Tag Archives: Daniel Sedin

Around the Oilogosphere, Bakersfield Condors, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Around the Oilogosphere – April 7th Edition – Tragedy Strikes Humboldt, Congrats on 10 years Oilersnation, Friedman on Tavares/Karlsson, and NHL Rumors!

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I never want to start out my Oilers posts with bad news but today it’s simply unavoidable. I’m sure you’ve heard but yesterday we lost some really special people in a car accident in between Tisdale and Nipawin, Saskatchewan. I don’t know all of the details and frankly, I’m not sure I want to. The number of lives lost is staggering. It’s a dark time for a lot of families right now and the words I’m reaching for to describe how helpless I feel won’t help but I hope they know they have the unending support of the entire hockey community.

I’m not really sure why my heart feels as heavy as it does. I don’t have any ties to the team or the players or the league. I live on a small island off the coast of China but there’s a small town just east of the accident site called Arborfield and that is where my mother’s side of the family grew up. We went there a few times when I was a little boy. Maybe that has something to do with it or possibly just the fact that as writers or fans of hockey when something like this happens, it hits us all.

Either way, that’s not important. What’s important is that the families of the victims, the billets, the people close to the hockey team, they get the support that they require. I understand that there’s a Go Fund Me that has been started and if you can afford to donate, it’s more than a worthy cause.

OILERS NEWS

The Cult of Hockey – The Humboldt Broncos Tragedy: This wasn’t supposed to happen. Again. – One chilly January day while playing in a Midget tournament in Saskatoon, my Dad pulled me aside, just after I had gotten off the ice…

The Cult of Hockey – Excellent advice to NHL players from Jason Strudwick: ” I don’t think players should be on social media” – Whether you’re the best player in the league or the worst player, you’re going to find something that rattles you…

Edmonton Sun – Ryan Smyth greatly appreciated Sedins on his NHL farewell – “I don’t see them crying like I was,” laughed the former Edmonton Oiler winger who played his 1,270th and last NHL game against the Sedins when the Canucks were here April 12, 2014. The Sedins made sure every Vancouver player shook Smyth’s hand before he took one last sobbing lap around the rink.

Sportsnet – Golden Knights are playoff contenders the Oilers were supposed to be – How much money could you have won back in October if you’d have wagered that, in this April 5, Game 81 meeting between the Stanley Cup-favoured Edmonton Oilers and the tomato can expansion Golden Knights, that the latter would be the team prepping for the playoffs, and the former sending players to the world championships?

Oilersnation – 10 Years: Nation Rising – I had no idea what I was in for as I drove to Earl’s restaurant on 170th Street and 100th Ave. in late February of 2008 for a lunch meeting with three guys I’d never met to talk about getting involved with a website that I’d never heard of…

Oilersnation – Cam Talbot expects to rebound next season – After yesterday’s practice, Cam Talbot spoke to the media about the season that was, where things went wrong, and what to expect from the goaltender heading into next season…

NHL NEWS AND RUMORS

Sportsnet – 31 Thoughts: Expect Canucks to be Aggressive in Post-Sedins Era

Friedman | Islanders must still convince Tavares they can win

Friedman believes Karlsson has played last game for Senators

NHL Rumors: Oilers, Kovalchuk, Knights, Senators, Sabres and Maple Leafs

NHL Rumors: Carlson, Voynov, Canucks and Stars

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Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

G8: Oilers @ Canucks – Going for 7

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Our Edmonton Oilers are walking into Vancouver tonight in the midst of a paradigm-shifting journey for the ages but the adventure is not without its doubts…

  • Are these Oilers for real?
  • When will the other shoe drop?

I struggle with these queries as well and I don’t think you should be ashamed or feel any less of a fan if these questions float around in your head each time the Oilers play too. 10 years of losing, non-playoff hockey, and the scores of “sure-fire” NHL prospects gone down the drain, there should be some lingering feelings.

I really want to believe that this team is good now but I have to force myself to wait until at least game 20. That seems to be the benchmark in which the wise have chosen and I cannot argue with that. We don’t know how this team will react to an injury to a major player like Connor McDavid, Adam Larsson, or Cam Talbot. Nor do we know if the team can pick itself up if the goaltending does come back to Earth. Can the team afford a blip in the radar?

The Canucks are next and I really feel like this is another test for the team. A test the boys have failed once already this season. Remember the Buffalo game? How could you forget? Jack Eichel and Evander Kane were injured so it was supposed to be a gimme for the Oilers, right? Not so much said the hockey gods.

Well, Chris Tanev and Alexandre Burrows are out for the Canucks tonight. Not that either of them are equivalent to Eichel and/or Kane but they are still important pieces for Vancouver, Tanev more so than Burrows these days. But this is still a dangerous team in my opinion and they shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Loui Eriksson was signed to flank the Sedins and create a sort of Swedish super line but he has yet to score, so he’s going to be hungry and you know that coach Willie Desjardin is going to try his damnedest to get the Sedins on while Nurse and Gryba are out there. So, I hope that the boys are on the ball or it could be the Swedish trio eating them for dinner.

Now that’s not taking anything away from the Oilers top line of Lucic-McDavid-Eberle. In fact, that is one of the best lines in the league right now, if not THE best. We should be so lucky…

I’m writing this before the line-ups have been announced so I wonder if Cam Talbot gets the rest tonight and Jonas Gustavsson gets a start? Jim Matheson seems to think that the Swede will get his 1st start in Detroit on the latter half of the Oilers’ first back-to-back (Isles/Red Wings) early in November. I wouldn’t take out Talbot if I were McLellan though. Stay with the hot hand and Talbot’s is one of the hottest in the league right now.

