Cam Talbot’s ears must have been burning from all the chatter around e-town if there was still a goaltending question with the Oilers. Would he have another slow start? Would he be able to focus with family on the way? Unfortunately when you’ve had a fragile team, the fan base is easily rattled.
In the end, the Oilers starter silenced his critics again with a stellar outing, stopping 31 of 33 for a .939 save percentage in what was arguably his best game of the season. And not his best game because of stats, but because of game changers, he stopped at key times in the game. His sprawling glove save on Skinner in the first drew a well-deserved ovation from the Oilers’ faithful. In the third, with the game on the line, Larsson sent a pizza up the middle that was picked off, but Talbot was there to do some bailing. And in the dying seconds, the Oilers tender had Skinner calling for a review when he robbed the Canes’ top forward with slick glove snag.
When your goaltender is your best player and makes those kinds of saves, you need to win the game… Even when your top player and captain is held off the score-sheet. Not to worry, in this game, the balanced scoring of the Oilers made the difference.
Anton Slepyshev’s snipe in the first period was a pure goal-scorers goal and not surprising considering others I’ve seen him score in international competition. A couple of years ago when the Oiler’s signed him, I posed the question in a Russian hockey forum, what kind of player was Slepyshev? The answer: One of the best players in the KHL. He’s got a ways to go to be that level of player in the NHL, but if the Oilers do the right thing and send Puljujarvi down, he may just get the ice-time to show what he can do.
I don’t want to jinx him, but considering the ice-time he gets, Pitlick has been very effective. His release is quick and his shot very accurate, who knows, he could easily move up the line-up. At this point, he looks like a coach’s dream: lots of energy, hits, and opportunistic scoring I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you guy.
From my viewpoint, it has to be Larsson. He slipped and fell on his duff in the first period, giving up a prime scoring chance to Jordan Staal. Later in the third, he threw that pass up the middle that was easily picked off. Talbot bailed him out both times and McLellan let him work through it, but you can’t have one of your top d-men making those mistakes.
It pains me to say it but Nuge seems to be struggling. At this point, he is getting badly outplayed by Draisaitl which may not bode well for his future with the club. Let’s hope he turns it around soon.
The main man over at All In Hockey is Scott Maran (@realallinhockey) and he’s ever-so-graciously offered to give us a sneak peek at All In Hockey’s Edmonton Oilers Fantasy Hockey Preview! It’s not a complete preview but a snapshot of what Scott thinks the Oilers top forwards, dmen, and starting goalie are capable of next season. Basically, the only players you really want to be concerning yourself with for your fantasy hockey team.
Now you might not know about All In Hockey right now but you should get to know it because it’s a real up-and-comer in the hockey blogosphere!
Click the logo to head over to All In Hockey right now!What’s in store for the Edmonton Oilers in 2016/17?
Milan Lucic – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle Benoit Pouliot –Ryan Nugent-Hopkins– Zack Kassian Patrick Maroon –Leon Draisaitl – Nail Yakupov Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Iiro Pakarinen
Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne Brandon Davidson – Darnell Nurse
Cam Talbot – Jonas Gustavsson
Thoughts:
* I’m sure Connor McDavid’s linemates will change frequently throughout the season but Milan Lucic should get a lot of time next to him
* The Oilers defense is still a little weak but Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson will give them at least one defensively reliable pairing
* While I’m a big supporter of Nail Yakupov playing with Connor McDavid, the Oilers staff doesn’t seem to love that idea
* If Jesse Puljujarvi makes the team, he’d probably start on the third line with Patrick Maroon and Leon Draisaitl, bumping Nail Yakupov to the second line and Zack Kassian to the fourth line. Or, Puljujarvi could start on the second line and Yakupov would stay on the third line.
