The Oilers won the fifth game in a row against the Ottawa Senators this year, while also confirming these games are far closer than they were and it’s only a matter of time for the Sens to win one. It was a solid effort by Edmonton after some opening wobble from Mikko Koskinen and the result is a little more clearance in the Canadian division for the top four teams.
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: Three Oilers prospects form hottest line in the AHL
- Lowetide: Oilers’ top 20 prospects, trade deadline edition
- Lowetide: Why are some Oilers fans hesitant to give Darnell Nurse his due?
- Jonathan Willis: Can Oilers improve enough to beat TML it in May?
- Lowetide: Top trade targets for the Oilers at the 2021 deadline
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers 2021 trade value rankings
- Lowetide: February report cards for the Oilers
- Lowetide: Difficult season for trio of Oilers prospects playing in the AHL
- Lowetide: Jesse Puljujarvi must be on the Oilers expansion protected list after breakout
- Jonathan Willis: The Oilers’ 2020 trade deadline splash: What we learned, a year later
- Lowetide: Revisiting our preseason predictions for the Oilers after 20 games
- Lowetide: If Dylan Holloway turns pro this spring, will it be with the Oilers?
- Jonathan Willis: Could an Ethan Bear trade improve the Oilers?
- Lowetide: Philip Broberg and the Oilers’ Leftorium
- Lowetide: Jujhar Khaira, a waiver reset and the Oilers’ future at No. 3 centre
- Lowetide: Is this peak Connor McDavid?
OILERS AFTER 27 GAMES
- Oilers in 2015-16: 10-15-2, 22 points; goal differential -13
- Oilers in 2016-17: 14-11-2, 30 points; goal differential +7
- Oilers in 2017-18: 11-14-2, 24 points; goal differential -12
- Oilers in 2018-19: 13-12-2, 28 points; goal differential -6
- Oilers in 2019-20: 16-8-3, 35 points; goal differential +10
- Oilers in 2020-21: 16-11-0, 32 points; goal differential +3
This is a good record, and we’re approaching the mid-season mark. The goal differential is shy, implying the record is ahead of the actual team. Is a market correction coming? If this team can get through March at around a point-per-game or a little better, suspect they’ll make the second season.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM MARCH
- At home to: Toronto, Toronto, Calgary (Expected: 1-1-1) (Actual 1-2-0)
- At home to: Ottawa, Ottawa, Ottawa (Expected: 2-1-0) (Actual 1-0-0)
- On the road to: Vancouver, Calgary, Calgary (Expected: 2-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- At home to Winnipeg, Winnipeg (Expected: 1-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- On the road to: Montreal, Montreal, Montreal (Expected 2-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- On the road to: Toronto, Toronto (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- Overall expected result: 9-6-1, 19 points in 16 games
- Current results: 2-2-0, 4 points in four games
Things set up well for the rest of the week, then Vancouver (who won in a shootout last night) and then Sutter’s voodoo Flames. It’s going to be a fun month.
LINES, LAST NIGHT
- McDavid-Draisaitl-Yamamoto played 15:53, going 15-7 shots, 1-0 goals, 8-3 HDSC and 30-14 Corsi five on five. Insane production from this trio, had all the pistons firing in perfect time. McDavid had two assists, five shots, and won 70 percent in the dot. Draisaitl scored had seven shot attempts and went 8-5 in faceoffs. Yamamoto scored on a nice deflection, he’s getting hot again. For his NHL career, KY is 19-26-45 in 80 games. His first 82 games in the NHL are going to be damn productive, no matter what else he does this week. Yamamoto drew a penalty..
- Ennis-Nuge-Puljujarvi played 11:10, going 4-5 shots, no goals, 3-4 HDSC and 8-12 Corsi. As often happens when Nuge doesn’t play with 4-97-29, both the line and the opponent were fairly low event. This line got chances but couldn’t cash them. I thought everyone on this line played well, notably Puljujarvi who is just fantastic in his forechecking. He’s so big and can skate so well, sometimes when he jumps over the bench and skates like the wind immediately I expect him to break out in song. Nuge drew a penalty.
- Neal-Haas-Chiasson played 7:55, going 5-4 shots, no goals, 1-1 HDSC and 8-8 Corsi five on five. Neal had Nurse run right up to him on one sortie, Neal’s slow progress curtailing an entry into the Senators zone. Haas was good in the penalty kill, had a couple of good looks but doesn’t have a great shot. Chiasson had a nice early look and got a terrific shot off, and then scored a fine goal on the power play later on. I liked this line.
- Turris-Khaira-Shore played 6:30, going 4-4 shots and 6-8 Corsi five on five. A fine night’s work for this line, Turris had his best game as an Oilers player. He had an assist, two TK, was around the puck a lot. He could be the winger Edmonton needs down the stretch. Seriously. Khaira had 9PIMS, played well on the PK and may own the best beard in Oilers history. Shore blocked three shots and helped on the PK. He isn’t noticeable.
PAIRINGS AND GOALIE
- Nurse-Barrie played 19:04, going 14-12 shots, 2-2 goals, 8-4 HDSC and 29-21 Corsi five on five. That’s a lot of events. Nurse had an assist on the Yamamoto goal, a nice shot that was tipped heading to the net. Barrie made a gorgeous long pass to Turris that led to the Draisaitl goal. The goals against came on a mistake by the goalie and a shot tipped by Barrie. Nurse is playing well in all areas, Barrie has chaos in his game and gets caught, but is playing well on this pairing.
- Russell-Larsson played 15:28, going 8-7 shots, no goals, 3-1 HDSC and 15-18 Corsi five on five. Fifteen minutes together and just one HD chance against is good business for this pairing. Played just 2:31 with the McDavid line, making the results even more impressive. Larsson is in that great zone now, where sorties are met, packed into a handsome carrying case and exit the store in record time. It’s a thing of beauty.
- Jones-Bear were on the ice together for 8:58, going 3-6 shots, 0-4 HDSC and 5-12 Corsi five on five. Jones looked dynamic all night, skating well, defending effectively. Had a giveaway and a takeaway and one outstanding defense when Bear got caught and Jones was home alone. He’s coming now, it’s only a matter of time. Bear had some chaos to his game but battled hard and recovered well. He did send an errant pass that got turned around quickly and got caught up ice once. 31 seconds on the PP.
- Mikko Koskinen allowed another soft goal but then settled in and played well. I think he’s a better goalie than Smith, but he’s also more expensive so is likely to be gone over the summer. Could be trade, could be buyout. I expect Holland is moving on. Stopped 26 of 28, .929 and now owns an .899 save percentage. Not good enough.
Oilers are now seven points up on the Calgary Flames, who I see as the primary challenger to the current playoff clubs. If Edmonton can stretch that out this week (Flames play the Habs twice) by winning over Ottawa, that lead could hit double digits. I believe Sutter will get more out of that roster down south than Geoff Ward, so Dave Tippett stacking points while burning daylight bodes well for the inevitable April sweats.
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
At 10 this morning, TSN1260, we hit the ground running on a busy day. Graeme Nichols covers the Ottawa Senators and will help us track a team on the rise. Ryan Holt, Bakersfield Condors play by play broadcaster will tell us about a fantastic weekend for the Condors and what’s ahead. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. See you on the radio!
Apologies if this has already been posted but this video is incredible.
Please click through and give this 5 minute NHL Alum clip a watch
https://twitter.com/NHLAlumni/status/1344777187891802119
This is really very good. I’ll second the recommendation.
