Oilers fans are disappointed in this version of the team after a crushing trip to California. Not since the Donner Party has a caravan endured a tougher road on the left coast. I begin this day with one primary thought on these Oilers: They are at the edge of night without showing the Los Angeles Kings what they can bring to a hockey game.
If one is going to lose a playoff series, the least one can do is be present in said playoff series. I think we’ll see a much stronger effort tonight. The question is, will it be enough?
CROSSROADS
There are times when multiple forces converge in a single moment and create a pressure point, for people and for organizations. I remember walking around on the morning of Game 7 in 1987 and contemplating what changes might be made if that Oilers team (which remains my favourite) failed against the Philadelphia Flyers.
I have a similar feeling now, this morning. I doubt any of the individuals involved is thinking about professional extinction, but this organization has a new general manager (Stan Bowman) who isn’t attached to most of the roster.
In fact, with the exception of the team’s heart and soul (Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Mattias Ekholm, Evan Bouchard and Darnell Nurse), none of the men who began this journey in October should assume they will be part of the fall roster. It’s even possible some of the names I’ve listed above will be in new NHL cities come the fall.
That’s getting ahead of ourselves, of course.
We have talked all year about the Oilers having the lowest floor of any Stanley Cup contender in memory. They are truly unique in my experience. It’s baffling to watch a team with soaring top end attached to a hopeless contraption at the other.
In musical terms, the best of this team is representing by the stunning Janis Joplin vocal on “Piece of My Heart” which I count as one of the best performances I’ve ever heard. Meanwhile, in the background, Big Brother and the Holding Company can barely get through the song. I have no idea why they didn’t dub in some session musicians playing more appropriately behind the goddess that was Joplin on that record.
Any road, we are here today. Down 2-0 and no rhythm section to drive the band.
Oilers management needs to have a long look at this roster over the summer. Why do the highest highs and the lowest lows exist on the same team? In the meantime, the Oilers will hit the ice tonight at Rogers Place, with the faithful waiting for this version of the Oilers to take another piece of their heart. Now. Baby.
At noon today, Sports 1440, the Lowdown hits and we’re going to let everything out in one primal scream. Steve Lansky will be there, Tyler Yaremchuk too. We’ll talk wall to wall Oilers, with some NFL draft thrown in and Declan Krueger’s Declanations for good measure. 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, it’s available post-show on apple and spotify, and we tweet it out on X.
The key to victory for the Edmonton Oilers may come in proper deployment of lines/pairings and hard matching in order to find clean air on the McDavid Speedway
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6304790/2025/04/25/oilers-kings-series-stats-matchups/
Playoffs start for real for the Oilers tonight. I had no expectations for the first two games.
Connor’s season long malaise continues. He has a 42.86 GF% 5v5 these playoffs. They need him winning his TOI, this is a big deal
Only 4 Oilers have a positive 5v5 goal share – J Brown, Perry, Janmark, Drai. 10 are even or better. C Brown, RNH, Henrique, Hyman, J Skinner, Nurse, Bouch, Frederic, Connor all under water
Bouch is getting smoked at 28.57%. For those wondering why J Skinner sat, his goal share 5v5 is 25%
A lot of comments about guys that are gone from last year. It reminds me of a pal fondly remembering an ex while forgetting why they are ex. Foegele is playing better for the Kings than he did for us. Still in this post season he’s getting third line 5v5 TOI and in the two games 5v5 was on for 1 GF he didn’t score, while they scored 7
Folks don’t remember how many plays died on his stick or how he sported GF% of 34.62 and 37.50 the playoffs before at 5v5. His speed and energy are missed, but not the droid
100pts in 67 games is not a season long malaise, no matter how you slice it.
Minnesota sure seems to be a hell of a lot better then how you sell them as well.
Pro-rating – A 122 point season would have been his worst in quite some time.
He has not been consistently himself at any point this year.
They could have gotten better line combos throwing the 16 forward names into a hat.
This guy must not like his head coaching gig very much.
They likely win tonight on home adrenaline alone, which convinces him to stick with the madness and get beat the next 2. Odds of Stuart back in for game 4 regardless of how Pickard plays tonight I have quite high. “Gotta get him going” or some BS like that.
