"They have $78M tied in offense": Craig Button pins blame on Edmonton Oilers offense for 0-3 start

By Abhilasha Aditi

Modified Oct 14, 2024 17:47 GMT

On the Oct. 13 TSN broadcast, NHL analyst Craig Button blamed the Edmonton Oilers' offense for their 0-3 start. The Oilers have struggled, getting outscored 15-3 in their first three games.

NHL analyst Jay Onrait raised concerns about the defense and goaltender Stuart Skinner and suggested that the team needs a full evaluation of its problems. However, Button said that the lack of offensive production is the main issue.

Button noted that the goaltending was poor in the first two games. He reckons Skinner played well against the Calgary Flames but criticized the entire roster for not performing. Button shifted the blame from Oilers defense and blasted the team's offense, and said:

(2:30) "You look at some of the goals and you can look at defense. Three goals, Jay. What do they have? $78 million tied up in offense, and we're going to blame the defense?

"Like, give me a break! I mean, the bottom line is this team is built on, I just said, offense. Yeah, it’s got some of the best players on the planet. They went and got Skinner and Arvidsson to give more offensive thrust and more push. They haven't done it," Button said.

According to puckpedia, Edmonton Oilers forwards take up $52,250,000 of their salary cap which is 59.4% of their total salary cap. Some of the highest paid forwards in the league are on this roster: Connor McDavid's $12.5 million AAV, Leon Draisaitl's $8.5 million AAV (signed $14 million AAV extension which kicks in next season), Zach Hyman’s $5.5 million AAV, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' $5.125 million AAV, Viktor Arvidsson's $4 million AAV and Jeff Skinner;s $3.00 million AAV, to name a few.

Despite having offensive superstars like McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, in their lineup, the Oilers scored only three goals in three games. Craig Button finds this underperformance unacceptable, given the talent and money tied up in their forwards.

Despite the Oilers' talent, analyst Craig Button said that the offense isn't working hard enough. He believes the team's problems come from a lack of effort and not strategy. Button warned that the team's situation won't change until the offense improves.

This frustration was evident in the last game as the Edmonton Oilers lost two potential goals due to disallowed calls. They need timely goals to relieve the pressure and need to regroup before facing the Philadelphia Flyers next.

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Kris Knoblauch urges Edmonton Oilers to play with desperation after third straight loss

After the Edmonton Oilers' loss to the Calgary Flames, coach Kris Knoblauch expressed concern about his team's lack of urgency. The defeat was the Oilers' third straight home loss, leaving them with a 0-3-0 record.

Knoblauch shared the need for a more desperate approach.

"Obviously, we have to play with more desperation," Knoblauch said. "When (we) had a season like we did last year, and coming back and the expectations being really high, I don't think there's enough desperation..."

Forward Zach Hyman also mentioned that two disallowed goals were frustrating but weren't an excuse for their performance.

"Probably, but there's no excuse," Hyman said. "That happens all the time in games."

The Edmonton Oilers have scored only three goals and allowed 15 in three games. That's a big drop from last season, when they averaged 3.56 goals per game.