Average White Band’s Pick Up The Pieces
The Edmonton Oilers will work on the power play today, having spent time in the offensive (forecheck) and defensive (retrieval) zones in previous days.
Tomorrow, the club gets to work with the Winnipeg Jets in town. We’ll likely see a younger lineup on both sides, as we did one year ago in Game One.
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 Athletic, we are celebrating our 2-year anniversary this week. To mark the occasion, you can get 40% off subscriptions until Sept. 19 here.
- New Lowetide: Handicapping Oilers prospect progress: The development of Ethan Bear, Caleb Jones and William Lagesson
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Eight key questions for the Oilers to solve at training camp
- Jonathan Willis: Predicting the winners of the Oilers’ top-six and top-nine forward jobs out of camp
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: In, out or on the bubble: Breaking down positional battles at Oilers camp
- New Lowetide: Evan Bouchard and the Calder Trophy: The Oilers’ pursuit of the elusive rookie award
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Alex Chiasson prepares to return to scoring form for Edmonton Oilers
- Jonathan Willis: Kyle Brodziak defied the odds, and then the Oilers, to carve out a significant NHL career
- Lowetide: Can Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith stop enough pucks for the Oilers?
- Lowetide: Shutdown success by Darnell Nurse and Adam Larsson is a key for the Oilers in 2019-20.
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Even if he’s unsure about his return, Oilers’ Connor McDavid looks and sounds like his old self
- Lowetide: RE 19-20: How can the Oilers’ bottom six close the gap in goal differential?
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Kailer Yamamoto and Tyler Benson address respective highs and lows as Oilers rookie camp begins
- Jonathan Willis: Riley Sheahan is a prudent signing by the Oilers in more ways than one
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers’ defensive hopes will rest on the new shutdown pair of Darnell Nurse and Adam Larsson
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: With Evan Bouchard as the headliner, here are the players to watch at Oilers rookie camp
- Lowetide: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and the configuration of the Oilers second line
- Lowetide: Connor McDavid’s 2019-20: Pushing for 50 goals while Dave Tippett loads up the Oilers’ top line
- Lowetide: Estimating reasonable expectations for the 2019-20 Edmonton Oilers: A difficult journey
- Jonathan Willis: How much money will Darnell Nurse make on his next NHL contract?
- Corey Pronman: Oilers No. 9 farm system.
- Lowetide: Oilers coach Dave Tippett might have to take drastic action in order to find a second outscoring line in 2019-20
- Lowetide: Oilers top 20 prospects summer 2019.
ONE YEAR AGO
Game One was against Calgary, the NHL summary is here and the NTS numbers here. My rundown of the game is here. I wanted to highlight some of the performances, and as I re-post the summary from a year ago, it’s good to note all of these men are one year older.
RD Evan Bouchard. 1-0-1, +3 24:31. Three shots, five shot attempts, one takeaway. I was very impressed in all areas. His goal was the results of heady play, a quick release and good instincts. He made several quality outlet passes, slowed the play often with calm feet. Went 8-7 Corsi for 5-on-5 with Ryan Stanton, a mostly effective pairing (some wobble from both men down low). Corsi for 5-on-5: 50 percent.
LC Ryan McLeod. 0-2-2, +1 22:21. Oh my! Two takeaways, 6-10 on the dot and two incredible assists. I can’t remember the last second-round pick who was squeezing out sparks in his first training camp like this guy. You have to think he’s going to get at least one more game. Goodness what an early run. Went 10-12 with Benson and 8-13 with Yamamoto, line was 2-1 in goal differential. Corsi for 5-on-5: 47.06 percent.
L Tyler Benson. 0-2-2, +1 17:56. Two shots, two blocked shots. Did you see the passes? Music! Benson was noticeable all night with the puck on his stick and battled hard to get it back when not having possession. One of three forwards (McLeod, Yamamoto) who played over four power-play minutes. Went 10-12 with McLeod and 8-12 with Yamamoto, they were impressive all night. Benson is a game rooster on both sides of the puck. Corsi for 5-on-5: 45.83 percent.
R Kailer Yamamoto. 2-1-3, +1 17:39. Three shots, seven shot attempts. One hit, one takeaway, one giveaway.He was exactly as we remember him from a year ago, dangerous with the puck on his stick and opportunistic. Great stealth back checker, he’s a turnover machine. It takes zero imagination to know why the Oilers like him. Impressive player. Went 8-13 with McLeod, 8-12 with Benson. If I had a vote, he would have been player of the game. Corsi for 5-on-5: 36.36 percent.
OILERS PROSPECTS SCORING
Jesse Puljujarvi (SML) 4, 2-2-4. Fans should be thrilled at JP’s quick start, a massive season in the Sm-Liiga will no doubt increase his trade value. Many are ripping the Finnish league in terms of quality, I’d remind you Rob Vollman’s NHLE for the AHL (.47) and the SML (.43) are basically the same. Vollman’s 2017 numbers are here. The rankings are KHL, SHL, AHL, Sm-Liiga, NLA, NCHC.
Maxim Denezhkin (MHL) 2, 1-0-1
Philip Broberg (SHL) 1, 0-0-0. The reports (and the visual above) are encouraging, but it’s early days. How much can he improve from where he is now? That’s the question. Based on his skating, the answer might be a lot.
Filip Berglund (SHL) 1, 0-0-0
Markus Niemelainen (SML) 2, 0-0-0
Ilya Konovalov (KHL) 2, 5.34 .859. MacT’s got him on the bench after two poor outings. Team plays tomorrow.
TODAY
There will be some hockey in our town today, Oilers plan to have some form of a game at the community rink (which is very nice if you haven’t been) at noon. Doors open 11:30, I will tell you the rink fills up quickly so be there early.
We may see some cuts today, likely junior players like Raphael Lavoie and Olivier Rodrigue. Maybe some AHL types (Nolan Vesey, Beau Starrett, Anthony Peluso, Luke Esposito, Vincent Desharnais, Jake Kulevich) also get optioned.
The big item to look for in the next 24-30 hours will be lines, pairings and goaltenders for the Monday game against Winnipeg. My guess is that the team has specific players they’ll want to have a long look at, plus the kids who have earned a game but are likely ticketed for Bakersfield.
