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Edmonton Oilers: What the MSM had to say about Jesse Puljujarvi Yesterday (Ferraro, Simpson, Stauffer, Lowetide, etc)


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It seemed like everyone was talking about Jesse Puljujarvi yesterday on Oilers talk radio or in the blogosphere. I counted 7 different personalities commenting on him and I’m going to share what each of them said for you and then you can decide if you believe they are talking out of their aces or what they’re telling us holds water.

If I missed anybody please let me know! Buckle up because this is a long-form post this morning.

**I started writing this post early in the morning Edmonton time (late night Taipei time) and now that I’ve awoken here in Taipei I can see there’s a shite ton of posts on this with much more opinion. But I’ll be honest, I’ve not got the time to go through all of that. So I hope what I’ve presented to you is of value and if possible, I’ll put out a part 2 if the messages have changed. – BLH**

Merriam-Webster defines the word nuance as “a subtle distinction or variation”.

“EARN”

“CURRENCY”

What the f*ck is Bob talking about? How in the world is Puljujarvi supposed to “earn currency” on the 3rd line and the 2nd PP unit when neither line really gets enough TOI to make a noticeable impact on the game? Maybe someone will tell us below.

Here’s what the several different pundits had to say about Jesse Puljujarvi yesterday on Oilers talk radio or the blogs.

BOB STAUFFER (OILERS NOW)

Everybody’s just gotta relax here. But I personally don’t believe that Puljujarvi should be on the 1st unit PP and based on his play over the last three of four games, there’s no way you can play him with McDavid and frankly, I think the best spot for him is to play him with Strome and Lucic on the 3rd line. Give him matchups against 3rd defense pairings, give him 2nd unit PP time. 

He has to learn the nuances of the North American game.

There’s something there with the player but it’s not happening so far and for those of you who have revisionist history that say “Well, the Oilers took him too high.” Guys were ready to block slapshots in the nude when Puljujarvi fell to Edmonton at four. The Oilers had him ranked 3rd on their board. They did not have PL Dubois ranked in their top-4 because they had Sergachev ranked 4th and they thought they were going to get Sergachev at the draft. You can argue they should’ve had Tkachuk ranked higher. Fine. I personally like Tkachuk, I understood the concerns with him. His skating was a little bit of a concern, the fact that he was playing with a broken ankle in the Memorial Cup that year, I liked a lot about what Matthew Tkachuk brings.

But in terms of Puljujarvi, I don’t think he should be handed front-line opportunity and I still think the Oilers need to be patient.

The only way I’d consider trading him is if you got another really good young prospect back. Would you trade him for Anthony Mantha from Detroit who’s minus 12 in 9 games this year and has got one goal? He’s 24. He scored 24 goals last year. Would you do a deal like that?

CRAIG SIMPSON (HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA)

I go back and I’ve said it I think many times to you (Stauffer) and about different players, I’m a firm believer in taking responsibility as the player and you can sit in an armchair and say he’s not getting this chance and he’s not getting that chance.

You have a chance everyday, everyday at practise, every single game, to show that you’re ready to play and make an impact and the difficulty of becoming a really good everyday NHL player is that consistency factor. Can you do it night-in and night-out? it doesn’t always mean that it’s scoring goals and I’ve said to you (Stauffer) before and I heard you talking about Hemsky and I’ve relayed a number of stories talking about helping him as a rookie trying to understand what we’re trying to get out of you as a player.

It’s not about cheating and trying to score goals, it’s about how you have to play to have success to stay in the lineup, to play bigger minutes and the goals will come on the heels of that. 

I’ve just said watching Jesse in the American League, I just found at some point you have to take that responsibility of being hard everyday and being an impactful player and being impactful doesn’t mean scoring a goal. 

Being impactful means playing with that energy and drive every game, getting in on the forecheck and you turn pucks over. Can you make some plays? Can you forecheck hard and play a couple consecutive shifts in the offensive zone?

