Speculation: Predicting Edmonton's ranking in the West

[Moose Coleman]

]I know it sounds biased because I am a winnipeg fan but it's hard to agree with the majority of posters here predicting edmonton finishing ahead of winnipeg, nashville calgary and vancouver...all of whom handily finished ahead of edmonton last year. And the improvements made by edmonton don't really surpass the improvement's made by those other teams. I get it though, I am claiming that winnipeg will have a colorado like run this year and this is supported by exactly zero evidence. Anyway, enjoy the season

Outside of Nashville, I don't think all those teams improved much.

Vancouver: probably gets better coaching, but they need Miller to be a goalie he hasn't been for five years. They don't have Kesler either. Sedins are the big wildcard here.

Calgary: crap last year, no noticeable improvements this year.

Winnipeg: ha ha ha ha ha. What improvements? Same old, same old.

 

[Ergot]

I could see us getting as high as 9th place, if the team plays to its ability. A lot will depend on doing well the first 10-15 games, so the players start to believe they can win. Our schedule is conducive to getting a good start: Flames, Canucks (x3), Coyotes, Hurricanes, Predators, Sabres. These are games we can win. Maybe we can take some of the tougher games to OT.

I see us being competitive for a playoff spot throughout the season, but falling just short.

 

[doulos]

Outside of Nashville, I don't think all those teams improved much.

Vancouver: probably gets better coaching, but they need Miller to be a goalie he hasn't been for five years. They don't have Kesler either. Sedins are the big wildcard here.

Calgary: crap last year, no noticeable improvements this year.

Winnipeg: ha ha ha ha ha. What improvements? Same old, same old.

Vancouver: Goaltending is a push over last season, and they lost Kesler. However they also picked up Radim Vrbata who is very underrated and looks fantastic with the Sedins. The Sedins could easily rebound after their atrocious year last season, and if a guy like Burrows improves even marginally ... they will be better than last season.

Calgary: Totally agree. Their defense is okay, but their forward lines are BAD. Look at these lines:

@RogMillions: Gaudreau Colborne Byron, Glencross Monahan Hudler, Bouma Backlund Raymond, Bollig Stajan McGrattan.

Winnipeg: They will need a step forward from Kane, Schiefele (staying healthy as well), and Trouba. Could do some damage but when Pavalec is in goal you're never a threat.

 

[Gone]

1. Dallas (Two great centers, Benn, Hemsky, Goaltending and a real coach)
2. Chicago (Great team)
3. Anaheim (Great team)
4. LA (Great team)
5. St Louis (The top 5 teams in the west, each could top out the east)
6. San Jose (When will Thorton slow down?)
7. Colorado (Young talent will repeat a good show. Landeskog is a beast)
8. Vancouver (Sedin's will be back)
9. Minnesota (Lot's of talent, just outside the playoffs)
10. Nashville (Great defence wins games, but might no be enough here).
11.Winnipeg (Bottom 4 are a crap shoot really)
12.Calgary (Ditto; solid defence, and some young guns which may suprise)
13.Edmonton (Ditto; questionable coaching - goaltending; were the additions changing deck chair's or substantive changes?)
14.Phoenix (Good timing for a bad year)

 

[OmarkianSpin]

With Eakins at the helm, it HAS to be last place. I also predict 20+ SHGA.

 

[Kepler 186f]

I'm hoping for over 80 points. If they hit 90 I will be ecstatic. Anything over that is gravy.

 

[Tyrolean]

Probably 3rd or 4th worst team in the league. I see 12th in the West.

 

[Slats432]

My guess is that the only teams we most likely "could" finish ahead of are..

Nashville
Winnipeg
Arizona
Calgary
and if the stars align Vancouver.

The absolute best is 9th. My prediction is we finish behind Vancouver and one other team. 11th.

 

[winnipegger]

Outside of Nashville, I don't think all those teams improved much.

Vancouver: probably gets better coaching, but they need Miller to be a goalie he hasn't been for five years. They don't have Kesler either. Sedins are the big wildcard here.

Calgary: crap last year, no noticeable improvements this year.

Winnipeg: ha ha ha ha ha. What improvements? Same old, same old.

Just to refresh your memory a bit, this was last year.

10 Nashville 88
11 Winnipeg 84
12 Vancouver 83
13 Calgary 77
14 Edmonton 67

The question for me is whether or not edmonton can make the jump to where nashville winnipeg and vancouver were last year; that is, approx .500 level. I think the goaltending puts edmonton close to 80 points the question is whether or not RNH and yakupov can propell the team to the 90 point mark. That seems unlikely to me, but who knows.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

it seems like the adopted method for Edmonton is....last year +/- 1......repeat.

