Quinn Hutson is 24, does not have terrific foot speed and despite college scouting reports that suggested he was a strong two-way player, hasn’t played a second of PK time for the Oilers in eight preseason games. What’s a player to do in this situation? Score goals. Many many goals.
Hutson scored 30 goals last season in the AHL. That tells us he can score. It also tells us the Oilers don’t see him as a fit for the current team, or he would have been recalled and inserted into the lineup long before he scored 30 goals last season.
Hutson is a right winger, and Zach Hyman was hurt a year ago and is hurt now. Why isn’t Hutson in the NHL? The Oilers don’t see him as superior to Hyman (injured), Matt Savoie (injured), Vasily Podkolzin (on the top line) and all of Kasperi Kapanen, Mathieu Joseph or Trent Frederic.
Mike Babcock is the new coach and didn’t see Hutson much, so the young winger will have to score goals on the regular to get noticed.
In two AHL games this season, he has scored twice and added an assist. In 72 career AHL games, he has 35 goals. He scored 30 goals as an AHL rookie. Do you know how many Oilers prospects have scored 30 goals as AHL rookies? Mike Toal, Fabien Joseph, Tomas Srsen, Steven Rice, Rem Murray, Quinn Hutson.
There are just two players who “made it” on that list, and one was an average sized player who approached the game like a power forward and paid the price phystically, the other was Rem Murray. So, Hutson has a long road to go and must regain a reputation for strong two-way play. He does seem to have the scoring touch, but its mostly power play and he’s never going to see that part of the game in Edmonton.
The one advantage Hutson owns over many scoring prospects in the past? The competition isn’t strong. Once the team makes the call on Howard, Hutson is at the top of the list.
The numbers in the graph are even-strength scoring totals from last season’s Condors. Some air gets let out of the tires for Hutson, and I don’t know why they didn’t bring back Roby Jarventie. Hutson is below Josh Samanski in even strength points from a year ago, and the Oilers sent Samanski (a player with far more utility) out before recalling him when injuries hit.
Hutson is in a family of players who are long shots to make the NHL. He could improve in the areas needed from third and fourth line wingers (PK, forecheck, outscoring) and he has to fill the net and hope for an opportunity. What are his chances? Murray and Rice represent 33 percent of that list of 30-goal rookies I posted above. I think that’s a little high for Hutson, we would put it at about 25 percent. More if he improves his reputation as a two-way type.
On the Lowdown today, Rachel Kryshak (12:40) and Jason Gregor (1:20) are the feature guests. We’ll talk about that impressive Saturday effort by the Oilers, the trade rumours around the team, the Elks closing in on the division title and MLB’s October games. Noon to 2pm, Sports 1440 and You Tube.
I would rather see a shootout with us clobbering the Ducks who score a couple at the end for score effects 6-3 Oilers. Mike needs to turn the boys loose while they’re in an offensive groove. Watching the Red Wings and the Leafs they were relentless on the forecheck. It’s going to take 25 games and full commitment before we see it on every shift.
Turn them loose? What? No we need to push for full commitment to the plan every. Single. Game.
This. Start as you mean to go.
Dang! That was one of the other 45s I wore out as a kid. Wipeout, San Franciscan Nights, and Ruby by Kenny Rogers were the others.
I would take Matthew Poitras over Kirby Dach 20 times over.
Hmm, neither player projects as a top-6 player, but Dach has 4 inches and 30 pounds on Poitras and has averaged 15G / 84 as a Canadien (battling injuries).
If Kirby can get over his injuries he’s a more useful player to the Oilers especially in the playoffs where size really matters.
Kirby Dach has a $3.6MM cap hit.
Even when healthy, he’s a shadow of his former self – reduced skating ability, reduced offensive impact and the Habs fans are fed up with his inconsistent effort (which was also called out by his coach in exhibition season).
I dont want him for free, even with 50% retained.
Poitras is at league min – happy to swap Jones on waivers and down for him.
You just jinxed yourself as Kirby will be an Oiler soon. Who knows what Dickinson is up to it’s starting to smell like a Kelfbom injury situation. I hope I’m dead wrong on Jason but why else are the Oilers smoking out a big Centre for the bottom six.
Dickinson was a full participant in warm-ups today and is trending to play on the road trip, shit maybe even Wed.
I’d prefer not to pick up any more Bruin castoffs.
This is the correct answer
Does anyone have any feedback regarding the Condors players of interest this weekend?
I am specifically referring to all of: Marjala, Nicholl, Clattenburg, Carfagnia, Cibulka, Akey, Raty, Trelmaks.
How were they each deployed (linemates, offensive opportunities) and what were each of their best and worst parts of their games?
