Hey y’all! Welcome back for another season of Edmonton Oilers hockey! I’m BLH and I’ll be giving you the skinny on today’s game!
If you’re new here and are wondering what 3P2W means, well, it stands for Three Players to Watch and seeing I’m as lazy as I am, I figured we’d shorten it to 3P2W.
So with that out of the way, let’s talk a little bit about what’s been going on lately in the Oilogospehere and then get into the player’s I’ve put under the spotlight for today’s matchup!
“There’s anywhere between 4 or 5 teams… that have interest in Corey Perry… I know there’s been some talk about Toronto – I don’t see that as a fit…Keep your eye on a team like Edmonton. I think that they..will certainly have some interest.” – Chris Johnston
Perry’s on his way to the Oilers. It’s only a matter of time and man, do they need him in their bottom six because those boys have fizzled right the f*ck out. I would assume that’s why the games have been a lot closer as of recent.
“The Oilers are actively exploring the possibility of adding veteran forward Corey Perry to their roster, according to insider reports. Bob Stauffer, host of Oilers Now, has revealed that the team is diligently assessing the potential acquisition of Perry.”
Would be really surprised at this point if Perry isnt an Oiler and have felt this way since Stauffer's knowing grin last week https://t.co/MqeCCyg7O3
“TSN’s Frank Seravalli notes that the Oilers have been in pursuit of Perry for several weeks and are expressing genuine interest in securing his services. Perry, who is reportedly considering various options, is said to have Edmonton high on his list of preferred destinations.”
I don’t always believe what Seravalli says but I do think he’s an entertaining guest on Stauffer’s show because he sticks it to Bob every now and then and doesn’t give stock answers.
Now, what I’m afraid of is the Oilers considering Perry to be their “top-six” winger addition that Holland was speaking to recently. That won’t work. The former Duck is way to old to be getting that kind of TOI and he’s been way better down the lineup.
One thing that could materialize out of a possible Perry addition is that Warren Foegele gets moved. He’s got ten points in his last ten games and seems to be a good winger for Leon but I could foresee a scenario where Draisaitl gets pissy due to the lack of finish out of McLovin’.
Perry could replace Foegele in the bottom six easily and #37 could be used in a deal to bring in somebody like Vladdy Tarasenko out of Ottawa. We know the Sens and Oilers have been talking and the Staios connection is there…
Just as an aside, do you think there’s a chance Edmonton moves Evander Kane? I’ve not heard anything and he’s been a lot better than some projected him to be (on and off the ice) when Holland brought him in, but I just wonder if the Oilers cut bait on him before he gets into Milan Lucic territory.
The BLH Instagram account is growing like crazy! Three weeks ago when we started to get it back going we were at a shade over 1900 followers and now we’re gunning for 2000. So please, head on over and give us a follow as we’re posting exclusive content over there that won’t be published here or on our Twitter page.
Three Players to Watch for the Bad Guys
#34 Auston Matthews (33g 15a 48pts) – There is something to be said with regards to scoring goals at nearly a goal-per-game pace but if you’re one of those hockey people who are saying Matthews should be in contention for the Hart, you’re kidding yourself. He’s not even the MVP of his own team this year. The next guy on the list is…
#88 William Nylander (21g 36a 58pts) – I think he’s the best player on the Leafs but there’s an argument to be made there. He’s definitely the most entertaining and that’s not even close. He’s scored five goals and seven assists in his last ten games played.
#16 Mitch Marner (18g 28a 46pts) – Surprisingly enough, Marner is the team’s hottest player in their last five games with four goals and three assists in that time. Now, I don’t watch the team enough but at the moment, Sheldon Keefe has him lining up on his 3rd line RW for some reason alongside Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi. That line could be problematic if they’re on their game.
Three Players to Watch for the Good Guys
#18 Zach Hyman (14g 10a 24pts) – Is this stat true? According to hockey-reference, Hyman has only played against the Maple Leafs three times. He’s got one goal and one assist in those games. Anyways, he’s still trucking along in the goal-scoring department with five goals in his last five games.
#97 Connor McDavid 0g 3a 3pts) – 16 points in his last ten games and historically versus the Leafs he has 31pts in 21 games. Now Careful with him though, January seems to be one of the months where Connor slows down a bit.
#74 Stu Skinner (9g 30a 39pts) – He’s 4-0-0 with a 1.24 GAA and a SV% of 0.957 in his last five starts. They’ll need him on his game tonight because Toronto has enough firepower to blow it wide open if Skinner shits the bed in the tiniest of fashions. That said, so much for his sophomore slump I was pitching earlier in the season. He’s now made it so that the co-GMs Holland and Jackson don’t need to stump up for a starting goalie. All they need now is a 1B.
