Tag Archives: 31 Thoughts

Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Edmonton Oilers: Latest NHL Speculation (8/31/2020) and 31 Thoughts Podcast Notes

The Scoring Touch is migrating to a different host, so their website is offline at the moment. Therefore we’re going to have to go solo on this one! Luckily for us, Elliotte Friedman’s latest 31 Thoughts is out over on Sportsnet as well as a new podcast from the NHL’s leading insider and Jeff Marek.

We’re going to be commenting on the latest NHL rumors and speculation that includes hearsay on the Arizona Coyotes, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals, as well as the aforementioned 31 Thoughts blog from Friedman.

First off, I’m completely stoked that Patrick Russell will be back with the Oilers next season after re-signing with the club for another year. I’m a big fan of muckers and grinders and players who play with heart. The writing’s been on the wall for some time now that the Dane would be back given how much his coach likes him.

He’s 27 now and he hasn’t provided much offense for the team, but he brings something different to the ice that not a lot of players on the team did. Consistent efforts and no belly-aching. He’s one of the best players on Edmonton along the wall and you’ve got to wonder just a little bit how he’d do every now and then with Connor McDavid because we know that big wingers who can work the walls tend to have more success with him than other players on the team.

All that said, the right wing position is stocked to the brim nearly. If Jesse Puljujarvi is coming back, will there be a spot for him on that side or will they have him on the left-wing? Bit better of an angle to shoot from, no?

The Rumors

  • Craig Morgan says that the names that keep coming up in the Arizona Coyotes GM search are Ray Shero, Ron Hextall, Sean Burke, Mark Hunter and Shane Doan.
  • On TSN 1290, Frank Seravalli said he wouldn’t be surprised to see Patrik Laine and Nik Ehlers on the TSN Trade Bait Board coming out later this week.

BLH’s Thoughts: Good Lord! If either of these players are available, the Oilers MUST inquire. That’s 30 goals in the “for” column guaranteed! Could you imagine a line that consisted of Laine-McDavid-Puljujarvi? That’s a real world cheat code right there!

  • According to The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman, it’s highly unlikely that the Oilers buy anybody out this offseason and they’re open to trading down from 14th overall depending on the offer.

BLH’s Thoughts: If the narrative that is being thrown out there by Bob Stauffer and Kurt Leavins is that Prince Albert defender Kaiden Guhle could be the guy that Edmonton drafts, I hope for my sanity’s sake that it means they’re trading down because they’d be giving up on some real forward talent at 14th overall to take another left-shot dman…

I’m told that Guhle is similar to Nurse and some have told me that he’s a bit too reckless and that’ll never fly in the NHL.

Personally, I think there are about five other dmen you could take in the 2nd round that are as good as Guhle in the skating department including William Wallinder, Helge Grans, Jeremie Poirier, Lukas Cormier, Ethan Edwards, Justin Barron, etc. I mean, Brandon’s Braden Schneider would be there too. Take him, he’s a righty and they’re always at a premium. 

The Oilers need to start stocking up the cupboards with forwards now.

  • On Saturday Headlines, Elliotte Friedman mentioned that the Calgary Flames are 1-2 weeks from making a decision on Geoff Ward and the head coaching role.
  • George Richards is saying that former Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli is “one to watch” for the open GM position in Florida.

BLH’s Thoughts: John Shannon said on Oilers Now yesterday that Chiarelli’s reputation amongst his peers is a lot higher than with the folks in Northern Alberta… Doesn’t surprise me. 

31 Thoughts Podcast

This part is just going to be random snippets from the podcast. Surely things you have already read if you checked out the 31 Thoughts blog but there are other things that weren’t included in that post that have been inserted into the podcast!

The Hockey Diversity Alliance vs. the NHL

  • “There’s frustrations on both sides. One side wants to do things fast and one side doesn’t want to make a mistake.” Friedman talking about the talks between the Hockey Diversity Alliance and the NHL.
  • What kind of uncomfortable conversations are coming? Be they about the Stanley Cup and who wasn’t allowed to compete for it in the early days or the renaming of the Conn Smythe trophy given Conn Smythe’s clear racist comments towards a player like Herb Carnegie,

In the late 1930s, after watching Carnegie play hockey, Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe was said to have turned to those around him saying he would pay $10,000 “to anyone who could turn Carnegie white.” Since the NHL would not follow the lead of the other major North American professional sports leagues in employing black players, Carnegie was forced to settle for a career in the Quebec provincial and senior leagues, where he formed a legendary line for the Quebec Aces with his older brother, Ossie, and another black player, Manny McIntyre. (source)

Florida Panthers

  • Friedman believes that New York Rangers AGM Chris Drury was the front-runner for the Florida Panthers GM job before he withdrew his candidacy but the insider had heard from the beginning that it was unlikely to be Drury because he has a really good family and works situation in New York.
  • Remaining Panthers GM candidates: Bill Armstrong (STL), Sean Burke (MTL), Peter Chiarelli (STL), John Ferguson (BOS), Mike Futa, Lawrence Gilman (TOR), Ron Hextall (LA), Mike Gillis, Mark Hunter, Scott Mellanby (MTL), Ed Olczyk, and Kevin Weekes.
  • Other possibilities could be Ross Mahoney (WAS) and Al Murray (TB).
  • Joel Quenneville will be involved in the hiring process of Florida’s new GM.
  • The Panthers want a GM who has a good background in finding players.

