We have talked about it this summer, but I’m not sure we discussed it sufficiently. These are the Puck IQ “versus elites” numbers for Oilers defensemen during the Jay Woodcroft-Dave Manson games during 2021-22. This is pretty sexy stuff, maybe too sexy, like Elvis’ hips being so sexy the networks would only film him from the waist up in 1956 for fear of long distance preganancies.
You have to read this defensive chart from Puck IQ slowly and carefully, else you get the vapors!
Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci played the top minutes and then the other top minutes, leaving the rest of the group to (hopefully) dominate the soft parade. Evan Bouchard (10-4 goals) and Tyson Barrie (7-2) flourished in their minutes against elites, I’m not sure how much of that is luck but a good guess is the second and third pair RH blue won’t go 17-6 versus elites in a 37-game period in 2022-23.
My takeaway is the current coaching staff has some ideas about how to stack the deck again, and that’s a big damn advantage for the Edmonton Oilers. What we know already is that Brett Kulak and Philip Broberg are faster than Duncan Keith, Kris Russell and William Lagesson, so there is a transformation happening here.
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: Excerpts from “On The Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Edmonton Oilers at the NHL Draft”
- DNB: How the Oilers plan to work around the salary cap barring a trade
- Lowetide: The truth about Jesse Puljujarvi and the Edmonton Oilers
- Lowetide: Why Edmonton Oilers fans should be worried about waivers
- DNB: Jack Campbell is determined to win in Edmonton: ‘I’m ready for this’
- DNB: What I’m hearing on Oilers’ looming roster crunch, Ryan McLeod contract and more
- Lowetide: How will Oilers deploy free-agent addition Ryan Murray?
- Lowetide: Making the early call on Edmonton Oilers’ 2018 draft haul
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers’ most likely recalls from AHL Bakersfield in 2022-23
- Lowetide: Is the Edmonton Oilers’ 2022-23 lineup balanced?
- Lowetide: Oilers prospect Reid Schaefer and what math tells us about his future
- Lowetide: Oilers’ opening night roster will be influenced by salary cap, waivers
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers’ European, college and junior prospects for 2022-23
- Jonathan Willis: The Edmonton Oilers are rapidly approaching their “all-in” moment
- Lowetide: Why Oilers trading for Patrick Kane makes more sense at the deadline
- Lowetide: 9 Bold Predictions for the 2022-23 Edmonton Oilers
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers reasonable expectations for every player in 2022-23
- Lowetide: Oilers math shows 41 candidates for 23 (or fewer) jobs. Who could play where?
- Lowetide: Who will the Oilers trade for cap purposes?
- Lowetide: 5 Edmonton Oilers training camp surprises
- Lowetide: Four Oilers defence prospects applying for one job. Who wins?
- Lowetide: For Oilers forward Dylan Holloway, the future may come early
- DNB: Oilers’ Brad Holland on AGM role, analytics, working with his dad: Q&A
- Lowetide: Oilers top-20 prospects, summer 2022
PUCK IQ OILERS FORWARDS, THE WOODCROFT GAMES
This is all via Puck IQ (here) and quality information. Beyold the Woodmoney Sledgehammer!!! Jesus, Mary and Joseph he’s at 61 percent Dangerous Fenwick against elites!! Big minutes (217 minutes in 38 games) and great results (10-7 goals). Jesse Puljujarvi is right there with him, Evander Kane at about 51 percent Fenwick.
Leon Draisaitl actually played more as a percentage versus elites but it was close. The results for his line (Hyman, KY) were less impressive (41 percent DFF, 2-3 goals), I expect that second line will get a tweak from Woodcroft. The Nuge trio (Foegele, Ryan) went 40.3 percent DFF, 5-4 goals. A little luck there, not sure those two numbers land in the same spot two years in a row.
Anyway, what a delight these numbers are, I just can’t say enough good things about Woodguy, GMoney, Sean, Zsolt, dawgbone and others. Anyway, a million thanks to selfless men who are helping us understand what’s happening on NHL ice.
We can see that the Oilers (this is the entire year against all competition) does well against all opposition. Also worth noting that Tippett and Woodcroft shared the load against elites among the top two lines (not shown here but available at Puck IQ). Woodcroft and Manson changed the equation with the defensive change, a true innovation and the kind of thing Oilers fans have been hoping to have on their side for many years.
