Oilers compete with expansion darlings
Sorry, California. And good luck, Connor McDavid.
This isn’t your father or grandfather’s NHL expansion era following a season in which the Pacific Division was turned upside down by the league’s two newest franchises.
The Stanley Cup resides in Las Vegas. And the Seattle Kraken made a giant leap from their inaugural season growing pains by falling one win short of reaching what would’ve been an allexpansion Western Conference Final matchup against the Golden Knights.
And there’s little indication of Vegas or Seattle experiencing a dropoff this year in a division that features a large gap between the top five and bottom three.
“We’re excited heading into the season. So are 31 other teams,” Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon
said. “But I think we’ve got reason to have faith in our group and trust in the players that we have. We’re going to put our best foot forward.”
Seattle coach Dave Hakstol was more tempered in his outlook, especially given how the Kraken’s 100point season translated into a fourthplace finish in the Pacific, enough to secure the first of the West’s two wildcard spots.
“Look up and down, and it’s as competitive or more competitive than it was last year,” Hakstol said. “You don’t just naturally pick up where you left off. You have to work to get back to that point, and I’m confident our group will do that.”
In Edmonton, McDavid and the Oilers are still smarting from being eliminated by Vegas in a six-game, secondround playoff series, a loss that came a year after reaching the West final.