GM Chiarelli not ready to call Oilers a 'front-runner'

Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli is tempering expectations heading into the new season.

His squad was recently tabbed by oddsmakers as one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup in 2018, but Chiarelli knows the roster still has some learning and growing to do, individually and as a group.

"That will be one of our biggest challenges," Chiarelli said Friday of managing the favorable forecasts, per Tim Campbell of NHL.com. "There are a lot of new experiences that these guys will face. If you look through our lineup, outside of last year, there's not a lot of playoff experience or having success as a, well, I wouldn't call us a front-runner."

Last season's goal of making the playoffs was well achieved, and the Oilers came within a win of advancing to the conference finals. The hope, then, is simply that the next step will be taken.

"So … how are we going to do this? We'll just have to work ourselves through it, a new experience, the same way as last year," Chiarelli said. "Then, our goal was to make the playoffs and when you're in the playoffs, it's a better testing ground, a better development ground for your young guys.

"So this is the next step. Hopefully it's a natural progression."

The Oilers will begin their preseason schedule Sept. 18 against Calgary.