Playing Frederic is criminal. If the coach can’t see how he’s completely unable to skate, he can’t see a million other things that are hurting the team.
Jeff Skinner, Kapanen and even Max Effing Jones all have legit reason to be mad as hell today. Not to mention Philp or Savoie. Every single one of these guys would be a better choice.
Given the results a RS C might be handy, especially one that defends. Couldn’t be worse IMO
I see some comments that Faceoffs aren’t as big a deal on PK as I’m making them out to be considering faceoff percentage in games 1 and 2 were 52/48 then 48/52; ala, a non-factor.
What you need to remember is that with the new rule change, the attacking team gets to pick the side they want to take the draw on on any PK faceoffs and so everyone is on our leftie’s forehands and every one is against Anze Kopitar so I went to NHL.com and manually looked
Dzone and short handed;
Game 1- 2 wins/6 losses
Game 2- 3 wins/6 losses
Total 5 wins on 17 tries or 29.4%.
It’s a massive deal
Especially for playoffs, losing draws any time means expending more energy trying to get the puck back and defending
It matters. If they manage to get past the Kings they will have to start winning games more easily or they will run out of gas again. As Connor says, always the hard way
So there I was looking at the shots chart on TSN for Games 1 and 2 and some glaring issues were made obvious.
In Game 1, the Oilers were credited with 25 shots. Of those, 15 were taken from the “box” formed within the top of the face-off circles through the face-off dots and connecting to where the trapezoid behind the net connects to the goal line (a slightly wider “home plate”). 5 goals were scored within that box… all in the slot, and only one was from above the hashmarks. LA had 23 such shots with 5 goals within that box. 3 of the 5 were scored from in close and below the hashmarks. 1 was scored from the high slot barely above the hashmarks, while the other was right at the top of the circle but halfway between the hashmarks and the face-off dot.
In Game 2, the Oilers were credited with 26 shots. Of those, only 11 came from within the wider home plate, and only 2 goals were scored, which were both from within the low slot. Meanwhile, LA was credited with 31 shots. Of those, 22 came from within the box as well as all 6 goals. 11 of the shots, and 3 of the goals, within the box were from the low slot with the other 3 goals being just outside of the low slot.
It’s obvious that LA was getting shots from great shooting positions in both games and finding success (naturally). The Oilers got lots of shots (and goals) from advantageous positions in Game 1, but couldn’t or wouldn’t in Game 2. This is far from a new issue, but it is one that needs to change both offensively and defensively for the Oilers to succeed. The Oilers need to be better at gaining and holding position in front of both nets.
Yes. I’ve been saying it for the offense for a couple of years. When teams clog the middle the Oilers struggle. It’s because they won’t change and stay changed to a style to counter it. Cycling isn’t a counter to it. It keeps them on the perimeter making it worse, Drai and Connor start forcing things
When teams let them play how they want to play the Oilers beat them and pump the offensive stats up
How many LA defenders were in that “box” when the Oilers were shooting? vs. How many OIler defenders were in that “box” when the LA Kings were shooting?
Nuge has to wakey wakey up he can’t win a pk face-off leading to instant intense pressure. The opposition cheats on everyone else on the pp because Nuge is not a threat to hit the net when the opposition dares him to shoot. Nuge it’s time “for a game”
Nuge was 31% on the PK faceoffs during the season (54% on PP and 50% at 5 on 5).
Henrique was 47% (Drai over 80%).
This is not new, the coaching staff should we well aware.
Ok Pickard it’s all water under the bridge K.K didn’t trust you in game 1 and it was quite sad he passed up on you in a gsme 2. Pickard you’ve been a borderline back-up after getting drafted pretty high as your pedigree dictated. This is it what you’ve dreamed of since grade 1. All the doubters including myself be damned if you can go on a heater and backstop this team on a run of 4 straight you will be a legend in Edmonton. You’ll never have to pay for a meal or a drink in Oiler Country the after hockey offers will pour in either coaching or as a analyst. It all starts tonight Mr.Pickard
They won’t let him start 4 straight even if he wins. They’ll go back to Stuart because “reasons”.
I was in the comments justifying the sitting of Skinner a couple days ago in favor of Kane potentially returning to the lineup. I stand by that.
