EDMONTON \u2014 Things We (Think We) Know. Series V, Volume I.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve covered 35 years of the National Hockey League, give or take. Which means I\u2019ve been to 35 years of exit interview press conferences, roughly speaking.<\/p>\n
Not once \u2014 on a team I was covering or some other team that I watched from afar \u2014 have I heard the top two franchise players come out in such strong unison about the need for fundamental change the way Leon Draisaitl<\/a> and Connor McDavid<\/a> did on Saturday morning in Edmonton.<\/p>\n Together, they eviscerated their front office with quotes both literal and implied.<\/p>\n And when Draisaitl, invoking McDavid\u2019s contract status, said, \u201cHe is signed for two more years, and God knows where that goes,\u201d he broke the sacred covenant among hockey players of never opining on anyone else\u2019s contract status. That\u2019s how passionate Draisaitl was: he forgot to remain cool and say as little as possible.<\/p>\n This is good. They do this because they care.<\/p>\n Things We (Think We) Know<\/p>\n The passion and desperation outlined above weren\u2019t phony. These guys are well aware that the window is closing, that the Oilers may opt to trade McDavid a year from now if he won\u2019t re-sign, and that they all \u2014 players and management \u2014 lost the plot this past season.<\/p>\n That sets the 2026-27 season up as a \u201cLast Dance\u201d to some extent. Because there is no guarantee the ‘Nuclear Option’ will exist in Edmonton in 2027-28.<\/p>\n So, if you can entrust the reinvigorating of Edmonton\u2019s dressing room to the current leadership group \u2014 and I see no reason why you would not \u2014 then the true unknown falls to the people who are paid to stock that dressing room.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s where folks start getting nervous.<\/p>\n GM Stan Bowman made the disastrous Tristan Jarry trade, and although acquiring Jason Dickinson and Connor Murphy at the deadline was top-shelf work, let the record show the guy going the other way was Bowman\u2019s prize signing on July 1, Andrew Mangiapane.<\/p>\n The eight-year deal given to Trent Frederic was every bit as poor a transaction as the Jarry trade. And who the hell signs Jake Walman for seven years, anyhow?<\/p>\n If Bowman bats 1.000 from here on out, we believe that Edmonton can once again be a serious Cup contender. But what are the chances that Bowman \u2014 who absolutely defines the term \u201chit or miss\u201d \u2014 stops missing?<\/p>\n From the very top \u2014 and we\u2019re talking owner Daryl Katz \u2014 there are heavy discussions taking place this week rooted in keeping McDavid in Edmonton. He is a revenue machine, driving ticket sales, playoff dates, apparel sales and ultimately, franchise value.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the personal pride of having to walk through the rest of a hockey life as someone who was gifted the greatest player in the world and never turned that into a Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n Full disclosure: Two management teams built two rosters that were good enough to reach two Stanley Cups in Edmonton. From there, I blame the players for not finishing the job, not a bunch of guys wearing suits in the press box.<\/p>\n But blame means nothing. Banners mean everything.<\/p>\n Edmonton needs one \u2014 next season. If you thought it was \u201cStanley Cup or bust\u201d in 2024, wait until you see an organization where everyone from the towel boy to the P.A. announcer has their job security based on bringing home Lord Stanley in 2027.<\/p>\n Things We (Think We) Know<\/p>\n There will exist an element of ruthlessness in Edmonton that we haven\u2019t seen before, starting now.<\/p>\n If Kris Knoblauch is not deemed able to wring every bit of success out of this team, he\u2019ll be fired. If Knoblauch bucks at the concept that his coaching staff needs retooling, same result.<\/p>\n If Bowman cannot present a tangible, realistic, executable plan for improving his goaltending and defensive play, he\u2019ll be vulnerable. If a GM like Julien Brisebois suddenly became available, Bowman\u2019s plan might not matter.<\/p>\n And in the dressing room, someone has to coach McDavid and Draisaitl. Not enable them \u2014 coach them.<\/p>\n They are open to it if anyone has the gravitas to be that coach.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat makes Connor and I who we are is because we want to be out there in every situation,\u201d Draisaitl said on Saturday. \u201c(But) we know very well \u2014 we’ve been around long enough to know that we need everybody. You need your third line to get their minutes for them to feel great about themselves. We’re very aware of that.<\/p>\n \u201cConnor and I are both (open to) whatever a coach wants from us. We’re willing to do it if it makes our team better. If it gives us a better chance to win, we’re open to it.\u201d<\/p>\n There are about 10 true No. 1\u2019s in the game \u2014 with surnames like Vasilevskiy and Hellebuyck \u2014 and another 10 Logan Thompsons or Lukas Dostals that are getting the job done in their markets as a No. 1. Short of a McDavid deal, Bowman can\u2019t trade for any of them.<\/p>\n So, if you are destined to be a team that must win with something less than an Ilya Sorokin or Igor Shesterkin, then you\u2019d better shore up your defensive game. This season, Edmonton played Carey Price defence in front of Mikko Koskinen goaltending.<\/p>\n Things We (Think We) Know<\/p>\n Bowman outlined Edmonton\u2019s defensive game as a 200-foot problem, not a D-zone problem:<\/p>\n \u201cThere were times this year, even in the playoffs, when \u2026 we\u2019ve got the puck in the offensive zone, and then five seconds later, we’re giving up two-on-ones. Those are things that aren\u2019t really a defensive zone issue,\u201d he said Saturday. \u201cThat happened in the wrong times for us this year, and it hurt us.\u201d<\/p>\n Let the record show, the disparity in defensive metrics between Edmonton\u2019s top players and other teams\u2019 top players was stark. McDavid wins the Art Ross and he\u2019s plus-17. Nathan MacKinnon has 11 fewer points, but he\u2019s plus-57.<\/p>\n