The Edmonton Oilers appear to be done. Signing Kailer Yamamoto will happen in the next while and after that we wait for training camp, preseason and then the beginning of (in the words of Roberto Luongo) the official start of “how did that go in?” season.
I have questions.
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’s the latest!
- New Lowetide: What are reasonable expectations for the 2021-22 Oilers?
- Lowetide: What are the Oilers’ ‘perfect lines’ for next season?
- Lowetide: The Oilers and value contracts. Three now, two later
- Jonathan Willis: A resurgent Zack Kassian could be an important part of the Oilers’ scoring
- Lowetide: Oilers sign Darnell Nurse to a massive 8-year contract extension
- Lowetide: How many goals will Jesse Puljujarvi score for the Oilers next season?
- Lowetide: 8 unsigned free agents who could help the Oilers
- DNB: Rating the Oilers’ offseason
- Lowetide: What are Oilers’ ideal defence pairings for 2021-22?
- Lowetide: The future may come early for three Oilers prospect defencemen
- DNB: What I’m hearing about the Oilers offseason, 4.0
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers 2021-22 depth chart
- Lowetide: Warren Foegele acquisition possible key to improving the Oilers third line
- DNB: Ethan Bear on being traded, his time with the Oilers
- DNB: Ethan Bear out, Cody Ceci in, Tyson Barrie stays
- DNB: ‘Ultimate competitor’ Zach Hyman signs with Oilers
- Lowetide: Oilers top 20 prospects, summer 2021
- DNB: Oilers draft day notebook
- Jonathan Willis: Zach Hyman, by the numbers
- Lowetide: 5 players outside the NHL who could help the Oilers
- Lowetide: Why Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard is poised to exceed expectations
I’m a fan of bringing Koekkoek in, his Edmonton numbers don’t rhyme but his career as a whole looks good. KK arrived, struggled, had a good two-week run in the back half of January before getting injured. I think he’ll play 50+ games, and assume the same for Russell and Bouchard.
Lagesson would be the first recall, after that Berglund, Samorukov, Niemelainen and Broberg would be in the mix. First recall option in goal would be Stuart Skinner, suspect they’ll want Woodcroft, Manson and whoever replaces Houle to have a long look at Ilya Konovalov before he is elevated. Any goalie who runs hot in preseason has a chance to play NHL games in 2021-22. It is not a completely stable position for the Edmonton Oilers at this time.
Up front, first LW recall would be Brendan Perlini and let’s face it he could make the team with Benson waived and possibly headed to Bakersfield. At center, Holloway and Marody on right wing.
Now, my main point: The Oilers STILL have plenty of room. It’s crazy. They could add six names today and still not get to 50.
POSSIBLE OILERS OPENING NIGHT ROSTER
I have Klefbom on the roster, and Bouchard, Benson and McLeod in the minors ready for recall as soon as the season is officially underway. Klefbom gets place in injured reserve, and the recalls happen. There is $350,000 left, Kailer Yamamoto might not get $2M this summer.
This is the kind of move I have been anticipating for the Oilers, several men like Moser (I had him No. 74 in the 2021 draft) remain available. I’ve mentioned Billy Constantino among others this summer, but at this point we’re probably looking at training camp invites and PTO’s as opposed to full signings. RHD and RC are always areas that can be shored up.
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
At 10 this morning, we kickstart the weekend with all kinds of chatter across several leagues on TSN1260. Steve Lansky from Inside the Truck podcast will join us at 10:20 to discuss CFL Week Two, and the Field of Dreams game. Hernan Salas from TSN1260 will help preview the Elks game and tell us what’s going on with the Stampeders, and we’ll chat about Slater Koekkoek and where he’ll land on the depth chart. Also looking at an NFL guest, waiting for confirm. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. Talk soon!
Late to the party (3 kids, 3 pets, 1 amazing wife).
LT – You are a wealth of knowledge. A real pleasure to read at any point in the day (night)
“End of the line” Travelling Wilburys!! Wicked tune!
it’s alright
So I am like LT in that I like all Oiler prospects and players.
I am perhaps not like LT in that I don’t care about the success of any other team.
