3 questions facing Edmonton Oilers

NHL.com is providing in-depth analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, three important questions facing the Edmonton Oilers.

1. Will the Oilers re-sign Leon Draisaitl?

The 28-year-old forward is entering the last season of an eight-year, $68 million contract ($8.5 million average annual value) signed Aug. 16, 2017, and is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2025. New Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said he wants Draisaitl in Edmonton for life and will be negotiating a new contract with agent Mike Liut.

If the two sides can’t come to an agreement and Draisaitl begins the season with unrestricted free agency on the horizon, it could change how the Oilers approach the tail end of the season. Without a contract, Edmonton may have to consider trading one of its star players or risk him walking away at the end of the season.

“The hardest thing to do in the game is to get star players,” Bowman said. “We’ve got them and they’re a huge part of this community, this team and they’re going to continue to be going forward.”

2. How will the new additions fit in with the Oilers?

Edmonton already had one of the top forward groups in the NHL led by Connor McDavid and Draisaitl, as well as Zach Hyman, who had 54 goals last season, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evander Kane and Adam Henrique. The Oilers added forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner to the group, giving them two more offensive threats.

Arvidsson was limited to 18 games last season due to injury but is healthy and expected to ride shotgun with Draisaitl, according to Oilers CEO and president Jeff Jackson. Arvidsson, 31, posted 59 points (26 goals, 33 assists) in 77 games for the Los Angeles Kings in 2022-23. He’s had four seasons with 26 goals or better, scoring 31, 29 and 34 respectively, with the Nashville Predators from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

“That’s a huge opportunity for me to play with such a great player (Draisaitl), and I think the team is built really well,” Arvidsson said July 1. “They have something going and felt they were really close [last] year, and I hope I can help the team move even further.”

Skinner is entering his 15th NHL season. He had 46 points (24 goals, 22 assists) in 74 games for the Buffalo Sabres last season but had the final three seasons of an eight-year, $72 million contract ($9 million average annual value) bought out June 30.

The 32-year-old has yet to play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Oilers looking to end his drought.

“You always want to help the team and produce,” Skinner said July 1. “In the past, my role has always been to produce offensively. Obviously there’s some guys on Edmonton that do that pretty well, so if I can kind of add to that mix and help complement those guys it would be good for everyone. I think my mindset and my goal is to fit in and be a piece of the puzzle and bring the things that I do well to the team, and hopefully we can all have some success.”

3. How will Connor McDavid respond after coming so close to winning the Stanley Cup?

McDavid won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP last season but fell a win short of his ultimate goal of winning his first Stanley Cup championship.

The Oilers center and captain was hampered by a lingering upper-body injury but still managed to have 132 points (32 goals, 100 assists) in 76 regular-season games and 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) in 25 playoff games.

“It’s his day-to-day drive to be better than he was the day before,” Henrique said July 2 when asked about McDavid. “When the best player in the world is doing that, everybody else is pushing to be doing that. We’re not all going to be at his level, but if every single guy on that team, whatever role that they’re in, is pushing to be better than that day before, then the greater the team will do.”