This is Adam Henrique’s player card at Puck IQ, with five-on-five numbers after the deadline. Puck IQ is a wonderful resource and informs us in a unique way. This player card tells us Kris Knoblauch did play Henrique against elites, but when he did (53 minutes away from McDavid) the Dangerous Fenwick (51 percent) and goal share (3-1) were rock solid. The chart tells us Knoblauch wanted Henrique to play ‘the middle’ opposition and Henrique obliged and delivered. That’s the role Knoblauch will ask Henrique to fill in the final.
POSSIBLE GAME 1 LINEUP
There’s a pile of stuff to talk about here. Henrique has two wingers who are playing well together and overall. Ken Holland is such a difficult subject (I will write about him in July) because there are both exceptional (Hyman, Ekholm) and ghastly (the asset cost, including cap, on the Duncan Keith deal, the Zack Kassian signing, others) transactions. Mattias Janmark and Connor Brown are playing great hockey, and this line has a chance to pass into lore as one of the great Oilers depth lines in Stanley Cup final history. Do you have a favourite trio from the past that doesn’t include 99, Messier, Kurri, Anderson, Hemsky or Smyth? I’ll go Jaroslav Pouzar-Ken Linseman-Pat Hughes, but there are so many. Jarret Stoll with Sergei Samsonov and Radek Dvorak was also cool, and Raffi played LW on that line, too.
I believe the Henrique deadline deal was an astute move. If Henrique helps Edmonton win Stanley, I suspect history will be kind to Holland on that transaction.
Nuge-McDavid-Hyman are running a 73 percent goal share at five-on-five and I’m not certain that even Aleksander Barkov can slow them down. Asking Barkov to reduce the goals scored by this line is one thing, but asking his line to outscore? Dunno, man. Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad will be key.
Leon Draisaitl with Connor McDavid this spring is 7-3 goals, 11-12 without the captain. That’s just a hair shy, but Draisaitl-Holloway is 5-3 goals in 85 minutes.
Remember when Philip Broberg lost his NHL job to Vincent Desharnais? I imagine we’ll see the big man as soon as he’s able, but then again Broberg is playing very well. He is 54 percent Corsi and 1-0 goals in just over 30 minutes, but his expected goals are not strong. Very small sample, but my guess is Desharnais gets a run in the final if he can wheel.
THE 20 BEST PLAYERS IN THE 2024 DRAFT
A busy show, Lowdown hits at noon, Sports 1440. We’ll chat about the Oilers with Bagged Milk, talk about the CFL kickoff week including the Elks at Commonwealth on Saturday against the green ‘Riders. 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. Question: Would you like to see an updated 2024 Lowetide draft list later this week?
was at game 6. now going thru all video. TOP 3 sporting experience of my life. (Golden #1) ,… whoever gets to go the final .#jealous .. ENJOY IT
T o the FLorida media: Really?? That’s all you got? Cheesy high school level smack? Bring it on the ice. You embarrass yourselves with that juvenile level trolling.
Could you imagine trying to troll fans of a team that made the Stanley cup finals. Pretty sad
Nurse might be worth trying on McDavid’s line against Florida lol
Not sure if this has been shared, but there’s a nice little piece in the WSJ about McDavid’s McDavidness. It’s from the perspective of a self-described non-hockey fan who’s now all-in on watching this series unfold. My favourite line is his description of McDavid’s game 6 goal, “I don’t know the correct hockey way to say it, but it looked like Fred Astaire pickpocketing a train car at rush hour”.
Link here (but it’s behind a paywall):
https://www.wsj.com/sports/hockey/connor-mcdavid-stanley-cup-final-edmonton-oilers-ee372201?mod=sports_lead_pos3#comments_sector
Our venerable host made the Fred Astaire comparison a few days ago too. He promised to explain what he meant later.
Haha of course! I was even going to say it sounded like the was channeling LT
Interesting the Oilers gave both starts against Florida to Pickard this season.
Torres-Peca-Pisani from the ’06 run was a favorite of mine, but I also liked it leading into the playoffs when it was Torres-Stoll-Pisani.
