Late in the third period of Saturday night’s game, Edmonton Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen found another level during a Colorado Avalanche power play. If the big Finn has played a better two minutes in Oilers colours I don’t recall them. Music! The club lost the game in a shootout but convinced me we’re looking at the best team since 2016-17. Now that don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that playoff swing, but this version of the Oilers is something else!
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: Oilers signing Noah Philp latest connection with Golden Bears
- New DNB: Dylan Holloway call-up? Jay Woodcroft extension? Zack Kassian trade? Oilers mailbag
- Lowetide: Stock up or down for every prospect in the Oilers system
- Lowetide: Finding Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ wingers elusive challenge for Oilers
- DNB: Oilers player poll
- Lowetide: Making the final call on the Oilers 2017 draft
- Lowetide: How many more college players will Oilers sign this spring?
- DNB: Oilers fend off Blues but will need to fix defensive woes
- Lowetide: Strong March puts Oilers in position for top-3 finish in Pacific Division
- DNB: Connor McDavid at 100 points
- Lowetide: Early look at Oilers free-agent targets for 2022 offseason
- DNB: Why Ryan McLeod’s best outing matters so much to the Oilers
- Lowetide: The legend of Oilers prospect Matvei Petrov continues to grow
- Lowetide: Are Oilers approaching a crossroads with Zack Kassian?
- DNB: Should Oilers budget for Evander Kane beyond this season?
- Lowetide: Oilers’ 2022 draft strategy takes shape after trade deadline
- Lowetide: 7 Condors who could impact Oilers’ fortunes in the playoffs
- DNB: How Jesse Puljujarvi, as a player and person, became perfect fit for Oilers
- Lowetide: Revisiting the Oilers’ choice of Evan Bouchard in the 2018 draft
- Lowetide: Oilers top 20 prospects, winter 2021
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM APRIL
- At home to: STL (Expected 0-0-1) (Actual 1-0-0)
- On the road to: ANA, SJS, LAK (Expected 2-1-0) (Actual 3-0-0)
- At home to: COL (Expected 0-1-0) (Actual 0-0-1)
- On the road to: MIN, NAS (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- At home to: VEG, DAL, COL (Expected 1-2-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- On the road to: CBJ, PIT (Expected 1-1-0) Actual 0-0-0)
- At home to: SJS, VAN (Expected 2-0-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- Overall expected result: 7-6-1, 15 points in 14 games
- Actual April results: 4-0-1, 9 points in 5 games
- Oilers in 2021-22: 42-25-6, 90 points in 73 games
Oilers are now six points up on the Vegas Golden Knights, both teams with nine games left to play. Edmonton is now four points up on the Los Angeles Kings, with nine games to play for both clubs. I think we can begin to discuss the idea of an EDM-LAK first-round series, with the understanding that nothing is yet secured. Oilers fans should take heart, if the Oilers bring that kind of clarity to the next nine games second place is a lock.
GOALTENDER
Mikko Koskinen was brilliant, especially late with the game on the line and Edmonton on the PK. That last second ‘shake your booty’ save was spectacular. He stopped 33 of 34, .971 and no fault on the one that got past him in regulation. Oilers lost in the shootout against a team with 52 wins in 72 games. I came away from this game impressed by both teams, and intrigued by the idea of a playoff series. Unlikely to happen this time, but something for down the line. Koskinen’s .904 SP ranks No. 35 among goalies with 20 or more starts, Mike Smith (.903) is No. 39 overall. Both men moved up since Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson arrived.
DEFENSE
Darnell Nurse picked up an assist on the Oilers goal and began the series of events that led to Colorado’s goal via a nifty stick lift from Mikko Rantanen. Cody Ceci was unable to follow the bouncing disc quickly enough to impede Nathan MacKinnon’s fantastic backhand winner. Nurse had five shots, shadowed MacKinnon and company all night and did a credible job. Cody Ceci had a giveaway, a takeaway and two blocked shots on the night. Pair played 16 minutes against MacKinnon line, 1-1 goals and 11-8 shots. Quality line.
Brett Kulak had a HDSC and a takeaway, he handled the Colorado pressure well (although he took some hits). Tyson Barrie had one shot and several clear looks at the net on the power play but couldn’t author any part of a goal for Edmonton. He got crumpled along the boards (it was a tough game) several times, partly because his foot speed is noticeable.
Duncan Keith had a shot, a takeaway and two giveaways on a night when he got to see some power-play time. Evan Bouchard had six shots (five at even strength) and took two penalties. I think he should replace Barrie on the power play, Bouchard’s subtle changes before shots from the point are more dangerous than Barrie’s arsenal.
FORWARDS
Evander Kane had four shots, three hits, one giveaway, had a decent look down low but there was no room to stuff the puck. Connor McDavid had five shots, five HDSC, created three rebounds, drew a penalty, and was so close a dozen times. Jesse Puljujarvi had several good looks but just one HDSC (more in a minute), five shots, a takeaway and two hits. He is scoring 2.02 points-per-60 at five-on-five since Woodcroft. The trio went up against the MacKinnon line and the Makar pairing, going 4-4 shots and 2-0 HDSC, but couldn’t cash.
