The oldest player I recall winning his first Stanley Cup was Dave Andreychuk, age 40. Now if you told me Mike Shabaga caught on with the Detroit Red Wings one year and won age 42, and hockeydb missed it, I’d believe you. Hockey’s history has a vagueness to it, unlike other sports.
I believe Connor McDavid is a champion now, today. I’d love to see this team win the Stanley Cup with 97 as captain and leader. I feel the same about Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard. I do believe, now, all are worthy of a Stanley Cup ring. That has not changed for me
It may not come in Edmonton. I think that might be the play here. This much sadness is too much sorrow. Darryl Katz hired famous men as general managers and those men have been unsuccessful in building around the Glimmer Twins and it’s time to call it. I don’t see a way out of this mess, certainly not during the next McDavid contract.
I would retain Connor Ingram and Tristan Jarry. There’s no use chasing a veteran because there’s more than goaltending at the root of this team’s problem. I would run back the current goalies, give Samuel Jonsson and Connor Ungar the net to share in Bakersfield and evaluate one year from now. Chasing in-season solutions is so damn difficult. I will tell you that there’s no real way to know about the goalie tandem beyond Ingram might be the real deal and Jarry’s contract makes him a sunk cost and a trade will need a value-add.
If the owner wants to win the Stanley next year? Trade Darnell Nurse for a goal-scoring forward in his prime, hire a coach with a system designed to suppress opposition offense, have everyone buy in, and stop listening to anyone who suggests McDavid-Draisaitl is the best option at five-on-five. Don’t sign anyone to a long-term deal, don’t give anyone an NMC, and DO NOT sig any of the UFA forwards not named Kasperi Kapanen. Only sign him if it’s short and reasonable.
Man, what a ride it has been since 2023 fall. I don’t think anyone can take two more years of this. The Oilers need a plan. Man.
On the Lowdown today, Steve Lansky will be our feature guest and we’ll begin the post mortem on the 2026 playoff run. Noon to 2pm, Sports 1440 and You Tube.
I think there’s been too little acknowledgement of how injured they were.
I get the ethos of having to say that it’s not an excuse.
But the beginning and the end of what happened to the Oilers in these playoffs is that many of their core players had severe injuries.
McDavid won the Art Ross, The PP was best in the league. This wasn’t a failed team.
I don’t think playoff success was possible given what happened on the injury front. Yes, there were other issues. But how much they would have mattered is unknown. In the end, this was injuries.
Good points, but do we actually know what the injuries are.
Agreed. Mcdavid in particular is taking an savage beating on social media, mainly by rival fanbases and biased clown reporters (Stan Fischler in all his frontotemporal dementia glory), and yet he’s too proud to disclose how badly he was injured.
The team is being blasted and everyone is glossing over the fact that Drai was not really supposed to be ready for a return until ~ Game 5 based on early estimates, Mcdavid was skating at 40% speed and 20% agility, along with obvious hand/wrist issues, Henrique went down early after finally refinding his game late in the season, and Dickinson fought through significant issues and still contributed positively.
That’s four centers, leaving Nuge (whom some suggested was also playing hurt), Frederic (damaged goods at the best of times), Lazar (4th liner all day long), and Samanski (green rookie). It was not an insignificant level of attrition. And yet the narrative is that the Ducks steamrolled us.
Drai makes a simple clearance play in Game 4 after Bouch put us up in the 3rd, and it’s a totally different series. Ducks played well, don’t get me wrong, but our injuries were THE story.
The thing is, they were playing this way all year. Flashes of brilliance in a sea of mediocrity. Are you saying they were hurt all year?
I don’t doubt there were injuries, this was by far the worst playoff showing for both Bouchard and McDavid. It happens, good players have bad playoffs but both were so off you have to wonder.
But this team struggled all year. A team with this talent should be able to play three solid games in a row but the Oilers couldn’t. A team with this many veterans should be able to play smart, responsible hockey and this team couldn’t. The were inconsistent and lacked focus all season long. I hoped for better but we shouldn’t be surprised that their playoffs mirrored their regular season.
Oilers need to figure out why things went wrong and move on from there. they’re not that far from being contenders again, certainly there’s no need for a radical makeover.
They were 11th in man games lost to injury on the season so it was a factor, but no where near Florida’s total MGL.
They were 26th in GA as a team
97 had his 4th worst season as far as GF% goes at 52%
Can’t just throw out these offensive accolades without acknowledging they were a fail on the D side.
At no point in the season did this team have overall indicators of a true contender. Assuming the goal was to be a contender – this season was a fail
I am disappointed by the result, and I think the team has many deficiencies and issues to address but watching so many of these athletes perform under such obvious physical duress eliminates any doubt I might have had about their desire and commitment. Colour me impressed and more committed than ever to support them.
I’ll pitch a hot-take as the day draws down: I don’t think the group is as far away from another deep run as the funeral chatter suggests.
From day 1, this was a season who’s only hope for magic rested on the shoulders of rookies vastly outperforming expectation. It was never realistic for this to be the year, and the regular season reflected that. The car couldn’t go more than a block or two before it started to rumble.
I look at our team and I see a defence that’s pretty darn similar to the one we went to the final. I see dependable if unremarkable goaltending. I see value contract players that outproduced our stars. We were absolutely killed on the special teams and on our star power. This year’s squad went out playing like the anti-Oilers.
Is the roster perfect? No; The results suggest that this is the worst team since the Canada division series against Winnipeg. I don’t think the 25-26 Oilers are this bad on paper.
Coaching needs a change. I can’t prescribe that change, but it needs to change. It’s their job to make things rhyme and they didn’t. Not once. After that, I truly believe we are internal development and a couple tweaks away from a 26-27 campaign that is right in the mix for Stanley.
Here here.
I agree with this. I think Oilers win the division next year. Ahead of Vegas and Anaheim.
Both of those teams have players to pay and will soon be out of cap and more difficult to improve. Oilers will have McDavid at $12.5 and Leon at $14 already locked in and with cost certainty.
Great point. There are periods of value contracts but talent gets paid at some point. No reason that the Oilers can’t have value contracts also
They employed the 26th, 46th, and 55th best goaltenders this season when looking strictly at SV%. Perhaps they should start there?
Either get better goalies and or reduce their difficulty by improving the quality of defending
I can’t fault the team for trading assets at the deadline to go all-in this season. They went to 2 consecutive finals. Of course they were going to have internal belief that they were a serious contender. With Florida out, they likely thought they had a real chance at it despite their inconsistent season.
AND I actually liked the guys they got from Chicago. Exactly the roles that needed filling imo. Hopefully they can retain all three. A longer run would certainly have helped with that.
Not to mention, they traded a grand total of 2 assets, one of them being a 2nd round pick in 2028. The 2027 1st rounder being the other.
Yet McDavid says they were mediocre all season?
The Oil have gone on extended winning streaks before under Knoblauch. That instills belief in the core that it can be done. The essence of pro sports is forgetting the losses and focusing on the next game. It’s understandable for fans to have doubt, but it’s not a trait that pro athletes typically indulge in.
No team says “Going in, we knew we didn’t have much of a chance.”
This whole season, right from the start, felt like a throwaway. Condensed schedule, shitty start, bad goaltending, injuries. It just compounded on them. Even before the season there was an air of concern. The players know if they’ve got it or not and this year – these Oilers did not have it.
