The Oilers ‘stretch pass’ games are dull as dish water and the Oilers often lose them, so I fail to see the point in deploying the troops in that manner. Kris Knoblauch has been highly effective in solving roster mysteries since arriving as Oilers coach, but the current answers do not appear to be the correct ones.
Meanwhile, Stan Bowman has acquired several players the coach doesn’t use, and the third and fourth lines are a complete disaster. The good thing is if the coaching staff can’t solve these problems it won’t be their issue to solve anymore. The bad news? It’s so solvable.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN JANUARY
- At home to: Flyers, Preds (Expected 1-0-1) 0-1-0
- On the road to: Jets (Expected 1-0-0)
- At home to: Kings (Expected 1-0-0)
- On the road to: Blackhawks, Preds (Expected 1-1-0)
- At home to: NYI (Expected 0-0-1)
- On the road to: Canucks (Expected 1-0-0)
- At home to: Blues, Devils, Penguins, Caps (Expected 2-1-1)
- At home to: Ducks, Sharks, Wild (Expected 1-1-1)
- Expected Record: 8-3-4, 20 points in 15 games
- Actual Record: 0-1-0
- Season Record: 20-16-6, 46 points in 42 games
The Oilers worked hard to get here, those December wins set the team on a new course. The schedule is welcoming, and it appears to me the roster is settling down in some key areas. Need the goaltending to hold and the Draisaitl line to come back around, and of course the third and fourth lines need a fix.
- Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Roslovic: 12:00, 3-7 shots, 0-2 goals, 18X, 1-3 HDSC
- Nuge-McDavid-Hyman 11:58, 14-6 shots, 1-1 goals, 63X, 4-2 HDSC
- Frederic-Henrique-Janmark 7:09, 1-0 shots, 13X
- Howard-Savoie-Hutson 6:42, 1-7 shots, 0-1 goals, 10X, 1-1 HDSC
The McDavid line was roaring yesterday, unfortunate to come out 1-1 goals. The Draisaitl unit has been fading a little, and yesterday was not its finest. At five-on-five, the McDavid line had four HDSC, three from the Nuge. The only forward not on the top line to deliver a five-on-five chance? Vasily Podkolzin. The third line was as expected, and the fourth line got fed in just 6:42. That’s disappointing, and I do wonder why the coach didn’t shuffle more. I mean it’s the one thing you can usually count on from an Oilers coach!
- Ekholm-Bouchard 19:10, 12-4 shots, 1-0 goals, 58X, 3-2 HDSC
- Nurse-Regula 11:16. 3-6 shots, 0-1 goals, 63X, 1-1 HDSC
- Stastney-Emberson 11:12, 3-4 shots, 0-1 goals, 44X, 2-1 HDSC
- Calvin Pickard: 24 of 28, 857SP. 3 of 5 HDSC
The top pairing was money, really liking the tandem and am pleased Mattias Ekholm will get some rest. Disappointing for the player, though. He has been an outstanding NHL blue for a long dam time. Darnell Nurse had a tough game, could have used one extra stride from Jack Roslovic on one of the goals. Nurse is 29-36 goals at five-on-five this season, that’s 45 percent. Not good. He was 52 percent (12-11) in December, but 17-25 (40 percent) in the other months.
Calvin Pickard didn’t have a great game, and his save percentage is at .882. I’m not sure what happens in net over the rest of winter, but the team’s five-on-five goal share for the season is 45 percent. The GA-60 (2.85) ranks No. 29 of 32, the GF-60 (2.36) is No. 20 of 32.
That wasn’t a good effort by the Oilers. I think the coaching staff, specifically Knoblauch, have to re-imagine the lines. I sometimes think Knoblauch sets up the lines based on making sure 97 and 29 can storm the palace gates every shift.
That’s great, but the rest of the team is bleeding out. I think the coach, who has had all the answers, may have reached the end of the playbook. The lack of creativity yesterday (save the McDavid line and Bouchard pairing) was alarming. All for the dump and chase. Seems fixable. I still believe Knoblauch has the ability, but his timeline to fix it is closing.
CONDORS
Connor Ungar is kicking ass in Bakersfield. The Oilers won’t give him a look in the NHL, pretty sure. However, he has been splendid and his resume is quality over the last severl years at multiple levels.
Beau Akey is really emerging now, he can play successfully at this level despite a lack of size. Damien Carfagna is also trending in a good direction and Josh Brown scored a goal!
Ike Howard and Quinn Hutson are in Edmonton now, but the roster keeps producing goals. Roby Jarventie is stepping up now, Josh Samanski is having success and Max Jones is having more of an impact since his recent NHL turn. Connor Clattenburg scored again, I don’t think he’s a good fit with Marjala as his center. I’d rather Hamblin do those chores. Suspect a better even-strength goal differential will follow.
New for The Athletic: How Oilers, and NHL, could effectively use ECHL as a development league
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6937786/2026/01/04/oilers-nhl-echl-development-league/
I’m wondering if you have considered the changes in NCAA eligibility have already addressed this to some degree?
For just one example….the Canucks drafted Anthony Romani in the 6th round of the 2024 draft.
He completed 4 years in the OHL and then signed with the Michigan State Spartans where he is competing with and against players as old as 24 including first round picks on his own team in Charlie Stramel and Porter Martone.
Seems to me NHL teams could pro-actively try and place more of their picks in an environment where physical and skill development are paramount and opportunities for younger players are greater than the veteran-laden AHL.
It doesn’t give the team control in the same way. The ECHL as a high-end prospect feeder league means each player benefits from elevated competition and more playing time. The best prospects will fly high over this league, but there are going to be useful players emerge from a league like this one.
It would seem the ECHL is already doing this.
https://www.flohockey.tv/articles/11412024-like-the-rest-of-pro-hockey-echl-getting-younger
Did we ever figure out what changed on the Oilers that led from their initial poor play up to the stronger play that emerged late November and December?
Culprits discussed were:
Was anything fixed, or did some players simply pick up their game and deliver more. Is it that simple, or are several of these concerns still present and were just masked by a good run of games?
I thought Team Canada had some similarities with the Oilers. They had plenty of talent. Yet they were losing puck battles over and over. Simply getting out worked or out battled.
Their defence wanted to handle the puck, but were reluctant to engage the enemy. Stick check, stand close, but they did not actually engage and defend the man.
Goaltending was second best.
Would adding the top end NHL talent like Celebrini help? Of course. But ultimately there has to be balance and this includes the high intensity, relentless players in the recipe.
Is this the magic ingredient that springs the talent loose to do their thing?
Well, it seems Team Canada Olympics thinks so as they did not choose a roster based on talent alone. Thus we will see how that formula works very soon.
Ryan had asked about right-catching goalies recently. Turns out the Czech netminder who beat Canada last night is one of them.
Michal Orsulak plays for PA, who are one of the top teams in the Dub. He’s a Skinneresque 6’4″, 220 lbs., and is eligible for this year’s draft. Turned 18 in August.
