Tag Archives: Jonathan Willis

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Has It Come to This Point With The Oilers?

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This is long form today folks since it’s been quite a while since I wrote anything.

I’ve noticed since the season ended that there’s been an increasing number of not anti-Chiarelli sentiments from the media in Edmonton but definitely a lack of support for the Oilers GM and it’s getting on my nerves a bit.

Case in point. Yesterday on Oilers Now, Bob Stauffer said something to the effect after reading a text message to the show that he wouldn’t have made some of the moves that Chiarelli has made. He also pointed out that some of the moves he would’ve made probably would’ve have worked out. But what’s with the shot at the Oilers GM there? He’s usually a bit more calculated when he takes shots at the team. And look, that’s his opinion too, which is fine.

Then on Lowetide, LT and Young Tyler were discussing the Kunitz quote where through his agent he said that he wouldn’t play for a Western Canadian team because they wouldn’t win anything with their defence.

The quote isn’t the problem I have, it’s that somehow LT and Yaremchuk came to the conclusion that he was talking about the Oilers? WTF? Seriously now!

First off, that Kunitz tweet is shite because look at the Blackhawks defense and tell me that it’s better than any one of the defenses playing in Western Canada.

Secondly, can you explain to me how that Canucks defense is SO much better than the Oilers? After that, can you move on to tell me about the Flames defense that magically got them to the playoffs with the league’s highest goal scoring defender? When you’re done that, can you tell me how that defense got better in the off-season?

Thirdly, let’s count and see how many Oilers dmen played 75 games or more last season…

TWO!!

Two f*cking Oilers dmen played more than 75 games. Jesus Christ this is so infuriating. Darnell Nurse and Kris Russell were the healthiest Oilers last year. A couple of 2nd pairing dmen were charged with carrying the defense while others were out…

You really have to be down on the Oilers to come to the conclusion that Kunitz was talking about them. There’s enough negativity surrounding the team as it is, Would it be too much to ask if ONE of the personalities covering the team injecting some positivity into their point-of-view?

A couple of other things I’ve noticed is there’s a real reluctance to give Peter Chiarelli any credit when something good has been accomplished. Instead, the Oilers organization as a whole is praised… Babyback bullsh*t if you ask me. Get over your ego and do the right thing. You’d really hate it if you accomplished something significant in your life and your circle of friends got the credit.

That being said, Peter Chiarelli is basically the Oilers organization as it stands at the moment, so maybe I shouldn’t be getting so riled about that. Toe-mato, To-mahto…

Jon Willis: Why Does He Hate the Oilers? 

That’s me being facetious but sometimes you have to wonder with his hot taeks.

For example, Willis was the first guest on Lowetide’s show yesterday morning and I will give him credit, he said he didn’t think that the Oilers were a slam dunk for the team that Kunitz was talking about and he referenced Vancouver and Calgary as other possibilities.

That’s enough credit for Willis though.

“I’m not as worried about the defense as I’m worried about the wingers”

Here we go!

Willis followed that gem up with a comment about him “knowing” last year’s problem was the defense but went on to contradict himself by letting us know that there were “just terrible circumstances” on that defense?

“There’s a really really really strong chance they’re going to be significantly better on D without doing anything”

Uh. Okay Jon. I agree with you there but let’s go back for a second,  do you really know that last year’s problem was the defense or was it the overall health of said defense and how can a team prevent that sort of problem? Do you know any teams that could withstand losing three top-4 defenseman for major portions of their seasons and still be successful?

Pssst. It might’ve been special teams/coaching/goaltending. Pick one but don’t tell me that the portion of the roster most hit hard by the injury bug was the problem you knew about.

“I look at the wings and I don’t know if there’s been a solution offered there yet.”

Over the seasons we’ve been inundated with this message that now teams have to find “value contracts”. Well, what’s more value than what the Oilers have? Is Jon not convinced with what Nugent-Hopkins offered us in the latter portion of the season last year? Was Ty Rattie’s sample size too small? Maybe Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi don’t pass the analytics sniff test.

Speaking of the Oilers bluechip RWers, how about this quote from Willis?

You don’t like the idea of throwing Puljujarvi or Yamamoto in the top-9? What in Sam’s hell do you smoke out there man? I get that neither of them is Panarin or Pacioretty but they are on those ever-important value contracts that you hold so dearly. Not only that but Puljujarvi has now played over two years in a top-9 role as a teenager and Yamamoto’s time in the NHL was also in a top-6 role.

These analytics guys don’t get it sometimes.

Obviously Moto and Pulju are in the position they’re in because the Oilers depleted their depth wing in order to pursue depth in goal, on defense, and through the middle with their centers. But I’ll tell you this much, I’d much rather have the depth down the middle. The spine is what makes a team strong.

More specific to Puljujarvi, I think a lot of people forget that he could’ve been playing junior hockey up until now had he been born in North America. He’s not had the easiest of transitions since being drafted by the Oilers and it doesn’t help when we’ve got guys like Stauffer and other folks working for the papers or radio saying that if he doesn’t get any traction this year, he might be getting it with another organization. BRUTAL! HE JUST TURNED 20!

