Tag Archives: Todd McLellan

Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

Edmonton Oilers: Mclellan’s Out! Hitch’s In! What’s in Store for Chiarelli?

What a week it has been eh? I have been on one proper roller coaster in my life and that was at Canada’s Wonderland during the one and only trip I’ve ever had to Ontario, Canada. Not gonna say that experience was fun for me but it was what it was. But the last few days are the closest I’ve come to that roller coaster experience from an emotional standpoint.

After the Oilers game against Vegas I was near sure that McLellan was gone that night, then I got a message that said he was staying, then I got another one that said hold on. THEN I wake up at 1:30 in the morning here in Taipei and I get the urge to just check my messages real quick and there it was, McLellan out, Hitchcock in.

Shocked. Not so much about the firing but about the hiring. Did anybody have a clue that Ken Hitchcock would even be an option? I sure didn’t. The people I talk to didn’t. I literally had no idea how to take the news that he was going to be the coach of the Oilers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TadZfKr1nL0

When I really got into my stride as a right proper hockey fan, as a kid I only watched the highlights because I thought the rest of the game was boring, the kind of fan that watches the whole game and pays special attention; that was about the time the Oilers were playing the Dallas Stars near every year in the playoffs that Edmonton made the postseason. Ken Hitchcock was coaching that team and I hated them so much. I hated Derian Hatcher and Mike Modano, Jere Lehtinen and Darcy Wakaluk. I couldn’t stand that a team who played in a desert were so good and they won all of the time.

So that was my first exposure to Ken Hitchcock.

Fast forward to two days ago and my tune has changed. I love Ken Hitchcock now! I’m a big fan of coaches who are both clever and wise. Hitch is very sharp in mind and wit and I guess in a way reminds me of how my own grandfather was and that was a man you did not mess around with but boy could he tell a good joke.

The whole story that comes with Hitchcock is fascinating too, right?

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A Local Lad

The new Oilers bench boss is a local lad who worked at United Cycle and during his lunch breaks he’d walk down the street to the University of Alberta’s hockey arena and watch legendary (and how hall-of-fame) coach Clare Drake run practices for the U of A Golden Bears. He was a massively successful midget AAA coach in Sherwood Park and then again in Kamloops of the WHL where he won two Western Hockey League titles in 1986 and 1990.

In 1991, Hitchcock joined the Philadelphia Flyers as an assistant and stayed there for three years before moving on the become the head coach of the Kalamazoo Wings of the IHL.

On Jan.6th of 1996, he was named head coach of the Dallas Stars replacing Bob Gainey. The next season he lead the Stars to a first-place finish and a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Speaking of Stanley Cup. The 98/99 season saw his Dallas stars hoist Lord Stanley’s cup over their heads for the first time as they beat the Buffalo Sabres. In ’99/2000, the Stars returned to the Cup final but were beaten by the New Jersey Devils. If I’m not mistaken, the Cups were both won on OT goals by Brett Hull (toe in the crease?) and Jason Arnott.

After Dallas Hitchcock moved on to Philadelphia, Columbus, St.Louis, and then Dallas again.

During that time (about 15 years) he only missed the playoffs with Columbus and Dallas.

So you might’ve known all of that but let’s look at the record of each of those teams in Hitch’s first full season with them.

  • Dallas (1996/97) – 82gp 48w 26l 8t 104pts (1st in Central Division)
  • Philadelphia (2002/03) – 82gp 45w 13l 4t 107pts (2nd in Atlantic Division)
  • Columbus (2006/07) – 62gp 28w 29l 5ot 73pts (4th in Central Division)
  • St.Louis (2011/12) – 69gp 43w 15l 11ot 97pts (1st in Central)
  • Dallas (2017/18) – 82gp 42w 32l 8ot 92pts (6th in Central)

Three out of five debut seasons ended in playoffs and four our of five ended in 90+ point finishes. That’s very encouraging.

Last year Hitchcock’s Stars were only 3pts out of the final wildcard spot. So I guess the only real poor year was the Columbus one and it’s hard to put that on coaching when your starting goalie is Fredrik Norrena and you’ve got 37-year-old Sergei Federov centering your top line and 35-year-old Adam Foote anchoring your defense.


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What About This Year?