I just want the Oilers to play a fantastic game win or lose.
I am so tired of watching players that I know will not do the job, be given a shot while others sit or are buried. Or let go one way or another (song title!).
How can I possibly know that? It isn’t that hard to suss.
Well, list your failures and we’ll revisit. That’s how it works!
So Matthews is out for six weeks after having wrist surgery.
I don’t understand why these things happen so late sometimes? I mean, he’s been skating/training in Arizona (Perlini has been on the ice with him).
Was the plan to “give it a go” and now they’ve decided surgery is the way to go?
If this was McDavid, I would have hoped the surgery would be in like June.
So if you have to manage a pro sports team owned and run by a corporate entity is it clean?
You are one of the most able to speak to that.
How much cap space is gained? Can they make the playoffs without weeks of him?
After the Tampa hustle how many GMs under distant corporate control have to now try to replicate the scam?
I don’t understand your post – no cap space is gained – I don’t think the “out six weeks” will turn in to 82 games missed.
This doesn’t seem to have anything to do with cap structuring.
Matthews was having wrist issues last season and missed a number of games before returning.
The most likely answer is that he and the team hoped rest and recovery would fix the issued but didn’t.
As per my post.
Casper my ghost.
You said nothing about his wrist issues last season.
“Was the plan to “give it a go” and now they’ve decided surgery is the way to go?” – clearly talking about his wrist but feel free to continue to argue for the sake of it.
I am never one to defend HH but to be honest OP, I never took from your comment that this was related to last season injury.
Wrist felt fine probably. He increased intensity of workouts and it stopped feeling so great
This is the start of manouvering to get a trade out of Toronto well before he contract expires.
Think of it as a passive aggressive first trade request. Become a high maintenance player.
Sorry LT I dont get the athletic but if your article says McDavid will get 150+ points then I totally agree. ?
I can see the upside to the KK signing. It’s beneficial to have him and KRussell be able to play both left and right in a pinch. However I feel the two year deal muddy’s up an already existing logjam of defensive prospects pushing for NHL games.
Imo Lagesson and Samorukov are more than capable of sliding in for Krussell or injury this season. Broberg, Niemelainen, Berglund, and Kemp could all be knocking on the door next year.
On a different note, it’s weird seeing Holloway listed as C. He always felt like an ideal skill power LW to me. Bourgault seems like a solid RHC
The Oilers love the 2-year deals on depth players predominantly because they loathe losing these players when they send them down on waivers.
The second year on his contract will make a claim less likely, if one of the kids is ready.
As for Borgault. I think “a fine Borgault” is drilled into my brain forever. I hope I don’t ask for a fine Borgeault the next time I go to a restaurant.
Make sure you order the succulent Beef Bourgault to pair with that fine Bourgault wine.
Looking forward to the film about Xavier finding more success after his hockey career by taking part in the adult entertainment industry.
And the film will be called:
Bourgault Nights
Man I loved that movie.
Burt Reynolds is the King
plus Heather Graham
my oh my, vroom vroom
How nice it would be for Bourgault to become our Barzal.
I see: Shore, Benson, Perlini, Turris, Marody fight for 2 roster spots (assuming they go with 14F which assumed 2G and 7D).
I would think Shore has the “inside edge” given the coach clearly trusts him (despite very very poor 5 on 5 metrics) but, if both Perlini and Benson outplay him at camp, would they waive and assign Shore?
Hopefully the answer to that question is “yes”.
Lets not forget, over the last two years, the bottom six required PK skill, almost all of the those in the bottom 6 were required to kill. I don’t think the depth players need to necessarily be PK guys this year. They have:
Archie, Hyman, Nuge, Foegele, Ryan, McLeod, Yamamoto, Drai all with legit PK accumen. I know we don’t want Drai on the PK unless required and, with the above PK depth, he shouldn’t be required even without the 12F being a PK guy.
Shore’s PK ability should not save his roster spot – am i wrong?
