As the NHL trade deadline approaches, it’s good to take stock of the 50-man list and what holes there could be heading into the playoffs. I wrote about it here for The Athletic today. Much of what has been discussed (RH center, RH defense or a LH who can play both sides and a rugged forward) are included in the piece, and there are some underlying isues (the Leftorium is dead in Bakersfield).
The list of needs got me thinking about targets for trade, and about maybe combining the need for a center and a rugged forward.
I think the Oilers need to find the modern Derek Sanderson. I loved Sanderson, my Dad hated him. Hippie! Long hair! Hood! Sanderson’s on-ice frenzy made my father mad in a way that I found hilarious, and that made things even worse! Sanderson was young, cocky, borderline wicked, but man could he penalty kill. Sanderson and Eddie Westfall were PK monsters during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. It was something to behold. Brash, brazen, great at ‘old man’ things like faceoffs, Sanderson could have been an all-time great in my opinion but he was rewarded with big WHA money, drifted from hockey to other pursuits (he was larger than life and appeared in several parts of the newspaper depending on the day) and his career derailed and landed in a disappointing heap. Sanderson, at his peak, was a formidable player.
Does that player exist today? Is he available? No and No. But let’s have a look, see if we can help Stan Bowman identify the modern Derek Sanderson. Let’s start in Boston. He isn’t right handed, but has much of what is needed in Edmonton.
His Puck IQ player card shows a depth center who is just shy of 50 percent Dangerous Fenwick and not a strong option when looking for a center to face elites. Natural Stat Trick has his expected goal share at 51 percent, and 43 percent in actual goal percentage. That jives with the Puck IQ totals and gives us an idea about Frederic’s performance this season. He is big, good skater, has a rugged edge.
Jason Dickinson is 29, makes $4.25 million and is not a rental. He plays 38 percent of his five-on-five time versus elites for a building team. His relative numbers are underwater overall but solid versus elites, so he might be worth a look.
10 years ago Colton Sissons would have been a rock solid answer, but he is not that player now.
This is my choice for Stan Bowman should he be looking for the new Derek Sanderson. He makes $3 million a year, one year after this one and he’s a piece of work. His numbers versus all levels of competition is solid and he owns a 53 percent expected goals versus all competition this season (just 43 percent actual goals). He is a capable penalty killer and I think he would be a fine addition. Lefthanded, though.
We’re back and it’s a full week on the Lowdown, Sports 1440 noon to 2pm. We’ll be joined by Rachel Doerrie from ESPN and Betalytics, and Jason Gregor from the JG Show. Oilers chatter, early deadline thoughts, what happened at the World Juniors, NFL weekend and will the Blue Jays sign Santander? 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, it’s available post-show on apple and spotify, and we tweet it out on X.
Nic Dowd is THAT guy, 34 years old, and on pace for a career year, but maybe next year….
This guy has been getting the most severe Zone Starts in the league for the past few years and is still well-above 50% vs all other than elites.
He’ll probably be too expensive next season, though.
Mackinnon and rantanan are legitmate empty net leaches…
What percentage of their points are empty net? Must be pushing 15%??20%? Record smashing pace for non goalie points if im not mistaken?
Bloating their numbers huge this year… kind of a joke really
29% of Rantanen’s goals (7/24) have been into an empty net. Mackinnon assists on most of them and has 3 empty net goals to boot.
McDavid had a peak of 7 empty net goals in the 2021-2022 season, and has had 0-4 in every other season.
Matthews only had 2 empty net goals last season, which is very impressive. Only 2 of Hyman’s 54 were empty net last season.
Avalanche win a goaltenders battle 3-1 over Florida.
Sergei Bobrovsky – .939 2.0 GAA
MacKenzie Blackwood – .962 1.0 GAA
No regression.
Sample size alert.
HHooglander! Went nuts without a stick in the final minute and cost the Canucks a point. Oh dear.
Watching most NHL teams these days is boring compared to the Oilers.
Oilers top players play like they’re in another league altogether.
Why does Nathan McKinnon lead the league in points by 7 over Draisaitl?
Why does Mikko Rantanen have a 4 point lead over McDavid?
Why does Cale Makar have 19 points more than Bouchard?
