We’re coming up to the trade deadline, and Edmonton’s opponent tonight (Montreal Canadiens) have several interesting players for Oilers fans to observe and debate. I’ve always liked Sean Monahan, Jake Evans is a RH center and of course Jake Allen is a true NHL goalie. Anyone else?
THE ATHLETIC!
- Lowetide: Where do the Oilers need to improve depth before the NHL trade deadline?
- DNB: Oilers are back as a Western Conference power
- Lowetide: Could this be the ultimate Edmonton Oilers season?
- DNB: Projecting the Oilers’ 2025-26 salary-cap situation with a Leon Draisaitl extension
- Lowetide: Ranking Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland’s 10 biggest moves
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers complete 2023-24 prospects update
- Lowetide: Stuart Skinner, Ryan McLeod and the Oilers’ development system
- Lowetide: Oilers close NHL standings gap during a brilliant December run
- DNB: Connor McDavid marks 600th NHL game by coming to the rescue in pivotal Oilers win
- Lowetide: What can Dylan Holloway bring the Oilers when he returns?
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers top 20 prospects ranking, winter 2023
WHAT TO EXPECT IN JANUARY
- At home to: PHI, OTT (Expected 2-0-0) (Actual 2-0-0)
- On the road to: CHI, DET, MTL (Expected 2-1-0) (Actual 2-0-0)
- At home to: TOR, SEA (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- On the road to: CAL (Expected 0-0-1) (Actual 0-0-0)
- At home to: CBJ, CHI, NAS (Expected 2-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- Overall expected result: 7-3-1, 15 points in 11 games
- Actual January results: 4-0-0, 8 points in 4 games
- Oilers in 2023-24: 22-15-1, 45 points in 38 games
Edmonton has accomplished so much since beginning the year 2-9-1. Since Woodcroft’s final game (a win), new coach Kris Knoblauch is 19-6-0, and has a chance to put his name in team record books (longest winning streak in team history) before he gets a chance to get his suits martinized. It’s a helluva run for the 2023-24 Oilers.
Today is Connor McDavid’s birthday. It should me a national holiday.
HISTORY
I can see a trade between Edmonton and Montreal happening in the next few weeks. The two teams have made deals in the past:
- June 1979: Oilers trade a second-round pick for Dave Lumley and Dan Newman
- June 1986: Acquired Alfie Turcotte for futures (can’t find any return)
- August 1992: Traded Vincent Damphousse and a fourth-round pick for Shayne Corson, Brent Gilchrist and Vladimir Vujtek
- September 1996: Traded Andrei Kovalenko for Scott Thornton
- March 2000: Traded Matthieu Descoteaux and Christian Laflamme for Igor Ulanov and Alain Nasreddine
- December 2000: Traded Chad Kilger for Sergei Zholtok.
- June 2022: Traded No. 14 overall for No. 15 overall and No. 245 overall. Montreal chose Chris Higgins, Edmonton chose Jesse Niinimaki.
- March 2015: Traded Jeff Petry for a second-round (Jonas Siegenthaler) and fourth-round (Caleb Jones) pick.
- December 2015: Traded Ben Scrivens for Zack Kassian
- February 2017: Traded Brandon Davidson for David Desharnais
- January 2018: Traded fourth-round pick for Al Montoya
- March 2022: Traded second-round (Lane Hutson) and fourth-round pick, plus William Lagesson, for Brett Kulak.
My favourite trade in this group is the deal for Dave Lumley, who was a plug-and-play out of the box and hung around for a couple of Stanleys. Least favourite? Trading Damphousse for Corson. It was not a good trade. I was not a fan of the Jeff Petry trade as well. The Kulak trade added a veteran who the Oilers still have on the roster. Lane Hutson would have been a nice get, no guarantee the Oilers would have chosen him but the pick had value.
HABS OF INTEREST (all numbers five-on-five unless noted)
- Sean Monahan: 1.28 pts-60; 49 pct goal share; 44 pct x-goal share. 4.51PP pts-60. $1.985M
- Jake Evans: 1.39 pts-60; 53 pct goal share; 45 pct x-goal share. 2:55 PK mins-game. $1.7M
- Jake Allen: .926 save percentage. $3.85M
There are rumours Edmonton is on Allen’s no-trade list, and the cap hit is dear, but he would be solid insurance behind Skinner. I have always liked Monahan but the offense isn’t grand and he is running a little luck in goal share. Edmonton doesn’t need a PP addition, so I’m not sure Monahan makes sense. Jake Evans? He makes sense to me. RH center, PK man, scores enough to stay in the lineup and can play center or wing. You’d like the expected goal share to be higher, but in two of the last three seasons he’s a positive in some important rel measures.
