The Edmonton Oilers lost in a shootout to the Philadelphia Flyers last night. On merit. The first Flyers goal featured one of those passes across the middle that often results in a turnover and a jailbreak. This time it also cost a goal on a night when Carter Hart was his usual brilliant self. Stuart Skinner matched him save for save during the game and OT, with the shootout deciding things.
Tough to get mad at the team, a goal scored by Zach Hyman should have counted (it was Owen Tippett’s stick that caused the ruckus) would have been the winner in a fair world. Oilers have to tighten up during this road trip or there’s going to be some sad faces on the flight home Sunday.
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: Connor McDavid’s top Oilers linemates and what it could mean for trade plans
- DNB: Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland NHL trade deadline Q&A
- Lowetide: Three ways the Oilers could improve without a big trade deadline deal
- Lowetide: How the Oilers finally found the key to five-on-five outscoring
- DNB: With Kailer Yamamoto nearing a return, which Oilers could be salary-cap casualties?
- Lowetide: Oilers prospect Raphael Lavoie turns a corner, now NHL-ready
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers are about to start a major makeover at right wing
- New DNB: How Oilers’ Stuart Skinner learned to be a pro — and an NHL All-Star
- Lowetide: Is Edmonton Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft saving another season?
- DNB: Why Ryan Nugent-Hopkins matters more to the Oilers now than ever before
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers ride high-flying offence to strong January finish
- DNB: Are the Oilers actually good again or are they simply benefitting from an easy schedule?
- Lowetide: Are the Oilers getting enough out of their AHL prospect pipeline?
- DNB: Oilers give a third-string university goalie the experience of his lifetime
- Lowetide: Oilers rookies Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway arriving right on time
- DNB: Oilers trade target: Scouting Blue Jackets defenceman Vladislav Gavrikov
- Lowetide: 3 trades that could help the Oilers this season and beyond
- New DNB: Oilers’ Zach Hyman subscriber Q&A
- Lowetide: The 5 biggest reasons for Edmonton Oilers’ recent turnaround
- DNB: What I’m hearing on Oilers’ trade deadline plans
- Lowetide: Is Oilers’ Vincent Desharnais an NHL defenceman?
- DNB: Oilers must act at the trade deadline
- Lowetide: Oilers midseason review of 2022-23 reasonable expectations
- Lowetide: Oilers top 20 prospects, winter 2022
WHAT TO EXPECT IN FEBRUARY
- On the road to: DET, PHI, OTT, MTL (Expected 3-1-0) (Actual 1-0-1)
- At home to: DET, NYR (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- On the road to: COL (Expected 0-0-1) (Actual 0-0-0)
- At home to: PHI (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- On the road to: PIT, CBJ (Expected 1-0-1) (Actual 0-0-0)
- At home to: BOS (Expected 0-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- February expected result: 6-3-2, 14 points in 11 games
- February actual result: 1-0-1, 3 points in two games
- January actual result: 8-2-2, 18 points in 12 games
- December results: 7-6-2, 16 points in 15 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: 29-18-5, 63 points in 52 games
The Oilers are on pace to finish 46-29-7, 99 points. That would mean third place in the Pacific and a first-round date with the Seattle Kraken. I think Edmonton can win the division, that would mean a return date with the Los Angeles Kings. The Kraken and Calgary Flames lost last night, so the Bettman feels a little better despite the Vegas Golden Knights dominant win over the Minnesota Wild.
SUMMARY
For the second game in a row, the team rotated lines and pairings so much it made zero sense to run the numbers. So, summary is verbal only today.
- Stuart Skinner was the biggest reason Edmonton got a point on the night. Stopped 35 of 36 (.972) and now owns a .934 save percentage at five-on-five. That ranks No. 3 among NHL goalies who have played 1000+ minutes in the discipline this season. Skinner IS an All-Star.
- Darnell Nurse played 23:54, three shots, one HDSC, several blocked shots (a couple were key) and played a strong game. Edmonton was 12-10 shots, 0-1 goals with the big man on the ice. He jumped up on the play that ended in a GA, Draisaitl’s pass intercepted and headed the other way in a quick hurry. Nurse got back in time, and wasn’t involved in the play (puck was tiipped).
- Cody Ceci played 21:43, the Oilers were 12-9 shots but 4-6 HDSC. Bruce McCurdy mentioned the other day on Lowetide and Jamieson that Ceci has performed well in the last while versus elites (via Puck IQ). That’s important, Edmonton needs him to be at his best down the stretch.
- Evan Bouchard had three shots on goal but isn’t playing at the level we’ve seen in the past. A couple of hesitant plays with the puck, needs to be more committed on plays when passing. He’ll get there. As has been the case for some time, his five-on-five goal differential (with several partners overall) was positive (10-8) and he was 1-0 goals. Need him right by the playoffs.
- Tyson Barrie deflected the shot that resulted in the only Philadelphia goal on the night, some bad luck but he was in position on a difficult play. Had little impact defensively, the officials failed to call the Flyers on several infractions and that meant the PP was in stasis the whole night.
- Brett Kulak played in overtime, had a couple of giveaways and two blocked shots. He was on the wrong side of the shot share (6-10), and had a full night’s work against the aggressive forecheckers on Philly (they were effective) but I did like his work ethic.
- Philip Broberg was 7-9 shots, 1-0 goals but a truly tragic 2-8 HDSC. Saved by Skinner on a night the Flyers made the rookie look like a rookie. No one should overreact, it’s a tough league and Torts had his team focused.
- Vincent Desharnais had one penalty, blocked a shot and nothing bad happened (0-1 HDSC) on his watch at five-on-five. I like the rotation the coaches have him on, don’t know how this turns out but what a story and a hat tip to the scouts.
- Evander Kane is humming now, scored a goal, six shots, three HDSC and he was skating well and looking for opportunity. A key trade deadline addition again this year due to the injury.
- Connor McDavid had one assist, five shots, three HDSC, one takeaway, 7-2 faceoffs. I think Carter Hart stopped at least a couple of great chances and might be low on the estimate.
- Leon Draisaitl had one giveaway and it cost a goal in a 1-1 game. He has to stop doing it. I love the big man’s game, but that’s a play he should have ironed out by now. Love his confidence, needs to stop making that pass. Made a nice pass on the Hyman goal that didn’t count.
- Zach Hyman had three shots, two high danger chances and scored a goal that should have counted. Wonderful player, I enjoy watching him play hockey very much.
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had four shots, one HDSC, and lost 10 of 11 in the dot. He may land on the wing for the stretch run but I do like that line. Had a glorious late chance.
- Mattias Janmark had an assist, two shots and a couple of HDSC. He was 9-10 shots but 2-6 HDSC, the veteran will want that number to improve. I like his game, sense he is not popular among many Oilers fans due to perceived blocking of youth.
- Derek Ryan had one shot, one HDSC and took a penalty. The team was 7-7 shots, 1-0 goals and 4-1 HDSC when he was on the ice. That’s why he’s in the NHL.
- Ryan McLeod was quiet offensively but credit Philly’s aggressive checking for neutralizing him and others on the night. Great effort and skates miles, helped on the PK and moved up and down the lineup on a dizzying night of line changes.
- Warren Foegele had four shots, two HDSC, two takeaways, two hits and a blocked shot. He got some PK time, too. His recent play has been both heartening and served as a brilliant audition if someone is looking to trade for him.
- Klim Kostin is quiet. Too quiet.
- Dylan Holloway had one shot and three blocked shots. The worry about him on draft day remains the worry about him now. Will he score? He should shoot more, that might help. Holloway’s role on this team could be huge down the stretch but he needs to be productive, like Foegele, in order to earn that chance.
JESSE PULJUJARVI
This post is late getting online because I want to be precise in my wording. Today, Jesse Puljujarvi may go on waivers, and he may well clear and find his way to the AHL again. Ken Holland wants to make damn good and sure Kailer Yamamoto is completely healthy because counting on him has been risky business.
If he does get waived, there will be plenty of “where’s your guy now, smartass?” and “I knew all along this would be the end” and that’s fine. The truth is, and it needs to be said over and over, Jesse Puljujarvi was productive in his time with the Oilers. He contributed to the success of his team, and is/was a five-on-five stalwart.
However, he isn’t scoring this season, and his five-on-five goal share is 38 percent. I understand his on-ice shooting percentage is 5.82 and regression will come. It’s over, or likely over. Hockey, like all sports, is an emotional game and coaching staffs look for a player under pressure to respond and flourish, ala Warren Foegele recently.
It didn’t happen for JP, and he’s going to find a new place in the sun. In a way, he’s in the song “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen. I once wrote about Magnus Paajarvi using that song as foundation, and said this about him: “It’s about speed (Paajarvi’s crazy fast) and it’s about finding a better place than the one you’re leaving, without really knowing anything about what it looks like. I think that’s Paajarvi now. He might end up on a scoring, a checking line, or in Columbus. But he’s in a better place.” Godspeed, Jesse Puljujarvi, find your place in the sun, and peace be with you.
LOWETIDE AND JAMISON
At 10-2, TSN 1260. Guests include Steve Lansky, Tyler Yarmchuk, Lee “Hacksaw” Hamilton and more. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. Talk soon!
Summarizing!
Scoring was scant, as Lachance and Chiasson each had an assist.
No soup for anyone else (though Mazura was not even dressed for his game).
Määttä partially redeemed himself by going 17-for-29 (58.6%) on draws.
Anaheim gives up 59 shots in a 6-3 loss to Pittsburgh.