Why does Blackwood have a save percentage of .942 while Skinner is at .898?
Perhaps you need to watch other teams.
There are too many teams these days. Impossible to follow.
Avs and Vegas and Florida are all outstanding teams, to be Sure.
However, about 25 NHL teams basically play route One winger carries the puck hoping to get through the defense and hope beyond hope there is a friendly player coming up through centre or the other wing to receive the inevitable pass.
Which is why am currently following the Oilers.
Why do you always have to
purpose crap on some else’s post?
I guess I can find any other team boring if I choose to.
Nobody needs your guidance to form their opinion. Get it?
Claiming the Oilers top players “play like they in another league” is objectively false.
There are are outstanding players on more than a few teams and recognizing that is hardly forcing others to have an opinion.
You, of course, are free to do whatever you like.
I see you have returned from the New Jersey hair-splitting convention.
Blackwood has a season save % of .918.
See above.
They are leading due to scoring on open nets. Not actually putting up better numbers than drai and conner…. but i know HH never digs for stats that counter his narrative or make oilers look better
Nate Dogg and Rantanen scooped up some EN points tonight. They still count. They are excellent hockey players.
Rantanen 13 empty net points, MacKinnon12, McDavid 0 might have something to do with it, just saying.
I noted that a few days ago, after HH tried to pass off NHL.com stats for “even strength points” that did not account for empty net points.
Draisaitl is having a great season, a Hart calibre season. You coming on here to gloat about an inferior Avs team is a delusional troll personified.
And as has been pointed out to you, MacKinnon and Rantanen’s points have been buoyed by a torrent pace of empty net points. They have also played 2-5 more games than McDrai.
One can only hope the Avs management are as ignorant as you when it comes to Rantanen contract negotiations
Is it as exhausting to write as it is to read?
You should head over to an Avs forum to discuss your love for them. This is an Oilers forum.
Chaulk confirms head injury for Wanner.
Getting better – a week to two weeks away if no set backs.
Chaulk confirms that Jarventie has not hit the ice since that 2nd game he played. It’s lower body and they are working though it.
Chaulk hopes he’ll start skating in the next few weeks.
Chaulk was on with Stauff this aft and, in regard to the premise that some have that Savoie is NHL ready, Stauff suggested the Oilers need Savoie to be NHL ready for game 1 next season, perhaps on a third line role.
Turk’s book “Crossing the Line” is a great read, now I want to go back through it again. Thanks for the reminder about how fun it was to watch him.
Not related, but keeping with the 1970’s, the great Al MacNeil passed away yesterday, at the age of 89. My memories of him are more around the 3 Calder Cups he coached my Nova Scotia Voyageurs (The Vees) to, after coaching the Habs to the Stanley Cup in 1971. We won’t talk about the other team he coached. He was a hockey legend, and the province of NS is very proud of him.
Al MacNeil: the only coach ever to win the Stanley Cup & then be sent down to the minors.
Philip and Savoie need to keep chugging along in the AHL. If Savoie gets to a point a game call him up and immediately see if he’s a fit with Leon-Podkolzin. If Savoie pops playing with the sweet passes of Leon we are looking at a boon of a cheap controlled scoring winger that can handle the pace of NHL 2nd line duties the way Yamamoto did for a few years. Unlike Yamamoto Savoie doesn’t have deer in the headlights when it comes to burying pucks in spoonfed open nets.
I agree there is no reason to rush a Savoie call-up and one now would be premature given its only been 3-4 weeks where he’s taken his play to this level..
At the same time, the organization knows they need a 4C and, preferably a bigger right shot 4C – they really do need to find out how close Philp is to being that playoff for this team in the playoffs, in my opinion.
We don’t need to burn assets when we already have it in house when it comes to a 3rd and 4th line centre. If Philip continues to play well in the AHL he’ll get his opportunity if you go back and look at Bowman’s tendencies when it came to giving players that deserved to be called up were actually given a fair shake unlike Holland who buried are traded every prospect we had. Not one of Holland’s draft picks in 5 years plays for the Oilers. How is that possible even a blind squirrel would have 4-5 players on the big club in some capacity.
