In hockey there’s nothing like the pride of being a fan of your team. Even though this team makes me want to throw a chair at times, I love the Oilers. Not the people running it of course but that’s a story for another day. I’m here to recount my thoughts on the past 5 teams over this decade and my vibes about them.
2021 is the first year I began following hockey, it’s funny, it was a Canucks-Oilers game in February that made me fall in love with the game. It was during a powerplay, Mcdavid got this tic tac toe move through to Draisaitl and I never saw it before or really after for awhile. It enamoured me in how they performed it, But they had me hooked. and problems in the team weren’t anything really wrong, of course when they got swept by the jets it was humbling, and it made for a disappointing end to a first of hopeful teams.
2022 was the jump into the chaos. Hyman being added in was a big deal in the future but he still had to grow into his role as McDavid’s Winger. Mike Smith still had the net but injuries plagued the 40 year-old goaltender.
The team was struggling after a warm start to the season and it got tough. It got to the point, Dave Tippet got fired in december for the Ahl Condors Head Coach, Jay Woodcroft. His newer systems were fast and loose, which compliemented Mcdavid and Draisaitl’s playstyle. It made for entertaining hockey where the oilers were never down out of the fight.
(Something that has never left this team as the trait is seen often in the playoffs)
The playoffs were electric, the end of the pandemic gave way to a packed Rogers Place which gave way to some exciting games.
How I remember this team was the playoffs and the watch parties it popularized. As the Oilers would Battle the Kings for the first match up of four. They were taken to seven before McDavid Stepped in.
But this team was plagued with something that will follow this team throughout the years, poor defensive breakdowns and injuries ended this team’s run as the Avs would sweep the Oilers in a close 4 game series. Unfortunately the Avs were on a different level that year to their Stanley Cup.
2023: This would have been Woodcroft’s Magnum Opus with how powerful the team was this year. The top 6 were running at full throttle, Nuge reached 100 points, and Bouchard was beginning to take that role as a top 4 defenseman.
Their Heel though, was Jack Campbell. A goalie who was touted to be the stopgap starter we needed to be a contender, only for him to have a historical fall off that ended his career.
A power play so deadly, the other teams would have to quite literally play nice to avoid getting scored. I believe with my full heart and soul this would’ve been the year if Campbell rebounded correctly. But the hockey gods above had other plans. Skinner, who was thought to be the starter by the end of the season, started to break apart and pride got in the way of reality for Woodcroft’s team. They took the knights to Six in a valiant effort but they just couldn’t make it past the formidable forecheck the Golden Knights had that season.
2024: Was the rollercoaster season. Constant ups and downs caused Woodcrood to depend on loading up the first line with Connor and Leon. And this would come to bite him as he would get Canned for Chris Knobloch. He has a similar background to Woodcroft in that he was an up and coming Hall coach.This team was successful in the regular season, a 16 game winning streak being their focal point. The classic inconsistancies came back in the late season but it was brushed off as resting for playoffs.
This Playoffs was different. The script was the same in some places, but the golden knights missed this year and the teams they faced were… unique, The Kings are a team that the oilers have always been hard on and this year they finally past the Stars, a team that historically dominated them in a series and they got past them! It truly was a core memory of my late teenhood celebrating and that unstoppable feeling going against the panthers was amazing.
Then it finally hit, Games One, Two, and Three were like a reality check. No one could really put the Panthers in check that year, and their goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was on a different planet.
However, that fight and drive that Woodcroft instilled into this core came out in the next four games. The heroes of Edmonton’s year they were proclaimed as, Connor Brown, Matias Janmark, Corry Perry. All players who began to step up when the lights were at their brightest.
Game four was a statement that the Oilers weren’t going down without a fight. Eight goals is all that needs to be said. Emotions were fueling the team, and it’s all they had…And it gave them life. The Oilers would punish the Panthers in games Five and Six, winning them 5-3 and 5-1 respectively.
But alas, the clock struck midnight. And the Oilers fell back to reality in Game Seven.. Heartbreakingly close to the Silver gates of hockey with a season that had all the drama and highs of a soap opra.
What was so insulting though was the fact that McDavid Won Playoff MvP. He was so broken he couldn’t come out to take it. If there was a point of no return for McDavid I would put it here.
The pain was hard, worse than before as a fan. To see the players you’ve seen grown and succeed, fail at their prime chance of glory…
2025: Was hard as a fan. You could see the team’s identity that they built as stanley cup contenders, they were fast, overwhelming on offense to a point where they could play with opponents defenses like they were food.
But the emotions weren’t there like they were in 2024. Everyone was worn down a little bit more than before, and there were weeks where they just didn’t have the X-Factor like they once had.
McDavid is still amazing, he’s always great at working the ice. But this was a down year in the regular season and his contract was looming this season and it’s always going to be a talking point so long as he’s in this organization.
Playoffs were dominant. The kings were the speed bump, taking six games. The Golden Knights were a challenge at first but the revenge from 2023 was so fulfilling only taking five games. Their identity was in full effect as they won 6 games and through comebacks early on in the playoffs.
The script was almost the exact same for the oilers. Beat the Stars in five and a big break between them and the finals…
But it wasn’t enough. They shook last year off of them and it wasn’t close when the magic wasn’t on.
2026:Two trips to the finals… That kind of wear and tear takes a lot on a team. And it really showed this year. You could see it game to game. The magic is still there like it was before, but you can see a lot of players are beginning to take their steps back.
Nuge and Draisaitl were entering their 30s and the Gas tank that was there, isn’t.
And to summarize their playoffs, the ducks exposed them. The Oilers depended on that Kings Matchup to toughen them up through the playoffs but they faced the other Californian Team and their game isn’t focused on grit.
The Oilers took two games but they weren’t able to keep up with a younger team.
A rough start to McDavid’s Extension. But it was expected after game three.In the Off-Season Stan Bowman made a lot of decisions I won’t get into but to say that the Oilers are in a very hot situation is making it light… It’s been a rollercoaster ride, I’m tired spiritually as an Oilers fan. And it’s going to be another ride this season…
