The results are in. The voices of the fans have been heard.
With opening day less than a week away and the Winnipeg Jets coming in to kick things off at Rogers Place next Wednesday (8 p.m., Sportsnet, 630 CHED), we asked you to take a look at the more pressing issues the Edmonton Oilers faced throughout training camp.
Sure, it was barely three months ago that the Oilers suffered a soul-crushing 2-1 defeat in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final to the Florida Panthers, but another new year already is almost upon us.
Of course, that was then, this is now.
And here’s how you saw everything in between, as the team forms its roster for the 2024-25 NHL season:
THE RESULTS
MANAGEMENT
It’s not exactly going out on a limb to say the overwhelming majority of fans don’t want a whole heck of a lot to change on a team that finished on the wrong side of a goal between agony and ecstasy in the very last game of the entire playoffs.
It was, after all, oh so close to where they wanted to be — a place that fans haven’t seen them since 1990.
But things did change in the club. Right up at the top, in fact, with a couple members of the brass getting replaced over a span of eight months.
We asked you what best describes your feelings about CEO of hockey operations Jeff Jackson, who in his first year oversaw the transition of both head coach Kris Knoblauch and general manager Stan Bowman.
Just in case the on-ice results didn’t speak for themselves, 69.18% of those polled wanted to pat him on the back, saying the Oilers are in great shape and ready to make another Stanley Cup run.
But there were also some naysayers, with one-in-four deciding close is not good enough and it’s Stanley Cup or bust for the Oilers top brass this time.
A few forward-thinkers (5.82%) determined since Jackson is the former agent of Connor McDavid, the only prudent thing to do is keep the CEO around just long enough to ensure the team’s captain signs what will no doubt be the biggest contract in NHL history next summer.
As for the coaching change, specifically, 89.1% of voters said they are fully on board with Kris Knoblauch and his franchise-record .703 winning percentage during his rookie season behind an NHL bench.
Just 6.64% sided with his predecessor, Jay Woodcroft, saying he would have gotten things turned around eventually, while 4.26% said anyone could have steered this ship in the right direction with McDavid among the crew.
Just 14% said letting Woodcroft go was the wrong move, while 86% would fire him again.
As for the hiring of Stan Bowman for the GM job, fresh off an NHL suspension following some egregious blind-eye turning to a serious matter in his previous duty, the matter is much more closely contested among readers.
More than a quarter of responses (28.2%) were against bringing him into the Oilers fold, compared to more than one-third (34.46%) who said Bowman’s on-ice results speak for themselves.
Leading the way was the 37.34% who said his past doesn’t matter, as long as the Oilers continue to win.
THE OFF-SEASON
The rest of the Oilers front office got a B for the work done over the off-season, according to 59.35% of replies, compared to the 28.39% who would give them an A.
Just over 10% of respondents said the club earned a satisfactory C, while the D and F grades didn’t finish with a full percentage point.
THE PLAYERS
After climbing back from the brink of mediocrity to finish third overall in scoring after a slow start a year ago, McDavid will lead the league in points this season, say 88.59% of responses.
Along with free-agent acquisition Viktor Arvidsson, Jeff Skinner was chosen by 67.48% of fans as the newcomer to make the biggest impact on the Oilers this year. Ty Emberson was next with 20.71% of the votes, followed by Vasily Podkolzin (8.09%).
Taking away Edmonton’s big guns, who finished in all top-five spots overall in playoff scoring last season, defenceman Mattias Ekholm was chosen by fans (38.37%) as the player to make the next biggest impact for the team in this year’s playoffs.
Arvidsson (22.93%) and Skinner (16.42%) were next, while Connor Brown (13.82%) finished ahead of Adam Henrique (8.46%).
Defenceman Evan Bouchard will not bump McDavid or Leon Draisaitl from the top spots in team scoring this season, according to 71.1% of respondents, while 27% say he should be more concerned about the defensive side of his game.
More than half (53.48%) of those polled see newcomer Josh Brown filling the void of physicality left behind by towering defenceman Vincent Desharnais, while 30.96% want to see that role taken over by Darnell Nurse.
Zach Hyman might have flirted with a 60-goal pace at one point late last season, but 82.6% of readers don’t think he will reach it this time around.
Only 6.25% say he will lead the league in goal scoring.
When it comes to the price point for McDavid’s contract extension next year, two-thirds (67.97%) of voters have him at $2 million more than Draisaitl’s NHL record $14-million AAV, while 16.95% say it will be $3 million more.
The remaining 15% want to push it to the allowable maximum, if it means having McDavid stick around. Or beyond the max, even — he is, after all, McPriceless.
Sixty-four per cent say Vasily Podkolzin is ready for a full-time role.
Voting is pretty close when it comes to a situation where if injury removes Stuart Skinner from the picture, whether or not the backups in the system can hold down the fort (53.78%) or not (46.22%).
Three-quarters of voters are OK with the present state of the Oilers defence, with the additions of Josh Brown, Emberson and Connor Carrick, as long as it is strengthened by the trade deadline.
Only 7.5% say the defence was improved, while 17.28% are not a fan of the changes there.
More than half the responders (53.85%) would deal away Darnell Nurse to create cap space, while 30.77% would bid farewell to Evander Kane.
As for whom the Oilers will miss most off of last year’s squad, defenceman Cody Ceci garnered the most votes at 35.2%, ahead of Dylan Holloway (28.55%), Warren Foegele (20.84%) and Vincent Desharnais (15.41%).
THE COMPETITION
Voters chose the L.A. Kings (59.5%) to fall out of playoff contention this year, ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights (22.2%) and the Oilers (1.78%). And then 16.52% chose the Vancouver Canucks, despite having won the division a year ago.
As for where the Oilers might fit in the Pacific Division, 85.94% picked the top, 11.21% in second, 1.42% in third, and the numbers get pretty small from there.
The Seattle Kraken have the best chance (78.26%) of cracking into the top four spots in the division this year, followed by the Calgary Flames (9.6%), the Anaheim Ducks (9.24%) and the San Jose Sharks (2.9%).
Thanks to all those who took the time to participate in our online poll.
Enjoy the coming hockey season!
E-mail: [email protected]
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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