The Edmonton Oilers devoted almost 50 minutes of playing time to three defensemen who have played a total of 57 NHL games. Not ideal, but the injuries that took Cody Ceci, Duncan Keith and Slater Koekkoek out of the lineup have not yet healed, and the NHL schedule doesn’t change for injuries.
It’s a reasonable time of the year to invest in young defenders, Edmonton had a strong start and the recent struggles (December is looking like more than a small spill) may lead to internal solutions to problems in the days to come.
Right now, it’s difficult to watch the losses pile up. Better now than April and May.
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: Tyson Barrie’s contract and skill set make his Oilers future uncertain
- Lowetide: Oilers may find inspiration from 1993-94 Detroit Red Wings
- DNB: Several Oilers issues coming to a head
- Jonathan Willis: Which Oilers are on track to make their countries’ 2022 Olympic hockey teams?
- Lowetide: Evan Bouchard’s first full NHL season a learning experience
- Lowetide: Analyzing Cody Ceci’s importance to the Edmonton Oilers and future deployment
- Lowetide: Oilers top 20 prospects, winter 2021
- DNB: Brendan Perlini subscriber Q&A
- DNB: Oilers turn to Markus Niemelainen
- Lowetide: The Oilers won often in November, but is their roster built to keep winning this way?
- Lowetide: The Oilers’ prospect pipeline has produced 2 call-ups on defence this season. Who’s next?
- DNB: What I think and what I know about the Oilers through their first 20 games
- Lowetide: How promising is the Oilers’ Russian prospect pool?
- DNB: Could Leon Draisaitl score 50 goals in 50 games?
- Lowetide: How the Oilers most pressing needs have changed since the offseason
- DNB: Tales from the days Kailer Yamamoto, Ryan McLeod, Evan Bouchard and Tyler Benson were minor league roommates
- DNB: For Emily Cave, Colby’s widow, a trip back to Boston is about memories, love and legacy
- Lowetide: Is the Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl even better than we think? A look at his stunning historic comparables
WHAT TO EXPECT IN DECEMBER
- At home to: PIT (Expected 0-1-0) (Actual 1-0-0)
- On the road to: SEA (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 0-1-0)
- At home to: LAK, MIN, BOS, CAR, TOR, CBJ (Expected 3-3-0) (Actual 0-2-0)
- On the road to: SEA (Expected 0-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- At home to: ANA (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- On the road to: LAK, SJS, CAL, STL, NJD (Expected 3-2-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- Overall expected result: 8-7-0, 16 points in 15 games
- Actual December results: 1-3-0, 2 points in 4 games
- Oilers in 2021-22: 16-8-0, 32 points in 24 games
These losses are impacting the season projections, if the Oilers continue to win at the current rate the final record will come in around 54-27-1, 109 points. That’s still fantastic, but the three latest losses are a concern.
I thought the Oilers earned a better fate last night, at least a Bettman. Craig MacTavish used to say a team got dealt losses that should have been wins at the end of losing streaks, and won games they had no business winning at the end of a trail of W’s. I expect there’s some truth in that from last night’s game.
GOALIE
Mikko Koskinen stopped 22 of 26, .846. The first goal wasn’t poor, Koskinen slow to recognize danger and or lost sight of the puck. This is two average or worse starts in a row for Koskinen, rookie Stuart Skinner likely to see the Boston Bruins on Thursday. The young graduate from the WHL has been solid so far this season. I think we’re pretty certain to see a goalie acquired by the deadline, Marc-Andre Fleury remains the top candidate. Money retained, first-round pick, Dmitri Samorukov and Koskinen? Who knows the price tag, but Fleury is a candidate.
PAIRS
Darnell Nurse-Evan Bouchard played 17:52, going 15-8 shots, 0-1 goals and 10-5 HDSC. The McDavid and McLeod lines were rolling with this tandem behind them. Draisaitl line too, but in fewer minutes. Nurse had seven shots in all disciplines, a hit and a block. His two HDSC, along with his goal the other night, highlight his offensive contributions. Missed them when he was out. Bouchard had three shots, two penalties and drew a penalty. This tandem should stay together, my article at The Athletic today goes into great detail on the subject. Nurse didn’t protect the house at all on the first goal, a Wild forward on his ass does not score. He also pressed Kaprizov as the Minnesota forward sent a lovely pass to Dmitry Kulikov for the final goal of the game.
Markus Niemelainen-Tyson Barrie played 13:19, going 4-9 shots, no goals and 3-4 HDSC. Played mostly with the Ryan and Draisaitl lines and didn’t give up any goals. Niemelainen had three hits, he’s a jarring defenseman and based on his playing time Tippett is a big fan. When he gains more experience, if things work out for him, Edmonton will ask him to protect the house ala Adam Larsson when he played with the Oilers. Watch Niemelainen’s PK minutes, that will be a tell. He’s a 1:34 a game now, but he has been on the ice for two GA. If he lands a regular spot on the four-on-five, he’s not going back to Bakersfield. Barrie had a shot on goal, and a block. He wasn’t as dynamic as he can be, but moved the puck well enough and kept the play (mostly) out of danger.
Philip Broberg-Kris Russell played 8:09, going 3-1 shots, 0-1 goals and 0-1 HDSC. I thought Broberg was loose in coverage and lacked awareness, kind of there but not there. The second goal and the fourth goal featured Broberg in good position but not forcing the play or effectively keeping himself between the puck and net. Learning opportunities. Russell did not have good coverage on the second goal against, he had his man and then didn’t have his man (knocked out of the play with a bump by the goal scorer) and that can’t happen. Each man had a shot on net.
LINES
Zach Hyman-Connor McDavid-Jesse Puljujarvi played 12:03, 9-10 shots, 1-0 goals and 6-5 HDSC. Don’t break up this line! Everyone got a point on JP’s goal, a nice bit of work featuring McDavid at twice the speed of sound making a great pass. McDavid four shots, two HDSC; Hyman three shots, three HDSC; Puljujarvi four shots, two HDSC and the goal. Minnesota is a good team. With better luck this trio could have scored three goals. Five of those HDSC were at five-on-five. This line was quality. Keep them together through the season and they’ll be fire in the playoffs. Chemistry comes with exposure.
Nuge-Leon Draisaitl-Kailer Yamamoto played 11:16, going 5-2 shots, no goals and 2-2 HDSC. The line held its own, although LD and KY had the only two HDSC five on five, Nuge getting his on the power play. Draisaitl had six shots and two takeaways, he earned at least a point that never came. Yamamoto’s evening was spent unsuccessfully trying to squeeze his way past Minnesota defenseman around the Wild blue line. If the Oilers flush Turris, and add a substantial right wing, Yamamoto could land on the third line.
Warren Foegele-Ryan McLeod-Zack Kassian played 7:52, going 6-1 shots, no goals and 4-0 HDSC. One of the best nights from a third line all year. Foegele skated hard, forechecked well, had one great look. McLeod had one of his best games, the feet were really moving. Two shots, one good chance at five-on-five, he also saw some power-play time. Kassian was skating well and got in on the forecheck, lots of try but not a lot of finish.
Devin Shore-Derek Ryan-Colton Sceviour played 7:25, going 3-3 shots, no goals, 2-1 HDSC. Shore was quiet, Ryan had a shot and a HDSC, Sceviour drew a penalty and had a HDSC of his own. The fourth line didn’t bleed any goals against and that’s a big damn deal.
FRIENDS, LET ME TELL YOU
There may be a time when panic is warranted, when the Oilers slip to fourth place in the Pacific Division and the final playoff spot in the Western Conference is slipping away. Today is not that day, as Edmonton has three more points than the San Jose Sharks, who have played two more games than the Oilers.
Cody Ceci is close to returning, Duncan Keith and Mike Smith are apparently making progress. If the Oilers continue to struggle when the band gets back together, then worry is warranted.
