I think the post mortem for this Oilers season will involve the price paid to recover from the slow start. In the comments section, which provides great clarity on days like this, there are those asking why Evander Kane played with his sports hernia instead of getting it fixed. The idea of Philip Broberg playing during the year is a daily conversation on this blog. The answer to both? They were trying to get into the playoffs. Once the team made it, they got on a run, but this is one beat up hockey club.
I’ll have an article that publishes at 10am at The Athletic that talks about last night’s game and what happened, so I’m going to skim the game here. Bottom line, the turnovers that Edmonton ironed out of their game early in the postseason, and middle in the postseason, have now sprung a leak.
I remain convinced of the collective futures of Evan Bouchard, Stuart Skinner, Ryan McLeod, Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, but some of those men had a tough night on Thursday. I would bring them all back next year.
I believe in Connor McDavid’s greatness as a player, and wish for him a spring when he is healthy enough to show his brilliance in the Stanley Cup final. Same goes for Leon Draisaitl. These men are not right at this time. You can call that an excuse, but this is not what they can bring when healthy.
The offseason will bring much change, including a new general manager. I suspect the team will run it back for the most part, one hopes for Draisaitl and Bouchard long-term contracts in the early moments of free agency.
As for the UFA’s, I would sign Connor Brown, Mattias Janmark, Adam Henrique, Warren Foegele, Vincent Desharnais and Markus Niemelainen if the money works.
I would fade all of Corey Perry, Sam Carrick, Sam Gagner, Troy Stecher and Adam Erne.
I would buy out Jack Campbell.
Laurence Gilman walked the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, I think he would be a fine option for the Edmonton Oilers. This is an older piece but stands up nicely.
HOPE
A sliver of hope. That’s all anyone needs. That’s how hope works.
I choose to carry hope with me every day, all days. I know about devastating loss, believe me. I know about loss in real life and in the fantasy world of cheering laundry. Red said “hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane” but I am a hopeful person and it is my comfort zone.
So. I can nod and agree as you tell me it’s over and that this was a long way to go for such a bitter pill. I know. I understand. Let me tell you something I learned after losing Jo-Anne 18 months ago. You think a lot about the pain, and why you made yourself vulnerable, and you do ask the question. Is it worth it?
The answer comes. Yes. YES! The alternative is to avoid the best life has to offer, the highest highs, the sense of soaring above the clouds. Who would turn their back on hope? On feeling alive? On love and on happiness?
If you derive one ounce of joy in hoping the Edmonton Oilers win four in a row and Stanley, then you hope like you’ve never hoped before. Those who call you a fool will never know the beauty and grace that hope brings those who embrace it, in all areas of life.
A big show today, featuring Steve Lansky from BigMouth Sports in hour 2. We’re live noon to 2 today on Sports 1440, taking apart last night’s game and looking forward to Game 4. Tyler Yaremchuk will also drop in and we’ll have Declanations as well. 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?
About a night when the Oilers did not take care of the puck.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5561914/2024/06/14/oilers-stanley-cup-final-answers/
Congrats LT. The NYT will forever be a feather in your cap.
NY Times bought ‘the athletic’ which now falls under their rubric. LT, under the alias of ‘Alan Mitchell’ remains our greatest scribe!
I realize that. It’s:still an honor.
I woke up in a winning mood. Looking forward to the much more surmountable 3-1 deficit! Shoot high, shoot often! Let’s go Oilers!
The Bennet goal last game is one that stuck in my mind.
I’m now well in to my 40’s and as I have mentioned previously played Bantaam AAA hockey as a defenseman.
That was a very long time ago, but I still remember many of the basic principles that I was taught back in the day.
Nurse breaks many of these basics and it usually ends up poorly for him.
Maybe these principles have changed since I last played.
One of these principles was that you never skate the puck up the ice going up the middle from behind your net when under the pressure of a forecheck.
Is that still a thing?
So Nurse does just that and he has Derek Ryan clear right in front of him for an outlet pass, even tapped his stick.
Instead he tries to make a backhand pass through two Panthers to Broberg and the puck is in the back of the net a split second later.
So we’re talking about an injury affecting Nurse, but that play was just poor decision making.
I would suggest that we see d-men skate the puck up the middle from behind their net with pressure numerous times per game – its very common in the NHL – to my viewing eye.
Agreed OP and yes, Ryan, things have changed since you (we!) played. Forecheck systems (F2 usually) anticipate the breakout to the half-boards so the slot ironically becomes a safer avenue. Nurse’s hockey-sense has been suspect since HE was in Bantam AAA, I’m sure, and now, without his usual athleticism, he can’t compensate. It’s a tough blow for the Oilers and a vulnerability that’s so obvious and easy for opponents to exploit.
I wonder if that was Nurse’s instinct (he is normally a strong skater), but his hip let him down, and by that point the only hope was the backhand out to the side.
Bennett did a good job knocking down that pass. Florida are demons on the forecheck.
Come to think of it, they’re demons in general. Playoff Bennett especially.
I will also say this to piggy back on LT’s hope and pain. The reality is, Edmonton is probably cooked. The stats tell us that and most likely that is what will happen.
But after that, if we look back Edmonton will have lost to the CUP CHAMPIONS 3 YEARS in a row.
They haven’t won Stanley, but this 3 YEAR window has been so enjoyable. I am Grateful we get to talk about losing to COL in RD 3 and VGS in RD 2 and now FLA in the FINAL.
This has been an excellent run. They may not make it over the finish line, but I LOVE THIS TEAM 🙂
Yes!!
Jack Campbell Game 4?
Nothing to lose only gain
There’s a hockey game to lose!
I would put Pickard in – he’s been solid whenever he’s been called upon and the boys seem to tighten things up when he’s back there
Looks like we are going to have to do this the hard way.
I believe the Oilers win the next game.
A buy-out of Jack Campbell is a must. Holland is/was a huge step up from Chiarelli but the Kassian and Campbell contracts are all-time stinkers.
Holloway and Broberg are my hope for next year.
Would keep Kulak. Would keep Desharnais if in the $1.5m range. Niemelainen will be cheap so sure.
— Ceci has to go, this will probably cost us a draft pick or prospect of some kind.
I like Carrick and Janmark and they should be relatively cheap.
— Believe we can only keep one of Foegele or Brown; like Brown a little more.
— Henrique will get too much somewhere else.
Not sure what I think about McLeod; he’s going to be pushing for $3m plus in 2025-26 and without a physical element to his game I’m not sure I see that.
Nurse is a bit of an issue. He needs a complementary player to play babysitter for him (I have grown fonder of Bouchard and give him more credit now than I used to BUT Ekholm is the guy that makes all things good things imo – he would fix Nurse, Bouchard can’t fix Nurse).
— so that is the quest – who to get to complement Nurse.
— that is also what bugs me most about Nurse, shouldn’t have to find a $9.25m /year guy a babysitter.
