Quote:
Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden
You don't make the finals by mistake.
If Skinner holds up, they will be a very good team next year. Maybe not better, but still very good.
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No you don't fluke into it, but the stars have to align in a lot of ways as we all know. Are the coilers going to get another dream first two round matchups and avoid the Vegas/Colorado/Stars juggernaut early? Doubtful. Is the team going to stay as healthy as it did all season again? Doubtful (especially after a short offseason).
Nothing is guaranteed and coming back for another run with an entirely different group of bottom 6 forwards that is likely nowhere near as cohesive as this year is a huge question mark. The Panthers just did it and they primarily had the same team (minus some tweaks around the edges). Doing it with 50% new roster and no cap room is basically unheard of.
If this year showed us anything about the Oilers, its that as good as their two stars may be, unless you have the better, deeper team, you're not winning it all. Kudos to them for battling back in a series that was over, but they weren't able to win games when they didn't have last change, and that speaks heavily to not having the depth around these stars to find ways to win when they get shut down. Is that improving next year with no cap room and no picks and no prospects pushing?