What number you wear it shouldn’t matter
Where your from it shouldn’t matter
The way you move in a one dimensional aspect of gameplay it shouldn’t matter
It shouldn’t matter how you cut your hair (sideburns or no)
It’s 5×5 that counts
That was a jingle from a commercial, right?
Where you’re from: It doesn’t matter.
The way you look: It doesn’t matter.
The way you move: It doesn’t matter.
It doesn’t matter how you cut your hair: it’s what’s inside that counts.
Can’t remember the product, but that jingle is permanently etched in my memory.
I full on think Drai shouldn’t see a minute of PK time unless it’s a 5 on 3. The man is a wizard in those situations.
I’m hopeful that Benson makes the team above Shore. I’d also love Marody to get a fair shake this year, whatever a fair shake is. Injury cover? Games here or there when Kassian decides he’s not interested?
All depends on if the other centers can win a DZ face-off.
Ryan can definitely win a DZ faceoff,
Not that I do not believe you, but more out of curiosity, I checked his stats – very interesting.
https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/r/ryande01.html
He had a glorious year in Calgary in 2018-19, where he took the most Short Handed FOs (one assumes the majority in his DZ) and knocked it out of the park (99 taken, 60.6% wins), the rest, he didn’t take as many and was, at most, 46.2%
His FO stats seem to be padded with excellent even strength and 5×5 numbers. I think he may rely more on “winger wins”, but I’d have to watch to confirm.
To be honest, I did not check any stats but was going be memory and knowledge of good percentage (overall).
Your point on “winger wins” is a good one but, on that note, I would posit that most players have a reduced percentage on the PK for that very reason.
Shore’s roster spot is 100% guaranteed- he just signed a new 2 year contract.
Maybe to start but Turris also signed for 2 years and he did not last long. I don’t think the coach cares about the contract.
Yeah, fair enough, but to suggest there is a training camp fight to see if Shore will be on the NHL roster to start the year is just not true. He might be in the press box but there is 0% chance he gets waived.
Actually one of the best bets to get sent down. Maybe not immediately but during the season multiple times. The same goes for KK. Russell is the perfect 7D. Samorukov will probably take 3LD to start. IF THINGS GO RIGHT.
Correct because if Samorukov doesn’t crack the top six he needs to play! Sitting as the number seven D would be less than ideal.
Its really too bad his season was cut short by that shoulder injury and that he wasn’t able to finish the season in Bakersfield like many others (although CSKA was a good team, not sure how many games he would have been able to get in).
Even 5-7 games back in the AHL would have given him a real chance to make the team out of camp this season (likely) but I think the coaches will want him to start in the AHL for sure and they’ve provided the real cover to start.
100%, 7D is not an option. Here is hoping he has a fully healthy season (he also missed real time in his AHL season with a facial injury) and earns that call-up on merit.
With respect, I don’t think citing that as “not true” is fair.
While I agree, that it is likely the case that Shore is on the team (given Tip’s reliance on certain players that he “trusts”), I don’t think its a certainty and to state that there is 0% chance he’s assigned and that the opining that he’s in a battle for a roster spot is “not true” is an opinion, not a fact.
A second year on his term certainly doesn’t take away the potential to lose his job, in my opinion.
I see no reason why that contract guarantees him a roster spot.
Why does everyone dislike Shore is he the new Chaisson. I for one see him playing relaxed with the security of a 2 year deal. Devon Shore will score 10 goals next year. Book it!
I don’t “dislike Shore”, however:
1) I don’t see him as anything like Chiasson – even taking away Chiasson’s ability on the PP (which is real), one plus of Chiasson was he was generally able to “saw off” when away from McDavid and Drai – one of the very few that didn’t get caved.
2) On the other hand, Shore did get caved away from McDavid/Drai last season – some of the worst metrics in the league.
3) My concerns is the coach defaulting to Shore as one of his “trusted veterans and this trust not bearing out with on-ice results but due to his “professionalism” and “work ethic”.
I have been posting against the thought that he isn’t guaranteed a roster spot but, on the other hand, I’m not positive that coach will ask the GM to keep both Perlini and Benson, for example, over him if they have outplayed him early.
