Edmonton Oilers' Early-Season Grade

The Edmonton Oilers‘ 2014-15 season has been an unmitigated disaster. Edmonton has dropped ten games in a row and still hasn’t picked up two points against a single intraconference opponent all year long, owning an abysmal 0-12-3 record against the West.

As is perennially the case for the Oilers, the defense and goaltending are both appallingly bad. Edmonton doesn’t have anything resembling a first-pairing defenseman on its roster. The supposed future of its blue line, Justin Schultz, is heading backwards in his development. It doesn’t get any prettier in net, where the duo of Ben Scrivens and Viktor Fasth are on track to become one of the worst goaltending duos (statistically speaking) in league history.

Still, it’s not fair to toss too much blame the goalies’ way. Neither Scrivens nor Fasth is ideal starting material, but they’re certainly quality NHL backups. The ineptitude of the team defense in front of them cannot be understated; it is rare to see a team bleed scoring chances to the degree Edmonton does. A fire drill ensues every time the puck enters the Oilers’ defensive zone. It would be comical if it wasn’t so routine for this team.

That Edmonton is still chugging along with the same awful coaching staff and general manager is absolutely mystifying. Jordan Eberle should have been traded years ago, and Nail Yakupov is looking more and more like a bust. This year has brought nothing but further misery to the Oilers faithful, and the future’s not looking any better. An F is the only appropriate grade for the tire fire that has been Edmonton’s 2014-15 season.

Sean Sarcu is a Chicago Blackhawks writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter or add him to your network on Google.