Thank you
I heard that Clattenburg needs to not worry about big hits and fights, but to work on his hockey game or something something like that…
Top line was Hutson/Marjala/Raty
Nicholl centered Clattenburg on the 4th line. Clatt is getting some PK time
Clatt has taken two tripping and 2 roughing penalties but hasn’t run around as much as last year. Isn’t impacting the offence much but for a goal where he buried a 2 on 1 rebound.
Hutson has been about the same as last year – scored two nice PP goals.
Josh Brown has 3 assists and full value for them all – a great stretch pass to Raty for the breakaway winner last night.
Carfagna/Cibulka is the top pairing – they’ve been solid
Marjala has been quiet. I haven’t noticed Tralmaks at all.
Caveat: I haven’t paid full attention to either game – the 1st conflicted with the Oilers and I was managing my dog’s old-man anxiety for much of last night’s game.
To follow up, I was wrong, Clatt hasn’t been on the regular season PK – that was the exhibition game I was remembering. Chaulk said they want him laser focussed on his 5 on 5 play, playing in straight lines, making puck plays and not being a sideshow.
I forgot to mentin (I did last night though) that Hutson took three straight stick infraction minor penalties last game and was sat down for a shit.
I also forgot to mention Tucker Roberston who was just winning face-offs left right and center and had 1G/1A and a big impact on the weekend. I believe he was 2C with Griffith and Tralmaks.
Thanks OP!
Should get a better read on this team with the ANA & SJ games … See if the bottom 9 can stay above water
— they have a decent schedule for awhile to suss it out work on systems get healthy etc
— 2 games last week. 2 games this week then 3 a week for 3 weeks where they can be at home and train for almost a full two weeks.
— the first B2B and 3 in 4 all on road starts November 14 vs laughs the start of 6 games 9 nights on the road two B2Bs: play travel play
— Nov 22nd after Blues :by then a lot of data and evening out of schedule should show us.
— For me that the first marker to see what’s what
— Just hoping for small sample size random soft schedule great individual performances untill rest of lineup plays.
— That last win was a nice win to be sure. : CmD 26 minutes though …
They can just drop off Jarry in Bako if required.
Wallstedt and Cossa should have been our target. I believe Cossa was but obviously not Wallstedt. By not taking a gift of a Triple A goalie prospect is “unforgivable”. This is a big reason Holland and Wright are gone to a market that is less intense. I would rate Levi at above 60% he’s our next affordable starter for a half-decade. This will rate as a steal trade in 2 years. Say what you want about Jarry-Andersen they will be great mentors for the young Levi. I still have Andersen as game one starter at home.
It remains super annoying Wallstedt isn’t an Oiler
From all accounts, they were 100% going to take Cossa but had no interest in Wallstedt. There was something they didn’t like about Wallstedt – I don’t know what but they clearly made a mistake.
I don’t get why Jarventie didn’t get a real opportunity? He should be on our bottom six instead of Jones. I bet it was his agent getting a little too involved there has to be something outside of hockey for him to not be making an impact as I speak.
Jarventie got an opportunity in the same way any other prospect trending well got one – called up, played 5-7 minutes on the fourth line, faded in any close game.
Don’t think it had anything to do with his agent. The org still values the player as they qualified him to keep his right. Roby may have jumped a year to early with Knob now gone he may have got a chance. Maybe.
— this whole trade leaked thing seems weird
— sure the oil need another real top-12 F RFN.
— I just wonder the why so public and not sure how many teams have tweeners or blocked NHLers that they need to laterally trade away
We certainly don’t need another bottom six forward do we????
— we have a bunch of players that shouldnt be on our bottom 6 IMO : formenton Joseph Howard jones samanski etc
— Confused by the leaks though
— but where there is smoke there fire.
Trying to smoke out Kirby Dach with retention.
Today’s line rushes (per Gregor):
Podkolzin-McDavid-Draisaitl
Frederic-Dickinson-Kapanen
Jones/Joseph-Michaels-Formenton
Howard-Dach-Samanski
Ekholm-Bouchard
Shea-Murphy
Walman-Emberson
Stastney-Mukhamadullin
————-
Switch Samanski and Dach to their natural positions (like come on) and confirm Jones out and I think I like this given the three top 6 forwards still out.
I would like to see Howard up but know that’s not in the near term cards.
I kinda like the kid 4th line actually. That is, if they put Dach on wing and Samanski at center as you say.
Wow a team with no second line. I guess the top line is good enough to score enough goals for two lines. Really need to get healthy.
Hyman/Nuge/Savoie could be the 2nd line……
What were Colton Dach’s EV splits in the AHL? Wonder if he is – at pro level – comparable for Howard. Dach 26P in 33 AHL GP at 21.
Wish Zary could fit under Edmonton’s cap – always liked him.
Good question. In 24-25 Dach was 0.42 points per game at 5v5 and 23-24 he was 0.31
Zary is near $4MM signed through next season.