Zach Hyman had four shots, four HDSC a takeaway and a giveaway. He had a good night. Leon Draisaitl was a hit machine, like Motown in the ’60s. He also had six shots, three HDSC, drew a penalty, two GV-TK each. Honestly, Avalanche players were bouncing off of Leon like he was a cast member of The Incredibles. Kailer Yamamoto had one shot, one HDSC, a giveaway. He is delivering 1.59 points-per-60 at five-on-five since Woodcroft.
Warren Foegele scored a nice goal (more in a minute), two shots, two HDSC and a takeaway. Couple of hits. I liked his game, have for some time. He is at 1.76 points-per-60 at five-on-five since Woodcroft. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a 10-bell chance on the PP overtime, couldn’t elevate the puck. So close. He had four shots, a HDSC and a giveaway. Derek Ryan had two takeaways, made some nice passes and got in the way of a couple of Colorado sorties. He has scored 2.96 points-per-60 at five-on-five since Woodcroft.
Ryan McLeod had a giveaway and a takeaway, the Oilers have to find a way to get him into the top nine, he’s effective there but not much happens on the fourth line. Derick Brassard is doing a poor impression of David Desharnais. Zack Kassian had two shots, a HDSC, a takeaway and three hits, even got 54 seconds with McDavid (0-1 shots). He is scoring .9 points-per-60 since Woodcroft.
Fantastic news! I was watching the game last night, and you knew right away Kemp was injured. For as long as I live, those hits are sickening. Glad he’s okay, wish we could get those out of the game. Kemp has played well this season, he’s progressing well as an NHL prospect. Hopefully he can get back in the lineup soon.
PULJUJARVI, FOEGELE, NURSE
Lately these three players have come under fire for various items great and small. Some don’t think Jesse Puljuarvi should be playing with McDavid despite clear evidence McDavid has more success with 13. Some don’t think Darnell Nurse should be earning $9.25 million a year and making mistakes despite the fact he isn’t being paid that money yet and that his TOI versus elites is through the roof so yes, there will be mistakes. Warren Foegele doesn’t hit enough or score enough, despite the fact he scored goal No. 11 from the third line last night.
My advice, if you are frustrated by the amount of rage focused on these players, is to watch the games, absorb the numbers and make your own decisions. When others disagree, having the courage of your convictions will allow you to pass over engaging and enraging, something we have far too much of currently.
I know Jesse Puljujarvi belongs on the top line because God gave me eyes and a brain and the visual plus numbers tell me so. Always remember that single events, while holding great importance in the moment, are single events. The entire canvas tells the true story.
I know Darnell Nurse is Edmonton’s best defenseman because Woodcroft/Manson are smart innovators and they’re running the hell out of him against elites.
Finally, I know Warren Foegele is productive, despite struggles, and is worthy of playing time on this team.
You’re not going to win every argument on line, and often the tweet is intended to get reaction, so trusting your own assessment is vital in these online blowups.
Ales Hemsky never got a fair shake, Shawn Horcoff was framed for an incorrect contract number, and Teemu Hartikainen got blown out of town for a very small sample of struggle. Things happen. Be happy in the knowledge you are on the correct side of the argument, understand there are people who won’t listen to reason, and move on with your lives filling it with good things like sunshine, beer and the Beach Boys.
CARTER SAVOIE
On Saturday night HNIC 31 Thoughts, Jeff Marek sounded pretty certain Savoie would sign with Edmonton and that’s a fascinating turn. Savoie is a first-shot scorer and can finish from any range or angle, so putting a timeline on his NHL arrival is difficult because that skill is in such short supply. It is ridiculous to suggest he’ll make his NHL debut before Dylan Holloway, but circumstances are circumstances and Mike Comrie did happen. A reasonable estimate would have him spending half a season in Bakersfield (or more) filling out his game and having pro scoring success. Scoring goals is damned hard ladies and men. Savoie is 20 and has a whole lotta future.
Just catching up on DNBs ‘mailbag’ from a couple of days ago and was reminded that just a week ago the major going concern was the Oilers defense and leaking goals.
5 GA over 4 games since then has sure quieted things down on that front.
In the bigger picture, the Woodcroft era Oilers currently sit 4th in GF/game and 8th in GA/game since Feb 10th.
So, Owen Power, from Mississauga, likely to play his first NHL game against Toronto – that’s pretty cool for him I’m sure.
Can’t imagine how many tickets he has to buy.
Worth a fortune in Toronto.
The Jets won tonight theoretically keeping their faint playoff hopes alive. Their next two games are on the road against the Habs (who have fallen off of late after the new coach bounce) and at home to Seattle. But then they go on the road to Florida, Tampa, the Ranger and Carolina before returning home to face Colorado and Calgary in 2 of their last 3 home games. They’d have to win 8 of their 9 remaining to get to 95 points, which has a small chance to be enought to snag the last WC spot. Against that competition, it would be a major accomplishment to get to 90 points. So effectively, we can be pretty sure that the two teams that bounced the Oilers from the playoffs the last 2 seasons won’t be there this year (not there was ever doubt about Chicago not making it).
It’s really beginning to look like the Kings will be the odd man out. Vegas will be a much tougher opponent in the playoffs.
I’m not sure that’s the case, at least not for me. Vegas is playing better right now but the Kings are playing alot of teams they “should beat” down the stretch – won’t win them all (likely) but if their goaltending holds they should/could be able to keep a Pacific division spot.
