Cam Talbot is not tired. At least not physically anyway.
All this talk about Cam Talbot and whether fatigue is becoming an issue reminds me of similar talk which surrounded Washington’s Braden Holtby with much the same argument after the 2014-15 season when he started 73 games. Some suggested he needed rest, but his playoff performance that year was sick. 13GP and a 1.71 GAA with a .944 SV%! I dare say he was not fatigued. Last year the Caps used him in 66 starts. He tied legendary Martin Brodeur’s 48 wins in a season record and was named the Vezina Trophy winner and still was a rock in the playoffs.
One only need to refer to Holtby’s career post season numbers (wow) and you’ll appreciate my perception that the Holtbeast, as he’s called in DC, is not fatigued at playoff time. There has never been and nor should anyone place blame on Holtby’s goaltending as a reason for the Caps unsuccessful playoff runs. I would be willing to bet this will be the case here in Edmonton as well in a couple of weeks. Talbot and his “fatigue” will or should be the least of the Oilers worries though.
I see the Oilers’ Cam Talbot in much the same light at this stage of his career as Holtby. His physical game is not in question no matter how many starts he is in for. He’s still young and keeps himself in great shape. Much like Holtby, he tends to play better when seeing a lot of action. However, similar to Holtby, I’ve noticed he also is very hard on himself and takes bad games quite personally. While a noble trait, it’s for this reason that he and Holtby do require more of a mental break at times.
The more a goalie plays, the more of a chance you’ll see a bad game every now and then. It’s simple math. Each guy is different. This narrative that is running in Edmonton right now, with Talbot and his rest, is way overblown and is actually counter productive. Honestly, if you, as a coach, were concerned about Talbot’s fatigue; you would have been worrying about it before this week. And that should tell you where McLellan ranks it on his list of concerns. Would I have sat Talbot in favor of Brossoit in Colorado last game? Sure I would have, but McLellan is the one talking with Talbot. Case closed.
Love you some Talbot? Click the pic and buy that 16-bit likeness!
Well, yesterday was a bit of a Twitter shit show wasn’t it? All of the know-it-alls letting us in on a little secret, that they could be better GMs than Peter Chiarelli and also that even though the Oilers are two points out of owning 1st place in the Pacific division, Chiarelli is still incompetent…
One follower of mine put it best,
OILERS FANS BE BEING OILERS FANS…
I might add another hashtag to my growing arsenal… #HereComeTheOilersFans
Can you be a fan and criticize the team, its coach, players, or GM?
Yes, but don’t make that the only thing you do when following the team. You come off as a huge jaded dick. My favorites are the ones that seem to know all the answers and can’t wait to judge Chiarelli everytime one of his moves has a hint of failure coming on. The bitterness shown towards the Oilers’ GM for making that ever-so-wanted BOLD move by trading Hall for Larsson is ridiculous. It’s as if the Oilers made a mistake by moving Lowe and MacTavish and firing Tambellini.
No, by all means. We should’ve kept them because they were doing an excellent job of sitting on their hands and doing f*ck all.
Now, Peter Chiarelli isn’t immune to critique but if you’re going to sit there and nail him dry for signing Gustavsson, leaving Puljujarvi in the NHL, or trading Hall; could you do yourself a favour and check the standings, then take a short trip down memory lane and remember how the Oilers got to where they are now. They ate shit for a decade, that’s how. After you’re done remembering how bad the team (as a whole) was, check out how players like Pat Maroon, Matthew Benning, Cam Talbot, and Leon Draisaitl are turning out. And if that’s not enough for you, look at the hockey demi-god that the Oilers have playing for them in the pic below.
May the McDavid be with you!
THE MOVES
1. Jesse Puljujarvi gets sent down to Bakersfield
From what I can gather as to why it took the team so long to send him down, there are a few possible reasons:
– Lack of depth on RW
– Pending trades or negotiations that involved one of the Oilers’ forwards or more specifically one of their RWs.
