Tag Archives: Andrej Sekera

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NHL.com 31-in-31 Edmonton Oilers 2018/19 Preview… Review

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Yesterday NHL.com posted their 2018/19 season preview for the Edmonton Oilers and they asked three questions for the hosts, EJ Hradek and Dan Rosen, to ponder.

  • Can the Oilers expect a return to form from Cam Talbot?
  • Which players need to step up in Edmonton this season?
  • Was Peter Chiarelli too cautious this offseason?

I’ll post the video at the end of this blog for you but first, my thoughts…

Will the Real Slim Talby Please Stand Up?

Can the Oilers expect a return to for from Cam Talbot?

I think they can. I think that IF the defense can stay healthy, they’re that much older and experienced, and it’s more or less the same group that lead them to the playoffs in 2016, right?

Last season it was apparent that Talbot was playing hurt and I’m of the belief that he was overplayed in 2016 and that carried over into 2017.

Now that Chiarelli has signed one of the KHL’s better goalies in Mikko Koskinen, I think that will give Talbot and the Oilers an opportunity to play Cam a more correct amount of games.

Talbot said it himself that last season was the outlier. He’s a career .918 SV% goalie and last season he was a .909 SV% netminder.

Talbot will bounce back but my question is, how much?

PRODUCE OR GET OUT OF THE GARDEN!

That’s such a bad joke…

Anyways, which players need to step up for the Oilers in 2018?

I think the first name that will come to the minds of Oilers fans is Milan Lucic and I do get that sentiment, I’m not sure I agree. Yes, Milan needs to step up but not in the way that a player like Jesse Puljujarvi needs to or Andrej Sekera does. Lucic simply needs to find a way NOT to get himself in a hole like he did last year. If he plays his game, he’ll be a fine 45pt-55pt LWer for the Oilers and that’s perfectly fine. He was on part for around that last season and then Christmas hit…

Pulju and Rej are going to be relied upon for some offense this year.

I’ve been following Puljujarvi all offseason and he’s looking fantastic. His skating looks better and from my Finnish sources he sounds way more confident and he knows exactly what the team expects from him this year. I just hope that McLellan and the new coaches see what they have in Jesse and use him accordingly. The kid has the talent and I’ve seen some throwing shade at his hockey IQ which is bullshit IMO. Think about it, do you know a lot of players who have poor hockey IQ who dominate the World Junior Hockey Championships at 16 and 17? Do you know any players who aren’t that clever on the ice who can play professional hockey in Finland and not look out of place?

Andrej Sekera. I’m not expecting 40pts out of the guy, but I really think he can put up 30+. That bum knee of his is healthy now and he should be back to normal. Which for him is about 33 pts. He should be the QB on the second PP unit, so I imagine he’ll put a few points up there.

Other players that will need to step up are Ty Rattie, Zack Kassian, and Drake Caggiula.

Ty Rattie because the Oilers gave him a 1-way deal on the back of 9 pts in 14 games last year playing with McDavid and Nuge. Everyone probably agrees that this guy isn’t a 1st line RWer and he’s going to need to produce right off the bat or else Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto are going to be right there ready to take his spot.

Caggiula and Kassian need to bring it because they’re making a bit more than they probably should and I can’t speak for the rest of the fanbase here but I miss the physicality they brought in 2016. Remember Caggiula feeding Cogliano’s face knuckles and Kassian sending Couture flying or taking on all comers vs. Arizona? We need more of that, please.

The coaches had better step up too. Todd McLellan is on a bit of an island now that Chiarelli gutted his coaching staff and replaced them.

Personally, I’m really looking forward to what Yawney will do with the defensemen and what Viveiros is going to do with the PP. If those two alone can get things clicking with the players, the Oilers will go hard and deep… Into the playoffs.

Haltpeter (PC>Mac)

My puns are right horrid today…

Was Chiarelli too cautious this offseason?

I don’t think so. He was the right amount of cautious in my opinion. He found a way to bring in a veteran 4th line center in Kyle Brodziak for a tidy sum, he also managed to get a very in-demand Tobias Rieder to re-join the Oilers for a paltry $2M. Those two deals alone are wins this summer for the Oilers.

He also fired 75% of his coaching staff…

That said, he might’ve given out a few more bucks than needed to his RFAs and his backup goalie but Peter is a man who goes after what he feels he needs to improve the squad and he rarely gets into bidding wars for players.

