The great lost Canadian rock and roll band is Chilliwack. You can listen to any of their versions of “Raino” to hear their progression, or you can just listen to the hits. Part of the problem for Canadian bands is that the music is so available via radio due to CanCon, which is a blessing overall. The issue is that the music gets burned and people roll their eyes at the first notes of My Girl because the radio played the living hell out of it. Do me a favour: Buy a copy of Dreams, Dreams, Dreams and give it a listen or two. You won’t regret it. I promise.
The Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers don’t have much of a playoff history (it favours Edmonton), and honestly don’t have much history full stop.
The 1979 expansion draft saw the Canucks lose their four players at Nos. 59, 61, 62 and 65 out of a total of 65 players drafted by the new clubs. None of the players were chosen by Edmonton.
On the trade front, not much. Here is the transaction history.
- November 1979 signed free agent D Poul Popiel.
- October 1980 lost D Colin Campbell in waiver draft
- December 1980 lost D John Hughes in waiver draft
- March 1981 traded RW Blair MacDonald and rights to Lars Gunnar Petersson for D Gary Lariviere and F Ken Berry.
- August 1982 signed free agent D Joe McDonnell
- March 1987 traded LW Raimo Summanen for LW Moe Lemay
- March 1988 lost free agent F Ken Berry
- March 1989 traded C’s Greg Adams and Doug Smith for C John Leblanc and pick (Peter White)
- October 1990 lost D Randy Gregg in waiver draft
- April 1995 traded RW Roman Oksiuta for D Jiri Slegr
- August 1995 acquired D Brett Hauer for draft pick (Larry Shapley)
- January 1996 claimed Glenn Anderson off waivers.
- July 1996 lost F David Roberts in free agency
- August 1996 signed F Jesse Belanger as a free agent
- August 1999 signed D-F Bert Robertsson as a free agent
- February 2004 traded F Peter Sarno for G Tyler Moss
- November 2014 traded C Will Acton for C Kellan Lain
- February 2016 claimed Adam Cracknell off waivers
- February 2019 traded Ryan Spooner for Sam Gagner
These names bring back tons of memories for me. I found the Randy Gregg waiver claim galling, same with Huddy’s exit. Sports is a damn cruel business, those men played vital roles on the Stanley Cup teams and I thought they should have been handled better at the end of their runs with the team. It was nice to get Glenn Anderson and Sam Gagner back, and I was excited to see Moe Lemay in Oilers colours.
Overall, the transaction history, like the playoff history, is bland. Like matzah-balls bland.
THE SERIES TO COME
This will be the most interesting event in the history of Oilers-Canucks events. The 1986 series was over in three games, Oilers outscoring Vancouver 17-5 in a series where they had a 15.3 shooting percentage. That wasn’t unusual for the Oilers of that era. During the regular season, the percentage was 16.1! This year’s Oilers delivered a 10.5 shooting percentage during the regular season.
The second playoff series came in 1992. Joe Murphy was an impact player for Edmonton, the roster looked a little different and I’m reminded what a shame it was that Vincent Damphousse was dealt so soon after his arrival.
I don’t want to say much about the series because it looks like we should favour Edmonton heavily but there is much unknown. Who is the goalie? Thatcher Demko? Casey DeSmith? Arturs Silovs? Dunc Wilson? There are plenty of injury issues and plenty of evidence that the Canucks aren’t willing to play a freewheeling game because they don’t have the horses. What does that mean? A 1-0 lead by Edmonton would force Van City to open up and that could be fatal. The arrows favour the Oilers heavily but there’s a vagueness to the actual roster Edmonton will face. I have a feel for the series, it’s net positive. I don’t know all of the facts. No one does. Weird and anxious feeling.
At noon today on Sports 1440 we’ll have plenty of Oilers talk as the team prepares for round two. Daniel Nugent-Bowman at The Athletic will help us get a feel for the series and the mindset of goaltender Stuart Skinner. We’ll visit the other series and talk Blue Jays plus Timberwolves. . You can reach me at Lowetide on twitter, in the comments section or on the Sports 1440 text line at 1.833.401.1440 directly. Question: Would you like to see an updated 2024 Lowetide draft list later this week?
This will be a fun series, That Van D is going to try and hammer the crap out of McD and Drai as well as everyone in the corners and front of the net. Oiler forwards need to do the same to Hughes. Nashville really beat up on him and it hurt his output for sure. Skinner needs to be on his game and we win .
Rule change suggestion, would love to hear counter arguments….
In playoff overtime, coaches can challenge one minor penalty per period OT period…refs have the ability to rescind or upgrade…the kicker is the ref can add an embellishment call if they do choose.
I know the main counter argument is the league loathes long stoppages and dragging out games, but playoff OT is a unique scenario that is already overlapping into another TV slot
How the heck did Oilers miss on this Walker? This guy can skate. I think they should have spent to get him.
Skating in your bottom 4?
Nah, as Canucks fans will tell ya ‘Moar Biggr’ gets it done
Moose Jaw just took out WHL-leading Saskatoon in OT in Game 7. It was the sixth overtime game of the series. They will face Stefan and the Portlanders in the league final.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many OT games in one series.
The series was fantastic, one of the best that I’ve seen. So much talent on both teams.
Really glad SJ won the draft lottery. Aside from the fact that they were so clearly the worst team, Celebrini has a long actual history there, including his dad’s work with the Golden State Warriors. I like seeing players who have an actual connection to the cities that they’re in, rather than just being mercenaries for hire. It’s rare in sports today.
As much as I hate the teams, I would have been OK with Vancouver getting to draft Bedard or Phoenix getting Matthews. I was a little annoyed that Montreal passed on Shane Wright.
