This week’s 31 thoughts brought a few tidbits from Elliotte Friedman regarding the Edmonton Oilers. One being the Oilers interest in bringing in someone to upgrade the goalie position. Names like Hutchinson and Mrazek were brought up. This is nothing new but it was the 2nd point that the popular insider made that perked my ears a bit.
I’ve wondered what kind of trade partner Edmonton could be for Pittsburgh. The Oilers certainly had interest in Ian Cole, although I’m not sure how the Brandon Davidson waiver claim affects things. The ask was high. There are two UFA-to-be-pieces that could make sense for the Penguins: Mark Letestu and Pat Maroon. They know Letestu well. My only question about Maroon is Mike Sullivan loves speed, and Maroon, a finisher, isn’t a burner.
As long as the Oilers are winning one and then losing one (or two), there are going to be rumors and especially ones regarding the Oilers upcoming free agents like Maroon and Letestu.
Even though Mark Letestu has really come on of late and that Pat Maroon is basically on par to equal his output from last season, I don’t think it’ll be enough to keep them in Edmonton past the trade deadline this year.
Ryan Strome was brought in to replace Mark Letestu in my opinion and I imagine Peter Chiarelli is looking at Maroon’s speed (or lack thereof) and re-evaluating his plans there.
Now, where I question Friedman’s quote above is when he talks about Mike Sullivan’s penchant for fast players. Last I checked, Patric Hornqvist isn’t fast, nor is Ryan Reaves, Matt Cullen, or Tom Kuhnackl. And his fastest player, Carl Hagelin, is underperforming, to say the least with 27pts in his last 92 games.
I do think that Letestu would be an upgrade on Carter Rowney and that Pat Maroon is at least as good as Bryan Rust, if not better. Rust might be better served down the lineup a bit anyhow but I guess the same could be said for Maroon.
If I were to guess what the Penguins might be willing to give up for those players, it’d probably be nothing substantial or anything to get Oilers fans excited.
I think if I were Peter Chiarelli, I’d be interested in prospects like RWer Daniel Sprong or goalie Filip Gustavsson. Both are former 2nd round picks from 2015 and 2016 respectively.
Pittsburgh does have both the 1st and 2nd round picks in the upcoming draft but no 3rd rounder. They do have Detroit’s 4th rounder, two 5th rounders (one from Vancouver), and both their 6th and 7th round picks as well.
Would the Penguins part with Bryan Rust, an upcoming RFA, in a deal? He’d probably fit into Chiarelli’s and McLellan’s vision for the team as he’s very tenacious on the puck and not a slow player by any means.
Thoughts?
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The Ottawa Senators are open for business folks! According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, the Sens are expected to make another deal before the Christmas trade deadline next Tuesday and that could be good news IF the Oilers are looking to tinker with things but lets look at some of the other things that have been published today regarding the Senators and the Oilers that might give us a better idea as to the trade compatibility of both teams.
LOWETIDE
The Ottawa Senators appear to be contemplating something rash and a team like the Edmonton Oilers would do well to pay attention. The Alberta team’s continuing search for a shooter to place on Connor McDavid’s line could be solved with the addition of a pure scorer like Mike Hoffman of the Senators.
I love the idea of adding a player like Mike Hoffman but not for the reason that LT outlines here.
It’s because he’s a pure shooter and the PP needs that injection. Hoffman is as selfish (I use that in a complimentary way) as one can hope for when it comes to shooting vs. passing.
Could McDavid run a line with two pure shooters on it? It’s very possible but the rub with Hoffman is similar to that of Eberle’s, if he’s not scoring, what else is he doing? That said, he’s one of the elite shooters in the NHL today in my opinion.
I look at their roster and think the club requires defence, but Ottawa is extremely patient with their blueliners. The Sens are an internal-cap team, so saving a couple million dollars on a trade (Hoffman is at $5.187 million through 2020 summer and has a modified NTC) should have appeal.
Read into that what you may but what I’m getting out of that is Pat Maroon (to replace Hoffman) and the Oilers’ younger dmen like Nurse, Benning, Bear, or Jones. You can combine one of those players with a draft pick and/or other prospects I imagine and with the Oilers extra cap space available, there should be a fit for a trade.
Those quotes come from The Athletic. You should sign up for it because you’ll get all of your roster speculation articles from LT there as opposed to his own site nowadays. Plus if you do sign up through the link below, I get a bit of scratch to help feed the kids with 🙂
Speaking of Darnell Nurse and another article from The Athletic…
WILLIS
Jonathan Willis has an article out speculating which Oilers dmen might get pushed out with the emergence of the defensive beast that is Darnell Nurse.
The typical Edmonton solution to this would be to deal Klefbom. Like most NHL teams, the Oilers tend to move guys at low ebbs in their career, rather than waiting for a better return later on. It might even be the right move, depending on what his value on the market is; if there’s a team out there willing to pay full price for the guy, it’s a trade that could make sense. There are precious few untradeable players in hockey today.