CONDORS LAST NIGHT
The Condors best players to my eye were (in no specific order) Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway, Raphael Lavoie and Olivier Rodrigue. Holloway used his wheels, size and skill all night and was a pain in the ass for the Barracuda on every shift. The first three shifts of the game by the Lavoie-Holloway-Pederson line were absolute fire.
I also enjoyed watching Jayden Grubbe, who is having a strong rookie season despite playing a depth role. On a team with too many young forwards for the coach to find playing time, Grubbe’s skill set and position keep him in the lineup.
It was interesting to see coach Colin Chaulk didn’t play Cameron Wright, because he’s absolutely one of the 12 best forwards on the team. Probably among the six best this season. My guess is the organization wants all of the young prospect forwards (Holloway, Lavoie, Grubbe, Xavier Bourgault, Tyler Tullio, Carter Savoie, Matvey Petrov) to get lots of playing time between now and the end of the season. I know Wright is 25, and these kids are younger, but I hope Wright draws back in tonight. He’s a good AHL player.
I expressed worry about Holloway’s offense when he was drafted. In the “Harvest Moon 2020” post I wrote “I think Edmonton drafted a complementary left winger for the McDavid line or a solid checking center for the No. 3 line. His NHLE says checker, but his splits in Wisconsin suggest he was spiking as the season ended: 5-4-9 in his last 10 games, with 31 shots on goal. I’ll guess he will do both throughout his Oilers career, kind of a hybrid. Red Line says he grinds and wins battles. Let’s revisit in five years.” I think the prediction has fit the performance in the years since Holloway was drafted.
How well is he trending compared to recent Oilers prospects who have played both AHL and NHL?
Among recent graduates from the Bakersfield Academy, Holloway’s pts-game ranks No. 1 overall. Much of his offensive output (16 of 33) came on the power play, and it’s unlikely he’ll see time with the man advantage in Edmonton. Kailer Yamamoto is my preferred comparable, mostly because Jesse Puljujarvi was a teenager and Ryan McLeod’s numbers include the outlier (2020-21) season played only against the Pacific Divison. Yamamoto’s power-play point total (12 of 34) was lower, for what it’s worth.
I think my original assessment is holding true. If Holloway receives time on the McDavid line, he could reasonably be expected to average .4-.5 pts-game (per 82 games, Yamamoto is averaging 38 points). If he lands as third-line center with Edmonton, I suspect his totals per 82 games will be something in the range of McLeod (29 points). He will have value either way.
By the way, my choice in 2020 at No. 14 was Dawson Mercer. He is averaging .59 pts-game in the NHL. Per 82 games, that’s 48 points. There is no doubt the Oilers drafted the better athlete, but New Jersey got the better hockey player. Pretty sure.
OH THOSE CANADIENS
They drove me crazy. Sam Pollock turned the expansion era upside down and then again and again. His Montreal Canadiens won the 1971 Stanley Cup and then drafted first overall same summer. Curse Sam Pollock!
Curse Milt Schmidt too, while I’m at it. Schmidt made one of the truly brilliant trades in NHL history when he fleeced Tommy Ivan and the Chicago Blackhawks out of Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield. However, he also failed to protect Dan Bouchard in the 1972 expansion draft and that led to a huge wobble in the best team of my youth.
By 1969 the Boston Bruins were ready to roar, but Jean Beliveau kept getting in the way. When the Bruins broke through and won Stanley in 1970, Montreal missed the postseason. When the Bruins won again in 1972, the NY Rangers beat the Habs and then didn’t have enough for the Boston side.
Why does this matter these long years later? I mean, Sam Pollock has been gone a long time, and holding grudges is no way to go through life.
It matters because it’s Saturday and the Oilers are playing in Montreal. Games in Montreal have elevated meaning, because for my generation it represents hockey’s ultimate. I don’t make the rules, but do know them. Tonight, this Oilers team can achieve something no other Edmonton NHL club can boast: 10 wins in a row.
Why is this important? Well, on the way to a championship season there are signs pointing to a special happening. If the Oilers can win tonight, it’s possible this group will reach Game 41 (halfway point of the 2023-24 campaign) with 50 points. It would also mean the 2-9-1 start was followed by a 23-6-0 run. That’s another indicator of a special season. Teams that go on historic winning streaks don’t always win Stanley, but it is an indication of elite status. The current streak by this team is being matched or close in Sunrise, Seattle and Vancouver.
