This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

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Edmonton Sun

OILERS NOTES: Draisaitl still a skilled passer but shooting more

• “I’ve always felt Leon made good decisions with the puck. He makes the correct play more often than not,” said Maurice. “But there’s a point with every young player where they stop trying to please everybody else on the ice, where they stop trying to make everybody else happy.”
• Derek Ryan, the Oilers fourth-line centre and one of their penalty-killers on the fifth-ranked unit, was scratched Thursday for health reasons. Ryan was dazed when hit by Scheifele from behind in the second period Tuesday just before Nikolaj Ehlers scored and wasn’t feeling right Wednesday.
• Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner, who got the start against the Jets, his third and fourth appearance this season, says he has tweaked his stance in sessions with goalie coach Dustin Schwartz in the last seven to eight months. More upright, more in control.

BLH’s Thoughts: Whatever Schwartz has done with Skinner, don’t muck with it, it’s working so far and that might be a minor miracle considering some of the luck he’s had with Edmonton’s netminders in previous seasons. 

I’m starting to lose a bit of respect for the way Scheifele plays. He’s kind of a whiner and a cheap shot artist. I’m glad Connor gave him the gears last night. 

As for Leon, when the Germans get it right, they really nail it. Steffi Graf, Michael Schumacher, Gerd Muller, Dirk Nowitzki, Albert Einstein, Beethoven, Heidi Klum… 

Oilersnation

Bourgault scores! Savoie scores! Tullio scores!

• After back-to-back multi-goal games, Xavier Bourgault has taken the lead in the QMJHL scoring race with 30 points. The Oilers first rounder sniped two goals on Friday against the St John’s Sea Dogs; then went on to score three more on Saturday versus the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. 
• Carter Savoie found the back of the net again for the University of Denver after going pointless in three straight against Boston College and the University of North Dakota. This was a great bounce-back weekend for the Oilers fourth-rounder with four goals and an assist versus Western Michigan
• The goaltending in Bakersfield has been questionable since Stuart Skinner was called up to Edmonton…. That changed over the week, with each of them having a great start. Konovalov had a .960 save percentage and allowed one goal against San Diego for his second win of the year… Rodrigue, too found his game with a .920 save percentage also against San Diego.
• Tyler Tullio keeps producing in the OHL. He’s now up to five goals and 24 points on the season and is well on his way to smashing his career points total.
• The Generals forward is now tied for third in league scoring, and not too far behind him is his fellow Oilers prospect Matvey Petrov with 21 points in 16 games.

BLH’s Thoughts: Bakersfield is going to have some good forwards on the team next season when Bourgault and Savoie join the team. If I’m not mistaken, Tullio is 19 right now and he might be able to play in Bakersfield too. So that team will be fun to watch and keep an eye on. 

Spector’s Hockey

• THE ATHLETIC: Arthur Staple examined possible options for the New York Islanders to replace sidelined defenseman Ryan Pulock, who’s out four to six weeks with a lower-body injury.
  • If Lamoriello decides to go the trade route, Staple suggested inquiring into the availability of Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun or Dallas Stars blueliner John Klingberg. Less expensive options could include the Seattle Kraken’s Mark Giordano or Vince Dunn, the Montreal Canadiens’ Ben Chiarot or the St. Louis Blues’ Marco Scandella.
• THE ATHLETIC: Allan Mitchell recently observed Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland doesn’t have a history of swinging trades this early in the season. He usually waits until the trade deadline if his club is in contention and his roster has a need to be filled.
  • Mitchell suggested the Detroit Red Wings’ Thomas Greiss, New Jersey Devils’ Jonathan Bernier, Chicago Blackhawks’ Marc-Andre Fleury and the Dallas Stars’ Anton Khudobin or Braden Holtby if the Oilers should need help between the pipes.

This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

• Youtube: Beer League Heroes Channel
• Twitter: @beerleagueheroe
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Lowetide.ca

• Broberg was the best Condors player on the ice by some margin, and the rest of the prospects (Lavoie, Berglund, Niemelainen) of note were good and bad.
• Samorukov seems to be reaching a point where the training camp injury and lack of preseason is no longer an issue, and Konovalov is not grabbing the AHL starting job in the days that Skinner is away.
• A recall option? Broberg is the standout, Niemelainen and Samorukov are additional options. Marody is the only forward worthy of a recall, and purchasing the contract of Brad Malone isn’t a terrible idea.

