The pain of coming one game short of winning a Stanley Cup is fresh for the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers likely believe they were one or two more breakout candidates away from defeating the Florida Panthers. Connor McDavid put the team on his back to make it to Game 7 of the Final, but a lack of offensive depth buried them when McDavid couldn't get free in the deciding game. As a result, it's time to search for a surprise star or two on the Oilers roster for the 2024-25 NHL season.
Edmonton knows they shouldn't have been in a position to win the Stanley Cup. At one point in December, the Oilers were dead last in the NHL standings, and they fired their head coach, Jay Woodcroft, and hired McDavid's former junior coach, Kris Knoblauch, early on in the year. There were questions about Knoblauch's credentials and whether it was just a move to keep the captain happy, but Knoblauch ended up unlocking something in the Oilers that no one saw coming.
The Oilers transformed into one of the best teams in the league for the remaining five months. Fittingly, they and the Panthers owned the best records in the NHL over that span. McDavid reached another level under his former mentor, tallying 132 points, including 100 assists, in 76 games. It wasn't a career-high, but his slow start to the season made his pace for the remainder of the campaign quite unbelievable.
McDavid continued that dominance in the playoffs by breaking one of Wayne Gretzky's unbreakable records, recording the most points in a single postseason. The rest of the offense, including Leon Draisaitl, let down McDavid in the Stanley Cup Final. However, there could be some help coming after a hard offseason of work for the Oilers, so let's check out a pair of potential breakout candidates for them next year.
Matthew Savoie
The Buffalo Sabres drafted Matthew Savoie with the ninth overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. He played one game with the Sabres last season but returned to the Western Hockey League to finish his junior career. The Sabres gave up on Savoie's development this offseason, trading him to the Oilers for Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tullio. McLeod contributed for the Oilers on their playoff run, but Edmonton didn't love his offensive upside.
The Oilers received a possible breakout candidate in return for a career bottom-six forward. Savoie played at a 2.09 points-per-game pace this season with the Wenatchee Wild and Moose Jaw Warriors. He and his Warriors teammates went on a historic run through the WHL playoffs, culminating in a trip to the Memorial Cup tournament, Canada's most prestigious amateur trophy.
Savoie isn't guaranteed a spot on the Oilers roster to start the 2024-25 season. It's more likely he will begin in Bakersfield in the American Hockey League and earn his call-up the old-fashioned way. However, it isn't hard for Oilers fans to generate excitement over the possibility of Savoie becoming a top six forward.
The Sabres likely traded Savoie because they didn't see how he could contribute to their roster. It seems like a risky move to give up on a player who has shown so much upside, but the Oilers won't complain about landing him. Edmonton likes to take chances with players in their top six, banking on McDavid and Draisaitl's ability to elevate their linemates.
Savoie dominated as a center in junior hockey, but he projects as a winger at the professional level. If he can play himself into a spot on the Oilers, you can expect him to explode alongside whichever elite centerman Knoblauch sees fit.
Philip Broberg
Philip Broberg was out of the Oilers lineup for most of the 2023-24 season. He played 49 games in the AHL with Bakersfield, and two playoff games. However, he was the first defenseman recalled to the Oilers once Bakersfield was eliminated. Broberg played 12 games with the Oilers during the regular season, recording two assists. He didn't expect to get much playing time in the playoffs, but the experience of being around for the run would be invaluable.
The plan changed when Darnell Nurse, Cody Ceci, and Vincent Desharnais struggled in the Western Conference Finals. It became increasingly clear that Ceci and Nurse couldn't be on the same defense pair, so the Oilers had to juggle the lines. The line movement highlighted Desharnais' deficiencies, prompting Knoblauch to insert Broberg in his place.
He flourished immediately, looking like Edmonton's best defenseman as they rallied from a 2-1 deficit against the Dallas Stars to win in Game 6. The front office has so much belief in Broberg that they let Desharnais walk in free agency and sign with the Vancouver Canucks. Broberg proved he can play in the Oilers' opening night lineup in 2024-25, and could become one of their top options by season's end.
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