I recently awoke from a dream that featured the 2026 SCF final, a third rematch between Edmonton and Florida. I am unsure if this was merely a hopeful dream or if it defied logic, as my mind acknowledges Colorado as a formidable opponent that should not be underestimated. However, I suppose many things could transpire.
I fear that the Oil losing two cup finals in a row has broken something in this team. They can turn it on when they want but when it’s turned off it’s awful. Magic 8 ball says the coach is gone.
Kid lines and rookie goalies are empty slates who haven’t broken our hearts (yet). The Oil tried the youth tactic when they filled the roster with a squad full of $6 Million dollar men and we all know how that experiment ended.
Oh. The Panthers beat the Avs tonight with only 2 players registering a point. That has to be some kind of record.
Flames draft picks aren’t that bright
That entire hockey team should be embarrassed with that effort.
Just plain bad, dumb, weak hockey.
The next generation of players that thinks whippy sticks will save them from hard work is going to be so sad to watch. Hopefully there’s going to be a backlash and get back to proper hockey…but I’m not seeing it at any level in Canada.
And I’ll be clear – that’s not directly on these kids just yet.
It is the coaching and development from U9 on up. All the wrong things are being rewarded and taught up the chain. This is just the result.
So many young men and women with potential and the will to be their best being sabotaged and misled. It makes me ill.
Enlighten us on what exactly is wrong with the program from your point of view please, in bullet points. What is being rewarded? Are you a coach?. Are they just lazy kids? I’m curious to what you think are the wrong things being taught to them(I’m actually not that curious I am pretty confident in what you think is wrong but would like written record of it)I bet it has little to do with hockey and a lot to do with ideology.
If you’re not actually interested, I won’t bother. If you’ve been here for any length of time, I’ve been quite consistent in pointing many things out.
Maybe I’ll throw a list on tomorrow’s post for people who actually give a damn about such things and are interested in thinking about and solving problems. Shame you aren’t.
The only reason Team Canada does not win this tournament in blowouts every year is because they are too good and their top end eligible players are in the NHL.
Imagine if Celebrini, Schaefer, and Sennecke were on this team (let alone Sam Dickinson and Ben Kindel.
Do any of the other teams have any players that aren’t playing because they are in the NHL?
The Flames were up and down – pretty much like the entire Canadian team. They are under lots of pressure. It is hard to watch young athletes go through that kind of disappointment.
On the flip side, I thought the Czechs were impressive. They were hard on the puck, connected, and they practiced a relentless forecheck that prompted mistakes from the Canadian D. I greatly appreciated their style of play.
I’m pretty sure Gord Miller is a vampire, he looks exactly the same as he did 20 years ago.
The style of hockey Canada is playing illustrates the decline of junior and minor hockey perfectly.
It is exceedingly dumb, non-team hockey. And here they are getting beat by the Czechs.
One and done rush, bad shot, over and over again.
Then they finally control the puck, almost by accident, and immediately get a goal…
Learn what works ffs.
I hate responding to myself, but can’t help it here. Pet peeves coming home to roost.
Whoever started the trend of telling D to defend with 2 hands on their stick while going backward needs to be shot with a puck in the bare shin.
The amount of goals scored when they do this is obscene.
Maybe he’s hanging out with Tom Cruise.
Knoblauch knows that Nuge has the same issue as Henrique as 3C. Slow boots and not great wingers. 3Cs don’t go up against checkers anymore. They go up against 24-28 year olds cracking in and skilled players being sheltered.
If you fancy Nuge getting fed, his line hemmed in and dzone starts for McDrai go ahead and neuter the only line actually scoring right now and set Nuge up to fail.
A smart coach and GM combo tells Henrique (aka Derek Ryan) his days as an Oiler are numbered and he won’t be playing any games by the middle of the month.
Getting rid of him clean is ideal. But it’s also about showing that if you can’t play you’re done.
They threw him a great 1,000 bash. They owe him nothing further.
nuge is slow i didnt know that
The success of the powerplay is masking how poor Nuge has really been this season so I can’t see him being successful at #C.
Nuge currently has only 14 EVP which ranks him tied for 144th in the league.
He’s scoring only 1.66 P/60 with a GF percentage of only 45.7% 18:55 TOI/G
For sake of comparison, Nuge plays a very similar role with similar line mates to Arturri Lehkonen in Colorado.
Lehkonen has 31 EVP, is scoring 2.51 P/60 and GF% of 77.0 TOI – 19:25 TOI/G
Nuge is 2 years older and perhaps that is becoming a factor.
Nuge has been known as a PP witch for a long while but it may be time to call him a PP specialist.
Considering, as you’ve pointed out, who his line mates on the 3rd line might be it looks like a non-starter to me.
Looks a non-starter for you? Based on all your opinions over the years, you must know by now that no one respects your input.
Remember when Joe Colbourne was going to be better than Leon Draisaitl?
Nuge’s declining production is not an opinion.
It’s obvious to anyone who cares to look.
Like stating his EV points total when he missed 9 games?
Fact is, he’s a point per game player at 32.
nuge has been this way for years and the outlier was the 100 point season
Nuge moving to 3C isn’t about massive production from that 3rd line, its about creating 3-sets of wingers, 6 useful wingers and a depth to the lineup.
I presume that Hutson goes down to activate Kap – I think this team can find 3 winger pairs out of Hyman, Rosolvic, Podz, Savoie, Howard and Kap for the three skilled center.
If Nuge has “the worst” of the 6 in Kap and Savoie – that is still a line that has some skill, some speed, some defensive acumen and the ability to impact the game positively on any given night.
What’s Nuge’s playoff ranks among forwards for the last 4 years?
5th overall.
Decline lol
Remind me how many 50 point seasons Lehkonen has?…If he’s lucky, RNH might let him carry his jock strap next time he visits Edmonton.
Good grief
Nuge was the best player in the WCF, playing 2C against a top 4 team in the NHL.
This team has 6 wingers that can play top 9 as long as they have a solid/skilled center.
There is little doubt (in my mind) that Nuge can center and outscoring third line.
According to NatStatrick Nuge’s most common 5v5 linemates in the WCF were McDavid and Hyman. Next up was Corey Perry with McDavid.
As a winger with McDavid he can spread his wings. McD and Hyman push the river, Nuge gets time and space and can use his Corey Perry skills to find the soft underbelly.
It’s different asking him to pivot. It’s much more different if his wingers aren’t fleet of foot and/or aren’t yet great at busting cycles or cycling. And it nicks the top line which means the coach will do what? Load load load and that spreads everyone else thin again.
In the playoffs when the matches are set and the Oilers get in the oppo Mind (Dallas is also a very favorable matchup for Nuge at C with Duchene, Seguin and a young Johnston last year) Sure Tinker and tailor.
But a grinding regular season schedule is different. I don’t want Nuge getting beaten up, hacked, slashed, and battling constantly to maybe saw off 3C minutes.
