Do you remember the Chris Pronger shifts when he played with the Edmonton Oilers? You could hit the can, saunter over to the beer fridge, drive to the store for milk or mow the grass because you knew nothing bad at all would happen. I hesitate to call it the best single season by an Edmonton Oilers defenseman, because Paul Coffey, but in all honesty no single defender gave Oilers fans the feeling of calm that Pronger provided in 2005-06.
The Oilers current defense has a damn good top pairing in Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard. Despite some chaos this season, it’s reasonable to expect handsome outscoring by the tandem (while playing with the Connor McDavid Trio) at five-on-five this season.
The Athletic article today is about Matthew Savoie’s first 16 games with the Bakersfield Condors and the impressive outscoring results. The article is here.
Oilers blue
In his last 10 games, dating back to October 28, Darnell Nurse owns impressive (3-5-8) boxcars. He is averaging 21 minutes per game, 3.1 shots per game and the Oilers are at a 75 percent goal share (6-2 goals) five-on-five during the run. He has been the best version of himself during this period, and it’s been so good some people are noticing.
That’s big news in a city whose fans blame the player for his current contract and somehow manage to look past the dual bridge contracts (one by Peter Chiarelli and one by Ken Holland) that paved the way for the long-term deal Nurse is now playing through. That’s a helluva trick, ignoring facts to fit a bias. I do it too, but in this case it’s especially perplexing because Nurse bet on himself and won. Edmonton is a strong entrepreneurial city, I’ve always thought at least some folks would be impressed by his belief that (lack) injuries and (quality) performance would eventually win a long-term deal.
Back to this season and specifically the last 10 games. Nurse and Brett Kulak have played 65 minutes together in those games, and are 3-0 goals with a 64 percent expected goal share (all numbers five-on-five, via Natural Stat Trick). Away from Kulak in those games, Nurse is 3-2 goals with a 49 percent goal share.
The rumour currently has Stan Bowman searching for a LH blue who can play RH side. I think that’s a fine idea, because that LH blue may end up playing his strong side with Ty Emberson on the third pairing. That may be part of the reason why Bowman is searching for a specific handedness.
Bottom line: Experts say waiting for 200 minutes is wise, but it looks like Nurse-Kulak are money as a second pair. They are at 87:27 five-on-five minutes for the entire year, 3-1 goals and 66 percent expected goals. I don’t see any good reason to keep them apart at any time.
At noon today, the Lowdown hits the airwaves with plenty of Oilers talk. Guests include Rachel Doerrie from ESPN and Betalytics, Jason Gregor from the JG Show and Declan Krueger. I’ll ask Rachel about Nurse-Kulak, who the ideal LH who can play RH might be, and I wonder if the Oilers blew up the entire ‘need to be a playoff team by US Thanksgiving’ wisdom with the performance last season. I’ll ask Jason about Stuart Skinner’s Saturday performance, Nurse-Kulak and what the Oilers should be shopping for between now and the deadline. I’m at Lowetide on twitter, in the comments section here and on the Sports 1440 text line at 1.833.401.1440 directly. We can be heard at sports1440.ca; iHeartRadio; Radioplayer Canada, we tweet out the show after it’s done and you can catch us on Apple and Spotify.
New for The Athletic: Which Edmonton Oilers prospects are spiking in AHL Bakersfield?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5944197/2024/11/25/oilers-prospects-savoie-ahl/
Drake has played well when called up this year – he is a very good depth player.
Philp and Savoie playing well – RJ needs the full season in the AHL.
Right now I would send Dermott down to play with the Condors.If Hyman does not come back for the game on Friday, I would keep Drake for a few games. If he does send Drake back to the AHL.Assuming no more injuries to the D, after the VGK game (Dec 3rd) I would recall Philp and let Ryan have a rest.This team will need Philp near the end of the year and playoffs(?) so get him some NHL time now.
I’ve been hard on Nurse in the off-season. No problem with his play this year at all, and I agree with Pouzar, he looks happier.