Toronto Maple Leafs

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs are determined not to make an angry lateral move.
  • Carolina Hurricanes like Frederik Anderson but the Leafs are going to sit and watch how the goaltending market plays out and then make a decision from there.
  • Other teams who thought that the price for Kasperi Kapanen was too rich for their blood has them now asking about Andreas Johnsson but Friedman doesn’t believe they’re ready to move him yet and unless William Nylander nets Toronto a top-4 right-handed defenseman, someone who can play with Morgan Rielly, they’ll keep him.
  • GMs are asking about Zach Hyman but the thought is that he’s too much of what the Leafs need right now and they like him.

Pittsburgh Penguins

  • Jared McCann is available. Jack Johnson isn’t believed to be.
  • There was some talk about Matt Murray going to Toronto but then the Leafs realized that they probably couldn’t afford to re-sign Murray so they backed off.

Arizona Coyotes

  • Friedman believes that Darcy Kuemper is going to get a lot of interest because of his fantastic playoff performance and his contract ($4.5M for the next two years).
  • If Arizona is going to re-stock themselves here, Kuemper is probably their best place to start.
  • Gary Bettman was under intense pressure to punish the Coyotes for their combine testing violations.
  • Teams started asking if they could visit draft-eligible players’ families in certain areas and they were told no. As a result, the teams got angrier and angrier.
  • Friedman speculates that the ownership of the Coyotes, who are in the casino business, chose to have the draft picks taken away as punishment instead of the rumored $5M fine.
  • “I could see them doing the Ottawa model.” Friedman regarding Arizona’s upcoming rebuild. “We’re gonna cut for a couple of years and then build back up.”
  • Arizona’s cap situation is tight this year and then it loosens.
  • Boston was going to make a big offer for Oliver Ekman-Larsson before he signed long-term with the Coyotes.
  • Two contracts that should be looked at, Clayton Keller (885k->$7.15M) and Nick Schmaltz ($5.8M for six more years).
  • People in Arizona would say the Schmaltz contract is one they’re not fond of more so than the Keller one. They still believe Keller can turn out to be what they expected when he was drafted.
  • The Rangers tried to get back into the first round to draft Keller.
  • There was a rumored Rangers/Oilers deal that had Ryan McDonagh and Chris Kreider going to Edmonton for something that included Edmonton’s first-round pick (4th Overall) which turned out to be Jesse Puljujarvi.
  • There are a lot of people out there who believe that OEL, with a change of scenery, can make a big difference. The belief is that he’s stale and needs a new place to play but it’s going to take creativity to acquire him.
  • One team that jumped into Friedmans’ head, the Calgary Flames.
  • OEL has a no-move clause but depending on the situation, he’d be willing to go.
  • The Coyotes will be able to get something for Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jordan Oesterle, Alex Goligoski, and Jason Demers. All are on the final year of their contracts.
  • Depending on what Arizona’s willing to do, Derek Stepan, one year left @ $6.5M on his deal, is another interesting name that could be out there. Right-shot center.
  • If they want to deal Connor Garland, it’s believed they could get something decent for him. He’s got one more year left at 775k.
  • Would anyone have interest in Phil Kessel?

Calgary Flames

  • The Calgary Flames won’t be racing to do anything. The issue with Johnny Gaudreau is that the clock is ticking but they’re in no rush to move him. It’s a tough decision for Calgary because he’s a player that gets you to the playoffs.
  • Sam Bennett isn’t one of the guys that gets you to the playoffs but he gets you through them.
  • Friedman doesn’t like Calgary’s chances of staying still. They haven’t reached out to Cam Talbot yet and they may look at Sean Monahan too.
  • The Flames were high on Friedman’s Taylor Hall list but now, not so much.

Washington Capitals

  • Caps GM Brian MacLellan wants an experienced coach in Washington.
  • Peter Laviolette is very high on the Capitals list.
  • If Washington wanted to go the other way, Lane Lambert, who’s with the Islanders and almost had the head coaching gigs in Anaheim and Colorado before joining Barry Trotz in New York, is one. Players like him. And also Spencer Carbery, the head coach of the Capital’s farm club in Hershey.
  • Pittsburgh and Florida potentially have interest in Todd Reirden as an assistant coach.

St. Louis Blues

  • “It’s a lot more complicated than you realize”, one of Friedman’s sources on St. Louis Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo re-signing with the club.
  • Apparently, Pietrangelo has barely gotten any contract offers in the last year but Brayden Schenn, Justin Faulk, and Marco Scandella got their new deals…
  • Friedman and Jeff Marek wonder about bonuses being an issue. Doug Armstrong doesn’t like to hand them out according to Marek.
  • “Wealthy clubs don’t want to do bonuses anymore because they’re cash poor.”