However, given that we saw:
* a clearly wounded Frederic
* McDavid getting PK shifts to counter 5-fwd PP
* how bad we’re smoked on PP and PK faceoffs – thus Draisaitl may also get PK shifts
This is a different ball game.
I would absolutely have Jeff Skinner in the lineup over Janmark or the current version of Trent Frederic. Jani won’t PK as much and Frederic can barely skate.
See, you know, new data comes in, new opinion should come out.
I’d have Skinner in over an injured player, Janmark was the best forward not on the top line in game 1.
Let’s hope Pickard has a game!
Cant believe McD and Drai are not split up to start.
Nuge has been terrible in the 1st 2. He cannot drive an NHL 2 nd line anymore. He has been brutal in the faceoff dot on the PK as well. Maybe they should dress Ryan as the 4th line C man and let him play pk. He still wins draws and at least gives it his all every night.
You are right LT , especially if the Oil lose tonight and the series in the next game or next few that there will be a lot of changes. The coach and the coaching staff may be 1 of them
I agree with your sentiment here with a few friendly asides. Especially the Picard comment.
There are many things that can be said about the team and about individual Oiler players but I like to base them in facts. The following are the face-off win percentages of the Oiler centres in the 2 games: Henrique 55.6 Nuge 53.3 Drai 52.6 McD 40.9. The stats I am looking at don’t differentiate PK Fo from 5×5 or pp. Nor do they tell me if getting kicked out from the dot (looking at you Drai) is considered a win a loss or a non-event.
I am hopefull that last change gives McD and Drai a bit of clean air.
Mostly I hope that they stop going into hyper panic mode after the first goal against and work hard and patiently to assert themselves on the game as they did most of the year.
Is there are any “clean air” available?
Line matching would involve trying to get McDrai away from the Foegele – Danault – Moore line but would likely result in a bout with the Kopitar line which is not a great prospect.
An unforced error by KK is regularly having practices where the lines are experimental and unlikely to keep for the game such as the posted D lines.
It’s like he wants to keep his payers guessing which, judging from the game, has been too successful.
You’d also like to think in a series where nothing has rhymed and now in a do or die game, you could keep things relatively simple and go with line that are familiar and have consistently worked.
I don’t get the coach’s near allergic response to consistency for the players. Or his apparent disinterest in putting Jeff Skinner in a position to succeed.
Skinner-McDavid-Brown
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Arvidsson
There’s evidence to suggest those two lines could work, and it would have been really nice if the coach had given those lines enough time in the regular season that we would know by now.
It would have left RNH-Hyman to anchor another line. If those two cannot in fact anchor a 3rd line, that identifies some issues that may have to be addressed in the offseason.
Could not agree more. Would mean you have a very strong line out for 85% of even strength gameplay
Bah – these players all know each other well and can adapt if the real lines are different. It’s probably more about keeping the Kings guessing, or re-inforcing whatever complacency may be creeping in on their side… doubt it works, but times are desperate
Exactly. This is why the coach should be fired, or at least one of the top reasons on the list. He had all year to figure out the best line combinations and d pairs and failed big time. It’s been Ekholm/Bouchard and a massive blender for everyone else. Go to McDrai when it isn’t working. Demote and press box Skinner. Rinse and repeat
I was disappointed when the walking wounded did not play the last game of the seasons – if they were fully healthy, I thought it would have made sense to give them the game to help start to shake off the rust.
I’m starting to think that all of them (Walman, Drai and Hyman) did not play because they were not, and still aren’t, near 100%.
I do remember asking you specifically why you were being so optimistic on the Oilers getting back to full health. (I’m not sure you saw it).
I remember how frustrated you got with Woodcroft for being untruthful about injuries and I thought it was worthy of question why you were so trusting of Kris.
I always felt that a half dozen guys would be at 75% health especially after seeing the mess Leon, Frederic and Ekholm were upon return.
— I mean OP l(and many others) would refer to whatever comment the coach or press or players said as “proof” that they were all fine and accept as gospel as a truth.
— It was reasonable to have a healthy degree of skepticism leading into the playoffs as to the health of many players.
— This was not the way to optimally be ready for a Cup run. The first two games have done nothing to disabuse me of this notion
— I never got the “Oilers are rested going into playoffs” angle as something either true or a positive or an up arrow. Rested perhaps they were, but not nearly “ready”
It appears that Pickard will get the start.
