Do you remember the Oilers record at the time the season stopped? Do you know how many points Edmonton is behind Vegas? Ahead of Calgary? Is Oakland still in the league?
The mind is a strange thing. I can remember Bobby Orr’s ’70-71 boxcars (78, 37-102-139) but can’t remember where I put the mail. Back to the Oilers. If the season resumes, the mad dash to the finish will be breathtaking.
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, check it out here.
- New Lowetide: Mavrik Bourque a quality option for the Oilers in the draft
- New Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Inside the franchise-altering decision to pick Leon Draisaitl over Sam Bennett
- Lowetide: Adam Larsson’s Oilers future uncertain as ‘sexy’ options emerge
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: One-on-one with Wayne Gretzky: On the time he visited Moscow during the Cold War
- Jonathan Willis and Lowetide: Discount forward options the Oilers could pursue in free agency
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: ‘Oh my God, Edmonton’s picking first’: An oral history of the 2015 NHL draft lottery
- Lowetide: Comparison of Oilers, Flames drafts 2010-19 closer than it should be
- Lowetide: The most potent lines in Oilers history
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: On the time Dave Semenko fought Muhammad Ali
- Lowetide: Why Jan Mysak could be a value pick for the Oilers at the 2020 Draft
- Jonathan Willis: The Oilers overcame malice in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver to join the NHL
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Remembering Jacques Plante’s brief tenure with the Oilers at age 45
- Lowetide: Oilers need to find (or get) real value in William Lagesson
- Jonathan Willis: What does the Oilers best possible playoff lineup look like?
- Lowetide: Why Jack Quinn is a perfect 2020 draft fit for the Oilers
- Lowetide: Oilers’ five-on-five with and without Connor McDavid is improving
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: If play does not resume, 5 notable questions that will go unanswered in Edmonton
STANDINGS
The Oilers lost the last game before lights out, and Calgary did Edmonton a favor by losing as well. Vancouver won their last game and have two games in hand on Edmonton (while being five points behind). All things being equal, you’d rather be the Oilers but nothing has been decided at this point. Here are some questions from the final night’s performance.
Question One: How well did Nuge-Draisaitl-Yamamoto play on the final night before the season crashed?
They didn’t, Nuge played on the second line, Ennis moving up. Tyler Ennis-Leon Draisaitl-Kailer Yamamoto played 15:04, 1-2 goals and 9-2 HDSC. This line was fire for most of the night, with the wingers showing great chem. Faced the Schiefele line 11:55, going 1-1 goals.
Tyler Ennis scored a goal via some good work from he and Kailer Yamamoto, giving fans an intriguing discussion point for the offseason. Leon Draisaitl made a mistake as last man back on the winning goal and turned over the puck three times. He’s a brilliant player, but single events can have enormous impact while also being single events. Kailer Yamamoto was brilliant, an assist, three shots and three HDSC, he forced the play consistently.
Question Two: How did the McDavid line perform?
Nuge-Connor McDavid-Zack Kassian played 13:10, going 10-8 shots, no goals and 3-1 HDSC. Lower event line than you’d like but at least the trio won the shot differential.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two shots, one HDSC and was outstanding with three takeaways. One of his major positives is puck theft and interrupting opposition sorties. Connor McDavid’s goal was fanfreakingtastic, and he seemed to have his legs again. Had three shots, one HDSC and a takeaway. Zack Kassian’s little dish perfect for 97’s rocket man drive to the net. He had an assist, three shots, two HDSC, and looked at home with the captain.
Question Three: How did Jujhar Khaira look in the middle?
LINE 3 James Neal-Jujhar Khaira-Alex Chiasson played 8:21, going 2-6 Corsi, 1-3 shots, no goals and no high danger. James Neal had a shot on goal and a takeaway, I thought he played well beyond an unfortunate own goal. Jujhar Khaira had a giveaway and didn’t impact the game offensively, won two of four five on five faceoffs, Tippett gave this line two offensive and no defensive faceoffs. Alex Chiasson had a quiet game, but it should be mentioned the veteran has been playing effective hockey recently.