NYI adds Grabo, Kulemin, Leddy, Halak, Babychuk="playoff contender"

EDM adds Pouliot, Purcell, Scrivens, Fasth, Fayne, Nikitin="LOL what are they doing?!?!?LMFAO!"

maybe that's an indication of how horribly pathetic the East is.

 

[beaterson]

1. Oilers
2. Hawks
3. Kings
4. Blues
5. Avs
6. Wilds
7. Stars
8. Sharks
9. Ducks
10. Wings
11. Yotes
12. Preds
13. Nucks
14. Jets
15. Flames

Hall scores 100 and wins MVP, Nail does the same and is runner up
Scrivens solidifies as an elite goaltender
Stunning Schultz is second in Norris voting
Oilers finally find out how to pick up Weber

 

[Game 8]

1. Dallas (Two great centers, Benn, Hemsky, Goaltending and a real coach)
2. Chicago (Great team)
3. Anaheim (Great team)
4. LA (Great team)
5. St Louis (The top 5 teams in the west, each could top out the east)
6. San Jose (When will Thorton slow down?)
7. Colorado (Young talent will repeat a good show. Landeskog is a beast)
8. Vancouver (Sedin's will be back)
9. Minnesota (Lot's of talent, just outside the playoffs)
10. Nashville (Great defence wins games, but might no be enough here).
11.Winnipeg (Bottom 4 are a crap shoot really)
12.Calgary (Ditto; solid defence, and some young guns which may suprise)
13.Edmonton (Ditto; questionable coaching - goaltending; were the additions changing deck chair's or substantive changes?)
14.Phoenix (Good timing for a bad year)

I think your pretty close, Anaheim #1, Colorado a little lower. Phoenix should be in most games with Smiths goal-tending.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

1. Dallas (Two great centers, Benn, Hemsky, Goaltending and a real coach)
2. Chicago (Great team)
3. Anaheim (Great team)
4. LA (Great team)
5. St Louis (The top 5 teams in the west, each could top out the east)
6. San Jose (When will Thorton slow down?)
7. Colorado (Young talent will repeat a good show. Landeskog is a beast)
8. Vancouver (Sedin's will be back)
9. Minnesota (Lot's of talent, just outside the playoffs)
10. Nashville (Great defence wins games, but might no be enough here).
11.Winnipeg (Bottom 4 are a crap shoot really)
12.Calgary (Ditto; solid defence, and some young guns which may suprise)
13.Edmonton (Ditto; questionable coaching - goaltending; were the additions changing deck chair's or substantive changes?)
14.Phoenix (Good timing for a bad year)

....What. You do realize they have Kari Lehtonen right? And their defense is nowhere near as good as the 5 teams below them.

 

[Captain Catatomic]

just like every other year at the bus stop, oilers management is disillusioned about playing in the pacific division. As usual the team will get decimated by injuries and the mid-season line-up will consist of emergency signings Liam Reddox Rem Murray and Patrick Thoreson, With Grebeshkov rushed back over from Russia to run the PP. Face it, the team is butter soft. The top6 is like a box of pastry flakes, and the bottom 6 has Hendricks and Gazdik as a deterrence. The defense is no better. Nurse is the scrappiest guy we have back there next to Ferrence.

Softest team in the league lacking depth=last place finish in the west.

 

[Blue And Orange]

Arizona is not a team to be underestimated. Dave Tippet is a genius of a coach and the team buys into his system. When you have a team that buys into what the coach preaches, they're gonna be competitive.

I'm not even sure if the Oilers have bought into what eakins preaches. From what I've seen during the pre-season it doesn't look promising.

 

[Moose Coleman]

Just to refresh your memory a bit, this was last year.

10 Nashville 88
11 Winnipeg 84
12 Vancouver 83
13 Calgary 77
14 Edmonton 67

The question for me is whether or not edmonton can make the jump to where nashville winnipeg and vancouver were last year; that is, approx .500 level. I think the goaltending puts edmonton close to 80 points the question is whether or not RNH and yakupov can propell the team to the 90 point mark. That seems unlikely to me, but who knows.