Pickard makes some sense. Other choices seem the side effects of Brain Salad Surgery.
Praise the Lord I’m glad I got my bets in before the announcement as odds have dropped considerable for the Kings.
Per Gregor:
As per my prior post, this makes sense as the listed d-pairings really don’t, at all.
Watching Klingberg skate backwards the other night was shocking. It’s almost like watching a Bantam AAA player. So pairing someone who can’t skate backwards with someone who often chooses not to will be catastrophic.
Trying to scare Bouch into playing some D
So why practice something you don’t intend to use in the game? Seems like time they could have better spent practicing the pk
Knoblauch has had very little work for him this season. That, I think, is uncontestable. You can contest whether his bets/tendencies/decisions were reasonable. I think most were bad calls. I hope to see the back of him after this season. He has seemed out of his depth, which is itself a bad sign.
Whether or not you think they’re the problem, a new coach and a new goalie are relatively easy changes (in comparison with changing the configuration of all the rest, with salaries, NMCs, etc.) that have the chance of making an outsized difference. I hope they make both. To be clear, I wouldn’t mind them keeping Skinner as 1B. He might thrive in that role.
Still hoping for a turnaround, and am open to KK and Skinner proving me wrong, but my sense is that neither has an answer at this moment.
After last year, both deserved another crack at it, IMO. I am less able to assess the coach’s contribution. I am sensitive to the fact that many coaching decisions are made with information we don’t have, but results haven’t been there. Oddly enough its his cool, calm demeanour that settled the team when he arrived which now seems to be his Achilles heel. Don’t we all just want to see him pop a vein at a ref at this point?
Agreed. Both are still learning. I wish, for instance, that Skinner had a coach that could stop him from falling to his knees so quickly and playing from his knees so often, which is likely a confidence issue as well. Unfortunately, this team is in a place where only results matter, which might mean it’s not the right team for either KK or Skinner. I’m not as worried as some about Skinner doing the Dubnyk trajectory into All-Star in 3-5 years if this is the state of his goaltending now.
To follow up, I think coach and goaltender are roles where it pays for a team to be ruthless, simply because of how quickly these changes can turn a team around. Obviously this sucks for both coaches and goalies.
We hoped for the best but it turned out like always.
The @EdmontonOilers morning skate:
Draisaitl-McDavid-Hyman
Podkolzin-RNH-Arvidsson
Kane-Henrique-Brown
Frederic-Janmark-Perry
Skinner/Jones-Ryan-Kapanen
D rotating:
Klingberg-Bouchard
Nurse-Emberson
Kulak-Walman
lol what even are those D pairings?
The eternal blender.
i just threw up a little.
Not sure Klingberg is the defensive conscience Bouchard needs
Who’s the starter?
I don’t really know what this is but, whatever, this line up can win – they’ll just need the top line to do what they are capable of and maybe get a chip in goal again.
Nothing will matter if the special teams issues remain the same…..
I don’t know what those d-pairs are with the rightie/rightie and leftie/leftie pairings……
————————————-
Stecher was on the ice today which is a good trend.
Oh, no Jeff Skinner is, well, wild, in my opinion.
Having a physically unable to skate Frederic in over Skinner is baffling.
I don’t know what personal grudge Knoblauch must have with Skinner, but at this point it seems he’s willing to prioritize it over his job and the success of the team.
Maybe Bowman is pressuring the coach to play Frederic for optics. There’s a slim chance that Frederic plays more games for the Oilers than Mike Green did a few years back. /s
Coach K – You, Strawberry, Hit a Homerun!
Not a single change to the forwards. No accountability. And no depth, 93 is miles from a 2C in 2025, though that line had siem
chemistry earlier. I wonder if Drai is hurt, I can’t see why they’d run them together after last game.
I think all the injured guys that didn’t play in the last game (Hyman, Walman and Drai) are less than 100% – no way they don’t want them to get in a game to shake off some rust if they were 100%.
Bouchard demoted to third pairing is how I see these strange pairings.
I don’t mean to be a Depresso Dennis but a sweep is very likely.
Why? Special teams.