– A disconnect between Chiarelli and McLellan on how to deploy the big Finn.
Now as we know, as soon as Puljujarvi hit the 40 game mark, the Oilers burned a year off of their control of him. Instead of being able to become an unrestricted free agent at age 26, he may now have that option at age 25. At least that’s my understanding and I could very well be wrong. Let me know in the comments below if I’m off base here.
I’m of the belief that Pulju could’ve been sent down a lot earlier but then Pitlick got hurt and that threw a wrench into some trade negotiations for the Oilers. Remember that Matt Hendricks was supposedly going to the Wild? I know, Hendy plays LW but not having Puljujarvi around if that deal did go down wasn’t a risk the Oilers wanted to take because it was unlikely that a winger was coming back in that deal.
I also believe that Chiarelli wanted McLellan to be playing Puljujarvi a whole lot more so that he could evaluate him a bit better. Reminded me of the scene in Moneyball when Billy Beane and Art Howe couldn’t come to an agreement as to who would play at 1st base. I’m glad Chiarelli didn’t feel the need to trade any of the other RWs to make a point to McLellan though… Not that Eberle hasn’t been a feature in the Oilers rumour mill this year or anything… Still is… (Montreal/Washington I hear. More below.).
While Puljujarvi is in the AHL, he’ll be a top-line player and I might try to catch some of Bakersfield’s games online to see how Puljujarvi acclimatizes himself to that league. I’d expect him to be on a line with Khaira and Laleggia or Beck AND to get some cherry minutes as the go-to guy on the PP.
As for the language concern. He’ll be fine in Bakersfield with fellow countryman Jere Sallinen plying his trade for the Oilers farm team as well.
I reckon that Puljujarvi will be back with the Oilers this season and that seems to be a common sentiment amongst the pundits. They’ll send him down in hopes that he finds his game and when the time comes, Chiarelli will call him back up with said game in tow.
Lastly, Puljujarvi was barely 18 when he started the year and he’s not the first highly drafted 18 year old to have struggles scoring in the NHL (Thornton, Stamkos, Seguin, and Draisaitl come to mind), Remember that.
2. Gustavsson hits the waiver wire
I’ll just ask this question to the know-it-all bloggers off the bat, how is Jonas Enroth doing this year?
On Jason Gregor’s show last night he explained to us the reason that Chad Johnson wasn’t an option (because he’s the next player that fans/bloggers bring up in the backup goalie debate) for the Oilers. Chad Johnson wasn’t going to sign with a team that wasn’t prepared to give him some real ice-time and with Cam Talbot being the no.1 guy in Edmonton, Johnson wasn’t going to get that wanted TOI.
On the Cult of Hockey podcast, Staples and McCurdy discussed Gustavsson and length. Bruce McCurdy, who was a proponent of the signing for Edmonton (I didn’t know this. I didn’t know anybody was okay with it.), explained how Gustavsson’s career SV% at that time (.909) wasn’t that far off of the NHL’s average SV% (.915) from the year previous.
So there wasn’t this supposed extreme risk for Chiarelli in signing the Swede. He’s got a winning career record to boot and he signed for relatively cheap. Brossoit was going to be in the minors on a one-way deal, so if Gus didn’t work out, Brossoit was already there.
But this year has been quite unforgiving for him (1-3-0-1, 3.10 GAA, .878 SV%) and I support the decision of putting him on waivers with the intention of sending him down to the minors. As far as I’ve been told and Rishaug echoed this on Gregor’s show last night, Gustavsson will most likely never play another game for the Oilers unless something drastic takes place. Meaning an injury is the only way he will suit up for the Oilers again in 2016/17. I guess McLellan was pretty steamed at his performance vs. Ottawa and that lead to this move being made.
A lot of speculation is being bandied about as to who the Oilers will get to replace Jonas Gustavsson now and the 1st name that came up was Columbus’ back-up, Curtis McIlhenney, because he was put on waivers as well yesterday and his numbers don’t look too shabby either (2-1-2, 2.39 GAA, .924 SV%). But that loss to the Rangers scuffed up the shine on him.