All of those little things will build up that currency you’re talking about for Puljujarvi and I’m a firm believer when you start on a consistent basis playing that way everyday, the goals will come and the offense will come on the heels of that but I think a lot of times guys expect the offense to be there without putting in that work

JASON GREGOR (TSN 1260)

Part 1:

I’ve said this all along. I wouldn’t even have Puljujarvi in the NHL. So that to me is on the organization not on Puljujarvi. I’m not upset at Puljujarvi as a player. At all. Do I think he’s NHL ready? No, I don’t. Do I think that’s a bad thing? Not at all. Because the majority of 20-year olds in the world aren’t ready. They’re just not. 

We saw a no.3 pick, Dylan Strome, play in the minors last year, why can’t an Oilers 20-year-old play there? It’s not Siberia. It’s not the end of the world if he plays there and if you’re Jesse Puljujarvi, sure it would suck at first to go down to the minors, I get it. 

He wants to be playing, he wants to be scoring. You can’t tell me it’s fun and you can’t tell me his confidence is where it should be at this stage of his career. It just isn’t. He’s not making many plays. 

So, me personally, I’d send him down there and I’d play him on the top line and I’d play him a ton. I’d play him on the PP, I’d play him on the PK, and if he makes mistakes, I’d put him right back out there because it’s the American League and that’s what it’s for. It’s for developing players. And you have a full-on strategy and you sit down with Jay Woodcroft and you say, “Jay, we’re playing him this many minutes a night because he needs to get his confidence back and it might take some time. Deal with it.”

Part 2:

It’s never about a coach liking or not. Everybody has different things that they look for. I think there’s a lot of fans who love Jesse Puljujarvi, they like his attitude, they like that he hitches rides from Oilers fans, and he’s just a down-to-Earth good kid. What’s not to like? I totally get it. 

But you want him to develop. You want him to be an NHL player who could be a difference maker for you in the future. Could be a complimentary top-6 forward. Probably that’s the minimum you’d like from Jesse Puljujarvi. 

Is he showing anything right now that says he’s close now? What’s wrong with a stint in the American League?

I think the organization has to get over this stigma that they have with the, “Oh geez, we can’t send anybody down there…” And the thing is they already sent him down. He’s been down there for parts of the last two seasons. So he’ll survive. He’s not gonna wilt at all. He could do it. I totally think he could do it. 

Because if it continues and when Ty Rattie and Caggiula and those guys get healthy, I don’t want Jesse Puljujarvi playing on the 4th line. And if the other guys are doing more then they deserve to play because the no.1 important thing for the Edmonton Oilers this year as an organization is to win games. That’s the no.1 important thing and at the same time you have to figure out how to develop your players. 

Easy Solution. Play the guys that give you the best chance to win here and if you can develop Puljujarvi and he gains his confidence and he can give you a better chance to win next year, that’s what I want. Because right now, the way he’s played, he’s not doing enough to really impact games. 

There are ways to help the team win without getting points and you’re not seeing a lot of that from Puljujarvi. A) He’s not playing a ton of minutes. He’s not doing a lot and he’s a young player. 

So I would definitely give him a stint in the American League and I wouldn’t look at it as a negative. I’d sit down and have a mature conversation with him and say “Jesse, we need to get your confidence up. We know your confidence isn’t high. We think you’ve got a lot of pieces that could make you an NHL player but you gotta be playing and you’ve got to be playing a lot. We want you to be on the PK.”

Because look at Jesse Puljujarvi, look at his stick length and everything. Wouldn’t he be a good penalty killer? He could be a guy who could be in your top-6, your PP and your PK. Why not? Let him try it in the American League. 

Part 3:

Puljujarvi is a player who doesn’t look confident making plays. He doesn’t look confident thinking the game. He’s also only 20 years of age. I don’t expect him to be ready. 

So, for me, I think the Edmonton Oilers got to wake up, grab a clue, and send him to the minors. Shane Doan went down his third year after playing two full seasons in the NHL and Puljujarvi has been 10 games in the AHL last year, 39 the year before. Wouldn’t be the worst thing for him. 