Other favs include:
Moreau-Reasoner-Pisani
Nilsson-Cogliano-Pisani
…seems to be a common thread here
Petr Nedved’s run in Edmonton was criminally short lived, but I loved the chemistry between him and Dvorak (my favorite Oiler pretty much from the moment he was traded here) with I believe Torres on the left side.
Moreau-Marchant-Greir was great.
EDIT – Sorry, I didn’t understand the assignment, not sure all of those are considered depth lines.
Does anybody know if the Oilers are perhaps the most Canadian team in years? We have 3 Swedes, 1 or 2 Americans depending if you count Campbell, and one giant German. The rest are Canadian.
Wasn’t Pisani-Peca-Torres a line?
If I recall correctly, each of those players were a revelation for the Oilers and were so key in them getting to game 7 of the SCF.
Certainly wasn’t what I’d consider a depth line, but it was composed of depth players punching way above their weight. Those 14 goals from Pisani alone would be evidence enough to make the case
They moved Peca to that line in the playoffs. It was the 3rd line, but probably played tougher minutes than Samsonov-Stoll-Dvorak which was probably listed as the 2nd.
I refuse to answer the troll but the Oilers and FLA are pretty much the same age. Looking at guys who actually play – Oilers a little older when Perry in the lineup 29.5 vs 29 – but actually younger if he doesn’t play and Okposo does at 28.3 vs 29. It’s a meaningless difference that varies depending on whether one or two older players dress on each side. Of course meaningless is the troll’s stock and trade.
Oilers have 12 guys who played all 18 games (7 forwards and 5 dmen) while 9 others have played less than 18 (backup goalie and #7 dman both played). FLA has 15 guys who have played all 17 games with 5 others getting minutes) (backup goalie and #7 dman have not played). You can argue that the Oilers actually have more depth. Bob is 35 and has played every game and about 80 more minutes than Skinner who is 25. Might make a difference in a long series – might not.
Pre-Scout Volume 2
1) Florida plays a hybrid style somewhere between L.A. and Dallas. They score and generate a lot of good chances off the rush. They cycle and create a lot of shots with in-zone play, but much less high quality shots from that. After cycle plays its crash the net and hope for a bounce.
2) Lots of playoff goals are coming from the LW and are getting scored on the short side. Stu will need to watch his post closely.
3) All the Cat opponents had defensemen who liked to chase in the d-zone. This opened up lots of down low over loads and/or back to front chances. Forsling in particular likes to sneak in when oppo dmen go chasing. The Oilers have been quite good lately at holding the fort here and closing down the middle. That will be key, channel your inner 2023 Knights boys.
4) Oiler dmen will have to watch their pinches in the neutral zone. FLA attacks the neutral zone hard and dmen jump into the rush. If they do FLA is going to have a harder time creating off the rush. They also seem to like coming in three across, pushing dmen back and finding the trailer.
5) Because FLA’s dmen jump up and/or are looking to jump down off cycles, there will be opportunities for odd mans the other way. Be patient and they will give them up.
5) Goalie Bob reminds me a lot of Mike Smith. He’s athletic and aggressive, but he seems to overplay and/or get caught in between his own moves.
6) LMHF #1 will love this, go high glove on goalie Bob, he keeps his trapper very low.
7) Goalie Bob’s right to left pushes are not the greatest and if anything he under plays them. Leon will get his shots on the PP.
8) FLA loves to chase in the dzone. The 2nd and 3rd pairings have a vulnerability about them in containing guys when they do this and the often lose guys on rotation.
Why read this when I can turn on the tv and DEPTH!
Thanks for posting – some very good stuff here.
Bruce Curlock posted his analysis as well today – and it covers much of what you have.
Florida runs a system similar to what Maurice ran in Winnipeg – so no surprise. It’s a 1-2-2 and the defense pinches hard. We should be used to it after playing Dallas and Vancouver. There will be opportunities to break it down, guys have to be alert. Doing this will create opportunities to counter attack.
Cycling in the d-zone and forcing Florida to defend is going to be important. It will create opportunities for PP if we’re disciplined.
Thanks! Hopefully it shows up in the games.
Is Curlock on OilerNation?