A guy like Proverov would be a great addition and Jeff Skinner’s salary would cover most of the cap. A good bet on Skinner but he’s not covering himself in glory and Savioe is almost ready. No first rounder available this season is the problem so what else can we offer? Someone who is a bit more thuggish than Proverov would also be good, but looking around the league, effective muscle is also in short supply.
Got to fix the 4th line. Ryan looks done and Perry can’t make plays like that goal against in the Rangers game. Pretty hard to play the smart crusty vet role and yell at guys for mistakes when you do dumb stuff like that. Bringing up Philp, trading for Kostin (will be very cheap and easy – Perry goes the other way) and getting Kane back fixes the toughness issues. Add a crusty 3LD and they will be way faster and miserable to play against.
Lowetide interesting discussion re: Bouchard and whether to bridge or go long
Wow. We’re all blaming Nurse for his contract AND ignoring the bridge deals. I did not know that.
I was under the impression that the team owned their actions up until the contract was tendered and the player owned his performance since.
That seems a reasonable way to assess pay vs performance expectations. I mean that’s how it’s done in the real world.
We’re talking about people making millions of dollars to play a sport. We are not talking about the real world.
Performance and production is correlated with pay and bonuses. That’s the case for professional athletes just as it is with anyone.
Athletes earning more doesn’t mean they live in an alternate dimension where the mores of society do not exist.
The part where the team has to keep paying them regardless of performance is sort of an alternative reality
It’s getting a lot harder to demand performance and/or fire people in the ‘real world’ as well.
Acknowledging that Nurse “bet on himself” and was awarded a big contract, does not make him immune from criticism from the fan base when he is not performing up to the standard of that big contract.
Unless I missed the part where it states in his contract that he can’t be criticized for poor play. That really would imply an alternate reality.
Fortunately, he seems to have found his game and his swagger, which went missing from around the time that Ekholm was acquired and he got suspended for 1 game in the Vegas series.
He gets in trouble when he stops moving his feet. But it’s not as if his skating has deteriorated. More the mental side – making lazy passes, and lazy defensive plays rather than skating with the puck, which is the strength of his game. Perfect example was the game against the Rangers the other night – when he’s skating, he’s a force. When he stops skating, he’s coughing up the puck, which ends up in the back of our net.
But I think it boils down to the fact that we all know Nurse’s contract was overvalued from the moment he signed it. Pretty sure Nurse even knows it, in his heart of hearts, but can you blame him for signing that contract once it was offered? As Lowetide put it, he earned that contract by taking multiple bridge deals, performing well up until pay day came, and at that point the team was more or less forced into that contract.
So people keep bringing up the contract because his performance is not commensurate to his pay, as you have done here. But the whole point is that he gets paid what he does because of how the team managed his development – I really don’t think there is a single oilers fan who thinks he’s a value contract. Unfortunately, most people seem to hold this against Nurse directly, and all the complaints are that he sucks and shouldn’t be paid that much (the second part of which is undeniably true), when the blame really should fall squarely on the team’s shoulders for putting themselves in that position.
Also, he has a trade- and buyout-proof contract, so what’s the point of complaining about him other than to yell at clouds? Yes, it crippled our cap structure for several years, yes he does not provide value, yes we are all aware of these things, but he isn’t going anywhere until that contract reaches its natural conclusion. To keep hammering on about it every single game gets tiresome.
I, for one, am happy that he seems to be getting over whatever ailment/mental block seemed to be holding him back the last couple years and looks to be returning to the form he was in when he signed that bloated boat anchor of a contract.
Tomasino to Pittsburgh for a 4th. That’s someone I’d I’ve liked to take a flyer on, but with Kapanen on the roster, not to be be.
Yet another young player that Nashville did a poor job with. It’s not just happening in Edmonton.
Poile started blowing up the team, which is how Ekholm became available for Holland. Poile had Askarov in place for Trotz.
Trotz immediately proceeds to shoot himself in both feet, and in the head.
Nashville played above their head last year. They weren’t a real contender. Trotz thought they were. Now they’re in trouble.
Coach says both Arvy and Hyman are 5-8 days from returning and have both been ruled OUT for both games this coming weekend.
