The Edmonton Oilers have a gold standard on defense, and it’s the Mattias Ekholm-Evan Bouchard pairing. A great question to ask yourself when evaluating a team is “can they win?” with a specific player (in this case tandem) in their current role. The answer in this case is an overwhelming yes.
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: If Oilers’ Philip Broberg is next man up, he needs NHL games soon
- New DNB: How Adam Henrique is slowly becoming a key player for the Edmonton Oilers
- Lowetide: Why Edmonton Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl is delivering on a new line
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers’ potential playoff recalls an impressive group
- Lowetide: Why Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner is a key to the postseason
- DNB: Oilers’ Connor Brown finally scores first of the season: ‘I never was just OK with not scoring’
- Lowetide: What to expect from Oilers’ 2024 NHL Draft without a first-round pick
- DNB: Edmonton Oilers notebook: Adam Henrique’s family adjustment, Connor McDavid’s motivation
- Lowetide: What will Adam Henrique bring to the Oilers down the stretch?
- DNB: Why the Oilers’ old-turned-new second line should be here to stay
- Lowetide: Where can the Edmonton Oilers improve their draft strategy in 2024?
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers top 20 prospects ranking, winter 2023
WHAT TO EXPECT IN MARCH
- On the road to: SEA (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 1-0-0)
- At home to: PIT (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 1-0-0)
- On the road to: BOS, CBJ, BUF, PIT (Expected 2-1-1) (Actual 2-1-1)
- At home to: WAS, COL, MON, BUF (Expected 2-1-1) (Actual 2-0-1)
- On the road to: TOR, OTT, WPG (Expected 1-2-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- At home to: LAK, ANA (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- Overall expected result: 8-5-2, 18 points in 15 games
- Actual March results: 6-1-2, 14 points in nine games
- Oilers in 2023-24: 41-21-4, 86 points in 66 games
The Oilers roll out of bed this morning home and dry second place in the Pacific. They are a little ahead of the Canucks over the last 10 and can catch Vancouver if they’re of a mind to do it. I wouldn’t bet cash on the barrelhead, son, but this could be close. Last 10 games, total points: EDM 16, VAN 14, LAK 13, VEG 8. The bloom is off the rose in Wayne Newton’s town.
THE NUMBERS
I’m probably going to disagree with everyone today (or you with me) but I thought the Oilers played well. Calvin Pickard made some big stops early and mid, he’s calm and on his game. Someday, a long time in the distance, fans may be able to relax when an opponent shoots the puck at the Edmonton net.
Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard are sweet soul music all day. It’s like watching the girl you love walking toward you in summer, smile on her face and mischief on her mind. I’ll say it: Ekholm-Bouchard is sexy, sexiest thing since dreamy Klefbom. Ekholm and Bouchard are both over 60 percent goal share five-on-five this season.
Darnell Nurse had a fine game, the big man kept pace with the enthusiastic young forwards on a promising Montreal Canadiens team. Most of the current group would be playing for the Nova Scotia Voyageurs if Sam Pollock were around, but they can dance all the same. Brett Kulak also played well, his speed stood out in a good way. Troy Stecher had a couple of sorties into the offensive zone and I think he’s starting to acclimate. He’s a rugged fellow, if injury can be avoided I suspect he’ll help. Nurse-Ceci is 37-35 goals at five-on-five this season, suspect they’ll put the band back together soon.
Cody Ceci had a tough game. I’ve decided he’s Terry Harper. Harper was always a favourite of mine, a defense-first blue for the Montreal Canadiens with an anglo name. He got the boos morning, noon and night at the Forum, wasn’t a great fighter and scored maybe once a year. Harper was a strong, rangy fellow and he could muscle. Ceci is similar in style, and gets exposed in a game like last night. Quick opponents with high skill are his enemy. It’s the same with Vincent Desharnais, but Desharnais is a skyscraper and has the length of a reticulated python. Ceci gets by on guile and some days it’s overundersidewaysdown in his world. Everybody’s picking on him now, so I’m cheering double. I suspect he is playing his final games for Edmonton.
Connor McDavid’s electric company was on full blast last night, his goal belongs in the McDavid Museum but there’s no building on the planet big enough to house all of his brilliant moves. Evander Kane made a nice move on the goal, had a couple of looks. Zach Hyman has been a little quiet lately, he ponders and then reviews and finds 14 goals in his most recent 15 games. Yeah. It would behoove Edmonton to win Stanley, this Hyman fellow is delivering a monumental season.
Leon Draisaitl’s line didn’t hammer like they’ve been doing, but honestly the trio has been so good that an off night versus a beatable team is no big deal. Draisaitl brought out the oar on the final goal of the game, helluva weapon if you’re strong enough to lift a truck.
Adam Henrique scored a goal and looked good to my eye, but I do think he needs a pair of fast trains on the wing. That won’t happen until next season. He’s at 1.56 pts-60 five-on-five with a 70 percent goal share. What your eyes are seeing is reflected in expected goals (29 percent) and that’s going to regress like a cheetah in about five minutes. I think Nuge-Henrique-Brown might need a look.
Condors played last night. In 10 years time, we’ll all regard Max Wanner as the best prospect in the minors during the 2023-24 season. Pretty sure. Whoever found him, at midnight in a snowstown in a pandemic in a coal mine in a canyon in the deep dark sunless distance, is a scouting genius.
Lowdown is a two-hour show every weekday on Sports 1440 Radio. We talk nothing but sports, there is little humour and we read math equations live on the air. It’s fantastic! Bruce McCurdy from the Cult of Hockey at the Edmonton Journal will join us today and we’ll chat MLB, NFL, CFL draft and March Madness. You can reach me at Lowetide on twitter, in the comments section or on the Sports 1440 text line at 1.833.401.1440 directly.
