One thing I wish Oilers fans enjoyed more is the strategy of team building. I love interacting with fellow hockey fans, but conversations tend to be on a basic level like “the guy is an idiot!” or “they’re screwed!” or “I said that three weeks ago!” and then it’s just a matter of who makes the cleverest meme.
There’s a deeper conversation available to us.
Take Ken Holland’s goaltending bet as a for instance. He didn’t start where he landed and I doubt he’ll finish where he started. Exactly.
THE ATHLETIC!
I’m proud to be writing for The Athletic, and pleased to be part of a great team with Daniel Nugent-Bowman and Jonathan Willis. Here is our recent work.
- New Lowetide: Why fans should expect an Oilers playoff berth in Canadian division
- Jonathan Willis: Dave Tippett has more options now thanks to versatile Oilers forwards
- Lowetide: 7 big questions facing the Oilers heading into next season
- Lowetide: Danger, heartbreak ahead for Oilers, Ethan Bear in contract situation
- Lowetide: Tyler Tullio is the latest Oilers draft pick to make an impression
- Lowetide: What if Ryan Nugent-Hopkins doesn’t sign with the Oilers?
- Jonathan Willis: Left-side logjam will force the Oilers to make a choice, and perhaps a sacrifice
- Lowetide: Ken Holland’s 2020 Oilers offseason report card
- Lowetide: Theodor Lennstrom is the Oilers’ latest European bet on defence
- Lowetide: Why Anton Forsberg could win the Oilers’ backup job in 2020-21
- Lowetide: The 2020-21 Oilers finally deploying elite talent in the right places
- Jonathan Willis: Team Draft vs. Team Trade: Which collection of all-time Oilers is better?
- Lowetide: Seattle Kraken expansion mock draft 5.0: Who could the Oilers lose?
- Lowetide: Why McDavid and Nuge together could be key to Oilers’ playoff success
- Lowetide: Projected training camp roster for the 2020-21 Oilers.
- Jonathan Willis: Will the Oilers repeat their power play magic in 2021?
- Lowetide: How many ‘peak seasons’ can Oilers fans expect from Connor McDavid?
- Lowetide: Oilers Top 20 prospects, post-draft edition.
ELLIOTTE FRIEDMAN
Edmonton really believed it was going to get Markstrom, and were stung when things didn’t work out. Carolina made a late stealth pitch, but Calgary snared the goalie. Vancouver stuck to its philosophy of not going long on term with either Markstrom or Christopher Tanev, not budging until very late with either player. By then, both were moving on. (31 Thoughts, October 14, 2020).
Holland pushed for Markstrom, but the Calgary Flames signed him for $6 million times six years. I believe that was too much for too long, but also understand that teams make bets and if the Flames win Stanley at any time in those six years then the fan base will be thrilled.
Holland took his $6 million and procured short-term deals with Tyson Barrie, Dominik Kahun and Tyler Ennis. I like Holland’s work more than a Markstrom signing (and one assumes a quick trade of Koskinen).
It still left the goalie issue and the general manager signed veteran Mike Smith. Why? His coach trusts him, Smith finished with a pile of wins (12-3-4 starting January 1) and from all we hear he’s a good teammate and a holler guy (old timey phrase meaning he speaks up and takes a leadership role).
Here at Lowetide we don’t give extra value to things like being a good teammate (although I’m sure that exists) beyond its connection to winning. We’re also aware that small sample sizes and one hot line (Leon) can skew things in the short term. Example: Smith’s save percentage January 1-end of season was .911, whereas his save percentage in the first half of the year was .893. He has always been inconsistent but it is officially a big deal. If it works out, then Holland will have made a risky but worthwhile bet.
I do think the signing of Anton Forsberg will turn out to be a bigger deal than most believe at this time. I wrote about it for The Athletic today and as time goes on the condensed schedule will have an impact.
The Oilers are not a stellar goalie development organization. That’s not an unusual thing, very few teams have mastered the art of draft and development as it pertains to goaltenders.
Edmonton usually has a reasonable college prospect idling in Bakersfield but the last one (Shane Starrett) was injured while playing for the Condors and the organization moved on from him. As of now, there is no bubbling under goaltender who we can project to the major league level. Here are the latest numbers on the stable of Oilers goalie prospects:
- Ilya Konovalov 2020-21 KHL: 10 games, 2.28 .924
- Olivier Rodrigue 2020-21 Austria: 18 games, 3.19 .903
- Stuart Skinner 2019-20 AHL: 41 games, 3.31 .892
- Dylan Wells 2019-20 AHL: 7 games, 3.77 .878
Konovalov is an intriguing option but is currently under contract in the KHL (free agent this summer). In terms of development time line, Skinner should be the top candidate but his AHL performances have been uneven. Rodrigue is a valued prospect by the organization but this is his first pro season and he won’t be in camp.
These things, added to Smith’s age and erosion, combined with Forsberg’s resume, lead me to believe Holland likely makes a deal during 2021 for a goaltender.
