This is me with Mrs. Lowetide at the 1988 CKCK Christmas party. Mrs. Lowetide passed away, CKCK shut it doors, surely the tree is no longer around and I’m thankful the moustache is a distant bell. I can look at these photos now without crying, at least not too much. I see two people who loved each other, two young people building their lives together. Piece by piece, some nice investments and several wobbly kitchen sets, all on the way to children and 40 years together. It was beautiful. I wouldn’t change a thing. Today I’d like to talk about building as it pertains to the Edmonton Oilers and Stan Bowman.
The Athletic article is on Evan Bouchard, Stuart Skinner and the next value contract. It is here.
ALWAYS WORRY ABOUT THE GUY WHO WANTS TO PLAY HERO
Each day that passes without Stan Bowman making a trade gives me hope. The only trades likely available to him now are the type of deals Peter Chiarelli pulled for Brandon Manning and Alexander Petrovic around New Year’s 2019 (December 2018).
On the other hand, the pressure on Bowman (and hockey ops) must be enormous. Daryl Katz is not known to be patient, proof can be offered just by looking at the number of general managers (seven since Kevin Lowe) and head coaches (10 since MacT) who have run the joint since he took over in June 2008. That’s 17 changes at the top in 16 years. I’d say Bowman is smart enough to know which way the wind blows, so that means he will understand the pressure cooker.
Now, the Oilers are 2-4-1 and in my opinion they are figuring things out. Kris Knoblauch has to settle down a little, the movement of players from line to line is not helpful when trying to establish chem. That second line of Leon Draisaitl with Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson seems to be taking hold, but Knoblauch is worried about the third line (who wouldn’t be? Jesus) so there’s a patchwork quilt headed to Adam Henrique’s trio.
I’m not at all sure why Darnell Nurse played RH side, but it’s a good reminder that rookie coaches often try unusual things. Sometimes, as happened for Jay Woodcroft, the experiments work. Other times, as we saw with Dallas Eakins, they do not. I’m cheering for Knoblauch, and wish Bowman could send him help, but I don’t think ‘charitable work for the team that deploys Connor McDavid’ is on the agenda for the other NHL general managers. They’re willing to send a rowboat over if Bowman sends back a battleship. Maybe he can find a trireme.
First I want to apologize for the lateness of today’s entry. I slept from 10pm to 8:15am today, the longest sleep I can recall in my 25 years in this house. So, late start, but I did wake up with this story idea so that’s a blessing. I promise to be on time for the Lowdown today, noon on Sports 1440. Bagged Milk from Oilers Nation will join us, we’ll talk lines and pairings, plus Declanations will see Declan Krueger talk NCAA football.
I’m at Lowetide on twitter, in the comments section here and on the Sports 1440 text line at 1.833.401.1440 directly. We can be heard at sports1440.ca; iHeartRadio; Radioplayer Canada, we tweet out the show after it’s done and you can catch us on Apple and Spotify.
Not sure if it’s been mentioned but Jarventie healthy enough to be activated and assigned to Bako.
I suspect we’ll see him next weekend.
Hasnt played since January.
Petrov healthy scratched.
Carrick’s turn to sit tonight due to to many vets.
Looks like Brown is on the left side with Wanner.
Griffith says up to play with Philp and Savoie.
I am so happy there’s even more angst in Leafville than here.
Why would there be? The Oilers are at stage where they are in a denial about being at a start of a rebuild. The Leafs finally have a team that can do something in the playoffs. And I know this reply will trigger a response here, because no one wants to accept that kinda news, but it’s the reality we are living in. No prospects to lean on, 3 defensemen who can play in the top 4. No bite up front. Not much speed after McDavid. Too much focus on graphs and not much focus at all on the intangibles of a hockey team. Hell, we have a literal video evidence of this from July 1 when Jeff Jackson made that snarky comment at the person who question the size upfront.
Ouch.
I have been vocal about the intangibles. And the shotgun hole in the middle of the roster it significant.
Not ready to throw in the towel just yet though.
A healthy Kane and big name dman at the deadline will be a huge boost.
Until them I think they ride the youth they have in Poddy and Emberson. Bring up Philp. And look for a Klim Kostin.
Correction, I don’t want a Big name D man at the deadline. I would prefer an established, value player on an upward trajectory. A trade for and sign player.
Foegele starting to come on.
That’s great news
When did McDavid start moonlighting as the QB of the Vikings?
Everyone knew losing Broberg and Holloway was a mistake by the brass. Some just did a better job of rationalizing it after the fact, including the Oilers themselves.
It’s a bit like your friend telling you how he’s much better off in the long run now that his really attractive girlfriend has dumped him. Your outer voice is supporting your pal but your inner voice is saying. “You blew it buddy.”
i always thought a true friend would tell the truth.
