Team: 2021-22 Edmonton Oilers

Initial Creation Date: Feb. 9, 2022

Published: Feb. 9, 2022

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Day one million of asking Dave Tippett to take a hike. Bring up Woodcroft and Manson, fire our goalie coach. Holland can stuff himself any day now too.

A comment in my previous AGM stirred me to thought: small changes won't enough to keep Edmonton in the dance against Colorado and Vegas and the poor showing last night against those same Eichel-less Golden Knights only served to exacerbate the chasm that still exists between the two teams. What I really noticed - beyond just the systems stuff - is just how much Edmonton's back end pales in comparison. It was something we knew all along, I don't think anyone was fooling themselves, but it's a greater gap than I had been giving credence to.

It'll take addition, subtraction, and addition via subtraction, but something needs to come together pronto in order to rectify how piss-poor the Oilers have been since taking McDavid first overall. If Colorado and Vegas can answer in waves with the ilk of Toews-Makar, Byram-Girard, McNabb-Pietrangelo, or Martinez-Theodore, what can Edmonton do in response? Names like Kuemper and Lehner have been in the upper echelon for goaltenders for a while now, what can Edmonton bring to the table to match?

Chychrun's name has been thrown around. Hart may or may not be available. Damn the acquisition costs, winning is all that matters now.

Smith's cooked and it'll continue to show tonight versus the Hawks. Running Barrie and Bouchard on the same team continues to be nonsensical: if you must have a player that can't play defense, at least let it be one that can score.

Quintessential top line. Should absolutely throttle all opposition. Second line is a bit MacGyver: Benson is probably the second-best passer on the team and could give Draisaitl a run for his money in that department. Pair that duo with a man known for being a triggerman and nothing else. The third line is what our second line defers to when Draisaitl and McDavid are paired. It'll dominate bottom-of-the-roster competition. This fourth line is in reality Edmonton's current third line. It's the deepest set of forwards in the league. All they've been missing is proper utilization.

This blueline setup aims to take the loads off of Nurse and Bouchard: Braun's a horse and Chychrun is the best player available in a trade today. It essentially gives Edmonton the same "two top-pairs" look that Colorado and Vegas are running. Keith has been solid of late, and he and Ceci can overperform in a hold-the-fort third pair role (this has been the second pair for most, if not all, of the season). Give Dave Manson the keys to this setup and the Norris one day finds its way to Edmonton.

So long as Dustin Schwartz ceases behind the bench, Hart and Sinner (behind the strongest blueline either man has had at the NHL level) will show you why they dominated the WHL.

Figure the cap out in the summer. Moving Foegele becomes an option with this setup (replace with Holloway), maybe Hoffman becomes a casualty, and affording Kane long-term is likely a pipe dream unless Keith retires. Win the cup and he might.

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