Another name is Laurent Brossoit but he’s not lighting up the AHL right now. So I’m not too sure with regards to an AHL goalie coming in.
Other goalies that have been connected to Edmonton recently:
Jaro Halak, Ondrej Pavelec, Reto Berra, and Michael Neuvirth.
Oilers aren’t taking on Halak due to his contract’s term, but those other three are viable options. I like Neuvirth the best to be honest.
I don’t believe that the Oilers will make a claim on McIlhenney because they are sitting at 48 out of 50 contracts and going into the trade deadline with only 1 contract spot available could make negotiations quite tight. But I could see the Oilers sending over a LHD prospect in return for McIlhenney.
Gustavsson may very well stay on the roster until the time comes too. He doesn’t have to be sent down for another 30 days or 10 games after he clears waivers… So don’t get too ancy as to why he’s not being moved to the AHL if it takes some time.
3. Anton Slepyshev recalled!
AWESOME!!!
I’ve been a huge fan of Slepy all year and, in my opinion, he brings all the right tools to Chiarelli’s renovation party. He hits, he skates, he shoots, he’s a creative passer, he’s young, he plays a very gritty game, and he’s such a hard worker.
It’s going to be good to watch him again.
FUTURE MOVES
I know that the Oilers had scouts in Montreal watching the Habs/Caps game. There was some chatter online talking about Montreal having interest in Jordan Eberle and I guess Chiarelli likes Lars Eller but I can’t see either team moving on either player.
Edmonton can’t trade Eberle right now with that super funk that he is in. They’ll get taken to the woodshed Miroslav Satan-style. Not saying that the Oilers couldn’t use another Barrie Moore and Craig Millar but… No, I’m saying that. But if he doesn’t find that scoring touch by the deadline… Things could get some interesting.
The Caps paid a pretty salty price for Lars Eller, can’t see them moving him. Marcus Johansson on the other hand…
What is up BLH Universe. Here we are again, spacing out with me, the Kosmic Burrito! And what do I have “on tap” for you to chug back today at Beer League? It’s none other than my man, Mr. LB, the man with the richest name in hockey (trust me, say it in your richest French accent!)….Laurent Brossoit. Or who I like to refer to as “The Future”. Come on, let’s face it, the kid has been trending upwards for quite some time and for those following, it’s given some of us hope. Let’s start with a little background on Monsieur Brossoit.
Laurent was drafted in the 6th round of the 2011 NHL Draft by the rival Calgary Flames. He went 164th overall, not exactly numbers that scream “future NHL starting goaltender”. But it is what he has done to get where he is now, that makes me personally believe this kid is legit.
In 2008 LB was chosen 26th overall by the Edmonton Oil Kings in the 2nd round of the WHL Bantam Draft. He only played in 1 game for the Oil Kings that year, allowing 5 goals against in only 37 minutes of playing time. I know, I know….WTF!!! Next year, the 2009-10 season, he only appeared in 2 games for the Oil Kings. So you’re probably thinking, wow, how the hell did he end up as the Oilers backup goalie with those numbers? Well, it wasn’t until the 2010-11 season where Brossoit finally saw some solid WHL playing time. Where he appeared in 34 regular season games (13-12-2 3.32 .887). Again, not the most solid of numbers. But the experience was all he needed, because in the 2011-12 season, The Future arrived. LB played his ass off that season, appearing in 61 games and he fashioned a record of 42-13-5. He also had a 2.47 GAA and .914 Save Percentage to go along with it.