I was OK with the early signing – on the premise being there is zero risk as he has no effect on the camp if beaten out for a roster spot – I just hope the coaches let that play out.
I’m not talking about playing style but rather the attitude towards him by some of the fan base.
No player at the bottom of the roster should be relaxed because the next ticket out of town could have his name on it!
Tippett really doesn’t like rotating players or else Bouchard, Jones, Benson etc would have been more part of the team.
1) Tippett rotated the 2/3 LD all season long – including Jones and Lagesson.
2) Nope, Tippett didn’t rotate the right side because, well, 3 legit established NHL d-men – two of them player well and doing their jobs and the 3rd up and down but the top right shot D man the previous year.
3) Tip rotated the bottom of the forward roster all season long – Benson wasn’t a part of that because of Covid and the impracticality of AHL/NHL re-assignments.
Will never know if we don’t take out a wounded Jet team with Bouchard in the line-up.
I would think, going in to camp, yes, Skinner has the inside track on that position – we know the org remains high on Skinner, as they should, and, of course, Konovalov has no North American hockey experience.
With that said, I am extremely intrigued vis-a-vis which of those two goalies pull ahead during the course of this season. Skinner with the early lead as the incumbent, but Konovalov has the talent and the pedigree to pass him.
As far as “call-up”, I really don’t know what they will do with the goalie that “loses” the camp battle as between Stalock and Mikko – I mean, do they have room for 3 goalies on the active roster? I know Woodley thinks its an option but its far from ideal. Does the “loser” get assigned (if not claimed: Stalock) to the AHL – and, maybe not even play as to not take ice away from the prospects? Does that “veteran” not get the first call-up? Can they get the call-up if they haven’t been playing?
Is there a chance to loan that 3G to another AHL team (if they clear)?
Would Mikko be amenable to a European loan (if they could arrange something)?
What is Stalock outplays Mikko at camp?
Will they assign Mikko (after clearing)?
I mean, one thing to keep in mind, Stalock is known to be a plus puck-handler – maybe not Smith level but definitely better than Mikko. We know the team plays “better” in front of Smith – I’m sure the puck handling is part of that.
Would it not be an easier transition as between Smith and Stalock so the team can not have to worry about which tender is in vis-a-vis puck retrievals and breakout systems?
Of course, a season ago, Mikko was coming off a decent/solid year and he very well could be the better goalie this season, even better than Smith.
LT – Enjoy your vacation next week – well deserved.
I do love me some Hernan but I won’t go as far as to say “upgrade”.
Given the past, I presume we’ll see an 8:30 am post daily, while maybe shorter than we normally get – I can’t remember the last time there was not a new post.
LT’s going on vacation?
That “Excellent” was…excellent.
Guarantee that’s going to make a big transaction happen for the Oilers which renders some of the posts irrelevant.
The Falklands have been invaded! I repeat, the Falklands have just been invaded!
Just stick on some re-runs, they’ll never know!
maybe just share our wagu recipes and needlepoint ?…
I anticipate this is correct.
One thing, I anticipate/presume/expect Bouchard plays 82 games subject to injury. He has to be an every day player and that, in my opinion, is the case without even looking at the depth chart which has Filip Berglund as the 4RD behind Bouch (who I do think may be able to play in the NHL this year but, we don’t know, and the realistic option for RD fill-in is Russell on his off-side).
I think Russell starts at 3LD, then again, if I remember correctly, Russell was a healthy scratch on opening night last season in favor of Koekkoek and made his way in to the lineup when the coaches started to lose trust in Jones, which happened early (3-4 games) – am I remembering that right.
In any event, I don’t see Russell playing every night – injury plus, well, he’s not young anymore, plus, well, Koekkoek, plus, well, Samorukov.
I’m 100% in favour of Koekkoek as 3LD over Russell.
Well, last year they were the exact opposite ends of GA/60 but, of course, the stats for Koekkoek need context (small sample size, almost exclusively when the team was struggling early with no Smith and he played alot with Larsson, so lots of top 4).
I posted that the Koekkoek signing was not a great idea as Lagesson had better numbers last year, player development would be affected, …etc. However, many posters pointed out that so many dmen are generally required during a season that I thought I would look into the numbers from the short 56-game 2021 season for all 31 teams.
