Team: 2019-20 Edmonton Oilers

Initial Creation Date: Jul. 20, 2019

Published: Jul. 24, 2019

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Here is my prediction for how the opening night lineup will look for the Edmonton Oilers this October, assuming they don't make any more changes.

Forwards:
McDavid and Draisatl. 221 points between them last season. First line. Nothing more needs to be said. Ken Holland's addition of James Neal could be a steal to complement this line even further. I don't care what Neal's totals said last year, he only shot 5% and played in the bottom 6 all year. After 11 20+ goal seasons in 12 years, he is an elite scorer with one of the best shots in the league and will bring those numbers back where they should be while playing with these guys. The second line is where things start to go south. Joakim Nygard is a 26 year old who has never played a minute in the NHL. He played well in the SHL, but still a huge question mark. Chiasson had a breakout year to basically save his NHL career last season off a PTO. We will see if he can repeat that performance, or show more of the 4th liner he's been most of his career. One form of certainty on the second line is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. In my opinion, he is very underrated and flies under the radar of that first line. He will be a reliable player for them while providing quality secondary scoring. The bottom 6 is not the prettiest for the oilers and will have a lot of variables. Granlund never lived up to much in Vancouver but is still a serviceable bottom 6 player. Sam Gagner has 1 more year on his tough contract but seemed to redeem himself a little bit during his second stint with the team. It will be interesting to see if Kailer Yamamoto can stay with the big club for the whole year this time around. He has a lot of potential but found it hard to score at this level. If he finds his game, maybe we will even see him in the top 6 very soon. There is nothing special about the 4th line but it can still hold its own and provide a solid 10 min of ice per game. All 3 players are capable of 10 goals, with Khaira and Kassian being able to move up and down the lineup if needed. Cave and Colby gained some experience last season and showed they can be reliable call-ups. This can look very different after the Puljujarvi situation is resolved, but I can't see him suiting up for the Oilers again.

Defence:
Klefbomb and Larsson is a very solid first pair. The key is keeping Klefbomb healthy. The Oilers record is substantially better when he is in the lineup. Benning will have to take a big step into the top 4 this year, but he will be paired with Darnell Nurse who is really starting to come into his own. Kris Russell is now a top 6 dman and there's no going back up. His game is declining but will still put his body on the line every night blocking shots. I think Evan Bouchard will have his first full season this year. The OHL was simply too easy for him and when he stepped into the AHL at the end of the season, he was a monster. Will be a key piece of the future, and on the powerplay this year.

Goalies:
I don't know what Mikko Koskinen is. There is simply not big enough of a sample size. I think he's better than a backup goalie, but I am not confident calling him a starter. Mike Smith on the other hand was a very good signing. 0 risk at only 2 million and he is a backup at the very least. But when he is on his game, he is one of the best. Hopefully these two netminders can figure it out this season and have a healthy split of games.

There are still many, many holes in this line up but when McDavid and Draisaitl are leading the way, you are going to have a shot every night. Under new coaching and management, I am confident they will compete for a wildcard spot, but it is hard to predict that they will make it in. However, they had an awful season last year, but still fought all the way to the end and almost squeezed in.