I’d like him over Dach (at a similar price) although Dach is only for this season.
With that said, no, neither should be acquired, even for free, at their cap hits.
We will need the physicality of Dach. Zary needs to point or he’s ineffective at best. After 2 knee surgeries Zary is bashful
of going to the net kinda like Mangiapane was last year.
I don’t agree the Oilers need the physicality of Kirby Dach.
They can increase physicality by moving Colton Dach to his natural position of wing where he would be set up to use his physicality more.
To be clear, I don’t want either player.
I think there is zero chance the Oilers put in a claim for Zary.
If the Habs retain 50% on Dach and take Statsney, sure, fine, I won’t be mad – I’d prefer to keep the D-depth but acknowledge the higher upside on Dach even though I think that upside has sailed.
Coach answers:
How’s Dickinson looking? “Like he hasn’t played.”
Can he play on the road trip? “I’m hoping so”.
Bouch is better than Babcock know. They are challenging Bouchard to be better without the puck.
Lots of time on forecheck and neutral zone today – lots of angling work.
He gonna turn Bouchard into a combination of Lidstorm-Rarfalski by the end and f the year Bouchard is going to win the first of 3 Norris trophies. Only Orr and Coffey have managed over 103 points in a season. I can’t wait until our PP adapts without Nuge. Bouchard will start racking up the points. I’m loving the fact that Babcock is green lighting him on offence.
Bouchard spoke today about Babcock trying to get him to play harder – looks good so far.
Zary is almost $4MM and has been declining year over year. It’s not a realistic claim for the Oilers I don’t think.
Matthew Robertson on waivers, he’s been of interest to me for some time.
I would guess he’d be an upgrade on Shak…
Connor Zary on waivers….
Flegms first to abandon for Landon.
They had a good team and panicked when we beat them. Now it’s going to take 7 more years just to get back to dumping Toffoli types. Everyone is going high on Wolf with success no pressure on Conroy until they double ticket prices the novelty of the new rink will wear off quickly. Now that shit stain Hrudrey is no longer blocking the real pundit from voicing how crappy the Flames will be despite a new arena.
Levi will start against the Ducks and Jarry in the afternoon game in San Jose.
Makes sense.
so the Ovie farewell tour begins
I sure hope the Oilers don’t claim ___ off waivers. Sure, I’ll take him over Jones (although not really at the materially higher cap hit) but this is a player that does not crack this lineup when near healthy and he is not a penalty killer, having killed a total of 7 minutes in his entire career.
Do not take on this cap hit for a player that is likely 15F on the depth chart.
Eyssimont cleared – yay, I had a bad feeling (and don’t know why his name didn’t show up in my initial post…)
That would look like a lateral trade. Stastney for Eyssimont. I believe he’s one of these guy’s that can play all three forward positions.
But is Dickinson back?
Bouchard named NHL second star of the week.
Who was the 1st star Moses.
Basically. Shesterkin with 2 wins, .934 save percentage along with 1 goal and 1 assist.
Probably the only week Bouch doesn’t win it with numbers like those.
I think the snub to make way for Shesty is fair though.
Without McDraiBouch on the ice the Oilers are being outscored 2-7. Hopefully this improves as the team gets healthy and guys get placed properly in the depth chart.
Truth. Drai and 97 on one line will only work for so long and for certain teams. I think they may try to keep it that way even when health returns. With the split of the 2 stars we have 2 very solid lines and the 3rd would possibly have better options as well.
Will be an interesting watch to see what Babcock does.
Also the changing of systems is something that has to be taken into account, it’s been 3 games. Lots of runway to go.
Come to think of it I wouldn’t mind seeing Colton Dach & Matt Savoie playing together, maybe throw Leon Draisaitl in the middle.
With the logjam in Edmonton, there may simply not be a spot for Hutson right now, but that’s different from saying he isn’t an NHL player. His shot, hockey IQ and offensive instincts are NHL caliber. At 24, there’s little value in having him spin his wheels in the AHL. With limited draft capital, Edmonton needs to maximize the value of its free-agent signings. Give him meaningful NHL games and either find a role for him or build his value as an asset. How Edmonton handles players like this will matter when the next free agent is deciding where to sign.
Looking forward to seeing if any of Nuge, Dickinson or Hyman are in line rushes today at practice.
All three of them, or none of them could be close.
I am a fan of Quinn, but I’d also agree he’s not a stronger right wing option than Hyman, Savoie, Pod, or Kapanen. Freddy certainly is looking better and if the footspeed holds up I think we might all be able to forget last year, so he too is better than Hutson. Joseph also holds the NHL edge if Hutson isn’t able to do the defensive things as well, or PK.
Hopefully he does keep banging in goals and then likely the best situation for him would be a trade, hopefully as part of a package bringing back something the Oilers need.
Still, he was a worthy bet coming out of college, more like that please.
