I’m hella curious about how the thunder rolls over this summer. Stan Bowman is the new general manager, and this will be his first full summer in the role.
I like much of Bowman’s early work. The Jake Walman-John Klingberg tandem is impressive at moving the puck out of the zone, and Bowman brought both men in over the course of the season. That’s a substantial bit of spackle, and it plays. That’s an encouraging sign for Oilers fans.
Bowman identified a need on defense. He addresed that need in a unique way (Klingberg was an outlier option and for much of the second half looked nothing like a solution) and then acquired a player (Walman) who wasn’t a known deadline option. That’s some creativity and bodes well for the summer.
The best “impatient” summer by an Oilers general manager came in 1986 summer and lasted through the deadline. Glen Sather was pissed about losing to the Calgary Flames (and interrupting what looked like a Cup-winning streak that could reach five or more) in the 1986 playoffs. This is what he did:
Signed defenseman Craig Muni. Muni had earned free agency from the Toronto Maple Leafs (they kept him in the minors forever, so he escaped like Tyler Pitlick got out of Edmonton decades later) and signed with the Oilers. Sather was impressed, Muni made the team, and then got moved around the NHL four times in a week to avoid the waiver draft (Sather didn’t want to lose winger Raimo Summanen). Muni, a hard hitter and a tough player, hung around for several seasons of rugged shutdown defensive play. Sather got a free player and an effective one.
Acquired the rights to defenseman Reijo Ruotsalainen. It was a seven player trade and Ruotsalainen didn’t return from Europe until March. He was more of a rover than a defenseman, and very effective. He had a strong run with Edmonton and played a lot in the postseason. Another win for Sather.
Traded Dave Semenko for a third-round pick. By 1986-87, the Oilers had other enforcers (Marty McSorley, Kevin McClelland, Steve Smith, Muni, others) and were tough up and down the lineup. It was not a popular PR move but Semenko wasn’t going to play every night anymore.
Acquired LW Kent Nilsson. This was a vital trade, absolutely completed the second line (Mark Messier, Glen Anderson) and for me made this team the most powerful edition of the 80’s Oilers (along with the Ruotsalainen deal).
Acquired RW Norm Lacombe. Another tough trade, sending away legendary defenseman Lee Fogolin and effective forward Mark Napier for a two-way winger who was a little shy offensively. Lacombe didn’t play much after coming over, but did have some success in the following two seasons with Edmonton. At times he played on the Messier like with Glen Anderson, providing two-way play for a high octane line ala Chico Maki 15 years before.
Acquired LW Moe Lemay. He was a fun player to watch in Vancouver but didn’t play much in Edmonton. This was a deadline deal, Sather sending away Summanen six months after working overtime to keep the Finn from the waiver wire.
Sather gave up lots of talent during the season and many wildly popular players. When I found out about the Fogolin trade it took the wind out of my sails. Here are the players surrendered.
Center Mike Golden. He didn’t play in the NHL, but was a Hobey Baker finalist in 1988, and was a prospect of note at the time of the deal. Golden was a second-round selection in 1983.
Defenseman Don Jackson. Enforcer who played on the 1984 and 1985 Stanley Cup winners, he played less in 1985-86 and spent just one more season in the NHL after being dealt to the Rangers.
Defenseman Miloslav Horava. A depth pick from the 1981 draft, he would play parts of three seasons for the Rangers in the years after the trade.
Left wing Dave Semenko. Famous and incredibly popular, Oilers fans were not pleased with this deal at all. Semenko would play a season in Hartford and another in Toronto.
Defenseman Link Gaetz. The draft pick Edmonton surrendered was used on Link Gaetz (the missing Link!) who would have an eventful career that included some time in the NHL.
Defenseman Lee Fogolin would play just nine games for the Buffalo Sabres. He was done just a little past 30, but he a nice run with the Sabres (+8 in those nine games) all the same.
Winger Mark Napier would be productive after the deadline and for two more seasons with Buffalo. He was one of my favourites, even cheered for him in Montreal.