Yeah it sucks for your ego short-term but I’ll tell you, if you could talk to Jesse Puljujarvi as a 30 year old and if that meant that going down to the minors for 40 games when he was 20 allowing him to have a ten year NHL career making millions of dollars. He would gladly take it. 

RAY FERRARO (TSN)

When I watch Puljujarvi, I see some really good things and then I see some and he looks like a timid kid. 

Why don’t they send him down? There’s a couple of reasons I can think, one is cover your ass a little bit. You’ve got another high draft pick and it looks like a failure when the other three guys ahead of him in the draft are already playing in the NHL and they’re producing. Maybe that’s some of it. Some of it maybe that they feel like they can keep a close eye on his development while he plays sporadically in Edmonton.

I know as a skilled player or a player that was supposed to produce, it’s really difficult to have the confidence to make a play when you know that if you make a mistake you’re going to lose your spot, you’re going to lose your ice, you’re going to sit for five or six minutes. So you make the safe play all the time.

When I watch Puljujarvi, I think he’s just trying to survive. He’s not trying to produce. I mean he’s trying to score but he’s not trying to produce, he’s trying to survive. 

You mentioned 40 games, I think that’s a mistake. If you’re going to send him (to the AHL), commit to sending him. We’ll see you when we see you. You’re going to tell us when you’re ready by being in the American League and being too good for that league.

LOWETIDE (TSN 1260)

I don’t think anybody wants Jesse Puljujarvi to fail. I don’t think Todd McLellan does, I don’t think Peter Chiarelli does, I don’t think any fan wants Jesse Puljujarvi to fail. In fact, I think most people would be delighted because of the strength of his personality and the type of player he could be, to see him succeed. 

And I think he will, I just don’t know if it’s going to be in Edmonton. 

Last night was a microcosm of Jesse Puljujarvi’s career in Edmonton. He starts on the 2nd line and he ends on the 4th line, which was a disaster. The line itself was giving up goals left, right, and center. 

The two right wings in trouble today are Zack Kassian and Jesse Puljujarvi and I’m not ever going to give up on this guy and you have to be patient.

BRUCE McCURDY (THE CULT OF HOCKEY)

He’s really fighting it and you know he scored one point on the year and mind you it was a very important tying goal in the 3rd period in Winnipeg that ultimately laid the table for a two point win for the Oilers in a game they were trailing but he’s had a lot of things go wrong. He’s taken some bad penalties, some questionable line changes, some of his defensive coverage has been a little suspect and he’s playing like a player, frankly, without a lot of confidence.I don’t think he’s got a lot of confidence from his coach at this point either and that can be a concern.

KURT LEAVINS (THE CULT OF HOCKEY)

I like Jesse Puljujarvi lots. But some sure look at the kid through rose-coloured glasses. He is making a lot of rookie mistakes that are causing problems. Late Saturday, the club needed to maintain the pressure on a Nashville team that had played the night but Puljujarvi took a lazy hooking penalty. Against Boston it was that blind pass up the middle. Poor work along the wall against Winnipeg cost his club zone time (but he finished strong). In Boston, we saw bad line changes. Look: Players of Puljujarvi’s maturity will make mistakes. But when it happens to other players (and it absolutely does), I hear calls for benchings. (source)

Leavins also dedicated an entire post to Jesse Puljujarvi here. A very balanced point-of-view in my opinion.

So while the opinions are different there are similar underlying messages we’re hearing here from former NHL players to pundits alike. There’s something there with Jesse Puljujarvi worth saving and it’s incumbent on the Edmonton Oilers to do the right thing for his long-term development.

I think that Jesse will be scratched for the game versus Washington and I’m completely fine with that. If he’s struggling, give him some time off to watch the game from above. You never know what he might glean from it. Besides, when I was growing up prospects used to get scratched all of the time, it was no big deal. The vets got to play.

That said, the prospects used to come up through the minor system until they were ready to play too…

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Armchair GM, Around the Oilogosphere, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors, Trades

Around the Oilogosphere – March 24th Edition – Who Had a Worse Season, the Flames or the Oilers? Which Oilers Should be Traded This Summer? Plus More NHL Trade Rumors!