JAKE VIRTANEN
Here is Jake Virtanen in his final full and productive NHL season. Again, all competition.
Virtanen in 2019-20 isn’t in the same postal code as Puljujarvi in 2021-22. I expect Puljujarvi’s replacement, if it comes to that, will be Zach Hyman. Virtanen is the Kassian replacement, again, if it comes to that. I think we can pull back from the idea Woodcroft is going to commit coaching surrender with his roster makeup in 2022-23. He knows. That’s a big deal.
LOWETIDE AND JAMIESON
Roger Federer has announced he is going to retire, we’ll spend plenty of time on an icon who transcends the generations and authored the passing shot for the ages. Plus Oilers, Eddies, Elks and more. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter.
Sounds like Broberg/Wanner will be a pair tomorrow night.
This is interesting cause, uh, the list of what’s left is very short at this point.
UFA forwards who haven’t already signed a PTO with another team (ranked by points last season):
Sonny Milano-34 (surely he’s got real contract offers on the table?)
Tyler Ennis-24
Brian Boyle-21
Alex Galchenyuk-21
Loui Eriksson-19
Tyler Bozak-12
Joe Thornton-10
Antoine Roussel-8
Brad Richardson-8
Brandon Perlini-5
Brett Ritchie-4
Jay Beagle-2
(No one else played even 10 games)
Slim pickings.
I guess the upside of the Demers PTO is that he can attend camp and the duration of the PTO can extend past the opening day and his contract status (no contract) won’t have to be factored into the opening day roster construction/salary cap
If Holland makes a trade (Barrie) in the first couple of weeks of the season Demers will be with the team and can step in on short notice(assuming he can still play)
I don’t think Holland will trade Barrie, but he might
I’d feel ALOT more comfortable if is was Subban, as opposed to Demers. Subban would be a big downgrade from Barrie but I have alot more faith that he can handle 3RD than Demers at this point.
I agree about Subban but all of Kulak, Broberg, and Murray have played RD
If all 6 are healthy Woody might run 4LD and 2RD (pairings TBD) and Demers would watch from the pressbox some nights
I think Holland may view him more as a 7D or 8D rather than a 3RD
I think there’s a decent chance he ends up as 8D, but stashed in Bakersfield.
Yeah, I can see that as well – and Demers would understand his role – the press box/AHL is part of the deal
He’s the “in case of emergency, break glass” option
I think there’s a better chance that the next time PK Subban is seen in an NHL rink, it’ll be in a broadcast studio rather than on the ice. PK’s made a ton of money … he’s not coming back and risking his health and lifestyle (e.g. hanging out courtside with Ben Simmons at the US open last week) for league minimum.
I agree with that as well, and that’s (probably) why Demers (not Subban) will be in camp next week
Well, from accounts, he is still wanting to play…….
OP – he might be still wanting to play … but only on his terms. I’ll be surprised if he does so on a PTO or for league minimum, where he has to earn his ice for the first time since he was a rookie, when he can get paid more to join the broadcast team at ESPN. With PK it’s always been about his brand. He’s not a Eric Staal or Jumbo Joe or Spezza … guys that are just happy to still be in the show. He’s got interests outside of hockey. It’ll take a deal worth north of 2 million to get him to sign.
Broberg hasn’t played it in the NHL (well, for more than a few shifts) and said just yesterday he’s more comfortable on the left side. I think he’ll get reps on the right side in exhibition but it might be a bit unfair to the kid trying to make the NHL to ask him to do it in a position he’s not as comfortable in, right?
I’m not sure how much Kulak has played the right side but, for now, he’s kind of an important piece on the left side.
Murray has NHL experience on the right side and I think he’d to the top option as an injury fill in but I’m sure none of us want Murray as the leading 3RD heading in to the season, right?
My original point was a Demers PTO can give Holland some flexibility into the first week or two of the season if an in-season trade of Barrie is necessary
Barrie would start the season as 3RD (until he was traded)
We all want “sticks on the boards” wrt right/left shots, but NHL teams have survived without it
And maybe an in-season trade of Barrie frees up the cap space to acquire a 3RD (with a right handed shot) in another transaction
My friend’s uncle has a buddy who knows the sister of a neighbour of Holland’s paperboy and he said that he heard Holland on his phone talking to another GM about one of the players possibly being traded, but he wasn’t sure if that would happen today, next week, in 3 months or maybe on the 2nd Tuesday in March 2024.