Montreal Canadiens

  • Biggest story in Montreal is the emergence of Kotkaniemi and Suzuki. People in Montreal feel that they have something there.
  • Philip Danault, a year away from UFA status, isn’t sure about his role on the club and his year-end comments were heard loud and clear. There’s a lot of interest in Danault.
  • Max Domi is looking for new representation and wants a fresh start in his life.

Random

  • Columbus will be moving a goalie and will be looking for some scoring in return.
  • Daniil Tarasov is considered to be one of the goalie gems of 2017. “Watch out for this guy.”
  • “If the bonuses are out that might hurt the offer-sheet plan” according to Friedman after being asked if the Habs could offer-sheet Andrei Svechnikov.
  • “I would not be surprised if Las Vegas is awarded an NLL (National Lacrosse League) franchise in 2022 and Wayne Gretzky is involved in some capacity,” says Marek.

Thanks for reading folks! Have a good one!

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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Elliotte Friedman’s Latest Oilers Rumors

The 31 Thoughts podcast dropped last night and in it included a fairly lengthy section on the Edmonton Oilers where co-hosts Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman gave their opinions on what Connor McDavid’s team might do this off-season.

Some of the topics covered:

  • Andreas Athanasiou
  • Edmonton’s lack of scoring support against Chicago
  • Jesse Puljujarvi
  • Holland’s Patience
  • Could the team explore trading Oscar Klefbom or Adam Larsson?
  • Who might come in to replace Mike Smith?

You can listen to the full pod at the end of this post. Skip ahead to 1:01:45-ish to get the Oilers content.

So starting with Andreas Athanasiou. The prevailing thought from both hockey pundits is that he’ll be a cap casualty. The Oilers may very well walk away because they’re afraid of being beat in an arbitration hearing. Friedman did point out that AA could accept the team offer during the arbitration process though but I’m not sure why he’d do that unless he thought he was going to lose.

My guess is they’ll look to move on from him and recoup draft picks.

As for Puljujarvi, according to Marek, he was told that things were very close to being done but Friedman had heard that that wasn’t the case at all. As he stated in his latest post on Sportsnet, he said that the team might’ve thought things were close but the player didn’t.

Another point that was added by Friedman was the Oilers were looking to sign him to make it easier to trade him but Puljujarvi wanted more control over where he was going. Perhaps he wasn’t going to sign unless he knew where he was going.

The two also felt that JP’s peers from his draft class are establishing themselves in the NHL and maybe the best thing for Jesse would be to get over to North America and play.

This is something I agree with. Another year in Finland is not something I would consider best for his development or career trajectory. Had he moved to the KHL or the SHL, then I could understand because there’s an element of increased difficulty there in addition to immersing himself into another country and culture.

Jeff Marek asked about Mike Smith and the pair had pondered earlier in the pod on the number of goalies that are going to hit the market this off-season. It’s possible that some might have to sign for less because there are more chairs than people to sit in them.

Friedman offered up the names of Thomas Greiss and Anton Khudobin as players he could see signing in Edmonton.

I’m not sure about these guys, to be honest. They both make a fair chunk of cash, right? Khudobin ($2.5M) and Greiss ($3,33M) and they’re both 34 years old… They are solid netminders though. I reckon if Holland could get them for closer to $2M/yr, that would be the best-case scenario. Otherwise, perhaps finding a trade to fill the need might just be the way to go.

Finally, there was lots of chatter about what Ken Holland could do with the defense. Friedman noted that he thinks Holland will be patient and that he won’t move his young defenders, specifically naming Darnell Nurse as he’s not an older player and he’s part of the leadership group.

They did mention Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson mind you.

The Klefbom/Krug rumor came up and then the bearded wonder mused, “Edmonton and Toronto, to me, look like potentially natural trading partners.” as well as “I really do believe Holland isn’t going to move his young D. So where’s the fit?”

I do concur that it looks like Toronto is going to muscle up this off-season but the targets still have to be able to play.

Now, the Leafs have Morgan Reilly, Jake Muzzin, Travis Dermott, and Rasmus Sandin on their left-side according to Mr. Friedman. That would lead one to believe that Adam Larsson could be the target for Toronto but how would that leave the Oilers?

They’d have Bear, Benning, and Bouchard as their natural right-shot defenders available in addition to Kris Russell and Caleb Jones who can both play their off-side. Would you be comfortable with that set-up going into 2020/21 if Larsson could net the team Andreas Johnsson or Kasperi Kapanen?

In my mind, if the Leafs and Oilers really want to shake things up, make the Nurse/Nylander trade.

It’s my belief that Nurse’s mean streak is slowly losing its luster as he grows older so that part of his game is becoming less impactful and his contribution to the offensive part of the game is predicated upon playing with Connor McDavid primarily. Take him away from 97 and the offense dries up. So what are you left with?

I don’t think that Edmonton needs to get younger on the back-end. In fact, they could benefit from getting older and a veteran left-shot blueliner that excels at defending and puck-moving is a lot easier to find than not.