It’s possible yeah. Klefbom has had one real good season to date, the others have been tainted by injury or inconsistent performances and you’d have to wonder how that makes the coach and GM feel. This is a team that is desperate for consistently solid defensemen. From what I’ve noticed just as a fan, Klefbom starts his seasons slowly and really picks it up as the year progresses. He was one of the Oilers best players let alone dmen last season… So there’s that.
The outside-the-box idea would be to deal Nurse. His value is undoubtedly high right now, and as a general rule it’s better to trade a player when he’s at a peak rather than a valley in his game. It’s hard to imagine such a deal, though. Nurse fits the kind of team Chiarelli wants to build to a tee, he’s strong in some areas the Oilers are weak, and given his age we probably haven’t seen the best of him yet.
Yup, Willis makes another good point here. Would this be the carrot you dangle in front of Senators GM Pierre Dorion in order to get trade talks regarding Erik Karlsson started?
I really love the way that Nurse has progressed and questions about Karlsson’s health are starting to emerge. Add that to the idea of having to pay Karlsson MORE that Connor McDavid and things start to get a bit murkier. Could a team survive in the cap era with those kinds of salaries on the books? Or would acquiring Erik Karlsson be akin to when the Pittsburgh Penguins traded for Paul Coffey?… Something to think about.
The best solution might actually be dealing Sekera, since that would leave Edmonton with two young guys on modest deals to anchor the defence for years to come. The problems with this are myriad. Trade value is one. Another is that Edmonton hasn’t fared very well without their veteran safety net on the blue line this season; Nurse has excelled while Klefbom has struggled, and given their age and experience levels it’s not crazy to expect a few more ups and downs from both players before they settle into a steady mid-career keel. Finally, Sekera has a full no-move clause through 2019, which theoretically means he could block any deal made before that point.
Andrej Sekera is going to get traded sooner or later, as is Kris Russell. I know that because that’s what I’ve been passed on. I agree with Willis here though and I’ve always thought that an older roster is one that I trust more, especially when the team is bringing along young A-level prospects. The trick being not to give those young prospects as much leash as they want and to trust your veterans.
Who would you trade?
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THE INSIDERS
The insides like Friedman, McKenzie, Dreger, and Lebrun are all over this story as expected. Here are a few quotes from them courtesy of Fanrag Sports.
My sense, according to people that I talk to, is that Melnyk does not want to make that change (firing the coach). So we might see some trades. Dorion may not be done yet with his three-way trade that brought Duchene to Ottawa. Maybe he has to move out some other pieces before they decide that it’s time to give up on the coach.
If they’re not certain that they’re going to be able to sign this guy either financially or if Karlsson decides he wants to test the free agent market, then they don’t have much choice. – Dreger (source)
It seems that the coaches of struggling teams are getting some leeway this season and I dig that. After seeing the Oilers fire so many coaches season after season, it’s a breath of fresh air to get the feeling that the coaches might have some security and the players are the ones who are sitting on eggshells.
Dreger didn’t mention other teams or other players
I don’t believe for a moment that right now they’re picking up the phone and they’re trying to make a trade for Erik Karlsson, or that that’s even a consideration for them at this point in the season. And it may not even be at any point in this season, although I suppose you’ve got to leave the door open a crack depending on what happens between now and March and if they keep going the way they’re going.
But I do think that – and Bruce Garrioch wrote this in the Ottawa Sun/Citizen this morning – that they are looking at making some moves. I think Mike Hoffman’s name and Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s name have been mentioned. We’ll see.
Now, I don’t think they’ll trade Hoffman or Pageau for a bunch of draft picks and call it a day by any stretch. They’re obviously looking to make a hockey deal here using some pretty good hockey players. – McKenzie (source)
I tell you what, if the Oilers could get their hands on Pageau AND Hoffman, that would be a coup for Chiarelli but what kind of “hockey deal” could be made there? Both Pageau and Hoffman are vital to the Senators special teams. Would you deal RNH and say… Ryan Strome for both of them?
But I think Pierre Dorion is working the phones for sure right now trying to make another trade and trying to shake his team up here.
I think there’s a bunch of guys on the Senators I think they would listen on. I mean, Cody Ceci is an interesting player to look at. Right-handed defenseman, top-four guy, plays behind Karlsson. It just so happens where his deal is up at the end of the year where he’s an RFA. So the Senators were going to have to decide on him at some point anyway between now and the summer because either you commit to him financially or you move on, right. – LeBrun (source)
I’ve got no interest in Ceci right now. I’ve watched a few Sens games this year and he looks a bit like Phaneuf at the moment. Meaning I’m not sure how smart of a player he is compared to what we’ve got now in Edmonton. I like Larsson AND Benning much more and I probably like Brandon Davidson more too.
