Puljujarvi Time

While the hockey world is focused on Toronto and the start of the reinvented World Cup of Hockey, that isn’t the case in Edmonton. Keeping tabs on the trio of Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Connor McDavid on the “world stage” is all well and good but fans in this neck of the woods are just as curious to see how this year’s batch of Oilers kids do in Penticton at the 2016 Young Stars Tournament. 

Getting Something Out of the Backend

It has been an extremely long and interesting summer for both the Edmonton Oilers organization and their fans. While it has been yet another off-season of substantial change in the Alberta capital, the Oilers are once again a team with many unanswered questions heading into what the masses are hoping will be a year in which this club makes substantial gains in the Western Conference standings. 

Adjusting For Connor

It may be hard to believe but it appears as though the Edmonton Oilers have three capable centres of playing top six minutes for the first time in franchise history. While the guys wearing No. 99 and No. 11 drove the bus during the “Glory Years”, none of those teams featured the potential three-headed monster Todd McLellan will have at his disposal in 2016-17. With that said, one can’t help but wonder if the presence of Connor McDavid won’t ultimately force the Oilers to be a little more creative in their approach. 

What Are Reasonable Expectations?

If both players manage to stay relatively healthy throughout their NHL careers, there is no question that the Edmonton Oilers will end up on the wrong end of the Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson swap. Trading away a 24-year-old proven driver and point producer for a guy who “could” one day turn into a legit top pairing defenceman,  is a deal that has potential disaster written all over it. While the return was certainly underwhelming, the addition of the former New Jersey Devils blueliner will instantly upgrade Edmonton’s paper thin backend.