Only when he’s ready for it imo.
Broberg and Holloway are gone? I literally never knew that
How much of a mistake and by whom is very much debatable though.
Would you care to inform us how the Oilers themselves have rationalized this?
It’s also a bit like the attractive girlfriend cheating on him, and then some in the circle telling him it was his fault.
Like your analogy, that doesn’t entirely work either. But putting it all on buddy is unlikely to be accurate or reasonable.
They chose to let them walk rather than resigning one one or both. That is rationalizing a decision to not keep the players.
Easy to criticize other’s language. Do you have a better analogy?
Choosing to let them walk is rationalizing a decision not to keep them?
Did I stutter?
I think you did, yes.
They did not choose to let them walk over re-signing them. They were negotiating contracts with each of them and the intel on the contract terms provided were right in the realm of historical comparables including many signed this off-season. Yes, they were being ground but that is the norm or non-established players coming off their ELCs.
They choose not to match the contracts they signed with other teams due to the cap hits not being in line with reasonableness and the situation.
Mistakes were made over the last couple of years that led to this point. The contract offers being made were not big mistakes in my opinion. Not matching was one of a number of options (and there were zero good options. Those two all but quadrupaling their expected aggregate cap hit was an issue.
It hurt.
Well said
I don’t think Doug Armstrong has ground any ELC in St. Louis on a transition deal. He didn’t again with Jake Neighbours this week ($3.75 AAV a year early). He didn’t grind Kyrou or Thomas a couple of years ago (both $2.8 million AAV)
He didn’t sign Torpchenko early.
Not sure it qualifies as grinding, but he signed for 2x$1.25M off a 10 goal season and with 97 career games.
Pretty comparable to what the Oilers offered to their RFAs in similar situations.
That is more than the Oilers offered Broberg (top 4D in the Stanley Cup finals) and Holloway (middle six winger, mostly with Draisaitl in the Stanley Cup finals) both with actual boxcars in the Stanley Cup finals.
Torpchenko is a 4th line winger/grinder.
Jake Neighbours is not a player that spent signifigant time in the minor leagues the prior season and was not established at the NHL level. He produced at a 55-60 point pace in his last ELC season – he wasn’t coming off his ELC with a career 18 points.
Jake Neighbours is still on his ELC this year. He got the Perfetti deal based on one-year of production a year before his ELC expires.
So, the lovely Mrs Buddy and I are heading up to Edmonton tomorrow to go to the game. First time at Rogers Place. Any suggestions for parking? Anything we need to check out at the rink? Food and beer recommendations?
Campio Brewing before the game, great beer and food and they offer free parking within a few blocks.
Kinda got you covered in one fell swoop haha.
Thanks, I’ll check it out.
After this Blues win in Toronto, they are really going to be spitting chicklets on Spitting Chicklets.
Summarizing!
Soup was to be neither Wakely’s nor Akey’s in a 2-1 loss. They shall have to subsist on candied haddock instead.
That ‘stash needs its own radio show.
Bushy stache was the original French tickler.
Your morning crew, Tango and Stache.
I like Broberg and Holloway. I don’t wish them bad I actually wish them well. They made a choice and that’s fine.
What I don’t like is reading every time they get a point is how dysfunctional the Oilers are. I can read the stats pages people. And I also know your feelings on Jackson and Bowman.
Thats my vent for the day.
Until the Oilers start winning, we have a lot of idle time on our hands with nothing else to do but watch McLeod, Broberg, Holloway, and Desharnais succeed elsewhere.
And that’s fine and we do. But I don’t need to read about it every day because like you im watching it.
I did post about Broberg every day last season. It is a hard habit to break.
My head says Bouwmeester; my heart says Heiskanen-lite.
I wrote about him too. We were correct in writing about him repeatedly. So many were and are willfully blind to the obvious.
It is a true Bromance you have with him.
I like watching fast skilled players on a fast skilled team. I like the emotional journey of watching young players come up, make the team better, succeed at their game, help my team win. The Oil were within a hair of winning it all last year and I would have preferred oiler management honour me as a fan with trust that the two they let go would have, after another year of experience and growth, got us that last win. Instead management made other choices. I am not saying they are dysfunctional. I am saying I don’t understand nor support their decisions.
I don’t disagree with any of that. But I just don’t need to read about them every day
Anybody can write what they want. You can choose to read it or not. If you don’t like it don’t read it.
They don’t read what you do not want to read. You have a choice.
oiler management honour me as a fan with trust that the two they let go would have, after another year of experience and growth, got us that last win.
Really? Winning the SC hinges on Holloway and Broberg? Not buying that, not remotely.
Certainly not at basically $7M in cap.
Well stated. The team was evolving organically from within in a way that fans could become attached to players. That organic development has been disrupted, perhaps fatally.