Ceci used to be a hot prospect coming up but I just see an average player there. Mind you, if the Oilers could lose something off the cap in a deal for him, maybe that’s something to consider.
one of the things I was told – or theories I was told – was that maybe they were upset that Karlsson had said what he said, so they wanted to rattle his cage back by asking for his list. I mentioned that to someone, and I guess that person mentioned it to someone else, and they called me. And they kind of knew Ottawa’s situation a bit. And they said that’s not what’s going on here.
And I think that’s what this is. If you look at their contracts, they’ve got to deal with Cody Ceci, they’ve got to deal with Mark Stone who’s having a phenomenal year, they’ve got to deal with Derick Brassard, they’ve got to deal with Matt Duchene, they’ve got to deal with Erik Karlsson in the next two years. I think they’re looking at it and saying, ‘What are we going to do here.
So I just think it’s – when you’re losing, it’s always worse. And they’re losing and the walls close in on you when this happens. – Friedman (source)
If the player and the team are playing games like this in the media, it’s time to move on because it’s not going to get any better and the trust between both parties isn’t going to get any stronger. That’s just my thoughts on Friedman’s Karlsson comment there.
Mark Stone is another player I absolutely love from Ottawa. He would look outstanding on the Oilers, right? He’s simply one of the smartest players in the league.
I’m under the impression that the Oilers aren’t looking to trade right now and the reason for that is they don’t want to be negotiating from the position their in right now. Meaning, they’re behind the 8-ball and other teams know that. I reckon Chiarelli wants to make a deal but is using every ounce of patience he has not to.
BUT. I’m a fan first and foremost and I like roster speculation as much as the next guy…
I’d have ZERO problems if the Oilers decided to go all in and try to acquire Hoffman, Pageau, and Stone. I’m a fan of earth-shattering trades but what would the Oilers have to give up to get all three?
I can’t imagine the Sens wanting to part with Stone if we’re being honest. Not unless Puljujarvi is coming back and that would be a mistake for the Oilers. Pulju is coming on and I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts scoring more as the team continues to pick up steam.
Thoughts? If I’ve got any Senators fans following the blog, let me know what you think about all of these rumors and what you guys expect back for players like Hoffman and Pageau.
Today I read a post from Alex Thomas from The Oilers Rig and I was mildly aggravated by what I read and thus the reason for this post today. Before I get into it though I want to preface the piece by saying that I really like Alex and respect his work. I’ve worked with him in the past and overall he’s a good lad.
I simply don’t agree with his take this morning and I’d like to reply. So basically what you’re going to read today is some of Thomas’ takes from his blog and my reply to them. Nothing more and nothing less really. I’ll probably ruffle a few feathers but it comes with the territory. I’m telling you this now so you have the opportunity to bail before you go down the rabbit hole that is Oilers fandom because this is a long one folks.
WHY CHIARELLI WAS FIRED
Like so many before him and so many in the future, Chiarelli got stubborn and failed to adjust with the sport. No longer is the NHL about building a big and tough team like it was even five years ago. Now, the NHL is all about speed and skill.
Back in Chiarelli’s days with the Bruins, it really was about size and puck possession but let’s not forget that the Bruins missed the playoffs by a miniscule 3 pts in 2014/15 and in 2015/16 the Bruins tied Detroit for the last playoff spot in the East but lost out to the Red Wings due to ROW (reg. and OT wins) and in 2016/17 they made the playoffs again… They were never really out of it.
Chiarelli gaffed in a major way when he traded Tyler Seguin to the Dallas Stars in July of 2013. He began to get rid of the talented players on the Bruins in favor of heavier veteran players. The results? Boston missed the playoffs in Chiarelli’s final season at the helm and are still recovering three years later, desperately trying to add legit talent in any way they can.
Still recovering… HA! Recovering from what exactly? Being an annual playoff contender maybe. See, this is the rhetoric I’m talking about. Are the Bruins desperately trying to add legit talent right now? The Bruins are 1 win out of a playoff spot in their division. If they’re so desperate to add “legit” talent, it’s not because Peter Chiarelli left them a shit team, it’s because Brad Marchand and David Krejci can’t stay healthy and that Zdeno Chara is 40 years old or because Tuukka Rask is having a crap season so far (sound familiar?). And even with all of that, they’re still in the playoff picture…
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ON THE OILERS
Two years later, the Oilers are once again in the basement of the NHL and are devoid of talent. Listen to people in other markets, they all agree that the Oilers don’t have enough talent and aren’t built to win in today’s NHL. This is a slow club with only two legit skilled players in the top-six.
The Oilers don’t have enough talent? I scoff at such statements. They aren’t built to win in today’s NHL? Don’t make me laugh! A slow club with only TWO LEGIT SKILLED players in the top six? Get me some more of that swill!