Bowman better be thinking creatively to ditch some of these contracts. At a minimum, they need to try and find projects on other teams also with potential to rebound. I think about DeBrusk on Vancouver – could you maybe e package Frederic in that deal? Jarry is tougher. I’d actually be looking for a higher ceiling goalie than Ingram- lots of chatter about Cossa on OilersNow tonight. Running Cossa / Jarry might actually be a decent tandem, thinking Jarry will bounce back. Is rather keep Ingram for sure but I also don’t think you can run back this tandem again and not sure Jarry can be moved. On defence, they need to change the look a bit, but I don’t think it’s too far off. Ekholm I think will rebound. There were lots of aging defenseman that have had bad years in their 30s and bounced back. I’m thinking about guys like Karlsson, Burns, Doughty. I think Ekholm, Bouchard, Walman, Emberson and Murphy are all good. I’d resign Murphy if the price is right.
The big cut needs to be Darnell Nurse. He’d be an admirable tank commander in a place like Toronto. I think Reilly also is a good return. Reilly would give our defence more mobility, and he was cast as a 1 in Toronto, he wouldn’t have to be that here every night.
Dont resign Roslovic – let Seattle resign him at 5×4 and find another guy who missed his seat at free agency and sign him on the cheap.
Lots of talk about Cossa but none of it based in reality. I mean, I keep reading “Howard or Hutson”. Taking aside the fact those aren’t prospects in near the same tier (and Hutson doesn’t really have any trade value), Howard doesn’t come close I wouldn’t think.
I believe the Wings are looking for Cossa to be the tandem with Gibson. Yes, they’ve got Trey Augustine as well but he’s just turning pro.
Bring in Bruce Cassidy.
Gregor says the owner is not happy and there will be an evaluation of everyone in the org from management to coaches to players.
Ooh, another forensic audit!
For real this time.
Haha well done Tarkus.
Tin-foil hat conspiracy?:
Ken Holland knew perhaps ~12 months before not being renewed that the Oilers were going to move on from him so he made no effort on the future of the team. All that mattered was that season.
It’s just very odd that the general manager who drafted Broberg and Holloway made no effort to lock down obvious core pieces.
Perhaps my memory is faulty but I’m recalling a lot of smoke throughout that whole season that Holland was not going to be extended.
There is no way the agents of Holloway and Broberg were going to let them sign contracts in season. At that point they had no leverage, and the Oilers were not offering anything worth signing. And even when Holloway and Broberg gained leverage in June, the Oilers still offered them shitty deals.
Like how could one watch the playoffs and not offer them reasonable deals based on the level of play that they had demonstrated. Neither was asking for the moon.
Broberg required investment in season by clearing a spot for him. You drafted him 8th overall, he had dominated the AHL, he had already done a stretch of NHL 3rd pair, he was obviously the future on the left side with potential high ceiling. They blocked him and he soured on the organization that season. That’s not how you prioritize core pieces. Holland is the king of “over-ripen” but Broberg had already over-ripened.
I agree. I remember chatter that Broberg (at least) refused to negotiate in the middle of the season. There was no way we were going to sign them mid-season.
Either way, I’d argue that while leaving the players exposed to the offersheet risk was a mistake, both players (Holloway especially) were worth the contracts they signed.
To throw away an entire cohort of young, skilled NHL players was an indefensible mistake for the incoming GM, lead-up be damned.
Trying to be nice often doesn’t work. In life one thing, in pro sports not so much
I remember when they lost to Florida the first time. Disappointed but could tell this team was gonna win one.
what a disastrous two years
That Holloway contract just adds salt into the wounds
It’s almost as if a young fast physical first line winger and a big fast two way d is exactly what this team needs
You know it’s not that one that bugs me. I don’t think we’d have podkolzin if we kept Holloway and I love podkolzin.
It’s the Jarry trade, the Campbell contract the neverending search for a goalie and then not drafting one that falls into your lap. We have $9 million tied up in goalies, (2.6 Campbell, 5.4 Jarry, 1M ingram) but with what to show for it?
THATs what gets my goat.
(And our inability to coach this team out of bad turnovers that lead to breakaways and 2 on 1s. Or in the case of last night 4 on 1s. Not really sure if we are worse than other teams but it feels like it.)
JJ taking a ton of heat on twitter today from media folks. Sounds like their could be some changes
I certainly hope the team is not making decisions based on twitter chatter.
That’s more of a POTUS thing.
Losing Broberg is the deepest wound because of the aging out/struggling defense.
Podkolzin, Savoie, Samanski, Howard provides the next wave of forwards.
The moment Ekholm hits the cliff our defense is looking real bad if Nurse and Walman don’t find a higher level and are unmovable. Swapping Walman with Broberg changes the complexion of our defense moving forward drastically.
Clean house. Start selling off parts. Quit paying first round picks for meh players.
a question for all: why would i care what Justin Bourne thinks about the state of the Edmonton Oilers?
The same reason why I would care what someone else cares about what Justin Bourne thinks about the state of the Edmonton Oilers.
Interesting concept
Hmmm…. I see. Just one question though… Why would you care why someone else cares what Justin Bourne thinks about the state of the Edmonton Oilers?
Exactly!
Justin Bourne has a secret hatred of the Oilers that goes back to the Oilers beating his Dad’s team in the 84 Finals. I heard him say that on a podcast in 2012. That Isles bias shows bigtime.
I didnt read his latest. But i can imagine. Right up there with Fischler.
Sportsnet
@Sportsnet
Jon Cooper, Dan Muse, and Lindy Ruff have been named finalists for the 2025-26 Jack Adams Award
I still can’t help wonder if the Jarry trade came from above Stan Bowman. Maybe Jackson decided over wine with McDavid? Joking…
Stan takes the fall, as all managers do. Guess it doesn’t matter, I just know there’s so much more behind these decisions. Easy to point fingers. Hard to know where.
— Typically GMs get to fire one coach they hired.
— he was just a meh hire that didn’t warrant the scrapnel for his role in to Blackhawks.
— the “acting GM” JJ equal damage when he was playing POHO and GMing IMO.
— Thought JJ was inspired hire then he started solo GMing. That was red flag
Ya, like wouldn’t that fall on the “acting GM”, who would be the assistant GM when the actual GMs contract ran out?
You know, someone with GMing experience?
A very good point.
One minor tragedy of this season was not getting Ungar and Jonsson into the AHL on a consistent basis to see if they have the game at that level. Strange.
You won’t find a diamond in the rough if you bury it in the bunker.
Jonsson had a solid rookie pro season in NA in the ECHL – he didn’t crush it and was likely in the right place all season long.
Ungar had heaters and very bad stretches in both leagues.
— This is full stop the most critical off season of the McDrai era. It’s going to be fascinating
— I’ll bleed out a few observations but one of the obvious not stated: the Oil now have more competition for players “who just want to win a cup” They are no longer the belle at the ball IMO.
— I think that for a player seeing this playoff exit plus only two years left on McD there are a bunch more teams that can claim the throne of “just a move or two away from winning it
— so certain I was that this season they wouldn’t start with Skinner Pickard. Now know not to be certain that KK coached his last Oilers game.
This is another factor that may hasten a coaching change, imo. If someone who has the pedigree to win championships joins, then maybe that changes the narrative around the league, in the opinion of management anyway.
At least I hope that would be the way they are thinking.
Well can’t say it was a great run but have a good summer everyone
Creative ways to get better sustainably is RFA route especially if we can get our 2027 3rd back from Nashville by offering up our 3rd this year. Some interesting scenarios for me would be targeting a few of our rivals in the ranges of < $1,5M (no compensation), <$2,34M (3rd), <$4,7M (2nd):
That would be an interesting strategy, I have time for Mintyukov, Drury or Samoskevich.