Draft List – Yes Please
Do random question. Are the Oilers now the veteran team that gets leeway from the refs and the Canucks get screwed cause they’re the new kids on the block? Or do you gotta be a US based team to get that?
So
… a needle pulling thread 🎵
Don’t get me wrong – Carolina is one of the most overrated teams in a long time…but how far in the bag is the NHL for the Rangers? Clutch, grab, hook, slash, punch…over and over and over.
Refs ‘letting them play’ – Burns got away with a few blatant crosschecks and Guentzel outright punched a guy. Playoff hockey!
I said the same after watching a few of their games in the 1st round.
Carolina is always overrated. Good team but not someone that is a cup favorite like they have been projected
We are always at war with Eurasia.
Teams evolve and many get better.
Jake Guentzel, Seth Jarvis Jack Drury and Dmitri Orlov have made the Hurricanes better.
It remains to one see if it’s enough.
Eurasia?
New York City says ‘your Mongol hordes and Middle Kingdom dynasties ain’t got nothing on us!’
2-0 Rags, Brind’amour will always have ’06 I guess
Orlov – talk about not coming close to meeting cap hit expectations.
3rd pairing. Sheltered with 23.9% TOI vs. elites.
Near $8MM.
The player, in isolation makes the team better. Of course, $8MM should buy much more.
Oh no. I have it on good authority that the Canes have “zero bad contracts”, so that just can’t be true.
Name the heart and soul on the Hurricanes? When the answer is the coach your not winning 4 rounds.
Singh/Debrusk doing the Rangers/ Canes game. Feisty game.
Im glad Grier and the Sharks got the pick. They’re still miles from contending but there’s a path for San Jose to get back to respectable.
Many criticized Grier for the Karlsson trade, but I think he made out great for two reasons:
a) he got a draft pick in the teens – that’s probably an NHL player
b) he made the Sharks so bad they get to add a franchise player.
Drafting 4th or 6th or 9th is doom. You gotta get right down to the bottom to get back up again.
The NHL draft order should be a straight up, unweighted lottery. Rewarding ineptitude is moronic and anti-sport.
Imagine how pathetically awful the Oilers would’ve been over the past 20 years with no draft pick consolation.
This is how the system works. Teams that are willing to endure a few seasons of awful hockey get to enjoy the fruits of their pain.
Oilers fans have paid their dues and now we reap the reward.
The Oilers would not have tolerated garbage management for anywhere near as long as they did under a proper system. Nor would they have been able to use the “rebuild” excuse.
Boosting the bad organizations is parity-seeking tv show garbage.
And fans wouldn’t have to put up with tanking anymore.
Is that done in any major profressional team sport? Certainly not in North America (that I know of). Doesn’t seem that, in reality, it is anti-sport, right?
With a hard cap, and a hard contract limit at 50, a draft is unnecessary. One should just get rid of it.
There is also this approach.
There’s also the point that it’s basically illegal. What other line of work tells you that you have to stand in line and get drafted? “Sorry, as much as we’d love to hire you here at Tim Hortons, you were drafted by Burger King three years ago in the 387th round.”
Or, y’know, just ask Quebeckers how they feel about conscription…
This is messed up on so many levels. The correct way to deal with not wanting a draft, if that was actually a concern for enough people, is for the players to start their own league and make their own rules. Those who take the financial risk get to decide how their industry operates
The players take no financial risk. Getting hurt is a risk, but everyone takes that risk every second by being alive
Intent of cancon – ensure canadian developed artists given secure enouhh foothold to thrive and help maintain some uniquely national cultural identity
*theoretically – fantastic potential
End result of cancon – I almost know what songs are coming next on main radio stations…to point of without ever caring to hear raine Maida’s whimper screech again in my life, from get go, I know almost all the words to so many whimper screeched ditties….”why ee yi ee yi ee indeed raine…indeed”
*reality – the devil
Stompin’ Tom had a lot of good things to say about better ways to use it in some of his books. As a random note.
Whenever the Government “fixes” ’something, it farks up several other things.
Every. Single. Time.
Celebrini goes to SJS.
His father works for the Golden State Warriors.
Just watching the draft lottery and how this use to be the biggest day of the year for us Oiler fans. It seemed we planned the parties so far in advance. We’d have rhymes for the players. Good times but glad they’re gone
The Bob Father’s Draft Lottery player rankings.
https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/bob-mckenzie-s-nhl-draft-ranking-an-unpredictable-ride-after-macklin-celebrini-1.2116004
Vancouver Police have issued an Amber Alert!
Looking for a tall-lanky Swedish man riding a PDO pony.
Anyone seeing this pair is to contact the Vancouver Canucks Hockey Club at (604) 899-7400
We hope he hides well for a few weeks until Cancun golf course time
Quick quiz…
Which player in the upcoming series has the highest shooting percentage that is well above his career average?
Probably the fella with the most high danger area shots and goals this season and playoffs.
Hyman.
Which Oiler forward leading the playoffs in scoring is well below his established shooting %?
Vancouver is less then 300 days away from 20,000 without ever winning a cup.
Don’t be a dickhead
The answer to the ‘quick quiz’ is Dakota Joshua, with the follow-up answer being Nils Hoglander.
Perhaps the hairhead was being ironic in this case? 😂
Or you might also be right.
It’s late, nobody will read this.
Oilers blog pokes fun at the opposition is ok. Coming onto an Oilers blog to poke fun at Oilers isn’t cool. Walk into the opposing football clubs pub and try it.
So purposely antagonizing people is different than participating.
He’s a professional flopper he gets the calls during the regular season not so far in the first round. Need to be physical with this prima donna and he’ll go into instant hiding.
The NHL draft lottery goes in just over an hour.
I ran the Tankathon simulator 100 times and Chicago came up roses a whole bunch of times.
Imagine having Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini on the same team.
Better than Kane and Toews.