Winger Raimo Summanen. He didn’t play much for Vancouver (6-7-13 in 19 games) but Sather put a good grade on him and Slats knew his hockey players. Summanen would have needed a coach who valued skill highly (like Sather) to have a career in the NHL of the late 1980’s. In the group traded, he had the most potential for a significant career. Vancouver was the wrong team for him.
Bowman won’t be that busy, but will make some changes. Of course, the next several weeks will inform the future, but for me Bowman appears to have some feel for the roster and the ability to properly assess the player pool (free agents and trade acquisitions).
That’s a big key, you know. Kevin Lowe had that ability. He plucked Steve Staios and Jan Hejda out of nowhere, and those moves helped. The path forward for Bowman will be limited due to the miles of NMC’s, but there’s a good chance next year’s Oilers team will be better than this one. I believe the current club is superior to last year’s, and some of the reasons were procured by Bowman. Interesting days ahead.
New for The Athletic: How the Edmonton Oilers are diminishing criticism that they lack a rugged edge
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6365383/2025/05/19/edmonton-oilers-stats-nhl-playoffs-2025/
My recollection of last year was that Dallas deployed a “cherry picker” strategy in their zone. They had one guy fly the zone which gave the Oilers troubles until KK adjusted.
Was just informed re the broadcast team for our 3rd round series and I am pissed. The fact that we have to give up our lively Jack M. to listen to Toronto’s dull homer voices and opinions, sickens me. Love him or hate him, Jack Michaels is maybe the most exciting live voice broadcasting NHL games today; his specific knowedge of the Oilers organization as well as other NHL teams is extensive, and he is downright fun to listen to.
Sportsnet got this one very wrong. I’m guessing CHED radio will be thanking SN for sending viewers to their radio station to listen to Jack giving his loud and boisterous play by play… that’s where I’ll be tuning in, to sync their sound (and Jack) to my tv. FU SN!
As John Short said on numerous occasions:”everyone has the Democratic right to be wrong”
Cuthbert and Simpson was 100% locked in for the series as soon as the Leafs were eliminated and the Oilers were the last team left standing.
They are the networks #1 broadcast team and will work through the finals, end stop and will always work a Canadian team series to the extent there is one available.
With that said, I don’t think the Oilers would have got Jack Michaels even of the Leafs were still in – probably Bartlett as the #2 team.
Only chance was if the Leafs and Jets both advanced as well.
Agree that Jack is the voice of the Edmonton Oilers.
Jack’s our guy because he’s climbed up the industry the hard way, and I respect an American who has thrown his passion into our city, culture, and team.
In the last two minutes of a hockey game there is no play caller better than Jack.
Tru fact! Craig Simpson was once an Edmonton Oiler.
IMO Sather was the best Oiler GM ever, and one of the top 5 in modern NHL history (post 1967)
For sure but, for me, impossible to compare pre-cap era GMs to cap-era GMs.
Cap-era is more about getting value for cap commitment than it is getting the best player(s).
I’m not sure if I knew before that the Oilers drafted Xavier Bourgault one pick ahead of Wyatt Johnston despite Johnston getting 84 more points, or if I did and repressed it.
Also boo to my childhood hero, #99 for telling Jamie Benn and the Stars to keep it going after they eliminated the Peg👎
You are looking at the post draft year numbers. Not the numbers leading to draft year.
All the talk around toronto and their “core 4”.
Anyone else smile listening to ferraro gush over Leon and Connor a couple days ago on TSN overdrive?
“Those guys are just assassins”
Im going with that. Personal bias I guess but I like “assassins” over “glimmer twins”… maybe an age thing.
Charles gets it. Wayne doesn’t.
Charles Barkley:
Wayne Gretzky:
We need at least a split is there fear it’ll take a couple of games to get our legs back. We were terrible after the 4 nations break and the break before the L.A series. I’m hoping we get out of the first tied, you can set your watch that we get a penalty in the 1st 6 minutes. Anyhow I think will play low event hockey for the 1st half of the game and take it from there.
Oilers win both in Texas. Rest is paramount. Should start the captain as his numbers in games 1-3 are better then go with skinner to finish.
Pickard is injured
and he’s not even skating with the team, Ekholm is.
