For Ken Holland, the honeymoon period with Edmonton Oilers fans could last for years, but the first big trade will be scrutinized 24-7 for weeks. A fan base that has endured some truly noxious deals in recent Junes will be looking for a fair deal in 2019. It would be a very good time for a home run.
THE ATHLETIC!
The Athletic Edmonton features a fabulous cluster of stories (some linked below, some on the site). Great perspective from a ridiculous group of writers and analysts. Proud to be part of the group. INSANE OFFER IS HERE!
- New Lowetide: What kind of coach should Ken Holland hire for the Oilers?
- New Jonathan Willis: Every Oilers AHL prospect, rated by how close they are to the NHL
- New Jonathan Willis: A resurgent Andrej Sekera gives the Oilers much-needed defensive options
- New Lowetide: Is Joe Gambardella destined to become the Oilers’ next Fernando Pisani?
- New Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Protector, supporter, confidant: Connor McDavid’s mom, Kelly, is his off-ice rock through good times and bad
- Lowetide: An offseason plan for Ken Holland to remodel the Oilers roster.
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Ken Holland steadfast that buck stops with him as new Oilers GM.
- Lowetide: How will Ken Holland proceed in Year 1 as Oilers general manager?
- Jonathan Willis: What does the arrival of Ken Holland mean for the Oilers coaching search?
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Prioritizing the roster issues that await Ken Holland in Edmonton.
- Lowetide: Ken Holland’s procurement list for his rumored move to Edmonton will include front-office personnel
- Jonathan Willis: A Milan Lucic trade is at the top of the to-do list for the Oilers’ next GM.
HOLLAND’S DRAFT
First Round—No. 8 overall—RC Kirby Dach. He’s 6.03, 200 and has all kinds of skill. Compared to Ryan Johansen in terms of style. His boxcars aren’t stunning, I think the Oilers will probably be getting a more physical Nuge. That’s almost all good, but one does wonder about the 5-on-5 scoring future for this player. At 5-on-5 this season, Dach went 62, 20-22-42 (.677), while Nuge posted 69, 19-25-44 (.638) in the same discipline in his draft year. He would be my choice at No. 8 (I have him No. 6) assuming the scouting staff plans of passing on Kaliyev.
Does that sound better than Peyton Krebs? His offense at 5-on-5 (64, 10-29-39 .609) came while playing for a ghastly Kootenay Ice team. I think Holland would want Turcotte if he’s still on the board, but that is unlikely.
What about a trade? I think Holland waits for the first seven selections and then lingers to see if the phone rings. If he can improve his team by trading the first round pick, I bet he does it. The return would have to be a good NHL player and young enough to hang around for several seasons.
Second Round—No. 38 overall—LW, RW Samuel Fagemo. He’s a sniper who fell through the draft a year ago, but for Holland this is exactly the kind of player the Oilers need to be drafting. He scored 14 goals in 42 SHL games, playing 13:54 and getting 109 shots on goal. He turned 19 in March, another year in the SHL would seem the reasonable course.
Third Round—No. 85 overall—LC Luka Burzan. Undersized WHL center with good speed and skill, like Fagemo he’s an overager. His speed works on offense and defense and he’s a smart, creative player.
Fourth Round—No. 100 overall—LD Warren Marshall, USNDTP. Edmonton has been shopping the development team for several years now, Marshall is an excellent skater whose skills are perfectly suited to the modern transition game. Smart player.
Sixth Round—No. 162 overall—R Wiljami Myllylä, HIFK (Jr Liiga). Speed demon, has been posting gaudy scoring numbers for several years.
Seventh Round—No. 193 overall—LC Linus Nassen, Frolunda (SHL). Solid two-way player who plays a strong checking style.
2019 TOUCH LIST
I’m going to post five names per league every day this week, today is the USHL. The following players are outside the Central Scouting Top 150 NA list, the top 10 NA goalie list, the top 75 Euro list and the top 10 Euro goalie list. They may not be drafted but there’s something about them worth mentioning.
LC Brendan Budy is a speedy playmaker who posted 11-20-31 in 31 games for Tri-City. He’s a small forward (5.10, 180) and is a June 2000. Impressive passer, great on the back hand.
G Isiah Saville. He’s a September 2000, meaning one of the older first time eligibles. He performed well for Tri City (34, .925) and was solid in the NAHL in 2017-18. He’s 6.01, 194.