How I see it is the Oilers have to get crustier. Not thugs but hockey players that are mean by nature, way too many gentlemen. Messier called it
The cap means that you can’t keep everyone, and it’s necessary to push ahead. Serevalli was saying the Panthers have cap coming up. They will get better
On D, unless Nurse is asked and agrees to move he’s staying. He needs a player that is acceptable defensively and can move the puck. Doesn’t have to be a point producer so that’s doable, help Nurse and let him do his best game which should be as Lansky said focus on basics, and regain wingers having mortal fear going into his corner or in front of the net. That needs to start next season to reset refs brains
Bro has to be on the team, he’s already their 3rd best D. So despite Kulak being a good player he has to go. Bro needs the current version of Gudas as his partner, take care of business with malice net front and and corners and be a competent player, and let Bro do the puck moving
Des isn’t good enough for a top team. Nor is Ceci
I would move Nurse if possible just for cap reasons. And others. Connor and Bouch are the only high cap players they need, as in absolutely should keep. Then you can build enough around them to be a juggernaut. There is no time left to waste because it’s been wasted
I will be sad to see another bunch of retirement contracts handed out when there are Cups on the horizon
Outside Blake gifting durzi away for a 2nd:
There wasn’t any real available great targets at year start. Of the bunch my UFA target was Gudas with ceci or des out (broberg my priority…whichever better combo on RH side with broberg 3rd pair).
Maybe using nurse not as last man standing and no real room to wheel…there’s thst guy behind him on right side.
Nurse may not be best outlet passer but he can skate the damn thing into shorter ice outlets if not so shackled IMO.
Use the players best assets. Compliment your best players.
Nurse durzi (type) -> if current nurse role locked
Nurse gudas (type) – If you might actually be interested in opening up nurses strong suits more.
Agreed on most of that, but I hope there’s a reasonable trade, rather than buyout of Campbell.
According to CapFriendly and Puckpedia
Actual cost is 1.5M per year
Cap Hits ($M)
24/25: 1.1 (saving 3.9 on cap)25/26: 2.3 (saving 2.7)26/27: 2.6 (saving 2.4)27/28: 1.5 (cost 1.5)28/29: 1.5 (cost:1.5)29/30: 1.5 (cost 1.5)
Trade with retention gets the contract off the books sooner, and even at 50% is pretty much a wash vs. buyout for 25/26 (Drai/Bouch signings) and 26/27 (McDavid). Ideally retention would be lower than 50%…which means cap savings.
$1.5M for years 4-6 might not look significant, but those things hang around for a while. As an example, Neal was still on the books this year for $1.9M. Would have been nice to have that available this year…
Ekholm CANNOT play the right side anymore. He is too old.
Just play Broberg with Nurse.
I had said last summer that not buying out Campbell then was a massive blunder by Holland.
That’s nearly $4m in buried cap hit not to mention what could have been accrued by the deadline.
Buyouts are for incompetent GMs
Dead cap is a killer. The cap going up doesn’t mean you have more money because your expenses will go up
Spend assets. Use the money for NHL players because Connor won’t last as a player forever
Deadline acquisitions aren’t a foregone conclusion if you build your team properly and if there is a serious injury you use LTIR, that’s what it’s for
Holland, see Kane
I will add Holland’s expensive deadline deals outside of Ek have amounted to little. Quite a few too old and get injured to help enough, or not good enough
After last year’s playoffs (there was one goal in particular vs Vegas where Kane literally was just standing there flat footed and his mark skated by with puck and scored) I was pretty sure Kane was going to end up being the 1 of the “3 for 15” (nuge, Hyman, Kane,) that a smart GM offloads before running risk he power forward sharp declines his way to cap liability.
I know I know. 20 goal scorers don’t grow on trees. Neither do power forward magic cures for physical degradation.
In most cases, yes buyouts are last resort.
When looking at current scenario though, I’m with Ryan. I was in same boat in offseason. 3.9 million in a flat cap bottleneck year is huge. Cap unlocks going forward and buyout this year lands you in positive for last salad day years of drai and mcdavid. Critical years.
My wish was Campbell out and stolarz on a one year. When I dug through goalies he was the one I thought most likely to have magical end of career nhl backup++ (big, refuses to give up on dream, keeps improving, high end puck handling skills)
Amazing story how the Panthers built their blue line.
Forsling claimed off waivers 5 months before the Keith trade.
Montour acquired for a third round pick 3 months before the Keith trade.
Mikkola signed as a free agent $2.5m cap hit.
Throw in a pair of washed up vets in OEL and Kulikov.
Mikkola, Montoya, OEL, and Kulikov, all for just under the cap of Nurse.
— yeah you can’t convince me or non fanatics that Holland was the guy…. Hopefully next one.
Last time around, my vote was Laurence Gillman as GM and Holland as POHO. Holland had a voice that could have helped, but an absolute glaring inability to find emerging talent.
Agreed and if we want to extend hope that’s the biggie for me. Next GM needs to be a corker
It’s a study in efficacy.
I like Kulak plenty, but he cost a 2nd, 7th, and Lageson plus he carries a $2.75m cap hit signed until he’s 32. That’s a lot of cap and assets to fill the bottom pairing.
Ceci is below replacement level and carries a $3.25m cap.
Ekholm is the goods, but he cost two 1sts essentially and he’s already 34.
I like Ek a lot but said from the start that was a pretty hefty overpay for his age. The Oilers need to stop buying the ghosts of players. Ek runs into health issues by season end now. Also started the year with one
Holland is terrible at trades IMO
Really the contrast is incredible.
Zito started with Ekblad while Holland started with Nurse and Bouchard (and Desharnais).
Zito filled out the rest of his d with a waiver claim, trading a 3rd round pick, and three free agency signings.
Holland spent two 1st rounders, a second, a 3rd, a 7th, Lagesson, and Jones.
It’s about knowing what you want specifically and getting that
They have balance on D a puck mover and net front
Its about balance and finding players that play the way you like
’Good’ players aren’t enough you need balance
Gheez, it really does seem like an incredible contrast when you don’t include stuff like:
1st, 1st, 3rd, 4th, Owen Tippett
for
30-odd games of Ben Chariot and Claude Giroux.
I didn’t include Chariot as he was a rental. I guess that’s fair game to include him as well.
On that note, we’d add in two more fourth rounders for Holland (Kulikov, Stetcher), and a 5th rounder for Mike Green.
I’m not sure why you lumped in the Claude Groux trade though since we’re talking about picks traded to build the d corps.
It’s just that you were using an incredibly narrow slice of their respective team building (assets paid for defensemen currently on the roster) for your ‘incredible contrast’ statement.
There’s also an incredible contrast in terms of assets paid for the forwards acquired by Holland and Zito, but in the other direction.
(Not restricting to forwards still on the roster)
Holland has sent out:
1st
2nd, 2nd, 2nd
3rd, 3rd
4th, 4th
Ethan Bear (24GP, 4Pts)
Mike Kesselring (66GP, 21Pts)
Zito has sent out:
1st, 1st, 1st
2nd
3rd, 3rd
4th
Mike Matheson (82GP, 62Pts)
Owen Tippett (78GP, 53Pts)
Devon Levi (23GP .899SV%)
Mackenzie Weegar (82GP 52Pts)
Jonathan Huberdeau (81GP 52Pts)
Anthony Duclair (73GP 42Pts)
Some later picks and smaller transactions as well but that’s the main stuff.
Do we conclude Holland >> Zito in getting the forwards to basically the same place? I’m not trying to argue that, but I feel like it’s essentially what you’re doing with the Florida D.
