For many decades, it’s been a habit to link emerging prospects with old timey players. I used to ask my Dad (and later FIL) names from the past who most resembled modern players, so Mark Messier (Gordie Howe) and any fast skilled guy was compared to one of the Bentley brothers.
As I’ve grown older, I have compiled a fairly large library of references myself. You may remember Ales Hemsky being compared to Rick Middleton in the early days of this blog, and I had early visual comps for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Dave Keon), Leon Draisaitl (Peter Mahovlich) and Connor McDavid (Gilbert Perreault).
You’ll never guess Kailer Yamamoto’s comparable.
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: Should the Oilers sign Evander Kane and what would it look like?
- Lowetide: Revisiting Oilers’ 2021 draft decision to select Xavier Bourgault over goaltending
- Lowetide: What’s the gap for Oilers between now and the 2016-17 playoff team?
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Will this be another lost season?
- Jonathan Willis: Mikko Koskinen isn’t the Oilers’ biggest summer mistake
- Lowetide: Hard-target search for the Oilers’ next starting goaltender
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers forward lineup isn’t deep or good enough
- DNB: Time for the Oilers to move on from Mikko Koskinen
- Lowetide: If Oilers plan a coaching change, why stop there?
- New DNB: Exploring how the Oilers can get back on track
- Lowetide: Long December has Oilers fans looking for reasons to believe
- Lowetide: Can the Oilers fix their defence with the current personnel?
- DNB: Why getting Mike Smith back now is important to the Oilers’ present and future plans
- Lowetide: The five most effective Oilers mid-season recalls since 1979-80
- Lowetide: A complete review of the Bakersfield Condors’ 2021-22 season to date
- DNB: For Oilers’ Kailer Yamamoto, the goal has always been to belong with the best
- DNB: Jesse Puljujarvi’s next contract? Expectations for Dylan Holloway? Oilers mailbag
- Lowetide: If the Oilers add a big deadline asset, Philip Broberg will be the ask
- Lowetide: 7 AHL trade targets that could immediately improve Oilers’ NHL forward depth
- DNB: How Stuart Skinner became Oilers’ ‘young goalie on the rise’
- Lowetide: If the losing continues will the Oilers make a coaching change?
- Lowetide: Oilers top 20 prospects, winter 2021
RAIMO SUMMANEN
The Oilers liked Raimo Summanen, he got a mention every few months in The Hockey News when Oilers prospects were being discussed. He was drafted in 1982, and had the kind of skill set you could project on to a skill line. So, he’d get mentioned in interviews that included Glen Sather or Barry Fraser as a possible future left winger for Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri. Esa Tikkanen, chosen a year later, would eventually win the job but Summanen spent time with skill forwards on lines in Edmonton for 132 games over parts of four seasons.
- Summanen as an Oiler: 132 games, 30-33-63 (.477)
- Yamamoto as an Oiler: 139 games, 27-37-64 (.460)
In March of 1987, Slats sent Summanen to the Vancouver Canucks for Moe Lemay. The Canucks could have used Summanen, who was skilled and could score in the NHL of his era, but Pat Quinn took over the club in the summer of 1987 and Summanen was not a Quinn-type (sort of the Sam Gagner story 20 years before).
Summanen scored 19 goals in 1985-86 for the Oilers, that’s a big total. Glen Sather rarely traded productive young people in that era, and even though Summanen wasn’t overly physical, he could keep up and had good hands. How rare is it for Edmonton to trade skill forwards who are 23 or less and having NHL success?
- Traded Donny Murdoch (40, 10-9-19) summer 1981 for big defenseman Don Jackson.
- Traded Raimo Summanen (48, 10-7-17) March 1987 for winger Moe Lemay.
- Lost Adam Graves (76, 7-18-25) September 1991 compensation Troy Mallette
- Traded Martin Rucinsky (2, 0-0-0) March 1992 for G Ron Tugnutt.
- Traded Martin Gelinas (65, 11-12-23) June 1993 for Scott Pearson
- Traded Miro Satan (64, 17-11-18) March 1997 for Barrie Moore and Craig Millar.k
- Traded Joffrey Lupul (81, 16-12-28) July 2007 in a big deal for Joni Pitkanen
- Traded Magnus Paajarvi (42, 9-7-16) July 2013 for David Perron
I think the lesson here is don’t trade young skill, but the Oilers have done it every five years or so based on this list. I might have missed one or two, I excluded centers (mostly because if Vincent Damphousse appeared on this list it would be too much for me to take) and some wingers weren’t posting big numbers on trade day but would do it later.
Yesterday on the Lowdown, Hernan Salas (valiant producer who works with old man daily) said he doesn’t think the Oilers will sign both Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto. Meaning, one of them is getting dealt.
I think it’s unwise in the case of Yamamoto, completely addled in Puljujarvi’s case.
Yamamoto is scoring 16-22-38 per 82 games and scores equally well on the road as he does at home. He helps Leon Draisaitl by retrieving pucks and getting them to the big man in effective spots. The two men clearly have on-ice chemistry. Its not that common, it doesn’t happen to every guy and it IS a big deal.
Puljujarvi? Same but to a higher degree. What about you? Are you okay with sending away Yamamoto? Puljujarvi?
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
At 10 this morning, TSN1260, we’ll begin with Ken Holland’s media avail. It’s normally about 45 minutes and we’ll parse the words and discuss what Mr. Holland’s Opus means for the future. Tyler Yaremchuk from Oilers Nation and Matthew Iwanyk will offer their opinions and we’ll discuss the Evander Kane story, too. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. See you on the radio!
A friend of mine with some insider knowledge once told me, “if Evander Kane weren’t really good at hockey, he would be unemployable.”
This is the guy who is going to save the Oilers’ season?
Somehow this whole situation reminds me of the Peter Chiarelli desperation trade for Brandon Manning. Even if McDavid is on board this time, I don’t think it’s going to end well.