I want him healthy and ready to play another 20 games come mid April. Someone needs to step up so the longest serving Oiler can be his best in the 2nd season.
It appears I remember wrong – I thought Nuge played centre behind a loaded first line in the WCF……
85th percentile says hello
https://www.nhl.com/nhl-edge/skaters/ryan-nugent-hopkins-8476454
Did Nuge not crush it doing spot duty as 3C for a game or two last postseason? I thought injuries etc parked him there for a bit and he skated miles and scored a timely goal. What more do you want.
Unless I’m misremembering the whole thing.
What do his scoring fancies, both rel and individual, look like when he’s playing 3C? What happens to his generation rates?
Has Nuge ever really played 3C?
From my recollection, he is top 6 wing or plays 2C behind a loaded up top line but never really has played a 3C behind McDavid and Drai led lines – not substantially at least.
Summarizing!
Playing 1C again, Nicholl tallied his 1st of the season in a 5-4 win.
Prospecting takes a break until Freya’s Day.
If the coach is playing Savoie, Roslo, Freddy, and Janmark at centre instead of moving RNH to 3C, your team has a forward depth issue.
Knobber (correctly) views RNH as a necessary defensive conscience on line one and does not trust any other forwards with this role. The result of this deployment is using the leftovers at centre for lines 3 and 4.
The coach needs to task his captain with not requiring a defensive conscious on his line, and the team’s two best wingers, in order to drive a material outscoring line. McDavid and Hyman, two veterans, two playoff riddled veterans, two players in their primes, two players in contention for team Canada should be able to drive a material outscoring line without Nuge.
I read posts and listen to hits about obtaining a 3C and, yup, it would be great to add a $4MM-$5MM established 2C like Schmaltz or McCann or Coyle or whatever.
For me, as of now, its not logical mainly due to cap space.
Yes, the Oilers will move Mang and its sounds like there is a chance in a miracle and they may be able to move on from that contract clean, without any retainment or bad cap back.
All that would really do is provide the cap space to activate Walman and Kap and not gut down to a 19-skater roster. It does not really provide any material cap space for adds. Maybe they can stay under the cap (out of LTIR) and accrue but they are running out of time to build.
At the end of the day, the realistic 3C option is Nuge and, at some point, Knob will need to come to the conclusion that he needs to move Nuge down which will allow him to optimize his wingers and create more depth on the team.
I’m sorry Connor, you don’t “need” the two best wingers on the team in order to materially outscore – you are a generational player in his prime.
Playing McDavid/Drai/Nuge at center allows 9 wingers to have a skilled offensive center – no Nuge isn’t an elite center but he is skilled and he can drive a third line with reasonable wingers, which the Oilers have if deployed properly.
Listening to today’s media avail and Knob isn’t close to moving off Nuge at 1LW but I think it will have to happen at some point.
Agreed. I do not think the Oilers can acquire any significant contracts unless they dump Mangi and Henrique.
Even though Mangiapane-Henrique are well established veterans of the league it’ll take prospects to outright trade them. I think Hutson is being showcased if not Edmonton will have to take back a player on a contract whose struggling on another team in essence bad contract for bad contract.
Even if they dump the Mang contract clean, all it really does it allow them to activate both Walman and Kap without gutting the roster, it won’t even create much cap space.
As each day passes, this appears to be a team in transition. I don’t think the Stanley window is closed, but I don’t see it happening this season as there are too many question marks/players trying to establish themselves.
Am still not a fan of how the coach is deploying his players and constantly changing up lines and starving the roster at the expense of a super line. The constant change becomes an excuse. Benching guys after great games because you don’t want other sitting too long is becoming counter-productive.
The stubborness of using your 3C to prop up your best player – at the expense of balance hurts and may not be solved until next season for exactly the reason you say OP.
Stanley Cup windows are closed only by managers and coaches not being good enough. The panthers have no elite players, one C that plays a league top two way game. Skill alone does not win Cups
See in house:1980’s Oilers
Not going to win games when Drai goes -3.
Roslovic with the lazy backtrack on the wrong side of the player. Why Carolina did not pay him!
An ill Podkolzin misplaying a Nurse pass along the wall. An anomaly from him.
Not Draisaitl’s fault at all.
I did not state it was his fault.
However, this team is not built to win games when the top two lines are outscored 5v5.
I’d like a show of hands of who was insecently callimg for “the kid line” before running away and altering stance on current “complaint line”. Trying it for under 10 minutes with savoie never centering it without ever playing with hutson and only sparingly knowing howard or even playing with him?
Despite results:
I didn’t hate savoie down the middle. Saw some good things in his play as far as head definitely on a swivel defensively and very well might have some functionality in the type of role…when he fully grows his man strength 24-25 yrs old and further develops sense of how he most effectively can establish positioning to leverage his lower center of gravity defensively.
The drai line lost the plot. Not sky is fallimg game for me -> aside from they ate that breakout’s lunch and bouchard especially seemed to be throwing higher than average hail mary variety at delayed speeds.
Podz is sick or was recently. His game is heavy on hustle skating that factors to a degree.
Roslovic seemed out of sync compared to when line appeared to be clicking.
Before his injury and then being bounced around lines might take a game or two to reaclimatize shoukdn’t be shocking.
Like this still isn’t rocket science.
Roslovic: can shoot the puck, can take a pass at speed and carry it effectively -> despite his offensive upside and plus plus goal scoring -> statistically, from historic perspective he’s never been established as outscoring 5×5 by plus minus stats. So, not the guy you tap as being the lines defensive concious quite obviously before they tried him as 3c on a line he likely would need to be…
Where does he fit?
Roslovic (RHS best fit RW):
Not with mcdavid and hyman as they need defensive concious capable LW or RW (hyman i believe works better with mcdavid on as RW despite being left handed but i’m not 100% certain that is true) or mcdavid’s line needs the ice tilted heavy weighted to OZS.
Drai and podz at least strategically seems like right spot but…
Quinn hutson RHS -> older rookie@24 yrs top 9 seeming…i don’t exactly know enough about him to speculate much on strengths and weaknesses…undersized to a degree
Howard LHS -> seems like a top 6 or bust type of player high end offensive skillsnot too confident about his defensive ceiling as far as 200ft player value.
Savoie RHS -> kid is an NHL quality top 9 from what i can appeared to be settling in on drai’s wing as well.
Can we give 2 of these kids magniapane treatment at same time in top 6? (Despite results give them real opportunity to build confidence on a consistent line without panic scramble blendering lines)
Can they do that while figuring out how to piece an effective 3rd line?
Maybe but i don’t see it. 2 of them as set.pieces have “power forward” in place but ii think either hutson or savoie better off if LHS and that’s a 3rd line that’s more outscoring than shutdown and i think right callups should have included 6’2″, 192 lbs, LHC/LW samanski over 1 of huston or howard
1. Howard mcdavid hyman
Or
1. Hyman mcdavid hutson
2. Podz drai savoie
3. …samanksi rnh roslovic
4. Janmark henrique &1/2 of july 1st prize winners or more likely lazar
When Kapanen returns that’s another RHS our 2 FA signings were LHS for good reason. Neither being able to establish themselves in a top 9 role effectively is the problem.