Some might say that Chiarelli kind of self-imposed this cautious offseason which you might see as a plus or a minus. My opinion is that things happen for a reason and that sometimes we don’t know that reason right away but eventually if we pay attention, we learn that reason.

What are your thoughts on NHL.com’s questions?

One more video for you though. Did you see that Alexis Lafreniere goal last night? Wowzas! You HAVE to check this out.

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Is this Oilers Insider Spilling the Beans on Chiarelli’s Annual 1-for-1 Trade?

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Well if you haven’t read it by now, Oilers Now host Bob Stauffer has sent out a tweet that has the oilogosphere more confused than Pat O’Neill Riley from SNL. Let’s check it out below and then do some analyzing afterward.

So according to Stauffer, the Oilers are going to sit on their pick (a good idea) and see how things play out. If Adam Boqvist drops as a lot of people are prognosticating, then good for the Oilers! He’s really the kind of player they need but won’t be ready for a few years mind you. I talked to a scout in Sweden this morning and he said Brynas has one of the best d-corps in the SHL and that Boqvist would be given a chance to break into their lineup next year but would probably be a no.7 defender on their team and PP specialist. Makes you wonder if the team that selects him moves him to their AHL club immediately if that’s going to be the case for Boqvist in Sweden.

Bobby S. then says that the Oilers won’t be “chasing” the pricier UFAs and that says to me that perhaps there’s a UFA out there that is considered amongst the pricier ones who is willing to come to Edmonton. No chasing required hence the word being in quotation marks.

Lastly, the juicy part and the timing couldn’t be any better as we’re coming up to the annual Chiarelli special, a June 1-for-1 trade!

So a player with term for a player who brings a different dynamic to the team? What does that even mean?

Oh and if you don’t know, No movement clauses, no trade clauses, modified ones, they all mean nothing to me. They’re a request away from being waived. Just because a player has one doesn’t mean he’ll use it.

Who are the players with term?

  • McDavid
  • Draisaitl
  • Nugent-Hopkins
  • Lucic (NMC)
  • Kassian

Well, I know which one a lot of fans want to be traded and he very well could be. Milan Lucic is never going to become Pavel Bure over the course of a summer. Hell, he probably couldn’t become as good-a-skater as Kassian over the offseason. So asking him to change his body composition is a tall ask and I know there are teams out there that would trade for him. Vancouver being one, Montreal being one, and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit of a team like Carolina wanted him.

but I’m going to say that if the player with term being moved out is a forward, it’ll be Zack Kassian. Chiarelli loves Lucic too much and I imagine he’s learned from his trade with Eberle but Kassian’s got one more year after this one at $1.95M and that’s a tad too much for what he brings in the regular season production-wise. I love the guy so much but I do believe the team could find a similar type of emotional player for cheaper.

  • Klefbom
  • Larsson
  • Sekera (NMC)
  • Russell (NMC)

Two players stand out right away for me here. Oscar Klefbom and Andrej Sekera. That’s because Larsson and Russell will be required come playoff time 🙂

The Klefbom for Krug rumors started a while back but kinda of kicked it into another gear this year. I wrote about it twice. Once when Jimmy Murphy tweeted something out and again when Fluto Shinzawa. So the trade fires are burning in Boston.

I think with Oscar there are a couple ways of looking at his situation.

  1. Great player WHEN HEALTHY. Do we know that he has the ability to stay healthy? As a fan, are you willing to give him that chance? He’s a 40pt dman and is the team’s PP threat from the point when he’s not on that IR.
  2. Given his contract and age, he could very well bring back an excellent return and now that he’s had surgery on that bum shoulder of his, he should be ready to tear it up. Great! More value.

If Krug IS the return, that’s not bad but you’d hope there’d be a bit more to that as Krug is older and makes more money. He also produces more points mind you but as a lefty. Could he be paired with Larsson leaving Nurse to play with who? Sekera? Russell? Benning?

As for Sekera, who knows with him. He seemingly had a good World Championships as we never heard a peep about a poor performance or struggling like he did when he returned to the team last season. I think he’d be the kind of guy who would waive his NMC because he just wants to play and probably sees the writing on the wall or maybe he’s received an invitation letter from Ference Island…

My personal preference is for the team to move on from Andrej Sekera. I’ve never been a huge fan of his and I’m more afraid for his playing future than Milan Lucic’s. But would a trade involving him bring back a player that moves the needle for the Oilers because I’m still trying to figure out what the bloody ingredient is that Stauffer is talking about?