Leon Draisait, Connor McDavid, Jesse Puljujarvi, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Anton Slepyshev, Drake Caggiula, Zack Kassian… These are all players with speed to burn baby! And for some reason, people forget that. But the usual retort is that it’s hockey IQ or speed isn’t just skating and to an extent, I can agree to that. Like in the first month of the year when the bottom-6 simply wasn’t producing but in November, that simply isn’t the case. One could even argue that the Oilers 4th line of Khaira-Letestu-Kassian has been their best one recently.
Chiarelli has committed the exact same mistakes in Edmonton that he made in Boston, and the Oilers are dangerously close to being in a desperate situation as an organization.
If making the Oilers a year-by-year playoff contender is what you consider a mistake, you’re being too hard on the guy. After 10 years of not making the playoffs, I’m sure there are real Oilers fans out there that would love for Edmonton to have a team that competes for the playoffs every year as simply being in the playoff picture is enough.
The Oilers were in a desperate situation before Chiarelli and McLellan were hired. 10 years out of the post-season is not a place where any Canadian NHL team should be. Jerseys were being tossed on the ice, billboards were being rented out to voice the fans displeasure at how the team was being run. What’s going on now is nothing compared to how it was.
Failure for either of those things to happen will result in a harsh reality: The Edmonton Oilers will waste Connor McDavid’s career and he will request a trade before the end of his eight-year mega contract.
Oh shhyit! Here we go! The Oilers are going to ruin Connor’s career and he’s going to request a trade out of Edmonton. Yeah because this is a common theme amongst superstar NHLers let alone generational talents… Sounds like Thomas has been spending some time listening to the ultras in Toronto. What a brutal taek!
Edmonton’s GM is stuck in 2011, thinking the game is still won with power forwards and ‘heavy hockey’. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work that way anymore. The Pittsburgh Penguins have proven it each of the last two springs, and the Chicago Blackhawks many springs prior to that. This is a game won with speed and skill now.
Ya know it’s funny that these are the kinds of comments that are being made while the Oilers are losing and yeah, there was a certain faction that covers hockey that “warned” (their word not mine) the Oilers could be victim to having too heavy a team. But where were they during the playoffs last year? Well, I’ll tell you. They were “warning” us of the one-off season that the Oilers were having.
I’d like to know what happened to the Penguins and Blackhawks speed and skill this year? I mean if it’s soooooo important, why are they not leading their divisions since that’s the key to success in today’s NHL?
The Edmonton Oilers had ample skill, but Peter Chiarelli traded it in to be the next edition of the 2011 Boston Bruins, a team that only won because Tim Thomas had the spring of a lifetime, might I add. Now Edmonton is dealing with the after effects of Chiarelli’s decision making and plan.
It is very true, the Oilers had a shit-ton of skill and with all of that skill they found a way to finish 2nd last in the league, not dead last. If I’m not mistaken, how many Stanley Cup finalists, letalone Cup winners, get to that point without riding a hot goalie?
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This is a general manager that traded in Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle for Adam Larsson and Ryan Strome. A GM that acquired a defender in Griffin Reinhart that who is currently sitting on the AHL roster of AN EXPANSION TEAM, passed on Matt Barzal and Alex DeBrincat because of their size, dumped Benoit Pouliot because of one bad season and invested heavily in Milan Lucic and Kris Russell like it was 2009 all over again.
Yup, the optics do not look good but at the end of last year when the Oilers were a 100pt team and in the playoffs, you’d have been hard-pressed to find an Oilers fan who’d do the swap Larsson for Hall. So now that Hall and Eberle are having some success, it’s time to really give Chiarelli the gears, right? I mean it’s always easier to kick a guy when he’s down isn’t it?
Chiarelli is also the man that got Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl under contract for their best years. He’s also the guy that didn’t trade Darnell Nurse and look where he’s playing now… Basically in Andrej Sekera’s spot. Jesse Puljujarvi is now where he should be playing and is a player that actually knows what “200-foot game” means. Ryan Strome actually shoots the puck on the PP too.
Milan Lucic and Kris Russell are interesting choices to highlight in my opinion. Lucic has the 2nd best pts/60 on the team behind Connor McDavid at 2.53 and last I checked, Kris Russell was the teams leading scorer on defense and if he were to keep up the offense until the end of the year and not miss any time due to injury, he’d end up in the same point range (high 30s) as players like Tyson Barrie or Justin Faulk, Colton Parayko or Jaccob Slavvin did last year.
How about that though? A $4M defenseman who not only is amongst the leaders in blocked shots every year but also adds offense… It’s weird right?
As for Reinhart, I agree. It was a shat trade and a longshot to cover the bet. But I will not sit here and cry because the Oilers could’ve picked Matt Barzal. If you actually know what you’re talking about when it comes to that draft year, you’d know that the Oilers weren’t even going to take Barzal with that pick. Not that they couldn’t have used him but Joel Eriksson-Ek and Evgeni Svechnikov were higher on their list if I’m not mistaken and I think that Thomas knows this.