But according to Reid Wilkins, Kailer Yamamoto has the higher long-term upside because he has “that spark”… Give me a break! It’s because Kailer is extroverted and quite confident whereas Jesse is introverted (until you get to know him according to a certain follower of mine) and the guys covering the team can’t get their sweet quote or soundbite from him.

One has to wonder if Puljujarvi was playing with McDavid or Draisaitl for the entire season would he have had higher numbers at the end of the year? Or if the coach had decided to implement him into the Oilers amazing power play, would his stats have jumped up?

Mark my words, if the Oilers give up on Puljujarvi, they’ll regret it more than any other trade that’s been made in the Chiarelli era. He’s a possession beast!

This is a list of players who Puljujarvi has had a better CF% and FF% than in their first two seasons:

  • Taylor Hall
  • Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
  • Patrik Laine
  • Steven Stamkos
  • Nathan Mackinnon
  • Johnny Gaudreau
  • Jack Eichel

I could go on but I’ll stop. Of course, we should never use just two metrics to judge a player by but being a possession-positive player from the age of 18 is incredibly difficult and I don’t think the people who have the biggest platforms are saying enough good things about Puljujarvi.

Pulju is going to break out this season. Pro-rated, last year he was on pace for 15 goals. I expect him to exceed that in 2018/19.

POULIOT AND HEMSKY

So Willis’ grand idea is that the if he were GM he’d like to see the Oilers go out and add 19 point man Benoit Pouliot and an ex-Oiler who has never been healthy as depth on the wings…

I’ve said many times before I’d prefer an older team to a younger one but this is ridiculous. Are you kidding me? Does Willis go on Lowetide’s show to intentionally troll the fanbase? He’s almost as bad as Button.

Actually, Lowetide made an astute suggestion in that the Oilers could wait until the new crop of players going to arbitration get sorted out there or perhaps the newly waiver eligible players come available in order to address their depth on the wings.

I’d say their bank account is looking scant though and Nurse is still without a contract. Willis did talk about a team looking to screw over the Oilers by offer-sheeting him to a 7 year deal with $7M a year as if that would be a bad thing for Edmonton… I love Darnell but I’m fairly certain he’ll never be a $7M/yr player…

FRANK SERAVALLI

Last week and into the beginning of this week I was on a tear with regards to what Frank Seravalli had said and I disrespected some people along the way. It wasn’t right and I apologized to those people in private and publicly on Twitter. But I want to get some things clear here.

I was actually more perturbed than upset that Seravalli had described the Lucic/Oilers relationship as “almost untenable”. I could’ve left it where it was but he had to go and take a shot at someone I respect and question his legitimacy as a journalist and it set me off.

The fact that Seravalli attacked Staples and not his story is probably all you need to know about the legitimacy of Seravalli’s claims. Anybody else wondering why none of the other media outlets IN THE ENTIRE WORLD haven’t picked up on this “untenable” situation?

I’m not. Because Frank is either lying or he’s exaggerating for effect. Max Pacioretty and the Habs are in an untenable situation. Erik Karlsson and the Senators are in an untenable situation. If things were that dire, we would be hearing about it.

I’m still waiting for an explanation as to how things escalated from “it’s a longshot” to “they have to trade him right now”. How it’s been explained to all of us is that what Frank says is fact. Take it to the bank! But I can’t get on that train because ever since he started covering the Lucic trade story he’s been all over the place.

  • June 7th on LT’s show Seravalli said that the “They’re (Oilers) pushing or at least doing their due diligence to try and move on from Milan Lucic if they can”
  • Then on June 14th Seravalli said, “I’d say it’s a bit of a longshot”, when asked about Lucic being traded.
  • On July 5th Seravalli said this, “The Oilers situation with Lucic is untenable and he must be moved, whatever it takes”

Then you’ve got him saying one week that the Oilers should go out and add some speed to the wings and after they grab one of the most sought-after speedsters on the market he says that the team is no better.

You know what? Frank, you’re no better.

I hope that he can get his shit together because he’s a young guy and for the most part I really like him. It’s just this latest take on the Oilers that has had me pissed off.

Re: Lucic, even Friedman doesn’t really know what’s going on but he’s not claiming to know something but refusing to reveal what that is.

Have you met the “I’ve heard things about Lucic” posse?

Last point on this subject I’ll leave to one of my favorite followers on Twitter.

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Armchair GM, Bakersfield Condors, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Podcast, Prospects, Rumors, Trades

Oilers Trades: Real, Rumored, and Speculated

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This week the Oilers trade talk has been a real treat to experience. We’ve had deals that were never made, deals that are being made up, and an actual trade. The common denominator in all of them, Oilers fans have been given another reason to bitch and moan about Peter Chiarelli.

I mean isn’t it amazing, if you go to the sponsored Oilers blogs like Oilersnation, The Oilers Rig, Copper and Blue, or Oil on Whyte, it’s all FIRE CHIARELLI! Get rid of McLellan!