Update: from Hunter1909’s Death March Regular Season 2021™(since 2014)
With Oilers on pace for a 66 point finish, here are the current leaders in the Death March game which possibly might pay out to all winners at the end of the season.
Jaxon; Tips; Oil Clog; thegreatbigmac; Sam Elliot; Jp2.0; Wolf8888; unca miltie
Go to the Death March™ site by following the link below:
http://www.oilersdeathmarch.com
?
I try not to think of the beatings the interns took over that p.
Not me, I’m just enjoying my short time in the spotlight.
That’s right just keep posting this. Your entry will eventually be posted and made current. We’re currently letting digruntled players like you remain that way, because we can’t be bothered to do anything about it.
If it helps you feel better I managed to screw up my entry by practicing as hunter9 then only put the JP prediction for goals and now in any tie break I’m screwed lol with I dunno 19 goals maybe.
My technical experts are some of the best; if that’s any compensation.
The Race for the Rocket.
Player G/GP
Matthews .833
Toffoli .625
DeBrincat .607
Pavelski! .619
Couture .565
McDavid .555
Kreider .542
Trochek .542
Brown .542
Boeser .449
Is the rocket awarded to the player with the highest g/gp? Or are you looking for the stat that displays the biggest gap between Connor and Matthew’s.
Matthew’s for sure has a leg up on the crowd.
Not sure where that list came from but Adam Brooks and Arthur Kaliyev are leading the league with 1.0 G/GP.
Pastrnak I think should be 4th at .688.
And Boeser is most definitely not in the top 10.
But JP, that wouldn’t help his case, so we arbitrarily decide those are outliers.
Mon the Toffoli!
With those percentages, the NHL would destroy MLB.
Your excellent stats prove it.
Those baseball teams have trouble finding a .400 average.
Where Petterson?
I was just looking at the standings and it seems that the Avs are 4th Nucks 5th and Flames 6th.
I remember hearing it wasn’t supposed to go like that.
Just for fun, stats for NHL North Division as of March 8 according to the system:
3 points for a Regulation Win
2 points for an Overtime or Shootout Win
1 point for an Overtime or Shootout Loss
Toronto:
16 RW = 48
2 OTW = 4
2 OTL = 2
Total = 54 (26 games)
PPG = 1.85
Winnipeg:
10 RW = 30
5 OTW = 10
1 SOW = 2
1 OTL = 1
Total = 43 (24 games)
PPG = 1.79
Montreal:
11 RW = 33
0 OTW = 0
6 OTL = 6
2 SOL = 2
Total = 41 (23 games)
PPG = 1.78
Edmonton:
15 RW = 45
1 OTW = 2
0 SOW = 0
0 OTL = 0
Total = 47 (27 games)
PPG = 1.74
Calgary:
9 RW = 27
1 OTW = 2
1 SOW = 2
3 OTL = 3
1 SOL = 1
Total = 34 (26 games)
PPG = 1.31
Vancouver:
10 RW = 30
0 OTW = 0
1 SOW = 2
2 OTL = 4
Total = 36 (28 games)
PPG = 1.29
Ottawa:
5 RW = 15
2 OTW = 4
1 SOW = 2
1 OTL = 1
Total = 22 (28 games)
PPG = 0.79
After 3 TO losses, and (as of tomorrow) 3 Edmonton wins, we are right back to where we started, 3 stacks of high society. (I mean 4 pts out of first.)
People keep making claims in the media that this team or that team has locked in a position in the standings. That’s such a crazy stance when every game is a division game.
A month ago I read a leafs blog on how to had locked in 1st and Montreal a lock for 2nd, and the oilers jets and flames would battle for 3rd and 4th.
In this year of all years the swings have the ability to be huge.
I used to own a stack of High Society.
Now because of high speed internet, I no longer need to maintain a secret stash.
Thank-you progress
Oui, I agree.
Hard F No to Eric Staal, or any member of the 06′ Hurricanes…I’d rather bring back Brandon Manning and that’s saying something.
I couldn’t care less where the player previously played if he can help the team win and the deal makes sense. If Mike Vernon or Joe N. could help the team win right now, I’d take them too.
Mike Commodore?
Staal would be a good pickup. Still has skill, size, would be a good guy to learn from as well.
Besides, the ‘Canes didn’t win that series…the Oilers lost it.
Jets beat the Leafs 4-3.
Matthews with 2 goals to hit 20 on the season.
Leafs outshot the Jets 39-23 but Hellybuyck stood on his head.
I expect to get ratioed like HH here but does L1 really need Yamamoto? Or, put more succinctly, can it afford to have Yamo?
Could an Ennis, Kahun or even last nights version of Turris function as a mini-Yamo? Both guys are quite skilled if they don’t have to do the puck transport. They seem smart enough to keep the puck moving.
This allows 21/93/13 on L2 and perhaps 63/56 with JJ.
Eh…not loving it. Maybe when we add Getzlaf at 3C.
I’d have more interest in analyzing this if I thought that was any lasting power to McDavid/Drai starting games togehter.
If this is still happening when the Oilers finish with Canucks, on the weekend, I’d be surprised.
A more pertinent question might be…does Yamamoto need McDavid or Draisaitl?
Does JT Miller need Boeser and Pettersson?
37% corsi without Boeser. 40% corsi without Pettersson.
40% goal share without Boeser. 22% goal share without Pettersson.
Sorry..I only read the first word of you post since it is clearly nonsense.
See how that works?
And I thought it was Pettersson that needed Miller. Oh well.
I have big interest in this, but like OP i also don’t think the present set of circumstances lasts long.
My reason is a bit unusual, but it’s basically that i think the only player other than Drai that reads Yamamoto properly, and thus can help him, is Nuge.
In the few short minutes they’ve been together this year, Nuge was practically anticipating what Yams would do right very time… and Kahun IMO has yet to demonstrate the same ability to read the play.
But Nuge and Yamfry would need a big body to go with them. The only one skilled and available is Pujo and he plays the wrong side.
Interesting.
Nuge-Drai-Yamamoto were real good last year, and same in twenty-odd minutes this year.
Seems Nuge-McDavid-Yamamoto were utterly dominant in 16:25 this year too. 16-3 shots, 14-3 scoring chances, 9-1 HD chances.
Neal? Probably not.
Yamamoto is a hell of a player in any case.
I wouldn’t be against trying it for a game.
Many would be. Guess there’s only one that matters.
As anticipated (if he tested positive, there would be many others in protocol):
Jason Gregor
@JasonGregor
·
21m
Hearing the Turris situation is related to a close contact situation rather than a positive test for him. NHL and Oilers are being very cautious before he will be allowed back with the team. #Oilers
So would Turris go on IR after so many days?
Assuming he doesn’t have Covid, he’ll be off the Covid list in a day and with the team.
Oilers are a Hall and Staal away from Tippett needing a moment to collect himself. He’ll become the new host of will it blend.
https://youtu.be/zxa_64EOmFI
A Holloway and a Staal is actually reasonable from a cap perspective.
Our very own Cale Makar type story!
Sure down the line, but talking right now. For this push. Blenderama!
Nice to see you jump on the Bragg Creek train Toot Toot passing through Edmonton about 5-6 games before the playoffs begin.
Might as well get Nick Paul too, like someone said earlier. You could put together a Hall-Staal-Paul line.
Alternatively, add Haula and Hall and promote our homegrown Badger, and you get Hall-Haula-Holloway.
Somewhere, Gene Principe audibly vibrates with anticipation.