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15 seconds into this game Connor McDavid coughed up the puck at the Rangers blue line (a big no-no at any level) and sent a red-hot Mika Zibanejad on a partial breakaway. Lucky for Edmonton, Mike Smith was up to the task and he stopped the Swede from getting his 9th point on the year. But I’ll say honestly, that wasn’t a good sign for me. However, they did it folks! The Edmonton Oilers, for the first time in franchise history, defeated all three New York-based NHL teams on a single road trip, but that’s not all! They won the possession battle as well! More on that in a second.
I just want to comment on something I’ve read since the game ended from another other Oilers blog that I found interesting,
There continues to be some talk that the Oilers may be interested in Julien Gauthier in Carolina. The right-shot winger was the Hurricanes 1st over-all pick in 2016. That’s the same draft as you-know-who. Gauthier scored 27 for AHL Charlotte last season and 2 more in 2 games this year before his call-up. If indeed Edmonton scouts watched Saturday’s ‘Canes game against Columbus they would have seen Gauthier play 4th line minutes (8:25 TOI, and all but a few seconds of it 5×5) and register 0 points, 0 shots and 2 hits. One thing that perhaps may make the player attractive in such a deal though is the fact that Gauthier is waivers exempt. He could go to the AHL without fear of losing him for nothing.
I still don’t think that a Puljujarvi for Gauthier trade is a good trade. Puljujarvi is leading his team in scoring and the entire SM-Liiga in shots. His NHLe is good for 37 points at the NHL right now and I get that if the Oilers did make the swap, there’s some value in the fact that Gauthier could be sent down but at the sacrifice of who when he gets there? Yamamoto is on the first line, Currie is on the 2nd line, Gagner is the 3rd line winger, and Peluso is on the 4th line. But let’s say he stays in Edmonton, that creates another issue, who is he displacing on their roster? Kassian, Neal, Archibald, Chiasson, or Russell?
It’s simply a trade that unless the Oilers are trading someone from their AHL or NHL roster, it doesn’t make sense to me. But if they dealt Josh Currie or Sam Gagner, then absolutely. Puljujarvi for Gauthier just causes roster problems. The other thing is, they have a player in Kailer Yamamoto who has started the year in even better form who is also waiver eligible. The NHL is getting faster and quicker every year and from my viewings, Julien Gauthier’s first few steps need work. Yamamoto, not so much.
Notes
According to Bruce McCurdy on the Cult of Hockey’s post-game podcast, the Oilers went 5-0-3 in afternoon games last season. Perhaps the curse is lifting…
Oscar Klefbom is third in scoring for defensemen with seven points (1g-6a-7pts) and I hope for the sake of every Oilers fan’s sanity, he stays healthy. He’s an absolute rock for this team and it’s a bloody shame he wasn’t officially given an “A” to put on his jersey. No other defender on this team is as impactful as he is at both ends of the ice.
Special teams are humming along. Both the PP (41.2%) and the PK (94.1%) are 2nd in the league.
The Oilers are the first team in NHL history to start a season 5-0-0 by overcoming a deficit in each game. (h/t to Dan Rosen)
With the way that Ethan Bear, Joel Persson, and Matt Benning are playing, what happens when Adam Larsson returns?
Colby Cave has been waived and assigned to Bakersfield. We’ve already spoken about the traffic jam going on with the wingers down there, the one at center is no different. I have a feeling some sort of roster move is going to take place. Maybe nothing substantial like a trade but more someone getting moved to Wichita or loaned to another AHL club.
Game Grades
Mike Smith – 4 – His posts were playing as well as he was! Humor aside, he came up mighty large early in the game stopping that Zibanejad breakaway as well as a Panarin one-timer on the PP and a point-blank scoring chance by Lias Andersson. New York didn’t test him very much but when they did, Smith was up to the task. He toned down his stretch passes as well and stuck to the short passes for the most part. Saved 20/21 and threw up a .962 SV%.
Josh Archibald – 2 – The play where he shot the puck way wide and subsequently in the back of the net thanks to Kaapo Kakko, I don’t think Archibald was being careless. Either he was trying for a hook pass or the puck rolled on him and just got stuck on the end of his blade when he was releasing the shot/pass. Maybe a bit too much mustard on it is what I might critique. Right after that, he fired one off the iron. So an excellent bounce-back shift. Wallpapered Brett Howden later in the second period. The 5×5 fancies LOVED him though. 83% CF% and a CF% rel of 17.88… What?!
Joel Persson – 2 – Dominated the possession metrics with Klefbom. 78% CF% and 18.95 CF% rel at 5×5. I loved his little dangle and shot in the Rangers’ zone with about six minutes gone. He shows a bit of flair now and then but he’s smart about it and doesn’t get caught.