F Danny Weight. Doug’s boy went 23, 8-7-15 with the National Team in the USHL this season. He plays the wing, is 6 feet and has great hands. Foot speed gets mentioned, he was buried on the USNDTP roster and that may mean he’ll spike next season in Penticton.
RC Jaxon Nelson scored 52, 19-21-40 for Omaha Lancers and is a 2000. He’s a big player (6.04, 207) and has good offense for this level. He might carve out a Chris VandeVelde future.
LW Trevor Kuntar isn’t famous but as a June 2001 who scored 61, 19-17-36 for the Youngstown Phantoms he’s worth a conversation. Smart player, good passer and he has some finish.
MacTavish may flourish in the KHL and return to the NHL in a couple of years as an attractive coaching option. I imagine that’s the plan. Although I was not a fan of much of his work in the GM chair, he was open to analytics and for me was a tremendous coach. This move may mark a return to his strengths. I wish him all the best.
HOLLAND’S TO-DO LIST
When Holland’s name came into view, I listed my views on what his priorities for the summer should be. My list went like this:
*Two scoring wingers
*Cap room
*No. 3 RH center
*Top 4 RHD who can move the puck
*Backup goalie
Now that he’s here and has been interviewed a few dozen times, I think the tea leaves tell a different story about Holland’s priorities:
*Find a specific coach—The names I’m reading represent a specific type of coach, someone who would rather explain than turn the air blue. After a long period of red ass coaches, a communicator like Dave Tippett or Todd Nelson seems to be the priority.
*Offload Milan Lucic—Again tea leaves, but bits and bites of info have the team making this a priority before Holland arrived, and it’s possible that continues. If there is a market for Lucic, make it so. The only question I have is what kind(s) of sweetener are involved. Retained? How much? A prospect as sweetener? Depends on the player. The trio of Caleb Jones, William Lagesson and Ethan Bear will be waiver eligible a year from now and defense is an area of strength. Perhaps one of them will be the sweetener (although Jones should be off limits).
*Find a starting goalie—This is a known priority and makes sense. I think Koskinen can help and perhaps carry a team for a time, but you want the second goalie to be capable of same. Brian Elliott is my choice, you may have another, Ken Holland would no doubt know a lot about some of these names (Petr Mrazek). It’s been some time since the Oilers had a goalie who stole multiple games in a season (Cam Talbot, 2016-17).
*Add forwards who can multi-task—I think the fourth line will be full of penalty killers and Holland will upgrade on Brodziak with a faster Brodziak. Edmonton needs those skill wingers, but suppression should also be a a big part of summer.
MACT
On April 10, 2009, in the hours before MacT walked as coach of the Oilers, I wrote the following:
If Craig MacTavish were a songwriter he’d be Pete Townshend. Clearly smarter than the other brains of his generation (Lennon, for one), with a mind that enjoys the questions as much as the answers. Some of his seasons have been massive highs and terrible lows (Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy), 2005-06 was clearly “Who’s Next” and this past season was probably “The Who By Numbers.” One of the songs from that album is called “Slip Kid” and includes the line “Slip kid, slip kid, second generation, You’re slidin down the hill like me, No easy way to be free.”
Which is where I think Craig MacTavish is right now. The things he knows to be true appear to have failed him this season, to the point where he (according to the Journal today) will resign on Sunday.
I’ll be interested to see where he lands. His main strengths (even strength hockey, with his best teams also PK demons) will no doubt get the desired results in his new town. The new GM should make sure there are enough veterans, that there is balance on the roster and that development doesn’t become the main goal of a season.
I think that’s the lesson for Craig MacTavish post-2006: there is a point when juggling kids becomes impossible because there aren’t enough actual NHL players to bail them out while they learn on the job.
Balance. Veterans. It’s been awhile since Craig MacTavish had those things. And if clarity is a strength of Craig MacTavish (and it most certainly is), then is it also a strength of this organization?
We’ll see. Should MacT resign on Sunday the Oilers need to find a replacement in the next 8 weeks or so. One would hope they have a list of requirements and perhaps an early draft of the people they’d like to talk to in the next couple of weeks.
Do we think that’s the case? Based on how quickly this thing fell apart and the verbal from management and ownership the preceeded it, I’m beginning to worry if the Edmonton Oilers even have a plan. Part of me suspects Katz puts full stop on the resignation before Sunday.