New for The Athletic: If Oilers’ Philip Broberg is next man up, he needs NHL games soon
https://theathletic.com/5352707/2024/03/20/oilers-philip-broberg-nhl-stats/
Petrov with the SO winner in the extra round.
Holloway stopped but then Pederson, Gagner and Petrov score and Rodrigue stops 2 of 4 (after 27/29 in the game – neither goal was bad).
Pederson 4 for 4 on the year.
And Petrov chosen before Bourgault, Savoie or Lavoie.
Not a big tell, but a small one.
I’m not even exaggerating when I say I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game where one team turns the puck over within 10 feet of their own blueline trying to exit as the Wranglers.
Condors have 41 shots (to 24) and the spread in play is probably even larger – they should have 5-6 goals min.
Very Oiler like in their finishing.
For some reason I posted these on yesterday’s thread:
—————————
Holloway loses the defensive zone draw cleanly on the 4 on 4 but he jumps out, picks the puck off the d-man and goes on a full ice 2 on 1 with Savoie – no pass, snaps one far side to take the 2-1 lead 5 min in to the 3rd.
The goal against Rodrigue was a no-chancer. Peters got WALKED and the Wranglers went in on a 2 on 1 and a pass across for an easy goal.
______________________________
That didn’t last long, Kemp loses a battle behind the net (double-teamed), Klapka walks out and goes bar down far side.
2-2
Holy Hell Max Wanner.
A bad pass at the offensive blue by the Wrangler d-man, Wanner jumps the gap and intercepts it, at FULL speed instantly, coming up the right wall, bounce pass to himself off the wall in the neutral zone to beat the d-man. Catches up to the puck at the faceoff dot and clappers one for SH goal of the year (although the goalie should have had it).
Thanks OP!
So….Broberg-Wanner is the 3rd pairing next year?
Summarizing!
Day permitted five goals on 29 SOG in a loss.
Without going into the possible playoff scenarios, looks like Flint can only climb as high as 7th now.
Day-oh!
Day light come and me wanna go home.
Day did not have a day.
Team flew more like a Flintstone than a Firebird.
But… all the American OHL teams make the playoffs though for the first time since there were three, I believe.
Day-man could very well be a fighter of the Knight-men in the first round.
11 minutes in to the first and the shots are 10-0 Condors and the Wranglers have a single shot attempt.
Oops, first shot on net registered.
Savoie stopped on two grade A’s on the same shift – a FANTATIC offensive zone shift by Hamblin, Gagner, Savoie – turned a couple of pucks over and where VERY dangerous.
Go Wild!
Rodrigue get the start on the back to back and Kemp is up to play with Broberg.
Glad to see Kemp moving up.
Wanner since January 24th: 26, 2-6-8 +17
That’s all even strength scoring, BTW.
I used January 24 as I was comparing him to Justin Barron, who was suggested elsewhere as a summertime target for the Oilers. Barron’s first game in the AHL this year was January 24th, and he has posted 23, 1-9-10 +0 (PP: 0-3-3) in that span.
Wanner might be closer than I thought. If he keeps this up he’ll earn a recall next year, pretty sure.
You should see what Wanner JUST did (as I was reading this post).
It looks more and more like LA will be the first round opponent.
Not thrilled about that, but it’s most likely better than over taking Vancouver and playing Nashville. They’ve been unbelievable of late and we’ll see if they cool down by the playoffs.
Oh and if Minni beats LA tonight, Vegas will really be feeling the heat!
Also on Hertl… he’s expected to start skating next week. Then will come practices and then playing.
Fun fact. From CapFriendly.
Estimated Salary Ependitures for the WC
Vegas – $115,809,881
Colorado – $106,932,500
Vancouver – $101,547,500
Edmonton – $93,241,250
Dallas – $91,995,000
L.A. – $89,382,500
You might not be able to buy a cup like in the good old days but you can still try to. 😎
EDIT: Just saw your “cribbed” conversation from TSN and should have popped this down there.
I’m guessing this includes the analytics departments too?
Player salaries only as opposed to cap hit.
Thanks, I was trying to be funny but clearly failed.
Sorry, yes it failed but it was probably me. I was fixing the world on twitter and was distracted. 😎
Nope, definitely not just you. Hope you made a real difference on Twitter 🙂
Agreed Lowetide. I watched the game without checking social media throughout and came away with a take of, “they played well against a young hungry team, great to get the W.” Then I opened Twitter and, well, it appeared that the Oilers had spat in the face of the City of Edmonton with the way they played.
I just don’t get it. I remember quite a few times during the DoD where those absolutely terrible rosters would go out and get a surprise win against an eventual Stanley Cup finalist or champion. And that was in a league that had even less parity than there is now.
I go to NHL.com, I look at the standings, and I look at the last 10 of all teams. Oilers are 7-1-2. Two teams have a better record, the Avs and the Canes. That’s it, that’s all.
I dunno, I just can’t be convinced that the world is ending, following a win like that, despite how much social media seems to demand it be the case.
You have a good team when the biggest complaints are 1) they didn’t win by enough, and b) my favourite player is “blocked” in the minors.
This
I was driving back from Bonnyville last night. So listened on CHED.
Bob was tearing them apart for ‘losing board battles’ and ‘being completely out worked’ by the Habs.
They did. They decided to coast last night and did just enough to survive with the two points, in part thanks to Picks. They didn’t battle hard, scarcely hit a thing, did not impose their will physically.
They weren’t all awful and they skated hard when they needed to, never panicked, but it was a disappointing effort.
Probably even more demoralizing for the opposition in a way.
I remember many years of being that team that brought the effort only to be out skilled in the end by the better team.
