The Stanley Cup has been handed out, we’re just under two weeks out from the NHL Draft, and that gave me a minute to put a few Random Thoughts together about our beloved Edmonton Oilers. Even though it’s been months since they got knocked out of the playoffs, it’s been anything but boring around here.

This summer needs to be more boring

I don’t know how else to say it, other than this summer/offseason got weird in a hurry. The Oilers got bumped from the playoffs in the first round for the first time in years, gassed Kris Knoblauch, tried taking a swing at Bruce Cassidy and aren’t allowed, somehow ended up connected to Mike Babcock before the NHLPA asked the league to look into his exit in Columbus, and we’ve also got Darnell Nurse trade rumours spinning around as the cherry on top. That’s a lot going on for a team that we all wanted to be spending this summer making smart, quiet changes instead of making the hockey world wonder what the next insane headline is going to be.

Maybe there’s a plan in the middle of all this, and maybe we’ll look back when the season starts, and it will all make a lot more sense, but this recent run of news feels like we’re off the rails way faster than expected. The Oilers are still close enough that they don’t need to reinvent the team, which is why the noise feels so strange, given that many of the pieces are already in place. Hire the coach, sort out the Nurse situation one way or another, make some smart........

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