What you’re seeing now is young defensemen learning on the job, hungrier teams eating the Oilers lunch and goaltending that is less than what the opposition is bringing into town.
It’s a long season. There are things coach Tippett needs to address, including the penalty kill and power play (ironic, isn’t it?). I expect Ceci will calm some waters, and a big game by Skinner against the Bruins would solidify his spot in the goalie rotation. I had the homestand 3-3-0, that looks a little less than likely today. Oilers need a couple of wins and a Bettman in the next four games.
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
A busy and informative morning on the Lowdown, we start at 10, TSN1260. Bruce McCurdy from the Cult of Hockey at the Edmonton Journal will pop in with his view on the game. Joe Osborne from Odds Shark will pass along advice on the NBA prop bet, betting the over on TNF and placing a few units on the Oilers over the Bruins on Thursday. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. See you on the radio!
Merry Christmas to Lowetide and his followers.
The festive Season has begun early in hunter1909ville.
100% expect Oilers to split the remaining games in December. With a depleted defence there is no way they come out much if any better…
Probability leads to possibly even worse than .500 but so far this season the team shows up blazing whenever it suits them, and provided the opposition obliges by playing pond hockey(obligatory once Oilers go into a lead) its generally a W.
The Oilers are struggling; by living off a October/November Presidents Cup level of winning and this will save the season later on.
Have yet to see the Oilers bullied and quite the reverse when they opened vs Calgary. They basically need to start playing less glamorously from the 4th line upward until they stop losing so many tight games.
.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2022.
VGK with a 5-4 win over Dallas.
2 points behind the Oilers….inevitable.
I picked them to win the division. The start was due to injuries and now they’re firing on all pistons.
Imagine that, Vegas was decimated by injuries and lost a plethora of games. No panic with the GM. No calls to fire the coach.
And hey, they’ve got their guys back and have turned things around.
Patience is indeed a virtue.
Hey Lowetideans,
Lowetide, excellent as always. The Oilers coverage alone on The Athletic is what keeps me there.
People are raving on Twitter as always. It gets tiresome. I can’t say much because I swore I was going to leave the good ship Oiler, but cooler heads prevailed and I find myself watching more Oilers than ever before, except when I was a kid of course.
It has been tough and exciting to see the youth on D. Good things are ahead, but people don’t want to wait for that.
I posted on Twitter today about my thoughts to these slow starts. It’s an obvious issue, but no one wants to make suggestions. Just constantly bitch about it. If the ol’ coach was behind the bench, I’d approach it this way;
If it was me, I’d put something tangible and measurable in place.
1) Win the opening draw
2) Maintain puck possession by;
a) doing regroups instead of dumping.
b) establish control control of the neutral zone by making the other team chase the puck.
3). Get the first shot, even if it’s a long low percentage shot! Do that for a few games and try something else if it doesn’t work.
Once you have that game plan, your practice consists of;
-Practice on faceoff formations (bring in Adam Oates)
-Work on the regroups, particularly in the neutral zone.
-Work on zone entries, besides the cliche dump and chase. D&C has it’s place, especially when trying to gain the other teams blue line, but it shouldn’t be your only move. Give 97 the green light to go for broke and instruct his wingers to hang back.
Just my scrambled thoughts before I’m off to my old timers game. There ought to be a law against 10:30 midweek games for oldtimers.
Later gators
Adam Oates works for the Kraken.
The best alternative, Manny Malhotra, works for the Leafs.
Maholtra would be good to. Just someone who can teach about faceoffs.
I coached a midget team once and we were horrible until I recruited an old buddy who played in the Dub and was a faceoff Wiz. He knew how to teach and our guys were the better for it. Even my D had to learn.
I wonder if Holland truly realizes he doesn’t have 15 years to get his house in order
And that Scotty Bowman hasn’t sorted his team’s shit out
Really
Go time doesn’t mean more poor equity trades
I realize once his owner passed he did some liquidating that Yzerman inherits and benefits from
However, this is now. If it is go time, the Edmonton Oilers need some good deals now, that aren’t another pillaging against, to get over the hump
That is what good GMs, or should I say, the best GMs do
As I commented earlier, the Kniggits at the end of this season, their 4TH!!!, may have more draft picks and a better roster depth wise, far from the one they were gifted
Remember Mike Smiths’ puckhandling and how it could help the team on the break-out and create offence?
I look forward to having that dynamic back at some point and query what effect its absence has had on the 5 on 5 play.
It will help, but if you can’t be a strong team without that……
If you’re relying on a goaltenders puck handling to fix a problem, you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel.
While it Is certainly a great skill to have, the problem and solution lies largely elsewhere.
It appears Joe Sakic May have done it again.
Logan O’Connor, an undrafted player out of the University of Denver, with 2 goals tonight as the Avalanche lead the Rangers 6-2 after 2 periods…now 5 goals and 12 points in 23 games.
As an aside, Jacob Trouba smoked Nathan MacKinnon with a borderline hit and was challenged to a fight by Landeskog.
Trouba is being followed around the ice by Kurtis MacDermid…could get ugly.
In any event, the Avalanche lead 6-2 after 2 against the best team in hockey.
I thought Trouba’s hit on Kharia was predatory and a hit to the head of a defenceless player. He could have easily let up but he accelerated instead. Why does the NHL even have a department of player safety. I hope Trouba gets the snot kicked out of him.
It’s the Department of Safety for The Status Quo.
I wish the Oilers understood that if the league will allow obscenities, they need a sacrificial lamb or two.
Not meaning on the team. More like a Tulipov that will sacrifice a career they would never have to get a sniff.
Put the PK unit on (the one that usually didn’t get scored on) and let the guy skate around looking for the message that needs to be sent.
If only that wasn’t even needed to be thought of…. If the Avs have that guy, and the Bolts needed Maroon and to heavy up to win a Cup, not that much has changed really.
The hit on MacKinnon was much the same.
Nate had his head down and Trouba opted to employ optimum force to a vulnerable player.
Landeskog jumped in right away and got the instigator and Trouba went into hiding for the rest of the game after MacDermid challenged him repeatedly.
Good to see Nate is okay and his team thrashed the Rangers 7-3.
The City of Glendale is threatening to lock out the Coyotes for unpaid arena charges at Gila River Arena.
You have to wonder how long this will drag on.
Hard to fathom how this charade has lasted so long. I am a grey beard and have wintered in AZ and attended a few games. Phoenix proper to Glendale is an hour plus trip. If they had a downtown arena they might survive just on snowbird attendance. There are many thousands of western Canadian retirees who are hockey fans looking for entertainment. The trip to Glendale discourages a lot of them.
I really don’t know where Bettman goes from here.
The league was very quick to dismiss the rumours of a sale to Houston last week but If a team can’t even keep up with its lease payments, you would have to think something has to give.
The second he stops making the US owners money he is toast
But he has horse shoes up as the world is buying, he can float a ‘dog’ or two for the money that comes from TV if there is national distribution of teams
Puke again
Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) Tweeted:
How much $$ has the NHL left on table by remaining committed to Phoenix?
Forbes reported today Coyotes lost estimated $33M in 2021 & have lost a combined $141.6M over past 10 years.
Sports bankers I’ve talked to over the years have said they’re at a loss to understand NHL logic. https://t.co/bIQhqiZ78k
https://twitter.com/rwesthead/status/1468751889231757323?s=20
Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) Tweeted:
One sports investment banker I spoke with after a recent report that Coyotes were for sale (which team denied) suggested it comes down to hubris.
Moving the team would be tantamount to an acknowledgement that Gary Bettman was wrong about the Phoenix market.
https://twitter.com/rwesthead/status/1468752906438553604?s=20
The USians are insular to the point of oblivion
I won’t call them ‘Americans’ because all peoples of the Americas are American
They like to usurp everything, calling anything a pro league in that country a ‘WORLD CHAMPION’ without challenging the rest of the actual world.