Mind boggling that this would bother you on an Oiler blog.
I believe Broberg would be leading the Oilers in scoring. If that’s not worthy of discussion, I don’t know what is.
It’s not like the Oilers don’t have a track record of terrible management.
Ryan McLeod – 40% Sh%, 109.4 PDO, -3.7ExG, 14.3% Sh%, 105.9 PDO, +1.3 ExG, 10%Sh%, 99.7PDO, +0.6 ExG (2pts in 7Gms), Desharnais 0% Sh%, 101.5PDO, -1.5 ExG (Opts in 4 Gms and is now in the press box)
The idea that these guys are crushing it somewhere else just isn’t the reality. We have two guys playing in extreme luck and two very pedestrian players playing in average luck. If someone wants to bet me that Broberg and McLeod will keep up their counting totals playing this way, I will take that bet all day and twice on Sunday.
The Oilers are 6th best in shots for/game and 4th best in shots against/game. They’ll be fine. I used to work in a casino and I will tell you that the fastest way to separate yourself from your money was to go against what math was telling you.
I’m not betting anything but was strongly against letting Broberg go. The idea that it isn’t worth talking about is ridiculous.
I’m fine talking about it but be honest and own it later when he falls off (which it’s doubtful anyone will). Broberg is on a heater and will not continue. He is not worth 4.5M to a Stanley Cup contender. Crying about it for 65 days straight seems unlikely to have created new material. Pretending he’s the second coming of McJesus because he scored a couple of goals is just silly. Is there really something new to be said here or is this just endless whining?
Incidentally, your words sound a bit like an annoyed trumpet… just saying.
Oilers blog following other teams players? Haha
No, following this teams mistakes. The whining is coming from childish fans who come to an oiler blog expecting an echo chamber.
The Oilers (and some of their fans) should be learning from the team’s mistakes, not censoring them from consciousness and public debate. A growth mindset is what is needed, not the “pretend nothing of significance has happened” mindset. The fact is that we replaced the youthful energy, promise and rambunctiousness on the team primarily with slow, ageing players who are nice but past their prime. We bet on the past rather than the future. In doing so, we not only narrowed the McDavid window of opportunity; we probably sealed it shut with “crazy” glue.
The egregious managerial blunder (the EMB) of the summer of 2024 (if one can speak of it appropriately as a singular blunder rather than a cluster blunder) will pay dividends of disappointment for Oiler fans well into the future. When the team fails to make the playoffs in 2025 or makes the playoffs but does not get out of the first round, maybe McDavid will decide not to re-sign. Why tie himself to a slowly sinking ship or, to be more positive, a slow and ageing ship? Holland’s memoir of his final chapter with the Oilers should tell an interesting tale. Why did the Oilers do this to themselves? Which self-proclaimed genius was calling the shots? They were so close to winning it all with the players they had, and there was room for the younger players to grow and blossom in real time (as they are now doing elsewhere–a credit to their perseverance and talent).
Unfortunately, it will be a year of disappointment leading to further blunders. But I do hope I am wrong.
You may be a bit dramatic about all this, but fundamentally, I agree with you.
I don’t know how good Broberg and Holloway will become, but I’m tired of people crapping on them and telling me they are not worth their salaries. You make a good point about the Oilers betting on past production rather than the potential upside of these two.
And that potential upside was pretty obvious in last years playoffs. It seems like both players are picking up right where they left off last spring.
You can blame Holland for not locking them up earlier, but it wasn’t Holland who capped this team out on the first day of free agency. That is on Jackson. I don’t envy Stan Bowman. He was caught between a rock and a hard place with the offer sheets. I think I would have matched, and LTIRed Kane, but that was not an easy decision.
Kevin Weekes tweeting than Kane is on track to return to the lineup in early 2025.
A healthy, rested Kane back on our roster would be a helluva bonus deadline pickup.
After 1 period in the Centre of the Universe: Broberg 1 and Holloway 1 (and the Blues) 2. Leafs 0 I love watching the draft picks develop and then have an impact. Damn I am still scratching my head over how Oiler management let those two get away.
Money. I mean, I’d love to cheer for the team that has endless salary cap space but I don’t see anyone talking about where the cap space comes from if you can only get rid of good players. Add to that that you won’t get a discount from anyone else on the team and how do you keep them? Especially considering that Holloway is a middle-six winger at best and Broberg is maybe a top-4 defenceman who has never put up better numbers than Cody Ceci.
its hard to watch Broberg and Holloway both keep scoring.
It is deeply depressing.
I was very skeptical that Broberg was a good bet to be a 2RHD this year. I am looking very wrong so far.
I am happy for them.