Question Four: How is Athanasiou doing?
LINE 4 Andreas Athanasiou-Riley Sheahan-Josh Archibald played 6:42, going 8-1 Corsi, 6-0 shots, no goals and 1-0 HDSC. Andreas Athanasiou played his best game so far to my eye, he was a bull in a china shop and around the puck many times. Had one shot on goal. Riley Sheahan two shots, on HDSC and played well. Josh Archibald played a gritty game including a shot block and much hard work on the wall.
Question Five: Did Nurse-Bear deliver as top pair?
PAIRING ONE Darnell Nurse and Ethan Bear played big minutes, 23:18, going 13-20 Corsi, 9-11 shots, no goals and 3-0 HDSC. Played 12:54 with 97. Pairing faced the Schiefele line 5:21, 1-4 shots and no goals. Darnell Nurse had an assist, three shots and played much of the game. Ethan Bear had a shot on goal, a giveaway and a takeaway. He was effective passing and engaged in the offensive zone (with some impact) a couple of times.
Question Six: Were Klefbom-Larsson the actual top pairing based on matchup?
PAIRING TWO Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson played just 16:31, going 12-15 Corsi, 9-8 shots, 2-2 goals and 5-4 HDSC. Pairing faced the Schiefele line 13:04 (making it the shutdown pairing), going 12-7 shots and 2-1 goals. An effective evening. Oscar Klefbom had four shots, one giveaway and played a strong game without the puck. His skating has improved (injury impacted him) and current issues (upper body) he seems able to overcome. Adam Larsson had a shot, a giveaway but mostly played a solid positional game. The goal against while he was on the ice was goalie error.
Question Seven: Jones and Benning are a possible third pair for next season. How did they look?
PAIRING THREE Caleb Jones and Matt Benning played 9:55, going 14-4 Corsi, 10-3 shots, 0-1 goals and 5-1 HDSC. Caleb Jones had a shot on goal and two giveaways, Matt Benning two shots and a HDSC. The third pairing gets squeezed for playing time in the big games.
Question Eight: Did Smith have any wobble?
GOALIE Mike Smith stopped 21 of 24, .875. The first goal went in off James Neal’s stick, no fault there, and the winning goal was on a breakaway and that’s going to happen to a goalie. The second goal was on Smith and his stickhandling ways, miscommunication with Adam Larsson who had no chance at all.
Question Nine: How much did Nuge-Draisaitl-Yamamoto play together?
Not much, the game summary has Leon and Nuge on the ice together for 54 uneventful seconds.
Game summary via Natural Stat Trick is here.
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
A busy and fun day because there is much to discuss. We get started at 10, TSN1260. James Mirtle from The Athletic will join us to talk about an explosive story he wrote this week about the implications of not completing the 2019-20 season. The numbers are mind boggling and the impact unprecedented. At 11, Joe Osborne from OddsShark will talk NFL draft prop bets (will Roger Goodell get booed by the mailman?). 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. 90 minutes until the show!
To get the 20 year old high 2nd round pick big and fast developing center….
Marginally more expensive, and also younger. I don’t ‘want’ Turris but he could fill a more important lineup spot than Neal is for essentially the same money. Maybe a Neal buyout is still a better move than a Turris trade (a compliance buyout definitely is) but if trade/keep Neal were the only options I think the trade makes sense.
Pretty sure turkeys DO fly though.
Nah. He’s more expensive and has an extra year on his deal. He scored just 9 goals this year and 7 last year while having less than impressive on-ice stats.
Yeah, that’s McLellan’s signature style. Or… not.
All of this McLeod/ Bonino speculation ignores the real question…why in the world would Nashville want a 33 year old, $4 million, 3rd pairing LD ?
What a stupid fucking trade.
Hmmm…my date is not in lock down…have a number?
LT has proclaimed: No Mistake Thursday…
You Wheeks???