A great profile of the Celebrini family here:
https://www.espn.co.uk/nhl/story/_/id/40074249/boston-university-macklin-celebrini-next-big-nhl-draft-prospect
Been there done that
Lots of talent and both undersized. Neither in the truly elite range. We will see, but they will be better for sure. Lots of road to go
Celebrini is 6’0″ 190 and will most certainly end up playing above 200.
Scouting reports have him as an elite franchise player.
https://www.capfriendly.com/scouting-reports/players/macklin-celebrini
What’s not to like?
I like him. As I said we’ve been there. A bunch of 1 OVs didn’t change their fortunes until Connor arrived. Two weak drafts with Yak and Nuge, a meh one with Tyler and Taylor, never a stud D at the top that they needed badly. Only the actually generational guy moved the needle
I also don’t buy the hype that goes on. It was over the top with Bedard, who started off as ‘having a great shot’ and ended up having people reference him with McDavid, and being generational
When they prove that they can dominate 200 feet, and in the playoffs, I’m in. High talent alone doesn’t win diddly squat
I see Celebrini gained an inch since the last article you posted about him, and 10-20 lbs as well.
You have to remember that sports leagues often exaggerate heights and weights.
Players also don’t typically gain size as the hockey season goes on either.
Not that it takes away from his skills and talent at all, it’s just funny how you seem to exaggerate the sizes of anyone who doesn’t play for the Oilers.
I bet if Nuge signed that 8×8.5 million contract for Seattle like you said he would, you would be calling him 6’2 and 205.
A stopped clock is more accurate than HH. Incredible.
https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/597559/macklin-celebrini
https://theathletic.com/5470339/2024/05/06/nhl-draft-top-prospects-2024-celebrini-demidov/
https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=261744
Need more?
I could go all night.
— Vancouver would be a very unlikely team to win the cup (unless with hindsight they win a few going forward)
— They haven’t had a playoff appearance in many years.
— The cup “always” goes to a team with some all of the following (some outliers of course)
1) won a cup recently and core together (Bruins arguably, Colorado)
2) had multiple runs in previous seasons and ready to go over top (Florida, Carolina)
3) Have greatest players in history of game (Oilers, who have also lost to eventual cup winners last 2 seasons)
Dallas Rangers Vancouver are unlikely cup winners based on precedence. Bruins aged out.
— Edmonton Colorado Carolina and Florida fit the “profile” of teams that traditionally the Stanley Cup identifies as the eventual winner.
— in any year there really are only 4-6 teams that meet some of these proxies. Vegas being the other one from beginning of year that also got. IMO.
4) Take maximum advantage of LTIR (CBH, TBL and VGK)
^^^ this
Listening to coach and there is a real chance Henrique doesn’t play.
He wouldn’t confirm lines in that case, said it would likely be by committee as far as McDavid’s open winger spot, but offered up the players all like playing with Janmark, he makes the right play, good with the puck, etc.
Per DNB:
Oilers lines at practice:
Janmark-McDavid-Hyman
RNH-Draisaitl-Kane
Holloway-McLeod-Perry
Foegele-Ryan-Brown
This is the expected lineup for Game 1 at VAN. Kris Knoblauch called Henrique “day to day.” He has a suspected lower-body injury. Knoblauch said Brown will play Game 1
Wouldn’t Brown be a much better fit in the first line? He’s faster than Janmark, good defensively, plays the PK and is still a better scorer despite his issues this season.
Perhaps and that does seem like a reasonable option – they probably would prefer to keep Hyman on RW though given all the success he’s had there this year….
This is my preference too
At NHL Edge Jan is faster with less bursts
Both bad at everything and else this season
The Oilers vulnerability is the right side of the defense, and the forwards commitment to working hard on defense.
The Oilers showed much better in these areas against LA than what had been normal, but it remains the vulnerability.
If an opponent can outwork the Oilers fowards and sustain pressure on Bouchard and Ceci, and to a lesser extent, Desharnais, the Oilers can be beat.
If the OIlers don’t break, they will be hard to beat. Early in the year, Vancouver was able to expose the Oilers.
So does history rhyming mean the Bruins, the Hurricanes, or Laviolette?
Well said and I would add that we should expect those weaknesses to cost us a few goals and hope that they don’t cost us too many games.
Outscoring those errors on the power play has been a key to success. I worry about how many power plays we will get in this series as the refs swallow their whistles allowing more infractions the deeper we get into the playoffs. Based on history, it’s probably fair to assume we will have less power plays than we did in the first round which will magnify every RD blunder/lazy backcheck error.
Backchecking can win this series. Draisaitl was a backchecking demon against LA. Hyman Perry were attentive as well. Kane and Foegele were still slow to the task like they were in the regular season.
That would be my gameday message to this team.
I’m not seeing Ceci, Bouchard or Desharnais as being weaknesses. Maybe the LA series has given me recency bias.
For me Ceci and Des are a weak link. They played well positionally last series, but they aren’t great with the puck. The difference between them and Bouch in passing is startling, it is such a wide gap. It’s in the timing and vision
The left side is quite a bit more solid moving the puck well and quick enough
I would suggest that the drop off in passing from Hughes to Soucey and Zadarov is just as wide, right?
If you go by last series, it’s Ceci and Des they go after – GF% at 5v5 – 28.6 and 42.9. Bouch was 63.6
Bouch also had the most D zone starts and least on the fly starts other than EK. Despite his brain farts Bouch is their best D now, unless Ek is 100% healthy. It seems now there is always something niggling at him
I’m not a big fan of the week off in the middle of an intense tournament like the NHL playoffs, as you are aware. I don’t think resting a team that is dialed in helps at all. It was one of the advantages the 2006 Oilers had going into the playoffs against DET. DET was coasting/resting while the Oilers had been fighting for their playoff lives for a month. That edge is hard to manufacture from game one of the series. By the time DET did, it was too late.
