The Edmonton Oilers played a strong game against the red-hot Calgary Flames last night, and several key performances served as a ‘chicken soup for the soul’ game for all concerned. Tristan Jarry’s shutout, the impressive performance of the Nuge line and Shea-Murphy pairing, and a penalty kill that didn’t give up much (and wasn’t overused) all give hope for Oilers fans.
At 9-2-2, as Halloween approaches, the Mike Babcock era is about to complete a strong first chapter. Are there worries? Of course! Outlet passes, injuries, consistency and roster depth are all sphincter hits for this team in 2026-27.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN OCTOBER
- At home to: Vancouver (Expected 1-0) Actual 0-0-1
- On the road: Vancouver (Expected 1-0) Actual 1-0-0
- At home to: Seattle (Expected 1-0) Actual 1-0-0
- On the road to: Anaheim, San Jose, Los Angeles (1-1-1) Actual 3-0-0
- At home to: Mammoth (1-0) Actual 0-1-0
- On the road to: Mammoth (0-0-1) Actual 1-0-0
- At home to: Minnesota, Carolina, Toronto, Detroit, Calgary (3-2) Actual 3-1-1
- On the road to: New York Islanders (1-0)
- Expected Record: 9-3-2, 20 points in 14 games
- Actual Record: 9-2-2, 20 points in 13 games
I had the Oilers with 20 points in 14 games, this edition of the club reached the point total expectation last night and have a game to spare against the Islanders. The key will be a second line that can score and a second pairing that can both suppress and help move the puck north under control. Last night was encouraging. The outlets to nowhere might be the final issue on the way to greatness. Damien Carfagna could be a vital recall to address this issue later in the year.
- Podkolzin-McDavid-Draisaitl 13:25, 9-5 shots, 63X
- Dach-Nuge-Kapanen 13:13, 4-6 shots, 1-0 goals, 46X
- Formenton-Dickinson-Joseph 9:39, 4-4 shots, 1-0 goals, 50X
- Howard-Michaels-Frederic 7:43, 4-3 shots, 50X
Well this is all kinds of goodness. All four lines around 50 percent, the second and third lines are on the ice for a five-on-five goal, and none of the four stat sets here are worrisome. I know Calgary isn’t the best team in the league, but they were hot coming in and the Oilers played a rugged, strong game. The overall five-on-five expected goal share (52 percent) was only close because the Babcock Oilers haven’t solved the second period issues. However, that’s been a problem for some time and may take until the new year to straighten out.
I thought the top line played well, the McDavid assist on the five-on-five goal came with 97 and Podkolzin on the ice with the goal scorer (Joseph) but Podkolzin-McDavid-Draisaitl combined for seven shots and eight high-dangers.
The second line was encouraging. Nuge grabbed an assist on the seeing-eye single from Mattias Ekholm, Kapanen scored on the PP (assist to 93) and Dach played an aggressive game that impacted the Flames in a material way (knocked Cooley from the game).
The third line featured strong work from Jason Dickinson (assist on the fourth goal) and the first (Mathieu Joseph) and final (Alex Formenton) goals of the game. Both came at five-on-five. Music! Honestly, this unit might offer the most encouragement for Oilers fans of all the good things that happened last night. If all three of these chaps could score 12-15 goals this season, I’d start to ramble on about three scoring lines. The fourth line had three shots and one HDSC, you’d like more but they didn”t surrender much and that’s the key. Satisfactory game across the board. Good arrows.
- Ekholm-Bouchard 16:01, 7-7 shots, 1-0 goals,47X
- Shea-Murphy 15:39, 9-8 shots, 62X
- Mukhamadullin-Emberson 15:07, 5-8 shots, 1-0 goals, 40X
- Shea-Bouchard 2:00, 2-0 shots, 1-0 goals, 87X
- Tristan Jarry 24-24 at five-on-five and powerplay
Mattias Ekholm was his usual impressive self on his return, scoring a goal and playing strong defense with Evan Bouchard. Can you name the last tandem that played for Edmonton with this kind of longevity? Coffey-Huddy, Lowe-Fogolin, Lowe-Steve Smith, Klefbom-Larsson? Ekholm-Bouchard is one of the all-time best in Oilers history.