Berezkin scores first as Loko takes a 3-1 lead on Traktor in the Gagarin Cup.
https://en.khl.ru/news/2025/05/19/546450.html
That’s his 3rd goal in 4 games in the Finals. Pretty sure he leads the finals in goals.
Loving the various opinions from teams/players about the pressure of playing in a Canadian market.
Maurice, Tkachuk, Marchand, maybe with some trolling in mind “the pressure on those guys is a lot. They are a good team”.
Draisaitl “eh, we can handle it”
Listened to a bit after yhe game last night.
All the complaints about the TO core, Drai and McD have covered. They get angry, they fight back and persevere in the face of a challenge. They thrive on pressure and their playoff numbers over the years is ridiculous.
If Marner signs with the Hurricanes would that not be the ultimate troll job by him on the Leaf fans after he mixed the trade for Rantanen.
Not that it makes any difference for Memorial Cup purposes, but Moncton officially won the QMJHL title today, defeating Rimouski in 6.
They will meet at least one more time in the MC round-robin finale on Wednesday next.
Also, the Oilers have a very slight connection to the Moncton squad, as overager Preston Lounsbury was an Oilers rookie camp invitee two years ago. (That, of course, was the Stonehouse/Sloan camp after which the former signed.)
Day Tripper is a great song. But today is my annual Sgt. Pepper’s listening party. I just get really nostalgic about 1967 specifically every April/May. Never June.
Those funny games people play “you can take one album, one book and one movie to a desert island…”
I’d take Sgt Peppers for sure.
Album: Made in Japan by Deep Purple
Book: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
Movie: Top Secret!
Ekholm confirmed that the initial diagnosis was his season was over.
He’a very happy with the healing process to date. Taking it day by day. Next step after practicing today is to see how he feels tomorrow.
I may have missed it, but do we even know what happened to Ekholm?
Gregor has mentioned a few times now that it’s a groin issue.
The PP is like zero for fourteen on the road but it’s 6 for 10 at home.
It going to score in games 1 and 2 and it’s going to do so with the 5-man unit we are used to and that has dominated the league for years.
I think Hyman will be back over Perry after a week break. To be that was managing Hyman’s energy and ice given he was hurt to end the season, he’s playing some PK and he’s mashing bodies nightly.
They seem content to stand still and wait for the perfect pass
I think the road – away split is an indication that ice is having a substantial effect on EDM’s quick-pass and finesse PP1 unit. Dallas is likely to continue the trend of away = bad ice.
Don’t expect such an extreme split going forward but probably won’t be completely erased.
Was under impression Walman becomes a FA this summer. Relieved to see he might deliver terrific value for another season yet. When his re-uppance comes due, have to think Oil will have to move someone if they want to keep him. Course, Walman the least of the immediate or pending cap questions facing this team…
Wonderful trade lock him up after next year.
Both Kulak and Ekholm have their contracts expire the same season as Walman. Management will have options.
I would rather have Walman over Broberg at the current salary. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Jake he kinda reminds me of Weeger. I love Jake’s compete level thanks Uncle Mikey who managed to parlay Jake after Stevie Y and Jake must of really had a difference of opinion.
Today’s Lowetide on The Athletic (because for reasons unknown he didn’t grace us with the link first thing). You feeling ok LT?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6365383/2025/05/19/edmonton-oilers-stats-nhl-playoffs-2025/
I was out grocery shopping when it was published. 🙂
Stauff on Spittin’ Chicklets:
1) again says Walman is playing though injury (imagine this dude healthy…..).
2) Stecher puck to the face in practice was bad. May need a bubble.
3) Ekholm – MAYBE ready for game 5 or 6.
Will not be surprised when Ekholm is in the lineup for game 1.
Zero chance.
Game 1 Cup final.
Some of his comments were curious. I was thinking the same thing, however may be more like psychological warfare with the Stars.
However, given he has been off the ice for so long, it doesn’t seem likely, nor worth the risk of him being less than 100%. I’d much rather have Ekholm at 100% than anywhere below that.
As well, with his age, and his ailment (seems it could be related) to start the season, I’d really like to see him report to TC at 100% health.
