last season. Fortunately for Edmonton, replacing a player who only saw 13 NHL games is an easier task. The other departure in Klefbom is once again an unfortunate injury taking its toll on what was otherwise a very promising hockey player. Personally, I feel bad for Klefbom because he was a great two-way player before injuries pulled him from the ice, but at least both he and Oilers fans get closure that they are no longer waiting for his return or blaming him for their on-ice struggles. Another pair of departures occurred via a trade when Edmonton effectively did a cap dump sending Kailer Yamamoto and Kim Kostin to the Detroit Red Wings for future considerations. This trade was a bizarre outcome of Edmonton’s strange cap predicament that they have gotten themselves into. In terms of the players, Yamamoto has perennially been a middle-six average producer and Kostin a bottom six average producer, both of whom are not yet in their prime. On the surface, it appears this trade was made to make room for Evan Bouchard and McLeod’s contracts; however, Edmonton has made zero progress in getting these contracts done leaving a hole on their blue line in a hole on their bottom six.

Following the aforementioned trade, it became clear that Edmonton’s going to try to fill those holes with young players on entry level or cheaper contracts. Based on last season’s play, I would expect Xavier Bourgault and Phillip Broberg to be looked to on opening night. Bourgault, since being selected in the first round in 2021, has had an up and down developmental performance most similar to Ryan Spooner’s. Last season, his first in the AHL, he posted 34 points in 62 games, which gives optimism that he could step into the NHL as a replacement or average level producer in the bottom six this season. If not, Edmonton definitely would benefit from him playing another year in Bakersfield. On the flip side, Phillip Broberg is poised to establish himself as a bottom-four two-way defenseman this season. In his AHL career, Broberg has posted 27 points in 38 games, and during his NHL appearances, despite not posting strong offensive numbers, has been moderately reliable in his own zone.

Shifting to the draft, Edmonton only had three selections. Of the three, the only one of note was their second round pick Beau Akey. Looking at Akey’s comparables and size, he looks to be most similar to John Merrill and Matt Carle out of juniors. At this point, I do not have any staunch criticism of the Akey pick, but looking at his low-ceiling is a direct reflection of most of Edmonton’s current prospect pool due to their all-in mentality the last several seasons. As seen from perennial playoff teams who trade their picks and prospects every year (see: Pittsburgh, Boston, Tampa Bay), it becomes increasingly more difficult to remain cap compliant while maintaining a highly competitive roster. The Matthias Ekholm trade a year ago definitely added value to Edmonton’s blue line, but at the cost of Reed Shaefer and their 2023 first round draft pick, perhaps it was too steep.

Overall, Edmonton has not had a great off-season because they have not added any difference makers to their roster, and they have let go of prospects who they could have received assets for in previous seasons. In providing an off-season grade, I am going to work under the assumption that Holland will figure out a deal with Evan Bouchard. Taking all of that into account, I would have to give the Edmonton Oilers a D for their off-season. Maybe they will get lucky this season, and all of their stars will align around McDavid and Draisaitl’s magic, but if it has not worked out the last 5 years, it would be unwise to think it is going to work out that way this year, either.

-Christian