Projections (82 GP)
Connor McDavid- 34 goals, 55 assists, 89 points
Last year McDavid had one of the most impressive seasons by a rookie, scoring 48 points in only 45 games with the Oilers. Only two other players in the entire NHL had a higher point-per-game rate than McDavid and he actually scored at a better rate than superstars like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Tyler Seguin and Joe Thornton. Expect much of the same dominance from McDavid as he continues his ascent to the top of the league.
Jordan Eberle- 28 goals, 34 assists, 62 points
At the start of the season last year, Eberle had scored at least 60 points for the past four years in a row, even breaking the 70-point mark in 2012. However, last season Eberle only managed to tally 47 points in 69 games, a 56-point pace over 82-games. Most of the reason for this can be explained by an abnormal lack of powerplay success, with Eberle only recording four powerplay assists. If Eberle had recorded his average amount of powerplay assists last year, he’d have scored a total of 55 points in 69 games, a much better 65-point pace. Considering Eberle should be a bit more luckier on the powerplay next year and has been shooting the puck a lot more too, there’s good upside in drafting Eberle this year.
Milan Lucic- 23 goals, 36 assists, 59 points
If you thought playing with Anze Kopitar would increase Lucic’s value, just imagine what McDavid will do. Last year McDavid showed that he had a profound effect on his linemate’s point totals and Lucic won’t be any different. Scoring 20 goals and 35 assists last year, Lucic should do even better this season now that he’s lining up next to “The Next One” himself. Don’t expect anything too crazy but Lucic will probably end somewhere close to 60 points.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins- 23 goals, 32 assists, 55 points
Injuries have plagued Nugent-Hopkins’ career so far but if he can stay on the ice, he should be a lock for 50 points. Scoring only 34 points in 55 games, Nugent-Hopkins had one of his worst statistical years last season as he averaged 50 points over 82 games. However, in the two seasons prior to that, he scored 56 points in 80 games and then 56 points in 76 games. With Nugent-Hopkins rated 244th by Yahoo, he could easily outperform his draft position.
Benoit Pouliot- 20 goals, 35 assists, 45 points
Ever since coming to the Oilers, Pouliot has actually been very productive. In his first season, he managed to score 19 goals and 15 assists in only 58 games, averaging out to a 48-point pace over a full 82-game schedule. Then, in his second year as an Oiler, Pouliot improved on those numbers by notching
36 points in 56 games, 53 points over 82 games. However, Pouliot might see a bit of a decline in production this year since it’ll be harder for him to get playing time next to McDavid. 16 out of his 26 even-strength points were scored when McDavid was on the ice with him last year but with Lucic on the team now, Pouliot will probably be stuck on the second line.
Oscar Klefbom- 6 goals, 27 assists, 33 points
If Klefbom had played in full 82-game seasons, he would probably have close to two 30-point seasons under his belt already. In his second year in the NHL, Klefbom only played in 69 games but was able to tally 20 points. Averaged out to 82 games and Klefbom would have had a 27-point season. But then last year, in only 30 games, Klefbom scored 12 points, a 33-point pace. If Klefbom can manage to play the entire year this season, I don’t see why he can’t post 30+ points with an outside shot at 40. He’ll probably finish with somewhere around 35 points but if he keeps progressing and takes some more powerplay time, 40 points isn’t completely out of the question.
Adam Larsson- 5 goals, 25 assists, 30 points
Larsson may have changed teams but I don’t think it will affect his fantasy potential too much. On the Devils, Larsson never showed much offensive potential and was put in an extremely defensive role. Considering the state of the Oilers defense and the reason why they traded for him, Larsson’s usage shouldn’t change too much. Last year Larsson only scored 18 points and he’s only had one season where he’s tallied more than 20 points. The increased responsibility will help his totals but Larsson has never given any hint that he can come close to the 40-point mark.
Andrej Sekera- 6 goals, 23 assists, 29 points
Entering the first year of his six-year contract, Sekera had a fine season for the Oilers, tallying six goals and 24 assists. Averaging about 22 minutes a night, Sekera was also an important piece on the powerplay, registering two goals and 12 assists with the man advantage. While he won’t be having 40+ point seasons like when he was in Carolina, Sekera should be good for around 30 points.
