If you’re an Edmonton Oilers fan, you’re presumably thrilled with their offseason so far. With Jeff Jackson currently running the show, they’ve been able to add some big pieces to a roster that was one game shy of winning the Stanley Cup just weeks ago, while also somehow managing to re-sign several players who were set to become free agents.
Related: Oilers: Holland’s 3 Best and Worst Moves as GM
The big additions being alluded to are that of Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson, who were both signed on the opening day of free agency and make the Oilers an even better team offensively. There are still some concerns on the back end, but on paper, this team has improved this summer, at least in the eyes of many. That said, there are some who have concerns.
Oilers Have an Aging Forward Group
In more recent years, the NHL has really become a young man’s game. Gone are the days when there were several players in their late 30s and even early 40s still filling out rosters. Instead, teams are electing to give young players an opportunity to crack the lineup, in large part due to the fact that they are often on entry-level contracts which helps keep rosters cap-compliant.
Should their roster remain the same once the 2024-25 season is upon us, the Oilers will have seven players aged 32 or older in Corey Perry, Derek Ryan, Adam Henrique, Zach Hyman, Evander Kane, Viktor Arvidsson, and Jeff Skinner. That number jumps to nine if you include Mattias Janmark (32 in December) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (32 in April).
It could decrease to eight as the future of Kane is up in the air right now, but either way you look at it, that’s an old forward group in this day and age of the NHL. In fact, as ESPN’s John Buccigross recently pointed out, no Stanley Cup winner over the past nine years has had more than two forwards over the age of 32.
Core of the Forward Group Still in Their Prime
While it is an interesting stat, it isn’t something to be concerned over if you’re an Oilers fan. What Buccigross left out is the fact that both Perry and Ryan figure to have very minimal roles for this coming season. Yes, Perry was recently given a new one-year contract, but found himself sitting as a healthy scratch on numerous occasions during the Oilers’ Cup run. He’s simply a veteran presence at this point, a role which he has seemingly embraced.
Related: Jeff Skinner’s Potential Goal Count for the Oilers Next Season
Many others that Buccigross mentioned are still in the prime of their careers. Hyman, for example, is coming off of a career-high 54-goal season. He also added 16 more in the playoffs. Nugent-Hopkins’ numbers dropped from an outlier 104-point season in 2022-23, but it was still one of the best offensive outputs of his career.
Henrique managed 51 points this past season split between the Anaheim Ducks and Oilers, which is also a career-high. Janmark, meanwhile, proved that he still has plenty of gas in the tank in this year’s playoff run. He may have an argument with Kane, Arvidsson, and Skinner, but if healthy, they are more than capable of scoring 20-plus goals and 50-plus points. Aside from Perry and Ryan, none of these players are going to be announcing their retirement anytime soon.
As if that isn’t evidence enough that this isn’t a problem, the Oilers also have two of the world’s best players, Connor McDavid (27), and Leon Draisaitl (28) in the primes of their careers. They have never had a forward group anywhere near this deep, and to think an older forward group is what would get in the way of their ultimate goal is rather foolish.
Oilers Currently the Stanley Cup Favourite
Despite a few pundits’ comments on the age of this group, it seems that most hockey fans aren’t buying that it’s much of a concern. The Oilers are currently the odds-on favourite to win the Stanley Cup this season based off betting odds. Whether they can win it all remains to be seen, but it simply isn’t fair to suggest the team is too old to do so.