How does the man behind ‘the Swarm’ still have an NHL job?
Ben Scrivens flashbacks
His coaching was probably the biggest reason Edmonton currently has Connor McDavid (besides lottery ball luck). Maybe Anaheim hopes that “good fortune” will rub off on them and they will land Connor Bedard. I mean he must be quite the “Con” artist convincing GM’s he is an NHL coach.
Interesting side note – if Edmonton had played the whole season at the winning % they did under MacTavish/Nelson, McDavid would be a Maple Leaf. The Oilers couldn’t overcome their horrendous start to overtake the Leafs, who only won 8 of their last 40 in a desperate attempt to finish as low as possible to up their odds. They succeeded the next season by finishing dead last. The Oilers management may or may not have tried to set the team to fail down the stretch in 10-12, but at the end of 2015, they were working hard to move up the standings.
When he had Fitness freak anti donut Mr. triathlon Captain Ference spying on the young fellas sowing their oats at the Purple Onion or whatever it was called. Eakins took me to the bottom of the pit as a Oiler fan. This is when 28 goal scorer Perron asked to be traded from the Gong Show Eakins was peddling.
Dallas Eakins will have coached 5 full NHL seasons, a total of just over 400 NHL games if he makes it through this one.
He currently owns a .417 win %, which might be the worst for any coach who has been behind the bench for that many games.
Truly one of the worst of all time … whose incompetence landed is Draisaitl and McDavid!
There are a few that were worse. Rick Bowness, Tom McVie, and Doug Carpenter all coached more than 400 games and have a lower winning percentage. But in fairness to them, they coached new expansion teams like Ottawa, and Washington and the newly and twice relocated Mickey Mouse Devils (KC Scouts/Colorado Rockies) when expansion teams got nothing for player and were terrible for years.
The one other coach was the Legendary Bruin Milt Schmidt who had a hall of fame playing career including 2 Stanley Cups and a Hart Trophy, but then got to coach his beloved Bruins through the very lean 12 seasons after he retired from playing right up to the year before Orr started. He also had 2 partial years with the expansion Capitals as well. They were awful for several seasons.
Eakins isn’t the man behind the swarm. It was already being widely used in the NHL when he introduced it here.
Both Bourgault (who started OT with Malone) and Philp with speed/skill plays in OT to get to the net but neither could bury.
First two shooters for the Condors in the SO were Lavoie and Philp – both stopped.
Griffith scored on his shot but the Reign tied it up with Madden barrelling over Pickard to score – hmmmmmm.
Reign win it in round 4 (Josh B. couldn’t bury).
After the Reign tie it up, the Condors go to work in the o-zone, a strong battle shift and Philp gets the puck back to Peters at the point and his shot goes off a Reign defender and in.
Griffith and Hamblin with a nice zone entry and some slick give and go passes – the last pass from Griffith, a drop to Philp from Alex Peters who goes in on Cal P. alone, waits him out and slides it 5-hole for the 1-0 goal late in the first.
I have a streaky puck in the Pens-Ducks match. Whoosh, there it goes. I had no idea there was still streaky pucks, and I’m pretty sure I’ve watched a Bally broadcast before.
Ahh, they only do it on the powerplay.
There is a lot of gimmicks added to the ESPN/ESPN+/TNT broadcasts during the power play. Watching the Oilers game the other day, again only during the PP, they put name graphics with arrows showing where all the Oilers were on the ice. Same for when Detroit was on the PP. In last night’s Minnesota Vegas game, they had a circle follow around Kaprizov wherever he was on the ice during the PP and wouldn’t you know it, he actually scored just reinforcing their decision to do it. I find it distracting and annoying. If they want to have a feature where you can turn that on or off that would be great, but I don’t need it. When they cover football, they might show where a key receiver, linebacker or safety might be lined up, but they turn it off after the snap. Pre-faceoff great, but don’t force me to have to ignore moving graphics during play.
They also put the PP time clock as a graphic in the middle of the ice. Since it is counting down it is a visual distraction in the line of sight. What’s wrong with having it up in the left hand corner? Yeah, I am older and didn’t grow up being bombarded with so many distractions all over the screen (the younger generations have grown up with this so they are used to it), so I prefer the moving parts on the screen be limited to the actual players and the puck.
Looks like Oilers move up to 2nd place tonight after the Crackheads lose to NYR. Could be in 1st by Monday, doubtful but here’s hoping.
Seeing it written, it still took a minute to register the nickname.
Had go scroll back just offer like slow clap and head nod.
Yep and Vegas was briefly 4th in the division the night before (after we won but before they did). It’s a tight race.
Condors making no changes from the lineup that played last game (last weekend) which means Niemo and Savoie are still out.
Pickard starts – Rodrigue has become an after-thought as wins for playoffs have become paramount (which I get).
Rangers up 2-0 over Seattle 5 min into the game
The continuing sound of an unsustainable team shooting percentage cratering back to normalcy for the players on the team….
Who would’ve put money on that happening?
….not me….I failed to find anywhere I could.
Agreed, and you could say the same about Kostin.
The same was said about Kostin – him coming off his heater is not unexpected. I do expect him to pot 3-5 more goals through the rest of the regular season. He may see the press box for a game, or games, in there as well.
3-0
That’s a nice start to the out of town scoreboard – still 2+ periods to go though
Zach L’Heureux suspended indefinitely after spearing a fan after a game.
At the 2021 draft, some were hoping for L’Heureux instead of Bourgault, because L’Heureux was feistier. Sounds like he might have been a little *too* feisty.
Suspended 8 times in 27 months in the Q. Yes, a little too feisty.
Sounds like he won’t be very “Happy” ba-dum-tsh
They should cast him for the Happy Gilmore sequel…..Heureux Gilmore
16-8-1 vs 13-10-4 who’s the all star? I would of started Campbell last game. Woody you have to ride the hot hand and ride the Backstopper your G.M brought in to be our Saviour Billy Ranford style. Campbell is close to being in the Zone where your rebound control is magical he’s riding 7 wins in a row. What concerns me of Skinner is the 4 OT losses plus a few other games where he played great but let in the last Goal. All that matters is wins baby, hurt feelings, bum pants, don’t mean diddly-squat Campbell is so hard on himself that he’s going to stir the boys to the cup. I have a bullish feeling on Campbell and if he was a stock it would be Buy Buy Buy.
One needs to play both goaltenders. Campbell has not demonstrated the ability to handle an uber start role. And the 2nd guy has to get enough games not to get stale.
It’s all about points the Boys are winning with Campbell, the Pacific is so tight that every point matters. Then again if we finish 1st and the Champs have a few more injuries (Makar) we could end up playing the Champs in the 1st round. Anyhow we’re a much more opportunist and dangerous team on the road. We just took 3 out of 4 points on the road with McDavid and Leon being basically invisible is a excellent sign. It takes a team pulling in the same direction to win the hardest Trophy in all of sports. This nonsense of putting Ryan on Waivers is laughable, he’s a glue guy that is necessary to still be playing Hockey in June.
Yes, its all about points and, in all reasonable likelihood, the team needs both goalies playing regularly in order to gain the most points through the rest of the season.
The main reason the Oilers got any points last night – Stuart Skinner
Skinner was as good last night as Campbell has been in any game this year – even in 2023 where he’s been unbeaten.
DO you honestly think that the Oilers would have won that game last night if Campbell had started? Jack is playing great but there is eery chance we lose that game in regulation if Skinner didn’t start. Perhaps not.
Nico Sturn and Jack Johnson won the Stanley Cup last season.
I would suggest you read the Cult of Hockey piece from last week detailing the various numbers for the Oilers when each of the two goalies has started.
Yes I do Campbell has won 7 in a row he’s pulling a Mike Smith. Go back and watch the all-star skinner he’s Kid Dynamite J.J Walker style but he doesn’t finish. If I’m the Coach its not how many you save its Wins!Wins!! wins!!!. OP you remember this post when Campbell wins the Conn Smythe Trophy and raises the Cup after RNH I’ll be a happy soul.
Even Vasilevkiy and Shesterkin, who are more than arguably the two best goalies in the league right now, during the regular season don’t start more than 5 games in a row and on average play every 3 out of every 4 games, and their back ups are crap.
Campbell is just starting to reestablish himself as being capable of number one and his back up has been very good and was excellent last night. Woody is smart enough to realize he can’t just run with Campbell because he also has to keep Skinner’s game sharp just in case Campbell’s hot streak is just a hot streak, Campbell’s never played more than 49 regular season games in a season (which is a pace of around 3 out of every 5), and, if Campbell is to be the playoff starter, he needs to be fresh when he gets there.
And contrary to yours and Hunter1909’s belief, while the team wants to win every game, not every game is a must win game where it has to pull out all the stops to win, to hell with the consequences for the rest of the season.
If Campbell wins the Conn Smythe, it will be a credit to him, but also to how Woody managed him, Skinner and the team to get there.
I don’t know if anybody has the numbers (I.e. GF/60 with each goaltender) but I’m pretty sure they would show that Soup has had much better run support than Principal Skinner.
The NHL has this. Under goalie stats, select Advanced under the Report drop down.
https://www.nhl.com/stats/goalies?report=advanced&reportType=season&seasonFrom=20222023&seasonTo=20222023&gameType=2&playerPlayedFor=franchise.25&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=qualityStart,a_goalsAgainstAverage&page=0&pageSize=50
Campbell has been getting 4.16 GF per game of support while Skinner has been getting 3.23 GF per game. Almost a 1 goal difference. Some might be explained by quality of competition, though I haven’t compared the complete roster of opponents, and some might be explained because Skinner played more when the Oilers were struggling 5 on 5.