I’d argue that the Oilers would be a better team, a deeper team if they traded Nurse for Nylander and added Erik Gustafsson to fill in on the 2nd pair. But that’s just me. If the team is worried about a physical presence, don’t trade Larsson and/or sign Derek Engelland…

It really all goes back to Friedman’s belief that Ken Holland won’t be making any panic moves but he will look to improve the netminding and the wings.

It’s going to be an interesting fall for all of the Canadian NHL teams… I talked to a gentleman who covers the Canucks and he agreed. “Very busy!” he added.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Edmonton Oilers: The Reason Peter Chiarelli Went Insular According to Elliotte Friedman

On this week’s 31 Thoughts podcast, Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman were talking about the Edmonton Oilers situation and Friedman brought up Peter Chiarelli and why he basically went into hiding and only had a few people around him at the end of his tenure in Edmonton. He said that someone who he thought wasn’t that close to the former Oilers/Bruins GM reached out to him to speak on behalf of Chiarelli and this is what was told to the insider,

FYI: You can listen to the podcast at the bottom end of this post!

“I think he felt that some things he hoped would remain private went public, so he lost trust and that’s why he wasn’t talking to anybody.”

It’s kind of funny. Not once since Chiarelli’s firing did anybody wonder why he became so distant and the end. The majority of the conversation around him was about the quality of the transactions he’d completed.

Friedman said that he would send Chiarelli texts asking him about something he was working on and there would never be a reply, the source of the quote above also commented on that,

“He would get those texts and would be like, “I can’t keep a secret.” And that’s why he wasn’t talking to anybody.”

We heard the Oilers radio colorman, Bob Stauffer, say that in the final months of Chiarelli’s tenure that he was only working with Duane Sutter and Ken Hitchcock. Now, did he feel that those men were to be trusted and everyone else he had in his management staff weren’t to be? Men like current interim GM Keith Gretzky, Craig MacTavish, Scott Howson, Paul Messier, and Chris Cichocki.

Were those gentlemen that source of the leaks coming out of Edmonton? Stauffer seemed to have some pretty good intel on some of the happenings going on in the past… Maybe Peter’s brother Michael was the one.

And if Chiarelli thought that he needed to spend the remaining months of his Oilers career in a bunker, why didn’t he just let go the ones who he thought were breaking his trust? Maybe because it would’ve needed to go through Nicholson and Katz? Do you think Bobby Nicks would’ve greenlit the dismissal of those long-tenured senior management employees? I don’t think so… So I imagine he did what he felt he had to do…

That said, loose lips sink ships…

For what it’s worth, there are few GMs in the league that run a super tight-lipped ship. Stuff gets out. Ron Hextall (Friedman also mentioned that Hextall going solo in PHI was also due to a trust issue) and Ron Francis were known to be a couple and also Lou Lamoriello as well. If Chiarelli though that he was going to go into a market like Edmonton his word was going to stay behind office doors, that’s on him and he could’ve used that in his favor had he been clever enough.

Perhaps he should’ve used the reaction to the some of the rumored deals that got out to gauge the value of said deal?… Just an idea to throw out there. I mean, you never want to do your job according to how the fanbase of your team feels but there can be value found by listening to others too.

As if things weren’t going to slip out with all those ex-GMs in his management team. Did Craig MacTavish not use the media to his advantage when he was running the team? Kevin Lowe too? I can’t really recall Steve Tambellini doing much during his time with the Oilers apart from being a puppet for the OBC!

The Oilers have all these ex-players/management types still working for them and they have very good relationships with the local media… C’mon man… A Harvard educated person should be a bit more on the ball than that.

What do you think about Friedman’s comments? Let us know in the comments below!

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Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

31 Thoughts Part 2: Marek/Friedman on the Oilers Going Forward, the Old Boys Club, Darryl Katz, and More!

This week’s 31 Thoughts podcast was an Edmonton Oilers-Themed one and I’m going to try and transcribe the best parts of it for you here with my comments. This could be a long read, so you might want to grab a coffee, tea, beer, two-four of your favorite hard alcohol and buckle up!

EF=Elliotte Friedman
JM=Jeff Marek

Part one is here. They talk about the timing and why Peter Chiarelli had to be fired. They also speak to analytics more so in that segment. 

Here’s part two!

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Can One Happen Without the Other?

JM: Work with me on something. It seems like two different streams were running at the same time in that press conference. One, Bob Nicholson was clear that they’re not letting go of assets… But We’re going to get better. Can one happen without the other? Can they get better without moving some type of asset? You can always pick around the edges and the crust but if you’re going to do something, don’t you need to move one or two of those assets?

EF: They made it very clear they’re not interested in rebuilding and you’re not changing the coach. He’s for the rest of the year. Okay, so what are we talking about here? 

JM: Is there a magic wand you can wave over everybody to make them play better?

EF: They said, “We’re not giving up any of our young assets unless we get something we can keep.” basically. 

