EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oilers enter the playoffs under a shroud of doubt from outside their dressing room, thanks to a plethora of injuries and weeks of uneven play.
Still, they’ve got two of the best players in the league on their roster, and they entered the season as Stanley Cup favorites after losing in Game 7 of the championship series by a goal. They were third in the NHL by points percentage at the end of January, too.
“The mystery team of the whole playoffs is Edmonton,” said a former NHL coach.
The Athletic contacted this coach, a former NHL player and an NHL scout — all of whom keep close tabs on the Oilers — to gauge the perception of this team heading into their fourth straight first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings. They were all granted anonymity to speak freely.
The consensus was that despite this roster’s upside, there’s likely just too much to overcome for the Oilers to be true contenders.
“They could be in serious jeopardy versus the Kings,” the scout said. “This is the first year since Edmonton started making the playoffs again where the team isn’t on a heater to finish the final quarter of the year. The injuries to their key players are serious, and I don’t think they have good confidence on which goalie to start the series.”
Added the former player: “They are not healthy, and the playoffs is a long battle, so I don’t know if they have enough in the tank. The vibes of this season just haven’t felt like last year at all. The team doesn’t feel as tight.”
There’s a lot to gnaw on, but the biggest question mark around the Oilers surrounds the condition of several key players.
Defenseman Mattias Ekholm has already been ruled out of the series because of a lower-body injury. Evander Kane (abdominal and knee) and John Klingberg (foot) are on long-term injured reserve, and their statuses are unclear as the postseason begins. It’s anyone’s guess how effective Kane will be whenever he plays, given the 10-month layoff between games.
Trent Frederic hasn’t skated with the team since reaggravating his ankle injury on April 5. He’s believed to be doubtful for Game 1.
The Oilers played without their three best forwards in Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman for stretches late in the season, with Draisaitl getting hurt on two occasions. Top-four defenseman Jake Walman and goaltender Stuart Skinner were also sidelined. Skinner has returned, but the combination of being unavailable for seven games because of a concussion and some inconsistencies in his play has his No. 1 job in jeopardy.
At least those five players, plus depth blueliner Troy Stecher (undisclosed injury), have either played this month or are expected back for Game 1. That’s a big reason why there’s confidence internally.
“We have this like aura about us that we’re the walking wounded, but we’re just fine,” McDavid said. “Everybody’s going to be ready to roll. Everybody is doing whatever they can. I don’t like this whole notion that we’re the walking wounded here. We’re ready to roll.”
That’s convincing stuff from the Oilers captain. But it’s hard to know what the Oilers will look like for Game 1 with any degree of certainty given just how many players have been out of commission.
Case in point, Tuesday’s optional practice before the Oilers departed for their regular-season finale in San Jose. Just four players were skating: McDavid, Draisaitl, Klingberg and freshly signed college free agent Quinn Hutson, who’s ineligible for the playoffs. Kane, Hyman, Frederic, Walman and Stecher all missed Monday’s 5-0 loss to the Kings and weren’t on the ice. The latter three players didn’t participate in Wednesday’s morning skate in San Jose, either.
“Nobody knows what they have,” the former coach said. “Nobody knows who’s going to come out for Game 1 in the lineup. You don’t know. They could come out and be just loaded, or they could be coming out banged up and just hanging on.
“If the Oilers were healthy, they’d be a hell of a hockey club.”
They’re not fully healthy, though.
Losing Ekholm is a massive blow. He’s completely revamped the defense corps since being acquired from Nashville in February 2023 and has been the ideal partner for Evan Bouchard.
Without Ekholm, the coaching staff will have to find the right mix within a top four consisting of Bouchard, Walman, Darnell Nurse and Brett Kulak.
“I wish I could spin that one for you, but that’s obviously disappointing,” McDavid said. “There’s no way around that. We’ll miss him for a little bit. That being said, he’s going to do everything possible to be healthy, whenever that may be.
“He’s a great player. He just does everything right. Maybe the most all-around defenseman there is.”
Even if McDavid is spot-on and the rest of the Oilers are shipshape and properly tuned, they should have their stiffest test yet from the Kings.
The Oilers have dispatched their rivals quicker in each successive series. They needed seven games and wins in the last two contests to knock off the Kings in 2022. Last year’s five-game knockout was never in doubt.
The Oilers almost certainly won’t have such an easy time this go-around.
“L.A. needs this win badly,” the former player said, “so the Oilers need to match that urgency, or they will be in trouble.”
“Sometimes, you just get sick of losing,” the former coach said. “That’s more the attitude.”
Corey Perry watches the puck hit Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper during Monday’s shutout loss to L.A. (Walter Tychnowicz / Imagn Images)
From goaltending on out — Darcy Kuemper has been one of the best in the league all season — these Kings should be formidable foes.
The scout feels the addition of Andrei Kuzmenko before the trade deadline has given Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe the perfect linemate and a different look on the power play. Kevin Fiala, Quinton Byfield, Alex Laferriere and former Oiler Warren Foegele have provided consistent depth scoring, the scout added.
“The Kings have improved since last season a lot,” the scout said.
“They’re deeper than they’ve ever been,” the former coach added.
The one thing — or two things — the Oilers have going for them are McDavid and Draisaitl.
One is the true generational player and reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner. The other is a tour de force and might win his second MVP this season.
Both players have excelled in the postseason before while hampered by injuries. They’re third and fifth in league history for points per game in the playoffs.
The Kings have felt their wrath for three springs in a row.
“Individually, they can dominate series, but collectively they can really dominate,” the former coach said. “They make up for a lot of lost players. Those two can control the series by themselves. As a tandem, they’re almost unstoppable.”
The Oilers might need more from their superstars than ever before.
“Leon and Connor can bring any team to the Cup,” the former player said.
He also said he felt the Oilers were a Cup-contending team until the last 20 games. That timeline coincides with all their injury troubles. The Oilers haven’t played a game with a healthy lineup since March 4, just before Walman was acquired from San Jose.
The Oilers haven’t been able to test drive their full squad. There will be a lot of variables, such as new line combinations and changed roles thrown into the mix as more players are added, or re-added, to the mix.
“Who’s to say what’s bad and what’s good? Maybe it’s good,” McDavid said. “Everyone’s going to be rested. Would it have been nice to get some games with a full lineup? Sure. But that’s not the case we’re dealing with. But, as I said, everybody’s ready to roll.
“Not everything is as it seems.”
The Oilers were trounced by the Kings with a scaled-back roster on Monday. That locked in Games 1 and 2 for Los Angeles, the first time the Oilers will start on the road in the first round with McDavid and Draisaitl on the roster.
However, they managed to win six of eight games before that. Those who’ve been mainstays in the lineup see some positives.
“It really shows where we are as a team and how we can handle the whole adversity that we’re going through,” veteran Corey Perry said.
“The level of belief is extremely high in our group,” added winger Connor Brown. “We understand that we’ve got a lot of dogs and guys that are hungry.”
Count McDavid as part of that hungry group.
He hears those doubting the Oilers loud and clear, and he has no time for their negativity.
“I just don’t like the theory that people are counting us out. We’re a great team in here,” he said. “We’re a dangerous team when we’re rolling and we’re healthy. And we are healthy. I think you’ll see that over the next little while, and we’re looking forward to showing it.”
(Photo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl: Chris Tanouye / Freestyle Photography / Getty Images)