I pointed this out before, but Campbell is also to me seems to be a better puck handler right now than Skinner, I believe mostly due to more experience. We saw at the skills competition that Skinner can shoot the puck really well, but Campbell actually, so far is better at stopping dump ins of any kind, and better at making decisions on who to move the puck to. That helps with the breakout. Campbell is averaging 4 less shots per game against than Skinner.
Campbell is not Mike Smith caliber, but I think it is a factor. Smith consistently over 3 seasons got more goal support than Mikko (not a goals worth but when healthy Smith faced the better competition), because in part his puck handling helped.
The same info plus some additional fancy stats are also available from NST.
https://www.naturalstattrick.com/playerteams.php?fromseason=20222023&thruseason=20222023&stype=2&sit=all&score=all&stdoi=oi&rate=y&team=EDM&pos=G&loc=B&toi=0&gpfilt=none&fd=&td=&tgp=410&lines=single&draftteam=ALL
Most of that NST data comes from their scrape of the NHL game sheets (plus their math) to come up with hypothetical goals for and hypothetical goals against (the expected moniker gives this WAR hypothesis far too much credit for reasonably predicting results for individual players and games. Still the shots for and against and the rough locations where the shots came from (a fairly loose proxy for shot quality) helps reinforce the idea that the team has performed better in front of Campbell than in front of Skinner.
Yes it’s clear the team has better on ice results with Campbell in net. As you said, why that’s the case is less clear, and Campbell himself may be part of the reason.
And while the location based data from NST is far from perfect, I think the scoring chance and high danger scoring chance numbers add quite a bit of context to the shot data that NHL.com reports.
I quibble with the definition of SC and HDSC, which is why I referred to them as shot location. WAR on ICE (the source for NST’s method) created the probabilities by location based off a huge amount of league wide data and for league wide season long projections that is reasonable. But a lot more goes into what creates truly creates an actual scoring chance than location, plus some small adjustment for rebounds or rush attempts. A lot gets evened out over the course of season on a league wide basis, but when you narrow down to individual teams, or more importantly down to individual players those other factors become huge. The location, vector and quality of all 10 skaters on the ice can be a big factor in any scoring chance.
As an extreme example, Leon Draisaitl has a way better chance of scoring from the corner boards on a one timer than Foegele does with a wide open net in the slot. Yet NST would not score Leon’s shot even as a scoring chance let alone an HDSC. That’s why the Cult of Hockey’s visual test is a more accurate reflection of scoring chances than anything available via the free sites.
BTW, do you happen to know exactly where on the NHL site, NST or anyone else gets their more precise shot location data from? The NHL full game summaries only seem to show shot distance, who took it, the zone it was in and type of shot (unless I am reading them wrong). Lots of the other sites say the NHL publishes the shot location, but they don’t say where and I haven’t been able to find it.
Yes, for sure their SC and HDSCs are not capturing everything that makes a chance dangerous. It would be great if we had CoH-type scoring chance data league wide, but unfortunately that isn’t publicly available.
I’m not sure how to get the shot location data, but this looks like it may be helpful: https://www.clickinsight.ca/blog/building-nhl-shot-maps-with-apps-script-bigquery-and-data-studio
Thanks
I think the quality of opponent, etc. is detailed in the Cult’s piece I’ve linked.
The Cult of Hockey did a piece on this a week ago or so…..
Found it: Two conundrums wrapped in the mystery of Edmonton’s play with Skinner vs Campbell in net There are two conundrums wrapped in the mystery of the play of the Edmonton Oilers when Jack Cambell is in net compared to when Stuart Skinner is in net this 2022-23 season.
Nice to see the team go on a little run and accumulate steady points. While details of their game could be better attended to, results, tho not spectacular are acceptable.
One of the good roster moves by Woody is to play #10 with #29. During this run, Leon is -1 and playing like while stepping out of the outhouse with a big smile on his face, hitching up his pants. His vision and concentration are askew for all to see. Derek has kept him from worse boxcars, Woody recognizes the danger with Leon here and plays the savvy vet to minimize the fallout. Team roster has never been perfect or available while astute deployment has been used effectively imo.
I am fine if #10 plays some with #97 also.
For some reason Woody has actually moved away from this.
Last night, Ryan played 6 minutes with McDavid and 2:40 with Leon.
In Detroit, Ryan played 1:28 with McDavid and 22 seconds with Leon.
There’s three things the Puljujarvi saga should teach us:
1) Ken Holland has done more good than bad but his handling of Puljujarvi was brutal asset management. He’s the guy who inherited Aurora at $100 and will sell it at a $1.50. Wishful thinking is no way to manage your portfolio. But that is exactly what Holland and the majority of this fanbase did with Jesse despite the consistent downward trend indicators.
2) If you’re seriously interested in analytics, third assists are not a thing.
3) Always question groupthink.
Yes, it’s easy and safe to attach oneself to a vocal majority driving a narrative. But narrative and fact are two different things and rarely did the two align with this particular player. Two years ago there was a very small minority of posters here who could see where this was going with this player and were actively stumping for Holland to do his job and maximize the asset. Not surprisingly, that small minority has grown by a considerable margin of late as Puljuarvi’s fate has became patently obvious to all but his most ardent supporters.
imo this groupthink was driven by fandom so it’s a hard thing to criticize. Folks were hoping for the best for this player and that hope bias fuelled the narrative. Unfortunately, Ken can’t think like a fan. He has to take a more detached less biased view. Doing so is the very essence of analytical thinking and should remind us that all the data and numbers in the world won’t amount to a hill of beans if they’re married to an unearned optimism born from bias.
To the rest of that small but tenacious minority, I say, “You crawled through five hundred yards of shit, but you came out smelling like a rose.” Good on ya.
Your self-congratulatory posts about JP are very amusing.
1) When did JP ever have significant value? Maybe at the end of last season? If one believes the media reporting, Holland has basically been shopping JP since he became GM. The offers have been consistently middling.
Should Holland have traded JP earlier? Probably. Did he lose out on significant value waiting? Doubtful.
2) I don’t understand the reference but still funny.
3) When was there ever groupthink about JP? The reason why JP has been discussed ad nauseam on this blog is because there is/was little consensus regarding the player.
The polarization on the player increased as his failings became more obvious. Before that, the consensus opinion was that it was folly to sell him at a discount. As per your first point, some investors seem to prefer getting nothing over something. I’m not one of them.
I’m equally amused by the scores of Puljujarvi pimps who’ve gone into hiding now and are acting like that was never their thing. “Wait until this kid pops. You’ll see! My Dad can beat up your Dad, etc.”
Yes, Holland should have handled the situation better. Sold high this offseason.
Your original post catastrophized the JP situation as “brutal asset management.” A bit hyperbolic considering, as you have been stating for years, JP has little value as a hockey player.
Should great traders/GMs try to win every trade/maximize assets? Obviously yes.
I guess from the cap perspective, you are right. Holland could have let JP walk and signed cheap wingers like Evan Rodrigues. Still, for a team with weak RW depth, it would have been tough to walk away from JP after he scored 36 points in 65 games.
The JP saga has really brought out the worst kind of “I told you so”ers.
When talks of Holland first trading JP started heating up, the Pro Jesse Party was against him being traded for something as low as a third round pick, the Anti Jesse Party suggested the Oilers would be lucky it Holland even got that.
And then I recall Jesse going on his tear where the PJP was self-congratulatory, saying how they were glad JP wasn’t given away for something paltry.
The AJP went predictably quiet and receeded into the shadows.
Then this year happens and the AJP are gloating that Holland should have traded JP when he had the chance, because now he can’t and are “I told you so”ing while the PJP receeds.
Both parties seem to be blind by the fact that they have the benefit of hindsight now and just want to be right.
Meanwhile the rest of the fans aren’t entrenched in one view or the other. They just followed along as things progressed and developed.
Personally, I have swung from the “JP should only be traded if Holland can win the trade”
To
“Holland should hang on to JP for dear life”
To “JP should only be traded if Holland can win the trade”
To “Holland should trade JP to give JP a new change of scenery while getting something back in return”
I also find it amusing how some from the PJP AJP groups have tried to call for discussions to be shut down when the discussions didn’t align with their view.
The icing is PJP or AJPers calling those who don’t agree with them victims of groupthink and that there is a lesson they could learn from this.
It’s all pretty funny for sure.
I think that most human beings are capable of admitting when they’re wrong and learning from their mistakes to be better going forward.
Does that apply to everyone? Likely not but that kind of intransigence strikes me as sad moreso than being funny.
When it comes to conversations around trading or developing players though, none of us as fans will be in the position of being right or wrong. Ever.
There is far too much going on behind the scenes that we don’t know about. The only way one could be “right” or “wrong” about the handling of players like JP is if they knew all of the information that Holland, JP, JP’s agent and othet GMs possibly linked to a trade possess.
The only life lesson that should be learned from the JP saga is people should not pretend that they know better than the player, agent, or GM.
Yeah, I’m going pass on the ‘Side can never be wrong about this’ take, thanks.
You spent months if not years trying to tell me how wrong I was about this. Now that you’re wrong, you’re not just moving the goalposts, you’re trying to claim the game should never exist.
Again, I don’t know why you view this as a “right” or “wrong” situation.
It’s okay for opinions to change based on new information available.
I have already outlined my stance on the JP saga and how my perspective has changed on the player over the years.
