The Edmonton Oilers were one of the fastest teams in the league last year.
Altogether, the team counted 2,417 speed bursts over 20 mph, as measured by NHL EDGE, more than any team except the Colorado Avalanche.
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That’s to be expected of the team with the fastest player in the world. Connor McDavid accounted for 457 of those bursts, behind only Nathan MacKinnon (there’s those Avs again).
But McDavid wasn’t the team’s only burner last year. Both Leon Draisaitl and Ryan McLeod ranked among the fastest players in the league, while Warren Foegele ranked in the top 20 percent.
Of course, two of those players left over the offseason. Apart from McLeod and Foegele, Dylan Holloway added even more speed to the lineup. Should the Oilers be worried about losing so much speed at the bottom of the lineup?
Heading into training camp, the bottom six looks something like this:
Janmark-Henrique-Brown
Podkolzin-Ryan-Perry
Among those six, only Mattias Janmark was above average in both top speed and number of speed bursts last season, while Connor Brown had a low top speed that he used quite often. The newcomer Vasily Podkolzin has shown average speed over parts of three seasons.
The three veterans Adam Henrique, Derek Ryan, and Corey Perry are just plain slow, which is understandable at their ages. Perry in particular is one of the slowest players in the NHL. There are downsides to being the oldest team in the league.
Among other newcomers, Viktor Arvidsson is a burner when he’s healthy, adding a valuable dimension to the top six. Prospect Matthew Savoie doesn’t have NHL EDGE data, but his skating has been rated as above average by scouts.
It’s a similar story on the blueline. After losing the smooth-skating Philip Broberg and the surprisingly fast Cody Ceci and Vincent Desharnais, Oilers defensemen might have some trouble winning foot-races this season. Both Josh Brown and Ty Emberson rank as below-average in terms of speed.
Obviously, NHL EDGE data isn’t everything, and speed particularly can be overrated. The Florida Panthers have made two straight Stanley Cup Finals with below-average speed, and last year’s Golden Knights and Canucks were on the slower side as well, to name a few examples.
What matters is playing style and coaching. Considering the team thrived last year with two burners atop the lineup and plenty of speed in the bottom six, it’ll be up to Kris Knoblauch to adjust to his new, slower lineup this season.
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