Tag Archives: Derick Brassard

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2019/20 Edmonton Oilers GM58: Oilers @ Hurricanes – 3P2W – Five “Out of Left Field” Trade Targets

When the Edmonton Oilers announced that Connor McDavid would be missing a significant amount of time with an amputated leg (what?!), three major narratives resulted,

  • Kiss the playoffs goodbye!
  • Leon Draisaitl will need to step up his game.
  • This could have a galvanizing effect on the team and bring them closer.

We’re only three games into the 7-10 games that Connor might be missing but so far, two of the above have come true. Draisaitl has seven points in three games since 97 was airlifted to Toronto with that Charley Horse and the team is performing effectively as a complete unit which is resulting in some coach-pleasing performances and most importantly, points on the board.

The game yesterday afternoon against Florida was actually pretty shocking to me. I didn’t expect them to play like they were shot out of a cannon from the get-go, but I loved it anyhow. Every single line was executing their forechecks to perfection and getting sustained zone time in the Panthers’ end for at least the first 30-35 minutes. I was wondering to myself what is going on with Florida? They’re not this bad, are they? Egg on my face! Edmonton is that good!

I remember so many games in the Decade of Darkness where teams would simply outwork Edmonton and the game would be over before it started. So, safe to say, it’s a refreshing transformation that this team is going through under Coach Tippett and Coach Playfair. It should be said that Ken Holland needs his share of recognition as well for bringing in the playing personnel he has.

Adam Larsson: The Iron Swede was in immaculate form last night and I nearly shed a tear when he scored his goal. It’s been a long time coming and I’m really proud of him for putting up with the BS he has to sometimes with the Oilers fanbase. He’s such a rock for Coach Tippet’s team and his importance to the success of this team from a defensive point of view cannot be understated. Lots of people want to chastise him because his “FOR” metrics are not acceptable but overlook his “AGAINST” stats to which he’s very good at.

Darnell Nurse: Doc had one of his best games of the year against Florida. He was buckled in and in shutdown mode from the drop of the puck. Good on him for scoring his 5th of the year on that Hail Mary. His uncle Donovan was probably pretty proud. I’d like to see more of this kind of play from him. Meaning, defense first. I’ll continue to say it, I think he can be one of the league’s best shutdown defenders if he can accept that role. He’s got all of the tools to do it, right? Strength, intensity, Meanness, grit, defensive awareness, and he’s a great skater all-round.

Kailer Yamamoto: There was once a time when I’d say the Oilers need to go out and get themselves a Brendan Gallagher. I swear, I’d say that every year at least twice, but now I don’t need to write that blog anymore. Domo Arigato Mr. and Mrs. Yamamoto! Kailer is a KILLER! Like a wasp trapped in your car, a defenseman is fooked if they think they’re going to just walk out of a corner unscathed that is also occupied by Kailer Yamamoto.

Those three players impressed me the most yesterday. I will say good on Khaira for stepping up and somebody send a message to Matt Benning to take ‘er easy. Love the scrappiness, but good Lord, man. Take care of that coconut!

Five “Out of Left Field” Trade Targets

Should Ken Holland get the itch to add some significant pieces to his team before the NHL’s trade deadline in over a week, I wanted to take a very brief look at some potential targets who might help the team.

Andy Greene (NJ) – D – 37yrs old, $5M (UFA) w/NTC – You can never go wrong adding a quality veteran like Andy Greene to your lineup for the playoff run. He would bring a calming presence and defensive consistency to Edmonton’s blue line and also relieve some of the pressures on Kris Russell and Caleb Jones. 53gp 2g 9a 11pts

Valtteri Filppula (DET) – C – 35yrs old, $3M/yr until 2021 w/NTC – One of Ken Holland’s boys from way back. The middle-six pivot would be an upgrade on Gaetan Haas and Colby Cave. He brings considerably more offense to the table and you can’t argue with how much experience he’d also bring. 59gp 4 g14a 18pts

Derick Brassard (NYI) – C – 32yrs old, $1.3M/yr (UFA) – This fella was nearly an Oilers this summer before the Islanders ponied up an extra couple hundred grand. For many of the same reasons Filppula would be a good fit for the Oilers, Brassard would be as well. He’d also add a bit of shine to Edmonton’s 2nd PP unit as well. 57gp 10g 19a 29pts