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
The final show before Christmas is going to be a blast. TSN1260, at 10 this morning, we’ll be joined by Frank Seravalli of TSN for the latest update on the NHL season to come. Corey Pronman pops in at 11 to talk World Juniors and maybe we’ll see some NHL signing activity in the next few hours. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter.
TSN has just announced that Kucherov”s injury has been officially diagnosed as capcircumventitis.
If the Oilers cap troubles get worse, they can put McDavid on LTIR for the season to get cap relief………
Sounds like a disease Jerry Lewis had.
I believe it’s an inflammation of the wayven gloiben.
Just opened my stocking and received a pack of Topps NHL sticker cards. Got Quinn Hughes and Adam Gaudette, yuk, anybody want to trade?
Nope.
I would hang on to those.
Will be worth a fortune in 10 years. 🙂
Something for all the foodies here…
I ran across this story about prairie Snow Beef being produced in Saskatchewan and Alberta and am wondering if anyone has tried it?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/prairie-farmers-wagyu-genetics-snow-beef-1.5764253
The wholesaler I buy from has Wagyu burger patties for sale and they are fantastic but Javen’t seen steaks here on the Island.
What’s the site u can order Wagyu burgers from?
It’s called Five Star Wholesale Foods.
I buy all my bacon (lots), beef, chicken wings, some seafood and Dim Sum from them.
Everything is top notch restaurant quality.
https://fivestarwholesale.ca
Mark the owner is an old friend and is also a Parksville City Councillor and is known around town as the Bacon Boss.
I don’t think he ships too much out of town…where are you located?
(I should add his inventorycbanges weekly depending on what deals he finds.)
In the Okanagan not to far away from the site where 3 dollar bill Trudeau gave the finger to the west.
Salmon Arm?
Was thinking about you as part of this discussion.
Five Star is well worth worth a day trip up the Island if you’re so inclined.
I’ll buy the beer 🙂
Nice golf courses in the area if you don’t brag how much money you make the country bumpkins won’t gouge you and it’s actually quite affordable.
Okanagan.
I’ll ask him next time I see him.
I sure would love a big fat juicy burger that tastes like they used to.
Will see what I can do…they are amazing!
Uh, thanks… my turkey is in the oven and I’m already thinking of my order. Very short drive for me.
Nice.
Where are you located?
Happy Festivus to Sir Lowetide and all Lowetidians. May you have a Mariusz Czerkawski and a Khabibulin.
I regret that I have only one plus to give to this.
I hope you had a happy Haakana and a fine (Jason) Soules-tice.
Victoria Oil did indeed hit a two-run homer, but you followed it up with a terrific solo shot.
Very nicely done!
Per LeBrun:
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly:
On the basis of our discussions in the past week, as well as our exchange of correspondence over the last 24 hours, we believe we are aligned and in agreement on the conditions on which each of our Canadian franchises can begin play in their own buildings for the start of the 2020-21 NHL season.”… ”Follow up by Dreger:
The NHL and NHLPA are on board with additional testing, if needed and are both committed to using some of the games top stars in CoVid related provincial public service announcements.
———————
This is happening – lets do this!
Nobody go to strip clubs with or without a mask!
What about a delivered through the back door late night dessert.
#PuckBunnyProblems Getting a long swab up your nostrils daily for your hockey player boyfriend.
#PuckBunnyProblems Having to get up before 11AM everyday to drive to the arena with my hockey player boyfriend to get tested.
“we believe we are aligned and in agreement on the conditions”
that’s a pretty fancy way to say nothing signed, but the good Lord willing, and the creek don’t rise. that and some flexibility and they should be fine.
Do you honestly think the league is going to release the schedule they did and then two days later make the announcement they made today if there wasn’t an agreement in place? I’m not sure what type of official documentation they need with the provinces (if any) but this is happening as much as you seem to hope it doesn’t.
A potential Cooper Marody sighting.
He posted a pic on IG with him on the ice and with his dog stating: “Oliver is ready for the hockey season”.
I have no idea if the pic itself is recent or not and my question is if Marody is ready for the season?
One game overseas to get injured and come back to Michigan. Is he in Edmonton? Is he fully healthy?
if healthy, he could be a taxi squad option.
Of note, Cracknell was still playing games in Europe as of yesterday. I assume he will be ready for camp…..
Darren Haynes (@DarrenWHaynes) Tweeted:
Taking a closer look at the #Flames schedule, it’s very Markstrom-friendly out of the gate with just one back-to-back over the first 16 games (5+ weeks). The opportunity for a Kiprusoff-like workload will be there just to tempt Geoff Ward. Frequency of games condenses after that.
https://twitter.com/DarrenWHaynes/status/1342188802459111424?s=20
One thing Kiprusoff never had to deal with:
Waves of McDavid – Draisaitl.
Markstrom has…many times…he did just fine.
B2b myth is long debunked.
4 or 5 games in 6 or 7 days is an entirely different animal especially if there is travel involved.
Does any team have a stretch of 4 games in 6 days? Or 5 in 7?? With travel????
Yes.