It certainly didn’t end well in Winnipeg. Or Buffalo. Or San Jose.
A legit top 6 power forward for pennies on the dollar vis-a-vis his on-ice value.
Noone is saying he’s going to “save the season” but there is no doubt he can help the on-ice product for zero assets out and nominal cap effect (when netting out the $1.125MM for waiving Turris, for example).
Will swapping Turris or similar for Kane “save the season”? Maybe not but it will sure help the on-ice product.
Fair bit of noise on Kane being signed by us. Nothing legit, but…
I read through the comments tonight, and OP brought up something that’s been bugging me for awhile now. Why on earth is a 5 second power play counted as one power play, and given the same weight as a full two minute PP? I actually like OP’s suggestion of a PPG/60 stat, to me it appears to provide a more reliable statistic over time than the potentially skewed PP% stat. I realize that the PP% stat is most likely more relatable to the average fan, but I don’t believe it quite delivers a proper representation of a team’s effectiveness on the PP. Just my $0.02.
Every stat should be /60.
It wouldn’t work because it gets inflated every time you score because the power play is over then. What is your rate of you score 5 seconds into a power play twice in a row? Not great at math but I think your rate/60 would be something like 1440 goals per 60. It’s really early in the morning and I’m still groggy, so I reserve the right to come back to this once my head is clearer and do a 180, haha.
Go to naturalstattrick.com and you’ll find what you’re looking for.
Your team got a shorten power play due to one or two reasons:
(1) Your team score early. In which case you rightfully inflate your PPG/attempt.
(2) Your team took an offset penalty. In which case your team just waste the rest of the power play. If you count the team PPG/60, you understate the wasted opportunity due to ineptitude (having to take penalty due to jail break or beomg indiscipline in the O zone).
This is different from the individual stats where the deployment measure PPG/60 is used.
There is a 3rd situation – your team is shorthanded and then a penalty is called on the opposition.
The Oilers had two PPs in a recent game both of which were less than a minute in length due to already being short when the infraction was called.
Not to mention, when the PP starts in these cases, the team does not have an offensive zone faceoff.
It’s also true at 10 seconds after a PP many goals get scored and the offending player hasn’t been replaced yet. I think the PP counts have flaws for sure. Per-60, and extend the PP, maybe 5-10 seconds.
Kane McDavid Jesse
RNH Draisaitle Hyman
Foegle McLeod Yamamoto
Benson Scevior Kassian
Looks better
Or
Kane Mcdavid Jesse
Hyman Draisaitl Yamamoto
Foegel RNH Kassian
Benson McLeod Scevior
That’s a difficult team to beat in the playoffs.
Not when the D and goaltending are crap.
Holland was able to sneak Keith out of Chicago could he convince Mike Green and Chris Chelios to come out of retirement for one last run at the Cup.
You’re missing Perlini 😉
As a doctor and as someone who just got over Omicron and has been highly critical of Djokovic, I can’t get behind this signing on ethical grounds. Is he even vaccinated and can he travel across the border? Is he going to use the Novak card to travel because he recently contacted the virus?
This is all not withstanding the issues he has reportedly had as a teammate, a spouse, and a human being.
Further, it is throwing more money at a problem (secondary scoring) when there are bigger problems to address. If this becomes a bidding war, it becomes even more ludicrous.
Probably the only time I would turn down cheap talent for the roster, but I don’t like this one bit. Let him go to Florida where he definitely won’t come late to practice because he’s enjoying the sun 😉
Yes, he is vaccinated.
The last action leading to his contract termination was violating AHL covid-protocols on a flight from California to Vancouver.
Sure, the Oilers have multiple potential issues that could be fixed but adding a legit top 6 power forward in his prime on an extreme value contract is 100% something to take advantage of even with other holes on the team.
Moral issues aside.
I appreciate the value, but can’t put the moral issues aside, which is the issue at hand. Even if it made this team a Cup contender (which it doesn’t)
Judge not, lest ye be judged.
I’m not religious. I’m in health care, and any privileged human who has willfully put others at risk during this pandemic, on 2 separate occasions that we know of, should be judged accordingly. I know that my passion for a hockey team does not supercede my values during these unprecedented times. You can make of that what you will. Doesn’t mean I am not a fan of the team, and I don’t believe I am alone in my opinions.
You’re not alone in your opinion. Many people obviously set aside moral values for the sake of wins for a sports team.
Friedman made a point while speaking on Sports radio in Calgary this afternoon, he said to Pat Steinberg, “the way I look at it is this, we all have seen or know that in life talented people always get opportunities that most people don’t get and that’s what is happening here.”
I think he frames this perfectly. This is reality, it doesn’t make it right or fair, but this is life. The difference with Kane, compared to most of these talented others and opportunity is that he is a multi-millionaire entitled athlete. And there are thousands of people who are paying attention to him and are judging him daily.
Again, I am not defending him, but there have been several unsavoury stories about him. Some of these stories have brought forward by people who have been extremely close to him and their allegations were deemed to be false. What does that mean? I look at the allegation that is in the courts still and just wonder why this legal action was initiated soon after he signed his $49 million deal.
I am not saying that Evander Kane is a good person, just saying that people with dollars signs in their eyes have made false accusations before, especially when they think circumstances and opportunity present themselves. I also think that it is likely that some of the people he surrounds himself with may have similar values as he does.
If you disregard the allegations made (which I won’t wade into), there are substantiated offenses, they are repetitive, and they are recent. And I would argue that just because he is talented and is thus more likely to get an opportunity elsewhere, Edmonton doesn’t need to be the city that welcomes him.
The thing that gets me regarding the moral allegations are that they were 3 instances. I struggle with why after the 1st instance was there a 2nd and 3rd…. Personal responsibility/it takes 2 to tango/lessons learned comes to my mind here….again, I don’t know all the facts, but it seems like more than 1 person made poor and repeated choices here. I can help but wonder if was all purposely done for financial gain.