Completely agree that for the first time in forever we have a management team (I truly think this is a Bowman + Jackson combo) who have a great feel for this roster and I’m not trepidatious about upcoming future moves
Rishaug reporting that Ekholm is skating with the main group in practice today, very encouraging
We’ll see if he joins the team in the trip.
Stauff saying he doesn’t think he’ll play in the first four games for sure and we’ll see after.
A good sign for sure though.
Video here:
https://x.com/TonyBrarOTV/status/1924509029671567532
Ekholm speaks to the media.
https://x.com/EdmontonOilers/status/1924537208414847307
Broadcast teams have been announced for the final four.
Gene Principe survives to pun another day.
https://x.com/SportsnetPR/status/1924467202901659750
Competent announcing and more Gene goodness?
Best of both worlds.
Gene is an acquired taste…but right up your alley.
Cuthbert and Simpson were locked in as soon as the Leafs lost – that was 100%.
Feel bad for Cam Moon who gets bumped off the radio play by play.
Yep…he’s much better than Jack.
Interesting that with how critical you are of the players, prospects, management, fans, trainers, vendors etc.
That you still find the time to tune in to the radio & TV broadcast.
I don’t know for a fact that you go on other fan blogs & talk about how terrible their team is & how great the Oilers are,
I just know it’s true
Dream on.
As a former broadcast executive producer who actually oversaw Oiler play by play on both radio and television for awhile, I feel free to comment on what I like or not about the current gang.
I agree with OP that Cam Moon is very under rated and I would have him replace Jack if it was my call…but it isn’t.
Thank goodness you are no longer there.
In order for you to know that Cam Moon is much better then Jack, regardless of your history you would have to have recent knowledge, listening to multiple games over a series of time.
HH, big time Oilers fan.
I have watched and/or listened to likely 70 Oiler games this season.
On more than one occasion I have turned off TV audio because I found the WWE style to be irritating.
100%
At least the TNT crew is decent in the states. ESPN leaves something to be desired.
TNT and Amazon Prime Hockey have become the gold standard of hockey TV broadcasts.
Gord Miller maintains his excellent delivery, even as TSN loses ground.
Yes…he’s very good.
Knew him well when he worked at CBC Edmonton.
I don’t get the leafs blowing up their team. It’s funny but not something I would do. Take your Tavares money and spend it on some physical players. But there are far worse things than losing in game 7 to the defending Stanley cup champions that have a very high likelihood of winning their conference.
Just keep trying every year. That’s the best you can do. If Carolina doesn’t win this year do they blow it up? No they don’t.
It’s not that they lost, its they way they lose..9 straight years
Marner will likely be testing free agency & Tavares would probably consider a hometown discount, but not as much of a discount that the Leafs are going to want. That right there is a big part of their team and a big chunk of their salary cap. They will have plenty of space to maneuver. The Leafs will be back better than ever next year. I wonder if Shanahan will be back, or if the GM is out instead.
If they lost 2-1 in a hard fought battle maybe.
Who are they going to get that’s going to be an upgrade on Marner?
They need to look at the roster the way Edmonton finally did – by weighting playoff results over regular season results. Marner may be a $14M winger in the regular season, but not in the playoffs. If they want to win anything meaningful, they need to understand that.
They could spend that money on Bennett ($7M), Marchand ($5M) and Frederic ($3M) and have a far more formidable playoff team.
As Kelly McCrimmon mentioned in his post-season presser, one has to balance guaranteeing that one makes the playoffs with the ability to win in the playoffs.
No use having all playoff players if the playoff players cannot get you to the show.
Marner would be a great add for Vegas because then Eichel could shoot more. The loss over Marchessault hurt Eichel’s playoff goalscoring.
Could be. I think Marner will get better offers from teams who would be happy just to make the show – Buffalo or Anaheim, for instance.
True, but I doubt anybody gets Bennett for $7M. Not with a rising cap and playoff recency bias (and maybe some Canadian pride in there for his 4 Nations fight against Brady Tkachuk).
I left a million on the table in that equation though. They have flexibility.
The Leafs have no hope with Treliving pulling the strings. He will just make them worse with each transaction that he does. They think their problem is that they need more ‘fire’, etc. but what they really need is some d’men that can make a pass and exit their own zone. But let’s just blame the core four for their total lack of depth and crappy defense. What true contender has Domi playing a critical role on their team?
