Oilers are on the verge of making “a grave mistake”

The message has been quite clear from the Edmonton Oilers fanbase and even from the captain Connor McDavid himself: significant changes need to be made to the front office, coaching staff and roster of the Oilers for them to become Cup contenders once again. 

If nothing changes this summer, some pundits believe McDavid could get fed up fast and ask for a trade in the coming years. The time is now. 

However, it seems like the message isn’t as pressing to CEO Bob Nicholson, who has yet to make significant stride in his search for a new general manager or head coach. 

He’s now coach Sportsnet’s Mark Spector worried as the expert believes the Oilers are on the verge of making a grave mistaken. One that we don’t know if McDavid could forgive and forget. 

Spector believes the Oilers would be making a grave mistake if they don’t have a new GM in place by the NHL Draft in late-June. He feels they need one in place before then to clear out some cap space in order to pursue a couple of mid-range free agents in July. 

“The draft goes in Vancouver on June 21. Unless the new hire is forbidden by his old organization from making the move before draft day — which is almost unheard of — the Oilers need him in place to make a dent in their cap woes come June, so they can go after a couple of mid-range free agents in July.”

Spector also believes the Oilers need to make cap room to be a player in July in the free-agent market and suggests packaging defenseman Kris Russell with a draft pick or prospect or trading him for someone’s $4 million per season winger. 

While he believes buying out winger Milan Lucic is out of the question, he wonders if the Oilers could move him for “someone else’s problem of equal value”, consider the declining Lucic’s presence with the Oilers as an ongoing negative. 

The clock is ticking, the draft is fast approaching. Come on Edmonton, you need a man in charge!