Holland started with 97 and 29.
The only impact forwards he acquired were Hyman and at one point, Kane.
The quality of players brought in by Zito and Holland isn’t even close never mind that Zito brought in younger players with years of prime playing ability left.
Quite the pretentious statement grouping everyone that doesn’t share your opinion in to a less sophisticated sect of fanhood.
— just saw this – lol! I don’t know hockey people that thought that Holland was a great hire. Given his tenure he clearly wasn’t the right hire. I have a lot of conviction in belief that a better GM would have had better results over the same tenure. That he isn’t being mentioned as possible re up is enough to know what they think of him.
I think it shows the importance of team buy-in.
I still don’t think Florida’s D is very talented, especially after trading away Weegar. I mean, who among us was clamouring to re-sign Kulikov? (Although I’m pretty sure I at least once asked, “why not?”) But Florida’s D sure play the system well.
Breaking my rule of one post every 10 years but I can’t stop thinking about the defense corps that championship teams usually have and more, what contenders even usually have. Teams such as the 90s Avalanche, late 90s Stars, Lidstrom Era Detroit, the Ducks with both Pronger and Niedermayer? And the list goes on…. Does anyone look at this Oilers team D, as a whole, and say it’s championship calibre? They get by, yes….. sometimes, they get by…. and sometimes…… well,,,,
I have to say, the sandpaper that this Panthers team reminds me a bit of the late 90s Oilers, albeit with more star power. Rugged determination with a team game that’s just so very dialed in. Hard not to respect and appreciate that.
I wonder, will we begin to see less top heavy contracts in contending teams in the future in order to ice a more balanced squad? Or is it simply buy in from the whole team to the enth degree above everyone else?
BTW Lewis Grant, wherever you are, thanks for the hat tip the other day! Just saw it too late.
Hat tip fully earned!
I hope we keep on getting your posts more than once every 10 years. I was a lurker for a good 10 years before I became a semi-regular.
And for Florida’s D, I think it’s mostly buy-in, rather than talent.
Our D may not have a Lidstrom, Pronger, or Niedermayer, but the top 2 of Ekholm-Bouchard is pretty strong to my eye. A properly functioning Darnell Nurse is a fine #3, Kulak is a fine #5, and Broberg just might already be a fine #4. As a whole, I think our group is definitely better than the 2016 and 2017 Penguins, the latter of which didn’t even have Letang.
Meghan Chayka
@MeghanChayka
https://x.com/MeghanChayka/status/1801626237397270679
And the real GD in this series is only FLA +5 (7 – 2 empty netters).
Let’s just call it goalie, shall we????
How many of those HD chances are aimed top cheddar?
EDM needs to stop padding Bob’s stats by shooting along the ice, where he excels even among top tier goalies.
When is Holland’s contract up? Will they hire a new GM before free agency and the draft?
Maybe. Jackson was an AGM before which I didn’t know. He might handle this one
I’m all aboard the hope train. Let’s reverse sweep the crap out of this series! If my memory isn’t letting me down it’s only been done once before in a Stanley Cup Final, the Leafs in the 40s, about time for it to happen again.
I’m in. They have a chip and a chair. Let’s Go Oilers!
Hat tip to Godot10.
https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-vs-florida-panthers-game-3-a-tactical-review
Broberg, Holloway, and Lavoie didn’t get enough regular season reps to make a difference.
Hopefully the new development fella is all over these young guys and gets them trained up for next season. All 3 should be on the team. Especially Lavoie, how desperately do we need some first shot scorers?
I really don’t get this complaining about the development of Holloway, Broberg and Lavoie. It seems to be complaining solely for the sake of complaining and complaining about something that can’t be proven/disproven.
Holloway and Broberg are just fine after their most recent stints with the Condors. By all accounts Lavoie didn’t have a good season with the Condors. I fail to see how giving him a spot on the Oilers would have made him better at hockey, or made the Oilers better.
Um….it kind of looks to me like Broberg and Holloway are making a difference, and in a good way. They’ve both scored some big goals this playoff.
I feel like Broberg has stolen Nurse’s job in a very short period of time.
Broberg is going to Nurse’s partner till Ekholm is gone, and then Broberg will be Bouchard’s. And Wanner will replace Broberg with Nurse.
Will be interested in the list of injuries thes guys are playing with when all is said and done. To me, Nurse has had to be dealing with something for most of the playoffs, well before the last two games. Although he has never proven to be a number one defenseman, his history shows play that has been consistently solid top pair. With lesser partners throughout his career. To see him struggle with second and even third pair minutes is baffling. An injury is the only explanation that makes sense
I haven’t got a lot of time these days, so I haven’t read many of the comments after the game, so apologies if this is at all redundant:
First the negative stuff:
The officiating in G2 was abhorrent. The worst ones for me were the non calls:
1) holding Hyman when he was driving to the net and would have had a great scoring opportunity – no call;
2) worse still was no call on the two (minimum) separate and substantial hooks on McDavid (by Tkachuk no less) on a breakaway.
Ponder that last one for a moment. The best player in the history of the game on a breakaway with his team down 2-1 late, going against a goalie who is on fire.
A penalty shot would have been the pinnacle of excitement and the NHL doesn’t want that for its game.
McDavid was robbed of the chance, Bobrovsky was robbed of the chance, and the hockey world was robbed. Disgraceful.
Now for the positive:
I am absolutely loving the play of the young guys on this team.
When they went down 4-1 last night, who kept them in it? Broberg, Holloway, McLeod. And Connor freaking Brown! Janmark! Foegele!!! (Older guys, but still much-maligned.)
If you weren’t loving the effort and execution from those guys, you might be dead already…check your pulse. These young men (Broberg, Holloway, McLeod) have not wilted. They have faced adversity and they have responded and I am loving watching it!
—
I was a bit worried when the team tightened up in G6 Dallas. They have not loosened up since.
It sucks that the boys are down 3-0, they deserved a better fate. But here they are. I’m looking forward to G4. I hope they win it and just take it one game at a time. Whatever happens, this has been an incredible season.
I, too, have been very impressed with the play of the youngsters. And that of Mr. Brown, who I was quite critical of earlier this season. All have been excellent and have played a fearless brand of hockey that isn’t necessarily overtly physical, but fearless in the sense of playing your game.
Broberg isn’t dumping pucks every chance he gets. He’s making plays with authority, jumping into the rush, walking the line, etc. Holloway has been demonic on the forecheck, and my goodness does he have a pretty quick release in high traffic areas. It’s fun to see.
One game at a time. The supporting cast has been pretty good, and if the big guns get going there’s still a chance. LT did say Oil in 7, he just never said how 🙂
Hats off, bro, nice post!
Still wouldn’t it be amazing if Edmonton were to win four straight to capture the cup? It seems like an impossible dream. But WOW would that be something this Oiler team does for fun. One at a time boys, let’s do this.