Theodore signed 8 x 7.4 mil. So just because you overpaid for nurse doesn’t mean you have to pay Bouch more than nurse
When you have a 30%+ real dollar advantage you can do that. The last 5 teams in the final in the East say hi.
I enjoy the team building discussions. I believe i was correct when questioning where they were going back in July. I did not understand.
Not enough Jam. Before delivering the knockout punch you jab, jab, jab with speed. Maybe some body blows and they should come from bottom six,
I think the path away from Foegele and McLeod was okay given the timing. But the offer sheets were a terrible twist and they just could not recover. Dam turn of events. None of that was on Bowman.
The only way to say they recovered from the offer sheets is successful big game hunting at the deadline. And by successful i hope they acquire talent to keep as in the Vegas methodology.
Until then, it is what it is. They still have strengths as in the top six so at least play your best cards.
Philp is getting warmed up and while not ready to be a difference maker, he may be able to contribute in his role.
I hope they are still searching for a Klim Kostin. Some beef or a young energy player could help over 75 games.
Then add Kane, a speedy youngster and a bonafide top 4 defensman at the deadline and that is starting to look stacked again. They can still get stronger without a ridiculous trade.
Wow, based on this picture, I expect you would have a shiny1976 black Trans-Am out back.
Bringing my 9yo to her first oilers game tomorrow night. Question – is the Wall of Fame stuff earlier than the game start? We’ll be up there plenty early to eat and check out the rink. Thought someone here might know.
I heard on the Oil Stream that it is post game.
Thanks Neumann, I heard the same thing on Gregor show too. Interesting they are doing it post game! Think it’s a better way instead of icing the players waiting for it pregame to finish. I’m not sure my kid will make it through that, but we will try!
Awesome
Lovely picture. Hold it dear. Thank you for sharing.
Brings me back – it’s that 1980s film photography lightning, mustache, or something.. – to 1987 or 1988 when a very young version of me attended my mom’s office Christmas party. I got lost confidently going to the bathroom by myself and cried and cried but she found me and put the world back together.
Anyway, the Oilers are so disjointed in many ways. They looked pretty good against Carolina though, and seem to be finding their way.
On a net basis, McLeod, Desharnais, Broberg, and Holloway for Matt Savoie and a bag of pucks is a lot like a bigger Jeff Petry screwup and trade.
The Oilers have a massive hole in the twenty something portion of their roster. Based on history, this is NOT a recipe for midterm competitiveness.
The Jackson Bowman era
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1D3a5eDJIs
Woo…ooh
LOL.
The only woof here to me is Holloway. Bro was gone long before, that’s on Holland and coaches as I see it, or just Holland if he snookered the coaches
After two poor playoffs, McLeod Des and Foegele had to go. You can’t go back there, they have their attributes, but crapping the bed when the chips are down is a no go for me. I can handle the opposite, where a player is average reg season and rises to the occasion, like Janmark and Kulak
Desharnais over paid, healthy scratched, 3rd pairing minutes lol
Mcleod for Savoie
Broberg and Holloway overpaid to play on a middling squad
Woo ooh
Desharnais has played 4 of 6 games now….prevailing over Forbort and Juulsen slowly.
Desharnais is the “little” engine that could.
he has played very limited minutes and his next years contract is half signing bonus which means it’s buyout proof. Good luck but no thank you
St Louis vs Leafs tonight… 2-0 St Louis, each of our lost boys scored a goal.
Desharnais is better than what he was replaced with (might change)
McLeod is better than what he was replaced with. (might change)
Broberg is better than his replacement
Holloway is better than his replacement.
This is real and it is a net loss.
We can discuss how and why and what happened. Savoie future, cap space etc etc, but right at this moment the club was unable to get better after losing these players. Add Foegele and the middle was shot out of the roster.
Im okay with change, and I think change was needed, but as it worked out, it looks like Oilers ae at a net loss. Skinner and Arvidson add value so its not lopsided, but I still see a net loss.
You forgot something in your math equation. Hmm what could it be. Oh yeah 11 mil in cap
Perhaps you’d like to add important context, such as cap hit next season when Drai goes to $14MM and Bouchard more than doubles……?
What a beautiful picture LT ❤️
Petition for LT stache comeback for Movember. Good cause, good muzzy, I’d donate.
Signed!
LT…. what are the odds of that mustache making a comeback? What a duster!
We’re being told we’re adding a 2RHD by Bob at deadline non-stop. Bowman has obvious ties to Seth Jones. They mentioned having around 9M in cap space if Kane goes LTIR.
I can see a world where they get Jones but it would have to be retained. Jones doesn’t fit the Chicago window long-term, nor is he worth that dollar.
It could be conceivable that the price of Jones isn’t very high right now due to cap.
No, I have no clue how that would work out cap-wise (with Bouch extension), just saying there’s tea leaves here and crumbs to follow. Maybe they bridge Bouch and bite the 12M bullet down the line.