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So we’re switching things up with our “Around the Oilogosphere” segment. Instead of posting individual snippets and linking to them as a post, we’re going to basically make a “Oilers blogs of the day” sort of post. Not sure if it’ll be daily or weekly but we’ll work that out. We’ll probably include some links from other NHL news as well like trade rumors or major happenings.

Either way, you can enjoy coming to one place to get all your Oilers links (minus the athletic ones because they’re behind a paywall) and information.

Enjoy!

OILERS NEWS

Oilersnation.ca – Loving Auvitu – I would love to see Yohann Auvitu back with the Oilers next year as their seventh defenseman.

Oilersnation.ca – Dare To Dream Oilers Fans – Today, however, we will look at some positives and reasons Oilersnation can believe next year might be better. One of the positives is something no fan, media, blogger or even member of the organization thought was possible even a month ago. Could it happen?

Oilersnation.ca – 3 Thoughts on RNH – At various times season, some fans opined it made sense to have Edmonton Oilers’ GM Pete Chiarelli trade Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and his $6-million salary to address holes in the roster. Others insisted that coach Todd McLellan should play him on the wing alongside Connor McDavid rather than have him languish as an overpaid and under-utilized third-line centre.

The Hockey Writers – Surging Oilers Forwards: Who Stays? Who Goes? – Who on the Oilers is really as good as they seem to be? Who isn’t as bad as it appears and who will stay and go after a summer that must include some changes in order to get back into the playoffs.

The Hockey Writers – Are the Flames Worse off Than the Oilers? – For any Oilers fan that thinks their season was bad, remember what’s happened to the Flames, and the cost they paid to be this bad.

Cult of Hockey – Talbot, Larsson, and Strome Are Getting Their Games Together – This is an Oilers power rankings for the month of March. Basically, scoring each Oiler on their performances for the month so far

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TRADE RUMORS

My NHL Trade Rumors – Hurricanes, Flames, Coyotes, Oilers, and Maple Leafs

My NHL Trade Rumors – Canucks, Panthers, Capitals, and Sharks

Fan Rag Sports – Friedman | Flames may be trying to land first-round pick

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Around the Oilogosphere, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, NHL Entry Draft, Rumors, Trades

Around the Oilogosphere: March 22nd Edition – News on Puljujarvi, Replacing McLellan, Bob McKenzie’s Thoughts on the Oilers, and More NHL Trade Rumors

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So we’re switching things up with our “Around the Oilogosphere” segment. Instead of posting individual snippets and linking to them, we’re going to basically make a “Oilers blogs of the day” sort of post. Not sure if it’ll be daily or weekly but we’ll work that out. We’ll probably include some links from other NHL news as well like trade rumors or major happenings.

Either way, you can enjoy coming to one place to get all your Oilers links (minus the athletic ones because they’re behind a pay wall) and information.

Enjoy!

OILERS NEWS

Fanrag Sports: Bob McKenzie on Next Steps for Oilers – One question at the heart of the angst of a segment of Oilers fans, though, is whether or not Chiarelli should still be the one sitting at the general manager’s helm.

Cult of Hockey: Craig Simpson on Puljujarvi – Speaking on the Oil’s handling of Puljujarvi on Oilers Now — which sees Puljujarvi getting third line minutes and no first team power play time — Simpson supported the current approach: “I’m not worried about the way he’s being handled…

Oilersnation.ca: Dustin Nielson on Puljujarvi – With the exception of the power-play, penalty kill, goaltending, and overall coaching in general, nothing has frustrated Oilers fans this season as much as the usage of fourth overall pick Jesse Puljujarvi.

Oilersnation.ca: 3 NHL Replacements for Todd McLellan – Whichever side of the fence you’re on, it’s obvious that McLellan’s days in Edmonton may be coming to an abrupt end. Here’s a look at a few options with NHL pedigrees whom the Oilers brass could (and should) target pending the departure of their current HC.

The Hockey Writers: The Oilers’ Maniacal Mismanagement of Montoya – Montoya has played well for the Oilers. However, his continued presence within Edmonton’s roster has raised a handful of questions with respect to the organization’s general approach as well as its vision of both the immediate and long-term future.