BLH’s Thoughts: Koekkoek left last night’s game in the 2nd period after getting hung up near the benches with one of the Jets forwards and the Condors are on a bit of a break. I wonder if the Oilers might recall one of these defensemen LT has mentioned even if nothing more than to practice with the big boys. 

Cult of Hockey

The last big problem on the Edmonton Oilers isn’t getting any closer to a fix

• Edmonton is getting whipped when the third and fourth lines are on the ice.
• …when third and fourth line players are asked to carry the load, the Oil have been caved in so far this year, outshot 147 to 122 and outscored 20 goals to nine goals.
• That’s just a 31 per cent goals for percentage for the third and fourth lines. That’s the kind of nasty goal differential you would expect from a lottery team, not a team that’s now deemed as a Stanley Cup contender.
• At centre, not one of the players is keeping his head above water so far this year, all of them leaking more Grade A shots against than they’re creating on the attack.
• Indeed if there’s one thing we know, it’s that while Shore might hang in there as a fourth line winger, he’s not a centre. The defensive reads get the best of him consistently.
• If Benson or Sceviour don’t get the opportunity, or fail to step up if they do get it, and if Archibald’s return isn’t in the cards (I’m not betting on it, based on the general stubbornness of the anti-vaxxers), maybe rookie Dylan Holloway will be good to go in March, after he returns from injury.
• It’s not the most difficult thing in the world to find a fourth line winger who can skate, hit and play defence. The Oilers have found such players in the past and not paid a high price.

BLH’s Thoughts: Edmonton’s bottom six got worked again last night according to the fancies, but at least they didn’t get scored on.

If the Oilers want to improve their bottom six, they’re going to need to upgrade the centers on both the 3rd and 4th lines. I fear that the club might’ve waited too long on Ryan and he’s wading into Kyle Turris waters. Mr. McLeod’s got potential but would he not be a really good option on the wing with spot duty at center this year?

I’ve always said that the strength of a team is determined by the quality of its spine (four centers, top 4 defense, and the starting goalie). Do Ryan McLeod, Derek Ryan, Devin Shore, and Colton Sceviour make Edmonton’s opponents nervous before each game? Do they force the other team’s coaching staff to plan around them? No, they do not and I imagine they rather enjoy when Tippett throws his 3rd and 4th line on the ice. That needs to be rectified. 

Curious why Foegele isn’t producing like he was in Carolina? Jordan Staal isn’t his center and Staal is one of the best two-way centers in the whole league…

A really good center will cut down those Grade A scoring chances against massively. I wonder what a guy like Radek Faksa (DAL) would do for the Oilers 3rd line? 

The Daily Goal Horn

• With Carey Price still not ready to return, GM Marc Bergevin could be scouring the market for another goaltender. Allen’s injury may have the Habs looking to make a bigger move than just a temporary replacement.
  • With Friedman’s info, Montreal is more than likely making calls for defenders that can transport the puck out of their own zone. Considering Cole Caufield is still in the minors, could he be used as a trade chip for one?
• Filip Forsberg talks in early stages… David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported on NHL Network that the two sides have begun talks. Albeit in the very early stages.

This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

• Youtube: Beer League Heroes Channel
• Twitter: @beerleagueheroe
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• Facebook: Beer League Heroes

Cult of Hockey

Player grades: Yes, McD did it again, as Oilers beat Jets in thrilling shoot-out

• Duncan Keith – 3 – A tough night for Keith. He seemed a second slow all over the ice.
• Tyler Benson – 2 – Called for the weakest slashing penalty of the modern era, then seconds after coming out of the box he was headed right back after a second straight offensive zone penalty on a cross-check on Pionk.
• Kailer Yamamoto – 4 – A quiet game from Yamamoto. Tried hard but was the one weak link in the Top 6.
• Cody Ceci – 7 – Was solid through the night even with his main partner struggling… Played over 24 minutes and had four shots on net and six hits to co-lead the team.
• Evan Bouchard – 7 – One of Bouchard’s better defending games of the season… Not a ton on the offence but a couple solid outlet passes and hammers on net.
• Zach Hyman – 7- Hard work, shift after shift. In the first, a hard forecheck causes a turnover, he gets up from his knees and takes it to the front of the net for a good shot – a microcosm of his night.
• Leon Draisaitl – 8 – One of the best no point games you’ll see. A bull all at both ends of the rink and on the PK.
• Connor McDavid – 8 – McDavid was only good by his standards until he decided to tie the game on his own and then score in the shootout… A couple hits on Mark Scheifele in the 2nd.
• Stuart Skinner – 9 – As good as Connor Hellebuyck was, Skinner was just as good. In fact, he was even better, with 45 saves on 46 shots plus two more in the shootout.