It would be so befitting of this season
Thanks for the safest place on the internet. Hard to finally admit that I don’t think we are the better team. Alas. With our last 1 or more games remaining. We are certainly watching Kulaks last game(s)….he’s played some fantastic oilers hockey – I will miss him. We are potentially watching our last Ceci game(s). In the twitterverse there is a lot of good riddance sentiment. But all I’ve seen is a human outperform his contract. Also in our last 1or more gms, I’d like to see Gags one (or more) times. I would put some significant for me $ that he scores a classic BS goal gives the fans one last (or more) reasons to cheer!!…and provides a reminder that even with no boots and no power you score taking it to the net. Cheering hard for our last one (or more (; games)
Why would we be watching Kulak’s last game? He has played fine this year, and since he has been here.
Get good players. Keep good players.
It should be Ceci’s last games. He is a barely competent 3rd pairing defender on a contender.
It should be Nurse’s last game(s) as an Oiler. If the Oilers want to get over the hump, having a 9+ million dollar third pairing defenseman is not going to get it done.
For me healthy he’s a top 4. The rub is it’s inconsistent to keep inconsistent players on a contender. There is no room for it when it’s Cup time
It’s down to the individual. Janmark and Brown and others can play mistake free games repeatedly. Others have massive blunders every game it seems. The fix seems an easy decision
I have to think the “healthy” part might also be becoming a concern.
In all game states in the SCF:
Edm leads CF% 54-46
Expected GF% is effectively a wash at Edm 49% / Fl 51%
HDCF% EDM 54% / FL 46%
Save percentage:
EDM – 84%
FL – 95%
Goaltending, it’s a thing
This is a fair point and I don’t disagree . . . much. I do wonder though if the Oilers have given up more uncontested grade-A shots than the Rats. This is anecdotal but when I think back to McCleod’s grade A late in the game, he’s in their tight with Rat defenders, whereas Bennett and Vlad got uncontested shots in the same area. Maybe the five-alarmers that CoH codes gets at this, but it seems that the ones the Oilers give up are often more dangerous than the ones the others guys give up.
It’s both. Stu hasn’t been bad but he has stolen very few saves these playoffs. They need another top tier goalie, as they have always had when they won
In the ’80s, almost nobody knew or cared about save percentage.
I took a look at the Top 10 goalies by save percentage each year during the Oilers’ 5-year run from 1983-88. Moog finished 3rd once and 8th once, Fuhr finished 10th once and 6th once. During three of those five years, neither was in the Top 10. (Nor was Ranford in the Top 10 in 88-89 or 89-90.)
Moog and Fuhr (I put them in that order) were good goalies, but I’m not sure they were as “top tier” as we remember. Winning tends to impact our memory.
Down 3-0? Today is a good day to Die, “I am not afraid” all pressure has now been removed, leave on your shield boys, give us some hope
It is okay to have a flawed roster, all teams in the Cap era have flawed rosters, BUT
a) having your starting keeper in the AHL making $5 mill per year is a horrific mistake
b) The 9th highest paid D man in the league can not continue on the current path and he will never even be close to the player Morrisey is
The future is cloudy, Drai is fair value at $13 per, how do you tell Bouchard he is worth less than $9.25M, Mcdavid is fair value at $14… in 2 years = $45.75 for 4 players with a 92M cap does not work
The new Oilers GM has an enormous task In Front of him, however I have every confidence the new hire will ba a massive upgrade from Holland
The contract extension for Leon reminds me of the opening battle scene in Gladiator as Maximus waits for his man to return from negotiations with the Germanic tribes … as the horse gallops in and his man is missing his head, Maximus states … they say NO
If Leon shakes off an extension this is going to get crazy complicated …we wait
I suspect there will be one major change for next season and some changes lower down the roster. It’s obvious to say winning the 5v5 battle needs to be a priority for the season. Having a fantastic PP shouldn’t take way from this.
The youngsters will all be back, but McLeod may not be a lock.
The next GM needs to do what the one they didn’t hire did. Anyone that didn’t fit the desired style was replaced. The Oilers can’t carry so many vanilla players
Messier sees and called it. Those teams were far more like the Panthers than the current Oilers. If we were as hard as Florida with the talent advantage they would beat them every series. They would be like the old Oilers were
I know a lot want to call it “Goalie” instead of hockey. I think we underestimate the value of adept coaching and systems. Maurice has seriously outschemed KK though he’s got the deeper and healthier bunch. With Leon clearly hobbled and slow, they’ve been able to load up and focus on McD with all their defensive resources. Leon’s line just can’t push the river so that’s all she wrote.
What a game by the bottom 6 last night.
We so often forget that hockey is mostly goalie.
Agree with the analysis here.
Disappointing to be at this stage, but it’s been a heck of a ride. Since the coaching change it’s been a fun and exciting season. Full marks to the players, coaches, GM et al for being at this stage. Hope, I have it for next season. Hopefully the Oilers won tomorrow night and we go from there.
It would be a typical season for the Oilers to come back from 3-0 to win in 7. Not holding my breath…but..that would be an amazing feat for the Prime documentary. However it ends…its been a wild ride folks.
That it has been
Just a quick POSITIVE comment regarding last night’s game… for me a true highlight was seeing Perry, after falling in front of the net, sitting proudly on top of Bob. Perry used to royally piss us off for such antics, prior to joining our squad… not sure if he’s good for anything else, so creating that disturbance was pure Perry!
Not to speak before the end is official, but I think it may help to remember that flawed rosters can and do still win Cups. Take the opponents that currently have a 3-0 lead on us.
Their #4 Dman by TOI and #3 Dman by EV TOI in the regular season is Niko Mikkola, a player who was widely thought of as little more than a slow-ish, defense-only 3rd pairing LD. And rightfully so because that’s all that he had really shown. However, he was put in a position that pushed & supported him (playing with Montour) and he rose to the challenge.
Their 3rd pairing is two solid yet unspectacular vets in OEL and Kulikov. I’d take Kulak over either of them, and that’s not a slight on them.
Their 4th line rotation involved Lomberg (who scored 7 points in 75 games), Stenlund (15 points in 81 games), and Lorentz (3 points in 38 games). Those 3 combined with the other two regular members (Cousins and Okposo) have a total of 7 points in the postseason.
The main story of this series has been a goalie playing out of his mind, a 1st D pairing that has been stifling many of the league’s best players all season, and a team who’s keeping together and playing their system very well. Full credit to the Panthers.
I only mean to say that we don’t need to think “looks like we need to tear it down and rethink the entire roster”. We have a couple notable areas that need improvement (2nd pairing RD and the middle-6) and we can do that while also getting a bit younger, more physical, and faster. This team is right there and they’ve now tasted the Finals. Like Florida last year, they’ll learn lessons from this series and, if the hockey gods will allow it, there’ll be another chance.
I don’t think you are giving the Panthers defense near enough credit. They have a better group of 6 than the Oilers right now.
Mikkola was a good defenseman in St Louis. He is huge, and is certainly not slow.
Ekman-Larsson is still better than a lot of posters here give him credit for. He certainly moves the puck better than Nurse or Ceci.
Overall I think the Panthers defense are better skaters and puck handlers than the Oilers. They have also committed less brain farts/60 than the Oilers in this series.
I think that’s the story of this series. Less glaring defensive mistakes from the Panthers.
And the Oilers are getting goalied. Whether that’s Bobrovsky standing on his head, better shooting from the Panthers, or just simple puck luck. I would say it’s a little of all of the above.