NHL TRADE RUMORS

The New York Rangers Are Open To Trading A First-Round Pick – The Rangers have three first-round picks in the 2018 NHL draft – their own, the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning – two second-round picks and two third-round picks. GM Jeff Gorton says there are opening to moving one of their first-round picks.

Dreger on Melnyk billboards and Hoffman trade potential – What has already been a fairly disastrous season for the Ottawa Senators has the potential to get even uglier this summer, depending on what happens in key contract and trade-related areas.

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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

ANSWERED: Cult of Hockey’s 22 Biggest Edmonton Oilers Questions Going into 2017/18

The Cult of Hockey put out a late blog (as they tend to do) with 22 questions about the Edmonton Oilers going into the 2017/18 regular season and I’m going to answer them to the best of my abilities using my limited Oilers and hockey knowledge.

But before we get into the blog I need to promote the new F*ck Kesler and the new True Grit Pat Maroon shirt designs we’ve got up at our Teepublic Merch Shop and I want to let you know that our Youtube channel is really taking off. We’ve doubled our subscribers just this month! So please come and join us in growing the channel by subscribing!

Thanks! 

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  1. Will Jesse Puljujarvi turn the corner and become a Top 6 NHL winger? 

    – The way I want to look at Jesse Puljujarvi is that THIS is his rookie year, even though we all know it isn’t. He’s 19, a year older, stronger, smarter, and he’s going to be put in a better spot for his development and NOT be force-fed ice-time and opposition he’s not ready for.But with that being said, he will not put up top-6 numbers on the 3rd line with Nuge and Juicy. He will, however, put up respectable numbers for a 19-year-old on the 3rd line and show us what he is capable of. I’m thinking 3o-35 pts.

  2. Will Milan Lucic be more of a force as a two-way player at even strength? 

    – I believe so. He’s changed up his off-season routine a bit and he’s brought his body fat percentage down a bit meaning he’s a leaner tougher Lucic this year. His one-year grace period is over and now that he knows what’s expected of him and the systems, he’ll be returning the Lucic of old. But don’t expect him to be running around smashing bodies or fighting all of the time. That’s not really what he does. He spent many-a-year building a reputation so that he doesn’t have to play that game all of the time even though we love it when he does. He preserves his body that way too because that’s a tough way to make a living as you get older, ask any power forward.A counter question I have is if Lucic does become more of a 5×5 force, will that take away from his PP numbers?

  3. Will Laurent Brossoit be an adequate backup goalie for Cam Talbot? 

    – Laurent Brossoit has taken some time to become a top goalie in every league he’s played since junior. Patience goes a long way with LB and to date, it’s always paid off. Brossoit WILL be a perfect backup to Cam Talbot.

  4. Will Ryan Strome earn a place in the Oil’s Top 6 with steady play and scoring? 

    – He doesn’t have to “earn” a place in the top-6. He’s already been placed there. Will be stick is another question.One of the reasons the Oilers picked him up is because he’s good at moving that puck off of the boards to his streaking centre and that’s important because his centre will probably be Connor McDavid and how many times did we see him curl down into the zone and circle up to the blue line expecting a pass to fly out of the Oilers zone and natta. Eberle or Puljujarvi or Slepyshev or Caggiula couldn’t get it to him and a chance to exit the zone was lost.It shouldn’t be the case this season.

  5. Will Ryan Nugent-Hopkins regain his offensive mojo? 

    – 50 pts as a player being deployed like a 3C would be something, 60 would be GLORIOUS but unrealistic. His wingers will probably be Jussi Jokinen (who’s also looking to bounce back) and the Grinnin’ Finn Jesse Puljujarvi. This could be an offensively devastating line because it’s going to see the 3rd defensive pairing of the other team most likely.So if Juicy Nuge Pu is coming down on a Flames 3rd pairing of Michael Stone and Brett Kulak, does the ice not tilt Edmonton’s way a bit?The Oilers have no intention of putting RNH up with McDavid, therefore, I’m of the impression that they’re not truly concerned with his offense. But would they toss him up with Draisaitl? Chiarelli did talk about having McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nuge in the top 6 as a way of making the money work. We may see 93 in the top 6 after all.

