Most of the Vancouver Canucks fanbase celebrated on Thursday night when they saw their biggest rival, the Edmonton Oilers, were eliminated from the playoffs in six games by the Anaheim Ducks.

The rivalry between the Canucks and Oilers may not be as heated today as it was back when the two went toe-to-toe in the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. During that regular season, the Canucks dominated the Oilers, all starting with an 8-1 victory on home ice in the season opener. They faced off again three days later, but the result didn’t change: the Canucks won 4-3 in Edmonton. They met again under a month later, and the Canucks went on to win 6-2. To this point, the Canucks had a perfect 3-0 record against the Oilers, outscoring them 18-6. Then, with both teams fighting for the division title, the Canucks completed the season sweep with a 3-1 win in Game 80 of the regular season to secure the Pacific Division Championship.

Their playoff series was high-scoring but also showed its teeth with the physicality and hatred between the two teams. They went back and forth until Game 7, when the Oilers ultimately eliminated the Canucks by a 3-2 scoreline.

The Oilers went on to the Stanley Cup Final that season, losing in seven games to the Florida Panthers. But they made it back to the Finals the year after, with redemption on their mind against the Panthers yet again. However, the result remained the same, as the Panthers defeated the Oilers again to become back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions.

But this season, the Oilers took a noticeable step back. In what was the weakest Pacific Division we’ve seen in some time, the Oilers barely clawed their way to a second-place finish and were matched up against a young Ducks team that had very little to no playoff experience. All the hockey they’d played wound up catching up with the Oilers, as they battled injuries and were ultimately eliminated after a 5-2 loss in Game 6.

Oilers star forward Leon Draisaitl carried the team. His three goals and seven assists for 10 points currently lead the playoffs in scoring. However, Draisaitl made headlines when he met the media on Saturday morning at his end-of-season media availability, sharing that he’s developed a growing concern that the Oilers are trending in the wrong direction:

“Yes, I am concerned about that,” Draisaitl shared. “A little bit of that leads into, you know, obviously, us players. We didn’t do a good enough job of properly winning games. I don’t like using the terminology ‘taking the regular season seriously’, because we do. We go into every game, and we try to do it right. We say the right things, but I think you really have to form these moments, and we didn’t do that this year. And it ended up showing in the first round here.

“But yes, I am concerned because we’re not trending in the right direction. We’ve taken big steps backwards. We’ve got to get a grip of this and head back in the right direction.”

For the majority of the Draisaitl and Connor McDavid era in Edmonton, the Oilers have relied heavily upon them. Oftentimes, they haven’t had the necessary depth scoring you need to win. Back in 2024, Draisaitl explained that their series against the Canucks, who took them to seven games, was their hardest series they played. Draisaitl refers to that team as the best team they had over their contending window, when asked if the team needs more from players lower in their lineup to get involved:

“There’s no choice but that. The best team that we’ve had in 2024, everybody played such a major role in it. Like, that was the best team we’ve had. Everybody was so big. You know, the [Ryan] McLeod’s, the [Warren] Foegele’s, all those guys. They played such a massive role in all of it. [Vincent] Desharnais, [Cody] Ceci, all those guys. You need those guys to win. You need those guys to go deep.”

The clock is ticking. The Oilers don’t have too much time before Connor McDavid’s contract extension expires. He signed a two-year, $25 million contract, taking a pay cut to leave the front office some extra money to improve the team. Draisaitl is fully aware of the internal clock surrounding the Oilers organization with McDavid’s future after that contract is left in the air, and he doesn’t want to waste that opportunity over the next two years:

“In what world do you have the best player in the world on your team and you’re not looking to win. I know we’re looking to win, but we need to be better. We have to be better. There’s no way around it. We have to improve. He’s signed for two more years, and god knows where that goes, but we have two years here right now. As of right now, we have two years. We have to get significantly better.”

Toward the end of his availability, Draisaitl explained a bit more about previous comments where he called out the coach. But he detailed that it’s more than just the coaching staff; it’s the entire organization. “I think our group took a step back, and I think the same thing about our coaching, about our management. I think the whole organization took a step back. That needs to be fixed.”

With McDavid only signing a two-year extension, there is a mountain of pressure placed on the Oilers’ front office to build a contending team to either win with him or improve enough to make him believe and entice him to stay. But the new Oilers front-office regime has proven in their short time in Edmonton that they have only driven the team backward.

If that’s the case and they don’t win or make significant improvements over a short period, it could result in McDavid leaving. And with Draisaitl’s comments today, he certainly seems to be aware of that. And that should bring a smile to the faces of all Vancouver Canucks fans.