Just thought it was interesting insider info that everyone would want to know, you know?
You’re considered an ‘insider’ now. Get ready for the offers to pour in from TSN and Sportsnet.
According to Spec, Duncan Keith is joining the Oilers player development department.
This is good news, he’ll be a valuable asset & contributor. Solid history of defensive skill to coach with and tons of winning experience.
I wonder what they’re paying him – about 1.3m? 🙂
If this was on Holland’s radar and factored into the return in trade, kudos to him.
Ya, I mentioned this event a bit earlier – what a thrill its going to be for many of those kids, I’m sure.
I think I read today that Keith is officially being hired as a development coach – or “signing on as….”.
I don’t imagine his comp is anywhere near $1.3MM – the league does look in stuff like this to ensure there is no cap circumvention – I don’t think his comp will be anywhere near the $1.5MM he gave up on his contract.
Could it be that Keith did the math and he’s ready for the next chapter in his life and Holland is setting him up for it.
I have no idea what Keith and Ken have talked about – all i know is that players with sizeable cap hits that retire are not permitted to take bloated salaries for “organizational positions” off the ice – this is something the league would look in to and have a big issue with.
Life choices aren’t always about money.
Even though he was as an Oiler for a short time it’s a good decision
A great guy as a mentor and a draw
Culture
How did Tullio slip to the 5th round?
66 points in 62 games in the O in his draft year
Plus he’s got that dawg in him
Size and lack of speed and perhaps politics (son of the owner of the Oshawa Generals) possibly somehow got mixed in there (pure speculation) but perhaps many viewed him as getting favourable ice time and therefore his production was seen differently?
I am aware how politics/favouritism or that perception can really warp and twist some normally reasonable peoples’ attitude within the context of organized sports.
That is the first I have ever heard of his Father’s position. Did not know that. Thank you.
Kings now $496K under the cap
Kings sign Sean Durzi…2X$1.7 million
Phew…was worried he wouldnt be available to get walked by McDavid again and again.
whats the scoop on viewing the Penticton series…Oil Network or Online at Oilers.ca ?
Friday: Winnipeg Jets (Sept. 16, 5:00pm MT),
Saturday: Calgary Flames (Sept. 17, 8:30pm MT)
Monday: Vancouver Canucks (Sept. 19, 3:30pm MT).
All 3 games will be streamed on edmontonoilers.com
All the other teams will be doing the same thing, if you have issues with the Oilers site.
Doesn’t sound like Holland is planning on trading Jesse for picks:
SN — When the summer started, you were asked where Jesse Puljujarvi fit in. You replied, “I gotta figure that out.” What did you figure out, that Puljujarvi is still an Oiler?
KH — “What I did in the offseason was, I talked to a lot of people at the draft about lots of our players. Lots of lots of ideas. I Jesse’s name came up a lot. But ultimately, nothing made sense that I thought would make us better because we’re in the position right now. The core of our team are in their prime, so I’m making decisions to win now. I’m not looking to trade players for draft picks.
“I’m not sure where he fits. Is he a Top 6? Is he going to be in the Bottom 6? That’s a good thing, because I think our team is deeper and more competitive than it was last year. Let’s see where the dust settles here in the next month.”
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/im-never-relaxed-a-qa-with-oilers-gm-ken-holland/
Kiss of death.
To the various posts:
1) Per Nugent-Bowman, the rookie/prospects clan have been invited for dinner at Duncan Keith’s house. That must be a THRILL for many of them. Wow.
2) I think K. Holland values Jesse and has so since he arrived – he’s never agreed to move him for less than real value and still hasn’t. We know B. Holland values the numbers attributed to Jesse. Something has to give with cap out (I think) and it may be Jesse out and I don’t think its something the org wants to do and are trying not to.
3) Kulak is indeed a risk to cover 2LD but its a reasonable bet. He does certain things better than Keith was able to last season such as defend zone entires. Philip Broberg is real and he’s substantial. He’s coming and he will be a lock for top 4 LD in time – I don’t know how much time that may be but there is a non-zero chance its within the net 6 months (no lock). Ryan Murray is also another solid d-man when healthy (which he is now). There are options behind Kulak but no locks.