Hey LT. I don’t know how you managed it through the interwebs, but covid has entered my house as well, and since I can’t blame Skinner or Nurse, I’m blaming you!. Me, my lovely partner, and our youngest all have it. Luckily vaccinated, so not so severe, but I blame you. (kidding)…I’m over the worst of it, just waiting this effer out. 🙂
Glad that the trigger hasn’t been pulled on a panic trade…hopefully they get their stuff together enough to delay a knee jerk move…that would undermine everything they’re trying to accomplish.
lol
When I watch how older people versus younger people interact with the internet, I see a very different style. I sometimes wonder if that difference in style will lead to a difference in ability to navigate false information. World history and my experience teaching have lead me to think it’s unlikely that significant amounts of people will develop the mathematical and scientific mastery to dodge much false information. However, I’m still hopeful that the younger generations will be able to separate truths from lies more effectively, and we won’t see so many wildly stupid conspiracy theories take root. For now, “flooding the zone with lies” is too often a winning strategy.
The root cause isn’t the Internet but rather it has amplified the inherent weaknesses and biases of the human brain.
Our brain has evolved to respond very favorably to stories and narratives. It’s what enables us to put structure around the vast amount of information and experiences we accumulate. As a result, a compelling story resonates far more with us than a large number dataset. The latter is likely far more robust in terms of its ability to provide empirical evidence (like for instance global vaccination efficacy rates) but the more abstract nature of this data is not as readily or easily assimilated by a brain designed for stories
You can show a person large datasets that prove there is no statistically significant correlation between vaccines and heart arrhythmia AND then show them a news story about a local athlete who has developed a heart issue (an infestimally small outlier population but still a possibility for anyone nonetheless) and it’s amazing how that one story can resonate sufficiently to impact a person’s strong bias against vaccination.
The algorithms aside, the reason imo that things like misinformation, echo chambers, and tribalism have all increased so much in the internet era is human beings have ALWAYS been inclined towards confirmation bias but our ability to do this at scale pre internet was more difficult. Everyone’s brain is designed to make sense of the world through the stories we tell ourselves and the internet equips us to fortify these stories brick by polarizing brick.
Not interested in starting a vaxx debate here. Just thought this perspective of how our brains process narrative vs data would be interesting to some as it certainly applies to hockey analytics too. It seems to evolve as we age as well. When I was younger, I could tell you Gretzky’s statistics chapter and verse. Now a lot of that minutiae has faded into the ether and what I really remember are the highlight reel plays and human anecdotes. The stories are what we remember.
Absolute gold. Thank you!
You’re welcome!
You should come on rounds with me at the hospital and you can LOL at everyone suffering from covid to their faces.
I work in healthcare too, in a different capacity, and seeing very ill people when I’m in one of our clinics certainly makes me want to take every advantage to protect my health and my family’s health. Not to mention, protect them from me if I’m sick. Dunno when trying to look out for those around you was deleted from the social contract, but it’s really, really disappointing.
Wow…sorry we’re not all in comas or on respirators I guess? How my comment offended you and six others astonishes me. Whether I’m vaxed or not vaxed, what was the point of your comment? Did it bring you some sort of happiness?
Your comment didn’t offend me, nor did I thumb it up or down. I merely found it quite funny that you’re jabbed yet still got Covid, but at least were able to rationalize away getting the jab because despite the impossibility of knowing one way or the other, you had it easier. I think there’s a lot of irony there. YMMV. Even funnier how it brought out the pharma preachers and salespeople to ad hominem with all the intellectual pomposity they could muster. Nothing triggers a person like feeling their worldview is being laughed at, I guess.
I do hope you feel better soon, regardless.
.
He was “able to rationalize away getting the jab.” This is one story, rife with obvious bias, one could tell themselves.
Another story possibility is that no rationalization was required at all given that vaccination has been proven for decades as a beneficial decision for the common good of the larger population.
Stories are fun.
So is taking the general and applying it to the specific. That’s fun too. Not credible. But fun.
“yet you still got Covid”
Ah, so you think a vaccine’s purpose is to completely stop all chance of getting a virus. Weird to be so certain about a topic when you don’t even know the rudiments.
McDavid straight up says Crosby should be captain for the Four Nations.
I have to agree.
Respect is a thing and yes Crosby is definitely still at the level of captaincy.
Glad you got some good rest LT, esp after being sick.
We’ve been talking about finding a good partner for Doc.
But maybe he wanted Doc to see what his partner sees. Perhaps the move was to give him a fresh perspective. It may not be intended as a solution rather a building block. It’s a thought.
Oilers have the 5th lowest PDO. Largely driven by shooting percentage (4.81%).