It’s an important week for Tyler Benson, Cooper Marody, Kailer Yamamoto, Caleb Jones, Ethan Bear, William Lagesson as well. These men want to perform well in the early games and earn the right to hang around until late. Watch especially who these men are lined up beside, that’s a tell now and certainly as preseason rolls along.
The fun is about to begin! Can’t wait.
PREVAILING WISDOM
As camp enters, Tyler Benson and Evan Bouchard are regarded as possibles for the NHL roster. We are hearing less buzz this year about Kailer Yamamoto. I have a theory.
I think the Oilers under Chiarelli and McLellan were very high on Yamamoto, so strong on him the organization pushed him past Jesse Puljujarvi. Yamamoto made the team twice before his 20th birthday.
Now? He’ll turn 21 in a couple of weeks and the team is slow playing his recovery from wrist surgery. I think it’s wise, but also believe the organization wants to see Yamamoto dominate the AHL before he sees the Oilers lineup again. I have Yamamoto’s chances of making the Oilers at 10 percent (Benson 55, Bouchard 46) and honestly believe he’ll get sent down earlier than most expect. It’s going to be a prove it season for the young winger. Edmonton needs him badly, but when they bring him to the roster next time, management must be sure.
Who is going down to the community rink to watch today?
Hunter1909’s Official 2019-20 Death March™
Entries welcome between now and the first puck drop of the 2019-20 season(October 2)
Here’s how you play: Guess how many points the Oilers get in the regular season.
That’s it!
Tie break: How many regular season goals does JP score for his new Finnish team?
Thanks for the review of last season. It’s a good reminder not to get too excited if a prospect has a strong game or two. But hopefully Benson, Yam, McLeod and Bouchard have a great camp, and a super year in the AHL.
The player many of us will be most interested to see in a game will be Persson. He seems to be a total wild card. Any idea if he plays tomorrow?
Holland has brought in so many players that this camp should be pretty competitive. Looking forward to the exhibition season.
What MacT did to Konovalov.
https://youtu.be/CgTc3cYaLdo?t=476
https://youtu.be/pddW-HeHAwo?t=14
Nice reminder LT about not reading too much into early preseason performance by the rooks.
Without Byfuglien the Jets defence is pretty bad.
Would they be interested in Russell right now?
They cant afford him outright so maybe in a dollar for dollar trade. But I would rather keep Russell for now. Our D prospects are still unproven until proven. And a good showing in camp doesn’t mean they are proven.
hunter1909,
Thanks Hunter….I`ll take 93 points and 17 goals for JP
Speaking of the PP, Tippett was asked yesterday about why Chiasson was on a line with Marody and Jurco and said to read nothing in to that, they are just trying to find a pairing player for Alex and that he’s going to be on the first PP unit today.
It’ll be interesting to see the initial PP units – personally, I hope Nuge is on PP2 at the half boards QB.
I’d do Russell for Perreault in a heartbeat.
At least 3 of our prospects are above replacement level of Kris Russell. The only way I play Russell over them is to give them more time to develop as they have a way higher ceiling.
And I seriously doubt Chevy’s To Do list with “Replace Dustin” at the top has “Kris Russell?” underlined 3 times written next to it.
What a glowing example of how little exhibition games mean as far as “NHL readiness” of the higher end young prospects. The attributes that got these players drafted in the first two rounds almost always come out and shine.
I have little doubt that McLeod and Yamamoto are going to be put nice numbers in exhibition – Lavoie will probably as well. It in no means anything as far as NHL readiness.
We know Bouchard is going to dazzle with his offensive and transition skills and he’ll probably look like one of the top 4 in that area – those skills are NHL ready and high end. Of course, what should be looked for is if he makes an error or two leading to a HD scoring chance against or two every game – he did in each of the prospect games and that is what he needs to work on.
——————————————–
Thankfully Tippett (and Holland) is experienced and smart – he will be giving lots of ice to the likes of Persson, Haas and Nygard knowing they need to adjust to the North American sheet.
Philip Broberg (SHL) 1, 0-0-0. The reports (and the visual above) are encouraging, but it’s early days. How much can he improve from where he is now? That’s the question. Based on his skating, the answer might be a lot.
———————–
I think the biggest key was the 19 minutes of ice time.
The question as between CHL and SHL was – lots of minutes in the CHL against kids or less minutes in the SHL against pro men.
Teenagers in the European leagues often see minute ice time and 19 minutes, to me, is off the charts awesome to see.
For example, Canucks’ pick podkolzin got less than a minute in each of his first two games in the KHL this year.
Tip mentioned there will be some cuts before the first game tomorrow so you are probably right Al.
I wonder if Rodrigue gets part of the game tomorrow before he gets assigned?
Tip mentioned 2, maybe 2 and a 1/2 games for Koskinen in the exhibition season. I know Starrett needs his games, as do Wells and Skinner, but maybe Rodrigue gets one?
I think the fanbase, in addition to management, want to see Kailer dominate the AHL prior to being back in the NHL. I have little doubt that, if healthy, he’ll do just that this season – he was starting to do it last season.
You may be right Al, again, about him being re-assigned a bit earlier this year – they have so many things to figure out with, not only who is on the roster, but who is going to play with who and where, that, if they know Kailer will be starting the season in California, lets get him a bit of ice and then on his way sooner rather than later.
Bouch as well perhaps? Probably not until Sept 30.
I think you might want to add In my opinion. The only prospect with any real NHL time is Jones whose minus 9 in seventeen games prorates to a minus 40 for a full season. Each of the D you have in mind may have a skill that is superior to Russel’s but they still haven’t proven themselves as bonafide NHL D. As several posters have mentioned it is a little too early to usher Russel out the door. I do think he is overpaid if used as a third pairing left D on a salary cap strapped team. Patience is the key with Russel vs the prospects in my opinion.
OriginalPouzar,
“For example, Canucks’ pick podkolzin got less than a minute in each of his first two games in the KHL this year.”
OP Just to clarify literally less than 1 minute in each game for Podzo?
Lots of young RFA d-men signing these days.
Morrissey and Proporov last week, for term.
McAvoy today 3 X $4.9 with a base of $7.3M in the last year leading to the huge QO and possibly turning it in to a 4 year, almost $6M contract taking him right to UFA status.
Russell had been overpaid since the ink dried on his $4 × 4 deal. We knew it in real time and know it now.
He was going to get that on the open market and our D was depleted.
