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Take a trip back to last year with me. It’s spring of 2015, and the Edmonton Oilers have just won the right to pick first overall in the Connor McDavid Sweepstakes. Peter Chiarelli has just been fired from the Boston Bruins organization after a lacklustre few years since their 2011 Stanley Cup victory. The powers-that-be in Edmonton have rightly decided that — with the arrival of the greatest prospect in hockey since Sidney Crosby — so, too, should Oilers back office receive a new face or two. Within a matter of days, Chiarelli is the Oilers GM and Todd McLellan is swiped from San Jose to take up bench duty from Dallas “My Firing Was a Gift” Eakins, and would you look at that: there’s a small beacon of hope emerging on the horizon for the Edmonton Oilers’ fan base.
Then the 2015-16 season started, and we pretty much sucked about as hard as we had for the last decade, but there were flashes of brilliance which were seen in that injury-riddled season that we certainly had not seen in the previous decade, which much smarter people than me have written about in-depth.
Moving on to the spring/summer of 2016…
So, let’s take stock: Since the addition of Chiarelli in the big boss chair, we have seen some new adjectives added to describe this lineup that I think few pundits ever imagined they would use for the Oilers, this team is scary now. They’re big, mean, and I think fewer and fewer teams are looking at them as a joke, a quick 2 points and a ‘see ya later’.
We have the bash brothers of Pat Maroon and Zack Kassian, who were super cheap pickups in the latter half of last season. Kass cost us all of Ben Scrivens, a much-beloved-but-really-only-AHL-calibre goalie we had taking minutes away from Laurent Brossoit in Bakersfield, and the Big Rig was a steal at the low low cost of Martin Whoever and our 2016 4th round pick. Both showed up big time for the Oilers, with Maroon racking up 14 points in 16 games next to McDavid, and Kassian eating up minutes on the bottom-6 and spitting out fools on the opposition.
With the gift of big Finnish winger Jesse Puljujärvi at this year’s draft in Buffalo, add another 6″3+ body to the bench for next season to go alongside our equally tall and shiny new Swedish defenceman heartthrob, Adam Larsson.
And for the pièce de résistance of the Summer of Chiarelli, the Edmonton Oilers are now the proud owners of a like-new Milan Lucic. 233 pounds of left-wing power forward hulking in at 6″4 and eager to impress his new mistress Connor, Looch is looking like one of the final pieces which will turn this team fully to the dark side it’s been toying with since Darth Peter took the reigns.
Let’s recap:
• Zack Kassian: 6″3, 217lbs
• Patrick Maroon: 6″3, 229lbs
• Jesse Puljujärvi: 6″3, 202lbs (and just barely 18, so who knows how big Poolparty will end up with those Northern European viking genes)
• Adam Larsson: 6″3, 206lbs
• Milan Lucic: 6″4, 233lbs
I don’t know about you, but if I’m a team heading into Rogers Place this fall, I’m not liking my chances of leaving without a few serious cuts and bruises from this revamped Oilers squad. Say goodbye to the quick-but-fragile Oilers of the last 6 years and more, and hello to the Boston… er, Edmonton Bruisers.
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The Edmonton Oilers’ season is coming to a close and for the tenth season in a row we’re on the outside of the playoffs looking in. We’re studying up on the draft prospects like it’s the map to the g-spot and we’re talking about blowing this team up once and for all now that McDavid, Maroon, Reinhart, Talbot, and Oesterle are playing above average hockey down the stretch. I’ve been thinking about this for some time now and maybe the best course of action for Peter Chiarelli is to do as little as possible…
*Please forgive me if this post is a little discombobulated. I’ve had a quite a bit on the headbone recently and if it all doesn’t come off as smooth as expected, my apologies. Also, I wrote this before the Yakupov trade request news broke… So please take that into consideration when reading. – BLH*
Hendy’s balls got rung vs. Dallas
It’s no secret that this team’s performance has been heavily affected by the injuries to key personnel throughout the year.
Oscar Klefbom – 47 games lost and counting
Connor McDavid – 37 games lost
The Nuge – 25 games lost and counting
Benoit Pouliot – 22 games lost and counting
Eric Gryba – 20 games lost and counting
Nail Yakupov – 22 games lost
Jordan Eberle – 13 games lost
Brandon Davidson – 15 games lost and counting
Justin Schultz – 15 games (Not that we really missed him but…)
And so on. It’s a tad ridiculous right?
At least we’re not the Habs I say. Their whole relevance to the league at the moment is tied to Carey Price and old stories of Marc Bergevin’s locker room pranks.