Mikael Granlund (NSH) – C/W – 27rs old, $5.75M/yr (UFA) – Granlund would be the ultimate wildcard add for Holland if he could make it. The Preds have been playing much better as of late, so I’m not actually sure if Poile would move him. But this is a player that could hop up alongside Connor McDavid as well as center the 3rd line if need be and wouldn’t it be nice to see him suit up beside his brother? 51gp 14g 10a 24pts

Evgeni Dadonov (FLA) – W – 30yrs old, $4M/yr (UFA) w/M-NTC+NMC – Now, apart from a little highlight on FLA’s powerplay yesterday, Dadonov was pretty quiet against the Oilers. So I was a little disappointed about that, but I’ve seen this guy take over games for the Panthers. He would most definitely be a great compliment to a center like Connor McDavid. 58gp 23g 19a 42pts

The Oilers have a shade over $1M in trade deadline cap room if they were to wait until then to make a trade. So most likely it’d be money in/money out were the Oilers to trade for any of these gentlemen.

For me, I’m not sure I’d go for these options as the price points might be out of Edmonton’s range, but I’m a little bored of talking about the same trade suspects over and over. How about yourself?

I will say this though, the Oilers and Leafs have been scouting the hell out of each other lately and Edmonton has also been watching quite a bit of the Sabres and Devils too. It wouldn’t shock me if Holland made a deal with any of these teams in the next 5-8 days.

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Three Players to Watch for the Hurricanes

  • #20 Sebastian Aho – He reminds me so much of Igor Larionov with how he plays the game. Aho is so smart with the puck and his positioning. He’s also a fantastic playmaker which is good for his 19-year-old winger, Andrei Svechnikov.
  • #37 Andrei Svechnikov – We’re seeing the emergence of the next great Russian superstar folks. He has all of the tools and he’s not even 20-years-old. Do you think there are any ‘Canes fans out there complaining about how Carolina’s management is wasting Svechnikov’s career right now?
  • #88 Martin Necas – Ales Hemsky 2.0? Let me know after the game tonight if you see as much Hemsky in Necas’ game as I do. I’m not sure he’s as smooth as Hemmer was, but Necas is a ridiculous offensive talent that should be racking up the points for years to come for Carolina.

Three Players to Watch for the Oilers

  • #41 Mike Smith – Smith was one of the main reasons the Oilers stayed in the game against the Lightning the other day and on the back half of a B2B, Edmonton is going to need another stellar performance from him.
  • #39 Alex Chiasson – I feel like Chiasson has been a bit snakebitten recently. He had that breakaway yesterday that he couldn’t bury and his work ethic has been impressive. Unfortunately, the goals haven’t been going in as much as they should be.
  • #49 Tyler Benson – I liked his game yesterday. He started to get a bit more comfortable and the things that have brought him success were starting to shine. He had some really nice passes and he was finding some passive ice for scoring chances. This is good news. I want to keep an eye on him for one more game here and especially against the Hurricanes who are a very fast and aggressive team. I’m curious how Benson will handle that.

No lines posted yet, but it wouldn’t shock me if Markus Granlund dressed and perhaps one of Colby Cave or Patrick Russell took a seat.

The Next Ten Games (51-60)