I thought about this as well. Can you imagine, they expand the benches to twice the length ( or have some players in seats behind the benches cause there are no fans.). Games would last 3-4 hours cause during every line change, they would have to shuttle players up & down the bleachers to keep distance. For on the fly changes, have extra gates to separate. There would be an increase of too many men penalties due to communication. Would they ban spitting & licking? Would fights be not allowed as well as scrums? We would get to changing fundamental aspects of the current game just to be able to play in front of nobody!!!
On the bright side…beer & popcorn service to the benches would improve…
Word on the street is that they did a variance swap where they received a relatively small, but fixed premium if the VIX stayed under 37, but were fully exposed if the VIX went above that. When the VIX went over 80, they got crushed.
meanashell11,
Hilarious! I will have to share this with our mutual friend.
Joe is on it.
https://youtu.be/NIzyTk1fuf0
Did you happen to catch the name of this escort service? 🙂
I’m still worried about what’s going to happen when that chick turns up.
For those who do not understand negative oil prices!
A friend sent this – quick primer on how oil price turned negative:
For those who were confused about how WTI Crude Oil could trade at minus $37 here is a short lesson in futures:
Imagine the following…you pay $500 today and commit to receiving an escort at your house in 15 days. Cos your wife is traveling. This is called a futures contract.
Unfortunately, lockdown came and your wife will be home for the next 60 days.
You do not want this woman to show up at your house at all now and you try to pass this futures contract to someone else.
Only you cannot sell this commitment because nobody can receive the escort at home anymore. Everyone is in full storage with wife in duty.
To make matters worse, not even the pimp (Chicago Mercantile exchange) has more room to receive girls because his house is crowded with girls.
So you will now pay anyone just to take the girl off your hands.
Do you now understand why oil has a negative price when the contract is delivered?
There is no guarantee at all that McLeod will even develop in to an NHL player, let alone blossom. Don’t get me wrong, I think he will be an NHL player with a great mix of skill and size but he’s a B plus prospect, not a sure thing.
Bonino is coming off one of his better offensive seasons – he’s not on the downslide (although he will be soon, I’m sure).
Of course, teams trade away some future for immediate help now all the time so, I highly question, the position that doing so “is all kinds of stupid”.
Are the Oilers in a position to make such a trade? I’m not sure but they aren’t trading away a sure-fire NHLer like Bouchard and adding Bonino (while subtracting a player that wouldn’t be in the opening 18 without injury) really adds balance.
The trade also brings back a 2nd round pick – which McLeod himself was.
Just another brick in the wall.
Oh yeah…many times.
Probably hard to get out there on the island but cod’s cheeks are similar. I usually go for the cod’s tongues and my wife prefers the cheeks when we can find them. Just powder with flour a little salt and pepper and pan fry. Simple but delicious. Of course in Alberta fresh fish is just about impossible to get.
We had a Chinese hot pot last night. One of my faves. You ever try it?
I’m not sure you really know anything about Berglund – b/c he may play behind Bouch and Bear doesn’t mean he will only be a 3RD. Has Malkin been a 2C for his career? Is Drai a 2C? I don’t know what Berglund will develop in to but he’s a solid prospect that his developing well in Sweden and is a good asset.
Please stop making stuff up – Benson was also an AHL all-star so, no, that post above is just wrong. Of course, you wouldn’t trade Rafferty for Bouchard, or so you so say so, in my opinion, you are either totally blinded and biased on these players or simply trolling.
Either way, I won’t talk about these prospects with you any longer until you show some ability to be reasonable.
Enjoy your evening – Stay safe on the Island!
As I said, I’m not sure I make that trade.
It also provides the 3C for next year for, essentially, nothing off our roster.
Its got longer term risk, of course, but goes along way to making this team a contender right away.
Ennis/McDavid/Kass
Nuge/Drai/Yamamoto
Khaira/Bonino/AA
Nygard/Sheahan/Archie
Neal/Chiasson will play as there will be injury (of course, one will be in at all times I’m sure – that is depth, right there)
Nygard and Khaira where they are because Khaira/Sheahan didn’t work even a little this past year.