It would be nice to see some creativity this summer.
I think that whomever is GM is going to have to focus on making the forward group bigger and faster. There has been some improvement there
Looking at Holloway’s new contract I checked out where the Blues are at. Good mix of vets and youth. They are also a big group. The Ducks are big and skate. Seems to be where it’s heading. Again seeing smaller players having trouble in playoffs on various teams, some are fine, lots aren’t
Big and fast isn’t enough to win. Frederic was a significant contributor to the game 4 loss. Roslovic is 6’1 and was pretty invisible. Need guys who can make plays.
Absolutely, hockey ability is first
In regards to roster, the end of season roster I was very pleased with. Injuries destroyed it, but the players were good.
Bowman made smart selections at trade deadline. Not too expensive and each showed a lot of heart. Oilers rosters have been low on ruggedness and low on those gamers who know how to win.
Ducks built around their young core; more players who just know how to play hard.
But even when provided the foundations for an effective shut down line, Knoblauch didn’t build that line, not around Dickenson pre-injury and didnt get it done over last 3 years. He just experienced the value of those hard 4th liners.
To me, the roster learnings are that some players just play with a higher desire to win. And ruggedness is a required factor.
I think Bowman is accountable for Magnipane, Frederic; his hand was forced on Jarry, and his biggest mistake was extending Knoblauch. I do like what he managed to turn up in regards to Podz, Kapanen, Savoie, Samanski, Howard, Hutson, Jones, Emberson,
I think Bowman survives the summer.
I haven’t given up on Frederic, especially if there is a new coach
It might be the key, but im not holding my breath.
Regardless of coach, you need to play with some heart and intensity. This was his reputation and this is what Oilers thought they were buying with that big contract.
Frederic didn’t just play bad, he played like he didnt give a shite. Even his fights seemed uninspired and delivered with enthusiasm of a disinterested employee.
Accepting such a contract and delivering that effort is unacceptable. Healthy scratch in biggest games of th year were very well deserved.
All true, but he was not alone. Other than Podz, Kap and Murphy a lot of the guys didn’t seem that enthusiastic
There is no point in moving him, he does not have value at that contract. The best you can hope is he is a not a big liability going forward. You would probably be extremely happy with a 10 to 15 goal season and I think 15 is wishful thinking.
Yeah, a fun offseason rehab, better defined roles, more balanced attack, I think he’s a guy they could use.
Just the stretch he had with Samanski & Dach gives me hope for him.
Another note with Frederic is he will be able to spend the off-season hockey training – not rehabbing – that is big.
Its up to him but a full re-set with a solid summer to set himself up well.
At the end of the day, he’s barely over 3% of the cap (and lowering as the cap rises) – this isn’ an albatross/anchor contact but, damn, it would be nice if he provided near value.
I’d be cool with ditching Bowman and JJ and keeping Larsson and Pracey who I think do good work. It’s eye opening watching your big goalie acquisition who you overpaid for sitting out in an elimination game.
I think we are due for a shakeup in pro scouting too.
We paid a 2027 1st round price for :
March 4th to April 30th
Dickinson 17 regular season games plus 5 playoff games
Murphy 20 regular season games plus 6 playoff games
Colton Dach is …not worth talking about.
You can’t “ go for it” every year….especially with no goaltending.
As others have mentioned, what about this years team inspired confidence to incinerate a 1st round pick in 2027?
It was the Jarry trade that hurts the most.
Also getting rid of Mangiapane
Paying to get rid of a problem our GM created…
There is absolutely no upside optionality in the players you listed except for Podkolzin, and some downside risk from aging curve. Two of your additions were rentals, who now need to be paid.
Dylan Holloway has signed a five-year, $38.75M extension with the Blues
Too rich at $7.75 for his injury history.
I’m glad he’s made bag though. He deserves it.
Well, it’s finally over. I have been on hiatus for a while because I just got tired of watching this slow-moving train wreck. Just soul crushing.
There are many problems with this team/coaching staff but one stands out above all others. No coach has been able to deal with McDrai … ever. And I don’t see a coach capable of doing this coming to EDM. Time and past time to trade one or possibly both. Maybe just tear it down and move Bouchard as well.
I don’t know how you can see Bowman expending our few assets to make this team worse year over year, the coaching staff unable to adjust to even the most obvious on-ice feedback (line compositions, line-matching, zone exits, PK structure, etc.), and think the issue is with our three historically great playoff performers.
Not a fan of KK now or when he was hired but … I don’t know how you can see coach after coach after coach fall into the same trap with our three historically great playoff performers and not think the problem might actually be with the core players.
If the oilers are going to make changes during the off season, might as well start with the water.
But the Koolaid is so tasty!
Not going to be a popular take but the one player who has excellent value as a trade chip still AND will start dropping off in value with the age/performance curve is Zach Hyman.
A talented GM could win or at least draw even with a Hyman trade much as COL did with Rantanen out for Necas in. These are the kinds of trades that keep the competitive window open.
At some point it has to happen
I would be open to a trade. But it’s a hard trade to win because Hyman still contributes at a high level and his contract is quite reasonable.
For sure. 31 goals for 5.5M is great, as long as he’s healthy. Hopefully they know
This is a short sell of his 31 goals. He scored at a 50 goal pace for 82 games.
Nothing worthwhile is easy.
I’ve actually been thinking the same thing. Meaningful acquisitions will require us to move players who others actually covet. Hyman has qualities every team could use more of. I see possible fits in NJ or NYI, for mor grit and leadership. Love Hyman, he’s been a terrific signing from Game 1, but we also have to get the timing right before he falls off the inevitable cliff. The Oilers have held on to players until they have negative value far too often in the past twenty years.
If we could grab a Simon Nemec type young D-man, I’d move Hyman for sure. Scoring wingers can be replaced– he’d be a big loss, but you have to give to get, and a youth movement is sorely needed.
Knob do say last night that some guys were playing with fractures.
Well we know for a fact that most of the coaching staff was dealing with brain fractures for most of the season.
Well they broke MY heart.
I don’t often agree with Paul Bissonnette, but I thought he was spot on in his post game comments last night. Hopefully the link doesn’t trap my post in purgatory
https://v.redd.it/7wktfbklugyg1
The gist of it is that management failed 29 and 97. They have been bleeding assets through every available avenue since game 7 against FLA. Brown, Foegele, Holloway, Broberg, Mcleod. Failure to fix the goaltending situation (he called Jarry a back up LOL). The Trent Frederic debacle. Mangiapane and the bleeding of assets to fix their own mistakes.
But one of the biggest things he touched on is that management doesn’t seem to value the “team” aspect of things. They just went to war to get to game 7 and then next season they’ve lost like 6 or 7 regulars already, because they didn’t value what they had or their contributions to the team. And for all their whining about being so tight to the cap that moves are difficult, maybe if they didn’t blow their load on FA’s every summer til they have $6 of cap space left, making a move wouldn’t be so difficult.
There is too much parity to bleed that many assets in today’s NHL while also being horrifically inefficient at managing the cap. This was clearly not the year to trade for rentals, but the pressure to win now is always there. “What will we tell Connor” energy. But hey at least we got rid of our awful Mangi contract at the low cost of a 1st round pick.
