It’s been a head-scratching start to the 2017-18 season for the Edmonton Oilers.
The Oilers entered the season on the short list of teams that were considered to be Stanley Cup contenders. Through 24 games they have looked anything but that, and sit tied for 28th overall in the league standings.
In the Western Conference, they are currently six points out of a wild card spot and sit ahead of only the Arizona Coyotes, who the Oilers host at Rogers Place on Tuesday night.
READ MORE: Edmonton Oilers are their own worst enemy as losses mount
Prior to the game, Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli addressed the Edmonton media for the first time this season.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed as to where we are,” Chiarelli said. “It’s a little bit of a death by a thousand cuts right now, so when you’re patching up one area, another area opens up.”
Watch below: Chiarelli says he’s ‘disappointed’ with where the team stands, but adds you can’t overreact
The Oilers have struggled to string together wins so far this season. In fact, they have yet to put together a streak of more than two wins all season, and they have won two games in a row just once. Chiarelli said it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why that is.
“At one point it was scoring — it’s a little bit of that — we do generate a lot of chances, but at one point it was defending, which includes goaltending. Our specialty teams are improving, there was only one way to go but up on them,” he said.
“In general, they are improving but they still have to get better. There are a number of areas, and I know our staff is addressing them one by one, but you go on a road trip like the last one and you play two good games and three not good games and you would like a little more consistency.”
Watch below: Chiarelli touches on the ups and downs of the season so far and the inconsistency of special teams
One of the biggest issues for the Oilers on defence has been the play of top pairing defender Oscar Klefbom. Cam Talbot has also struggled in goal with a 0.901 save percentage and a 3.34 goals against average.
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“Klefbom is obviously having a subpar season. There are reasons behind this season, there are reasons behind our goaltending being subpar this season and we are trying to fix them,” added Chiarelli, when asked if things would be better if those two players were performing like they did a year ago.
“Yes, if those things were fine then we would be better but they are not fine at this point.”
In the off-season, Chiarelli focused on signing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to long-term contracts. He also traded Jordan Eberle for Ryan Strome, but other than that it was a relatively quiet summer for the Oilers, who felt a number of the younger players on the Oilers roster were poised to take another step forward.
“Those bets aren’t lost wagers yet. Part of the broader picture here and understanding the success we had last year, is that we have to get these players in our lineup at some point,” explained Chiarelli.
“These are players that you want to grow with your organization. These are players that are going to contribute to your success now and in the future.”
READ MORE: Connor McDavid signs contract extension with Edmonton Oilers worth $100M
Some of the younger players that the Oilers were banking on heading into this season include Jesse Puljujarvi, Drake Caggiula and Anton Slepyshev.
“I’ve seen in the eight games that Jesse has been up here, six of them have been very good games, so I’ve seen progress there. I’ve seen his game be relatively mistake-free,” Chiarelli said. “I look at Slepyshev, he’s been hurt. I look at Drake, he could be better. So on those three, I’m not willing to throw in the wager just yet.”
Watch below: Chiarelli weighs in on performance of Puljujarvi, Slepyshev, Caggiula
The good news for the Oilers moving forward is that they still play a lot of games against teams in their division, which gives the organization hope that staying patient could still lead to a playoff spot. But what if things don’t turn around?
“I don’t think that is a question at least, that I can answer right now with complete accuracy. We’re in second-last in our division, it’s obviously a spot that I’m disappointed where we are,” noted Chiarelli.
“You have to be obviously vigilent on this kind of stuff but you can’t overact in the sense that you can’t just blow things up.
“This doesn’t mean that we’re not looking at other opportunities for players that are out there. This doesn’t mean that we are going to be patient all year with this group. It just means that we are trying to figure it out. We would like to see some traction somewhere and if we don’t, then we will have to take a different track. I don’t know when that is.”
Watch below: Chiarelli said “there’s a lot of things that aren’t going right at this point” and fixing them is a balancing act
The Oilers are back at home Tuesday night against the Arizona Coyotes. They will try to win their second game in a row for just the second time this season.
Catch the Oilers and Coyotes on 630 CHED with the Face-off Show at 5:30 p.m. The game starts at 7 p.m.
Listen below: Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer goes live with Peter Chiarelli
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