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The Edmonton Oilers lost in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season and enter the 2024-25 NHL season as one of the favorites to win it all. The Oilers are led by superstar forward Connor McDavid.
Ahead of the Oilers season opener on Wednesday, Edmonton revealed its opening night roster, which will be led by its forwards.
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Edmonton Oilers' roster strengths
Top-six forwards
The biggest strength for the Edmonton Oilers is the top six forwards.
Edmonton has Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who are two of the best players in the NHL. The Oilers' problem has been its depth, but Edmonton went out and signed Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson, who can add some secondary scoring along with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman.
With how many good forwards Edmonton has, Kris Knoblauch says he can play with lines, which is a good thing.
"Just having options," Knoblauch said, via the team website. "We're not set on any of the lines right now and Skinner might be back there tomorrow for practice, but we just know that we need some flexibility.
"With Skinner, if he does play with Rico, it just gives us more balanced scoring on the three lines. Maybe not so much of a shutdown third line, but we need some flexibility."
The other strength of Edmonton is their defensive stalwarts, Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm. Bouchard is one of the top defensemen in the NHL, and he should help add some more offense to the blue line.
Weakness
A weakness for the Edmonton Oilers is their goaltending.
Stuart Skinner performed well last season, but he is inconsistent and was benched in the playoffs. Skinner has yet to show himself as a real No. 1 goalie in the NHL, and if he stumbles again this season, the Oilers' season may not go as expected.
The other weakness is the backend of the blue line and the depth. Given Edmonton has so much money for a handful of players, the bottom of the roster is a concern. But if the star players can continue to play at an elite level, that may not be a worry.