I don’t see what help Hutson is to this club. To get where they want to go all 12 forwards have to contribute something above taking a skate. I also hope they can find deals for guys like Hutson and Stastney who have talent but aren’t a good fit for these Oilers
The depth is real and spectacular.
Just need Hyman and Savoie back from injury and we’re cooking with gas on the wings.
Centre injuries to be discussed separately 😀
Hutson can score on eve power play. Both goals this season on the PP and he scored on the PP in exhibition.
Sure, we need to give room for year over year development but, as at the end of last season, Issac Howard was a more substantial player at 5 on 5 at both ends of the rink. More dynamic and productive offensively and a harder working 2-way player.
Let’s not forget that Hutson isn’t a great 2-way player, that is a false narrative. His coach criticized him this off seasons for battling harder in the offensive zone than the defensive zone.
There is no reason to give him any reps they won’t give Howard and, no, Hutson does not fit in the bottom six better than Howard.
Simply put, the only difference between Hutson and Howard is that Howard can skate faster.
Howard has shown more competitiveness, more coachability and more impact at even strength and is two years younger.
There is zero comparison.
Agree.
Despite some misgivings about deployment, Howard in a very small sample size is a rocking an EV points > 2 and 50% goal share. Michaels, Formenton, Frederic are performing similarly. I don’t even think he’s fully untracked yet; decision making could be a hair quicker.
It was said that Jones makes Dach worse and thus Dach cannot succeed playing with Jones.
The same is true in reverse. Jones cannot succeed unless paired with a better center than Dach.
They are both very similar in providing Babcock what he wants on a forth line. Big, fast players who can soften up the opposition and break even in goal share.
Put Michaels or Samanski in the middle of the two and you might have a line.
I’m guessing I might be the only poster who has seen Dach good at center. He did make a big mistake on I think the 2nd Vancouver goal in game 1, but other than that has looked solid.
He seems to be moving better at center and I like his work in the ozone. He’s very good at handling the puck and making plays down low, better than most of the bottom 9 right now.
Jones watches his line mate get viciously elbowed in the head and could barely register a yap about it.
Jones seems like he should be a better player then he is yet every club he’s been a part of sends him to the minors. He’s an inconsistent liability on the ice more often then not.
Put Samanski between Dach/Kapanen and everyone is going to have a much better time.
You are dropping Kapanen to forth line?
Jones is NOT an NHL player. He is not even a good AHL player.
Says almighty god
He’s actually better in the NHL than the AHL, at least he was last year.
I did not, and do not, agree with him on this roster currently.
dreger on Nielson’s show this morning talking about the Oilers making a move for a young center in the east still trying to establish himself in the league. Friedman apparently mentioned Boston/Edmonton on 32 thoughts today. I’m going to guess it’s LT’s guy Matthew Poitras coming back for Stastney or Shakir
I would be fine with a Stastney for Poitras trade.
I would be very happy with it
I would do that deal all day, but why would Boston? Poitras is younger and likely has higher upside than Statsney.
You’re probably right. Maybe we add to it or maybe it’s Mukh going the other way. Poitras also looks like he’s coming off a bit of a down year in the AHL.
He had a shoulder injury.
so future Oiler for sure 😉
If Hutson can’t make the Oilers due to poor boots, how would Poitras get on the roster?
Poitras is a RHC, 6′ 190, said to have high hockey IQ, which he uses to make up for his lack of footspeed with positioning and great anticipation. He can score goals , is defensively sound and plays on the PK.
He doesn’t have a history of scoring goals at any level, and hasn’t played on the PK at all at the NHL level. He has also mostly been a winger at the NHL level.
I think you’re carrying water.
That’s what the scouting report said. He’s also played 69 NHL games scoring 7 goals & 20 assits. The Bruins are loaded with centers. Think what you want. Sorry to disagree with you
Mr.Armchair.
He’s played a grand total of 2:16 in his NHL career on the PK so the correction provided by ArmchairGM to a statement that he “plays on the PK” is apt and its not “disagreeing”, its providing a corrected fact.
Great post, LT.
I’m an unabashed Hutson fan. I’m no scout. But the guy was making plays in his brief stint, size and lack of speed be damned.
How fast do you have to skate if you’re already in the right place?
He’s a very different player IMO from Marody or Benson or Jani Rita. He’s a gamer and he makes plays at the NHL level.
He’s gotta keep hooping, stay positive, and put numbers on the board. I don’t see the AHL stint as a death sentence — let’s see him become a truly dominant player at EV.
Yes, you called?
I kid
It would be great to find a spot to use Hutson on the big club, or failing that to find another team who would want to use him and receive something substantial (not just a draft pick) in return. If the writing is on the wall for Howard, then trade him and give that 4th line spot to Hutson too.
I think Hutson is the new Cooper Marody.