DeBrincat is a guy I wanted Edmonton to take for sure and Tyler Benson’s injury history scared me but that being said, the following teams passed on DeBrincat in the 2nd round too:
Toronto, Buffalo, Columbus, St.Louis, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, and Florida
So missing out on Barzal and DeBrincat wasn’t just on Chiarelli, it was on a few other GMs too but you don’t hear all the other fanbases crying like 5-year-olds that their team didn’t get them… Christ, it’s sickening to read all the whining. And you know what? Tyler Benson is having a HELLUVA year for Vancouver right now and barring injury (fingers crossed), should have a season quite similar to Barzal’s last year in Seattle (79pts in 41 games).
Bottom line is this: The Oilers were gifted with Connor McDavid. His selection should mean at least one Stanley Cup for this organization. In order to win, however, you have to have a general manager who knows what he is doing in command of the roster. Peter Chiarelli has not proven that he can be that guy to this point. If this team is a lottery team in McDavid’s final year of his ELC, then someone needs to pay.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were gifted Mario Lemieux back in ’84 and it took them almost a decade to win a Stanley Cup. Don’t tell me the NHL didn’t know that the Penguins deliberately tanked the season prior either. They could’ve done something about it but didn’t… I believe one of the moves that turned around that team was trading a no.2 overall draft pick for a much older offensive defenseman… (Of course it’s not that simple but one sure could make it sound that way, couldn’t they?)
Thomas is right about one thing here. If the Oilers are a lottery team this season, which has ZERO to do with McDavid’s contract, let’s be clear on that, then somebody will have to pay and I’m betting it’ll be McLellan and his staff because they can’t seem to get the special teams going on a consistent basis. It may very well be just his staff that goes since he’s a pretty good coach who is well respected.
IN CONCLUSION
I do not believe that the game has changed so much in one season that the team Chiarelli built last year is obsolete this year. Are the Kings a fast team? How about Winnipeg? Is Tampa Bay the fastest team? I’d argue that no, they are not but what they do have on the Oilers is health, special teams that are running on all cylinders, health on defense and goaltending.
The Oilers downturn started the game Draisaitl got concussed vs. WPG in the 3rd game of the year I reckon. I think that not going with the 3-headed dragon down the middle hurt. Keeping Yamamoto for 9 games didn’t help anybody because the Oilers knew they were sending him back. But hindsight is 20/20 right? Lots of things could’ve been the catalyst to this year.
For me, IF this season does end up with the Oilers drafting in the top ten due to their place in teh standings, then somebody on the coaching staff will need to go. That’s the warning to McLellan that his job is in jeopardy. Then if the Oilers start the same way next season, McLellan goes. That’s Chiarelli’s last card to play before he is relieved of his duties.
Even with that said, there are a few GMs on expiring contracts this year and that might be tempting for Darryl Katz. So ownership could go all Buffalo Sabres on the brass and bring in a new crew too…
But I’ve said this time and time again. The team that Peter Chiarelli has built was built to compete in the Pacific Division, which for now is still one that is won with size. Beat the Pacific division teams in a bunch of 4pt games and you’re still in the mix I say.
My question is, what’s wrong with size and skill? Oilers have a bit of that I’d say and when it’s going it’s near impossible to stop.
What the team is lacking, in my opinion, is confidence and health. The players on that team rely on kids to carry them and don’t we all know how volatile a young person’s mind is. The highs are stupid high and the lows are ridiculously low as it takes time to bring those under control.
When this Oilers team gets it’s mojo (and health) back, they’ll be a team to be reckoned with and it’s at that point that I want to see how many blogs are written about firing Chiarelli and or McLellan.
If you want to talk to me about a disappointing squad, talk to me when they’ve had another October-like month in February this season with a completely healthy squad.
What are your thoughts on the subject? Let is know in the comments below! And everything is on sale over at the BLH Teepublic shop, so click the pic below and find something nice to give a loved one (or yourself) for Christmas!!
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There’s nothing sweeter than dropping a 7-spot on the Calgary Flames during the late game on Hockey Night in Canada eh? Adding to that sweetness was,
Pulju getting two goals (nearly three)
a shorty from Letestu (who has 9pts over the past 15 games)
ANOTHER goal from JJ Khaira (7pts in his past 8 games)
Eric Gryba rebounding to get 2 assists and going +4
Kris Russell having TWO good games in a row there. He had 6 blocked shots! When Brodie put that puck in his own net I yelled, “VINDICATION!”
The Oilers chasing Mike Smith from the net
Special teams for the Oilers were a tad better. Would like to get more PP goals for though.
The game was in Calgary and the Oilers did it without their no.1 goalie and their top 2 (arguably) defensemen… Making it double-sweet that the Oilers won it.
A stat that was kind of interesting to me given the status of the game at hand was that the Oilers only had 9 hits to Calgary’s 14. You’d have thought there would’ve been WAY more hitting, right?
On the other side of the coin though, there were some disconcerting happenings…
Draisaitl and Strome were the only forwards NOT to get a point. Benning and Auvitu went pointless as well.