To me this gives howard and samanski the edge or acreams hyman no longer on offwing being a clear neccesity as LW is where we are weakest.
Figure out if hutson or howard can gel with mcdavid and hyman.
3 kids on lines not a 3 kid line makes more sense.
Howard is a 1st shot scorer who needs to be in your top 6. Putting him on line 3 is just pissing away value.
I agree. Thus why i suggested
Howard mcdavid hyman
As only place he might be worth trying with clause -> that line is likely to bleed pretty baddly so it would require getting heavily tilted zone start if not sheltered 2nd line type deployment….only problem with that is you’d need a solid enough defensive 3rd line to really do it.
Howard or hutson and samanski
Not both of them shoukd have been called up if one was trying to give the most logical best chance of filling lines with what they need.
Howard savoie hutson
-> is buying scratch lotto ticket at gas station hoping to get lucky to pay the gas yiu just put in vehicle that you can’t actually afford because, while filling you spent tje 20 already on some over priced novelty impulse counter trinkets (smokeless ashtray -> frederic, lighter leash -> magpie) level thinking IMO.
Someone should be fired in pro scouting again IMO
A nine year old child from Nepal
knows this yet they keep putting Howard in a position to fail. Why make the trade if your not going to deploy him properly.
I don’t feel it’s so black and white. I mean we once had Brodz Glencross and Huggy Bear good for a goal a game for a short stretch. A good line is a good line and if you can get *anything* from outside this top six you gotta take it.
I know you kinda mentioned it LT but the Mcdavid and Draisaitl lines getting gifted the offensive zone every game has got to be rough on the other players. Just not able to dig themselves out of a hole pretty much everytime they are on the ice. 2 PP and 2 PK on the night so not a major impact on the o zone starts for this list:
Draisaitl 66.7%
Mcdavid 60.9%
Nuge 60%
Hyman 59.1%
Bouchard 56%
Ekholm 50%
Regula 33.3%
Podkolzin 33.3%
Roslovic 30%
Howard 22.2%
Nurse 21.4%
Hutson 16.7%
Savoie 11.1%
Henrique 8.3%
Stastney 8.3%
Emberson 7.7%
Janmark 0%
Frederic 0%
In 8:30 and 11 minutes on ice and Frederic and Janmark didn’t have 1 offensive zone start. It’s just mind boggling to me.
In 9-12 minutes on the night Howard, Savoie and Hutson, all less than 25% offensive zone starts.
The bottom 6 looks terrible because they are not being used appropriately. If you are being put in Boyd Gordon level defensive zone starts, you’re not going to put up points consistently.
Below is games played, ozone starts (all even strength) and where it ranks in their careers. Boyd Gordon and Larson for reference for defence specialists as their toughest time in Edmonton.
2013-14
GP 74- Gordon 19.6%
2020-21
GP 56- Larsson 36.6%
GP 23-Hyman 68%
(highest/11 seasons)
GP 42-Mcdavid 66.6%
(highest/11 seasons)
GP 4-Hutson 64.3%
GP 42-Bouchard 61.9% (Tied for highest/5 seasons)
GP 42-Draisaitl 60.4%
(3rd highest to last year & rookie year/12 seasons)
GP 17-Walman 58%
(2nd highest/6 seasons)
GP 42-Ekholm 57.5%
(3rd highest/13 seasons)
GP 29-Roslovic 56.6%
(4th lowest/9 seasons)
GP 8-Jones 56% (2nd highest/7 seasons)
GP 33-Nuge 55.7%
(6th highest/15 seasons)
GP 42-Savoie 55.6%
GP 42-Podkolzin 54.5%
(3rd highest/5 seasons)
GP 40- Mangiapane 53.7%
(3rd highest/8 seasons)
GP 42-Nurse 53.3%
(2nd highest/11 seasons)
GP 22- Tomasek 51.1%
GP 25-Regula 49.5%
GP 18-Howard 48.1%
GP 41-Frederic 47.2%
(2nd highest/7 seasons)
GP 6- Kapanen 44.4%
(5th lowest/9 seasons)
GP 31-Kulak 40.8%
(only Edm #’s, lowest/10 seasons)
GP 11-Stastney 39.6%
(Only Edm #’s, lowest by 7.8%/3 seasons)
GP 26-Janmark 38.6% (lowest by 4%/10 seasons)
GP 3-Stillman 37.5%
GP 37-Emberson 36.1%
(lowest/3 seasons)
GP 42-Henrique 34.6%
(lowest by 6.3%/15 seasons)
GP 5-Clattenburg 33.3%
GP 20- Lazar 30.8%
(lowest/10 seasons)
GP 15-Philp 27.8%
Comparison to Leafs
GP 40-Rielly 63.6%
GP 33-Nylander 59.4%
GP 41-OEL 57.8%
GP 30-Cowan 55.8%
GP 38-Knies 54.5%
GP 35-Matthews 54.3%
GP 39-Domi 53.9%
GP 11-Mermis 51.7%
GP 30-Maccelli 51.5%
GP 41-Tavares 53.7%
GP 3-Quillan 50%
GP 39-Robertson 46.1%
GP 40-McCann 43%
GP 18-Carlo 39.2%
GP 21-Myers 37.5%
GP 11-Tanev 37.5%
GP 22- Stetcher 36.8% (Only Leafs #’s)
GP 41-McCabe 32.7%
GP 25-Järnkrok 31.4%
GP 36-Benoit 29.9%
GP 34-Lorentz 29.6%
GP 36-Joshua 27%
GP 38-Roy 25.7%
GP 23-Laughton 21.5%
Dallas Stars
GP 19-Capobianco 60%
GP 40-Rantanen 56.9%
GP 16-Duchene 54.3%
GP 11-Kolyachonok 54% (Only Stars #’s)
GP 41-Johnston 53%
GP 41-Heiskanen 52.2%
GP 29-Harley 50.3%
GP 41-Steel 49.5%
GP 41-Bourque 48.7%
GP 41-Robertson 48.6%
GP 22-Benn 47.9%
GP 36-Hintz 46%
GP 14-Lundkvist 45.6%
GP 40-Lindell 45.2%
GP 27-Seguin 43.1%
GP 40-Hryckowian 42.6%
GP 29-Lybushkin 35.7%
GP 16-Erne 35.5%
GP-Petrovic 35.1%
GP 37-Blackwell 33.3%
GP 31-Back 31.9%
GP 20-Bastian 31%
GP 26-Bichsel 29.6%
GP 40-Faksa 27.2%
Avalanche
GP 4-Taylor Makar 69.2%
GP 9-Solovyov 62.3%
GP 40-MacKinnon 60%
GP 40-Makar 58%
GP 40-Necas 57.9%
GP 27-Bardakov 57.6%
GP 40-Lehkonen 57.2%
GP 2-Polin 57.1%
GP 40-Toews 55.9%
GP 27-Brindley 55.3%
GP 4-Nielsen 54.5%
GP 40-Olofsson 50.4%
GP 3-Ivan 50%
GP 40-Malinksi 48.8%
GP 32-Nichushkin 46.8%
GP 25-Girard 46.2%
GP 40-Nelson 46%
GP 40-Colton 46%
GP 40-Landeskog 46.2%
GP 40-Manson 45.2%
GP 40-Burns 44.6%
GP 6-Ahcan 44.1%
GP 40-Kelly 44.1%
GP 40-Drury 43.5%
GP 21-Kiviranta 38.6%
I wanted to compare a few teams but it’s crazy that has only 2 regulation losses only has 1 player under 40% ozone starts while
Edmonton 20-16-6 has 8
Toronto 19-15-7 has 11
Dallas 25-9-7 has 8
Don’t get me wrong, Dallas has a better bottom 6 than Edmonton for sure, but maybe the distribution of zone starts makes a bigger impact on the games than the coaching team thinks.
