For some reason or another, I thought I always did a bold predictions article ahead of the last number of Edmonton Oilers seasons, but that turns out not to be the case.

I always have some ideas in my head about things that could happen, and now, it’s time to put fingers to a keyboard, and let them live somewhere beyond my cranium

Let’s dig into my five bold predictions for the Edmonton Oilers’ 2024-25 season.

1. Stuart Skinner cements himself among best goaltenders

Over the last two years, Stuart Skinner has started 48 and 57 games, posting a .913 and .905 in each respective year. By the end of this season, he is going to cement himself as one of the best goaltenders in the NHL with a .920 save percentage or better.

There’s only one goaltender in either of the last two years to start at least 48 games in a season and have a .920 save percentage, and it was Connor Hellebuyck last year. In fact, in the last five years, there’s only seven goalies who have done it: Hellebuyck three times, Ilya Sorokin twice, and Linus Ullmark, Frederik Andersen, Darcy Kuepmer, Jacob Markstrom and Igor Shesterkin once.

How is it accomplished? Thanks to an Oilers blue line that’s improved by subtraction with Ty Emberson replacing Cody Ceci, and Travis Dermott and Troy Stecher, two solid defencemen joining the ranks, Edmonton finds a way to cut down their goals against.

Under Jay Woodcroft, the Oilers allowed 51 goals against in 13 games, 3.9 against per game. Under Kris Knoblauch, it was cut down to 185 in 69 games, 2.7 goals against. If Skinner had made 22 more saves last year, then he would’ve had a .920 save percentage last season.

Could Skinner find his way onto Vezina ballots? It wouldn’t shock me.

2. Evan Bouchard scores 90 points

This one may not be too bold, given that the 90-point plateau is only eight points more than last year, but Bouchard would become the 13th defenceman to hit the mark. Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar each did it last year, while Erik Karlsson did so in 2022-23 and Roman Josi in 2021-22.

The list beyond them is sparse with Bobby Orr doing it for the first of six consecutive seasons in 1969-70 and the most belonging to Bouchard’s coach, Paul Coffey, who did it a staggering seven times. The only others? Ray Bourque (four times), Denis Potvin (three times), Al MacInnis (twice), and Phil Housley, Brian Leetch and Gary Suter each doing it once.

Bouchard accomplishes it by taking a step forward as a player, now another year older, and the Oilers continuing to be one of the best offensive teams in the league.

3. Connor McDavid scores 60 goals once again

Here’s a bold one for you.

McDavid hit the 64-goal mark in the 2022-23 season seemingly out of nowhere, besting his previous career-high by a staggering 20 goals. There was hope that McDavid could replicate 50 goals last season, but he struggled with an abdominal injury and his shot-on-goal rates plummetted.

Now entering the year healthy after a slower summer of training, McDavid is going to regain his form as one of the league’s most lethal shooters. As such, he’ll become the 10th player to score 60 or more twice in a career, alongside Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy, who each did it five times, Mario Lemieux and Phil Esposito (four times), Brett Hull (three times), as well as Auston Matthews, Pavel Bure, Steve Yzerman and Jari Kurri, who each did it twice.

How’s he able to do so? He’s going to shoot the puck a lot more, once again, and a shift in the Oilers’ power play is going to set him up for it.

As my colleague Bruce Curlock highlighted in his tactical preview earlier Wednesday, the Oilers appear to be utilizing the bumper position more, including in a way where McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are getting free on the flanks, which Curlock thinks is an indication of McDavid shooting more.

4. McDavid breaks the single playoff goal record

Remember when he broke the assist record for a single post-season last year? Good times.

He’s going to one-up himself, and break the goals record, carrying over his momentum from the regular season into the playoffs. McDavid scored just eight goals last year, but once again, he wasn’t shooting the puck all that much.

McDavid is a different animal in the world of hockey, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him do something incredible like this.

5. The Oilers win the President’s Trophy and the Stanley Cup

After a season in which the Oilers got as close as they could to winning the Stanley Cup without actually doing so, they ran the table through the league, winning the President’s Trophy and stomping everyone in their path.

Remember when the Colorado Avalanche looked like a team that couldn’t lose en route to their Stanley Cup title in 2022? We’re going to see something similar from the Oilers, who wind up securing home-ice advantage throughout the post-season, a big difference-maker.