Fansided

5 NHL teams that would really like a do-over for the 2017-18 season

By Dave Stevenson

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 26: John Tavares #91 of the New York Islanders skates against the Florida Panthers at Barclays Center on March 26, 2018 in New York City. Florida Panthers defeated the New York Islanders 3-0. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 26: John Tavares #91 of the New York Islanders skates against the Florida Panthers at Barclays Center on March 26, 2018 in New York City. Florida Panthers defeated the New York Islanders 3-0. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images
Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images /

2. Edmonton Oilers

No team was a bigger disappointment this season than the Edmonton Oilers. Just about everyone predicted they would be among the league’s top teams and they were a trendy Stanley Cup pick. The Oilers were coming off a second-round appearance where they pushed the Anaheim Ducks to the brink before losing in Game 7.

When you have an elite, generational talent like Connor McDavid, you want to take advantage of his cheapest years. His expensive extension goes into effect this offseason. All the Oilers have to show for it is one playoff appearance. McDavid is having an even more productive season than last season when he won the Hart Trophy. And somehow, the Oilers are much closer to the bottom of the standings than the top of them.

Edmonton was cursed from the opening puck drop. In hindsight, their first game told us everything. McDavid was the only Oiler to score, netting an opening night natural hat trick. Cam Talbot was an integral piece for Edmonton last season. This season, he had his worst season as a pro. And with Talbot now on the wrong side of 30 years old, there isn’t too much hope he’ll be as good as he was in 2015-16.

Ideally, Edmonton would probably love to go back a few years and stop Peter Chiarelli from trading Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson. At the very least, the Oilers would love to go back to last summer and stop him from trading Jordan Eberle, a proven goal scorer, for Ryan Strome.

It’s almost impressive how bad Edmonton has been this year considering how incredible McDavid has been. That’s an indictment of the franchise and it starts at the very top.

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