I like the odds of the Oilers making the playoffs this year under Hitchcock. Folks covering the team say the players didn’t quit on McLellan but I think if you ask ex-players (aka Marc Savard) not affiliated with the club or its former head coach, I imagine they’d say the players weren’t exactly playing for him if you know what I mean.

I’ve always wondered what a team with such offensive firepower would look like playing for a defensively minded coach. Furthermore, how are these young kids going to cope with having a bench boss who has a reputation for telling it how it is?

One of the most impressive lines on the Oilers against the Sharks was the 3rd line and Hitch was asked why he put Lucic, Brodziak, and Kassian together yesterday.

“An identity line. I believe that you have to have a group of players who set the work standard on your club. If you’re asking your top players to do everything, then you’re not putting players who should play that way in the position to have success.

“I want them to set the tone and the dial for how we want to play. They’re maybe not going to score as many goals as when they were younger, but when you see the way they played some shifts (Tuesday), they set the table for other people to perform. I don’t know who I’m going to put on that line, but whoever is playing with Brodziak has to play that way. They’ve got to grind that team down to where all they’re doing is chipping and changing, and then we’ve got them on the three-quarter ice game, and now we’re rolling.” (source)

I couldn’t be happier with that response. Ken Hitchcock doesn’t care how much Milan Lucic is making, he wants to see the Lucic from his junior days where he was a MASSIVE physical force. He wants to see him regain some of the confidence and soak up what Hitchcock has to give him so that he CAN score again for this team.

I don’t know, maybe I’m just on a high from the win but I feel really good now going into LA and Anaheim whereas before when McLellan was behind the bench, I wasn’t too sure how the Oilers would do in California.

Two more wins and they’ll surely be back in the top-3 in the Pacific.


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What About Peter Chiarelli?

When Peter Chiarelli says that he hired Ken Hitchcock, he’s not wrong. Technically, as GM/POHO of the Edmonton Oilers, he hired him but he didn’t really. From what I can glean from the situation and what I’ve been passed along, it was “you’re going with Todd or you’re going to hire who you’re told to.”

The one thing I don’t get from the anti-Chiarelli portion of the fanbase is what did they think was going to happen if Edmonton axed Chiarelli? Were the Oilers going to all of a sudden feel that sigh of relief and play better? No, of course not.

They bitch and moan about rebuild after rebuild and the trades but then they want the GM gone and are prepared for another GM to come in and take the time to build the team in his image. Well, how the hell do you think he’s going to do that? He’s going to deal players/picks that are worth something! He’s going to sign UFAs with whatever cap space he can accrue.

So hiring the coach was THE best course of action at that moment. The players will get a performance boost from it and in the short-term, the Oilers will be better for it.

Now, the long-term is a different story.

I’m of the belief that for the rest of the season Peter Chiarelli’s GM duties will get dialed down and passed on to Keith Gretzky with the intentions of having Keith take over the GM duties starting next season. I would think that means Chiarelli will get kicked upstairs and simply hold the title of President of Hockey Operations then.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American readers!

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

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Edmonton Oilers News: A Decision Was Made, Win in California or You’re Toast

So I’m sure you’ve all come to the conclusion that the meeting between Katz and the brass resulted in a big fat pile of nothing and a hat tip to those of you who said they thought nothing would happen. Me? I was near 100% convinced because the media was ridiculously quiet after the game and not only that but Todd McLellan sounded like a defeated man during his post-game presser.

If you’re interested in the more abbreviated version of this blog, watch TSN’s Insider Trading from last night and you’ll have a good idea of what I’m going to write about today but if you’re gung ho and ready to go, scroll down and let’s get it on!

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**Obligatory disclaimer: Take what you’re about to read with a grain of salt. Things change all of the time at the NHL level. At the very least, this will be a great pub or water cooler banter but by no means am I an insider. I just happen to be friends with people who are close to the club and have been given permission to relay their words online. – BLH**


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I woke up this morning to this message in my inbox,

Everyone on the roster except for RNH, Connor, Leon, Klef, and Lucic (at Chiarelli’s discretion) is available.

I guess the owner is happy to blow things up? He certainly has a lot of trust in Chiarelli to make a trade when the previous blockbusters have had him feeling less than pleased.

I’d have Adam Larsson in that group too if I was the owner. He’s been very solid this year.

Katz said behind closed doors that he’s f*cking tired of the inconsistencies and he’s giving the organization, that includes Nicholson, Chiarelli, Gretzky (Keith), and McLellan, the California trip to turn this around or he’s making changes. 

