NHL Preview 2024-25 55 SportsForecaster.com

Forwards

Viktor Arvidsson [RW]

  • Age: 31
  • Ht: 5-10
  • Wt: 185
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
LA 18 6 9 15 4 14 0.83
Career 636 201 201 402 44 262 0.63
Forecast 68 24 22 46 - - 0.68

Injuries, including Arvidsson's second career back surgery, cost him all but 18 games last season. They were the latest in a career-long run of health problems that have limited his offensive production. He has the skills, smarts and feistiness to be a 30-goal, 65-point man–if he can stay healthy. That has occurred only sporadically.

Connor Brown [RW]

  • Age: 30
  • Ht: 6-0
  • Wt: 184
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Edm 71 4 8 12 -8 10 0.17
Career 623 113 154 267 -13 116 0.43
Forecast 70 6 10 16 - - 0.23

Brown's playoff performance was a lot better than his regular-season showing, which was hampered mostly by a knee issue that wiped out most of '22-23. He was an offensive disappointment last campaign but was incredible in Edmonton's run to the Stanley Cup Final, especially his penalty-killing prowess and shorthanded point production.

Leon Draisaitl [C/W]

  • Age: 28
  • Ht: 6-2
  • Wt: 209
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Edm 81 41 65 106 26 76 1.31
Career 819 416 577 993 93 348 1.21
Forecast 82 57 69 126 - - 1.54

The best NHLer born in Germany is also the league's No. 1 second banana. Draisaitl's offensive totals slipped slightly last season, but he still produced his fifth straight non-COVID season with at least 40 goals and 100 points. He is big, strong, lethal on the power play (77 PPG since '21-22) and capable of scoring from bad angles.

Adam Henrique [C/LW]

  • Age: 34
  • Ht: 6-0
  • Wt: 195
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Ana/Edm 82 24 27 51 9 37 0.62
Career 1022 277 289 566 -15 312 0.55
Forecast 74 23 22 45 - - 0.61

The 34-year-old veteran is coming off his first 50-point season since '17-18. Henrique plays the game the right way; in addition to providing more than adequate secondary scoring, he does not cut corners defensively, can match up against any opponent's top pivot and wins a lot of face-offs (more than 51% for six consecutive seasons).

Zach Hyman [RW/LW]

  • Age: 32
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 206
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Edm 80 54 23 77 36 48 0.96
Career 663 232 217 449 117 360 0.68
Forecast 78 43 39 82 - - 1.05

The Oilers signed Hyman to score goals, and he has delivered! He broke the 50-goal barrier last campaign before leading all playoff marksmen with 16. He also finished fifth in the NHL in plus/minus rating (+36). Hyman is hard to play against; he is strong enough to get to the front of the goal, works well on the cycle and is a gamer.

Mattias Janmark [W/C]

  • Age: 31
  • Ht: 6-2
  • Wt: 205
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Edm 71 4 8 12 0 46 0.17
Career 650 83 135 218 -18 211 0.34
Forecast 73 8 14 22 - - 0.30

Last campaign, the 31-year-old bottom-six forward matched his 71-game regular-season goals output (4) in just 25 Stanley Cup playoff contests, including a pair of tallies while the Oilers were shorthanded. Janmark had been a steady point producer until last season, when his offensive totals plunged and his average ice time plummeted.

Connor McDavid [C]

  • Age: 27
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 194
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Edm 76 32 100 132 35 30 1.74
Career 741 375 749 1124 163 300 1.52
Forecast 81 43 103 146 - - 1.80

Any doubts that McDavid is the premier offensive force of his era ended in 2023-24, after he set a playoff record for assists and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. After a 100-assist season, it is fair to say he might be the best combination of size, speed and skill the NHL has ever seen. He is almost unstoppable most games.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins [LW/C]

  • Age: 31
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 192
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Edm 80 18 49 67 10 36 0.84
Career 979 278 492 770 -32 338 0.79
Forecast 79 23 50 73 - - 0.92

The No. 1 overall draft pick in 2011 reverted back to his more accustomed scoring numbers last campaign, following a 104-point outlier in 2022-23. Most of the decline was due to far fewer power-play points. Nugent-Hopkins is a play driver on the rush who gets pucks on net and has an excellent eye for dead spots in the attacking zone.

Corey Perry [RW/LW]

  • Age: 39
  • Ht: 6-3
  • Wt: 208
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Chi/Edm 54 12 10 22 -6 46 0.41
Career 1414 455 494 949 64 1500 0.67
Forecast 64 9 8 17 - - 0.27

Thirteen years ago, Perry won the Hart and Rocket Richard trophies after a 50-goal season. Nowadays, at age 39, he is a bottom-six forward trying to win one more Stanley Cup ring. He still has presence, a scorer's hands, terrific hockey sense and power-play gumption. However, he now struggles to keep up with the pace of the NHL game.

Vasily Podkolzin [LW]

  • Age: 23
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 190
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Van 19 0 2 2 -4 8 0.11
Career 248 31 40 71 7 100 0.29
Forecast 69 7 9 16 - - 0.23

At 23, Podkolzin has gone from a productive rookie forward in 2021-22 to bouncing between the NHL and AHL the last two seasons. A concussion took a chunk out of his '23-24 campaign, after he got off to a strong start in the AHL. At his best, the Russian winger is a pesky forechecker with good playmaking skills and a nose for the net.