The Oilers PK and PP are MIA. The PK has been dreadful for most of the season, no reason to expect a turnaround now.
Even worse, look at the penalty differential. Already 2:1 in favour of LA.
The PP has looked stale all year.
They always received the benefit of doubt due to past results, without coaching ever acknowledging that maybe teams had figured them out.
Pk has allot to do with goaltending which we do not have.
PP has dwindled due to teams running allot of game tape on our PP. We need more options.
Some suggestions for tonight’s game:
– Try Nurse at forward. Let him use his strong skating ability to bang bodies and try to disrupt their D.
– Start Skinner, but switch his glove and blocker hands. When the King’s forwards skate uncontested up the middle they will be confused and won’t no where to shoot.
– Sit McDavid for the first period. This will allow the other forwards to step up their game in his absence. The Kings will also suspect an injury. Then in the middle of the second send him out to terrorize everyone.
– Try more long range slapshots. Once you hit centre ice, let ‘er rip. In the playoffs anything can happen and every once in a while these go in.
I don’t have any actual good suggestions for the Oilers, I’m just trying to lighten the mood. I’m just as worried as the rest of you.
Good luck men, and God speed.
Thank you!
Indeed, anything can happen.
I always liked the dea of Nurse taking some forward shifts. Brent Burns did it in his younger days , But we don’t have any D lol
Please Coach KK, get back to the lines that worked during the regular season and stick with them.
Get McDavid off of the PK, dress a true 4C (maybe Ryan simply for faceoffs) and split up Nurse Bouchard.
Although I remain optimistic, I do not feel great about the PK. Specifically the inability to win a single faceoff.
You want to talk about a butterfly effect.
They somehow choose not to add anyone even out of the bargain bin and instead add John Klingberg and Trent Frederic.
Kevin Stenlund, Jake Evans, Michael McCarron, Noel Acciari, Teddy Blueger. Just a quick glance at big PK minute guys on weak teams. Dozens available.
I don’t understand what the plan was for 4C and 4LD. Hard to win the Stanley Cup without both. The Oilers have neither.
When they had the players down the stretch, they used Adam Henrique as 4C – that’s a pretty good 4C/PK guy, no?
Of course, (1) he currently sucks again (still) and (2) when they load up McDavid/Drai, they don’t even have a great 3C let alone 4C….
Signing former Oil King, Curtis Lazar, should be high on the list of the team’s priorities this summer, regardless of playoff outcome.
A good ole boy from the lovely Salmon Arm.
The Oilers could definitely use a break or 2 ; a power play goal would help. Things could turn ariund in a hurry. Go Oilers go
Any news on the starter? Is soon to be eating a stale corn dog while riding the buses in the AHL coach K.K about to say he’s sticking with his boy Skinner. I can hear it now he’s been there before referring to a chart from the last few years. Coach K.K will immediately slough off the one question from a independent reporter about Skinner poor season and letting in a heartbreaking goal a pee-wee goalie would of swallowed up after we had the Kings on the ropes.
Maybe. Perhaps even probably. What is the Oilers win the Stanley Cup this June?
Also as written in the piece:
I’m focused on game 3 of the the Oilers/Kings series tonight.
Go Oilers!
getting ahead of ourselves is a oiler fan coping mechanism
— compounding the start of this playoffs has been the success of the leafs here in the big smoke
— their new goalie has been rock solid all year in a great tandem.
— The D has 6 guys that play roughly all the same minutes.
— scoring depth and talent.
— I hate Leaf nation. Them winning the Cup this year would be unbearable for this oil fan in TO
Toronto or Vancouver ending the Canada cup drought would be completely unacceptable IMO.
But Winnipeg is ok
LT, I just want to compliment you on yesterday’s article which I thought was your best; or at least spoke to me the most.
My favorite thing in fandom, and I believe one of the cool things this place has fostered, is Armchair GMing. But what you showed is what I’ve been feeling. Every decision made, although wrong, has no clear better alternatives. It’s like a house of mirrors where you hit a dead end, take a stride and crash face first into the next pane of glass.
Bouchard and Nurse don’t work! So play him with Walman. Shoot, that also doesn’t work.
