Edmonton Oilers 2015-16 Season Preview

By Alex Hobson

2014-15 LEADING SCORERS

RW Jordan Eberle (24 G, 39 A, 63 P)
C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (24 G, 32 A, 56 P)
LW Taylor Hall (14 G, 24 A, 38 P)

LAST SEASON

The Edmonton Oilers did not have a good regular season whatsoever, shown when they finished third last in the league with a record of 24-44-14. They were not expected to be contenders, however they were poised to have a decent season after they signed free agents such as Benoit Pouliot and Mark Fayne to improve their roster. Over the season, the offense was led by Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Taylor Hall, with secondary help from Benoit Pouliot and Derek Roy.

Various trades made throughout the year included some depth moves, including trading Will Acton to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Kellen Lain, then sending Mark Arcobello to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Derek Roy, and afterwards trading David Perron to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Rob Klinkhammer and a 1st round pick. They capped off their trades by trading Jeff Petry to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a 2nd round pick and a 4th round pick, in which the players turned out to be Jonas Siegenthaler and Caleb Jones.

An extremely important night for the Oilers organization came on April 18th, 2015, the night of the draft lottery. Everyone expected either the Arizona Coyotes or the Buffalo Sabres to win the McDavid sweepstakes, to which the Oilers would select Noah Hanifin to boulster their lineup. But then, the Oilers would win the draft lottery, to the surprise of everyone, and virtually lock Connor McDavid as the franchise piece to their organization.

OFFSEASON

IN

Eetu Laurikainen
Griffin Reinhart
Eric Gryba
Cam Talbot
Lauri Korpikoski
Andrej Sekera
Mark Letestu
Anders Nilsson

OUT

Martin Marincin
Kellen Lain
Boyd Gordon
Derek Roy
Tyler Ewanyk
Richard Bachman
Viktor Fasth
Niko Hovinen
Jesse Joensuu
Steve Pinizzotto
Frans Tuohimaa
Keith Aulie
Tyler Bunz
Matt Fraser
Curtis Hamilton

The Oilers' draft was without question the biggest factor to their offseason. They began by selecting their new future face of the franchise in Connor McDavid first overall, and then traded their other first round pick to the New York Islanders in exchange for prospect Griffin Reinhart. This selection obviously shocked no one, but was still a massive move nonetheless. They then entered the offseason and added a solid piece to their defensive core in Andrej Sekera, and brought in a few more veterans in Lauri Korpikoski (via trade) and Mark Letestu (via free agency). They brought in their likely 2015-16 starting goalie in Cam Talbot via trade, and also traded for defenseman Eric Gryba. All in all, the Oilers were not kidding around when they said they were expecting to improve their roster, and did not fail to meet the expectations they set for the offseason.

NEXT SEASON PT 1. OFFENSE
The biggest story on the Oilers offense will without a doubt be Connor McDavid and how he'll pan out in his first year of NHL action. Look for him to make a big impact on the Oilers goal scoring squad, with equal help coming from Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Jordan Eberle. Look for rookies such as Leon Draisitl to secure himself a spot on the roster this coming year.

NEXT SEASON PT 2. DEFENSE

The Oilers defensive core is looking much better than last year as well. They brought in veteran Andrej Sekera as well as gritty stay-at-home defenseman Eric Gryba to bring up their chances at a playoff spot. Look for youngster Darnell Nurse to work towards a permanent roster spot this year.

NEXT SEASON PT 3. GOALTENDING
Considering the Oilers gave up a hefty amount of picks for Cam Talbot, expect him to get most of the starts between the pipes for the Oilers this year, with Ben Scrivens backing him up.

POSSIBLE 2015-16 OPENING NIGHT LINEUP

Benoit Pouliot - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Jordan Eberle
Taylor Hall - Connor McDavid - Nail Yakupov
Lauri Korpikoski - Leon Draisitl - Teddy Purcell
Rob Klinkhammer - Anton Lander - Mark Letestu

Justin Schultz - Andrej Sekera
Oscar Klefbom - Mark Fayne
Andrew Ference - Darnell Nurse

Cam Talbot
Ben Scrivens