Safe to say, stated timeline on injuries from coach mean just as little as the prior coach’s verbal on injuries.
You have to wonder if they were injured from the beginning. How could Hyman possibly be this bad? He’s one of the hardest workers and smartest players in hockey. I hope he stays out until he’s fully healed.
Hyman has obviously looked off he’s not parking himself in the crease with as much vigour he’s also not trying any wraparound plays. I still think he’s nursing a injury from the playoffs.
Arvidsson out next two games for sure. That will be 8 games. I hope they just keep him out for another 10 days to get LTIR relief
Why do you care about LTIR releif, are we even using Kanes LTIR reserves?
I am not sure if i am reading puckpedia right or not, but it looks like we are not using ANY of Kanes LTIR reserves?
They have been due to injuries – when Caggiula and Brown were on the roster, they dipped in to it. They’ve sent them down to accrue for a few days but someone will need to be called up given Arvy and Hyman won’t play until, at the earliest, next week.
That wouldn’t help at all – the Oilers have millions of LTIR relief right now if they wanted to use it – $5MM worht.
@MDeFranks
Philip Broberg is on the ice for Blues morning skate.
Very curious to see if the Blues get a new coach bump from Montgomery.
The Groupies wil be out in full force going over and over how Jackson messed up and let the smartest G.M in the league (Armstrong) who’s club is 9-12-1 snooker him.
Boreberg is doing something?
How exciting.
Thanks for the update.
Can you provide a link?
Dink.
Per Gregor:
Hurry back Zach, they miss you.
McDavid was too busy admiring Kapanen’s speed to miss Zach last time out.
I think Kapanen will turn out to be nice pick up, depth wise they will be able to slot him in anywhere in the lineup, speed kills. But they obviously miss Hyman on the PP. Not sure Perry has the same work rate.
I don’t like Perry in that spot on PP1 – they need someone quicker and better on puck retrievals.
I don’t see this as true. Nurse was paid more than he even asked for by over 1M, at least. His ask was out there in the media after the contract, maybe before.
Nurse even after the bridge deals should have been in under 8M, because IIRC that was his initial ask, the deal would go down from there. The reason Holland gave him 9.25M was he enabled Bowman to give Jones 9.5M by taking Keith at full pop, with no sweetener either.
Nurse wanted to sign before that deal went down. Holland should have signed Nurse and then acquired Keith. It was a very poor, team damaging, piece of work. There is being fair to a player, and there is taking that so far that you are not doing your job well or properly. Everyone, including Nurse, would be better off if he was paid where he should be at, but it’s a done deal, and it doesn’t matter, until that NMC relaxes, and at that point it may cost him his tenure with the team.
Everything said here is a known fact, not just my opinion.
If I’m parsing LT correctly on this one. His essential argument is that Oiler mgmt is the reason Nurse is paid what he is because they kicked the contract down the road twice. So IF he is overpaid, it’s on mgmt not the player and this should thus insulate the player from criticism.
The obvious question is “why should this insulate the player from criticism?’
He was complicit in the process that kicked the contract down the road twice and the verbal coming out of both negotiations was he wanted a LOT. Regardless of how these negotiations played out, when he signed the deal he finally did, he knew where that compensation placed him in comparison to the elite D around the league and unless he was incredibly naive, he knew the expectations that would create in this market.
Since the deal, his offensive production has come nowhere close to what it was in the one year heater prior to the deal. And until recently he had regressed significantly on the defensive side, deservedly falling down the depth chart to the second pairing.
Nobody including Darnell himself expected a defensively challenged AND offensively lite second pairing Dman when he signed the deal. These are the facts, not a narrative or bias.
LT is probably correct in suggesting too much attention has been paid to the contract. However the player has underperformed expectations and the criticism over that is both justified and deserved. As it would be for any other player.
I know some retention would be required, but I truly think Ivan Provorov is the best bet for a versatile defender to acquire at the deadline.
His skating is a plus, he is a strong two way defenseman, and he’s the right age to extend if his audition goes well. Would be a fine 1-2 LHD tandem with Nurse after Ekholm’s deal expires.