The Oilers play 4 games in 6 days starting January 16th with a trip to Toronto right in the middle with 5 games in 7 days with a trip to Winnipeg in the middle starting January 24 before they fly home.
Well, that just doesn’t seem fair at all.
But why would I expect fair?
There really is a remarkable amount of angst and ink being spent over Edmonton Oiler goaltending, for a team that finished 14th in the NHL in all situations SV% last season.
The SV% for Canadian division teams last yeah:
Winnipeg .913
Vancouver .907
Calgary .906
Edmonton .906
Toronto .901
Montreal .900
Ottawa .900
And one of the two teams that was ahead of the Oilers got a major downgrade. Sure there’s question marks but it’s not like the Oilers are starting off behind the 8-ball, or an implosion in net is inevitable.
Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto have shored up their D.
Do think that will make a difference?
It could.
Calgary lost Brodie and Hamonic but added Tanev. Markstom is a better bet overall, but he’s never matched Talbot’s .919 from last year. Tough to argue they’ll be better.
Vancouver upgraded Tanev to Schmidt. Better player but not sure he’s a better defender. Edler is going to start eroding soon too, and their goaltending took a massive hit. You’d have to predict more GA for the Canucks, no?
And Toronto basically shuffled Barrie for Brodie and added some depth guys. Andersson has also typically been better though it’s possible last year was real age related decline. I’d guess they should improve.
Looks like a mixed bag to me. I don’t see much reason the Oilers place on that list should change notably. You?
I’ve been beating this drum since they signed Smith. Far from ideal but you apportion resources available and at the end of the day the goals against & save % do not count in the standings the way that wins do. Smith started 37 games and the team put 44 points into their total with him in net. Not sure what more you can expect from your backup.
I guess the concern (expectation, but most it seems) is that Smith can’t replicate those wins. The concern is real, while also (IMO) being quite overblown.
Calgary will also be adding Valimaki (1st pairing potential) and Nesterov who is a veteran shutdown D.
Schmidt is a legit 1st pairing D…Tanev hasn’t been for a couple of years. That’s an upgrade. Edler was very good earlier on last season but seems to wear down but as Hughes gets more and more minutes and gets stronger, Edler’s minutes will be cut.
Don’t agree that they took a “massive hit” in goal. Demko is ready and, as stated previously, I think Holtby will rebound
The concern there is the third pairing where it seems they’ve pencilled in Juolevi on the left side…success or failure TBD. On the right side, 3 young players auditioning with Jordie Benn as cover.
Considering both Hughes and Edler play more than 20 minutes a game, I don’t know if that’s a big deal.
In Toronto, Brodie is the RHD partner Morgan Reilly has been looking for forever.
Their top pairing will be much better and I like the addition of Muzzin (last season) and Bogosian on a cheap deal.
Rasmus Sandin also appears to ready for third pairing duties and Mikko Lehtonen could be a fantastic add…PPG with Jokerit and a perennial KHL All Star.
Yes, Calgary lost two top 4D and will replace them with Tanev and Valimaki. The latter is a good prospect but we won’t know where his NHL game is at until the season gets underway. Nesterov, shall we say that late 20’s European D have a rather spotty record? And he doesn’t look like more than a depth bet anyway.
I think we agree on Vancouver’s D. Schmidt is an upgrade (I said that). Edler is aging. Their top 4 look good but there’s no depth below them. One injury and they’re instantly in scary territory. (and Schmidt has missed lots of time in recent years, Edler every year forever).
We don’t agree on their goalies. The Canucks looked likely to slide out of the playoffs last March with Markstrom injured until the pandemic saved them. Demko wasn’t ready then, and he’s got the injury concern too. 3 playoff games and everything’s changed though.
Holtby hasn’t had a SV% within spitting distance of Koskinen’s .917 since Obama was President.
And the Leafs. Well Barrie was supposed to be a dynamite add too. We’ll see how Brodie meshes before anointing him the answer to a ‘forever’ problem. Lehtonen should be useful but he’s an offensive D so I don’t see how he’d be expected to help the SV%.
Lots of stuff. Not all of it ‘better’. We shall see.
Its impossible to (honestly, without bias) posit Valimaki being a potential first pairing D and Bouchard dithering away and not showing himself early. I know all about Valimaki’s knee injury and I know all about his production this year in Liiga.
There is no reason to (honestly, without bias) think he is ready to impact the Flames lineup positively and not think the Bouchard is ready for the same.
The Oilers manager doing a better job of assembling established NHL players does not derogate from what Bouchard has done or is ready to do.
Valimaki is a fantastic prospect – I think that, as an Oiler fan, I am going to hate him for years. Bouchard is an equally fantastic prospect and equally ready to impact the lineup – he just has more competition.
One says Nesterov. Another says Lennstrom.
Demko may be ready but, of course, he may be not – fantastic in the playoffs for a week – really really fantastic. Not good enough in the regular season covering for an injured Markstrom. Holtby was worse than Smith last year and, until he proves otherwise, it looks like the continuation of a decline as opposed to a one-off. Demko could prove to be legit this year. Its far from a certainty though.