A few more
1) FLA’s cycle game is shot heavy. Almost like they have a shot clock. Lots of those shots come off the half boards, hash-marks to 7ft inside the blueline. Button hook to the inside and let fly is the favorite, but they’ll shoot from outside too. LW and LD take a lot of the shots and then they are dogged on the rebounds. The rebound part was what wore down the Bruins and Rags. If you block it high or if your goalie is good at smothering rebounds its an easy out though.
2) Goalie Bob is on the smaller side and he plays small. Down early and often, especially behind the net plays. The top 3rd of the net is always open. Get close to him and he’ll back off into his crease.
3) Yea the d pinches are kinda nuts. Forsling is very aggressive. He gets caught up a lot and sometimes in very weird spots. Like F1… Ekblad will do the same every now and then.
4) OEL and Kulikov have a tough time under pressure. Missed outlet passes, slow foot speed, chasing behind the net, slow off the wall after battles.
5) FLA has a habit of losing players on cycles. Its very obvious. A point shot or cross net pass is almost always open if they run around too much. Bouchard, Ekholm, Nurse and Ceci should keep their eyes open cause lanes will be open. I could see a Hyman far post tap in, or a Nuge just off the crease goal more than a few times.
6) Verheage is high event at both ends of the ice.
Boxing out well would alleviate a lot of their attack, but we aren’t that good at doing it
It can be a weakness for sure. But in the elimination games the boys forced a lot of shots from the outside and blocked out the sun down the slot.
Yes – Curlock is on Oilers Nation. He’s been a great read all playoff long.
I shall check it out. Don’t frequent ON too much. The ads and pops ups on that site drive me nuts.
Also their D group is pretty small other than Ekblad. Two at 200 and three of them under 190. Bang them up and tire them out battling our bigger forwards
I was also pleased to see they don’t run a new system and are pressure based like the Canucks. Nothing new to learn, just execute breakouts weak side and middle and in the O zone find the open ice they leave
I liked seeing Perry put back in last series but admit he seemed to fade fast after that first game. Not sure what Corey can contribute this go-round or whether he can continue to keep up.
Does anyone anticipate a role or a moment in this series where it might be appropriate to activate Gags?
I love Gagner very, very much. Hell, I’d love if he comes back next year! But unless there are injuries, I’d be very reticent to put him in after sitting for the better part of 6 weeks (I might have the timeline wrong.) But I also was against putting Broberg in after such a long layoff, and that worked out…
It’ll be enough for Gagner to get his name on the Cup. He doesn’t need to play.
I’ll take a committed Gagner over fly-by Foegele. The Coach might give Warren one more chance if not I trust his judgement.
Technically he needs to play in order to get his name on the cup (need to have played in 41 regular season games or a SCF game) – there is the ability to petition the league for exceptions.
Gagner had trouble keeping up down the stretch in the AHL….. no, he is almost assuredly not an option except if a number of real injuries appear.
Beasting the shist out of the Turtle.
Probably the most unsportsmanlike idea I’ve ever had….
If Kane can’t finish the series due to his hernia, why not take Chucky with him? Take the suspension and watch the Oil take on the Panthers without Tkachuk?
Might that not be followed with reciprocity aimed at McDavid?
I’m sure he’ll take plenty of cheap shots as is
For sure but escalating the arms race is generally not a good idea.
I am with HH. Thats not the game we want to play.
Me too. And I need a shower because agreeing with Sir Moves-All-Goalposts makes me throw up in my mouth a little and definitely makes me feel unclean.
Says who! Your credibility is nil! My background and experience knows you’re wrong!
I don’t think reciprocity means what you think it means.
Why do people always suggest this type of nonsense. When does this ever happen in hockey?
Answer: never.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/10121374-bruins-brad-marchand-says-trying-to-injure-opponents-is-part-of-nhl-playoffs.amp.html
I’d prefer to beat Chucky the old fashioned way: in 5 games with him cheating for offence on the goal that sinks ‘em.
4
I can’t stand Tkachuk… not because he’s bad at hockey, but because he is actually really good at hockey but despite that lowers himself to a level of douchebaggery that I believe doesn’t belong in hockey, and I think of he just focused more on being a good hockey player instead of the other things he’d be an even greater player, but he just can’t help himself.
