The Rugged Soul of the Oilers

by Lowetide

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OriginalPouzar

I read here, there and everywhere about the rugged soul of the Oilers. Enormous worry about losing Evander Kane via trade, and not having enough Billy Goats in the lineup.

Of course, Evander Kane played zero games last regular season so we aren’t losing anything there. He was effective early in the playoffs but his game faded and, in the SCF, he could stop hi-sticking the opposition in the face and became close to unplayable due to penalties.

Trent Frederic played 7 minutes last regular season so we are adding a legit aggressive power forward – no, he’s not as vicious as Kane but he does have trash-talk swagger in his game and will definitely bang some bodies when he’s able to skate.

Nope, doesn’t have Kane’s goal scoring upside but he is a much more responsible 2-way player (defensive half boards and neutral zone puck responsibility are not issues), can play up and down the lineup in all three positions and might be able to help on the PK.

I have more than a little sympathy for those who worry about that side of the game. It’s important, and historically NHL teams have placed great importance on that side of the game.

It seems currently this is not a place of importance for the Oilers during the regular season but it becomes more important in the playoffs. Oilers were dead last in hits during the regular season and middle of the pack in the playoffs.

I do expect the Oilers to “care” about the regular season more this coming than last mind you.

When Zach Hyman delivered 28.6 hits-60 at five-on-five (No. 1 forward in the playoffs among the group who played 120+ minutes), that was the rugged soul of the Edmonton Oilers, right? Or is that somehow discounted because he is also skilled?

I believe he dragged the likes of Podz and others in to that fight a bit.

Heartbeat of the team.

Reja

When the youngster Messier held his stick like a lumberjack toe to toe with the Big Bird you knew better then to eff with this certified Ponoko resident.

Last edited 36 minutes ago by Reja
cowboy bill

I thought Mess was from St. Albert. Where exactly is Ponoko?

cowboy bill

Great write up today LT, not that they all aren’t, but this one stands out for me. Every team needs a Billy Goat it’s a distinguished part of team chemistry. They still haven’t acquired him yet; Bowman has got to turn over a few more rocks to find him. But he will, the guy absolutely has to be able to play and that’s why he’s so difficult to find. I don’t know if Leason or Kostin are the right mix. Maybe if they’re told to summon their inner Billy Goat one of them can fill that need. I think Nurse could fill the void, but he thinks he’s some kind of super star or something, he definitely needs to fall back to earth.

Scungilli Slushy

Frederic is like that, which is why Bowman got him and wanted to keep him. Need more though

cowboy bill

What is a herd of Billy Goats called? I’ll have to google it.

cowboy bill

Apparently, a group of goats would be identified as “a trip of goats”. Isn’t that a trip.

John Chambers

The 2010-11 season was an important one for the Oilers insofar as it began the team’s transition over to the new core that consisted of Hall, Eberle, & Paajarvi. That team was thin on depth, thin on defense, and probably the softest I’ve ever seen. No bite besides a few 4th liners who could barely skate.

That season saw the Oilers get regularly dummied, with Ladi Smid getting beaten up by Sean Avery, and 19 year old Taylor Hall eventually getting injured in a scrap in Columbus.

That season the Oilers paid big tough Sheldon Souray to not play. For a team that pathetic defensively and with no snarl it made no sense. Tambellini ended up buying Souray out a year later, getting no asset in return while he played for Dallas then Anaheim.

What the hell were Lowe and Tambellini thinking? Sending a bunch of skinny rookies out to face the rigors of the NHL with only Steve McIntyre as their deterrent. No wonder management chased Lucic rainbows until they finally caught it.

Last edited 45 minutes ago by John Chambers
Scungilli Slushy

I’m with your line. Players that the coach won’t play when the chips are down are useless and should be upgraded. Most winning teams are tough. The Avs upgraded that and won a Cup. The winning Lightning teams were tough, the Knights were tough and dirty, the Panthers pure filth. Those teams could also play most of their players as they went, which is also important to stay fresh enough

A GM has to ice the best team he can, and upgrades aren’t always available or any potential deal a sensible one. For me I prefer not to use undersized players, especially on D, unless they are top offensive solid players, or talented and insane like Marchand. TO me they can’t contribute enough without those traits. Too easy to play against

I don’t see the Oilers D as soft. They aren’t particularly mean though, and I wouldn’t object to a billy goat or two back there, and up front. As it stands that could be added at 2 and 3 RD. At F I would look to adding some functional jerkyness to the bottom 6. I think that explains the bet on Clattenburg

Last edited 1 hour ago by Scungilli Slushy
anonymous

Only problem is the Oilers can’t play that way. Using Maurice’s they’ll only call 4 penalties regardless would be modified to 10 to 12 for the Oilers. Knoblauch would have them reined in and playing in fear like the finals last year.

Scungilli Slushy

I think that they can, even if Kane couldn’t. They need to play more like that consistently, because trying to turn it on you could see many of them weren’t good at it and were high sticking. They also have to score more when they get a PP against teams with a good PK

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