Welcome to Oilersnation’s annual player review series, where we dive into the Edmonton Oilers season player by player. We’ll look back at the season that was, what kind of impact each player had, and what we could see from them next season. You can read about the analytics behind my analysis here.

In early December, the Edmonton Oilers were coming apart at the seams — they couldn’t defend, they couldn’t get a save, and even Connor McDavid didn’t look much like himself.

“[We] had some looks, passed some away — myself more than anybody,” said McDavid, following a lethargic performance by his club. They had been blanked 1-0 by the Minnesota Wild, falling to 26th place in the NHL.

McDavid had 36 points through 27 games, good for fifth in league scoring, but concerning trends were taking place under the hood.

His shot attempts had fallen to just 12.3 per hour, which was the worst rate since his rookie season.

The Oilers were outscored 25-21 in his five-on-five minutes.

His usual assertiveness with the puck was practically absent.

That loss to the Wild on December 2 felt like a new low for McDavid. But it was........

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