The Edmonton Oilers are playing consistently well enough to hold down a position high in the NHL standings thanks to a number of factors, including a much-improved defence. Oscar Klefbom is leading the NHL in average time-on-ice and looking more and more like a true No. 1 defenceman, while Ethan Bear has been the surprise of the season on the blue line and has fit right in among the Oilers’ top-four blue-liners. Host Craig Ellingson talks to Hockey Hall of Fame writer Jim Matheson about the Oilers’ defence and about what the team might need to make it a legitimate playoff contender. Immediate answer: A top-six winger and a better third-line centreman, pieces that Oilers GM Ken Holland is surely mulling even though the trade deadline is far off.

Oil Spills: A podcast on the Edmonton Oilers

Ya know, defence (and maybe an NHL trade deadline deal) wins championships

The rumour has been persistent since early in this NHL season, that Taylor Hall — former Edmonton Oilers star — would welcome a trade away from the New Jersey Devils, who have faltered on the ice thus far. And his rumoured preferred destination? The Oilers.   Host Craig Ellingson talks to hockey beat writer Derek Van Diest about the rumours and what a Taylor Hall trade to Edmonton would mean for the team.

What to make of Taylor Hall-to-Oilers trade rumours

After playing Eastern Conference teams for more than half of their games through the first third of November, the Edmonton Oilers will face their fellow Western NHL squads exclusively for 10 straight games through the start of December. The stretch includes six road games and seven clashes with their Pacific Division siblings. What it could mean is we’ll see some separation from the pack by the Oilers, who sit first in the Pacific and second in the West heading into the first of these 10 games or find Edmonton jostling with their rivals to stay in the playoff mix. Hockey Hall of Fame writer Jim Matheson talks to host Craig Ellingson about the Oilers and their upcoming slate of Western games and about how they got to this point: with improved defensive play, the emergence of Ethan Bear, solid goaltending by the tandem of Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith, and the continued scoring prowess of Leon Draisaitl — the NHL’s leading scorer — and Connor McDavid.

Oilers turn focus to Western rivals

Win some, lose some. Recent games are suggesting the Connor McDavid- and Leon Draisaitl-led Edmonton Oilers are human after all. After a torrid start to the 2019-20 NHL campaign, the Oilers have lost games they probably should have been in on — and have won games they likely should have lost. Considering the team is still getting very good goaltending, however, from both Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen — and that Draisaitl continues to play at the very highest NHL level alongside McDavid, plus we're seeing more secondary scoring — there is reason to believe these aren't last season's Oilers, which saw things go sideways come mid-December. Hockey beat writers Jim Matheson and Rob Tychkowski join host Craig Ellingson to talk about the recent up-and-down, Jekyll-and-Hyde-type performances — both at home and on the road, from a bad loss to Florida at Rogers Place to a clunker in Detroit, a commanding win in Columbus and an unlikely OT win in Pittsburgh to a totally dominated home-ice loss to Arizona.

What to make of the Oilers' blip

The Edmonton Oilers' so-called 'bottom six' forwards have yet to score a goal — and most have yet to notch even an assist — almost a month into the 2019-20 NHL season. Hockey beat writers Jim Matheson and Rob Tychkowski talk to host Craig Ellingson about the team's secondary-scoring woes.

Oilers' bottom-six shooters firing blanks

The Edmonton Oilers are flying high to start the 2019-20 NHL season, but even teams that touch the top of the standings can see their star players fall off a bit as seen in recent games. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl didn’t crowd the scoresheet in a win over Detroit and in a shutout shootout loss to the Jets, which once again underscores the need for the Oilers to conjure goals from their secondary lines. Host Craig Ellingson talks to hockey beat writer Derek Van Diest about McDavid, Draisaitl and the forwards as well as the team’s continually solid goaltending.

McDavid and Draisaitl can’t do it all for the Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers' strong start to the 2019-20 NHL season is certainly a pleasant surprise to the team's fans. Hockey Hall of Fame writer Jim Matheson talks to host Craig Ellingson about how the Oilers can keep producing at this level, barring setbacks due to injury, including getting production from the likes of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zack Kassian on the first line as well as power-play production from James Neal as well as reliable goaltending and a maturing defence that has handled Adam Larsson's absence well.

