The Schedule will absolutely bury McDavid and the Oilers in 2018-19

[CantHaveTkachev]

It's not the schedule that will bury him, it's the following:

1) Questionable starting goalie

why? last year was his only poor season

2) Bad wingers (slow or unproven)

unproven doesn't equal "bad"

3) Bad backup goalie

how do you know?

4) Bad coaching

Yawney from Anaheim is bad? Gulutzan demoted to assistant is bad?
premature and unfounded

5) A defense with no #1 or #2 defender

neither do the Leafs..

6) Rushing young players into the NHL

again, this has nothing to do with having a bad season

 

[Mulletman]

-2016 Penguins was a result of a coaching change midseason

Well with this Schedule, the Oilers will most likely have a new coach too after the first 15 games...

 

[Nizdizzle]

why? last year was his only poor season


unproven doesn't equal "bad"


how do you know?

Yawney from Anaheim is bad? Gulutzan demoted to assistant is bad?
premature and unfounded

neither do the Leafs..

again, this has nothing to do with having a bad season

Please don't open that can of worms... Leave this as an Oilers thread.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Please don't open that can of worms... Leave this as an Oilers thread.

hahaha, I said an ugly 5-letter word

 

[Nizdizzle]

hahaha, I said an ugly 5-letter word

I just know lots of uninformed opinions will be thrown around in this thread, and I'd rather have them said about your team rather than mine.

 

[Butch 19]

this just in: winning hockey games is hard work.

 

[Leafidelity]

Good teams don't care who they play

 

[North Cole]

BUT WHAT YOU DONT REALIZE IS THAT:

A tough schedule in the beginning means that McDavid can pad his stats at the end of the year feasting on bad teams (when we are eliminated)!!! Third Art Ross!

Right,my friend? @daver

 

[JT Kreider]

Good teams don't care who they play

I don't think any teams care who they play. It'll be the same robot responses from players about getting off to a good start, etc.

This is just a ludicrous thread only Mulletman can dream up

 

[God King Fudge]

They'd still play those teams at some point.....so.....yeah?

 

[Devil Dancer]

It might actually help them, sometimes good teams take a couple weeks to get back into the swing of things...

Came here to post this. The best teams usually take a few weeks to jell, this way the Oil can get some of those games out of the way before the elite teams are playing their best hockey.

 

[ObscureAlien]

The Oilers have the easiest schedule in the league next year

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

The Oilers have the easiest schedule in the league next year

disagree

team playing the West with all the travel never have an "easy" schedule...plus there's the whole Euro-trip to start the season

 

[JT Kreider]

disagree

team playing the West with all the travel never have an "easy" schedule...plus there's the whole Euro-trip to start the season

Rangers and Kings both started the 2011/12 season in Germany/Finland/ Sweden and both made out just fine

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

It's not the schedule that will kill them it's that once you get past Mcdavid, Draisaitl and RNH the oilers have nothing, if those 3 have an off night you lose there is ZERO depth.

and that's why it blows my mind they didn't get Skinner or Hoffmanespecially since they were basically given away for nothing.

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

that's a tough schedule for sure .if they can hover around 500 after it they will be fine seeing how their 2nd half is a lot easier

It really does look like a pretty tough schedule.

But, if they can get through it and be anywhere near .500 well then they're in great shape and have a lot of momentum for the remaining schedule.

It's hard to see how that could happen but that's why they play the games.

 

[DomBarr]

So with the upcomming season I took a look at the Schedule to see who would benefit and who would get screwed over. And I must say I was absolutely shocked when I looked at the Oilers Schedule. I thought maybe they would give McDavid and the Oilers a bit of a boost with the Schedule to give them a better shot at making the playoff. Well that's not happening. The first 15 games for the Oilers are absolutely brutal:
Game 1: Devils
Game 2: Bruins
Game 3: Rangers
Game 4: Jets
Game 5: Bruins
Game 6: Predators
Game 7: Penguins
Game 8: Capitals
Game 9: Predators
Game 10: Blackhawks
Game 11: Wild
Game12: Blackhawks
Game 13: Red Wings
Game 14: Capitals
Game 15: Lightning

That's 6 games against the top 4 teams from last year and 2 more games against the Stanley Cup Champions in the first 15 games. The only really weak team in the first 15 games is the Red Wings. Worst case scenario the Oilers go 1-12-2 in their first 15 games and then it's pretty much game over once they're in a hole like that.

On top of that Oilers also play the bottom 6 from last year (Sabres, Senators, Coyotes, Canadiens, Red Wings and Canucks) only 2 times in their first 33 games. And then 14 times in their last 49 games. Everybody who knows math and statistics know that that deviates too much from the mean to be just a coincidence.

Seems like the Oilers are going to have an uphill battle if they want to make the playoffs and McDavid as wel,l if he wants to win the Art Ross, Hart and Lindsay.

So what do you guys think, will McDavid and the Oilers overcome the odds against them? And is there a case for any other team to have a worse Schedule to start the season than the Oilers?

This is in the wrong place if you are looking for sympathy...

 

[ImpartialNHLfan]

It's not the schedule that will kill them it's that once you get past Mcdavid, Draisaitl and RNH the oilers have nothing, if those 3 have an off night you lose there is ZERO depth.

and that's why it blows my mind they didn't get Skinner or Hoffmanespecially since they were basically given away for nothing.

They can't even afford to give Nurse a contract, never mind adding another player lol

 

[Kamiccolo]

Most of those teams are bubble teams honestly. I count 8 teams there that are clearly playoff teams and very good, the rest have as much to prove as the Oilers. It doesn't seem that bad honestly.

Also early in the season is when they will have the best chance of beating these teams, as structure is looser. Later in the year it means they get some easier teams when it would be harder to beat the teams prepping for a cup run.

 

[Gunnersaurus Rex]

Despite all the typical and expected comments from HF'ers, I understand your sentiment. I believe there is a stat that something like 85% of teams out of a playoff spot by the end of October miss the playoffs at the end of the year.

I know you aren't asking for the NHL to give the Oilers an easy schedule, but a more balanced one makes sense. The Oilers still have to play these teams at some point, but spaced out more evenly would match other teams schedules.

 

[Kybb79]

Oilers are not good, This thread is another excuse for Oil fans.

 

[PsYcNeT]

Oilers made the playoffs in 2017 with pretty much the same team as a result of a good start to the season. Last year they struggled out of the gate and missed the playoffs. It matters how you start the season...

What makes this thread (and quote) even more hilarious is that last year the Oilers had one of the easiest schedules in the league.

 

[Pez68]

If you think Edmonton's schedule is hard, you should see Ottawa's. They only play one team ALL SEASON that finished lower than them in the standings. Talk about a tough schedule!

 

[ffh]

Good teams don't care who they play

if only every team can play 4 out of 7 teams in the division that are lottery teams

 

[Its a Trap]

It amazes me how people continue to respond to mullet threads in serious tones as if they’re serious threads and not a place to just goof off.