Is it a PP producer from the point like Krug? Is it a faceoff specialist like Ryan O’Reilly? Is it a speedster like Chris Kreider?

Could it be a player that is so far off the radar? A guy like Phil Kessel?

Since Chiarelli is the worst poker player on the planet and has already telegraphed his moves this year, I assume it’ll be a PP quarterback like Krug or Faulk or maybe Ristolainen.

Surely Bob will clear the air a bit on his radio show today…

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

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Oilers Speculation: The Hunter, The Skinner, and The Faulker

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The latest Oilers speculation is not really new news. We’re all just awaiting the announcement where Peter Chiarelli welcomes Trent Yawney, Glen Gulutzan, and Manny Viveiros to the club, right?

What a great sign it is for Peter Chiarelli in that he’s snatching up high-end talent for the coaching staff and if the rumor below comes true, that just adds to what is looking like a great start to the summer for the Oilers GM.

I hope he gets the praise that he’s due.

Well, that bit of news was just the tip of the iceberg last night when one of my sources contacted me.

Now as usual and if I remember, I want to preface the following with some advice. Don’t take this as gospel. I’m just one guy who knows a guy within the Oilers organization out of hundreds of other guys in the same situation. Rumors are just that and a lot of the time these things NEVER come true. They simply get lost in the black hole that is the Oilers rumor mill.

That said, here’s what I was told.

Edm also talking to Mark Hunter about a role in management. 

I think a lot of Oilers fans would love this to come true given what Hunter accomplished in his time in Toronto in terms of the draft. He’s certainly got a lot of pedigree at the moment but I do wonder if his old playing club, the Montreal Canadiens or even the Calgary Flames, come knocking on his door. Better yet, the new expansion franchise in Seattle would be quite smart to snap him up as soon as it’s possible for them to start adding staff.

If Hunter were to come to Edmonton, I’d see that as a sign that a change in the position of general manager is forthcoming.

Tons of shakeups happening. Oilers are also talking to Carolina about Skinner and Faulk.

This would definitely move the needle a bit. I’m not sure how those players’ contracts would fit under the Oilers’ cap (combined they make close to $10M a year) but I imagine that would depend on the players going back to Carolina and I’d imagine that one of the higher paid defensemen would be going as well as someone whose contract is a bit too high within the forward group and for good measure, toss in a high draft pick along with a blue-chip prospect.

Another problem with this is that both Skinner and Faulk will be UFAs sooner than later. Skinner next summer and Faulk the year after. So would it be such a great move to mortgage a chunk of the future to possibly win next season. I mean what is Jeff Skinner going to command in 2019/2020 if he goes on to score 40 goals with Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl as his centre? $8M or $9M a year must be in the range because Doug Wilson looks like he’s going to give a 4opt winger $7M a year… And if Faulk puts up 50-60pts, he’s going to be looking for something north of $6M a season in two years…

I just don’t think it looks like a responsible long-term move and if Peter Chiarelli is making trades to try and save his job, he’s already fired.

That being said, how motivated would those two be to score when their old coach and the Flames meet the Oilers meet 6x a year?

*UPDATE*

Sounds like they may move Sekera the other way if Sekera waives his NMC. Oilers till have almost $20M in cap and Kassian could go the other way too.

They ARE shopping Sekera because they don’t know if he’ll be the same again. 

Hang tight. This deal wouldn’t happen until the draft or the start of FA season because of how big it would be. 

Ex-Oilers assistant GM Rick Olcyk is still an AGM in Carolina and I wonder if that relationship would have a positive impact on trade negotiations here.

I didn’t watch Slovakia at the World Championships, so I can’t say if he looked any better or worse but a guy his age, not OLD mind you (only 31) but not 25 either, there are going to be valid concerns about his recovery.

Do the Hurricanes want another LHD though? And does Sekera want to go back to Carolina? Will Jim Matheson get his wish and see Jesse Puljujarvi moved in this kind of deal?

Kassian has in fact been brought up in trade discussions. I don’t know what teams are offering but I believe that Chiarelli is softly shopping him just to see what the interest level is. 