Matt Savoie [W/C]

  • Age: 20
  • Ht: 5-10
  • Wt: 179
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Buf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Career 34 6 5 11 -6 0 0.32
Forecast 63 11 14 25 - - 0.40

The ninth player selected in the 2022 draft put up another campaign of ridiculous totals in the WHL, looked right at home in a short AHL stint and even made his NHL debut in 2023-24. The only thing that slowed him was a preseason injury. Savoie can beat defenders in a handful of ways and has the offensive chops to make an NHL impact.

Jeff Skinner [LW]

  • Age: 32
  • Ht: 5-11
  • Wt: 200
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Buf 74 24 22 46 -2 34 0.62
Career 1097 377 329 706 -135 479 0.64
Forecast 77 37 24 61 - - 0.79

The six-time 30-goal scorer must rebound in 2024-25 after going from 35 goals in 2022-23 to 24 last season. At 32, Skinner is now at the point in his career when the postseason is the big objective; he set a record last campaign, becoming the first player in NHL history to reach 1,000 games played without a single playoff appearance.

Defensemen

Goaltenders

Evan Bouchard

  • Age: 24
  • Ht: 6-3
  • Wt: 192
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Edm 81 18 64 82 34 32 1.01
Career 376 60 205 265 57 134 0.70
Forecast 82 21 67 88 - - 1.07

The offensive defenseman will try to build on a breakout season that saw him finish fourth in points, fifth in goals and second in power-play goals among NHL rearguards. He is dangerous any time he tees up a shot; no one had more than his 112 shots of more than 90 mph in the 2023-24 regular season. His defensive-zone play needs work.

Joshua Brown

  • Age: 30
  • Ht: 6-5
  • Wt: 220
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Ari 51 3 7 10 2 75 0.20
Career 300 11 24 35 -28 307 0.12
Forecast 65 3 8 11 - - 0.17

When a player's NHL career high in points is 10, Brown's total last season, you can bet he is not relied upon for his offense (his total power-play time was 28 seconds in 2023-24). At 6'5'', 220 pounds, the 30-year-old D-man brings lots of physicality and a willingness to stand up for his teammates. He is also a solid penalty killer.

Mattias Ekholm

  • Age: 34
  • Ht: 6-5
  • Wt: 225
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Edm 79 11 34 45 44 47 0.57
Career 913 88 286 374 188 436 0.41
Forecast 75 8 32 40 - - 0.53

The 34-year-old posted career highs in goals and points in '23-24, despite being the defensive-minded half of Edmonton's No. 1 pairing. Ekholm matches up well against top lines, is always an option on the penalty kill and shows fine hockey sense. He is willing to play physically, and shoots the puck hard and accurately from distance.

Brett Kulak

  • Age: 30
  • Ht: 6-2
  • Wt: 192
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Edm 82 3 13 16 0 30 0.20
Career 609 28 99 127 -2 248 0.21
Forecast 81 2 15 17 - - 0.21

The Edmonton native does not put up big numbers on his own, but he showed during the 2024 playoffs that he can make his partners more effective. Kulak is not much of a scorer, although his offensive numbers perked up during the postseason. He is a no-frills, low-risk type of player who moves well and can play on any blueline pairing.

Darnell Nurse

  • Age: 29
  • Ht: 6-4
  • Wt: 215
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Edm 81 10 22 32 3 79 0.40
Career 745 86 224 310 68 662 0.42
Forecast 79 9 20 29 - - 0.37

The big (6'4'', 215 pounds), physical (168 hits in '23-24) minute-munching defenseman can play in all situations. His defensive game slipped in '23-24, and his minus-9 rating in the playoffs was tied for the worst on Edmonton. Nurse is a capable puck mover and offensive contributor who is at his best when he keeps things uber-simple.

Troy Stecher

  • Age: 30
  • Ht: 5-10
  • Wt: 184
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Ari/Edm 54 1 6 7 9 32 0.13
Career 575 23 98 121 -15 262 0.21
Forecast 70 2 9 11 - - 0.16

The Oilers got Stecher as injury insurance, but he wound up playing little in the regular season and not at all in the playoffs because of an infected cyst on his ankle that needed surgery. The 30-year-old is undersized for a defenseman (5'10, 184 pounds) and has never produced much in the way of points. He likely will not start now.

Calvin Pickard

  • Age: 32
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 206
'23-24 GP W L OT SO GAA Sv%
Edm 23 12 7 1 1 2.45 0.909
Career 185 72 74 14 5 2.95 0.901
Forecast 26 14 - - 0 2.81 0.902

He made his way back to the NHL last campaign and provided the Oilers with a solid backup; he even earned his first two Stanley Cup playoff starts. Pickard bounced between the AHL and NHL for most of the past decade; last season was the first since 2016-17 that he played as many as 20 contests in the NHL (he spent '22-23 in the AHL).

Stuart Skinner

  • Age: 25
  • Ht: 6-4
  • Wt: 230
'23-24 GP W L OT SO GAA Sv%
Edm 59 36 16 5 2 2.62 0.905
Career 195 108 62 17 9 2.74 0.904
Forecast 60 40 - - 3 2.68 0.91

He brought the Oilers to Game 7 of the '24 Stanley Cup Final after a few shaky moments; his final regular-season totals were good considering how badly his campaign began. The big-bodied goalkeeper is at his best when he controls his rebounds, keeps the play in front of him and is not called on to test his lateral quickness too much.