I’m a bit ambivalent though because there have been some nice finds by Bowman, but there seems to have been a disconnect with the coach and how they were ultimately utilized. Look at Arvidsson in Boston. Excelling this year when he could barely crack our lineup. J Skinner. Scratching guys the next game after they get a goal (it’s infuriating how often this happened). Elevating Mcdavid and Draisaitl at the expense of others when it was clear they were struggling, like FFS Mcdavid had 6 points in 6 games this series but finished -8. That’s horrific. No change in strategy, line matching, breakouts, nothing. Just run 29-97 again and see if they can do it. Dach-Samanski-TF were fantastic to end the season and we barely saw them in the post season. Just totally headscratching.
At this point I have no optimism they’ll get rid of Bowman, even though in my mind he’s far past three strikes for fireable offenses just between Jarry, TF (x2), and Mangiapane. He at least has the mitigating factors of being able to find some decent young players. Knoblauch has got to go. Maybe he is also mentally fatigued but he looked defeated and out of answers by the end of that series. He lost that magic touch he had in past years for making lineup tweaks that looked strange on paper but worked out well for us, instead he had an itchy trigger finger and would just blend for the sake of it.
Really like this post. I agree with almost every point, except i think Bowman has game. The team has sacrificed the team for 29 and 97. There was no trust in anyone contributing except tokin actions (just my view). they ran 97 into the ground and that has to change.
Thanks for this post. I wasn’t going to dive into this, so you laying it out the way you did was fortuitous. It conveniently captures all my views. And well written too boot. My point overall is that it’s an organizational problem first and foremost snd it doesn’t matter who the GM and coaches are in this moment, they need to be on the hot seat. We shall see, not my team, the owner will of course decide for himself. The fans will keep on fanning until they don’t I suppose
Since Bill Daly flipped the golden card we’ve had a series of major asset losses, the aggregate of which has cost the McDavid Oilers a championship.
Reinhart trade (Eriksson Ek)
Larsson trade (Hall)
Strome trade (Eberle)
Puljujarvi draft (Sergachev)
Lucic signing (Maroon)
Athanasiou trade (Faber)
Bourgault draft (Wallstedt)
Campbell signing
J Skinner signing (Broberg & Holloway)
Frederic trade & signing
Jarry trade (Kulak)
On the good side you have Maroon, Hyman, Kulak, Ekholm, & Podkolzin. The net downgrades far outweigh the good, however.
It was a lack of foresight and patience every time.
I wasn’t a McLeod fan, but trading him and relying on the aging and slowing Henri with no alternate plan wasn’t smart
I still don’t hate the hall trade TBH. At best slight overpay but way way harder position to fill and greater need.
Kulak trade -> hutson was who montreal selected with that pick.
Strome trade part deuce for ryan spooner is the ugliest part of that tree IMO.
Bowman has accomplished one thing that is an anomaly:
Actually some trades with younger players coming back with upside.
Our achilles heel making up in free agengy for all the yesteryear girl’s that got away needs to cease. Strategically exploiting market weaknesses and a bit more cutthroat and the on top of buy high sell liw the other most important part:
Stop going against logic curves as far as aging curves signing clear declining vets to longer terms.
I’m no to dickinson unless he’s reasonably cheap on a shorter contract.
Murphy might be best option for RHD and i would be okay signing him to a 3 year.
Kapanen 1-> 3 years (1 year higher dollar 2-3 with avg coming down for every added year (guaranteed money enough for respectable carreer earnings or bet on self actually grabbing opportunity type offer).
Murphy is a must have – he knows defence
Dickenson is a gift – if they take it.
Well said John. And to be sure, it involved multiple GM’s and coaches, so a collective effort I guess. Be well this spring and summer
This kind of puts it all in perspective hey? The amount of bled value is absurd. Granted that contracts would likely have prevented us from holding on to every one of these players today, and drafting hindsight is 20/20. But so many handicaps for so many years really has taken their toll.
Unfortunately looking at it this way, you’d think the Oilers are terrible, I bet 90% (low side) of the teams in the league look exactly the same with trade or draft picks that coulda shoulda woulda.
I will call you out on a few of these:
Reinhart trade, it was a 1st they lost there is no guarantee on who they would have picked.
Larrson- I’d suggest the signing of Lucic to replace Hall was the bigger sin. Larsson did great for them when he was here.
Spooner (Strome)- was a bigger detriment than Strome for Eberle.
Anthansiou- hindsight of knowing you were going to lose the season is 20/20 as well you had to be sure Faber was going to be chosen.
Be careful when comparing the trade of a pick versus an actual prospect. You can find any number of players who probably outplayed the draft pick and given year, doesn’t mean that the team would have chosen them. Many other teams didn’t either. Drafting is a large percentage luck because they are so far away from the final product.
You could just as easily say Colin White, Nah Juulsen, Jacob Larsen or the opposite way Kaprizov in the 5th round.
In the end you may as well say “why didn’t they hit a home run on every draft pick they did have?”
Very good points. The Org did fail in so many ways.
The lack of developing and playing the entire team falls to all, however I hold coaches most accountable. Same mistakes uncorrected. Failure to build more than top end.
Need a strong coach, not a quiet rookie coach.
And went stale. When we at the bottom, we would study the top teams. How to copy, how to exploit.
Who is doing that now? The Ducks are the Oilers of 2017.
Oilers net front can be exploited. They wont defend, and lots of rebounds, lots of tips. ALL SEASON LONG.
Oilers PK won’t force the puck so take your time, make your play.
To stay at the top you must change, stay fresh. Even if I was a fan of this coach, you still need change.
Have a nice spring and summer guys. Next year will, hopefully, be better
I’m going to be way ahead of the garden this year
Hey Slushy. Hope it’s a good tomato season! Next year and beyond we hope! Be well and soak in the sun
LaDanian, this place still runs in the summer
Haha yah….it was a hard season so maybe some downtime. Always love your takes! Be well Lenny
Likewise, Enjoy your time off!
The goalie that should be on the Oilers radar is Gustavsson, he won’t want to be behind Wallsted, is a true #1, will cost serious assets, might get him for picks & prospects because the Wild will be up against the cap, he will stabilize the goaltending though.That should be the Oilers play.
Looking at the goaltending situation of teams across the league, Minnesota does seem like a team that could be a potential trade partner.
Linus Ullmark was traded in 2024 for Mark Kastelic (4th line center), Joonas Korpisalo (cap dump backup goalie), and a 1st round pick.
Minnesota seems to be lacking a little bit in terms of its center depth (Hartman, Eriksson Ek, McCarron, Foligno). Would Nugent-Hopkins ($5.125 million) & Jarry ($5.375 million) for Gustavsson ($6.80 million) & Middleton ($4.35 million) be an equivalent trade?
Outgoing cap ($10.50 million) & incoming cap ($11.15 million)
All of the players involved would need to waive NMCs & NTCs, but I think it has the framework of a trade that could benefit both teams.
Positives:
This team is ‘cup or bust’, clearly it wasn’t going to be ‘cup’ this year, no benefit to this team losing again this year to the eventual winner. So, much better getting more rest and now easier to justify making some important changes (i.e., coach, see below).
They didn’t lose because of Nurse, goaltending, or 5 X 5 play. Perhaps all of these weaknesses would have been exposed against another team, but still a positive in my opinion.
Negatives:
Oilers will likely be better next year, but feels like some new teams are entering peak windows that could make it even harder to win cup going forward.
The NHL officiating is terrible. I can’t imagine how hard it must be on the players to have calls like the one on Nuge yesterday, that help swing the game, especially after experiencing this for years going all the way back to Corey and the Ducks in 2017. I’m just watching the games and it sucks my heart out, imagine taking all the hits, slashes, etc…working so hard to win and having to face the refs as well.