This dovetails nicely with what Bob Stauffer has said recently, and these were his rumblings, but he said that the Oilers could bring in a $4M winger IF they could find a way to move out a bottom 6 winger who makes around $2M…

Frankly, Kassian does make too much money for what he provided last season BUT that being said, he’s exactly the kind of player that Oilers will want in the playoffs. A heavy player with skill who contributes on the PK and can withstand the rigors of NHL post-season intensity. Think Auston Watson or Devante Smith-Pelly. Not the greatest during the regular season but ramp up their games in the playoffs.

Could the Oilers find a similar player that would be willing to make $1M less? Sure. I think they could do that no problem but I’m not sure they could find the sort of player that fans and teammates are so emotionally tied to like Zack Kassian.

Milan Lucic has been heavily challenged by the Oilers brass to come to camp lighter and quicker or 2018/19 is his last season as an Oilers forward. 

Contrary to the negative reports, there is, in fact, TONS of interest in Milan Lucic via trade because of what he brings.

But the Oilers want to give him a year to bounce back. 

I can definitely see this. Especially if this could be Chiarelli’s last year with the club, the next GM would have zero qualms trading the big man and freeing up some cap room.

If we take Milan Lucic’s year-end avail and what he said there as truth, then we know that he’s going to be working his ass off to drop some muscle mass but then again, you do have to wonder how serious he’ll be when he sees Ryan Reaves playing in the Stanley Cup Final knowing that Reaves is a worse player in every aspect.

I know talking to my Vancouver source that they’d be at the front of the line if Lucic hits the market. Any deal involving Lucic will have the Oilers taking some cash back and/or sending a highly regarded prospect or draft pick along with him, right? Plus he’d have to give it the green light.

So there are some pretty obvious roadblocks in moving Lucic.

Just one last thing on Milan before we put a bow on this post.

Bob Stauffer said something very interesting with regards to Looch on his show yesterday morning that made me go hmmmmm.

He has to get order in his life in order to succeed on the ice and that’s part of the challenge when you’re coming in as an older guy. Edmonton is an intense market. 

What does that mean? Lucic has to get order in his life… Something going on off the ice that is affecting Milan’s game on it?

Anyways, let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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Around the Oilogosphere – Peter Chiarelli Year-End Presser Edition – Where do the Oilers go from Here?

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I’ll just keep my thoughts on the Chiarelli avail short and sweet.

I was wrong with my previous post regarding what might happen today. That sucks but it happens. I suppose I should know better.

As for what Chiarelli said or didn’t say in his year-end avail, he did what any GM would do in the circumstance he was in. He said a lot without saying anything. Put his lawyer’s training right into practice.

He was unhappy with the players. Fair enough. I don’t necessarily feel like he was throwing them under the bus and saying the bad year was all their fault because he did claim fault for the wings and not getting cover for Sekera as well as saying in so many words that the coaching staff was less than stellar.

Death by 1000 cuts, to me, means that everyone was culpable for the results of the year but if you’re one of those that want to find a way to blame Chiarelli for injuries, deaths in the family, bad PDO or SH%, I suppose that’s on you.

He said that the players told him there wasn’t enough commitment on the ice and that was something that perked my ears a bit.

Why did the players feel the need to cheat on the ice and who was keeping them accountable?

That also dovetails with what McLellan said in his year-end presser when he was talking about how the players might want the coaches to lean on them a bit more. And all of that reminds me of a Connor McDavid story in Bob McKenzie’s book “Hockey Confidential”. Page 126 to be exact.

In minor atom, during a game on the bench, he (McDavid) heard two teammates talking about playing a video game. He Told his dad afterwards, “If other kids aren’t on board, we have to do something about it.”

Connor’s a competitive guy and no doubt his opinion is valued with regards to how this hockey club is constructed going forward. Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky will see to that. One thing that’s for sure, you won’t ever hear a quote like, “It’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.” from him…

All of that being said, I’m not 100% for sure that Chiarelli, McLellan, the assistant coaches, or even some of the more notable players on the Oilers are safe going into this summer.

Keep an eye on the Oscar Klefbom/Andrej Sekera news is my advice.

OILERS NEWS

 

Cult of Hockey – At The Cult of Hockey: Edmonton Oilers G.M. Peter Chiarelli identifies a need, on defence. Who might his targets be? – There are a number of sources from which Chiarelli may draw. Having alluded to the fact that there is a pool of players he has already identified, let’s make some educated guesses on who they may be…

Cult of Hockey – No announcements just yet, but Peter Chiarelli suggests changes in Oilers’ coaching staff are imminent – Chiarelli made no opening statement but jumped directly to questions, which came in a random order though we have re-organized below for the sake of logical continuity.