Joakim Nygard – 2 – Great pass on the first 2v1 with Chiasson and then did a fine job of drawing the defender on the second 2v1. I feel like he’s getting buried a bit in the lineup but perhaps his lack of offense is a factor there. That said, the team is winning so why muck around with it?
Oscar Klefbom – 4 – Scored a goal from the point not with a huge clapper but a subtle wrister. Then assisted on McDavid’s goal. He was the best defenseman on the ice for both teams hands down. His positioning was great and his passes were the tape. He didn’t waste any time or energy being careless (apart from the Kakko goal). He’s on his game right now and the Oilers are the beneficiary.
Riley Sheahan – 2 – Solid performance. Gifted with a short-handed chance off of the Kassian penalty that was stopped and then nearly another on the same PK but Lundqvist beat him to the puck. 70% on the dot.
Zack Kassian – 2 – Woof! He made some shocking plays in this one. Who gives up a breakaway like that? I know Leon is on fire right now, but Zack has to be a bit more selfish there. He must be getting tired because his mistakes looked like mental ones. Took a questionable penalty that negated a goal early in the second frame. I’m wondering if the staff at MSG have scraped Brendan Smith off of the boards after Kassian creamed him.
Connor McDavid – 4 – Gastly night on faceoffs (37.5%) and misplayed the puck on more than one occasion. Took a lazy penalty in the final frame too but not 30 seconds after leaving the box, drew a penalty. On that PP, 97 banked the puck in off of Jacob Trouba’s leg and that was all she wrote. Two more points for the GOAT.
Leon Draisaitl -5 – Wretched first period, but he wasn’t alone. Got his shit together in the first intermission and then made up for the gaffe by getting in on the Oilers’ final three tallies and also by making Jacob Trouba look very foolish on his empty-netter.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – 4 – Won a very important faceoff that lead to Oscar Klefbom’s goal. Was really buzzing in the second and third periods as he had multiple scoring chances with Neal and Jurco doing the heavy lifting. It’s getting obvious that if it’s possible, they want Neal in front of the net when Nuge has the puck. They’re going for the screen and/or tip or at least they did against the Rangers a lot.
Ethan Bear – 4 – Another day and another Ethan Bear pass up the middle of the ice start a breakout that would end up with the Oilers scoring a goal. Had puck ride up his stick and catch him in the hand at the end of that horrid first period. Luckily, no damage down though. I hope he can keep this great play going, but I can’t help but remember Caleb Jones going on a similar run last season before fizzling out a bit.
Jujhar Khaira – 2 – Was really good on the PK. I feel like JJ and Nuge are forming quite the partnership on the PK. They’ve been very efficient with a man down so far.
James Neal – 2 – No goals for The Real Deal, but he pinged one off of Henrik Lundqvist’s cranium that had him grinning. Bit of an up and down game for him, he tried to hit Kaapo Kakko in the 2nd but missed and got a taste of the old Sherwood sandwich instead. Was THIS close to getting goal #8 off of an RNH tip that might’ve gone in the net had Neal not touched it.
Tomas Jurco – 2 – Tough night for Oilers taking pucks off of sensitive places. Jurco got one in the face half-way through the second. His size and skill are very apparent and really important to his line. Defensively he’s meh, but with the puck going the other way, I like how he’s utilizing his strengths. To be honest and I love Puljujarvi, but it’s how he should’ve been playing when he was in Edmonton.
Darnell Nurse – 4 – I really enjoyed this game from Darnell. He simplified his game a bit. His passes were much more precise and on point. He wasn’t trying to do more than he could or should. He was awarded an assist on Leon’s empty-net goal.
Alex Chiasson – 4 – I liked his game. He had a hilarious little battle with Marc Staal late in the second period where Staal sent Chiasson’s stick flying in the air, the Oiler then grabbed Staal’s stick out of his hand, took a step and then dropped it when he could grab his own. Fair play I say and good on the refs. Nearly scored on a 2v1 with Joakim Nygard. He brings a very different element to the roster when he’s in. He’s physical and aggressive but also kind of clever around the net. Had the third best SF% rel 5×5 (12.17), meaning when he was on the ice, the shots on goal share was very much in Edmonton’s favor. I wonder if he might get a look beside Sheahan and Khaira?
Matthew Benning – 4 – VERY solid game. Took on some of the Rangers’ biggies and held his own. He’s had a quiet but effective start to the year. I suppose that has a bit to do with progressing as an individual but also because he’s being deployed correctly. Took a nasty shot off the back of the hand in the first but it didn’t slow him down, however, he nailed the post in the third period.
Markus Granlund – 4 – Well well well… Look who decided to show up. Actually, Granlund played a really good game to the eye. The move to center seemed to reinvigorate him somewhat. He looked way more engaged in the play compared to his previous four games.