His boxcars aren’t eye popping, which helps contract negotiations. But his fancies, especially rels, on poor teams are generally solid across the board. And multiple coaches across multiple teams have all trusted him to take on plenty of hefty minutes. Perhaps a little less of a load, and playing with better players in general, would see him pop.
He makes $4.73M this season and becomes UFA next season. So yeah, lots of retention for sure. Which drives acquisition cost up. They want a lot for David Jiricek . I can’t imagine what they would want for Ivan Provorov?
Might be tricky as Columbus already has all 3 retention slots filled.
Likely would need to get a third team involved.
If you read a tiny bit more carefully you’ll see that Columbus has zero retention slots filled.
The 3 things you’re seeing under Buyout/Retained are 2 x buyout cap hits and the bonus cap hit the league gave them for Johnny Gaudreau.
https://puckpedia.com/team/columbus-blue-jackets
The Jackets can, and almost certainly will, retain on Provorov to get his cap hit down to a very manageable $2.3M (wherever he goes).
Oilers Next 20 Games
Oilers are playing better – but they are all over the place so far this season (losing to Chi and Columbus was brutal).
Last year Van won the Pacific with 109 pts. To get on pace for 109 the Oilers will need to get 32 points out of the next 20 games. Not easy but doable – go Oilers!
Moneypuck has an excellent model for predicting points.
They have the Pacific finishing up this way:
VGK 106.2
LAK 100.5
EDM 100.5
VCR 98.7
CGY 94.3
SEA 86.6
ANA 78.6
SJS 64.4
Whether or not the Kings, Oilers, Canucks of Flames finish top 3 or wildcard might well hinge on their record against one another.
Top 4 in the Central is pretty much already determined thanks to very strong starts by the Stars, Jets and Wild with the Avalanche now pushing hard as their numerous injured players return to the lineup.
DAL 107.4
WPG 105
MIN 101.3
COL 99.9
https://moneypuck.com/predictions.htm
I for one do not see the Kings keeping up this run. Alex Laferriere will not continue on a 35-goal pace.
Otherwise Moneypuck’s math lines up with my eye test.
He may not but Kempe has found the range after a slow start with 5 goals in his last 5 games.
Another factor could be the return of Drew Doughty which is expected December 3.
I actually quite like the juggling of pairs the staff is doing currently.
I fully agree Nurse-Kulak is the (2nd) duo for any high leverage assignments, but I like that they’re both still playing lots on their strong sides and helping to support their weaker/younger RD partners.
I would personally like the staff to continue doing just what they’re doing as I think it benefits all involved in different ways.
At the same time, it would go a long way to have Nurse & Kulak focusing on being the best second pairing they can possibly be, without the need to support their weaker/younger RD partners. The team would certainly benefit from the addition of a veteran LHD with the ability to solidify the third pair. Or another guy to partner with Nurse. Because Kulak is the perfect partner either way.
Simply put they’re still in search of that missing link on D.
How many games does Emberson need to not become a free agent?
He has to play 50 games this season to lose his UFA group 6 status. Whether he becomes RFA or UFA maybe you could tell me. Is this a test?
i thought it was 50 games but I’m unsure if there’s any grey area to this.
Sort of. They know (or are getting closer) that Kulak can be that 2nd pair missing link.
That makes the in-season D addition much easier since it can be a RD or a LD, and the player could end up playing 3rd pair. Way easier to find than it needing to be a 2nd pair RD.
The fact that the D addition may be a lefty or righty, and play 2nd or 3rd pair, is actually part of why I like the current fluidity.
Depending on who the Oilers trade for, Kulak might end up back at 3LD. Given the uncertainty about how things will play out I think the current juggling is better than stapling Kulak to 2RD and then moving him back to 3LD. JMO.
No disagreement about Pronger.
He was +2 in his one season with the Oilers though. Bouchard and Ekholm are +45 and +49 in the Oilers last 82 games.
Crazy.
Ty Conklin 0.880 sv%
Mike Morrison 0.884%
Jussi Markkanen 0.880%
Call it mostly goalie.