For people who use the Oilers as an escape from their real life challenges / issues, the impacts of a person and Covid, the morality issues of his actions/accused actions and his character will not matter, as they’re dissociating from reality when trying to enjoy Oilers hockey. So for them, all moral questions will be irrelevant, because the whole point of the hockey is to keep them from reality. So why would they let reality impact the potential improvement of their experience watching hockey and ignoring reality?
For people who synthesize their morality into their day to day decision making, this will be a significant issue, and from that perspective his signing will rightly be an issue. A person cannot get into these situations repeatedly without helping to create them, either by actively engaging in the behavious he’s accused of, or by engaging with people/relationships who would lie about it and accuse him of it repeatedly. Smoke, fire, etc…
Edmonton doesn’t need to welcome him. No community does. But I’ve lived here long enough to know two things about Edmontonians:
1 – They are almost always willing to give someone a second chance. They’re compassionate.
2 – They will never let you forget it if you blow that second chance, and are very likely to follow Darren Dreger’s lead running you out of town. They’re vindictive when their compassion is taken advantage of.
So, if he comes here, based on his own history and the City’s history I expect two things:
1 – He will be welcomed kindly
2 – he will screw up and become a pariah
Here’s hoping the team is not so desperate as to seek his “help”.
https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/sharks/evander-kane-addresses-vaccine-controversy-gambling-investigation?amp
FWIW He says he is fully vaccinated in this article from late November.
So lazy arsed Kane can choose to play in Miami, Tampa Bay and join either playoff contender… or be the saviour for playoff bubble Edmonton in January/February/March?
Shades of Calgary Puck dreaming about how they had any kind of a real shot on Eichel.
Edmonton Oilers might be able to pay UFAs top money to come and play with McDavid, is all.
Tampa – Currently threatening a 1962-64 Leaf style 3 peat are 82% certain to land Kane. Florida 15% and lets give Holland’s Oilers 3% chance on this unexpected offer.
Well Oilers are only team he gets top pp time and top 6 time with elite players. Probably gets put on 3rd line in Tampa
Kane plays hockey to support his lifestyle. I doubt he cares where he plays as log as there’s a paycheck.
Well that’s the thing
he probably gets highest future paycheck playing with Oil
Stanley Cup winners always get a bump.
Not as much as guys that can score a ppg
Florida has scored 142 goals this season.
Tampa has scored 128.
Edmonton has scored 113.
In Florida…Kane would likely bump Verhage from first like LW.
In Tampa…Kane would likely be second line LW playing with Stamkos and Cirrelli.
If he wants to pad his stats, he would most likely head south and also reap the tax advantages.
Although there may be other factors in play.
There is no way he would bump Verhaege. None. Him and Barkovs chemistry is not getting messed with. You nuts?
Palat and Killorn are probably not getting bumped to a 3rd line easily especially Killorn is playing at near ppg pace
Are you suggesting that because Edmonton scored fewer overall goals than Florida and Tampa, that he would consider those optimal destinations for padding his stats, as opposed to playing wing for McDavid / Draisatl and on the league’s #1 powerplay? That’s a disingenuous argument full stop. Why?
He won’t be playing with McDavid and Draisaitl at the same time in most situations.
And the Oilers PP its NOT #1 in the league…Toronto’s is.
PP G/60:
#1 EDM: 12.13
#2 TML: 11.86
#1 TOR 30.9%
#2 EDM 30.2%
#3 STL 30.1%
PP success is not, and has never been, expressed G/60.
Nice try though.
The line was “best PP” not “top-ranked PP”.
The Leafs have the best PP.
No question.
Isn’t this the part where you talk about the recent high percentage being unsustainable?
even you can’t actually believe this
And that’s a disingenuous rebuttal. Playing with 97 or 29, or both definitely has appeal for a player looking to maximize his boxcars heading into free agency. To dismiss that is outright dishonest. Why be that way?
Because it’s not an accurate perception.
If you want to maximize your boxcars you go to a team that scores a lot.
The Oilers are 11th in GF/GP.
Kane would score much more if he played for the Avalanche but they don’t need him.
Kane’s boxcars would not be hurt by Edmonton’s bottom 6 lack of scoring. FLA’s best forward in boxcars outside of Huberdeau has 29 points. Keep it honest man.
By your own admission reference the two Florida teams scoring, why in your somewhat logical mind would they want to add Kane? You play mind games with people on site to make yourself feel superior. In my opinion and having dealt with a large number of individuals I believe your character and actions to be reprehensible. By contrast Kane would be a saint. You could be a difference maker in a positive manner but YOU choose to be a jerk.
Why not 2022 Stanley cup champion Colorado avalanche then?
I can’t imagine they would be the least bit interested.
Colorado leads the NHL in GF/GP at 4.31.
The next closest team is Florida at 3.89
Any tweaks Colorado would make would not be to shore up an historically great offence.
Really?
In the last full 82 game season, the dominant Tampa Lightning scored 325 goals which was 37 more than second place Calgary.
In this season, Colorado is on pace for 353 goals while the second place Panthers are on pace for 319…a difference of 34 goals.
Really.
I took historically to mean among the best in history. YMMV.
Fairly impressive actually, the Avs are currently tied for the 40th best goals/game season since the first expansion.
Unlikely to be at 4.31 after 82 games, and still shy of historical even if it is.
Referring to an era when goaltenders had rolled up Sears catalogues for pads doesn’t;t interest me at all.
Well then just admit you’re not talking about actual historical things.
Historically great?
Historically great huh?
I guess for a Canucks fan that would be
That is just childish nonsense.
Daniel Sedin scored 41 goals and 104 points in his prime and won the Art Ross and Ted Lindsay trophies.
Grow up.
May I ask what history book you’re reading? Art Linkletter?
The salary cap era which changed everything.
What you got?
History.
Please expound.
Which team in the salary cap era has scored more than 353 goals?