It’s coming!
With the highest xGF%, SCF% , and HDCF%. Colorado solid 2.
Mostly goalie.
I actually don’t think the Oilers issues are mostly goalie or at least their own goalie. Again, their PDO is low because of shooting percentage. I think they have faced hot goalies/shooters are ice cold plus special teams have been abysmal.
By mostly goalie I meant both ways. Theirs have been better than ours.
The tandem let in their first 5 PK shots. Goalie has to be your best PKer.
1 positive game by Stu against Carolina doesn’t excuse the poor other games by both tenders.
Small small sample sizes.
How many power play goals did Stu let in in the playoffs? A 23-game stretch. And Cal (over two games).
Stu is not the thing that changed on the PK. No Desharnais. No McLeod.
How many power play goals did Skinner give up early last year? Tons.
Also, Skinner has one of the worst playoff save percentages for goalies with 10+ games in the cap era.
Skinner gave up 20 pk goals last season between October and December. Worst pk sv% on the team. So even with Des and McLeod he still bled goals on the pk early in the season.
Absolutely wild (and telling) that you reference Deharnais, who didn’t even play most of the finals (and was on for 3 PK goals against in 47 minutes) and don’t reference Ceci who was on for ZERO goals against in more minutes 54.
Deharnais was 0-3 goals and Ceci was 2-0 goals on the PK.
Conveniently leaves out Ceci
Huh. At 5v5 their SH% is 32nd and SV% is 21st.
All strengths their SH% is 32nd and their SV% is 30th.
So it definitely isn’t just SH%.
21st is not terrible.
And I said in my post that special teams is an issue. This is reflected in the all states sv%. Definitely room for improvement in goal but imo it’s not a primary issue at evens.
Per DNB:
Oilers lines and pairings at practice:
RNH-McDavid-Hyman
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Arvidsson
Skinner-Henrique-Brown
Janmark-Ryan-Perry
Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Stecher
Kulak-Emberson
Dermott
Skinner
Pickard
I do like the Podkolzin push he’s been doing a good job forechecking. It’s time to see if he can find his hands with Leon spoonfeeding him.
I see alot of Foegele in Podz, including the lack of finishing…..
Yes I agree. I still think there’s a light switch that can be turned up enough to score in the mid-teens.
Draisaitl always ends up with the scraps. Although almost all the wingers have been crappy, so crap all around.
That Holland character sure was stacking the deck when he saddled Leon with Rieder&Kahun.
Feel better. BTW, I took Aerius for a couple months after having Covid and it really helped. See here: Study shows over-the-counter antihistamines can help with long COVID
Lovely start to an excellent blog post today (again).
Fantastic picture of two beautiful people.
We are so lucky to have you sir.
Pure Gold
If Bowman is as awful as some suggest, David Savard will be an Oiler by American Thanksgiving.
Maybe they could offer Kemp and a pick for a retained Ceci, he might fit alongside Nurse for a bit.
Question: why is Seth Jones the hockey player almost universally derided?
Is it just because he plays on a bad team?
His relative on ice numbers are quite good and he puts up points.
Yet it seems like everyone thinks his contract is a terrible overpay, and the Jones trade is regarded as one of the major blemishes on Bowman’s trade record.
Just wondering what I’m missing.
I think it’s the contract relative to the player. Similar to Nurse. Decent player but a poor contract.
I.e., Jones is paid like a top 10 dman in the league. Is he a top 10 dman?
The contract dollars do not match the player, no?
With Holland taking on the Keith contract allowed Bowman the opportunity and funds to trade and sign his cornerstone D-man in Seth Jones. The signing of Jones immediately raised Nurses long term contract by 1.5> 2 million. I do believe Nurse would of been signed in the 7’s if not for Seth Jones spiking the market.
I don’t know.
He plays tons of minutes.
He puts up points.
His on ice impacts relative to team are really strong (similar to guys like Fox, Makar, Hughes, Karlsson, Lindholm, Josi etc.).
I don’t watch enough, so that’s kind of my question. Why is he not a top Dman?
Seth Jones is a pretty good hockey player. If Bowman could actually trade Nurse for him it would be a major win. Although I’m not sure who replaces Nurse on the left side now that Broberg is gone.
This team suddenly looks very thin on defense.
Time to throw some slightly lower numbers in front of Mr. Bouchard’s agent and see if he bites (unlikely but worth the attempt). Slow starts shouldn’t be wasted.
There are many who are upset at the Oilers for doing just that, with Broberg and Holloway.
I think being worried about every worst case scenario is a prerequisite for being an Oilers fan.
The situations have nothing in common.
They both involve trying to ink an RFA to a contract that fits the teams budget, no?