JM: Not for rentals but the goal is still to make the playoffs this year. So if someone comes to Keith Gretzky, “I’ve got a player that can help you get into the playoffs but he’s on an expiring contract, we would like your first round pick.”

EF: No. Unless… The only way I would say that that’s different is, if I was Keith Gretzky and I really wanted this guy, I would ask for 48 hours to talk about a contract extension. 

My first kick at the can here is that the only way they can improve drastically is by dealing one of Leon Draisaitl or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and we’ve mentioned Draisaitl recently. 

But I don’t believe they’ll use their main assets to upgrade the roster. I think players like Tyler Benson, Dmitri Samorukov, Kirill Maksimov, Filip Berglund, and Ostap Safin might be used as trade fodder. 

How Do They Get There (Playoffs)?

EF: I don’t have an answer for you on that. (Laughter ensues)

Look, who are you trading? Who are you going to trade that’s going to make a difference in terms of what you get? Who on that team has serious trade value?

JM: You have an interesting asset in Cam Talbot. 

EF: Did you hear Burke? (Brian Burke: I don’t think you can move him at that salary, I just don’t think he’s movable.)

JM: Until someone gets a goalie injury.

I agree with Marek here. I think a team like Washington, who is on a mad losing streak right now, might be tempted into trading Andre Burakovsky for an upgrade for their backup position and possibly depth on defense. 

EF: It’s a tough one for Talbot right now. So who else?

JM: Evan Bouchard.

EF: I can’t see it. Can I go the Doug MacLean route, I’ll tell you what I’ve heard, I won’t tell you if it’s true. I heard there was some team that had asked about Bouchard and they (Oilers) just said no.

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Who’s Got Value?

EF: Well let’s go through, who’s got value? That you can trade and get something for. 

JM: Leon Draisaitl.

EF: Yes, you could do that. Would you do that?

JM: Depends on the return. I would trade anybody…

EF: There’s one person you’re not trading, Connor McDavid. 

JM: Even with the Hall deal. I had no problem trading Taylor Hall, you just need to get more. I had no problem moving Taylor Hall or Jordan Eberle or whatever. So long as you get more in return. Justin Schultz, need to get more for that player. So I have no problem moving anyone outside of 97 on that roster. Do you?

EF: No. I mean I look at a guy like Nurse. He looks like he really wants to be part of the solution. So show me a trade that makes sense for a guy like that. A guy that clearly looks like he wants to be part of your team. 

To me, the guys on that team that have value are, duh, McDavid but you’re not doing that. Draisaitl, Nurse, Klefbom, but I don’t think you can do that. Nugent-Hopkins, Puljujarvi, the 1st round pick, and I think Yamamoto would have value too. 

Leon and Darnell will definitely come up in more trade rumors as time passes by and that’s just because they’re young, they’re very talented, and they’ll bring back what the Oilers could be looking for, right? 

If you trade Leon, can you get a center back who is more defensively responsible like Sean Couturier and an upgrade on defense like Ivan Provorov or Shane Gostisbehere? Could Darnell Nurse net the team a desperately needed winger like Kasperi Kapanen or Jake DeBrusk?

JM: Although listening to the Bob Nicholson press Conference, do you not get the sense, because I do; that Puljujarvi is being pulled out of that discussion and they’re going to season him. Nicholson pulled out the old Ken Holland line and said “Over-ripen”. 

EF: One of the guys I’ve kinda heard they’ve had some interest in but I’m not sure if he’s actually available is Athanasiou from Detroit.

JM: See that would indicate a significant philosophical shift away from “We’re a big, heavy, strong team. We’re a fast, speedy, quick puck moving team.”

When the shift from a fast and quick team to a big heavy team happened, I was 100% all-in. I was tired of watching the team get pushed around. Things have changed but growing up the Oilers M.O. was that they were one of the best skating teams in the entire league. I would be in favor of a return to that style. 

EF: I’m not sure that, A) Detroit wants to do that. He’s still one of those guys that averages a lot of goals for the time he plays. You know the relationship between Athanasiou and the Red Wings has never been easy but Ken Holland strikes me looking at that situation and saying, “He’s still a very valuable young player and we’re not really looking to do anything if we don’t have to.” 

But let’s just say this for argument’s sake, what’s it going to cost you to get him? It’s going to cost you a lot. So, in theory, since we’re playing GM here, if you’re Edmonton would you give up one of your young pieces for him?

JM: Yes, because he is a young piece himself and he can play with McDavid and that tempo that would be frightening to the rest of the NHL. You wanna talk about backing up defenseman on the blueline, that’s how you do it.

EF: Here’s my question to you, Bob Nicholson says, “We’re not giving up our young pieces for rentals.” but he’s not a rental. So does that change the equation? Possibly. If he’s available. 

This will make my friend Joseph happy. He’s really on the Athanasiou train and I don’t blame him. But at what cost? Yamamoto? Benson? I wouldn’t support a Puljujarvi for Athanasiou trade but I could see a package that included one of the other two I just mentioned going to Detroit for him. 

I mean, if we’re dealing with Detroit, why not see if faceoff specialist Luke Glendening and blooming defensive forward Tyler Bertuzzi are available as well?