For those who were upset with Harper Hairs comment about players making the NHL sooner, here’s a link to an article by Travis Yost. https://www.tsn.ca/yost-nhl-rosters-continue-to-trend-younger-1.1465718
the change is marginal since 2007 for players Bensons age, it picks up around 24-27. Moreso there are less players in their 30’s than there were 13 years ago. I’d be interested to know how much different it is from the late 90’s/early 2000’s.
I would also be interested in seeing if there’s been a difference in p/g or TOi for players who make it younger, but that feels like it would be a lot of work to find out.
Yanni Gourde tells Benson to not give up and keep working hard.
If he follows that career path he will become an NHL player
at the age of 26.
Thats a long time to wander the cold, hard Streets of Bakersfield.
Good Grief.
The point is clear and obvious – players “make it” at varying ages – even still today.
Some make it at 19, some at 22, some at 24 and some even in their mid-late 20s.
Of course, those that spend a few/many years developing in the minor leagues generally don’t become top liners or stars but many good to very good NHL players did and still do.
Apparently one can even come out of nowhere at 26 (give or take) and become a high end complementary scorer.
Noone is expecting Benson to come in next year and put up 65 points on McDavid’s left wing but he very well could still become a legit middle six NHL winger and, as we’ve seen, you never know, he could pop like others do and have at his age (and older).
Yeah there are always a few outliers but good GM’s increasingly aren’t spending precious time and resources trying to develop them when there are more efficient ways to fill out their rosters.
With the knowledge that the vast majority of players hit their peak in the 23-25 age range, those players meandering in the minors will see fewer teams have the patience to wait for them.
I alluded to what Chicago is doing earlier and they are a prime example of scouting and signing players who aren’t following the old draft and development model.
They currently have 3 forwards on their roster who were essentially selected because of their performance in the Euro leagues instead of the traditional model.
Dominik Kubalik – drafted in the 7th round by LAK…not signed. Age 25
Pius Suter – undrafted – 4th leading rookie scorer. Age 24
Phillip Kurashev – 4th round pick – 39 AHL games Age 21
Holland went down this road by signing Gaeten Haas but he’s 29 years old and on the downside of the aging curve.
Dominik Kahun is another example of this as he was signed by Chicago out of Germany at the age of 23 but for whatever reason, they found him wanting and moved him along and he is likely at the point (soon to be 26) where he is what he is.
Worth noting as well that the Hawks also signed undrafted Kevin Lankinen (a Calder favourite) out of Finland and he’s their go-to goaltender at the age of 25 after a short stop in the minors.
Someone in the Chicago organization knows what they’re doing.
Good Grief!
I didn’t even read past the above because its just made up bullshit based on nothing.
Boris Katchouk – 2nd round pick of the Lightning, playing in the AHL on the last year of his entry-level deal.
Exact same scenario as Tyler Benson.
Martin Kaut, 2016 1st round pick of the Avs, loaned to the Allsvenskan.
Shane Bowers, 1st round pick of the Avs in 2017, playing in the AHL.
All organizations are developing players this age outside the NHL.
Stop making shit up.
Bowers was taken by the Sens. Maybe both these examples you listed are simply players who aren’t good enough. Same as Benson. How can you assume they’re all just being “over ripened”? Did you bother reading the Yost article? It’s HH’s point being made by someone else with evidence to back
it up. Anytime something doesn’t fit your narrative you throw a mini fit. Evidence that you don’t agree with isn’t “making shit up”. Aren’t you a lawyer…?
He (you) said that good GMs don’t spend time and resources developing these players in the playoffs. That was the point I was responding to hence why I quoted it.
He (you) made it up as its simply not true. All organization’s spend time and resources developing forwards in their early 20s in the minors and I listed players off of two GMs he (you) has recently lauded.
That’s exactly what lawyers do.
And he freely admitted he didn’t read my post…so there you go.
Why would I read the rest of a post when the first sentence is complete made-up fallacy?
Again..you’re pointing to players who are absolute long shots for an NHL career or not at all comparable.
Katchouk was picked 44th in that draft..not 32nd like Benson.
Martin Kaut was NOT drafted in 2016…he was drafted in 2018 but he’s still a long shot.
Shane Bowers was drafted a year after Benson but appears to be very underwhelming thus far.
Of course all teams have players outside the NHL…they drafted them after all.
Doesn’t mean they’re all likely to be NHL players.
2337536-500-temperature-c-en.gif
The bottom line in that piece.
In many ways, the NHL has followed alignment of the other major sports leagues through the power of data – an ability to isolate on how age can impact performance and availability, and aligning their financial and operational strategy accordingly. But it didn’t take 30 years to get here. The league is continuously learning and studying in real-time, and a lot has changed in 12 seasons.
So much so that it felt like the 2007-08 Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings – with an average age of 29.5! – were playing a different sport.
Craziest thing in that entire article was Lidstrom TOI and 70GF% at age 35+
Yeah…that popped out for me too…pretty much super-human.
Chara was at 62% last year, playing over 46% of his TOI vs. elites…..
This year he’s at 62% again but only playing 44% of his TOI vs. elites…..
Average age of the Blues in their cup winning season was 27.2!
Average of their oponents, the Bruins, was 28!
“playing a different sport”
Please.
You realize the difference between 27.2 and 29.5 is significant, right?
It also perfectly illustrates Yost’s point…the trend is to younger as the years pass.
Is it as significant as the time you said a couple of inches of height on a goalie was significant? Or a 10lb weight difference between hockey players was significant?
Besides, the Oilers in 84-85, average age was 25.
It won’t be long before the age range will go up again.
Unless you think players will be wearing diapers by the year 2040?
So half the prospects in other organizations that you are constantly yammering on about are also disqualified now due to your reasoning and championing of this article. Does Bogart know you’ve abandoned him? I think it’s just more you leaching on to anything that can possibly spell doom and gloom due to the Oilers living rent free in 98% of the space in your cranium.
I will now light a candle for Brogan.
*Crickets*
– I’m heartened to read some of the “positive” Koski takes. I’m sure people are going to get angry, but its clear to me with some of the takes, that many haven’t played hockey, or have an understanding for elite athletes, or look at goalie stats in isolation with no context.
– Two years ago Koski played a sh$t ton of games in a row, behind a non-NHL D, and was a proxy for the team
– Last year, he was way better, as predicted, as the team had a much better season, but the worse goalie by far, got all the rope. The “starting goalie”, his reward was not starting the first game of the playoffs, then the team played poorly for the rest
– This year, the team started poorly, Koski played a sh$t ton of games, and again was a proxy for the team. Then Smith comes back, and the team plays better (not because Smith was better). Koski again gets the F/U treatment.
– In the last month, he’s had 4 starts total, and went .952, .977, .929 in three of them, had a poor 4th game, and mopped up for a terrible start by Smith. I don’t get it.
– Some elite athletes revel in being given the F/U treatment. Most though, they need to be treated with respect, and be pumped up. Koski and the team will be better off when he’s gone. Next year, the Oilers will be even better, and whoever the starting goalie will be deemed “great”. No doubt Koski will have a Talbot/DD etc rejuvenation elsewhere
– Just get rid of him: he’s not their guy, Tipp likes the vets, Smith has played the games with the best line-ups, and team playing best.
– Its really worrisome that they were going to back up the truck for Markstrom. I thought Hpolland got it. You just don’t take a goalie from another team, in another situation, look at their GAA average, and say: “all we have to do is plug this guy into our team and we will be better”. Goalies are just part of a system
– Next year, the goalie tandem will be better, as the D gets a year older, and the team continues to move towards elite, and everyone will proclaim: “well we sorted out the goalie situation”
– Its hard to get the best out of athletes if they aren’t treated fiarly, and on merit. I don’t see how anyone can believe that Koski has been set up for success since his signing.