Lol
Sure they wouldn’t
no way they would be interested on improving on their 3rd and 4th line LW who are both underwater on Doms ratings for dirt cheap which other than goaltending is their biggest weakness
nope none whatsoever
Good grief.
Nichushkin has 16 points in 19 GP
Burakovsky has 26 points in 30 games.
Together they make $3.5 million.
Pat Maroon won the cup with a $1.75MM salary and then signed for $900K.
He’s also 34 years year old and has always been a periphery player…not at all the same.
You made a statement – I refuted it with facts.
Now you add other parameters that were not identified in your original statement.
You refuted it with a skewed opinion.
Hardly a gotcha.
I believe the word you are looking for is “fact”.
Maroon winning the cup and then taking a salary decrease is fact – no “skewed opinion” and that is also a fact.
Kane is one of the best LW in the league
And he’s a fast big tough PF
He’d bump a lot of guys down, most guys down actually
i find it very unlikely Tampa or Florida would want him. They’re cup contenders without him. It doesn’t make sense.
There is no chance they risk disrupting their teams with a guy like Kane. Edmonton does make a lot of sense on a one year deal. The losing streak has increased the risk appetite for the Oilers.
deleted
It occurred to me that another downside of getting Kane is that it may save Tippet and up
Hmmmm
I’d rather see a house cleaning methinks than a slightly better ass kicking in the playoffs
House cleaning Oilers would be like trying to shovel fleas across a barnyard.
Friedman leads off with quite a bit on Kane and the Oilers:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/32-thoughts-oilers-making-serious-attempt-get-evander-kane/
Elliotte spent about 10 minutes talking to Steinberg on 960, just after 4:00. He said the Oilers were a front-runner on Kane, said Holland’s presser lines up with everything he’s heard, (the 1st is not being dealt, prospects aren’t being dealt and there is not a viable deal for a Goalie that he is sees).
Also Boston and possibly Tampa are very interested in Crouse.
Some talking head opining that they wouldn’t be surprised that if this was to work out, a multi-year deal might be on the table in the off-season. So who would Kenny fire into the Sun were this to happen?
I’d give him 2 years at $2M per or under.
Of course, I don’t think Kane would sign for that – I presume he’d prefer a one year deal with a smaller AAV and then a “real deal” somewhere in July.
I would be remiss not to comment on the post title, fantastic song by Tom Tom Club but more widely known as the sample/melody of Mariah Carey’s Sweet Fantasy.
It’s a typo… It’s supposed to say, “The Genius of Lowe”.
Agent maybe using Kenny to bump up salary with Tampa or Florida?
Or the other way around….
If the Oilers can “win Kane” with everything the FLA teams have going for them (elite contenders, better tax structure, better weather, lighter Covid-restrictions, better travel, etc) and keep the cap hit to $1.5M or under – that would be amazing!
He may be bidding against himself.
Smoking him out? 😉
Dan Milstein-Hockey
@HockeyAgent1
· 3m
still interviewing with teams. No contract in hand. Salary not yet agreed. Many details to be worked out. No travel plans over 48 hours. #WeAreGoldStar! twitter.com/canesplswin/st…
Crazy timing – I posted about how awesome the lineup would be if they added Kane and Archibald and subtracted Turris and one of Benson, Sceviour or Shore and, now, Kane may actually happen and:
Daniel Nugent-Bowman
@DNBsports
·
7m
I’m told there’s a chance Josh Archibald could play this season. However, there’s nothing concrete to report. Still a lot of uncertainty. He remains on LTIR.
I wonder if he can take the job back from Sceviour, who has elevated his game recently? He does hit more and provides a bit more offense; I’m not convinced that he’s a better overall player.
David Pagnotta (@canesplswin) Tweeted:
Official, confirmed. Evander Kane joins Edmonton on a 1 x $1.5M. Deal signed. #LetsGoOilers
“Evander will travel to Alberta in the next 48 hours”, statement confirms. https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/svg/1f91d.svg
Duncan Keith, key factor.
Here we go.
https://twitter.com/canesplswin/status/1481038106040090627?s=20
David Pagnotta
@TheFourthPeriod
· 4m
Let me clarify: I have landed back in Toronto from the road. Evander is joining the Oilers, as Tim reports
This account is legit😉
Fake account?
Nope this looks legit to me. Not official but these are pretty reputable sources.
WOW!
Edit – honestly not sure, these accounts look kinda fake. Tim Peel? I dunno.
… it’s fake Dave Pagnota… not the real one
Well from a hockey ability perspective, its a Good Add.
Lets say HEAD DOWN, GOALS UP Evander. Hopefully he is on his best behaviour
David Pagnotta (@canesplswin) is fake Pagnotta
David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) is real Pagnotta
he’s reporting Kane has signed, but the contract details and Keith connection are fake.
With all the talk regarding Evander Kane has anyone discussed his vax status … he claims to be, but do we know if he’s provided the league with any sort of legit proof of vaccination? Doesn’t seem wise to sign a guy who can’t play every game (due to covid border rules) … where’s Archie?
He crossed the Canadian border while in protocol so he must be
Makes sense … cheers.
I mentioned yesterday that he was on a plane coming in to Canada so I believe he has to be vaccinated for that.
Or have a fake vaccination card
I linked an article yesterday about this. The article is from when he reported to the AHL and he clearly states that was doubled vaxxed
I’ve come around on Kane. We have very little to lose on a show me deal. We aren’t going anywhere this year with our current 5v5 play. I hear some saying it’s been better over the last 10 but that’s the definition of score effects.
Or the Bison King is holding the Oilers ransom.
Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) Tweeted:
I’m told most contending @StanleyCup contending teams have reached out to Evander Kane’s Camp.