Data is from Natural Stat Trick
# of Dmen Used during the season: High = 13 / Low = 8 / Avg. = 11 / Oilers = 10
# of Dmen (100+ minutes): High = 12 / Low = 6 / Avg. = 8.77 / Oilers = 10
# of Dmen to play all 56: Total = 32 / High per team = 4 / Oilers = 3
2021 – 2022 Season
Conclusion: Recency bias of the Oilers having 3 Dmen play the whole season was the major error. Average probability that Koekkoek, Lagesson plus at least one other AHL player will see NHL time during the 2021 – 2022 season. So, I have changed my tune and am sure that Holland is relieved!
Hoping that Koekkoek has healed up, trained hard and plays better. GOG
Fantastic analysis! That there is at least one team with four defenders who played the whole season makes me wonder: is there an injury specific PDO metric we could uncover? I suspect there is a lot of noise in the data, and might require age adjusting.
That would be an interesting review, but I feel that a Tyler Dellow (or equivalent) would be required.
So the Oilers used 10 d-men and that’s without many injuries.
Really, just 10-11 games missed for Bear and 2/3 of the season for Koekkoek.
I think Lagesson missed a couple with his wrist. Did Russell miss any via injury.
That’s a pretty darn healthy season and, still, 10 d-men used.
This analysis speaks to variation in roster stability, which I have been interested in but have only looked at forward lines.
So my next question is, which teams only used 6 defensemen over 100 minutes? My guess is they were good teams.
Yes and no. NYI and San Jose had 6. Arizona, MInnesota, Philly and Washington all had 7.
Thanks, that’s interesting. SJ also has amongst the most stable forward lines last year, but still stank. In contrast, I think Arizona has quite low line stability. It’s all part of the puzzle, but clearly roster stability still can’t outplay the quality of the players.
Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
The infamous waiver wire?
How much cap will we have in season with the Klefbomb LTIR to go waiver wire shopping?
Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
3-4-1?
Waiver wire means roster spot…some low cost bets that may have big upside and stand a decent chance of passing through waiver wire, like perlini – are what I was thinking.
1-4-3
The amount of cap space during the season will depend on the amount of LTIR reserves (essentially, $4.1M less the cap space when placed on LTIR will be the amount the Oilers can go over $81.5M).
LT’s roster above has a couple hundred grand (with Yamo at $1.5M) and that creates a big problem for day to day management of the team.
The Oilers cannot even recall a single player unless they put someone on LTIR or send someone down.
If a player is out for, say, two weeks and can go on IR but not LTIR, that doesn’t create any cap space – they will have a roster spot but can’t even call someone up to replace the player on IR.
Inside the Koekkoek’s Nest: Part 2
I included Maatta as a reference. In 2019-20, Koekkoek had very impressive results, especially when compared to Oilers D in that season. He should be able to handle a 3LD position competently.
How sure are we that McLeod is better than Holloway right now, today?
I’m not, but Tippet / Holland probably have this surrounded. Holloway may have superior high-end skills and I believe he does. However, McLeod is 2 years older and has played 99 games against men in North America (AHL + NHL).
Holland (proper?) progression would be that Holloway prove he can dominate the AHL prior to NHL employment. This could happen during the season we shall see. I am very excited about seeing how Holloway, Sammy, Brogerg, Lavoie et al do in the AHL this season.
While both “big and fast”, McLeod and Holloway play such different styles.
Holloway is a much more aggressive player than McLeod, he likes to bang in both ends and battles on the boards. If McLeod had that sort of confidence in himself to battle, his ceiling would be much higher.
With that said, Holloway just turned 20 and has never played a pro game. He very well may just be ready for the NHL, even a prominent role, right away or very shortly but we simply can’t know or expect that at this point.
We know that gap between the CHL and the AHL is massive, and known to be bigger than the AHL/NHL gap. NCAA isn’t the CHL but its an amateur league.
I presume Holloway starts the year in California given the depth up front but he maybe he doesn’t and, if he does, who knows for how long – a month? half a season? Full season?