Your perspective.. not so much. I recall you frequently trying to go out of your way to try to make JP look like a bad player, despite the math, analytics or reason.
You don’t have to pick sides and defend that side forever. It’s okay to like a player when they are performing well and not like a player when they are not playing well and feel they should move on.
Or if you want me to admit I am wrong about something, then I encourage you to link me to my post where I can review it. And if I am wrong, I can apologize for it since this clearly means a lot to you.
I don’t need or want an apology.
Again, the benefit here is the learnings you can take away from this if you’re so inclined.
I understand you don’t need or want it, but I’ll do it anyways.
I apologize for making you feel this way for months and years. I can see now how some of your posts may be coming from some unresolved feelings you have, so I apologize for that.
Side’s theory of: “usthemism” – how some trying to definitively win the internet lost everyone the internet
Well said
I supported keeping JP and think he’s a valuable player when he’s right and at the right price
But I don’t know him, and he doesn’t stay right at least on this team
My disappointment is Holland not evaluating the asset well. He was getting offered a 2nd for him when he came back we read. A loss, but now he’s apparently not moveable and will garner even less or nothing
He’s the highest paid GM for his experience. This doesn’t look like value to the team for that investment
Can’t win them all, but it’s fair to expect the wins to be more with him. There are a few other things that aren’t going well with the salaries he’s given that I don’t think would have been paid elsewhere, or should have been avoided if they would have been
Kulak is less than 2M on any other team I think for example. Great guy, can’t pay 3 rd pair that much
I should have added that the evaluation miss, which was my miss as well, is that JP can’t handle the puck in tight spaces at an NHL level. That bars success, especially top 6
I don’t like it when I get things wrong. I’d be pissed at myself if I was GM and woofed it big time
If I remember correctly, Ken Holland inherited an asset that was playing in Europe. He did his best to try and restructure this asset to have value and yeah, maybe should have sold last summer. This kind of criticism and “dancing on the grave” is unbecoming of an Oiler fan.
I thought it was unbecoming to read a dozen insulting posts a day because I had the temerity to suggest he should be traded before the fanboys had achieved the necessary closure on this. But that’s exactly the kind of groupthink that went on for months.
Years.
Much like the Tyler Benson love fest that preceded it.
”If only they got time with high end players…”
Tell us more about love fests for players. How are your favourites, Brogan Rafferty, Vasily Podkolzin and Nils Hoglander working out?
It’s a mixed bag, but all of them are having more success than Benson and obviously Puljujaarvi.
Brogan Rafferty is having more success than Puljujarvi and Benson…
Very interesting statement.
We have always been at war with Eurasia
Does every single one of your posts have to be insulting in some manner?
Please realign foresight and hindsight.
There was a clear bottleneck with cap being frozen that led to devaluation of wingers this offseason.
From angle of landscape present at time qualifying offers required:
What arguably was best course of action?
Unknown key variables:
1. To what extent did Holland attempt to trade puj this offseason?
2. At the time of qualifying was it common knowledge end of offseason there was clearly going to be excess wingers accepting devalued offers?
3. Did it seem like there was options available for targets to supplement one of weakest identifiable positions on current roster?
4. Was there actually a sell-high moment?
The inherent flaws in winning internet are ignoring context and nuance that doesn’t serve simplified framework.
A small minority predicted an outcome. A large majority disagreed with this prognostication. That predicted outcome is now occuring. Score it however you like.
Disregard anything inconvenient (definitely should have sold high when I decided that was sell high moment) boil any excess nuance laden broth out (any regard for fair arguement, at point guessing a 2nd round pick might be obtained, that it seemed reasonable to question the case being definitive that was obvious best course). Hard jump to present and celebrate victory (omitting any question of path to thid point possibly not contributing to less than previously arguable value)
You unfortunately aren’t wrong.
I’ll give you that.
The path taken to reach this point summized by oversimplified dismissal of any attempted reasonable discourse along way – not overly right.
What you view as an ‘oversimplification,’ I view as the bottom line.
Bottomline
The difference between
A. Making a point in constructive conversational manner that is worthy of genyine engagement (on current subject and towards point maker in future engagements)
or
B. Desiring petty encitement that’s infinitely less useful
Is generally an obvious line one conciously crosses.
Did you really have a group thinking mob haunting your steps or did you not like it when people reacted adversely to possible inflammatory generalizations leveled at anyone who.didnt unquestionably agree with you.
I’m happy to admit if a time machine could appear and a 2nd round pick could be recieved, if available at any point – I’d reccomend to take it
Wouldn’t go back to any point I may have questioned what value factoring risk reward that may be obvious
Won’t lament the route Holland chose to any marked degree.
I wanted team to sell yak and shultz after shortened season. I was not greeted by majority as that being best course….
Never took offense to majority of respectfully dissenting opinions. Couldn’t be bothered with the bare minimal dysfunctional conversing elements.
Not once did I remotely see the point of rushing back in at any later stage and scream
I told all you sheep. Who is right now?
There‘s a 4th learning as well. Over time, the sunk cost becomes immaterial. Yes, early in his development, Jesse had to be appraised from the pov of “we spent a lottery pick on him.” But particularly after he’s provided a large enough sample size as an NHLer, his value should be based on “what would it cost us to acquire a comparable player in the market?”
Fans in particular have a tough time moving off of a sunk cost valuation. Like the classic bad investor, the fixation on recouping the initial investment prompts holding a tanking asset far too long in hopes of the recovery spike that never comes.
Fans don’t have to excel at this. Holland should.
What was the sunk cost around JP though? It’s not as if Holland was offered a better prospect or a 1st round pick that we are aware of. Best case scenario, Holland nabs an upgrade over JP. Worst case scenario, JP plays well enough to block lesser players from icing up. A 1 year $3 million contract to me is not enough to call it a sunk cost. JP got a 1 year “show me” deal based on his play last year. The previous years are harder to suss out since the Oilers and JP didn’t really do eachother any favours.
It’s a mess. Good job Holland attempting to reclaim prospective high upside asset. Sucks it ultimately comes to this. Hope there might be a place that puj lands that might result in him exceeding very murky version of established level.
Probably down to a few remaining at bats. Clearly playing like a man devoid of hope presently. Will cheer for him as the road to this point has been just carnival sideshow. A big part of it might be personal growth made when presented next jersey (will he play like a guy who is willing to embrace a top 9 type career and work for it?).
Edit:
Also possibly important – does his agent seriously encourage dedicated effort on part of player to actually improve English skills. I love his interviews but like he was not catching full sentences still and the smile nod approach surely leads to added confusion
This is the point to me. The Oilers have long been less than good at evaluating their own assets and often ran them to worthless. Or sent them out to do better elsewhere for little.
Also bad at pro evaluation. Holland has been better for sure. I’m wanting league top, not good. I don’t think it’s a wrong headed expectation. Holland is paid like the best obviously, he should live up to his contract like everyone else.
The drafting has been pretty good for sure. Again, I’m not satisfied with mediocrity or good or good enough anywhere. Paid my Oiler dues for years and can’t abide wasting any more of the outrageous lucky gift getting Connor was.
Holland inherited problems, many do. However the timeline is limited, players have a shelf life. He’s had years. He says it’s go time, so go. I fear he isn’t that good at doing deals etc, so for him perhaps some obstacles are insurmountable. But I don’t see that happening with the top 3 current teams – Avs Bolts and Bruins. They need a high end player, a role player, they find and get one. The first two won Cups doing it, we’ll see about the 3rd
Yes. He really needs a payout soon. Playing tight is all well and good but eventually you need to win some pots.
I truly believe Mr.Nice Guy and fan support clouded Hollands judgment on 2 out of 3 of the 3M wingers.
Which 2?
Ken Holland, the guy that drafted Broberg when the fan base was screaming for Zegras.
Ken Holland, the guy that sent fan-darling Stuart Skinner down to the AHL the day after he got a shutout, in favour of the Smith/Koskinen duo.
I don’t think fan pressure drives individual decisions of Ken Holland at all.
Your right has a Goalie in NHL history been demoted to the minors after a shutout? Hello.,, this kid just pitched a no hitter let’s send him back to the AHL and play Mikko instead. WHY??
Holland and the gang tried like no other player in Oilers history when it came to J.P. It was obvious to a peanut gallery armchair G.M like myself that they could of had J.P in the the mindset that he was a shutdown winger, low event is exactly what we want. He would of known his job and I believe he would of embraced playing the toughs late in games as well as the P.K.
The Oilers sat Puljujarvi in the pressbox for the first half of his draft+1 year, a crucial development year. And then blamed the 18 year old.
The mistake was drafting the bust not the development that followed.
Kekkalainen knew better.
Kekkalainen passing on JP was definitely a red flag.
If Edmonton or someone else drafted at third and taken Dubois and Columbus drafted 4th, how does anyone outside of Kekkalainen know that he wouldn’t have taken Puljujarvi 4th. Has he shown anyone his draft ranking? Everyone wants to jump to the conclusion that because he didn’t take him at number 3, he must have ranked him way down the list. All we know is that he preferred Dubois enough to draft him ahead of Jesse and that is all. We also don’t know if the 26 teams drafting after Edmonton wouldn’t have taken him with their first round pick if they had the opportunity at number 4.
Zegras was the pick as much as I think raw Broberg is going to Blossom. This isn’t Rocket Science the old man Keith had a wicked shot and was the definition of a power forward right along side Sea Bass. If it’s and buts were candy and nuts ooh what a wonderful world it would be if we had Horvat,Tkachuk and Zegras minus Nurse ,J.P and Broberg.