Nothing is certain…you just play the probabilities.
The major difference between Valimaki and Bouchard is that Valimaki is a plus skater while Bouchard is only average.
https://lastwordonsports.com/2017/04/18/juuso-valimaki-scouting-report-2017-nhl-draft-20/
Bouchard is a great passer but so is Valimaki.
That Holland decided to block Bouchard and Treleving did not block Valimaki tells you something.
Lennstrom is so far down the depth chart you can’t see him from here. Nesterov has a good chance to make the Flames out of camp.
It’ll be interesting to watch the Demko/Holtby pairing vs. the Koskinen/Smith pairing over the course of the season.
If I was putting money on one of those goalies shitting the bed, (and I will) it would be on a soon to be 39 year old.
We’ll see.
Valimaki is a better skater than Bouchard – sure.
Bouchard is a better passer, shooter and has better offensive IQ than Valimaki.
There is nothing in their development that makes Valimaki a superior prospect or more ready to make an impact. You can pick out skating. There are various things to pick out about Bouchard.
100% Holland blocked Bouchard – of course, that is only when the defensive group is 100% healthy. Over the past 3 years, the Oilers have generally used 10 or 11 d-men in the first 56 games of the season. Holland knows that defensive depth is important and he knows that Bouchard will get plenty of games. Not acquiring an established NHL right shot d-man would have been egregious. Going in to the season with a sophomore, a veteran that has had recent injury issues and a rookie with NO fourth option would be ludicrous.
Holland is very high on Bouchard – we all know this. Treliving spent his cap space on Markstrom. Holland spent it on ensuring there was depth through the lineup.
We’ll keep a running total of their performance this season.
Bouchard (and you) will get crushed.
We’ll keep a running tab on the goalies and their SV% too.
I feel good about the Oilers group vs the Canucks.
To me the only team that did not swap assets, and clearly added to better the same roster, is the Oilers.
Holland added 3 established players to the top 9 and a top European prospect to the forward group.
Jones is at least a place holder 5v5 over a chronically injured Klefbom, and Barrie is the best 5v5 puck mover and overall points D by career numbers in ages, and replaces Benning right side. The D is better overall IMO.
As LT said, only a lack of upgrade on Smith held off the ‘balance photo’. This amount of upgrade only happened this season given the cap because of Covid. Silver linings.
Yeah the Oilers very clearly upgraded their forwards. Pretty impressive improvement actually.
The D, I don’t feel comfortable saying/believing they’re better than last year, though I do agree that Barrie is likely better than a healthy Klefbom.
As it stands RD is very strong, LD is pretty weak. Hopefully Jones can take the step everyone’s expecting (and I guess Russell isn’t actually **that** bad if Jones were to falter). But I see the D as rather unbalanced overall (despite the parts being quality) so I can’t call them ‘better’.
Anyway, I agree that the team did improve overall and is in a pretty good spot going into the season.
Jones is one of the main keys to the season!
Calgary has downgraded from Brodie to Tanev and Vancouver, even with Schmidt, only has 4 passable defenders.
Valimaki is the major “add” in Calgary.
He’s the goods…could replace Giordano on the top pairing as early as next season.
Perhaps that says more about Giordano than Valimaki 🙂
Good post!
+1
Global National (@GlobalNational) Tweeted:
Germany dealing with multiple positive COVID-19 tests ahead of world juniors https://t.co/Vb0crF0zPs https://t.co/swDGYCodsm
https://twitter.com/GlobalNational/status/1342179873784176641?s=20
Time for Tyler Johnson to Detroit with a whole pile of draft picks
Johnson would have to agree to waive his NTC in order for that to happen.
TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) Tweeted:
? SIGNING UPDATE ? : #TBLightning sign F Anthony Cirelli to a three-year, $14.4 million contract…
Follow every deal in our Signing Tracker – https://t.co/9G8sMTmZZA
#TSNHockey https://t.co/ABMGmgxDml
https://twitter.com/TSNHockey/status/1342167795560308736?s=20
This should be interesting to follow.
They must know which other shoe is about to drop.
You would think. How much will it cost and who gets to reap the benefit?
My first thought was Ottawa but hearing this morning they are likely going to get Derek Stephan from Arizona. He has a $6M cap hit but is owed only $3M in cash on the last year of his contract. Perfect for the Senators.
Another possibility is Detroit trading Zetterberg’s $6.1M cap hit and using the LTIR.
That sounds right. I wonder what Yzerman wants for that. I would hold out for a 1st and a high end prospect. Not a lot of options left.
Thinking back that it cost the TMLs a first rounder to get rid of the Marleau contract, it should cost the TBL even more to acquire that amount of cap relief. Hope Yzerman gets them to give him at least a first and a second.
As far as Coach T. “trust Smith” – yes, that was proven over the course of the season.
At the same time, there may have been some softening of said trust by Coach T. in August. After being pulled in game 1, Coach T. never went back to Smith even with Koskinen’s play was “meh” at best – Coach T. had every opportunity to go back to Smith and never did.