NO team could survive losing it’s no.1 dman, it’s no.1 and no.2 centre, it’s no.1 and (arguably) no.2 right-wings and live to tell about it. Hence why the Oilers are sitting on prime Matthews real estate. With only four games remaining there’s a very solid chance the Oilers aren’t going to climb out of the bottom three even if they do win all four (which are vs. Anaheim, Vancouver x2, and Calgary). Toronto has 4 games in hand as does Vancouver. Calgary, Columbus, and Winnipeg all with three in hand.
The race to Matthews is going to be something.
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So with that I say that Peter Chiarelli should wait until the draft and if a deal isn’t presented that knocks his socks off, head back to Edmonton with a sweet new elite forward or young franchise dman in tow. We don’t know what this team can do, we don’t. And that’s because we haven’t been able to see it as a whole.
Eberle and Maroon are flanking McDavid like champs right now and I know what you’ll say, “But anybody could do that!” and that may be true but anybody isn’t doing it. Big Rig and Ebs are and they’re doing it consistently. They’re winning the possession battles versus the best teams in the league and that is not something we’re entirely used to is it?
Hall, Draisaitl, and Yak are looking like something as well but can’t seem to get on the scoreboard on a regular basis. I love how Yakupov is providing that sandpaper and fiery forecheck for Hall and Leon is taking a couple of pages out of the Jaromir Jagr handbook of puck protection. When will Hall start to contribute?
So the top 6 is fine more or less. As much as I’d love to see a big shakeup, I don’t think they need it. It’s a good problem to have when you can send two lines over the boards and give the other team’s coach fits with his line match-ups.
The bottom six is where the team looks to be needing a tinker.
I liked the Kassian/Hendricks/Cracknell line vs. the Kings. It was a throwback to the energy lines that used to dominate the late 90’s. I doubt it’s effective possession-wise but as far as giving a team with young defensemen trouble or giving the team a little bit of an energy boost. I dig it.
Letestu/Pakarinen/Korpikoski looks to be a line that is lost. If I were to turf any of the lines it might be this one. Letestu provides a useful right-handed shot for special teams and late game surges. But Iiro and Lauri I’m failing to see where they provide quality to the lineup.
One player I haven’t spoken of yet much is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and you have to really be concerned about his future in Edmonton. Being left off of Team North America didn’t do this situation any good either. He’s had a tough year but it’s so hard to fault young players as they tend to have these sorts of years earlier in their careers and more often.
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I was thinking though, what if he (RNH) was part of a package going to the Blues for Kevin Shattenkirk and the rights to Vladimir Sobotka? Yes, Nuge has some term left on his deal but the Blues are going to need more depth down the middle and Sobotka is a whiz on the faceoff dot. Not only that, the Czech is hella gritty for his size and Chia is familiar with him from his time in Boston. So the Oilers wouldn’t be without a 3C going into 2016 unless Sobotka chose to waive his right to buy-out his KHL contract this month because that is what this whole idea is hinging on. He owes the Blues one more year of service after skipping out on them and I can’t imagine St.Louis being all to happy about that.
You don’t want to thin out that centre group at all, the spine of a team is the most important thing of all but if you can hit two birds with one stone, why not either? Add a sweetener like Oesterle, Davidson, or Musil if the Blues would send a conditional first round draft pick that was dependent on Sobotka and/or Shattenkirk re-signing.
The defense is a wonder. With Reinhart and Oesterle playing so well and along with the emergence of Brandon Davidson, what do the Oilers do? Can those players re-create this level of contribution next season? I mean the Oilers would be stacked with stupendously valued contracts if just those three players picked it up. We haven’t even seen the Bakersfield Condors best defenceman yet. David Musil has been stuck on the AHL team all year even though he’s been given rave reviews from his coach on multiple occasions.
IF Chia sat and didn’t move anybody on the back end, this is what the D would look like (potentially):
Scary. The hardest part about looking at those players is knowing that the ones we like the most (Davidson, Klefbom, Nurse) might be the ones that have to be moved.
Nurse is getting buried on nearly a nightly basis and should be in the AHL but won’t see a lick of action for the Condors going forward so we won’t see what he can be for another two or possibly three seasons. Had he been given at least one year (this year preferably), I think next year he would be an impact player for the Oilers.
If I had to choose which of the three to move, Davidson would be the guy. He is very much in the mold of Travis Hamonic, so maybe a deal is struck there. But then again Klefbom can’t stay healthy. It’s a really tough call and we’ll have to keep an eye on both Davidson and Klefbom this summer with regards to what kind of shape they’re in when training camp opens. IF they’re with the team that is.