  6. Will Darnell Nurse and/or Matt Benning step up to be decent Top 4 d-men? 

    – I’m very confident that we might see Nurse and Benning end up being the 2nd pair in Edmonton come the New Year’s Eve this pushing Kris Russell down to the 3rd pairing where some believe he should be.Nurse, before his injury last season, was showing great gains in his development and Benning stepped up on numerous occasions to help the Oilers out as a no-nonsense Adam Larsson-lite.

  7. Will Adam Larsson’s two-way game develop to the point where he’s seen as a strong first-pairing d-man? 

    – I’m not sure he’ll get to that Scott Stevens level of dman but Lordy is he good! But as long as he’s in Edmonton and the Oilers don’t go out and get a player like Erik Karlsson or Drew Doughty, he’ll be top-pairing.Today I was thinking on Auvitu though because Bob Stauffer put him in the same breath as Brian Rafalski. Would Rafalski have performed as well as he did had he not been paired with great dmen? I want to say he played a lot with Lidstrom and Stevens but I could be wrong.Could Auvitu blossom being paired with Larsson or Benning? Unlikely, but it’s worth a thought or two.

  8. Will Andrej Sekera be anywhere near his peak level of play by the playoffs? 

    – I don’t think so. He will be tossed into the annual category of “like a trade acquisition” though. We’ll have to wait until next year (if he’s here that long) to see the old ‘Rej. Will Sekera be another Andrei Markov or Sergei Gonchar?

  9. Will Connor McDavid shift up one final higher gear and score between 110 and 120 points this year? 

    – Unless he’s peaked at 20 years old or he gets hurt, he should be taking it out of turtle and into rabbit on the ol’ ride mower. The wonderkid is just getting started folks.
     

  10. Will Peter Chiarelli find a way to smartly bolster the team with all that extra cap space? 

    – The Oilers have a shade over $8M in projected cap space according to Cap Friendly and there are plenty of tasty players about to enter the free agent market next summer including Joe Thornton, Mike Green, Rick Nash, John Tavares, Evander Kane, James Neal, and Kyle Turris If you’re one to think big.If you think adding a depth player would be more beneficial then you might be able to pick from Tyler Bozak, David Perron, Cam Atkinson, Cam Ward, Jaro Halak, Leo Komarov or Dan Hamhuis or John Carlson.

  11. Will Oscar Klefbom find a way to play solid defence all year, the way he played in the final two months of the 2017 hockey season? 

    – Young dmen tend to perform in higher peaks and lower valleys, as Klefbom ages, those peaks and valleys will even out. So expect a little less volatility in that regard this season. Also, being paired with Adam Larsson will calm his game down too.

  12. Will Leon Draisaitl raise his two-way game at centre yet again, becoming an undisputed two-way force in the league? 

    – I’m halfway expecting a bit of a regression from Leon. Nothing major though. Maybe he’s not a top-10 scorer in the regular season this year and having a revolving door on the RW might have something to do with that or perhaps not getting as much 5×5 time with McDavid will be the cause.I do expect his performances in the playoffs (when made) to continue to be something we’ll be talking about as his calling card.

  13. Will Kris Russell be more assertive moving the puck? 

    – Or put another way, Will Kris Russell show more confidence in his zone exits instead of deferring to his d-partner or the glass?I hope so. I know he can do it. He’s got the skating ability and the passing ability but will he be more assertive? I think he’ll try to do what the coaches ask of him but as I said above that may be in a 3rd pairing role if Nurse and Benning do indeed take the next step.
     

  14. Will Cam Talbot start showing signs of wear-and-tear? 

    – No, I think he will continue to be the Talbot we all know and love. It’s not like he’s been playing 70 games a year since he was in his early 20’s. Goalies take later to develop and I think we’ve got him right in his prime. The next contract will be interesting though.

