Edmonton Oilers Ranked as the Top Team in the NHL in an Unexpected Category

Over the past two years, the Edmonton Oilers have fallen short of the Stanley Cup at the final hurdle, with many question marks over this roster and whether or not they can get it done.

The biggest question mark is goaltending, but beyond that, this blue line simply hasn't been as good as the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Finals, and it's come back to haunt them in back-to-back seasons.

Now, during his recent podcast appearance with Spittin' Chiclets, Oilers report Bob Stauffer brought up a piece from The Athletic, one that contradicts this idea in a big way.

According to Stauffer, the Oilers top-four was ranked as the best in the entire National Hockey League, with the pairings of Ekholm-Bouchard and Nuse-Walman the players that featured on the list to rank them the best in the league.

While people have opinions and can use different data points to back that up, simply put, the Oilers top-four isn't the best in the league, as Darnell Nurse's contract has been deemed one of the worst in the NHL after his play has taken a major step back in recent years.

On top of that, Bouchard is highly inconsistent on the defensive end, and while they're a solid defensive group, to call them the best in the NHL is a stretch.

Ultimately though, the Oilers have a massive season ahead of them to prove it, and while Walman has been out injured early in the year, when healthy, they've got the chance to do something very special this season.