Oilers will 'find out quickly' what their team identity is as new NHL season begins

The grind begins Wednesday for the Edmonton Oilers, but their head coach isn't trying to look too far ahead as the National Hockey League (NHL) team tries to reach the Stanley Cup Final as it did last season.

Breaking the 82-game regular season into 'segments' are in order for Kris Knoblauch, something he told media Tuesday after Oilers practice he's done with each team he has coached.

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"I think it's important the players see where they are at the moment and how they're playing," the head coach said the day before the Oilers host the Winnipeg Jets to open their 2024-25 NHL campaign.

"Usually, the scoring chances that we give up, or how our power play is executing or our penalty kill, ultimately tells us how well we're doing in a seven, eight-game segment."

The second-year bench boss and his staff will look at "many" factors -- "Did your goalie play well? Did the other goalies play well? Did you get lucky? Did the officials give you some easy calls," Knoblauch gave as examples -- during each section of the season to help the team understand "how things are going" as the season goes on.

He said analyzing performance this way, instead of over the entire campaign or breaking things down game-by-game, is more effective.

"It's a good perspective of players just to kind of look back and say, 'OK, this is how things are going right now,'" Knoblauch said.

Focusing on what they can do rather than "worry(ing) about what other teams are thinking about or what they're up to" is what the Oilers need to do, captain Connor McDavid said.

"It's about us in here and getting to our game," McDavid told media, adding the team "certainly" wants to avoid a repeat sluggish start to the season like last year's, when the Oilers went 3-9-1 to begin 2023-24 before Knoblauch replaced Jay Woodcroft as coach, even though knowing they were capable of turning their fortunes around gives the group "confidence."

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"That being said, we don't want to go through that again. We want to get off to a good start, just like every team around the league."

Regular McDavid linemate Zach Hyman said the Oilers will "find out really quickly, as the season goes on ... what kind of team (we) have."

"You go into every season ... and everybody has plans, and oftentimes -- probably every time -- something changes," Hyman told media.

"Going into a new season, you just want to get off to a good start, and you want to get a feel for what kind of group you have, what your identity is.

"You think you know, but the regular season obviously shows exactly what you know you need to work on, what your team's good at, and you want to get out ahead."

Dermott signed following PTO; Kane on LTIR

The Oilers announced Tuesday afternoon they have signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 and have placed forward Evander kane on long-term injured reserve.

The 27-year-old seven-year NHL veteran, who attended Oilers training camp on a professional tryout, scored seven points in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.

Kane had surgery last month after playing with a sports hernia last season. The 33-year-old, who scored 24 goals and 20 assists for 44 points in 77 regular-season games in 2023-24 and added eight points in 20 playoff games for the Oilers, is entering the third of a four-year contract worth $5.125-million per year.

Also Tuesday, the Oiulers assigned forwards Matt Savoie and newly-signed Cam Qwright to their American Hockey League affiliate in Bakersfield, Calif.

Vegas puts Lavoie back on waivers

Twenty-four hours after they claimed him, the Vegas Golden Knights placed forward Raphael Lavoie on waivers.

It was on the waiver wire Monday where they'd picked him up from the Edmonton Oilers, who had exposed the 24-year-old prospect to being acquired by another team for free to put on their NHL roster.

The Oilers can reclaim Lavoie by Wednesday if no other team picks him up and can assign him to AHL Bakersfield

Lavoie, the Oilers' second-round pick in 2019 who with 28 AHL goals in 2023-24 led the Bakersfield Condors in goal-scoring for the second season in a row, is heading into his fifth professional campaign.

He played seven NHL games with the Oilers last season and was among Sunday's final cuts from the team's training camp. 

Opening night party in Fan Park

The Oilers will host a home-opener party Wednesday inside the tent at the Ice District Fan Park located in the lot immediately east of the Rogers Place complex.

The party from 5-8 p.m. will feature a DJ, food trucks and drinks.