Will he remember his loss of trust? Hope so.
I’m not so sure that Holland had a “quick trade of Koskinen” lined up in connection with a Markstrom signing. We know, Mikko had a fine year, very solid to plus numbers and advanced numbers – of course, mitigated by only starting half the games.
He had a good, not great, year and I don’t think there was a market for his 2 X $4.5M straight up – I think any trade would have had significant retainment by the Oilers or the Oilers adding a sweetener. I think that would have been an egregious scenario in connection with the acquisition of a contract with great risk. Likely an upgrade in the short term, how much we don’t know. Great risk in the medium to long term.
I’m enthused with how this worked out.
If he didn’t have a trade for Koskinen the team would have ended up with $9.5 M in cap room for the position with numerous other holes in the lineup. That would have this board howling for him to be fired imo.
Yup, I am aware of this.
At the same time, I don’t imagine there was a market for Koskinen at 2 X $4.5M without the Oilers incurring pain to dispose of the contract (even though Mikko had a fine/decent/solid year.
After his signing bonus I think Koskinen only costs $3.3 M this season in actual money. I know it looks difficult but the only other answer for me is total management incompetence if they kept him & signed Markstrom.
See my post re: did the off season mean we have good management or did Holland get lucky.
Real money, sure, however, of course, as we see, cap space remains the material and primary factor.
Do you think there was a taker for Koskinen at 2 X $4.5M clean? Of note, he has a 15-team no trade clause.
Not many teams have the cap to just take on $4.5M but it seems likely there’d be a market for a money in/money out deal for a useful position player.
Even if you look at his 2 seasons (including is poorer 1st year) he’s above average (tied for 12th in SV%) of the 30 goalies with 75+GP.
I’ll agree the deal wasn’t a great bet the day it was signed based on his track record to that point. But I don’t see an argument that he’s worse than an average starter or that he’s overpaid, and certainly not that his contract is a boat anchor.
I don’t disagree that he’s more value for his contract now than on the day he signed (which remains a wild and unreal signing – at the time).
With that said, come October 9, I still don’t see a market for him, with all the tenders that were available. Tenders don’t have great trade value at the best of times, let along with a “meh” or not great contract. I’m not sure what type of player could have been acquired – a bloated contract bottom six player perhaps.
All I’m saying is that I don’t really think Holland had a solid disposition plan for Mikko set up – not one that would have made Oilers fans smile.
Could be wrong.
I think it was irresponsible of Holland to offer Markstrom that $5 M if he didn’t with so many other weaknesses in the line up.
Don’t disagree with that. He very well could have had a deal in place. I’m just speculating my opinion by saying that he didn’t and that any deal he would have been able to make wouldn’t have brought back any value and likely would have required some pain (more due to the market than Mikko’s play last year).
Yeah, we are both just speculating. I do think it is fair to note that in offering AA $2.5 M Holland was still out of synch with the market at a point where he should have just walked away.
I am quite happy with where we ended up but the start?
Not so much.
I’d be worried about our goaltending if they were trying to fit 82 games into a compressed schedule, where the backup was going to have to play 30-35 games …
But with only 56 games I envision more workload for the starter who can play pretty much all of the non b2b games.
Koskinen should start somewhere between 40-45 games, which would be a very light workload for a regular season.
Smith will get 8-10 starts, so it’s not a big deal if he’s leaky in half of them (other teams will have weak net minding at times too). Forsberg will see a handful of games as well, and if the goaltending is really shit they can trade for Raanta in April.
I agree. The b2b myth has been debunked. Having a starter play 40 games should be the goal.
im more worried about the teams that split the starts than a team that will give starter 40 games
I am actually quite surprised this group has poo pooed or ignored the efforts of other teams efforts to pour more efforts and resources into goaltender development considering it is the most important position in the game and, as LT says, the Oilers have been so poor at developing goaltenders over the decades.
Both Calgary and Florida have recently added goaltending excellence departments to address this and, of course, Mitch Korn and Ian Clark have become legendary for their innovative work in developing goaltenders over the years.
Recently listened to an interview with Jamie McLennan who runs a goaltending school who says goalie coaches have traditionally been almost after thoughts and are the most poorly paid assistant coaches despite their work likely being the most critical to winning and losing.
As Leadfarmer noted above, the Canucks would not have made the playoffs last season if not for Markstrom and they certainly would not have gone so deep in the playoffs had not Demko been excellent.
Ian Clark should get a lot of credit for spending years developing those talents.
Do the Oilers have a goaltending coach? Can anyone name him or her without looking it up?
Oilers have two, Dustin Schwartz and Sylvain Rodrigue who works under Schwartz’ direction.
Do the results speak for themselves?
They might.
Having one guy who was 6th among the 30 most used goalies in SV% and the other improving his year over year SV% at age 37 on arriving from another team. Speaks pretty well I’d say.
I think there would be far more readers here who can name one or both of the Oiler goalie coaches than those who can’t.
