";s:4:"text";s:5155:" Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.Join over 18 000 Subscribers of our free bi-weekly Newsletter.Mikko Koskinen (Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports)Contract aside, one thing is clear; the goal is to give the Oilers 82 games of competent goaltending. The Edmonton Oilers could return a full roster for next season. It’s tough to say when you factor in the injury troubles this club ran through in 2017-18 versus the healthy year they had in 2016-17. DATE TRANSACTION; February 24, 2020: Acquired W Andreas Athanasiou and minor league LW Ryan Kuffner from the Detroit Red Wings for C Sam Gagner and two second-round picks. That won’t happen, not after the disappointment that was the 2017-18 campaign. The Oilers do have re-call rights with SHL blueliner Joel Persson, but it’s expected he stays with the Vaxjo Lakers for the 2018-19 season instead. Persson scored 34 points in 51 games for the league champions last season and could be a useful hand on the power play.That leaves Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson (52.9) as a pairing according to the same stat. There's plenty of debate, especially on the defense. Ben Betker is a restricted free agent who may or may not be qualified but is likely going to be a career minor-leaguer.So while there are enough players under contract for 2018-19 to ice an entire team, there will surely be some changes and some new faces in Edmonton’s opening-night lineup.Granted his shoulder was part of the problem, but Klefbom couldn’t hit the net nearly enough and accuracy has never been his strength. There are still quality concerns on defence, but quantity is no longer an issue.Ethan Bear might be the best fit based on his late-season audition, but that was a small sample size and it wouldn’t be wise to rush him into full-time duty if he’s getting overwhelmed defensively. Now the question is what the club does with Russell and that apparent No. Jobs | EP Rinkside PRIMARY MENU Stats ... 2018-2019 Roster 2018-19 Oilers: Piecing Together Roster. The next best match for Nurse according to that same stat is Adam Larsson (50.9). As the 2018-19 season nears, what could the Edmonton Oilers opening night roster look like in October? Do they go ahead and try utilizing the 18-year-old Evan Bouchard out of necessity? Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.The sons of former Oilers, Dillon (Craig) Simpson and Keegan (Kevin) Lowe, are both pending unrestricted free agents who, like LaLeggia, could also be retained for Bakersfield.Al Montoya is signed through 2018-19, projected to be the backup, but there has been talk about the Oilers shopping for another netminder who could better challenge Talbot for a bigger workload.From that year-end roster — and this is a matter of opinion — it would seem a dozen spots are spoken for, if not locked in going forward.Join over 18 000 Subscribers of our free bi-weekly Newsletter.Barring trades or injuries, those 12 are safe bets to be in the lineup for the Oilers’ season opener. Find out the latest on your favorite NHL players on CBSSports.com. On paper Koskinen is an improvement over Al Montoya and Laurent Brossoit, so watch for a better performance (hopefully) from the backup this year.With this first part complete, be sure to check back for part two where we’ll take a deep dive into the Oilers forward depth and what McLellan could be running as his lines to start the 2018-19 season. The owner wants to make the most of McDavid’s best years, so Chiarelli needs to find a way to make that happen.That would be OK if everyone was healthy, but only OK. Not good and definitely not great. Edmonton Oilers - NHL - hockey team page with roster, stats, transactions at Eliteprospects.com. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. That cuts the Oilers goals differential from 29 to nine. He played 22 games for the Isles. McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins will almost certainly start together as a pairing.Chiarelli and Bob Nicholson can’t risk that, and Daryl Katz won’t tolerate more of the same or another lost season without playoffs. Mediocre at best. The Oilers were eliminated from playoff contention on April 1, 2019, after the St. Louis Blues' shootout win against the Colorado Avalanche.