I’ve been saying this to others as well. They all claim Toronto’s defense is the best and Tre was the one that fixed it. He has a defense of Defenders! They battle in their own end block shots, ect. but can’t pass the puck and break out. Our defense which is constantly criticized for their defending is much better because they break the puck out and do not have to defend as much. Also your star forwards aren’t back spending their shift trying to get the puck out, they are in the other end trying to score. Puck movers are essential in todays NHL especially when you have talented offensive forwards. Bouch is a valuable defenseman and will get paid. I hope we do not trade him. If you have to trade out a high contract that would be Nurse over Bouch…
— using 20mm by halving the core-4 amd getting a bunch of really good 3-5mm guys and they are legit.
— They aren’t far off and depending on their off-season will be one of the favourites next year IMO
42 years ago, tonight, a 9 year old version of Evilsports was laying on his stomach in front of the old tube television. Dad was on the couch next to me and we were counting down the seconds as the Oilers won their first ever Stanley Cup. The heartbreak from the year before still lived in my little body and the elation and release when the clock ticked zero is a feeling that will forever be burned into my being. I remember everything about it. I remember the joy welling up inside, exponentially more powerful than any lingering disappointment over the last season’s results.
For some reason I distinctly remember laying on my stomach and kicking my feet like an Olympic swimmer out of pure excitement. I vividly remember the tops of my bare toes getting hot from carpet burn as I paddled my way towards glory. 🤣
I remember that this was the first time that I learned about tears of joy, while we watched the players celebrate.
Whatever happened after that, whatever happens this season, I get to carry that night around with me forever.
Happy memories! Thank you.
Awesome, I was 15, but I think it was 41 years ago
Correct. First Cup win was ’84.
Haha, I know this and still came up with bad math.
Marner is a darn good hockey player. I just don’t get if he’s not resigning and staying with his core teammates why he would nix the trade for Rantanen. I get why the Leaf faithful are on this guy it just breathes of entitlement. If I’m him either I sign the 8 year deal and be a Leaf for life or I move on to Carolina for half a year. The following Summer I sign with the best fit and money out there. I don’t allow myself to be put in the situation he’s in now where the fans are really and rightfully so on him.
Marner’s wife gave birth to the couple’s first child on May 4th.
Pretty sure that played into his decision not to accept a trade that would disrupt his life rather than “entitlement”.
The trade deadline was 07 March 2025.
And?
If your wife was 7 months pregnant, would she want to move to a new city?
You implied that her having given birth was one of the reasons, not the pregnancy.
Regardless, in the NHL and sports business as a whole, many other players have been in the same scenario, and have made situations work in a variety of ways.
“Marner said that the pair had made plans in case Stephanie delivered their son during the first round of playoffs, when he was in Ottawa.
“Family always comes first, so if something happened during that series, I was going to go and join her and be her cheerleader there,” he said. “Lucky enough it didn’t happen, my son was smart enough to know not to come on a hockey day.”
https://ca.style.yahoo.com/leafs-mitch-marner-says-wife-stephanie-was-an-absolute-beast-giving-birth-to-first-child–and-reveals-name-of-baby-boy-171851082.html
It was Marner choice to nix the trade it’s also his choice not to resign. If he didn’t know that he was leaving the organization and fans high and dry then he’s not the type of leader you want. Marner won’t even look over his shoulder when he merrily signs in L.A for 14.5 million per over 7 years
I feel the exact opposite. This wasn’t a Marchand situation. He was a key player on a team that was winning the division. Why would he waive his NMC?
Considering that was very likely his last game as a Leaf, the fans should be embarrassed as to how they treated him. Booing him off the ice, having him skate past discarded jerseys, hats and beers. This was game 7 against the reigning cup champs in round 2.
Entitlement or not, it should have been clear that the two sides, who have had issues with each other before, were not on the same page yet again.
He’s asked for a trade before, and sure, maybe he wanted to see if the boys could do it this year. But if I was basically told that I wasn’t as secure as I thought I was, then maybe I’d reconsider accepting an out.