  • vs. St. Louis Blues (31-12-8) – I’m not 100% sold that the Oilers will be focused on this game seeing as they play Calgary the next night. They have played well against the league’s best this season at times though. Can McDavid and Draisaitl beat the Blues in this one as they did at the All-Star game? (WIN) WIN
  • @ Calgary Flames (27-19-6) – If you thought last night’s game was fun with all the fights and cheap shots, this game is going to be bonkers. It always seems to be in Calgary. Losing three times to the Flames and that post-game celly by Rittich will be eating away at the Oilers. They’ll be doing their damnedest to bring home the two points. (WIN) WIN
  • @ Arizona Coyotes (26-21-5) – The Oilers put up a touchdown on the Coyotes right before their bye-week and I don’t imagine that sat well with Taylor Hall and co. That said, they’re on a bit of a slump in their last ten (4-5-1) and Edmonton is flying high as of today (6-2-2). On the other hand, just when the opportunity presents itself to the Oilers they usually take the night off. (LOSS) LOSS
  • vs. San Jose Sharks (22-26-4) – Man, this Sharks team is bad. With Vlasic, Karlsson, and Burns on the back-end no less… Can you believe the Golden Knights fired Gerard Gallant to hire San Jose’s old coach? I think this will be a scheduled win for McDavid’s boys. Watch out for shenanigans from Evander Kane and Timo Meier. (WIN) LOSS
  • vs. Nashville Predators (23-19-7) – Since the Preds hired NJ’s old coach, they haven’t been scoring much and that’s not a good sign when you go into Edmonton. Couple that with Pekka Rinne’s game falling right off of a cliff and the Oilers should be able to walk away with two points. (WIN) WIN
  • vs. Chicago Blackhawks (24-21-6) – The Hawks are coming on as of late and I think they could pull this one off in Edmonton. Maybe Drake Caggiula does the ex-Oiler thing and scores. (LOSS) WIN
  • @ Tampa Bay Lightning (30-15-5) – This will be a fine test for the Oilers. Tampa has found their stride at the right time and are looking very dominant. Might we see another ex-Oiler in Pat Maroon score or drop the flippers? I expect McDavid to be flying in this one. (LOSS) LOSS
  • @ Florida Panthers (28-16-5) – This match-up is going to be a fun one. The Panthers have some really fun players to watch like Huberdeau, Barkov, and the very underrated Vincent Trochek. Which Sergei Bobrovsky might we see if he gets the call though? (WIN) WIN
  • @ Carolina Hurricanes (29-18-3) – It’s hard not to like what they’ve built in Carolina. Andrei Svechnikov is already a scoring phenom at 19-years-old and it’s hard to overlook the wonder Finns (Aho/Teravainen), right? How will this team be sans Dougie Hamilton though? Can the Oilers sweep back-to-backs again? (WIN)
  • vs. Boston Bruins (29-10-12) – Edmonton goes from one team who doesn’t lose in OT to a team that seemingly only loses in OT. The Oilers gave the Bs a pretty sound beating last time they played and we’re close to the trade deadline here so I’m not sure what the rosters will look like. I like Boston for this one though. (LOSS)

(Standings as of January 20th, 2020)

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Edmonton Oilers: BLH’s All-Decade Oilers Teams + Why the Brassard Deal Fell Through

By the time Chris Johnston reported the Edmonton Oilers were out of the “Derick Brassard Sweepstakes” I had read no fewer than three tweets from reputable sources that he was on his way to Edmonton.

  • Georges Laraque – Former Oiler and Radio Host in Montreal
  • Kevin Weekes – Former NHL Goalie and Hockey Analyst for ESPN, NHL Network, and NHL.com
  • Dan Kingerski – NHL Home Ice and Sportsnet Hockey Tonight, www.pittsburghhockeynow.com

Nobody said anything when those gentlemen sent their tweets out. The Edmonton media might’ve still been trying to figure out Google Translate maybe. It’s hard, I know.

Then early yesterday morning all of a sudden it was BAM-BAM-BAM. Jim Matheson (Edmonton Journal/Sun) sends a tweet out, then Kurt Leavins (Cult of Hockey), and then Bob Stauffer (Oilers play by play). All really close to each other.

(That’s a pretty good indicator that all three of those fellas talked to the same source by the way…)

Anyways, not long after the three musketeers put their info out, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston sent his tweet out saying that the Oilers were out and then shortly thereafter Andrew Gross (Isles beat writer) said that the Islanders would be picking him up.

At the end of the day, I do believe Edmonton was VERY close to signing him, hence the silence from the Edmonton media, but the deal hinged on another offer. So the Islanders upped their ante, Brassard signs in Long Island for the year at $1.2M and he adds another Eastern Conference clubs to his name (PIT, NYR, FLA, OTT). I couldn’t be happier for it as he was absolutely horrid last season and there’s no indication that he’s going to get any better. Good looking kid though, I hope he proves me wrong. As it is, he would’ve been surplus to requirements in Edmonton and the Oilers need that cap room.