BLH’s Thoughts: A “2” for Benson? C’mon, he wasn’t that bad. As player grades go for the Cult of Hockey, that means he had a “bad” game and he didn’t. If he was that bad, the coach wouldn’t have let him play the rest of the game, but Tippett had him out there in the third period while the game was still tied at zero… That tells me the coach wasn’t as upset as some of the Oilers ultras on Twitter. 

The way I see it is that the Oilers young winger set a bit of a tone while he was on the ice and I knew before the game started that the Jets physical style would play right into Benson’s hands since he’s added that element to his game. The kid has to do something to stand out, right? And what was missing from the Oilers game in Winnipeg? A physical element. 

Personally, I think Benson got a raw deal from the refs on both calls considering the Jets defenseman he hit did a helluva acting job them and how it seems the officials were looking for retaliation penalties anyhow… 

Colton Sceviour was very solid again. This guy should get into more games. 

Ryan McLeod was much more physical tonight but was only 33% on the dot.

Kassian showed up and nearly killed Brendan Dillon with an open-ice hit. That’s a plus. Maybe that tilt with Stanley the Giant sparked something buried deep inside of him…

Puljujarvi… My boy was snakebit againt the Jets this week. He was getting to the soft ice and firing some rockets off, but they just weren’t landing behind Hellebuyck. He played well as he usually does vs. Winnipeg. 

Oilersnation

GDB 16.0 Wrap Up

• Right when we needed a goal, the captain came through with an unbelievable effort to not only tie the game but extend his point streak to 16 games and counting.
• Skinner was excellent for the Oilers and gave them the calibre of goaltending that they needed to stay in the fight and prove to the doubters that he belongs in this league.
• Skinner finished the night with 46 saves and a .979 save%.
• The Oilers’ PK was fantastic when called upon and it was awesome to see the way they were able to stifle the Jets’ power play at some huge moments in the game…
• What a monster night for Darnell Nurse as he played a team-high 31:21 in TOI to go along with two shots on goal, six hits, and four blocks.
• I have to give Zack Kassian some credit for squaring off against Logan Stanley considering that the latter is basically a giant.
• The Oilers passed up way too many chances to shoot the puck in favour of looking for an extra pass, and it caused them to turn the puck over far too often instead of getting a quality shot on net.
• Duncan Keith’s passing to no one in particular was an adventure I didn’t want to be on.

BLH’s Thoughts: What I loved about this game is that the Oilers came out strong and established a clear base line as to how the game was going to go. They were physical and intense and they battened down the hatches against Winnipeg’s high-flying offense. ‘Twas a full-team effort for 65 minutes and a sprinkling more in the shootout. 

Another thing that impressed me was McDavid’s physicality on Mark Scheifele in the third. 

On the other side of the coin, what’s up with Edmonton’s defensemen refusing to let Skinner freeze the puck? How many times was the biscuit right in front of their goalie and as he was going to cover it somebody knocked it away… 

Now, I think there are going to be some overexcited fans that want to deal a goalie after that performance from Skinner but I caution against that. Edmonton will want to go into the playoffs with three netminders and at the moment, they’ve got that. Unless Mike Smith is ruled out for the year, they should hold onto their trade assets or use them on other positions. 

And with that in mind, Skinner deserves another start and if Tippett is being honest with himself and Koskinen, he knows the kid should get another game in between the pipes. Besides, Koskinen deserves a bit of a break, don’t you think? Let the big guy recover. 

Jeff Marek Show

BLH’s Thoughts: At the 13 min mark Friedman starts to talk about the Oilers and his belief that Ben Chiarot is a match for them. He’s of the impression that the Habs could eat some of Chiarot’s salary to create a bit more of a market and to increase the value of Chiarot as a trade asset. The insider also is also of the belief that Montreal could definitely get a first round pick for the defenseman. 