Exactly.
It’s extremely rare that a team in in playoff position with the pre-deadline goaltending that 2005-06 Oilers got.
If Roli had played for them all year, they definitely would have won the division (and the #3 seed instead of the #8 seed). Not that it mattered in the end anyways. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.
That was a beautiful sight after Hemsky scored those 2 late goals and they cut to the mighty first place G.M stewing alone in the press box.
For sure, mostly just alluding to how damn good Ekholm-Bouchard have been.
FWIW, the Pronger numbers also included Roloson at .905, while the Ekholm-Bouchard last 82 games are backed up by both Skinner and Pickard at .906.
@FriedgeHNIC
In the aftermath of their 6-2 loss in Edmonton on Saturday, the Rangers have made it very clear they are interested in making moves and shaking up their roster.
Among the names indicated are Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba, although other options will be considered.
Trouba has been on the market all season.
Im sure they are very interested in moving Trouba. Now is anyone interested in Trouba no. Trouba interested in being traded. Absolutely not.
Trouba is just the kind of jerk Edmonton. Not going to happen though.
Ha! If Trouba didn’t want to play in Winnipeg, I highly doubt he wants to play in Edmonton.
Trouba wants to be in a big Eastern market, whether or not it’s best for him.
Trouba has a 15 team no trade clause.
It’s unlikely any contending team could absorb his $8 million cap hit.
With that cap hit a 15 team ntc is essentially a no trade clause
Pretty much.
I don’t believe as many individuals have the Oilers on their no trade list. What say you?
Likely fewer than in the past but many NTCs include all Canadian teams as there are dozens of players who want to play only in the US.
I still think Finnish and Swedish players don’t mind the Canadian weather and culture.
If the Oilers are looking for a 3rd pairing LD, Lauzon is my choice, fairly cheap & 1 more season, hits everything in sight twice.
A Lauzon/Emberson 3rd pairing would provide the push back that’s going to be sorely needed against the likes of the Knights.
Lauzon is brutal. Has issues in coverage tracking his man, tends to stare at the puck and get “caught in photo” because he doesn’t recognize the danger until it’s too late.
Is offensive minded and likes to jump in the rush, but thinks he’s Bobby Orr.
Hard pass.
We’re talking 3rd pairing, I’ve seen Oilers 1st pairings do exactly what you’re describing.
He hits everything and blocks a ton of shots. I’m sure Coffey and Stuart can help him with his Bobby Orr syndrome if that’s a thing lol
We already have Josh Brown who does all of the good (and bad) you’re describing.
Now I know folks are just yapping, Brown has never come close to performing in the bigs to the degree Lauzon has.
Fair. I don’t disagree. I’ll add some context to aid the discussion.
Per PuckIQ against Gritensity (3rd pair):
Lauzon 23/24 GP 78
GF/60 2.5
GA/60 2.7
Brown 23/24 GP 51
GF/60 4.0
GA/60 3.8
Brown was weirdly higher event but overall his team was in the positive over a reasonable sample size. Moreso than Lauzon on Nashville, who were a much better team. I don’t use rel’s because Lauzon looks like garbage because of Josi. Now that would be a heckuva trade.
20/21 is the only year with a reasonable sample Lauzon did well against the dregs. With Chara Bergeron Bruins.
He’s done it for longer, but he’s been just as mediocre.
My point is, at Lauzon’s cap hit, and whatever asset cost to acquire him, I think the difference is less than negligible compared to Brown (which is more damning on Lauzon than an endorsement of Brown).
Lauzon is -44 at 5v5 in 309 career games.
Brown is -32 at 5v5 in 293 career games (on worse teams).
Oilers are 2nd last in hits given, adding a missing spice to the group may be wise.
IMO Lauzon would certainly be an upgrade on Stecher, Dermott or Brown. But he makes $2M and becomes UFA after next season. Might be able to fit him in, though they might want to find someone better.
