The Edmonton Oilers are heading into the 2023-24 season as one of the strongest teams in the NHL. They are easily a Stanley Cup contender even though they didn’t make any huge moves during free agency this offseason. They were able to maintain a strong roster as they recently locked up Ryan McLeod and have brought in a few depth pieces in Drake Caggiula, Lane Pederson and Ben Gleason in order to try and stabilize their team. They’re coming off a solid 2022-23 season that was cut short after being eliminated by the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round of the playoffs, but they’re looking to come back stronger this season.
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As we approach the beginning of the regular season, I figured it would be interesting to give some predictions for a number of different potential awards. While looking at some team awards, I will also mention a couple of players who could make a run for league awards at the end of the season. For the team awards, I will look at Best Forward, Best Defenseman, Most Underrated Player, and Breakout Player.
Best Forward: Connor McDavid
There is no argument that Connor McDavid is the best hockey player in the world. He had a record-breaking season last year that will be tough to top, but if anyone can do it and somehow shock the world again, it’s McDavid. Coming off a season where he scored 64 goals and added 89 assists for 153 points through 82 games, it’s tough to imagine him doing much better than that, but he only seems to get better every season. I think it’s a no-brainer that he takes home the Best Forward award.
Best Defenseman: Mattias Ekholm
After being acquired at the trade deadline last season, Mattias Ekholm made a huge impact on the Oilers. He was partnered up alongside Evan Bouchard for most of the regular season and the postseason and happened to play first-pairing minutes. He stood out as arguably the strongest deadline acquisition throughout the entire league and seemed to elevate the play of his young partner, Bouchard.
He produced well offensively following the trade, scoring four goals and adding ten assists for 14 points through 21 games. He and Bouchard will likely play on the first pairing this season and will be relied on to play the majority of the minutes on the blue line. While a breakout season of Bouchard is expected, I would predict Ekholm is the team’s best defenseman regardless of the other players’ performances.
Most Underrated Player: Lane Pederson
The Oilers signed Pederson to a two-year contract earlier in July in hopes of stacking up their depth, and that’s exactly what they get in him. While he won’t be relied upon to put up an insane amount of points, he has played well in a depth role in the past and will be expected to do so again this season. While I would expect the Oilers to seek other options before the season starts, I think he will earn his opportunity in the bottom-six and quietly have a good season.
He hasn’t been able to make the full-time jump from the American Hockey League (AHL) to the NHL but has a wide-open opportunity this season with the Oilers. He’ll have to earn the final roster spot and fight for his place in the lineup each and every night, but I think he’ll be the team’s most underrated player that can provide everything that doesn’t involve scoring.
Breakout Player: Evan Bouchard
The player I expect to finally break out and prove himself as a top-pairing defenseman is Bouchard. He played well last season and showed signs of being a future top-pairing defenseman that can be a strong offensive producer. He was a bit weaker defensively, but playing alongside Ekholm has been really positive for his development. He will be the player on the Oilers that shows the most improvement and could put up 60-plus points this season.
Who Could Make A Run At League Awards?
The Oilers have some real studs on their roster. I would expect McDavid to make a run for the Hart Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award but Leon Draisaitl could make a run at it as well. As far as the Norris Trophy, I truly wouldn’t be surprised to see Ekholm get a few votes. I don’t have him being a finalist, but he played well enough near the end of the season to warrant the belief he could be a top 10-15 defenseman in the league in 2023-24.
Individual awards aside, the Oilers have a really strong team. I firmly believe this roster could make a deep playoff run and have a real shot at winning the Stanley Cup in 2024, which is the award every player on the roster will have their eye on and have in the back of their mind each and every night.