Coaching…so many head scratching decisions, all year long and starting and ending the year with loading up Connor and Leon when not working and over playing them. How did this team have back to back rookie coaches over its core cup window…while the Ducks are just now a playoff team and have one of the best?
Depressing:
Today it feels like the Ducks will win another cup before the Oilers. Lots of discussion around the failings of management over McDavid era, which are obvious and devastating. I’ll just wonder if it is partly our fault. We care too much. The Ducks sucked for years, no one cared, so no pressure to trade futures to try to make the playoffs now. Yes, the Oilers sucked for years, but in almost all those years they traded futures and signed aged players to try to make the playoffs. It is why they lacked the depth of prospect pool needed to build a team around McDavid. The McDavid draft win was viewed in the context of coming after the decade of darkness, there was immediately and serious pressure to make the playoffs now, rather than build a team with depth around him through drafting and developing. The more second round picks you make, the more likely you find a LaCombe.
Lots in your post I like, but I respectfully disagree with “I’ll just wonder if it is partly our fault.”
Short story long, yes there was pressure on the Oilers get get good fast, but I just don’t see how any of the above moves helped accelerate us getting better. It just solidifies the team as not being good enough to win the cup.
Agree with your post, it is frustrating how many of those moves were universally panned the moment they were announced. I was pissed at the Reinhart and Larsson trades when they were announced. It’s a long and storied history of awful moves, with our $6M backup goalie being the most recent addition.
Thanks. There were obviously lots of other issues, but I tried to stick with the ones I didn’t like at the time.
The Owner who shall not be named is really stuck between a rock and a hard place here. He’s given McDavid massive influence in roster decisions and brass appointments to keep the player invested in the process and under contract. But the McDavid team/brain trust is not performing at the highest level particularly on the goaltending procurement front.
Is McDavid willing to let go of some of his influence on the coaching/management/roster side? Does management have the chops to excel with more of a free rein and less player influence?
We’re a long ways away from Gordie Howe’s signing bonus being a team jacket.
I see no evidence McDavid chooses the roster or the brass. This is a myth.
There’s been numerous instances cited by Oilers management of discussing potential transactions and roster moves with McDavid and Draisaitl before proceeding.
Do you think JJ being Connor’s former agent and KK his former junior coach is a coincidence?
There is official intel on Knob and his hiring.
He had no ongoing relationship with McDavid since he left juniors, they had spoken a handful of times. On the other hand, Jackson had many clients go through Eerie and was on record, multiple times, saying he would be an NHL coach.
Knob has a Jackson hiring, not a McDavid hiring.
A frustrating end to the frustrating season. The early exit is probably good for the players for the 2026-2027 season.
I think the coach needs to go, and you need to bring in someone who is capable and willing to hard-line match. Line matching just seems like such an advantage, and it’s wild to me that our current coach just seems disinterested in leveraging it.
I still think Nurse at wing may make sense, because I don’t trust Nurse on the blueline and don’t think we can trade him away without taking on more dead cap space.
That trade for Jarry just looks worse. I would consider keeping Ingram but only if you can trade Jarry, but I don’t think that’s possible without sweetening the deal (I don’t think anyone is going to trade us Jarry for a comparable, younger, healthier goalie and throw in a 2nd pairing LHD to sweeten the pot).
Agree with many today… I hope the GM doesn’t go big whale hunting. He is not to be trusted with big long-term moves.
Dang, when you reverse the Jarry trade like that… all you can do is shake your head
I am supportive of at least trying this out, but if Nurse’s biggest issue is decision comprehension, playing a brand new position at the highest level of competition is unlikely to be a solution. Wingers may have less technical positioning responsibility, but this is still the NHL.
I mean, that’s the thing isn’t it… it feels like the coach blended his way through nearly every scenario. I’d really like to see them try this for a few games to see if it could work. Nurse is big, fast, demonstrates good instincts, and stays healthy. He could be a great internal addition.
Nurse was just one of our best defencemen, and you want to make him a winger? 31 teams would have Nurse on their blue line.
Tell that to the commenters below who want to trade away Nurse ASAP. I figure if you can find a lower event defenseman to replace his minutes and Nurse excels as a winger, then Nurse also acts as injury insurance in case the blueline gets hurt.
*EDIT* I’ve wanted to see for years if Nurse could fill in as a winger. That having been said, if there’s one move you try to make this off-season, try to trade away Walman before his NTC kicks in. His 7-yr $7M contract is going to be terrible soon.
Oilers 2026-27
Head Coach + new assistants
not a lot of options & no, Cassidy is not the guy.
Cap Space – Issue.
Oilers will need to make two serious decisions
Nurse & Bouchard.
No, the Oilers can’t win with 47 million tied up in 4 players, I don’t care how good they are.
Top 6 help – The Oilers have 1 top 6 forward besides 29-97.
Hyman, that’s it.
Line 3 – Was a 4th line on most teams.
Line 4 – Was an AHL tweener line at best.
Speed – The Oilers have none (besides the obvious player)
Oilers roster needs to be the same or better than Colorado’s currently, or what are we doing here?
That’s the bar, that’s the team the Oilers roster needs to emulate.
They’re not getting there with just UFA’s, actual trades need to happen.
podz is a top 6, very easily almost across every team
lets just pretend that podkolzin does not exist or that savoie didnt have a fantastic second half. i know many of us are angry but being asinine doesnt help anything.
Oilers were recorded as one of the fastest teams in the league.
I see a lot of comments blocked by Troll Hunter today. I don’t need to read them to know they’re talking about other teams cap space, and youth, and the Oilers age. On a tumultuous day like today trolls revel in our misery.
Miserable existence if you ask me. To each their own, Andrew.
There were 3 x ‘plus’ forwards last night; they played a combined 16 minutes.
But, I guess they got lost in the shuffle again…
If we’re looking to find a villain in this early exit, look no further than the penalty kill. I don’t know it that’s a personel/deployment adjustment, or a coaching adjustment, but going 8/16 is unacceptable. The PK was actually the unsung hero the 2 runs to the final. Remember when they killed off like 30 penalties in a row? That’s the difference this year.
I’m not holding out much hope for huge roster changes this off-season because there’s no free agents, and we are pretty much plum out of sweeteners to include to accomplish any trades.
The Pacific division/Western conference is not getting any easier in the foreseeable future, and it might be time to stop hemorrhaging future assets to try and keep up today.
LT may be right in saying that it’s time to call it.
It was the hero in 24, but last year was 67% I believe. Its been a issue for a while
Trading Nurse and bringing in Wallstedt, Cossa, or Hellebuyck are THE priorities this summer and must happen. The rest will sort itself out. Trade any prospects or picks to get it done!!
1- Nurse has a full NMC he isn’t going anywhere until McDavid leaves.
2- Wallsted is the Wilds #1 goalie, he isn’t going anywhere, did you watch the Dallas – Wild series?
3- The ONLY way you’re getting Hellebuyck is by trading Bouchard so the ask better be way more.
4 – The rest will not sort itself out, that’s the attitude the Oilers have right now.
I’d add that Yzerman is not trading Cossa unless one of McDavid, Draisaitl or Bouchard is part of the return.