I agree on the first premise but, even as the founding member of the Noah Philp fan-club on this community, we don’t know that Philp can handle a 4C role on a contending team in the playoffs. First things first is they need the information on his current ability to play that role in the regular season – with a call-up and a stretch of games – prior to the deadline.
As Bob Stauffer tweets, since November 23rd Edmonton are 14-3-1.
One can disagree but I struggle to think of a single game Edmonton has played during this time where I would have put a bow on it. They look a step behind where they were in, say the Dallas series, or during the post-deadline Ekholm trade period where they’ve looked briefly better than any team this century. Yet this is a .750 run for a quarter of a season.
McDavid doesn’t look slow, but he isn’t finishing.
The PP is recovering but the Globetrotters are a somewhat less showy.
They rarely hit, even when they don’t have the puck.
Could this be the signs of a team who truly knows what it takes to win, not only in the short term (game) but over the longer term (healthy and rested for the post-season?)
And I don’t have data for this, nor a real theory: But I don’t know if I have seen them smiling on the bench as much as this season. And that has to mean something.
This teams seems to like playing with each other.
The nagging Game 07 hangover has been worked out, they need to up the pace to take home ice. Let’s go get this Stanley Cup ’25.
They are off. I have been posting the team strength things I track and they are lagging, even if scraping out wins at times (instead of cleanly winning most games as they should with this roster)
But the Panthers have a .625 Win% (10th) to Oilers .654% (7th) and are 6-4 last 10
They need to focus on the basics, relax, work on finishing their chances, and let the rest sort itself out. Focusing on the shift to shift details can help guys like Connor chill out, it’s too early to be super intense, don’t want to burn out mentally. After the trade deadline when you know who is on the team, brain pedal down
And the only realistic way they win the Pacific is if Vegas hits the skids a bit, it’s out of their control outside of keeping their game up and getting wins, which is a day to day thing. Dallas and Colorado are also paying well, probably not winning the conference either without luck
And Stan needs to be a busy boy
6 of the 8 hottest teams are Western Conference
100%.
This team seems to be consciously making an effort to “do just enough to win” with the clear goal of reducing aggregate season long wear and tear.
Connor McDavid is a clear example of this. McDavid is a physical player, he hits, he initiates puck battle with shoulder contact, etc., etc.
He is not doing any of that this season. Last season he had 118 hits. He has 5 hits in his last 20 games.
That is not coincidence.
We know that ALL of Nurse, Hyman, Arvidsson, Henrique, Janmark, Nure and Ekholm are more aggressive players than they are showing – we’ve seen it, we know it.
McDavid is either hurt or more hopefully someone convinced him it’s a fools errand to hit more then necessary for him, he’s too important to be hitting D 10-30 pounds heavier than him
Top skill needs to preserve punishment as much as possible. Lesser skill and role players should be the physical ones, they are more replaceable. Or big guys like Nurse Ek Hyman etc who don’t notice the contact as much and are less likely to wear themselves down or get hurt
I’m not sure any team can choose to do just enough to win in the league as it is. It easier to win games by developing a great team game and not deviating. If you get a lead and want to preserve play the bottom 6 more
Sitting back at all or protecting a lead mostly doesn’t work as we see. They give up leads more than the average in my 13 best team data base, the Oilers this year 5 times and the average 1 (based on a 2 goal lead before a goal against)
I don’t agree that McDavid should not be a physically aggressive player and an initiator of contact.
He does not need to do that to be a generational superstar, as he is now, but that high end game gets even “higher end” when he’s a physically engaged player. He is a bully in puck retrieval and it makes his game even better.
I have little doubt you’ll see him leading with his body in puck retrieval battle in the playoffs. I don’t think he’s hurt, I think he, among many of the other veterans (Hyman, Drai, Ekholm, Nurse, Janmark, Henrique, Arvidsson) are consciously reducing wear and tear during the regular season.
All of them have higher levels they can to in their overall games, and physical engagement is part of it – more for some than other.
McDavid plays better than practically any player I have seen in my life, even when he takes a back seat to the rest of the team for 2 entire scoreless games.
The idea that he or the team are dogging it is ridiculous. They’re in the thick of the President’s Cup race(sort of), and control the game so completely that they probably lose focus from out of sheer boredom.
