I don't feel that Oilers really had more disappointing season than the Flames because the Oilers realistically met expectations with how their roster is. If this was a regular schedule playing all teams around the league rather than only teams in a weak division, their record likely would reflect a lot more that they would've been a playoff bubble team most likely.
The fact that once the chips were down, the Jets swept them indicates that the Oilers are a team that lack tremendous depth, which has been always the case for over a decade.
Oilers have been the most overhyped team in the league since McDavid was drafted by them. There's this expecation that they can make the playoffs and win the cup alone with McDavid. He's not that good to even make them win a playoff round by himself. He, and pretty much every other superstar player on an actual contending team need to have a strong enough supporting cast that can produces themselves to spread the attack. But with that said, McDavid's game needs to evolve from just being purely offensively explosive, to being a tough two-way player that can play the defensive game strong if he wants he wants to be able to do more for his team in the playoffs to push them forward.
This post is all Oilers, but Flames definitely had higher expectations and aspirations based on it's roster. The fact it couldn't even make the playoffs in this division is very disappointing. But may be best in the long run if it forces adjustments.
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