I was pleased with Shea-Murphy, the team added some offense to a duo that gets the job done defensively but hasn’t had much happening at the other end of the ice. I really like Shea. Stan Bowman’s biggest hit is Vasily Podkolzin, but Shea and Devon Levi have a chance to join his list of exceptional successes.
The third pair was involved, Ty Emberson picking up a fight and Shakir Mukhamadullin making the simple play. That’s an underrated skill. Not noticing the third pair, when they played as much as they did, is a good thing.
I would have given Tristan Jarry one of the stars on the night. He stopped six high-danger chances, got the shutout and was calm a few times when the Oilers were running their high anxiety ‘deer in the headlights’ defense. Credit where due. Jarry was good last night.
It was a business-like effort for the Oilers last night. The team had some wobble in the second period, several of the passers needed to be better and the forwards need to be more inviting targets. That’s hockey. The things Edmonton could control were mostly in hand, Jarry played well. I believe all four lines and three pairings played to a level of quality to would make the Oilers competitive most nights. Players deserve most of the credit, but Mike Babcock and his dancing ‘healthy scratch machine’ surely has something to do with it.
The Lowdown hits at noon today, Sports 1440 and You Tube. Bagged Milk will be our 1pm feature guest, we’ll do NFL picks and CFL picks, with discussion of the Milwaukee Brewers finally winning it all getting some time. See you on the radio!
IMO, the Oilers don’t have the assets for Edvinsson, but I’d move heaven and earth to make it happen.
So… other “ideas” to include in the Oilers package to Detroit :
– Spec and Micheals, a journalist and a TV play by play to help boost the Detroit media team.
– Horcoff can be added to the Oilers Hall of Fame this season
– Signed copy of “On the Clock”
– Walman, because everyone loves a redemption story
Trade Walman and the rights to Linus Ulmark for Larkin
Then send Larkin back to Det as part of the package for Edvinsson
3d chess
Summarizing!
Lafreniere assisted not once, not twice but thrice in a blowout win.
Sharp and Harvey were not gifted soup.
Robinson missed his second straight game after being hit into the boards last Friday.
Rumours about the Oilers wanting more size for bottom six.
I’ve always liked Klapka. Just a mountain of a man. Never seems to be a huge liability on the ice.
https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=213692
Flames are mired in a rebuild. What wouldn’t take?
Really doubt they would trade him to us. I sure hope we don’t trade for Rempe. For 1 thing doesn’t he have concussion issues?
If they want a big tough guy, go get Olivier. Columbus is a shite show and maybe they would move him. Another is pry the psycho Beast Florian Xhekaj out of Montreal. Guy is a savage and not sure if they would move him, but he has been in the minors ( right now with the big club) and they have lots of young talent and Anderson and his brother are tough.
The best team the McDavid Oilers have had was the 23/24 squad. This current team and its non-McD scoring is running laps around that crew at this point in the season. Hell it too Connor Brown another 50ish games to score. Trent Frederic has already scored. Of course that team rattled off 16 straight and 24/27 right after that start. Good measuring stick.
Does Dach bring as much energy as a winger if he didn’t get to run as a C to start the year?
I’ve had suspicions about Walman going back a year. Yes injuries but he was a drag on all his partners last year. I want him to succeed but there’s a flippancy at times that reminds me of Pouliot or James Neal.
Jarry has had 5 straight quality starts. His team went AWOL with TO and Detroit. The eye test sees him well. He’s tracking better, seems to be out in his crease, handling the puck well. I don’t love to see him in pure scramble but athletically he’s throwing everything into it when he does.
McDavid on pace for 233 points. Bouchard on pace for 142. That slacker Leon is only on pace for 78 goals. Get out of town that doesn’t compute. Man it would be funnnnnnn if the chases went on though.
Interesting, Jarry has better sv% than Levi. What does it mean
Save percentage is a team stat more than we give it credit for.