The Oilers have played well enough to win 2 out of 3, and yet they are 0 and 3. Sometimes it’s just not your day.
I don’t think I am apart from maybe the comment on Mikkola’s skating. That’s mostly from my own view as he hasn’t stood out to me alongside the bias that big players are slower. I have no knowledge showing that he’s objectively slow-ish, but my point about him still stands. He had 6 points and okay defensive results last year while averaging ~17mins/night last year and his prior season wasn’t much different.
That aside, I very clearly gave full credit to Forsling, Ekblad, and Montour as well as their 3rd pairing. I said word for word that they’re “solid yet unspectacular”. I’ll go one further and say that, had EDM signed any of them last offseason season, I’m confident that everyone’s perception would’ve been “but how are these an upgrade?”. And that’s my point.
Going by established results, that’d have been a perfectly reasonable question to ask. None of these signings were home-runs that were the perfect solution to be their 2nd pair LD or their 3rd pairing. They were guys with track records of varying lengths and of varying quality but they’re getting it done. As such, the solution to our roster problems don’t have to be ridiculously expensive perfect fits that only involve the biggest names. They can be about finding the right player to fill the right hole; about finding our Mikkolas, OELs, and Kulikovs.
Support for my claim re: Mikkola’s perception:
https://x.com/JFreshHockey/status/1623761775979032582
https://x.com/RonoAnalyst/status/1623779392580198403/photo/2
https://www.naturalstattrick.com/playerreport.php?fromseason=20232024&thruseason=20232024&stype=2&sit=5v5&stdoi=oi&rate=n&v=p&playerid=8478859
All I know is when the Oilers used to play St Louis I saw him big, physical and mobile. Maybe not a high end puck mover, but I always liked the player and thought he defended well. He basically does the same things Nurse does, at a fraction of the cost.
Guy I know online who is a longtime Red Wings fan says this series reminds him painfully of 1995 Red Wings vs Devils. Red Wings a fantastic team (Federov, Yzerman, Larionov, Lidstrom, Coffey, Kozlov, Primeau) who had an impossible time getting through the ugly, disciplined Devils, and even if they did, Brodeur was there.
Hard to imagine that team getting swept but sports!
Then of course Wings swept the Flyers in 1997 (and the Avs swept Florida in 1996).
Finals Sweeps!
And Wings sweep Caps in 1998. Wild.
Yeah, nice comparison. I remember that series too, and I couldn’t believe that Jersey could beat Detroit, much less in four games. Playoff hockey is just a different beast.
Nurse for Laine. The trade is 1 for 1.
no way Nurse will wave his NMC to go to Columbus. Unfortunately, we’re stuck with Nurse.
Many seem to forget something very important in that no one wants to work for an employer that doesn’t want them.
Not sure that’s what they need but I’d do it
Nurse has to be subtracted from this roster. He is the poster boy for a player that has 1 year experience 10 times vs a player with 10 years experience.
Holland has been rumoured to be joining the BJs front office, … so who knows, that might work for all parties involved. I do not believe that we are ‘stuck” with Nurse, but it requires a manager that is willing to go to Nurse and tell him that his role will diminish next season, as Broberg is likely going to own the 2LD position soon enough … he already looks like he should be playing more minutes that Nurse.
The Hockey Gods are not with us this time, which is a shame. In my estimation, the series should rightfully be 2-1 for Edmonton.
Over the 3 games, the Oilers own 5 on 5 metrics of 52.8% Corsi For, 54.6% Fenwick For and 55.6% Expected Goals For. Even including all game states, the numbers are relatively constant (though xGF drops to 50-50).
Florida’s PDO is 107.7 and Edmonton has a 4.55% shooting percentage.
We have injuries and terrible, rotten luck. That said, I do think I see certain Oilers working less as a unit and trying to do too much individually. But overall, the Oilers deserve a better fate.
I will choose to believe we will win 4 straight, even if the odds of such are remote. Thanks to all the Oilers and fans for a fun journey thus far….
Count up the catastrophic defensive errors on both sides. That is not bad luck.
Fair point, the Oilers structure and breakouts in our own end has gone backwards in this series. Not bad luck in that way at all.
But Bobrovsky has made some saves beyond all measure of reason and is riding an epic heater (cr*p happens in small sample sizes). The Oilers have driven the majority of play in two games, they have earned more than 0-3
The thing is our mistakes end up in our net, Florida’s don’t.
It is the severity of the mistakes.
It hasn’t hurt Bobrovsky. We lead in high danger chances. Game 4 we doubled Florida and lost 4-3
The Oilers shoot into his pads. The Panthers don’t shoot into Skinner’s pads.
The Oilers have a tendency to compound their errors, instead of bailing each other out. Skinner doesn’t stop the puck behind his net, Ceci plays it too soft and Holloway lets his man go to the vacant slot for the uncontested goal.
I would love for our Oilers to win 4 straight, though it is a monumental task. I well remember the 1983 final, when the Oilers lost to the Islanders in a sweep. That was tough to take. But the next year they won it all. That was tremendous. I still hope for this year, I’d rather not repeat that 83 experience
It’s been an enjoyable run and it’s still not over. Not looking good but it’s not done yet.
My 8yo had a major operation on her hips and legs Day 1 of this run- G1 against the Kings. She has CP and uses a wheelchair but she played sledge hockey this year and got interested in the sport, and started watching games with me during the season. So the run has been a great distraction for her dealing with a brutal recovery.
She cried last night as the panthers went up 4-1! So this run has spawned a passionate Oilers fan, right around the same age I was when i got into hockey as well.
For me- it’s all about perspective. She’s done well in her recovery, and that’s what I can control in my life. I’m hoping she can play sledge next year, and improve her skills, and continue in this sport. For the first time in 20 years I got to spend time in change rooms
and on the ice at local rinks.
I can’t control the Oilers and how they play, but I’ve enjoyed the hell out of this run, and I hope it continues. A historic comeback would really be the cherry on top of this all.
Let’s go Oilers! We’ll keep cheering until the end!
A historic comeback would be just lovely! Seems like if they take the recipe from the third period of last night’s game they have a chance to take next game. One game at a time. The Panthers are good but they can be had.
My best wishes for a full recovery and best health to your child and the rest of your family. Good luck!
I love you and your family, and your remarkable daughter. You are all incredible beings, and I wish you nothing but happiness and joy.
All the best for you and your daughter!
And yes I’ll cheer with you until the end
That is awesome about your daughter. My daughter got into playing hockey this year and in the process drug me out of a 20 year hiatus from coaching (which I thought was a lifetime hiatus) and got me behind the bench again. She;s become a hockey fan, but to my horror, has become a Habs fan. My fault as I told her about the Rocket and his fight as a Francophone and of course, speaking about my all-time fave player, Guy Lafleur.
Funny thing is, over this season, I’ve realized that I just can’t get too emotional when it comes to the Oilers. It goes back to a lot of things in my life, but now I don’t get too high nor too low. Maybe the coaching does that to me.
Anyway, best of luck to your daughter next season.
As Badger Bob would say and I always say, it’s a great day for hockey!
