It is nice to be back blogging about the Edmonton Oilers. Olympics are over. We are slowly settling back into our daily routines. Me, I can now catch up on my sleep. No more one am bedtime and five am alarms to cheer on Canadian athletes in sports that I only watch once every four years, although it was nice to have something to cheer about.
As NHL fans we are now logging back into our favorite hockey website to remind ourselves where our NHL team sits in the standings and what they will need to do to make the playoffs. As an Oiler fan, well I am only interested in if we can surpass the 60 points that a 1992-93 Oilers squad set as the lowest point total for the franchise in a full NHL season which was 84 games at the time.
The Oilers have 22 games left to the 2013-2014 season and would be hard pressed to make the playoffs even if they won all 22 games. That would give them only 93 points to end the season and possibly the eighth seed. On the flip side the Oilers are going to have another shot at a first overall pick as their schedule is a difficult one.
Out of the 22 games remaining the Oilers have 11 games against teams that will undoubtedly make the playoffs but will still be trying to get all the points they can. Teams like the Ducks, Kings, Sharks, and Avalanche.
Then there are games against teams that are fighting for their playoff lives and are just a few points out or a few points in. Teams that will more than likely try to add a player or players to help them with their playoff push. The Ottawa Senators, Phoenix Coyotes, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators and the Vancouver Canucks.
Of course we would like to beat the Flames two more times and have matchups against the Islanders and the Sabers which could bring a few wins but in the end a top three pick is likely. I think if the Oilers win eight of these remaining games I would consider it a good run to finish the season. This years version of the Oilers are 60 games in and still are unable to find consistency with just 47 points. For those of you that remember in the shorten season last year the Oilers had 45 points in just 48 games.
This may all sound like doom and gloom for the Oilers. A season that had so much hope and now we all would like to forget, unless…
The Oilers will have a legit shot at finishing in the bottom three in the league which would give them a chance at winning the draft lotto and first overall pick at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. To me the possibility of picking a team altering future NHL captain that you could build an NHL franchise around in defenseman in Aaron Ekblad, no pressure kid, has got to have Craig MacTavish just salivating. The only way this team will get a strong defensive core is to draft them even if they will be a few years away.
Our “bold” GM will have a big decision to make once the season has ended. Do we trade our first round pick like he alluded to in a press conference earlier this year or will he trade up to draft Ekblad? Or maybe we just win the lotto.
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