I like being on the other side of it now.
I’d add:
We need a goalie that can outplay opposition goalies and steal a game every now and again….
To
Our goalie was a little better than their goalie but the rest of the team should’ve done more
If it’s not the sun, it’s the rain.
There are always these kinds of comments when it comes to Oilers winning or losing:
Oilers beat a weaker team and it’s “who cares, the real test is playing against a strong team!”
Oilers lose to a weaker team and it’s “the Oilers will not win the cup this year if they can’t even beat these weaker teams!”
Oilers win against a strong team and it’s “Oilers were lucky to win that! They only won because *insert name of player who had a standout performance* carried them!”
Oilers lose against a strong team and it’s “the Oilers have no answers and are doomed. Doesn’t matter what happens from here on, this year is pretty much over.”
Oilers whenever they go to OT “they need to clean up their game! They shouldn’t have let it even go to overtime! They are lucky to even get a point!”
Nurse breathes “this obsession with Nurse is reaching manic proportions. He is massive draft fiasco. He cannot contribute any real defense even while playing with some of the best players in world. Watch a game occassionally instead of believing in statistical inference as equivalent of truth and reality.”
Holland breathes “this is what happens when u put a vacuum salesman in charge of an nHL team”
Post of the sesaon!
Remember when the season was over after like 9 games? Really a lot of people thought the Oilers were done back in early Nov.
Anyway, nice post.
This is so good!
Good teams win when they bring their “A” game.
Great teams find a way to win when they only have their “B, C, or D” game.
The intensity level for them was bound to come down. Coming off a game like they did against the Avs, to playing a bottom 7 team. They played ok, which is all they needed.
Agree! If we can beat the weak teams with our B or C game then I think THAT bodes well for the playoffs. I’m surprised how many people here want every game to be balls to the wall yet we also talk about load management and being fresh for the playoffs.
I think the players are starting to juggle that right now.
I wanted to share this story of Chris Simon:
In 2005-06, I lived in Edmonton with my sister. At the time, my father had been dating Donna Simon, Chris’ aunt for a few years. They came to visit us that spring of ’06. Chris gave his aunt four tickets to the April 1, 2006 game in Edmonton, Oil vs Flames. Tickets were three rows back of Roloson.
Except I wasn’t there. You see, I was working for Intuit Canada, headquarters to QuickTax, now known as TurboTax. And it being the final month of tax season, I was not given approval to take the last minute day off for the game.
Apparently Roli flashed my sister a couple of smiles.
Sounded like the perfect time to deploy the good, old “Family Emergency”.
Given the location of our tickets it would have just been my darn luck that we would have been on the broadcast!
And it’s better to beg for that forgiveness than ask for permission. Besides, this was all about emergent family… 😉
One friend of mine lost his dear gramma nine times.
Made me snort. Thank you for this!
At my buddy’s wedding years ago, the best man speech talked about how they used the ‘grandma died’ excuse to get out of hockey practice because they were hungover. Only problem was, grandma was at the wedding and did not find that anecdote very funny!! She was alive and well!
Vegas held the Bolts to 21 shots last night. Mr. Hill managed to stop 16 of them.
Hill rocking a cool .888 sv% with a 3.51 GAA since the start of February.
Cribbed from TSN’s Insider Trading, some discussion on LTIR, Playoff cap and the Vegas shenanigans seems to be under way amongst the teams…
Yeah, the big problem for the league is that the salary cap was created with an eye to equal spending instead of competitive balance. Guys on LTIR often have insurance cover off the salary for the LTIR period so dollars are saved/spent at a similar rate but the playoffs are “salary-free” so it will be difficult to get everyone to agree to a solution.
This is a great Economics lesson. Intervene in an economy and you soon find yourself contemplating interventions to fix your prior interventions. Commenters here might possibly have personal experience with an economy where such foolishness has happened.
I don’t see a good way through. If I’m the PA, I’m using this as a hammer issue to get rid of the cap. But let’s say both parties are supportive of the cap in a general sense…. what are the best options?
1) Perhaps the most commonly put forward is to restrict a player whose cap was in LTIR at the deadline through the end of the season from playing in the first round. I don’t see the PA ever agreeing to this. And it can be circumvented by throwing a player in the line-up for the last game of the season. Maybe give him one shift.
2) All teams not in LTIR are entitled to an extra say 10% cap at the deadline. The exact number that works best can be drilled down on. Or entitled to as much cap as the playoff team with the most LTIR space.
3) All cap calculations are to the trade deadline only. Payroll still occurs after that date but was pro rata’ed to the TD for salary cap purposes. Any salary acquired after the TD acts like the playoffs do now… no cap restriction.
4) Get rid of the salary cap. All these problems would go away.
Any other ideas floating around out there?
Sorry, should’ve included the obvious one:
5) Extend cap compliance through the playoffs
Yes, ice any lineup you want from your available players but the salaries of the 20 designated players cannot exceed the salary cap.
This does NOT solve the issue. Vegas’ iced roster was “cap compliant” every game last season after they used circumvention (delaying a Stone activation) to acquire Barbashev.
Great post laying out the options. There may also be a middle ground between keeping the salary cap in place and abandoning it: a soft cap with luxury tax. That could be lumped in with the PA trying to get rid of the cap I suppose.
If there were still a cap in place, and it remained in place for playoffs, but teams could pay a luxury tax on any overage. Would that solve the issue of “fairness” and be palatable to owners? All teams would be able to go over the cap come playoffs, but they would have to pay a premium for it.
Again though, that is just adding more complexity to the whole system.
Can you give me a tl:dr on other leagues that use the luxury tax and how it works? In particular, is it redistributed to the other teams or does it simply go in the league coffers and enhance the revenue sharing bottom line?