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The New Direction of the Team?

JM: I come back to the philosophical shift perhaps that we’ll see in Edmonton. The “let’s build it heavy and not get pushed around” I’m assuming is done now. I’m assuming the new direction for this team is sympathetic to what the rest of the NHL has gone through and that’s foot speed, move the puck quick, quick, quick. Up-tempo.

EF: You need guys that can play with him. The feeling is that team didn’t play fast enough, so I’m sure they will put something on that.

Now, I don’t see anything wrong with having a tough team but to me, toughness is a lot of different things. It’s not just like, “We’re big and tough and we’re going to crush you.” Toughness is also playing through…

JM: Look, Darnell Nurse is fast and he’s tough.

EF: To me, McDavid is pretty tough. He takes a lot of abuse and he just plays but there is room for toughness.

Your best team has to be everything but there’s no question that they need to play at a faster pace than they have. 

I have a theory that the league is going to over-compensate here on the small skilled guy and in a few years, there’s going to be a change of guard again but maybe not so extreme as this one has gone. A player like Quinton Byfield, who is a highly regarded prospect for the 2020 draft, is going to change the way teams look at power forwards. My thinking is, get on it now, find the good skating physical players and develop them and reap the benefits when the pivot happens. And it will happen at some point. 

Who Do You Remove?

JM: Who do you remove from this lineup to make it better and how can you?

EF: I think those names are obvious but I think the biggest question is, how can you? So do you wanna just say, “Look, we’re buying out Lucic. We know we don’t get a ton of relief. We know it’s a big waste of money but we’re doing it to make a statement.” Do you wanna do that?

JM: If you’re the next GM it’s pretty tempting. 

EF: That’s one the owner has to let you do. 

I don’t know if I’d go the buyout route, it’s really expensive and this team needs all the cap room it can get. Might it make more sense to eat 50% and trade Lucic? There’d definitely be a market for him. Especially in the Metropolitan Division… 

Darryl Katz

JM: Do you have any problem with Darryl Katz? The ultimate question is, do they have enough stability up top for this to be a successful franchise?

EF: We had a conversation a while ago about what you ask when you’re going in as a GM and my no.1 thing was the owner. I would look at Darryl Katz and I would say, he’s got a brand new building, he spends money on the team, he spent $100M on Connor McDavid, he spent a ton of money on Draisaitl. 

I don’t look at anything he’s done from a financial POV and say, “This is a problem.”

This is a guy who is unafraid to spend money on his team and at the base, I like that. 

Marek/Friedman go on to talk about the emotional investment Katz has in the team and I’m thinking that could be what’s in the water in Edmonton. Katz’s emotional investment. Maybe he needs to step away and just let his employees do their jobs without interference. 

The No.1 Question for Contending GMs

EF: The no.1 question that contenders for this GM job going in will be, “How does it work in your organization? Who reports to who? Who talks to who? Who has the say?”

I don’t think that Wayne Gretzky would do anything to prevent a GM from doing what he/she wants to do. I don’t think he would. But I think people get intimidated by him and I think also Katz listens to him. He’s Wayne Gretzky, he’s smart. And I think you have to be very secure to go into that position and say, “Okay, I know this dynamic is here and I can handle it.” Even though I think it would be Gretzky’s goal to be helpful to anyone who went in there.

Bring a guy like Mark Hunter in, who played against Wayne during the 80s. I can guarantee that he’s not intimidated by the Great One.

There’s a bit of talk going on about how much collaboration there was with Chiarelli during his tenure and I can be sure he had full autonomy until the last few months here. 

So it’s natural to suggest that the new guy should have full control but isn’t that what Chiarelli had? After all, he was the President of Hockey Operations AND the General Manager. 

The Old Boys Club

EF: I have heard that. That he (Kevin Lowe) doesn’t get in the way. MacTavish does his job, offers his opinion, tries to stay out of the way. I’ve heard there were things this year that with Gretzky that he didn’t agree with but he’s like, “It’s not my call. I’ll offer my opinion but it’s not my call.”

However, there’s no question, they all get together. They all talk. They all have opinions. 

I just think that if you’re going to go in there, you have to understand that that’s the way it is. But I don’t buy the idea that they’re interfering with these guys or preventing these guys from doing their jobs. 

Tell me how Wayne Gretzky or Craig MacTavish or Kevin Lowe or any of those guys working there prevented Peter Chiarelli from doing what he wanted to do. Give me evidence. 

JM: The only thing I’ve heard about that level of management is that they’ve talked Darryl Katz off the ledge sometimes. And Katz has wanted something to happen and Gretzky’s come in to say, “Hold on a second, pull back, big picture this one. Let’s not act emotionally.”

I can second this. From what I’ve been told, Katz has flown into Oilers games before, calling for heads only to be calmed down and convinced otherwise by either Bob Nicholson or Gretz. 

