Just one minor rant before getting into this weeks 31 Thoughts podcast and what Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman were saying about the Oilers.

All throughout the Taylor Hall era of the Oilers (or as others call it, the Decade of Darkness), I watched those teams get pushed around and nothing was done about it even though the team had tough guys/enforcers on the roster and you might say I’m old-fashioned or a flat-earther because I believe in physical retribution but the NHL’s star attraction was the target of cheap shots from the Calgary Flames and the San Jose Sharks most recently.

**Bloggers and fans will scoff at what I’m going to say next but journalists who cover sports teams and ex-players won’t. They know exactly what I’m talking about.

Now we’ve learned over time that there was a split in the dressing room back then and the players weren’t willing to stick up for each other because of the cliques that were formed in that room. Is that what is going on now?**

What are Zack Kassian, Milan Lucic, Darnell Nurse, and JJ Khaira doing?

I’ll give credit to Khaira and Nurse because at least they gone ahead and dropped the gloves in the last 10 days but what kind of excuses do Kassian and Lucic have?

My whole thing with these kinds of players is that they have something to offer when they’re not scoring goals, their braveness and willingness to do the things that others are not. I mean if this is the way the NHL is going, then all of those players who say they’ll battle for their teammates and don’t, they can hit the road. I’d rather the Oilers sign a bunch of rat finks like Burrows or Clutterbuck if that’s the case. Hell, bring back Raffi Torres!

I don’t see anybody hitting out there anymore or if they do it’s a glance or a coasting into a player as if they’re sorry for touching the guy. What happened to these players? Are they playing through something? If so, why haven’t they had it repaired if they’ve been playing through it for the entire season?

If Lucic and Kassian can’t play the game that made them successful in Edmonton, then they should be moved out for players who can. Michael Haley does nothing but hit and fight and he’s not hurting the Florida Panthers in their fight for a playoff spot. He’s cheap too.

Listen, all I want is some fire and emotion during the games and this isn’t an Oilers-centric problem I don’t believe. I think it’s league-wide and that’s a shame because if this is the direction the NHL is going, I’ll probably stop watching it at some point and convert to junior games or minor league games where things are a bit more unpredictable.

31 THOUGHTS PODCAST: RNH OR KLEFBOM?

https://twitter.com/NHLbyMatty/status/974074726141210624

This is going to be a story until the draft, no doubt about it. That being said, Oilers fans shouldn’t be getting their hopes up because the Senators were talking to both the Flames and the Sharks at the deadline regarding Mike Hoffman and Bobby Ryan. I think we can toss Vegas into that mix too.

On this week’s 31 Thoughts podcast, Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman had some interesting comments regarding RNH and Klefbom…

Marek: Who is most likely to go out of Edmonton, Klefbom or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins?

Friedman: It’s a tough one because both players play valuable positions. One’s a center and one’s a D, what is everyone looking for? Center and D.

I think they both have an attractiveness about them.

The only reason I’d say Klefbom more likely is that I think if you look at them they’ve got Nurse, they’ve got Sekera, they’ve got Larsson, they’ve got Russell signed. I think they feel they’ve probably got enough D that they can get by.

Marek: It’s a D heavy draft, they’ll take a D most likely.

Friedman: If they can get Draisaitl and McDavid comfortable playing apart, you probably don’t have the luxury of keeping Nugent-Hopkins’ cap number but if you really want to play them together, you probably need Nugent-Hopkins.

Like, I think they have to convince those two guys (McDavid/Draisaitl) to play apart. I really do. You look at Pittsburgh, the team we watched in Toronto on the weekend, why do they win Stanley Cups? Because they’ve got Crosby on one line, Malkin on one line, and Kessel on another line with Brassard.

I think ultimately those two guys (97/29) are going to have to play apart and for that reason, Nugent-Hopkins might not be a luxury you can afford under the cap?

So what I’m gathering from that is if the Oilers keep Todd Mclellan, there’s a possibility that he finds himself back up on that top line with Connor McDavid more often than not. Something Ryan Rishaug has spoken to this week on the Jason Gregor show. And in turn that’ll mean Klefbom goes because the Oilers will need RNH to man the 2nd line centre position.

But if the Oilers decide to go with a different coach I believe that will spell the end of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ spell with the Oilers because Peter Chiarelli believes having RNH on the 3rd line making $6M a year isn’t fiscally smart.

And another thing we have to take into consideration is the draft?

Right now the Oilers are sitting in 7th spot and their chances at the 1st overall pick are 6.7%. They’re chances at a top 3 selection are 20.9%. (according to tankathon.com)

So if they win the lottery and move up to no.1, they’ll take Dahlin and that means goodbye Oscar. If they move up into the top 3 but not no.1, that means they’ll be taking a winger, goodbye RNH. If they stay where they are at no.7, I would venture to guess they trade the pick outright in a deal for a winger or a dman OR they trade down because the middle of the pack in this year’s draft doesn’t offer much separation in terms of talent.

Lastly, they could sit on the roster and do nothing because RNH and Klefbom are still great young players and they’re signed long-term. They’ll both be healthy going into next year and really, all the Oilers need to do is tinker a bit on the wing and back end.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!