That said, I don’t think it puts the Oilers at a disadvantage here because VAN has had almost as much time off. So they are both going to be mentally rusty.
I do think the Oilers are at great risk of taking VAN too lightly with their injuries. My prediction is that the Oilers get beaten badly in game one in every game aspect including the scoreboard, then get their heads in the right place for game two which they lose a squeaker due to some bad luck.
Then they come home fired up at the missed opportunity and go on to win the series.
A 2-0 lead in the series for Vancouver would be insurmountable for the Oilers. Vancouver is much too good defensively for the Oil to win 4 of 5.
Agreed. Look at Boston and Florida last night. Boston just went 7, one day between games, down to Florida, and they steamrolled a rested playoff-ready team.
Boston were sharp and FLA were rusty, Swayman was incredible and Florida threw in the towel when the B’s went up 3-1 at the end of the 2nd. This series is still the Panthers to lose.
Don’t think this scenario applies to the Pacific matchup – both teams are ‘rusted’ and all goalies in the series run hot/cold.
I agree with others here, though – Koach K has the team more prepared than in the past.
I also fear a Game 1 loss – every Oiler series seems to begin that way. But the Oilers usually bounce back once their backs are to the wall, so I’d be surprised for them to go down 2-0 in this series.
Of importance, the last series did not begin that way (finally).
I think with the physical beating that they took in the first round that a week off is just the right amount of time off. I’ll take a bit of rust over painful injuries any time.
So Jay Woodcroft says he’s been focusing on Eastern teams these playoffs. Is he gearing up for a hiring on an Eastern team needing a new coach? I thought Buffalo would consider Jay but decided not to, instead recycling an older coach. Would he be a front runner for the Leafs should Keefe get turfed? San Jose? Seattle or maybe Winterpeg? You got to think he gets another shot somewhere?
Friedman saying this morning that New Jersey is very likely a landing spot for Woodcroft.
Woody has a long history in San Jose, and apparently the Sharks are looking for someone familiar. He also has a demonstrated history of developing young players, which could really benefit the Sharks.
The start time for the Sunday game in Edmonton has been revealed.
7:30 MDT
The US broadcaster has opted for prime time for Boston – Florida.
The extra time is really stretching some folks out.
Ppl worrying about the players getting too long a break I’m worried about some of y’all getting this long.
Yeah, the break doesn’t worry me as far as the players go. Vancouver is dealing with a similar situation, so there’s no excuse for Edmonton starting slow. And I’d prefer a longer break to no break for recovery reasons…I do find the wait wearing personally though.
KK has been really good having the team ready in these sorts of situations. First game back from a road trip used to be a loss for this group but not under KK (by memory, I’d love to see the splits).
The extra rest is good for them. Vancouver gets 4 days too, similar sort of extended break. Both teams will come out flying I bet.
Agreed. Since KK was hired, the Oilers only lost once after a break 3+ days. After the all star break they lost to Vegas.
After the 5 day break to start December, they beat Carolina 6-1. After Christmas break, they beat Sharks 5-0. After Jan 2-5 off, they beat Ottawa 3-1. After April 7-9 off, returned the Vegas All Star loss favour to Vegas 5-1. After April 19-21 off, beat LA 7-4 to begin playoffs. 5-1 after breaks of 3+ days.
I really don’t understand why this series heavily favours the Oilers. It’s a coin flip. Teams are very evenly matched
It’s because the Oilers have Connor & Leon, and the Canucks don’t.
I’m not sure if you’re being serious, but if you are, that’s a terrible take. Oilers have had Connor and Leon for a while now and… no Stanleys. Will take more than Connor and Leon. Unfortunately.
I agree with this and I don’t like the Oilers being the ‘sexy’ pick, on what seems like recency bias. Then I just nod along with all the bandwagon-jumpers here in BC that the Canucks will win easily since they blew the Oilers out in the regular season.
It’s worrisome that all the experts are picking the Oilers. Seravalli predicts Edmonton in 5.
It will be a tough series. It will go at least 6 games. It will matter greatly who scores first, who wins first, who has the momentum when the teams travel back and forth across the rockies.
I do like that Edmonton has developed a more disciplined style of play, however we’re not without our achilles vulnerabilities, and Vancouver isn’t without high-end scoring & defending talent.
If things break right Oilers in 6. If the Canucks play up to their level they could easily get ahead.
Edmonton was the better team the last half, probably why the bookies choose them. Also goal is a question mark for the Dys, even though Silovs has been good
If the Oilers play up to their level they will win. But as said sometimes they find that difficult
Yeah, I get the impression that a lot of fans think this will be a cakewalk. It won’t. I want Edmonton to win as much as anyone, but pretending that the series is a foregone conclusion is silly.
Yeah that’s my take exactly. Far too much optimism based on a small sample size of the first round. Personally I hope the Oilers sweep and prove they were indeed the prohibitive favourites but as things stand now, let’s not put the cart before the horse.
Following varied levels of success in recent playoffs, we often took the high road and described the loss as a lesson learned. Well, we have accumulated a lot of those lessons learned… seems reasonable to conclude, it’s time to apply those tough lessons, win playoff games. We’ve got the horses, we’ve got the best jockeys, our time is now.
The Oilers were the better team over the last 5 months of the regular season and the team that has been through the rigours of the playoffs and learned the lessons and the Canucks are without their best player.
Looking at the top 7 skaters (regular season pts) playoff pts from both teams – interestingly enough is 5F and 2D for each team.
Oilers: 6.9 pts per player average / 5.2 pts per player average (29 and 97 not included)
Nucks: 3.7 pts per player average / 2.8 pts per player average (Miller and Boeser not included).