sorry for being so long
So, what you’re saying is our current coaching staff lacks imagination and the fortitude to develop a usable strategic plan…
I really don’t think zone starts matter that much.
Iirc, there were several articles on SB nation that showed zone starts are largely earned, e.g., by icing the puck and that the majority of all shifts start on the fly.
Also, the zone start numbers you have posted do not provide any context. Who else is on the ice for each face off? Who is on the ice for the other team? An own zone start against the other teams fourth line is not the same as one against their first line.
Boyd Gordon would like a word with you. 🙂
Haha fair.
I guess my point is zone starts in a vacuum don’t tell you much.
As an example, on the season Henrique has:
60 offensive zone starts
106 neutral zone starts
100 defensive zone starts
329 on the fly starts
Do we think his defensive zone starts are having a material impact on his results?
Henrique has picked up where Derek Ryan left off, cooked.
Its frustrating that:
1) Kap, a player who’s skill-set can help in the bottom six and who we know isn’t a full time top 6 player, is about to be inserted in to the top 6 upon activation; and
2) Howard/Hutson, two players, who’s top skill-set would be best suited to play with skill in a top 6 role, will not be tried in the top 6 and coach is trying to wedge in to a 3rd/4th line (well, Hutson back to Bako I think).
Yes, yes, it is frustrating. Feels like a Forrest Gumpian moment: we reach into the box of chocolates, but now we know what to expect.
It’s “interesting”, last week coach said Kap was ready for yesterday but they likely give him another practice before inserting him. Today coach said he’s very close, if not Tuesday then Thursday for sure. Come on Knob, you said he was ready, we know it and the org is just figuring out the roster move to activate him.
Coach says Walman will take part in team skates starting either tomorrow or game day skate on Thusday – that is what they anticipate he will start skating with the team.
Jarry has been out before practice taking shots. They know he’s played through a lot of injuries so, with this, they want to make sure this is healed an not a reoccurring thing. Within the next week or maybe 2 weeks joining full time for practices.
Really shoulda kept Ryan McLeod.
He would be the perfect 3C for this team
Disagree.
Should aim higher.
Perfect 3C for this team is a guy like Joel Eriksson Ek (*le sigh). Or an Adam Lowry, Jean Gabriel-Pageau, a Boone Jenner, a Jordan Staal, etc.
Guys that are high end on the PK, contribute at 5v5, who don’t shy away in the playoffs, and knows his bread is buttered between the face off dots and in front of the crease. Someone willing (and able) to stick up for his teammates when it gets greasy out there.
That was not Ryan McLeod, as much as I loved the benefits of his skating. He never grew past the tragic flaws in his scouting report that saw him from a top-10 player to a mid-second round pick.
Savoie better start pointing or we traded a perimeter yet viable 3rd line Centre. McLeod has the the wheels to keep him in the league for another 10 years kinda like a Cleary or Chimera. Starting to get worried that Savoie isn’t showing more drive to the net and where is is shot? Did we get hosed by Buffalo?
I’ve seen savoie pretty bad for the last few weeks. I think he needs a night off. He’s been taking a beating too
Yup.
Random draft note: I’m very glad the Oilers don’t really need too much from this year’s draft. The lack of goal scorers is somewhat alarming. Barely anyone ranked highly is putting the puck in the net.
Might be a year where you can snag someone late who is a lot better than those taken in the first couple rounds.
Then, success likely depends on the volume of lottery tickets.
LAK – 10
SEA – 9
SJS – 9
ANA – 8
CAL – 8
VCR – 6
VGK – 5
EDM – 4
NSH – 11
UTA – 10
CHI – 9
COL – 8
STL – 7
DAL – 6
MIN – 6
WPG – 5
Likely that deadline sellers…CAL, VCR, NSH, STL and WPG would add to those totals.
Of course, not all picks are created equal so some teams like CAL, VCR, SJS could end up with 3 or 4 first round picks.
I wondered where Kap would fit in and, while I don’t love it as he consistently gets miscast as a top 6 player, it’s at 2LW.
Janmark isn’t on the ice and Fred and Hutson among as extras. Someone needs to go to activate Kap – I think it’s Hutson if they can’t close a Mang trade in time.
Per Stauff:
The @EdmontonOilers practice:
RNH-McDavid-Hyman
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Kapanen
Howard-Henrique-Roslovic
Mangiapane-Lazar-Savoie
Frederic-Hutson
Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Regula
Stastney-Emberson
Stillman
Ingram
Pickard
Move Nuge to the 3rd line, Hutson to McDavid’s wing, and send Henrique home.
Howard/Roslovic can probably carve up the soft minutes with an actual NHL center, hell even Lazar. But Henrique, no shot.
Hutson will likely be in Bako unless they LTIR Jarry.
No shit. Well look at it this way. , I m pretty sure Knobby and Bowman do not see eye to eye on much anymore. Just Imagine if this team didn’t have a McD or Drai. Or even just one of those guys. How the Hell would Knoblauch coach period.
At least they put Lazar back in. He was responsible for getting the puck to Jones for the goal against Winnipeg, and true to form, the coach benches him.
Don’t like anything about the 3rd line. Roslo and Howard are not defensively responsible at this point of their careers, so what makes you think that line will work? But the good that could come from it is that at the end of the season, KK will be dismissed for completely fouling up the lines.
A Howard/Roslovic line is an attempt to score goals, not play shut down hockey.
It’s not a good attempt. With Adam belanger on that line.
Are you guaranteeing they won’t play in their own zone?
On second thought, what am I thinking, 2 of 3 don’t play in their own zone.
