There would surely be two. Almost certainly three. Maybe even four. Heck, if the stars aligned, perhaps as many as five players from the Edmonton Oilers could have been part of Canada’s roster at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Whatever the number ended up being, nobody thought that only one Oilers player would represent Canada at the inaugural international tournament taking place in February in Boston and Montreal.
And yet, after months of discussion and speculation, excitement and anticipation, that’s exactly the scenario that exists in Edmonton today.
On Wednesday, Team Canada unveiled the final 17 members (eight forwards, six defencemen, three goaltenders) of its roster, and there was not a single Oiler to be found among the new additions.
That leaves Connor McDavid as the only Oilers player on Canada’s 23-man squad. Edmonton’s superstar captain was among the first six players (five forwards, one defenceman) announced for the team back in June.
If the minimal Oilers presence on Team Canada doesn’t come as a total shock, it’s at the very least a massive disappointment for the team and its fans, who fantasized of a new era of Canadian hockey that harkened back to Edmonton’s dynasty days when the Canada Cup would feature several Oilers wearing the maple leaf.
There can be arguments of either bias or flawed thinking made against the players who were selected to Canada’s roster instead of their Oilers counterparts. And in one or two cases, that might even be valid.
But for the Oilers to be completely shut out from the final roster additions speaks volumes about this team’s subpar performance through the first quarter-plus of the 2024-25 NHL season, and should serve as a wake-up call for the defending Western Conference champions.
Bouchard and Hyman Were Expected to Make Team
Only a few weeks ago, Oilers winger Zach Hyman and blueliner Evan Bouchard were both seen as pretty safe bets to be on the Canadian roster.
TSN’s Director of Scouting Craig Button and analyst Mike Johnson revealed their consensus line combinations and defensive pairings for Team Canada, which included both aforementioned Oilers, with Hyman even slotted for a spot on Canada’s top line alongside McDavid.
But Hyman has started the season mired in a dreadful slump he yet to break out of. After scoring 54 times in 2023-24, he didn’t get his first goal until Halloween and has tallied just three in 20 games so far this season. To make matters worse, he was sidelined for the last two weeks after sustaining an undisclosed injury, derailing any chance of making a last-minute impression to Team Canada’s brain trust.
Bouchard is a different story. While not on pace to equal his 2023-24 totals of 18 goals and 64 assists (a pretty high benchmark, considering that was the most points by an Oilers defenceman in nearly four decades) he’s still putting up pretty good offensive numbers, ranking third on the Oilers with six goals, 12 assists, and 18 points.
What might have hurt Bouchard is a relapse in his defensive play. During his breakout 2023-24 campaign, the 25-year-old eliminated many of his bad habits on the back end. But they’ve returned on too many occasions this season, directly leading to goals for the opposition, providing very good reason to rethink his place on Team Canada.
Skinner Could Have Made the Cut
Button and Johnson had Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner on the bubble for a spot on Canada’s squad. Considering this is perhaps the shallowest pool of Canadian netminders ever, Skinner should have been able to make the roster. But the puck-stopper who got Edmonton to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final will not part of the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Instead, Canada is going with Jordan Binnington, Adin Hill, and Sam Montembeault. None of the three have particularly impressive numbers this season, but neither does Skinner, who has done himself no favours with a save percentage (SV%) of .889 and goals against average (GAA) of 2.99.
Nugent-Hopkins and Nurse Didn’t Have Much Chance
Veteran Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was always a long-shot to make Canada’s roster, but his two-way play, penalty killing blended with offensive ability, will always make him worth considering for a tournament of this nature.
Johnson and Button listed Nugent-Hopkins on the board of candidates for Team Canada, but the 31-year-old would have needed a dynamite start this season to play his way on to the roster, and instead he did the opposite, scoring just once in the first 19 games.
Darnell Nurse is the one Oiler whose 4 Nations’ stock might have actually improved over the last few weeks, as the veteran rearguard has played some of his best hockey of recent memory. But even though there was a case to be made for Nurse, the Hamilton native was never really seriously in the Canadian conversation.
Subpar Start Hurt Players’ Chances
Plain and simple, the Oilers just haven’t been a consistently good hockey team for their first 25 games of 2024-25. Edmonton has a negative goal differential, just eight regulation wins, and if the Stanley Cup Playoffs started today, the Oilers would be left sitting at home.
This team would be in a better position if the players were performing better, and if the players in question were performing better they would much more likely be heading to the 4 Nations Face-Off in a couple months.
If there is any silver lining to be taken from this in Oil Country, it’s that the Oilers who are staying home will get a chance to recharge, recover from any nagging injuries, and hopefully use any perceived slight of being left off Team Canada to fuel stronger play the rest of the way.