Now, considering that Holland has said time and time again that he’d be willing to move a first rounder but only for a player with term on his deal or a player who’d be under team control for the foreseeable future, I don’t think he’d trade Edmonton’s first round pick for Chiarot seeing as he’s an impending UFA. He might trade Dmitri Samorukov for him though… 

Do you like the idea of Edmonton acquiring Chiarot? For me, if the dman is in the form he had during the Habs Cup run last summer, sure. If not, no thanks. But one might argue, if Holland can bring in a dman that will result in Duncan Keith getting pushed to the third pairing, that might be a good thing.

Conversely, what would that mean for Philip Broberg, Slater Koekkoek, Markus Niemelainen, and possibly Dmitri Samorukov. 

This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

• Youtube: Beer League Heroes Channel
• Twitter: @beerleagueheroe
• Instagram: @beerleagueheroes
• Facebook: Beer League Heroes

Oil on Whyte

Goaltending Isn’t The Biggest Issue

• 5v5 Play Needs to be Better
  • They have given up 156 high danger chances against 5v5 that is the 5th highest in the league. While they have gotten 139 chances for. This is something the Edmonton Oilers need to work on. Even with giving up that many chances the the goaltending save percentage is above average.
• Penalty Kill Saves
  • The adage says “the goalie is your most important penalty killer” this couldn’t be more true with current Oiler team… The goalies for this team are leading the NHL in penalty kill save percentage with 92.68%.
• All the Really Matters is the “W”
  • With a record of 9-2, Mikko Koskinen leads the league in wins. He may be 27th in save percentage in goalies who have 5 or games played, but he has the most wins. This means he may not make the most saves, but he makes them when they matter.
• Right now I think that the major issue is giving up chances against, not the amount of saves not being made. If the Edmonton Oilers are able to cut down chances against the goaltending will only get better.

BLH’s Thoughts:

Lowetide.ca

• I think the Oilers have the Jets in their heads, at least a little. Edmonton’s game last night had many elements we saw in the playoffs 2021: Jets taking liberties and not paying with penalties, Connor Hellebuyck outdueling Edmonton’s goalie, strong five-on-five scoring by the Jets, and a frustrated Connor McDavid.
• The prospects pushing this year are all on defense. Broberg is a feature power-play performer, and has points on the penalty kill, but that’s a tell too. He’s playing in all situations, and doing well, age 20. He is the class of this group by some margin.
• Raphael Lavoie is currently deciding if he’s going to be the next Tyler Pitlick (299 NHL games) or the next Curtis Hamilton (one game). No amount of coaching can make a talented player more consistent, and Lavoie has regressed from last season.

BLH’s Thoughts: Peaks and Valleys… Lavoie is in a valley and Broberg is on a peak… Young pros, this is what you have to contend with as they develop into the player they’re going to become.

Sometimes it takes a few years for these big goal scorers to find their way, right?

Take Boris Katchouk for example, that guy lit OHL netminders up for fun in junior but in his first full AHL campaign he only scored 11 goals in 75 games. In his second year, he only had 14 tallies in 60 games, but last season things started to click as he potted 11 goals in 29 games. Now he’s in Tampa getting a taste of the NHL. 

Maybe it’ll take a few years in Bakersfield for Rafa to get sorted. It happens. 

NHLRumors.com

• George Richards: Scouts listed to attend last night’s Florida Panthers – New York Islanders game include the Los Angeles Kings (2), Vegas Golden Knights, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, Winnipeg Jets, Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers.
• Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic: Chicago Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz isn’t in a rush to get their GM search going. They are letting things cool down a bit after the investigation… Ed Olczyk could be a candidate for hockey ops if they decide to go that route.
• Mike Heika: If the Stars want to activate goaltender Ben Bishop they will likely have to trade either Anton Khudobin or Braden Holtby to have enough salary cap space.
• A look at 10 potential candidates for the permanent GM position, along with their current team/association: Jeff Solomon (Ducks), Martin Maddex (Ducks), Dave Nonis (Ducks), Martin Futa (Hurricanes), Mike Gillis (NHLPA), Jeff Gorton (NHL Network), Sean Burke (Canadiens), Kevin Weekes (ESPN), Jim Rutherford, and Chris Pronger.