I’d consider a re-distro that also gets added to each team’s cap space, with no luxury penalty. But like you said, simplicity is not a feature of this system.
In baseball the Luxury Tax is sent to a pool for general revenue sharing that includes ALL general revenues sent for sharing. The Pool is divided up evenly between all teams so you have payors and payees. So the larger the payroll, the more you pay and the more for everyone else to divvy up.
One of the very positive things about the NHL salary cap is indeed some form of league parity. I don’t think anyone really wants to mess that up and as we finally get out of COVID escrow hell I’d bet the players are keen to let it ride for a while.
To take this further lets look at the league. Aside from the Yotes being the Yotes, all the large market teams sans Chi and Habs are kicking out the jams. The largest TV markets in the U.S. are seeing playoff chases, Michigan is getting one hell of a playoff fight after a crazy sports year, Washington is back from the Dead, Florida is having a moment alongside Raleigh. None of the expansion teams are DoA. We have the Canadian media deal coming up soon. And we’re about to see Best on Best International hockey for the first time in way too long.
I think the most likely scenario is that nothing really happens. Maybe the NHL beefs up its LTIR investigative arm and a draft pick or two gets surrendered if there is funny business, but a wholesale set of changes or cracking open the CBA early? I don’t see the momentum for it.
This was the first intermission broadcast last night on TSN3 Habs vs Oilers, much more hockey focused than the Sportsnet intermission.
Is this a better lineup if we go with the speed for Henrique. Is it too much d responsibility for Draisatl? or does having Nuge and Brown there mean it’s a line that match against anyone?
Kane. McDavid. Hyman
Nuge. Draisatl. Brown/Perry (tough matchup line)
McLeod. Henrique. Foegele
Drai Foegs Cloud is fast effective responsible. Keep as is. McDavid Kane Hyman is workable, and might push McD to pull the trigger more. Henrique Nuge Brown is your speedy responsibly shutdown. Possibly?: outscoring.
Small sample size alert!
McDavid is averaging 3.47 shots per game this season and last night QuantHockey lists him as having taken 9 shots. That matches the eye-test – he was shooting from all over.
Vegas started the year 20-5-5.
Since then they are 16-20-2.
I know they added at the deadline, but I think I would rather play them in Round 1, than face L.A. …
LA started the year 20-7-4
Since then they’re 15-15-7
I get the point you’re making, but I think it applies to both teams.
L.A. has a scoring problem against skilled teams. Especially as the season has worn on. They also have a defensive problem against skilled teams which has gotten worse as the season has worn on.
They also have a losing to the Oilers problem.
Definitely going to fun to watch the faces of Pouty Doughty and Will Ferrell when the Kings are beaten by the Oilers for the 3rd year in row.
all good points. Guess time will tell who we get in Round 1 !
Do you not remeber matching game suspensions??
1 flagrant infraction surely worth a few games
Vs
1 rarely even called technicality to fight at end of game against willing opponent who was clearly trying to fight at near and at end of game.
Insane. Like ridiculously insane, no way its that other way around.
Hard pass on betman’s expansion fee darlings advertisement.
Lets not forget that infraction was called 3-4 times during the regular season and the mandatory suspension waiver EVERY time.
Considering the loss of a Boston area talent ala Marino, it’s nice a player like Maximus was in our backyard. Never let the enemy steal from your cookie jar. There’s gold in them there mountains if you dig hard enough.
First season’s like this show a talent spike we all crave for in AHL projects that rarely ever comes. Kudos to the player, and, hopefully, to the coaching staff and development team for building on an astute pick. More please, especially with forwards.
Stauffer and Chaulk both haven’t given up on Philp either. Seemed they like him better than Grubbe but the runway is longer for JG. There’s an admission Hollywood and Broberg are too good for the league, it’s a matter of time and opportunity.
I really don’t want to play the Kings again. They’re heavy, dirty, and an all-round pain-in-the-ass to endure in a 7-game series. They hurt Leon in 2022. I’m sure Hyman was hurt against them in 2023. They play exactly the way playoff refereeing incentives line up so as to provide an environment to take max liberties on the opposing team and pundits will smile and call it “old-time hockey”. Anything more than a 5 game series against a team like that is so taxing as to massively reduce remaining fuel reserves for Stanley.
I don’t want to play the Kings.
Neither. Probably what the Stars said about us every series after that first one.
Oiler PR department working hard for Brown
Brown
GF 10 / GA 17
Hamblin
GF 9 / GA 5
Erne
GF 6 / GA 4
Just because Connor Brown can’t score does not mean he is a defensive specialist.
Connor Brown
5v5 TOI: 593:03 / 1.72 GA/60
Hamblin
5v5 TOI: 239:28 / 1.25 GA/60
Erne
5v5 TOI: 172:12 / 1.39 GA/60
PuckIQ also has Connor Brown’s ice time vs elite players at 174 minutes (4-9). Hamblin and Erne combine for around 80 minutes against the elites (4-4)
Erne has also played 4 minutes on the Penalty kill this year, Hamblin has played 3:42, with virtually no stats of note for either. Brown, on the other hand, has 107 minutes on the penalty kill, and has been on for 7 goals against, or 7.06 GA/60. That is currently good for 70th in the league out of 160 who have played at least 6o PK minutes.
I am not here to defend Connor Brown and convince anyone he is a defensive savant, but comparing Brown to two heavily sheltered players, without accounting for his penalty killing, seems disingenuous to me. Context doesn’t make Connor Brown look like Sergei Fedorov by any stretch, but context helps us to view the player with nuance, rather than accept he is either ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
Okay.
Take Hamblin and Erne out if you wish.
Epic futility in the offensive end – despite time with the Gods.