If Henri can hold the fort defensively and keep up with the wingers, that 3rd line has some potential pop in it
I don’t know who I blame more for this current mess – Knoblauch or Bowman. I lean Bowman I think. I have zero confidence in Bowman’s ability to find the right players for the bottom 6. Sure he brought in some good prospects for free but even if these guys all pan out the mix of forwards is still not going to win in the playoffs. The guy has absolutely no vision for the forward group besides trying to acquire skill. And picking up diminishing assets i.e. Mangiapane, Frederic, J Skinner. At least when Kenny and Chiarelli did this it was low risk and cheap and it wasn’t the whole plan (Kassian, Maroon, Perry, Kane)
I also have zero confidence in Knoblauch to get the most out of whatever players Bowman gives him. I don’t think this roster is good enough at all but I also hate the constant line juggling and I can’t help but think there must be a way to get the bottom 6 contributing at least a bit. You don’t have to score but block shots, hit, spear someone in the nuts, forecheck. Try to break even.
Some serious revisionist history going on here.
Jeff Skinner was signed by Jeff Jackson.
Chiarelli’s tenure is littered with overpays to the wrong players in the bottom six (or worse, bottom six players miscast in the top six). Resigning Chiasson and Kassian after career years to overpays in both term and AAV readily come to mind. Spooner. Etc.
that’s right on Skinner – I guess I’m talking about the duo of Jackson and Bowman. I think they’ve decimated this team since JJ took the helm.
And I’m referring to the fact that he tried to fill the entire bottom 6 bargain shopping unproven players and reclamation projects – Mangiapane, Frederic, Tomasek, etc. I agree Chiarelli was not good but I would take the Kassian/Chiasson contracts over Frederic x 8 any day.
The team has a legit farm system and scoring talent waiting to get a shot. Stan has done a great job there. The marzipane signing is terrible, and that guy seems to be done (which is sad). The coach seems to have no clue except to overuse what has worked in the past. I am not suggesting I’m as bright as a real big-time NHL coach, but I have always tried to put staff in the best possible position to be successful without destroying the company’s output. Why the kid line??? Seemed like a recipe for failure and destroying any confidence they have up to this.
“Some serious revisionist history going on here. truth….”
Prior to Woodcroft, Tippett had two levers—lever one was to shorten the bench, lever two was to load up the top line.
Woodcroft’s initial genius was to find some functional lines. My recollection was the 11-7 and double shifting McDavid and Draisaitl with the fourth line. What else did he do to get roles for the bottom six?
Trusting his guys from BAK with minutes.
Woodcroft never did that with the forwards.
Woodcroft relied on his vets in Bako and relied on his vets in Edmonton.
Perhaps I’m remembering wrong?
I seem to remember the likes of McLeod, Desharnais, Niemelainen, and Skinner getting some decent rope when ManWood took over.
He didn’t, players were on camera saying it was nice to be given a role when Knoblauch was brought in.
Knoblauch has completely lost the plot. He went from using anyone he could to win a 7 game segment to whatever the hell this season has been.
Loading up 97/29 in training camp, blasphemy from day 1.
Same happened though when Woody came in. Derek Ryan was most prominent among those who said that.
Doesn’t matter who the coach has been during the McDavid years, but when things get tough, the coaches gravitate to overplaying 97 & 29. Secondary/role players lose their roles.
It’s pretty obvious the coach and GM are not on the same page with the roster, but the GM is on record as saying he’s not telling the coach how to run his lines.
I think people mis-remember what Woody did often based on Derek Ryan’s famous quote.
Woody didn’t find a bunch of depth lines and use his kids more – Woody was completely reliant on veterans which meant an increased role for Derek Ryan and praise from Derek Ryan.
How many games in the press box do we think it would take before Frederic would be willing to waive his no trade? 30? 40? 80?
That might be the easier part. Harder part being finding someone willing to take him
Absolutely true, but I’d sit him until his agent comes calling about a move.
I would suggest finding a taker in a deal that the team can stomach prior to cratering the relationship with the player with 7.5 years of term left.
It’s also tough to ice a full lineup as his $3.6 M cap hit still on the books.
Put the coaches in the mall, then fire it.
They need to get a good set of goalie scouting eyes down to Bakersfield ASAP.
Looks like they’re found some gold there quite possibly.
He’s following a development curve that isn’t out of the realm for goalies.
His track record shows both save #s and winning.
Let’s hope, but also get someone down there who knows what a rising goalie looks like.
We have the boarder pieces put together, we need to put some of sky pieces of the puzzle together so it get easier.
Nuge, Roslovic,Savoie, Howard, Hutson, Emberson, Stastney – all good skaters, hard on the puck BUT undersized and all of them are gentlemen.
Pickard, this year is an AHL goalie.
I THINK Connor/Leon in the coaches ear around line composition and gravy time.
Regula, Stastney and Emberson defenseman learning the NHL
My solution
53-97-18
92-93-22
10-29-28
46-19-23
14-2
25-96
24-75
35
39
Those damn sky pieces. They all look the same, but won’t fit until you’ve almost turned them inside out.
Contrary to most, I do believe the coach is actively puzzling things out.
The deadline for puzzle completion is game 83 (or 85?). Until then, we will be puzzled, and especially by how the sky pieces are being twisted and turned…
This is exactly why 97 only signed for 2 years. Absolute incompetence at all levels (for a long time now), but coach should be on the hot seat.
Give KK January to correct – if not show him the door.
I thought Connor Ungar was likely after the Olympic break, but since Ingram is likely to turn back into AHL Ingram after the adrenalin wears off and sooner than I thought, since the Oiler forgot how to play team defense again over the break. I sort of expect Ungar in Edmonton next week.
With this seemingly fierce battle for the Oilers crease, one might refer to this competition as the Ungar Games.
It would take place in Ice District.
Lol, good one.
Replying to yourself, awesome!!
“Replying to yourself, awesome!!”
Are you saying this is another username for Tarkus? And that he uses it to reply to himself?
That’s resident troll territory, aka HH, Fibs, et all. I can assure you my life is not that meaningless.
“…since the Oiler forgot how to play team defense again over the break..”
This. And, perhaps, only this.
The good news? Despite the recurring memory lapses, Oilers are at the top of the division. And with the exception of the red hot Central, the rest of the league also has problems remembering how to play responsibly and consistently (& with injuries & puzzles with odd-shaped pieces that aren’t fitting).
This is as likely as Samuel Jonnson getting the NHL call-up after his great ECHL start.
I don’t think NHL goalies generally “ride adrenaline” to results and, in particular, I don’t think Connor Ingram and his calm style played 3 straight solid games based on adrenaline.
Ingram has had one poor game, ONE.
It is sort of pointless to bring Howard and Hutson up without bringing Samanski too.
I partially agree.
I think its pointless to bring them up and deploy them (and the lineup) as Knob did.
If he’s going to play each of Savoie, Howard and Hutson, acknowledging his veteran cap anchor line is currently hanging on as a fourth line, he has to run 3 centres deep including Nuge at 3C.
I’m a big Samanski fan but Knob needs to spread out the true established skill center in order to create useable winger depth from his lineup.