Nurse/Bear
Klef/Larsson
Jones/Benning
Lagesson
Bouch on recall
Koskinen
Dell/DeSmith/Griess/Khubodin/Hill
You can get a third pairing RHD in the bargain bin every year.
Bouchrad was picked as an all star because every team had to be represented,
I asked what part of my post you don’t agree with as I’m happy to discuss.
What you responded above has zero to do with my post.
– Are they going to do daily tests on every player, coach and ref?
– When someone tests positive even with this no fan, play in a few cities fantasy stuff? Does the rest of the team play without that guy? Do they quarantine: then call up from the minors?
– It’s not going to be gone by the summer. Lots of asymptomtic people. Are you going to ask the players to give’er, hit hard, face-sandwitches, sweat and blood and breathing right in face?
– Maybe if I was young and dumb, I’d be wanting to lace up and play hockey, but I suspect there’s enough players who wouldn’t want to subject themselves to that exposure.
– When they test everyone some will test positive. Then what do you do?
Nonsense.
The AHL is a better league than the SHL.
He’ll likely be 3rd pairing behind those two considering:
– Bear played an entire 71 game NHL season in the top 4 at RD – mostly top pairing minutes at 5 on 5
– Bouchard is currently 20 and an AHL all-star in his first year pro coming off one of the most prolific offensive junior careers of the last decade
Solid prospect Berglund – we’ll see how it goes over the next few years.
Well you work with what you’ve got. Most teams don’t have a McDavid or a Draisaitl, some have 2.
The Oilers currently have 4 D who’ve capably played 1st pair minutes and a few more in the system who look like they could get there. It would be great to have a Hedman, but…
How do you figure two years in the AHL. He will have played two years as a pro top four D in Sweden. He is much more prepared for the NHL than Rafferty.
Too many second pairing D is a problem.
You have to identify a first pairing D,
Otherwise you’re spinning you wheeks.
My take is:
1) Bonino > Russell
2) McLeod =ish to a 2nd round pick
Maybe McLeod > 2nd to the Oilers since he may contribute sooner than a pick. I don’t think many GMs would give Holland a 2nd straight up for McLeod though. So, it makes no sense.
I gather some/many/most don’t agree with that assessment.
Plus, Alberta has a 15 person gathering restriction. A hockey bench has more than 15. Will require a weird bench set up.
You would be paying for past success on a player on the downslide for a player about to blossom. This is all kinds of stupid!
Give your head a shake! You are better than that!
I guess a lot of peoples valuation of McLeod is different from mine. I’d be shocked if Nashville accepted that trade offer.
Cool song, best in a while.
That would be solid. I think MacT was the only one who thought too many 2nd pairing D was a problem.
Agreed, Kopitar, along with Benn are flavour of the month overrated ‘stars’ that are so far from being as good as their salary would suggest.
Amazing.
Went to the Asian store in Nanaimo today and picked up some Char Siu sauce and then a pork shoulder from a local farmer.
Making BBQ pork tomorrow.
Eveything is marinating.
You would move McLeod to move Russel for Bonino and a second. Are you sure you don’t want to add Jones to make it fair. You have been self isolating for too long!
How were the scallops?
Both Drai and McDavid cheat for offense.
Pumps up the stats but doesn’t make you an elite team.
Yeah, he’ll fit right in beside Bouchard and Bear as second pairing RD. At the age of 26.
Please, enlighten me, which part of the post would you not agree with?
Berglund himself wanted one more year in Sweden.
Potential geographical adjustment period aside, he’ll be in the conversation for NHL games as soon as he decides to come over. No sure thing, of course, not going to label him a can’t miss 2RD, but he’s a legit prospect. Coming over lines up with the expiry of the Larsson contract as well.
If only turkeys could fly.
Elvis is not leaving the building.
CBJ have signed both him and Korpisalo to contract extensions.
Hmmmm.
Have not heard from his counsel “Steve Smith” either. Coincidence?