One of us, Colorado or Calgary plays a cap circumvention team in the first round potentially. I really dont want it to be us.
We still might play Vegas in the first round. If we had a the luruxy of being able to, we should all be cheering for the Kings to win games.
Dallas with a 6-4 win over Chicago.
The plot thickens.
I believe a Chicago win, considering the only teams Chicago has beaten in the last 15 are Anaheim twice (the only team worse than them in the last month), Ottawa once and a shootout win over LA, would have thickened the plot a little more, since a win by Dallas in this game is on script. It’s bad, but mostly expected news, for the teams they are competing with for a spot, especially Vegas.
Vegas’ most immediate concern however, is that their next game Tuesday night is on the road in Vancouver, a team that still believes it has a shot in part because of how poorly Vegas has played in 2022 and because Vancouver just whupped their butts 5 days ago.
Oilers last 10: 7-2-1.
I am entertained
Interesting to note, National Champions, University of Denver Men’s Hockey team had 9/11 and 13/16 of their top scorers be listed at 6″ or under. All of their top 5 scorers are listed at 5″10 and under. Besides Heavy Weight Cameron Wright, (6.01, 200 lbs) in their top 10, the next heaviest is our own, Carter Savoie being listed at 192 lbs (on HockeyDB). Does anyone know if this has been historically true due to college guys being relatively younger (less developed?) or are we seeing a trend toward smaller players?
One issue is that the bigger Canadian (and increasingly western US) kids in their mid-teens gravitate towards the CHL (which precludes NCAA).
Sort defense by minutes played per game and filter it up until you are seeing clear top pairing or number 1 defense braket. After that look at low danger scoeing chan e goal differentials.
Nurse jumped out for having an unrealistically bad differential there. That’s as close to staring at the root of bad luck/leaky goalie on softball shots dragging numbers down a lot more than they should – for me.
Summarizing!
Tullio has re-taken the lead in the Gretzky Cup race, scoring his 39th of the year:
https://mobile.twitter.com/Oshawa_Generals/status/1513315462129623044?cxt=HHwWiIC9laOZsIAqAAAA
He also had an assist to go along with a game-high 9 SOG.
The Bourg registered an aPPle.
Also, hat-tip to LT for this: Tomas Mazura is transferring from Providence to St. Lawrence next season.
Oh, and Tullio was also named 2nd star of the game.
Oh oh, and prospects take a day off tomorrow. They’re back in action Tuesday.
I have a post “awaiting for approval”.
I see the robots have yet to figure out grammar.
Seriously though… Can we get JP a helmet that fits?
(Or help me understand what the hell is going on with his bucket)
Paging Peter Worrell
I think we should dig out Petr Klima’s old JOFA lid from the mothballs and give to JP for luck
It will be interesting to watch. 7 of the Kings last 8 games are with teams outside the playoffs.
6 of the Oilers last 9 games are against teams in the hunt.
Will it matter??
My guess is it will not matter for the Oilers, but it might for Las Vegas. 🙂
No the Oilers have effectively clinched a playoff spot
Not locked but I’m fairly confident the Oilers will finish 2nd or 3rd in the Pacific and the question is really if they will play Vegas or LA (and, also, which country game 1 is in).
Kings Lose!
If you are counting all NHL D and looking at elites, middle, and grit, wouldn’t we expect the numbers to converge to 50 percent?
There will be some teams, for instance, with D that perform very well against elites and some who perform poorly. The average of that is not any kind of truth, it’s just…what you would expect.
It’s a limited pie, in the sense that one man’s GF is some else’s GA.
Interesting splits on GF-GA.
Initial question that comes to mind is in regards to the timing of the goals… are they at the tail end of a shift against elite competition, only to be scored upon when fresh legs hop on the ice? It doesn’t make sense that he can stifle the elites so effectively then get pyloned by the middle and the grits.
Disagree.
Nurse — or any other player — is still playing hockey in those minutes. A goal or goal against not occurring is still a data point. The fact that Nurse is on for fewer “events” against elite opps tells us something about his game, though for sure there may be conflating factors at play.
The whole noise in the data argument applies only if we believe there is some clearly definable “truth” to the player. And for some players — 97, 29 — that “truth” can be easily parsed.
Personally, I like Nurse a lot. I think what WG has shown vis a vis usage under Tippett vs Woodcroft is fascinating.
If that usage allows other to have greater success, well that leads to wins and better performance down the lineup.
I do think that looking at usage and matchups matters. To suggest they don’t is a little too nihilistic for me.
A corollary from baseball is platoon splits. Technically these are smaller samples, but we still act on that information.
Agree there are limits, but I think you are throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Congrats Corey Conners. Top 10 finish at the Masters.
That’s 3 yrs in a row for him I believe.
Is it just me or did it seem that CBS went out of their way not to show many of his shots. He finished T6 but probably had less ‘screen time’ than anyone in the top 12.
They focus on only American golfers. Didn’t see much of Shane Lowry today either.
There was a tournament a year or two ago where one of the Canadians was right at the top and they ignored him. But they follow 7-over Tiger around like a gang of groupies.
Kings down 5-3 into the 3rd after giving up a 3 goal lead
preds get one point but lose in OT
6-3
Beautiful game winning goal by Crosby in overtime
Passes Jari Kurri for career points.