This is such a wonderful moment for Oilers fans. Enjoy it. Cheer like mad. Don’t get caught up in the rage online about this trade or that draft pick, just enjoy it. It’s no sin to be happy, and it’s good to feel alive and filled with joy.
This is Connor McDavid’s birthday. The Oilers are playing in Montreal and it’s on Hockey Night in Canada Saturday night. If I could find a kitchen with plaster walls, where a cribbage game was playing, smoke hanging heavy in the air and the black and white showing the game, I’d be there in a heartbeat. I’d take my beer in a stubby bottle, I’d forgive Sam Pollock and Milt Schmidt too for an evening like that one.
I can’t get there from here, but my mind blesses me with memories and my television will bring me tonight’s game in beautiful colour. I miss all of the characters who made up my life in 1971, and all of the characters who followed and have since left me here. I will remember them fondly tonight and I will hold court for them. I will remember past glory and wish future splendor for you as a fan and in life.
It’s cold as ice, it’s January on the prairies and there’s a big game tonight. Joni Mitchell said it best. I wish I had a river I could skate away on, all the way back to 1971. Tonight’s game in Montreal is as close as I can get, and I’m glad for it. It’s Hockey Night in Canada.
Godamn, LT…
You write for the benefit of my better self.
And on days like this, where I stubbornly held the edges of the fan, while events fed it a steady supply of shite, I come here, looking for a place to happen, and my better self… Points, and says: “I told ya.”
Grrrrrrreat game tanite!
(but the best part of the last 17 hours, for me, has got to be those last few paragraphs from this blog of blogs!)
Thanx LT.
No… Really man, thanx!
sheesh………….
Can’t complain about the refs for a while.
Baracuda get on the board early in the 3rd on the PP – no chance for Jack as it was a back-door tap in – he would be used to those playing for the Oilers in October 2023.
The best low cost back-up option for the Oilers is for Campbell to play decently and get called back up late in the season. How would the cap work if he is called up for the playoffs after the season is over?
There’s no cap in the playoffs.
Then you keep him down there and tell him to play his ass off. Pickard can stay as long as he performs >.900. Campbell can be recalled if he shows he’s an NHL goalie again or left in BAK until the playoffs for cap flexibility. If Pickard stays solid and Campbell’s recovery continues – then we will be 3-deep in the playoffs. No need to spend assets for a goalie if the current situation holds (Skinner excellent, Pickard decent, Campbell recovering).
If Pickard keeps playing how he has, I certainly don’t spend assets on a goalie. Skinner 1, Pickard 2, Rodrigue 3, Campbell 4.
Our Defense is good enough if the whole 5 man unit commits.
Try to fix depth scoring. Perry is target 1.
The question is how will the increase in workload affect Pickard who, to this date, has just been spot-started. Come Feb 13 through the rest of the season, the 2G will need to play ALOT more.
Agree it’s to be seen whether Pickard can handle a bigger load. Campbell is .941/.810/.939/.944 in his last 4 starts. There is no reason to rush him back as you want to see him put up those kind of results (.919) or better for at least a 10 game stretch. Top 5 SP in the AHL is .923 / top 10 is .917 for context.
Skinner is now up to .903 and Pickard is .902 in the NHL. Rodrigue is .923 in the AHL. Steady as she goes with Skinner getting 3 of 4 starts in the NHL and Campbell/Rodrigue splitting the net 50/50 in the AHL. For now there is no need to trade scarce assets for more goalie depth.
Summarizing!
Even the House of Stone failed to score, he did gather two apples.
Copponi tallied for the third straight game. Now up to six goals on the season.
Mümzenberger, Mazura and Lachance failed to incur soup and shall have to content themselves with dried bay leaves.
Day got the night off.
Määttä remained out of the lineup.
Caggiula with the zone entry, dishes to Gleason at the left point, walks in a bit a rifles home the 3-0 goal with two minutes left in the 2nd period.
20 saves for Jack.
is tmac the next coach on the block
Vegas down 2-0 to the Phlegm’s.
So far a glorious out of town scoreboard on a miserly weather day nationwide.
It’s win win – not only Vegas lose but Falames rise up in the standing which gives them a worse draft pick lol
3-0 end of two. Oilers probably won’t catch the nucks but may finish 2nd. What a run that would be.
That’s how I deduced it as well. – 2nd, by a wee bit.
Ride steady & straight, from now ’til then.