Would still love to do Russel for Perreault trade.
As per Rishaug, initial PP look:
Klefbom and RNH on blue line, Draisaitl in bumper spot, McDavid on wall, Chiasson net side/net front.
Neal and Nurse also subbing in (presumably for Klef and Chiasson).
not sure about that? Pete wanted us to beleive that. Notnsure other GM’s were reasdy to shell out that much for Russell
I think the Russell signing ended Chiarelli as GM. He had no more room to wheel, in free agency or in trade (too many NMC’s).
I hope Hopkins is the QB on PP 2 with Gagner and they receive more time than PP2 last year.
Not playing someone in the NHL because they don’t have NHL experience is circular reasoning.
It’s not as if Russell would be in a feature role against the toughs. Or he shouldn’t be.
Would have been nicer to have Sekera to usher in the future.
Lol, just that?
I wanted Zegras but holy smokes Broberg looks good his highlights yesterday of his size and skating reminded me of a young Big Bird Larry Robison. I’m not jinxing the Oilers and even thinking why Yzerman took Seider the thought will never cross my mind. We need a home-run badly and this could be it if he continues to get the minutes and keeps developing.
It seems as we go along and hear more and more gushing reports Bro may have one of the highest ceilings in the draft.May even have the best chance to be the biggest impact player overall in that draft.
I can see why KH took the chance. A win will be a massive one even with a stable full of quality LHD.
McNuge93,
With all these D prospect fast becoming waiver eligible, somebody has to be thrown in the deep end.
Hunter.
93 Points for the Oil and 14 goals for Puj.
thanks
Jim Matheson
@NHLbyMatty
Should be pointed out that ex Oiler G Mike Zanier, working as a broadcaster in Vaxjo in Sweden, was the guy who alerted his old club about this unknown kid named Persson two years ago.
Yeah, I think so. He couldn’t trade his way to safety because of that signing. Chiarell’s record is absolutely full of trade losses, but he had great survival instincts. No doubt in my mind he boxed himself in with the Russell signing. Which is good for Edmonton, because much of the future that survived would have been in another town.
You’re claiming at least 3 prospects who’ve never been regulars in the NHL are better than Russell. That’s very different from saying they could be better than Russell.
It was a pivotal moment.
Just like that and Chiarelli painted himself into a corner and blocked an upgrade at 2 RD for years.
He certainly went on tilt last season though.
If some other team offers to take on Russell with $1 million or less retained on our end and/or with a manageable contract coming back in return, you have to hit that bid to make the team better next year. We’re not winning the cup this year and the delta between Russell and a Caleb Jones or a Lagesson isn’t that big IMHO.
An example of, essentially, the only reason I ever think about moving back to Edmonton.
FYI – issue fixed with Chrome, thank you to those that had the suggestions last night/overnight.
One year Russell could only get a invite to camp. The next year he gets 4x$4M. That’s just as stupid as it gets.
Thus, if Broberg continues playing close to 19 minutes per night, the decision to have him play in the SHL over the CHL is clearly the correct one.
It wasn’t a PTO. He signed for 1 x $3.1M late because he was only willing to play in a few cities. The salary itself was reasonable, it was the term and trade protection of the 2nd deal that was the issue.
It was a year too long and a million too much, but I have a hard time believing the Russell signing was the pivotal moment in Chia losing his job.
That signing would be way down the list of Chia blunders.
If Russell were not able to play (injury, trade, PB, whatever), I think it would be great to see Jones and Lagesson do rotating ~20 game stints between here and Bakersfield. Then the team really can make a plan for the next few years.
IMO, I honestly don’t see the Oilers defensive play totally destructing with Russell out of the line up. I don’t hate the guy, I just think it is time to move on. Now-ish.
As per Nugent-Bowman:
Oilers are about to hold an open scrimmage. Most of the vets aren’t on the ice. No McDavid, Draisaitl, RNH, Kassian, Chiasson, Neal, Sheahan, Khaira, Granlund, Archibald, Gagner, Klefbom, Larsson, Nurse, K. Russell (injury), Benning Koskinen, Smith
As we all speculated…
Jim Matheson @NHLbyMatty · 1h1 hour ago
Oiler GM Ken Holland isn’t talking extension for Darnell Nurse yet, wants to get lay of land with his players first through games, but of course Morrissey’s deal in Wpg. is template he will start with if both are shutdown D and Nurse still provides offence.
I’m not saying don’t play them. I’d be fine if Russell only plays 50 or 60 games and with injuries there will be other opportunities too. If Jones and Persson play 50 to 60 games each that’s good, gives them great experience and gives management time to see what they have. And if Bear outplays those 2 then he’s the guy to get those 50 games.
I’m sure this tweet must’ve been posted a couple of days ago, but seems apropos to the convo to post it again…
Bob StaufferVerified account @Bob_Stauffer · Sep 13
Ethan Bear has dramatically improved his quickness.
He is in terrific shape.
He is going to push hard for one of the spots on the Oilers D.
I’m no Russell cheerleader, but this looks like your rewriting history. He wasn’t a PTO contract. He signed for $3.1 mill. I’m sure he had plenty of other offers. Just not what he wanted.
IMO a player like Perreault would have a much bigger impact on this roster than Russell. Conversely, I think Russell would have a bigger impact on the Jets than Perreault. Even with Byfuglin, their defence is looking mighty thin.
Coming from Stauffer, game on Bear.
Thoughts from McCurdy on scrimmage so far:
Just these 2 teams, 3x 15 minute periods, stop time.
Scoreless after one, great tempo, lots of solid hockey but precious few high end chances. Nygard created one with a rink length dash and short side shot, Jurco another when he burst wide around the d-man but missed high.
Saw Samorukov good that period, especially behind his own blueline with plus skating to the “good ice” coupled with solid execution & low-risk decision making.
Bouchard with 2 good shots.
Haas looks quick & had a couple of nice moments in transition thru the neutral zone.
From Reid Wilkins:
Team White:
G: Rodrigue, Skinner
D: Manning, Lowe, Desharnais, Bouchard, Samorukov, Day
F: Nygard, Cave, Hebig, Benson, P. Russell, Lavoie, Vesey, McLeod, Haas
Team Blue:
G: Wells, S. Starrett
D: Persson, Bear, Jones, Lagesson, Kulevich:
F: Malone, Peluso, Currie, Gambardella, B. Starrett, Esposito, Safin, Marody, Maksimov, Jurco
White takes a 1-0 lead 1:10 into the second. Cave tips home a point shot from Bouchard. Hebig gets the second assist.