Thank goodness Darnell Nurse is such a beat of a 1LD.
4) I appreciate the informed response but it doesn’t sway me from opining that Darnell Nurse has been a massive piece of the team’s success for years now and, its not just that he’s played so many minutes and so many top comp minutes, but he’s played those first pairing minutes with “non 1st pairing partners”, almost exclusively. Yes, McDavid minutes help but this player defends on an elite level off the rush and can be high end in the defensive zone structure game as well
5) Jesse thinks he is a top 6 player and wants to play in the top 6. Well, on this team, he is absolutely a top 6 winger and should play in the top 6. As per my stand-alone post, both Yamamoto and Jesse are top 6 tweeners as far as individual production but both likely will get better in this area (and have shown stretches of solid production – early 2020 for Yamo for 3 months and the first two months of last season for Jesse) and they both have various other positive attributes, as written about in that post. Jesse is a high top 6 option on this current roster and him wanting to play in the top 6 should not be creating any disconnect.
6) Would much rather have Subban at camp than Demers but no biggie – not sure there is “room for Subban” unless a RD is moved which isn’t likely to happen. Don’t see Demers earning a contract but we’ll see how it goes.
6) Im not fond of having Subban at all. We have a strong core now, they own the room. To come in as a vet I think a modest approach would be welcome. Subban is anything but modest.
Previously, everybody puts up with him as he contributed to winning. Now, not so much.
3) I’m very happy they retained Kulak. I think he was excellent down the stretch last year.
He was slow to develop with Calgary so they shipped him out. With Montreal he had several good d men in front of him but he learned from Weber and experienced that Stanley Cup run. I think he is underestimated. Not a big hitter but he is one of the best on the Oil in protecting the front of the net. Hes quick. I think he will suprise ala Ceci.
Finally, that is an awesome nugget of info about the invite put out by Duncan Keith. Very cool.
I don’t disagree with your point on Subban but I personally wouldn’t be all that concerned about it. Yes, he’s a personality but I think he’s matured quite a bit and, at this point, wants to win that cup – I think he’d do what it takes to fit in and win – I think.
Kulak was indeed excellent and I’m also happy to have him back. He was pretty sheltered with quality of comp, generally, but did fine when asked to step up. Now, over 82 games is an entirely difference question though.
About an hour ago i heard Coach Woodcroft of Oilers Now fully and completely throw his arms around Jessie Puljujarvi.
This is a good coach. Regardless of noise, he fully supports his players. Jessie is skating well, a great person, engaged in tactical discussions, looking forward to the season.
Been saying all summer long … ignore the noise from the MSM who are just trying to create headlines … Jesse is not going anywhere until Holland can extract fair value for him in a trade.
.
Point taken.
Just read Staples’ article regarding Desharnais and in it he used a mistaken nickname “Sea Monster” which was in a “9 Things Article” by Leavins in the summer, but shortly after was edited out in the current article.
For the record, his nickname was given to him by Dave Manson and it is “Sea Weed” because he takes up so much space and just “hangs there”.
When Brad Malone was on IR for several weeks 2 seasons ago he worked as the colour commentator on Condors broadcasts with Ryan Holty, and he provided this tidbit.
Bruce, can you pass this on, or maybe LT can ask DNB to confirm. Isn’t this EXACTLY the hard-hitting in depth information that all Lowetiders should know about their depth players?
If I am mistaken, by all means please let me know. It was such a unique (and hilariously appropriate handle) story that it is burned into my neurons, lol.
I like the Sea Weed
I’m just here to kelp…
Looking forward to the Young Stars tournament – we are flying in Friday and have a hotel walking distance to the South Ok. are other Lowetiders heading to Penticton?
Yes, driving to Vernon tomorrow from Nelson. Catching the Saturday game vs Flames. I’ve been an Oiler fan since the late 90’s and currently reside near Winnipeg.
Looking forward to watching elite snipers such as Savoie, Petrov, and Bourgault.
Oilers bring in Jason Demerara on a PTO…. Huh…didn’t see that coming, but not a bad thing
Sweet!
Hope he’s not a LEMON and brings a lot of HART!