And worry has been a consistent part of being an Edmonton Oiler fan this decade. Craig MacTavish was one of the things we could hold on to, as an intelligent, rational individual who had a plan. Stubborn? You bet. Perfect? Not a chance.
When he walks away Craig MacTavish will have no problem telling people what he stands for, the things that he values, the mission statement for his coaching philosophy and the tools needed for the long road ahead. What can we say about the Edmonton Oilers without him? The strongest personality in the organization is walking toward the exit and there’s a chance those he leaves behind haven’t a clue about how to go about the business of replacing him.
This team has been porridge since summer 2006. Kevin Lowe traded Chris Pronger for kids and then neglected to use the saved money on experienced hands who could pick up the slack for the Pronger loss (and that of Spacek and Tarnstrom).
I can’t help feeling the nadir of this franchise is on the other side of Sunday.
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
A busy Thursday, plenty of MacT talk and CFL, too. Starts at 10, TSN1260, with our first guest Dan Ralph from the Canadian Press at 10:20. CFL will be on time this season! Guy Flaming from The Pipeline Show joins us as well, we’ll talk Memorial Cup. Frank Seravalli drops in at 11:05, we’ll chat MacT, Holland and that goal last night that put San Jose on track for Stanley. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide twitter. 90 minutes!
Its interesting, most of us, including me, project Samorukov spending at least one full year if not two full years in the AHL before really being an NHL option.
With that said, recall, the Ottawa 67s radio play by play guy sung Samorukov’s praises during the series and said he was NHL ready and, now, Sam Cosentino states that Samorukov is the 2nd most NHL-ready prospect in the Memorial Cup, behind only Dobson.
I have high (reasonable) hopes for Safin, if he needs an overage season due to time lost to injury, so be it. No need to rush him at all.
This whole having an actual prospect pipeline thing is weird – long may it continue!
Dmitri Samorukov is off to the Memorial Cup and is the Oilers’ fastest rising prospect
https://theathletic.com/980150/2019/05/17/lowetide-dmitri-samorukov-is-off-to-the-memorial-cup-and-is-the-oilers-fastest-rising-prospect/
Guess what starts tonight? The Memorial Cup – ya baby!
Guelph plays tomorrow (Sat) at 1:30 mountain and Sunday at 5 mountain – perfect for a rainy long weekend.
Halifax and Safin play this evening but Safin has not been a material player for the Moosehead this year.
He missed pretty much all of camp with injury and then, after playing some early games missed the majority of the season with injury. Came back a bit before the playoffs but has been a non-factor completely. I have not seen him play at all this year but, from accounts, he has not been good at all and his skating has been awful.
I wonder if the Oil will want him back in the Q for an over-age season as oppossed to going to the Bake?
Also in the Spec piece…
“Holland played with the Oilers’s Eastern-based pro scout Paul Messier years ago, spending the 1981-82 season together with the AHL Binghamton Whalers. He lived down the street from Oilers head pro scout Duane Sutter, when Sutter was coaching the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers and Holland was stationed there as a Red Wings scout. Both will be on the hot seat, due to the performance of Edmonton’s pro scouting department under former GM Peter Chiarelli.”
OBC FOR LIFE!!!! Sheeeeet…
From a Spector piece…
“MacT told me he had something in the hopper,” Holland said Thursday. “He felt like he was going to be moving on. He didn’t really tell me what the hopper was.”
Hahaha damn. He’d tell ya, but you’re not on the Skype, Kenny!
“He got up from his chair, threw up double deuces, and left the building. I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life.”
MacT OUT!!
stephen sheps,
Great post 🙂 I think a lot of people forget or are not aware of how much good the ol’ guys have poured into Edmonton. I was an 80’s kid as well and those players were always doing charity work and had an immense presence in the community. A lot of character guys on those teams.
Wishing MacT the best in his future pursuits!
i like the Lokomotiv instagram description:
‘Lokomotiv’ is officially reporting the appointment of the head coach of the Canadian specialist Craig Maktaviša, with whom he signed a 2 year contract. Craig Mctavish is known as the titular attacker who won 4 Stanley Cup in the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers. As head coach, mctavish worked out nine seasons in the NHL. in ‘Edmonton’ in 2006 – a year under his leadership, the ‘Oilmen’ played in the Stanley Cup final.
