Unless McDavid turns into a 120pt player, I highly doubt it. They traded away all of their RW depth. Puljunarvi is not NHL ready and they're now running Kassian on the 2nd line yet they traded Yakupov and let Versteeg slip away. If that depth is addressed and they get a decent 3rd pair PMD, I could see them challenging for a wildcard spot.
I have my hopes. Although he won't be at 120, I see Mcdavid pushing for the Art Ross this year. Hopefully Ebs and Luc help him out with that.
I agree with Puljujarvi not being fully NHL ready yet, but i'll wait to see what he can do in the next handful of games to see how I rate him. He did have a weak camp, but I think he can step up to the plate.
The yak trade was pretty bad, but it just shows how much he was worth. The guy just never produced here in Edmonton, played little D, and Eakins never really helped him. I hope he lights it up in St. Louis, and shows the hockey world that he can be a decent player.
Versteeg wanted top six minutes, and we couldn't guarantee that to him. Hence why he signed with Calgary. Not really upset with that.
The Russel pick up was pretty good. I personally didn't know how much/if he would affect the team a lot, but if he can keep playing the way he did last game, and make similar plays to last game, I see him being super valuable to us.
Crack is whack, Oilers suck. They're not going anywhere.
If we can stay healthy (LOL @ Davidson already), we can get somewhere. We definitely need to improve in some areas though... Some of those giveaways and PP's last game were absolutely awful.
I also would REALLY like to see Reinhart finally make that jump this year, although I am slightly skeptical at this point.
