By Luke Sims -
The Edmonton Oilers are playing in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. The Minnesota Wild are not.
Every team's goal is to win the Stanley Cup, and the Oilers built a contender after years of struggling to gain traction before the 2019-20 season. So, what can the Wild learn from the best team in the West this year?
There are some obvious differences between the two teams, but some similarities that are worth exploring. While one team is in the Cup final and the other is scheduling tee times, both teams fired their coach this season, have questionable depth on defense, and have a tricky goaltending situation. The big difference is Edmonton's overall offensive depth. The Oilers are better up front and better down the lineup.
If we start with the offensive side of the puck, there is a glaring difference in one player: Connor McDavid. While having the best player in hockey doesn’t hurt, the Oilers have depth behind him in Leon Draisaitl. Having two of the top five players in hockey as your No. 1 and 2 centers gives the Oilers a huge advantage over the Wild.
Draisaitl finished his third consecutive season with 100+ points and his fifth overall. McDavid has had four straight seasons with over 100 and seven overall. Together, they make a dynamic 1-2 punch for the Oilers.
Teams should retain their homegrown centers
Joel Eriksson Ek is a suitable No. 1 center for the Wild. However, there isn’t a universe where Wild management wouldn’t take McDavid or Draisaitl over Eriksson Ek. While Eriksson Ek developed slowly offensively, he just hit 30 goals for the first time in his career and is in the middle of his prime.
Oh, and his contract is dynamite for the Wild. Minnesota has Ek on a contract that pays him an average annual salary of $5.25 million. For a 200-foot player who just scored 60-plus points for a second consecutive year, that’s pretty darn good for a center.
For context, the Los Angeles Kings acquired Pierre-Luc Dubois in the offseason and signed him to an eight-year, $68 million deal. PLD played in all 82 games and scored 40 points. That’s only 10 more than Marcus Johansson scored last season.
Marco Rossi is Minnesota’s other homegrown center. The rookie scored 20 goals in his first full season with the big club and proved he belongs in the NHL. Rossi was a prolific junior scorer and finally showed that skill in an elevated role. The Wild have been starved for skilled centers for almost the entire existence of the franchise. Now, with a young, sturdy, and skilled center in the fold, naturally, it doesn't make much sense to dangle him on the trade block in hopes of getting something better externally.
Great teams have players who elevate their teammates
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is a 100-point player because he’s on McDavid’s line. Zach Hyman is not scoring 50 goals unless he’s on McDavid’s power play line. McDavid makes his wingers drastically better players and raises the bar for his teammates.
Mats Zuccarello benefits from Kirill Kaprizov’s superstar ability. While having Zuccy alone on a line with Rossi and Marcus Johansson is okay, Zuccarello is a much more effective player on Kaprizov’s line.
Kaprizov’s presence also allows the Wild to create a more dynamic lineup. His superstar presence allows the Wild to create a productive top line with guys like Rossi and Zuccarello, who are not top-line players. The Wild have chosen to make a top-heavy first line, but there were times when Kaprisov was paired up with Rossi and Zuccarello, which was successful. That allows the Wild to put guys like Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy down the lineup to try and add scoring depth.
Having two guys who can elevate players around them, like McDavid and Draisaitl, allows the Oilers to have players like Hyman and Nugent-Hopkins find success.
The Oilers also gambled on a few players who were productive this year. They took chances on guys like Corey Perry, 39, and Evander Kane, who’s had some off-the-ice issues. There are NHL teams that would not sign players with their baggage. However, Perry and Kane are helping Edmonton on their playoff run.
Even contenders must navigate goaltending predicaments
The Oilers have a peculiar goaltending situation. Jack Campbell began the season as Edmonton’s starter. However, they sent him to the AHL after five games. Edmonton has been relying on streaky 25-year-old youngster goalie Stuart Skinner to carry them throughout the season and in the playoffs.
Marc-Andre Fleury is also known for his streaky play, but that is mainly due to his advanced age. If you compare Fleury’s numbers to Skinner’s, there is not a significant difference. Skinner may have been consistently better, but where Fleury flashed his athletic ability with some showstopping saves when the Wild were making their ill-fated postseason push.
Skinner has a 2.50 goals-against average and a sub-.900 save percentage. He also is 11-5 and starting in the Stanley Cup Final. While teams can ride a hot goalie in the playoffs, the Oilers found a way to work around an unstable goaltending situation. Fleury finished the year with a 2.98 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage. Not much worse than Skinner.
The Wild must maximize their strong defensive corps
Minnesota objectively has a better defensive group than the Oilers. You can argue that none of Edmonton’s bottom-four defensemen are championship-caliber. Darnell Nurse, Brett Kulak, and Philip Broberg are all okay. Cody Ceci is a frustrating thing that exists for Oilers fans.
None of those guys instill confidence as a defensive or offensive force. However, Edmonton’s top pair of Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard are dynamic. They make a perfect fire-and-ice combination. Ekholm is one of the best defensive defenders in the league, and Bouchard is one of the most electric blueliners in the world.
The Wild have many solid defensive guys, like Brock Faber, Jared Spurgeon, and Jonas Brodin. However, none of them are certified puck slingers who can be counted on as elite offensive playmakers. Faber almost scored 50 points as a rookie, and he has the potential to become as productive as Bouchard. However, he’s not there yet.
The Oilers are a top-heavy team that allows its superstar centers and defensemen who cover up for inequities down the lineup and in net. The Wild probably have a more complete team than Edmonton. However, when you have the best player in the world, he makes up for a lot of things.
It’ll be hard for the Wild to replicate Edmonton’s method because the top five talents don’t just grow on trees. However, the Wild should be looking for a more dynamic defenseman who can create offensively, or they hope Faber continues to grow his offensive game. The team should also hold on to the homegrown centers that show skill and make their teammates better. And the Wild don't need to harp to much on the goaltending situation as the Oilers prove, you don't always need a hot goalie (but it probably helps).
All stats and data via HockeyDB, Evolving Hockey, and Capfreindly unless otherwise noted.
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