An incomplete line change enables Bouchard and Ekholm to escape a joint -1 at 5v5 on the egregious Bouchard throwaway up the middle. That “money” comes with a big asterisk. That goal against was the game killer.
I saw —after the initial flurry— a team with zero zip. I think the game was lost then, when they couldn’t cash in on the only energy they had. As if they knew they needed a couple or three quick goals so they could coast. When that didn’t happen…
We know Podz was sick. The way the team played, and most visibly Drai’s mopey look since Xmas, but also the lazy defensive (& lazy offensive —Hail Mary stretch passes ad nauseum) play, and no get up & go in the last half, they’re running on empty. I remember a similar look after Four Nations. Ekholm returned from a sick Team Sweden, visibly and audibly sick. But the whole team played sh*t for a bit there.
To my eye, even in the first flurry, the team was off. Bobbles. Missed passes sent & received. Chances flubbed. This team has been consistently off since Xmas. One of the wonderful things about being with family is we get to share & spread illness. Doubly blessed if we have young kids in daycare or school.
This is a good team. The coach and GM have puzzle pieces they’re working on. Sometimes questionable moves are made, in desperation or frustration or just to stir up the puzzle pieces. Best to “keep the powder dry,” and allow the dominant pieces to remember themselves and the bigger picture they’re part of.
IMO, when Drai is out of whatever funk currently plagues him, for example, and when he remembers his Selke aspirations, this team will look and play differently, from top to bottom.
That turnover was FAR from egregious – it created an even man rush going the other way which team then defended poorly.
My goodness, look at Travis Sanheim, Olympian for an egregious turnover that let his opposition team back in the game.
Oilers practice at 11 today.
I anticipate seeing Kap on a line and wonder who will be out of the lines than played last night.
They need to put Lazar back on the 4th line and bench Freddy and Mangi.
They need to bag skate anyone who fly’s the zone early to try and score.
Split up the kids. Put Howard with McDavid and Hyman. Put Huston w/Drai and Podz. Put Savoie w/Nuge and Roslo. Lazar with Kap and Rico.
I don’t necessarily disagree but:
1) looks like they are now rotating Mang and Fred with scratches based on today’s practice
2) coach won’t do it (and essentially re-iterated that today) but they need to move Nuge to 3C in order to give the wingers on this team the best chance to succeed. He’s refusing to put the young skill with McDavid/Drai and, because he won’t pull Nuge off that first line, with Nuge
3) Hutson is closer to being re-assigned to Bako than Drai’s wing (someone needs to go to activate Kap).
They need a #3 C man like yesterday. Savoie isn’t that guy and neither is Henrique and obviously not Frederic ( My god that guy is lost) . If they don’t get one this coach has to put Nuge in that spot. Yes the top line is raging but in all honesty anyone can play in Nuge’s spot. They just have to stay out of McDavids way and pick up his scraps.
The last 2 games have been painful to watch in all honesty.
It is obvious this coach seems to be in over his head right now with his decisions and choice of Asst coaches are not helping out as well. ( besides the pp, but how hard is that to coach with the players on it)
I mean my god are they going to have to whack this coach as well? It’s crazy. Having a McDavid and Draisaitl seem to be a coach killer. Once a coach gets down they go nuclear. All of them have done it. But that is as much on the GM’s That have come through with these 2 and given out some ridiculous contracts and thus completely decimated the bottom six of sufficient talent. I wasn’t a huge McLeod fan ( just didn’t like his perimeter style of play) but he was fast and a great pk guy and really good defensively and a guy that was a guarantee to get you 15 – 20 every year.
This team has been managed really poorly ever since McD was drafted. Every GM has had a major brain freeze in adding to a winner. From goalies to bottom 6 to D.
I do like Bowman stocking the prospect cupboards for sure and Knobby isn’t his coach. He keeps trying to plug youngins in and Knobby ignores them it seems. I don’t think Knoblauchs job is all that safe regardless of his newer contract.
Like I said up top, they need a freaking 3 rd line Cman NOW. EITHER make Nuge that guy or go get one.
it is just a really weird team right now with lots of holes. Try these lines out next game
and at least get that 3rd line rolling
Hutson/McD/Hyman
Howard/Drai/Roslovic
Pods/Nuge/Savoie or Kappy if back
Janmark/Lazar/Henrique. Lazar plays hard and they need that on the 4th
Sit Magpue till traded or put on waivers, and No clue what they do with Frederic. Maybe he needs some time off? No clue.
I think you need to put those 2 kids with really good C men to have any impact.
One of the big issues roster-construction wise is handedness with our forwards. It’s really hard to build lineups that keeps players on their preferred side especially with RNH at 3C i.e. in your version, Hutson likely will be less effective on his off-side. To me, you’d like to think the easiest ask would be to move L shooting Hyman to his “other” side but this rarely happens on the ice from what I remember
I think Hutson played LW. And Howard RW in Bakersfield with Samanski
Very intriguing then
My concern w/that 2nd line is Howard is not defensively responsible yet, and we know Roslo isn’t.
Prospectuno!
Indeed, the one player who was off yesterday is on today. William Nicholl plays game #3, searching for his first crooked number.
He obviously won’t match last year’s breakout season numerically, but will he show enough to earn a contract from the Oilers by the June 1 deadline? We wait.
Puck drops @ noon Buck Creek time.
Good Morning LT. I see a comment I made was flagged as “waiting for approval ‘ What part of the comment was flagged ?
Owner’s last name. It’s up now.
Thanks thought that might be it
I know there is lots of other motivations to play Fred but it has to be difficult for Coach KK to look himself in the mirror when he preaches accountability when he keeps putting him out there.
It’s one thing to make mistakes (the kids), be slow (Tomasek/Henrique), or be a vacuum for offence (Janmark) but he simply is shockingly awful in all areas for a player with a prior rep for being none of that. That’s the part that makes me upset every time he is on the ice
Friedman saying there are teams interested in Mang and his contract with a year of term may not be a huge issue.
If they can divest of the contract clean it’s huge.
They need that cap space just to activate Kap and Walman without gutting to a 19-skater roster (unless another goes on LTIR which would be another short term cap fix).
Kap is ready and to be activated they need to move someone out or LTIR Jarry.
Did Friedman indicate which teams are interested?
No, he only mentioned Anaheim was poking around
Thanks
Connor Ungar the Condors best player last night. His .941 across 4 games in the AHL lags his .944 for thee ECHL teams. Simply a .940 save percentage goalie is minor pro hockey….
No, I don’t call him up, I let him continue to develop at the AHL level and roll with Ingram (3 good stats out of 4 as he finds his game) with Pickard as a backup.
Ungar is definitely making things interesting for next year by forcing himself into one of the AHL G spots. We know the Oilers love having a dependable 3G in the AHL so hopefully Ungar gets enough track record this year to prove himself to be that so one of Day/Jonsson can be his backup and the other the ECHL starter
Ungar isn’t under contract for next season yet but he’s an RFA so I presume he’ll just sign his QO.