Kris Russell – 2 – Nothing spectacular on the night. A Good recovery after a poorly executed pinch at his own blue line as his pass block around 5 minutes into the 2nd period prevented the puck from being moved right into the middle or Royal Road to a wide-open Ranger. His CF% rel was fugly though at -19.49…
What did you think about the game? Let us know in the comments below!
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I thought it’s about time to comment on the week’s Jesse Puljujarvi drama as yesterday it finally made its way to the radio and I hadn’t posted anything in a week or so. This one has me fired up though.
The erroneous Jesse Puljujarvi quote that is driving the Edmonton media mad and making its way around the hockey world is this one,
“I want a team where I get a place in one of the first two lines and where I get to play for 15 minutes per game,” Puljujärvi said, via Google Translate, in an interview with Finnish publication Sporten. “Then I could show what I’m going for. That is my main goal.” (source)
And the following replies from some of the more “respected” members of the Edmonton media replied thusly,
If only there was a team out there somewhere with a new head coach, new GM, lots of openings on the wing and an urgent need for Puljujarvi to succeed. https://t.co/AsxaMAKZJC
Have you ever seen a quote from Puljujarvi that either Matheson or Tychkowski has obtained personally?
Here’s the problem, they don’t know the language and even the journalists who do know the language are translating it in a manner to benefit their headline instead of reporting what’s actually being said.
I’m very lucky in that I’ve got some wonderful Finns and others who are fluent in Finnish who follow me that can help me to translate things in their proper context and this is what I was told with regards to that quote,
Jesse actually said this, ”I think if i get the chance, I can show what I have and can do.”
That’s very different from the quote at the top of this post, right? See, I’ve been told that Finnish can be very literal and using Google translate is a dodgy proposition.
The article on TSN (Bardown) was done using Google Translate. Kinda lazy and unprofessional in my opinion. The only thing JP actually said was that his goal was to become a top-six forward. That’s it.
That’s another thing. We have professional journalists who know better than to run with a quote translated by a machine but THEY DON’T CARE. They just want to run this kid out of town. Every week there’s a new shot at Jesse.
Last week it was that he skipped his English lessons, right? Well did he skip all of them, a few of them, or just one of them? Is it possible he forgot about a class or two? Was the absence OK’d by the team, was he under the weather, or maybe did he just need some time off and couldn’t contact the necessary person responsible for the class? When were the classes organized, before or after the family liaison was let go due to budget cutbacks? Were the Oilers using an actual tutor or just a relative/friend of someone on staff?
You can’t say that shit and not offer more concrete details without looking like you’ve got it out for the player. The other thing is, nobody is willing to ask those questions. But shouldn’t there be at least one person in the media that would be willing to report the other side of the story?
I’ll say this, keeping the focus on Jesse sure has taken it off of Connor and his rehab on that buggered up knee…
What happened to all the stories about Jesse being the first on/last off and working with Mikko Koskinen after practice? Or Jesse being a good chap by playing some outdoor puck with the local kids?
That’s all been forgotten because he’s the devil now, right?…
I know yesterday Bob Stauffer compared Pulju’s language conundrum to Andrej Sekera’s wife and how when Sekera signed in Edmonton she enrolled at the University of Alberta to learn English.
Is that an apples to apples comparison though? It’s not really, is it? A grown woman who’s married isn’t a comparable for an 18-year-old male. I mean I don’t know Rej’s wife, is she a teenager too? I’m surprised someone in the Edmonton media didn’t get a hold of that information and wonder why someone who’s lived in North America for as long as she assumably has, is unable to speak the language and needs courses.
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It’s not right and anybody that knows anything about learning a second language knows that it takes YEARS to get moderately proficient. If you’re doing it part-time only a few times a week, it takes even longer. So how about once a week or less, how long do you think it would take then? In Jesse’s case, his advantage would be that he’s in an English environment almost all of the time and is forced to apply what he’s learned, but maybe the tutor that was helping him wasn’t effective. We don’t know if the team was working with the tutor with regards to the lesson plans either. The reason I say that is that it’d be incredibly helpful if what he was being taught dovetailed with the daily language that was being spoken to him at “work”.
But I wouldn’t expect a born and bred Albertan who’s never lived aboard to really understand that.
Anyways, Jesse’s camp addressed those allegations about his English and admitted that language was a problem in the first year but in years two and three, it wasn’t. Even players like Drake Caggiula and Matt Benning spoke to Jesse’s English ability.
“His first year, he barely spoke any English. It makes it really hard to understand what kind of person he is,” Caggiula said. “Last year his English was night-and-day different, but he was still coming out of his shell. He was comfortable with English, but didn’t know when or how to say things.”
“Now? He’ll chirp guys back, and fire back at guys. It’s starting to get pretty funny. His true colours are coming out nicely.”