Edmonton Oilers and throwing their goaltenders under the bus.
Name a more iconic duo
Edmonton Oilers and shoulder injuries?
Vancouver Canucks and no Stanley Cups?
Harpers Hair and adjustable goal posts?
Yeah this sums it up nicely. Good post.
Excellent Post Kinger. Well said
Per Spec:
Are McDavid and Draisaitl on the same line a day-to-day thing, or week-to-week?
“Day to day,” said Tippett. “And depending on how the game goes, it could be shift to shift.”
Also, Turris is on the Covid-protocol list – this does not mean he has Covid.
The NHL has agreed to a 7 year contract with ESPN for partial broadcast rights and streaming rights on Disney.
No word yet on financial terms.
Disney also owns ABC, so maybe that will enter the equation over the deal much like NBC and NBC Sports Channel, though ESPN already has a much wider audience than NBC Sports Channel.
From what I’ve read, there is likely to be split rights in the US. I think NBC and Peacock will get it’s piece.
I’m sure ESPN will make you sign up for ESPN + and NBC will make you sign up for Peacock
NBCSN is getting shutdown
Excellent – thanks
ESPN+ is like Netflix for sports . They want all the content
Karma is not a nice person. Turris finally plays a decent game but now is on the Covid list. Need Archi and Kassian back asap.
If she wouldn’t have married Murphy it wouldn’t be quite so bad.
This doesn’t mean he has Covid and, if he does, given he played last night, others would be added to the list I would think.
Defined “contender”:
David Pagnotta
@TheFourthPeriod
·
6m
Per source, Buffalo Sabres centre Eric Staal is open to a move to a contender and the expectation is a deal will occur before the April 12 trade deadline.
————
BUF would need to retain half which would up the acquisition cost.
I don’t see the Oilers being on his trade list but you never know.
He’s 23, 3-5-8, -15 on a bad team this season.
Posting much better numbers previously but he is 36.
What would Edmonton have to give up to make it work?
Chiasson + 3rd?
Would miss Chia
Kassian 1 for 1
Archibald + 2nd?
Turris? Lol
They’d probably take any of those if you added in Jones or lagesson but that’s risky for an aging player
Bling posted some metrics that had Staal being not very good at all.
So, I am not as thrilled with Staal anymore…
This would be a rental type acquisition so the acquisition cost wouldn’t include anything important off the roster, even a Jones or an Archie.
The lack of a 3rd round pick makes a deal like this tough as I’m thinking about something like a 3rd and a B- or C prospect.
Given his play in the last 3 weeks (give or take), I don’t think Holland would want to move Chiasson (although that is the contract that might be needed to be moved to add any cap).
————
I’ll take any Buffalo’s player’s stats this year with a grain of salt – tire fire.
No 2nd. No 3rd No 5th…..tough to see how we pay -even for a rental.
Eric turns 36 in the fall – so I do put some credence into his horrific numbers.
But I hear you on trying to pick out the good tires from the bad tires in Buffalo.
His GF% is worse than Turris’s (at 22%), but his SF% and xGF% are at 47% so he may not be toast yet.
Just said on “That’s Hockey” that EDM is at the top of the list for Staal.
Top of their list or his?
He did have some painfully good games in Edmonton once
Tulio has officially signed that Amateur Try Out with the Condors.
Now that he is out of quarantine (as of Sunday), this will give him the ability to play pro games for the Condors without an actual contract.
I anticipate he’ll be in the lineup tomorrow – damn Condors’ game overlaps with the Oilers though – blah!
Our host claimed that 25 is playing well in all areas and last night, and against the bottom dwelling silt of the league, he looked reasonable.
Hearkening back to the 3 game series against TO, he was poor. The
CofH gave him game scores of 3,4 and 4 with the final rating including the comment of his least effective game of the season.
If he is the best the Oil have, it is doubtful any D could even make the TO team for that set of games.
With the phlems taking 3 of 4 pts in TO previously to that set, and the dys beating TO after twice, hanging on to beat a tired Sens team should not be cause for excessive jubilation of player or team.
The Oilers are 13-5 in their last 18 games with only the 3 game stanza against the Leafs being a sore spot.
13-2 against everyone else during that span.
No one is going to take your Nurse comments seriously other then fellow goal post salesmen.
Ottawa is 9-10-1 against Toronto, Winnipeg, Montreal and Calgary.
They’re 2-3 against Toronto.
By no means are they a free bingo slot.
Remember Tampa Bay getting eliminated 4-0 in the first round after getting the president’s trophy?
Stuff happens sometimes.
That doesn’t mean the best defensemen on a 15-11 team are below replacement.
By your logic, McDavid and Draisaitl wouldn’t even make the Toronto team because they were held pointless for three games
I’m looking forward to Stalock’s arrival. He’s a technically sound goaltender, reads the play well, and has surprising athleticism which makes it fun to watch him scramble on rebounds. He’s good for a few spectacular saves. I think he will make a solid backup to Smith.
Most importantly, he knows where the puck is after it’s been shot, even if he loses it for a moment. That has value.
Got to be careful what you wish for! The three headed monster has caused problems. An insecure goal tender is not a good goal tender.
Stalock is signed on the cheap next year as well when they were chasing Markstrom it was a big tell about what they thought of Kosh. I’m almost sure they’ve told Stalock if he plays solid the 1A-1B his up for grabs. Stalock is 33 but he’s not all beat to rat shit on games played he just might be our diamond in the rough.
Is that what was wrong with Koskinen last night?
I don’t even think Stalock needs to be “lights out” to steal the backup job away from a goal tender that the coach doesn’t trust anyway.
The one knock I have with Koskinen is exactly what happened last night which is the bad and or weak goal. I think he does struggle with confidence at times. I think that he is an average NHL goalie.
This move by Holland isn’t getting the attention it deserves.
We have LT tweeting an article above about making a move ASAP, but Holland has already made a big one at a key position.
It’s hard really to use stats to get much read on NHL caliber goalies, they are at the mercy of forces around them they can’t control.
Critical errors for me are a tell on all positions, especially goalie.
It’s not the odd mistake, it’s a pattern of fails that emerges for some players. I’ve always liked Samwise, love his skill, but man that stare to the rafters after yet another ‘also in photo’ missed assignment and GA, I couldn’t take it after a while, and it was clear it was just part of him.
The hallmark of the better NHL players is consistent execution and making the plays they should especially at key moments – when everyone’s giving their all.
I like the big Finn, but he’s got that fatal flaw that sinks Talbot as well. And Smith at this point, but he can get white hot and that makes him interesting, and a different case.
Plus he’s the 4th toughest guy in the league.
When the Coach and GM seemed to have given up on you the only way out is to play fuk you ball and show them otherwise which by the way Smith seems to have this attribute. Kosh hasn’t come close to securing his job as a starter are even a back-up
The production is more impressing when one factors in (a) 9 games as draft plus 1 teenager when management had no business keeping him in the NHL and (b) 17 games in draft plus 2 before finally being send down to the AHL for needed development.
Even more impressive is his +/- in that timeframe when viewed in context of the rest of the roster. Flawed stat I know, but it’s impressive nonetheless.
http://www.nhl.com/stats/skaters?reportType=season&seasonFrom=20192020&seasonTo=20202021&gameType=2&position=F&playerPlayedFor=franchise.25&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=points,goals,assists&page=0&pageSize=50
I do agree with the games being “closer than they were” but, at the same time, the Oilers were clearly the superior team last night. Goaltending was the primary reason this game was as close on the scoreboard as it was.
