| Jonathan Volpe. 25th June, 2007 - 6:05 pm
 What a difference a year can make. The Edmonton Oilers went from a season in which they made the Stanley Cup Finals, to a team that struggled to remain competitive the next.
Weeks after a thrilling Stanley Cup Final, Chris Pronger decided to leave the Oil for reasons that are still unknown to this day. Kevin Lowe traded Pronger to the Anaheim Ducks for Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid, and draft picks.
This seemed to have a snowball effect on the way the rest of the year would go for the Oilers. Mike Peca, who was instrumental in Edmonton’s Cup drive, decided to pursue free agency and eventually signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
When Lupul left the Ducks there was hope that he would fit in nicely with the Oilers offence. However, Lupul went from a 28 goal scorer in Anaheim to a measly 16 goals with the Oilers and a team worst minus 29; not exactly what Lowe had planned.
The Oilers offense struggled all season long and ranked last in the league in goals for. Petr Sykora led the team in scoring with 53 points and was the only 20-goal scorer on the team, something that is becoming uncommon in the “new” NHL.
When Pronger left, the Oilers were in need of that puck moving defenseman, which is crucial in a team’s offense. Marc-Andre Bergeron was arguably the best on the team at this but was dealt to the New York Islanders.
If Steve Staios leads your team from the back end in points, you know there’s a problem as Staios racked up two goals and 15 assists for a defence best, 17 points.
The season came to an all-time low when Lowe decided to trade the face of the franchise in Ryan Smyth to the Islanders for Ryan O’Marra, Robert Nilsson, and a first round pick in this year’s draft. Following the trade the Oilers looked worse then ever as it seemed like their team had lost all identity.
A team needs solid goaltending to be successful, something Dwayne Roloson provided on a nightly basis during Edmonton’s cup drive. However, like some of his teammates, Roloson struggled to find consistency throughout the year and posted a 2.75 goals against average and a .909 save percentage, mediocre at best.
For the Oilers to be successful in the 07-08 campaign, they’re going to need to pick up a puck-moving defenseman, or two, some scoring forwards and hope their goaltending can remain consistent throughout the season. |
