Ron Maclean makes bold prediction

Rejoice Oilers fans, Ron Maclean, the famous co-host of popular Hockey Night in Canada segment, Coach's Corner has predicted that the Edmonton Oilers ill win the Stanley cup, in two to four years. In an interview with Luke Fox from Sportsnet.ca, Maclean admits that his prediction is a long shot, but he believes that the futur looks very bright in Edmonton.

"Gimme a glass of wine or a beer, and I think in two years they win the Cup. That may be a little eager, but I don’t think more than four."

Although the cup is still far away from an appearance in the streets of Oil Country, the Oilers could, and will surely be in contention for a playoff spot this year. Maclean makes the case that Eberle and Hall are in for the best season of their career. After flanking Sid the Kid at the World Championships, both young veterans are composed to bring back glory to the Edmonton organization.

“They went over to the World Championship and played with Crosby, which is similar to Messier and Gretzky. Not that they needed any encouragement but those two Oilers flanked Mario Lemieux at the crucial moment of the Canada Cup in ’87. Now you have two Oilers flanking Sid to a gold. You watch Eberle take off. He’s already been great in international hockey, but I think this is going to be his year, Taylor Hall’s year."

Even if Ron Maclean himself recognizes that his prediction of the oilers winning the cup in two years is ill advised, he surely makes a good prediction, Connor McDavid and Darnell Nurse are ready for the NHL, now. They do fit right now in their line-up, but what about other highly talented players like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov or Justin Schultz? Where do they fit in term of depth chart? Are they a part of the long term plans or will they be used as trade bait? What about their defensemen group? Is Cam Talbot ready for a full season in the NHL, never mind the expectations?

There are a lot of unanswered questions in Oil Country. the future does look good, but Oilers fan are not out of the shadow yet, Peter Chiarelli still has a lot of work on his plate.

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Image Courtesy Keystone Press