BT's NHL Season Preview: Edmonton Oilers

That’s where J.D-D. comes in. Although 24 is still fairly young for a goalie, J.D-D. is starting to show that he’s ready to jump to the NHL—a good thing for him, and a bad thing for Rolo.  If the Oil were to let J.D-D. back up Garon now, then they’d be prepared in the event that both Rolo and Garon bolted this-coming offseason.

That’s just my two cents, though.

So what does all of this mean?

The Oilers relied heavily on the shootout last season.  Many people thought that because of the NHL’s Random Outcome Generator, the Oilers benefited from some timely goaltending (Garon was 10-0 in shootouts, stopping 30 of 32 shots) and scoring, and earned a batch of extra points that weren’t necessarily theirs.

Well, deal with it. In the next few years, we’ll probably see two or three teams make the playoffs based on shootout stats—and you know what? Those will probably be the teams that make it to the Conference or Cup Finals—that’s just how things go.

But as far as the 2008-09 Oilers go, I don’t think they’ll need the shootout as often. Something tells me these Alberta boys are going to be just fine.

 

And now for something completely different—introducing Faiz-Ali Virji!

While Bryan’s preview is very good, he does come up short on the Oilers goals for the upcoming season. Unlike past season, Edmonton has a very good chance at winning the division, and I think that a division finish worse than the second place would be considered a disappointment.

The Oilers also have the potential to stop being the fringe eighth place team, and should at worst be in sixth place.

Gilbert Brule will probably start the year in Springfield, as the Oilers will want to take it slow with him, making sure that he can develop properly. If however, he shows up to training camp this year as the player he is supposed to be, he could make the team on the fourth line—which in the Oilers' case is will still be a good line that will chip in more often than others.

I do agree with the analysis on the defence, and that it will be one to be reckoned with this season. A healthy Sheldon Souray will be a huge plus to the Oilers, and should have all the fans who were calling for his head—I admit, I was one of them—quiet down and jump on the bandwagon.

I also agree on goaltending, and think Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers will push both Roloson and Garon to play their best hockey.

Second in the Northwest is definitely a good prediction, and I too think these Alberta boys shall be just fine.

 

Well that's it for the Oilers. Expect the next part of the preview—depending on which Northwest rep gets back to me first—to come at some point tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

Bryan Thiel is a Senior Writer and NHL Community Leader for Bleacher Report. If you'd like to get in contact with Bryan, you can do so through his profile. You can also check out his previous work in his archives.

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