EF: I’ve heard the same thing. Darryl Katz was the guy who said we’re taking Nail Yakupov. So, you can make all the excuses you want or you can come up with things you want and I have chased this story as much as anybody else has because we always here it, “The old Oilers are preventing the new guys from winning.” But I’ve had guys swear up and down to me that they really try their best now to stay out of the way because they know how the market feels about it. 

I just think it’s a convenient excuse for fans to make up when everything else has dried up. It hasn’t helped that there’ve been more than a few reunions in recent years. So the OBC has been around a bit more often than previous to McDavid arriving. 

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The Toxicity Around the Organization

JM: What does that mean to you?

EF: It’s what we talked about. It’s the crisis of consumer confidence. Your fans don’t believe in your vision, they don’t believe in you. They’re not showing up to games. They’re not buying their renewals. You’ve made the playoffs once since they went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2006 and they love their team. 

Like I mentioned. I don’t see this consumer crisis as THAT bad. Have you seen how many people show up to Florida Panthers games? What about games in Anaheim, Carolina, or Arizona (When Edmonton isn’t playing there)? Those are clubs where half or more of their arenas are empty for a majority of their home games. 

I don’t see this during Edmonton games at all. When’s the last time the Oilers tarped off portions of the upper deck during the regular season to try and make the arena appear more full than it actually is?

The Oilers are lucky that their fanbase has been this loyal to them. Very lucky and still very passionate.

How ridiculous was it two years ago when they went to the 2nd round of the playoffs and people were paying what, $80 to buy a ticket to stand in the concourse. They couldn’t even see the game. 

That is definitely ridiculous. Might as well hit up a nearby pub or just hang out outside the arena with a phone or a tablet and watch the game there. Save the $80. 

On the ex-Oiler thing, I have heard that they are well aware of how people feel about them and they do their jobs and they ask their opinions as they are told and they try to stay out of the way. Again, I heard that there were things that some of them didn’t like this year or last couple years and they just said, “Okay.”

The other thing that I think Wayne Gretzky has to offer is there’s only one guy that can talk to McDavid peer-to-peer and say, “I know how you’re feeling.” or “I can help you get through this feeling.” and that’s Wayne Gretzky. That, to me, is a very valuable service.

Right now, what’s Edmonton really sensitive about? Their fans when someone from Toronto steps up and says, “Well, Connor McDavid is going to be unhappy there.”

Now I don’t believe that. It’s going to take longer than this for McDavid to his patience, though I think the losing kills him. But that’s where Gretzky comes in. “I can manage you through it, I can help you with this.” and there’s probably only one guy in the world that can talk to McDavid at that level who’s an executive, and that’s the guy that is employed in the organization. 

That’s it. 35 minutes of Edmonton Oilers talk. If you missed part one, it’s right here.

What do you think about what Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman said? Let us know in the comments below!

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31 Thoughts: Marek/Friedman Riff on Analytics and the Oilers Firing of Peter Chiarelli Part 1

This week’s 31 Thoughts podcast was an Edmonton Oilers-Themed one and I’m going to try and transcribe the best parts of it for you here with my comments. This could be a long read, so you might want to grab a coffee, tea, beer, two-four of your favorite hard alcohol and buckle up!

EF=Elliotte Friedman
JM=Jeff Marek

Part Two is here.

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How Much Damage Has Been Done?

EF: Why did they do this (fire Chiarelli) now? Fans were voting with their wallets. There were empty seats. I’ve been somebody who studies the secondary ticket market, I’m very interested in this kind of thing. Value was way down. Your season ticket renewals are going out, your 3-year luxury suite rentals/leases are up. They were going to lose all that. 

That’s why this decision was made now. 

I have a hard time believing this one. As I’ve said many times before, every time I got home to watch a game, I always use the secondary ticket market and I never pay over $50 to watch the Oilers. Just because Friedman is noticing it now doesn’t mean it hasn’t been there the whole time. 

I can’t speak to the luxury suites. As far as I understand a lot of those expensive seats, boxes, or what have you are owned by local corporations who use them as tax write-offs anyhow. So no skin off their backs. 

JM: The Oilers have been on the wrong end of both the draft and trades over the past four years. 

EF: No, no, no, no. I would hesitate to give up on Yamamoto and Puljujarvi. One of the things that’s being lost in sports, in general, is patience. I don’t want to say that both those guys are wastes or failures yet. I think that there is still time for both those players. 

Don’t forget that Yamamoto was a later pick. Those guys generally take time. 

Marek goes on to say that’s not what was intended by the question. I think he was pointing at the Reinhart deal and he’s not wrong but from a general drafting and development POV, the Oilers are MUCH better off now than they were before Chiarelli arrived. 

JM: As much as Edmonton has re-stocked, whether it’s Jones, whether it’s Bouchard, Whether it’s Benson, Whether it’s Yamamoto, there is something there that you can see. 

They do go into the Reinhart deal briefly and Marek wonders if that one is on Chiarelli whereas Friedman says, it doesn’t matter. I’m paraphrasing to save time here, Chiarelli was paid to be the boss, he wears the good with the bad. 