I like Connor, Leon and Yams on a line together. Connor the transporter with great assist line mates. Yams, go get the puck. Leon, set up man and shooter. Connor, well Connor. This puts Seattle’s first line center man (8M per) Nuge to the test. Can he drive the line with great results. Would he be worth the money? I love Nuge. Not putting him down. Is this a negotiation tactic from Holland. Make that line work with Pujo! No one complains about Nuge’s current contract. What about his next if it’s a overpay? To me, he’s our 3rd line Center in a few years. We have to price a new contract approximately. If he wants more that is warranted he’s going to walk for nothing.
I like them too,
Yippee Ky EH!!
No real changes at practice today (except (a) Turris isn’t on the ice so P. Russell is in his spot and (b) Kass is skating with the team):
Oilers practice lines:
Draisaitl-McDavid-Yamamoto
Ennis-RNH-Puljujarvi
Shore-Khaira-P.Russell
Neal-Haas-Chiasson
Nygard-Kahun-Kassian
Nurse-Barrie
Russell-Larsson
Jones-Bear
Lagesson-Bouchard
Lennstrom
Smith
Koskinen
Josh Archibald and Kyle Turris are not on the ice.
Kassian was on the ice today at practice.
Doesn’t mean he’s close but I believe this if the first time he’s skated with the team since the injury.
Proposed changes to the draft lottery.
https://nhlentrydraft.com/news/nhl-proposes-draft-lottery-changes/
Interesting….
That Koskinen may not be spectacular, but he usually gives his team a chance to lose the game!
Mike smith opens up like a floodgate – tippet gives him next start to redeem himself
Koskinen puts in two solid starts with rest and practice – doesn’t see ice again for weeks and is walking on eggshells from that point forward
You need a competent goalie tandem with an Asterix beside that this season…tippet doesn’t seem like he’s concerned managing that to produce optimal long term results.
Yeah let’s bring in Stalock and fire the goalie we have another year under contract (that has a decent enough track record of “competent and decent if not overloaded too badly” to the sun.
Confidence is a king maker or a death sentence for goalies.
If your goalie is a snowflake, he probably shouldn’t be a goalie… he definitely shouldn’t be your goalie.
The position is defined by emotional and mental toughness. Goalies know their job is to sit, often for extended periods, and to be ready when the shoulder tap comes.
No athlete in any sport is at his prime after a lengthy layoff!
Old man Smith looked good to me when he started after a lengthy layoff he’s the reason were not where Calgary is in the standings and a large following calling for Tippett job.
Tippett does a great job managing this. Mikko and Mike seem to have a good relationship and want each other to do well. They need a more reliable 3rd stringer in case of injury – that’s what Stalock is for.
I’m sure they’ll give him starts but I think both the Oilers goalies know they are here for a good time, not a long time.
I’d like to see Tippett go back to the 2 and 2 scheduling he did last year, each goalie gets 2 starts unless they really are terrible in the first start. Throw Stalock in on B2B to mix it up. The coach knows who is ready based on practice, we as fans have no insight into that side.
Like Smith’s first game you mean? Or OTT’s backup last night? Or the goalies we faced when TO was here? Or the kids playing in the WJCs, Billy Ranford in 1990…? (etc etc etc)
The whole point of goal is to be able to play at a high level after not playing real games for stretches. It is literally part of the job description that they are not necessarily an every game or every second game player.
And they don’t actually have lengthy layoffs. They skate, practice and have scrimmages all the time.
If you could let our taxi squad know, that would be nice.
I understand that it’s annoying to have that much money invested in a goalie that isn’t going to play much more, but it is what it is. I’d rather win games than try to get value out of his contract by playing him and losing games.
Can we put an asterix beside every player that we have put our opinions on and doesn’t work out? We can always find some excuse that is worthy of an asterix. At the end of the day, the results just are not there. Only a graveyard of excuses.
Smith came of IR(!) while under ridicule by MK fans here and posted a save percentage of greater than .950 in five games including shutouts. He has saved a season that looked like it was going to circle the drain on the back of terrible goaltending by MK. Why was he able to do that with not just a week of no games, but months? And MK can’t sit out for a week without expecting a bad performance?
They are on the ice every day playing and practicing even if not in a game, so he is seeing the ice.
At this level, a goalie has to be able to play. No excuses.
When Kosh shit the bed in Calgary where we lost but outplayed them you could see Tippett on the bench fuming inside and I would say he was thinking this huge giraffe is going to cost me probably my last head coaching job. If Stalock wins we won’t see Kosh for the rest of the season unless there’s a injury.
I would love to see metrics on Smith’s puckhandling. Knock on wood, his puck movement this year has been perfection. Zero critical errors. One defense goes left, one peels right. On the tape or if they are covered its out and we’re on our way with two forecheckers pinned deep. On a team like this one that feasts off the rush and gets killed off the low-high cycle/tip, a puck moving goaltender has tremendous value.
How do you quantify it?
Wins, Corsi, Giveaways.
That may be an aggressive use of the word “perfection” but, yes, absolutely, his puck-handling has been fantastic this year. So far, he has cut out that “trying to make an impact” play where he wanders at the wrong time and gets caught. He has also vastly reduced his penchant to try and make that impact with the stretch pass. That rarely works and just gives up possession. The material benefit is what is described above – stop the puck and make a quick outlet to an activating d-man on the half wall.
The effect of (a) getting possession and (b) increasing the speed and efficiency of the breakout and visalbe. The effect of less bangs on the d-men, over the course of a game and over the course of a season, is also material.
For years the Detroit model was held as the gold standard for prospect development. Now we have the architect of it and people are doubting!
Nyquist played most of the 12-13 season in the AHL at 23. And then played 15 more games in the AHL the next season.
Tatar played 4 full seasons in the AHL. Only making the NHL full time at 23.
Abdelkader played 3 years college after his draft, a full AHL season and a half AHL season before making the NHL full time at 23.
Jiri Hudler spent a year in Russia and then 3 years in the AHL. Making the NHL full time at 22 (and 10 months).
I don’t see any reason to worry about Benson. He will be 23 at the start of next season. This is standard procedure for Holland. Over ripen prospects and let them hit the ground running.
Not to mention the elite AHL coaching staff in Woodcroft and Manson. I can’t wait to see what Manson can do with Broberg and Samorokov.
The league has changed dramatically since those days.
Young players are now much more skilled, more developed and make an NHL impact much earlier.
On top of that, the salary cap has increased the necessity to find extreme value in entry level contracts.
If Holland in still working from his old template, the game has passed him by.
Which “expert” from Twitter did you copy this from?
This seems to conflict with your love of Rafferty who I thought was being groomed for a 2nd line job at the age of 25?
I’m waiting for the Scooby-Doo mystery reveal day where we find out which oiler in the 80’s banged HH’s girlfriend.
you nailed it!…I’m going with Don Murdoch..1980/81…I recall him showing up late to the canadian airlines counter for a team flight and he was asking us if we could pull the plane back to the bridge as he was a very integral part of the oilers team…we laughed and laughed…he was totally feeling the pain from partying with someones girl
Given how petty and delusional HH is on a daily basis, I doubt it was something like that.
He seems like the kind of guy who boycotts a restaurant and slanders the business and threatens employees because they changed the recipe of his favourite food item.
Oh and then spends 20 years looking at other restaurants menus and trying to convince everyone that the restaurant he boycotts is inferior to every other restaurant.