In a cap world and with an expansion draft coming, should the Oilers be loading up on veterans or holding off until after an expansion draft and then going hard after some major targets?
Maybe the Oilers only make two moves this summer plus add a kid from the draft. Maybe the team waits 10 games into the 2016/17 season and barring any ridiculous injuries, makes some decisions about the roster then.
Would you rather see what this team can do as a whole before making sweeping changes or should Chiarelli roll up his sleeves and get to work? Let me know in the comments below!
This morning on Twitter, I had seen a Montreal Canadiens writer sharing the team’s roster changes from the beginning of the year, to this point in the season. With the Oilers having already flipped nearly half their roster over from the beginning of the year, I thought we should take a look at the Oilers opening day roster and compare it to today’s.
Oddly enough, BLH’s Micah Kowalchuk drafted a similar article without me realizing that looked at all of Chiarelli’s acquisitions. I included his thoughts and whether we liked, or disliked the move. His thoughts will be italicized. The thoughts I had on the new acquisitions are through my write up, and Micah and I’s analysis.
Season Opener vs. the Blues, Oct. 8, 2015
Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Teddy Purcell
Taylor Hall – Connor McDavid – Anton Slepyshev
Lauri Korpikoski – Anton Lander – Nail Yakupov
Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Luke Gazdic
Oscar Klefbom – Justin Schultz
Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne Griffin Reinhart – Eric Gryba
Cam Talbot Anders Nilsson
Scratches: Rob Klinkhammer, Brandon Davidson, Jordan Eberle (inj.)
Off the opening day roster, Teddy Purcell, Justin Schultz and Anders Nilsson have all been traded. Anton Slepyshev, Luke Gazdic, Rob Klinkhammer and Griffin Reinhart ended up back in Bakersfield despite the fact Gazdic is now with the Oilers sitting in the press box.
Oscar Klefbom was lost in early December and that was a huge loss for the Oilers. Brandon Davidson, who was healthy scratched at the time, has since been the Oilers most consistent defender all year. Now he has fallen ill with the injury bug.
Jordan Eberle was injured to start the year.
Take note of two rookies missing…
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How Many Oilers Have Left the Opening Night Group?
Eight.
Oilers vs. Jets, Mar. 6, 2016
Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl – Patrick Maroon
Nail Yakupov – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle Zack Kassian – Mark Letestu – Lauri Korpikoski
Matt Hendricks – Anton Lander – Adam Cracknell
Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne Adam Pardy – Brandon Davidson Darnell Nurse – Adam Clendening
Cam Talbot Laurent Brossoit
Scratches: Nikita Nikitin, Iiro Pakarinen, Luke Gazdic
How Many Oilers Have Been Added to the Lineup Since the Opening Night group?
Ten.
What a difference. First off, the two rookies missing from the day one roster were Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse. They both narrowly missed the cut to join the opening day roster but soon joined the roster after each playing six American League games.. Both have since not been sent back down, and have both played very well in their first full seasons.
Injuries to guys like Klefbom, Nugent-Hopkins and now Benoit Pouliot have given the Oilers the chance to look at some different bodies.
On the wings, Patrick Maroon, Zack Kassian and Adam Cracknell have been welcome additions to the club. The size each player brings has allowed for more space for others on the ice. Maroon has been a star, despite playing only three games.
With four points, a fight and a plus four rating it will be interesting to see where his play goes from here. It is clear that he is able to play in a top six role and seems to be a solid fit alongside Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl. While his foot-speed is a bit of a concern, it doesn’t appear to be limiting him in any way. His play down low with the puck has been fantastic, and his willingness to stand up for his teammates has already made him a fan favorite.
Kassian is still a bit of a question mark. In 22 games this season he only has scored six points and he seems to have hit a wall in Edmonton. Call it what you will about his time in Edmonton, but I see the Oilers resigning him this offseason. Kassian has a very low PDO rating which could be means for why his possession numbers have been sub 50 per cent during his time in Edmonton. I’m optimistic for him.
The defensive moves the Oilers have made thus far haven’t hurt the team, which is what we are looking for. The loss of Oscar Klefbom severely impacted the team and forced the strain to be put on players who may not have been ready for it.
At even strength, Adam Pardy has been a 56% CF player (53% career) in Edmonton playing 18.18 TOI/Gm (13.6 TOI/GM career avg.) #Oilers
The acquisition of Pardy has again been one I am a fan of. As I noted in my tweet above, his ES TOI has risen and so have his possession numbers. He hasn’t really looked out of place and could be an option to resign over the summer if the team feels he brings more to the table than Eric Gryba. Although I like the move, I am still apprehensive about him playing 20 minutes a night long term. I think he is still a bit of an unknown and we will have a better idea the more we see.