Instead, Toronto doesn’t get Rantanen, and they pissed off Marner so much just by the request that he shut down extension talks as a result. It’s now a Lose-Lose.
Right. And that’s entirely on management for bungling that situation, not on Marner. Losing him for nothing is going to sting. Treliving learned from Gaudreau to Tkachuk, and likely wanted to do the same thing with Marner, but he didn’t want it and the prior management put him in that position
I don’t think the fans were just booing Marner, they were booing the whole team.
Offer sheets decisions aside (and what a no-win situation to walk in to), Stan Bowman has done quite a bit to make this team better and deeper without much cap room or assets.
Perfectly dealt with the Kane LTIR a season.
Podz was a wonderful trade – a 4th rounder for that player signed to 2 x $1MM and from a rival? Wow.
Emberson trade gained cap space and a developing young player that will be cost controlled for his career. A solid depth add.
Klingberg didn’t look great until it did and, now, playoff results are primary and a huge add.
Walman was targeted by Bowman for months and he got his player and he’s a value deal top 4D in his prime.
Kap claim adds skilled depth.
Frederic has been an “OK add”.
He’s also signed a crap ton of college and European UFAs, some of which will be non factors but a couple of those bullets might fire and help this lineup for cheap.
Bowman has done a great job.
I think we see Frederic improve now that he appears to be getting healthier. I know it’s still early but if he signs with Edmonton how mich and how long? This is a obvious question is he free to sign a deal today for example?
I’d like to bring him back but not sure if he contract will work.
He’s at $2.3MM now and I don’t imagine he’ll take a pay-cut and I wouldn’t go any higher than that for the Oilers. He had 15P this past season (57 games) and has been over 31 points once.
I’d give him term as long as its in the $2MM-$2.3MM range.
Though happy with Frederick’s recent play, for this reason I was wary of spending the assets used to acquire him. Still, Stan was covering his bases I guess. No telling which Kane would return this postseason, and a lot of his moves seem to have been about giving this team second options as needed.
I agree.
With one exception.
If he knew Kane would be on LTIR all year, then why not match on at least one of Broberg/Holloway?
Are we assuming that money went for Walman? (Maybe it did, and I’d take Walman at $3.4M over Broberg at $5M.) But it sure would have been nice to keep Holloway….
The offer sheet timing was from around August 13-20. Kane did not finally decide on having surgery till until mid September and had the surgery on September 20th. Even then, it was possible that Kane would be back sometime in March. Right up till just before the trade deadline, Bowman was uncertain that Kane would be in LTIR for the balance of the regular season.
Bowman could not assume he would be able to spend any of Kane’s Salary if he were on LTIR without planning to have room for his salary coming back on the roster in season.
I remember when Bowman first came on, the consensus was he didn’t just get lucky falling into a Chicago team that was built for Stanley, but that he made a number of smart moves around the edges of the roster to build the kind of depth you need to win championships. He seems to be doing it again with edmonton with a number of small, creative moves that don’t give away all of our futures. The fact we’re getting guys in their prime or entering the prime is also encouraging, vs the Holland approach of signing older vets longterm. If this team wants to keep pushing for the next 3-4 years, we need more guys in that 25-28 year old range, and Bowman seems to be doing that.
Now, Bowman’s weakness seemed to be his free agent signings and bigger contracts, ala Seth Jones. Will be interesting to see how things go with the Bouchard and McDavid extensions…
Unlike Holland Bowman is looking toward the future. Chicago did a wonderful job of bringing necessary parts to his Hawk core. Once we win the Cup it’s not one and done like you mentioned this team in my opinion is better than last year and will become dominant like the Hawks were in the following 5 years.
Easier to look toward the future when you’re already good. Holland played a part in making them a consistent contender.
Both can be true. IMO, Holland and Bowman both deserve credit.
Agreed.
Absolutely.
Fans like to rag on Holland for the likes of Haas, or Nygard, or Erne, etc. But those fringe roster moves were A) as good or better than half the roster in the DoD or late Chiarelli eras, and B) designed to buy time for prospects to mature and gain cap space to sign actual NHL players.
It’s actually pretty impressive how quickly Holland cleaned up the mess he inherited from Chiarelli, before making his own mess. And his mess was a consistent playoff team and frequent contender.