Incredible that it took this long.
Different eras but also shows how great and underrated Kurri was/is.
Kurri was indeed underrated, especially for his defensive play.
But when it comes to adjusted points, Crosby is 12th all-time. He’ll be 10th by the end of next week, and could conceivably retire #4 or 5. By contrast, Kurri is 50th all-time.
Goals from 1979-1992 came cheap. (Patrick Roy led the 1987-88 season with an .899 save pct.)
Nashville Pittsburgh headed to overtime.
Mens Curling World Championship Gold Medal Game starts in 20 min. 5pm on TSN1
Canada vs Sweden
(and by Canada I mean The Rock)
One of these times I’m going to head to twitter and the Savoie (Carter) contract will be announced (or speculated imminent via an insider).
If there is one thing I buy into it’s what you are saying here. People want to break the data down into sub-groups, thinking that different game states creates too much noise. In reality, the total data set is the data and breaking it down creates too small of sample sizes to work with. I’m with you 100% on this.
I spoke with Phil Kemp’s mom and while they were pretty shaken up, it looks like everything is OK. Big scare though.
I can’t imagine how helpless a parent would feel. I think they’re in Connecticut based on Ryan Holt’s call last night, so that’s a world away. You never stop being a parent.
What happened to him.
Hit from behind, head first into the boards. Stretchered off and straight to the hospital.
Thank You That is brutal. Was it deliberate. Hope all is well. Not to be an idiot but was it dealt with by penalty or punishment.
I’m not sure, OP can answer that better than I can.
It looked deliberate to me, but I didn’t get a good look and did not see a replay. I will say that I always think it’s deliberate and am proven wrong on the replay sometimes. That’s my bias.
I believe the hit was deliberate but, as I posted in real time last night, I’m not sure it was dirty. As LT mentions, no great replay and the broadcast had gone to a split-screen when it happened (bad timing) and, from my limited view, it looked kind of from beside as much as from behind – it wasn’t a direct in the numbers type of hit.
Yes, they are in Greenwich. Very scared she said, horrific I think was the exact word.
I don’t think this is the way to perform the analysis. One is should be looking at the individual outliers in a distribution and then determining the probability that the outlier is random or statistically significant.
i.e. one does not look at the data in aggregate, but look at all the individual data and look for outliers and then do significance tests on the outliers.
Would not who Nurse is partnered with on defence also make a significant difference. I may be incorrect but Nurse has not been partnered the last two years with a player that has had any significant time playing first pairing D other than with Nurse.
I disagree with your premise. Hypothesis: Defense is more random than deterministic at the grittensity level. Playing with and against worse hockey players means greater variance/volatility in the results, a larger standard deviation about the mean. There far less signal in grittensity results than in results against elites.
Hockey is far less random as it is played at higher and higher levels of ability. The variance in play decreases, Much more signal can be inferred from the same about of data.
The PuckIQ guys don’t determine/calculate the standard deviation or variance at each of their tiers. 60% against elites if the standard deviation is 2% is a hell of a lot more significant than 60% against grit if the standard deviation is 5%.
TOI against elites and DFF against elites are probably really the only data that one should really look at in PuckIQ data. On looks at the remainder to confirm that their overall data for that player seems normal.
The proper way to look at the data set, instead of aggregating it as you do, is to look for outliers, and do significance tests for the probability that any particular outlier is random.
We are not talking about the same variance. I am not talking about sampling variance. I want to deduce the variance in the actual signal. My hypothesis, with all other things being equal, the variance in the signal of DFF against elites is less than the variance in the signal against grit. i.e. if the DFF is 60%. I want to know how many actual standard deviations that signal is away from 50%. A players DFF might be 56% against elites and 60% against grits, but if the standard deviation for elites is 2% and againts grits it is 5%, 56% represenets 3 sigma, and 60% is 2 sigma.
What I am interested in would be very difficult to figure out. I’ll put my hypothesis another way. Skilled hockey has less “entropy” or disorder and that should be able to be teased out of big data.
Like I said. I am not talking about the standard deviation that you are talking about.
Kings up 3-0 on Wild
Pens Preds 1-1
Kings 3 Wild 2 after 1
3-3 early in the 2nd
5 straight goals for Wild. 5-3
Bill Guerin GM of the Year?
Or is it Coaching?
Give his buyout cap hit goes from $4.7MM this season to $12.7MM, $14.7MM and $14.7MM the next two seasons, I would not be looking to give Guerin any executive awards.
Matty Beniers signs a 3 year ELC with Seattle.
Hope he can goalie
Weren’t you the one who suggested repeatedly that the Avalanche would be sorry they signed Kuemper?
Yes you were.
Weren’t you the one who kept saying Boggie rafunski was gunna be ELITE errr E-lite? Yes. Yes you did indeed
Never heard of him.
But Joe Biden can hide his own Easter eggs.
The guy who’s team lost to Carter Savoie’s in the frozen four?
Good player. Seattle will be alright one of these years… so much VGK recency bias, we’ve forgotten that new franchises are usually shitty for a while
I was thinking I’d be surprised if kraken didn’t sign a lot of the most desired college prospects. In my brain I can’t see how it wouldn’t have the most clear opportunity to maybe get opportunity to play in NHL – until they draft enough to fill prospect system.