If you'll look at my prediction earlier, I had Edmonton ahead of Calgary, Winnipeg and Arizona for 11th, pushing Nashville for 10th. I think 90 points is a pipe dream, but 83-85 points shouldn't be out of the question if everything breaks right. I think Vancouver spins its wheels a bit too (Miller isn't good and outside of the aging Sedins, I don't like their depth at forward), so they might be in the **** mix too. It'll be interesting anyway, as much as a battle for "team just outside the wildcard spot" can be.

 

[stoff]

....What. You do realize they have Kari Lehtonen right? And their defense is nowhere near as good as the 5 teams below them.

Lethonen is one of the few consistently above average goalies in the league. They are set in the goaltending position.

 

[guymez]

Here is last seasons opening night lineup...



Ryan Smyth – Taylor Hall – Ales Hemsky
Jesse Joensuu – Boyd Gordon – Jordan Eberle
David Perron – Mark Arcobello – Nail Yakupov
Luke Gazdic – Will Acton – Mike Brown

Andrew Ference – Justin Schultz
Ladislav Smid – Jeff Petry
Nick Schultz – Anton Belov

Devan Dubnyk

Throw in a bunch of road games and its little wonder that team started 3-10-2.

Here is the 2014/15 opening night lineup (assuming Nikitin and Pouliot are good to go)....


Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle
Benoit Pouliot – Leon Draisaitl – Nail Yakupov
David Perron – Mark Arcobello – Teddy Purcell
Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Jesse Joensuu


Nikita Nikitin – Mark Fayne
Andrew Ference – Justin Schultz
Darnell Nurse – Jeff Petry

(Hunt, Klefbom)

Ben Scrivens​

That is a significant upgrade on last seasons opening night roster.


With a favorable schedule which includes 7 of their first 10 at home the team should start much better.


At seasons end I see the team finishing in the 80-90 point range.

I see them finishing ahead of Arizona, Winnipeg,Nashville, Calgary and possibly Vancouver.
Not sure what to make of Minnesota and their goaltending.

 

[Captain Catatomic]

once the oilers establish a solid #1 goalie then all will be well in oilers land. until then... clown shoes

 

[Mr Positive]

Arizona is not a team to be underestimated. Dave Tippet is a genius of a coach and the team buys into his system. When you have a team that buys into what the coach preaches, they're gonna be competitive.

I'm not even sure if the Oilers have bought into what eakins preaches. From what I've seen during the pre-season it doesn't look promising.

I we're giving credence to the pre-season, how did Tippett the genius have the highest GA in the division? He had the highest GF as well, which is hardly reflective of the style he's known for coaching.

If Tippett is going to try to make his team step out of its defensive comfort zone, I think things could get very bad for them. We'll see for sure later. Imo we can't assume much of anything from pre-season.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Lethonen is one of the few consistently above average goalies in the league. They are set in the goaltending position.

He's a good goalie but he's rarely healthy.

 

[I am the Liquor]

I can see us getting off to a great start, and by that I mean just under .500 after ten games. Its all downhill after that though. Last in the west. By a lot.

 

[Blue And Orange]

The way I see this season panning out, we're gonna struggle against teams in the West but we will have an above .500 record against teams in the East.

I am convinced that if the Oilers were in the Eastern Conference, we have a decent shot at the playoffs. The disparity between East and West is astronomical.

 

[Blue And Orange]

I we're giving credence to the pre-season, how did Tippett the genius have the highest GA in the division? He had the highest GF as well, which is hardly reflective of the style he's known for coaching.

If Tippett is going to try to make his team step out of its defensive comfort zone, I think things could get very bad for them. We'll see for sure later. Imo we can't assume much of anything from pre-season.

If Mike Smith gets hurt and Dubnyk replicates his horrid year last year, then yea, I see Arizona plummetting.

But David Tippet knows how to get the most out of his players and the team buys into his system.

IMO, they're gonna compete night in and night out and stay competitive.

Arizona is the type of team we always have trouble against because they outplay us. Hopefully, this year is a different story but I wouldn't hold my breath on it.

 

[Blue And Orange]

With a favorable schedule which includes 7 of their first 10 at home the team should start much better.

Interesting point.

I remember we started the 2011/12 season with a start that is home games heavy and we got off to a 7-2-1 start or something like that. After that, the rest was history and we finish 29th.

I see us doing the exact same thing. And the great thing is, we have teams in the East like Carolina, Tampa, and Washington coming.

AS mentioned in my previous post, I see the Oilers having an above average record against teams in the East. Thankfully with 30 games against the East, it should insulate our record a bit when we face the tough wild West.