— whether the Oiler win the Cup or not it’s much easier for them to attract players: the Oilers are in the “vet signs one year deal for chance to win cup” era.
— Furthermore the current Oil players have the “playoff proven grit and heart” premium that make other teams value them more
— Much easier to get who you want when your the belle of the ballroom.
— Glorious day in Leaf Nation : Kinger pointing out “I never understood why leaf fans thought they were Cup contenders. Never do first round series losers from one year win the Cup the next”. Just winding them up with truth bombs Oewewwwe!
Tampa did after getting swept by Columbis on their way to back to back.
Yes he did a great job of stabilizing the franchise at a fragile time which is no small feat in itself.
Oops sorry this was meant for your previous reply about Holland’s time in Edmonton.
— yeah that’s in hindsight. Great teams win multiple Cups in a row. Which is why it’s a”rarely” as per my comment.
— More teams lose in first round one year and win multiple cups right after than win the Cup
— Losing in the first round one year: by far the likely outcome the next year is not to win the cup. It rarely happens. Unless a deadly team
— Only a leaf fan would believe they were cup contenders this year.
Sure, point taken, not what you said:
“Never do first round series losers from one year win the Cup the next”.
Never isn’t rarely.
Didn’t COL also?
They lost to Vegas round 2 when Nate gave his ‘year 9 haven’t won shit’ speech then won. So doesn’t technically fit the definition.
— also totally missing the point. If you need to be picayune rather than accept the reality that teams that lose in the first round don’t then contain the cup
— Tampa went to what a Stanley Cup and two conference finals. Yes they lost in the first round the year prior.
— The point is that virtually every cup team doesn’t just win the Cup without a core that has gotten deep into playoffs
— I don’t believe there is a team that has won the Cup that in the 5 years preceding never made it out of 2nd round.
— Teams collect chits then cash them to win a cup or two. It’s rare to just be mediocre in playoffs for a bunch of years then win a Cup.
The exception that proves the rule is the 2019 St Louis Blues, who didn’t make the playoffs in 2017-18 and never got past the second round the previous 4 years
Calling Pretendergast simple minded is a bit of a stretch, Kinger.
If he’s missing the point, by pointing out how what you literally said, is “totally missing the point” then maybe it’s encumbent on you to make your point in a more salient fashion.
Taking the spirit of your comment at face value, yes teams generally need playoff experience to win it all.
That said, two good recent counter examples with caveats:
Colorado in the MacKinnon era never got past the quarter finals till they won the cup. No real deep runs but they did win the play in round and then a first round in 2021.
Washington never got past the 2nd round before their cup.
La won the cup in 2012 without so much as a series win in the prior 11 seasons.
Bowman was the first EDM GM to realize their biggest issue on defense wasn’t defending. It was the lack of ability to move the puck out of the Dzone with possession, which leads to defending too much and not enough offence.
That bodes well for future roster construction.
Not even accounting Walman, the difference between healthy Klingberg to Ceci is jaw dropping.
Ceci is playing a lot of minutes for Dallas. A lot. I wonder if we shouldn’t go a little easier on him at first, so the Stars don’t immediately shelter him.
Sheltering a guy who plays heavy minutes has repercussions on the rest of the D. I don’t think they really have that luxury, even with their 11-7 they have Ilya turnstile Lybushkin and Petrovic that already need to be sheltered
Yep. Similar to LA. But Pete DeBoer isn’t going to put Jason Robertson on D a la Kempe.
Ha, expose him so they put in Petrovic? This could turn into the LA series on steroids on the back end with Miro and Harley playing 30+. Miro can do that, he’s incredible.
Won’t be a cakewalk and Oetter can win it himself but the opportunity is there to wear them out. Dallas skates miles and we have the personnel who can skate with them on the back end.
Watching the Leafs game last night I was shocked how horrible the leafs D were at getting the puck to their forwards. Florida put a ton of pressure on them and they regularly gave it up. When you look at the leafs defence it’s obvious, Reilly is the only decent puck mover back there.
Having Klingberg moving the puck effectively on a secondary pair for the Oilers has made their entire team more dynamic. Walman is no slouch either.