I know what you’re thinking, “If language wasn’t a problem, then what was his deal? Did he simply stop listening?”
Well, that’s a possibility, but I’d like to point out that Jesse had a pretty decent season in his second year and he was hurt or being ignored in his third. Not to mention his time spent in the AHL. A place where the language problem didn’t seem to be an issue. It’s as if the Oilers might have had a couple of coaches who were under a lot of pressure to get the team into the playoffs and simply didn’t have time to set aside for Jesse.
With all of that being said, the trade demand still remains. But what’s funny here is that guys like Tychkowski and Matheson, they don’t get it. They think this is all about a different coaching staff, a new GM, and that possible open spot on the Oilers roster.
“Although the Oilers have a new well-respected GM and a new coach, the team is still pretty much the same,” Lehto shared in July, as translated by the Edmonton Journal. “Sometimes a player and a team are not a fit. This seems to be the case here. Nothing radical about it.”
Those pratts haven’t yet put together that the request out has nothing to do with Tippett and Holland, it has to do with the players Jesse would be playing with in the top-6 in Edmonton… “Sometimes a player and a team are not a fit”… Jesus Christ, you’d think these guys that have been following the game for as long as they have would deduce that the problem is McDavid and Draisaitl. Maybe they have and they just refuse to say it or maybe just don’t believe it, but you’d have to be pretty thick to go with the latter.
My guess is that he’s been hurt by those guys. He looked up to them and really wanted to play with them but they went behind is back (allegedly, if you believe the Edmonton media) and told the coach they didn’t want to play with him and he found out. Ouch! That’s tough.
And so, if Jesse feels he can’t play with two of the best players in the game, then that’s on him. He’s tired of how he’s been treated by the organization and now the city’s media and he’d like to be moved on. Can you blame him?
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The Lowetide Theory
Blue sky thinking about the latest Jesse Puljujarvi verbal. It makes the news once a week, same side each time, no new material. The player side has little to no power, contract writes itself, all these updates do is poison the water hole for JP. Agent is a veteran at negotiation, and is doing things he sees as being beneficial to his client. That’s his job.
Now, with that as the backdrop, why would the agent/player have weekly drops of the same news story? Making Oilers fans angry can’t be the goal and calling out Ken Holland makes zero sense because he just arrived. Why then the weekly news drops?
The ONLY thing I can think of is that the player and agent are aware of an offer, and this pressure is designed to pressure Edmonton by poisoning JP’s situation in the city. Otherwise you’re just wasting time, and agents like this one don’t do anything for no reason. So, is there a deal, to say Carolina, Holland doesn’t like but everyone else does like? It would make all of the elements of the JP side make sense. Thoughts?
I think that’s a believable pontification. As for the weekly drops, isn’t that what’s happening at the Cult of Hockey? Why would they be publishing those “takes” on a weekly basis? There’s always something about Jesse not being well-liked or the above about the English lessons. Is it possible that Pulju’s camp is tired of the misinformation being put out there? His comments about his play have been self-critical (if you get the correct translation).
But if, as LT says, Jesse’s camp is aware of a deal sitting on the table and they want to pressure Holland to do something, this could be one way of getting a trade done so Jesse can get to a training camp on time.
You know what’s going to happen if he gets traded right? He’s a year older, he’s healthy, and he’s motivated… He’s going to make the Oilers and everyone who’s taking shots at him look awfully foolish. In the event he isn’t traded and does play in Europe, that might be the best thing for everyone. From fan to journalist to agent to player to GM, a cooling-off period might just benefit all parties involved.
I just hope Oilers fans treat Derick Brassard similarily knowing he’s done the same thing in the past… But they won’t because he’s not criticizing the Oilers.
An interesting find from Copper and Blue contributor, Jeff Chapman here,
I wonder how he’s going to do with 12 minutes a night?
If you haven’t heard, Cooper Marody was on Jason Gregor’s show yesterday and I found his interview interesting,
These quotes aren't that different than what Puljujarvi is getting raked over the coals for… Both believe they can be top-6 players and just want an opportunity. Where's the outrage when the NA kid says it?
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) August 21, 2019
Most folks who replied to me used the Google Translate quote as their basis for argument. That’s too bad.
So what you’re telling me is that even though the team asked Marody to work on his quickness and his foot speed over the off-season, he thought, “Nah. That’s not my game. I think I’ll keep doing what’s been working for me so far.”? So Cooper knows better than the NHL staff that are trying to develop him? To me, THAT seems kind of entitled. Doesn’t it? But he’s a cerebral player and obviously that trumps being able to skate at an NHL level…
Marody says he’s been working on his skating every year, he’s been studying Zetterberg and Datsyuk for his entire life, but his skating is still not where it’s supposed to be… He says that the people who criticize his skating haven’t watched him play… But the people that I talk to ARE the ones who are watching him and very closely I might add.