This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

• Youtube: Beer League Heroes Channel
• Twitter: @beerleagueheroe
• Instagram: @beerleagueheroes
• Facebook: Beer League Heroes

Edmonton Sun

OILERS NOTES: ‘Always moving’ McDavid a challenge to defend

• Oilers general manager Ken Holland has until March 21 next year to make any trade moves, but so far it looks like he has two fourth-line centres in Derek Ryan and Ryan McLeod and could use a 3C with size and some snarl, also an ability to put up some points.
• McDavid is ranked 35th for drawing penalties for forwards playing at least 18 minutes a night. Leon Draisaitl is 19th. Again, these are the top two scorers in the NHL, guys who have the puck an inordinate amount of time
• Last Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada , Craig MacTavish said the Oilers were going to take goaltender Joseph Woll (who beat Buffalo that night for his first NHL win) at No. 63 in the 2016 draft, but Toronto got to him one spot ahead. The Oilers took defenceman Markus Niemelainen, currently in Bakersfield, instead.

BLH’s Thoughts: How about these names for 3C:

• Dylan Strome (CHI) – Buy low opportunity, best friends with McDavid.
• Nazem Kadri (COL) – Good all-round game, built for post-season if he can keep his composure. 
• Radek Faksa (DAL) – Selke nominee 3x in last 5yrs, 55.8% FO% last yr
• Pavel Zacha (NJ) – Snarly Czech with size, right shot, and 51.5% FO% last yr.
• Cody Eakin (BUF) – Great on the dot in recent years (54%+).

Eakin looks like the type Holland would acquire, doesn’t he? The resemblance to former Red Wing Kris Draper probably helps… Faksa is a defensive specialist as he starts almost 60% of his shifts in the defensive zone. Zacha can play wing and centre, consider him RNH-lite. Strome would be an interesting play because he can also play wing and would it make sense to put him up with Connor and move RNH to 3C with Hyman going down with Leon and Killer? Kadri is a bit of a wild card because we don’t know what’s going to happen with Colorado here. With MacKinnon out, he’s been moved up to the Avs’ 2nd line.

The Athletic

Three auditioning Oilers who are finding their groove and hope to find their place

• McLeod is 1-0-1 after seven games, Skinner owns a 2.66 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage in three games, and Benson has no crooked numbers in five games.
• Skinner is showing well, his early numbers have exceeded projected totals and he is building his resume at a good time. Next season, he’ll be waiver eligible, so it’s important for Edmonton to know what they have by next summer.
• Benson avoided waivers but has been unable to wrestle playing time away from Perlini (who played in his 11th game against Winnipeg on Tuesday night).
• The Oilers need to invest minutes in all three players and so far McLeod and Skinner appear to be emerging as players with some NHL future. Benson is lagging and will need to post some offence in the days ahead.
• If any of these three men land jobs as NHL players it’s a bonus for the Oilers. McLeod’s role (No. 3 centre) represents high value, that’s a feature spot on an NHL team.

BLH’s Thoughts: The unfortunate thing about where the Oilers are at now is that young players have to be ready to go when they’re called up. There’s no time for a look-see these days and to be honest, the fact that Benson can’t get into the lineup regularly right now probably means he’s not ready to be a full-time NHLer. I mean, considering how much Edmonton’s bottom-six is struggling, Benson should be bossing it, but he isn’t. 

The other thing working against this trio is Dave Tippett is very pro-veteran and has very little time for prospects not named Evan Bouchard. 

I can feel some pressure starting to build from the local media and blogosphere with regards to the Oilers bottom-six and in my mind and knowing Ken Holland’s history, these three players could be trade fodder for Holland to upgrade his 3rd and 4th lines.

The Hockey Writers Rumors

• Matt Larkin of the Hockey News threw Rask’s name out there, and NHL insider Chris Johnston did suggest that Boston is his preferred destination but didn’t rule out the possibility of him latching onto a contender if the fit isn’t there.
• …the reason the Toronto Maple Leafs traded for Kyle Clifford versus simply claiming him from the waiver wire is that the organization wanted to be able to assign him to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. The move was all about roster flexibility.