Edmonton Oilers’ Top 5 New Year’s Resolutions

It’s what got them to the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and it’s the path they need to take in order to get back there in 2025. The Oilers have had some good head coaches over the past six seasons including Todd McLellan, Ken Hitchcock, Dave Tippett and Jay Woodcroft, but it seems as though Knoblauch and assistant coach Paul Coffey have been the ones to unlock the team’s defensive potential. If the team can keep playing as well defensively as they have in the month of December, they’ll definitely continue to rise in the standings in 2025.

Resolution 2 – Stay Disciplined

Some of the most common New Year’s resolutions for most of us are to eat healthy, exercise and stop unhealthy habits such as smoking. The Oilers are already doing all of these things, and it’s not like Leon Draisaitl is going to turn into Guy Lafleur and go smoke a couple of lung darts between periods like the great Montreal Canadiens forward was known to do. This is more about staying healthy in mind, body and spirit.

The Oilers hired performance whisperer George Mumford as their mental performance coach, and he’s as important as any of the other coaches on the Oilers’ staff. When you’re a professional hockey player at the peak of your physical powers, what truly separates the champions from the pack is their mental game. The Oilers are starting to lock it in, and if they can stay focused and disciplined in the face of all obstacles, they’ll get to their promised land. It’s really easier said than done but the Oilers have the experience and the talent to get there. They just need to stay focused. Thanks to Mumford, they’re well on their way.

Resolution 3 – Continue to Develop Youth

The Oilers had grown older in the offseason losing Ryan Mcleod, Dylan Holloway, Vincent Desharnais and Philip Broberg. They did pick up Matthew Savoie from the Buffalo Sabres in the trade for McLeod, and general manager (GM) Stan Bowman traded for Ty Emberson and Vasily Podkolzin but there’s a lot of ground to be made up in terms of restocking the prospect cupboards. Under former GM Ken Holland, the Oilers traded high draft picks and let go of good prospects such as Micheal Kesselring in order to try and “win now.”

In 2025, Bowman, Oilers CEO of hockey operations Jeff Jackson and the scouting staff will need to walk the fine line of restocking the pipeline while still acquiring high-end talent. The franchise can ill afford to lose as many prospects as they have in the last two seasons and they need to not only develop youth, but also eventually find room for players such as Noah Philp and Olivier Rodrigue. This will only make them better.

Resolution 4 – Trade for a Defenceman

The March 7 NHL Trade Deadline is just over three months away and while some people want the Oilers to think about bringing in a goaltender, most believe they will try and trade for a defenceman. Considering how well their defensive core is playing at the moment with Darnell Nurse and Brett Kulak playing some of the best hockey of their careers, it’s hard to predict what they might do. Right now the defensive core of Mattias Ekholm, Evan Bouchard, Nurse, Kulak, Emberson and Troy Stecher is playing solid. But there’s a lot of runway left before the trade deadline, and it’s likely they will bolster the defensive core before tweaking any other area of the team. Who the Oilers target is anybody’s guess at the moment. It all might come down to how much long-term injured reserve (LTIR) space they have accumulated throughout the season.

Resolution 5 – Believe

The Oilers came within two goals of sipping from the Stanley Cup in 2024. Has that made them more hungry to win this season? Do they believe they can do it? This is a big year for players such as Connor McDavid and Draisaitl. They’re close to the peak of their physical powers but a lot has to go right in order for them to hoist the Stanley Cup this spring. They need a bit of luck, good goaltending, and good health, and need their belief to be stronger than teams such as the Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Vegas Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild, Winnipeg Jets and Colorado Avalanche. The Oilers’ biggest opponent might be themselves. It’s time to start believing they’re the second coming of the Oilers of the 80s rather than the Buffalo Bills of the early 90s.

Happy New Year

Whether you make long lists of New Year’s resolutions or just have one, I’d like to wish you all a healthy, happy and successful 2025. If you’re an Oilers fan, I’d like to wish you a very happy 2025 and hope that this spring brings you and yours a sixth Stanley Cup championship to Oil Country.