Oilers obtained the numbers shown above against the #3 defensive team during the regular season (LAK) – VAN was worse at #6 and now without their PDO Pony and #1 goalie.
Oilers ARE the better team right now and that is what counts. Oilers in 5.
I see this going 7 games.
Oilers are bookies favourites to win the cup.
Thanks to Vegas, no doubt. Imagine the 4 most dangerous teams squaring off for the beaten up booby prize of being allowed to play the what should be well rested Oilers in the semis. Canucks will play good and hard and will be out in 6, is my hunter1909 prediction on the series.
In the East, I hope Boston fight their way through to the finals where they will be bounced like it’s 1990 by the McDavid Draisiatl Perry Kane RNH Nurse Hyman Bouchard Holloway Ekholm Skinner Desharnais Oilers. Boston and Florida are well balanced well organised teams but lack star power when lined up against the Oilers.
NYR and Carolina are both scary prospects for the finals.
Hurricanes are the new SJS – predicted to win year after year and zero, nada, zilch!
Zero bad contracts.
Zero retained salary
$27 million in free cap space in the offseason.
Won a cup in 2006 and now 6 straight playoff appearances.
Pretty much the antithesis of the Sharks.
We all know no Cup was awarded in 2006.
Kane is skating today but no Henrique.
Janmark continues to take Henrique’s spot at practice which, as it did yesterday, signals a good chance that Henrique will not be able play game 1.
If he was likely to play and they were just using a placeholder (like they have been with Brown for Kane), I don’t think it would be Janmark as they’d likely keep Janny with his regular linemates and placehold someone like Gagner.
I think we can all expect Janmark on McDavid’s wing tomorrow night.
Why would they play Janmark on the 1st line?
Where’s all this depth we’ve been hearing about?
I’d rather see Holloway on the 1st line.
Janmark seems one of the worst choices to play alongside Connor.
He can’t finish, his specialty is limiting offence; is he the defensive conscience for the top line?
Limiting offence makes sense. I would think every player on the ice needs a defensive conscience. Holloway is still working on his.
They’ve played Janmark in the top 6 before, this season.
I don’t disagree with your premise but I think the coaching staff likes Janmark’s responsibility and I don’t think they have the trust yet to play Holloway those minutes.
Personally, I would think Brown would come in to the lineup and slot in there (although that would shift Hyman back to left wing) or Foegele up.
We’ll see – Janmark actually playing there in a game is purely m speculation.
Actually, the word is they will be filling Henrique’s spot out by committee. Whoever is playing well could see time on the top line with Connor & Zach.
Holloway is needed on the 3rd line with McLeod. Perry will be ineffective without two speedy forwards playing with him.
Maybe give Foegele a 2nd chance with Draisaitl and Kane, and move Nugent-Hopkins up with McDavid is Henrique cannot go.
Janmark (with McDavid) on Boeser is probably okay as a matchup.
This would be a solid approach given Foegele and Drai’s history of success togehter.
Maybe Connor Brown makes an appearance with Foegele & Ryan on the fourth line.
Janmark-McDavid- Hyman
Nuge-Leon-Kane
Holloway-MacLeod-Perry
Foegele-Ryan-Brown
That’s how I see it anyway.
“Weird and anxious feeling”
For me it’s anxious. Because we never know which Oilers will show up. The freight train going downhill, or the ones that aren’t skating hard enough, can’t make a clean pass, take a hard to save shot, or beat the iron
Basically they’re bound to lose a game in every series from this tendency, but they are making up for it in spades in every other freaking facet on ice.
I believe they look to be a mature team. That’s the team we see during the playoffs.
The regular season is over. They’ve taken on a new identity.
We’ll know that when they get to a final
Anything goes sideways and they often start forcing things and that’s when it’s not good. Puck management out the window. Hasn’t worked out for them that way so far
I know we don’t do carryovers but with the extended break why not.
Looks like Blake is gonna stay in L.A., it’s like a Cathy Wood scenario with that franchise. How much more capital do you want to watch him light on fire before you pull the chute? Awesome move by a failing franchise. Love it.
For Toronto, Reja made the point that they had to get Tavares in there for their Cup window. But they didn’t need Tavares, they had loads of young forwards, perfectly stretched across the age curve to run for 12 years. They needed defensemen and a backup for Freddie Andersen. Signing Tavares and then later the bizarre contract for Marleau, prevented them from addressing what has always been a very clear need on the backend. Dubas then kept panic trading away the young forward capital he drafted for literally nothing and wasn’t patient with the dmen he did draft.
Why they haven’t even attempted to address that issue with anyone but aging vets is a true mystery. It’s clear their pro scouts and mgmt have no idea how to value defensemen. Holland trades a first and Barrie for Ekholm and gets the best pairing in hockey. Dubas and Trelving deal for the ghosts of Muzzin, Brodie, Giordano and Klingberg and are shocked when none of it works out.
It’s not beating up on Toronto per se it’s being sorta shocked that they managed to screw up what was very good drafting from 2013-2018.
Is there a franchise in the NHL that you think is NOT a tire fire?
There’s 22 of them that are fine and/or totally middling so I don’t really care.
L.A., Winnipeg, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa are in crazy territory and I have Dallas, Tampa, Vegas, Colorado and Detroit on downgrade watch.
Blake is a joke and totally wrecked his teams forward progress. Sorry you tossed your lot in with him last summer but a lot of folks here called it.
Fun fact both Toronto and L.A. gave up on Durzi. And both franchises lost that trade clearly and obviously each time they dealt him lol.
So how do you feel about Columbus, Arizona/SLC, Buffalo, Chicago, Anaheim, San Jose, Philadelphia and Montreal?
I don’t think they would classify as “middling”.
I’m having a really tough time coming up with 22.
I try not to rag on early stage rebuilding teams too much.