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What Concerns Friedman About Nicholson’s Presser from an Oilers fan’s POV

EF: Nicholson said we can still make the playoffs, “we’re a playoff team” and while everybody always wants to be that team, I just wonder what it means because there’re certainly not trending that way.

I don’t think Nicholson could’ve gone another way here. Especially after what McDavid said about belief in the dressing room. I also don’t believe it’s the right message to convey to the team or the fanbase before seeing what can be done at the deadline. 

How are they going to be able to change that? They said Ken Hitchcock is the coach for the rest of the season. What does that mean in terms of their decision making? That’s going to be a big question. 

Friedman on the Oilers Wasting 97’s Prime Years

EF: I read a lot of stuff, “Oh, they’ve wasted his prime years.”

He’s got a long time. They have to fix it, he’s going to be a great player for a long time. And the thing I like most about McDavid is, that guy, he’s a professional. He hasn’t complained, he doesn’t complain on the ice to the referees, we talked last week that that now might be to his detriment. He goes out every day and he does his job and that quote he made the other day about how “If you don’t believe in this group and you’re in the locker room, then you need to leave.” 

I heard he told the players the same thing before he told the public when they had their dressing room conversation.

It’s weird we never heard stuff like this about Hall or Yakupov or Eberle or Schultz, right? 

Going Forward… The Return of an Ex-Employee?

EF: I think there’s going to be some major surgery that needs to be done but I always believe you have a chance (with McDavid on your team). I’m going to tell you something else, You know what I’m doing if I’m the Oilers? You know who I’m going to talk to? I’m going to talk to Tyler Dellow. 

I’m bringing him back. 

I think Tyler does really good work and I think an NHL team is going to hire him. And if I’m the Edmonton Oilers I want that to be me. They’re his team, they’re the team he’s most passionate about. You can always talk to somebody and say, “Tyler, there’s a way we’re going to conduct our business and you are going to fit in with the way I need you to be but to me, you can say whatever you want and I want all your information.” Because I think that guy is going to help a hockey team and if I’m the Edmonton Oilers, I want that to be me. 

JM: Who makes that decision? Is that the GM or above the GM? I don’t disagree with you. I’ve known Tyler for a lot of years. 

EF: Front offices are changing. This league is changing.

Woof! Good luck with this one. Dellow rubbed a lot of people wrong in Edmonton and burnt some serious bridges I believe but maybe now that Chiarelli is gone, there’s a minuscule possibility of a return. I mean if Dave Keon can return to the Maple Leafs, surely Dellow could go back to Edmonton.

I heard The Athletic is paying him a shit ton of money though. Reckon Edmonton could beat that and give him parameters to work within?

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Are the Oilers One of them?

EF: These teams are growing. When I was in Vegas, it was obvious to me that some of these clubs have quietly hired more people than they let on. 

JM: Is Edmonton one of them?

EF: No. Edmonton I think is behind. 

JM: Which is interesting because a lot of this “analytics movement” started with people like Vic Ferrari around the Edmonton Oilers. 

EF: Yes. The Oilers have always had an interesting, for lack of a better term, cult of analytics fans (laughter ensues). Sorry guys. It’s just a word I use. 

But you have to have that now. You have to have people who think differently and again, you could have a conversation with someone and say, “This is how I need you to be around the players. This is how I need you to be around certain people in the organization but at the end of the day, you can say to me whatever you want and I may listen, I may not, but I want to hear what you have to say.”

Like, what was the no.1 thing Bob Nicholson talked about in his press conference, “We need to do a better job of evaluating players.”

JM: And let them season in the AHL. Which is pretty much him saying Yamamoto get used to Bakersfield and you too Puljujarvi. 

EF: I wonder about that and I think that’s the right message but they said they’ve got to do a better job of evaluating. 

JM: Is that a thinly veiled way of saying, “We can’t just rely on, Hey we’re good hockey men, we rely on these eyeballs.”

EF: I don’t think anybody can do that anymore. 

I’ve got ZERO problems with the Oilers bringing in more personnel to increase the quality of decisions being made.

But if I were the Oilers, I’d just take a look at some of the Twitter timelines of the analytics influencers who cover the Oilers or the Maple Leafs, for example, and ask myself, “Is that the kind of person I want representing my club? Do I want that kind of immaturity penetrating my hockey team?”

While the work being done by those people could have value, does the character of those individuals coincide with our how an NHL team wants to be represented? 

Analytics vs. the Eye Test

EF: To me, the fight’s over. I hate it when I see on Twitter, I hate hearing it anywhere. To me, it’s all about building the best organization and if they don’t want to bring Tyler back, I might call Sunny Mehta. 

I think the fight could be over if folks could just drop the egos (or leave social media). There’s a pretty good reason why there’s bitterness between the two tribes and if I recall correctly, the aforementioned Tyler Dellow has been at the center of it. 

We’re only 15 minutes into the podcast now. Coming up you’ll hear what Marek and Friedman think the Oilers should do going forward.

You can head over to Sportsnet.ca and check out the podcast if you want to but I’ll be doing up a part two with my comments later.

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