He played 18:36 a night on a playoff team last season, he makes $2M. Sure finding someone better would be fantastic yet the Oilers don’t have 6M free in cap space and it wouldn’t be wise to sell off the few picks or prospects to get a team to retain on these “better players”
If the Oilers don’t have some meat in the line up and end up running into Vegas in the playoffs they’re cooked. I hate Vegas yet the outside perimeter fancy game isn’t going to get it done against them.
The Oilers have given 282 hits (2nd last) they’ve taken 485 (8th most) % of hits given is 38.26 which is second last to only Utah as per money puck.
Physicality is still a big factor in the game, with a healthy Kane coming back and a addition like Lauzon the Oilers would completely flip the scrip and be a fast, skilled, and physical team instead of a fast and skilled team that gets pushed around.
They get hit more because they have the puck more.
Same with the Taylor Hall giveaway effect.
I haven’t seen them get bullied in a game.
I’ve seen Lauzon get folded by Podkolzin though.
Gee I didn’t realize the Preds made the playoffs last season?
And Lauzon is a $2 million dollar 3rd pairing d-man. No thank you. Been watching him in Nashville for 3 seasons since Poile overpaid for him. Even the Pred’s analytics guys don’t defend him.
So looking at the standings today. I think we can circle Detroit, Ottawa, Montreal, Columbus, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Utah, St. Louis, Nashville, Chicago, Anaheim, and San Jose as possible dance partners in a trade for defensive help.
I looked at these teams, starting with Nashville, as we are aware of LT’s desire for Carrier. Checking down to defenseman who can play both sides, who else could be of interest? I suspect Schenn is a non-starter, and salary will be an issue, so can we say less than $4M? I also checked down on younger players as I doubt teams would be willing to trade youth, and we simply don’t have the assets. I was also reluctant to look at players with term (ie: this year and next).
In my brief research and I have no idea if these player can play both sides (RD) with the exception of Grzelcyk…
Matt Grzelcyk (https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/players/news/matt-grzelcyk/2723)
Brian Dumoulin
Jake Christiansen
Ivan Provorov
Mario Ferraro
Michael Kesselring (not happening)
Ian Cole (https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/players/news/ian-cole/1313)
Of all these, Grzelcyk and Cole showed better. I’m sure others have better stats to compare on these players (and others of interest to the Oilers), please share.
Ivan Provorov from that list should be the #1 target. I believe he actually has been playing some on the right-side in Columbus. #2 should be Mario Ferraro who was partnered with Emberson in San Jose.
RE: Kesselring
If Mcdonaugh can go back to Tampa, anything’s possible.
His contract is too valuable to move but they have a plethora of RD signed for a while and might want to make room for Lamoreaux who has really come along.
Man screw Columbus for taking Fabbro, he looks so good in his new spot.
Oh my gosh how good would Maveric Lamoreau look beside Darnell Nurse.
Might see him next game when Utah HC comes to town.
Betting on yourself twice and winning is admirable.
Folding up the chair and riding into the sunset after winning the bet is the issue.
If this recent run continues, nobody will complain because he’s providing value commensurate to performance.
That’s all anyone asked for.
Clearly management didn’t handle things properly.
His recent play is still far below his pay
When he can anchor a first pair with decent help ok. He’s not young so ‘maybe’
He will almost certainly be traded when his contract changes
A good Oiler, but the cap is a real thing
Two things that will work in Nurse’s favor if they come to pass. First, having Kulak as a partner who allows his flaws to be papered over will help him immensely. Second, if the cap goes up close to the $100M mark, then his salary stops looking as big as it does.
I still don’t know if you have room for two $9M+ defensemen on a team in that scenario (Bouchard is going to get paid $10M imo), but it does give a path to make it until 2027 when Nurse could be swapped out for another option.
Some large breaks without Oiler hockey this season
5 full days ( this one)
5 full days at Christmas ( good for them )
14 days in Feb ( Tournament)
This one is great for the injuries for sure.
Nurse and Kulak are playing great together. It is nice to see.
Be nice to see Bouchard get a little better on D and giveaways as well as picking it up on the pp. ( All of them ). I am not worried at all about his D partner.