Who would give them a solid run in many sports
Boo and puke
And their hockey players carry a far higher ‘Scunbag Quotient’ than any other country I can think of
*Scumbag*
They can’t lay sole claim to the “US” designation either, as the country to the south of them is properly The United States of Mexico. 😉
Perlini has been assigned to the Condors.
Perlini not likely to see an NHL rink again. I suspect his ship has sailed. Too bad he didn’t get picked up to shed a contract.
Oilers only have 43 pro contracts so the 50 limit is really a non-issue.
Truth be told, the Condors could use some skill/talent down there (although he seems like a good dude who just had his salary cut by 2/3).
Of course, if the Condors ever actually play again……
True that Condors are really short on forward talent.
Until next year. The Oilers are set to graduate a bunch of forward talent to the AHL next fall: Savoie, Bourgault & Tullio most likely, while Denezhkin and Berezkin could also come over.
Potentially Engras as well, maybe Rasanen.
Sather would have dealt him for a similar player. Sometimes that works out for the good.
Repeatedly burning assets methinks doesn’t. It’s not like P has a high cap hit, isn’t ancient and he does have speed size talent and a good NHL scoring season.
If there is no taker for Perlini from waiver, how good of a sales must Slats be to in order to trade him for a similar player?
Minor point but sometimes these players can be traded after clearing waivers as the acquiring team can send them to the minors – probably not really applicable for someone of Perlini’s age.
I love this place.
What I learned from the blog today:
We know hockey is mostly goalie. Except when the goalie lets in the first shots then hockey is shooty shooty.
But also, your depth wingers have to be able to play a little skatey punchy.
😆
McDavid goes scooty-scooty, then shooty-shooty. But we need our goalie to savey-savey.
Said by a true fan of boaty mcboatface.
Draisaitl S’s offense has entered the Belanger triangle, what happened there?
“Different” does not necessarily mean better, i.e. MAF, Khudobin, Korpisalo.
Holtby, on the other hand, with a bounce-back year and high-end pedigree and a very reasonable cap hit (unlike the Benning provided contract).
I think we need to find out what Smith has left. Assuming he ever comes back!!!!!
High ankle sprain. Goalie. Yeah.
Caveat Emptor: Braden Holtby is having a bounce-back year playing behind one of the best defensive teams in the league. It makes a HUGE difference.
Is Matt Murray washed up?
Was he ever any good?
Obviously, the missing d is a big factor in the recent stretch, but the bottom six and the 3rd line problems predate that and are real.
Holland inked everyone of the putative 3rd liners (Foegele, Ryan, and Kassian) to the tune of $7.2 m in cap.
That’s a decent amount of cap for a 3rd line and certainly far too much for one that’s this poor.
What I had said early in his hire, the one gap in Hollands repertoire is the idea of trading for emerging talent.
It’s hard to build a powerhouse team in a cap world without it.
Sakic did it time and time again with Girard, Graves, Burakovsky, Toews, and Grubauer.
A fair amount of this was shopping at the Capitals with their aging core and cap situation.
Vegas has been active in this market as well with Chandler Stephenson, Nicholas Roy, and Kolesar.
I’d sure love to see the Oilers acquire a player in this market, but they don’t have the pro scouting and analytics chops to shop here.
Recently, Bill Zito did a smash and grab shopping at the “disappointment market” and bought low on Bennet, Reinhart, and Juolevi.
Blame it on Sather, but I like it when my GM knows how to shop a good deal.
When KH goes to the GM meetings in Florida and keeps waiting for the Sucker to enter the room ……… kidding.
Def true about PC
I like this team. They lost 4 of their Top 6 D men …. They are still missing 3 of them
I don’t think many teams survive that.
Ceci coming back will help out Big time.
This is not a squad that is going to score 2 or less for very long.
The tides will turn positive again soon
They haven’t been a good even strength team all season. Getting injured guys back will help, but I doubt this team becomes a top 5 team in that particular department, and without that it’s hard to have meaningful success in the playoffs.
That is true. But if they can “fix” 3C then that alone might even out 5×5 …
Just out of curiosity I decided to have a look at regular 5v5 performance for Cup winners and Finalists for the past 10 years.
GF% and league rank for the two Cup finalists
2012
Kings 49.8%GF (16th)
Devils 48.8% (19th)
2013 (48 game lockout season)
Hawks 61.1% (1st) (this Hawks team had the best winning % of the last 40 years)
Bruins 55.4% (6th)
2014
Kings 56.0% (3rd)
Rangers 52.0% (10th)
2015
Hawks 53.8% (8th)
Lightning 56.7% (2nd)
2016
Penguins 55.2% (4th)
Sharks 52.7% (8th)
2017
Penguins 55.2% (4th) (same as 2016, not a typo)
Predators 53.0% (9th)
2018
Capitals 52.6% (9th)
Golden Knights 52.6% (11th) (there were a few percentage points difference with the Caps)
2019
Blues 53.0% (10th)
Bruins 55.7% (4th)
2020
Lightning 57.0% (3rd)
Stars 49.5% (19th)
2021
Lightning 53.4% (12th)
Canadiens 50.7% (17th)
I agree. IF the Oilers continue to struggle with Ceci, Keith and Smith back in, then imo the upset the fans are expressing today will be warranted.
Holland looks like the most calm guy ever
I would bet he is the biggest gambler ever, and his bets have so far won, and at one point he could get any FA he wanted, cheap
So he has never learned to be a horse trader
I sure certainly hope his best work now
Please
Anyone – who on the Condors forward group could be called up for a look?
Potentially better than some present bottom 6 guys and who could contribute in areas of weakness or specialty such as PK?
Holloway would be it
I recognize Holloway fits the need, but obviously cant be called up now. I’m thinking about veterans actually.
I can’ think of anyone that would actually be better than who is there.
Our team needs a spark in the dog days of December. I have no doubt Holloway would be it. We need a pest a agitator someone that gives glove washes after the whistle. Since Kassian seems to have found Jesus he’s out of the conversation to disrupt and get under the skin of the opponent’s. Maybe he seen Khaira get absolutely destroyed and thought Fuk this I get paid regardless of what I do on the ice. The hit on Khaira reminded me of a NY Islander get absolutely blown up behind his net. I think it was Trottier this is back in the late 70’s or early 80’s now it’s bugging me who it was and if anybody remembers that hit please tell me who else was involved.
That is not Holloway’s game – at least not in the NCAA.
Remember when he fought Stanley just a week or two ago?
There are two possibilities to my mind for the hit…
One was in almost the exact same spot on the ice, except the puck carrier was going the other way–Pat Lafontaine, who got his playoffs ended by James Patrick.
Lafontaine was later traded for Pierre Turgeon in an absolute blockbuster, and during, I think, his first post-season for the Isles, has his own playoffs ended by one of the all-time cheapest of cheap shots…delivered by Dale Hunter. Turgeon had just stolen the disk from Hunter and scored.
Weird that the huge trade of two megastars is linked in that way… Thankfully the League has seen the light since it’s barbaric Middle Ages and in today’s more enlightened times, they recognize the value of their megastars and do everything they can to make sure talent is protected by officials on the ice.
/sarc
No one. I mean that.
That means Marody doesn’t seem worth a look, despite his continued decent production?
I think the Oilers have already made a decision on him. If there was an appetite to bring him up and give him a real shot, like with skill, I think he could be a positive contributor. However, as in the case with Benson in the NHL, the die is cast. Oilers don’t see him as an NHL player imo.
Thanks. I thought your view on Marody might have changed based on play this year. Agreed he’s unlikely to get a real look with the Oilers.
I’m not sure the die is totally cast on Benson, but I see what you’re saying.