Even if all of the personnel, management and head office have changed since then.
I recall DSF saying that he met Messier once,
Called him an “asshole!”
Must have caught him with his pants down
Norris and Calder at age 30 when he finally makes the show. Note: NHL will change the rule just for Rafferty.
Rafferty is a UFA this summer… which begs the question: do the Oilers have enough cap space to make a move?!
Based on what?
Anyway, none of that means they don’t need/benefit from AHL/development time.
Based on how much earlier players make the NHL these days. Just because he’s HH doesn’t mean he’s wrong here.
detroit was also a very good team. Tougher for young players to make a good roster than a mediocre roster.
Has nothing to do with the poster, I’m not on the anti-HH crusade. It’s just an empty statement. Who is he comparing them to? Is this true only for first round picks, or the draft in general?
But that doesn’t seem like the trend for the last couple drafts…
https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl2019e.html
https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl2020e.html
Pretty empty NHL stat sheets.
Not questioning that the league is getting younger, but I’d like some evidence to suggest more players are entering the league sooner and that this means Tyler Benson is a bust and Holland has no idea what he’s doing.
He hasn’t figured out that man strength is a thing too. Possibly but most likely probably because he never had any. Term man up has never been something he’s had to do!
Extreme value is more common when prospects overripen. Why pay full price for their development years? Holland used this model to perfection, maintaining Detroit as the League’s top team during the first few years of the salary cap era.
If they need “over-ripening”, they likely aren’t impact prospects.
Spending multiple years developing bottom six forwards or bottom pairing defensemen is wasteful when you can pick them up cheaply in any given offseason.
A far better strategy is finding market inefficiencies in the NCAA and Euro leagues.
Chicago is a very good current example of this as they keep getting impact players from later in the draft or in free agent signings of undrafted players.
Lol
Tell us more about Brogan Rafferty and why you think he is destined to be a 2nd line D.
The book on Brorat Raggidini is closed then. ?
yeah what happened after?
Meanwhile Chicago is plucking 20-something UFA forwards out of Europe and plopping them right into the top 9.
It’s easy to have a Detroit model when you have a stacked team and your drafting in the late 20’s and usually have less draft picks in general after Holland traded them at the deadline for the Playoff run. Look at the Oilers in the mid eighties to early nineties they weren’t rushing no one because the players they had were irreplaceable.
There still was churn on those rosters.
Also drafting disappeared into the bottom of a Margarita glass sometime around the late 80s.
Great to see all the insightful and respectful comments here.
Here’s a question….Tyler Benson is now in his third season in the AHL “over ripening”.
Do you think there is a team in the league that would give up a high second round pick for him?
Me either.
Just like you said that the Oilers would be lucky to get a 2nd for Puljujarvi?
The reason why the comments are not respectful towards you is because your comments are not worthy of respect.
Also doesn’t help that you don’t treat other posters with respect.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
Not sure how you think Koskinen is a better goalie than Smith. After three years, Koskinen still hasn’t solved the shortside hole problem, and top glove hand weakness. You can see teams all shoot for the same spots because they know that is his Achilles hole.
ArmchairGM:
“If the Oilers win Wednesday night I’d go as far as advocating for at least 2 of Barrie, Russell and Larsson to take Friday night off. They’ll need to be kept fresh for the 2nd half of the month when the Oilers get a steady diet of Winnipeg, Montreal and Toronto.”
***********
Load management
I would do it for them & Smith
It won’t happen -even last year Kenny was a buyer – but man for once it would be nice
to sell high on an asset?
Tyson Barrie for a 1st?
We are not going to be able to re-sign him, I don’t think. We have Bear, Bouchard and Larsson…plus cap issues.
Last time we sold high on an asset, we traded David Perron for a 1st round pick in that terrible, terrible, 2015 draft.
Anyone else think the 2021 draft could take on more of a crapshoot to it?
Would love to have 2 picks in the 1st round given the scouting uncertainty.
TSN announced they expect the NHL draft to stay on July 23/24 dates
Exactly. This draft is going to be a very blurry affair….
Absolutely the 21Draft has a crapshoot feel, considering the limited viewings and travel restrictions.
I’m expecting LT to write an article about how it will behoove organisations to use Math to replace the lack of ’20-’21 viewings, as soon as the season ends.
I think you could get two 2nds for Barrie which means one will be from a later year, which I’m also okay with.
However, what is the likelihood of Holland thrusting a raw rookie RD into a feature role in the playoffs? I’m not sure why any of us are slotting him there on such limited viewings, sheesh.
Players don’t stick in starting lineups because of their offense. Offense gets them paid. Defense gets them minutes. And we’re talking about the playoffs.
I’d feel differently if Bouch was taking a regular shift and kicking ass in his own end while doing it, but that’s not happening. And Stanley Cup contention is irrelevant to the decision. Holland will want this team to drive as deep into this playoffs as they can and get as much experience as they can. Bouch will be a part of that, regardless.
I’m as tempted as you are to take the moonshot, but I don’t think Holland will.
If they “sell high” on Barrie, that’s 23-25 minutes per night to be filled in – the 5 on 5 minutes against the top opposition comp.
One can argue whether Barrie should be playing the minutes that he is but the fact is that he has been and he has been for quite a while (and the team has generally had success when he’s done so) and, if he’s moved, those minutes need to be filled.
I don’t have a desire to re-sign Barrie going forward but, for this season, he is integral to the defensive group and the team.
————-
Not that it matters for this conversation as I don’t want to re-sign Barrie in any event, however, they may not be able to re-sign Larsson either. Some on here posit he can demand (and would receive) a 4-5 year deal at $4M plus on the market.
That’s a tough deal for this team to commit to (even though Larsson is only just 28 and, no, he’s not breaking down physically).
Barrie is 6th on this list. Tippett has been working very hard to get Barrie clean air.
http://puckiq.com/woodmoney?season=20202021&tier=Elite&positions=d&team=edm&group_by=player_season_team&sort=ctoipct&sort_direction=desc
35% TOI vs. elites is not a small number and, of course, i presume there is a large uptick month over month in that number starting with when Bear was injured (maybe even before).
Puckiq’s custom date range isn’t working, but Barrie’s been playing with Nurse for well over half the season so far: Nurse-Barrie is at 290 minutes (5v5) and Nurse-Bear at 175. From what I can see a healthy Bear is the better player and would be an improvement over Barrie at 5v5. Bouchard could take the PP minutes easily too.
I don’t think it’s hard at all to cover Barrie’s minutes.
The theory is premised on the fact that we are not going to *seriously* contend for the Cup this year.
At the present time, we are no match for the Toronto’s, Tampa’s of the NHL.
If that is the case – then we are sacrificing this year for a better opportunity with draft picks next year.
I made the same case last year – and now we are left with the incinerated ashes of draft picks – heading into a most uncertain 2021 draft.
I am not going to pretend we would be a better team without Barrie. This year.
This is more about value creation for the future. Something that rarely happens in this organization.
15 weeks of Tyson Barrie vs more bullets for the draft ( or trade capital ).
I don’t disagree with you from a high level (although I do believe the Oilers can beat any team in a playoff series – Toronto is better but the gap isn’t that large and goaltending with super nova elite talents can win series).
At the same time, while I don’t think that Holland should be (or will be) an aggressive buyer, I also dont’ think that he should be (or will be) a seller.
What type of message does that send to McDavid, Drai and Nurse who are playing 25 minutes plus of hockey a night?
