Goaltender Cam Talbot is pretty confident in the Edmonton Oilers.
“I don’t think we’re that far off from making the playoffs, to be honest with you,” Talbot told Sportsnet.ca. “I think one more piece [on defense] and we’ve got all the talent up front we’ve always had and added more talent via free agency and the draft. When you shore up the back end, which is what Peter’s trying to do, as long as I do my part, I think we could definitely battle for a playoff spot this year and next year and go from there.”
That is one hell of a statement from Talbot. The Oilers have been toiling near the basement of the NHL for the better part of a decade and haven’t seen much improvement over that time. They recently traded their star winger Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson and acquired Milan Lucic. Overall it doesn’t seem great, but do they have a chance of making some sort of improvement?
The Pacific Division is notoriously tough due to the California teams, but with the Ducks hiring Randy Carlyle, they have seemingly decided to take a step back. The Canucks are trying to go all-in, yet are doing so with a bunch of spare parts. The Coyotes and Flames – like the Oilers – are young and hungry but unproven. That leaves the Kings and the Sharks at the top. It is going to take an awful lot to knock them off of their perch. They employ two of the best centers in the game in Anze Kopitar and Joe Thornton. The Oilers will have Connor McDavid for a full season, but can he impact the team enough to vault them into the playoffs? He sure seems up to the task. Just how big of a jump will the Oilers need to make to even be in the conversation?
The biggest jump in points from the 2014-15 season to the 2015-16 season was the Buffalo Sabres going from 54 points to 81 points in a single year. Mind you the team had a total roster makeover and a coaching change. Is a 27-point jump feasible for the Oilers? Similarly if they jumped up 27 points from this past year, that would place them at 97 points and in the playoffs.
The Sabres didn’t make the playoffs after their jump and are still on the outside looking in. A more practical jump for the Oilers would be going from 70 points to somewhere in the mid-80’s. It isn’t a pie in the sky idea and would put them in the mix. It is tough to improve in the NHL and the Oilers know that first hand. After this most recent set of moves they have to be closer to the playoffs, right? Hopefully the hockey gods will shine brightly on Alberta.