I was just going to say – if he gets a call and gets deployed like Benson, I don’t think we’ll see any success – Benson isn’t well-suited for that role/deployment but he’s more suited than Marody.
Neither player has had even a line rush in practice/camp of even a shit in an exhibition game with a legit skill NHL forward – in their careers – to my memory.
What about Perlini?
One of my issues with injuries as an excuse:
In the summer, I said that without Bear, an injury to the top 4 RHD could be disastrous because Barrie just isn’t up to the task and behind him you are looking at guys like Russell. Now, just imagine for a second that Bouchard didn’t take the huge step forward that he did.
It isn’t just me. How many people have come on here saying you need 10 D to get through the year?
The frustration isn’t at losing one player; it is the constant lack of foresight, the constantly poor scouting, the bizarre personnel decisions. Tippett knew Barrie couldn’t play toughs very well as evidenced by his usage of the player and still signed off on bringing him back AND getting rid of his insurance (Bear).
It’s flabbergasting. It’s such a blatant act of self-sabotage.
Tipp didn’t trust Bear, Kulikov, and Bouchard last year in the playoffs. All three of those guys are top 4 D this season, and one or two of them are top pairing D. Last game, Tipp had Russell on his off-side as his second pairing RHD.
The gods laugh.
Bear and Kulikov choked under pressure at key moments.
Russell playing 2RD is a function of the injury woes, not daily deployment.
I’d rather have Bear than Barrie and use the savings on an energy forward myself, but let’s not pretend that Bear is leaps and bounds better than Barrie. They’re both flawed players who have strong attributes. Holland chose experience, which has been his M.O. for one metric forever.
From Friedman’s 32 Thoughts:
“16. Jeff Marek reported last weekend that the Stars put Anton Khudobin on the market.”
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/32-thoughts-maple-leafs-jets-angry-kneeing-incidents/
Yes, he’s on the market, he’s also old and not very good (anymore) – at least recently. He’s been terrible this year after being very “meh” last year.
Sounds like the player type the Oilers covet
So, is the 1st round pick enough?
Vegas is really good at building out the bottom of the roster. What ever happened to looking at people or teams that do something well and just copying their methods?
For the most part, Vegas acquired their bottom six in trades. Most are under 30.
We trade Ethan Bear for Foegele (2.75m)
Vegas trades a 5th for Janmark. He’s 29 and plays C and LW for $2m.
Both have 8 points and 2 goals on the year.
Foegele’s a better player and younger, but was also a lot more expensive.
Ideally, if you were trading Ethan Bear, you’d have targeted a 3c from another team.
Nicolas Roy is the 3c for Vegas. They acquired him in trade before he had any established ability at the NHL level. That’s just good scouting.
That’s why I asked the other day if there are any 21/22 y/o centres in the AHL that would be good trade targets?
I had asked about Gabriel Vilardi which was met with a lot of thumbs down, but no comments.
Toronto also did a good job signing Kase and Kampf for cheap right out of free agency. Kase and Kampf combined have the same cap hit as Foegele and cost no assets.
Why is this so hard for the Oilers?
Do something Kenny. We Wait.
“Do something Kenny”–be careful what you wish for…
Drives me nuts watching the several teams that are active and smart work at it.
If we call expansion players the same as drafted players, the Kniggits (a better team than the Oilers currently by established performance) have 4 players on their roster, the rest were traded for or signed.
Other than Connor and Leon they have a deeper better roster when healthy.
This being their 4th season. 4TH! They have 7 picks in the top 3 rounds 22/23/24, we have 8. For now.
The Avs have 7 drafted players.
Actual analytics and better pro scouts please.
5th season, not that that detail invalidates your point/s.
Oops!
Not to defend Holland, but citing the Toronto signings is the ultimate in cherry picking. Based on previous history, there was no reason to think that either of them would score 10 goals this year.
Unless your pro scouts saw something that indicated they are better than what it seemed to most. But it is always a bit of luck.
It’s only cherry picking until it isn’t.
When a team goes out and signs 2/3 of a functional 3rd line for $2.75 m, you have to give them their due.
Especially when you have a third line with a $7.2m cap that’s one of the worst 3rd lines in the league.
That’s just not true though. Kase is very injury prone, but we knew he could score goals.
2017-18: 1.28 G/60 at 5v5
2018-19: 1.56 G/60
This year he’s at 1.33 G/60. The history was there when healthy, the gamble is on his health. Your suggestion that previous history didn’t indicate this level of goal scoring ability is plain false.
Kampf is scoring at a 0.57 G/60 pace, and while he really struggled last year his previous 3 years were 0.47, 0.33 and 0.54 G/60. So he’s scoring at established rates after being picked up cheap as a classic bounce-back candidate.
Those were good, low-risk / high-reward moves at the time and they’ve paid off.
It is so hard for the Oilers because those teams have good management teams and pro scouting and we don’t.
Lots of people were down on the Bear trade and it has turned out as expected.
Lots of people were down on bringing back Barrie. Someone on Twitter posted his EV numbers away from Nurse, and they are appalling. Without the PP work, he’s simply not a very good dman.
McDrai + special teams are the shelter underneath which Holland and Tippett can hide.
In retrospect, the Kassian contract was the harbinger of things to come. That was the moment where it was clear they had no clue.
Ken’s work with the almanac is such that he may want to consider some additional reading materials.
The Oilers are behind the times. They only do well in dealing with established players. Even I knew Hyman was a very good hockey player and I only watch the Leafs when they play the Oilers.
There are problems with only dealing with established players. You’re dealing with aging curves and higher injury risks in older players. Also, established players are either very expensive or too old (Turris, Ryan).
Holland has tried to take a flier on bunch of cheaper guys, it just never works out (Perlini, Haas, Nygard, Shore, Jurco, Granlund, and Sheehan).
Bear is being floated by a team with a really good coach that plays well as a group
If he was here he aould be struggling like the rest, maybe better stats wise
He can make a good pass, but he is a mediocre skater so his talent can’t shine
He also struggles in coverage because he is under sized and his skating compounds that
He is a good player, and I think the Oilers would be better with him than Barrie at this point. I don’t consider his bad games in the playoffs, he was developing
But lets not get carried away
I in fact did comment on your Vilardi post and dug this up.
https://lakingsinsider.com/2018/03/07/scouting-reports-vilardi-makes-everyone-around-better/
He would be an excellent bet.
Thanks for that.
I thought that since the Kings have a lot shinny new prospects, the excitement for a Vilardi might have waned to the point that they might trade him.
In 2018, they weren’t going to trade him, but that might have changed.
A Zito, Sakic, or Mccrimmon, if in the Oilers current predicament, would go out on trade for someone like this.
I think the Kings might look at a Vilardi trade since they have all sorts of other options at C.
Quinton Byfield is recovered from a broken leg and skating with Ontario and should play this coming weekend. He was ticketed for 3C before the season began Nd, of course Rasmus Kupari is already playing well with the big team and they have numerous other C prospects.
It would likely take a very good young D to get their attention….pick your poison.
The balance photo needs to happen.
If we look at line by line balance then the new NHL is three scoring and one checking.
Each scoring needs a scorer, two way and either a distributor.
I’d love to see this kind of run
McLeod-McDavid-Hyman
Foegele-Draisatl-Yamamoto
Benson-Nuge-Jesse
McDavid line is built on speed.
Draisatl line will give fits as forecheckers.
Nuge line with Jesse can outside and play both sides of puck.
Is there anyone in that line up that can throw a hit?
I guess Im saying that I dont see the balance. In a tough gritty inside game full of battlers, the Oilers are coming up short. We need “that” kind of guy.
I think the bottom 6 minus McLeod and Foegele needs another rebuild.
Actually Sceviour as well, and I’d take Archie back if he’s ok and pulls his head out.