  15. Will Drake Caggiula and Anton Slepyshev establish themselves as Top 9 NHL forwards? 

    – Yes, I believe so. They may even establish themselves as top 6 NHL forwards if everything falls into place.I look at Caggiula and I see a young Chris Kunitz and I love that idea. He’s gritty, fast, goes to the dirty areas, and plays the game the right way.When I look at Slepyshev I still see a bit of a raw forward but the potential is there if he’s played with the right linemates who can make up for his shortcomings. When he was playing with Lucic and Draisaitl, I thought that those two were good partners for Anton in that they’re willing to play a more physical game to get their linemates the puck and with Slepy’s shot, all he needs is a chance to get that puck off.

  16. Will Jussi Jokinen bounce back from his 28 points season? 

    – I don’t think we should expect him to be putting up 60 points. I’m really fine with him putting up 30-40 pts because his role on the team is to help on the penalty kill and to see that Jesse Puljujarvi starts to realize his potential. You could probably add taking a bit of the defensive responsibility away from Nugent-Hopkins as another job of his.

  17. Will Yohann Auvitu demonstrate the defensive acumen to stick in the NHL? 

    – I wouldn’t expect him to but we’ve only seen him under the guidance of the NJ Devils coaching staff. Under Todd McLellan that might be a different story. What we have in Auvitu is possibly a PP specialist with the potential to grow into something more but I’m not expecting too much. This isn’t Torey Krug 2.0 coming into the team here for Chiarelli or Dan Boyle V2 for McLellan.

  18. Will Jujhar Khaira seize his NHL opportunity? 

    – I’ve always thought JJ as sort of a Jordan Nolan or Dwight King kind of player. He’s definitely got the size and the guile to take after those two but I wonder about his skating and hockey IQ.How will his skills be utilized on the Oilers? Is he going to get some PK time? He doesn’t fight all that often, so that won’t be his role and he can’t skate well enough to be a shutdown forward and I don’t believe he brings enough offense to the table to earn higher than 4th line minutes.To me, he’s a 13th forward and if not for his size, he wouldn’t even be that.
     

  19. Will Mark Letestu keep draining goals on the power play? 

    – While Todd McLellan likes to take out the McBlender to his forward lines on nearly a nightly basis, his special teams units tend to stay the same for extended periods of time. Letestu, McDavid, Lucic, Klefbom, and Draisaitl will probably continue to be the Oilers no.1 PP unit.The 2nd unit I’m guessing will be RNH, Maroon, Strome, Puljujarvi, and Benning or Auvitu.

  20. Will Patrick Maroon and Zack Kassian be able to consistently maintain the high level they set last year? 

    – This is a good question. Maroon is in a contract year so we should expect him to continue to deposit McDavid’s passes into the net for another season. Which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you feel about keeping him on the Oilers. Another thing Maroon has going for him is he’s changed his off-season training and he’s coming into camp in better and better shape each year.This worked well last season, let’s hope it compounds this upcoming season.As for Kass, he’s less of a risk given he only plays bottom 6 and PK and he’s a young lad at 24 years of age. I’d love to see him hit 10 goals and 20 assists in 2017/18. Will he, I think he might if he can avoid suspensions.

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  21. Which of the three old Core of Four, Justin Schultz, Taylor Hall or Jordan Eberle, will Edmonton fans miss the most this year? 

    – They didn’t skip a beat when Jultz was traded, nor did they when Hall was dealt, so the true question is, will they miss Eberle’s goals?No, they will continue to grow as a team and others will pick up where Eberle left off. I’m not saying Strome will get 30 this year or Jesse will put up 25 goals but the combination of each and every forward on the team taking the next step will cover Ebs absence.Not only that but they’ll be better defensively…
     

  22. How many regular season points will the Oilers get this year? 

    – Earlier in the summer, I’d said I thought that the Oilers would be in tough to beat the Ducks but I’d forgotten that they’re without Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm to start the year and isn’t Kesler out for some time too? those are some major pieces for the Ducks. So I’m going to amend my previous prediction and say, yes, the Oilers will win the Pacific with 107pts.

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