# 2016–17 Edmonton Oilers season

The 2016–17 Edmonton Oilers season was the 38th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on June 22, 1979, and 45th season including their play in the World Hockey Association (WHA). This was the Oilers' first season of play at their new downtown arena, Rogers Place. This season also marked the end of their 11-year playoff drought after they clinched the playoffs on March 28 against the Los Angeles Kings for their first playoff appearance since 2006. This season marked the first time since the 1986–87 season that the Oilers recorded 100 points in a season.

## Regular season

The Oilers were better than the last several seasons and were compared with the 1980s dynasty. They started with a 7-2-0 record in October.

## Standings

Pacific Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | y – Anaheim Ducks | 82 | 46 | 23 | 13 | 43 | 223 | 200 | +23 | 105 |
| 2 | x – Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 47 | 26 | 9 | 43 | 247 | 212 | +35 | 103 |
| 3 | x – San Jose Sharks | 82 | 46 | 29 | 7 | 44 | 221 | 201 | +20 | 99 |
| 4 | x – Calgary Flames | 82 | 45 | 33 | 4 | 41 | 226 | 221 | +5 | 94 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 39 | 35 | 8 | 37 | 201 | 205 | −4 | 86 |
| 6 | Arizona Coyotes | 82 | 30 | 42 | 10 | 24 | 197 | 260 | −63 | 70 |
| 7 | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 30 | 43 | 9 | 26 | 182 | 243 | −61 | 69 |

## Schedule and results
### Pre-season

2016 pre-season game log :

### Regular season

2016–17 game log :

### Playoffs

2017 Stanley Cup playoffs :

## Player statistics

As of May 10, 2017

### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Connor McDavid | 82 | 30 | 70 | 100 | 27 | 26 |
| Leon Draisaitl | 82 | 29 | 48 | 77 | 7 | 20 |
| Jordan Eberle | 82 | 20 | 31 | 51 | 3 | 16 |
| Milan Lucic | 82 | 23 | 27 | 50 | −3 | 50 |
| Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | 82 | 18 | 25 | 43 | −10 | 29 |
| Patrick Maroon | 81 | 27 | 15 | 42 | 13 | 95 |
| Oscar Klefbom | 82 | 12 | 26 | 38 | 7 | 6 |
| Mark Letestu | 78 | 16 | 19 | 35 | −2 | 17 |
| Andrej Sekera | 80 | 8 | 27 | 35 | 14 | 18 |
| Zack Kassian | 79 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 4 | 101 |
| Adam Larsson | 79 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 55 |
| Drake Caggiula | 60 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 3 | 16 |
| Matt Benning | 62 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 8 | 29 |
| Benoit Pouliot | 67 | 8 | 6 | 14 | −5 | 34 |
| Kris Russell | 68 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 23 |
| Tyler Pitlick | 31 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 6 |
| Darnell Nurse | 44 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 33 |
| Anton Slepyshev | 41 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 4 |
| Jesse Puljujarvi | 28 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 10 |
| Matt Hendricks | 42 | 4 | 3 | 7 | −3 | 29 |
| Eric Gryba | 40 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −5 | 65 |
| Iiro Pakarinen | 14 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| David Desharnais$^†$ | 18 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −1 | 6 |
| Anton Lander | 22 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Mark Fayne | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Jujhar Khaira | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Brandon Davidson$^‡$ | 28 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| Dillon Simpson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jordan Oesterle | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Taylor Beck$^‡$ | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Leon Draisaitl | 13 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 19 |
| Mark Letestu | 13 | 5 | 6 | 11 | −4 | 2 |
| Connor McDavid | 13 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 2 |
| Patrick Maroon | 13 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 28 |
| Milan Lucic | 13 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −5 | 20 |
| Adam Larsson | 13 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −4 | 4 |
| Oscar Klefbom | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 0 |
| David Desharnais | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Kris Russell | 13 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | 13 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −3 | 2 |
| Zack Kassian | 13 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 27 |
| Anton Slepyshev | 12 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Drake Caggiula | 13 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 25 |
| Andrej Sekera | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 |
| Matt Benning | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| Jordan Eberle | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −6 | 2 |
| Darnell Nurse | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Griffin Reinhart | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Iiro Pakarinen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Benoit Pouliot | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 4 |
| Eric Gryba | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Cam Talbot | 73 | 73 | 4294:00 | 42 | 22 | 8 | 171 | 2.39 | 2117 | .919 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Laurent Brossoit | 8 | 4 | 332:27 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1.99 | 153 | .928 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonas Gustavsson | 7 | 5 | 328:58 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 3.10 | 122 | .878 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Cam Talbot | 13 | 13 | 799:23 | 7 | 6 | 33 | 2.48 | 437 | .924 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Laurent Brossoit | 1 | 0 | 27:08 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.42 | 8 | .750 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Oilers. Stats reflect time with the Oilers only. $^‡$Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Oilers only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record