Hyman CMD JP
Nuge Drai ?
Foegele Holloway Archie
? Mcleod Sceviour
Is how I sees it. 2RW and 4LW need to be players that can skate and play hard consistently, finish checks (decent size), and can play a bit of skatey punchy
Thing about the wild is. Fiala is playing 3rd line despite probably being the 2nd best winger. We need to balance the top 3 lines
I wonder if the price for MAF has gone up with Bowman out the door? I’m not sure the “remember how we took on all of Dunc’s contract” will have the same oomph.
Ken, you take Keith at the full hit and I’ll trade you Fleury with half retained for a song at the deadline.
Sadly we didn’t get the “future considerations” tag added into that trade.
Speaking of which I’d love to do a deep dive on “future considerations” and how many times “future considerations” actually happens/turns into an asset later on.
I’ve asked this question before and been met with crickets.
We talked and laughed about it in the back, though. Decided not to respond just to be assholes. 🙂
Pionk gets 2 Spezza gets 6
What a punk league. Pionk is the type the league should be considering suspending out of itself
He is a hack, we know this. A dangerous player. Instead they get all uppety about a player doing what their wrongheadedness leaves as one of two options – you go after us and you are going to get hurt, or one of your better guys
Or just take what that dink wants to dish out and the ‘refs’ won’t call correctly.
I’m with Spezza
Who for years has been a gentleman and one of the league’s best players
Also, watch out for that punk and vicious animal McDavid.
MICKEY MOUSE
Please retire Bettman and take your henchmen with you to the walled city in Florida
Except Daly, he smiled when the Golden Card flipped
I completely agree with you.
However, if you stumble over to the Athletic comment pages or twitter, you’ll find that most fans seem to agree with the league on this. They view Spezza’s hit as predatory and retaliatory, while Pionk’s hit was a hockey play, maybe not even suspendable.
This from a guy with a long history of these types of plays, who plays for a team with a history of it. The Jets are easily my most hated team right now. Scheifele should have been suspended for 20 games last year. That was one of the dirtiest hits I have ever seen. And to hear him talk about him since, he is total scum.
And from the standpoint of the rule of law they are right. From the standpoint of justice, on the other hand, Spezza is a hero. I hope Pionk is concussed and he never plays again. That is what he deserves (Justice=getting what you deserve).
So the question is what is more important, the rule of law or justice? You can’t have both.
Now the real point of agreement, I suspect, is that because we are fans of the Oilers and watch their games, we know that the there is no rule of law in the NHL.
Another way to put it is they think Spezza should be suspended for more games because it came after Pionk’s hit, while we think he should be suspended for fewer games.
Leaf fans and Oiler fans should be making common cause on this, the way the game is run is bad for both teams. The NHL won’t protect their players and they aren’t allowed to protect themselves.
Yes, What Spezza did was retaliatory and over the line. But that’s what they leave, for players that care and give a hoot about the game and their team.
It’s either old school ‘players police the game’, or call the rules. There are enough rules to call.
It can’t be neither – take what we feel like and Pionk/Tkachuk/Trouba feels like doing. Trouba was not a ‘clean’ hit, shoulder to head I just rewatched it, that was intent to injure a vulnerable player because of how hard he hit him, job done. Khaira lost the puck in his skates, vicious. Former Jet.
The game can’t be like that anymore, we know too much about the outcomes. Things have changed.
What is it with the US players anyways?
What you’re seeing are veteran defensemen who are incapable of playing at an NHL level when paired with a rookie defensemen.
i.e. two veterans, Russell and Barrie, who need another vet.
Its time – its time for the 2nd line wingers to start producing at 2nd line clips.
I’m a Nuge fan but, damn, where has the 5 on 5 offence gone? He’s never been a huge producer at evens but a definite complimentary top 6 producer – its gone right now and it dates back to last year. I still like his play, and he came within 2 inches of scoring on that 2 on 1 but, alas, he didn’t.
Kailer – well, if we can find a more “dynamic” 2RW to play with Leon and Nuge and have Kailer at 3RW, that’s the dream.
I don’t think DeBrusk is that player. Maybe Holloway is. Maybe Savoie is. Neither will appear before February (at the earliest).
Lol. Savioe will have a time getting on the roster by Feb of next season, much less this season.
#reasonableexpectations
The reference to February was clearly in relation to Holloway.
If by clearly you mean naming both Holloway and Savoie, then saying “neither” than yes, Swarovski clear.
Yes, I named the two prospects that could fill the position in the fairly near term and went on to say that neither would be arriving before February, at the earliest – meaning the earliest that position could be filled internally would be February – obviously inference is that Holloway would be the only possible potential at that time.
This is the crux of it, honestly. IMHO the Oilers don’t need to fix or trade for the bottom 6.
they have it, wether people want to accept it or not, it’s here looking us in the face.
what the Oilers need is 2 elite type Wingers.
Foegele – RNH – Yamamoto
Shore – Mcleod – Archibald
In my opinion the Oilers need 2 wingers along with a LHD & Goalie. I don’t know what the “Price” to pay will be but I’m sure draft picks & prospects will be the going rate.
Agreed RNH, 5v5 scoring and KY, any scoring. Really quite unbelievable considering who they mostly play with.
I alluded to this last night and I hope its reality and not hope.
This is of course balanced by winning games you should lose…for example…the Pittsburgh game.
Yes – its right in the quote.
Good value add!
Off-day for the team today but Ceci (and Keith) will skate and, if his legs feel good, etc. (after 10 days off the ice), he’ll likely be ready for tomorrow.
He hasn’t had any symptoms for a week plus so is healthy in that regard.
He will be a big add back to the lineup.
I presume that Broberg might head back to the AHL. This cup of coffee will have been great for him and will show him what it takes to be an NHL player and, eventually, excel at the NHL.
Great skill-set but he’s not ready for the NHL – he’s struggled for a while and been a minus player for 7 straight games. As per the original plan, the majority of this season in the AHL is the best route.
I should know this by now, but given that Broberg is on his ELC and playing in BAK to start the season, he’s no longer eligible for a slide-year regardless of number of games played in EDM, correct?
He’s no longer eligible for slide because of his age – 20 back in the summer.
If this was, say, last year, it would still be eligible for slide as long as he didn’t play 10 plus NHL games.
Games outside the NHL don’t effect the slide – its an NHL-played games threshold for 18 and 19 year old players.
So if Kenny is going shopping, who would you rather have, and who makes a bigger impact? The first is moved and whatever for contracts and cap:
JT Miller
MA Fleury
Or fill around the edges and (if Kenny was a better deal maker) not empty the cupboards?
Donskoi
Khudobin
Leddy
Strome
etc
Would love JT Miller. Price will be steep. Plus cap.
Plus, I get the feeling Kenny is whale hunting for a goalie.
Get them when they are down and have no proper GM!
If you think you’re really close, you add a big piece or two as your cap space allows.
If you think it’ll take some time you add more pieces hoping for a jackpot/bargain (like say acquiring Maroon) to fill a hole inexpensively.
We probably need a top-6 winger or two, a defenseman and a goalie so we can effectively run 3C and have injury cover. Unless RNH is a full time LW then we need a top-6 winger and a 3C.
So probably the latter with a dash of the former.
I agree a top 6 wing and 3C.
I wasn’t on board before, but really a goalie is the biggest need.
Smith cannot be counted on now. Koski we know, can be hot, usually not.
Skinner is a crapshoot.
Foegle McDavid puj
Benson drai Hyman
Nuge McLeod Yamamoto
Shore screv kassian
Spread the wealth all those wingers on top 2 can cycle and Benson is playing with 2 shooters. Also hopefully nuge, yam and kassian can produce versus lesser match ups.
Isn’t Nuge a better C than the Highlander?