McDavid is 27 he’s starting to feel the grind of the regular season add the shortest off season ever you can’t blame the team and Connor for pacing themselves. This is when you need a few Podkolzin-Koskin to do the.dirty work
It’s like each season he decides to focus on another aspect of his game, including this year by only playing points wise as great as the top 5 players.
Methinks he’s learning to play yet another elite level of hockey this year probably more defensive while conserving energy for the playoffs.
Anyway it’s not like Oilers aren’t a totally elite NHL team, as of January 2025.
It’s an .806 run over those 18 games.
It’s mind-bending to critique a team playing .800 hockey over an extended period (with the run being supported by underlying stats, per leadfarmer earlier among other evidence).
Lowetide fans if nothing else are a tough bunch to please.
Thanks for the correction — I would rereasd my post if you think I’m being too harsh on them.
Nope, was meaning to support your anrgument and speak to those who are still pooh poohing the team.
With LT mentioning the Habs might still try a playoff push and not make players available, I thought I’d have a look. After their recent 7-3 stretch, why not go for it at least till the end of February, shortly before the deadline. The race for the final 3 playoffs spots in the east is pretty wide open, which did not look like it would be the case 6 weeks ago. But with the complete collapse of Rangers, Boston coming back down to earth more recently after the coaching bump and Tampa losing 4 in a row (including losses to Montreal, San Jose and Anaheim), everyone except Buffalo, with a little luck ( a winning streak here, a losing streak there), has some hope right now. 7th to 15th in the standings is separated by 5 points and Boston is only 3 points clear of that group. Some teams have games in hand, but you have to win them.
Edmonton can do their part to impact the outcome by beating Boston and Pittsburgh this week.
Is the simple answer Evander Kane? Do we have an update on his timeline?
We are having issues slotting players right now numbers wise, but if you add Kane, Philip and possibly Savoie, then you have filled all forward needs. We won’t find anyone better then Kane (not to mention acquisition cost). Philip fits cost and need as a 4C in spring. And Savoie is kicking down the door soon if there are any injuries to a skill player.
Our only glaring need is 2RD. An Upgrade there is the key. A better 2RD make sour goalies better. Makes our PK better and makes Nurse better.
Agree, keep the focus and $ on RD. Is there another Viking hiding somewhere_
David Savard.
I would argue that we do not know that Philip fills the need for a 4C in the spring.
Wouldn’t hurt to find out.
100% we don’t know but they need to find out in the next 8 weeks.
I never said otherwise. The post I was responding to stated that adding Philip fills the need at 4C, problem solved.
For sure, and I was agreeing with you and adding my opinion on a hopeful path forward.
Kane returning to the team in 8 weeks sounds like perfect timing.
https://x.com/jfreshhockey/status/1876338305383727350?s=46&t=VKZ79-9hN-xwMNTBjohq7w
sportlogic data
wonder who the best team in the nhl is
I foresee a certain someone coming to reply to your post with a link to a random betting site that has another team(s) as betting favorites over the Oilers.
Oh he might find one or two, but the vast majority of the major betting sites have the Oilers with the lowest odds to win the cup.
As well, despite the Bruin 12-6-3 home record, most sites have the Oilers as betting favorites for tomorrow nights game.
For all we know Harper’s Hair(HH) has been collecting enough information that proves the Oilers are a horrible team without any chance of winning anything.
This information has been held up by Oilers winning too many games to prove this theory.
We observe this team from such a close perspective, its easy to find their flaws and nag at their imperfections. This is hockey after all, things can go south in a hurry after a simple mistake and we would love for them to limit those mistakes and play perfect game after perfect game…. but this stat is really something else. If you believe in expected goal differential as a means of flattening those outlier mistakes and providing a means of generalising who the team is with the most likelihood to win more often than not over time.. Edmonton isn’t the best team by a bit, but by a lot.
Now to tighten up those frustrating mistakes!