When I ponder the signings of J Skinner, Ardvisson, Mangiapone and Frederick I have a tongue in cheek suggestion for D Katz to improve his bottom line.
Next June 15th he should take SB and KK to lunch ask for their cell phones and give them and their family’s an all expense paid trip to the south pacific until July 30th .. Poor old SB has spent far too much time over the last two years undoing what him and KK did on the July 1sts
Remember Bowman had nothing to do with signing Arvidson or Skinner and didn’t give Henrique or Janmark those contracts LAST YEAR. That was all on Jackson
His prime client at the time may also have had an influence.
I mentioned this the first week Bowman was here. Who would sign Tomkins to a juicy deal if you already didn’t know the man. Tomkins had previously been in the Blackhawks organization. I was met with the usual your full of shit. Why does it take getting old to figure out how the game is played.
Please provide sources that support this.
Tin foil hat time:
I have no proof, but given the tight timeline, I think Bowman was consulted on those signings. He was reinstated by the NHL on July 1, 2024 and hired by the Oilers on July 24, 2024.
However, in May 2024, the Oilers hired Kalle Larsson as Senior Director of Player Development. Bowman was the one who suggested Larsson to the Oilers (https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6276430/2025/06/26/edmonton-oilers-draft-kalle-larsson/). This shows that Bowman and Jackson were talking and that Bowman apparently had some influence on the Oilers’ hires.
I also think it would have been known to Bowman and others in the NHL that he was going to be reinstated prior to his actual reinstatement on July 1st. Given that Bowman was hired on July 24th, I think it’s likely that the Oilers were talking to him well before that about becoming the next GM, especially since everyone knew Holland’s contract was expiring.
Plus, the 2024 signings and the 2025 signings are surprisingly equally poor.
In closing, though, I admit to having an anti-Bowman bias.
interesting theory and has the potential of having legs
I have no resources to test this theory but it would be interesting to know what connection the agents for J Skinner, Arvidsson, Mangiapone and Frederick have to the old Ajent company that JJ worked for
Puckpedia.com lists the agent for every player
Sensible.
You seem to be suggesting that a guy who was persona non grata officially and had no business close to the game for three years didn’t have his finger on the pulse of pro scouting. What a shock.
Was thinking more about the contract length/amount and who negotiated it . SB or JJ ?
I assume JJ would have to sign off on it
LT I think you’re right about Knoblauch building the lines around 29 and 97’s success, although 29 usually gets the end pieces. I agree that the lines need a reset too. Podz is so tailor made for a 3rd line energy guy, it’s starting to get away on him in the top 6. I’d also strongly consider Nuge on the 3C slot. Knobby needs to do some coaching here, and he’s proven in the past that he’s capable.
Agreed. I’ve looked at this 75 ways, and I’m just an amateur playing along at home, but Nuge at 3C is the key chess move right now.
Yup. The McD line is working but not leading to wins. Time to move nuge to 3c. He can always go back to the top line and know that it works.
Drai line is stale. I’d lock ros/ drai. And lock mcD/hyman. Then Nuge/Podz.
Then one each of Howard/ Savoie/ Hudson/ Samanski/ Kap. Till something works.
Keep Henri Jan mang Fred away from the top three lines.
Keep 10 away from any line. Best game they’ve had all season was with him eating popcorn
There is something that the coaches aren’t able to do, no coach has really at least for long, and that’s to get the whole team playing well at the same time, and to manage them to a role and buy in
It may be that they haven’t really established a team identity, outside of Connor Leon and Bouch kicking butt when on their games. What is the identity for the rest? Blenders and a Slap Chop?
Most teams try to balance talent I think. They may load up a top line I suppose. The Avs were not this good last season, Bednar puts it up to having good centres. Now that Nelson has settled in it has been the catalayst to this season it seems
Their bottom 6 isn’t a result of having a ton of cap and so a deeper group. The current group are all left shot, not big. Cap hit, Height, weight, most points produced:
3rd line
Drury 1.725M 5’11 187 27pts in 23/24
Colton 4M 6’0 194 40pts 23/24
Olofsson 1.575M 5’11 181 49pts 21/22
4th line
Kelly .825M 6’1 185 19pts 24/25
Kiviranta 1.25M 5’11 185 23pts 24/25
Bardakov .867M 6’2 198 Rookie
A pretty nondescript bunch to me. Some talent but the better of those guys were having issues career wise. 20 5v5 goals so far. I don’t think it’s about the players as much as culture and coaching
Too many Oilers seem lost and not connected with their teammates on the ice. I’m not sure a coach is available that could do better, but I think that guy is needed. There is a reason some teams can year in and out get the best out of what they have on the roster – I have been waiting for the Bruins to fall off a cliff since Bergeron left
It’s been since MacT that it has happened in Edmonton. I can’t get past thinking it’s about how they are being coached to play, and the coach not being a big enough personality to define and build a culture that involves all of the players. It’s probably why established players coming in have such a hard time fitting in. And why some teams can plug and play anybody and they can do it, even if the team culture isn’t their natural game, a few panthers come to mind like Loustarinen
Bowman talking to Stauffer said when Walman comes back he anticipates the D group is good, but he wants to see how they look with everyone there. It seems he likes the goalies. He said that while Nuge is seen as the ideal 3C Connor has played so well when reunited with Nuge it’s hard to change that
So anything at the deadline is likely a winger or C, that’s the decision to be made. I like that he won’t predict anything because things are always fluid with injuries or deals that might happen, so he operates in the present based on what’s happening
Still, more than two lines playing well I think has more impact than Connor having Nuge as his LW. If Bowman can’t find a player and/or KK doesn’t figure it out. We know 3rd lines are often the difference deep in playoffs, and that Leon and Connor sometimes don’t produce against certain teams 5v5, so you can’t rely on them being the difference, as they weren’t able to be against the panthers twice
In the last 3 games (crunch time) in the 23/24 finals at 5v5 the Duo had 1G and 1A between them. In 24/25 they had 2G and 1A. The PP also doesn’t always score timely goals in the playoffs in tight games, it should be viewed as a bonus not a given. Getting 4 functioning lines is the most important thing for them going deep again, followed by a commitment to better personal defensive play from most of the players
Lazar seems like he can lead a 4th line if the coaches can find them an identity and role, so it’s the 3rd line that should be the focus. Even with Connor playing so well, they have lost 2 they should have won, and Leon’s line isn’t getting the job done. I agree with Woodguy that trying Hutson with Connor because he has a two way game and Nuge to 3C probably makes the team stronger overall, and takes pressure off the top 2 lines to do everything 5v5
You’re overlooking Todd Nelson.
My gut feeling is Gerard Gallant could also make this happen.
I like Podz on the 3rd. For sure as that energy guy. It’s too bad Frederic can’t join him
At this point, I’d settle for a passable 4th line winger out of Frederic.