NHL Insider Claims Oilers Have No Chance at Winning the Stanley Cup

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Liam McCormick
October 7, 2024 (3:54 PM)

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Former General Manager and TSN insider Craig Button is known for some hot takes, and this weekend he took aim at the Oilers.

Coming off a fantastic playoff run that took them one win away from the Stanley Cup, plenty of NHL insiders believe this is the Oilers' year to win it all. Their top six forward group and generational superstars are the primary reason for their success, but it might come at a cost to the rest of the roster. This year's Oilers blue line is definitely weaker than year's past, and that's why Craig Button believes the Oilers have no chance at winning the Cup.

»As great as McDavid and Draisaitl have been and are, they can't win a Stanley Cup, in my view, with the blue line as currently constructed. It needs really significant improvement.»
- Craig Button, TSN

The first pairing of Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard are one of the best in the league, but beyond them, Button is right that there's question marks. Darnell Nurse significantly struggled in last year's playoffs, setting the record for worst plus/minus in playoff history. Ty Emberson is a promising young player, but he's unproven with only 30 NHL games played. Troy Stecher and Brett Kulak are quality depth defenders, but definitely not significant players on a cup-contending team.

Button continues to say that the loss of Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway to offer sheets left Stan Bowman and the Oilers scrambling, and he was unable to rectify the mistake. Button then says that McDavid and Draisaitl aren't good enough to bring the Oilers the cup on their own. It is a hard truth that hockey is a team game, and even with the best players in the league, the Oilers need every player to be good.

Button can often be controversial just for the sake of it, and he definitely has no love for Edmonton as a former GM of the Calgary Flames. However, his ridiculous rant sometimes stumbles upon a bit of truth, and some of the criticisms here are valid.

That said, Connor McDavid and the Oilers have continuously proved all of their doubters wrong. Button's take of the Oilers have no chance of winning is ridiculous, because it really suggests that he thought Broberg, Holloway, and Ceci are essential to winning. The Oilers lost good players, but those players surely weren't carrying the team. Also, the Oilers aren't done adding to the team yet. An impact trade is expected at the deadline this season.

The Oilers have got within one game of the Stanley Cup before, and they can do it again. When they make some additions at the trade deadline too, this team could be looking better than ever before heading into next year's playoffs. If the Oilers can add an impact defenceman and get Evander Kane back in the spring, they'll be barrelling toward the Cup once again.