That’s the job. Do the best for the team that you are able to. Paying players at the peak salary range (Holland loved this) usually doesn’t work out, and although a little richer (not that they would really notice), I would say at least 75% of the time it’s a burden on the player’s enjoyment of the game. Just ask Darnell if life would be better making ~2.5M less
Its a balance i think. Not sure who said this, but a good negotiation has both sides walking away happy. (Or was it angry?)
Yes a balance, but the GM needs to be tipping the scales back toward the team. In many cases that hasn’t happened for the Oilers, and it matters a lot
You’re saying he’d be happier than making 20 million less on the lifetime of the contract.
Now that’s the bold talk I’ve been looking for here.
The Oilers ARE indeed 2-4-1 and still figuring things out it they also played well enough in the last two games to get 4 points much of the time. They only got 1, thats l a fact and moral victories don’t mean squat but, for me, the arrows are up and the team play is coming together.
I’d prefer if the head coach would calm things down by “sticking with things” for a period of time. I think the constant blender is not to conducive the helping this team settle in at this point.
Lots of good last game. The third line was ass but lots of good from the other 3, I’m not sure a big re-shuffle was/is required.
Both this year and last year I have been surprised that 18, 93 and 97 do not shoot more, and instead favour attempts to stuff the puck in or have traffic deflect it in. Last year I attributed the shift to a wrist injury to 97 (ie bank the puck off of Hyman’s stick instead of picking the corner), but have no answer now. They repeatedly get the puck close to the net but not past the goal line.
I don’t think the Oilers are a strong finishing team. They have elite talent at the top, some very good players, but a lot of those good players aren’t great finishers, or natural scorers. Given how much the create and have the puck, having Connor Leon and Bouch and others, they should be dominant against any defensive tactic. But we see that while they can run the score up in some games, in others they really struggle to score 5v5 or create enough truly solid chances
I see it as a mix of the players and how they have been coached to play. I was very surprised when after Coffey took over Desharnais saying the D were supposed to make plays, not glass and out. This means that the previous coaches were having them do that, the opposite to what a Connor team should be doing
Woody said he was his own coach, but he isn’t much different than McLellan, unsurprisingly. The button down defensive style I think has been passed by, because of reffing changes from the league, and that the young players are different now than 10-15 years ago. You have to be good defensively, but there are ways that can be too conservative
I think Tippet was done mentally, and the challenge of reigning in the wild young horses in a hotbed market with not enough help from the GM was more than he wanted to be doing, it sure looked like it watching him in the last part, and he retired after they let him go
To me they seem to play to the corners too much, without enough emphasis on finding players in soft areas. As well as players not supporting the play enough in timing when they get to those areas, which is what good scorers can do
I can see the puck carrier looking for someone and there isn’t anything there. I think they need to work on attacking more quickly out of the corners to between the circles, not playing the puck around the boards as long hoping for a breakdown. I think they need to have more tactics around doing this, structures to break into the slot with a quick play and support there waiting. Or weak side plays to a D coming down
There are times they do this, but not enough. I mentioned before that they also need to be better at creating consistent traffic and making purposeful plays for deflections and rebounds if a team is clogging the slot and the goalie is playing well – that is how you beat it. Like what Joe Pav was sooo good at doing
Trying to stuff it in and getting off shots into the goalie because of not being in a good enough position to get the puck up (almost all goalies will be taking the the ice and bottom net away when under pressure in tight) can work at times, but it is mostly relying on luck. This team should be like an onslaught to defend against the top 2 lines at least
I think JJ sees this, and went and got himself some better 5v5 scorers that play more that way. KK wants them to be breaking out quickly, moving the puck cross ice and back while attacking to create lanes and to get some chances in before a team sets up. They aren’t there yet, and I hope the coaches are working on changing some things up offensively
That’s a fine looking couple in that photo.
Sleep is good. There is no substitute.
I’m glad you are sleeping in. It may be a bit of an inconvenience to you, but my experience in my 50s has been I can’t sleep much past 6 anymore. I’d love to be able to sleep to 7:30 or 8 on my off days, but I can’t, which means I’m in bed by 9:30 even on my days off.
As you have said, youth is wasted on the young. I understand that better now.
Make your bedtime 11:00 pm instead of 9:30.
I do on occasion (I like being a night owl morning than an early bird) and my body still wakes me up at 6. Even while I was off in the summer it was a regular struggle to stay asleep. Mostly I just shrug and recognize that as I have aged things have changed that I don’t appreciate, but need to make accommodation for (ear hair, decreased metabolism, intolerance of people on or near my lawn, etc).
LT, this may be the least important part of the opening paragraph, but I think that’s a fine mustache.
It makes me happy when you speak of those years fondly.
Before I get further than the first part of the article I have to say:
Goodness, you look amazing with a mustache! I know you say you’re glad it’s gone, but my word. Skinner doffs his cap to you.