With all the talk of Yamamoto being moved off the top six and Kassian being move back up to the top six . Makes me wonder if they’ve decided size is of the essence. The focus is on more of a playoff hockey type of game. Are they even planning on signing Yamamoto at all ? He’s the last kid standing there. Is he a fit on this revamped forward group? I’m not so sure.
Scandalous.
You do know that Jesse is bit taller than Zack and not much lighter? I wouldn’t say Jesse plays a small game either….
As for Yamamoto I think the team definitely values his ability to strip pucks and keep plays alive in the offensive end. The deal will get done, don’t worry.
agree 100%
Sure . But can he do it when it counts ? I watched him closely in the playoffs , you have to give him a ton of credit , because he was just getting pounded all game long , his ability to strip pucks and keep plays alive in the offensive zone was brutally diminished I didn’t find it enjoyable to watch . But that’s my opinion ..
I’m sure he’ll take it as a learning experience. Really though I don’t think he has to change his game at all come the playoffs. Keep going to those hard parts of the ice, win pucks, be responsible defensively.
From what I saw of Gallagher with the Habs he did just fine in the playoffs as well. Not that I’m saying Yamo is on his level, but maybe he gets there? He’s certainly not shy about getting stuck in.
I don’t see that at all. It is just business. Holland has no money and Yamo has no leverage. It will get done when Yamo accepts that he has no leverage.
I’m not concerned about the fact that Yamamoto is unsigned – this is the exact type of signing that often/generally happens later in the summer.
Lets just hope it happens well before camp so Kailer isn’t “showing up late”, etc. like with Bear last off-season.
Why wouldn’t Yamamoto get the same contract Jesse signed last year?
Because he has 52 points in 105 NHL games played?
If I’m Yamamoto I’m probably wondering where my Foegele contract is.
In Seattle.
Yammo isn’t stupid .
He has 26pts in 27 games, followed by 21pts in 52 games. He also has 1000+ minutes with Draisaitl since 2018-19. Foegele by comparison has 1000+ minutes with a 30 year old Jordan Staal. Yamamoto should take the bridge and show that he’s somewhere between the 27-game Yamamoto and the 52-game Yamamoto.
Foegele contract?
Yamamoto can get such a contract when he has similar rights as Foegele (i.e. arbitration rights) and coming off a season with success that warrants such a contract.
I like Kailer but he, in no way, has earned what Foegele has earned.
When I first mentioned that it was likely to be closer to Puljujarvi’s contract than $2M at the beginning of summer it was met with a fair amount of ridicule from certain quarters but with no leverage I fear Yamo is going to have to accept what is offered.
Yamamoto might be a Foegele but he is not today. Last year he did not improve on the prior year- it is not a sin. IMO $2.0 AAV is an overpay at this point in his hockey life cycle.
Yamo is paid to score. He didn’t. Now here we are.
A Stanley cup contender cannot continue to have a week link in the top 6. If your paid to hit or cause chaos and open up the ice for the goal scorers you must do this on a nightly basis (Kassian). Does Yamo’s sometimes effective forechecking but lack of goal scoring keep him in the top 6. Are Hyman, Foegele and Hollaway better options in the top 6, I say yes and I think Tippett will see it that way as well.
Sure, yes, Kailer’s primary job is offensive production but maybe he is a bit mis-cast in that role as a 22 year old developing smaller player?
I think many of us think that, right, now, today, he could be a very very good 3rd line player with definite top 6 upside and, of course, current top 6 fill in ability.
I would note that, he creates havoc on the forecheck and draws penalties – last year he was among the top forwards in penalties drawn per 60 as well as takeaways per 60.
My point is that, production will get him paid, but he brings other attributes to the ice besides production.
I would also note that he is near the top of the forwards in penalties taken per 60 and, via memory, many were in the offensive zone – he can (and should) work on that.
Lundqvist to the Oilers. E5.
https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Eklund/Lundqvist-Working-Out-Hard-Focused-on-Return-to-Edmonton-Buzz–130/1/113000
Yeah but it’s Eklund lol
Giddy up!