Cult of Hockey – Twitter reacts to Peter Chiarelli’s press conference: “How is he still GM?” – Here’s the reaction of Oilers fans, which wasn’t good, not even close to good…

Copper and Blue – On Chiarelli’s End Of Season Media Availability – Are you impressed? I sure as hell am not. The lights will be bright and hot this offseason as Chiarelli must improve this team by a solid 20 points next year. Piece of cake, yeah?

Oilersnation – Peter Chiarelli talks disappointing 2017-18 season – After finding out that Chiarelli was going to speak today, all I could think about was how this was probably going to be a waste of everyone’s time because the guy doesn’t ever really say anything of substance.

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Around the Oilogosphere, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Around the Oilogosphere – April 5th Edition – Why the Oilers MUST fire McLellan Now, Spoiled Fans, and NHL Rumors!

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My friend and newest contributor to this Oilers blog, The Dirtbag, made some very interesting and thought-provoking comments on the Twitter machine this morning regarding whether or not the Oilers should fire Todd McLellan at the end of the season or wait until next season.

The suggestion that the Oilers should keep McLellan and give him a “short leash” for 20 games next season is problematic for a few reasons.

  1. What’s the point of that? If the organization has lost confidence in him you cut bait now. Players will also know he’s on borrowed time.
  2. At the 20 game mark, if a team is, say, 7-10-3 or something, you’re out of the playoffs already. That’s a lost season. We can’t have that.
  3. There won’t be the same quality replacement coaches for the team moving forward during the season… The time to hire is after the season.

All three points make perfect sense in my opinion and if you listened to Craig Simpson and Bob Stauffer talking about what changes they thought the Oilers might make this off-season, they both agreed that it’ll probably be a lateral move that takes place instead of a clean sweep of the coaching staff. Meaning the assistant coaches are taking a vacation and new ones are brought in. Craig Simpson cited Mike Babcock having 12 assistant coaches in Detroit during his time there during the segment.

I’ve maintained this year that if something does happen that I don’t think it’ll be McLellan that gets the axe but it’ll be his associate coaches and the Oilers will bring in guys that will be ready to take over for McLellan when his time is up. Kris Knoblauch, Todd Nelson, Davis Payne, or Derek Laxdall. Paul Coffey’s name has been in the mix as well.

OILERS NEWS

Beer League Heroes – What Would You Do if You Were GM? – Imagine next week the Oilers are giving you the chance to become the next general manager of the Edmonton Oilers. What moves would you make? What changes would you institute to ensure that the Oilers would be a playoff team in 2018/19?

Beer League Heroes – Spoiled Fans (I’m Serious) – A certain portion of fans pretty much wanted the NHL to hand over the Stanley Cup once we won the lottery in 2015. It doesn’t work like that. Nothing is handed to you. Yes, we got extremely lucky but that’s not the finish line. That’s the starting gate.

The Cult of Hockey – Player grades, Games 71-80: Edmonton Oilers gained a little momentum, then promptly lost it – For just a little while there, Edmonton Oilers’ fans saw at least a glimpse of the team they’d been expecting in 2017-18.

The Cult of Hockey – Oilers coach Todd McLellan on TSN’s McKenzie’s list of coaches who could be gone soon – If the Oilers players themselves are still so firmly in McLellan’s camp, the Oilers have a keeper, but I wonder about that after this wretched season.

The Cult of Hockey – If Andrej Sekera Isn’t Healthy for Next Season, That Would be Horrid for the Oilers – In a season of bad news, Edmonton Oilers fans were this week given another kick in the shins — or perhaps a knock on the knee would be a better way to put it — with news that Andrej Sekera had “tweaked” his old knee injury and would miss the final two games of the season.

Oilersnation – WWYDW: Jesse Puljujarvi – Where does Puljujarvi fit with the Oilers long-term? What matters now is if he is a long-term solution in the organization, how should the team ensure he reaches his potential?

Oilersnation – The Oilers and their RFAs – The team has four pending restricted free agents and when you consider that none of them are true top-six forwards, it’s highly unlikely that we see all four of them back in Edmonton next September.

NHL NEWS & RUMORS

2018 NHL Free Agents: Scraping The Barrel – Part 2

NHL Rumors: Coaching Hot Seat, Tyler Seguin, and the Buffalo Sabres

NHL Draft: 2018 NHL Draft Lottery Odds

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