Hebig picks the corner after taking a sharp feed from Nygard. White up 2-0 with 7:47 left in the second. Bouchard with the second assist.
Bouchard gets in behind the D and makes it 4-0 White with 5:33 left in the second.
Team White is stacked.
Too bad they can’t get a few more games in like this before pre-season games start. Help separate the wheat from the chaff…but maybe the wheat is already obvious…
hunter1909,
Thanks Hunter. Put me down for 95 pts for the Oil and 22 goals for JP.
Jethro Tull,
So by that logic the Oilers D depth chart is approximately
Klefbom, Nurse, Larsson. 1-3
Jones, lagesson Bouchard ? 4-6
Russel and then Benning. 7-8
Welp, the Oilers are relying on 3 D with almost no NHL history before injuries even hit. See you all next summer
Bob StaufferVerified account @Bob_Stauffer · 6m6 minutes ago
Here is who stood out in Oilers Scrimmage:
Bouchard-Dominating performance, all over scoresheet
Nygard-Fast and creative
Haas-Quick and crafty
McLeod-Explosive skater made plays
Benson-Smart play-maker
Persson is a definite player of interest to me. Although he seems to essentially have a spot on the team, and they have thoughts on him up the lineup, he does indeed seem like a complete wildcard.
His ability to be an NHL player (or Ethan Bear’s) at play legit 5 on 5 minutes, even if just third pairing, is a big key to the season.
They need to be smart enough to “not be overly-dazzled” by Bouchard’s production and transition passes in exhibition.
Bouchard 2 and 2.
As I was saying earlier, here comes the Calder
I generally agree with this but any deal that gets that $4M off the books for next off-season, clean, needs to be explored at any point – even with the risk to the current season.
Correct.
I think this is actually a very deep defence group. We’ve got three top four dmen and between Russell, Benning, Bear, Jones, Persson and Lagesson, I would be astonished if we can’t come up with two very good bottom pairing guys. The gaping hole at 2RD is a very real issue though. This is where coaching will have to make a difference. Benning has never come close to 20 min a game, but maybe you can rotate him and some other guys into that role on a situational basis, limiting their minutes and utilizing each guy’s strengths.
This may be true but Chia still should have walked away, in particular in June.
Overpaying a player in term, AAV, structure and trade protection out of fear was a very poor decision and its having ramification years later.
Chia had his hard target and “did what he had to do” to get “his man”.
Holland showed the opposite this off-season – the Oilers are depleted at top 6 forward, he was “in the game” but walked away given the prices.
Its not great news that Kailer is not in the scrimmage today.
its really important for Yamamoto to start the season on time and with his team.
Two years in a row, both years since he was drafted, he’s been “yo-yoed” and not settled in to his development until well in to the year.
This proved to essentially take his season away last year given the wrist injury just a few weeks after he started to really gain traction and become a plus plus AHL player.
Well, yes, but, at the same time, we need that $4M for next off-season and Perrault isn’t really the guy I want to spend it on.
I’d do it with the aim of moving Perreault next off-season.
Given team’s generally use 10 plus d-men in a season, they will each get their minutes, at some point.
As long as that contract back only runs for this year and doesn’t have term.
I wouldn’t be happy with only $3M in cap space next off-season let along a contract back.
The key is the cap space.
Plus the trade protection.
Plus the signing bonus structure.
Chia went 0 for 4 on that one.
Cuts coming tonight.
Sail on Kulevich, Desharnais and Vesey…..
Consider the context. The Oil are not making the playoffs this year. What better use of D minutes than to break in as many young D as possible. Rookie mistakes this year, not next.
Get used to it.
Do you know what happens when you play players that aren’t very good above their capability because of “grit” and “blocks shots”?
You spend 12 years out of 13 not playing playoff hockey.
Do you know what happens when you repeatedly play aforementioned shitty players and keep their replacements down and stagnant because of “experience” and “paid his dues”?
Replacement’s agent demands a trade because shitty player is in the way and the team back him up.
The #6 D slot should be your best prospect at that position. Not Kris Russell.
The prospect pool should be spring fed with a trickle out one end at the same flow rate. Stagnation is death.
Nah. Russell’s a lock.
Maybe he visits the same Doctor as Kelfbom I’m glad Benson doesn’t.
Although I haven’t seen it official by the team, Mooshead connected reporter indicating Lavoie is being sent back and will be in the Halifax lineup on opening night.
Of course we was going to be sent back but I’m a tiny bit surprised its before even the first exhibition game. McLeod played like 5 or 6 last year. Earned, but still.
This is good though, Tippett has lots of decisions to make and lots to learn about his actual team – lets get to it.
Will do Mr. Ortiz!
Jethro Tull,
I guess where our opinion varies is that I don’t yet believe that the 3 rookies have surpassed Russel and/or Benning.
There’s an open slot for a rookie right now even with R&B playing. There will probably be 2 open spots as soon as a defenseman is injured. Therefore there’s not much of a log jam on defence.
You bring up 12/13 years with players not being called up because of vets. I remember it more as rookies being called up too fast and too high up the lineup and failing. JP, KY and Bouchard just in the last few years.
I thought Holland or Tippet (forget who) mentioned this specifically, that the Jr guys would be early cuts before the first game. Just going to rub shoulders for the weekend and then head back. The team needs to get a look at the horde of guys who have an actual shot at playing NHL games this season.
Anton Slepyshev is off to a nice start for the year, 2 G 1 A in 4 games.
I think it’s possible we see one of Russell or Benning moved before the season IF they actually get outplayed by one or more of the rookies who are pushing.
And despite Tippett wanting righty-lefty, and everyone under the sun penciling Russell at 3LD (or even 7D), I actually think he is still the most likely 2RD to start the season. I hope someone else can grab the spot on merit, but it sure wouldn’t surprise me to see all of Persson, Benning, Bouchard, Jones and Bear fail to.
Another thing to consider is that maybe the #2 and #3 pairs end up more equal and getting similar ice time. Klefbom-Persson and Russell-Benning at 18 minutes a night each seems a lot more workable than expecting Persson to be able to play 20+.