Stauff projecting some pairs for this weekend:
Holloway/ Bourgault
Savoie/Schaefer
Philp/Petrov
Also, Woody was on with Dusty this morning (solid listen) and will be on with Stauff at 1235. Tyler Wright will be on at 135. Stauff projecting some pairs for this weekend:
Holloway/ Bourgault
Savoie/Schaefer
Philp/Petrov
Also, Woody was on with Dusty this morning (solid listen) and will be on with Stauff at 1235. Tyler Wright will be on at 135.
————
Witv Dusty, Woody talked a lot about “defending in the offensive zone”, defending lines and organized back checking.
—————-
Stauff also says the Oilers have met with Virtanen and have been out to watch his skate. At this point, he thinks he’s likely to join the flames.
Oilers WILL a vet PTO winger at camp.
1) Darnell Nurse is a stud and has been for years. What he did last year, in the league’s toughest minutes, was sensational and under-stated.
What Nurse has done over the last few years, being the team’s top d-man, playing big and tough minutes (and being hugely durable) with a revolving doors of “not 1st pairing partners” in Bear, Barrie, Bouchard, Ceci, etc. is sensational.
What an important part of this team.
2) Jesse doesn’t produce enough individually playing with the best players in the world. Well, sure. Of course, he produces at a higher PPG and P/60 rate then Yamamoto who also plays with the best players in the world, sometimes 2 at once time.
Both are tweener top 6 producers. Kailer kills penalties in a depth role and draws penalties (and takes penalties). Jesse seems to help drive goal share, mainly helping reduce goals against (in various ways that match the eye test). Both players can cause chaos in the offensive zone. Jesse is a load in front of the net.
Both player can be better at producing individually, and probably will be.
3) Those numbers on Hyman kind of line up with the fact that he was -7 goals at 5 on 5 last season. I’m not sure why or what happened – its not something that was a hold-over from Toronto where he had been positive.
I agree with everything you say here. Why we bitch and complain and mostly just make shit up about these two fine players amazes me. We did the same shit with Hemsky. I just appreciate them and let the coaches figure it out. They know better than any of us on here!
Nurse is part of the Core and he’s also being nicely paid for it. Most people wish he was locked up for a couple million less but Nurse bet on himself with the last contract and again he is rewarded for it. I like Nurse’s game a lot but his greatest Value might be when Leon is due for a new contract in 2 years ( 1year early) add in RNH Hyman Campbell and this might be just enough that Leon doesn’t break-up the Band. If Leon signs I’m 77% sure McDavid will sign the following year
This is all part of the plan yup. If you read the Pens articles about the Crosby, Gino, Letang brotherhood its important to get this built. Those guys went a long time in between Cups but stuck it out and look like they’ll ride the whole thing out together. That’s the dream right there.
I’m believing more and more that its going to happen that way. That performance last year was on a different level. They’ll be hungry, they’ll want more and they can see the scoring tables, annual or career, as well as the rest of us. Something special is cooking.
I believe this is over the publication timeline but picked up a nice nugget from the Captain the other day in a TSN article.
“I think it’s turning more into a culture,” McDavid said. “Every season, a team seems to catch fire and that’s their year and it kind of fizzles out. I think we’re building a culture here in Edmonton and it translates from year to year. It’s the same core guys every year that are setting the tempo and pace and kind of leading the way.
Hi Grandma!
Talk at you again tomorrow 🥰🥰
Yes, Nurse was battling an injury to his core. Oh wait – thats not what you said
Tier 4A.
18 D ranked higher.
https://theathletic.com/3590441/2022/09/15/nhl-player-rankings-connor-mcdavid/
Your obsession with Puhljujarvi is reaching manic proportions.
He is massive draft fiasco.
He cannot contribute any real offense even while playing with the best offensive players in the world.
Watch a game occasionally instead of believing in statistical inference as equivalent to truth and reality .
Hi Verdad!
Your obsession with Nurse, Holland, Puljujarvi and LT is reaching manic proportions.
You is massive comment fiasco.
You cannot contribute any real discussion even while commenting with the best Oiler commenters in the world.
Read, comprehend and contribute to the blog occasionally instead of presenting nonsense as equivalent to truth and reality .
Look at sustance.
Puhljujarvi is a drafting fiasco
Nurse is a cap fiasco.
I have looked at sustance:
1a : means of support, maintenance, or subsistence : living. b : food, provisions also : nourishment.
And I don’t see how that clarifies your position of Puljujarvi being a “drafting fiasco” or Nurse being a “cap fiasco”
To echo another poster from the other day, you’re to be commended for already being in mid-season form.