So no, I don’t want any player that I cheer for to degrade themselves to that level, and honestly, the more he tries to be disruptive in negative ways the more it takes away from his effectiveness as a good hockey player.
The Oilers already broke him and his other team once, I look forward to breaking him again, but in a way that isn’t dirty.
For all the high-mindedness here, how did everyone feel when Kane took out Kadri against Colorado?
Seeing someone go hard head first into the boards is never enjoyable. Thankfully kadri only broke a thumb i think. Also i dont know that these dangerous plays typically are thought out. They are reactionary, trying to play hard, and its a thin line to balance.
There is a difference between playing someone hard, wearing them down, causing pain and intentionally taking someone out with a peitrangelo like crazy play.
Wasn’t that him just getting his hand squished on a clean hit? Or was the hit dirty? Honestly can’t remember.
It was a penalty for sure. A hit from behind. But not an overly vicious one.
Florida swept carolina in the ECF last year, iirc. When did they get so injured they couldn’t compete with Vegas? Was it during the finals or did it happen earlier?
Against Vegas,
Tkachuk suffered a broken sternum and both Ekblad and Montour required offseason surgery.
So in the first two games, Chucky just sucked then? He was injured in game three, LV literally crushed them in games 1 and 2. Maybe he was anticipating being injured? Probably that. Excited to hear those old goalposts move now champ. Please tell us all what we’re missing, oh great mystic.
In last year’s Cup Final the Panthers never led for a single moment. The only resilience they demonstrated was led by the Stahl brothers and Gudas in tying Game 3 in the final seconds then winning on a long bomb seeing shot by Carter Verhaeghe. The Bills never led for a second during their second Super Bowl loss either.
All the NHL broadcast teams ranked:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5521206/2024/06/06/nhl-broadcast-rankings-tv-2024-commentator/
On a related note…the Blackhawks have just hired Rick Ball away from the Flames to be their play by play caller.
OMG this has been fun. But I need to get out of my PJ’s and get on with my day.
The hell you do – PJ all day-day!
Change “day” to “month(s)” and I’m right with you.
Favourite depth lines:
Pouzar – Linseman – Lumley (1984)
Gelinas – Graves – Murphy (1990)
Moreau – Marchant – Grier (several years)
The latter was a great checking line that by ice time was the second line, so not exactly “depth”. The Oilers of that era had excellent first & “third” lines but a vacuum in between.
For me any line with Georges on it!
Is that the original Pouzar…..?
I loved the Rats line 2 shit disturbers and a Czech Panzer.
That was a greasy and strong line!
I loved the Kid line so much. I have to say, I was NOT a fan of MMG…not because they weren’t damn good, because they were. But because they got more Ice time than warranted…nothing like getting a saw off when it’s tied. I felt like they had to be broken up, just to save the coach from himself. Safe doesn’t win a lot of games. Just how I remember them, Bruce can defintely correct me and I defer to him because my memory is a couple of bowling balls rolling down a hill towards a glass factory.
Did they ever swap out Moreau on that line? My poor memory has Grier and Marchant as almost inseparable and I can never place who they played with.
I had such high hopes for former #2 Pat Falloon. What a disappointing year.
Once again, going in to the series, the general consensus is that the opposition has the goaltending advantage.
I agreed with that going in to the Dallas series. Jake O. was thought of as a top 10 if not closing in on top 5 goalie in the league. As it turned out, Jake O. was OK, not great, and Skinner outplayed him in many games and in aggregate over the series.
I agree, on the surface, Florida goes in to the series with a likely advantage in net but that doesn’t mean that’s how it will play out. Skinner outplayed Jake O. in a series and I think Jake O. is ranked higher that Bobrovsky these days. 14 months ago, before the playoffs last season, Bobrovsky was though of as having one of the worst contracts in the league.
Now Bobrovsky has bounced back and, of course, he has Vezina winning pedigree but he is also prone to slumps and isn’t a consistent high end tender.
SKinner could get hot. Skinner could slump. Bobrovsky could get hot. Bobrovsky could slump.
Heading in, sure, odds favor the Panthers here a bit but it really could go either way, right?