Always RED !!!
congrats to the Bruins on their conference title
That’s 3 finals in 9 years, that puts them in the conversation among the elite teams of the modern game CHI, LA, PIT
If Holland convinces Lowe and Burgers to go ANYWHERE i’ll get a tattoo of his face on my face.
Carolina Buccaneers leaving the same day as MacT.
2 of my favourite MacT coaching moments:
1. Ripping out that jagoffs tongue.
2. Showing Carolina fans how to count to seven after the Pisani goal.
I’ll always regret not making 10,000 tongues and selling them outside of the old barn before the following BOA. $3 donations to the Human Fund of coors.
Sail on Helmetless
Pretty sure I found the brand
http://www.summitfinewines.com/
In my opinion there wasn’t a chance of that, even before the Lindell contract. 24 hours ago, there was, in my opinion, no change an 8 year deal would come in below $6M, now we may be looking at closer to $7M depending on how next year goes.
Pretty sure there is Moscow, then St. Petersburg and the rest is Siberia
KHL coach or undercover Oiler pro-Scout?
Mac T’s departure (and others soon to follow I’m sure) should have taken place in 2015
Better late than never I guess
I was always a fan of MacTavish the player and coach
Sail on Mac T
MacT gone
I’m liking this Holland hire more and more
We should not underestimate the importance of how MacT is leaving.
A deeply entrenched, gloried, very controversial person has exited the Edmonton Oilers, and the organization has not yet again embarrassed itself.
This is a fundamental change in MO. This is massive. This looks like how a normal team operates. This was needed.
I love it.
Keep on trucking shiny new GM.
My sympathy for your desperation.?
Red or White?
I would be okay with 8 years at 5.5.
Had a chance to have a glass of Wine with MacT at the old Lux. Very witty and funny. Will be missed ! Prob will be back !!
Sail on Mac T
Pronouncements of departure usually don’t work out
Where else can you have this much Oilers fun?
He hasn’t, however “rumors abound” and, the other day, he was extremely non-committal when asked “where he’d be next year”.
more…
“The pro meetings are really important for me,” Holland said. “They are going to define the 19-20 team. Those are the moves we’re going to be making over the next six or seven weeks.”
In those meetings, Holland was taking stock on which of the inherited scouts he will keep, and which ones he will not. “I anticipate some change. I can’t say how much,” he said.
The Oiler’s GFOI per 60 was off the charts.
#generalfrontofficeinhabitant…I am going to have to steal that.
Speaking of sailing, how is the Death March coming along?
Not asking for myself, my picks sucked.
https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/oilers-coach-search-hold-holland-deals-mactavish-exit-scouts/
He has a list of “12 to 14” names, and it is believed he has spoken with both Dave Tippett and Todd Nelson already — but the already-delayed scouting meetings have put that coaching quest on the backburner for a few days.
I am not entirely unconvinced that he may have a secret secondary mission there for the Oilers, scouting.
The new Russian spy!
And now we wait and see if Comrade Horcov climbs on new Holland’s traktor.
The last 13 years have been a mess and someone has to pay.
Mac T was one of my favorite players and most certainly I loved the 2006 run. He was the better coach in the red wings series and if Rolly had stayed healthy, I do think they would have won the cup. Like Kevin Lowe, I am sure he has bled Oiler blue for all these years. They are both good men and unless some one rights a book like Jimmy D, did, we may never know what caused all the failure.
Sail Oil Mac T. Oiler forever
Henry,
Wow, that’s weird. He was my Mom’s favourite player from the 80s Oilers too. Must’ve had some Mom Mojo. In the 70s for her it was Bobby Orr, then Gilles Gilbert of all people.
Some people are drunk with some very modest AHL success….
Worst team in the NHL for the last 12 years.
Yes, we have some prospects now.
Anyone else notice that the Ducks do as well?
Someone screwed in a 40 watt light bulb…..yes, it s bright now.
Sheps: Great post. MacT had an impact on a lot of people, wish him well.
stephen sheps,
Great story Mr. Sheps! Craig MacTavish was my Mom’s favourite player when I was growing up watching the future legends. He was one of mine too. I also loved the way he coached Horc into a first-line centre and many other maneuvers he performed with a limited roster. Circa 2005-06 my wife was mentioning a bit too much what a good looking guy that coach was. I started drinking a couple less Wild Turkeys and went to the gym more often. Kept it up, sort of.
I guess I can say MacT was good to me too, or something.
Even in Winnipeg, the McTavish moving on is being heralded as true success for the Oilers
franchise.