Glad to hear you will not try to convince anyone that Connor B. is a defensive
savant.
You will forgive me if I did not mention Brown’s PK prowess – the local media – only mentions this in every 2nd sentence about Brown.
Almost like they are over compensating for something.
Derek Ryan is 8-17 goals. I’m mystified as to why those two don’t ever get HS’d.
They do though
Not very often, compared to how little they contribute.
Well, you did say ‘don’t ever’ so…
Within this past week they’ve both been HS’d
Yep.
One or the other of them has been HS’d in 5 of the 6 games since the trade deadline.
I was very, very late on the 2RD being an issue. But, if the plan is to have Vinny up there- it clearly is an issue.
I am very undecided on the – BIG- downgrade in team speed- with our new additions. Perry, Henrique and Carrick …..
Holloway has to find a home up here and like LT mentioned- Henrique *needs* speedy wingers.
Interesting both Henrique and even the plumber Carrick now have a goal with us.
Just more context to what Connor Brown is doing this year…
Calvin Pickard for Vice Prime Minister!
I don’t believe Henrique’s goal was even shown in slow motion, it wasn’t needed. Calm and savvy.
Henrique 6GP (1-1-2)
Sam Carrick 5GP (1-0-1)
Connor Brown 56GP (1-5-6)
This….
Janmark has looked good with Nuge in the past. So that’s another option as well as Brown on a defensive shutdown third line with Henrique & Nuge.
Actually Janmark might be better than Brown. Good calll.
FWIW, Jack Michaels truly is the best in the business. Who else can call that fight with such precision and flair? I know some don’t like him I guess because he goes off on tangents from time to time but for me it lends him a sort of timelessness. His calls are spot on. Even if his vocabulary is a little colourful and mixed (what the he’ll is a fuselage of offence?) it is wide-ranging. Sportsnet really needs to find a way to get him some playoff games.
Fusillade.
Omg I was hearing fuselage and now I know a new word.
Clearly a controversial opinion, but I agree! This is as someone who typically HATES “gimmicky” announcers/commentators, but Jack’s style feels authentic and doesn’t wear out its welcome for me.
There are a few public figures who can do a quirky style right, and they usually have a lot of would-be copycats who do it terribly.
Jay Onrait – love him, but he’s almost the worst thing to happen to Canadian sports highlight shows because for years everyone tried and failed at copying his goofy charm.
Norm MacDonald/Mitch Hedberg – may they both rest in peace. Comedy legends at the “anti-comedy” style, which is cringeworthy when attempted by 99% of other comedians.
And now we have Jack Michaels who has repaired the psychic damage I suffered every time I had to listen to Don Taylor. I fear he won’t be on local Oilers broadcasts forever and I will appreciate him while he’s here!
He’s an American doing play-by-play for a hockey-ravenous Canadian market. That should tell you all you need to know: he’s exceptional.
I get how he may not be the flavour for everyone but he’s vastly superior to Singh, Quinn, that clown in Vancouver, Hughson. He scales his intensity to the game flow like Bob Cole in the 90s. He’s eloquent and he’s got that evening punk radio DJ vibe.
I didn’t like him at first but he slowly won me over.
I’ve grown to like him on television. Some of it’s schtick, but the excitement is there and he seems to enjoy what he does.
On radio (when HNIC gets the national game), he’s very difficult to follow as he gets onto other subjects and stats and misses a lot of the game. As someone who grew up listening to the Yankees on WMCA in New York (Messer, Rizzuto and Bill White), I think that’s where Jack’s real calling is because there’s so much filler between pitches.
I’ve come to really like Cam Moon on the radio broadcasts – and will sometimes just synch the radio broadcast with the video. It’s a nice treat.
No.
I actively watch the other team’s broadcast to avoid him.
This isn’t wrestling.
Pronounce players’ names correctly.
Stop using different words that don’t add value just to try to be different.
It isn’t football – the left and right teams don’t determine wind direction and are entirely dependent on where the broadcast booth is.
Stop ruining amazing Oilers moments by screaming over them.
I could go on. We were spoiled with Rod Phillips, but it isn’t too much to ask to have a proper game caller.
Hoping every single day that TSN gets the broadcast rights next time.
hear, hear. I logged on today specifically to respond to this. I can’t stand the Shrieker. We keep the sound low when we have no alternatives. Oilers haven’t had anyone to compare to Rod Phillips, and it isn’t just my old age talking
I think 3 of them are boring or worse
It’s almost embarrassing, when I find an away feed
Yep, people complain about Minny and other broadcast crews …then fully get on board with Jack Michaels calls.
Spot on.
The long-winded tangents and self-deprecating stories going nowhere slowly all come at the expense of calling the game, and are as absurd as they are tiresome.
I typically opt for the other market broadcast because the Oilers crew is… sub-optimal. They’re not the worst in the business. But they’re comfortably in the bottom third.
TSN is the gold standard. I also hope they can pony up for the broadcast rights, because Sportsnet and CBC have produced amateur results (at best) for years. It’s embarrassing how bad their products are, and unfortunately they continue trending in the wrong direction.
Boring, holy cow, who wants more boring?!! You gotta or the Jack! Lol
Made for TV. Dislike on radio (i.e. wtf just happened while you reminiscing to the side?)
Divisive opinion for sure.
His yelling doesn’t bother me, and it would otherwise, except for the fact that he is truly genuine, he loves what he’s doing and he does it with charm and confidence. He doesn’t have that contrived jock voice of so many US play by play guys (prime example the other Jack… Edwards) with that weird twang, so when he goes loud I don’t mind.