Or
The beatings will continue until the saves improve.
Or
Small sample size
Idk bot they’re winning games and that’s pretty neat.
I don’t include the first 2 Vancouver games. It was basically an extension of the preseason.
Jarry 3-1-1 2.36 .908
Levi 5-1-0 2.47 .913
Both respectable, with Levi getting some tougher starts.
Jarry has been given easier starts than Levi.
Prospectorini!
A quartet on the docket.
The House of Windsor twain joins the WMU tandem in action Jackson.
Windsor (Robinson, Harvey) @ 5 p.m.
Western Michigan (Lafreniere, Sharp) @ 5 p.m.
Both times are the same time and are also Coalhurst time.
According to Frideman a couple minutes ago Dylan Larkin has decided to sit until a trade is finalized
Guess Detroit too close to the Canadian border…….
Friedman spoke of a conspiracy that is no longer a conspiracy. The men on the US Olympic team want as many from that team to play for the same NHL franchise. NJ fast becoming that team.
His stock will never be higher after beating the mighty Oil
Hope I’m not outta line asking, but what happened to OP and Reja? Are they on an Antarctic expedition together, or have they blown past some posting limit (ie- 100,000 posts per year, max)? I miss the contributions from both of them, except Reja.
Both passionate Oiler fans and missed even if you don’t always agree with their opinions. On the other hand if DSF (or whatever his current moniker is) never reappears, good riddance!
I am sensing a true crime story here.
If Reja, OP, and Fibanarse went out fishing, somebody’s not coming back.
I know that OP is also a regular poster at both oilersnation and the athletic, and posts with similar regularity at each of those places as he does here.
I wondered about OP when he disappeared from here for about 36 hrs. After looking for the answer to my question, I found the answer in this blog (at least it makes sense in my mind).
I will keep my opinion to myself. If anyone is curious I am sure if you go back to look (Saturday or maybe Sunday – I don’t quite recall), you will probably come to a similar conclusion.
I wasn’t aware that Reja had vamoosed, pretty sure he was posting on Monday, but I’ve not been around here too much this week myself.
Is the character of OP stuck looking at it’s reflection in the water ? Hopefully the creator of the character of OP is OK.
— sounds ominous….
— I’ve been poking around here for too many years and always miss when posters exit stage left but then new ones come …
During the 2025 Cup run I got so fed up with Reja’s voluminous and foul mouthed criticism of Stuart Skinner I posted a collection of his posts …and, kind of ironically, I got banned forever – RIP jm363561. I hope he does not return.
RIP Patrick Stewart
Sail on Captain Picard
Bon Voyage mon capitaine.
Engage!
Once again i have to ask, why do the Edmonton Oilers have more leaks that the Iranian navy? I understand this is a hockey mad market but even the most minor of moves gets telegraphed and leaked beforehand at an astoundingly high rate.
because it drives engagement.
we also have a gaggle of reporters who hang around the team constantly and get the tea.
Spec.
Gregor.
Rishaug.
Preston.
Wilkins.
Matheson.
Michaels
Moon
Stauff
The news of the rempire state building may just be frank pulling stuff out of his back pocket…. babs has never had a strict enforcer on his teams and rempe does not skate with enough pressure to play his system. we have seen players with skating challenges like hutson and samanski get sent down because of their lack of skating ability.
A substantial contingent of the Edmonton-area local media exists to carry water for the Oilers’ front office, socialize moves with the fanbase, and justify the decisions of the “braintrust”. Ever wonder why Spec always pens a “goodbye and good riddance” article whenever the Oilers make a controversial move. Anything Spec, Rishaug, Stauffer, etc. report wasn’t leaked, it was spoonfed to them by the Oilers FO.
Seravalli isn’t local so who knows, but it’s not like the we’re under any illusions the Oilers are a well run organization
It has been pretty hilarious that every single decision that has gone wrong in the organization was supposedly Kenny Holland’s fault.
As if we don’t all know he was a lame duck in his last year. ‘Why didn’t you sign Holloway Ken?’ ‘Because you stole my pen and gave it to Skinner and Arvidsson Jeff’
If you ever wonder why people from Alberta have the reputation they do, it’s because of off-the-cuff comments like that.
