Realistic season expectations for five key Oilers players

After Evander Kane joked with Edmonton Oilers media that he is predicting himself to score 1o0 goals and 100 assists this season, it caused some to sit back and think about realistic individual stat lines for this team’s top stars.

As far as offensive talent goes, there is no better team in the league than the Oilers, who boasted three 100-point players last season, led by Connor McDavid’s ridiculous 153. While it remains to be seen if those godly totals will come again, there is reason to believe they just might, as this roster is even more talented than it was a season prior. With that said, here are some 2023-24 season predictions for five key Oilers players.

Connor McDavid — 70 goals

Last season, McDavid became the first NHLer since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96 to break the 150-point mark and join a list of only Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, and Steve Yzerman ever to do so. What’s frightening for the rest of the league is that the 26-year-old is only getting better, and is entering the 2023-24 campaign more motivated than ever before.

This season, while he will still record a ridiculous amount of points, we’re predicting a new historic feat for him: scoring 70 or more goals. The last time the NHL had someone score 70 or more came in 1992-93, when Alex Mogilny and Teemu Selanne tied each other with 76 apiece. It may seem ridiculous, but McDavid was only six shy of 70 a season ago.

Leon Draisaitl — 60 goals

While McDavid worked on becoming a goal scorer last season, Leon Draisaitl has been an established one for some time. The 27-year-old has hit the 50-goal marker three times in his career, including a career-high 55 in 2021-22. Over the past five seasons, Draisaitl’s 231 goals lead all NHLers.

Much like McDavid, Draisaitl is an extremely motivated player and is always looking to improve. This season, he has a chance to do that by scoring 60 or more for the first time in his career. If he is able, he will join McDavid, David Pastrnak, Auston Matthews, Alex Ovechkin, and Steven Stamkos as the only active NHLers to hit the illustrious mark.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — 80 points

Entering the 2022-23 season, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was viewed as a dependable two-way centreman capable of putting up roughly 60 points a year. Something changed last season, however, as he shattered his previous career-high 69 points, registering 104 in 82 games.

Much of Nugent-Hopkins’ offence came from the incredible Oilers power play, which he had a big role in. Given his career numbers prior to last season, some regression should be expected, but it isn’t at all out of the question that he record 80 or more points this year. That’s more than reasonable for a player with a cap hit of just $5.125 million.

Evan Bouchard — 65 points

If there is one player on the Oilers who is set to pop off this year, it’s Evan Bouchard. The 23-year-old has established himself as a talented offensive defenceman early in his career, particularly in the playoffs this past season, where he recorded 17 points in 12 games. This coming season, however, is where he will really make a name for himself.

With Tyson Barrie no longer in the picture, Bouchard is set to play on the Oilers’ top power play unit. While he will certainly benefit from playing on this elite unit, he will help them out a lot himself. Not only is he a great puck mover, but his shot from the point is a weapon this Oilers power play hasn’t had in the past. Expect a massive year from the young defenceman.

Jack Campbell — .910 SV%

Jack Campbell is in desperate need of a bounce-back season. His first year as an Oiler couldn’t have gone worse, as he posted a 3.41 goals against average (GAA) along with a .888 save percentage (SV%) after being signed to a five-year, $25 million deal last offseason. Things got so bad, in fact, that rookie Stuart Skinner replaced him as the team’s starting goaltender.

After a summer of reflection, Campbell has come back to camp in a seemingly better mood and admitted to working on his mental game over the past few months. It is expected that he and Skinner will split the net this season, which will help him from a pressure standpoint as well. It is safe to expect him to return to the goaltender he was in the past, which should result in him posting an SV% of .910 or higher this season.

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