I don’t think chia was trying very hard in his time, I don’t think they did any research into NP bcs he ‘should’ have been off the board
I don’t blame him fully bcs he was probably heavily interfered with and my take is he just mailed it in at a certain point until his paid holiday came. Not that I think he’s that good
Totally agree.
Truth be told, the blame should have been on his agent for forcing an (non-binding) agreement to have the player on the roster for 40 games to vest a year towards UFA.
And not invest heavily in English tutoring to help smooth transition for the kid.
I thought that he had English tutoring?
Fun thread – group think is definitely a thing here and has been for a long time, especially when it comes to our beloved prospects. That’s part of being devoted fan of a team – it can be frustrating and it can break your heart, and drive you nuts.
On the topic of Holland’s handling of JP … first, he didn’t draft the kid and it’s fair to wonder whether he would’ve passed on JP if he had been GM at the time. The verbal was that the Oiler’s scouts were enamoured with Sergachev. Holland so far strikes me as the type of GM who identifies the player he wants to take in the draft going into it and sticks to the script regardless of whether other players may unexpectedly fall.
I feel that Holland tried his best to salvage the situation and help the kid establish himself in the league and live up to his draft position. But if he would’ve been offered a 1st round pick, then JP would have been gone a long time ago. When he didn’t, then he saw JP as a potential value contract and opted to keep him.
From all reports, the best he could’ve gotten was a 2nd round pick when JP was returning from Finland, at a point where Holland would not have known much about the kid firsthand … he would’ve gotten roasted if he’d made that trade at that time. From that point on the die was cast … each year JP’s value dropped as he (a) failed to live up to the promise of his draft position, (b) didn’t show much advancement in his knowledge of English, (c) didn’t show much advancement in his skating and shooting, and (d) allowed his agent to run his trap in the Finnish media.
So in hindsight … yes, he should’ve traded JP the moment it became clear that he was high maintenance. But the potential upside of trying to make it work was too tantalizing.
Best thing about this blog is that we can agree to disagree – and we all see the game from different perspectives. I was drawn here by the early analytics work … I played the game at a fairly high level but the ideas being discussed here were a completely new angle that I hadn’t considered before from ice level. But I don’t always agree with the analytics … +/- gets trotted out as a flawed statistic, but many of the advanced metrics that have been discussed here have also been found to be wanting, though the proponents of these statistics are less inclined to accept that, and more inclined to trot out the next new and improved advanced metric as proof of their prescience.
JP is the ultimate seen him bad versus “but the fancies like him”, which is what has made his time in Edmonton so polarizing. For me … his shot is a muffin. He gets it off quickly but it’s soft and invariably goes straight into the goalie. He’s never shown an aptitude for changing the angle or release point. He’s not a playmaker either … his passes are telegraphed and not very precise. He doesn’t anticipate the play well enough to be overcome these deficiencies either … rather he’s a black hole on offence. The game has also changed from the dead puck era, and if you can’t piss a drop on offence, then you are a huge liability now. I’ve been down on him for a while, but I don’t feel particularly vindicated.
Given what we know of the situation at the point that Holland inherited this player from his predecessor, I can’t honestly say I would’ve done anything different if I was in his shoes. I like the kid … when he scores, he lights up an arena with that smile. He seems like a good kid off the ice too. He reminds me of many former team mates who I felt a similar kind of kinship to, even though they couldn’t produce a lick. I hope he proves me wrong one day.
Isn’t that on the GM? Agents push, so what?
If that was required by the Agent to sign the ELC then……..
Though the numbers didn’t look good and he screwed up on a couple of plays last night I really believe that we are watching the beginning of a true number one D coming into his own regarding young Broberg.
Early days to be sure and still a lot to prove but you can really see the talent. He is ahead of Bouchard already IMO. To me he is at the very least the second coming of Klefbom and I expect his ice time to grow a ton by the end of the season. Man I wanted Zegras bad at that draft but Kenny is looking real smart on this pick now. JMHO.
There’s going to be wobbles but he is really good already. Very hopeful
I thought the pick of Broberg over Zegras was the long-term better move, especially once it became obvious how bad Klefbom’s shoulder were.
But I would start pumping the breaks on calling him a true number 1 D.
#1D emerge very early.
And they don’t take years before they can face elite competition.
HH – we’ve heard that BS narrative of yours … and it’s complete nonsense – number 1 defenseman can arise from multiple developmental pathways. Some arrive early, and some take a few years to matriculate cause some they need time to fill out their bodies, and some need time to learn the North American game after coming over from Europe.
But yeah – let Broberg show that he consistently handle 3rd pairing minutes in the playoff before expecting him to take over Nurse’s role.
Apparently, forum legend, Devon Toews is not a #1D.
I guess Duncan Keith wasn’t either. Nor Roman Josi.
I could go on and on and on.
I thought that as well
I didn’t call him a #1
“It’s not, like, the happiest I’ve been to hear about a trade,” Kane said after the Blackhawks’ practice Friday.
Patrick Kane on hearing the NYR deal.
That’s pretty unique… to hear an NHL athlete be that open about not getting dealt.
Maybe he shouldn’t have been giving such mixed signals on his NMC. Go to the GM at Christmas and tell him that the Rangers are your preferred destination. I’m sure they could have made a deal happen. But even the most connected insiders (Friedman, Seravalli) were unsure if he wanted to leave Chicago.
The Hawks couldn’t have.
Firstly, due to the difference in cap, NYR would have had to wait till right to the deadline to acquire Kane, and they felt they needed to make the move much earlier.
The acquisition is also the brainchild of two good friends… Panarin and Tarasenko. This deal was being requested by both players and with Tarasenko’s NTC, he was able to demand it. Hence the poor return for the Blues, and the great deal for the Rags. Same would not have been true for Kane.
Interesting. I didn’t hear or read anything about Panarin and Tarasenko cooking this up. Thought Panarin would be ecstatic to hook up with Kane again.
From the moment Tarasenko joined the Blues he was trying to get them to bring Panarin over from Russia to St. Louis. They first played together in 2011 that I know of, but maybe even before that. Hitchcokck said something at the time along the lines of, “he’s made our scouting staff look really stupid.”
What people say privately and publicly are completely different. Do you know that the Blackhawks had no idea he would welcome a trade to the Rags?
Of course I don’t know that for certain. But Friedman and Seravalli are very connected and likely would have heard some chatter from agents. The message to this point has been very consistent: He’s not sure if he wants to leave Chicago.
Can you imagine if an Oiler UFA had made such a comment. This place would be gathering pitchforks and feathers, and firing up the tar. I’m no Patrick Kane, fan but times like this must be tough on players. When he and Toews signed their deals we all knew how this would end.
If that player would have been a contributor to some fond Mardi Gras level festivities:
I think most fans might have a bit of slack rope for a guy at end of career if team intentionally tanking.
And they all flew around on a private plane lol.
Friedman on Bertuzzi…
Believes he will have to be traded to a US team because he has not taken the Covid jab and can only cross the border because he is on a work visa. If he goes to a Canadian team, he would not be able to cross the border.
That is his understanding of the situation, till he’s told otherwise.
Oh fair enough, I’m not saying it’s a lock. Just that it could change.
JP should go on waivers. If picked up(doubtful) we have approximately 2M in cap to play in the TD festival. If not claimed he could get his game back in the AHL. That could help in the playoffs.
This would then provide JP his opportunity to be an NHL player or a European player next year.
I think they save about 1M on the cap
Jesse assigned to the minors reduces the Oilers’ cap hit by $1.125MM
Jesse claimed by another team reduces the Oilers’ cap hit by $3MM.
Whether its the Oilers, Bruins or another team that acquires Chychrun (or no-one), a big bonus of the Kings NOT acquiring him would be their pivot to over pay for a 4-5 Gavrikov.
Gavrikov is better than you think.
Maybe, maybe not.
I’m certainly not willing to pay a 1st rounder to find out (let alone a first rounder plus).
I don’t think (don’t know for sure) that Chychrun is 2-3X better than Gavrikov (in line with the asking price for each).
Maybe, maybe not.
Factoring in contracts is very important though and the likeliness that Gavrikov is a pure rental who will make as much, if not more, than Chychrun starting next season (wherever he plays)……
Yes, if Gavrikov is a pure rental then agreed. I was thinking a re-signed Gavrikov since I don’t think Holland will pay a 1st for him unless he’s being retained.
Bob confirms no one on waivers today. Feels pretty sure Pujo will play at least one of the weekend duels at dawn.
If Jesse is the guy creating cap space for Yamo, he will not play. The Oilers cannot risk an injury.
If there are no takers then they should play him both games, just in case there’s an injury.
It would be hard to ice the exact same lineup that played yesterday, would it not?
I don’t think it would be, I mean, that lineup didn’t have much energy, weren’t able to execute and were outplayed by an inferior team. Aside from a few individuals, that lineup under-performed.
It would be pretty easy to take out, say, Kostin for Jesse, no?
I would hope he’d be in the lineup on Saturday but I could be totally wrong on that.
The Oilers need to find their Butch Goring.
Ryan O’Reilly, come on down.
He’s one guy the Oil could definitely use!!
I’m not so sure he’s available. And even then it would take some real gymnastics.
lol… and then Elliotte says he thinks Vegas is chasing down O’Reilly.