Look, there’s a reason Marody didn’t stick in Edmonton when he was up. He’s not fast enough. He’s sure got the hands but at the NHL level his boots are too slow, he’s a perimeter player, and he gets taken out of games by sheer force. He’s not in that great of shape I’ve heard as well. That could very well change come next month when the rookie camp gets going and let’s be honest, he’s going to look outstanding there, so we shouldn’t be using that to make any judgments; but all I’m saying is that he’s got a ways to go before he should be sluffing off mandates from his bosses.
Now, if you listen to the kid, you’d swear he was speaking at a network marketing event selling ketchup popsicles to the white glove gang. He’s VERY sure of himself and I think that might bite him in the ass down the road. Josh Ho-Sang comes to mind in that regard and notice how quiet he’s become lately.
Look at the mountains that Marody is going to have to climb to get onto the Oilers roster.
Connor McDavid
Leon Draisaitl
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Derick Brassard*
Jujhar Khaira
Kyle Brodziak
Cooper Marody
*Not yet confirmed officially
With Edmonton reportedly signing Derick Brassard, that puts Marody well down the depth chart. At what point does his frustration boil over? A guy that confident in his abilities surely wouldn’t sit quietly as he dominates the AHL, right? Maybe he’d feel that he deserves a bit more than he’s being offered? Maybe he’d just say screw it and go country singer full-time?
I dunno folks. I don’t think it’s fair that Marody can say he doesn’t need to focus on a glaring deficiency in his game while Puljujarvi is getting shat on daily. I’m not sure I’m even hoping for Puljujarvi to change his mind at this point because I’m afraid of how he’s going to get treated if he returns.
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We’re going to talk about three things in this post, 1) The Oilers GM search and who the mystery GM might be. 2) Who the Oilers might have to move when the new GM decides to make his first transaction. 3) 2019 NHL draft prospects and my notes on some of the players that stuck out for me in my viewings so far.
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News on the Oilers GM search is ramping up. I’m sure you’ve heard both Elliotte Friedman and Ryan Rishaug both come out and say that the list of potential candidates has been widdled down to 3-4.
The two names that are constantly in that list are Mark Hunter and Kelly McCrimmon. We know that Hunter has been through at least two interviews and it’s most likely that McCrimmon has been through one.
That takes care of two potential GMs that the pundits are pushing. So who might be left? Which hockey men are the pundits suggesting?
Ryan Rishaug: Sean Burke
Bob Stauffer: Ross Mahoney
Kurt Leavins: Mike Futa
Bob McKenzie: Pat Verbeek
Elliotte Friedman: Ken Holland
Darren Dreger: Dave Nonis
I think Jason Gregor has mentioned Columbus AGM Bill Zito but his team is still in the playoffs and I wouldn’t say he’s at the top of the Oilers list.
Quite a few names left, right? So we’re left asking the question, who is informed and who is being misinformed? This was supposed to be an air-tight process. Does that mean all these media types above are guessing? Are they being fed bad intel to muddy things up?
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From what I’ve gathered from my own sources, Ross Mahoney is the man that the Oilers would like to shake out of Washington.
What is VERY interesting is that nobody is talking about Keith Gretzky anymore as a candidate for the job. In the past, you’d hear a pundit throw Gretzky’s name in at the end of the conversation like, “So and so are in the running for the job as well as this guy over here. But don’t forget about Keith Gretzky, he’s still right there too.”
The other thing is, the old-timers who have been writing about the Oilers since before the dynasty days have started commenting on different names and have stopped pushing Gretzky. That could be a tell.
Gretzky could still very well be that mystery candidate but I’m not sure I’d put money down on that bet. That said, I do think his services will be retained as his work at the draft has been promising.
Which leads me to this idea that fans think the new GM is going to come right in a clean house. It’s not happening folks, not right away at least. Do you honestly think that a new employee is going to walk into Darryl Katz’s office and ask him to pay his old friends NOT to work for him while at the same time pay a bunch of new guys? Not. A. Chance.
Maybe in the summer of 2020 it could happen though. It took Brendan Shanahan a year to evaluate who was needed/not needed in Toronto after he was hired before he brought the ax down.
So you’ll have to be patient there.
UNCOMFORTABLE TRADES
I think if the Oilers hire Kelly McCrimmon that there’ll be some youth moved out to bring in players who can contribute instantly. I’m talking about the Kailer Yamamotos, Jesse Puljujarvis, Ethan Bears, and William Lagessons.
Edmonton will need to find a way to create some cap room and my belief is that they’ll package promising prospects with a veteran on a big ticket to entice teams into accepting the trades.