With Ceci and Desharnais, EDM ranked top-5 in FA60, CA60, and xGA60 in the larger sample sizes of the 2023-2024 regular season. However, in the smaller sample sizes from the 2025 playoffs, their performance dropped to a more middling level (around 50%).
Both Desharnais and Ceci posted positive possession numbers in the regular season, but saw their numbers crash in the playoffs, along with the rest of the defensive corps—except for Ekholm and Bouchard.
EDM’s overall success with the lower pairings in the regular season seems due to a group of forwards who were capable of moving the puck up the ice with possession, reducing the need for heavy defensive play.
In the playoffs, this same group, with its shutdown defenders, made it all the way to the Cup Finals, largely fueled by incredible special teams. While EDM now boasts better 5v5 stats in the playoffs, the penalty kill has struggled, and the absence of shutdown defenders has been evident.
It seems the coaching staff—especially Coffey—grew frustrated with traditional defensive players during the playoff run. This led to a shift in personnel, with Broberg getting more minutes in the Finals and Ceci’s 5v5 time being scaled back. One has to wonder how much influence Coffey had in the transition toward more mobile players on the back end.
Walman isn’t just a mobile, puck-moving defender. He is also larger and willing to block shots, which should allow him to play strong shutdown PK defense. However, playing on the off-side with Nurse seems to have a negative impact on his PK play, and Ekholm struggled in the same spot. Maybe when Ekholm returns the Pk can have more balance.
So, it raises the question: was Walman chosen not just for his puck-moving upside, but also for his potential to contribute to a shutdown defensive role and his overall well-roundedness? Walman and Klingberg seem, overall, to be better players than Ceci and Desharnais.
Which is hilarious, really, when you consider it was Holland’s own marquee coach Tippett with his speech about good defenders don’t spend much time defending in their own zone (because they can pass the puck north).
Pretty sure he was talking about Kris Russell.
Very interesting as usual, Woodguy. As an analytics learner, what metric would show this?
That is also evident with the Euro & NCAA FA signings.
I see lots of posts and tweets about going after the likes of Ehlers or Bennett or even Marner.
For me, I don’t imagine any $7MM plus contract being added (let alone $12MM plus) to next year’s cap except for Evan Bouchard.
I think this team gets run back with some tweaks. A couple forwards will be out – potentially an Arvidsson, to open up some cap to get the Bouch deal done and a raise for Brown.
Supplement with Savoie on his ELC and, hopefully, Berezkin.
Ekholm’s health heading in to next season could consequence the Klingberg re-sign decision. For me his contract would need to be 1-2 years and barely over $2MM, if that.
If Skinner blows up to the negative in round 3, maybe they make a change there but I think they run the two under contract back.
I think you are bang on. What happens in the next round (preferably two!) will also have some impact
I’d love Klingberg on that contract again but I think his strong play might earn him a longer term deal with a lesser team. Couldn’t blame the guy if he takes a 3-4 yr deal at 3-4M. He’s been a revelation this playoffs.
If the Oilers win the cup I would trade Kane as well as Arvi. A sell high move, presuming he continues being healthy and productive in the playoffs. Sign Frederick, and Klinger.
Yes it’s either Kane or a 27 year-old ready to pop Frederic. Besides many other things Kane has shown the 31 G.M’s how effective he still is and will try to capitalize on a 3-4 year deal with a number of G.Ms who are salivating over a power forward with hands. Kane stock keeps rising and he’s one of the few trade chips Bowman can parlay upwards on.
Why trade someone that has his skill set at his cap hit when you are just going to go out and try to replace it ,,He has one year left so enjoy what you have .No one else on this team has his skill set AND can score.
And good like signing anyone remotely like him as a replacement. Not after third contracts for McDrai and Bouch.
Kane and Frederic can both bring the nasty, with Frederic having the edge in defensive play. But his ceiling is nowhere near that of Kane’s when it comes to the hardest thing to do in hockey. Scoring goals is Kane’s calling card. Everything else he brings is secondary.
Whatever happens this year, I think keeping Kane helps this team advance through the playoffs next year. I sit on that last year rather than spend assets to improve at the deadline.