Laurent Brossoit’s near-historic meltdown in the third which has probably landed him either on another team shortly or in the minors once the Oilers find a backup to trade for.
A shorty against and a PP goal against does nothing to help the Oilers ongoing special teams struggles.
Speaking of reffing… Two powerplays for Edmonton to Calgary’s six?… How is it that teams are simply not getting the calls vs. the Oilers? It’s mind-boggling if we’re being honest and I have to wonder if Peter Chiarelli has called Steven Walkom to have a chat with him about the standard of officiating during the Oilers games?
OILERS ADD WALKER AND DAVIDSON
Peter Chiarelli has gone out and added some speed and glue to the bottom-6 and another left-handed bottom-pairing defender which tells me a couple of things,
The players whose spots Walker and Davidson might be playing in are on notice.
The team may very well be going the whole taxi squad thing.
On Saturday night, the “healthy” scratches were Anton Slepyshev, Ryan Stanton, and Nathan Walker. Now we have to add Brandon Davidson to that list right? I’d venture a guess that Ryan Stanton will be heading back to Bakersfield.
Just an aside, but is anybody else shocked that Buffalo, Arizona, and Florida passed on Davidson? Maybe there’s something about Davidson that the Oilers looked over though. He couldn’t find a way to overcome 3 AHL dmen and a teenager in Montreal and to me, that’s a bit of a yellow flag. Not a major concern because we don’t know what the deal was with Julien and/or Bergevin. We do know he’s a great locker-room guy that was well-liked before he was dealt for David Desharnais last year and that will help.
So who is going to come out of the lineup vs. Philadelphia on Wednesday?
Eric Gryba would be your first inkling, no? The Flyers are on a ridiculous 10-game losing streak (hopefully they can break that vs. Calgary this week) and usually they play a typical Flyers-like game. Heavy. So would Gryba be a better fit then? Davidson has the size and he’s a much better skater though. I probably still lean Davidson here but is that how you reward a player for a good bounce-back game? Tough call nevertheless.
How about the forwards? Who comes out if you want to see Walker, Aussie Oiler?
Right off the bat, I know exactly who I’d take out. Drake Caggiula for sure.
Chiarelli is not happy with his performances at all and I’d be surprised if he isn’t the guy dealt for a backup goalie. I mean, Caggiula CAN play much much better than he is and he doesn’t have to play on Connor’s wing to do it. He’s quick, he’s tenacious, and he can score… But he simply isn’t. Now, do we chalk that down to the sophomore slump or is there something else?
As for Anton Slepyshev, I love the guy because he doesn’t play the traditional Russian style. He’s got more sandpaper to his game and isn’t afraid to muck it up on the wall but he’s a guy that also has to be scoring and isn’t. I’d say he’s also a candidate to be used to bring back a netminding upgrade on Brossoit.
My initial reaction on the addition of Nathan Walker was that the Oilers had just added a younger Matt Hendricks and just as the Oilers dressing room lost a huge personality when Hendricks was let go, the Washington Capitals have as well.
Caps fans were NOT HAPPY that the team let Walker go on waivers. That right there should tell you all you need to know about the kind of player he is. He’ll be liked in Edmonton.
Would be nice to have Walker….. oh wait Trotz a fucking idiot
So will Nathan Walker be the Conor Sheary that Craig Button was talking about? I’m not so sure. He’s more waterbug that speed demon and that might just help us even more. Meaning he might be able to draw a few more penalties with his playing style and Lord knows the Oilers could use a few more of those players.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbmV6MHSURo
49 OUT OF 50 CONTRACTS
In normal circumstances, teams don’t want to be so close to the maximum contract allotment because it gives them very little wiggle room IF they want to make a trade. So right now any deal that Chiarelli makes will be made from behind the 8-ball a bit. I think he could probably find a team to give him a draft pick for Anton Slepyshev and that kind of trade would alleviate the pressure or another way would be to find a team that would take a Lowetide special (3-for-1). But how many teams are going to be doing the Oilers any favors, right?
As for the players on the way out, I believe that Chiarelli has to move some of those AHL players he signed. The Bakersfield Condors are NOT doing well and these AHL vets are simply taking up spots that could be used for the Oilers prospects.
50-man list courtesy of Lowetide
The problem moving said AHL vets is finding a team who’d take them. The Oilers do have a solid chunk of cap space on hand and they could use that to take back an unsavory contract from another team in exchange for two or three of the blue-colored players above. At this point, I’d say that’s his best bet if he wants to create some room on the list…
A COMPITENT BACKUP
Everybody and their dog knows that Peter Chiarelli is now on the lookout for a goalie upgrade. We’re not going through another promising season with bad goaltending. So who is all out there that the Oilers have the remotest chance of trading for?