If Stu even plays as well as Goalie Bob, the Oilers win the series! Skinner does not have to be ‘better’ than Bob just his equal because in the skater category Oilers are waaayyyy better than another team with ‘better depth’.
The Principal comes through and plays fine – Oilers win the SC.
https://x.com/jfreshhockey/status/1798725315075956930?s=46&t=VKZ79-9hN-xwMNTBjohq7w
Foggy does not deserve a lineup spot. He did absolutely nothing
And he is the thirteenth forward at this time, a depth forward. But that could change.
But the Oilers have no depth according to non-meat media!
Foegele would have finished tied with Sam Bennet for 6th in scoring on the Panthers this season (both 20-21-41). But, Warren got 38 of his points at EV (18-20-38), whereas Dirty Sam only got 29 (15-14-29).
So, the team with ‘lesser’ depth healthy scratches a player that outscored FLA’s 2nd line center at EVs during the regular season.
SURPRISE!!!
Not to us in the hinterlands, just to the center of the universe and the US!
How many points would Bennett have playing with Draisaitl?
There’s Playoff points and puff cake regular season points. Foegele is sitting for a reason.
Bennett played 70% of his TOI with Tkachuck and well over 50% with Verhage – over 730 minutes with Tkachuk.
Foegele played like 330 minutes with Drai, like 33% of his TOI – his most common linemate was Ryan McLeod
Henrique was not a “sexy addition” at the deadline and there were many that wanted a name like Toffoli or Tarasenko or Guentzel.
Taking away Guentzel, who I don’t think was a realistic target, does anyone think this lineup would be better with Tyler T. or Vladdy T. over Henrique?
I would suggest, as some did at the time, that Henrique makes more sense for the lineup when your remove the PP value of the two other players. Henrique provides a ton of flexibility to the Oilers lineup being able to play on any of the top 3 lines and being able to play center in the middle six. His defensive responsibility is key in the Oilers’ overall commitment to checking and defending. He was the Oilers best faceoff guy in round 3 and he plays a role on the PK.
This was a solid and targeted deadline move.
Don’t forget Carrick.
Henrique over Toffoli was more understandable once it became clear that Kane was playing hurt.
Agree, well put. Always liked him.
This is a good post and a very astute point about PP value.
The question about Tank vs Henrique may be answered over the next 4-7 games.
Thanks for the numbers today LT.
I do think Barkov and crew with slow down the McDavid line, somewhat. This puts the onus on Drai to outscore. This will be the key to the series.
It’s going to come down to goal suppression. Both teams will be protecting their goaltenders. Both teams are comfortable in low scoring games. Special teams will be vital.
Barkov will most certainly be able to slow down some. He’s really good at his job. Mcdavid will have to fight through it, and 3 day breaks will push Mcdavid ice time
Lots of speculation that Barkov, due to size, will draw the Drai assignment while Sam Bennett and Tkachuk will be charged with containing McDavid.
FLA will want to keep the Turtle as far away from Kane as possible. Can he intimidate 97, Hyman or The Nuge – no he cannot.
Advantage Oilers!
I expect Skinner will get a lot of attention from them.
Do you mean Sam Bennett & Tkachuk will be in charge of putting McDavid in the hospital?
I think the last time Tkachuk got the McDavid assignment, he got eliminated from the playoffs and decided to leave Calgary. Sounds good to me.
This series comes down to Florida’s thrid line production vs. the Oilers special teams production (plus goaltending).
Favorite trio, The Kidline! Murphy, Gelinas, Graves!
Agreed
100%
They would have been starring for Bakersfield if Holland were GM.
Long time reader, first time poser. And poster.
Lowetide, thank you. For creating this space, sharing your wonderful writing, and moderating the crazies. Might as well fling another one on the jumble.
I enjoy hearing your stories of old, you colour it beautifully.
(Colour has a U, eh? They keep telling me my spelling ain’t right, and I talk funny)
Moved to Tampa FLA in 2022. Apparently they like hawkey here now.
It’s often harder to watch Oilers games down and over and down and over this way. So, I ‘preciate your port of call, to keep afloat of things back home.
Useta live in Edmonton for…algebra…long time. Steinhauer, Millwoods, Parts Unknown, been all over that-there land. Will always have fond memories no matter where we end up.
