Former NHLer Claims Oilers Having Another Slow Start Will Have Disastrous Effect

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Ryan Hall
October 13, 2024 (1:26 PM)

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Former Oilers forward Jason Demers stated on the OilersNation every day podcast bet the Oilers cannot have the same start as they did last year.

He explains that slow starts like the Oilers have had can be detrimental to the top stars and all players on the team especially physically and mentally as they must work twice as hard to get to the playoffs and not rely on 16 game-winning streaks get the job done.

Last year's start was a disastrous one for the Oilers as they had a 2-9-1 record which resulted in the firing of former head coach Jay Woodcroft and assistant coach Dave Manson. Many fans and pundits felt that a change in coaching was inevitable, but it appears the Oilers are heading down a similar path in the standings.

In their first two games of the season, they have been outscored 11-2 and Stuart Skinner has been chased from the net during the Jets game. Question marks have surfaced prior to the season that the Oilers defence could be suspect as they had subtracted several players including Cody Ceci and Philip Broberg.

It's clear the Oilers have time to right the ship as head coach Kris Knoblauch at assistant coach Paul Coffey will have to figure out what is going wrong and how they can adjust so the others can get back on track. This start will ramp up talks of a trade as they were prevalent throughout the web during the summer and especially within the first few weeks of training camp.

It's likely the Oilers will wait until the trade deadline to make a deal for a defenseman or two as the market is currently very low and the team is talented enough to get back onto a winning track.

The Oilers will take on the battle of Alberta as they are at home against the Calgary Flames. The game will take place on October 13th and game time will be 8:00 PM eastern.