It’s time to preview the Pacific Division with Pacific Primer. As usual, the Flames will be playing these teams four times in 2024–25 (with the exception of the Oilers who they’ll only play three times). In Pacific Primer, we are going to take a look at the moves made by each team this offseason. Then, we’ll take a look at how they stack up against the Flames.
This Pacific Primer will be focused on the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers were very busy this offseason. They brought a lot of players back from the squad that finished a few goals shy of winning the Stanley Cup. But, they did lose some youth and speed, thanks to the St. Louis Blues and their crafty offer sheets. They added significant firepower to their wings with Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson. Their top six looks as good as it ever has. They are going to score a ton, but might also get scored on quite a bit. Signing Leon Draisaitl to an 8-year extension on Tuesday will calm noise throughout the year.
Offseason moves:
Trades
- Acquired RD Ty Emberson from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for RD Cody Ceci and a 2025 3rd rounder.
- Acquired LW Vasily Podkolzin from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 2025 4th rounder.
- Acquired RW Matthew Savoie from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for C Ryan McLeod and RW Ty Tullio.
RFAs
- Lost LD Philip Broberg to a two-year, $4.58M offer sheet from the St. Louis Blues. Gain a 2025 second-round draft pick.
- Lost LW Dylan Holloway to a two-year, $2.29M offer sheet from the St. Louis Blues. Gain a 2025 third-round draft pick.
UFAs
- Signed RW Viktor Arvidsson to a two-year, $4M AAV deal.
- Signed LW Jeff Skinner to a one-year, $3M AAV deal.
- Signed RD Josh Brown to a three-year, $1M AAV deal.
- Re-signed C/LW Adam Henrique to a two-year, $3M AAV deal.
- Re-signed LW Mattias Janmark to a three-year, $1.45M AAV deal.
- Re-signed RD Troy Stecher to a two-year, $787.5K AAV deal.
- Re-signed RW Connor Brown to a one-year, $1M AAV deal.
- Re-signed RW Corey Perry to a one-year, $1.15M AAV deal.
- Re-signed G Calvin Pickard to a one-year, $1M AAV deal.
Mock Lineup
Forwards:
Jeff Skinner – Connor McDavid – Zach Hyman
Adam Henrique – Leon Draisaitl – Viktor Arvidsson
Vasily Podkolzin – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Connor Brown
Mattias Janmark – Derek Ryan – Corey Perry
Evander Kane*
Defence:
Mattias Ekholm – Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse – Ty Emberson
Brett Kulak – Josh Brown
Troy Stecher
Goalies:
Stuart Skinner
Calvin Pickard
Cap space: 170K
*Evander Kane is injured
How the Flames stack up against the Oilers
In the 2023–24 season, there was a clear difference in the two Alberta squads. In 2024–25, I think that gap is only increased. Let’s begin by comparing the forwards. Adding Skinner and Arvidsson on the wings brings significant goal-scoring potential.
Edmonton has been a fantastic team at generating expected goals, but has historically scored fewer goals than expected. With two new snipers, this might be the year that they score above expected. Their forward group did lose some defensive ability, youth, and speed with the subtractions of Ryan McLeod and Dylan Holloway. But it’s an extremely deadly top-six, with some nice supporting cast members and veterans in the bottom-six. We can give the Oilers an extreme edge over the Flames in the forward department.
While the Oilers look like standouts offensively, there are still question marks in the rest of their roster. Defensively, there’s still something more needed on the right side. Ty Emberson had great metrics on a horrific Sharks team last year, but he’s only played 30 NHL games so far. He’s a complete wild card. Ekholm and Bouchard are one of the best pairings in the entire league. Kulak provides some stability and can move up and down your lineup. Ultimately, I’m going to give defence to the Oilers, simply because Ekholm-Bouchard is so good, but it’s closer than you would think compared to the Flames.
Goaltending-wise, Edmonton takes the cake with Skinner being a known commodity. There are still question marks about Skinner, but even if he’s just fine, Edmonton will be in good shape. We saw this in the playoffs.
Season series prediction: Edmonton 3–0
Last year, Calgary had a record of 1–3–0 against the Oilers
Oilers predicted division finish: 1st
2024–25 Pacific Primer Series
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Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
