The Edmonton Oilers were defined by hope in the 2010s. Desperate, desperate hope.
Fans' expectations were high in 2010 that top draft pick Taylor Hall was the final piece the team needed to return to the Stanley Cup playoffs and win a championship for the first time since 1990. They yearned for the same when the team drafted Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl and finally Connor McDavid to lead the team to heights long since untouched.
At the end of the decade, those same fans still wait — though the major pieces, at least, are in place.
And, as the decade wraps up with the clock striking midnight on Dec. 31, it's time to look back on the players who dominated the 2010s for the NHL's seven Canadian teams.
So, before we sing "Auld Lang Syne" and ring in a new year — and a new chapter in hockey — let's take a look at Sporting News' Edmonton Oilers all-decade team.
(All stats are through games played on Dec. 22.)
All-Decade Teams: Calgary Flames | Montreal Canadiens | Ottawa Senators | Toronto Maple Leafs | Vancouver Canucks | Winnipeg Jets
Forward: Leon Draisaitl
Why he's here: Alongside fellow all-decade member Connor McDavid, the duo ranks among the NHL's best at this point in their careers. The German native actually joined the team first — and even though he was the third-overall pick in 2014, Draisaitl's play the last two seasons must make fans happy he was not picked by the Florida Panthers or Buffalo Sabres in one of the top two spots.
The 24-year-old ranks fourth among all Oilers skaters in points (372) this decade, but like his frequent linemate McDavid, he's accomplished more than enough in six years to earn his spot on the all-decade team. Draisaitl's star exploded in 2018-19 when he put up 105 points (50 goals, 55 assists) and the team's resurgence, so far, in 2019-20 is in large part due to his efforts alongside McDavid.
By the numbers: One NHL All-Star Game. One Community Service Award.
Forward: Taylor Hall
Why he's here: Hall hasn't played for the Oilers since 2016 — he's not on the team the Oilers traded him to anymore, either — but that speaks to just how much he stood out in his time with the franchise. The first-overall pick in 2010, he was the first in a line of high-profile prospects the Oilers drafted and deemed the key to turning around the franchise's fortune this decade. The 28-year-old never saw that team-wide success play out during his stint in Edmonton, but he sure did score a lot along the way.
A native of Calgary, Hall ranks fifth among all Oilers skaters in total points (328) since the start of 2010; that he managed to do this only in the first six seasons of his career on consistently poor teams makes it all the more impressive. His 0.86 points per game in Edmonton trail only current Oilers McDavid and Draisaitl, making him the first of three great talents to play their way through the Oilers organization in the 2010s.
By the number: Four Zane Feldman Trophies. Three Molson Cups. One NHL All-Star Game. One Most Popular Oilers Player Award. NHL All-Star Game Rookie Team. Top First Year Oiler Award.
Forward: Connor McDavid
Why he's here: No other player could lead the Oilers' all-decade team onto the ice than McDavid, even if he's only played in the back half of the 2010s. Edmonton drafted McDavid — and all the lofty expectations placed upon him — with the first-overall pick in 2015. In the five years since then, the Richmond Hill, Ont. native has scored more points (433) than any other Oilers skater this entire decade. The next closest? Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (401 points), who has played in 246 more games.
McDavid also owns more assists (284) and game-winning goals (29) than any other Edmonton skater in the 2010s and he ranks first in points per game (1.33). Outside of his own franchise, the 22-year-old leads all NHL skaters in points and points per game since his rookie season — even though he missed almost half of that year.
Sure, Edmonton's captain has not exactly led the Oilers to postseason success yet, but every year he is elevating his game. Currently, No. 97 is on pace to score 128 points in 2019-20; if he keeps pace, he could come close to surpassing Nikita Kucherov's 128-point mark from last season — currently the highest scoring individual season since Mario Lemieux's 161 points in 1995-96.
By the numbers: Four Most Popular Oilers Player Awards. Three NHL All-Star Games. Three NHL First All-Star Teams. Three Zane Feldman Trophies. Three Molson Cups. Two Art Ross Trophies. Two Ted Lindsay Awards. One Hart Trophy. NHL All-Rookie Team. Top First Year Oiler Award. Calder Trophy finalist. Hart Trophy finalist.