Chad Johnson (BUF) – The Sabres are eating shit right now and I can’t see them making a huge run for the playoffs. He’s got a career .913 SV% and right now it’s sitting at .883. Was effective for Calgary last season.
Calvin Pickard (TOR) – This was exactly the reason why the Maple Leafs got Pickard. Now they can ask a premium for him.
Garrett Sparks (TOR) – Sparks, Pickard, and a stacked Toronto Marlies are having a helluva time in the AHL this year.
Michael Hutchinson (WPG) – Is doing very well in the AHL right now and Eric Comrie got the call-up over him when Mason went down… 9-1-1 .951 Sv% 1.73 GAA.
There are others like Neuvirth in Philly and Grubauer in Washington but my question is, do you go for an older veteran backup OR do you find a younger one that is just better than Laurent Brossoit?
Let me know in the comments below!!
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THE best game of the year for the Edmonton Oilers was last night’s versus the Toronto Maple Leafs and I’ll tell you why that was.
The news couldn’t get any worse for the Oilers as Cam Talbot was put on IR earlier that day and during the warm-up Adam Larsson went down. So the feeling in the Oilogosphere was understandably grey.
The point in the 2nd period where you could see the Oilers were going to play a simple game by bringing the puck over the red line and playing a bit of old school dump and chase. At that point, they took over and It. Was. Awesome!
Brossoit struggled early but redeemed himself mightily throughout the rest of the game. I don’t care what you say, he was a f*cking beauty last night and if not for him, the Leafs would’ve easily beat the Oilers by at least 6 goals.
Three different comebacks vs. the Eastern Conference’s #2 team brought back feelings of last year’s playoff run. That’s pretty good considering how poorly the Oilers have played versus the Eastern Conference over the past couple of years.
Connor McDavid started to get his mojo back and made a fool out of Roman Polak at least twice AND drew penalties out of him on both occasions.
The bottom-6 were outstanding! JJ Khaira was an animal last night. He looked so confident with the puck and he was rewarded for it with increased ice-time 5×5 AND on the PP. I think that’ll spell the end of Iiro Pakarinen possibly.
And Zack Kassian baby! When the goals come, they come in bunches! I hope he’s finally getting back into the swing of things.
Ryan Strome is going to get 20 goals if he keeps up the good work! He’s looked real tight alongside Leon.
Jesse Puljujarvi had SEVEN shots last night! Beauty! Please Todd, keep him with Connor! And get him on the half-wall for the PP for Christ’s sake!
Oscar Klefbom looked a shat ton better! Oscar was skating like mad, he was actually getting some bombs off from the point, and his puck transitions were solid!
Thoughts on Yohann Auvitu as a winger please! I liked it if we’re being honest. It was only one shift but he got a shot on goal in that one shift… If Iiro does go and the Oilers can bring back say, Ian Cole or Alex Petrovic, I think Auvitu to the wing is as natural a decision as one makes.
Milan Lucic is coming alive. Keep an eye on him vs. Calgary on Saturday fer sure. Matty Tkachuk had better take the night off because the eye of the tiger is returning to Milan!
What were your favorite highlights of the game?
Now while there were tons of really great things that the Oilers did last night, there were some concerning things as well…
How many 2v0 did the Oilers give up last night… Good Lord! WAKE UP DEFENSE!
Drake Caggiula has been spotted doing the ol’ Eberle button hook a bit too much. He plays best when he’s going north/south and banging about.
Leon Draisaitl needed to get a goal last night. He was pretty ineffective I found.
Eric Gryba has been having some very tough outings of late and if not for his RH’d shot, I think that Dillon Simpson would be recalled. Gryba seems like a Bob Boughner type doesn’t he?
Special teams is going to be the theme of the year I think. Why aren’t they switching things up? This is Woodcroft and Johnson’s domain and they are failing. They have to go to see that either their plans are shite and all the other teams are catching on or that they’re doing a piss-poor job of teaching the team…
In the past, we Oilers fans have bitched and complained about the special teams enough to send Steve Smith to Carolina and Kelly Buchberger from behind the bench to the stands, and then finally to Brooklyn. I’m sure there are more asst. coaches we’ve run out of town but I can’t recall at the moment. So, I have decided to be patient with this group this year, coaches included. It’s a hard part of the team to throw my support behind but the boys have got to figure this out!
I wonder what effect a fresh set of eyes like long time NHL assistant coach Perry Pearn could bring to the #oilers Penalty Kill?
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*RUMOR TIME*
Yesterday on TSN, Bob McKenzie said the Flyers are looking to move some middle-6 forwards. Ian Cole is apparently being connected to the Oilers, Alex Petrovic is in the mill again and the Oilers are taking calls on Pakarinen, Caggiula, Slepyshev, and apparently Khaira according to Dreger and Friedman…
Peter Chiarelli is a busy man.
Linked to trade talks include Caggiula, Khaira, Slepyshev, Pakarinen, Strome and other teams calling on RNH, Benning, Maroon.