97/29 together! Oh shoot, they created one scoring chance at evens and the rest of the lines were a sinkhole. Separate them and get back to a spine. Ok great, except the way McDavid is creating these days is off the cycle with significant zone time and he can’t get zone time if he’s got no puck transporter on his line.
Skinner needs to play deeper in his net because he’s too slow to recover side-to-side. Oops now he gets beat clean “eyes up” three times.
I would certainly look to add Philp to the lineup. Henrique has been awful. Philp played his best hockey of the season at the end. We know it won’t happen (shit, the Oilers have not even officially called him up).
Savoie could help this team but even less chance they play him. Similar to Broberg in the past, it was a fail not to give him 25 games down the stretch. At least Broberg was blocked by legit NHL players playing well – there was real opportunity to play Savoie nightly.
Agreed, I would put Philp in. But I would also add Ryan.
Take out 2 of Rico/Janitor/Brown.
The PK is getting smoked for a couple reasons, I believe the primary one being Stuart Skinner’s complete inability to make a save when required to move laterally (thankfully, we won’t be seeing that tonight). But also we can’t win that initial faceoff and DR helps bigly here. Knob can do make this happen by taking a page from Hiller & rolling three lines.
I would add Philp and Skinner and subtract Frederic and another forward depending on injury info.
Obviously not that relevant to this series, but it blows my mind that the McDrai Oilers have never swept a series or lead a series 3-0, and have only lead a series 2-0 once (where they lost). Perhaps that speaks to management’s history of poor decisions.
Gentelman’s sweep against the flames? 4 straight after the game 1 loss….?
Can this team just (post)punk rock its way back into the series?
Maybe the drummer loses time and the bass player sucks, but a Fender Precision is still gonna pack a wallop if you swing it at someone’s head. Fast, direct and unpredictable is what’s required.
In a similar vein, RIP to Pere Ubu’s David Thomas, who passed yesterday.
“I wanted to create a band that Herman Melville, William Faulkner or Raymond Chandler would have wanted to be in.”
https://youtu.be/mk1sqOpPn3E?si=7O-pJAIFI9DnE2NW
I know it sounds too dramatic, but this may be the most important game in Oilers history. A win means they are back in the series, or at least have a chance. A loss means they probably go out with a whimper.
And that brings the future of this team into question. And more importantly, it may make McDavid question the future of this team. And what do the Oilers do if McDavid balks at signing an extension this summer?
From a talent point of view, it appears that the Oilers peaked last spring. People who are expecting any GM to make significant improvements this summer are probably going to be disappointed. What bullets does Edmonton have to offer to make upgrades? They are low on prospects and draft capital. They have a bunch of declining veterans on NMCs. This is normally when a team starts to think about a rebuild, not a Stanley Cup.
Broberg, Holloway and McLeod had high end speed and talent. The Oilers decided they’d rather have grizzled veterans who would deliver in the playoffs. Well those veterans better start delivering, or I believe we will start to see the agonizingly slow decent into mediocrity.
The team we watched all season has been living the agonizingly slow decent into mediocrity. The team we saw in the first two games of this series is less than mediocrity. Every player to a man on this team has to find more intensity. Every shift and every moment matters. Problem as I see it – the players do not feel the same way. We have not seen any single player excel since the puck drop of this series. (Other than a 3rd period explosion from Connor) Where is the desire to win playoff hockey? I see a group of old, tired and frustrated who cannot keep up mentally or physically and cannot wait for the playoffs to end so they can get back to their California vacation that was so rudely interrupted by the start of the series. They should have came home and did a hard reset before series. Instead they chose the beach and escape houses. Didn’t work. A team/group meeting is required so they can get their heads out of their asses and stop the vacation they been on. We all know how this team perform coming home from a long time away.
You’re pretty hung up on this supposed California vacation
Your right if we lose tonight especially with Skinner in net they’ll give up and lose 4 straight. Something is not right since the 4 Nations like McDavid saying he’s moving on. I was 90% sure he would resign after Leon signed now I’m down to 55% this team isn’t playing for each other.
And Foegle. His speed and forechecking are really missed. Not to mention he does score the odd goal.