## Awards and records
### NHL Awards

none

### Records

* 42: An Oilers record for most wins by a goaltender in a single season by Cam Talbot
   * 41: Talbot passed the 29-year-old Oilers record of 40 wins by a goaltender (Grant Fuhr) in a single season on April 6, 2017
* 73: Talbot tied the 29-year-old Oilers record of 73 games started by a goaltender (Fuhr) in a single season
Note: both of these Edmonton Oilers goaltender records still stand as of the end of the 2021–22 Edmonton Oilers season

## Milestones

Regular season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Jesse Puljujarvi | 1st NHL game 1st NHL goal 1st NHL point | October 12, 2016 |
| Milan Lucic | 400th NHL point | October 16, 2016 |
| Anton Slepyshev | 1st NHL goal | October 18, 2016 |
| Jesse Puljujarvi | 1st NHL assist | October 26, 2016 |
| Anton Lander | 200th NHL game | October 28, 2016 |
| Matt Benning | 1st NHL game | November 1, 2016 |
| Tyler Pitlick | 1st NHL assist | November 1, 2016 |
| Matt Benning | 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point | November 5, 2016 |
| Patrick Maroon | 100th NHL point | November 8, 2016 |
| Benoit Pouliot | 500th NHL game | November 13, 2016 |
| Patrick Maroon | 300th NHL PIM | November 17, 2016 |
| Drake Caggiula | 1st NHL game 1st NHL point 1st NHL assist | November 19, 2016 |
| Connor McDavid | 1st NHL hat-trick | November 19, 2016 |
| Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | 100th NHL PIM | December 1, 2016 |
| Drake Caggiula | 1st NHL goal | December 3, 2016 |
| Adam Larsson | 300th NHL game | December 3, 2016 |
| Jordan Eberle | 200th NHL assist | December 8, 2016 |
| Andrej Sekera | 200th NHL point | December 8, 2016 |
| Dillon Simpson | 1st NHL game | December 8, 2016 |
| Andrej Sekera | 600th NHL game | December 17, 2016 |
| Kris Russell | 600th NHL game | December 19, 2016 |
| Mark Letestu | 1st NHL Gordie Howe hat trick | December 21, 2016 |
| Patrick Maroon | 1st NHL hat-trick | January 5, 2017 |
| Matt Benning | 1st NHL goal | January 7, 2017 |
| Kris Russell | 200th NHL PIM | January 12, 2017 |
| Jujhar Khaira | 1st NHL goal | January 16, 2017 |
| Leon Draisaitl | 100th NHL point | January 18, 2017 |
| Connor McDavid | 100th NHL point | January 18, 2017 |
| Eric Gryba | 300th NHL PIM | January 18, 2017 |
| Laurent Brossoit | 1st NHL win | January 21, 2017 |
| Matt Hendricks | 500th NHL game | January 21, 2017 |
| Milan Lucic | 700th NHL game | February 2, 2017 |
| Connor McDavid | 100th NHL game | February 5, 2017 |
| Zack Kassian | 500th NHL PIM | February 11, 2017 |
| Matt Hendricks | 100th NHL point | February 16, 2017 |
| Mark Letestu | 100th NHL assist | February 18, 2017 |
| Darnell Nurse | 100th NHL game | March 7, 2017 |
| Zack Kassian | 300th NHL game | March 14, 2017 |
| Jordan Eberle | 500th NHL game | March 25, 2017 |
| Adam Larsson | 200th NHL PIM | March 30, 2017 |
| Milan Lucic | 3rd NHL hat-trick 2nd NHL natural hat-trick | April 6, 2017 |
| Patrick Maroon | 300th NHL game | April 6, 2017 |
| Milan Lucic | 900th NHL PIM | April 8, 2017 |
| Connor McDavid | 100th NHL assist | April 8, 2017 |
| Jordan Eberle | 2nd NHL hat-trick | April 9, 2017 |
Playoffs :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Drake Caggiula | 1st NHL playoff game | April 12, 2017 |
| Leon Draisaitl | 1st NHL playoff game | April 12, 2017 |
| Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | 1st NHL playoff game | April 12, 2017 |
| Darnell Nurse | 1st NHL playoff game | April 12, 2017 |
| Iiro Pakarinen | 1st NHL playoff game | April 12, 2017 |
| Jordan Eberle | 1st NHL playoff game 1st NHL playoff assist 1st NHL playoff point | April 12, 2017 |
| Connor McDavid | 1st NHL playoff game 1st NHL playoff assist 1st NHL playoff point | April 12, 2017 |
| Oscar Klefbom | 1st NHL playoff game 1st NHL playoff goal 1st NHL playoff point | April 12, 2017 |
| Matt Benning | 1st NHL playoff game | April 14, 2017 |
| Anton Slepyshev | 1st NHL playoff game | April 14, 2017 |
| Zack Kassian | 1st NHL playoff goal 1st NHL playoff point | April 14, 2017 |
| Patrick Maroon | 50th NHL playoff PIM | April 14, 2017 |
| Connor McDavid | 1st NHL playoff goal | April 14, 2017 |
| Darnell Nurse | 1st NHL playoff assist 1st NHL playoff point | April 14, 2017 |
| Cam Talbot | 1st NHL playoff win 1st NHL playoff shutout 1st NHL playoff assist | April 14, 2017 |
| Laurent Brossoit | 1st NHL playoff game | April 18, 2017 |
| Matt Benning | 1st NHL playoff assist 1st NHL playoff point | April 20, 2017 |
| Leon Draisaitl | 1st NHL playoff assist 1st NHL playoff point | April 20, 2017 |
| Andrej Sekera | 1st NHL playoff assist | April 20, 2017 |
| Leon Draisaitl | 1st NHL playoff goal | April 22, 2017 |
| Adam Larsson | 1st NHL playoff assist | April 22, 2017 |
| Anton Slepyshev | 1st NHL playoff goal 1st NHL playoff point | April 22, 2017 |
| Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | 1st NHL playoff assist 1st NHL playoff point | April 26, 2017 |
| Drake Caggiula | 1st NHL playoff goal | May 3, 2017 |
| David Desharnais | 50th NHL playoff game | May 7, 2017 |
| Leon Draisaitl | 1st NHL playoff hat-trick | May 7, 2017 |
| Griffin Reinhart | 1st NHL playoff assist 1st NHL playoff point | May 7, 2017 |