Defence are at the mercy of forwards
Perhaps given his TOI it is who he is deployed with that are torpedoing the second tier numbers
Woody putting together a better third line has seemed to help results
Should we be more or less optimistic about a Vegas matchup vs a Kings matchup? Consensus seems to be Vegas would be the better playoff team? Not that we have any clue from over it.
LAK are the preferred opponents. All VGK players will shock the hockey world and be healthy just in time for the non-cap playoffs. Karma bites them and Jack misses the playoffs for the rest of his career.
I don’t care. Play who shows up.
Yep, Oil can play with and beat anyone.
My goodness, every time I refresh Twitter it’s just littered with Puljujarvi fights.
Good info based on statistical data of how much of a positive impact he has on the play and his linemates.
That’s great but then these great data dumps are being used by the aggressive and defensive mass to throw vitriol at the media who dared to point out that he wasn’t able to finish on same 10-bell chances and some others that posit he needs to produce more or even that he could be moved to another line.
Im just fine with Jesse where he is and how he’s been playing but there is no doubt he’s struggling to finish – it can be pointed out and it doesn’t mean that other players are also not finishing. It means it’s highlighted given the play is playing 1RW and part of that job is to finish. He will but it can be talked about and it should be.
Spector or Stauffer or whoever mentioning in is fine. They don’t need to be bombarded with childish verbal because they also didn’t mention Kassian for example. It’s not the same. Yes, Kassian is way overpaid and that’s been talked about by all including this media. In the here and now, he’s the 12th forward and Jesse is being set up by McDavid.
We can talk about all underperformers and mentioning one is not defensive others.
All I want is Savoie news but all I get is childish berating.
oh well – same as always – I know most of OilersNation is classy.
You are an excellent poster. Very thoughtful and measured responses. Keep your head up and keep up the good work.
As long as you’re not the one being aggressive with numbers, I don’t think it’s a worry. Bob, Spec, Gregor, whomever, all get their share of unusual responses to tweets. I worry more about fans who are unsure their own opinions are on track. It doesn’t really matter what one values among the myriad stats/opinions, last night’s game was fantastic. That’s the important item.
One of if not the best Oiler hockey game I’ve watched since the Oilers last won the Cup!
Puljujarvi’s a fantastic player. Any team in the NHL would love to have him.
He trashes the opposition like a wrecking ball, and creates mayhem without even trying.
He has a very good nose for the net, and appears from nowhere making all kinds of good plays most that go unnoticed.
I’m waiting to see how he scores in the playoffs. Playing with McDavid is keeping his confidence level sky high.
Have to agree. So he missed some chances? Everyone does. McDavid does. He will also cash on chances too. He will get better.
also, have to agree that was a great game last night. Man, that sequence in OT, the Oilers should have won it but for Keumper. Very entertaining and hope we see that intensity in the playoffs. We will win our share, and maybe even go deeper than expected
Agreed, but he really needs to work on his finishing. (& stop with the slappers from the top of the circle with zero traffic).
What puzzles me is why he is no longer on the power play. How can you not play him at the very least on the second unit??
Re: Draisaitl’s slapper in the shootout, it’s a rare but not unheard-of tactic that has been used successfully before, even by Leon himself.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rrvO257pSCs
Skip ahead to the 3:20 mark for the shootout-decider.
Not the worst idea last night, Kuemper was stopping Everything so 29 tried to overpower him. Good shot, too, but Kuemper got a piece of it with his blocker.
My educated guess is that Leon has more 50-goal seasons than the combined total of all the experts telling him he’s doing it wrong.
Didn’t Chris Pronger use a slapper In a penalty shot?
One of the most memorable Oiler goals scored in my lifetime….if it hadn’t been overshadowed by later events that game.
Leon has a sore leg so maybe after a long game he didn’t feel a Deutchlander in him
Brian Rafalaki used to skate mach 5 to the top of the circle and and give a full rafter tickle of a slapper at the hash marks on shoot outs.
Brian Rolston, thats who did it.
I remember Malkin scoring on a slapper on a clear breakaway in one of their early playoff runs (’09, maybe?). It was a total ‘mic drop’ moment. Beautiful.
Everytime fans and media start running down Oiler players, I think of Jason Arnott and how, imo, the fans and media basically ran him out of town well before his time. He was young, as was the internet in those days, and the big centreman did not handle all the criticism well. Shame on the fans and media that piled on. Jason went on to have several more productive seasons in Other NHL cities. Too bad, he was a very good player, ruined here not by poor development, but by fans and media. Lets not do it again with Darnell, Jesse, Warren, or anyone else. These are people giving their all for us. Lets cheer for our team, its way more fun.
His “sometimes I’m just not into it” comment wasn’t gonna fly in a blue collar town on a team with a tight budget.
A 22 yr old kid with immense pressure on him, looking to answer a barrage of media questions, came up with an answer on the spot that he likely regrets and got roasted for it. Thanks for your understanding.
A team with a broke owner threatened to relocate. They used to have ticket drives every year to sell enough pre-sale / season tickets so they can be qualified for NHL equalization subsidies. They even came up with these minipacks asking for the last $50 of support from the people.
Yet there he is the star player can’t be bothered.
