Edmonton Oilers Talk: “We’re way beyond the point of asking ourselves if it’s time to move on…” Says Chapman

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Copper and Blue

Can You Hear The Drums, Fernando?

It’s been over a month since Dave Tippett won a game, and we’re way beyond the point of asking ourselves if it’s time to move on.
Remember last year when Caleb Jones failed to clog a lane while on the power play against the Senators and it cost him the next three weeks on the bench?
Remember when the Oilers made the playoffs last season (wild, I know!) and Ethan Bear got benched for the near-entirety of a triple overtime game?
Dmitri Samorukov played in his first career game against the St. Louis Blues and straight up did not have a good time out there. He played just over two minutes and got exposed good on two goals. After one more shift, he was stapled to the bench for 50+ minutes.
For whatever reason, we’ve seen more top line Zack Kassian than there are Fast and the Furious sequels… Since signing his four year extension, Zack Kassian’s most common linemate has been Connor McDavid because you’re trying to get him going.
…how do you defend putting Devin Shore on the second line with Leon Draisaitl and Kailer Yamamoto when you’ve got either Warren Foegele or Tyler Benson on the roster?
The Oilers were playing the second game in a back-to-back yesterday, but managed to put up just 19 shots on the Metro’s worst team. Edmonton took just two shots in the last 25 minutes of regulation.

BLH’s Thoughts: I’m don’t want to sound like I’m defending Tippett because I’m not, but I do have somethings to say about what Chapman is talking about.

I don’t have too much sympathy for young defensemen who play for this team aside from Samorukov because he got three shifts and that was that, whereas Bear and Jones had WAY more of an NHL resume when they were punished. They’re not Holland’s picks like Broberg is and they’ve got the unfortunate task of playing for a head coach and a GM that prefer vets. I think we can also read into that preference as men who prefer ice skaters that won’t make rookie mistakes too…

I think Tippett put Shore up with Leon and Killer because he most closely resembles Nuge and it’s obvious he trusts him. It’s not the move I would make considering Warren Foegele is sitting right there and I wouldn’t put Benson there because he’d get eaten alive. I like Benson’s gumption but I don’t think he’s ready for that sort of promotion.

Kassian… He’s cursed with being able to skate with top-six centres and having pretty good hands in addition to liking the odd knuckle sandwich. He’s another one of those “I wouldn’t move him up if I had better options” guys, but coaches (good, bad, and indifferent) see his physicality, puckhandling, and ability to work the corners and it sucks them in.

So… With all of that out of the way, we’re back to figuring out why this team keeps letting in the first goal of the game, why it can’t hold onto a lead, why it’s so inconsistent, and why it’s such an easy team to play against?

Maybe we can just blame it on COVID instead of holding actual humans responsible.

All I know is that when Elliotte Friedman is talking about Mike Babcock and the Oilers, that’s either the smoke or that’s Holland sending a message to Tippett to shape the f*ck up.

Can we talk about that little tidbit from Friedman for a second. He said he heard that the Oilers had reached out to Babcock and decided to look into it. What his sources had told him is that back in November Holland attended an event that Babcock was at but that’s the only contact they’ve made leading the viewer to assume that was that.

The problem is, Edmonton was on top of the conference in November, so why would they even talk about a coaching position then?

So did the source (Holland?) pull one over on Friedman or is there more to this and the NHL’s no.1 insider is still digging around?

I’m just thinking that Friedman doesn’t open an intermission with that kind of rumor unless there’s something there.

Check out the segment below! You can just hit play as I’ve got the video to start right at the part where Amber and Friedman are talking about the Oilers which is around the 3:16 mark.