With everyone else, I agree that failing to sign Broberg and Holloway was an astounding mistake. But sending McLeod away just made sense last summer: he flew all around the rink at light-speed, sure, but he never went to the net and he rarely scored, and that had been the story for at least two years. And Foegele was always only streaky, sometimes doing great work but just as often asleep at the wheel, even in the playoffs last year. I don’t remember any complaints last summer for management letting him walk.
Of course, both of those guys were central to the PK, but you shouldn’t have to pay $3+ million to keep PKers around. Who would have thought that the wheels would have come of that unit so completely with the loss of these two guys….
McLeod was just about to enter the prime of his career. He possessed one underappreciated elite skill. The ability to transport the puck with speed from a bottom six role.
It was another case of the Oilers overemphasizing the flaws in a young player about to enter his prime rather than propering considering his strengths relative to his weaknesses.
I don’t think this is an over exaggeration , and I have been bracing myself fro the inevitability of the “McDavid Out” talk to ramp up this summer regardless, should the Oilers not bring home the cup. I always thought so long as the Oilers were a contender, which they would be, no way would McDavid leave.. but this season has sewered that. I am so bitter at Jackson and Bowman for this. They should pray they can resign him or else they’ll both have Pocklington level status in Edmonton.
Ironically enough, trading McDavid for an absolute haul could be the thing that gives Edmonton the balance it hasn’t had since 2006, but as a sustainable multi-year force behind Leon. This would be perhaps a torpedo to the soul of the organization, but winning heals wounds and no matter what happens, like the morning sun, there will be The Edmonton Oilers.
You can never win that trade. You trade Kane, Hyman and Nuge, Nurse as soon as you can. Other GMs can find replacements and do all of the time. We are so used to shit GM work it seems impossible. Bowman is different so far
One thing that no one considers when saying Connor may want out is that it will only happen by trade. They cannot let him walk. He has to commit this summer. This means that whatever team acquired him would be so gutted his chances of winning would be worse than it is on the Oilers
Drafted players are far more loyal than ones that have been traded. It becomes part of their identity. It’s why Sid has stayed with the Pens, and they have been crap for years
The value of any asset is precisely what someone is willing to pay for it.
McDavid is not an exception.
In pondering a trade, you have to winnow potential suitors to those with the intent and ability to make the deal.
In this particular case, I would think only a confirmed “riverboat gambler” GM would even consider the trade and there really aren’t that many.
Since we already have the example of Gretzky leaving the Oilers I’m not sure “you can never win that trade” applies and the Oilers did win another cup without him.
Another very important aspect is that any trade would be conducted in a cap environment and, if we assume McDavid would re-sign in the range of $16 million, that cap space freed up is a powerful tool and must be added to the hard assets returned in the transaction.
If the Oilers were able to get a return that included a star level C, a young #1D, a couple of bluechip prospects and multiple first round picks they could indeed “win” the trade since their medium to long term future would be much brighter.
Example:
McDavid traded to NJD.
Jack Hughes – $8 million
Luke Hughes – $925K
Simon Nemec – $920K
3 1st round picks
Extra Cap space – $6 million which could be used to acquire a top 6 forward.
If Nemec was deemed ready for full time NHL duty, Evan Bouchard could also be moved either in this deal or another.
Prospecteratops!
All five remaining NAmateurs begin Round 3 of their respective journeys this eve.
London hosts Kitchener in a series what pits the only teams to crack the century mark in reg season points. The Knights went 4-2 vs. Kitchener in the reg.
O’Reilly is riding a 17-game point streak, while Nicholl tries to rediscover his early-season form.
Barrie battles Oshawa in t’other OHL conference final. The Colts bested the Generals 3-1 in the reg.
Wakely’s 21 points (6 + 15) have him a tie for 3rd in playoff scoring…and the top two have been eliminated. Akey’s five apples have him 4th in Barrie D points.
Muskegon travels to Dubuque for a best-of-5. Berry still seeks a non-zero number.
London (O’Reilly, Nicholl) @ 5 p.m.
Barrie (Akey, Wakely) @ 5:30 p.m.
Muskegon (Berry) @ 6 p.m.
All times, at all times, are Rocky Rapids time.
One game at a time.
starts with each shift
be good to actually get a lead
I don’t want to be reductive, but I feel that the simplest answer might be the easiest: The Oilers are a top-heavy team, and when the 97/29 are on fire and playing well with high-end players who complement their skillset, they look fantastic.