Grier has certainly donated a few good players of late but ya know after watching Karlsson struggle this year and Hertl be a non-factor he may have been on to something. Early days, let’s see what he does with all that draft capital.
Too early to say on Anaheim, San Jose, Chicago and to an extent Montreal. Not sure Montreal has the horses to execute its rebuild turnaround so they are sorta on downgrade watch but get another year.
SLC Dogs have been quietly rebuilding and stockpiling picks. With a new owner with an arena and a committed fanbase I’m open to being surprised.
Definitely shoulda tossed Philly and Buffalo on my list of downgrades. But… it’s sorta expected for them to muff something so I don’t think much about them if at all.
Columbus is odd… I’m not sure if it’s a franchise failure thing or an exceptionally unlikable living setup for players. Cant say I think too deeply about them.
Asks the guy who contrives that there is only one franchise that is a tire fire.
If I had to pick one team that is a tire fire it would be Columbus.
Virtually NOTHING works out for them.
Can you imagine having 30 year old Johnny Gaudreau under contract at $9.75 million until 2029.
EDMONTON.
Dubas was especially impatient.
The Marleau contract helped them make the playoffs, but cost them Seth Jarvis.
Muzzin cost them Durzi, and helped them win zero playoff rounds.
Loading up with Nick Foligno cost them another 1st.
Instead of a slow build, they tried to be a contender very early in the core-4’s tenure, and have been pretenders as a result. They are in a world of sh!t.
I’ve long thought Shanahan was the Biggest Problem in Leafs land. Many moves sniff of his MO and there’s no way he wasn’t part of the Tavares action (more on that below).
Fun fact – the Leafs under Lou traded Carter Verhaege for one year of Michael Grabner. Nonis drafted him.
Sometimes the brass and the GM value the same things or players, and are just wrong. That doesn’t usually change before a lot of damage is done and it’s not a choice anymore, it’s a necessity
I was surprised the Pens let Dubas pull a palace coup, or even hired him. The memories in the NHL are pretty long, and the cache doesn’t seem to get cleared very often. I suppose they still buy into the 5 year old narrative that he’s a stats boy genius, and let him saddle them with an expensive ‘ghost of’ contract like Tavares. At least Tavs was 28 when signed not 33 like when Karlsson was acquired
Both were unnecessary and too expensive to allow any depth
You are spot on here yup. But its important to remember the weird structure the Leafs had in place when Dubas was cutting his teeth. He was sheltered in the Marlies but jumped into a hornets nest when he got to the Big Team.
Shanahan was brought in April 2014, went scorched earth that season firing Carlyle despite being in a playoff spot and then Nonis after the season. Before he went about hiring a GM though he went and signed Babcock to the largest coach contract in NHL history. He then hired Lou but set up a triumvirate with Dubas and Hunter as Co GMs.
The Tavares contract reeks to high heaven of Shanahan and Babcock being the two smartest guys in the room. The Leafs were clearly on the upswing after drafting Nylander (2014), Marner (2015) and then Matthews (2016), while also having Hyman, Kapanen and Connor Brown. But that Kapanen trade began the systemic trades of veteran cover leaving the young fellas to fend for themselves.
The Leafs made the dance three straight years leading up to the 2018 offseason but never made it through.
Then Lou left, Dubas got the promotion and in the summer when all of Nylander, Marner and Matthews were either eligible or should have been the focus for re-ups Dubas made the decision to chase Tavares. Now on the face of it that’s not the worst idea but three things were very peculiar.
1) Matthews was already a better scorer
2) Marner was clearly the better setup guy
3) Tavares did not lead his team in scoring in a UFA year, that went to Barzal and he never won a major trophy after the Calder. In fact if you look at it Tavares he has always scored at a 2nd line rate 5v5.
Dubas signing Tavares created the 3x$10 million problem cause he was obviously the 3rd most talented player on the roster the second he was signed, with an outside chance that Nylander too would eclipse him which has come to pass. It also blocked the Captaincy for any of Toronto’s young gun draft picks of Reilly, Marner or Matthews. Blocked it for a guy who came from another org and who was already the 3rd most talented player on the roster.
I find it sorta odd that LT retains a soft spot for Dubas and loves to rail the Keith trade for setting the Jones contract floor. What Dubas did to the Leafs by setting the going rate with a crazy overpay to Jammy John was way worse than the Nurse contract.
I’m not sure Jammy’s contract was an overpay at the time, he would have had lots of interest. But it was a need not pay for sure. Pretty hard to get if they were supposedly into math. Just need Capfriendly and a calculator to see that problem coming
The flat cap hurt them like everyone but still
As for the Pens year. I can’t imagine the mental gymnastics Dubas did to trade for Karlsson and jettison Guentzel within eight months of each other.
Fireable offense.
Head scratcher. There does seem to be a Guide and Record Book bent in him
I don’t actively listen to Chilliwack, but when I hear them I usually think what a solid songwriter Henderson is, what a great band
A few years back, Chilliwack played at the Parksville Beach Festival.
I didn’t actually attend the concert but live very close to the outdoor stage where they performed and was treated to an al fresco serenade while sitting on my deck.
They were great.
Florida showed yesterday why I don’t like this one week break for the Oilers.
Yes. Split in Van, win two, lose one, close at home
If they play like they can may not go 6, but you never know
I know Silvos had a strong 3 games and, of course, he could shut the door in any single game – so could Cal Pickard, Jack Campbell and probably even Oly Rodrigue.
At the same time, this is a goalie while having some pedigree and a potential future, that has minimal NHL experience and has not had success in that experience (prior to these playoffs) and has been just OK in the AHL.
I don’t see an Aidan Hill like run here and I think we’ll see both Silvos and DeSmith in this series – hopefully we see both tomorrow night!