I hear the old “most important position in hockey” comment often but in what sense is it true?
It is certainly true if you have a lousy defence and forwards who don’t back check but is it true if you do? I know that everybody always offers criticism or credit to the system when assessing GAA for goalies. You can’t discuss the NYI without mentioning Trotz’s teams play a shutdown role.
If you want to play an ‘offence first’ system I agree you need a high end goalie because he is going to face a lot of high danger shots but there are a lot of ways to build a team and high offence has not traditionally been the easiest or cheapest way to do that.
But the Oilers are certainly in that “offense first” quadrant, no?
Do you think they prioritize goaltending to the extent they should?
The lack of a 3rd line forced Mcdavid and Drai to play all out offense as if they didn’t score no one would and bottom 6 would leak goals.
With more balance that should fix itself.
but the goalering situation would keep me up at night if I’m Holland and Tippett.
Turris will be the most underrated signing we’ve had in these parts for since forever. He will take that added pressure off Leon and Connor just by playing for him finally below his weight class. First time since 2006 we can roll 4 lines continuously. Hooray! Hooray! We finally have a real team.
This is something I agree with and have been posting about.
The presumed increased ability of the bottom six to score goals could have material direct and indirect benefits:
1) Of course, the increase in goal scoring should have the bottom six at a much closer to 50% goal share, even without a reduction in goals against – the 3rd line could potentially be an outscoring line – last year it was centered mainly by Riley Sheahan
2) With the bottom six producing some goals, McDavid and Drai will not have the internal pressure to SCORE ALL THE GOALS – of course, they will still be offensive players and think offense first (as they should) but this should:
(a) allow Tippet to reduce their minutes at 5 on 5, even when tied or behind – they won’t need to be overly relied on because there is a chance the bottom six could score some goals
(b) this will lead to less mental and physical fatigue which will allow them to be better offensive players but also better overall players – mental fatigue leads to mistakes defensively more than anything and with physically and mentally fresher players, I think they become better two-way players.
I’m more worried about the Canucks who will have to change the way they play as they can’t trade high danger scoring chances anymore. The game plan last year was play all out offense and have Markstrom out goaler the opponent as he provided top 5 goalering
I’m expecting Holtby will bounce back in a major way.
He has said more than once that his decision to sign with the Canucks was predicated in a major way by the opportunity to work with Ian Clark.
We will soon see.
Holtby lost it as a goaltender you just don’t get it back overnight he’s going to have to fight through it which will cost them games.
First step for Holtby – bouncing back to Mike Smith levels…… yup, he was worse than Smith (and on a better team).
Holtby has been less than mediocre to merely mediocre for the last several years, EXCEPT for the playoff cup run, where he was admittedly rather good.
And Ian Clark will anoint him with holy goal tending oil and disperse the goal scoring demons haunting him. It is the way of the goal tending guru. Have faith all will be well!?
Depends on whether you are talking about the team’s history or this management team. There is nobody here or anywhere else that I know of that thinks the Oilers have had good management for a long time so it is pretty low lying fruit to criticize it. It has been close to the worst in the league if not the worst at various points.
If you are talking about the current management team they just tried to sign Markstrom to an overpay of a contract in order to address the goaltending so I don’t think you can say they don’t see it as something that needs to be improved.
I just don’t buy that goaltending is the most important position and I don’t think you do either since I have seen you touting 1st pairing dmen as the ingredient without which you cannot win Stanley.
We are both old enough to have seen the cup won in multiple different ways. Some are easier to assemble than others – especially given a capped league which rewards offence – but it is the form of the team rather than the parts that win for the most part. You need good players but mostly you need a group that complements each others strengths while mitigating the weaknesses of your teammates.
Great goaltending can mask deficient defensive play – as Markstrom did for Vancouver last season – but good defensive play can also mask mediocre goaltending. You can’t have pucks dribbling in from centre ice but you can win with a goalie who stops the ones he should.
Unless you’re part of the inner circle how would you know what resources are spent and or what priority is put on goal tending. It is not in the preview of the fan. We could make wild ass guesses as you do and state them as fact but most posters on this site are better than that!
I stated nothing as fact…I asked a question.
What prompted the question was that Calgary and Florida have indicating they are going to be spending more resources on goaltender development.
The huge influx of Russian goalies will make finding a decent starter not too difficult for anyone with cap
Russia is the new Quebec for goalies until it isn’t.
After the contract Florida gave Bob they better have hired all the goalie coaches.
I noticed a change in Talbot and Brossoit style as time went on with the Oilers. They were on their knees more and more especially when the opposition player comes from behind the net with the puck leaves top corner open. Kosh does this as well the man is taller than a tree and still gets beat top corner. This is coached into them watch Talbot and Brossoit play now different style less on their knees.
Interesting…thanks.
Will for sure keep an eye on that.
if you watch him with the Wild it’ll be obvious just watch how he plays the net more side to side then on his knees.
All NHL goalies play on their knees.
