What if Colton Dach is the real thing?
That’s the question hanging over a player who has already put three goals on the board in 11 games and is now skating left wing on the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins line. It’s a pretty wild place for the season to be, and an even wilder place for Dach to be in it.
The Oilers, meanwhile, have been stacking up results that look nothing like the modest expectations attached to their schedule. On the road against the Rangers and Devils, the projection was 1-1-0, and they came out 1-0-0.
At home against Anaheim, Vancouver, the Rangers and Philadelphia, the expected mark was 3-1-0. On the road to Toronto, Philadelphia, Florida, Tampa Bay, Carolina and St.
Louis, the projection was 2-3-1. At home against Vegas and Seattle, it was 1-0-1.
On the road to Seattle, 1-0-0. Put it all together and the expected record sat at 8-5-2 for 18 points in 15 games.
Instead, the Oilers are sitting at 11-2-2 with 24 points in 15 games.
And somehow, in the middle of all that, Connor McDavid’s goal still managed to feel like the headline. It came after I’d already gone several paragraphs without even mentioning it, which says something about how much this team has already packed into the season.
I read yesterday that a movie theatre in the Netherlands plans to hypnotize a select group of filmgoers and erase all memory of their favourite movie so they can watch it again for the first time. I wouldn’t trade my memories of McDavid for anything, and I do believe the rush I felt on first blush at 2015 Orientation Camp gets repeated nightly.
Last night, over a decade into his career, and approaching 30, Connor McDavid once again blessed us with the impossible. Incredible.
There’s a clear shape to what the Oilers are doing right now. The team is buying in to the Babcock style, with aggressive forechecking and contesting every sequence.
The top line is money. The second and third lines are starting to take form, and there’s a belief that the Nuge line could look even stronger once Zach Hyman and Matt Savoie arrive.
Dach may not lose his spot, either, which would open the door for a quality player to join the Dickinson line. Add in the possibility that Stan Bowman brings in another piece, and three scoring lines starts to sound realistic.
The question is who fits. Kucherov is out of reach, Dmitri Voronkov is appealing, but the Oilers need something closer to a sure thing.
There’s also been a lot asked of the goaltenders, and the Oilers have made life easier for them. Matt Tomkins deserves credit for handling his first NHL game in years so well.
He’s 32, looks 20, and, as the saying goes, no one predicts goalies with any confidence anyway. Up front and on the blue line, there are encouraging signs too.
I love the top pair, Murphy makes me nervous, and the third pair can probably handle more of the workload. Jake Walman will get his chance eventually.
For now, this has been a professional road trip. The Oilers are hunting pucks hard, pressing in all three zones, and making it work. The real test is whether another team finds a counter and how quickly the Oilers respond when it happens.
On the Lowdown today, Jason Gregor will be the feature guest, and I’m going to try to find someone qualified to discuss McDavid peaking at 29. I’m thinking Methuselah. Noon to 2pm, Sports 1440 and You Tube.
In Other News...
Alberta Time Creates A New Oilers Schedule Headache For Fans
Albertas move away from daylight saving time has created a fresh wrinkle for Oilers fans trying to plan their nights around the schedule. With the province now operating on Alberta Time, some Edmonton games are being shifted later than they would have been before, even as most home dates are still expected to land in the familiar 7 to 8 p.m. ABT range.
The change is most noticeable on select weeknight matchups, where a start that once felt manageable can now stretch deep into the evening. For a team whose home schedule already asks plenty of its crowd, the new time setup adds another layer of inconvenience, and fans will need to keep an eye on the calendar as the season unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Suddenly Have A Superstar Trade Scenario Worth Watching
Nikita Kucherovs trade request has quickly turned into one of those league-wide storylines that can reshape a market in a hurry, and Edmonton is at least part of the conversation. The Oilers have reportedly shown interest in the superstar winger, which is enough to make this a scenario worth monitoring closely even before any real traction develops.
What makes the situation especially intriguing is the reason behind Kucherovs ask. He has said it stems from poor communication and a lack of respect rather than money, which adds a layer of tension to any team trying to gauge whether a move is even realistic. For Edmonton, the appeal is obvious, but so is the uncertainty, and that is why this one may linger for a while before anyone knows where it is headed. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Suddenly Hover Around A Superstar Trade Battle
A star-level trade conversation has suddenly put the hockey world on alert, and it is the kind of rumor that can ripple well beyond the teams directly involved. Nikita Kucherov has become the center of a high-end standoff with Tampa Bay, with Detroit and Toronto already surfacing as possible landing spots as the Lightning try to navigate a situation built around contract demands, market size and the idea of pairing him with another marquee name.
For Edmonton, the intrigue is obvious because any major talent shuffle at the top of the league can reshape the trade landscape around it. The reported discussions have already dragged in big-name players and big-market possibilities, and the longer this plays out, the more it feels like one of those rare sagas that could influence other teams' plans before it is even resolved. [Read more 🡒]