Just wondering:
1) Did you mean ‘sustenance’ or perhaps ‘substance’?
2) Oxford defines ‘fiasco’ as ‘a thing that is a complete failure, especially in a ludicrous or humiliating way’. Is this what you believe, or is this intended as hyperbole?
Accuracy should matter, so there is no “h” in his name. Also, he has played in 259 NHL games.
The following are the other Draft numbers from the same Draft and their total number of Regular Season NHL Games Played:
1-407
2-407
3-361
4-259
5-41
6-431
7-360
8-84
9-362
10-342
JP is one of 14 players to have played at least 250 NHL games from that Draft Class. He has also played quite a bit of time in the top 6. When he does not score, he still contributes positively.
Nail Yakupov and Griffen Reinhart have been out of the NHL for several years. THEY were actual drafting fiascos.
Hi again verdad!
Oh sweet summer child. Mom is calling; time for you to go home and have those cookies and milk, and mom will let you know that you’re her special boy, because you are champ! That big bad Pulju won’t scare you, buddy! Rest easy; Lunchables tomorrow if you’re a good boy!
I’m no tennis fan, but the greatest piece of sports writing not found under a Lowetide or Gzowski byline came from David Foster Wallace, and his incredible Roger Federer as Religious Experience. It’s worth taking the time to read in its entirety*, here are some choice quotes, many of which you could apply to McDavid today:
“Beauty is not the goal of competitive sports, but high-level sports are a prime venue for the expression of human beauty. The relation is roughly that of courage to war.”
“A top athlete’s beauty is next to impossible to describe directly. Or to evoke. Federer’s forehand is a great liquid whip, his backhand a one-hander that he can drive flat, load with topspin, or slice — the slice with such snap that the ball turns shapes in the air and skids on the grass to maybe ankle height.”
“Kinesthetic virtuoso or no, Roger Federer is now dominating the largest, strongest, fittest, best-trained and -coached field of male pros who’ve ever existed, with everyone using a kind of nuclear racket that’s said to have made the finer calibrations of kinesthetic sense irrelevant, like trying to whistle Mozart during a Metallica concert.”
*Including the footnotes, that’s where DFW always put his best stuff, viz., “(14) Formwise, with his whippy forehand, lethal one-hander, and merciless treatment of short balls, Lendl somewhat anticipated Federer. But the Czech was also stiff, cold, and brutal; his game was awesome but not beautiful. (My college doubles partner used to describe watching Lendl as like getting to see “Triumph of the Will” in 3-D.)”
Time to reread Infinite Jest.
Was this a part of his book of essays? There were many on tennis but not sure I recall the Federer one. That book also had perhaps the single greatest title in literary history, based on the main essay about his experience on a cruise ship: A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again.
You can find this one either on the link above (NYT article), or bound in Both Flesh and Not: Essays, which I recommend you buy right after you purchase LT’s book.
However! If you really want to dig into DFW’s best non-fiction (and here you may reasonably argue for several pieces, including the math one I really didn’t understand at all), I would go with Authority and American Usage, which you can find in Consider the Lobster. It was originally published as Tense Present in Harpers (that’s the PDF). It’s ostensibly a review of a number of dictionaries-no, wait, don’t scroll down-it’s really a tour de force on language usage.
Here’s a fun quote: “…there are uncountably many well-formed ways to say the same basic thing, from e.g. “I was attacked by a bear!” to “Goddamn bear tried to kill me!” to “That ursine juggernaut bethought to sup upon my person!” and so on.”
And then of course there is his magisterial Kenyon College convocation address, which was made into a small book called This Is Water, or which you could simply listen to online. Really powerful.
I am a fan of JP. But there are circumstances where a player and/or agent believe they should be placed in a different position within the team. Either higher up the lineup or on the PP or centre versus wing i.e. Cogliano
There is some insider evidence that this is driving the JP disconnect
The RW’s on this club are Puljujarvi, Yamamoto and Derek Ryan. If JP wants a top-6 job there’s no better place in the league to be. It’s his for the taking.