Thanks for sharing that. Peace and good vibes to your daughter and all your family. I’m trying to think what a band of fleas is called but I can’t come up with it 🙂 🙂
The Oilers are down big and the odds are not in their favour. But they have something that 30 other teams do not. A chip and a chair. They need to win a hockey game at home on Saturday to keep their chair. After that? There is no after that. Just win a hockey game. That is all.
Had to watch the game in Calgary last night so not ideal to listen to bitter Flames fans turned Florida fans celebrating. Bouch Mcdavid and Drai seemed to play the entire third period. They are running on fumes. Whatever happens next game, and I still have hope that they can win a game… they will learn from this and come back more experienced and hungrier next year. All the young guys including our first year coach will have another year of experience under their belts. This will only serve to make them stronger. Not only do I believe in our on ice product but I believe the leadership will make the right decisions to improve the team in small ways as needed.
Interesting to see Flames fans cheering for Florida when Matthew’s trade request sent their franchise back a decade.
We’d do the same thing.
If McDavid requested a trade and that team was in the finals against Calgary, I would pay zero attention and become an expert in cricket.
This is a sign of how we have become weak as a nation through infighting.
I would cheer for any Canadian team (except maybe the Leafs) over any non-Canadian team in the Final.
No it’s not … Oilers and Flames fans have been cheering against each other for 4+ decades now. I could never bring myself to cheer for the Canucks or Leafs either.
For me, the list of other Canadian teams I could cheer for if Oilers aren’t playing…is a short list of two:
Winnipeg (memories of Hawerchuk vs. Flames in’85; Jets bounce the Flames 3 games to 1, but not before Macoun broke Hawerchuk’s ribs with a brutal cross-check in game 3; 2nd round Oilers vs. Jets would have been amazing with Hawerchuk in line-up)Ottawa (mostly because I can’t think of a reason not to do so)
I cannot stomach cheering for Flames, Canucks, Leafs, or Habs. Part of being a fan I think.
The Oilers need to hire a horse trader GM.
Do not be tricked by the brilliant performances of McD and Bouchard. This team has issues that will be difficult to fix.
Bringing back the same team is hoping that McD will have another all time great playoff performance.
It is hard to make massive changes. But change out the two worst players, and replace the old men with emerging players.
Choosing to re-run this season with the same team after the loss to Vegas last year was extremely misguided.
Sather would win the Cup and make changes.
Who are the 2 worst players?
I’m going to guess his answer is Ceci and Foegele.
32 teams….we needed a lot if things to go right, just to get here.
I am sorry, I agree with LMHF#1….we have 2 Gods on the team and playing at 5 on 4 has always been our comparative advantage for the last half decade almost.
Just never really thought it was possible for them to post 0’s
I almost think the team sagged because of the PP futility.
I am optimistic about the team next year. We need more depth score for sure though.
However, I think it is fair to ask ( I am on the fence) if Skinner can provide Cup winning goaltending.
Not saying he was the reason we lost per se, but teams need saves goalies – shouldn’t make – at times in the playoffs.
The PP is soft for a bunch of controllable reasons. The big one is McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard have too much ice time. They may or may not be dealing with injuries, but you can watch their play sag after their long shifts. It’s visible.
I was worried about Skinner at the trade deadline. But what else was available to us? (And who else is available via trade/FA? Markstrom?)
Skinner hasn’t cost us these three games.
Skinner is in his 2nd NHL season. Literally saved the season for the Oilers both years. And took the team to the Stanley Cup final in his 2nd season.
The team in front of Skinner broke Cam Talbot, and broke Jack Campbell twice, goaltenders who post-Oilers and pre-Oilers have had competent NHL seasons.
Did he take us to the Finals or are we here in spite of him?
I am not sure.
I certainly don’t want to get rid of him, that is for sure.
The OIlers are not in the playoffs either season without him.
Come on, lets be honest here, the team that Talbot played in front of is not close to the same team as this one – even certain players on the team, aren’t the same player – McDavid and Drai are MUCH better 2-way players than back then.
Also, last season, when Campbell was broke by the team, Stuart Skinner had worse numbers – who’s to say that Campbell wouldn’t have found his game as the team did?
No offence to Skinner here.
IMO Florida should change their name from Panthers to Pythons. Panthers are near-extinct in Florida, but pythons are invasive and flourishing. Panthers kill with an athletic sneak-attack, but pythons strangle the life out of their opponents. Pythons are a much better representation of the Florida team. Hockey is similarly not native to Florida. It all fits.
In Game 1, when Bouch whacked the rebounding puck out of mid-air, and Bobrovsky somehow was in the right place to make the save, it was a definite “I have a bad feeling about this” moment.
Mine was Hyman getting a point blank look a minute in to game 1 and firing it into Bob’s helmet…
Isn’t that called Han Solo moment?
I wondered after the game how LT would write it up. Of course he provided a wonderful insight on being a fan and life generally.
Thanks, once again LT, for the perspective.
Hate easy narratives, but Florida was here last year and was hurt. Now healthy and not making mistakes.
I’m not really super interested in keeping anyone other than the core players, to be honest, I think a lot of these guys seem replacement level, especially compared to Florida’s depth.
PP is in a funk right now but also super obvious Drai’s patented one-timer is firing at like 50% of its former velocity.
Game 1 they played everything right and ran into Hasek’s reincarnation. I know it’s trite to say, but if the Oilers win that game, this entire series looks different.
Feels to me they played their best game, lost, and kinda shrugged their shoulders until the 3rd period last night when they finally got some desperation.
I’m with you, I would turn over a large number of players for temperament, performance or cap reasons. They are still a step behind, and it’s a damn shame at this point
It takes more than just getting better players. That is GM 101, captain obvious stuff. A top GM builds a team, and improves weakness all of the time, and creates balance
The GM needs to be as hungry and assertive as his leaders on the ice, to not let them down. The slow train approach is only appropriate in the very early days of your elite player’s career. After that it’s just wasting seasons, which are limited
Save your money for next few years this team should be able to go deep again and get a chip.
Losing in the final hurts but if any team can come back its the Edmonton Oilers
— 15 games into season it wouldn’t be reasonable to believe we would be in the Cup.
— It’s not looking good now either and I’m reasonable but I will still cheer like heck
— 3 assists from McDrai in 3 games – if we knew that we would know where we are.
— Just great execution from Florida: shut down McDrai (on the same line) and crush them. Same every playoffs by the elite eventual Cup winners likely the last 3 years : they all figured this out
Their GMs figured it out. A lot of people here did too. You can’t carry anyone if you want a Cup. There are a lot of passengers on this roster, a lot who have not elevated their play, and a lot of players that get pushed out of games. They don’t like the rough and dirty
Foegele scoring was perfect. Now people want him back, despite what a disaster he’s been for years post season
The next GM needs to build 4 lines that bring it in their way, to put pressure on all the time, that beat on the other team, that would rather die than get scored on, so Connor can do his thing and not be under so much pressure
Or try to hit because only two other guys will. That should not be his job. That isn’t a part of the leadership he needs to bring
His health is far, far more important, as we see. He’s not built to be banging around any more than necessary. Get him a Tikkanen and a Messier to lead physically
Does any think that Leon can carry a line by himself with the way he is playing right now? He’s been non-existent at 5v5 for the past two rounds.