One factor playing a major role here will be the players who will be joining the Oilers’ AHL affiliate next season. I’m talking about notable names like Evan Bouchard, Dmitri Samorukov, Kirill Maksimov, Ostap Safin, and Ryan McLeod. There’s only so much room on a roster, be that of the parent team or the minor league team.
So either the Oilers make room on Edmonton’s roster or Bakersfield’s. Samorukov and Bouchard would probably be a top-pairing in the AHL for what it’s worth.
Another reason is it might all depend on who they select at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft mind you…
DRAFT RUMBLINGS
This past week I’ve been paying major attention to the u18 tournament going on in Sweden. I can only watch a handful of games though because TSN requires you to sign up to their product AND live in Canada to view it… Kinda shitty if you ask me. Luckily for me, there’s a YouTube channel that rips some of the games and uploads them to watch. Mostly US and Canada games, which is fine by me because those are the teams that have the players I’m interested in watching the most as it is.
Those players being Trevor Zegras (USA), Alex Turcotte (USA), Matthew Boldy (USA), Peyton Krebs (CAN), and Dylan Cozens (CAN).
These are all prospects I believe the Oilers will have a shot at drafting this June.
I’ll touch on Turcotte and Zegras first.
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The first thing you’ll notice with Alex Turcotte is his explosiveness. He gets his motor running high and in a hurry. He’s very quick and his speed maintains.He reminds me a bit of Matt Duchene with how quick his feet are. He’s also very tenacious on the puck. I think he’s very smart on the offensive side of the puck but he’ll need work on the defensive side. Great hands on this guy too. He can finish when presented with the opportunity. Funny enough, unless he scores 5 goals against Canada at the 3rd place game, he’ll end up with more assists than goals. Lots of scouts have him as the #3 prospect in this draft but will his aggressive (some might call reckless) style affect his ability to stay healthy and therefore cause him to drop in the draft?
Trevor Zegras can turn a defender into a pretzel if need be. He really is Jack Hughes-lite and I say that because his hands and vision are comparable to the potential 1st overall pick for this year’s draft, but his skating isn’t quite there. Hughes’ has everyone beat there. The thing with Zegras though is that he plays a very cute game and tries a lot of high-risk passes. Coaches at higher levels might try to curtail this.
If there’s a team out there that already has some snipers in its lineup but needs a high-end playmaker, a guy that can enter zones under control all the time, they might take Zegras.
My worry is if this guy is the next Rob Schremp/Sonny Milano. That’s a tough pick if you’re taking him in the top ten. On the other hand, is he the next Clayton Keller or Johnny Gaudreau? That’s a great pick in the top-ten.
The most impressive player for me that I’ve seen at this tournament has been an American left-winger by the name of Matthew Boldy. He’s 6’2″ around 185lbs and a stud. I don’t know a lot of left-wingers that drive their line but he’s been doing it all tourney and that’s saying a lot since he played with the USA’s best players at one point or another. Meaning Cole Caufield, Alex Turcotte, and Jack Hughes. I don’t think he got out there with Trevor Zegras much.
Boldy isn’t fast in the McDavid sense of the word. His speed is above average, like Nugent-Hopkins if you will. His hockey IQ is amazing. He knows where to go before the puck gets there on both the offensive and defensive sides of the game. He’s the USNTDP’s 2nd leading scorer this year (but that might’ve changed since I checked. Hughes was racking up the goals recently) behind uber scorer Cole Caufield, but he’s been in the playmaker role for Team USA at the u18s scoring three goals and adding eight assists in six games.
I’ve seen comparisons to David Pastrnak with Boldy.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sold on Krebs and I’ve only viewed him one time and it was a blowout game against Belarus. So I’m not sure how much one can put into his report in a game like that, but I still made observations about him.
Krebs is also a very intelligent hockey player. He’s not as big as Boldy though as he stands around 5’10”-ish, but I’d say he’s got the quickness on him. Not only in the skating department but the hands and thinking departments as well. I found that the Canadian captain would make very quick passes which would catch his opponents off-guard.
In terms of finishing, I would say that Krebs is a playmaker first and a shooter second. He scored a really nice goal vs. Belarus (below 3:07 mark) where he had he shot it any harder glove side high, the puck might’ve gone through the netting. His six goals in six games tell me there’s a fella here who can score when playing with equally talented linemates (Newhook/Cozens). He only scored 19 goals all year in Kootenay (WHL) and it’s widely considered that his team was quite poor.
https://youtu.be/eIvMU1zxZZQ?t=187
I’ve read about Krebs’ aggressiveness on the puck but in this game, I didn’t really see that as much. He got in the corners and along the boards to battle for pucks but he wasn’t going all gung-ho in the same way an Alex Turcotte might. I’m thinking he’s a bit more cerebral with regards to his decision making on the ice.