I guess I just don’t mind the things I wish he didn’t do (like effectively call games early, “that should ice it!” or the inside baseball joking with Louie, which I’m not even convinced Louie likes) because I just sort of like the guy. I get a chuckle out of him, which in a broadcast world that plays it so safe, is at least refreshing.
I feel like the man is constantly yelling at me…he rarely follows the action on the ice because he is constantly off on a tangent with Louie. I am not positive that he is even an Oiler fan as he much prefers a close game rather than a big Oil victory. I mostly watch the oppositions broadcast and receive better play by play and much more positive Oiler talk.
He’s yelling WITH you.
Might need to get a rule book check on augmented reality visors. If they’re legal, I say get the Oilers outfitted with ones that project Boston Bruins jerseys onto lesser opposition teams.
I had to check. They apparently are legal, but the rulebook stipulates that Calgary would have to also be awarded a third round pick and a matching set of visors.
Broberg’s penalty in Game 5 really wasn’t a penalty. It was a rookie who the refs believed had to be doing something illegal because he was doing something the rest of the Oilers defense could not do, battle Eichel to a draw.
Dylan Holloway is but a phone call away.
Kenny has a 10-year delay on his phone line to Bakersfield.
My understanding is they don’t have the cap space to call him or Broberg back up right now.
They could waive Brown to make the cap space though …
They certainly do have the cap space to call one if them up, maybe not both. But waiving Brown or Ryan creates enough cap space for both easily.
But why risk losing depth right before a long playoff run??
I pointed out during the game last night the comment by MacT that the Oil had been after Stetcher since his UND days.
That sounds like it implies a potential longer term relationship. Which surprises me for a 29 yo, 5’10”, 185 lb Dman. He’s like opposite Vinnie. Guy can skate and make a pass though.
God I hope not. Stecher has played 489 NHL games and is -0.3 GA / 60 over that time. He is tiny and is not going to get any better.
Vinnie on the other hand has only played 99 NHL games and is -0.2 GA / 60 in his career. He is HUGE and will continue to improve.
Hope the team and Vinnie can get a contract done this summer.
Well, we know a couple of things. One is that players don’t own their GA numbers, although they do contribute to them. Another is that we haven’t seen enough of this player in Oilerland to make a concrete decision.
I neither hope nor hope not on Stetcher. I would rather see more than make a snap decision on a player. The point here is to look while we have the opportunity as those looks might be needed come off-season analysis. There’s no need to make a decision now, so why make one, unless it’s to show off?
I like Vinnie too. A lot. But he’s not a critical piece and may want to get paid like one. Let’s skate into the future with our heads up and aware of ALL our passing options.
Dmen should never be evaluated by stats as individuals but as pairs. Complementary skills are key imo.
Agreed, now is the time to experiment and find out what they have that works and what doesn’t.
Agreed on pairings. I’d add qualcomp to the mix. And, if we’re talking goals against, like above, the goalies should be involved too.
Yeah, I usually just look at TOI as a proxy for qualcomp &, of course, the goalie is good or bad for all the players on the ice so you can only decipher these things with clarity with comparison within the team itself.
TOI is easily the stat I rely on the most in the hockey.
Yeah, its almost like you should know who is good at what on your team if you are an NHL coach. Exceptions, as with all things, but they don’t tend to last long.
Curious what this number is and where it’s from?
At 5v5 that’s out by an order of magnitude and even then expresses his worst season and not his aggregate. almost all of which is better than that.
Very interesting they’ve been interested going that far back.
I don’t know what the -0.3 GA/60 stat is or where it’s from, but it looks like Stecher’s had a positive GF%rel to team for his career (pretty sure I calculated it right). Definitely a decent player.
And in terms of Stecher vs. Desharnais, I’d note that Stecher isn’t going to be expensive. Vinnie’s ask will determine whether he stays or goes, but Stecher’s salary isn’t what would prevent the Oilers from keeping them both.
I think Elgin reacted the way he did because he thought I was maing this about VD vs TS. My “Opposite Vinnie” was really just about size.
What do you think–Stanley or no–about the idea of trading Nurse?
I love the player, but I love cap space lots too.
If you could find a player who could be a stalwart next to Kulak (and that guy might be Ceci or Desharnais), would you run something like
Eks — Boosh
Kulak –Desh or new guy
Bro — Stetch or new guy
Just spitballing, and I’d hate to lose Nurse, but that’s potentially a lot of savings.
Yeah, I’d prefer Desharnais as well if it were an either/or question, but there’s lots of other moving parts to that make it more complicated than that.
And trading Nurse. My first thought is what does the stalwart cost? Kulak with Bouchard/Barrie weren’t cutting it last year. I’m highly skeptical Ceci or Desharnais are that player. Theoretically, sure, but the trade/replace/save isn’t so straight forward to pull off on multiple levels.
My feeling on Kulak, and this is intended for Gretzky Jersey below too, is that he couldn’t carry Boosh while Boosh was still finding his way. That’s not the same as not being able to hack second pairing IMO.
He has great numbers here and has all the tools, especially strong and fast. What if he was paired with someone Ceci level or the next level better? I’d think he’d be much better at handling that comp defensively. That wasn’t a long stretch and we don’t know what other factors were involved, like a nick or two
I see a guy I think can do it given the right partner. Then it comes down to what that will cost. If that guy is Ceci, that nothing in terms of acquisition. If it isn’t, then one presumes trading Nurse would provide some assets. Find someone with a quality second pairing but desperately needs help on their first.
But I agree it wouldn’t be simple. He has an NMC for starters. And you’d want to know what was happening with Drai’s camp before making any change this sweeping.
Like I said, I’m just spitballing. If there are sweeping changes though, might start with Nurse.
Yes, it’s certainly not inconceivable. I definitely don’t hope or expect we’ll see sweeping changes this summer though.