Even though Talbot had some long stretches of bad play last year, he still managed to end the season with a respectable .917 save percentage. It’s not amazing but it’s better than average and now with a full season under his belt, Talbot should improve a little. Talbot has shown he has the potential to be a quality starting netminder as in New York, he posted save percentages of .941 and .926 in his first two seasons of his NHL career. While he might not reach those numbers again, he should have another good year in Edmonton.
*Big thanks to Scott Maran from All In Hockey for his Fantasy Hockey Preview of the Oilers going into 2016/17! If you liked what you read, please head over to his site www.allinhockey.com!*
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Much has been made this offseason of what the Edmonton Oilers’ defensive pairings will look like in 2016-17. Not as much has been said of where we are in terms of offensive depth. Who plays on the bottom-6 this season? Read on for a whole bunch of cool numbers and speculation, and also to ultimately find out that I don’t really know.
But Bob Stauffer might! Radio analyst, prolific Twitter tease, and most notably known as the voice of the Oilers on Edmonton’s talk radio network, 630 CHED. Scratch that: Bob Stauffer has recently been most notably known as the guy who totally called that we’d be trading for Adam Larsson on Oilers Now a full day before it happened.
Bob Stauffer again hinting of a 22 minute right shot Dman that no one is talking about that could be acquired at a decent price #oilers
Stauffer is today undoubtedly not only one of the most connected hockey insiders in Edmonton, but in the NHL proper. Historically, most of his predictions are spot-on. So what does ol’ Bob have to say about my favourite little prospect centerman Drake Caggiula?
Lots of talk about Drake Caggiula. Don't be surprised if he gets a look at Center at some point this season. Was impressive at Dev. Camp
Ooh! Well, that’s promising. Seems like these days, you don’t get a second look in E-town unless you’re 6’3 200+ or your name starts with Connor.
Sorry, excuse me. I’m trying to write about Caggiula right now and what I’m actually doing is watching this just silly goal over and over. Partake in its glory with me for a moment:
Thanks for indulging me. Now, back to mature things like numbers and line combos. Ok, so with this information from Stauffer, and if Dangling Drake (pretend that’s a good nickname) truly is ready for 3rd-line C at some point in 2016, what does the Oilers’ bottom-6 look like?
To me, we have to ask ourselves a couple basic questions right off the bat:
Is Leon Draisaitl going to play on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ wing at the start of the season? My gut says yes. They had undeniable chemistry together at the end of last season, and Leon belongs in the top-6 playing with top talent, not trying to carry the bottom-6 into the offensive zone on his back. This leaves McDavid and RNH quarterbacking the top two lines for the foreseeable future.
The second and more speculative question is this: is Drake Caggiula a better hockey player than current bottom-6 centermen Mark Letestu or Anton Lander? Again, I think the answer is yes, and I’m going to use a few advanced stats to try to illustrate why I’m cautiously optimistic that we could be a better hockey team with Drake and sans one of Mark/Anton.
I picked iCorsi/60 (the number of shots + shot attempts that missed or were blocked that each individual takes per 60 minutes), G/60 (individual goals per 60 minutes), and A/60 (individual assists per 60 minutes) because I am but a lowly arts graduate and those are the ones that I understand (all of these stats are from the 2015-16 season at even strength). I will use Nuge as a benchmark because he’s the centreman most immediately higher on the Oilers’ depth chart with statistical history than the men we’re discussing.