I haven’t seen a goalie steal a series in years. Maybe since Price got the Habs to the final
My take is that teams can have trouble generating enough actual high dangers against certain opponents, and if the goalie is playing really well it’s hard to score. Hill for example is not that great if you can make some seam plays, get him moving. True of all goalies, but a particular weakness for him. If you don’t, with how Vegas collapses, because of his size there isn’t much to shoot at
Boston lit up the Panthers because of how they were shooting. Picking corners and not missing open areas of the net. Bob was leaving top net space
Jordan Binnington stole the entire Stanley Cup.
Possibly. But his team was playing pretty well in front of him
Actually the Blues were last in the league on Jan 02, 2019.
They won the season from Jan 2 with 30 wins & finished 3rd in the central with 99 points.
Binnington back-stopped them from Jan 02 to the cup
Listened to Woodley yesterday on Gregor’s show. He had some very good insights about how to beat Silovs – hope the Oiler coaches were taking notes!
Ya, Woodley’s weekly with Gregor is a must listen.
Hoping to hear that Henrique is a full participant this morning.
I’m not concerned about Kane’s availability to play but I do have some concern with Henrique who I think might be dealing with multiple ailments (DVD thinks ankle).
That’s where the depth of the Oilers come to fruition. Next man up.
Travis Green gets a 4 year deal to coach in Ottawa.
https://www.sportsnet.ca/article/ottawa-senators-hire-travis-green-to-be-next-head-coach/
Buffalo and Ottawa made such uninspired choices. More losing should ensue.
Green strikes me as a very odd choice in Ottawa since he had issues integrating young players into the lineup when in Vancouver and Ottawa has a ton of them.
He has a reputation of being a dink so perhaps that is what Staios was looking for.
Almost certainly. I ran into Robert Esche (Utica’s owner) just after the Dys hired Green. He used a term to describe Mr Green that we don’t often use in North America, and that he would whip those scoundrels into shape
Marek and Friedman echoing this line of thinking on the radio this morning but using the term “blunt”.
Staois must believe the Senators need a “culture” readjustment.
That’s pretty close the one Esche used
Ha…that’s what I thought!
That is a baffling choice. The verbal here in Ottawa echoes that. I don’t know what Staios is thinking here.
The Sens have gone from cusp of the playoffs to “uhhh what the hell are you guys up to?” In less than a year.
What a poorly run franchise I tells ya.
And the craziest part is that their prospect pool has practically dried up in the process. The best they have left (Ostapchuk, Jarventie, Guenette, Kleven, & Sogaard) isn’t that far removed from what EDM has, but without any of the playoff runs. They at least have a lot of youth in the NHL but some of that youth may be getting tired of no playoff hockey.
They need calm hands throughout the entire franchise. Since that Cinderella run in 2017 it’s just been a total gongshow
Fans mad at the owner, the owner embarrassing himself with the City and his arena development partners. Players and their partners sniping at each other in public and turning on the Coach/Mgmt.
Hiring guys in the GM and Coaching roles who aren’t good enough to be in the roles. The franchise sale, the prospect/player tampering, the surrender of draft picks and Lordy me the inability to find someone even close to an NHL Goaler.
The whole team just needs to go dark. No talking to the media, no cameras, no interviews, just focus on hockey and stop the damn circus.
Wont happen of course but the tumult they’ve put themselves through has been real and spectacular.
It has happened quite a few times over the years. Keenan, Hitch, Torts. Green won’t coach 4 years, but he will change the vibe, and at that point they will get a regular type of coach. But a hard ass can make change quickly, and help Steve weed out the ones lacking drive
I believe that experience does contribute to a team winning in the playoffs. However, it also depends on where a player or team is at the moment. So, looking at the Oilers and Canucks 7 highest scoring players from this regular season and what they have for playoff experience and pts contribution.
Player: 2024 Reg Season Pts / Total Playoff Games / Total Playoff Pts
Canucks
EP 40: 89 / 23 / 21
Boeser: 73 / 23 / 17
JT MIller: 103 / 84 / 50
Hughes: 92 / 23 / 21
Hronek: 48 / 6 / 0
Garland: 47 / 14 / 4
Lindholm: 44 / 33 / 20
Oilers
Connor: 132 / 54 / 87
Leon: 106 / 54 / 87
Bouch: 82 / 33 / 35
Hyman: 77 / 65 / 48
RNH: 67 / 54 / 45
Henrique: 51 / 33 / 15
Viking: 45 / 92 / 43
In the top 7 high-end skill positions (not including goalies), Oilers have 86% more NHL playoff experience and170% more pts.
Advantage Oilers! Now this team needs to finish these guys off – 4 or 5 games would be nice but any series win is acceptable – just move on!
Chilliwack is still touring.
https://www.ticketmaster.ca/chilliwack-tickets/artist/743958
For years I used to work in Whistler village, and the muni would set up a stage on a regular basis outside the office for various events.
About 10 years ago I heard a band playing, thinking ‘these guys do great Chilliwack covers’…turns out, it WAS Chilliwack!
Florida losing 5-1 to Boston should be a wake-up call for all Oilers fans.
Florida knocked Boston out last year in the 1st round, Vancouver was in Cancun.
Oiler fans should take solace that Florida was basically a .500 team in March/April when their commitment to defense and goaltending sputtered.
They’ll always be a volatile team.
March1 – end of regular season:
EDM – 3rd
VAN – 13th
FLA – 14th
BOS – 19th
FLA and Bos pretty close during that time. VAN PDO pony pulled a Michael Martin Murphey, ran away and died!
What is the wake-up call you are referring to?
That highly favoured teams cannot only lose, but get spanked. I should have referred to myself I guess. I am very, very confident the Oilers will beat Vancouver, but it’s the playoffs – anything can happen.
No surprise.