Do like Emberson’s game overall on the 3rd pairing. Do not like any of the guys they have used with him or even Kulak when he was playing in that pairing. Stetcher and or either of the other 2 used are #7’s. As it is being reported by lots of the local media, the Oil will add a better D man by the end of day of the trade deadline ( at the latest).
The team overall just needs some consistency moving forward. Be nice to see them go on a winning streak before. Xmas, or at least a great stretch of games with a nice record like 9-2-1 or 8-3-1 (here is hoping).
Meant those other guys when they played with Kulak on the 3rd. Kulak has been great all year.
And not just 5 full days off, but 5 full days off after a crazily busy schedule with 5 in 7 and flying across the country and back. Not ideal.
The Western Conference is shaping up to be a boring playoff race. There are several high-end teams, and myriad crappy teams. Edmonton sits in 9th, and only has to climb over one of Vancouver, Calgary, or LA to make the playoffs.
Oilers have a stretch of 10 games coming up against crappy teams, so expect us to be closer to the high-end by mid-January.
Vancouver has 3 games in hand.
While the Oilers are napping this week, the Canucks play Boston, Pittsburgh and Buffalo.
LA has 1 game in hand with games against San Jose, Winnipeg, Anaheim and Ottawa with all games played in California.
The Jets game should be tough but LA is 6-2-1 at home.
Vegas also has 1 game in hand and play 4 games this with two of those being tough opponents in Colorado and Winnipeg as well as a couple of likely wins against Philadelphia and Utah.
Who the hell know about the Flames who also have a game in hand.
The mountain could be a fair bit higher by the end of the month.
Just checked the Flames schedule and their next 6 games are against non-playoff teams.
Maybe THIS time it will be different.
flames first game against non-playoff team: 0 points.
One of the best times of every season is when I read about how the flames are going to separate due to strength of schedule matters.
And somehow they remain 3 points ahead of the Oilers and win the tiebreakers.
Go figure.
LA, with the noted schedule, starts by getting blown out by the Sharks, 7-2.
“Vancouver has 3 games in hand.”
Surprised you didn’t include a “and Demko is expected to return any day now”
Demko is on the road trip and taking regular practice turns.
No date set for his return but he’s close.
Kulak – Nurse is an unbelievable turn of events if it becomes a long term solution. The other inside of the coin is that we all know the defenseman we’re now looking for and it hurts too much to mention.
It’s interesting how things have turned out. All the talk was about Broberg after his grandiose playoff performance alongside Nurse on the second pair. But it was Kulak who turned down the opportunity to open the door for Broberg. This season suddenly he’s fine with playing the right-side with Nurse as it probably should have been. I doubt the offer sheet happens without Kulak’s opening the door for Broberg . In hindsight he may have signed in Edmonton and been playing with Emberson on the third pairing today.
Woulda, shoulda, coulda. LOL
We talked this off season a lot about Nurse and, for me, his play this season was maybe the biggest factor on how team ends up.
We know what we are going to get from the likes of Drai and McDavid (and Ek and Bouch through year’s end).
Given Nurse’s regression over the last few years, his play was up in the air and him locking down that 2nd pairing was a massive need for the team to succeed.
It was a struggle early as he worked his game up after missing all camp games but he is now locking it down and it’s huge.
We know this player can anchor a high end second pairing. For crying out looks he anchored a 1st pairing (with non first pairing partners) playing some of the toughest minutes in the league and kept his head above water. Yes, lots of McDavif help but there was succeed against elites with McDavid off.
Seems Nurse is healthy in the hip/core area and he’s back.
Welcome back Darnell!!!
Nurse’s play regressed the longer he played with Ceci. The problem went away.
I adore your hatred of the greatest game 7 scorer in Oiler history.
Glenn Anderson says hello.
Of my era 😉
Its actually very interesting to see that, over the course of three years, there isn’t much movement in Nurse’s on-ice numbers with and without Ceci.
I think injury and health was a primary factor.
It should also be noted that all of Nurse’s on-ice numbers absolutely tanked with put with Broberg in the playoffs last season (except for the 4-2 goal share off the PDO heater – all other numbers were abysmal with Broberg, much better without).