He has been fading at evens for years. He needs the right players to play with, if it’s not Connor. They either find them or there is no point to a huge long contract
They need two strong lines that are hard to deal with ideally, and a contributing third line
This exactly … I know it’s sacrilege to suggest it, but 5v5 numbers don’t lie … maybe the play is to move on from Leon this summer. His value will be sky high, but there are lots of signs that he is becoming more of a PP merchant.
It’s not a forgone conclusion that they are better with him than without, depending on his ask
He’s great at what he does, but isn’t healthy in playoffs and is becoming a very one dimensional player. It makes it easier to shut him down in a series, happened last year in their last round as well
Leon had 6 goals in game 1 and 2, and 1 assist in the last 4 games. Connor produced throughout
He started the game with the two of the worst performing Oiler forwards of the playoffs on his wing….McLeod and Perry…in order for Knoblauch to be able to have a functional bottom six.
This has been true for most of the last two rounds.
Draisaitl has been tasked with keeping the 2nd line above water, in order to retain the fab 5, and a functional bottom six.
The problem is not the star players getting shut down. The problems are the defensive mistakes and sticking with players where it was evident they were not good enough. The problem was thinking that old hockey players are going to help in the Stanley Cup finals.
— I think it’s more nuanced than that.
— The problem is some combination of the roster and tactics have resulted in the Stanley Cup going through the Oil and that team shuts McDrai down. Last three years.
— McDrai doing their thing is way far more important than the minuate that gets magnified when they don’t.
— untill the Oil can solve the formula: and set up McDrai to be the best players on either team when it matters, they won’t win it all.
— The best teams know how to minimize them. The Oil need to figure out how to maximize them.
How to maximize McDavid – tell Connor to go back to shooting more; I could care less if McDavid ever gets to 100 assists in a season again; I’d prefer him to sacrifice some assists and focus on being a 50 goal scorer every season.
How to maximize Draisaitl – tell Leon to start shooting from anywhere other than 1 foot in front of the goal-line to left of the goalie, and tell him to stop dusting off the puck at the half boards. Everyone on the Panthers knows exactly where Leon is going to be on the ice in the offensive zone, and Bob has been getting across the crease to stop Leon’s one-timers before the puck has even left his stick. He just doesn’t play with the kind of pace needed to create offence in the Cup Finals against a tenacious team like the Panthers, and his game has become very predictable.
Drai makes a lot of the mistakes and doesn’t drive 5v5. You can get him better wingers if you don’t have to pay him 13M. But you do
He is also only doing a couple of things offensively and the numbers I posted show teams hone in on it. He gets shut down the longer it goes. Connor gets his chances almost every game, but he is not a natural finisher. A guy like that getting 5 or more good chances a game should score more
For me, this series has cemented what I’ve come to believe about team building in the cap era. Getting good players and keeping good players is not enough. You have to have cap efficient contracts. In this era, get excellent value contracts and keep excellent value contracts is the guiding principle that will get a team to the summit.
There’s not a single poor value contract on that Panthers roster.
The Oilers have Nurse and Campbell’s contracts. $14,250,000 in cap for an AHL goalie and a Dman falling down the depth chart so fast he needs a parachute.
Those are the two mistakes that killed it for the Dutchman
Why doesn’t Leon have better wingers? Why is Ceci playing in the top 4? Why did we not have enough D depth to shelter Broberg in the regular season? Why did Kane have to play with a hernia? Why is thia team so reliant on rentals at the deadline?
The answer to all of these questions is they didn’t achieve cap efficiency.
Do you know how great the nucleus of this team is? They got to the finals dragging $14M boat anchors.
Just imagine what this team can accomplish if the next GM is good at both acquiring talent AND getting them signed to fair value contracts. THAT is my hope.
Yes, 100% agree. The McDavid Unit (Ek-Bouch) is so good they’re almost a PP by themselves. But there’s way too many replacement level passengers.
They’ll never be able to move Nurse but it was a mistake on his contracts going years back.
Lots of GA racked up by the fab 5 in the final. When defensive mistakes become even more critical, a Stanley Cup contender is more likely than not to expose Bouchard somewhat.
It means the rest of the roster has to be leak proof.
Nurse timed his contract perfectly, and the Oilers management had three opportunities to lock him up sooner.
With a competent defensive partner, Nurse will be more than fine.
Now is not the time to gloat and take pleasure in players misfortunes.
Yeah….not what the intent of that post is at all.
Gloating would be something like “I told you Nurse sucks.” I don’t see an honest appraisal of the club’s cap inefficiencies as that. Presumably Holland didn’t negotiate Nurse’s contract in the hopes that he’d be a 2nd or 3rd pairing defenceman. Do we have to avoid an honest discussion on that aspect of the build to protect Darnell’s feewings?
GM is doing neither there
I have been refraining from talking about it for the sake if others, but it’s not too early to now talk about the future after last game. It’s over now
Exactly. I think many underestimate how good this team could be – 80s good – if they had enough of the right kind of help
I would argue they are dragging a lot more cap anchors than 14M as well. It’s actually quite the feat to have done this. Ditch the sentimentality and do what is right by Connor. They can hang out during ‘short’ summers
Bobrovsky’s contract was untradeable a few years ago.
Nurse will be fine when they get him a decent defensive partner. Broberg might be it.
I wish Nurse could defend half as well as your defense of him.
This post should not be passed by without much praise.
There were a LOT of people around here who were very happy with the Nurse extension and Campbell signing at the time. GMing is hard.
Fan opinions are immaterial at the end of the day. This is entertainment for us. We’re not paid to make the right decisions nor do we have comparable resources and intel at our disposal.
There were a lot of people around here who thought the deal was terrible the moment it was announced. The prevailing wisdom was that we would regret the last few years. But its worse than that, as we are actually regretting the years where he should be in the prime of his career.
This is outstanding
Great post LT. Love your snippet on hope. We have the whole summer to talk about the bare prospect pool and what to do about Nurse. To see the Campbell contract bought out and a new GM. I also believe 97 and 29 arent 100%. Bob has been out of this world good which is a combo of skill and luck. The leaks that have sprung (like they did vs Winnipeg, Chicago or Vegas) all seem avoidable.
But this is a good hockey team and the margins are small. Get to work Oilers, thats all you can control. Its the SCF, you never know. I have tickets to game 4 and while Im no longer expecting a series win, why not cheer like heck.
I would bring Forgele back – at less than what he’s getting paid this year. Someone will pay him more.
McCloud cannot be your 3C in the playoffs. He’s a winger and he’s soft, or he’s a very good defensive 3C who brings zip in the playoffs says 2 years of sample size
from my perspective, the Oil should have a 2-1 lead. Yes we have the greatest offensive centreman ever, but the Panthers have a goalkeeper playing superhuman. The GK is the most important position in any sport where that position exists. if we do lose this series, we won’t be the first team that lost for this reason and certainly won’t be the last.
I am not down on the players, the coach or the GM. Bob is winning this series for them so far while also having a strong team in front of him. Yes the Oil are making some mistakes, but even when Florida makes errors, their stopper is bailing them out due to luck, lack of execution – or more often, otherworldly saves.