During that match, the commentators compared Krebs to Ryan O’Reilly.
Dylan Cozens has been ranked as high as #3 by some for the upcoming draft. His combination of size, speed, and skill is so hard to come by. After watching him in this game, I’d like to add one more attribute to his game, power. He does remind me of Jeff Carter a bit.
Versus the Belarussians, Cozens had the quietest five-point game I think I’ve ever seen. He seemed to be playing a complementary role as his linemates, Peyton Krebs and Alex Newhook, were the ones stirring the drink for that line. About half-way through the 2nd period I was pretty disappointed in his game. It picked up after that though and he was an absolute force in front of the net.
I reckon he’ll get picked in the top-5 of the draft. It’s really hard to pass on this set of attributes and him being a right-handed shooter doesn’t hurt.
At this point my draft list for the Oilers is looking as such:
Jack Hughes
Kaapo Kaako
Bowen Byram
Dylan Cozens
Kirby Dach
Matthew Boldy
Cole Caufield
Alex Turcotte
Peyton Krebs
Vasili Podkolzin
Philip Broberg
Alex Newhook
Trevor Zegras
Raphael Lavoie
Thomas Harley
I don’t imagine #1-#5 will be around when Edmonton picks, so you could probably start that list at #6.
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OTHER U18 NOTES:
Cole Caufield is a scoring machine. I’m not a fan of the rest of his game much, but you cannot ignore the fact that he’s built to shoot and score. One has to wonder if he’ll jump into the top-7.
Alex Newhook is the real deal. I was skeptical of him before given he was playing in the BCHL but he is this year’s Matthew Barzal
Vasilli Podkolzin’s lack of point production on international ice is interesting. He certainly lit it up on the surfaces in Alberta. He’ll drop because of this but whatever team gets him is getting a really good hockey player. I love his attention to the game when he’s away from the puck.
Dmen Tobias Bjornfot and Victor Soderstrom should be swapped in draft rankings. Bjornfot, Sweden’s captain, was very steady and outstanding at moving the puck. He was physical, calculated and rarely made a mistake defending for the Swedes. Soderstrom, on the other hand, was disappointing to me in all those regards.
Lots of talk about Phil Tomasino moving up the rankings, I don’t see it. Good player, not great. I like Moose Jaw winger Brayden Tracey better. Tracey was much more engaged in the play I found. Then again, it was only one game.
Sweden’s duo of Alexander Holtz and Lucas Raymond are going to be ridiculous going into next season as they mature physically and mentally. They’re underagers at this tourney and were simply dominant on nearly every shift. The world juniors are going to be must-see tv in 2020.
Yaroslav Askarov, said to be the best goaltender to come out of Russia since Andrei Vasilevsky, is the real deal. Not draft eligible until 2020 though… I think the Russians might’ve taken over from Finland as Europe’s netminding factory…
Whichever team that drafts Spencer Knight is getting a beauty. He might be the best puckhandling goalie since Martin Brodeur. If that’s too far back for you, Mike Smith? When Bob McKenzie says this guy could end up being the best goalie to come out of “The Program” ever, he’s not lying.
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I knew there was a reason that there was so much talk about Jesse Puljujarvi before the Oilers loss to the Hurricanes tonight. His Agent, Markus Lehto, is making his rounds with the media letting them know that he’d like the Oilers to trade his client.
I got this message from my source which came seconds after a tweet from Mark Spector,
Markus Lehto, JPs agent, has quietly requested a trade from Edm on behalf of Jesse Puljujärvi. Happened shortly after tonight’s game.
His agent had actually spoken to the Finnish media about Puljujarvi’s status on the team earlier in the day as well. I don’t have the interview but I had some followers tweet at me saying this,
JP’s agent said in a Finnish interview today, that he would like to se JP play 10 games in a row with same linemates in EDM, 15-17 minutes per match, with some time on the PP. Doesn’t want to see him on the 4th line or in Bakersfield.
So as I said in that tweet, anything can happen and it more or less has. The Oilers don’t have to move Jesse. They could move him to the minors and let him play out the year on a winning team and then re-visit in the summer when he’d probably have more cache on the market. I don’t think that trading him now would garner them a great return but you never know.
This just adds to the drama of the trade deadline this year, right? One thing I do know is the Oilers weren’t intending on trading him or they’d have been playing him more minutes. Now, I wonder if we’ll see him up with RNH or Connor to try and pump up his value in an attempt to appease the agent.
I think this is f*cked that it’s gotten to this point and that they should try and repair the relationship by punting Hitchcock to the stands for the rest of the year and giving Pulju the remainder of the season to show everyone what he’s got. The season is all but lost for the Oilers but it doesn’t have to be for Jesse. If he plays well, the value goes, if he doesn’t, he’s an RFA this summer and they move him at the draft.
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