However, when those high-end complimentary players struggle, and the already sparse depth scoring dries up, the Oilers revert to being a two-man team who are wholly dependent on their superstars keeping them in games.
I do feel that the current forward group has way too many low-event/shot-suppression types (or veterans who have slowed down and had their 5v5 offense dry up), meaning there’s not a lot of goals to be had apart from 97/29.
Also – goaltending. The lows can be pretty freaking low when Stu struggles like he has this year. I hope Pickard gets the net, but his ceiling isn’t high enough to inspire much confidence
Maybe Picks is Dwayne Roloson.
My suggestions are, put Nuge back with McDavid & Hyman, Play Leon with Podz & Arvidsson. put Janmark-Henrique-Brown back together and place Philp between Kane & Perry.
Hopefully Stecher is back for game three, play him with Nurse, play Walman & Bouch and Kulak with Emberson. If Stecher can’t play, Klingberg will be fine, just don’t keep Nurse with Bouchard.
Play Pickard at home for two games, Skinner will want redemption in LA, and he will want to show the fans at home he can win game six.
Back to basics. Win one game at a time.
Deal with next year when it arrives.
Imo, some of our best lockdown hockey was played when we were without McDrai. We were backchecking hard and nearly always had and extra guy back to help the defence. We waited for the other team to blink and eventually capitalized on our chances. It sure seems like, when McDrai are back, we figure they’re gonna drag us into the game and we get loose.
I sure hope we can get back to this style.
Lock it down. Wait for our chances and pounce.
For a veteran team, we’re sure playing panicky. To much cheating for offence. To little attention to details.
A microcosm was the byfield goal. Nurse went for the big hit but, with nobody backchecking, it was the wrong play and left Bouch on an island. Attention to detail. We gotta be physical but gotta remember “time and place”.
Split McDrai. Dont cheat. Lock it down and be prepared to pounce.
Backcheck, forecheck, paycheque, fellas.
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.
Work your asses off and let the talent shine!!!
It was actually Drai that went for the hit but, shockingly, McDavid blew the zone and then Nurse cheated high leaving Bouchard to deal with 2 attackers……
McDavid and Perry left Bouchard on an island. Draisaitl and Nurse were marking their guys. Byfield was McDavid’s guy, but McDavid was off at centre ice already.
Ole Ziggy… this picture perfectly depicts the snarl that I hope to see with the home team tonight.
LT, give her a treat for God’s sake! She looks like she’s ready to Anderson your nads if you don’t.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKYqUs_sl3I
If you ask me, the dog looks worried.
Given his play compared to normal, I presume Walman is still hurt.
Perhaps Nurse just sucks in the playoffs getting back to trying to do too much and thinking offence and chasing? He is healthy this playoffs (I think) and has been terrible through two games.
This team got a depth goal in each game. They have got zilch from “the middle”.
Is Zach Hyman still on the roster?
Hyman did score in game 1 and had the Oilers best chance in game 2 (and would have buried the rebound if not for an excellent play by Gavrikov).
Also, get McDavid off the PK.
Exactly
Sending out McDavid and Draisaitl to start the PK may be exactly what is needed against a five forward powerplay. McDavid, Draisaitl, Nurse, and Bouchard.
You said it best LT. Just turn up. All of you.
The list of players that under achieved this season is enormous.I struggle to make a list of players that over achieved.
List of players that over acheived.
Draisaitl.
Not a struggle at all.
Win tonight and it’s a different series, down 2-1 doesn’t matter how you get there. Vegas down 2-1 to Minny and nobody is counting them out
They nearly won game one, whether they deserved it or not.
You just can’t count this team out.
They were down 0-3 in the Stanley cup final last year and nearly came back for a historic win only to fall short in game seven.
The fascinating thing about this series is the Oil have not looked dominated at any point (apart from 5v4). I can’t recall many moments of sustained pressure.
For the most part, the goals against are self-inflicted/bad reads – primarily by the defence and goalie.
This gives me hope.
Mistakes have really killed them defensively.
There were several moments in the 2nd period of game 2 where they could not get out of their own end.
Need to break up 97 & 29.
Win the game!
This^
Buried alive in the Blues seems fitting.