As a coach I wanted to take a moment to point out how beautiful our one penalty kill was last night. When a team uses an uber-aggressive penalty killing system the general rule of thumb is that unless they are in perfect synchrony, if the opposing team can complete 3-4 passes cleanly, they’ll create a grade A look. 5-on-4 becomes 4-on-3 becomes 3-on-2 becomes 2-on-1 in about 10 seconds. Picture the incredible Oilers goal against the Panthers in the Cup final a couple years ago (that someone clipped with opera music) that featured the Perry slip pass to McDavid.
On the flip side, if there’s even a single bobble in those 3-4 passes the aggressive PK will get a chance for a clear.
What I saw last night was the Flames execute nearly perfectly, gosh, I want to say close to 10 clean passes. And in each case the next Oiler was there in perfect synchrony to take away time and space. Eventually the Flames did get their 2-on-1 down low but no sooner did the Flames get his head up he had Bouchard(?) sliding at him, created a turnover and then a clear.
I know it’s been leaky but I for one much prefer what they’re trying to do here versus Nurse down on one knee while William Nylander comes down hill head up picking his spot.
That was always my least favorite “also in photo” image on PP goals against.
Rempe is so terrible I wouldn’t even want to pick him up on waivers. He would literally just occupy a roster spot that could’ve gone to an actual NHL player. No one is taking liberties with the Oilers stars.
Only way I’d be open to this trade is if there was cap $ going back the other way to give them flexibility to make a trade, i.e. Rempe + 6th for Frederic. Also, in case you were wondering, since the 2024-25 trade deadline:
Frederic: 87 GP, 5G-3A-8P (0.0919 PPG)
Rempe: 43 GP, 2G-3A-5P (0.116 PPG)
Maybe the Oilers should be throwing in a draft pick, not the Rangers …
Maybe a goalie with too high a contract for the quality up to this point for a desperate team? If the calculus is Rempe +~5M in space for Jarry well then that’s a little different.
I do believe Stan is going to try and move Jarry when possible.
I would hesitate to move on from Jarry right now with both Levi and Andersen on the shelf. If we’re 30 games into the season, both Levi/Andersen are healthy and playing league-average or better, and Jarry hasn’t outplayed either of them, then I’d move Jarry for a $100 Boston Pizza gift card if there’s no retention.
Yet another self-inflicted “oopsie” Stan is going to have to get someone else to deal with
As the season has proven so far…….you don’t know what Babcock is going to do.
One Matt Rempe coming right up! With a side order of bacon.
Joseph is looking like a sneaky good acquisition. Maybe reminds me a bit of Pisani. Not a river pushy but responsible defensively and seems to have a knack for scoring off the rush.
Also, Dickinson makes a big difference. I know he’s a defensive specialist, but I felt last year and am already seeing the same this year – if he’s up against bottom 6 competition I think he has more offense to give than he’s given credit for. Seems to see the ice well and makes a lot of smart plays.
Many others noting that Dach had a good game. If he can become Raffi Torres circa 2005 then that would certainly be something. Between him and Dickinson, Bowman is actually at risk of looking competent for acquiring two valuable roster players AND dumping mangiapane for a first round pick.
Bowman was the one who signed Mangiapane in the first place – hard to give him credit for cleaning himself up after he crapped his own pants. Also, you know the Oilers gave up a first in the Mangiapane trade, right? They didn’t dump him for a 1st, they had to give up a first for Chicago to take Bowman’s mistake off his hands.
I do understand the transaction — he gave up a first round pick and, in doing so, dumped mangiapane and acquired dach and dickinson. Hopefully that’s more clear.
Bowman made the mistake, but he recognized and cleared it up while also acquiring some value back. I absolutely give him an F for the initial signing, but dumping a crap contract and bringing over two useful NHLers for a low first round pick isn’t terrible work. I think Dickinson showed his value and it is hard to tell where Dach caps out, but if he becomes a middle-6 power winger then I think Stan actually comes out ahead from that trade. Still some miles to go though.
dickinson was worth a second round pick on his own when we look at what other centers got traded for.
