Mile High Sticking
Fansided

Colorado Avalanche vs Edmonton Oilers could Set the Season Tone

By Nadia Archuleta

Mar 20, 2016; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Colorado Avalanche goalie Calvin Pickard (31) keeps an eye out for the puck as Edmonton Oilers left winger Matt Hendricks (23) battles with Avalanche right winger Mikko Rantanen (96) by the net during the third period at Rexall Place. Colorado Avalanche won the game 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 20, 2016; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Colorado Avalanche goalie Calvin Pickard (31) keeps an eye out for the puck as Edmonton Oilers left winger Matt Hendricks (23) battles with Avalanche right winger Mikko Rantanen (96) by the net during the third period at Rexall Place. Colorado Avalanche won the game 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers are surprisingly well-matched. Their three games could be harbingers of how their seasons play out.

The Colorado Avalanche made a few minor roster changes and a gigantic change in coaching. The Edmonton Oilers did the exact opposite. Todd McLellan is still their coach. However, they made some big roster changes.

Most notably, Edmonton made one of the biggest splashes in free agency when they signed defenseman Mark Fraser to a one-year contract. Just kidding — the big news was signing left wing Milan Lucic to a seven-year contract.

The Oilers were also participants in one of the bigger trades of the off-season. They sent Taylor Hall to New Jersey in exchange for defenseman Adam Larsson. That’s right, Edmonton actually looked to their defense for a change.

Let’s look a little closer at what Edmonton did over the summer.

Changes Edmonton Made in the Off-Season

The two changes mentioned above are the most significant ones for the Edmonton Oilers.

In signing Lucic, Edmonton is getting away from its usual brand of smallish, talented forwards. Milan Lucic is a bull in a china shop — a beefy 6-foot-3, 228 pounds of pure mean. You almost see him snacking on Nail Yakupov if he gets a little peckish.

Along those lines, the Oilers finally traded away perennial problem child Taylor Hall. I say problem child because Hall was supposedly locker room death.

In exchange Edmonton got a very suitable defenseman, Adam Larsson. He’s good-sized at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds. the 23-year-old defenseman is poised with a decent shot. He really will upgrade Edmonton’s defense.

In addition to the above-mentioned Fraser, the Oilers also singed Taylor Beck to a one-year contract. The right wing is also big, though he’s inconsistent.

Most excitingly for Edmonton, they almost have a goalie corps now with the addition of Jonas Gustavsson. Cam Talbot is still likely to be the starter, and Laurent Broissoit may stay on as his (young) backup. At least now they have another viable option as well.

How the Colorado Avalanche Stack Up

The Edmonton Oilers made some of the moves I expected the Colorado Avalanche to make. They’re a bigger, grittier team that still maintains finesse.

Colorado is not as stocked up front as Edmonton is. I don’t know how the lines are going to run exactly, but they’re going to be a true top-six center (either Matt Duchene or Nathan MacKinnon) winged possibly by a top-six forward (Landeskog) and some grab bag player:

  • Aging vet (Jarome Iginla)
  • Snappy upstart (Carl Soderberg)
  • Stretch top-six (Blake Comeau, Joe Colborne)
  • Rookie (Mikko Rantanen)
  • Please-let-him-make-a-big-leap (Mikhail Grigorenko)

Luckily, even with the addition of Larsson, Edmonton’s not deadly at defense.

The Colorado Avalanche did augment their blueline. I’m not sold on the Fedor Tyutin signing, but picking up Patrick Wiercioch was a good move. Nikita Zadorov, Eric Gelinas and Chris Bigras are all poised to make a big leap in their development.

Plus, Edmonton might get caught making cow eyes at Tyson Barrie, whom everyone was so sure was going to be joining the Oilers in trade over the summer.

More from Pacific Division Previews:

Predictions for Avalanche vs Oilers

Last season the Colorado Avalanche made a clean sweep of the three games against Edmonton. This included a nice 5-1 trouncing on December 19.

This season Colorado hosts the Oilers twice and plays once in Edmonton. The first game is at Pepsi Center on November 23. They then play back-to-back games on March 23 and 25, home and away. I love those types of match-ups because intensity can carry over to the next game.

It’s hard to know how the two teams will fare against each other. For that first meeting, the honeymoon period for the Colorado Avalanche and their new coach will be coming to a close. We’ll really see how the two sides can do together. Could be the Edmonton game is a real indicator.

Come March, one or both teams is either going to be playing for playoff contention or to finish out the season yet again. Once more, this will be an indicator of the Colorado Avalanche’s mettle.

Edmonton’s probably going to take at least one game — maybe the one at home. I wouldn’t be overly surprised if they won the November game as well.

Next: Avs Players Should have Bowed out of World Cup

It’s hard to tell — the Edmonton Oilers have long been under-achievers. Colorado could go 2-1 in the series.

Home/Editorials