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BLH’s All-Decade Oilers Teams

Over at ESPN they are doing some fun “All-Decade” stuff and I thought that I’d like to do something like that as well. So I’m going to give you my first and second All-Decade Edmonton Oilers teams.

(I’m going with traditional lefty/righty on defense by the way.)

First Team

LW – Leon Draisaitl: 351gp 125g 187a 312pts
C – Connor McDavid: 287gp 128g 244a 372pts
RW – Jordan Eberle: 507gp 165g 217a 382pts
LD – Oscar Klefbom: 316gp 29g 93a 122pts
RD – Justin Schultz: 248gp 28g 73a 101pts
G – Cam Talbot: 227gp 104w 95l 912sv% 2.74gaa

I know what you’re thinking… “Where’s Taylor Hall?”

Well, as far as I’m concerned, Leon Draisaitl has meant more to the Oilers during this decade than Taylor Hall. From a statistical POV, they’re quite similar. Hall scored 328pts in 381 games and Leon has scored 312pts in 351 games. I simply give the edge to Leon because he’s done it from two positions. Plus, let’s be honest here, Draisaitl can play with McDavid, whereas Taylor couldn’t.

I don’t think we can argue McDavid, Eberle, and Klefbom being on the first team. They’ve definitely been the best Oilers at those positions over the decade. Maybe health plays a factor with Klefbom but even then, when he’s gone out with injury, the team has fallen apart without him. He’s a minute-munching animal that really has no equal in this exercise.

Some of you might be wondering about Darnell Nurse as opposed to Justin Schultz but once again, if we go to the stat sheet, Jultz was head and shoulders (and always will be) better than Doc offensively. Was he a tire fire in his own end? Yes, of epic proportions, but the Oilers have missed his puck-moving abilities more than ever since they dealt him to Pittsburgh.

It’s Talbot over Dubnyk between the pipes easily. 12 shutouts in 227 games vs. 8 for Dubie? The gap isn’t substantial but without Talbot, the Oilers would’ve never gotten close to the playoffs when they made it.

Second Team

LW – Taylor Hall: 381gp 132g 196a 328pts
C – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: 539gp 147g 235a 382pts
RW – Dustin Penner: 144gp 53g 49a 102pts
LD – Ryan Whitney: 139gp 12g 49a 71pts
RD – Jeff Petry: 295gp 17g 57a 74pts
G – Devan Dubnyk: 171gp 61w 76l .910sv% 2.88gaa

Hall, Nuge, and Dubnyk are locks here, but the debate starts everywhere else. Unless you want to argue that David Perron should be in over Hall or Sam Gagner deserves to be there instead of Nugent-Hopkins. I don’t think there’s anyone out there that would have Khabibulin or Scrivens over Dubnyk, right?

Dustin Penner comes in ahead of Ales Hemsky and Nail Yakupov because I feel like he was a better player and a more effective one than Hemmer or Yak. He had similar goal totals (53) but he did it in a much shorter time frame (144 games).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itCUA_usE5U

On defense, I went with Ryan Whitney over Darnell Nurse because Whits was simply the better defenseman plus he could make a pass. Whitney scored nearly as many points as Nurse did in about 140 games less. It’s too bad for that bum ankle but his 0.51 pts/game is the best amongst all Oilers defenders in that decade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkpb6d1SagM

As for right-defense, it’s Jeff Petry all day for me. I considered Andrej Sekera here but since I’m going the traditional righty/lefty pairings, I can’t use him. Jeff Petry was a massive talent for the Oilers before they sent him packing to Montreal. He was big, physical, could shoot the pill, make a pass and he was consistent. Petry played nearly 300 games for the Oilers in the last decade, but he, like many others before him and after, was a victim of circumstance. He’s shone for the Habs since he left and been a top defender for them.

Who is on your All-Decade Edmonton Oilers team? Let us know in the comments below!

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Edmonton Oilers: Oilers Set to Sign Brassard and Mike Smith’s NEW Goalie Gear Revealed!