Man I haven’t seen an e# mention unironically in years! Thanks for the throwback.
and with that, it is officially the summer snooze time for hockey.
Love me some Lundqvist though, I hope he’s healthy and ready to go with someone in the NHL this year. As much as I’m no fan of the Rangers it would have been nice to see him retire with them all things considered.
The rumour that the NYR are still trying to trade for Eichel and that Georgiev is part of the return just might see Lundqvist return to Broadway.
I’ll go with Georgiev to Edmonton and Henrik to NYR for his retirement contract.
Why? to downgrade from Koskinen? He’s not very good.
Georgiev was better than Mikko this past season and I think we can agree there is more upside in the 25 year old.
There is also the “mood around Mikko” – I have no idea if the players have or have not lost confidence in him or the coaches, etc. Most fans certainly have.
Isn’t he a little young for a FA goalie signing?
I realize it’s Friday, but urge you to consider it may be too early to be drinking this hard. Easy does it, young man!
We really need to use our remaining contract spots to nab Lundqvist, Chara, Jagr, Kovalchuk and Datsyuk to join Smith and create the NHL-equivalent of The Expendables.
Question, do we think that a line of Jagr/Kovalchuk/Datsyuk could come close to 50% goals for in ten mins per game? maybe stick one of them on PP1 and another on PP2 as a trigger man?
Datsyuk still seems to have some game but it sounds/looks like Jagr is one and, for the second year in a row, he’s talked about being embarrassed by his play and the only reason he is continuing to come back is because important sponsors would pull out if he wasn’t on the team and he feels a major responsibility to the team (partially because of his dad’s 20 year connection).
That’s funny.
Would it be nice if we had Klefbom “Kucheroved” for the playoffs? He wouldn’t make the same impact. Whether he returns at all or not, I wish him the best.
Just a quick follow up after reading yesterday’s posts:
Being asked to defend your statements isn’t “rage”. Not liking the GM’s moves and expressing so isn’t “rage”. Being cynical isn’t bad, it’s merely the opposite of “rose tinted glasses” or “company man”.
Nobody here has a balanced, nuanced, unbiased opinion. Our very natures all but guarantee this. Nobody. The closest is the guy who runs the blog, except when it comes to Fernando Pisani or the Expos, then all bets are off!
Things must be questioned. Must. Always. It’s how we get better.
I think a lot of the consternation with certain deals may actually be this blogs fault. There are some smart people here who have delved deep into the heart of hockey, what makes a good team or player. People are becoming convinced. Then there are decisions made that don’t jive with their new found wisdom…
The blog host is filled with red hot rage when someone says something nice about Smid. Which is crazy, because the ladies love him.
I know, right?
Not universally.
I dated a veterinarian for a while and when we got talking about the Oilers, she said she didn’t think Petry was much of a player (I asked her if she was watching the games lol) and said that Smid tried to pick her up at the bar one night. When she said no thanks, Laddy called her a bitch. So yeah, she’s not a fan.
Klefbom plays defense, not forward. And he would not have played for two seasons.
Ya don’t say……:-)
I do think the bewilderment (better word than rage?) surrounding Koekkoek’s second year was a bit blown out of proportion. He’s historically been a good NHL defenceman, and in the less than 200 minutes he played last season shat the bed.
Cynicism being the opposite of rose tinted glassesism (made up word, judge me) doesn’t make it good just because rose tinted glassesism is bad. Both can be equally bad while being opposite.
Or M.A. Pouliot. Sorry, LT 😛
“There’s a player there, Dammit!” – LT…probably.
The true enemy is apathy.
Motion to have “Glassesism” entered in to the OED?
Aye.