I grew up not that far from Maidstone, played hockey there many times. What a great small-town barn that was.
Younger days I followed players more than teams, was a big Yzerman fan. Once he retired, I defaulted to following the Oilers. 2006 was fun. The next loudest cheer I remember was in 2015 in a bar on the U of A campus, when that bingo ball hit.
Mcdavid may be overrated according to that one guy, but I have never seen a hockey player do the things he does. No one has. Remember that one time in game 6 conference finals when he went through Dallas like jello through your fingers? Overrate that. Today it’s my favorite playoff goal (other than Yzey blasting that lazer bar down game 7 OT).
And here we are. If I said I was skeptical two weeks into this season, you wouldn’t mistake me for a liar.
It was like watching a Hulk Hogan match. Took a beating and looked cooked, but then tore his shirt off and provoked the fans into derangement. Now his eyes are popping out. Can’t wait to see what he does next!
(I have learned Tampa Bay is where Hogan and eleventy hundred wrestlers live, wouldn’t ya know?!)
Went to Miami once, didn’t care for the place. Now they pretend they like hockey too. Lord Stanley doesn’t belong down there. I expect you to do something about that Mr. Oilers. I expect that on my desk by the end of the month.
Brilliant. Welcome home.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this “jumble”…welcome sir!
Let’s make this real simple:
Who wins the cup?
Oilers press thumbs up…
Florida press thumbs down.
I like our chances 🙂
Two thumbs up.
They’re going to win it next year, too.
Only if you have a burner account here.
The more this builds up, the more I think Edmonton will explode. Panthers aren’t going to know what hit them. Oilers in six.
They could do it in five, but they want to win it in front of their fans.
Agreed – but win it in front of their fans in 4!
I was afraid to say that. I didn’t want to jinx it.
Has there been any clear indication that Desharnais being out of the lineup is related to injury?
Fatigue seemed to have set in those last few games before he was HS.
He brings a lot to this team but speed and endurance are not his strength.
Same could be said for Ceci. The way I see it doesn’t really matter which one plays.
Ceci has seniority.
You are thinking Ceci out for Desharnais? No, it will be Broberg out for Desharnais.
Broberg plays LD & Ceci & Desi play RD. That’s the way it rolls.
Broberg-Ceci/ Desharnais
They aren’t splitting up Nurse & Kulak or Ekholm & Bouchard.
We will have to agree to disagree on that one. If there are injuries, unfortunately there will be adjustments.
Not likely, because that means going back to Nurse Ceci, or Nurse Desharnais.
The choice is more likely between Ceci and Desharnais now.
Second fastest skater in the skills competition Im told.
No, not officially to my knowledge.
However, many presume that he was injured by the low hit (clipping) from Trevor Moore.
https://youtu.be/vkK7yj9UtCE?si=iP_KdAkp_V-KA6gO
Des GF 5 GA 12 29.41%
Is Stecher wasn’t bought broken Des and Ceci may have been sitting. Ceci 7 GF 12 GA 36.84%
Des and Foegele have been the worst players when you take in TOI and the number of GA
Yes, I’d assumed Desharnais was sitting because of performance. That’s why I asked when LT alluded to an injury.
You probably saw that Ceci is 5GF-2GA over the last 10 games (that’s including PK time). So I guess we can hope that continues.
After reading- or trying to what a spammy glitchy site on my phone – Curlock’s tactical breakdown I think it would be foolish to put Des back in
His size won’t be a factor, and they are a full court press team. Pace of play , speed and skill are the best weapons against them. Bro to my eye is the third most talented D I’d keep him in
Perry may be able to help even though slow, he is smart in the O zone and Florida isn’t rock solid
Haven’t had a chance to read Curlock’s breakdown. But tactics aside, Broberg has been good. I see zero reason to consider taking him out until/unless he falters.
That mirrors what coach said yesterday – he sees zero reason to take Broberg out of the lineup.
The glory years teams had lines that were taught to beat and impossible to forget. Graves, Murphy, Gélinas! I remember well the sublime line of Doug Weight, Bill Guerin and Ryan Smyth, backed up by the hound dogs Todd Marchant, Ethan Moreau and Mike Grier!
