Game 35 2022-23: Canucks at Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers had a disadvantage in becoming Western Canada’s most successful team. The Vancouver Canucks had a nine-year head start, the Calgary Flames were established in Atlanta and arrived with a mature roster, and the Winnipeg Jets won the final WHA championship with a strong and talented roster. Edmonton? After their first NHL game, coach Glen Sather said “Kevin (Lowe) and his partner Lee Fogolin were our two best defensemen” in identifying the real problem in Edmonton during the early years: Defense.

THE ATHLETIC!

• New Lowetide: Oilers’ Evan Bouchard’s difficult season disguises elite talent
• New DNB: Why the Oilers should, but probably won’t, acquire Jakob Chychrun
• Lowetide: Should the Oilers keep Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together?
• Lowetide: What’s wrong with the Edmonton Oilers?
• Lowetide: Can Oilers prospect Reid Schaefer make the NHL leap next season? 
• New DNB: Oilers throwing away points as defencemen continue to make crucial mistakes
• Lowetide: Inside Oilers’ Philip Broberg’s progress as an NHL defenceman
• DNB: Why the Oilers need to make a trade to give Darnell Nurse more help on defence
• Lowetide: Ranking Oilers GM Ken Holland’s 5 best trades in Edmonton
• DNB: Oilers’ Klim Kostin much happier in Edmonton than he was with Blues
• Lowetide: Oilers top 20 prospects, winter 2022
• DNB: Connor McDavid questions NHL rules, Darnell Nurse’s gaffes prove costly in Oilers loss
• Lowetide: Will Oilers pro scouts help identify quality at the deadline?
• DNB: If the Oilers can trade Jesse Puljujarvi, where is he likely to end up?
• Lowetide: How Edmonton Oilers winger Jesse Puljujarvi is redefining his role
• DNB: The Oilers don’t need someone like Zack Kassian. They need more efforts like this
• Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers avert disaster with strong finish to November
• DNB: Oilers GM Ken Holland Q&A: Can the team be improved? If so, how?
• Jonathan Willis: Oilers’ Jack Campbell will be better, but can he be a true No. 1?
• Lowetide: Oilers rookie Stuart Skinner is chasing history
• Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers reasonable expectations for every player in 2022-23

WHAT TO EXPECT IN DECEMBER

• On the road to: MIN (Expected 0-1-0) (Actual 0-1-0)
• At home to: MTL, WAS, ARI, MIN (Expected 3-1-0) (Actual 3-1-0)
• On the road to: MIN, NAS (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 1-1-0)
• At home to: STL, ANA (Expected 1-0-1) (Actual 0-1-1)
• On the road to: NAS, DAL (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 1-0-1)
• At home to: VAN (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
• On the road to: CAL, SEA (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
• At home to: WPG (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
• December expected result: 9-5-1, 19 points in 15 games
• December actual result: 5-4-2, 12 points in 11 games
• November results: 7-7-0, 14 points in 14 games
• October results: 6-3-0, 12 points in 9 games
• Oilers in 2022-23: 18-14-2, 38 points in 34 games

If Edmonton wins tonight, the team will have 40 points in 35 games, a 94-point pace. That would represent a secured playoff position, although the race would be tight. I still think Edmonton will rip off a long winning streak and put all this anxiety to bed, but until that happens it’s going to be close.

CANUCKS LORE

The “target” for the Vancouver Canucks on expansion draft day was Doug Favell. The man targeting Favell was Bud Poile, one of the architects of the brilliant Philadelphia Flyers expansion draft just three summers before the Canucks entered confederation. Poile had planned to do in Vancouver what the Flyers did in 1967, but the available talent was much poorer in 1970 (the league had been watered down and still had 6 expansion teams much inferior to the original 6).

The key for Poile, as it had been in 1967 in Philadelphia, was a good young goaltender.

The Favell deal never came about, and it was (as always) due to expansion theatrics authored by Punch Imlach (now Buffalo’s GM and Poile’s expansion opposite number). Vancouver had a deal with the Philadelphia Flyers: select LW Garnet Bailey from the Boston list and Philadelphia would send Favell over for the former Edmonton Oil King. However, Imlach used the first pick in the expansion draft to select Boston RW Tom Webster–something he had agreed not to do in a pre-draft deal with Boston GM Milt Schmidt–and Boston pulled back Bailey. This moved the “target” and changed the “face” of the original Vancouver Canucks.

OILERS FIVE-ON-FIVE PTS 60, FIVE-ON-FIVE GOAL SHARE, FIVE-ON-FIVE SP

I like this lineup plenty, the only real issues being Dylan Holloway’s placement on the fourth line (my solution: Don’t have one!) and Philip Broberg’s injury. I think the Broberg injury is the one management is most worried over, he is a key piece to the puzzle for Ken Holland.

That brings me to the subject of Jakob Chychrun and online tomfoolery. I’ve written about Edmonton’s need for a veteran top-four defenseman and mentioned Chychrun as a strong option (among others). In the past few weeks, I’ve had several exchanges that have become untenable about this player, and it’s silly.

I’ve said on Lowetide and Jamieson several times that Chychrun isn’t a target based on intel (Darren Dreger was very specific about three weeks ago, and if he’s specific, he has the goods). That isn’t my opinion on Chychrun and his worth to the Oilers, it’s my opinion on the state of the Oilers evaluation process. We should be able to have a nuanced conversation, but it becomes difficult when the argument is turned into a black and white one.

So, I’ve mostly avoided the conversation because it’s not productive. However, if you’re wondering, I think Ken Holland should trade for Chychrun, even if the price is dear. Names like Xavier Bourgault, Dylan Holloway, Philip Broberg and Reid Schaefer, plus the first-round pick in 2023, should be in the conversation. I’m not saying trade all of them, but some or most of those names won’t be contributing for some time. If it’s go time, then it’s go time. For the record, I would hold the 2023 first rounder, Holland and Broberg as being the most valuable pieces.

LOWETIDE AND JAMIESON

A busy Friday and the last show before Christmas! We’ll have Steve Lansky, a preview of the Oilers-Canucks and talk of football pro and college. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. See you on the radio, and best of the season!