My understanding is they’re doing their due diligence by speaking to players that’ve played with him at @NHL Team Canada level, and his agent. @espn @NHLNetwork @NHL #HockeyTwitter
https://twitter.com/KevinWeekes/status/1480952820526419974?s=20
Donnie & Dhali (@DonnieandDhali) Tweeted:
Would Evander Kane fit in Edmonton? We tossed that to @CraigJButton earlier today.
Full interview.. https://t.co/xq5BTYdWnN https://t.co/VmekKnS3qH
https://twitter.com/DonnieandDhali/status/1481013043970539521?s=20
@PierreVLeBrun
·
13m
Update from Evander Kane‘s agent Dan Milstein:
We are interviewing with teams. Almost done. Contract by weekend.”We’ll have more at the top of the hour on TSN’
Tim Peel
@TimCPeel20
·
10m
I’m hearing Evander Kane will be signing in the next few hours. Destination: Edmonton Oilers.
@EdmontonOilers
#nhl #HockeyTwitter
—————————–
I provided thoughts on Tim Peel as a source about an hour ago. Given his connection to DFO and Seravelli, I can’t discount him.
Uh oh – two legit elite teams, in warm clients, with less Covid-restrictions and better tax structures:
Oilers News and Updates
@oilersaccess
·
1m
Per Darren Dreger, the Oilers are in the top 3 for Evander Kane. It’s believed that the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers are also in the mix.
Coming out of the cold snap may influence his decision!
Katz will have to pay up for one of them Star Trek transporters so Evander can get to South Beach quickly.
Looks like Kenny is being used.
Yeah, it could be a Brett Connolly 2.0
Edmonton isn’t Vancouver, Tampa or Sunrise.
Russo says Stalock cleared by his own Doctors and is heading to Bakersfield to start his comeback to the Oilers.
The Oilers, as I understand it, have a few goaltending positions available if he shows capable.
NEW goalie Alert!
I’m not sure how much of a source Tim Peel is but he works with Seravelli on DFO so I would think they wouldn’t want him putting out loose info:
Tim Peel
@TimCPeel20
·
2h
According to my sources very close to the Evander Kane situation, they are confident that a deal could be done in 24 hours and maybe as little as six hours. #nhl #hockeytwitter
Niemelainen assigned to Bakersfield.
Good that he’s healthy and ready to play.
Condors next scheduled for Friday.
Per Michael Russo:
Hearing ex #mnwild goalie Alex Stalock, who has missed this season with a heart condition, has been cleared by his own docs & is heading to Bakersfield to begin comeback with the #Oilers
If he passes physical, he’ll need waivers; if body holds up, they’ll figure out next steps
IMO opinion the biggest risk isn’t signing Kane this year. It will be the temptation to resign him next year.
you get 4 years! And you get 4 years! And you get 4 years!
kenny likes 8
I quibble with Holland saying the answer is in the locker room.
No, sir. You made a big mess this off-season and the 5v5 play has been piss poor.
I do support a recall of Cooper Marody. Truly incredible he has not been given a shot.
The 5 on 5 play has improved though.
The bottom 6 has been 50% over the last 10 games.
The issue recently has been the top 6 (mainly the Drai line) and I think we can be confidant that will recover.
Replacing a tweener with another is the proverbial deck chair shuffling on the sinking Titanic. Truly incredible this is a thing.
Imagine how much better the lineup looks by adding E. Kane and J. Archibald and deleting Turris and one of Shore, Sceviour or Benson…. just imagine.
Bring on some E. Kane.
I don’t think Archibald will be an option but you never know.
Archibald was a part of the famous bottom 6 last year.
I would prefer him over Turris, Sceviour, Shore.
Archival looks like a player – too bad the results don’t match the eye test
Sure but, at the same time, when he wasn’t moonlighting on McDavid’s wing, he was playing almost exclusively with either Riley Sheahan or JJ Khaira……
I think we could see better results with the likes of Foegele and McLeod as his linemates, for example.
The only way to “fix” the roster in season is to get Kane. Everything else is window dressing.
This team sucks at 5v5. Even when they were winning they sucked 5v5. The bottom six is outscored 2:1. Standing pat is like asking someone to walk off a tumor; it ain’t getting better on its own.
This is your fix. If you want lessons on morality, go to church, if you want a winning team, get Kane, simple as that.
Eichel skating with VGK.
https://www.nhl.com/news/jack-eichel-playing-status/c-329672480
I think what we are all collectively missing is our understanding of hockey culture – according to Ken Holland.
In his world, and sadly with many other hockey old boys, young players don’t deserve to win. They sure as heck don’t deserve to get calls.
You see Steve Yzerman didn’t win his first cup until he was 30. Not because Detroit was a shambolic organization who surrounded him with donkeys until they could leverage their owners wealth on post Soviet Russians, but because he did not know how to win until then.
So while you and I may look at ageing curves and see Draisaitl and McDavid’s prime years being wasted, old Kenny thinks they will be better in 5 years. Sure not better physically or at hockey, but they will know how to win then.
Kenny’s ringtone on his Nokia 3210. I’ve taken the liberty of converting it from 8-bit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxhab3IMYm0
hell, that was something! wasn’t a ringtone but i like where i landed.
It is a shame that Kane has so many issues, the player type is precisely what this team needs and it also pushes Hyman to the right side and Yamamoto to the 3rd line where he belongs. If he comes on for the next 3-4 months, how bad could it be? If his attitude sewers the team is it really a lost season because of Kane, or because of the massive holes still left in the same positions after Kenny’s summer shopping spree? I’d say sign him if you can to a fully buryable salary, if it doesn’t work out then it was at least worth a try. If it works and he has decided to become a better human and is willing to sign a reasonable 2-3 year deal, then you have solved a number of problems.
People can only change so much. Sure, Kane will likely be a negative influence once hes in and comfortable. BUT there would most likely be a honeymoon period and thats all the Oilers need. 4-5 months.
However, I think he gets double what is mentioned here. 2.5m for one year, but somebody probably gives him 2 years to land him. It would be the next year that would be very worrisome.