He grew up though. Remember these young players are young. Not everyone is a consummate pro at age 20-23.
Lloldminister money probably saved them on a couple of occasions.
Here’s how I’ll remember Jason Arnott. I was coaching my son’s novice team and we got some ice at the Coliseum. One of the parents knew someone with the Oilers and arranged for a player to drop by the dressing room after the game. So in walks 21 year old Arnott, and the room is packed with both teams and all the parents and siblings. I figured, this kid is going to sign a couple autographs, shake a couple hands and split. Instead, he signed everything, posed for countless pictures and chatted with all the kids. The last people to leave the room were the 2 coaches and Jason Arnott, and he asked if there was anything else we needed.
I was very impressed and also reminded that there are usually very good people behind the public persona that draws so much ridicule from fans
thanks for sharing that great memory!
Here is how I will remember Jason Arnott. Many years ago, I will say 1999, I used to rent a ski chalet up at Blue Mountain. One Saturday night the Oil were playing the leafs and I wanted to take my kids to watch the game at a local sports/bar/restaurant. It may have been a Don Cherry’s place, cannot remember. I warned my kids that if the Oilers score we cannot go nuts as we are deep behind enemy lines, surrounded by Leaf fans. The Oilers score and the bar erupts in cheers. I asked the table next to us what is going on and was told there is a full generation of Oilers fans in the area because Arnott came from Collingwood (where Blue Mountain is) and the Oilers drafted him. They all became Oiler fans. They still cheered for Edmonton even though Jason was playing for the Devils by then. That is how I will always remember Jason Arnott.
Arnott was the original JP
A horse of a guy, so much stronger than most players
I remember him grabbing a guy lying on his teammate and just tossing him off
For me he was the dominant player in his Cup win
But young and Oilers
From what I remember Jason wanted to get a fresh start in another city due to personal reasons.
Maybe to get out from under the scrutiny of the fans and media. Thats how i remember it.
So Jays up 6-1 in 3 rd and have already hit 4 homers!
Spoiler Alert!
To be fair, it’s not like they’re teeing off on anyone remotely resembling a Cy Young candidate here. Still good to see the sticks get hot though.
Brink signs with Philly today, wonder if we hear about Savoie that quickly too. Leavins in 9 things today stated he will be signing. Between he and Marek last night seems to be a foregone conclusion.
I am sure hoping for an ATO this year with ELC starting next year, as has been discussed previously by OP.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuLEGU9AX-k
Bobby, baby
As I’ve been saying, if its going to happen, i would expect in with 48-72 hours of last night.
For sure, I was surprised it happened so quickly with Brink, was holding out hope that would mean Savoie was signing quickly too.
It was good to hear McDavid respond to the question re: “cant feel bad about that game” with agreeing but also being clear that he thought they had a chance to get 2 points and was disappointed they were not able to find a way to get the two. I liked the attitude in his post-game last night.
I watched all 3 games last night (Oil, Condors, NCAA).
Pro tip: I never try to watch 3 games at once. I PVR the main game every game, so I can skip commercials. With AHLTV you can always watch later, but the NCAA I had no choice, but to watch live.
*This was a public service announcement and hopefully it helps at least 1 person who struggles with this.
I will be out of town most of next week until the following Monday and I endeavour to stay away from all Oilers news and plan to catch up later, via PVR’d games. Also really cool is that my Chinese wife has really gotten into Oilers games (she has definitely been a lucky charm, the team has won about 90% of the games that she has watched with me this season, and now she hates missing games. Her participation in my viewing experience makes it even more fun, but it has taken her 5 years to get into it) she even understands icing now 😀.
Fanti showed some excellent moments out there, but definitely could have had at least a couple. Kudos to him for the W, hopefully he will be more comfortable in his next start.
I have tried to watch Engaras closely, because I believe he is a legit player. Unfortunately he is getting very little opportunities and I don’t get it. By my eye he looks good and is in the right places. It doesn’t help that he is with the weakest line mates and D pairings.
I saw him once; he lined up for a face off on RW and that was when Esposito dropped the gloves. Engaras didn’t do anything physical that I could see, he kind of just stood there watching. After that 2 second “shift” he was never seen again. I wonder if he was struck by a puck on the bench, or something.
It will be nice to see Holloway and Broberg back on the ice.
McPhee has some moments in the 1st period last night from what I saw.
The 2nd goal on Fanti was awful – didn’t see the 3rd or 4th.
I read the last paragraph outloud to my Chinese wife and she said, ” It’s been 5 years and I’m not getting into it, so don’t you worry.”
Lol
LOL – thanks for the tip – yes, I know the options and I could do it differently. While it may not seem like it, I’ve got lots going on with career and personal fitness goals and a wife (who is sick right now), etc.
I think I’m fairly committed to watching the prospects and staying on top of it but going back to watch the Adam Cracknell show is a bit much (with Broberg, Marody, Sammy, Lavoie and Holloway all out hurt)…..
Cale Makar is going to finish the season approaching 30 goals and 85 points (give or take) and will likely finish a distant second for the Norris Trophy – that’s crazy!
Makar is a hell of a player! I expect there will be Norris’s in his future. Josi having a beast season. Not sure where the Preds would be without him.
