NBC Pundit Says Oilers Didn’t Bring in Enough Support for McDavid and Draisaitl

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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The Edmonton Sun

Hard bargaining, but no ill will as Yamamoto returns to Edmonton Oilers

…there was a little friction between Kailer Yamamoto’s camp and the Edmonton Oilers.
…with neither side interested in a holdout situation, Yamamoto and the Oilers have agreed to disagree…

“I was starting to get phone calls from players and coaches asking where I was, so that was a little bit stressful, but as far as the contract being done I wasn’t too worried about it.”

Yamamoto has been training hard in Spokane, skating with Bobby Ryan, working on his shot and working out in the gym, so it’s not like the contract situation set him back any.

BLH’s Thoughts: Missing the “Captain’s Skates” was never a good idea considering how intense McDavid is about winning. So it comes as no surprise that Yamo’s teammates and coaches were keen on getting him to camp ASAP.

With that in mind, it goes to show how much this youngster means to his peers on the club that they’re willing to take the initiative and get in touch with him to see what the hell is going on.

However, nobody is above the Captain and staying on his good side is about the best advice any teammate of his might get whilst they’re on the same team.

The Hockey Writers

Oilers GM Ken Holland Has Team on the Right Track

Building a Solid Farm System for the Edmonton Oilers

Holland built Detroit into a powerhouse in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He combined great drafting with timely trades and was able to guide the Red Wings to 13 100-point seasons in 17 years. So far with the Oilers, he has been at the helm for two second-place finishes in the regular season. This year, much of the talk going into the team’s main camp is how deep the competition is.

Stanley Cup Champions Are Built, Not Acquired

Fans of the team want to win now. Who can blame them after living through so many losing seasons and even watching respected pundits, like Bob McKenzie, smirk about trades, like the one-for-one Hall-for-Larsson deal in 2016.
It’s been a tough road for Oilers fans, but it looks like there’s light at the end of the tunnel (the Holland Tunnel?). Holland and Keith Gretzky, along with Dave Tippett and Jay Woodcroft, might be the right people in charge at the right time. Oilers fans will be watching closely.
Slowly and methodically, the Oilers are getting better; they might seem light years away from the Tampa Bay Lightning, but they’re getting closer.

BLH’s Thoughts: Holland is going to have to refrain from dealing draft picks in the first three rounds if this long-term plan is set to succeed, but so far so good. I mean, it’s never too early to start planning for a potential post-Hart Foundation era, right? And the best players are often found in the first three rounds.

Now, I don’t think they’re as far from Tampa as others might, but they’re not in that echelon of hockey teams yet either. They still need a stud netminder and we might be waiting on that guy for a couple more years yet.

In the meantime, Holland will need to work on building a sustainable success model while his blue chip prospects (Dylan Holloway, Philip Broberg, Dmitri Samorukov, Rafa Lavoie, Xavier Bourgault) develop in his developmental system.

I will say this though, for the first time in a long-time, the pipeline is flowing and in one or two seasons, the Edmonton Oilers should be able to graduate at least one player per season to the NHL from their minor league team.

NBC Sports

Edmonton Oilers: 2021-22 NHL season preview

Did they get McDavid and Draisaitl enough help?

With all due respect to useful winger Zach Hyman, the larger answer looks like a firm “No.”
…it sure feels like the 2021-22 Oilers are asking the usual: for McDavid and Draisaitl to paint over the many holes up and down this roster. That seems dicey.

BLH’s Thoughts: I feel like James O’Brien is willingly ignoring the acquisitions of Warren Foegele and Derek Ryan as well as the possibility of their younger players taking another step in their games. Jesse Puljujarvi could be a 20-25 goal scorer this year, Kailer Yamamoto could score upwards of 50pts if he hit his stride again.

I don’t know, this assessment seems overly negative.

What’s the salary cap situation?

No, the Oilers don’t have a mammoth, Sergei Bobrovsky-style albatross weighing them down. Instead, the Oilers keep stacking up medium-sized mistakes; they’ve rolled up a katamari of questionable contracts.

BLH’s Thoughts: I’m on the fence here. Yes, if some contracts don’t work out (Keith, Ceci, Kassian, Nurse), there’ll be more than a little bit of hell to pay, but what are the odds that all of the questionable contracts blow up in Edmonton’s face?

Breakout Candidate

Evan Bouchard – Chances are, Bouchard will begin the season as a third-pairing option as a right-handed defenseman. It’s not outlandish to picture Bouchard performing better than Barrie and Ceci, however. If Bouchard shows that potential, and the Oilers embrace that evolution, his breakthrough could end up absolutely crucial.

BLH’s Thoughts: O’Brien is bang on here. Evan Bouchard should be a top-4 defenseman by Christmas and if not, by the playoffs. He’s simply too good not to get there.

Best-Case Scenario for 2021-22 Oilers

McDavid remains an unrelenting scoring cyborg. Once again, he dominates alongside Draisaitl — and they do so by carrying their own lines. Instead of sputtering out, Mike Smith repeats his not-that-far-from-Vezina work from last season. Those changes on defense exceed expectations. It all comes together, and McDavid finally goes on a deep playoff run.

BLH’s Thoughts: I can work with that. Although given the question marks around the club’s defense group, I think if it produced four 30pt or more dmen, that would be fantabulous.

Worst-Case Scenario for 2021-22 Oilers

McDavid fails to be superhuman, or worse, gets injured. Mike Smith slips in a big way, and Mikko Koskinen can’t make up the difference. An already shabby Oilers defense gets even worse, and they end up delusional about Keith. The Oilers miss the playoffs, even in the pathetic Pacific Division. Rumors start to swirl about McDavid wanting out.

BLH’s Thoughts: Edmonton’s worst case scenario always begins with an injury to Connor McDavid. There’s no other position that would get hit the hardest if the top guy at that spot got hurt. The team could move Leon up to the first line, Nuge to the 2nd line and basically keep the rest of the forward group unchanged, but losing a juggernaut like the world’s greatest player since Mario Lemieux would be a swift kick in the knackers.