Who says anything about him changing?
The man is a PPG power forward. He’s a rare breed. A little kookoo, but I like that.
He could feast on second or third line opp and then get a bigger deal in the off-season
Then there’s the domestic violence history- hard pass on adding Kane
There are allegations of such but has there been any official corroboration?
With all the stuff Kane has done, and has alleged to have done, he has full custody of his kids over his ex. Totally speculating here but I’m not sure her allegations should be taken as truth (no discounted, obviously).
She accused him of betting on NHL games he played in – I’m pretty sure the NHL would have taken that VERY seriously if there was any evidence to substantiate it. She’s been known to make false allegations.
Multiple instances, not just this latest one
If I was playing a drinking game for everytime I heard, “back in my time in Detroit”, I would have been shitfaced before noon.
Belichek just glares back and the reporter and leaves uncomfortable dead air (If he cannot get away with a yes or no or we can do better or we just weren’t good enough answer).
You get shitfaced off of two drinks?
Turn on a lamp OP, time to lighten up. And it was 6. That’s why the BINGO card for the presser today had “Detroit” as a free space.
In my opinion, we are looking at another lost season so far, with the cancellations, delays, incomplete lineups – blah.
Three seasons in a row now.
So I’m fine with the Oilers not going for it this year. They don’t look like a contender.
I still wouldn’t mind them taking a stab with another goalie though. I think Holland is looking for one. He can say Koski and Smith with split starts but you samn well know Tipp is going to run Smith into the ground again before he’s forced to play Koski. It’s not really his fault to be honest.
The Oilers need to identify that next up and coming goalie that they can ride for a few seasons. Calling Woodguy to find them their next Talbot – they listened to you before, maybe they will again!
The Oilers predilection for brand-name general managers is interesting.
I would imagine that the most likely benefit is that it’s helpful towards selling tickets to the average fan?
Would the average fan be more likely to buy season tickets with a name like Ken Holland at the helm vs Laurence Gilman?
Many here have argued that Chiarelli’s success was largely built by Gorton and the fortuitous signing of Chara.
For Holland, he found himself with a rock solid core early into the cap era combined with Detroit then being the destination for free agents looking to win a cup before retiring.
Since then, we’ve seen a massive shift in NHL head offices with the advent of analytics. As well, the game itself has changed, possibly in part in trying to leverage the cap value of younger players on ELCs.
Now, we see far fewer players in their 30’s and certainly almost none are forwards with the odd Corey Perry, Joe Thornton, or Jason Spezza still hanging around.
Holland appears to be still working from his old 2008 template.
The key difference I believe is that the Oilers front office is comprised almost entirely of “hockey men” (Bill Scott excepted) while other franchises who may be led by former players or coaches have surrounded them with expertise in a much broader spectrum.
You mentioned Gilman who, of course, is a lawyer, capologist, and stats nerd.
While Sakic is GM in Colorado, he is also surrounded by another large group of individuals with diverse experience and eduction in business, law and statistical analysis.
The Oilers, in fact, have a pretty small and narrow management team.
Credit to former players like Joe Sakic and Shanahan for being able to work on teams with more diverse expertise.
I remember reading an an interview of Tulsky in which he was talking about his role in scouting and other facets of the game. He rhetorically asked, “who wouldn’t want help?” when referring to the use of analytics not to replace but to augment decision making in all areas of the game.
Chiarelli was the individual who laid off the Oilers team of Dellow (lawyer and stats nerd), Dan Haight (stats/analytics), Michael Parkatti (stats/analytics), and Sean Radcliffe (stats/comp background).
Holland himself doesn’t care for analytics. His plan is to recapitulate the 2008 Wings path to the cup.
Here we are today signing 39 y/o goalies and 35 y/o journeymen forwards to multi-year deals or trading actual assets for the cap recapture end of a 37 y/o defenseman’s contract.
It is shocking to justify 5M for a GM but not have any coin left over for an analytics department.
I wonder how much teams do actually spend on their analytics departments.
This article suggests that even the Leafs only have 8 people while the Kraken and Islanders are the next largest at six. The Canes apparently have four.
No clue if that includes computer science grads for compiling databases and stuff.
Also, I have no idea what the salaries are like for these employees.
The Avalanche have 5 including this guy who works with Dawson Sprigings.
https://arikparnass.wordpress.com
Seriously…. This is not how decision support is done anymore. In house people build graphs and answers questions from senior managers that are swimming.
Decision support people don’t work on your building anymore. The top end talent lives where they want to live.
A couple of local people to graphs stuff and you are done.
I don’t think the fans are demanding brand name GMs. It might be the opposite actually.
I’d guess it’s simply an attempt to bring stability after all the turnover through the DoD.
Listening to Kenny on 630.
I’m sure some of the veteran Albertans on here can tell him what “close” only counts for…
Excuses for nearly everything from Holland on Stauffer’s show.
Expected but still pathetic.
For those of you who’ve never been in politics or PR/marketing – this is messaging. And not done well.
What is clear is that this is a man and an organization that has no concept of accountability. Where there is no accountability, you will see zero results.
I used to love GM Pressers, but after the Keith debacle, I don’t want to hear him speak anymore. It’s always the same, as I’ve said before, he lost me with his “Guide & Record Book” comments….
This is not 1972, jeebus
People below who are comparing Kane to other reclamation projects either haven’t been paying attention to what has been happening, or have poor moral judgement.
It isn’t one thing. It isn’t two things. It isn’t three things. It is a list a mile long and wide, on so many different levels.
It’s on the list of “things we could have seen coming”. Like bringing back a certain goaltending duo.
Dude, nobody could have predicted that a nearly forty-year-old goalie with half a groin would be injured for most of the season.
It was a hot take at the start of the season, I know. 🙂
My argument is, forget moral judgements for a moment, because however bad a person Evander Kane is, the Oilers are worse 5 v 5. To find a moral equivalent to the Oilers 5v5 play, you’d have to hire Christian Bale in Psycho, or maybe the Clown in It.