It's early, but Oilers' signs are looking positive

We’ll take Connor McDavid at less than 100 per cent if that’s what it looks like given his performance in the Edmonton Oilers’ first two games of the NHL regular season. McDavid and linemates Leon Draisaitl and Zack Kassian were in fine scoring form against the Vancouver Canucks and the Los Angeles Kings as the Oilers start the 2019-20 campaign with a pair of home wins. Hockey beat writers Jim Matheson and Derek Van Diest join host Craig Ellingson to talk about McDavid and the Oilers’ start, goalie Mike Smith’s wandering ways and the impact of Adam Larsson’s long-term injury to the team’s defensive corps.

Whatever % Connor McDavid is at looks mighty fine

A new season, a whole lot of new faces at forward to play alongside Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins et al. And as usual when new players are added to the Edmonton Oilers’ mix, it remains to be seen if the moves and gambles made by the general manager and the coaching staff will result in more sparks. Hockey beat writers Jim Matheson and Rob Tychkowski join host Craig Ellingson to talk about the start of the 2019-20 NHL season for the Oilers.

Now we’ll see if Oilers’ gambles at forward will pay off

Connor McDavid was rusty handling the puck but his knee, injured at the end of last season, looked fine in preseason action against the Arizona Coyotes as the NHL star saw his first action since he tore the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Hockey beat writers Jim Matheson and Derek Van Diest join host Craig Ellingson to talk about McDavid, and the state of the team in training camp on both offence and defence, particularly the fight among forwards for spots among the bottom six and how the blueline corps might look with an injury to Joel Persson. 

Connor McDavid returns to Oilers game action

Joel Persson has some definite offensive skills the Edmonton Oilers could use on the blueline. The Swedish defenceman is one of the brightest of the new faces at training camp this year, and if one exhibition game means anything (it doesn't) to go with his one-way contract, he will be on the team's opening-night roster along with another new face, be that an AHL prospect or even Evan Bouchard, who finished up in junior last year. Host Craig Ellingson talks to hockey beat writers Rob Tychkowski and Derek Van Diest about the blueline corps, plus they wonder aloud what it would mean to the Oilers if star Connor McDavid missed any time — even a measly half-dozen games, let's say. It could certainly be disastrous to their season as he factored in on half the NHL team’s offensive output a year ago. McDavid is expected to sit out the pre-season while his knee, which he injured in the final game of 2018-19, is still on the mend.

Joel Persson the latest Oilers It Boy, and carnage if Connor McDavid misses a few games

Goalie Mike Smith will bring a puck-handling savvy, veteran presence and a strong second-half showing with the Calgary Flames last season to the Edmonton Oilers in 2019-20 to split duties with Mikko Koskinen, who was shaky down the stretch.  Hockey beat writer Derek Van Diest and host Craig Ellingson discuss how things could play out in Edmonton’s net this year.

Mike Smith adds different dimensions to Oilers’ goaltending

The Minnesota Wild chose another rookie in Bill Guerin to fill their general manager’s chair less than a month after firing Paul Fenton, who lasted in the job just 14 months as a first-time GM. Guerin ticked off many boxes for Wild owner Craig Leipold, whose team plays in the rabid U.S. ‘State of Hockey.’ But Guerin apparently wasn’t even a finalist, if he really interviewed at all, for the Edmonton Oilers job that went to Ken Holland in early May. Hockey Hall of Fame writer Jim Matheson and host Craig Ellingson talk about Guerin, the one-time Oilers power forward, and why he suits an NHL GM position.

Why one-time Oilers star Bill Guerin is now a general manager

The Edmonton Oilers don't have a bonafide No. 3 centre heading into September's training camp. Hockey Hall of Fame writer Jim Matheson and host Craig Ellingson talk about what the Oilers could do to address the issue.

Oilers face a pivotal move

Yes, James Neal had a forgettable 2018-19 campaign for the Calgary Flames. But in swapping Milan Lucic for him in a July trade, the Edmonton Oilers may have made a masterful move. Host Craig Ellingson and hockey beat writer Derek Van Diest talk about the possibilities of Neal as an Oiler, particularly if the perennial 20-something goal-scorer regains his scoring touch alongside the likes of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins this coming NHL season.