Henrique is a superb addition, he seems to be able to solve any problem but speed.
Marchant, Moreau and Grier have a special place in my heart!
Drai at 11-12 5v5 is kinda surprising to me. I guess I’ve seen him play better than he actually has. Perhaps it’s a result of less than ideal wingers on his line?
That’s how I see it. He doesn’t play two ways consistently, and Curlock has him puck watching a lot in the D zone and not doing what he is supposed to be quite often. Connor as well, but Connor outscores still
Leon hasn’t been a strong two way player since his ankle thing as I see it. He needs the right wingers or the right centre. Sather took a few seasons but built two killer lines that had everything balanced. For me Holland has added better players, slowly, but he isn’t great at balancing lines or pairs. So the coaches end up having to keep moving everyone but the top line and pair around trying to get better results
His ankle injury from 2022?
Are you saying the ankle injury is a line in the sand that seperates strong two way play from weak two way play in Drais career?
No, he’s questioning if it could possibly even be a factor.
Not me, Slushy is saying that.
I guess it still hasn’t healed properly LOL.
Yup
I like Holloway with Drai. Holloway is often first man back and takes up the F1 center position for Drai in the defensive zone. Holloway still makes mistakes but his positives far outweigh any negatives.
Keeping with this pair, the other winger needs to be a finisher, which can be Nuge or Kane. To me, Perry doesn’t work. McLeod and Foegele are not ideal. Henrique would also work in that spot.
I do think the second line needs to be physical and a major scoring threat.
Kane – Draisaitl – Holloway
is a complete handful
Good points. I have said a few times they should have someone take the C defensive role in the D zone for the Duo
Neither are consistent in doing it. And you ahouldn’t turn thoroughbreds into plow horses just because Bowman did a million years ago to Yzerman. Sather didn’t do it with Wayne
Find that fella for Connor as well and let them menace the forecheck by being higher up in the zone and a threat to break on them
Many of the minuses are not his fault. A lot of poor winger play (from his everychanging wingers) and weak Ceci/Desharnais play in there.
Yeah, was Foegele maybe a bit of a drag on Drai?
Drai gets saddled with the leftovers. He also has way more linemate turnover than McD. There is a big difference between Boosholm and Nureci.
Leon with Evan Bouchard (without Mcdavid):
TOI: 37min
GF: 4-2
XGF: 69.3%
Leon without Evan Bouchard (without Mcdavid)
TOI: 171min
GF: 7-10
XGF: 37%
Killing the minutes with the top pairing, -3 and outchanced without them. To be honest, -3 isn’t that bad when compared to the rest of the team without Bouchard/Ekholm.
Imagine if they had improved the challenged 2 and 3 RD. They would be crushing teams
It’s a priority this summer for me. And juicing up the 3rd line
They would also be weaker in another area given the need for cap space for that improvement.
Maybe. There’s always a way if the will is there. Doesn’t matter now, 4 wins
But it will kill me if that ended up being the difference. Given it was identified years ago
Considering where the Oilers rank as a team in defensive metrics this season and playoffs, it doesn’t seem like the defensive group will be a difference in a negative way.
As Armchair continues to point out, Cody Ceci has been on the ice for two goals against at 5 on in the last 10 games, a GA/60 of 0.7/60. He’s also been on the ice for ZERO penalty kill goals against (and one for) in almost 24 kill minutes.
This much critisized player is helping the team win.
I am a fan of Holland and his work here. Definitely didn’t agree with every move he made, but his results have been great. Right from jump when he made those astute short term signings of Haas and Nygard, while bolstering the net with Smith, to go from 23rd in the league to second in the division in one year, that was really sharp managing. To have also had to deal with the loss of Klefbom and Larsson, while still consistently finishing second in the division year over year – very good.
Additionally, I don’t punish him for the Keith trade. I had little issue with the cost at the time, even less now. For what Keith provided in his short time here, as a mentor to Bouchard, he was worth every penny, imo.
I think it’s time for a new GM at the helm for sure, but will actually miss Holland. He brought a level of professionalism and stability to the GM role that the team hadn’t had in ages.