If you want to hold onto high end prospects and make a substantive in-season acquisition, Kane is the way. On a one year show me deal, the downside is minimal.
It is so very rare to be able to add an impact player for a pittance. Holland is correct to be in on this.
I can’t agree with Hernan on this.
Jesse will get signed as he is clearly valued by both the coaching staff and management. This may be a tough deal given history with Jesse and his agency and its tough to pinpoint proper value, but it will be a focal point. If Jesse isn’t an Oiler next season, he’s likely traded for real value.
I don’t see any reason why Yamamoto won’t be signed. In due course, he is likely to get pushed down to 3RW and top 6 RW fill in and this is likely a roster position he will thrive in. In addition, given offensive struggles early (and he’s now recovering), this is likely another cheap contract and Yamamoto, given everything else he does on the ice, will likely provide massive value for an apx $2M cap hit next season.
No real issue or concern with anything that Holland said at today’s presser – it was pretty much as expected.
He took responsibility for the roster and expressed he is disappointed with where they are at. He believes they are better than what we’ve seen lately, and I agree.
The only thing for me is the double down on the Smith/Koskinen due with no plans to get Skinner a stretch of games. I get that though. That’s the duo he brought in to the season and, really, we haven’t seen what they can do together.
Even with Holland’s verbal, if that duo struggles in the near future, I’m confident we will see Skinner so I’m cool.
Of course Holland isn’t going to trade the 1st round pick or a top prospect for a pure rental. He’s always said that and he likely wasn’t going to do it even if the Oilers were 2nd in the division at this point.
This doesn’t mean the second tier prospects such as Lavoie, Samorukov, etc. are not on the table but, of course, the 1st rounder, Bourgault, Broberg, Holloway – those are non-starters for rentals.
Yes, keep digging in on Kane – if he’s willing to sign here for $1.125M or less for the rest of the season and the locker room leaders are cool with it – do it!
Why would one trade Yamamoto? On Tampa, or if Jon Cooper were coaching, Yamamoto would be the RW on the 3rd scoring line, and the Oilers pretty much have the ideal centre for Yamamoto to play with on the 3rd scoring line with McLeod.
It hurt Kessel’s ego to play on the 3rd line in Pittsburgh for one season, but he was an assassin there. Tampa’s 3rd scoring line is the reason they have two Cups.
Yamamoto is smart and good defensively. McLeod can transport and is good defensively. And there is this feisty guy the Oilers have who can pass and make plays in the offensive zone in Benson.
#WWJD as in Jon Cooper.
As for Kane, many players do unsavoury things off ice, many of us have heard the stories
It seems a big problem with Kane has been not following team rules. Late for things, won’t follow dress code, doesn’t practice hard. I’m not sure his personal life affects the team that much
Nobody is saying the Keith/Hawks mess has affected the Oilers room and that is more cogent to hockey thanKane’s antics
Im not sure all Oilers practice that hard now. If Kane can do easy things like be on time, follow dress code, and try a bit at the infrequent practices for 12 weeks is it a locker room torpedo?
This team needs a serious dose of what Kane does on the ice. I think Holland is too vanilla and old school to do it anyway. He doesn’t seem like he’s sweating it, and he shouldn’t be he’s financially set and his rep is enshrined.
We traded Chris Pronger for less than what Kane has done.
Pronger demanded a trade because Lauren wouldn’t live in Edmonton.
I don’t know “weather” I believe this or not.
I do.
They lived down the block from me and the house was dark from November on.
Pronger’s appearance on Spittin Chiclets suggested otherwise. Or at minimum that it was more nuanced than that. I’m sure you’re correct in them not being there – but the why stinks to high heaven.
”Sold a bill of goods” was what he said. Which sounds very similar to the Comrie, Souray, and many other situations over the years.
The Lowe/MacTavish and crew group have been poison on this front. I hope someone writes a book someday.
Yeah, I agree there was more involved but Lauren did indeed pack up the kids and headed back to St. Louis.
The Souray situation was indeed very poorly handled by a group with a pretty long track record of wilful intransigence.
I can’t say I agree with you at all.
Chris Pronger, warts and all, was a team player and held his teammates to a high standard. Kane doesn’t do that. I have never come across a story where Pronger’s former teammates were glad to see him leave. Same can’t be said of Kane.
If morale on the Oiler team is low now, Kane’s presence will not improve it.
Famous quote: When someone shows you who they are, BELIEVE THEM.
Kane has shown that through four teams. He’s 30 years old. This isn’t a story about a dumb 19 year old with a lot of money anymore. This is who he is as a human being.
Does anyone here really think his antics or behaviour won’t come up if he signed as an Oiler?
Does anyone here really think his antics won’t negatively influence the younger guys on the team like Puljujarvi or Yamamoto or Bouchard or Nurse? Or dare I say McDavid or Draisaitl?
It’s easy to wax poetic about how the team might gel around their hate for the guy but he is a bad apple IMO. The vets on this team won’t reign this kid in. No one on any team ever has. Not Thornton, not Byfuglien. I mean, if Dustin Byfuglien couldn’t get this kid on board with being a team player then who on this Oiler squad will?
My hope would be that every NHL team took a hard pass on the guy. He could take his talents to the KHL where he’d likely last 6 months max because they certainly won’t put up with his shit.
We’re on the same page. Management wanted Pronger traded due to his philandering. He hurt his wife and teammates as they were so close to a cup. But that doesn’t make him a totally bad person. I wrote a post very similar to yours yesterday. No to E. Kane for me.
I get your issues here, but it seems that you have specific things your ok with and not
But it is approaching a double standard. Pronger is not a totally bad person but Kane is deplorable?
