3 things Oilers must address before proceeding with Connor McDavid's contract renewal

The Edmonton Oilers have lost in the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back years and have had a quiet offseason.

Edmonton saw many key players leave in the offseason, while the Oilers have been relatively quiet. This upcoming season is also the final year of Connor McDavid's contract, and before he re-signs, Edmonton needs to accomplish some key things.

3 things Oilers must address before Connor McDavid extension

#1, Find a goalie

Since Edmonton drafted Connor McDavid, the Oilers haven't had a top-tier goalie, and that needs to change.

Although the Oilers got to the Cup Final in back-to-back years, Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard were both pulled during the playoff run and have struggled with inconsistency.

Adding a goalie has been something Oilers' GM Stan Bowman has said he will look at.

"Well, the evaluation isn’t something you do just once or twice and then it's over with. When I say that, it’s not just looking at the goaltending we have, but also what's out there and options," Bowman said, via NHL.com. "So it's going to be a process that we're going to go through. I don't think we're going to come to one decision tomorrow or the next day. It's really about taking in the information, and eventually, we're going to settle on the thing that we think makes the most sense.”

If the Oilers are going to get over the hump, Edmonton needs to upgrade at goalie, and that is a must before McDavid re-signs.

#2, Adding more forward depth

Edmonton is led by McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who are two of the best players in the NHL.

However, outside of those two, the Oilers need to add more secondary scoring. Edmonton has Zach Hyman, but he was injured during the playoffs, and that loss hurt the Oilers.

Edmonton needs to add more secondary scoring, as the depth scorers haven't stepped up when needed in the playoffs.

#3, Figuring out the defense

Edmonton has just three NHL defenseman under contract past this season, in Evan Bouchard, Darnell Nurse, and Ty Emberson.

Mattias Ekholm, Jake Walman, Brett Kulak, and Troy Stetcher are all pending free agents. McDavid will need to see what the blue line looks like past this season before he re-signs.