McDavid, MacKinnon and Kucherov are the finalists for the Hart Trophy.
https://www.nhl.com/news/2024-nhl-hart-trophy-finalists-announced
So, McDavid puts up the first 100 assist season in 33 years and will not the Hart – absolutely hilarious. Kuch should win the Hart, but Connor gets the Smythe!
The last time a Hart winner made it past the second round of the playoffs was 2004.
I am okay with McDavid not winning it.
“Weird and anxious feeling” indeed LT.
The Canucks game plan/strategy/system most likely changes dramatically if the 3rd string goalie gets the call. More shutdown which seems to be the mantra in these playoffs which isn’t a huge surprise.
I think the calming part for me is hearing our players speak with a calm, been here, done that vibe. This time I believe them. They are just words of course, now go out and execute your game being on the right side of the puck with heavy sticks along the wall and cycle after a hard forecheck.
Oilers in 6!
Yeah its really weird learning how to follow a legitimately great hockey team again. The difference in any hockey game is limiting mistakes and executing on your own plays. Things Oiler teams in the past really struggled with because they didn’t have the depth and skill they do now. Now we wait for the other shoe to drop – only it doesn’t. This team knows it can beat anyone if they limit their mistakes, let the game come to them, and execute with skill when they invariably have an opportunity to score.
I can’t wait for this series to start, but I have to say, a full week off between playoff games worries me more than lack of rest would. Thankfully Vancouver had a lengthy layoff as well. This team plays fast and with high skill. When the timing is off, it gets ugly. I just hope we don’t take too long to get up to speed because going down early in the series could be problematic.
With that said, I do think the Oilers are the better team and should take this series, but I also felt that in the regular season series as well.
Go Oil!
I was 15 when Dreams Dreams Dreams was released in 1977. Listened the heck out of it that year along with Bat Out of Hell, Trooper’s Knock ’em Dead, Kid and the absolutely ubiquitous Rumours. A year later I was all about new wave.
At least once a month Lowetide gets me nostalgic for half-remembered CanCon. Wonder what Apple Music has in the way of early Prism…
I recently introduced Bat Outta to the teen book shelvers at the Library I manage. I don’t know if they like it but they’re certainly fascinated with it.
Jim Steinman produced some of the most bombastic pop rock of the 20th century. From Meat Loaf to Air Supply to Barry Manilow. We were in the path of the totality here in Indiana for the April 8 eclipse so Bonnie Taylor’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” was played more than once. He is to music what Michael Bay is to film.
David Staples wrote about the Canucks likely strategy (puck possession) yesterday with contributions from Ray Ferraro and Thomas Drance.
https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey/behind-enemy-lines-vancouver-canucks-plan-to-win-muddy-against-the-edmonton-oilers
Dangle the newest thing in front of Staples and he’ll tell you it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread
Reading and listening to his 180 on L.A.’s tactics has been mesmerizing in just how quickly he pivots on things.
That’s an interesting read. If that is Vancouver’s strategy it probably backfires, because Edmonton will deploy the same strategy nullifying their plan of attack. Oilers will beat them at their own game. To me it’s going to be a tight checking affair, terrific goaltending low scoring. It will get muddy meaning each team will work very hard for anything they get. Oilers, if they remain patient and the key is word execution when the opportunity arises be it on the PP, PK or even strength.
The strategy implies a significant departure from the four game set in the regular season.
Van maybe, sorta if you’re generous played rope a dope, connecting for goals on like 75% of their HD chances.
But they did not control play like Ray is describing. They hung on and counterpunched.
The fourth game in that set may have resembled that tactic but the Oilers were full on into load mgmt (McDavid was out) and had clinched two games before.
I see this as the only way the Dys win. If the Oilers aren’t tight they are always vulnerable to odd man rushes and glaring miscues leaving guys wide open to score
Then they have to push, sometimes it works
It’s the same strategy Vancouver employed during the regular season.
They work to create “low event” hockey by maintaining possession in the offensive zone thus limiting chances against even if it means eschewing a lot of shots for.
That is borne out by their regular season shot metrics and was amplified in the first round series against Nashville where the Canucks averaged only 20.2 SOG while giving up 25.0
Of course, the Oilers are a different animal but Vancouver did end the regular season with a +56 goal differential essentially the same as the Oilers.
I thought the Canuck/ Pred series was a tight checking low scoring affair. That the Canucks were fortunate to win. If that is their game plan, they sure aren’t very good at it. The playoffs are a different animal that the Canucks are still trying to figure out.
And their young goaltender has never heard of Connor McDavid & Leon Draisaitl.
One of the big points of the article is how big and physical the Canucks will be – I don’t know how as the top-6 plays the most minutes and they are small. Yes they have some big dmen, but their forwards are going to get crushed in the ozone.
EP40: 6-2 / 176
Suter: 5-11 / 179
Hoglander: 5-9 / 185
Mikheyev: 6-2 / 192
Boeser: 6-1 / 208
Miller: 6-1 / 218
The Preds played these guys hard and, as a group, they disappeared. The more I look into the Canucks, the more I believe the Oilers will have their way with them.
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face”
M Tyson
Every team has to think they have a chance. Sometimes it’s a Lloyd Christmas chance though
I will be surprised if Tocchet tries to use his one line to beat McDavid’s. I won’t be surprised if he tries to check McDavid down and limit him and go after Leon. That line is the weaker one and gave up a lot of GA
Or Knobby loads up the top line probably at home. Then Tocchet has to decide does he want to try to have Miller outscore a different line more than the Duo does
Tocchet has been using his 3rd line of Joshua – Lindholm – Garland as a shutdown line and it has been very effective and scored 4 goals against Nashville.
That would indeed free up the Miller line to go after Leon while leaving Petterson to face the Oilers 3rd line.