That #6 spot is open to one of our D prospects. Russell is either 4 or 5 depending on where you slot Benning. Hey, if one or more of the young D truly push themselves ahead of Russell I’m fine with that, in fact, I’m ecstatic. Then Russel is just insurance and depth. But none of those young guys have actually proved anything at the NHL level yet. This is the year they get that chance. Sek and Gravel are both gone opening up room. We have a new coach and GM who seem committed to giving the D prospects the opportunity.
I think there’s a strong likelihood of this, or something similar, occurring.
Without Russell we are one Adam Larsson injury away from Benning as our 1RD. The hate that this guy gets for being a legit 4/5 dman who is flexible enough to play either side is crazy. Is Russell a full-time top 4 damn. No he clearly is not. Is he a guy who can carry a top 4 load for a period in case of injury. Yes he clearly is. Now you can question the 2nd signing, but it’s really just one more case of that Sekera injury rippling through the roster and outcomes. Some much could have been different without that one event.
Tippett:
He likes to take the “top NHL guys out” for these scrimmages to see the “next level” and where there is seperation at that next level. He saw Bouchard and Cave separate today.
Pretty glowing from Tippett on Bouchard.
He’s going to play tomorrow night – going to play lots of exhibition games.
Asked about the three new Europeans – glowing on Nygard and Persson’s ability to move the puck and they are ready for the “next step”, exhibition games.
_________________
Both Bouch and Samorukov have “junior habits”. They “rest on the ice”, something you can’t do at the NHL level.
Both were better today than in practice over the last few days.
————————
Benson is a “bubble guy for me” – there are 9 or 10 of them.
His two rookie games were “just allright”, like the team.
His line was pretty good today, with Cave and P. Russell.
He’ll play tomorrow night.
He needs to “make plays” and Tip thinks of him as a “2-way guy”.
He needs to have an “impact on the game” in order to make the team.
If you play him with good players, he’ll have a chance to excel – we’ll give him some of those opportunities.
Bigger teams with a heavy forecheck are going to eat those bottom pairs alive. Dialing in Persson for a 2nd pair role is very unwise and very Oiler. Even a 3rd pair role is optimistic given his background and record. I figure he needs at least until xmas in the AHL before even considering 3rd pair minutes. People are trying to draw to an inside straight flush with this guy pencilling him into the 2nd pair.
Russell is an actual NHL defence man if you look at the Cult of Hockey defensive rankings in terms of not giving up Grade A chances Russell was one of the best. He has no offence and puck handling but maybe put him with someone like Bouchard and let him defend. He’s a veteran on the team well liked and sacrifices himself for the team night in and out. Last year I remember him diving in front of a couple of booming slap shots and eventually hobbling to the bench will the whole bench up and cheering him. Russell has value to this team now.
OriginalPouzar,
I’d say that’s a pretty stellar assessment by the coach.
Russell’s mistakes using the COH methods show up in other people COH stats, since surrendering the blue line tends not to be a primary mistake in their eyes. Russell tilts the ice against the OIlers. He begins the bend, which puts greater pressure on everyone else.
I never once mentioned Benning, peeps.
I know who left to “make room”. The wrong one’s.
If the old LT site maxim “get good players, keep good players” holds true, then “ditch bad players. That is all” also holds true.
Johnny Larue,
The Oilers have long measured players by these things whilst other teams have been asking strange questions like, “is this guy actually any good?” and “what’s a Russell reset?” of their players.
These things have value, but should never be the defining reasons they play hockey for your team. They’re part of a narrative that “hockey men” use to justify defending their terrible decision for signing them for too much and too long.
godot10,
Well he’s far from perfect but still has value for us now. Maybe by the end of the year things will have changed and the young D has pushed themselves up. But that’s going to be up to them
OriginalPouzar,
I would argue that the signing bonus structure is a positive in that after July 1 next season he will
Only be owed $1.5 million on a 4 milliom cap hit making him very attractive budget teams
Russell will likely be easier to move next summer though. I think I’d just keep rusty for this year, we have enough bottom six players to sink a battleship.
I’m not sure why so many Oilers fans hate Yamamoto. Care to explain this to me please?
Word.
Lavoie officially assigned to Halifax and Rodrigue to Moncton.
Sure, that is one small point that pops up now but, at the same time, throughout the contract, the signing bonus structure has made it buyout proof which has caused issues and changed decision making i believe.
I think its unlikely he gets moves this year and am not “looking to move him” actively, at least not at this point. At the same time, if there is an opportunity for a clean disposition that creates $4M in cap space next off-season, I jump at it.
Truth staring us in face: “Players X and Y are not very good and should either be sent down for development or traded/bought out.”
Some posters: “You hate them and don’t know what you’re talking about. Here’s a spurious opinion from a media hack using skewed numbers showing they’re good at things that don’t matter and maybe never have.”
I can’t speak for others, but personally, I don’t hate KY. I hate the pick. 5’7″ 150lbs soaking wet 1st rounder. You take a chance on guys like this one or two rounds later. Absolutely no value on the cycle since he isn’t going to win puck control battles along the boards. Not enough on ice awareness or quickness to avoid being crushed by larger players (everyone). So he is going to get hurt and miss games. Hard to develop any type of consistency or chemistry when you aren’t available to play. And now he is dealing with wrist issues arising from being slashed. Guess what, one of the most unavoidable penalties in hockey. So we can expect more of this type injury in the future. This is not Martin St. Louis. Not the same body type at all.
And yet the Stars have Sekera pencilled in as their 2RD if Johns can’t go.
Hmmmm.
He was good in WHL games but it did seem like it was an attempt to cover the mistake of not taking Connor’s teammate, DeBrincat. I still have hope for The Admiral, however.
I love Benson but sheesh. They had chemistry up the Wazoo!
Harpers Hair,
– IF this is true and this is who Rej is, it really is problematic for the current Oiler management:
“Sekera is drawing rave reviews, however, in training camp so far and it looks like the veteran will be paired with 20-year-old Miro Heiskanen on Dallas’ second unit on defense. “I actually think he’s going to be the one guy who is going to be a surprise,” said Stars general manager Jim Nill. “You talk about Perry and Pavelski, I think people are going to be surprised with what he brings to us.”
– This would make me very angry: new guys buying out a bonefide top-4 D.
And you know for certain that this is a good thing? That it means he actually “is” a 2RD and not just a hope and prayer situation.