If they can get their finishing closer to expected they will be something
Great team, but without some improvements playoff vulnerable. Could be just tactics. Pod’s goal is exactly what they need all lines doing all of the time 5v5
Pod makes sure he beats the D into the zone on the wall (doesn’t lose the puck) and Arvi is in a great support position with a clear lane which Pod sees and takes. Arvi gets it to Leon who is also supporting well and open for a pass, Pod drives to the net and Leon gets it to him, hard shot and in
The key here is the goalie has to move three times as the puck goes cross ice and back between three players in a couple of seconds. Definition of a high percentage play and shot for Pod. Leon and Arvi in position for a rebound
On many entries the players are coming in in a line across, and there is no clear passing lane, they try to pass through a guy and turn it over or dump to corner, which allows the D structure to set up
Getting open for a clean pass to support the puck and working quickly to the net regularly would make a big diff in scoring more I think. They can’t always but that should always be the first priority
You have to build the process in so when games get tight they don’t overthink and end up reverting to trying to make plays from the boards through a mob of bodies or try to beat a few guys to get a chance closer in
I like them to be playoff vulnerable – in January.
That stat captures only part of the story.
It does not account for injury, schedule quirks or in season personnel changes among other things.
For example, Colorado had a dreadful start thanks to numerous injuries and league worst goaltending.
With most injured players back and MacKenzie Blackwood sporting a .935 save percentage, 1.78 GAA and a W/L record of 6-1-1, they are a very different team.
The site I find most useful is Moneypuck since, unlike betting sites, it is not influenced by bookies looking to make a buck on the ill-informed and looks at numerous statistical categories.
https://moneypuck.com/predictions.htm
Moneypuck currently has the Oilers as the favourite to win the cup at 17.5% with Dallas in second spot at 10.5%.
However that does not account for the Stars sitting with more than $6 million in deadline cap space and another $9.85 million whenever Nill decides to pull the rigger on putting Tyler Seguin on LTIR and adding impact player(s).
It will be fascinating to watch what he does and the potential impact on the race.
This is the best endorsement of the Oilers I’ve seen you make HH. 🙂
Your favourite site for odds has the Oilers far and away from anybody else as cup favourites. I mean just look at that. Nobody even close.
You mention how Dallas, who’s closest in those odds to the formidable Oilers has 9.85m in cap space ONCE they LTIR Seguin. You must’ve missed the conversation the other day about the Oilers having over 8m in space once they LTIR Kane? Dallas having less than 2m while the Oilers have less holes.
Or of course Kane just coming back(oh my look at those forwards🤤) and being better than any addition the Oil could make for no asset costs
It’ll be interesting to see as well when the Oilers actually start ramping up down the stretch. As noted here by many engaged observers of the team they seem to be holding back a little for the playoffs, staying rested for the second season. My eyes concur.
Dallas may want to think about the same kind of strategy as they were the Oilers easiest out last year in the playoffs that saw this team 2 goals away from a championship.
Kane is already on LTIR and the Oilers have only accrued just over $1 million in deadline cap space.
Dallas has accrued over $6 million in deadline cap space AND can still put Seguin’s $9.85 million on LTIR whenever they pull the tigger on a deal.
It is also not known if/when Kane will return but Seguin is definitely out for the rest of the regular season.
It’s also worth mentioning that Dallas has 7 picks in the upcoming draft to facilitate deals including a first round pick.
The Oilers have only 4.
Kane returns and I’ll take that over any 6 million playoff mercenary.
Yes imagine a stat not capturing future, unforeseen and imaginary events
Yeah, imagine a stat that can capture only past events but close to zero predictive value since it does not respond to dynamic changes and is not able to accommodate injuries, lineup changes, available cap space, managerial excellence or incompetence, strength of schedule, home/road splits, back to back or travel distances.
It’s almost like we need an aggregator that takes all this into account.
Like Moneypuck.
His arguments are, as per usual, full of narratives that only apply to the Oilers or to their competitors, depending on what suits the anti-Oilers narrative.
He cites Kane already being on LTIR and Seguin not which means absolutely zero, nothing, nada given the Oilers are not operating in LTIR and have only been for a couple very short stretches when injuries piled up.
In fact, its a benefit to the Oilers as they’ve already set their LTIR reserve pool threshold (only $53 from the perfect/max amount possible). I would suggest that, when the Stars put Seguin on LTIR, they are unlikely to be within $53 of the cap and will have more wasted space.
Jim Nill is a very smart GM.
That’s why he has won the Jim Gregory GM of the Year Award two years in a row,
You can bet he will maximize his cap space.