As nice as those numbers are for a WHL goaltender, it’s what he did that season…not only did the Oil Kings win the Central Division, they were also the WHL Champions!! Brossoit cruised through the playoffs with a 16-4 record and a 2.04 GAA with .933 SP to go with it. It was a slightly different story in the Memorial Cup, as Brossoit finished 1-3 with a 4.04 GAA and .871 SP. Again, that’s great experience people! How many goalies have had the chance to lead their team to the Memorial Cup? The 2012-13 season saw more of the same for LB, he played in 49 games and put together a 33-8-6 record with a 2.25 GAA and .917 SP. He had a post season record of 22GP 1.82 GAA and a .935 SP, as the Oil Kings lost to Portland in the WHL Final. Surprisingly, the Flames didn’t call Brossoit up to end the 2013 season, after they signed him to an entry level deal.
Later on in 2013, November to be exact, Laurent Brossoit was traded to Edmonton Oilers, along with forward Roman Horak (who I thought at one point might have an NHL career?), in exchange for Defencemen Ladi Smid (an Oilers fan favourite), and goaltending prospect Olivier Roy. Considering how Brossoit has trended upwards, and Smid has gone the opposite direction (the 2 centrepieces of the trade), I would say that the Oilers currently have the upper hand in this one. In 2013-14, he definitely racked up some miles, and I’m not even talking about playing time. He played for 4 different f**king teams! He played 2 games with the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat, 3 games with the ECHL’s Alaska Aces, and 8 games with the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons. But it’s the 35 games that he played with the Bakersfield Condors, who were still in the ECHL at the time, where he saw steady time. He had a 25-22-4 record with a 2.56 GAA and .918 SP. He also went 10-6 in the post season.
Not too shabby of a first professional season, for a 2 time WHL Champion goalie that was drafted in the 6th round. 2014-15 was different, Brossoit played in 53 AHL games for the former Oilers farm team, the Oklahoma City Barons. Ladies and gentlemen, he looked absolutely fantastic. Oilers fans started to rejoice in the thought that we may have our goaltender of…..The Future. Laurent put together a 25-22-4 record, with a 2.56 GAA and a .918 SP. Not too mention he played 2 games in the AHL post season and went 1-0 with a 3.46 GAA and .909 SP. But it was his NHL debut that had fans talking.
April 9th 2015, Edmonton versus San Jose with now-Oilers head coach Todd McLellan running the show. Even though the Oilers lost that game, Brossoit turned away 49 of the 51 shots that he faced! He’s the first NHL goalie since Manny Legace in 1998, to see that much rubber and make that many saves. Laurent would finish the game with a 2.00 GAA and an incredible .961 SP. Let’s not forget the fact that he was named the game’s first star. How’s that for a debut by a goaltender on a crappy team, with little to no defensive help? Pretty freaking sweet if you ask me. Pretty freaking sweet…
Fast forward to this season, and you’ll currently find Brossoit’s name on the big league roster. Backing up Cam Talbot, thanks to the Anders Nilsson trade. But before that, he was the starting tender for new AHL and Edmonton Oilers farm team, the Bakersfield Condors. Now Brossoit started off the year with Ben Scrivens also in town. But seriously, was LB ever in jeopardy of losing the starters role to The Professor? Ummmm yeah…not so much. Brossoit put together a record of 28 GP 15-9-3, a 2.69 GAA, with a .919 SP before being called up to back up Talbot. Also, it was quite obvious that Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli had seen enough of LB to recognize his talent. As he signed him to a 2 year contract extension. So far in 2 games played, Brossoit has a record of 0-1-0 3.37 GAA with a .883 SP. Not quite the same numbers as his stellar debut, but he’ll get there….just look at his history up until now.
He may not have the draft pedigree, but he has the resume. I believe that he deserves this shot in the NHL, no doubt about it. But at the same time I wouldn’t mind seeing him still getting the lion’s share of playing time in the AHL. Personally, I think that Brossoit is Edmonton’s goalie of…”The Future”, and we may see him there sooner than later.
As always, I love to hear your feedback, so send away!!
For Davidson, the deal comes after a very strong rookie campaign in Edmonton that has seen him playing big minutes as of late, as many as 25 minutes a game. Davidson’s shot-attempt differential (i.e., Corsi) relative to the team average is +3.6%, or 8 shot attempts per 60 minutes, which is the most among the defensemen. His production at even-strength is 0.36 points/60 minutes, which is the 3rd best among the D. At beginning of the season, I would not have predicted that Davidson would step in as a rookie and have that kind of impact. He has shown that he is a very smart player and does not panic with the puck.