iCorsi/60
G/60
A/60
RNH
11.09
0.45
0.91
Letestu
8.27
0.27
0.34
Lander
8.5
0.11
0.22
As expected, the Nuge runs away in every category. That’s why he’s considered one of the premier two-way top-6 forwards in the league. Letestu and Lander both sit around 2.5-3 points off in the iCorsi/60 category. Which maybe doesn’t seem like much, but I am assured it’s statistically significant. They’re nowhere close in goals or assists per 60, with Lander especially coming off looking bad on paper. Another important thing to consider when looking at these guys’ numbers is that Letestu has never cracked 34 points in a complete NHL season, and Lander never more than 18. RNH averages mid-50s in points over a season’s length. Obviously, Drake Caggiula is not Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. No one expects him to be, and people aren’t really projecting him to play the kind of game RNH has become known for over his 5 seasons in the big show. But can he be half as good? Because if he’s even half as good as RNH in assists per hour, he’s miles ahead of Letestu and Lander. If he’s on the ice for two less Corsi events per hour than RNH, he’s miles ahead of Letstu and Lander.
Despite everything I just said, I like Mark Letestu. Good Alberta boy! I think he’s a character guy who shows up, wins faceoffs, and generally isn’t a liability on the ice. He looks good with Hendricks alongside him, and Pakarinen showed last season that he can play with basically anyone on the current Oilers roster and not be out of place. I don’t have anything against Anton Lander, but I don’t think he makes the opening day roster if Caggiula can show he isn’t incompetent in the circle, because that’s really the only thing Anton has going for him as it stands. To me, there isn’t anything in the playing style or statistics (junior or professional) of Letestu or Lander that indicates they’re significantly more effective offensively or defensively than Caggiula projects to be. Drake hasn’t played minute-one of a professional game, though, so I could also prove to be completely wrong. But I really can’t see Lander coming into the fall looking shinier than Caggiula. Can you?
That’s a whole lot of speculation, isn’t it? Here’s some more. To me, here are the Oilers’ likely line combinations in the fall:
Lucic – McDavid – Eberle/Puljujarvi
Maroon – RNH – Draisaitl/Puljujarvi
Pouliot – Caggiula – Kassian/Yakupov
Hendricks – Letestu – Pakarinen/Yakupov
Or to put it another way, I have no idea where the hell Yakupov fits into the lineup next year. We saw that he looks great next to McDavid, but that doesn’t really mean anything because an orange traffic cone looks good next to McDavid. I feel that a small, quick guy like Caggiula probably should have a big goon like Kassian on his right to keep the other teams’ bottom-6 from getting any ideas, and a consistent grinder like Pouliot on his left to make space in front of the net and generally be ready for setups via Drake’s nifty hands. We saw that Pouliot was capable of at least that much last season.
Clearly the only option to make my roster combination chart not look so foolish is for Peter Chiarelli to package up a right-winger who isn’t Finnish with a pick and a prospect for Tyson Barrie. Cool? Cool. Thanks, Chia. Thanks, Sakic. Goodnight sun, goodnight moon. May visions of sugar plums and Stanley Cups dance through your heads, fellow Beer League Heroes.
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Everything considered it was a great draft weekend for the Edmonton Oilers. They didn’t get a top pairing defenceman and they weren’t able to trade Nail Yakupov (I expect both will get done in the week), but GM Peter Chiarelli got his man with the 4th overall pick. Even after losing all three lottery draws in April, the Oilers left Buffalo with Jesse Puljujarvi in their prospect pool. Hopefully Puljujarvi will be Edmonton’s last high pick for a long time as they continue to push toward becoming a playoff team.
The Oilers have done very well in the first round over the past 10 years. I mean, it’s hard to mess up when you are picking near the top of the order year after year, but it’s still not a sure thing as we’ve seen with Yakupov (1st overall, 2012) and Magnus Paajarvi (10th overall, 2009).
In today’s blog, I will rank the Oilers top 10 picks of the past 10 drafts.
10. Brandon Davidson (162nd overall, 2010) – Some might say I’m going out limb here, by putting a player who has only played 63 NHL games on this list, but he’s earned it. For a team that has had few hits beyond the first round over the past decade, Davidson was a pleasant surprise for the Oilers in 2015-16, emerging as a steady top four defenceman.