It’s been an unusually busy couple of days recently with regards to Edmonton Oilers news. LOTS of Jesse Puljujarvi talk (erroneous mind you), and news that the Oilers have most likely found their third-line center, as well as, Mike Smith revealing the gear that he’ll be wearing in conjunction with the new 3rd jersey that Edmonton will be rolling out.

*EDIT* Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston is reporting that the Oilers are out of the mix for Derick Brassard and Andrew Gross is saying he’ll be signing with the Islanders. It’s likely that yesterday that Brassard was very close to signing with the Oilers but it hinged on another offer. Still, nothing is official at this point in time and he could sign in Edmonton yet. Feel free to read the portion on the UFA below if you’d like but you just have to pretend that Johnston didn’t say anything. Ha! *EDIT*

On Brassard

I’m not really convinced with Derick Brassard. I feel like the Oilers have a similar player in Sam Gagner and in Cooper Marody. In addition to that, I imagine Edmonton was looking for a player who could win a faceoff or two and help out on the PK. Brassard has never been much of a faceoff man (48.2%) and he’s never been a contributor to the penalty kill. The most time he’s ever spent playing on the kill was way back in 2014/15 when he had a shade under 20 minutes.

In 70 games with Florida, Pittsburgh, and Colorado, he played 892 minutes 5×5 averaging just under thirteen minutes per game. Here are his fancies for the year,

CF% rel: -5.58 (7th worst in NHL)
FF% rel: -6.46 (3rd worst in NHL)
SF% rel: -7.81 (WORST in NHL)
GF% rel: -20.29 (2nd worst in NHL)
xGF% rel: -11.33 (2nd worst in NHL)
SCF% rel: -8.79 (2nd worst in NHL)
HDCF% rel: -12.31 (2nd worst in NHL)
HDGF% rel: -22.84 (2nd worst in NHL)

In brackets is his ranking amongst centers who played 700 minutes or more last year.

To say the ice was tilted the other way when Brassard was on the ice is putting it nicely. We’re talking Will Acton-like fancies here.

I’d use a current Oiler to give some context to but according to Natural Stat Trick, the only centers who fit the parameters are McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nuge… I guess we can use Kyle Brodziak as he played 681 minutes. That’s as close as we’re going to get.

CF% rel: -2.93
FF% rel: -1.73
SF% rel: +0.11
GF% rel: -16.32
xGF% rel: -4.19
SCF% rel: -7.28
HDCF% rel: -5.81
HDGF% rel: -15.94

Well, at least the shot share was in the right direction. Considering Brodziak might’ve been one of the worst Oilers last year (all due respect), Ken Holland is probably signing someone worse IF we’re just going off of last year’s stats.

Now, this is a player who used to be over 2pts/60 a year, now he can barely make 1pt/60. That’s 1 point every 5 games for him… Replacement level.

That said, we don’t know why the dropoff for this player was so bad, so we shouldn’t lay into him too much, but it is fair to speculate as to whether he will help or hurt the Oilers’ playoff chances next year, right?

Yes, this is a low-risk, high-reward sort of move the analytics guys will probably lap up and Edmonton could use some more scoring from the bottom six. By signing a player like Brassard it will force the guys on the farm to really perform during camp and win their spot on the roster in 2019/20. Ken Holland likes his vets and reclamation projects though, so I’d say Brassard would really have to shit the bed to get beat out here.

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It’s not all that bad though. My sources say that he’ll be signing for under a million dollars, so if Brassard doesn’t work out it won’t cost the Oilers anything to send him to Bakersfield. If he does work out though on a soft-minutes 3rd line with a guy like Josh Archibald and Joakim Nygard, well all praise to Lord Holland and Sir Tippett then.

My feeling is that the 3C spot should go to someone who excels as a two-way forward. A right-shot and someone who is really good at faceoffs. At this point in time, Derick Brassard is none of that. I suppose all he has to do is outperform Tobias Rieder though.

Did you know that the Oilers VP of Player Development, Scott Howson, was the GM of the Columbus Blue Jackets when Derick Brassard played there?

On Mike Smith

Well, there you have it. That setup will definitely work with the Oilers’ new 3rd but what I’m really interested in seeing is Smith’s new helmet. I really dug the Mike Vernon one he had in Calgary and I wonder if he’ll try to do something similar in Edmonton…

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