37 GP, 10-6-16, -28
$7,500,000
59GP 4-11-15 -25
(though only $3,075,000)
Series of tweets from NBC Hawks Insider Charlie Roumeliotis on Kane:
Patrick Kane on Vladimir Tarasenko trade to Rangers: “It’s not like the happiest I’ve been to hear about a trade. I think the Rangers are a team that you definitely pay attention to and definitely are intrigued by, for obvious reasons.”
On whether he had the Rangers on his potential radar: “If things were going to happen, that was a team I was definitely looking at. It seems like they kind of filled their void and went ahead and made a deal, so it is what it is.”
Feels his hip injury is overblown: “Yeah, I think so. I’m not sure what the story is to be honest with you, but I feel better than I did last year. It’s just one of those things that maybe the story leaks out and it piles up a little bit.”
Said he expects to make a decision within the next 10 days or so about his future: “Obviously you want to do right by the franchise, and the organization here has been amazing to me and given me so much. So you definitely want what’s best for both sides.”
Those comments further propagate my personal thoughts that it would be very surprising if he waived to come to Edmonton.
I could be totally wrong but I just don’t see it.
I’m also fine with that – he’s FAR from healthy and I’m not sure he’d provide anywhere close to his normal, or historical, impact on the ice – and this would be a pure rental that would cost assts for literally 25 games plus one playoff.
I was the first one in here to mention the Drai pass/turnover last night and do assign culpability due to result but, at the end of the day, I don’t think THAT particular play by Drai was egregious or actually led to a “jailbreak”.
Yes, it wasn’t a high percentage play but it also wasn’t a miracle pass. Even though a d-man was activating, it also wasn’t an overly high risk play and didn’t lead to a jail break. The puck went the other way, yes, but Drai and another forward were back (plus 1 D) and it was a 3 on 3. It resulted on a medium danger (at best) shot from the outside that either (a) went in via a unlucky bounce on a tip from Barrie or (b) was misplayed by Skinner if it went straight in.
Don’t get me wrong, Leon is not playing well and making poor decisions – I just don’t think that particular play by Leon was that bad – he could have made a safer play but it wasn’t a turnover with no support or that led to a odd-man rush against.
Leon’s goal share isn’t so fabulous that he can afford to turn the puck over and he’s done it many times. I love Leon, but he is a leader and needs to iron that out of his game. He owes it to his teammates.
He did it later in the game, too (3rd period). He was on the opposite side of the ice and tried to force a backhand pass that was picked off. The other teams are figuring that play out — when Draisaitl goes wide with the puck on his backhand and his feet aren’t moving, the pass attempt is coming.
OP this comes down to what the expectations are. As a fan, mine are always championship or bust. Because there is no other reason to play pro sports but to win it all. It’s not a participation thing like amateurs.
As fans, we can just enjoy them playing if that suits us, win big or not. But the financial reality is that if there is never a real shot at things, fan interest wanes other than a few hard core fans and markets. So being a really good team is better for all involved. The more really good teams, the better the league. The Oilers as it stands are a good team. Not consistent enough to be a really good or great team. Yet we hope.
That all being said, the Oilers – management and players – have all said they want to go for it. So, when they play at a level below their talent, and below how the best teams play, I think it should be called out. Players as well, that’s what the top teams do, no hiding, no platitudes.
Especially those paid to lead, that want to lead. I’ve had enough of top players playing like rookies. It is selfish. It is hubris in many cases, thinking they can do things that really nobody can on demand. There are great moments, but they are just that. Games are won and lost on the whole in the details, especially in the playoffs. Connor can’t even do it on demand.
Until I see Connor, Leon and Darnell pulling their heads out, I’ll enjoy their great plays, but will be left unsatisfied because I know what is ‘probably’ going to happen if they don’t smarten up. You can’t just turn responsibility on and off and expect to beat the teams that get it. I’ve watched it for years with this team, and it’s true for all teams that want to go deep regularly.
Outside of a fortunate run, but I think Connor deserves more than that for his career.
Surely you’re not claiming the 80’s Oilers teams who won 5 cups played the way you’re describing ever night, are you?
The main difference is that they could win when they needed to
They were so far ahead of the league they were terrible some games, ‘unfocused’
Our current fellas can’t do that. They have a historic PP but get skunked when the chips are down still
People are really, really super pumped about the team and the 3rd pairing….and
no question they have been performing very well. But some caution is needed.
Columbus
Chicago
Detroit
Vancouver
Philadelphia
Ottawa
Montreal
Last night was such bad hockey. Not really concerned with the 1 point loss.
I genuinely find the above teams almost unwatchable. I mean A+ for effort from a Torts team and from Detroit. No question effort was there from Columbus as well.
Glad we are roaring up the standings. But to a certain extent -I think a top AHL team
might go.500 against the above crap.
The insane part – we * still * have Philly and CBJ to play at the end of this month.
Again, not making any comments on our team per se- just how I am not finding
a lot of *hockey entertainment* value in a lot of these teams. Period.
Who is pumped to watch a bad Vancouver team, without Bo Horvat?
Or how about an already floundering Habs team – missing half a dozen players now with
injury?
Yes OP, I will take the wins by a field goals and be happy.
They aren’t going .500
They’re grabbing 0.800 against those teams with a -2 in Skills Comp losses.
They’re running over them and climbing the standings as they do it.
How in the hell is this a negative? My gord the Debbie Downers are getting some kind of desperate lately 😉
You called it a Month or so ago that the Oilers would catch the forerunners in our Division this rapidly.
It was there if you wanted to see it. I understand the hesitancy though.
The separation with the Knights starts the first two weeks of March. And we put the race to bed the 25th and 28th. Oilers need to vanquish a few monkeys yet this season. They’ll be up for the Leafs and Jets games, two teams have been in their heads the last few seasons. I think they nab 7/8 points. They play Boston well 3/4. L.A. games need to avoid injury 3/4. Oilers competitive regular season is over April 4 against the Kings.
Vegas’s final 6 of 7 sees them lining up against wildcard/bubble teams. Lots of scratching and clawing will happen.
Oilers win the division by six with 108 points.
I see a pathway where they flirt with 112.
The final season end stretch is some well marinated, slow cooked pork.
Just melt in mouth good.
If they can keep gaining ground moreso thsn losing any. They could easily get top of pacific pile.
You excluded: Seattle, Vegas, Tampa.
You never know but I don’t see Puljujarvi going on waivers for a bit. Firstly, even though Holland has said Yamo is eligible for Saturday, I think its Sunday and its not looking like they’ll actually activate him until they are back home for Wed – Holland in his verbals was clear that its wasn’t a “for sure” that he’d be ready this weekend and Stauff has indicated that he really believes it won’t be until Wed.
Also, they can do “say day” waivers and waive Jesse the same day Yamo is activated (just makes Jesse ineligible for that game pending clearing or claim but they can use the $1.125MM of cap).
Personally, I think it should be Ryan and Shore (as opposed to Jesse and Shore). I don’t think Ryan gets claimed and the team can bring him back up when needed during the stretch or for the playoffs.
Jesse may get claimed (I’ve provided my thoughts on why) but he could slide. There will be differing opinion on what management would actually want (and what each fan might actually want).
Like, seriously, we have Derek Ryan playing top 6 RW minutes in these last two games. I like Derek Ryan and, sure, he can help be a defensive presence but Derek Ryan over Jesse Puljujarvi as top 6 RW – what are we doing here?
I mean, if you look at each player’s actual performance in the last year plus (I just looked back to Jan 1st 2022), this seems like a pretty sound decision.
And that’s without any contextualizing of who each player spent their minutes playing with.
Ryan is placeholding for Yamo.
Ryan is destined for 4C or 3W in a pinch for the stretch drive. Which is where he should be.
I like the idea of Competitive Unicorn Olympics to nab a spot with our powerhouse centers. I think there are set lines if you want to hard match
Hyman-Mcd-X
Kane-Leon-X
Janmark-Nuge-X
X-X
Lots of competition. I also think there is a method to the madness if you can deploy a blender and have your forwards carry the flow of play. Nightmares for opposing coaches.
Slow start off the break but that’s ok. Keep harvesting points. Sens-Oils should turn into a shootout. I really hope they getup for the Habs game. Kinda have a feeling Kane and Holloway perk up in these next two. Klim has bee hesitant lately. Scoring is streaky and I can see him overthinking it. He keeps getting touches and is trying to create when he has the puck so I’m optimistic he pushes through.
JPs time is done. I really hope he hires himself a skills coach this offseason. His shooting and in tight puck control need a lot of work. There’s a player there but he needs to really push for it if he wants. Has Caleb Jones written all over him. Maybe he turns into an Ethan Bear?
Why do the Oilers keep holding Puljujarvi back from scoring so many points?!!
Never said that. Never implied that.
I’d prefer Jesse Puljujarvi in the top 6 RW over Derek Ryan – that’s just me.
“What are we doing here” implies an obvious and/or egregious mistake on behalf of the coaching staff. I’m not convinced Ryan over JP warrants that kind of reaction.
Ok but that doesn’t relate to your prior post re: the org holding back Jesse’s points.
Prospectify!
A septet of NA prospects fills the docket this eve.
Shane, Son of Scott is only one goal up on Petrov for the Oilers prospect lead, and will get the chance to extend said lead.
Skyler, Son of Rod continues his solid if unspectacular senior campaign tonight. (In fact, all the stateside prospects shall toil before the night is done.)
Here in the Great White North, Jake Chiasson shall again pursue the point-per-game mark he’s flirted with as a Blade.