Kuemper is probably looking at a 7 mil a year contract which makes him too rich for us
I imagine Markstrom would be a good comparable for him
If he continues like last night, Colorado will win Stanley and his agent will cite the Boborosky or Price contracts as starting points. Too rich for the Avalanche who will have to pay McKinnon at the end of next year, maybe Kadri next year (or replace him with a 6-7M player) and Rantannen the year after.
The caps a bitch unless you’re willing to LTIR your stars.
Colorado will trade for Price with 50% retained.
there’s a portion of the fan base that any criticism of an Oilers player must be stamped out
I think you can both appreciate JPs elite 2 way play but at the same time complain about his awful shot. It’s gonna cost him a ton of money this offseason
You can appreciate Foggys ability to get 10 goals in our bottom 6 which has been almost impossible to do for years but still say I was hoping for more when we acquired him
I think you can appreciate Nurses ability to play hours against the elites and still say that an 8 x 8 contract would have been more that fair
Well said.
JP has always been an okay finisher in my opinion. Pre draft it seemed like Aho and Laine were the finishers on that… Finnish team…
But JPs play driving has always seemed elite to me, and more so as he learns to use his size in the NHL.
His shooting percentage is 8.8 for the year, 9.1 for his career. He did pump up the volume (of shots) this year, that’s likely part of whatever solution he and the Oilers find.
This is a great post ✅
Well put.
Great post.
Imagine an Oilers fan taking a reasonable, balanced & nuanced approach to player evaluation.
You must be new to the fan base 😉 😉
“Ales Hemsky never got a fair shake, Shawn Horcoff was framed for an incorrect contract number, and Teemu Hartikainen got blown out of town for a very small sample of struggle. Things happen. Be happy in the knowledge you are on the correct side of the argument, understand there are people who won’t listen to reason, and move on with your lives filling it with good things like sunshine, beer and the Beach Boys.”
#PowerfulAdvice
Felt all of these things deeply.
I was convinced that Hartikainen was going to be a big physical (power froward?) middle six winger in Oilers silks for a long time.
Instead he was a bug physical top line power forward in the KHL for a long time.
Oilers didn’t know what they had in Harti.
Hartikainen, apart from Scrivens, was the best player on the ice in the Barons Marlies playoff series. Scrivens won the series. The Marlies lineup was loaded with future NHL regulars and tweeners. Hartikainen was the best non-goalie.
You know who didn’t suggest to you know who that maybe he would like to take a look at this player before you force him back to Europe.
“It is ridiculous to suggest he’ll make his NHL debut before Dylan Holloway, but circumstances are circumstances and Mike Comrie did happen. ”
I am old and I can’t remember the circumstances of the Mike Comrie situation; But one thing I think is grossly under represented in these forums is the power and influence of the Agent.
Is it possible that Savioe arrives at or before Holloway if his Agent negotiates something as a condition of signing?
Were any such shenanigans rumoured around the contracts of Schultz? Yak? or JP?
If you ever wonder why some player is playing higher in the lineup than his numbers suggest, or is getting more ice time …. or or or …. it could be an influential Agent at work.
Of course this would be at the GM level…not the Coach.
You are correct, Re:Agents. All players got some kind of guarantee.
Shultz had 30 teams trying to sign him – he got the max ELC contract available with the full $3MM (apx) of performance bonuses. There was really nothing to promise.
Savoie and his agent do have leverage in that he could go back to school and kick this can down the road.
The thought of the org is likely what Holloway signed last year and Fanti and Philp have recently signed – an ELC for the following season with an ATO to join the Condors for this season.
Savoie and his agency could “dig in” for a 2021/22 ELC which would burn the first year immediately upon signing (and he collects his signing bonus no matter where he plays).
A fabulous team effort by the Oil last night . I have to say the Av’s stole one . But that is what good teams do .
There has to be a way to get Ryan MacLeod in the top nine because he is being wasted down there on the fourth line . Maybe move Nuggy back up in the top six and let MacLeod play 3c .
.
I’m not even positive that Kuemper was better – he simply had more of an opportunity to make saves.
I’m not counting the shootout. Both goalies let in one goal through 65 minutes of hockey and the goal against Mikko was a no-chancer.
Kuemper was elite but so was Mikko in his opportunities – he may have continued to be one-goal against elite with 50 shots if he had the opportunity – we’ll never know.
Great battle.
For clarity I did say Kuemper was better in the shoot out not the first 65 mins. In those first 65 he was every bit on parr with Kuemper. Certainly feeling a lot more positive about our tending as we finish up the reg season and head for the play offs!
“You’re not going to win every argument on line, and often the tweet is intended to get reaction, so trusting your own assessment is vital in these online blowups.”
Why does it always have to be about winning an argument?
I find the best and most interesting discourse to be between those with differing views who are respectful and articulate.
Your opinion of JP vs Gregor’s opinion of JP is a perfect example to me. These are not matters of absolute fact. The shades of grey and the subtle, contextual differences are where the beauty lies…. imo
And yes…JP is a Beauty.
I’m not sure Gregor disagrees with me or vice versa. I am talking about those who put little value on Puljujarvi’s game. Unless Jason suddenly has lowered the value on JP, doubt we have much to argue about over the Finn.
No. I’m not communicating it properly.