Your comments always come off as smug, as if you, above anyone else in the hockey world knows the right approach to any situation.
Maybe Sekera is the “best” 2RD option Dallas has right now or maybe he is in such good shape after rehab that he is legitimately a 2RD. The only way we will find out will be as the season unfolds. What I would bet is had Sekera STILL been an Oiler and Tippet was telegraphing him as Oilers 2RD, you would have a scathing commentary on how precisely wrong that is.
Go move some goalposts somewhere else.
1) Dallas Eakins was in great demand that off-season and his hire was lauded by many at the time.
As it turns out, it was a terrible choice as a rookie head coach was not what the team needed and, frankly, as Eakins himself admits, he made alot of mistakes. The description above re: Dallas Eakins hiring is factually incorrect.
Dallas Eakins is currently the head coach of the Anaheim Ducks
2) I haven’t seen one draft ranking that had Yamamoto outside the first round, he was 23 (IIRC) on the McKenzie consensus list and I saw him as high as 16 in rankings. The pick of Kailer Yamamoto was perfectly fine. The organization’s choices at the beginning of the last two years have been, as we’ve seen, misguided. The player remains a real prospect with real top 6 potential.
Mooseheads are my favourite Q team (though the Saguenéens have one of the best sweaters going). I hope he does well!
Not to nitpick on this but, in my opinion, chemistry in junior means nothing with respect to the NHL.
Heck, chemistry in NHL exhibition games means nothing with respect to actual NHL games – remember Comrie and POS?
It gets worse.
We bought out Reggie to find money for Chiasson.
Dallas Eakins wasn’t in great demand. He only “appeared” to be in great demand because of his own PR campaign out of Toronto. Remember, he took an interview for an assistent coaching job in Edmonton. If he was in demand he wouldn’t have done that. Also Mike Gillis helped sucker the Oilers into thinking he was in demand, buy interviewing him early, while they really taking their time.
The Oilers were conned and suckered.
Kinger_Oil.redux,
Yikes. Where is that quote from?
*hides behind Godot 10*
I’ve been consistent for months in saying buying out Sekera was not smart.
No guarantee it works out in Dallas but he has a history of playing well on the right side.
We’ll see.
This.
Should have bought out Gagner, not signed Chiasson or Granlund and used the space to try and land a passable top six winger.
Or wait until next season and get more than one.
Also, why has Gagner become the Boogeyman Scapegoat to all of you lately? It really makes no sense.
Holland said he let Sekera go because 1) he was injured a lot and therefore Holland felt that he couldn’t trust his staying healthy; also 2) the team needs to give its emerging defencemen spots in the top six.
It’s a combination of the two.
Sounds like pretty astute thinking. Holland might lose this bet, but at least he’s not doing anything idiotic.
Man, this is so much like playing poker.
What numbers show Russell’s not very good?
Gagner, Chiasson and Granlund make over over $6 million combined.
That’s a top six winger right there.
The Oilers have an abundance of bottom six wingers who could fill those roles.
I have been consistent in disagreeing with the Sekera buyout as well and was adamant about that in the days, weeks and months leading up to the end of June. I understand why it happened and agree that the flexibility was required going in to July 1 and the rest of the summer (and, no, the money wasn’t “spent on Chiasson” any more than it was spent on Smith or Khaira and Archibald, for example).
I wish there was another way but, it appears there wasn’t.
At the same time, as far as Sekera on his right side, no, he doesn’t’ have any recent history of playing well on the right side in the NHL, When he’s done so as an OIler, like most, he’s been markedly worse. No, I don’t count the Worlds with OEL as his partner.
As you intentionally leave out the information that those two would need to be replaced on the roster by, presumably, two $1M (give or take) players so:
1) its only $4M
2) $4M isn’t going to by much and an overpay would be required including term – using the bullet for a non-optimal player that is committed to
3) two roster spots are now have likely worse performing players.
hunter1909,
Were not the injury concerns why the Oilers ended up getting Paddy O’Lanterns instead of Justin Williams in the Eric Cole trade? That really worked out well.
I think we can now draw a line under the disaster that was the Lowe+MacT era. Lowe+MacT, between them, couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery.
If Ken Holland isn’t able to cure what ails this franchise I for one will be going back to watching women’s table tennis for my primary entertainment.
Micheal Ferland is getting $3.5 million in Vancouver.
He will move the needle much more than any cannon fodder players in the Oilers bottom 25.
OEL is Swedish, Sekera is Slovakian. Pretty sure the number 2 dman on that team was Martin Marincin.
In no way would I prefer Ferland on a 4 year term.
In no way do I use the one bullet over the next two years (this past off-season and next) on Michael Ferland.
You make some valid points not trying to be a jerk but are you a Oiler fan?
So Russel is hurt??
Concussion protocol on Friday, haven’t heard an update since
He was in a collision at the Captain’s Skate prior to camp and, as per Tippett, just to be careful given the time of year, they put him in concussion protocol so we won’t see him skate for the first week.
Thanks
I thought the door just opened wider for a rookie there.
One thing about Russell, he’s tough as nails.
Nope, he’s not.
He’s been trolling here for years. He changes his name but follows a very specific pattern and can’t hide his motive so it’s always apparent who he is in two or three posts.
size + the deeply reactionary politics of canadian hockey
He’s undersized and injuries hurt him a year ago, plus his NHL numbers are poor. Of course, he was a teenager in the NHL, and has scored well when healthy. Fans will come around if he can stay healthy and thrive in Bakersfield (and then Edmonton).
Martin St. Louis did not have Martin St. Louis body type at age 21.
As, pretty well, everyone here agreed the moment the deal was signed – the dollars, the term and the trade protections, in combination, made Russell’s deal untenable. Eliminate any one of those and its workable, but all three… doom.
At $3 million for 4 years it’s workable – maybe we still have Sekera.
At $4 million for 3 years it’s an auto-trade this trade deadline.
Existing contract with no trade protections means he is a much easier trade this off-season and maybe even at the deadline. It also means he was a workable trade chip since signing and could have been used in a deal or even dealt with salary retained. The NMC/NTC effectively took him off the table.
As it stands there is STILL risk he is here next year and that is… problematic.
OilFire,
He definitely sounds like a Canucks fan it’s hard to really hate the Canucks because they’ve never won anything but I’ll never forgive their fan base for booing Team Canada off the ice against the evil commies.