If you are surprised there is no job for him in the NHL, you have not been paying attention to his body
of work.
Holland is off to a great start here.
The clouds may be starting to part….
Gotcha, just wondered if I missed an announcement. I think that would be a bad career move for him, he has finally come out from under Todd’s shadow. One more successful year with what should be a pretty talented Condors team and he will get consideration as an NHL head coach. Otherwise he will forever stuck to being Todd’s assistant, and he’s way to young for his story to end that way
It isn’t for sure but I did hear John Hovan say it’s going to happen. Not sure how reliable he is.
I’ve seen this a few times. Did I miss something? Where has Woodcroft gone? I haven’t seen anything saying he left the team…for LA or otherwise.
I should have been more clear. I was not offering my opinion on the jobs MacT or Woodcroft have done with BAK just that they have both received some varying degrees of credit and now they are both gone. Just hoping they get the next hires right.
If nothing else I consider myself an expert on management.
Ken Holland has already given notice that the OBC can get to fuck…
Mr Katz, despite his crippling issues re his septum has, with that billionaire’s intuition identified the problem and dealt with it.
Like a sinking ship, the OBC rats are collectively packing their bags because U.S. Marshal Holland is in no mood to waste anyone’s time.
Between the two of us, I fully expect Lucic to get traded without penalty, Nurse to get signed to a reasonable deal, RNH to either buy into the new rebuild or get shot into the proverbial sun(where he will probably turn into an 80 point player), and a seriously competent goalie will be procured from nowhere. And a whole lot more.
But, like the ghost of the prophet Samuel, I need to go back to where I belong…back to the land of the dead. All the best for you and yours for the coming summer.
Just curious, how long does someone have to be with the Oilers before it’s no longer OK for them to be fired?
Russell for Myers it is.
Great find Pouzar!
Edit: this better work or else
I’d agree that he heard it THEN and tries to apply it NOW . But I also think it took a 2nd opinion elsewhere before he took it to heart. Cogs seemed to apply it before he was moved.
I’ve always attributed the Nikitin blunder to the fact that you go to war with the scouts you have.
The Oilers by then had an established history of being the last wallflower standing at the Dominion Day Domino Coral (after almost certainly always having offered more than one or two desired players ultimately accepted elsewhere).
MacT was trying to cut this dynamic off at the pass. So he turns to his pro scout, levels his gaze, and demands: is Nikitin a reliable bird in hand, or isn’t he?
And then the pro scout gave him the wrong answer.
Some of this is surely on MacT’s head. The good old “cut them off at the pass” is not a viable option if your pro scout can’t distinguish a donkey carcass from a hole in the ground.
Lifers of the Listicle Louvre would know these names automatically. My sad Google foray informs me the pro scout warming that chair on that fateful day in June 2014 was Morey Gare.
Oilers dump longtime amateur, pro head scouts — 22 June 2015
MacT didn’t do the dirty work here, because he’d already fallen on his own tarnished sword. But he might have, had he stuck around.
So there’s six heads on a pike in short succession: Eakins, MacT, McGregor, Gare, Davis, and Hawley.
Has any NHL organization skyped more people over the last decade than the Edmonton Oilers of the putatively Ivy Draped OBC?
For some reason, I clearly recall MacT seeming incredibly nervous on the day that he announced his hire of Dallas Eakins, as if his internal Jerry Maguire CLM mission-statement alarm clock was suddenly clanging loudly inside his head (haven’t checked back; maybe it was my own internal state, resoundingly projected).
Jerry McGuire Mission Statement — 7 March 2011
Fewer clients. Less money.
Fewer donuts. More swarm.
One of the problems with the Oilers is that we bring in GMs not to learn the ropes, but to cut the ropes.
Yet somehow some people profess surprise that we finally cut this Boydian knot by hiring a GM who is old enough to have woven his own ropes—from manicured heritage sisal long since decultivated in Canola Country (if one can debark, one can surely decultivate).
Pass the tequila. I’m feeling verklempt.
Too much mingling is the reason Taylor Hall got traded
hunter1909,
Even Woodguy is lost for words,
How so?
I’m hoping Ken turns this shit show around.
Who won the your contest Hunter?
You’ve been asked but haven’t come across yet…..
Gags listened and learned.
He just can’t get to his check on time.
Sam Gagner – high end 4C
I’m serious about that btw.
I don’t think MacT needs a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.