Moving Nurse would require Broberg ascending to second pairing on merit rather quickly, as my recollection of Kulak in that role leaves me wanting. Love the player, I seem to be one of the few here who appreciates how much he elevates his game during playoffs. But I don’t think he’s bonafide in the top four.
And as much as I love My Cousin Vinny, I have a hard time seeing him in the top-four on a permanent basis. So the new RHD would have to be a fit with Broberg.
This also assumes continued good health and lack of age regression from Ekholm. If he hits the wall, or it out for any significant length of time, this ship is sunk.
Doable? Yes. Lots of moving parts to pull off the gambit successfully.
Bouchard was primarily to blame for the Guhle goal. So praising him on a night he made another coverage error…
This.
Bouchard is outstanding. But Guhle skated right through the spot where any RD on the planet should have been .
Watch what his partner Nurse did on that play.
There is wrong and then there are Bouchard haters.
65 points in 66 games with 37 of those at EV. Now all alone behind the one and only Assistant Coach with the most points for a dman in an Oiler season.
He’s also a tidy +25 on the year so far good enough for 8th in the NHL amongst dmen.
The forwards were primarily responsible for the Guhle goal…..
Even the coach in the post game presser mentioned that the defenseman make an incorrect decision on the Guhle goal.
So, are we allowed to take the coach’s word with gospel the multitude of times he words are opposite of your analysis of culpability on a goal against?
The scouts found Wanner in the pandemic, but they didn’t find Johnston, even though Coffey told them about him.
Yeah that is frustrating, and I say that as had someone who had Johnston as a 2nd rounder on my own list that year so was also clearly wrong on him. What a player he seems to be.
I had him No. 47.
https://lowetide.ca/2021/07/23/here-comes-the-sun-2021-draft-edition/
In a redraft Johnston would go first or second overall. 18 teams didn’t find him that had the chance to draft him. I can’t get too bent out of shape about that one. He didn’t play in his draft year, so his most recent season was .56 ppg as a 16 year old. And this is in a draft year that people knew going in that it would be wonky. The optics will certainly not look good for the Oilers if for no other reason than he was the next guy after our pick.
Prospectery!
Nathan Day and the Birds of Fire (a forgotten doo-wop group from bygone days) currently occupy 8th in their conference. There’s a faint hope of finishing 5th, but the two teams right above Flint play each other.
As for the Day-man himself, he’s 25-24-1-1 on the season with a 3.74 GAA and 86.8 SV%. (Oddly enough, he has a better SV% in the shootout than in reg/OT. Only 8 attempts though, so small sample warning applies.)
Day gets the chance to reel in the 6th place Erie McDavids at 5 p.m. Telfordville time.
Telfordville, nice! My sister lives there. A beautiful little hamlet in the Strawberry Creek valley.
Been more whop than do, so far.
A few posters hoping for the VGKs to miss the playoffs – it might happen although it has not happened in 28-years (95/96 Devils). STL has one of the easiest remaining SOS in the entire NHL! Wild have a slightly harder path, but have a remaining schedule that appears much easier than the VGK.
Wild play VGK twice (March 30 / April 12) and STL once (March 23). SLT plays VGK once on March 25th.
Given the head-to-head match ups, we should have some clarity in just 5 days (March 25th) and should have a good idea who is in by the end of the month.
Go Wild Go – one more playoff run for MAF!
Yes, and it would be sweet karma to have him beat the Knights who essentially shafted him after he gave them a punchers chance in his first year there.
Is being an Oiler fan like being a farmer? It never rains enough unless it rains too much, and we will all still shake our heads after a bumper crop?
Lately I’ve been thinking about the Rory Fitzpatrick All Star game fan campaign way back when. One of their brilliant fan videos questioned whether Lidstrom was All Star material because he posted a -4 in a game against the Blackhawks or something. Not every game is a Picasso, for any team. When this team is on its game they can win even one of those 20 games they are destined to lose no matter what. Will that team show up in the playoffs? Don’t know, but it isn’t a foregone conclusion that they won’t.
Or maybe I’ve had too much coffee and everything is great no matter what.
I can’t say I’m a fan of Hyman and Kane with McDavid which seems to be the fashionable suggestion lately. I would like to get Kane going for the playoffs though.
I don’t see a good way to do it other than raising or dropping Highlander.
Kane is fine as long as one doesn’t play him with Brown. This is true for pretty much every forward on the Oilers. Even Brown struggles playing with himself.
Does one want Brown’s on-ice scoring event suppression both ways, or does one want some scoring from the third line, risking more goals against. That is the question. Not sure which way I lean.
I saw badly want to insert a Beavis and Butthead GIF in here.
Kane just doesn’t look same since that injury. While his passing was never strength it seems far degraded now….him skating with posession seems to generally end poorly (he’s high in gva considering not defenseman or primary puck carrier). Speed and defense never strength = he’s likely going to continue devaluing.
I’m probably in a very small minority here but I’d honestly buyout Kane (if can’t trade holding 1.5-2.0 million) and Campbell this offseason.
Worst case of buy both:
Yr/Campbell/Kane/neal -> gain
2024 +3.9, +1.62, -1.96 -> +3.5
2025 +2.7 +2.87 -> +5.5
2026 +2.4 -1.25 -> +1.15
2027 -1.5 -1.25 -> -2.75
2028 -1.5 -> -1.5
2029 -1.5 -> -1.5
There are currently carrying +1.4 cap space
Perry bonus: -0.325
Brown bonus -3.35
Cap increase minus bonus: +2.2
5.7 added next year
LW: nuge, mcleod, Holloway, X(janmark)
RW Hyman, foegle (if he signs 3x~3.5 ish), X, ryan/Carrick (type)
C mcdavid, drai, x(henrique if cheap x2-3 yrs), ryan/Carrick (type)
If foegle is just slight bump, henrique type @3 ish, Carrick type @2ish
That’s only eating max 1.5 million.