I don’t think the ask would be even close to that, and if it was, Yzerman would be off his rocker. I mean, in 2024, Linus Ullmark was traded for Mark Kastelic (4th line center), Joonas Korpisalo (cap dump backup goalie), and a 1st round pick. His stats in the NHL the previous three seasons were:
Cossa’s stats in the AHL over the last three seasons are:
There is no way that Cossa would fetch a Bouchard-level player, let alone a Draisaitl or McDavid-level player. I don’t really know what Detroit’s needs are, but something like Howard for Cossa should be enough.
If Nurse gets traded, I think San Jose is a good bet.
Nurse isn’t going anywhere, take him off any trade you believe will happen. Seriously.
pick a different player.
You are likely right….but if this is the case, tough to imagine any room to effect change without moving that salary
Or Toronto. Kia Nurse just signed with MLSE/Toronto Tempo.
Toronto is perhaps dysfunctional enough to think that Nurse could help them. The return would probably be Morgan Reilly though.
at least reillys contract is easier to buy out!
Yep or Anaheim
Gudas role
Because of NMC and NTC’s, massive trades are impossible. But my fantasy trade is…
McDavid, Bouchard, Walman, and Jarry
to the Rangers for:
Zibanejad, Fox, Schneider, Gavrikov, and the Rangers 1st round pick.
Gavrikov Fox
Nurse Schneider
Ekholm Emberson
TBD
Ingram
Podkolzin Draisaitl Kapanen
Howard Zibanejad Hyman
Dach Samanski Savoie
Nugent-Hopkins Malhotra TBD
Frederic TBD.
AND Bouchard?
You’d better add 2 more firsts + a 2nd and a 3rd.
Is Gavrikov really a 1st pairing Dman?
I am getting rid of two bad contracts in the deal.
A deal such as that cannot happen in this reality anymore. So there is not really much point arguing about it.
It is an impossible concept. A fantastical exercise.
Both of those contracts were the result of Bowman in the past year… I know he’s done okay bringing in some youth (that the coach is loathe to play) but with major unforced errors everywhere, I don’t understand the support Bowman enjoys.
You are getting rid of two massive value contracts, for the two best players in the trade – that’s a very egregious trade from an Oilers’ perspective.
The first round draft pick is top 5, and might be McKenna or Stenberg if the Rangers win the lottery. Worst case is Caleb Malhotra.
Normalizing the defense means Binnington might take Edmonton off of his NT list.
It fixes most of the roster in one trade.
Like I said, it is fantasical. It isn’t going to happen.
Of course, its not going to happen but it was put out there so we can talk about its merits.
McDavid on a massive value contract (MASSIVE). Bouchard on a very solid value contract for three more years, You treat Wallman as a negative assets cap dump and he’s not. I know he has a bad year, playing through injury, but he’s a legit top 4 d-man in this league and, over the next few years, will be replacing Ekholm’s minutes. I expect we see more of playoff Walman than regular season Walman next season.
To add in Binninton as a positive – I wouldn’t take his contract for free,
It definitely is boldly going somewhere.
I don’t hate it
Zibaneijad will be 34 next playoff
Trading a 1st to get rid of players was bad enough. Now we’re trading the best player in the world to get out of a deal. Yuck
I’m not sure what it is with Nurse but pucks bouncing in off his stick, skate, butt, etc really did in the Oilers at crucial times this season.
Is he unlucky, unaware, positionally unsound, or all of the above?
He needs a second opinion
Listening to the Cult of Hockey’s recap of last night’s game, they mentioned that during the regular season, Edmonton defencemen deflected 27 grade A shots on their own goal, and Nurse was responsible for 14 of them and that in the playoffs, Edmonton defencemen deflected 6 grade A shots on their own goal, and Nurse was responsible for 3 of them. During the regular season and playoffs this year:
It is not just bad luck when a single player is responsible for deflecting grade A shots on their own goal at a greater rate than the rest of the D-core combined. If he is going to be on the Oilers next season, whoever is the D-coach is going to have to figure out how to significantly reduce the number of deflections he is responsible for.
This has been going on for years … when you have a repeated pattern of behaviour, then it is the player; we’ve seen for years that Nurse’s biggest weakness is his defensive zone positioning. The deflections off him that end up in our net are just a symptom of that.
That certainly lines up with the eye test.
Thanks for digging this up… I had missed this.
On a side-tangent, imagine if Nurse were a winger and the deflections were against the opposition team. 😀
Welp… Go Oilers!
I don’t think you can come back with Jarry + Ingram. The evidence shows that at most, either is a 1B but more realistically a 2A/B. And any goaltending struggle next year and you immediately get a media shitstorm which should be tried to be avoided at all costs for team morale.
So pick one and then do your best to try and pry out a solid starter from somewhere. If that fails, load up on 3Gs with potential to pop like Bussis, Silovs, and DiPietros.
I like Ingram more and think you can get him for $2M. I don’t think Jarry is unmovable if you’re motivated enough esepcially if you’re willing to retain up to 50% which still frees up $2.6M ish. A good GM can say that no G ever plays well here and he is likely to rebound and you can possibly pump and dump like Pitt did. I’d even go as far as planning to bury him as the 3G if you can’t trade him and free up $1.3M and give those opportunities to other 3Gs likely to pop. You just need to try other options with more reliable higher ceilings/lower floors even if it is unknowns because right now Jarry and Ingram’s are known and not part of a winning formula.
I’d also do the same idea with Frederic. I think he is awful for culture of playing a guy simply cuz of his contract. His year was inexcusable because it just looked so low effort at times and doing all the little things wrong i.e. not getting pucks out of his own zone.
In a crappy UFA market, you can hope 1 of the other 31 GMs likes him enough to take on his contract at $1-1.5 retained. That gives you $2.3-2.8 to upgrade at a different spot
Lastly the Cossa for Howard trade would definitely be one I would push hard for. The stars seem to align for it with:
If we could make that trade I would do it in a heartbeat.
I’d be suprised if howard gets you 6’7, 23 year old goalie prospect who was had 2 top goalie of the month and was an AHL allstar who finished 7th in sv% out of “starting goalies”.
Gibson is still under contract. Surely next year is free lotto year of starting now properly sesasoned large goalie blue chip prospect as 1A/B tandem.
Especially considering augustine hasn’t yet even really been AHL tested…if fact appears to havs gotten slaughtered in his brief little AHL audition this yeatr. on top of he’s on the smallest end of goslie sizes preference.
Like no way detroit remotely considers that deal seriously unless i’m missing something.
What is inyeresting though:
Carter Gylander and michal postava both are waiver eligible.
Maybe postava is who you meant in place of augustine?
Because you are right they do have a bit of a bottleneck of younger waiver eligible guys next year that is worth flagging.
Oilers would need to be smart enough with cap management to be able to absorb a 3 headed goalie roster….which honestly shoulf be their plan. I mean they already keep running with a handicap roster under 23 skaters anyway.
Be nice if there was an intelligent reason for it for a change.
Chicken hawking a new young goalie on cusp would be the best plan to shore up goaltending honestly.
Matt murray from preds might be another option.
There will be enough free goalies in waivers. Same as this year that would be right place to augment roster with cheap enough option and go 3 goalie woth no asset bleeding right off hop.
We definitely may have to add, DET may get more value from another team, or they decide to keep him. The foundation of the trade makes a lot of sense from DET’s perspective thought too as Yzerman has a lot of pressure to get better, has a surplus of assets at a valuable but finite position i.e. Cossa & Augustin, they need scoring, and they are up against the cap.
detroit could be a nice landing spot for darryl nurse.
nurse+howard for cossa and copp?
Copp could play 3c on a line with nuge and freddi.