A hybrid-butterfly style is typical these days. They were coached to slide across on their knees to take away the highest percentage chances available to a shooter doing a wraparound. That’s solid technical advice, according to Kevin Woodley.
When NHL sharpshooters see a goalie playing deep in his net and going down early they automatically all start going top shelf where Grandma keeps her cookies.
Agreed. But odds are the shot will come across the surface. And most players aren’t sharpshooters.
What we see as an area left open if you take the angle from the puck to that same spot you would see there is actually very little room for the puck to go in. What killed the Oilers in the play in were a couple of deflections off sticks held between the waist and shoulder that found twine. Nothing wrong with the goal tending and or positioning of the goalie. That I believe is what you call bad luck!
Bad luck for the goalie. Bad commitment to battling by the skaters (i.e. not working to tie up sticks, clear the goalie’s vision line, etc.).
Broissoit had a .895 Sv% last year in Winnipeg. That doesn’t really support the idea that coaching in Edmonton is the problem imo.
I often hear people shit on Schwartz but rarely offer any actual insight as to why. Oilers goalie stats bad = goalie coach bad. Okay then.
But why?
Dustin Schwartz is the goaltending consultant for the WHL. Is the WHL now a bad league? What do the execs in the WHL know that we don’t?
Context is important.
”and from all we hear he’s a good teammate and a holler guy”
Didnt we just go through a decade of “good in the room”?
Holland started by making offers to Benning & Athanasiou. Rumour has it that playing time was what led Benning to decide to move along. I seem to remember $1.5 M being mentioned but I don’t know if it was ever confirmed. The number $2.5 for AA has been talked about often enough that I think we can believe that was the offer he rejected.
From there we heard the Markstrom offer mentioned. Seven years time $5 M if I remember correctly.
Meanwhile Klefbom rumours were starting to bubble up but Holland had to know more than we did at that point about the possibility that he was gone for the season. I agree that Holland had to have a Koskinen move in his back pocket.
Those early attempted moves would mean no Barrie I would think.
So we could have ended up with AA, Benning, Ennis & Markstrom for a total of $10,000,000 instead of Kahun, Turris, Ennis, Barrie, JP & Smith for $10,050,000.
Do we chalk this up to good management or good luck?
I woke up too early and posted on yesterday’s thread about Miller signing for 1 million with ducks and Blackburn for 2.8 million/2 yrs with devils…Does smith fall in between those correctly? I don’t think he does.
There is a whole lot more lucky than good going on which shoulld be cause for concern.
What you call lucky came from not going past whatever limits he has set. He wanted aa, but aa wanted more then he would give. He wanted markstrom, but markstrom wanted more then he would give.
You call him lucky, I say he is being frugal, which has led to getting more for less.
Has Hooland managed like this in the past? Or is this a deviation from normal?
I for one was very pleased that Holland got Barrie ($3.75), Turris ($1.65) and Ennis ($1.00) for approximately the Markstom money ($6.00), especially given the term – buyout coming in 2025. The numbers for Mikko (.917), Markstrom (.918) and Talbot (.919) were essentially the same last season. So, Calgary and Edmonton basically stayed the same with the starters, but Edmonton improved elsewhere. Until answered during the season, the questions regarding Mike Smith will persist.
Oilers finish first in the ‘North’ division
I keep looking at Arizona’s goaltending. Didn’t Mike Smith enjoy his time in the south? Would a trade solve both team’s issues.
The trade would require giving Arizona some high end futures
I suspect Holland would prefer to avoid paying the asking price if possible.
The Oilers will have the option of putting a waiver claiming on Adin Hill (well, unless Zona runs with 3 goalies on their active roster).
Strange Brew?
Merry Christmas and good day, eh.
Oh yeah, better not forget the song…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DTwLqR071M
Beauty.
That song is from Bob & Doug’s album The Great White North. Incidentally, another song from that album is “Take Off” featuring Rush’s Geddy Lee; oddly enough, it would become his highest-charting song on US Top 40 radio.
God Jul Lowetide and his band of (somewhat)merry lowetidians!
In my part of the world we mainly celebrate christmas today on christmas eve though this year the celebrations are ofc much different. Especially for me since I’m working but once I get off in the evening me, the wife and my two year old will have a quiet evening of good food, presents and maybe a dark beer or two.
Hope you all get to celebrate the best christmas possible!
The best Christmas possible to you and your family as well.
Surprised there’s no mention of the Canada game last night.
We probably shouldn’t be making any judgements until the medal round, but I’ve got some first impressions.
Dach looked pretty dominant, until the injury. I thought Perfetti, Byfield, McMichael and Zary looked good up front. I liked Drysdale on defense.
Biggest disappointment from last night has be Byrum. I wasn’t impressed with him last year either. Didn’t make the simple, quick play very often, and got into trouble when he hung on to the puck too long. He also got beat one on one too often for a guy with his skills. Seemed slow to read the play, and got caught flat footed in the neutral zone a few times.
Holloway didn’t show much last night either. I can see the speed and skating ability, but the hands and head have to be better. I also didn’t see him winning many puck battles, which was supposed to be one of his strengths.