I think he’s a better C than W
IIRC, Tippett disagrees with you. Or, maybe it was just me experiencing nightmares when Tipp went with Mcleod at 2C and Nuge at 2LW during the Winnipeg playoffs last year?
Tippet’s thing is Nuge isn’t fast enough for C and is weak on faceoffs. Maybe not big enough either.
But he did pretty well before Tipp showed up. Give him what he says he likes – skating shooting wingers.
Mcleod will never be close to as good as Nuge is, sadly for the team.
This is pigeon holing players to your own detriment, instead of being more creative and better at creating lines.
Flip nuge and Benson if you like. I just figured that setup puts a defensively reliable veteran winger with speed on 2nd and 3rd line.
If we can find a line that does not include drai or McDavid that can crack even or better for a solid amount of minutes we are a further ahead imo.
I’d flip Nuge and McLeod, at least out of respect.
If RNH isn’t with McDavid or Drai he has to be C.
Blog posters seem to be a covetous lot. There’s always greener grass somewhere else, always a flashy new car in a different city, always someone smarter and better looking.
I dunno this team is leaps and bounds better than the DoD and for that I am thankful. Doesn’t mean I don’t get frustrated (we’re entering Talbot territory of first shot goals over the last few), but I’m quite confident that they’ll figure it out.
Dom’s math model had the Oilers sitting sixth before puck drop. Two weeks ago they were first and now they are 8th. Seems about the right pace. A wee bit of a skid here for sure but the PP going 1-21 in its last five will correct to the meat soon enough.
Last night was the best collective team effort in a while and I’m with those grabbing the MacT quote. Tide set to turn here so all is good.
Kinda funny how things change though. Islanders are totally out of the playoffs already. Colorado lost to the Senators on the weekend and have given up more than 5 goals in three of their last four. Calgary coming back to earth a bit and the Ducks still touching the stratosphere. Boston isn’t exactly a screaming hell, Carolina is playing .500 hockey its last ten, Columbus sub .500. Leafs have been good but why can’t I shake this feeling that they are tiring out their goalies already.
Its a marathon not a sprint. Everyone goes through a few funks. Can’t get too high, can’t get too low.
Some positives – Bouchard settling into 1RHD duties, PJ got some confidence back and is shooting more after a bit of a dip, vet dmen coming back in earnest.
It appears teams are getting up for the challenge defensively against the Oil . And I’d have to say it’s likewise for the goaltenders . Where as for the Oilers , with their depleted blueline it’s not exactly an easy night for whoever is in net , whether it’s Kosky or Skins .
Have been unlucky to have missed the last 3 games. Has the situation got anything to do with the lower tier players fading off from contributing? Because that seems to happen year after year.
Also…Looks like Duncan Keith, that BlackHawks defenceman is missed more than advertised.
And that Penguins alleged reject Cody Ceci who was much hated around these parts when signed.
Methinks Broberg needs to be sent back to the AHL for his own protection as this is no situation to be learning how to play hockey. Bouchard will be fine.
On the Zegras goal.
https://theathletic.com/3004259/2021/12/08/i-still-cant-believe-it-worked-did-trevor-zegras-and-sonny-milano-just-team-up-for-goal-of-the-year/?source=user_shared_article
I still think we need to reduce the playing time for the first and second line and double shift McDavid, Drai and RNH as centres on the third line. The bottom six needs help, and short of acquiring a legit 3C, this is the only way to do it IMO. It seems obvious to me. Maybe I’m missing something.
Have ya watched the games? Do you see Ryan McLeod?
15 NHL games. He is a legit 3c 15 games into his career. Yes he will make mistakes, and yes he needs to learn some physical play, but guess what, Puljujarvi also needs to learn to use his body but I dont hear many complaints.
If ya really want to fix the rest of the lineup you need Kassian 4th line or sitting. 4th line did ok last night but they need to either be physical or have a niche. They can not just pause the game so the good guys can breathe a little. There needs to be an identity and that is on the coach. Benson is showing grit and physicality which looks good but has taken too many penalties. Sceviour has shown he is a legit NHL player and uses his body and mind to continue to prove he deserves playing. But questions come up about Shore and Ryan. So fix 3RW and the 4th line and we have balance.
Oh wait goalering needs a whole article…….
I agree McLeod looks good. If the bottom 6 plays like they did last night there won’t be any issues going forward.
I think your definition of legit differs from mine. He needs to put up more offense for a longer period of time before I’m willing to call him a legit 3C. I’d still prefer someone else in that spot for the balance of the season.
It doesn’t matter who the 3C is. He will fail if he has to play with Kassian.
Draisaitl cup check on Kaprizov
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eog_KUrBgEo
Good Lord, how much is Bouchard going to cost us after next year? $8m x 8?
I see a bridge deal in his future.
That seems very high.
The biggest enigma of the season is whether:
(1) Holland brought in good players, but Tippett can’t use them properly;
(2) Holland brought in mediocre-at-best players, and Tippett is trying to maximize his roster;
(3) both of the above;
(4) stupid Monkey’s Paw
Holland’s pro scouting and analytics department get exposed on the fringes of the roster.
Hitting will take nights off, no matter how big the bats are, or how many Babe Ruths are on the roster. Good pitching, on the other hand, can be relied on night in and night out.
Right now half our pitching staff is on the IR while the bats are going through
an ice agea cool period.The results are what one would expect.
The bats will return as will the missing aces.
Maybe the Oilers should learn to play that tight grind game they deployed with success last year and that I’ve only seen a facsimile of once so far this year (Winnie II), while they’re waiting for hitting and pitching. Play some small ball.
Might get a point.
Very good analogy. It will also help come playoff time.
As LT said, better this happens now then in the Spring where a stretch like this can end your season quickly.
I would argue hitting if much much more consistent than pitching, and it ain’t even close.
then you would be arguing against one of baseball’s well-worn truisms
The first round in the playoffs is a hit fest any team can beat another team. By the time teams get to the 3rd round injuries for both teams pile up and the hitting tapers off considerably
The dog barks at midnight
They also bark for Hernan at the beginning of LT’s show.
The fox is in the henhouse. Repeat, the fox is in the henhouse.
Was it also MacT that used to say you can only have so many moral victories and eventually you will need to deliver results?(I cant find this beautiful quote anymore, links would be appreciated).
In the mean time,
Build the pyre! Light the torches!
Anf line up for the BBQ to celebrate the moral victories.
But hasn’t the reaction this year been the exact opposite? Many are upset at the process, even though results are being delivered 2/3 of the time?
They had been playing at 0.500 since the 10-1-0 hot start. If they keep it up they will finish “9 games over 0.500” for 91 points.
They need to string a few more games together other or they wil start to lose grounds in the standings.
Of course they need to start winning again.
Do you think the .500 stretch is predictive of the future but the hot start isn’t? I’d say reality is somewhere in between.
To re-state my comment – there’s not that much room for moral victories when you’re 16-8 (MacT’s teams didn’t do that too many times). And lots of fans are still upset even though the real victories outnumber the moral victories by well more than 2:1.
Moving from our second/third string player to first stringer is going to help.
The return of Keith, and Ceci are really import to reducing the goals against
The return of Smith and now will play a “shorten” season with a two week Olympic break in 6 weeks. It looks like he could get a very reasonable 33/58 remaining starts. Which a annual reduction of about 12-15 games.
It’s weird how Kulikov was good last year
came to Edmonton and sucked
and is back to being good
Wasn’t he only bad in games 2 + 3 vs Winnipeg?
I was very wrong on my score prediction last night. Cam Talbot, I loved you when you were here, but my goodness, you really have our number now you’re gone. He was lights out last night.
Much better effort from the OIlers all round though. “Craig MacTavish used to say a team got dealt losses that should have been wins at the end of losing streaks, and won games they had no business winning at the end of a trail of W’s.” I was thinking about exactly this last night. That game in no way felt like it should have been a loss, even with the lopsided score.