I wonder if Blackwood’s recent numbers are sustainable or if regression only applies to Draisaitl’s shooting percentage……..
It’s impossible to say.
He has always played for weak teams up until now.
Driasaitl has always played for the same team.
The highest career shooting percentage of all time was Craig Simpson at 23.7%.
In his best goal scoring season with 55 goals he shot 19.8%
With Draisaitl running at 24.2% and a career average of 18.9% it’s possible he maintains it but it’s not very likely.
You mean Mackenzie Blackwood who in the 2022-2023 season played for the third place team in the league NJD and still put up a .893 save%?
Dallas got stuffed last playoffs, by the Oilers so what about a measly 6 million addition?
Here’s how the Oilers rank out of what I see as the 13 teams with the best Cup chances on metrics relating to strength and consistency. The other teams are Knights, Jets,Kings, Avs, Stars, Wild, Panthers, Canes, Caps, Devils, Leafs, Bolts
Oilers/13 team average:
Power Wins (2G+) 12/12
Wins 6/9
OT Wins 6/3
SO Wins 0/1
Oilers have won fewer Power Wins and are winning less 1G games so far this season, thus ending up in more OT which means less strong
Leads Lost 5/1
Comebacks 3/1
Points to the same thing, chasing in more games, having a lot more trouble keeping leads than most
NST 5v5 GF 53/48
NST 5v5 GA 45/42
Better 5v5 offense and worse defense than average. The Stars and Bolts are the ones with more 5v5 GF. The Avs and Canes have more GA
NST SV% 5v5 .910/.915 – 8 teams are ahead
NST SV% All .905/.902
A little weak 5v5 but drop off less all strengths
They aren’t as dominant as last season so far, but spiked after Christmas so we’ll see this season, Panthers also. The deadline will be bigger this year because there are more serious contenders this year as I see it, and the majority are Western Conference
A weird thing I ran across is Columbus is right at the top in 5v5 GF. Might want to check that out and sniff around as they probably aren’t getting in
Rangers claim Kaliyev,
says Elliotte
No change in the d-pairings at practice and Brown remains the 7D. I know some thought/think that his call-up is to add some deterrent against the likes of the Big Bad Bruins but, at least from practice, it seems the current plan is simply road trip injury fill in risk.
While watching Leon Draisaitl highlights on Youtube…
The thing is…McDavid is taking it easy this season; because all he wants is the playoffs to start.
But he’s so good almost no one notices.
Need a defensive d man who can puck move a little. I love Stecher, but worry about him when the refs put away the whistles. Not his fault.
I don’t think anyone making the playoffs gives us a player that helps us, regardless of conference. He can also help them. Most likely, help will be from the lesser teams.
After recent events Stecher is likely looking forward to that day the stripes pocket their whistles.
Noah Philp makes $775K against the cap this year (and, if he gets an NHL run, it will be more next year but not much I wouldn’t think).
I think it behooves the organization to give him a run of games to ascertain if he can be the 4C for this year’s playoff run. He may not be ready for it but, then again, he might be.
A Scott Laughton would be a nice add but what about a Noah Philp and using that $2.25MM of AAV in another spot?
If the plan is to use Philp, they should be drip feeding him NHL minutes now
Agree. Philp can be part of the forward adds along with Savoie and Kane. This allows the Oilers to use any cap space and trade assets to shore up the defense.
Thought this Kids in the Hall classic might be relevant to the use of ‘ascertain’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lStcwT_RGrQ
They barely get mentioned anymore, but they remain among my to 2-3 shows of all time.
I see Bowman, doing this buy committee.
Savoie and Philp from the farm
and
Mathieu Olivier
Connor Murphy
at the deadline
I don’t see Connor Murphy as the guy to play 2RD with Nurse.
I am curious why not.
6-4, 212 lbs, right handed, 715 NHL games, 31 years old with a year left on a $4.4M contract. He is playing 20:00 a night with a -4 on a really bad team and is the assistant captain. His Edge stat, have him as a good enough skater, that doesn’t get many O zone starts. If Chicago retains, we could get him below Ceci costs.
My preference for a partner for Nurse is someone that can skate well and move the puck reasonably well (see Brett Kulak). Sure, if its a legit stud defensive defender, that could work too but I don’t see Connor Murphy as that player.
