Oilers Seek Revenge vs. Sharks, Hyman and McLeod Playing Solid Hockey

Plus, looking back at World Juniors and past trades

Welcome to the THW Edmonton Oilers Substack newsletter, with all the latest from our team of Oilers writers.

The Edmonton Oilers will take on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night, hoping to make right an earlier loss in the season. Meanwhile, can Zach Hyman and Ryan McLeod keep rolling for the Oilers? Will Connor Brown finally score?

Enjoy the game tonight and now onto the good stuff!

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Oilers’ Hyman Deserves More Praise For Incredible Start to Season

December 27, 2023 by Brian Swane

Leon Draisaitl has the second most goals in the NHL since the start of the 2018-19 season. He’s also a four-time 40-goal scorer and last season scored 52 times to become the only Edmonton Oilers player since the 1980s with back-to-back 50-goal campaigns.

Connor McDavid has the second most goals in the NHL since the start of the 2020-21 season. He’s a four-time 40-goal scorer and last season scored 64 times to win the Maurice Rocket Ruchard Trophy as the league’s leader in goals.

And neither one of them leads the Oilers in goals this season. They’re actually not even that close. Nor is Evander Kane, an eight-time 20 goal-scorer, or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who potted 37 goals in 2022-23.

Through Edmonton’s first 31 games this season, Nugent-Hopkins has eight goals, McDavid has 12, Kane has 13, and Draisaitl has 14. They, along with everyone else in the Oilers lineup, are looking up – way up – at Zach Hyman, who has already lit the lamp 19 times.

Zach Hyman is on fire for the Edmonton Oilers

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Revisiting the Oilers’ Jordan Eberle Trade to the Islanders

December 26, 2023 by Alex Chauvancy

The 2017 trade of Jordan Eberle by the Edmonton Oilers to the New York Islanders for Ryan Strome sent shockwaves throughout the hockey world. At the time, Eberle was a highly-skilled former 30-goal scorer who was coming off a respectable 20-goal, 50-point campaign in 2016-17. However, the playoffs proved to be one of the more lackluster debuts by a player of his caliber, due to a zero-goal and two-assist performance, as the Oilers were bounced in Game 7 of the second round to the Anaheim Ducks.

Many discussions have been had over the years regarding the Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson trade, but the Eberle deal seems to often get overlooked. However, this trade also had significant implications that have continued to impact the Oilers and their inability to win a playoff series since.

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Oilers’ Midseason Report Cards: Connor Brown

December 26, 2023 by Jesse Courville-Lynch

The Edmonton Oilers had a surprisingly bad start to their 2023-24 campaign but have since turned it around since choosing to fire former head coach Jay Woodcroft and former assistant coach Dave Manson. Heading into the new season, the Oilers didn’t make many moves as far as trades or free-agent signings, but their biggest move was bringing in forward Connor Brown on a really interesting contract. While his cap hit is only $775,000 this season, he earned a $3.25 million bonus if he played at least ten games this season, which he has done, but that bonus money won’t count against the cap until next season.

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Oilers’ Top 5 Performances at World Juniors

December 25, 2023 by Brian Swane

For the first time in more than a decade, the Edmonton Oilers do not have any prospects participating in the World Junior Hockey Championship (WJC), which gets underway on Tuesday (Dec. 26) in Gothenburg, Sweden.

But the Oilers are a team rich in WJC experience, as Edmonton’s roster currently includes nine players, from four different countries, who were part of the annual tournament earlier in their respective careers. As the NHL continues its Christmas break and the hockey world shifts its gaze to Gothenburg, here’s a look at the top 5 WJC performers by members of the Oilers.

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Oilers vs Sharks Pre-Game

After a solid run heading into the holiday break, the Edmonton Oilers get a chance to make good on an earlier loss to the lowly San Jose Sharks. Can they kick off their California road trip with a big win and erase the embarrassing defeat?

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