I’m not worried about the Def at all, I think once Keith and (especially) Ceci return we’re going to be a heck of a lot steadier at the back end. Niemelainen I’d keep around and run for a few more games than Broberg. I like what I’ve seen from the Bro so far and he’s definitely showing progress. It’s time for him to go back to the AHL and play big minutes though. Niemelainen can play on the bottom pair for a bit and provide that mean edge we lost with Larsson leaving.
I’ve been very down on Kassian lately, however I agree that the 3rd line definitely looked decent last night, him included. I think keep them together and see what happens over the next little stretch. Hopefully we’re not chasing games as much and we can maybe even roll them a little more to take the load off the top two lines.
As for the bottom 6 in general, and related to some of the chat around here regarding giving up future assets for something. If it’s not going to be a goalie, maybe we look at trading for a veteran to help give a bit more oomph in the bottom 6. Would bringing in a Perreault or a Paquette from Montreal help? They have to be thinking about grabbing whatever they can for depth pieces now. I know Perreault is 33, but he’s on a 1 year $950k contract and I was always fan of him in Winnipeg. He’s a bit of a utility knife player too. Paquette is younger (28) and also on a one year $950k deal – I’m a little less sure on his overall play, he seemed great in Tampa for years, only thing is I’m not sure how much of that was being on the Lightning versus him being able to drive play.
Just some thoughts. Unsure what Montreal would be looking for to move either one of those guys, but it can’t be all that much. They seem to need just about everything due to injuries, but especially Left shot D men. We have a few of those.
I can’t see Holland trading for a Goaltender till off-season or free agency. He will acquire depth D for late round picks for the playoff run this is MO for the last 25 years.
Yeah I’m not sure we pay a huge price for a goalie with draft picks – I liked MAF a lot for years, and the guy did just win a Vezina again, but I feel like the cost for 1 playoff run with him is going to be too much. I’d rather see someone added to the 3rd/4th lines that can make a difference.
Now if we thought that Grub, Driedger or someone similar were a viable longer term solution I’d be open to paying more for one of those guys. People say goalies are voodoo for a reason though, I’m so wary of spending big for one when it could blow up instantly.
Do we really need more depth D? Once Keith is back we have Russell/Koekkoek and then the young guys floating around who can play that depth role well enough. Defence is oddly enough less of a worry for me than the bottom 6 forwards are.
Trevor Zegras is helping the Ducks – Now.
This year.
2nd on the Ducks in scoring.
22 points in 25 games. ( 6 goals + 16 assists)
I think he will be in the top 5 in the NHL for assists in 24 months
Trevor is 3rd on TOI for forwards
52.44 CF%
56.08 SF %
51.3 GF %
Could Zegras have played 3C soft parade instead of Derek Ryan this year?
Yeah Broberg may become a very good player but we know that Zegras is gonna become a very good player
that pick was a big unforced error
Made no sense to pass on him with our forward group so thin unless he new Kelfbom was done which I’m starting to believe is the case.
Broberg was drafted in 2019 & Klefbom played in 2019-20
Your right thanks. Now I’m pissed at Holland for not picking Zegras even though I was yelling along with the dog and cat at the T.V screen to pick the talented Yankee.
Klefbom’s shoulder has been an ongoing concern since shortly after being drafted in 2011.
I remember being perturbed at folks describing him as being made of glass in those days. Perhaps the team medical staff knew more than we were privy to and Holland acted on that intel.
There could have been concerns regarding Klefbom, who knows what he had to do regarding his shoulder after his surgery (physio and other treatments) to ensure he maintained normal function. It is a complex body part… I still struggle after surgery in 1999 and thousands of hours of ongoing treatments and I don’t rely on it like he would as an NHL player.
Sleep even aggravates mine, for example.
Could have been a Zegras / Holloway 3rd line next year both on ELCs.
For a cap team – those first 3 years are golden..
Could also have Holloway and Broberg (2/3 LD) on ELCs.
I’d like to see Broberg set up an alley-oop in hockey ha ha ha
Hmmm…looks quite similar to me. Though it also goes through periods where more things pop up and then not…bit of a mystery what I’m going to see from day to day.
We were all in universal agreement this summer.
Cap Space was there. It was Holland’s big summer.
Holland’s simple ( relative ) task was to improve the bottom 6.
GF / GA
Shore – 2 – 4
Benson 1 – 4
Perlini 0-4
Turris 2-7
Sceviour 1-7
Ryan 3-16
Kassian 11-15
Foegele 9-17
Don’t let a RIDICULOUS power play and God Like talent from McDavid / Drai fool you….
Holland had a other todo items: a top6 LW, a top6 LD, sort out the RD, sign a goalie. The bottom 6 was important but not highest priority.
Kassian is 6-13 when playing on the bottom 6, his results got boosted by his stint with 97
McDavid’s too 😉
Ouch.
Like election night, I think we can make the call on the bottom 6.
Hard to conceive of some kind of turn around here.
The powerplay has gone stale – which shouldn’t happen when you have 97 and 29 out there. They have the ability to outperform the rest of the league and it should be by a decent margin.
There are a couple of weak points – one I’m sure most will share and one they won’t.
Barrie isn’t adding to what happens when they possess the puck. He also isn’t getting effective shots away. Bouchard should take that spot effective immediately. I’d say he can simply take the additional ice time, but if he can’t, you should be able to juggle a bit.
Tippett seems to like Nurse as his second option – I certainly don’t. Too limited in terms of his powerplay-specific game.
The less popular opinion will be that Hopkins is also bogging down the powerplay when the puck comes through him. If you’ve watched the games in which they’ve struggled lately, he’s getting away weak shots, bobbling the puck and not making dangerous passes with high frequency. I’d move him to PP2 and have both Hyman and Puljujarvi on the top unit at the same time. Let Hyman do some of the movement work on that side of the ice, and JP can rotate between outside left shooter and net front presence. Having 2 players who can do that job rather than just 1 makes you more dangerous than what 93 brings.
Disagree with both your comments on the powerplay.
1. Yes Bouchard can do everything Barrie does on the PP. He may even do some things better, but….. The powerplay is Barries most effective game state and, if we want to make him tradeable this summer, he needs to get those minutes. I don’t think Bouchards presence on the PP makes enough of a difference to justify basically sewering Barries trade value.
2. Neither Hyman or JP possess the puck skills and vision that Nuge brings to the PP. The Oilers would miss those skills on PP1. The PP was fine last night. Some nights the puck just doesn’t go in. End of story.
I liked the Oilers game last night. They had a couple of total brain farts in coverage, and they couldn’t get a bounce around the Wilds net. That’s the game in a nutshell.
PP scoring (points per 60)
Nurse 12.62
Bouchard 8.29
Barrie 4.52
PP results (GF on/60)
Nurse 22.72
Barrie 11.31
Bouchard 8.29
Not bad results for the powerplay-limited dude.
Can someone explain the difference between PP Points per 60 and PP GF on per 60?
And how is that Bouchard’s values remain the same while Nurse and Barrie have significantly higher GF On per 60 than Points per 60?
One is scoring points by the player & one is goals scored while he is on the ice. In Bouch’s case the numbers are the same because he has scored a point on a very goal scored while he’s out there. In other words, he has an Individual Points Percentage (IPP) of 100%, which rarely happens for long but certainly can in small samples like 2 GF.
Thanks for the explanation.
“a very” = “every”, I trust you got that.
I don’t think Bouchards presence on the PP makes enough of a difference to justify basically sewering Barries trade value.
Nor does it justify ratcheting up Bouchard’s next contract value as a result of racking up easy PP points.
There’s more than one reason to give Bouchard’s PP time to Barrie. Our power play will be plenty fine without Bouchard for now.