I am still really unsure of what the team has in Adam Clendening, but I think there is more to his game than what we have seen.
As we get down to the final stretch this season, it will be interesting to see how the Oilers players audition themselves for next season. After all, that is basically what the end of this season is for. Guys like Pardy, Clendening, Cracknell, Kassian and even Laurent Brossoit need to prove to the team they belong here, otherwise they will be forced to find new homes or play back in Bakersfield.
Break It Down Real Slow For Me.
A reminder from earlier, Micah’s thoughts are italicized below.
Andrej Sekera MK: 67 games, 24 points, HERO Chart says he’s a solid 2nd pairing defenseman, has had to overachieve as a 1st pairing defenseman with Klefbom’s injury and has held up well. Good move
ZL: After a bit of a slow start which was due to adjusting to a new team, Sekera has been everything we have hoped for. Good move
Eric Gryba MK: 53 games, 6 points, HERO Chart says his goal production is bad, but he’s a very good 3rd pairing defenseman who can fill in on a second pairing and perform, as he did here when it was needed.Good move
ZL: I really have been pleased with what he has brought to the table. A solid 3rd pairing guy is something every team needs. Good move
Adam Clendening MK: No HERO numbers due to limited games, has put up 2 points in 9 games for the Oilers, and is likely a 3rd pairing RHD at best, however the cost was right. Neutral move
ZL: Neutral move
Adam Pardy MK: 4 games, 2 points, HERO Chart is all over the map, defensively at shot blocking and shot suppression he’s 1st pairing level, scoring-wise he’s been 3rd pairing at best in his career (making his 2 in 4 performance as an Oiler an aberration). In theory, a pairing of Pardy-Gryba would be a very good 3rd pairing for the Oilers next year.Good move
ZL: Neutral move
Lauri Korpikoski MK: 17 points in 57 games, HERO Chart says he is a 4th liner at best, and his CORSI numbers say 13th forward. Although he has the occasional good game, stats-wise he’s a 4th liner on an expensive contract, consider this a miss for Chiarelli. Bad move
ZL: Korpi has been about everything I expected out of him. I think the plays a solid game, and he is basically a fourth-liner. The salary is too high, but the Oilers have the space to sit on a guy like Korpikoski. Being named to Team Finland as a part of the first 16 was a great booster for him. Good move
Mark Letestu: MK: 17 points in 68 games, HERO Chart says he’s a high quality 4th line forward with some skill, he was signed to be the 4C, and he’s good value and performance if he could stay in that role. Once he can go back to just being the 4C and not play out of his league as a 3C (and stop using him on the power play), he’ll be a solid player at a cheap price.Good move
ZL: Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Mark and I don’t know how I feel about him. He seems to be quiet on the ice while not making any costly mistakes, and that isn’t a bad thing. Being a reliable faceoff guy is always a plus. Neutral move
Adam Cracknell: MK: 0 points in his 3 games, no HERO numbers, career scoring totals indicate 4th line winger, doesn’t provide anything here to suggest keeping him, but he was a filler pickup off waivers. Neutral move
ZL: Neutral move
Patrick Maroon: MK:4 points in 3 games as an Oiler, big man with skill. HERO Chart says he’s a high end 2nd liner or low end 1st liner defensively, first liner for first assists, 3rd liner for goals, but all in all he can be considered a potential 2nd line forward who may trend to a first liner. Considering Chiarelli gave up very little to get him.Good move
ZL: As I wrote earlier, Maroon has been awesome. I spoke with a former Anaheim Ducks writer who said this was going to be a very good move for the Oilers moving forward. So far he hasn’t disappointed. Super awesome good move
Zack Kassian: MK: 6 points in 22 games, HERO Chart says his Goals/60 is 1st line caliber, and primary points. His first assist is 2nd line level, and his CORSI numbers are 3rd line to 2nd line level. Call him as an elite 3rd line forward or a quality second line forward if he continues his trend, and he cost the Oilers their backup goalie. Good move
ZL: Neutral move
Cam Talbot: MK: He’s the best goalie in the league since Dec. 21. Took him a little bit to get used to the Oilers, since then he’s lived up to his billing and he’s proven to be a good puck control goalie. Good move
ZL: Talbot has been everything and more for the Oilers, and he appears to be our guy for at least the next three years. He has been critical for the Oilers this season. Good move
Anders Nilsson: MK: He was a swing and a miss at no real cost, and was moved on for what he was paid for. Neutral move
ZL: Hey, he helped the Oilers win some games earlier this year, and got us a fifth-round pick in the upcoming draft. That is a-ok in my books.Good move
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