How the Oilers Managed to Turn Their Offseason Around

If you’re an Edmonton Oilers fan and you haven’t seen the sneak peek of Oil Drop Episode 61 of “Inside the War Room”, I highly recommend that you do. It provides some important details as to what goes on behind the scenes of a professional hockey club and provides fans with answers as to what the Oilers management team was discussing and the moves they were contemplating. It also shows how things started to turn in Oilers management’s favour after a disastrous start to the offseason that featured a showdown with the Vegas Golden Knights for the rights to speak with and sign their former head coach Bruce Cassidy.

Oilers Recognized the Need to Address Goaltending

The Inside the War Room sneak peek starts off with Oilers general manager Stan Bowman talking about the need to upgrade the goaltending. He made some good points about the upside of Buffalo Sabres goalie Devon Levi and how the 24-year-old could become the Oilers goalie of the future starting now. You can feel the tension inside the room as the management team pours over every detail.

Then assistant GM Bill Scott drops the news that Frederik Andersen of the Stanley Cup-winning Carolina Hurricanes might be available to sign. Bowman tells the room that he’s going to call new Oilers head coach Mike Babcock for more information on Andersen, who Babcock had previously coached with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The conversation obviously went well as the Oilers signed Andersen to a one-year contract at an average annual value (AAV) of $2.8 million and a three-goalie system featuring Levi, Andersen and Tristan Jarry was officially endorsed.

Oilers Receive Big Break With Trade Offer for Darnell Nurse

On the sneak peek, Oilers CEO and president Jeff Jackson revealed that he had spoken to San Jose Sharks GM Mike Greer and that defenceman Darnell Nurse had approved a trade to the Sharks. With the Sharks willing to take on Nurse’s full $9.5 million cap hit per season, the Oilers finally had the cap space they’ve been needing for years. They received defencemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp in the trade for Nurse, and the jury is still out on whether one or both defencemen will stick.

Bowman Does Some Tidy Work This Summer

Not only did Bowman and the management team figure out the goaltending and help open up cap space with the trade of Nurse, but they also signed some key players such as Colton Dach, Jason Dickinson, Kasperi Kapanen and Connor Murphy to contracts. All of this work helped reshape the narrative in Oil Country after such a bad start to the offseason.