Edmonton Oilers captain McDavid at odds with NHL playoff predictions

Exactly where the Edmonton Oilers will end up this year is anybody’s guess.

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And guessing they are.

These days, everybody and their dog seems to have an opinion and are letting it be known with all sorts of predictions, presumptions and prognostications as the season is set to open next week. And some of them — whether entirely unfounded or not — even consider themselves experts in the field.

Is this the year they go all the way? Or will it be a third straight season of underperforming in playoffs against the team that goes on to win it all? Do injuries mean they fall well short of expectations?

But inside the home dressing room at Rogers Place, the focus of the pre-season has been on the here and now as the initial steps set the foundation for the long journey to come. Regardless of where the experts think they will end up.

“I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves, we want to get off to a good start,” said Connor McDavid, whose squad will wrap up the pre-season at home against the Seattle Kraken on Friday (7 p.m.). “That’s our focus.”

That doesn’t mean the Oilers are without lofty goals for themselves. But it’s first things first every step of the way.

“In terms of how important it is, every team wants to set themselves up as best as possible heading into the playoffs and that includes home ice,” McDavid said. “Obviously, if you win your division or you win your conference, you get home ice throughout the playoffs and that always helps.

“But our focus is the next game here and getting ourselves ready for an important start to our season.”

Even if all eyes right now are focused on how it will end.

“I’ve said it all throughout camp, it’s a long, long way away even being in a playoff series,” McDavid said. “So, there are so many things that have to happen. No season looks the same, no team is the same from year to year. We’ve got to continue to build our identity as a group and our game as a whole.

“And that’s our focus. That’s it. That’s not for us to decide, what you experts — like you said — like to pick.”

With that in mind, let’s take a look as some of the bolder predictions surrounding the Oilers for the 2023-24 season:

• ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski has picked Edmonton to win the Stanley Cup. Again. Just like he did a year ago. This time, it’s over none other than the Toronto Maple Leafs in the final. Though, admittedly, his predictions have turned into more of a curse.

• DraftKings Sportsbook lists Edmonton’s odds at hoisting the Stanley Cup in a futures bet at +432, second only to the Colorado Avalanche at +383. The San Jose Sharks come in last at +9967.

• The Athletic has the Oilers among its top five, at 9.7 per cent of the vote for favourites to win the Stanley Cup, which puts them fourth. The list was headed up by the Carolina Hurricanes (45.2 per cent), the Colorado Avalanche (16.1 per cent) and the Dallas Stars (12.9 per cent), with the reigning champion Vegas Golden Knights in a tie with the New Jersey Devils for fifth (6.5 per cent).

• Bovada also has the Oilers in their top five to win it all, stuck in a four-way tie with the Hurricanes, Avalanche and Devils at +900, followed by the Leafs at +1,000.

“If the Oilers hold up defensively, they are a clear contender to appear in their first Stanley Cup Final since 2006. That includes their questionable goaltending situation with Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell,” wrote thesportsgeek.com.

In and out: On Thursday, the Oilers signed F Brady Stonehouse to a three-year entry level contract. The five-foot-10, 192-pound Ontario native was with the team in the early stages of training camp after leading the Ottawa 67s with 37 goals and 66 penalty minutes and becoming one of 16 Ontario Hockey League players tagged by Hockey Canada for the 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation world junior championship.