Would you take out Puljujarvi and stick Slepyshev back in though? Some have said Pulju’s best game was versus the Capitals but I’m not so sure. He had his moments but if we were comparing him to the likes of Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, William Nylander, or Mitch Marner, I’d say he’s still got a ways to go. It’s a shame really, it really seems like the team is hell bent on forcing this kid into the league. Not that 3rd line minutes is a bad spot to be in for a rookie, I’m just thinking they could do better with him. Then again, maybe they’re waiting on Drake Caggiula? Who knows? I just don’t see the harm in a 5 game stint down in Bakersfield for the grinning Finn.

WHAT I’D LIKE TO SEE

  • A couple of more points for RNH. It was great to see him chalk up a couple of apples vs. Washington, now how about a goal against Vancouver whilst shutting down the Sedins?
  • Jake Virtanen and Darnell Nurse drop the mitts. It’s time for Jakey-boy to finally atone for that hit at the rookie showcase tourney in Penticton on McDavid last year.
  • Ryan Miller (if he’s starting) get his first loss in regulation time against Edmonton.
  • Connor McDavid blow that scoring lead wide open on Auston Matthews.
  • The battle between Milan Lucic and Erik Gudbranson. Should be a beauty!

The Canucks have lost three on the trot here and have score 2 or fewer goals in 5 of their last 7 games. This is a grand opportunity for the Oilers to grab some key Pacific Division points!

What are you looking forward to seeing tonight? Let us know in the comments below and maybe pick up a t-shirt in the meantime. Thanks!!

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Armchair GM, NHL, Rob Cooke

Beer League Heroes 15 – 16 Season Primers: Vancouver Canucks

This is probably my favorite season primer post that I am writing this season, obviously other than the hometown Oilers which goes without saying. Well I guess it doesn’t go without saying cause I just did. Why is this my favorite you ask? Well mostly because despite finishing second in the Pacific and earning a play-off spot this team seems to be set on self-destruct. No team in the league did as much to make their team worse than Vancouver Canucks and that sounds great to this Oilers fan!

Key Additions: C Brandon Sutter, LW Brandon Prust, D Matt Bartkowski and G Richard Bachman

Key Departures: C Nick Bonino, D Kevin Bieksa, G Eddie Lack, C Shawn Matthias, RW Zack Kassian, C Brad Richardson

Roster Contenders: LW Hunter Shinkaruk, RW Jake Virtanen, C Brendan Gaunce, and D Taylor Fedun

The Canucks finished the 2014/15 season with a 49-29-5 record. Good enough for 101 points and second in the Pacific division, 5th in the Western conference and 8th overall in the league. Eighteen of those wins came thanks to departed goaltender Eddie Lack who led the team in GAA and save percentage in the regular season.

The top line provided a lot of offense with Henrik and Daniel Sedin being joined by right-wing Radim Vrbata. The trio combined for a total of 69 goals and 212 points. So it is easy to see that as this line goes so does the team. The Canucks will need huge years from all three to again be in the play-offs next April.

As for the aforementioned off-season moves let’s look at what GM Jim Benning did that have me so puzzled. First off he traded Kevin Bieksa to Anaheim for a 2016 second round draft pick. While this may help in the long run it hurts the team in the here and now. Bieksa while getting up there in years, he’s 34, he was still a big part of the Canucks defense playing over twenty minutes a night and was used on both the power-play and penalty kill. Next up was the July 1st trade that sent RW Zack Kassian to Montreal for LW Brandon Prust. This was also another loss for Benning in my opinion. While I don’t like Kassian in any way shape or form I have to admit that he is a much better player than Brandon Prust. In 42 games last season Kassian had 10 goals and 6 assists. Prust only managed 4 goals and 14 assists over the full 82 game schedule. Next is the ultra boneheaded play of the summer for Jim Benning. He sent center Nick Bonino and AHL defensive standout Adam Clendening to Pittsburgh for center Brandon Sutter and a 3rd round pick. This is a no-brainer for me, Sutter is a third line center on virtually any NHL team and Bonino was the Canucks 2nd line pivot last season and was also fourth in scoring behind only the top line guys. Add Clendening who had an amazing AHL season to the deal and it is clearly in favour of the Pens. Even with the addition of the draft pick this trade is still lopsided in Pittsburgh’s favour.

Potential Lineup:

Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Radim Vrbata

Chris Higgins – Brandon Sutter – Alex Burrows

Brandon Prust – Bo Horvat – Jannik Hansen

Sven Baertschi – Linden Vey – Derek Dorsett

Alex Edler – Christ Tanev

Dam Hamhuis – Yannick Weber

Luca Sbisa – Matt Bartkowski

Ryan Miller

Jacob Markstrom

Finishing second in the Pacific division last year is likely a lot higher than most had predicted for the Canucks. In my estimation after the off-season that this team had we are likely looking at a massive reduction in wins and points this season. At best I think we will see the Canucks in 5th place in the standings but more than likely I see them finishing 6th.

The players to watch for this team are, as always, the Sedin twins. If they can remain at or near the top of the league in scoring they could claw their way to fifth. As the twins go so does this team but I think even with the on ice magic between the two isn’t going to be anywhere near enough to save the Canuckleheads this year. As I stated in season predictions for the Pacific division over at JustOil.net, at least all the fires the rioters start will keep all the homeless warm this winter…

https://youtu.be/Otqh_GYmxig