I see him as a 3rd pairing guy on a contending team.
Don’t have comfort that he and Nurse would be even as good as Kulak with Nurse.
I’d prefer Pettersson for 3LD and keep Kulak at 2RD.
.
I’m a bit surprised that they aren’t making the Hyman/Brown switch (I mean 2 games with no goals by Hyman and no points by McDavid) but I like to see Skinner moving up – he’s been a good soldier and he can positively impact this team and help it win.
Another scoring line. But it looks like they’re putting all their eggs in one basket. IMO they should have Hyman on LW with Henrique & Perry and keep Skinner on the fourth line with Janmark & Kapanen to balance out the scoring.
Hyman played mostly LW with the Leafs. I suspect to see Hyman-McDavid-Brown eventually, with Nuge playing on the third line either at Center or LW.
Frederic would be a great get. Big Guy that hits and will fight. Can score 15ish a year.
The Oilers do need to add some size and grit to that bottom 6 . He could be that guy.
Does he kill penalties LT? Also who would you trade for him?
Do you think the Bruins would take Sinner and ?
Boston needs an infusion of useful youth. Emberson level player imo. Not suggesting a trade of Emberson, but the Bruins need people.
This next Boston game, played in Boston, could be a classic.
Boston fans might want to trade teams by the end of the game.
Apparently, Frederic’s trade value is not astronomical these days. Edmonton might be able to attain his services for less than you would think.
Jake Evans is your man. He’s not the mammoth you’re looking for, but if he’s flanked by Janmark and Kane on the 4th line they’ll give as good as they’ll get.
Evans would be a great get for sure as well. But he is having a real career year so will probably cost a bit
I wonder if the Habs push for the postseason this year.
They just beat Vancouver.
The Habs play with a style of play that drives the opposition crazy.
I am so enjoying watching Jake Evans this year, especially (but not only) on PK. I cannot imagine the Habs trading him. And yes LT, watching this team right now, they feel like this year’s Cinderella entry. They waltzed through that killer road trip, leaving a wake of surprise, and very few points for anyone else. Spirited!
My goodness, how people shat on Jake Evans and his 2 goals a couple of years back.
(agree he would be a good addition, and thought so before this year)
Jokiharju is on the small side for me ideally, but Bowman drafted him first round so there’s that
In the article I wrote for The Athletic (and the one I wrote about Jokiharju) one of the themes was risk. Slats used to do it, because if it didn’t work he’d make another move. Modern times make that more difficult. Bowman is in a tough spot, he needs good players with suppressed value. Ruff v Jokiharju is such a situation. They don’t come along often, and I do understand he isn’t ideal (not a rugged player per se).
Yes I read your article, and agreed they should take any upgrade they can especially given current constraints
I get the feeling Bowman will work more like Sather did. More active than Holland and not as bad as Pete, although I remain convinced that even if Pete wasn’t that good he had plenty of ‘help’ making those decisions
I said it yesterday Bowman has made some Savvy moves so far with the Savoie and Emberson trades. He’s not just spouting cup or bust he’s thinking about the future and a Chicago type run. I didn’t like the hire but he’s starting to grow on me with what he’s had to work with as Holland left him more or less handcuffed.
Perhaps you are thinking of the Podkolzin trade done at the same time as Emberson for Ceci etc. Savoie was traded for by Jackson back on July 4 sending MacLeod the other way. 3 weeks before Bowman was hired.
I do think Bowman was hired the day Holland was sent packing it was just a case of optics. I should of clued iin thst Bowman was getting the job when Delia was signed as a free agent. There’s 50 goalies with better upside then Delia but yet they signed a ex Blackhawk in Delia. Coincidence I think not.
Given the PR debacle it already was, I doubt Jackson would risk the wrath of Bettman and making it even worse. The NHL didn’t clear Bowman to rejoin the league until July 1, hours after the Oilers signed Delhia.
No one was allowed to discuss employment with Bowman till after that day and couldn’t hire him until July 10. Having him engineer a trade 3 days after being cleared and 7 days before he could be hired would likely get Jackson suspended (and possibly fired), Bowman suspended again and be a monumental disaster for the Oilers PR.
Jackson made those moves without Bowman.