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So, with the Oilers getting all the goodies are they now contenders, or far from?


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They will probably come out of the gate hot with all those young players and the excitement of a new season...and some people (again) will hail them as new powers in the West.

The truth however is that teams generally go only as far as their defense and goaltending take them and for some reason Edmonton has only decided to rebuild their forward group thus far.

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RNH and Hall seem to be injury prone. If both get injured again this year you will start hearing the get rid of them crys fom the fans. Once that happens look for 1 or 2 to bolt when their contracts come up. Eberly is the gold chip of this group and a lot of teams will go after him big time.

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They don't yet have the defence to compete, probably fall in 10th place by the end of the season. At the end of the day they need a franchise goalie to compete for the Cup and I doubt Dubynk is that guy. They should make a hard push for J. Bernier and use one of their great forwards as bait because they aren't getting far without a future star goalie, and they're much harder to pick up on free agency than defencemen.

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I'd like to believe they will be. A couple of more years to grow. It will be fun to see how they develop all their potential. Just because everyone here hates them and pities them for having to live in Edmonton doesn't mean they won't be contenders with a core like that. They are a good goalie away from a playoff spot.

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No they're not. They have some real serious talent, but they don't have enough depth on all positions, and their defence is still pretty weak. I also feel like their goalie-position still is a question mark, Dubnyk isn't that proven as a starter

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I think edmonton will vye for the draft lottery for one or 2 more years, then they will start having to pay their guys 6+ million per year and I will laugh at them when their team falls apart and we get one of their UFA's for nothing.

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I say still another year for being playoff contenders, then maybe 3 or 4 years until being cup contenders. Yakupov and Schultz are amazing acquisitions, but they cant fix the whole team. They still have holes on D and their goaltending is due for a big upgrade (unless Dubnyk can develop well and get it done).

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The Oilers really will be the wild card in the West this year for sure. IMO their success really will depend on if Hall can finally emerge from good player status to the super star status he was hyped up have. It will also depend on if Schultz can transition into the NHL smoothly and also be as good as hyped. PLus Eberle will need to continue to improve and guys like Omark are able to prove they are top 6 NHlers.

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The Oilers really will be the wild card in the West this year for sure. IMO their success really will depend on if Hall can finally emerge from good player status to the super star status he was hyped up have. It will also depend on if Schultz can transition into the NHL smoothly and also be as good as hyped. PLus Eberle will need to continue to improve and guys like Omark are able to prove they are top 6 NHlers.

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I do think they will make the playoffs this year. The word Contender is pretty much, top 5 or 6 teams in the west can pretty much be a contender. Look at L.A, they came in 8th, (they were not 8th place team, don't get me wrong) but Of course, they can be a dark horse and threat to win the cup next year. Don't count em out. We also don't know which Justin Shultz is showing up.

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I still think they need a proven goalie. Dubnyk might be a nr1 but not yet IMO

if they are still in the mix at half-time they should try and get a top4 D at the trade window.

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Drafting Yakupov allows them to possibly trade one of their other young talents (ex: Hall) for an experienced defenseman at the trade deadline if they are competing for a playoff spot and Yakupov is producing as expected.

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Where's Greene02 to tell us all we don't know anything and give us his view of his mighty Oiler (Just teasin ya buddy)

I think they can make the playoffs this year if they get the goaltending and they stay healthy but I see them getting tossed rather quickly ala St Louis vs LA.

I had to chuckle today at Ryan Rishaug on his twitter account:

@TSNRyanRishaug: Have to think extensions for Hall and Eberle are being considered. Tavares type deals. 6 yrs 33 million. Need some cost certainty. #TSN

If Hall and Eberle sign for that little I would be shocked (I know it's speculation) - no way do I see the kids doing that and getting Horcoff type money. This is the dilemna I keep harping on to all those who say the Oilers will be a dynasty - unless you can convince all their young stars to sign at 5.5 mil no way can they keep them together or build a contender. In a salary cap era dynasties will be a thing of the past IMHO. As I have stated before I don't see them taking "home-town" discounts to play in Edmonton either - especially when you have guys like Sather with apparently endless bags of money to throw at them and teams like Detroit and Minnesota not afraid to throw large sums at players.

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far from it, they're top 3 players get injured each year Hall,RNH,Eberle and the way Eberle gets hit he's going to end up with a concussion and they don't have a good defense and no one wants to play there unless your a young player or a old ass player...

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