Are the Oilers still a Stanley Cup contender? | How they stack up against the league

Are the Edmonton Oilers still genuine Stanley Cup contenders, or are they a fading group falling back into the NHL’s middle class?

In this Wednesday edition of Locked On Oilers, host Nick Zararis takes a hard, realistic look at the current state of the NHL hierarchy and where the Oilers truly stand after being eliminated for six weeks. With the Stanley Cup Final officially underway between the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes, we evaluate the gap between the true elite tier and Edmonton's current roster.

Nick breaks down the entire league into three tiers—the genuine Cup caliber teams, the volatile middle class, and the lottery-bound organizations —explaining why high-end talent like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard can keep the Oilers out of the lottery, but why they desperately need more support to actually make a deep postseason run. We also dive deep into the specific offseason questions keeping GM Stan Bowman awake at night.

Who will fill the vacant head coaching seat more than a month after Kris Knoblauch’s firing? Who is Darnell Nurse’s defensive partner next year? What is going on with the goaltending tandem alongside Tristan Jarry? If the Oilers want to compete with the depth of teams like Vegas, they have massive holes to plug.

04:06 Talking about NHL team performance

06:43 NHL teams roster challenges

12:16 Oilers coaching situation update

15:58 Capitals' and other teams' prospects

17:00 Discussing NHL team performances

20:46 Running your own race vs. competition

24:58 Analyzing Oilers' Future Prospects

27:08 Edmonton Oilers' team needs

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