The upgrade to a 1st got us colton dach and allowed us to dump mangiapane. Well worth it imho.
mccarron got a 2nd rounder.
scott laughton got a 3rd rounder.
nic dowd got a 2nd and a 3rd rounder.
Meh, Raffi was more an open ice menance.
Dach like Maroon are soft hands crease crashing diesel 3500’s.
Walman is getting a lot of crap (rightly so, based on how he’s played so far this year) but I hope he can turn it around + stay healthy.
He’s not a great fit for Babs’ system, and while he played well when he came over from SJ, it always seemed like an awkward fit on the Oilers roster – seems like he’s at his best on the second pairing with a Nick Schultz/Jonas Brodin type, getting big PP1 minutes. And now he’s in an awkward place on the roster now as 14-2 and 6-5 look like a solid top 4 for the foreseeable future.
I wouldn’t mind seeing him and 86 on the bottom pair getting some softer minutes with the 3L/4L. His ability to jump up in the rush/good shot from the point might help tease some offense out of the bottom 6. Babs doesn’t like two lefties on a pairing though, and I don’t think he’s a great partner for Emberson …
Oilers beat the Flames AND the Kraken beat the Leafs? ’twas a good night.
If Seravalli’s reporting is correct, that Babcock is pushing for Matt frickin’ Rempe to join the team, then I could consider this a firing offense for either coach or GM if it happens. We already have stick optional players in the lineup, sitting in the PB actually.
I can’t believe that this is something a coach would want in the league right now, on this team.
My pick for that type of player is Olivier. Not stick optional, PuckIq isn’t mad at him, scores, isn’t fast but a lot faster than Rempe, and most importantly is probably the toughest guy in the league. The kind that is an actual deterrent because most players don’t want to mess with him. Old school Oiler playbook. He does cost 3M and has 6 years left so the obvious play is Frederic +. Fred has a clause but he probably would waive for a change of scenery. Very unlikely but I wouldn’t object
Bob did say he thinks the Preds will be sellers
Be nice to get O’Reilly
Jeannot beat up on Olivier. ( got the decision anyways) . But ya Olivier is a beast and scores a few.
LMAO and someone had the stones to post here yesterday that Bowman & Co. were listening to Parkatti/the fancystats folks.
I’ll hand it to Rempe though, his Crayons Eaten/60 is off the charts
Yeah, stuff like this (and decisions made on lineups this year) indicate that Parkatti’s group has less influence than they should.
this could also be frank just making stuff up.
i seem to remember he said jesse puljujarvi for erik karlsson straight up could be a thing.
What has Frank done to be taken at face value since he got the Seattle list leaked to him by accident? He’s in the Dreger camp of ‘Insider in name only’, nowhere near Lebrun or Elliotte.
Babcock is 100 years old, and he just watched both Hyman and Podk take beatings in front of the net. Sometimes, he’s easy to read.
Frederic was not brought in to be a tough guy, he was brought in to be an everyday pest. Kind of doing poorly at both to be honest , but his last round was exceptional!
McDavid is no longer filling Roger’s Place. Maybe Matt Rempe will! -).
So return of the coke machine philosophy ????
Perhaps the owner wants bums in ALL the seats. Rempe is cheaper than lowering prices.
Good game last night – Flames fans can crawl back under a rock for a few more months.
Dach was filthy – like I said on this blog a few days ago; hockey is a game played with ill intent. Him knocking out Cooley was way more egregious than Carrier on Ekholm. We need more players like Dach; good find by Bowman.
Verite must have slept in.
I expect he’s working on his resume for Bowman’s inevitable firing.
As I was watching the game, I kept thinking how Dach had the profile of a typical Flames’ player… we’ve needed this exact player type forever. He’s similar, but he’s not a Maroon or Kane clone… big-boy, physical, aggressive, some scoring &/or play-making ability. But please, he’s not a centre, as we have witnessed just how effective a winger he can be.