9. Darnell Nurse (7th overall, 2013) – After selecting a forward with their first pick in six consecutive drafts, the Oilers finally ended that streak by taking Nurse in the first round three years ago. Nurse was asked to handle way too much responsibility in his rookie year, and to no one’s surprise he struggled. I don’t think he’s ever going to be a big point producer in the NHL, but he’s still young, and has the size, tenacity and skating ability to develop into a top pairing defender.
8. Sam Gagner (6th overall, 2007) – Gagner got off to a great start to his NHL career, tallying 49 points as a rookie in 2007-08. He never bested that total in his next six years in Edmonton and would have been better served moving from centre to the wing. Gagner was still one of the Oilers offensive leaders for several years and the highlight of his career was when he tied Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey‘s team record for points in a single game (8 points) back in 2012.
7. Oscar Klefbom (19th overall, 2011) – Klefbom was most likely the Oilers best defenceman over the past two seasons and at only 22-years-old, his best years are ahead of him. I had no issue with GM Peter Chiarelli signing Klefbom to a seven-year extension last September, despite having played under 100 games in the NHL at that point.
6. Jesse Puljujarvi (4th overall, 2016) – I’m making a bold pick here considering Puljujarvi hasn’t even played a game in the NHL yet. But I feel confident ranking him this high on the list and think he would even higher if I were to re-do it in five years. Puljujarvi is perhaps the most complete player in this year’s draft and will likely be in the Oilers’ lineup on October 12th when they open Rogers Place.
5. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (1st overall, 2011) – When Nugent-Hopkins was first drafted, some fans and media members speculated that he might be the best of the Oilers young guns by the time he reached his prime. That won’t happen now, but RNH has developed into a reliable two-way centre. He came into the league as a No. 1 centre, but in the past year has dropped to third on the Oilers’ depth chart down the middle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uz6XGbGjWk
4. Leon Draisaitl (3rd overall, 2014) – After 15 years of chasing a big, skilled centre, Edmonton finally got one in the draft two years ago. Draisiatl took a big step forward in his development last season, and even though he faded down the stretch, I believe he’s going to be a big part of this team for the next 10 years.
3. Jordan Eberle (22nd overall, 2008) – Eberle was a steal for the Oilers late in the first round eight years ago. A natural goal scorer, Eberle is one of the best right-wingers in the NHL as well as the best pure finisher on the Oilers. He’s led the team in scoring in three of his six years with the team and deserves to be one of Edmonton’s top three picks of the past decade based on that alone.
2. Taylor Hall (1st overall, 2010) – An elite scoring winger, Hall is a two-time top 10 scorer in the NHL and recorded a career-high 80 points in 2013-14. Hall became the first Oiler to score at least 80 points in over a decade. Like Eberle, Hall has led the team in scoring in three of his six years with the Oilers and has learned to take his foot off the gas a bit, which resulted in him staying healthy from start to finish for the first time last season. I will never understand why 30% of the Oilers fan base wants to trade him. Because he turns over the puck too much? Because he has perceived attitude problems? Unless Chiarelli gets a No. 1 defenceman for him in a deal, they are a worse team without him.
1. Connor McDavid (1st overall, 2015) – Was there even any question about this one? McDavid was dominant in his 45 games with the Oilers last season, registering the third-highest points per game average in the league (1.07) and only missed out on winning the Calder Trophy because of his broken clavicle. That’s alright, I have a feeling his NHL trophy case will be full 20 years from now he hangs up his skates. McDavid is the face of the franchise and will likely be named the youngest captain in NHL history this fall.
I hope you enjoyed my list. Let me know if you agree or disagree with my choices. It’s always good to talk to fellow Oilers fans. Thanks for reading!
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It’s here folks! I hope you brought your popcorn and soda because she’s going to be a barnburner! Will the Edmonton Oilers use their pick to make Matthew Tkachuk an Edmonton Oiler or will it be Pierre-LLuc Dubois? Will they trade down and pick up a defenseman like PK Subban? Is anybody safe on the Edmonton Oilers roster apart from Connor McDavid? Let’s talk about it.