I think most pro athletes are borderline psychotically competitive. At least the best ones
To claim cheating and getting women pregnant and whatever entitled depravity, and all the other unsavoury stuff, is out of the norm is a bit much. I think it’s more about who isn’t able to keep it private
Not that everyone does bad things, but a lot do for sure
Not my first rodeo. I was pretty shocked reading a book about golden boy Wayne my grandmother bought me yonks ago.
I doubt she read it, she’s still with us
Somehow hanging out at the Playboy mansion and trips to St Catherine’s St with Mario got a morality pass back in the day
Women have not fared well in a lot of these scenarios
Is the Pronger stuff even true, I was told it was not…
Apologies Jethro, I misread your post.
Do I think his antics will negatively effect McDavid or Drai or Yamamoto, etc.?
No, I don’t.
If past behaviour is truly an indicator of future behaviour then I would suggest that it would. If he decides to skip practice, shows up late to meetings.etc…. (all the things he’s done in the past) then I would suggest it would have a negative impact on those players.
I am not worried about the kids, they are high character-types.
The positive I can say about the coach and GM, they are vets and Kane will be on a short leash. The world will be watching and if he steps out of line, he is probably done as an NHL player and he will know it.
AND….. If things don’t break right in the standings perhaps he is a desired commodity that Kenny can turn into a 2nd or 1st rounder at the TDL.
https://twitter.com/The_Angershark/status/1480962252459024396?s=20
If you want a summary of the press conference
And I agree with the commenters who said “what did you expect?” Well yeah, it’s just the inability to string together a coherent answer alongside the vanilla questions from most of the Edmonton media that makes this an exercise in futility.
I’ve seen many, many press conferences giving the same information out, but at least with some verve and thought behind it. I’m not asking for Craig “AMA” MacTavish, but it really looked like someone woke him up from a nap and put him in front of the mic.
Holland didn’t voluntarily give the press conference – the media asked for one because he hadn’t given one in months, and the Oilers were off, and Matheson and Jones didn’t have any clue how to write an article if the Oilers aren’t playing every 2nd day.
Now they have some sound bites for their columns. Trust the process.
This is gold.
Pretty accurately summarizes Oilers management for the past 15 years.
Holland’s “let me tell you about this time in Detriot when I won a bridge tournament” has the same vibe as Lowe telling me about all his Stanley cup rings.
I literally bust out with stomach laughs when Holland brought up the Detroit references. I saw it coming yesterday when the presser was announced.
I am not a fan of Holland. Surprisingly, I didn’t mind the press conference.
I would trade any player but elite ones. You can basically only draft those.
On this team Connor Leo and I would include Bouch on the edges there because nobody will trade you a Bouch back, too hard to get a high skill bigger RS D that can also skate.
The problem is the oilers haven’t been able to trade well since ‘06
Zack Bogosian – had his contract terminated by Buffalo. Joined a strong Tampa team and has earned a cup ring.
Anthony DeAngelo – fell out of favour in New York and had his contract terminated. He’s a top-4 D with the league-leading Hurricanes.
Zack Kassian – bottomed out as property of the Habs, then joined the Oilers as a focused and rejuvenated bottom-6 player.
Toxic. Locker-room cancer. Etc Etc.
Evander Kane is a dislikable personality, I get it. But he’s good at hockey. Given the above examples, I don’t see how one guy with personality deficiencies can spoil an entire locker room.
Craig McTavish – vehicular homicide.
Grant Fuhr – cocaine abuse
Dave Hunter – the peccadillo on the freeway
Many examples of Oiler bad boys who made good
See the Buffalo Sabres, Winnipeg Jets/Atlanta Thrashers, San Jose Sharks. They’ll all tell you about his impact on the dressing room.
Evander Kane isn’t a dislikable personality
he’s a walking toxic bomb ready to go off and take the hole team down with him
Like any great band, a little tension and discomfort in the ranks usually helps everyone perform at their best.
Bogosian was never considered a bad teammate.
Quite the opposite
Who knew, Tambellini would have won a cup with Detroit!
He should have said “Im looking, Im scouring, we are going through analytics. This streak is not acceptable. We must improve. I understand the strengths and weaknesses. I wont waste assets but I will act. We will adapt, look internal, try options….” ”
but instead la-de-da
Holland has said all these things repeatedly in previous press avails.
Holland is a good man, this is true.
I mentioned before his MO is predictable with little to no change. I poked fun at him insinuating he takes a nap until the trade deadline.
He gave up little and came off defensive. His basic plan can be written on the back of a napkin. Its not a lot of value for 5M.
Hes easy to like as a person, but does not inspire.
Is patience a good thing or a bad thing?
Clearly that’s in the eye of the beholder.
In Edm Kane will get the best chance to pump his stats and hit a summer payday. Will that be enough? Depends what kind of term another team is willing to throw at him. Gotta think this will be a pure $ decision for Kane and what he and his agent will think gets him his last big payday. IMO a GM would be crazy to give him more than 2 years, but someone will.
Someone named Ken?
I don’t think any team would be willing to give him term right now and the question is which team(s), if any, are willing to go much higher than $1MM or so.
Cap management seems to genuinely confuse Kenny. One of those “all is well, nothing to see” pressers. Why have them, it seemed forced. These (narratively) lead to something significant happening. I hope.
It seems that he is trying to replicate his success in Detroit by making the moves he made there, no matter the cost.
Someone mentioned yesterday that the press asked for the presser.
So yes, it was forced.
reporters not working for The Athletic don’t know what to write if the Oilers aren’t playing
No, I don’t think so. “Asked”. Kenny could have released a statement. No need to take questions, if he believes he’s right in every move he’s made.
This presser was given with bad grace and didn’t really answer anything. If he was forced, it was by Bob or Daryl.
Lots of things aren’t jiving here.
OK then.
Yes, he should’ve played the Chia Hideout card.
That would’ve calmed the seas.
/sarc
Your read of this situation is incorrect.
Have you even seen a Belichek press conference?
No, I don’t follow WWE, sorry.