Florida took a gamble on Bob with his huge contract and it may have paid off this year
Just one win. That’s all I ask. Don’t let them win it in four games, and not here in Edmonton.
It’s tough when singular events have such impacts. Three bobbles in the 2nd, all of them in the back of the net. Came so close at the end and Bob makes the save on McLeod. Damn.
But it’s not over quite yet. They managed to get a few past him last night and they came off point shots getting through. The odds are not in their favor but hey neither were they earlier this season.
Dig deep gentlemen! There’s still a chance.
I took my boys to watch the game outside & we drove back to Calgary after. It was a quiet drive (I’m not a big talker) but I asked them if it was worth it. They were frustrated, but more upset for me, which made my heart glad.
I’d love for the team to win, but I’m so proud they made it this far & so glad I got to be a small part of the experience. I will passionately argue for the upgrades this summer, but I agree with you LT that the road here was worth it.
Glad you enjoyed it. It is great that they made it this far, especially for younger fans who haven’t seen the team do much yet
I reasoned that one was born during the 2006 run, so we should try to get up there & enjoy the atmosphere while we could. Who knows when it comes again.
I’m going to enjoy the ride, and if I look at the record and realise we’ve strung a couple games together, I’ll start to believe that our Oilers can do the impossible.
The most frustrating part is seeing a team with the talent to win it all on trajectory to fail so devastatingly.
On the bright side, if there ever was a team I could see going back to back finals, it’s this Oilers squad. A rare occasion where I look at our Cup Final roster and I see a team that should actually be better next season. More reps for our young guns, and no truly significant departures. My only worry is the wear and tear on the older core members: Kane and Hyman. Here’s a thought: is parting with (a soon-to-be 33 year old) Evander Kane this summer potentially the prudent move? Kane when on is a steal at 5m. He hasn’t been on consistently since his freak accident. Is it time to depart him before the word is out and spend his money elsewhere? Can he get it back for next season? I’m not sure.
I mostly agree with your signing list, I’d love to bring Foegele back if he’s willing and the money works, but money is tight and I don’t think he’s showed enough for a big raise. Desharnais, Brown, Henrique are the top three priorities in that order in my opinion. Henrique is the sort of guy who would be a steal if he’s willing to chase a cup. Additionally, while the savings next year are significant, I’m not sure saving just over 1 million in the two crucial following seasons is worth the Campbell buyout. I think I would rather keep him and try and package him next off-season.
There will be a lot of tough decisions and I do agree we’ll be missing some fine players, although it’ll be needed.
We need to identify who will pull a Bouchard and Broberg next year from Bakersfield in terms of young forwards, and hopefully Holloway gets an extra step. That would help immensely for what we may or may not lose.
In terms of goaltending though…that’s up in the air I feel. It all depends on who shows up. Does Skinner improve and retain the magic of his good days? Or do we have his playoff performances from here on out?
I would absolutely look to move on from Kane. He is on the downswing of his career and $5M is significant.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this year and the playoff run. What frustrates me is we are facing the same questions as last year – scoring winger, top 4 RHD, goalie. Had we addressed even one of those items, we may be up 2-1 in this series.
Big summer for the organization. Can’t get it wrong this time.
On the plus side, I believe Kane will be better next year after dealing with his hernia.
I wonder if there is a world where Kane and Ceci go, and their money is used on a Pesce and reclamation/vet F?
Is that a better roster? I think it certainly has the potential to be.
Please, no Foegele. The OIlers need to get better.
Moving out Nurse’s contract is the biggest priority for me this summer.
Broberg is going to pass him by on the roster next season (and maybe as soon as Saturday) and then we’ll be stuck with a 9 million dollar 3rd pairing LHD.
Now is the time to move him … there are lots of distressed assets around the league, and a bunch of teams that are going to be asking their players to waive their NMCs … find a dance partner.
I’d add that the writing should be on the wall for Nurse … the fanbase is going to be riding him like a rented mule next season and for the rest of his career if he stays. He should be open to a move and avoid having to deal with that negativity. There are markets around the league that would appreciate him for his gritensity, and gloss over his lack of defensive awareness.
Who do you think will deliver 19 ES goals at $3M?
Draisaitl can get 20 ES goals out of almost any competent 3rd line winger. Pay Draisaitl, and then scan the league and AHL for emerging two way wingers.
I’m a Drai fan but this has proven to be absolutely false. Yamamoto, Puljujarvi, etc.
That’s a lot of hyperbole – Leon has never gotten 20 ES goals out of any winger that he has ever played with, save for McDavid when they are on the same line.
Each empty snakelike body floats
silent sorrow in empty boats
a sickly sourness fills the room
the bitter harvest of a dying bloom…
Standing in silence, holding my breath
Disconnected and dry.
And though I’m certain that there’s nothing left
To hold on to, to give or to try.
Some things never change, no, don’t ever change
And I’m feeling the cold.
Thinking that we’re getting older and wiser
When we’re just getting old..
Time for some Rocky Balboa energy. One punch at a time!
I can’t find the stat – but the Oilers were the X furthest out of the playoffs at Y date to come back and make the Finals. Like Bieksa said if anyone can do it, it is this Oiler team. May as well have hope. They know how to make it dramatic why not a little 1942 TML magic? All they have to do is win on Saturday and get on a plane.
Rocky lost in Rocky 1. It got a little better in the next few.
I think the most frustrating narrative around these Finals is how the rest of the League has turned on Edmonton and stopped their hatred of the Panthers. Weird to have hate of both Oilers’ talent AND frustrating flaws at once.
The two teams with multiple extended win streaks finally made it to the last battle, and the games just aren’t going the one team’s way. That’s how she goes sometimes. But apparently one doesn’t belong and the Stars and Golden Knights should be here…
Which obviously is a lesson in trying to avoid noise and that type of critique and stop caring so much about what other people think, and entertaining or trying to understand weird logic. But it is difficult at times!
Sometimes the hate for the Oilers just kind of blows my mind. I get the “wasting McDavid” and “four 1st overalls still couldn’t make playoffs” still creating distaste, but as far as I can tell they’ve been an entertaining team to watch as a non-fan, even if they’re playing your team. It’s always high event hockey, they’re not really all that dirty, and they aren’t out trying to sell calls. They go out night after night and play seat-of-their-pants hockey where no lead is safe either way. Sometimes they brutally embarrass themselves, sometimes they look like total world beaters.
Frankly, I think it largely stems from other Canadian hockey fans and jealousy. The pressure only mounts as years are continued to be added onto the pile of cups not won by Canadian teams, which in turn means the glory (and gloating) to be had if your team is the one that can break the streak is only ever increasing. I’d loathe for the Leafs, or Vancouver, or Montreal, or lord forbid, Calgary to win the cup, because you know that they’d never shut up about it while the rest of us just sit in jealous silence. Just like we’d probably never shut up if the Oilers win it.
Thus, it’s always so much easier to watch a team like Florida, Tampa, Vegas, etc who you know there won’t be major city wide celebrations anywhere near the scale they’d be in Canada, and it’s not nearly as big of a deal to the fans, because lets be honest, the average person in Florida cares about the Panthers winning the cup as much as the average prairie boy cares about the Raptors winning the NBA championship. Fun to celebrate and enjoy, but they couldn’t care less otherwise.