Jason completely agrees with you on the value of JP (as do I). Jason takes exception to JP being on the top line because of a lack of production. ( Boxcars) I won’t go into the details (it has to do with marginal gain McDavid receives from JP vs JP’s lack of point production relative to someone like Kane)
It’s an example of a contextual difference that makes the conversation interesting. Two men respectfully disagreeing on the subtleties of the situation/discussion.
It’s where I like to live. It’s the reason I enjoy your discourse. I particularly focus on where your opinion differs from mine. It’s where the greatest potential for learning exists.
With respect, I can’t say I agree with the line of thinking in the post today. It sounds like “Looks like I’m right again, I’m almost always right, and if I’m not right now, I’ll eventually be right”. But maybe I’m missing some nuance.
I think a higher level of discourse is possible than this. In fact, it’s this stubborn approach that makes online debate so frustrating.
Having an open mind to all possibilities takes a debate to places that are not possible with the above rhetoric. It gives the participants comfort and opportunity to explore all possibilities including the most important possibility: That their view is wrong. Most importantly, it builds an environment of respect that allows the forum/twitter participants to learn from each other.
But while relatively common in face to face conversation, it is rare online. This is what is missing. This is why can find ourselves spinning in circles and accomplishing nothing on chat boards and twitter.
But we are a stubborn breed, myself certainly not excluded.
I am clearly still cheering “against the LAK” but I do have a slight worry about Vegas passing them as I don’t really want to play them in the first round given the possibility of them activating players.
With that said, from various accounts, it seems the league is taking this serious now and if Vegas tries to activate Stone, Smith, etc. for game 1, there will be eyes on the situation.
There are still 3 full weeks left in the regular season. Stone started skating again several days ago but yesterday participated in the team’s morning skate. He may very well be ready to go before the end of the regular season. If he is ready within that 3 weeks, they will have to dump $4.5 million in salary to fit him on the roster (why they tried to get rid of Dadanov at the deadline).
The leverage of any team Vegas trades to now will be enormous if they have to make one in the next 3 weeks and it will be a bad look for Vegas for whoever they would have to trade since that player will sit the rest of the season. No word on Reilly’s Smith’s status and if he might be ready before the end of the season, but they could fit him on the roster now as they have a tiny bit over $5 million in cap room (they can cover Smith’s cap hit by $5,000 now that they placed 2 more players on LTIR (Hague & Howden) , but that is without Stone being activated. If they clear out salary for Stone with a trade, and Stone is activated, they then couldn’t fit in Reilly Smith, without another salary dump, if he gets healthy before the end of the season.
I would think trading Smith, if he is healthy, would be the obvious move.
Arizona or Seattle could be teams interested with a sweetener.
Does Vegas have any assets/sweeteners left?
Not many.
If you are rooting against the 3rd place team that team may change a lot the rest of the season. 2 pts separate them and Vegas has more RW than LA. LA is playing the Wild today and next Vegas game is the Dys.
LA leading MIN 3-0 in the first.
The Kings next game is in Chicago, then an almost guaranteed loss in Colorado.
After that though, things get much easier with a pair against the decimated Ducks, another against Chicago, Seattle and Vancouver.
That offers the potential for a season ending win streak.
Also notable that they are still without their top paring D but both are expected back soon.
Where do you get that Doughty is expected back soon.
Last I read was they hoped he would be back for the playoffs (which is a follow up on prior advice that they were’t sure he’d return at all). I’ve ready/seen/hear nothing that he’s expected back soon.
Mikey Anderson, sure, good player and he plays top pairing but he’s a pure defensive guy and likely more suited to the 2nd pairing at his point.
He’s a good player and will help, of course, be preventing goals, as opposed to scoring them, isn’t the Kings main issue now, is it?
I’ve been wondering it alot over the last 48 hours but I’ll continue to do so – the contract for Savoie will be interesting. I think it will come in the next few days but will it be:
1) and ELC starting in 2022/23 with an ATO to play for the Condors for the rest of this season
OR
2) an ELC that start kicks in for this season and, given the play is 20 already, the first year will vest immediately upon signing
One would think it would be option 1 – that is what Fanti and Philp signed and what Holloway signed last season (although it was likely known that he was not going to play games).
Of note, the ATO is really an “unpaid internship” – they get their per diem and room and board but not real “pay”.
Fun game last night. The Avs games have been a real positive. When the Oilers skate and forecheck hard they can give the Avs dmen trouble.
Not to go full HH, but it is worth noting that the Avs were missing almost their entire second line.
Also, is it just me or did the zebras decide that tripping was no longer a foul? I counted close to ten trips (from both teams) that were egregious and no call.
I recall a time about 6 weeks ago when Yamamoto could’t piss a drop. He was getting chances but nothing was going in. Then, all of a sudden, the kid was scoring a goal a game and was PPG for a 10 game stretch (give or take).
Jesse is about to explode offensively.
I hope his explosion starts in about 10 games and lasts about 22… give or take.
Who had the better game / was more impactful, last night; McDavid or Draisaitl?
Both
They are like Gretz Mess – they bring different elements and it’s hard to deal with. Drai carried the second, Connor other parts of the game
I don’t think that we need to make a choice. Each is great in their own way and bring different skill set and between the two of them give us much different looks. I’m just grateful that they are both Edmonton Oilers
F#ck that. Pick one.
kidding 🙂