EDMONTON — This summer, when Stan Bowman was hired as the new general manager of the Edmonton Oilers, he warned fans that no two editions of the team are the same. “It’s natural to look at last year’s team and figure that we need just that one piece,” Bowman said. “You don’t want it to be last year’s team and try to recreate what you had.
You have to look into it like there are things that are going to be different, even with the same players.” So, even though the Oilers lost the Stanley Cup final in agonizing fashion, by just one goal to the Florida Panthers in Game 7, Bowman cautions fans not to expect the team to simply pick up where last season’s Western Conference champions left off. It’s a new season and a new team.
Last season’s squad could certainly score. Zach Hyman netted 54 goals in the regular season and added 16 in the playoffs. Connor McDavid became just the fourth player in NHL history to achieve 100 assists in a season and won the Conn Smythe Trophy while leading the playoffs with 42 points.
Leon Draisaitl tallied 106 points and secured an eight-year contract extension, making him the highest-paid player in the NHL. Defenceman Evan Bouchard had a breakout season with 82 points. The Oilers’ special teams proved elite, featuring a power play that clicked at 29.
3 per cent in the playoffs and a penalty kill that succeeded 94.3 per cent of the time. But what’s changed going into this season? A lot.
Power forward Evander Kane had surgery .