His no-backing-down mentality has been infectious in Edmonton and something the team has sorely lacked in years past. After beating cancer in his first year in the American Hockey League, Davidson has fought through adversity and has now earned a nice little two-year raise, tripling his current salary.
Moving forward, the sky is the limit for this kid.
The two-year extension for Brossoit is also an interesting one. The term and dollar-figure suggest to me that the Oilers feel he will, at the very least, compete for a backup position on the Oilers roster. Moving forward, I believe there is a strong chance that he does make the team as a full time backup. This season, in the American Hockey League, Brossoit has posted a .919 save percentage and earned 40 wins in his last 81 AHL games.
I have been a big fan of Brossoit the last few years. I would love to see him get some NHL games down the stretch between now and the season’s end. In his limited NHL time (2 games), Brossoit has performed well with a .954 save% and 1.45 goals-against average.
Quoting a long time professional scout on Davidson’s progress: “He would be in top four right now on lot of Stanley Cup contenders.” #EJLive
Well, The Edmonton Oilers have not had a good week. Sunday they were utterly obliterated 8-1 in a lazy showing against the New York Islanders, lost a snoozer 2-1 against the Devils, won 5-2 against the Toronto Maple Leafs (the true high of the week) and losing 2-1 in a shootout against the Winnipeg Jets last night.
The biggest problem looking at those scores, is that besides the Maple Leafs game, the Oilers are not scoring goals. They are a one line team, yet again, and for me it’s frustrating. It doesn’t make much sense: when one line is awake and on, the other lines completely disappear. Nail Yakupov is the invisible man. Leon Draisaitl looks like he’s either running out of gas or is hiding an injury and Taylor Hall is trying to do too much at once.
Edmonton Oilers Three Stars
3. Laurent Broissoit. Brossoit played in his second career NHL game last night in the shootout loss to Winnipeg and by all accounts was rock solid. Sure, the shootout he let in two goals that sealed it for Winnipeg but I was really rooting for Brossoit to get his first NHL victory. He was a late addition to the starting line up as usual starting goaltender, Cam Talbot, was out due to illness. In two games, Brossoit’s lowest save percentage is .961 This season in Bakersfield, Brossoit has played 26 games, some missed due to injury and sports a decent .921 save percentage. I like LB a lot; I watched him in Juniors with the Oil Kings and I’ll be definitely rooting for the Oil King alumni.
2. Jordan Eberle Eberle posted five points this week, including four goals and an assist. He scored, amazingly, his first career hat trick against the Toronto Maple Leafs. His chemistry with McDavid is looking very good and he’s been on fire as of late. Some want Nail Yakupov to be playing with McDavid but right now Eberle is the better player to be playing shotgun to 97. Last night he scored the lone Oiler shootout goal, a nice snipe top corner. As someone who wanted Eberle moved for someone attractive, I’m starting to change my stance.
1. Connor McDavid. Expect McDavid to be number one every week for the rest of the season. He’s that good of a player and he showed it against Toronto where he scored a whopping five points (two goals and three assists). On the empty net goal against the Leafs, he unselfishly gave the puck to Eberle for his first career hat trick. From all accounts he looked a bit sluggish against the Jets but was often the most dangerous player when on the ice. While he was held pointless against the Jets last night, McDavid had a staggering seven points in four games played.
Potential movers? I think Teddy Purcell is a goner. Justin Schutlz will also be on his way out too. Other names not as likely but could, include Mark Fayne and Eric Gryba, although I think the Oilers like Gryba enough.
Also one news item I wrote at theoilersrig.com was from John Shannon of Sportsnet concerning the Oilers being the next team to play in the outdoor game, hosted by Winnipeg. Interesting to note is that the game would be slated to be played in October. I love it!