I really appreciate all your work behind the scenes and your amazing posts every day. I can’t stomach the endless drivel from the other Oilers media that would make one think Puljujarvi was traded a year ago. I trust Woodcroft and Manson have quite a bit of say in what they need/want in their roster. For the first time in many years I am excited about a season and feel like the the Oilers are a legitimate contender now. Especially if they can add a piece or two at the deadline and the rookies surprise pleasantly:)
OP is getting caught up in TOI vs Elites, Middles and Gritensity. Those are relative metrics now that the Oilers are a damn good hockey club.
Think back to all those DoD years with Getzlaf or Backes pushing around the Oil Elites in Hall, Baby Nuge and Eberle. How tuckered out where they on those shifts? How tuckered out were the defense on those shifts?
Shoe is on the other foot now so each set of TOI needs to be contrasted with Opponent, not all TOI is equal and won’t be for a large chunk of teams the Oilers play repeatedly. Coaches of course will play their bit with TOI in-game but even then we need to keep opponent in mind.
No you would not want to run CmD/Leon or Nurse/Ceci ragged against the Avs for 82 games a year but that’s not who they are playing. Most Pacific teams aren’t great. Most Western Conference teams for that matter aren’t great, aren’t that fast and if they are fast aren’t big.
This team is the goods and will be able to play shorthanded if they need to. Selling low on JP to pull back McLeon’s ice time is not conducive to success. It would be the anti-Holland so far.
I hope the media portrayal of us as a 2 player team continues. Hides your point exactly, this is a damn good hockey team.
What I find funny is the narrative that we’re not deep enough to be winning the cup because in the playoffs the top lines usually saw off. But that’s the thing isn’t it? If your top line is winning the battle in the playoffs, which ours mostly can as LT pointed out above and we saw for a nice stretch of the postseason, isn’t that a good thing?
Just because our top 2 players can beat even the best of the best handily on almost any night, that makes the rest of the team somehow poor in comparison? For quite some time that was true, but as the numbers point out now, it looks like the shadow 97 and 29 cast is so large even highly effective NHL players get dwarfed in comparison.
Good problem to have imo, let the narrative ride.
What we know already is that Brett Kulak and Philip Broberg are faster than Duncan Keith, Kris Russell and William Lagesson, so there is a transformation happening here.
Caleb Jones is faster than Keith as well … Keith covered the 2LHD very well last year. We all hope Kulak is ready for the promotion …this is a huge hole if Kulak is a just very good 3LHD
People can surprise, but nothing we’ve seen leads me to doubt Kulak. I feel the qualifiers and hypotheticals around his stepping up, or not, are being overstated.
By the end of last year the Oilers had a good 1st pair and two 2A/2B pairs. Keith/Kulak/Barrie were NHL players and Bouchard as the rookie filled the role adequately.
The question isn’t necessarily whether Kulak can step up, but rather if Broberg / Murray can be at least a 2B pair that does not need sheltering or be an obvious weakness 25% of the game (say, 15min TOI).
If Broberg the rookie beats out Murray for the 3rd LD job, at least in the beginning one probably won’t want to pair him with Bouchard the sophomore nor Barrie the chaotic offensive D. This leaves Ceci, and the question becomes whether Barrie/Bouchard can replace Ceci in the 1st pair role with Nurse.
The other 3LHD option is Murray, who is at least a veteran NHL. He might be steady enough to better complement either Barrie or Bouchard in a 2B pair role, but is anyone really getting exited over that prospect?
Manson is going to have a full training camp with his D and Goaltenders. I’m really looking forward to his strategy on minutes, D combinations and who’s the odd man out for that particular game.
I think you’re spot on. Woodcroft and Mansun know their players and how to deploy them.
What impresses me most about them is their willingness to adapt as required. There is no panic to their methodology and they have player buy-in..which is uber important.
Morning small rant: Every number screams Jesse helps.
If Brad Holland is who we think he is, he would not allow pops to give up this player for less than full value. If the Oilers had an extensive analytic department and were making that decision, I’d be more comfortable because it may lean towards them valuing other numbers we may not know. They don’t, so I’m not comfortable.
Since Holland took over, there have been significantly less moves made that would make one think the Oilers are making decisions based on things other than winning. This feels like a Nadir’s Raiders move if it comes to pass. Get good players keep good players. At that $ number, you keep the player.
Feel like this has to be agent driven as JP looks like a very happy guy (speculating on body language alert).
Credit to Holland, he’s a patient man to a fault, very becoming of the job.
I, concur.