I get why they do it apart from clicks for the sites but it’s really a shame. I thought re-hashing the Larsson trade every month was bad but this is getting ridiculous (and unoriginal).

Rant over.

 

The Speculated Trade

Ray Ferraro threw a trade idea out into the wind this week that sparked the fires of discontent amongst Oilers fans. A deal centered upon two stars, Max Pacioretty and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

“What if there’s a deal to be made between Edmonton and Montreal that involves Nugent-Hopkins, and Pacioretty is in it? And there are some other pieces to equal the way that works. Edmonton gets a shooter. Gee, that would look pretty good on McDavid’s side. Montreal gets a centre. Gee that would look pretty good in that centre spot.”

Over at the Athletic, Jonathan Willis also jumped on the “trade Nuge” bandwagon this week and his reason was that all of his numbers are basically the same as they’ve always been but the difference being this year he’s riding a shooting percentage that is 40% better than his career average. Sort of the opposite of what usually happens to an Oiler before he’s traded.

My thoughts: If there’s a year to trade RNH, it’s this one unless the Oilers go on a ridiculous tear and are in a playoff spot come trade deadline. His value couldn’t get any higher and the Oilers still need a top 4 right-handed PP specialist on defense. Someone who can transition the puck a helluva lot faster than what the Oilers dmen are doing now. They could also use a proper right-handed 3rd line centre who is a marvel on the PK too and if they acquired both of those pieces in a trade for RNH, what’s the problem?

On the other hand, if the Oilers are looking for a LW who can score, why not simply move RNH to McDavid’s left wing and be done with it. Internal solution utilized!

The Real Trade

Al Montoya from the Montreal Canadiens to the Oilers for a 5th round pick which may turn into a 4th rounder if the former 6th overall pick plays more than 7 games.

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My thoughts: I like it but the folks in the Oilers Twittersphere who think they’re smarterthan everyone else hate it because they think that the Oilers could’ve grabbed a backup off of the waiver wire, even Montoya had they waited for Montreal to activate him off of the IR. The problem with that line of thinking is we don’t know what the price was for those backups and the Oilers defense could be held just as responsible for the poor goaltending performances earlier in the year.

Another thought out there was that 3rd string goalies can be had anything for a 4th round pick but I don’t subscribe to that. If that was the case, we would’ve seen some of these goalies like Pickard, Hutchinson, Hammond, Lindgren, or Sparks with new homes.

Todd McLellan said that they’re worried about Brossoit getting reps but somebody is going to have to be sacrificed for LB to get some games in. I’m guessing Brossoit hits waivers (gets claimed… wouldn’t that be fun fodder for the Chia-haters?), clears, goes down and then Eddie Pasquale goes to the ECHL or is traded/loaned. Nick Ellis, who’s had better AHL stats than Brossoit since taking over in Bakersfield is getting a raw deal here and I feel bad for him.

The Rumored Deal

What did Peter Chiarelli do to Darren Dreger? Geez.

Yesterday on Dustin Nielsen’s show Dreger dropped this massive bombshell that the Oilers had a deal with the Ottawa Senators that would’ve seen Taylor Hall traded for Cody Ceci but Sens ownership needed to approve it, was nowhere to be found, and subsequently Adam Larsson was traded for instead.

Taylor Hall was rumored to be traded for a lot of different dmen before he was actually traded. PK Subban was one, Dougie Hamilton was one, and Kevin Shattenkirk was another. So don’t get your speedos in a bunch by second-guessing Chiarelli’s player evaluation abilities.

We know GMs talk all of the time and they hash out potential deals on a weekly basis and then tweak them up if need be. Sometimes they sit on a trade for months before pulling the trigger.

The timing couldn’t get any better eh? Dreger had been sitting on this little tidbit of information for nearly two years before throwing it out into the world right when the Oilers mired in a 4-game losing streak and the heat couldn’t get any hotter on Peter Chiarelli?

Or was this a veiled shot at Sens GM Pierre Dorion?

Either way, what was Dreger’s motivation to do this? I can’t see any scenario where saying this would benefit anybody but himself or TSN’s radio numbers. He did mention it whilst talking about Edmonton and Ottawa not being good trade partners but still, I do not believe it was mentioned without ill intent aka it was a dick move.

Last Night’s Game

Fack! Was that a fun game to watch or what?!

The win versus the Ducks has their record versus teams in the Pacific to 4-1-0. They’ve outscored their division rivals 23-12 in that time but do you know what the fun part about the rest of the year is?

21 out of the remaining 41 games remaining in the season for the Oilers are against Pacific Division teams… And if you’re worried about that home PK (obligatory statistical preface: #smallsamplesize), the Oilers PK at home versus the Pacific, 85.7% and an added bonus is that their PP is 37.5%.

Peter Chiarelli said that he was going to build a team that would compete in the Pacific and despite how you feel about his handling of assets, you have to agree that he’s a man of his word.

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