Those guys are busting their ass, through a crazy rough schedule, living in hotel rooms without the ability to even socialize with teammates on road trips, they are grinding through to the playoffs and the GM sells their 1RW for draft picks?
Well, that is the other thing – goaltending. Just not sure I would bet on our goaltending being able to carry us by anyone.
In fact, goaltending is just another reason why I don’t want to bet on this team.
How many games has our goalie -outright stolen – for us to win this year?
I think you are right – Kenny will not be willing to sacrifice any opportunity to see McDavid and Drai in the playoffs.
It will be really interesting to see the draft unfold in this very strange year.
My two cent hunch is -some mid and late round 1st and 2nd ( and other rounds for sure) are going to yield some surprising good players. ( crapshoot for sure)
If the rest of the Oiler D are healthy, they stand a better chance of contending without Barrie.
The Oilers best shot to be good in the playoffs would be to use the regular season to get Bouchard as much experience as possible.
I’m quite certain the Oilers Hall of Fame GM and veteran coach disagree with you and I would put money on the players in the room disagreeing as well.
Not to mention “if the rest of the Oilers D are healthy” – I don’t think its reasonable to project such a thing – the Oilers recently went from 9 healthy D to 6 in a week.
I don’t like the idea of trading Barrie if only that it sort of sends a middle finger to the team.
Don’t get me wrong, selling Barrie for a first round pick is solid asset management, and the results could bear fruit in 1-2 years time, maybe longer if it is a really late pick.
But we can’t forget that the players on the team play to win the game. Ask anyone in that dressing room if they think Barrie helps the team win, they will tell you Yes. Ask anyone on the team if they think they can compete for a Stanley Cup this year. They will tell you yes and will also tell you to immediately bugger off in suggesting that Toronto or Tampa Bay are shoe-ins to win.
If you trade a guy like Barrie, who is playing top pairing minutes, you subconsciously tell McDavid and Draisaitl that in the midst of their prime, they don’t deserve an increased shot at Stanley because the team they are leaders of isn’t good enough.
If it were me in that dressing room, that would feel like a major slap in the face. This team has had a hard enough time making the playoffs over the last decade, why make it harder?
Very fair point.
So clever people, what is the deal to get DeBrusk and his $3.7M to the Oilers without damaging the Oilers’ playoff push?
Is anyone happy with how Kahun is playing for the Oilers? Is he living up to expectations? No he is not given that he has played 2nd line. That being said, Kahun has been a better player than DeBrusk since the beginning of the 2018 – 2019 season to the present day.
Kahun: 160 games / 76 pts / 0.466 pts per g / +18
DeBrusk: 150 games / 62 pts / 0.413 pts per g / -3
Jake’s contract is structured such that his qualifying offer after the 2022 season will be $4.85m.
Hard no even if Boston retains 1/2 as he would not be qualified and would only be a 1 1/5 year rental.
He’s had a 27 goal season and is 24.
DeBrusk-McDavid-Puljujarvi probably nets you another 25+ goal season.
My bad on Jake’s numbers. He is actually 0.547 pts / g since the beginning of the 2018-2019 season and has not had more than 16 goals in a season during that span. Even with the correction he is not worth his qualifying offer.
He had a 27 goal season in that span. That’s more than 16.
Regardless, contract has always been the sticking point with Jake… because of that 27 goal season.
Also, the Bruins aren’t trading him in-season, unless a need is getting filled AND Debrusk replaced.
Not sure where you’re getting your numbers from but since he’s scored 24 goals in 18-19 and 19 goals in 19-20…
DeBrusk is a RW principally. Not an area of need.
Boston would appear to need defencemen.
There’s a deal to be had there because of their forward depth.
A larger deal with Boston wouldn’t be the worst thing either…
I think I floated the concept of grabbing Krejci as well, not sure how the cap would work, but he’d fill in the role of 3C much better than Turris or Khaira. I’m sure he’d prefer to push for one more Cup in Boston but they’ve got younger guys pushing for his spot.
NTC, and why would he want to demote himself to 3C?
I’m concern about who to protect from the Kraken if we were to do this trade.
I suspect that the challenge of protection is harder on D than at F. If you go 7-3-1: McDavid, Draisaitl, Yamo, Puljujarvi, Nuge, Khaira?, DeBrusk, Nurse, Bear, Klefbom. Leaves one of Jones, Laggeson as being exposed.
Why are you protecting kelfbom. He hasn’t even had surgery and he may ride LTIR into the sunset not the first are the last player to do this.
If you think Klefbom is not coming back then you protect Jones or Laggeson (my choice being Jones) but if you believe he’s returning, even as a question mark you can’t risk losing him at that contract. This season has been one giant Klefbom appreciation tweet.
I asked the blog about this a short while back.
The consensus was that the Oilers would be foolish to protect Klefbom.
The Kraken are not taking him with his problematic injury history.
My question was;
What are the expansion draft rules regarding Klefbom missing this entire season??
My guess is that he will be exempt.
Even if the NHL rules against the Oilers (and history indicates that they will), why would you protect him. The Kraken do not get access to medical info so they will be as much in the dark as all of us. The only way I see them taking Klefbom is if they want the LTIR.
Kassian and Samorukov. Kassian and Benson.
funny to see McDavid and Draisaitl together again after all the posturing about not being a one line team irt to the DRY line.
I’m interested to see how JP continues to fair now with RNH. He’ll get more opportunities to carry the puck through the neutral zone.
Trade Benson if and while he has value.
The skillset and consistency combination isn’t there. There’s a chance someone else thinks it is. Time to capitalize.
The Oilers haven’t been any good at cashing in ‘close enough’ prospects in trades for a good while. Time to get back into it again.
Every team has at least one, and sometimes more, of their own ‘Bensons’. What would you get for him – a 3rd? Keep him and let’s see what he does in camp in the fall. There will be at least 2, and maybe 3, LW spots to fill next year so he may get a look. Go Tyler!
I’m not sure I understand the comment: “the skillset and consistency isn’t there”.
I mean, it sure has been there in the AHL and he simply never had an opportunity to show his skill at the NHL level this season due to Covid.
I would posit that his potential value to the Oilers lineup is greater than his trade value.
He may not make it, definitely, but he very well may – many many players of 2nd round plus pedigree establish themselves in the NHL between the ages of 22 and 25 (give or take).
With Nygard and Ennis likely not coming back next year, James Neal potentially being bought out and Nuge’s status somewhat up in the air, I’m not trading the skilled LW prospect that they’ve been developing for the last 3-4 years.
There look to be jobs available next season for the likes of Holloway and Benson to compete for.
Hey LT, in you opinion what would be a GD that fits a 5 game above .500 team? My guess would be somewhere around 8-9.
Baby steps, which is what you want after getting concussed, but I think Bear has taken a little step forward each game he’s been in since returning. A little better each time.
I think we all appreciate what Kowboy does to elevate the dynamic duo…
😉
Some talk last night about waiving/getting rid of Mikko. I get it, especially early.
I actually do think that, once Stalock is activated, Mikko will indeed get waived but it won’t be with the premise of getting rid of him but for roster flexibility.
I think Holland is safe in the knowledge that Mikko would not get claimed on waivers (he may be fine if he does but, either way, I think we are safe to assume he’ll clear). This will allow Holland to move Mikko to the taxi squad on days where he is not starting which will open up an active roster spot.
I think he’ll be waived simply for roster management.
Stalock is signed for dirt cheap next year as well if he plays well and Tippett trusts him it could be the end of the Kosh era in Edmonton.
Its tough to just “end eras” for players with large negative value contracts.