## Transactions

Following the end of the Oilers' 2015–16 season, and during the 2016–17 season, this team has been involved in the following transactions:

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 29, 2016 (2016-06-29) | To New Jersey Devils Taylor Hall | To Edmonton Oilers Adam Larsson |
| October 7, 2016 (2016-10-07) | To St. Louis Blues Nail Yakupov | To Edmonton Oilers Zach Pochiro 3rd-round pick in 2017 |
| February 1, 2017 (2017-02-01) | To Arizona Coyotes Mitchell Moroz | To Edmonton Oilers Henrik Samuelsson |
| February 28, 2017 (2017-02-28) | To Montreal Canadiens Brandon Davidson | To Edmonton Oilers David Desharnais |
| March 1, 2017 (2017-03-01) | To New York Rangers Taylor Beck | To Edmonton Oilers Justin Fontaine |
Player signings
DatePlayerContract terms (in U.S. dollars)Ref
May 19, 2016 (2016-05-19)Zack Kassian1 year, $1.5 million
June 17, 2016 (2016-06-17)Tyler Pitlick1 year, $725,000
June 20, 2016 (2016-06-20)Jordan Oesterle1 year, $585,000
June 27, 2016 (2016-06-27)Iiro Pakarinen1 year, $725,000
July 2, 2016 (2016-07-02)Ethan Bear3 years, $2.165 million entry-level contract
July 13, 2016 (2016-07-13)Jesse Puljujarvi3 years, $2.775 million entry-level contract
July 29, 2016 (2016-07-29)David Musil1 year, $600,000
October 11, 2016 (2016-10-11)Eric Gryba1 year, $950,000
April 7, 2017 (2017-04-07)William Lagesson3 years, $2.225 million entry-level contract
April 10, 2017 (2017-04-10)Ziyat Paigin2 years, $1.85 million entry-level contract
May 17, 2017 (2017-05-17)Dylan Wells3 years, entry-level contract
May 21, 2017 (2017-05-21)Iiro Pakarinen1 year, $725,000 contract extension :

## Draft picks

Below are the Edmonton Oilers' selections at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, to be held on June 24–25, 2016, at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 4 | Jesse Puljujarvi | Right Wing | Finland | Oulun Kärpät (Liiga) |
| 2 | 32 | Tyler Benson | Left Wing | Canada | Vancouver Giants (WHL) |
| 3 | 63 | Markus Niemelainen | Defence | Finland | Saginaw Spirit (OHL) |
| 3 | 84 | Matthew Cairns | Defence | Canada | Georgetown Raiders (OJHL) |
| 3 | 91 | Filip Berglund | Defence | Sweden | Skellefteå AIK (SuperElit) |
| 5 | 123 | Dylan Wells | Goaltender | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 5 | 149 | Graham McPhee | Left Wing | United States | U.S. National Team Development Program |
| 6 | 153 | Aapeli Rasanen | Centre | Finland | Tappara (Jr. A SM-liiga) |
| 7 | 183 | Vincent Desharnais | Defence | Canada | Providence College (NCAA) |
Notes
* The Florida Panthers' third-round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a trade on February 27, 2016, that sent Teddy Purcell to Florida in exchange for this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition – Edmonton will receive the lower of Minnesota or Florida's third-round pick in 2016 – was converted on April 24, 2016, when Minnesota was eliminated from the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs ensuring that the Florida's pick would be lower than Minnesota's.
* The Pittsburgh Penguins' third-round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a trade on February 27, 2016, that sent Justin Schultz to Pittsburgh in exchange for this pick.
* The Edmonton Oilers' fourth-round pick went to the Anaheim Ducks as the result of a trade on February 29, 2016, that sent Patrick Maroon to Edmonton in exchange for Martin Gernat and this pick.
* The St. Louis Blues' fifth-round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a trade on February 27, 2016, that sent Anders Nilsson to St. Louis in exchange for Niklas Lundstrom and this pick.