https://youtu.be/g8n-DJIsNHU?t=196

The Hockey Writers

Oilers Inches Away From Forced Decision On Dave Tippett’s Future

The biggest argument for moving on from the coach is that the Oilers’ window to win is small. GM Ken Holland made a number of moves this offseason with the understanding this is the team he wanted to put together and that Tippett would take the roster and make it a contender.
Sometimes, moving a coach triggers a team into playing better. Just look at what’s happened with the Vancouver Canucks who are a completely different group under Bruce Boudreau.
Then again, a coaching change doesn’t always make a huge difference. The Philadelphia Flyers are proof of that fact… The same can be said in Chicago where the removal of Jeremy Colliton only made a slight difference and the team is still miles away from being a playoff contender…
There are few seasons left where players like Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid are going to accept that this team isn’t a Stanley Cup contender. Holland has to continue to show his stars that his top priority is to improve this team, regardless of the cost.
From odd decisions and reliance on veterans where younger talent probably should have gotten a longer look, to poor choices with rookies and young players (like Ethan Bear and Dmitri Samorukov), to changing matchups and line combinations at outrageous times. Any of these things are fodder for getting fired.
All Holland will have to say is, ‘I felt like I had no choice. We are inches away from being out of it and that’s not acceptable here this season.’

BLH’s Thoughts: As I’ve pointed out in the past, the 2008 Cup-winning Red Wings had a ridiculous 10+ game slump later in the season that came right after a massive winning streak that was eight games long. They then followed that slump with a helluva streak to end the year that saw them go 12-3-1.

So Holland’s seen his teams come out the better from dark times like this, but with that said, the whole feel of this team is off.

Is it weird that we’ve gone from talking about letting the first shot of the game in to constantly allowing the first goal of the game?

Lowetide.ca

In the last five games, Edmonton is 2-1-2, good for six points. I think that kind of pace, just over a point-per-game, is a reasonable expectation for January. The team needs to figure out the goaltending (can Mike Smith stay in the lineup?) and what the pairings should look like, plus what the hell will they do if Nuge is out for a long time?
Do you agree? Is 2-1-2 good enough for the next five games? Or would you prefer to see the coach fired and hope for a Bruce Boudreau bounce?
I know you’re mad, understand the frustration. I’d see how this plays out. Honestly. There are roster difficulties currently, but December included some very bad luck (left side of the defense gone at the same time) and I remember that on November 30 this roster (basically this roster) had a five-on-five goal differential of 43-46. That’s not far from what we should be looking for, especially considering Duncan Keith was still working himself into game shape, Derek Ryan’s line was bleeding and Mike Smith was day-to-day-to-day-to-day-to-day-to-day.
Firing Tippett doesn’t change the roster. I’d find a goalie and a Nuge replacement if he’s gone for long. That’s the play here.

BLH’s Thoughts: A couple of things here, waiting to see how this plays out and then complaining that the team is wasting the prime years of McDavid and Draisaitl at the end of the year is how I see THAT playing out.

Second, roster issues have hurt the team but the Oilers aren’t alone in that, so how said roster is deployed is the coach’s responsibility and I’d argue that in any other season, the team wouldn’t have had the quality of replacement player considering that they got to bring up the likes of Philip Broberg, Stuart Skinner, Markus Niemelainen, William Lagesson, and Seth Griffith. Aside from Griffith, these players are emerging NHLers whereas if Edmonton’s whole left side went down last year they would’ve had the pleasure of icing Koekkoek, Caleb Jones, and Kevin Gravel or Ryan Stanton…

What I’m trying to say is that this year’s call-ups are much better than they’ve been in a long time and using that as an excuse is weak sauce.

Lastly, the Oilers have a Nuge replacement in-house, his name is Warren Foegele. Now, he won’t be able to impact the roster in as many facets as RNH (PK especially), but we’re worried about 5v5, right? Get him up with Connor or Leon and reap the benefits.

As for the goalie replacement, how much do you think that’s going to cost at the moment, because you’re going to be aiming for an upgrade, not a lateral move, right? Reckon Ken Holland is prepared to blow his trade deadline funds on a goalie right now? I heard somebody bring Ryan Miller’s name up on the post-game show after the Islanders game, has anybody else read this or heard about it because I haven’t.

If the plan is to ride this out, maybe the best play is to give Stu Skinner his reps and split the duties evenly between him and Koskinen and upgrade the third line. I think the cost to acquire pieces for the bottom-six will be cheaper and benefit the team down the road moreso. Also, if going that route means saving assets for the deadline, perhaps that would be the time to pull the trigger on a trade for a goalie upgrade.

Of course, this is all predicated on Tippett staying on as coach. The MSM seems to think he’s staying, the insiders are hearing his job might be on the line, and we’re left to watch it all play out.