And the guy’s minutes! He’s already playing 21:39 a game and he’s essentially a rookie.
Since Barrie joined the team the Oilers have scored 10.62GF/60 at 5v4.
2nd in the league are the Blues at 9.12, Carolina is 3rd at 8.99.
So the Oilers (who are in a slump lately) have scored more than 1.5 goals /60 more than anyone else in the league (or a bit more than 16% more, if you prefer).
What would you consider a ‘decent’ margin?
I think a lot of frustration is that it looks as though we have gone through multiple personnel changes, both executive and player, and we have the same weaknesses we did when Taylor played here.
Teams are literally doing to us what they did against the DoD teams – come out and play hard for most of the first period, score a few, let them get none and they’ll lose interest and start mentally doing their taxes on the bench for the rest of the game. Do not get drawn into swapping chances or trying to out-skill the big two; you will lose. Out-skill the other guys instead. And there’s a high probability their goalie will let in one of the first four shots, so shooty-shooty everybody!
Nice trick to do mental taxes while simultaneously firing 20 shots on goal in the middle frame.
And yet here we are, Bruce. And I know you know all shots aren’t equal. Didn’t Eberle say they jonesed for Corsi under Eakins? And I did say “on the bench”. Did they fire 20 shots from the bench? 😉
How is “we’re not a good team at the moment and the numbers support this” being spun into “fans panicking and Chicken Littles everywhere”?
Just as it was unreasonable to assume we were a for real 9 and 1 team, it’s unreasonable to assume we are terrible. But we do need to realize when things are going wrong and correct it. This isn’t pessimism. It’s how it’s supposed to be.
Getting a little tired of the Gregors and the Stauffers of the media basically calling everyone that doesn’t agree with them idiots. I’ve heard more strawmen arguments recently than at a scarecrow debating committee. It’s got to a point where as soon as I hear “what the fans have to understand…” I switch off, no matter how cogent the point.
The coach is finding out that maybe there are times you shouldn’t be a mindless drone and light a fire under some arses. I know that if my team at work doesn’t perform, me complaining to the GM that my team isn’t pulling their weight doesn’t wash. The GM would have expected me to have taken corrective action already. And the GM certainly wouldn’t think much of me whining to them that it’s not me, but my workers.
Whatever he does, Tippett has to find a way of engaging these guys. This “not too high, not too low” doesn’t work when multiple fundamental things aren’t working.
‘If nothing else works, a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through. ‘ – General Melchett
Nice one JT
I value their contributions to the landscape (and listen often), but that’s basically their M.O. Sometimes, they’re actually right. The rest of the time, it gets tiresome.
Which is precisely why I prefer LT. At least he’s entertaining when he chooses his hill to die on (Corsi, MAB, Pollock, etc), right or wrong.
Can we please stop mentioning Fleury?
If Holland trades a first-rounder for a player that has negative value (Fleury was traded for nothing this summer) I am going to scream.
I agree that trading a first round pick for Fleury would be terrible.
That said, he was traded for nothing this summer because of his cap hit. If/when he is traded during the season the Blackhawks will absorb the cap hit, so you aren’t trading a first pick for Fleury, you are trading a first round pick for the cap space to afford Fleury.
And when you think of it that way, that might be the going rate. The Leafs traded a first round pick to free up Marleau’s salary.
That was an assumption ( Blackhawks absorbing cap hit ) that was made about Keith as well though…
I agree completely.
I have no problem with upgrading the goalie position but: 1. It’s got to be an upgrade, and 2. Not “at any cost”.
Does Holland have a record of chasing big time goalies? We know he went after Markstrom, but in Detroit it seems like he built that team with a bunch of meh goalies.
I am not sure on the goalie front. But, Holland definitely has a fetish for acquiring has-beens that are overpaid.
Dominik Hasek says hi. So does Curtis Joseph.
Something, something Kassian.
Kassian. Kassian. Kassian. Kassian.
Kassian.
Which is *certainly* fair.
Meanwhile…
KAILER YAMAMOTO . 4. 0 shots. 0 hits. 0 points. Not near enough impact on the game for a 2 nd line RW riding shotgun with the league’s leading scorer.(Leavins COH)
Even the local media – finally – catching on.
Kailer Yamamoto has *no* first assists in 24 games played with the leading sniper in the NHL. ( more icetime than Hyman)
That is impossible.
Foegele has 4 first assists
Kassian has 3 first assists
I want to be clear here. I love this kid. I don’t want him traded or maligned – I am just not certain he is top 6. And I am 100% certain he is not top 6 in the Law of the Jungle NHL playoffs.
I’m fairly certain Yamamoto is not top six because he has shown it to us. Someone way smarter than me once said “when someone shows you who they are, believe them”. I think it’s true in life and in sport as well.
He is a third line player. That’s it. There is no shame in it. The sooner the Oilers and the player himself recognizes this, the better. They are valuable pieces to any contending team and if that’s the case then people or the organization can re-evaluate their assessments as a result.
When it comes to players like Yamamoto–someone drafted in the first round, good hands, yadda yadda yadda —but isn’t producing consistently or at all, I just ask myself, would this kid slot into the 1st or 2nd line of any team out there not currently ranked between 1-20 in the league. IMO, the answer is no. So why are the Oilers insisting on it? Beats me. Maybe Tippett doesn’t have many other options. I would beg to differ.
I don’t think it’s been a question of not being patient with the kid. The Oilers have been. But he is not a Holland pick so it wouldn’t shock me if he were dealt. I like LT’s idea of Donskoi.
Any way you cut it he is not delivering. He’s playing with Draisaitl for God’s sake. Most players would give their left nut to do that. So either demote him to the 3rd or 4th line or stick a fork in him and trade him.
Impressive choice for comparison with the guy who had 4G, 0A1, 1A2 at 5v5.
Donskoi has 0G, 1A1, 9A2 at 5v5 on the year.
Also 3.5X the price.
Something something, I think you are right. I also think Yams is too small to play on the third or 4th line. Shirley we can pry something of value from Seattle for him.
As I’ve mentioned a couple of times this season, Yamamoto was given a “show me” contract in the offseason, and unfortunately, he is showing us his real value.
Although Nuge’s 5v5 production is pretty laughable for his salary. He’s here for the PP.
I don’t mind trading Yamo but the Donskoi idea is not good. He has 5 less goals than Yamo this season (that would be zero). If it’s a deal with SEA then Appleton might be a better option (bigger RHC) depending on what you think his upside is.
What evidence is there that Appleton is a centre?
Edmonton in 10th overall in the NHL in Pts%
Ahead of
Colorado
Dallas
Anaheim
St Louis
Boston
Vegas
Nashville
Pittsburgh
Winnipeg
And 14 other teams
After slow starts and numerous injuries, Colorado and Dallas are charging up the standings.
Vegas is also playing much better now that they have Stone and Pacioretty back on their top line and of course they await the debut of an elite 1st line centre.
Also of note, STL has had a huge Covid outbreak and has been forced to play with a severely undermanned roster…playing 2 defensemen at forward in their most recent game. They will be better.
If LT’s prediction of this month’s remaining games is close, the Oilers may well find themselves somewhere around 15th in the league by
There should be an automatic trigger warning on lowetide every time the words “of note” are used in sequence.
Also of note, EDM has been playing without five top-6 defensemen for a prolonged period of time and their 1G for most of the season yet maintain an advantageous standings position.
All your caveats for other teams out to be equitably applied for the Oilers if you’re going to make comparisons that aren’t disingenuous.
A flawed roster and team, sure, but they’re doing well. It’s a long season.
Time to rotate players through the press box. Some of these fellas need a bit of hunger and a pride bruise. not being ignorant but it is a business. They are contractors and sometimes they need to be held to contract. They have become less aggressive. Finish checks.