So 4.2 million of added is still floating. There are a ton of RW UFA this offseason (biggest surplus I’d say). Pie I’m sky maybe you can get the likes of P Kane on a discount 1yr or there’s guys like ardvison or silfverberg who might be open to a 1 year for cheaper than brown by a solid amount…(ideally someone with some wheels still.
Or take foegles money if you can get the reinhart types (my #1 target in offseason tbh, pretty durable, 28 yrs old)
Kane is a lock to score 20+ a year and you want to buy him out? Now I’ve seen everything.
One thing I would do is take Nuge off the top pp unit and replace him with Kane. Nuge is not very dangerous on the powerplay as of late. Having two guys down low would force two defenders down low creating 3-2 everywhere else and a ton of space for Mcdavid Drai and Bouchard
I just recall how the PP cratered a few years ago (along with the PK) when RNH was out of the lineup. Decent idea but if they are going to try this it needs to be now. Need set lines and D-pairs playing the last 10 games or so to setup for the eventual SCF.
Kane might be more a scoring threat but I don’t think that he can move the puck around like Nuge does. If Nuge never scores again it’s OK as long as he’s still feeding McD, Drai, Bouch and Hyman.
Nuge is way more skilled on the PP and is a fixture. Kane might be a good net front presence. But Hyman has that spot .
I agree. Nuge makes numerous subtle plays that keep the puck alive in the o-zone. Many quick passes, puck recoveries, pivots… Kane is not a deft passer and often makes poor decisions when pressured.
The PP has become 1 dimensional – get that seam pass across to Draisaitl – so I wouldn’t mind if they changed it up for a bit. Neither Nuge or McDavid are threats to score, adding someone who can score from distance from time to time would keep the opposition PK guessing.
Hardly one dimensional. What about the regular Bouch bombs? And McDavid is giving penalty killers anxiety every second he’s on the ice. Hyman’s doing alright too.
Strongly disagree. Nuge is the subtle piece that keeps that PP running. Look at how often he is the first player who is passed to immediately following the zone entry. From there, even under pressure, he almost always makes the right play to ensure the play continues from that spot and that possession is secured.
The PP is a bit stale, but I think that is more so the over-reliance on the Draisaitl one-timer. They need to be more comfortable firing that puck into traffic in front of the net – Hyman is so good he will make sure it is cleaned up. It doesn’t always have to be the cleanest look in the world.
This is exactly what I was going to post. Nuge is a very important piece on zone entries – not just receiving that first pass on the side-boards but being able to make a quick second pass with it which is where they usually gain space.
Pickard played good. I thought the players had their skating legs but lacked attention to detail. To many misplays for this time of the season. That game doesn’t win many and none against top tier teams. At this point you would like to see the team roll over a lesser lite like the Habs.
Connor played good but had to many passes picked off and whiffed on two good slot chances. Everyone seems just a beat off sync. Early sunday men’s league hangover game…pulled it off but it sure wasn’t pretty.
I think you have to give the Habs credit . They came to play. But Edmonton still found a way to win. Even if it was Henrique’s bloody nose that sealed the deal.
Yeah Henrique’s nose was the first star.
Hate playing teams that have nothing to lose. We played sloppy but so did they. They were cheating for offense and skating hard but running around. I thought they took a lot of cheap shots, too. Could’ve easily had a few injuries in that game(Henry’s nose, Kane took a hit stick and an elbow, ect…). Gotta put teams like that away early or their antics can bite you…
“Oilers played well” Ya they almost lost to a team that is clearly a non-playoff team.
Oilers found that sweet spot of doing just the bare minimum to win the game
That will serve them well in the playoffs
Yeah last quarter of the season is when you should be gearing up for playoffs and that was definitely not it.
This team needs more speed. I would put Holloway back in the lineup
Isn’t that what good teams do? Win.
They lost to a playoff team recently. Winning against weak teams don’t inspire confidence
Another potential late round gem!
Was it a blind luck pick or did they have him as a target based on some viewings (Oilers probably able to scout the WHL better than the eastern teams during the Covid times).
This team is the poster-team for “doing just enough to win”.
We saw ALOT of this during the 16 game winning streak (and the 8, and the 5) – its rarely pretty but they tend to just do enough to get the job done and get the 2 points.
It “looks concerning” but the fact that they are the points percentage leader since late November, and by a real margin over the Panthers, shows that the team is legit even if they don’t always look it.
As long as they continue to do just enough to win during the playoffs, all sins will be forgiven. They certainly look like a better team against stronger opponents.
Speaking of “Under Pressure”, the Vegreville Knights hold a mere 3 point lead on Minnesota, and a 4 point lead on St. Loo.
In terms of reinforcements they can’t activate Stone due to cap reasons – if he’s ready, which we all know he’s definitely not…
They do have Hertl coming back in about a week (maybe), but he’s a new guy on a new team and we all know how long it can take for high end forwards to develop chemistry when they move to a new team.
They might be in a spot of bother here.
I want video of Mark Stone sadly swinging on a creaky swing set in a desolate playground when Vegas miss the playoffs.
If Vegas gets in as the 8th seed, they could play Colorado in the first round which would be great for everyone else in the west.
Got two games left against the Wild which will likely decide it.
This is good “…at midnight in a snowstown in a pandemic in a coal mine in a canyon in the deep dark sunless distance, is a scouting genius.”
Does Holland have special glasses to give scouts like how his previous organization found Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Ericsson?
I’m shocked you didn’t try to go Japanese with it.