Woe Canada: Which Canadian Team Will End Stanley Cup Drought?

EDMONTON OILERS

Mar 4, 2014; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward

Jordan Eberle

(14) celebrates a third period goal against the Ottawa Senators at Rexall Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

The Oilers last made the finals in the year following the lockout of 2004-05, making the improbable run to the finals only to lose in 7 games to the Lightning. While that season gave the city some optimism that Edmonton could compete with the benefit of the new Salary Cap structure, that optimism has been crushed due to the fact they haven’t made the postseason since, let alone get back to the finals.

The Oilers have hit rock-bottom and they have been there for a while.  2013-14 was supposed to be the season that the Oilers showed some life and bounced back a little.  If not to a playoff spot then at least to the point where they were playing meaningful games into late February or early March.

As it turned out, they were out of it by early November, and spent pretty much the whole season in a familiar spot – the basement of the Western Conference.

Up front, the building blocks are in place – Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are all among the top-end players that have been amassed during the long slump and multiple first overall picks.  However, the blue line has pretty much been ignored and if they are going to address this area it might take a trade to get the first overall pick from the Florida Panthers to draft Aaron Ekblad, far and away the top blueliner available.  Ekblad won’t cure the ills of the Oilers overnight but it will be another step in the rebuild that has been going on too long for the fan base.

The Oilers also altered their goaltending drastically, and it remains to be seen if the duo of Ben Scrivens and Viktor Fasth is good enough to get them playing meaningful games into April.

ODDS OF BREAKING THE DROUGHT: 15%