I’m on record not liking the Chiassson signing, but Ferland at $3.5 for four years would be an even bigger mistake. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Ferland manages a good season one of the four years.
Has to be one team that will take him for 1.5 maybe even the Flames.
RIP Ric Ocasek
Let the good times roll
I am fine with Yamamoto. It could come back to bite me in the ass but I would deal him in a second if it was part of a bigger deal that solved an issue AND brought back a good asset.
One year deal for Mangiapane. Not a great deal given how well he played but he is in the show and it is $715,000 and, more importantly, it’s only 1 year so off to arbitration if the Flames low-ball him again.
I repeat, the Flames are in worse Cap trouble than Toronto or even the Oilers. $6.3m let in Cap space with Tkachuk to sign; Frolik, maybe Ryan, is a goner barring some incredibly friendly home-team-discount deal. Treliving must be getting some pretty putrid offers on Frolik.
Depending on how the year goes I would be very happy if there is a deal for him at the deadline with the Oilers retaining $1m in salary and picking up a 2019-2020 deal. I believe that deal could materialize. All depends on which teams are in the running for the play-offs and what their rosters look like.
YKOil,
Frolik for Manning has been mentioned here recently
Flames could bury Manning in the AHL and acquire $3M in cap space with the transaction
At face value there is a significant gap in value, but this late in the season Calgary is going to be hard pressed to find $3M in cap space from any transaction, let alone get any value back in a deal
Frolik for Russell would be ideal but I don’t think there is enough incentive there for Calgary to do that deal
Hollands worst move so far is the Chaison signing. Totally unnecessary. Why did he do this? Everyone here thinks it’s a terrible to bad to meh signing. So, how can we all be so wrong and an experienced GM be so much more right than us? Does this only happen in hockey? I don’t get it.
Gerta Rauss,
I think they will get a 2nd or 3rd rounder, or a ‘B’ level prospect, for him. New Jersey is my choice (would be a prospect).
YKOil,
Yeah, you may be right
There might be a team out there, lurking, that will take the whole $4.3M in one gulp
Not many, but all it takes is one
For a player that makes 2,6 percent of the cap he sure takes a lot of smack on this blog if he scores 15-20 will he still be a whipping boy all year.
Goes to show some teams situation is more dire than ours.
No he was not. He was not good for us which is why Russel ended up as the second pairing right D. You keep referencing the Sekera of old not the old Sekera slowed by injury.
Every instance of this dynamic ending up being true has the same root cause, which is that hockey is an entirely insular and has almost ONLY intra-mobility
I think Bear makes the team.
Sounds like Persson is going to need an AHL adjustment period at the very least. Bear has already impressed the org this camp, and I think Holland would rather ice a rookie Dman on his natural side than a rookie Dman on his off-side. Job’s hard enough.
Benning will slide up to 2RD. Bear in beside Rusty (the giraffe). Persson getting up to speed in the A for at least 10. Which would put Jones and Willie in Bako so they can get some reps.
It’s either that or keep one of Willie or Jones and run Russell on his off-side.
I don’t think they’ll go that way at the outset though. They may be forced into it at some point, depending on whether Persson can adjust and how quickly.
And to tell you the truth, Bear might be a better option. We’ll get to see, whether or not, I think. Coming out of camp.
This makes me sad.
You’ve got
– A supply chain delivering executives that basically acts as a revolving door between elite sports player and sports management, delivering people from a hyper-specific field to a much broader one with, hot take, almost no overlap in skill-set
– An anti-intellectual, chauvinistic, and fraternally nepotistic culture
– Media/press that takes the character/aesthetic of being adversarial, but in turn acts so only towards the players (and now, bizarrely, the team and sport’s social media followers, and therefore on behalf of management and ownership because they (ownership) have a zero-sum relationship with the players! It’s not a checking of the powerful, it’s checking on behalf of them
– An invisible guarantee that once you become a head executive, you basically have a job for life
And so on.
One of the most actively anti-competitive fields there is.
The jobs are rare, hard and fleeting but those last two aren’t dictated on what you’d guess they are.
You’re put out by a Plan B? lol.
Because what the above says is that there’s no way Dallas would play him at 2RD unless they had to.
IMO we focus way too much time and energy on secondary players like Sekera. Maybe it was a bad move to buy him out. But it doesn’t really move the needle either way. If we kept him, it wouldn’t improve the team in a meaningful way. If he performs well in Dallas it’s not because he’s some great player we let slip through our fingers. If he succeeds, it’s because he’s on a better team, with a better group of players who make him look better. I like what Holland has done with the bottom six. He’s made a bunch of small bets that won’t hurt the team. What he failed to do is bring in one player who can move the needle. One good player would potentially change the whole dynamic of the top six.
Sure, but Perreault doesn’t represent any cap savings, you were suggesting trading Perreault to create the cap savings. I’m saying Russell will be easier to move next summer than Perreault will be.
I’m not sure I see a connection between a slashing injury and the players height and weight, to be honest. A comment was made about Yamamoto’s injury and the reply was “get used to it”, suggesting the player is injury prone when there’s nothing in his history to support that label.
I think you’re adding 2 and 2 and coming up with 16, just because you dislike the pick.
As have I. We shall see.
What a choice LT, I love this bloody song. It does nothing but make me smile for the movie connotation: Swingers, Vince Vaughn and Favreau strutting in shaddy looking LA as they’re planning to go out and get Johnny his mojo back. He’s all growns up!
Side note: does anyone know if this game will be broadcast on NHL’s game packages?
Martin St Louis was viewed as too small and didn’t get a sniff until he was 23.
Why can we expect more of these types of slashing injuries to KY? If the injury was from a slash, one assumes it was an injury to a bone. Why would that increase the incidence of these injuries? On a physiological level that makes no sense.
Decidedly shitty take.
Whys the “heavy hockey, don’t get pushed around” such a common trope with Oilers fans? The team that’s drafted Mitch Moroz, Cam Abney and so forth??