Reid Schaefer is at exactly one p-p-g, with 19+16 in 35 GP so far; he shall endeavour to break a seven-game scoring drought. Oh, and this game will be televised on TSN+.
Vermont (Münzenberger, Määttä) @ 5 p.m.
St. Lawrence (Mazura) @ 5 p.m.
Quinnipiac (Brind’Amour) @ 5 p.m.
Youngstown (Lachance) @ 6 p.m.
Saskatoon (Chiasson) @ 8 p.m.
Seattle (Schaefer) @ 8 p.m.
All times, at all times, are Brule time.
Hmm. I always thought Gilbert Brule would pan out better than he did.
He got his just desserts…
😉
It seems you’ve spelled Bruderheim wrong.
They closed Bruderheim years ago.
Best riding in the province is at Brûlé !
Is it the City of Bruderly Love?
Been a JP fan since day one but at the end of the day you need to perform. No one can now say he wasn’t handled right by Holland or not given chances by Woody. He is who he is and not worth $3 million. I’m fine with waivers, and if he clears, I hope he heads home. Seems like a fun-loving guy who treats the game, as a game, and not as a serious job that requires constant commitment and improvement. Give him credit for self-awareness in his last Finnish interview though. He seems to know that he’s not cut out for the gig.
I’m not sure how saying “I’m not a top line player in this league right now” in a translated article means he thinks he’s not cut out to play in the NHL. He was a half a point per game player last year and the year prior. Ridiculous take imo.
Last night was a great example of a game where Yamamoto would have demonstrated his worth. Even when he isn’t on the scoresheet directly his legs never stop moving in the corners and I guarantee you he draws a penalty.
When your tight to the cap with aspirations of winning the Cup you really don’t have the luxury of paying a top 6 forward that only has 4 Goals 3 million a season.
I like how Yamamoto draws penalties and yesterday the best power play in the league had 0 power plays.
Like Reja, I fail to see the value in a 3 million dollar contract for a player who cannot score and gets flattened like a pancake in the playoffs when the cup is on the line.
He’s a decent enough player but like Gagner should play on a lower ranked team where he can play top 6 and shine. Oilers need better value.
Yamo goes all out on every shift, and has enough skill to keep up with likes of McDavid and Draisaitl. I’d rather have him in the top 6 than many of the other coke machines that the Oilers have tried to trot out on the wing over the years.
That said, I wouldn’t object if Holland traded Yamo for David Perron at the deadline
Am I the only one shocked at how cheaply the Rangers got Tarasenko and Mikkola?
It’s hard to believe that Mikkola was worth less than Blais (4th liner pending UFA), a 4th-rounder, and a D-level prospect. Given how expensive D-men are at the deadline, I tend to think he was worth *more* than that. (I would have happily traded Puljujarvi, a 4th-rounder, and Alex Peters for him).
That means the Rangers got Tarasenko AND 50% retention for a (very late) 1st pick. And if a fraction of the value of the 1st-rounder was payment for Mikkola, then they got Tarasenko for less than a 1st-rounder.
And yet Ryan Dixon/Jason Bukala are suggesting that Jake McCabe, a 2nd/3rd pairing D, on a highly overpriced contract ($4M/yr) could go for a 1st-rounder (plus)?
Somebody, enlighten me.
Tarasenko had a full no trade clause and would only waive it for the Rangers.
STL was thus limited in what they could get in return.
The 4th will become a 3rd if the Rangers make the playoffs which adds a bit but I’d say it’s most likely that Tarasenko was recently injured and St Louis decided to lock in an offer rather than wait and see. St Louis got less than they could have because they decided against risking what would happen at the deadline as they waited for better players to be traded.
I have always seen Mikaela good when he plays against the Oilers. He’s one guy I wouldn’t have minded adding.
I don’t like trading 1sts for rentals
I think the real Kostin has stood up; Kailer is a undersized bottom six winger; Jessie, Janmark, Ryan all make contributions that are unique on this team.
we need to extract more value from assets.
to get a 3LW
we trade two second round to AA, we didn’t like the cost so we addition Ethan Bear to get Foegele. Is Foegele that much better than AA?
to get a 2LHD
We trade Jones and used cap space to get Keith, we didn’t like that so we signed Kulak. Is Kulak that much better than Jones?
to get a 3RW
we signed Kassian to an expensive contract -we didn’t like that so gave draft picks to move Kassian. Is Puljajarvi that much better than Kassian?
Kulak was not because they didn’t like Keith at all. It was because they wanted an upgrade on their 3rd pair left D. ( a hodgepodge of Lagesson, Koekkoek (personal issues, the slowing Russell, and Niemelainen.
Yes, Yes and Yes. All three positions were upgraded to a modest degree.
The end of the roster is where ALL teams have to maximize cap efficiency right now, which is why there is this constant discourse about these positions in the lineup and the players that have in the past and are currently filling those positions.
Also Jones was not a 2LD. He was a fringe 7th defenseman on the team, which was upgraded for 1 season to a first ballot HOFer.
Additionally, we gave up the draft picks to move Kassian AND to give JP a chance to prove his worth. Not all bets pay out, but it was not an unreasonable bet to make.
Re: Pujo and Waivers
Just a reminder, Stauffer said during the broadcast last night and at the end of the game on the radio that he thinks the Oilers might hold off on making any move till Monday.
They can get away with an extra day or two keeping Yams on LTIR and this allows the team to come back home before doing so, making it easier on the players that are waived. And of course easier on the org to not deal with the shortened roster on the road.
One thing that may have been overlooked … if Jesse clears waivers, he and the Oilers could agree to mutually terminate his contract if he doesn’t want to go down to the minors. Jesse would get set free in that setting (a little bit earlier than originally anticipated) and can then sign with another team in Europe to finish the year.
Either way, Holland will have done everything possible to accommodate him this year, from playing him with the top centres, to signing him again this season. That it didn’t work out is no one’s fault … Jesse just hasn’t had the production this season to justify a higher spot in the batting order, and the Oilers need to free up cap space ahead of the deadline and with everyone finally healthy.
Seems unlikely he would walk away from $1 million. I think he’d take his lumps and goes to Bakersfield, if he is waived and clears. He is likely to get a better deal in the summer from someone if he goes down to the AHL and performs than if he goes to Europe.
It’s just an option … he may not want to return to the Bake. Going back home to Finland after a difficult season might hold some appeal for him as well. Money’s not everything. He’s still young and can parlay his talent into a long and lucrative career in Europe.
It would take him 4 to 5 years in Europe to make up for what he would give up by terminating his contract.
He’s not getting much above the minimum from any team in the NHL next season.
That would still be triple his salary in Finland. And if he believes in himself, his last chance for an NHL career.
What’s a Million Dollars to Jesse he could easily make that selling Scoda Octavia or Saab’s at the used car lot back home.
It’s surprisingly hard to find out accurate information regarding contracts in Europe.
That said, I was able to dig up that Anton Lander is getting paid 1+ million (not sure if this is USD or Euros) to play in Timra … with best bud MPS. Jesse should join them and form an all-Oilers over-hyped prospect line.
I think you’re underestimating how much top players can make in salary in Europe.
And Reja is correct – he’s more likely to supplement his earnings by peddling endorsements in Europe … for more so than in the NHL, where he basically earns nothing in that regard.
There are like 10 games left in the Liiga schedule. I’m not sure their internal rules but teams may not even be able to sign and bring in players at this point and, even if they could, I don’t think there would be that many Euros going to his pocket – not nearly in the ballparks of the $1MM USD (apx) he’s owed.
This idea also presumes that he’s essentially giving up on an NHL career in the near future and the life that he’s built in Edmonton (with his dog and g/f), etc.
I don’t think there is any reasonable chance they are agreeing to mutually terminate this contract.
OP – good .
Who knows, maybe he opts to stay in Edmonton on a team friendly contract.
Stranger things have happened.
Anton Lander is playing in Sweden. Sweden uses the Swedish Krona, not the Euro. The Krona is currently trading at $0.10 US. Are you sure your source wasn’t in Krona?
The average Swedish hockey salary is about $100,000 per year so I would be surprised if Lander was getting a million. Finland’s liiga apparently pays twice as much at $200,000 average, with the highest paid player in Finland being paid just over $400,000 so a little more than half the NHL minimum. The KHL is the highest paid league in Europe (if you actually get your salary) and I don’t see Jesse headed there any time soon. These salaries are often though not always tax free so that is an advantage.
I too, think that contract termination is unlikely, but there is a recent precedent, although the details are (somewhat) different
Zac Bogosian and Buffalo parted ways in Feb 2020 because his $5.1M contract made an in-season trade unworkable
3 days after termination completed, he signed with Tampa Bay for $1.3M
I can’t say for certain if/how much money Bogosian walked away from – prorata/signing bonus/base salary makes finding that out difficult – but he moved on and subsequently signed (another) 3 year contract with TB
A prorated minimum salary with 30 (ish) games remaining would make Jesse more attainable by more teams – perhaps a contract offer for next year would make Jesse “whole” as part of the deal
It’s unlikely to happen, I guess it depends on how much Jesse likes Bakersfield if it came to that
Leon Draisaitl has been very poor in three of the last four games.
Leon vs Columbus 24:22 ice time 0 points -2
Leon vs Detroit 20:07 ice time 0 points -2
Leon vs Philly 21:12 ice time 0 points -1
The Oilers could use another D man at the deadline to offer insurance if guys like Bouchard play like they did last night (thought Vinny struggled a bit too). More than anything right now the Oilers need Draisaitl to pull his head out of his ass. If he is injured then sit him. He is not helping the team at all right now. One could argue he has been the worst Oiler on the team in the last 4 games combined. That pass he made on the first goal was awful. He needs to get the puck deep when no one is open and stop trying to force plays that are not there. This has been going on too long.