PK SUBBAN
A few quotes from some reputable writers who cover the Oilers online talking about these Subban rumours:
“If Peter Chiarelli pulls this off, every male Edmontonian will own a moustache like the one you see in the photo.” – Lowetide
“Whatever the case, a deal bringing Subban to Edmonton would be the biggest trade involving the Oilers since the Pronger transactions. It would instantly revitalize the club’s blue line, and as long as such a trade didn’t include Taylor Hall it’s hard to imagine a plausible scenario where the Oilers would be worse off as a team in the aftermath. It’s even possible to imagine a deal built on Hall-for-Subban which works from an Edmonton perspective, and that’s really saying something.” – Jonathan Willis
“The Oilers aren’t getting Subban, who has a cap hit of $9 million for six more seasons. His no-move clause kicks in July 1 which has kick-started the trade rumours, but Bergevin knows Subban and goalie Carey Price are 1 and 1a in terms of importance.” – Jim Matheson
“This feels like the Dany Heatley rumours so many years ago when everyone was in a frenzy but ultimately let down. Maybe I’m foolishly optimistic, but I firmly believe that Subban will be traded. I believe the talk from the TSN guys. I feel like there is far too much smoke for something not to happen.” – Kris Hansen
“Edmonton lacks either a No. 1 or 2 blue-liner, so this is something Chiarelli can’t afford to pass up. Especially when one assumes the Oilers might not have another Top 5 draft pick to peddle for years to come.” – Mark Spector
So there you have it. Coming some major contributors to the Oilogosphere to boot. Consensus seems to be that the Oilers must act on this and do it while they have a draft pick in the top 5 because those days are coming to an end and the Oilers’ first rounders won’t have this much value again… Hopefully.
Pete’s on it. He’s going after the big guns which shouldn’t be a surprise. He did manage to convince Zdeno Chara to join the Bruins and how he’s on a quest to add a Chara-like defender to the Edmonton Oilers. Hallelujah!
I wonder how much of a coup it would be if the Oilers could obtain PK Subban without having to give up Taylor Hall? The biggest or one of the biggest?
I have warmed up to the idea of trading Leon Draisaitl for help on the blueline but it would still be a hard pill to swallow. It’s been quite a while since the Oilers had a big centre like Leon. But if the Oilers could package him, the #4 overall, Davidson, and Yak for Subban, the #9 overall, and Eller; I think that’s something that would have to be considered.
THE NO.4 OVERALL PICK
I want to point you in the direction of this Youtube clip of the OilersTV boys having a little chat with Pierre-Luc Dubois. He says something VERY interesting in it that could sway some of the votes his way come draft time for the Oilers.
If you didn’t catch it, the journalists were asking him about where he projects himself in the NHL. Of course, if you’ve been reading his reports online you’d know that he’s a left-winger turned centre but he can play the right-wing as well. In fact, if given the choice between left and right wing, he’d prefer to play the right side and shoot from his off side.
Interesting turn of events. The Oilers could very well have an open spot on the right-wing come training camp and Dubois has been mentioned as one of the more NHL-ready prospects. At 6’2″ and over 200 pounds, this Screaming Eagle is a man child whose versatility is hard to ignore.
“If you need someone to check the other team’s top line and be a shut-down forward, he’s a guy who can do that. If you need someone to generate scoring opportunities, he has the skill, speed and hands to do that too. He’s a very all-around player.” – Dan Marr, NHL Director of Central Scouting,at NHL.com
What are your thoughts on Subban and Dubois? Let me know in the comments below!
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![Jordan Eberle First NHL Goal vs. Calgary Flames (2010) [HD]](https://i0.wp.com/i.ytimg.com/vi/tB9K_eG8_3I/hqdefault.jpg?w=474&ssl=1)
