Despite finishing in the bottom three of the NHL standings the last three seasons, Edmonton Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot feels that the club is still on the verge of something great.
The team has added Milan Lucic and Jesse Puljujarvi up front and despite dealing Taylor Hall, have added Adam Larsson, and with the possibility of more moves to come on the back end, Talbot feels the Oilers are trending in the right direction.
"I don’t think we’re that far off from making the playoffs, to be honest with you," Talbot told Sportsnet.ca. "I think one more piece [on defense] and we’ve got all the talent up front we've always had and added more talent via free agency and the draft. When you shore up the back end, which is what Peter's trying to do, as long as I do my part, I think we could definitely battle for a playoff spot this year and next year and go from there."
The Oilers finished last season with the 26th-ranked offense, converting an average of just 2.43 goals per game, meanwhile their defense fared even worse giving up a 27th-ranked 2.95 goals against per game.
Of course the odds will be stacked against the Oilers to make such a 180 and jump into the postseason, but Talbot feels the Hall trade is evidence of an overall positive trend that will make the club better immediately and moving forward.
"It’s tough to give away a guy like Taylor, but the return for a good defenseman is high this summer," said Talbot. "You have to give up something to get someone good, and I think we did that. I’m not sure Peter’s done yet, so we'll see what other pieces he can put in place here to point us in the right direction."
The Oilers have not made the playoffs since the 2005-06 season when they lost in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals to the Carolina Hurricanes.