And on the 13th of April, on HNIC, we beat the snot out of the ‘nucks… Just to let ’em know what’s coming in the WCF!!!
Broberg is dominating the AHL – so good defensively, so good moving th puck, bombing shots from all over the ice, driving the net and creating chaos.
Lavoie with a great job on the PP, walks the entire blue with the puck to get seperation and space – back to Broberg, down to Griffith, down to Holloway, his centring pass is off, I think but it goes to Lavoie in the high slot and lazers home the 2-0 with 6 to go in the 1st.
9 saves for Jack.
Really hope Lavoie and Bro both get called up at some point and get
some games in. Both contracts will be valuable next season.
Why are Montreal fans booing McDavid again? Did I miss or forget something?
They thought the penalty was a dive. Booed him relentlessly after that.
Thanks – I caught only the first and second period and the overtime. Made me wonder if I just forgot they boo’d him in the 1st and 2nd as well.
Because they have no class.
Exactly this.
Boo the best player in hockey every time he touches the puck?
Lowlives.
Montreal booing McDavid on his birthday is the very best present he could have asked for.
I wonder if the Montreal fans used to boo Bobby Orr?
Long time lurker and Montrealer né à Edmonton many moons ago. Got tickets to the game tonight courtesy of work, amazing seats 6th row. Just thought I’d share my experience after reading so many shared experiences over the years.
Gallagher and Draisatl exchanged quite a few unpleasantries in the 2nd period right in front of me, was fun to watch the chirping. Probably influenced Gally taking that penalty against Drai later on and just fun to watch the little things go on all night.
I sang Connor happy birthday from my seat quite a few times, it was so quiet at times Im sure he heard me but later on the boo birds drowned me out quite thoroughly. He really plays with such a competitive edge that I can understand the home fans booing him but God it was a privilege to watch him skate, even on a night when it didn’t result in much. Such a joy to watch him at his maybe peak?
Erne is such a pest behind the play, its funny to watch and i think the cameras dont pick it up that often, little pokes and bumps that piss people off. I know he’s not good but still. Other than that, not sure that my saw them good or bad judgements are worth sharing but there was a feeling all game that Montembault was keeping the habs in it. The barn was quiet and I felt extra rowdy just knowing that it seemed like an oiler win was inevitable. I started a couple let’s go oilers chants during the lulls and the crowd had no response, feels like the habs fans are kinda checked out as of late. Glad to not be one of them!!
thanks for the update!
I thought Erne played tres bon tonight.
Thanks for this!
I used to live 2 blocks from Centre Bell. Great barn. What a treat it was going on the odd night and enjoying the crowd. I loved games there and learned to despise the Leafs almost as much as I loathed the Flames.
Condors PK stays read hot and, after the PK, McKegg with the zone entry, Broberg with the shot from the point, its kind of blocked in front but Alex Peters was driving the net and buried the 1-0 6 minutes in.
Campbell busy early with 7 saves.
Kings are mighty close to 9th place.
I hear that Byfield kid is the goods though.
Hard to believe as bad as they’ve been but they’ve actually gained two points on the Kniggits over the past ten games
I am not sure what you mean. In the past 10 they have accumulated 8 points, we have accumulated 20. Haven’t we gained 12 points on them?
Oops. Nevermind. I am not soo good at reading… i got it.
And the knights are down 1 nil currently.
And no Eichel, and an injury update that (may be) signifcant
LTIR, back for game 1 of playoffs. Opportunity for Vegas to play overthe cap.
(I actually hope hes ok)
Even take away that OT goal, Evan Bouchard is a legit elite player in the NHL.
He absolutely drives offence, shift after shift.
He still has more creativity in him and it’ll come out the more confident he becomes.
A couple of unforced errors tonight but so many good passes and the other earlier goalpost as well
There’s a bit of young Sandis Ozolinsh chaos in him. He got too cute in his own zone a few times where there was no significant benefit to even trying. Still, I’ll take the chaos for that bomb & creativity.
Zubov, minus the skating. At least, that’s how MacT described what he saw in Evan’s game when talking with Bob recently.
Yup, he did have a few giveaways tonight but I think he may touch the puck more than any other d-man in the league these days – its every shift he’s making plays with the puck.
Interesting Referee job tonight.
Usually they call more of the minor stuff and put the whistles away for the last 5mins and OT….they also evened up the failed goalie int call because it was such a close judgement…no other explanaition on that McD penalty.
Inversely, in this game they let the boys play, but called the infractions that had serious impact on the game in the final minutes and OT…scoring chances near the net on both important calls.