Wouldn't be shocked if someone calls on Klefbom too.
I think a trade would be a mistake right now. The team is just starting to get its magic back and a trade might just mess that up. And why would the Oilers want to move the speed they have in Caggiula/Slepyshev and JJ Khaira is starting to make some real noise alongside Letestu and Kassian… Pakarinen can go though. I think his skills are redundant on this team.
Although, if a trade must be made, Eric Gryba is not having a great season so far. Personally, I’d have time for Petrovic. I think he has the same sort of tools that Gryba has but would be an upgrade on them. If I’m looking at Philly’s middle-6, all I see is Wayne Simmonds and Travis Konecny… Not cheap. Ian Cole could be nice add for a playoff run though…
Lastly here, that Henrique trade for Vatanen was basically Ryan Strome for Justin Schultz… A good hockey trade for both teams but don’t make it out to be anything more than that. Vatanen WILL BE exposed in NJ, that is a guarantee. And Adam Henrique will be a complimentary (maybe) depth player once Kesler and Getzlaf return.
KRIS RUSSELL
“He’s a guy you would go to war for. He does everything for us. He throws himself in shooting lanes where most guys would be diving to get out of the way. He puts himself in harm’s way. He battles so hard each and every night.” – Connor McDavid on Kris Russell
Bad luck at the end but he played a pivotal role in driving the comeback(s). Some hockey fans will say he was irresponsible and I’ll agree with the players’ stance on it. The ice was crap, the puck bounced over his blade twice and he was going for Kadri’s stick because he thought Kadri had the puck. I say he was doing his job until the bad luck took over.
Yesterday I wanted some clarification on Jonathan Willis’ stance re: Kris Russell because he’d sent a tweet out that was a tad confusing…
I thought this was where Russell was supposed to be playing? Was that not the outrage last season that he was playing above his talent level? #PickALanehttps://t.co/siqj8cjQa9
— B.L.H. (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast) (@BeerLeagueHeroe) December 1, 2017
Last season he was getting shit on all over the place by the stats community because he was supposedly playing above his level on the 2nd pairing and I was confused as to why the outrage had continued now that he was apparently being deployed as a 3rd pairing dman.
So he wasn’t good enough as a 2nd pairing dman making a shade of $3M per year and should’ve been spending time on the 3rd pairing and now that he is a 3rd pairing defender (apparently according to Willis) it’s bad because he makes $4M? You’ve got to be kidding me.
See, what you won’t read this year is any articles about Kris Russell’s fancy stats because they’re quite a bit better than they’ve been in the past. And that’s a bunch of bullshit, especially after all the crap that’s been written about him since he joined the Oilers. Someone over in Willis’ corner of the world would have to admit that Russell might not be that bad and that’d be like eating the ass out of a rotting rhino carcass. #Gross
Well, he made his bed, didn’t he? See, instead of being remembered for his analytical articles, Henderson will now and forever be remembered as the Anti-Russell apology blogger. That’s too bad too.
Needless to say, after a couple of the other Oilersnation boys tried to piggyback on Willis’ tweet to utter failure and that was that. Nothing more was said to which I’m quite happy because I don’t have qualms with too many people online but I don’t have an issue taking someone to task because they’re not clear with what they’re trying to say either be they from Oilersnation, Sportsnet, The Athletic, or any other blog.
That said, sometimes I get things wrong or I misread a tweet too. Moving on…
You cannot use a player’s salary as an indicator of where he deserves to be slotted in the lineup. If you could, then what would you say to Nuge’s $6M as a 3C or even Draisaitl in the same spot? If Kris Russell is best served being in the top pair, then that is where goes, if it’s on the 3rd pair so be it.
This is a team game and which line is no.1 or which pairing is no.3 changes on any given night (something that Todd McLellan has brought up repeatedly) as you’d have seen in last night’s game where Kris Russell played 24 minutes, had two points, 4 shots, 4 blocks, a 57% CF (best amongst D on both teams), and double the amount of takeaways as giveaways.
Those are 1st pair numbers my friends and even the best 1st pair dmen in the past have had night’s like our warrior dman did last night.
Right now it feels like it’s pouring on the Oilers but I truly believe that this will bind the team together even more and it’ll be a pivotal moment for them. They’ve had three REAL good games in a row now and Toronto didn’t beat the Oilers best roster they could ice either. Toss in a healthy Adam Larsson, Cam Talbot, and Andrej Sekera and tell me the game wouldn’t have ended the way it did with a straight face.
If I’m correct (which happens from time to time), I believe the Oilers have 13 games this month and three of them they’ll probably be hard up to win (St.Louis, Columbus, and Nashville). The other games I believe they have a 50% chance or higher to take and they play Winnipeg (2x), Calgary, Philly, San Jose, Chicago, Toronto, Minnesota, and Montreal.
Can the Oilers take 20 out of 26 points in December? Probably a high target. What about 16 then? Now, we wait!