I also thought that Holloway played on the perimeter too much and didn’t seem to want to go into the tough spots as much as his line mates did…maybe I’m wrong and he is adjusting to the pace but he seemed to be floating a bit. Levi looked good and the junior defence played strong …russians could be the real deal with askarov in net
Yeah, I figured yesterday’s thread would have covered it… but agree with your player assessment. I do realize that this was the first action these players have seen since March, there’s bound to be some rust. I thought Levi played a good game overall.
Dach looks to be done for the tournament and will miss NHL time as well according to TSN.
Given the lack of playing time and this being their first exhibition game I think you are being very harsh in your judgement. The team played a very sound team game and were full marks for the win. You could tell the timing wasn’t there but that is to be expected against a good team who had many if not all their players playing in leagues prior to coming to this tournament. Halloway was okay not great but maybe your expectations were just a little too high given the situation.
Markstrom would have been a nice goaler upgrade as he was the only reason Canucks made playoffs last year
While Koskinen has had solid numbers I don’t think brain trust sees him as a long term solution
At Koskinens age he was never going to be the long term solution unless you have a much different definition of long term than I do!
First time reading a current post in at least a month, been playing catch up, finally skipped ahead yesterday (my personality doesn’t agree with reading posts out of order)
Re: Mike Smith. I don’t really see him as a good teammate, certainly not a good backup. Yes, he is vocal. But as a backup, he comes across as pouty, whiney, miserable, an all around none of the character traits you associate with the ‘good soldier’ backup. That’s why personally I was incensed at his resigning, not because of his numbers (which mostly stink and are unlikely to improve) but because he doesn’t even fill the role as a role player. I would have preferred basically every other NHL option, and some non NHL ones. It’s entirely possible his teammates see him differently, but that’s how it looked from the outside looking in. Prove me wrong, Mike.
I understand what you are saying, and do somewhat agree.
With that said, I trust Coach Tippett has the required sense of this situation and wouldn’t be on-board with Holland bringing him back in that role is he wasn’t fit for it.
Gasp! I can’t believe you skipped ahead!
I too have that same personality trait. ?
I think last year Smith knew he was brought into a 1a/1b situation. I think thats why we saw him competing for the net so much (and being upset when he didn’t get it). Very competitive individual and I think some teammates like that kinda thing.
This year I’m sure he knows this is a starter/backup situation(right coach…..right?!). So I’d expect to see a little more ‘what’s best for the team’ out of him.
I’m hopeful that Coach T. knows this as well.
I’m heartened by Coach T.’s reliance on Mikko in the play-in but worry about memory loss and Coach T. forgetting about his loss of trust in Smith.
The coach has to show confidence in whoever he plays. I for one believe Tippett and the management get a pass on this for now. What Holland did after not getting the goalie he felt best fit the team. He moved forward and took a different path that I think might very well look like genius come the end of May. We wait as LT would say!
I realize every game is important, especially in a condensed season. But looking at the schedule, I believe the first 2 weeks in March are vital (if not the whole month), and could make or break the season.
https://www.nhl.com/oilers/schedule/2021-03-01/MT
If they can go 6-3 and enjoy a tall Guiness or 10-6 for the month we should be in a good spot. Start the month 3-6 and we might see Kuemper brought over.
Biggest question mark for me on the Oilers forwards is how hot Draisaitl’s line is going to be.
Not sure it’s reasonable to expect fyah for the whole season, and if I recall the cursed Hawks series correctly, sans-Nuge Drai wasn’t dominating.
Both are small sample sizes. Draisaitl’s established level of ability (three seasons) is well over a point per game.
What made those Jan-Mar games so important is that he did it without 97. I expect Leon’s line will have great success, and Kahun-Yamamoto are excellent linemate options for the big man.
Not only was it a small sample size, but a completely bizzare situation, where any rythm within the season had to be found again. That series, in my opinion, should be used to draw exactly 0 conclusions.
Caveat against putting too much stock in to a 4-game sample size, after a five month break, in August. If we don’t, then we the org needed a complete overhaul and we’d be talking about Jones/Russell as the top pairing and Neal as the top forward.
There should be better options of Drai’s LW than AA and Ennis – starting with Kahun.
While not discounting the importance of Nuge, Draisaitl did not have a top six winger to replace Nuge. That will not be the case this year. His line may not be fire but it is not unreasonable to expect very good numbers. Nuge with arguably the best centre in hockey as his centre wasn’t part of a line that was fire. Sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts!
Dach gone, exactly why Lafreniere wasn’t allowed to go. What a shame.
Seems like this injury to Dach answers your question
The Canadian and to a lesser extent the U.S. teams would be substantially weakened and the hockey fans short changed if all teams exercised this ability. Given when training camp is starting this year it is completely understandable why New York did what they did as they needed the player for training camp. In defence of Chicago Dach was part of the team. Chicago did what was best for the player and what he wanted. These are two totally different scenarios and your insinuation is somewhat insulting to Chicago to say the least!