In the 8-0-2 run, Drai has played exactly 1/3 (166 of 499) of the 5v5 minutes with a goal share of +10/-11. While on the bench, Oilers went +23/-8.
Lots of good news in there. We know Leon can and will be better.
It’s nice to see the team playing better when the big boys are not on the ice. The good news is that Leon can turn his game around if he puts his mind to it. Easy fix when the rest of the team is playing well.
At 5 on 5 – Leon is a bit of a story this year, no?
I am more interested in a top 6 winger then bottom depth guy. If we add a top 6 winger it pushes everyone down and allows our depth to show.
Two I’d target
Adding a top 6 winger allows us to run McDavid, Drai and Nuge at Centre, which means McLeod is our 4C. that is depth. If Holloway-McLeod-Ryan/Foegele is our 4th line, then that is a deep forward group needed to make a true run.
Always add from the top down!
I would love to bring back Perron – he’s still one of the best pests in the league. Shoots right and is still producing at his career norms.
Does anyone recall if Perron enjoyed his time as an Oiler?
The first year he was great,led the team in goals. The second year the losing got to him.
He’s made mention more then once, once an Oiler always an Oiler.
Would love having Perron back.
Can’t remember specifics, but don’t remember the departure being amicable. Seem to remember him badmouthing the Oil not long after. Of course entirely different admin then.
What do the fancies say about Perron?
Eakins was a Gooof…
How many times have I talked about that damn pass from Draisaitl and Woodcroft beating that play out of him?
Old habits die hard, and we all tend to revert to them when we’re tired, especially mentally. We had a nice stretch where we saw nary a one, so we know he can suppress the instinct and will again.
I expect to see a team lit and juiced for the 4:30am tilt against the Ottawa band.
Hard to complain about the 2nd leading scorer, but I agree the sooner that play goes away, the better. He actually had another wild behind the back pass to nobody in particular in the third that I thought was worse but thankfully nothing came of it.
…and another that set up the Hyman goal.
True, but I prefer to stick to the negative… besides, if it was a better pass the goal would have counted!
Outside Edmonton- people have been mentioning this….
Its been a theme this year with Leon.
Been on for more goals against than goals scored.
And that is thru a very, very interesting stretch of teams.
Just to make sure we are clear, Leon has been on the ice for 113 GF and 67 GA overall.
You are correct though, he is -1 at 5 on 5 and, well, that’s simply not good enough. He is plus 4 at even strength.
Of note, until recently, I believe McDavid was also negative at 5 on 5…..
Maybe we should give a big hat tip to the organization’s player development personnel too? Giving the scouts all the credit seems wrong.
Meh. I didn’t give them credit because I was thinking about the fact Desharnais had one BCHL season and a part-time college season before they drafted him. Leaving out the development side wasn’t meant as a slight and they certainly had an impact, but Desharnais was 23 when he played his first pro game. I think FINDING him was a big damn deal.
Finding him is easy, just sort by height. :p
It was all a big damn deal, great find no doubt, but his skills were nowhere near the NHL when he turned pro. Just yankin your chain a tad on that, but I do want to say the one good thing Chia did was right the minor league org and get Woodcroft implanted there.
…and to Holland & Gretzky for a) signing a marginal draft pick to an AHL deal (actually, 2 separate 2-year deals) & for keeping the door open if the player improved. A lot of minor-league-contract guys get marginalized as “good AHL player, but (fatal flaw)”…
Yup, especially in his age bracket.
And yes that was a goal.
No doubt one game it’s a Goal next game it’s not. Half. the Goals in the Eighties were scored in this fashion of going to the net hard. How many Goals of Hyman’s has been disallowed this year 3-4-5? I wonder how many Goals got called back on Glenn Anderson or even Ryan Smyth for incidental contact Goalie interference.
They had a really tough time advancing the puck out of the D zone last night. Too much fancy passing in the O zone. SHOOT! Maybe Drai has an injury. He has been really off these last 2.
Skinner got them a point last night for sure.
As for Jesse , I hope the guy gets to a place he can find his game.
Going to have to be a LOT better to capture 4 needed points on Sat and Sun.
Looked to me like they were defaulting to the stretch pass/tip in play all night. It didn’t work early in the season, it didn’t work when McLellan instituted it, and it didn’t work last night. It’s awful on the eyes and ineffective to boot.
Not a single power play
Nurse shouldn’t let guys grab his bucket. McD shouldn’t let guys pull him down by the arm. They have to avoid letting guys infract them. Sarcasm intentional.
I think Allan and Louie are the only two people that think that goal should have counted. Homers.
Woodcroft too.
McCurdy and Staples too.
Anybody else, anyone, Bueller?
Me too, but I can be called a homer.
After the game, the Sportsnet dude with what’s her name also felt it was a good goal.
I don’t think it’s only Oiler homers who felt it should have been a goal.
Bruce seems like a pretty level headed guy, unless you are an NHL ref. Apparently they are all out to screw the Oilers. Lol.
It sure looked like goalie interference to me.
Try to imagine the narrative if that play happened on Skinner, oy.
I was in full belief the refs had a reason to overturn the goal. I just didn’t want them to.
That was the first time all season I labelled the officials my official “Bad Thing”. (The occasional sidelong comment to be sure.) Oilers did not get One Call last night, not even one. No powerplays, lost the challenge that Tortorella seemed sure *he* would lose, refs in the way all night, linesmen completely blowing icing calls, etc., etc.
Not the worst-reffed game of the year (oh no), but the most completely one-sided.
Yep.
If that was in the Playoffs they would have dissected the Goal frame by frame. If it was Crosby or Tavares making contact with Hart instead of Foegele I have zero doubt it’s a Goal.
We’re almost back to late 90s skate in the crease levels of disallowing goals. If you breathe on the goalie the goal is not counting. Defencemen should be practicing gently guiding the puck carrier into some contact with the goalie because the whole “pushed into the goalie” thing seems to be a non-factor.
“Goal has been disallowed due to approaching players creating air pressures and causing the fluttering of the goalie’s eyelids. No goal.”
From what I remember seeing, Foegele took the puck hard to the net but proceeded to barrel right in to Carter Hart, in the crease, without any “help” from the defending team.
I do agree with the fact that he was driving the net and trying to make a scoring play, but, at the same time, you attacker can’t just run over the goalie in the crease, can he?
I actually did think that Hyman’s goal last night should have been disallowed, but there have been others this year that have been baffling. I can’t recall which game, but there was an Oilers’ goal called back this year where the goalie had 99% of his body outside the blue paint and was sprawled out in the opposite direction from the ultimate shooter when the contact was made. Another where the offending player was two-hand shoved by the defender into the goalie.
JP could play with a croquet mallet and his shot% would be the same
I think we can stop worrying about him being Nishuskin
He’s done his best to contribute but I fail
to remember many elite offensive plays in his entire tenure.
He gives his all. His problem was s he can’t handle the puck at an NHL level. You f he has time and space and a clear lane he has a great shot. He can pass
When he doesn’t have T & S he can’t. He’s not fast enough getting organized with the puck. Same as Foegele and Kulak. And Nurse is struggling as well with the puck
Foegele and Jesse also skate themselves into the opposition a lot and lose possession. Like them both as people, as hockey players, not my style
I thought Jesse would improve, but no. He’s a valuable player when he’s on his game, but at 1M not 3. I think Holloway is already better then Foggy
Nichushkin had 0 goals and 10 assists in 57 games in his draft plus 6 season in Dallas. Prior to his draft plus 9 season last year, his career high in points was 29.
I agree JP does need a fresh start somewhere else. However, offensively, JP is superior compared to Nichushkin’s production prior to his breakout last season.
So did a lot of other players … projecting JP to follow Nichushkin’s career path is cherry picking in the extreme.
You said that we can stop worrying about JP being Nichushkin. My point is Nichushkin was no Nichushkin at the same age. Nobody knows either way, including you.
JP’s offensive number include exclusive time with McD and Drai. This is the first season they moved him out of the top 6.
0 goals & 0 penalty minutes. He was a ghost. Got bought out, showed up in Colorado on a dirt cheap deal & immediately became a contributor, first on a depth line, then up the line-up.
JP used to pay with Bandy stick as a kid. Oil should have ordered him some of these to improve his shot%
tinyurl.com/mu7z74bj
Easy to armchair GM and project JP to become Nichushkin … you’ve got no skin on the line. No manager in their right mind right now would pay Jesse his qualifying number this summer though (except maybe Chia). Any sane manager would bet that he’s MPS and cut ties with the player (unless he’s willing to come back at a substantially reduced salary next season).
Vegas whooped the Wild
This is after the Wild had a closed door, players-only meeting. It’s not going well in Minny.
Eichel gets 1st star with 1 assist. He’s been invisible since Stone went down.
He also scored a goal.
My apologies, I didn’t see him clinching the game game with the 5th goal.
He was in front of the net on the winning goal, a point shot for which no assists were credited and the primary assist on the 3rd goal, the insurance marker. The fifth goal isn’t meaningless either when its scored just over halfway through the second period in a 4-1 game.
It wasn’t just 1 assist though. He certainly hasn’t played well lately , but last night he was 1 goal, 1 assist, +3, 3 shots, and 2 takeaways.