Agreed. Holland needs to be judged not only on his acquisitions and trades, but one needs to consider the calmness he brings to an organization that made all sorts of rash and crazy decisions…
Can anyone name a GM that has been totally flawless with every single decision during their tenure? And isn’t it a management group making these decisions collectively?
Sam Pollock.
*ducks
*runs
How about an NHL GM currently alive and well?
Flawless isn’t the bar. Being good to me is at least meeting expectations given the situation. Preferably exceeding them. We have seen pro active GMs get the last 4 Cups, one got 2, and the one we face took a team from bad to their second finals appearance in a couple of years
Just because some work slowly and don’t read what their team is lacking well or quickly enough doesn’t mean you can’t get somewhere more quickly. I think of the Jets and having a top team for years, slowly self destructing and not getting where almost everyone thought they should be
Now they are done with one conference finals appearance in 2018 and a bunch of first round exits even having one of the best goalies. I doubt anyone sees that as being successful given expectations around that team. Chevy is a tortoise
Holland trading away futures to win now has been well documented and criticized over time. Florida Panthers current roster has only 3 drafted players on it.
I say damn the torpedos and go win me Stanley. It’s worth it. Believe me it is.
The Florida Panthers are not one of the oldest teams in the league.
They got a younger player in Tkachuk over Huberdeau. They acquired Reinhart in his prime.
They scoured the NHL for young emerging bottom six and tweeners throughout the league instead of wasting draft picks on the over the hill gang.
Bennett, Verhaege, Stenlund, Forsling, Luostarinen.
Seriiously.
(Okposo, Tarasenko, Giroux, Chariot, Hornqvist, not to mention FAs like Kulikov, Staal, Staal, OEL, Gudas).
I guess he missed that part of the lineup.
Only four of those players are actually on Florida’s roster. Okposo, Tarasenko, Kulikov & OEL. Florida has the younger team. But does that really matter?
All four of those guys are also on expiring deals.
And so, they should.
Absolutely not in the least. I mean if the Oilers win the Cup does it matter how old Perry is?
Precisely.
Don’t let facts get in the way of a good schtick.
Seriously who mentioned age. Whichever team wins the Cup do you actually think anyone cares how old they are?
Where age natters is for the cup window.
I’ve been mentioning wanting the Oilers to shop the emerging talent aisle for years.
Holland mostly shopped the Guide and Record book (outside of Foegele and Athanasiou), which has shortened our window .
Build like San Jose in the past or Carolina today and have a perennial contender but never win a cup or go for it and win a Cup. I know which I would choose
This is a silly post. The Oilers are in the SC Finals and you are complaining about their TD acquisitions….and also like those players haven’t contributed to the success.
When Perry, Gagner, Henrique and possible Roy aren’t on the team next year the Oilers won’t seem so old. But if you are that concerned then I guess you’d like to see Ekholm traded so the average age is lowered. Dam success, right?
Going into next season…the Panthers average of signed players is 27.1
The Oilers average os 29.6
Age before beauty and Oilers win on both counts.
Father Time is undefeated.
what you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it.
Billy Madison 1995
Pointing out how these teams were built is definitely worth considering. 3 drafted is it? and filled with some players who couldn’t thrive in their previous teams with something to prove. But there’s a tremendous battle ahead and the core of the Oil have got here together and I feel they will have an extra ounce of determination as a band of brothers.
Fun fact:
The top 4 picks in the 2014 draft will all be playing in the finals.
#1 Aaron Ekblad
#2 Sam Reinhart
#3 Leon Draisaitl
#4 Sam Bennett
Cool fact. Even better when considering the Oilers have the best one out of the
threefour by a country mile.Henrique is the epitome of the vet who’s speed is in decline, but compensates with intelligence. He understands the assignment. He can also be moved to wing and McLeod moved to center if speed there is needed. This is what depth looks like. Or is it, as I keep reading that we have McDavid, Draisaitl, Nuge, Henrique, McLeod, Ryan, Carrick yet have a weaker center depth than every other team we’ve played.
Yeah, that’s definitely a problem all that depth down the middle.
But, but the pundits all agree that FLA has better forward, and specifically center, depth.
Oh woe is me – what will the Oilers do with only 97, 29 and a couple of plugs at center?
Preserver.