As for the rest of the article, I’m with you on not rolling the players around too much for the 5×5 lines. Let’s have a bit of consistency there and let the players find their rhythm. For the new guys repeated reps with the same guys so they can learn habits is key at this stage.
That said, when you’re playing jazz there are no wrong notes, it’s the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong (thanks Mr Davis). Maybe this last tweak is the one that makes things soar.
Jazz is just musical wanking. (thanks The Commitments)
Prospectence!
Another day, another OHL tandem–this time it’s the Colts of Barrie.
Wakely has goals in three of his four games, while Akey has made like Peter Frampton and come alive with 1+2 his past three GP.
Puck drops at 5 p.m. Buffalo Narrows time.
I’m sure there’s a Hall for Larson trade out there somewhere if Stan makes enough calls. jk
Haha, to be fair Adam Larsson was a better player than Ryan O’Marra, Robert Nilsson and Alex Plante combined. (Shhh. I’m avoiding mentioning Craig Millar and Barrie Mooore, for LT’s sake. Don’t remind him.)
This team with prime Adam Larsson would be pretty set tbh. All Hall trade value chat aside he really added something to the back end.
At this point in the season, the Oilers have very little cap space to make a trade. Just over a million dollars and they’d need to fit in over 90% of the AAV of an acquired contract.
Unless/until injuries hit, this cap space grows as the amount of season left decreases (as, if not operating in LTIR, a team only has to fit it the AAV that’s left on the contract for the season).
Yes, technically, they can go over the cap by apx $5.1MM using Kane’s LTIR reserves, however, that is a dangerous game unless the org knows with certainty he won’t play this regular season – I don’t think they know that.
Also, let’s not forget, if operating in LTIR, it doesn’t matter how much of th season is left, the full acquired AAV needs to be fit in – if they operate in LTIR and max it, get used to “money in / money out” if discussing future acquisitions.
Never underestimate the Oilers ability to shoot themselves in the foot. Lots of Jack Johnson defensemen out there with low cap hit and little ability to improve the situation.
The question now is ‘does Bowman value this player?’ and we do not know the answer.
Yep. Danger close.
Personally, I think Bowman spends most days trying to figure out how he can trade Nurse for Seth Jones.
Haha. Brilliant!!
Your Bowman derangement syndrome is getting old. seek help!
If Oilers fans aren’t at least a little worried about Bowman’s future transactions, they should read up on his past. Some brilliant, some wobble. I don’t think the next trade will be an easy one, suspect Bowman will have to thread a needle.
Every time I change schools (teacher) I reinvent myself for the better at least a little bit. We can hope the same of Bowman, no?
As a fellow teacher, we can adjust for our situation to a certain extent, but we have strengths which make us good at what we do. These strengths also lead us to develop habits which make their way into the daily practice we bring into a classroom. So, while I am in many ways different in my practice from 2 schools ago, I am also the same in my tendencies. Or, as I tell my students, wherever I go, there I am.
Bowman can learn from past mistakes too, but if he doesn’t recognize that he does his work a certain way, then there is no hope he won’t fall into the same habits. I can hope not, but frankly we just haven’t seen anything from him (at all) that would lead us to think differently one way or the other.
Wherever you go, There you are. Interesting book. Kinda fluffy for my liking but a good instructional.
I agree but my comment was not referring to Bowman’s trading prowess.
Agreed LT, hope for the best expect the worst – life as an Oilers fan. I have faith that Jackson brings some sanity and sober 2nd thought to keep a “Jack Johnson” type trade from happening.
In the meantime, Coach K should set some lines, ideally Leon’s line, and let chemistry set in so we see an uptick in 5v5 GF.
Valid point but, at the same time, this is Jackson/Bowman not Chiarelli making the decisions – a new chapter for the Oilers – it may be the same as the past or maybe instead of Jack Johnson/Brandom Manning, its Timothy Lilegren or similar and it actually works out?
Bro I have seen Oilers GMs make trades. An Oilers GM winning a trade is about as rare as civil discourse on the internet or a Unicorn with three horns.
This comment wins the day
Ekholm acquistion.
Samorukov for Kostin
Kostin’s rights (and overpay deman) and Yamo’s contract dumped on Yzerman
Bear for Foegele
Kulak for a 2nd (if you ignore who the Habs picked….)
The discourse on Hutson is already at mass capacity. This blog would be in shambles, 50 50 on each side Godot leading one side LT leading the other.
I am open for Lieutenant ideas.
You never seen a Tricorn before?
The only meaningful trade would be money out money in and with all the NMC this leaves Bowman hog-tied. Bowman was set with Crawford yet he always had a fine back-up I do think he’s going to up-grade on Pickard if he doesn’t impress in his next couple of starts.