Oilers have the best:
Center – McDavid
Winger – Draisaitl
Defender – Bouchard
Supremacist – Patty Dach
Genes- Levi
Genes – Principe
Don’t you mean……
Jeans – Principe
?
I would say, our Oilers have the best 2 centres in Connor & Leon.
Someone tell Babs
Babs can’t hear anyone with all those wins in his ears.
They have 90pt pace 2C Ryan Nugent Hopkins.
That on top of the best in the world McDavid and best in the world winger Draisaitl.
“I would have given Tristan Jarry one of the stars on the night.”
He was the first star last night. Not sure if you actually look up the stars when you write the comments – I only know because Prime shows them coming out
Regarding the second period wobbles with passing. Just spitballing here, could it have something to do with the long change? Guys are stretched out further coming off and on and looking to be an outlet.
I was really glad to see all 4 goals scored with smart play. Three goals off of a pass across the centre line, and a sneaky point shot WITH traffic and a screen. That is a recipe for success. Nice game, made a hot team look cold
Dach is a smart player. Really starting to notice how he doesn’t rush to get the puck off of his stick a lot. He is unreal in front of the opposing net ( we really haven’t had a guy that causes that kind of commotion in front in a long time) . Big kid, above avg skater .
Looked Good on that 2nd line.
Happy for Jarry and the 0. He has played very well his last 2 games. The D looked good overall last night as well.
Kappy and Formenton both with goals was big for both of them. They had kinda slipped into Coma’s the last 3-4 games
Big road trip and be nice to win 2 of 3 for sure if not all 3.
Has there been any news at all on where they are with Savoie and an actual return week at least. I thought I heard he has been skating?
Its such a great example of a kid being trusted then excelling.
i thought mukhamadullin had a quietly strong game. almost 20 minutes a night of low drama hockey which should be somewhat repeatable as he improves his decision making.
another wrinkle i noticed….
First 8 games, Bouchard played 27.5% of his 5v5 minutes without McDavid.
Last 5 games, it is up to 36.4%. Babcock is making changes to deployment to help the bottom 6 outscsore. Something to continue to monitor.
In case you missed it, Babcock was asked about Patrice Bergeron. He ended up talking about all the Team Canada’s he coached (all of them with Bergeron on them) and said this. I’m pretty sure he was talking directly to Oiler fans who want to split up 97 and 29:
“And the other thing I loved about him when he played, like my whole theory when you play with the best players in the world, you have two centres on each line, and there’s two guys that can play down low, and they’re smarter than everybody.”
Makes complete sense for Team Canada
This statement is equally (if not more) supportive of running Nuge as one of 97’s wingers.
At this point the horse has been beaten into a soft pile of Elmer’s glue, but running someone other than 29 as one of 97’s wingers allows the Oilers to have two lines each playing 1/3 of the game anchored by a river-pushing bonafide superstar. Running McDrai together means that for 2/3 of the game, the other team doesn’t have to play against McDrai. For that tradeoff to be worth it McDrai’s line needs to be outscoring their opponents by at least two, if not three, goals. They can certainly do that on any given night, but expecting them to do it night in and night out seems unrealistic.
“business-like” is a good descriptor for last night’s game. The Oilers are a significantly better team on paper and played a smart, workmanlike game to get the W without much stress. I’m sure that coming off of two straight losses preceded by two OT/SO wins meant the team would be focused on putting in a good effort, but it’s still encouraging to see the Oilers make quick work of Calgary. Also nice to see McDrai’s minutes come down a bit.
Dickinson looked good last night – I’ve never been a huge fan of the player archetype/think his cap $ could be better spent elsewhere, but he made a great pass on the Formenton goal and played his usual reliable defensive game. Hope that he’s in for a strong (and healthy) season.
I like 26-16-21 as a line. I still think splitting up McDrai and running the Dick line as a 4L checking line is ideal. When everyone’s healthy I think the Oilers would be at their best/deepest up front running something like:
18-97-22
92-29-42
34-93-53
26-16-21
Jarry also had a solid night. I think he tracks the puck pretty well through traffic and he made a couple good saves on rebound chances or on pucks that hit somebody in front of/around the net and ended up on someone’s stick. If he can give the Oilers another goalie capable of delivering league-average goaltending on a consistent basis, that would be huge.