Augustine is just turning pro the season.
I think they Wings plan to have Cossa in the NHL wth Gibson – maybe they value Augustine more long term but he’s not NHL ready and Cossa is a top goalie prsoepct- I would think zero chance the Oilers get hm for Howard.
Someone on twitter (matthewjdp) posted the Oilers having been number one in the playoffs in shot quality allowed at 5v5 (just ahead of the Avs). The 5v5 goal share numbers look even better if we account for McDavid being caved.
I don’t think all is lost here. This team was completely ravaged by injury. And if there is anyone who deserves a “pass” it is McDavid, for all the miracles he has provided over the years.
I’m actually quite optimistic. I would like to see more players up and down the lineup who can make plays, but that fuzzy vision is becoming clearer with the emergence of Podz and Savoie. Dach and Samanski, with their work on the first goal. Add to that Howard and Hutson next season.
I’d like to see Dickenson back, not to take away from Samanski, but to really roll the lines. Waves and waves of guys who can go out there and outscore.
In many ways, the work for this offseason is made simpler by Podz – Drai – Kap, which can be an outstanding second line.
I disagree on a few points LT:
1) This is an offensive team. They need to embrace that identity, not shy away from it. They need to be more effective on the rush and have lines 1-4 dominate on the cycle. They can learn to check more effectively but there is evidence that transformation is happening.
2) Disagree on the goalies. By GSAA, the Oilers were the worst in the playoffs by a country mile. The goalies were not a strength in the regular season.
3) Breakouts. Need to get back to using the middle of the ice more. It got better at the end of the season and then fell off again.
Almost sounds like we need a goalie….
What are the the odds the same guy that traded for Tristan Jarry – solves the goaltending problem?
fiirstly i would take literally anything that poster says with 10000 grains of salt. he is notoriously incorrect and possibly one of the most insufferable oiler related accounts on the app. He famously argued that cam dineen would be more effective than darnell (i know none of us are happy with him but cam dineen is a tweener at best)
I would keep the Ingram/Jarry tandem as well. This is only because a Jarry buyout saves less than a replacement would cost, and we are the only team dumb enough to trade for him. Giving away a pick and a Kulak-type player off the roster just to get rid of him doesn’t do it for me either.
Ingram was the best of the Oiler options, but I’m still not sure he’s the guy to leas us anywhere. If there’s a #1 out there, I would have no problem letting Ingram walk, I just don’t know if there is one available (Bob will be 38).
I have been a Redskins/FootballTeam/Commanders fan my whole football-watching life, and suffered through years of a HC/DC running a 4-3 defence with players who are better suited for a 3-4, then replacing those players over the years with more 4-3 type DLs and LBs only for the new staff to change to a 3-4. If the coach doesn’t line match, then why go out and get a guy like Dickenson who thrives in a shut-down role?
I like Dickenson, and I like having a guy who relishes in the role of taking the other team’s top guy out of the game (to the extent that it’s possible), but if the coaching staff doesn’t utilize him like that, then we should have a different type of guy at 3C. Either get a coach who will use players to their strengths or get players that will fit the current coach’s philosophy.
My biggest concern from this season is the way some of our key vets (Ekholm, Nuge, Walman, Henrique) fell off an absolute cliff performance wise. I’m hopeful that’s cumulative fatigue and not the permanent production drop that comes for all older players eventually.
Ekholm is back at a 2 mill haircut. He’s your kulak contract.
Hopefully walman is 100% with time off and comes back actually hitting people like he was when we got him before injured…but he’s NMC now so LHD is set.
If walman or nurse can effectively play top pair with bouchard it’s not that bad. But same as it ever was RHD needs solid plan hopefully #1 with a bullet priority with whatever cap flex they may have.
Ekholm played all 82 games this season and, while he has some down stretches, this season, playing every game:
1) he had 41 points (and was 12th in 5 on 5 points)
2) played 36% TOI vs. elites
3) had a 56% goal share (and expected goal share)
Of course, Bouchard floats all boats but he was a legit top pairing d-man this season, really, a #1 d-man by objectivity.
Also — the Ducks are not very good. They are going to get crushed by Vegas or Utah.
They are poor at defending. Very little depth. Terrible goalies.
It will be interesting to see how the team develops.
I don’t agree. Yes, they are not a defensive team, but their offense is all world. They are never out of a game and they have the belief they can win in any game state, and a coach with some winning pedigree. I think they can win the next round, at least. They may meet their match with Colorado or Minny.
I think all three teams are similar, in terms of agression, transition and counter attacking.
Ducks are flashier offensively, backend so-so (LaCombe and Carlson notwithstanding).
Vegas is slower but heavier.
Utah is not as skilled up front as the Ducks, but their D is super mobile.
Goaltending-wise, it’s a coin flip.
It’s not quite the 3-way Spiderman meme, but it’s close.
The Ducks AVERAGE is 6’2″ 204.
They are bigger, faster, younger than Vegas and have superior veteran depth than Utah with Granlund, Kreider, Killorn, Poehling, Terry, Carlson, Trouba and Gudas.
All 3 teams have pluses/minuses so motivation and coaching tactics might win the day.
Yep – the Ducks are not good. That’s what makes those 6 games even uglier. That’s how bad the Oilers were.
Ducks in the playoffs:
G/GP – 4.33 (1st)
GA/GP – 3.50 (13th)
SOG/GP – 32.3 (3rd)
SA/GP – 28.3 (8th)
The Ducks goals against lies between Vegas (3.40) and Utah (3.60) and they score at a higher rate than both.
They have tremendous forward depth including their 3RD line including Cutter Gauthier and Ryan Poehling and a 4th line that just shut down McDavid.
The addition of John Carlson on D gives them a more than passable top 4 with significant flexibility of young players on the bottom pair and, of course, Radko Gudas should return from injury (day to day) in the near future.
I expect they will not be the favourite to knock off the Mammoth or Knights but they weren’t favoured to beat the Oilers either.
the oilers became the 2017 sharks
lost to up in coming oilers
what happened to those up and coming oilers after….
First, although I am disappointed, I knew in my heart of hearts that this day was coming sooner than later this playoffs. The core was too banged up and mentally and physically spent heading into the playoffs to go very far. Better to get a longer rest than make it to round two or the western finals, only to be knocked out by a juggernaut.
Not due to this year’s results, but I believe Katz needs to look at everyone in the organization. Is Jeff Jackson really the guy you want running the show? What evidence do we have that he is making winning decisions? He began with a bang on July 1, signing all the old guys and letting two young players know they were worth little to him, resulting in having them walk. Very. Tough. Start. Every franchise that has continued success and short retools (Tampa, Florida, Colorado, Dallas) is making tough trades at the right times to bring in youth and let their youth slowly take the reins. The Oilers, on the other hand, are getting older and slower, and relying even more heavily on the top 3, while trading or letting their youth walk.
Stan Bowman and KK were hires that didn’t seem like they followed due process? What exactly is their hiring process? It seems like they pick the guy they want and hire him without having a vision drive that process. What is their vision for a successful franchise continuing through and beyond McDavid years? I’m not sure they have one. Katz is a billionaire business guy- he (and his team) are making terrific business decisions but I don’t think they have the same clarity driving the on-ice decisions.
I think the team needs to stop worrying about McDavid leaving and start worrying about long term winning decisions. You can’t base all your decisions around pleasing one guy, especially when that one guy only cares about winning. WINNING needs to be your driver. It may be that we can only be successful moving forward by trading that one guy. That would be a sad day but my point is the sole focus needs to be about winning now and into the future.