The 2010s: Crosby named NHL Athlete of the Decade | McDavid — NHL All-Decade Team
Defense: Oscar Klefbom
Why he's here: The Oilers' 2011 first-round pick (19th overall) is the longest-turned Oiler on this list and has evolved from a blue-chip prospect to the franchise's leader on the blue line.
Klefbom's best season overall came in 2016-17 when he played all 82 games, scored 38 points (12 goals, 26 assists) and recorded only six penalty minutes the whole season, which earned him fifth place in Lady Byng Memorial Trophy voting. His 22 points through 39 games this season puts him on pace for 46 points over the course of the season, which would blow his previous career-high out of the water.
The Oilers have not been blessed with elite defensemen who make an impact immediately in their careers this decade, but Klefbom has grown into as strong as a defender as the team could have hoped for when it selected him. His contributions to the league's fifth-most effective penalty kill (83.6 percent) this season cannot be overlooked while the Swedish national is averaging over 25 minutes of ice time per game.
By the numbers: Two Oilers Best Defenceman Awards.
Defense: Darnell Nurse
Why he's here: Another home-grown first-round draft pick! Nurse, who Edmonton took seventh overall in 2013, has the highest defensive point shares rating (14.1) of any Oilers' skater over the last decade, according to Hockey Reference. By that metric, the Hamilton, Ont., product has contributed most to his team's success via his defensive play in the 2010s — and he's only 24.
The 6-4, 221-pound blueliner grew into that frame over the decade and emerged as one of Edmonton's most ferocious players — he typically throws the body well over 100 times per year. However, physical prowess doesn't define Nurse as he emerged as an efficient puck distributor from the back end in 2018-19 when he recorded a career-high 41 points. With 18 points through 39 games thus far in 2019-20, he could very well meet that mark again this season as he contributes for the Oilers at both ends and on special teams.
By the numbers: Two Oilers Defenceman of the Year Awards.
Goaltender: Cam Talbot
Why he's here: Let's get one thing straight to start: the 2010s were not a kind decade to Edmonton Oilers goaltenders — but for a few seasons, Cam Talbot stood out above the rest.
The Oilers originally acquired Talbot in a summer 2015 trade after he had two successful seasons backing up Henrik Lundqvist in New York; it suggested Talbot could cut it as a starter and he did, too. He recorded .917 and .919 save percentages in 2015-16 and 2016-17, respectively. In the latter season, Talbot started more games than any goalie in the NHL and made more saves than any netminder too, which earned him fourth place in Norris Trophy voting that summer.
His efforts contributed to the Oilers' only playoff appearance this decade in 2017, during which Talbot (13 games, .924 save percentage, 2.48 goals-against average) starred between the pipes. His performance that year included 60 saves in Game 5 of the second round, a 4-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks in overtime — but still, 60 saves kept them in it for more than long enough.
Talbot's career in Edmonton came to an end in February 2015 when he was shipped to the Philadelphia Flyers. Ultimately, the 32-year-old finished his time with the Oilers with 222 games started for the franchise and a .912 save percentage, more than any other netminder who started more than 50 games for Edmonton in the 2010s.
An honorary mention for Oilers goaltender of the decade goes to Ben Scrivens, who played two seasons with the team and set a league record with an incredible 59-save shutout over the San Jose Sharks shortly after he was acquired in January 2014.
By the numbers: One Molson Cup.
Coach: Todd McLellan
Why he's here: Edmonton employed seven head coaches (including a stint from interim coach Todd Nelson in 2014-15) in the 10 seasons between 2009-10 and 2019-20, giving Sporting News plenty of names to choose from — but in this case, it's not a good problem to have.
Since longevity and postseason success are what most often defines success in coaching, McLellan almost earns this distinction by default. The 52-year-old stood behind the Oilers' bench from the start of the 2015 season through November 2018, when he was fired and replaced by Ken Hitchcock. The Oilers made the playoffs exactly once this decade, in 2016-17; McLellan coached the team to a 47-26-9 record in which the McDavid-Draisaitl duo emerged as a potent top-line threat and Talbot impressed as a heavily-relied upon goaltender. That playoff appearance ended in the second round in a Game 7, but it's better than anything else the franchise achieved in the 2010s.