Yup. Having both Nuge and Dickinsen back made a noticeable difference.
Jarry is also one of the few players on the roster with a sizeable cap hit ($5.375M) that doesn’t have a full NTC/NMC (12 team NTC), so even if he can play well enough to raise his value, it might give Bowman some flexibility to wheel/deal, although “Bowman with cap space” still scares me a bit.
While I have issues with Dickinson’s durability, I don’t think we could have gotten a better cap hit for a player doing the similar role. The UFA market this year shocked me for how much some guys got for limited production. I’ll take his cap hit over what might have been.
The Oilers don’t have any too high contracts in today’s market. Not liking the player isn’t the same thing. Lots of guys get paid that aren’t that productive, and most players have ups and downs in their careers. 38 YO Bobrovsky is getting 7M x 3 and he’s not been good
My main concern with the players they (Bowman has a team it’s not all him) have been acquiring is health. I don’t mind taking a flyer on a guy who hasn’t been his best because of an injury and is recovering, I do think it’s risky to get players that have piled injuries up – it usually doesn’t get better
Depends on how you define “too high”, but I’d say that Frederic ($3.85M), Walman ($7M), and Jarry ($5.375M) are all paid 1.5-2 times what they’re actually worth on the open market at this stage of their careers, even if their cap hit isn’t as high as someone like Nurse, Bobrovsky, etc.
Also, I think it’s worth bearing in mind that the Oilers have also been saving $ on players by handing out NTCs/NMCs and term like nobody’s business. Dick ($4M) and Murphy ($4.1M) cap hits are fine, but signing each of them for 5 years (until they’re 35 and 37) without NMCs likely brough down those cap hits by at least $1-1.5M if they were looking at a 2-3 year deal with only a limited NTC.
It’s not just acquiring them in the first place, it’s acquiring them and then doubling-down and extending them. If you take a flier on a guy with injury issues and after a year move on, that’s excusable, but doubling-down on someone with injury issues (or taking on term for a player with injury issues like Jarry) is not very smart.
I don’t disagree, but I don’t agree with it’s premise: I don’t think the Oilers needed a player doing a similar role to Dickinson (3C, checking line center).
Running 97-29-93-Samanski/Michaels/some 4C available in FA down the middle would have been fine/ A line anchored by 97 or 29 can probably outscore/out-chance almost any (every?) other team’s 1st line, so it’s not like the roster needed a checking line center to hard-match the other team’s best players and get 97/29 some clean air.
What the roster did need was a winger or two is a decent bet to cash 20+ goals. I think I’d have preferred if they let Dick walk and used the $ to sign Lee, Mantha, Schwarz or maybe even Haula.
Lots of roster to like in your example, with Frederic odd man out.
Only nitpic just for fun. Nuge-Howard might be a weakness. Now Kapanen with Drai has been fire, but Kapanen with Nuge line provides bigger presence and some creativity on that line.
Then Drai plus Podz get Howard as a shooter. Howard unproven yet but food for thought.
My thinking is basically this:
53 needs someone who can take/make a pass and think the offensive game at a high level to succeed. His game is about playing off-puck and sneaking into good shooting pockets in the O-zone. Nuge is the best passer on the team outside of McDrai, and he’s great at anticipating when a guy is coming open, which compliment’s Howard’s best skills. Pair them with a net-front POS/”F1 on the forecheck” guy (Dach) lets them do what they do best. Also doesn’t throw Howard into the deep end with one of 97/29, who are bound to consistently face the opposition’s best. If 97/29 are split up, at least one of them is on the ice for 40min a game, and the opposition will need to have it’s best players on the ice for as much of those 40 minutes as possible.
Then 34-93-53 can pick apart the other team’s 3L/4L in the other 20min.