Weren’t you saying Nurse was the issue in the playoffs? Tanking Ceci?
He said just about everything and then non-stop reminding when he thinks he was right and silence for all the many things that were not.
You forgot to whine about boreberg.
You’re losing your mojo.
Mayhem Monday.
“Hello me. Meet the real me.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkJ2fttcA54
🙂 🙂 🙂
I have no problems with how Nurse played the cards he was dealt. Overall, I expected stronger performances but also need to recognize injury plays a role. But from my end, I think signing for about 1 million less per year would have still been a personal success while also sending a message about team commitment and cap flexibilty. The core group really seem to like each other which is a good thing for team culture, but in a cap world – they need to realize it also means that keeping them together must not be an inefficient use of resources.
But of course, playing well is the best answer to the critics and Nurse is looking good these days; And, as OP mentioned – its great seeing him also looking happy
It was signed pre-covid-flat-cap. And the Jones contract reset defensive salary levels.
4 years of cap inflation was lost, that was unknowable at the time the Jones (and Nurse) contract was signed.
No it wasn’t. It was signed August 6, 2021. Nurse’s big contract year was the COVID year, where he shot 10.3% against the weak goalies in the Canadian division. This was all foreseeable. Some of us hated it at the time, and that’s why.
My bad…the years all blend into one.
Goaltenders on Canadian teams were not weak. Demko, Markstrom, Hellebuyck, Anderssen, Price.
One other thing with Nurse that I think is notable is that he’s been much happier and engaging with the media in recent weeks.
For a long stretch there, a couple of years maybe, he seemed to be ornery in all media avails and often very short and down right rude.
it’s great to see him happy and in a positive mind-set.
Other than the one blown out of proportion interview (which i personally liked because the team needed to show they were all business), I’ve found Nurse to be nothing less than a pillar of the community. Performance aside he’s a boon for Edmonton and the causes he supports.
Leon and the odd Connor quip are the only folks I’d say are truly ornery in the media.
For sure, don’t disagree that he’s been a pillar of the community.
That doesn’t really have anything to do with him being in a pissy mood (generally) in pre/post practice/game media avails for a while now – and it wasn’t just the one media avail – its something I’ve noticed for a long long time.
Great to see him smiling and engaging as the norm again these days!
Like I said, I disagree aside from the one outburst. I added the community portion because being unhappy with the media and being unhappy in general are two different things.
Saying he’s smiling and engaging with the media right now, cool. He’s been smiling and engaging this whole time.
Seems like you are trying to take my comment a place of your choosing that isn’t really related but that’s OK.
Seems like you’ve decided you just want to post a comment and leave no room for discussion or disagreement on a blog about discussion.
Fill your boots (or the opposite)
I posted about his demeanor in media avails over the last couple of years and you are responding regarding his standing in the community.
Its not about leaving room for discussion its about relevancy to the discussion.
I elaborated on the reasoning for the point. You were right to question its relevancy so I clarified. You chose to stick with being technically right (the best kind of right).As long as you feel like you won that seems to be the important part to you.
Enjoy.
More often than not Nurse should be seen and not heard. Do his talking on the ice. Great to see him smiling.
Wait, what?
Nurse is an assistant captain, not a child.
Of course you want your leadership to address the media.
Some players are better than others addressing the media. Leadership has nothing to do with it. And obviously he isn’t a child.
Without getting too personal I wonder what changed for him? Coffey is pretty sharp I’m glad he’s letting Nurse roam free and playing toward his strengths. Nurse is a driver not a Lee Fogolin stay at home D.
Why does one need someone like Darnell Nurse to be polite? Why can’t he be pissy?
Why the mood-shaming?
I think the change in his demeanor (generally) over the last couple of years has been notable and the recent change back to what I’m used to seeing from Nurse is relatable notable.
Didn’t expect this to be such a hot take or controversial note.
None of these comments are treating it like a hot or controversial take.
I took Chelly tongue in cheek. Why you heff to be mad? (this quote is also tongue in cheek)