Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers fell short of the Stanley Cup in 2024. They made a miraculous comeback in the Stanley Cup Final before falling in Game 7. McDavid won the Conn Smythe Trophy after turning in one of the greatest postseason performances in NHL history. But he and the franchise want to win hockey's biggest prize next season.
The Oilers attacked NHL Free Agency with this idea in mind. Edmonton signed veteran wingers Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner to give them more offensive options. Additionally, they made a sneaky move to trade with the Buffalo Sabres for Matthew Savoie. These moves have left McDavid rather impressed, as he expressed to Sportsnet earlier this week.
“I thought the whole management and staff did a great job,” McDavid said, via Sportsnet. “It's been a great off-season so far. It's been short, it's been hurried, but the whole time they've been at it, they've done great things.”
Oilers keep depth and support Connor McDavid
The Oilers didn't make any major splashes, but the moves for Skinner and Arvidsson are smart additions. Both players give Edmonton more quality offensive depth, which they lacked despite their run to the Stanley Cup Final. In fact, most of Edmonton's postseason points came from either McDavid, Evan Bouchard, Zach Hyman, or Leon Draisaitl.
But the main focal point of Edmonton's offseason was to keep its team mostly intact. To this end, they succeeded. The Oilers were able to re-sign Corey Perry, Mattias Janmark, Connor Brown, and Adam Henrique. They did lose forward Warren Foegele and defenseman Vincent Desharnais. That said, they have most of the team that won them the Western Conference back in the fold.
McDavid praised Edmonton's front office for finding a way to keep the band together. “Keeping as many guys together is a good thing in the salary-cap era. It's tough to do that, and (interim GM Jeff Jackson) has done a great job of finding a way to do that for the most part,” the Oilers superstar said, via Sportsnet.
The Oilers made the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006 this year. They fell down 3-0 in the series and looked as if they were about to be swept. However, they stormed back to force a Game 7. Unfortunately, a Sam Reinhart goal in the second period confirmed the team's defeat in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.
Edmonton certainly hopes to make a run back to the Stanley Cup Final in 2025. And it'll certainly be interesting to see how the team's new additions will fit in. The Oilers begin their 2024-25 campaign on October 9 with a home matchup with the Winnipeg Jets.
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