If Howard excels after he’s given the linemate/chances to succeed, then maybe he slides up with 92-29, but this way they don’t ask too much too soon from him while still giving him a real chance to succeed.
Pouzar, you change your name lol
Huh?
Howard is going to have to succeed in the bottom six before he gets anywhere near McDavid, Leon or Nuge. It’s pretty obvious he’s going to have to earn his way.
I don’t disagree that’s how Babcock is going to handle him, I just think that Babcock is handling him like an idiot
Its biased.
Both Dach and Michaels came in cold and unknown to coach.
Coach seen a flash of aptitude.
So he puts both players where he thinks they will succeed, fills them with confidence and turns them loose. Its a recipe for success, a recipe for development and you reap the rewards down the road.
Matter of fact I think Michaels stalls out – but that does not mean he hasn’t been successful, it was still a push that raises his value and shortens his path to the NHL regular.
Howard has aptitude as well. Everybody in the league is hunting for offense. Where can they find a hidden 20 goal scorer??? Meanwhile Edmonton is sitting on Howard.
Whats best for the team is for the coach to see potential and place player where they will grow into best player for the team.
I thought the Owens line looked great with limited minutes. That’s a fourth line that can win games. Fasted, skilled, smart.
To the surprise of no one, Owens looks much better at 4C than 2C
The single biggest differentiator between him and Samsky, imo, is that shot/release. Owens an occasional but actual threat to score.
Yes he was starting to show signs of weakness with the minutes he was playing. His faceoffs had dropped below 49%. 4th line and less minutes is good for him.
Reiterating that what Dach did was a really dirty play. If someone did that to us we’d be calling them a rat fink and burn effigies while comparing him to Tkachuk’s antics.
It’s hockey, so this bodes well for the franchise.
Now if only Clattenburg can figure it out.
At least Dach apologized publicly instead of gliding back to the bench and snickering with his fellow Florida Panthers (gawd I hate those guys)
I was amazed Calgary had no retaliation and then he went and did it again. Not a peep.
That was a real tell about the make up of the Flames for sure.
With Middleton and Whitecloud, 2 vets who can handle themselves, and not even a stern conversation or facewash.
I remember what it was like seeing our team giving up before the Gales of November.
It’s good to actually have someone who causes. A ruckus’s in front and crashes the net . (Don’t want to see goalies get hurt) . Big kid and love to see him play this way
I kinda of like having our own rat fink, no??????
Yeah that’s what i said, bodes well for the franchise.
He had obvious help from the Lames defenceman with a lst second push from behind. Not totally on Dach. Probably why no retaliation.
Second time, was just a blown wheel a few steps out and sliding on the ice. Nothing-burger
If you have ever played hockey as a defenceman you would know it doesn’t make one lick of difference what the situation is.
Goalie hit by other player = someone on the team has to make sure he knows not to do it again. Flames did not meet the moment.
That part is true – wit. to reaction, but Dach didn’t pull a “Bennet”
Nuge has been on a roll since his return. Hopefully the tough love for Walman settled him down. Considering he’s signed until the end of time we need to get him going so he doesn’t become the new Darnell Nurse.
As a pariah sure but the sin of Nurse’s contract and Walman’s contract are not close in this cap environment. It could be bad, but it’s a whole different ballgame to be Nurse bad.
Shakir Mukhamadullin might steal his third pair role beside Emberson for considerable savings on the dollar.
$7 million is an awful lot to park in the pressbox for 7 years.
Better than putting the problem on the ice for 20+ a night for years just because you paid him alot.
He may waive his NTC if he thinks he’s going to get sick of popcorn
It is early but Nuge is staking out a claim for 2C, and he is doing it with two non real top six wingers (IMO) in Dach and Kapanen. Very impressive.
Nuge lookin good.
The beard?
Nuge just needs a couple big wingers .
Good point – he was rolling with Kostin a couple years back and iirc was pretty good in (healthy) stretches last year at C with Hyman on his wing
colton dach making space for the nuuuuuge
Yup he looked very good on that line. Kappy scored on the pp, but has not looked good in the last 2-3 games . Give Howard a shot please.