I missed this post and it’s honestly comical how rapid-fire it is
1) You can’t wait ‘one or two rounds’ on these guys anymore. It would have been dicey to even trade down and expect him there
2) You can tell who closes their eyes when Yamamoto hits the ice based on how they talk about puck battles and retrieval
3) Link me to a crushing hit he’s received, bonus points for if he stayed down longer than a second or missed a shift
4) Johnny Gaudreau played through wrist slashing when it was more prevalent than it is now amd has missed 17 games in 5 NHL seasons
Look: Kailer Yamamoto couldn’t score. That’s it, folks. These canned narratives that get passed around based on our collective cultural cues are wrong as shit oftentimes. You can’t just cobble together a sound take on a player from biographical facts, anecdotes, some highlight-watching and a skimming of the box scores.
I know this happening (an undersized, wicked junior scorer impressing coaching staff enough to break camp in D+1, helped possession and created chances but he literally couldn’t score) is completely counterintuitive, but it’s what happened. Players’ careers exist outside of stereotypes.
I disagree with this, I think there were several good candidates for the Oilers top-6 available this summer within this price range and Holland wasn’t able to land any of them.
Connolly ($3.5M x 4) scored 45 goals at 5v5 in the past 3 seasons (Draisaitl has 54, Nuge 36)
Dzingel ($3.375M x 2) scored 49 goals at 5v5 in the past 3 seasons
Burakovsky ($3.25M x 1) scored 29 in the past 3, just 24 years old (required a trade), RFA next summer
If you’re worried about term (I’m not, not with a player that has proven to be able to score over 3+ years) then there were some bargain veteran players available this summer too:
Perry ($1.5M x 1 + up to $1.75M in performance bonuses) scored 29 goals at 5v5 in the past 3 seasons
Maroon ($900k x 1) scored 48 goals at 5v5 in the past 3 seasons, 24 with Edmonton
Brassard ($1.2M x 1) scored 32 goals at 5v5 in the past 3 seasons
Now, you will no doubt argue that none of these players would sign in Edmonton, but you will of course have no evidence of such claim. We simply cannot verify if any of these players would or would not sign with the Oilers, so such arguments are useless. What we do know is that there were legitimate top-6 goal-scoring options available this summer that were well within the Oilers budget, yet Holland decided to shop elsewhere.
For the record, Neal has scored 37 goals at 5v5 in the past 3 seasons (vs 21 for Lucic) – here’s hoping last year’s 5 goal effort was an aberration.
Yes – first exhibition game – can’t wait.
Tip mentioned Benson and Bouchard are in.
I hope to see all three Swedes to get a sense of their games a bit better.
Go Oiler!
I’m sure you’ll see it fair to acknowledge we also can not verify that Holland didn’t offer these players competitive offers. That Holland ‘decided to shop elsewhere’ is a bit of speculation tacked on the end of an otherwise reasonable argument.
For The Athletic: Preseason 2019-20: The Oilers’ journey to respectability begins
https://theathletic.com/1212510/2019/09/16/preseason-2019-20-the-oilers-journey-to-respectability-begins/
The only one we know of for sure was Connolly. Yeah, maybe he tried to lowball all these guys, doesn’t mean he was seriously in the game. We don’t know, but the net result was ZERO new Oilers who can reasonably be expected to hold down a top-6 job.
No it doesn’t mean he was seriously in the game. And it doesn’t mean he wasn’t. As you nicely pointed out, we can’t know. Agreed that no FA improvements were made to the top 6.
How much more money do you think the Oilers would have had to offer Connolly to get him to sign here?
4 per season? 4.5?
We have no way of knowing. I said at the time (prior to him signing with Florida) that I would go as high as 4 x $4M.
Stauffer had Connelly’s agent on his show for a candid interview about 3 weeks ago.
Good guest, nice peek into the world of free agency & player contract negotiations with GM’s.
Said the Oilers were right there, Ken Holland only offered 3 years & Florida offered 4.
According to some posters on this site the Oilers dodged a bullet because Alex Chaisson is 1/2 the price & is just as good of a top 6 winger.
Not me
This is incorrect, see my previous post.
Connelly’s agent said that Florida & Edmonton offered the same dollars,
If I cared to search 630 ched archives, I would post a link
What part of my comment was incorrect? I never speculated on what the Oilers offered, I said we don’t know how much of a premium (if any) they would have had to pay over Florida’s offer to get him to sign.
It will be very interesting to see how Bouch and Bear compare…
+1 Nobody hates Yamo. To use the word hate is pure hyperbole.
In a redraft he’d be a late 2nd rounder.
This is correct as far as my recollection of that interview.
The key point of the disclosure was that Florida offered more term and Connelly / the Agent accepted without affording Edmonton a chance to counter offer.
Not true at all.
Don’t forget about the buyout proof structure of the contract – Chia went 0 for 4.
Also, the trade protection isn’t gone this off season, the NTC just becomes more limited – he has to submit a 15 team trade list.
Cap hit will still be $4M even after the bonus is paid, well, unless the Oilers retain which is not a good option.
As long as that contract they pick up doesn’t have term and isn’t on the books for 2020/21.
The key is to open up $4M in cap space and I don’t like the $1M retained. I’d rather give a low pick or a middling prospect (Rasanen, McPhee, etc.).
No, that is just not right.
I never suggested Perreault to create cap savings – in fact, I responded to that trade suggestion saying, sure, I guess I do it (as I think Perrault can help the Oilers) but it doesn’t accomplish what needs to be done – a clean disposition of this contract for next off-season. I said I would make the trade, as it could make the current team better without negative cap implications for next season but I would do it on the premise that Perreault is moved next off-season.
Why would he be a late second rounder in a re-draft?
There are two players drafted after him that have more than 10 NHL games and only a couple handful that have any NHL games.
Those drafted after him aren’t anywhere further ahead vis-a-vis Yamamoto.
He likely goes about where he was drafted in a re-draft.
If you ignore corsi, I don’t see what’s so bad about Russell.
He’s played top four minutes essentially his whole time in Edmonton.
He plays roughly the same competition as the other top four guys and gets the worst zone starts besides Larsson.
He’s +10 in terms of penalties drawn vs penalties taken.
He’s -6 in three seasons at even strength.
Doesn’t really seem like a guy that is sinking the squad.
Connolly’s agent specifically said Florida was the only team to offer the extra year. And they didn’t circle around and give other teams a chance to counter that deal. They agreed to the contract. Holland didn’t get a chance to boost his offer.
I didn’t say anything that runs counter to that.
Are pre season games being televised?
Does anybody know which station on the west coast? Thanks