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Oilersnation
Monday Mailbag
Now that we are a few weeks in how are you guys feeling about the changes on the blue line?
- “Without question there is more depth scoring on this team and that’s good news. The defence, however, can still be spotty at times so I’d love to see Holland figure out a way to pick up another 2LD to push everyone down a bit.” – Baggedmilk
BLH’s Thoughts: I’m okay with how the new guys have come in and performed. I think you’ve got to ask yourself if the Oilers had last year’s group on this year’s team, would they be doing as well and for me, I don’t know if the answer is yes.
I still maintain that we’ll see the true value of this blueline in the playoffs when Keith, Ceci, and whoever else Holland brings in can show off their playoff experience.
Is Leon Draisaitl underrated outside of Edmonton simply because he plays on the same team as Connor McDavid?
- “Not by anybody with even a faint hint of a clue. Fans around the NHL have seen Draisaitl play at this level for years now, not just weeks or months.” – Brownlee
BLH’s Thoughts: Leon is underrated outside of Edmonton like Jaromir Jagr was outside of Pittsburgh in the 90s. Fans are attracted to flash and dash and that’s Connor’s game. Leon’s got a bit of German soccer in his game in that he’s clinical in his approach and he doesn’t rush things. Also, if you try to punish him physically, he’s strong enough and tough enough to make you regret taking that approach with him.
Given how great McDavid and Draisaitl are, and some of the issues with the defence corps, would you see any benefit to dressing seven defenders and one fewer forward, to have those two get even more 5×5 time?
- “No. D-men don’t like rotating seven as there isn’t much continuity. Not sure why a seventh D-man, who can’t crack your top six, will make the team better defensively on a nightly basis.” – Gregor
BLH’s Thoughts: I heard Lowetide talking about this last week and it made me wonder, does Dave Tippett have a history of using seven dmen? I don’t think he does at all and so I question when people bring that up. The coach’s historic tendencies matter… Besides, if you’re playing seven defenders, there’s a good chance that the guy who is playing the role of 7th dman isn’t good enough to crack the regular lineup. Is he the fella you want in there to improve the team defensively?
Between McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nugent-Hopkins, the Oilers have three of the top eleven players in the league in TOI/game. As rough as the results on the third and fourth lines have been, isn’t the early part of the season where we’ve built a cushion in points a chance to say “ok, let those guys play through their issues so we don’t grind our stars to dust so we can be in first place on November 16?”
- “…when you’re in the heat of a game it’s hard to say, “Well, let’s sit back and play our bottom six more here.” Points in November matter just as much as points in March or April. I understand wanting to get everyone going, but you still have to do everything you can to win every game and for the Oilers, their best chance to win is when their big three plays a lot.” – Yaremchuk
BLH’s Thoughts: Dave Tippett is on the last year of his contract and he doesn’t want to go out as the guy who couldn’t take this roster to the next level. Even if the Oilers don’t win the Cup this year, Tippett still wants to go out on a plus and that means he’s going to do whatever it takes in any game to get the win, bottom-six be damned.
The Athletic
Is the Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl even better than we think?
- Leon Draisaitl’s pre-draft comparable talents were a mostly impressive group, ranging (high to low) from Ryan Getzlaf to Dave Chyzowski and back to (high) Joe Thornton.
- Are fans, even Oilers fans, prepared to compare Leon Draisaitl to Frank Mahovlich? Jean Beliveau? Mark Messier? What about those modern names like Getzlaf and Thornton?
| PLAYER | YEARS | POINTS-GAME | AVG GOALS-GAME |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Jean Beliveau
|
1950-1958
|
1.16
|
2.58
|
|
Mark Messier
|
1979-1986
|
1.12
|
3.83
|
|
Leon Draisaitl
|
2014-2021
|
1.09
|
2.84
|
|
Frank Mahovlich
|
1956-1963
|
0.85
|
2.89
|
- Draisaitl has delivered more in his eight regular seasons for the current Edmonton team than Messier managed for the 1980s Oilers.
- Frank Mahovlich… is the closest comparable when factoring in quality of competition (the Original Six era had four top-flight teams annually, at times more) and the quality of his team (Toronto had tremendous talent during these years).
- Perhaps the biggest compliment to Draisaitl is that his numbers can hang on the same page as the iconic Jean Beliveau.
|
PLAYER
|
YEARS
|
POINTS-GAME
|
AVG GOALS-GAME
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
2014-2021
|
1.09
|
2.84
|
|
|
2005-2012
|
0.94
|
2.79
|
|
|
1997-2005
|
0.93
|
2.7
|
|
|
2006-2013
|
0.9
|
2.74
|
- The modern comparable players are a strong group and Draisaitl’s point total is at the top of this tier. Beyond these names are men like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Peter Forsberg, with Connor McDavid’s seven seasons excluding him from consideration.
- …all of the comparable talents also benefitted from strong linemates, from Beliveau (Bernie Geoffrion, Bert Olmstead) in their first eight years. Mahovlich was aided by Red Kelly and Bob Nevin, Messier by Glenn Anderson, Kopitar by Dustin Brown and on it goes.
| PLAYER | ADJUSTED POINTS-PER-GAME |
|---|---|
|
Leon Draisaitl
|
1.55
|
|
Jean Beliveau
|
1.47
|
|
Ryan Getzlaf
|
1.06
|
|
Anze Kopitar
|
1.03
|
|
Joe Thornton
|
1
|
|
Frank Mahovlich
|
0.94
|
|
Mark Messier
|
0.88
|
- Draisaitl’s current season is a partial one, if we check down to seven seasons in his case the number becomes 1.22, so much of the air might come out of the current season by April.
BLH’s Thoughts: That is one helluva list of hockey players eh? Thornton and Leon being the only ones without a Stanley Cup ring if I’m not mistaken. This is really good work done by Lowetide and what makes it that good is he was alive to see those players play. So even if the numbers don’t make sense to you, LT can relay his viewing experiences to you to help. This is what makes him a local treasure in Edmonton.
That said, of the names mentioned above, who would you rather have starting on your second line? It’s hard not to say Mark Messier, isn’t it?
Spector’s Hockey
- THE ATHLETIC: Kevin Kurz wondered what the San Jose Sharks will do with Evander Kane when the 30-year-old winger’s 21-game suspension ends in about a week… his troublesome personality upset several of his teammates… It’s unknown if Kane wants to return to the Sharks. Given his off-ice issues, trying to trade him if he wants out could prove almost impossible.
- MONTREAL HOCKEY NOW: Mitch Gallo listed the New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche as potential trade destinations for Ben Chiarot.
- NEW YORK POST: Larry Brooks believes the Rangers have a backup goaltending problem after watching Alexandar Georgiev give up four goals on 18 shots in yesterday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres before being relieved by starter Igor Shesterkin.