Wouldn’t that be something if we meet Seattle with both teams riding a 11 game win streak.
I’m dreaming in color… I want to face Vegas first game back from the All Star Break with a chance to tie the league record 17 game win streak…. go big or go home, I say!
Scrappy ugly win tonight. I was thinking earlier that the powerplay looked awful and that they should just start setting up the Bouch bomb.
Why do they make such a huge thing about 10 games straight when they no longer have tie games??
The olden times had ties which negates a lot of these so-called modern new fangled records.
Are you seriously putting an asterisk on 10 straight wins?
Every silver lining has a dark cloud attached to it I guess
ha ha no worries was simply wondering when the NHL essentially changes it’s entire setup every 3-4 seasons.
There’s an argument against having 3 point games – some nonsense about screwing up historical points records like as if anyone cares.
Because we’ve never done it? Because its a double digit number? Because it’s a lot of wins?
What I want now is for LA to lose 10 games in a row.
“The Oilers are an embarrassment to the league” Calgary Puck
They should worry more about beating what appears to be the Vegas Beige Knights ce soir.
Sorry, but I’m having a tough time recalling the last time Calgris was even relevant… let alone their salty opinions.
Apparently Veridad still posting on Calgary Puck
L.A. loses in Detroit. 8 straight.
Jets lose.
Toronto blows a three goal
lead.
All good!!!!!
Time to Bowie
https://youtu.be/VbD_kBJc_gI?si=R5N_S8hA0rE3W9zL
It’s always Time to Bowie 😎
LT predicted Montreal would win this game. I’ve never been so happy for him to be wrong.
Fermez la Bouche!
And I thought we were sans gagner…
We’ll take the two points, and really every player should buy Skinner a steak dinner because half this winning streak is due to him, but can’t keep mailing in periods and expect to consistently win games.
Agreed – Skinner has been quite good. Over a long season you have ups and downs. The best thing about this past week is Skinner has been steady in net. And while the team can play better, they fall behind and don’t panic. Very different from past teams.
It’s a team game no one should be signalled out for this amszing win streak.
Is that Bouchard’s goal without a shot because it hit the post?
Its a shot in net because, after the post, it went in the net.
I wasn’t sure if it was like an own goal in soccer because it hit the goalie after the post. Like Bouch was last player to touch it so he gets the goal.
Well that was sort of anti-climactic (kind of opposite of the Detroit game for me).
But the Bouch bomb ends it.
And hey, 9th in a row. Oilers all time record.
And a couple of points closer to 3rd in the Pacific (the Kings lost to those Wings it seems).
Tough to complain.
10th in a row, thank you very much 🙂
Ya 🤷
Bouch hammers it through the post
That might have left a permanent dent.
BOOM!!! Bouch Bomb for the record!!!
BOUCHBOMB!
CONNOR MCBIRTHDAY!
Terrible PP wins the game.
Best streak in team history on a Bouch Bomb!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH Bombe!!!!!
Oh how sweet it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Decline it!
i can’t believe they actually called that
(because tabernac)
That’s one way to deal with Matheson
It is weird seeing the PP struggle.
Would be something to win 10 straight while mired in a powerplay slump….
Habs have great sticks.
Let’s see if they can do it with 3vs3 space.
What a great Hockey Night in Canada game so far. Man that crowd is loud – I have never heard McDavid boo’d like that.
win it in ooooooovertime please.
At least we’re guaranteed a point
11 seconds of 4 on 3 to start the OT
Having a real hockey announcer for a change is nice.
Yea he is really good! Great call, no obvious bias. Could actually use a break from Louie though.
Bro c’mon.
Louie is great, he’s not perfect, but he’s 100 times better than Remenda…
Remenda and Quinn were very dark days.
I guess with 10 wins in a row you’re struggling to find things about the organization to criticize…many folks around here are in the same boat.
I just like that he calls the hockey game without using a bunch of non-hockey vernacular to sound different, and it certainly wouldn’t be mistaken for Summerslam…unlike the usual non-HNIC call.
Our PP has gone cold…..
Well maybe not!!
Here we go.
Keep it simple.
Pucks to net.
Crash the net.
Draisaitl had his legs on that play.
HUGE penalty call. Good job, Ceci
PPG would be just fine ending!
Guhle. Big mobile elite skating left shot D doesn’t seem to have much problem playing the right side, and he has probably played it less than Broberg.
Definitely,
And if the Oilers were as bad as the Habs, Broberg would be getting plenty of reps right now