Bowman has made some solid moves to replenish the supporting cast, but some of his bigger moves have been disastrous with far-reaching consequences. IMO- The good (marginally impactful other than Podz): Podkolzin, Murphy trade, Samanski, Hutson and other ‘free’ signings from Euro and college. The bad (egregiously impactful): Letting Holloway and Broberg walk (1st line winger and 1st line d, both defensively responsible with offensive gifts), Fred signing for 8×4 (just under 4), Walman 7×7, Mang signing, Jarry trade.
I hope that this summer reset, and the time that it provides for the first summer in a few years, will help them to clarify their vision and make decisions based on that. Fire anyone that is not aligned with that vision, while also being able to offer unique and differing perspectives on how to achieve their goal.
Tough for me to lay not winning a Cup during the McDavid era ALL at the feet of management. The reality is Connor was right there for Game 7 against the Panthers and they couldn’t close it out. Those are the games where legacies are decided.
That said, this organization continues to shoot itself in the foot time and again with untradeable contracts that limit the team’s ability to achieve true championship depth.
With this year, outside the X factor of goaltending, I really liked their lineup. They were theoretically deep down the middle with Cs and Ds, but early injuries did them no favours.
Ultimately I believe this team was undone by fatigue, injuries, and being outcoached. Knoblauch is a talented young HC but Coach Q is a level above, a multiple Cup winner. The Oil lost to Al Arbour in 2 playoff series before the third time was the charm. Hockey is hard.
I’d go as far as to say the coaching staff as a whole was outmatched. Coffey may or may not be a Dman whisperer, but as tacticians it did not seem like they were able to adjust to the oppositions adjustments. Not quickly enough, anyway.
Inclined to agree. I’m not an X’s and O’s expert but by my eye, the Ducks kept tweaking their forecheck and coverage schemes and it really suffocated the Oilers ability to break through the neutral zone consistently.
The Ducks ability to constantly outman and pressure Oilers puck carriers looked like, dare I say it, what I imagined Eakins’ “swarm” looking like if it had actually worked.
We have wasted so many years of McDavid trying to swing big and go for the quick fix instead of patiently building the team from the ground up. People hate on Holland, but I think he was the first GM with a plan that went beyond the next year. That plan was clearly derailed by the summer of JJ when we traded out all of our 24-28 year olds players. Now the question will be what SB’s vision is for this team. Does he think we are contenders next year, or do we spend the next 2 years during McDavid’s next contract gathering the pieces for the next window? Will ownership ALLOW him to stop hitting the “win now” button and continue retooling?
So let’s say we give ourselves one year off from chasing Stanley, where does the team have to improve?
In my opinion, I actually feel like our bottom 9 behind McDrai and Hyman is coming into focus. Samanski, Savoie, and Podkolzin are all looking like solid middle 6 forwards, and Howard could possibly provide more value there as well. I like Kap and could see him back for a couple years. We have the shadow of Nuge as a utility forward and Hyman still has the avility to crash and bang and score goals on a reasonable contract. Maaaybe TF continues to improve, but my god he looked so slow out there I just don’t see it. But at least we’re talking about fixing the 4th line at this point, and there are still guys like Dach, Hutson and Jarventie who could likely step into that role as well.
The D is a godawful mess. Ekholm is ageing out, Nurse is no longer a top 4, Emberson is a good 3RD but don’t see much upside there. So our right side is Bouch – 2RD – Emberson. Then we’ve basically got Nurse, Ekholm and Walman fighting over 2LD and 3LD at 20M in cap. So the holes here are essentially 1LD and 2RD, plus aplrox 10% of wasted cap on a bottom pairing defenseman. Unlike on forward, I see no help coming to fill these holes internally.
Next is in net… I still think Ingram is fine if we can resign him to a reasonable comtract. Jarry is not, but we’ve at least got guys pushing up who look like decent bets to be NHL-calibre in one or two years, plus there’s cheap options every year in the off-season. So I think you stay the course for next year and let things develop instead of trying to force something.
So all to say, my moves would be find a replacement for KK (let’s say Cassidy, assuming he’d be on board). Work like hell to get rid of Nurse. Try to find a solid pick up for 2RD. Go for a solid 2LD and hope Bouch can float all boats, as I don’t see us acquiring a 1LD on the open market. Keep the big 3 together for at least one more year and provide cover for the youth to grow and get more experience, continue scraping the bottom of every shoe for whatever talent you can find like SB did last off-season, and then see what you’ve got in a year.
Stop the insanity.
Bring in a coach with a system. Start the new system during training camp and hit the ground running.
Figure out the best way to deploy McDavid instead of forcing him to carry the team on his back.
Support the goalers defensively and ask less of them. The team is already paying Jack Campbell $2.6 Million not to play for us next year.
Wait out Nurse for one more year as options open up and the cost is less dear in 2027, and pump him up, pump him up big time.
Plan win as a team. No knee jerk.
4 lines needed that are competent.
Run a simpler system that whole team can buy into and competently execute.like designing everything to maximize mcdavids art ross scoring is bonkers to me.
He’ll get his chances. I dom’t need to see roslovic and kapenen lining up to be like mcdavid lites for 80% of breakout strategy rely on R side rush gaining zone with posession.
Esyablish an actual 2nd powerplay unit. Any loss of zone or faceoff beyond 1 min in they are on deck. Maybe mddrai get back on for a 15-25 second 2nd go in form of set faceoff playoff or pass rush attempt like onky chances whatevrr our PP2 basically got all season but what never happens again is super extended shifts sometimes far too casually indifferent looking for perfect chances. Like everyone moving aggressively every second like it’s not a given they stay out there.
Like that has been clear flaw of this team IMO. You need a competent 2nd option in back pocket come playoff time. Like who knows what might happen (injuries leave you mixed nits scrambling to fins good enough replacement untested for most part, 1st unit just can’t seem to convert because oponent just has them busted, etc). Like this has been a glaring problem and honestly might be the key difference in this series. Like maybe a podkolzin rnh kapanen nurse walman unit or whatever coukd have done enough damage if coach had an actual 2nd option that was seasoned enough to be viable option when clearly 1st unit likely due to injuries just was not able to cash.
To compete next season in the playoffs, they can’t ice Nuge, Savoie, Howard and Hutson. You can’t have 33% of your forwards under sized, two of them not that fast, especially when none are elite scorers and none are aggressive
I’m glad that they have built depth with ability, but some need to go in deals
Nuge took a step back this year. I have no intel, but, personally, I think he was injured. He looked off (like so many players this year). Regardless, he’s getting on in years (he just doesn’t look it;))
It’s logical to move on from him and bring in some young players, such as Savoie, Howard, Hutson. I just can’t bring myself to admit it. He has been my favourite player since the Decade of Darkness. I want him to win here. My heart wants him to win here, but my brain says that it is time to move on. Emotions need to stay out of it.
I’m not sure who they should keep. It would be fine reg season, but not for playoffs
Nuge came with a 1,000 Game Warranty.
At Game 1,001 things started to fall apart.
I agree with this. I’d have time for Savoie and Howard. But the rest of the forward group needs at least decent size. Nuge is ok size but not physically aggressive in any way.
Nuge was fantastic at the start of the year so very likely injury was a factor in his sudden and drastic decline.
bowman will have to make hard decisions.
Quinn Hutson is 3 tier below Savoie and Howard.
I doubt he’s on he team for any more than injury call ups.