As July prepares to leave us and August is about to begin we are right in the middle of a classic Edmonton summer. The weather outside is blistering hot, a stark contrast to the frozen winters the town is known for. Surely if anybody who had never stepped foot in this city were to be blindfolded and airlifted here they wouldn’t believe for a second they were in Edmonton until the mulletted shirtless men tipped them off.
And just as the sun shines on the city and warms it in stark contrast to what can be expected in the winter, so too does that sun always seem to shine on the Oilers in summer. Every year it seems is going to be their year. As fans of the Oilers in recent years it has always been the summer that’s been the happiest section of the calendar. Rookies are drafted, new players are signed, and the goats of yesteryear have been driven out of town. Some things never change.
And this year is no different.
The club added another huge piece of the puzzle via the Draft in Draisaitl. He’s a giant compared to the player he will eventually have replaced (Gagner) and was part of the consensus top 4 forwards in the last Draft. For the fan who thought the Oilers could stand to have EVEN MORE home grown high end forwards, they got it.
If you happened to have had a hate on for Sam Gagner and his problems with consistency or his inability to take a step forward with at least taking 1 step back then you out to be excited too. Your goat is gone. I think you’re misguided and likely too harsh on the kid, but what do I know? Maybe he cut in line at Sbarro and was a real jerk about it to you. Whatever it was, he’s gone. So rejoice!
But to most of us it’s the addition of the new Oilers, still in their primes and on the right side of 30, that give us the most promise. The Defense doesn’t feature totally unfamiliar names from 2nd rate leagues any longer. Fayne and Nikitin >>>>> Larsen and Fraser, and it isn’t even close. Also, the depth forwards can now match up against the other teams in the West and the puck shouldn’t be pinned in their own zone because Tyler Pitlick or Will Acton managed to get stuck out there against Joe Thornton. Even if newcomers Purcell and Pouliot play on a 3rd line together, that’s the start of a bottom 6 other teams don’t want their bottom guys matching up against.
It’s summer in Edmonton. The team hasn’t lost a game in months and they cant even begin to break our hearts for another 6 weeks at least. By all accounts the players are healthy and it’s hard to argue they aren’t significantly better on paper today compared to where they were in April.
It’s summer in Edmonton, and some things never change.
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