Edmonton Oilers Talk: What has been the Best Surprise of the Year for the Oilers So Far?

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!

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Edmonton Sun


OILERS NOTES: Ken Holland joins exclusive general managers’ club
  • With Ken Holland now at 1,002 wins as a NHL general manager, it’s rarefied air… Only five GMs have done that, with Nashville’s David Poile leading the way at 1,441, Lou Lamoriello (1,327), Glen Sather (1,319) and Harry Sinden (1,170).

“I like to think I’ve learned the art of team building, what it takes to have a team that you think can win. But it’s hard. It’s a respect for the 32 organizations. We’re all trying to be marginally better and along the way you need good things to happen and some luck because it’s the greatest hockey league in the world. I don’t fool myself into thinking I’m way, way smarter than anybody else.” – Holland

  • The Warren Foegele for Ethan Bear trade is working out for both teams. Bear is partnering Jaccob Slavin in Carolina, getting some PK work, and is averaging 19 minutes a game in their top 4 defence group. This is the way trades should be: both sides happy.

BLH’s Thoughts: Reckon Holland can stick in the NHL for another four years to pass Sather? Not sure if he’d be able to catch Poile and Lamoriello though as those two don’t look like they’re heading into retirement anytime soon.

Good for Ethan. He’s having continued luck with the Hurricanes! I’ve watched some of his games so far and he’s looked quite good. The Carolina forwards are definitely benefiting from his insane passing ability. 


Lowetide.ca


  • Mikko Koskinen stopped 36 of 39, .923 and owns a .943SP and I’m happy for him.
  • Darnell Nurse-Evan Bouchard went 18:06, 10-6 shots and 1-0 goals. A fine performance by both men, with three shots by Nurse and one good look by Bouchard… This could be a tandem for a decade if the coach will let it be.
  • Duncan Keith-Cody Ceci played 15:58, going 7-14 and 1-2 goals. There was lots of chaos.
  • Kris Russell-Tyson Barrie played 10:57, going 4-11 shots and 1-1 goals. Wow. That’s a lot of real estate to be giving up in 11 five on five minutes.
  • Zach Hyman-Connor McDavid-Jesse Puljujarvi played 13:22, going 6-9 shots and 1-1 goals. Hyman is the best free-agent signing in Oilers history…
  • Nuge-Leon Draisaitl-Kailer Yamamoto played 12:04, going 7-8 shots and 1-0 goals… Yamamoto had a great night, DNB mentioned it was probably his best game of the year (or the first game). KY had one HDSC and drew a penalty.
  • Warren Foegele-Derek Ryan-Zack Kassian played 10:22, going 5-7 shots and 1-2 goals… Great line. The No. 3 trio has been the best surprise of the early season…
  • Tyler Benson-Devin Shore-Colton Sceviour played 7:34, going 3-6 shots and no goals… 

BLH’s Thoughts: Those stats are 5v5 btw but ugly nonetheless. What would’ve happened if the Pete DeBoer’s team had one, two, or all of Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, Alex Tuch, and Alex Martinez in the lineup?

Vegas ate Edmonton’s lunch fancy stats-wise but the Oilers simply had the soldiers to come back and capitalize on their opportunities. Alex Pietrangelo and Jonathan Marchessault couldn’t do it all for the Golden Knights. Plus, that powerplay of Edmonton’s is going to break some records I think. It’ll take the best NHL teams to stop it or an off-night for the big boys I reckon and even then the odds are in the Oilers’ favor. 


The Hockey Writers Rumors


  • Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that the early results on Doughty after taking a knee-on-knee hit are positive and that the defenseman might have narrowly avoided a serious injury after an unfortunate incident in Friday’s game between the Dallas Stars and Los Angeles Kings.
  • As has been reported by Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic, Canada named six goalies instead of the maximum five for its long list of Olympic goaltenders. A special exemption was made for Canadiens goalie Carey Price as he remains in the NHLPA’s player assistance program. The other names include Marc-Andre Fleury, Darcy Kuemper, Jordan Binnington, Carter Hart and Mackenzie Blackwood.
  • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun writes that Senators GM Pierre Dorion indicated on Bob McCown’s podcast the reports of the team wanting to add a top-nine center are not accurate. He said, “Right now, we don’t feel we have a need.”
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Beer League Hero Written by:

I'm the Beer League Hero! I am from Camrose, Alberta but I make my home in Taipei City, Taiwan. I've been through the ups and downs and the highs and the Lowes, the Bonsignores and the McDavids, the Sathers and the Eakins but I'll never leave my Oilers, no matter what! They're with me until the end and then some. GO OILERS GO!