No team is taking on the Koskinen contract without the Oilers retaining (likely) half or taking on an equal negative value contract.
The buyout is not egregious but, of course, just like retaining, dead cap hits – Holland doesn’t want to add more (not saying he won’t, Mikko and/or James, but its FAR from ideal).
Darnell Nurse is an absolute stud – my goodness that kid is playing great hockey and massive minutes. Yes, he was on for both goals against last night but, of course, zero culpability on either. He is an elite defender of the rush and his in-zone defending has taking two large steps this year. Not even getting in to his better decision making with the puck in all three zones and the increase in his passing accuracy and pace.
Stud.
Well said. First goal was on Mikko and the second goal man what was Turris doing? Now if only Klefbom can get well enough to play (surgery or not) the roster balance for the D will be coming into focus.
Should we start fretting about his next contract, or is it too soon? 😉
If he continues this level of all-around play (and minutes) through this season and in to next season, I will be fully comfortable signing him to his $7M-$7.5M long term extension in and around the time he returns from the Olympics.
I wonder if Holland has any feelers out there on Debrusk. Could be a solution to the gap at LW.
Trade a young D.
I could get behind that. Maybe something around Jones and Chiasson (cap reasons and they seemed to like him in the summer) for him. Tippett doesn’t seem too keen on his play and, while not strong this year, our LD can take the hit long term.
On top of that, filling the hole at LD at the deadline would come cheaper than a top-6 LW hole. Something like a mid pick and/or a middling prospect for Nemeth outta Detroit strikes me as a decent bet that could happen sooner rather than later. In years past, Nemeth has been a surprisingly effective defender so he could help settle things down a bunch!
There is a young D trade coming eventually, but we need quality coming back. I like that Debrusk has a local connection, seems like he would fit but a bit of inconsistency, he’s a bit of a gamble. We had to give up Hall for a decent D in the past. Has the price gone down so much now or was that all on Chia.
Larsson was much more established than Jones is now, but it was also mostly Chia.
I’d bet on it. There were rumours last season of Oiler interest. And there continues to be rumours out of Boston this season that they’re looking to deal him.
Love Louie but Jake is just Kahun with a terrible contract. Hard no.
Disagree. While also an imperfect offense-first W, Debrusk has a physical dimension that Kahun doesn’t. Further, one has scored 27 goals in a season before; the other has maxed out at 13. I actually don’t mind Kahun, either. Adding Debrusk would just push him into a more appropriate slot.
Jake’s qualifying offer would be $4.41m (as per Cap Friendly) which is way too much for a player who had one great year (27 goals). Sounds a bit like AA – one great year.
If this trade was to happen it would after the Seattle draft. We will have a problem already deciding who to protect.
I see no issue here.
McD, Drai, Nuge, Yamo, Pulj, Debrusk, and Kahun/Benson/deadline addition
Nurse, Bear, and Larsson/Lagesson (if the latter does well this year)
Klefbom’s injury leaves me entirely comfortable leaving him unprotected and I’m not all that worried about them selecting Lagesson in the likely case we protect Larsson.
I’m not convinced he is top 6. 3rd line and the occasional top 6 minutes. Kraken would take him from us if he is unprotected. So who would you leave off?
A few things to keep in mind:
A few things to correct and counter:
-My recollection of Debrusk over the years doesn’t bear that out. Heinen was often the RW when they played together. This year I can see the point, but might that have something to do with his struggles?
-He literally had a point on March 5th. Before that, 1 point each on Feb 18th and 25th. At least check his stat page before posting.
-Sure, hence why he’s a buy-low candidate.
-The salary is ~5mil but the cap hit is ~3.7mil. Qualifying offer be damned, he has to prove he’d be worth re-signing before I worry too much about that.
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/31026751/the-nhl-struggles-mental-health-season-how-players-confronting-anxiety-isolation
Interesting read on the season taking its toll on the players. Crazy to hear some players say they miss the “prison yard” of the Edmonton bubble because at least they could hang out together.
I should be mindful of that but I will likely continue to slag players and coaches and GMs as always. 😀
The Senators are one of the weakest teams in the league full stop.
Koskinen lets that in against a good team and automatically an uphill battle for the Oilers to come back.
Goals like that are coach killers and Tippett knows it if it was a one and done no problem but Kosh has let in some bad angled weak ass goals this year. When Stalock is ready he’s coming in and it isn’t Smith that’s he’s replacing. Kosh is Dead Man Walking at the moment.
Is that the type of goal given up by goalies who have sat for too long?
Yeah when it happened after he sat for 3 weeks or whatever it was a bit more understandable.
Remember when Talbot went from a near-Vezina nominee to letting in the first shot of every game or every period?
So weird. Goalies, man.
They shouldn’t be allowed to marry or have children. A monastery life would serve best, methinks.
There can be no excuse for those soft goals. He has had practice time to solve the problem, with no improvement. He looked lost out there in the first period. So many times he had no idea where the puck was, or where it had gone, that was scarey
I thought both Calgary and Ottawa were going to score to tie the game late these last two. They didn’t so that is good = regulation wins.
LT provocatively posits “Khaira had 9PIMS, played well on the PK and may own the best beard in Oilers history.”
Stan Weir says come here and say that.
The German national teams are going to be quite a handful for a few teams with Draisaitl and Stutzle in their lineups for years to come.
Reichel, Peterka, and Seider as well. They have a bright future. I really think Seider will be a stud and wouldn’t be surprised if at least one of the two wingers hit.
When Stalock is ready to go, and by that I mean not just ready to play but ready to play at his pre-injury level, I wonder if Holland could strike a deal with the Senators for one of Smith or Koskinen?
Larsson is healthy, happy and going full Gator every night. Larsson and Nurse combined for 37:40 5v5 TOI out of a total of 47:39 5v5 game state. So, with Larsson playing at the level he is, and Nurse playing at a #1D level, the team has a big physical dman on the ice over 75% of the time. Hope that Holland can get Larsson signed for next year (after the Kraken draft of course) and let Barrie walk.
Ideally Larsson would get a 2-year deal and the Oilers would pursue Jones or Parayko in the summer of 22 – and then trade Larsson for assets if they land a bigger fish.
With the Oilers cap structure there’s little chance of them pursuing an expensive Dman in FA over the next two years. Goalie, maybe; top 6 winger or 3C possibly too. Dman, no way.
Have another look at their cap structure then. They absolutely can pursue a top-end defenseman in 2022.
Here are the 3 most recent 2022-23 rosters submitted on CapFriendly.
Barrie, Nuge, Coleman, Nurse, Kuemper, Manson:
https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/2263918
Laughton, Ullmark, Nurse, Forsberg, Seth Jones, Hyman, Haula:
https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/2260085
Nuge, Tatar, Nurse, Larsson, Grubauer:
https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/2259973
Obviously the Senators are a better team than we saw at the beginning of the year, and no team should be taken lightly. However, a 3 game set with them now is a great chance to keep everyone involved and see where they are at. In particular on defence.
In the last 2 games I would love to see the 3rd pair be Jones-Bouchard for game 2 and then Lagesson-Bear for game 3, if Willy is ready. Give both guys a chance to stay involved with the team, and see if they knock you socks off. Then pick your players that are currently on top of there game to go into TOR-MTL
If the Oilers win Wednesday night I’d go as far as advocating for at least 2 of Barrie, Russell and Larsson to take Friday night off. They’ll need to be kept fresh for the 2nd half of the month when the Oilers get a steady diet of Winnipeg, Montreal and Toronto.
IMO, when Laggy’s ready, Bouchard draws back in.