You articulated this perfectly Jethro! I’m a fan of the Nuge signing and a few other moves Holland has made. Really don’t like the Keith trade or the cap hit for the next two years, Larsson leaving, giving up on Bear and Jones. I think Holland didn’t get near enough in return. I fail to see how the Oilers have improved on defense or in net which is vital come playoffs. They are definitely improved up front though. I guess I took off my rose colored glasses and ruffled some feathers with Oiler fans on this blog. I hope I’m wrong, I really do. But I don’t see the Oilers going far with this current roster… unless guys like Holloway, Bouchard and maybe Sami/Konolov (long shots) knock it out of the park and pleasantly surprise. It’s only my perspective, I don’t hate the Oilers. In fact I’ve been a die hard fan for decades of despair and laughter from other fan bases. I love this blog and enjoy the comments even if I disagree with some of them. If we all agreed on everything, where would the fun in healthy debate be?
Better to be apoplectic than apathetic. 😉
I’ll add to this if you don’t mind.
There are a lot of ways to ask questions.
One way is to ask in such a manner that you hope to learn something from the answer.
A more common way is to ask in such a manner as to imply that you already know the answer and it is a better answer than the one the person you are asking has.
So, yes, asking questions is a way to get better but it is also a way to annoy people and feel superior to them.
The former method is one of the main attractions to this site for me while the latter is mostly a source of humour.
Occasionally it is annoying but mostly it is just a little snapshot of what makes us all different in how we react to life’s little surprises.
I never mind.
So, if the question is relevant, I don’t think it matters how it was asked. If it was asked snippily, then my annoyance with it is separate to the question.
Who knows, sometimes a question may be asked tongue in cheek or facetiously or even nastily, but there might either be something in it or it might challenge someone who is on shaky ground but sounds confident.
Joe Thornton 1 year deal in Florida.
Get that surfboard out of storage!
I can’t imagine how much sand would get caught up in his beard…
No reason to hang around on that sinking ship
I’m not sure TO wanted him back – Jumbo Joe wasn’t very good last year.
With that said, I will “cheer” for Florida in the east – I’ve got nothing against that team and do like many of their players. If the Oilers aren’t in the SCF, I would love to see the Panthers take it all and hopefully Joe is a part it – who doesn’t love Joe?
So the Thornton / Perry divisional rivalry (in as much as it exists) has now gone from San Jose vs Anaheim, to Toronto vs Montreal, to Florida vs Tampa
Next year: Edmonton vs Calgary?
I’ll take Perry come playoff time the man knows his job and does it well.
We look pretty thin at C so I can see an addition of a cheap 4C type as necessary. Not sure we see Konovalov or Skinner get NHL games this year if Stalock doesnt get picked off of waivers. He hasnt played for a whole year so I could see him passing through.
McDavid
Draisaitl
Nuge
Ryan
McLeod
Looks pretty good to me.
Agreed, looks good.
I would be surprised if Coach T. uses that structure to start the season.
Holloway arriving as a legit top 6 winger option, at some point, may pave the way.
Actually giving Benson some reps with McDavid/Drai could also help pave the way but I think we know that is HIGHLY unlikely.
I’ve got nothing to say.
But what a day, how’s your boy been?
It’s time for tea and meet the wife.
Man, if the oilers waive Benson to protect Shore I will…. not be very surprised at all. Hope Mike Smith keeps eating his Wheaties.
Shore has a 2nd year on a one way contract. Benson is on a two-way one year contract that has an AHL salary. Common sense says one waives Shore rather than Benson to get to cap compliance. No team is going take a 2nd year of Shore off waivers. Someone would likely take Benson.
The only reason for giving Shore and Koekkook two-year deals was so one could waive them to manage the roster and the cap easily.
Godot, common sense is rare in Dave & Kenny’s offices.
Actually common sense is the guiding principle in Holland’s management style.
As our host has mentioned in the past he is Colonel Potter – experience is the major input into his decision making.
Yes and either one can be buried in Bakersfield and replaced with no damage as far as I know to the salary cap.
This totally makes sense.
This does seem to “make sense” although, if Shore “makes the team” in the eyes of Coach T., i don’t see Holland putting him on waivers and risking losing him – just don’t see him operating that way.
Of course, I hope that Coach T. makes his roster decision, vis-a-vis Shore, Benson, Perlini based on merit in camp and, if Benson and Perlini “win the day” they should leapfrog Shore.
Shore is not needed for PK – hopefully Coach T. is open to “cutting him”, although I can’t say I’m optimistic in that regard.