See, now this is where I get a little bit confused. The owner has given his GM permission to go out and alter the make-up of the roster but in the same meeting has told his management team that if they don’t turn things around in 7 days, changes will be made.

So does that mean as fans, we should expect some big trades to come down the wire in the upcoming 10 days?

The Oilers like Klef but the don’t feel he’s back to what he was in 2016/17. They figure he’d be further along than he is. Klefbom himself is too inconsistent. The major issue with the defense right now is that their not transitioning the puck.

Katz said the biggest issue he sees himself is the inconsistency of the goaltending, doesn’t sound like their bringing Talbot back; it sounds like they’ll try to move him for a prospect or a pick or a younger back-up goalie and Katz wants Chiarelli to try and look at fixing the D from a transitioning standpoint because when you have a player like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on your team and you can’t get them the puck with that defense, it’s a BIG BIG issue. 

I thought Klefbom had been playing very well this year. He’s taken some big hits this year and not fallen apart. I’d have thought he’d be the last guy to get shat on this year. I mean Klef and Larsson have been the best defenders on the squad this year.

Now the goaltending is another story and I imagine when Katz said “goaltending” that he meant Talbot because Koskinen has been nothing short of amazing this year and Cam has been nothing short of disappointing.

As for the poor-puck moving defenders, I don’t really know what to do there apart from cutting bait on them. Can they be trained to move it better? Would any other team be interested in them even?

Personally, I’d have no issues with the team moving away from Matt Benning and I wonder if it’d be possible to maybe bring in a Tony DeAngelo for Benning?

Nicholson tried to sugar coat things with Katz and Katz told him to cut it out (in so many words) and reminded everyone at the meeting that 18 months ago they were a playoff team and now the team is under .500. Something is going on and fix what needs to be fixed and let’s get things going here or else it’s your jobs. 

I wonder how Nicholson took that? These kinds of men are rarely told to shut up but Katz isn’t wrong. These guys need to get off of their asses and do something for those massive paychecks they’re earning.

I asked why the GM and coach couldn’t be fired if their replacements were readily available in-house with Keith Gretzky and Glen Gulutzan and I was told this,

Katz is giving them a chance to turn it around. Quenneville doesn’t want to coach for a while, so he’s off the market for the time being. Katz isn’t paying Gulutzan to he head coach, he was brought in to he an assistant and Keith doesn’t have any GM experience, he’s a tremendous scout. 

Katz believes in Chiarelli. He’s built a Cup winner before and Katz has faith in him that he can build another. 

So we’re back to having Katz in Chiarelli’s corner again. Which is fine but must be confusing to everyone at the meeting including Chiarelli himself.

Something that occurred to me earlier is that the Bakersfield Condors are playing well and so are the Edmonton Oil Kings. Two teams that fall under the OEG umbrella and two teams that Peter Chiarelli has a hand in how they’re run. Chiarelli hired the Oil Kings new GM this year and he also placed Jay Woodcraft in Bakersfield to run that team.

Do you think that Katz looks at that and thinks perhaps that Peter Chiarelli is maybe better suited in the POHO (president of hockey operations) position than the GM’s role?

We’re in year 4 now and there are no excuses this season like there were in years 1-3. This is a team that I believe has the talent to produce better results than they’re doing but they’ve got these mental blocks that they go behind when adversity strikes.

Inconsistency seems to be the buzzword of the day here. You know what kind of players generally don’t have inconsistencies in their game? Veterans.

Had the team just acquired the right veterans, we wouldn’t be hearing about how inconsistent the 2nd youngest team in the NHL is…

So what happens if the team goes 1-1-1 on this trip? Everyone safe? Would 1-2-0 be the final straw? What about 2-1-0? Is THAT enough to save jobs? I mean if they go 3-0-0 and then 2-5-1 right after that, what’s the bloody point?

If the Oilers are out of it and then Chiarelli decides to drop the hammer on McLellan, how does that help?

So in a sense, a decision was made yesterday and the decision was that the brass and coaching will get another 7-10 days. (scroll down, there’s more)

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Here’s the thing with deciding who to fire. You have to ask yourself, would you be prepared to go through another 2-3 years while the new GM builds the team in his vision or would you be happy with the possibility of a performance bump in the short-term if the coach was let go?

Is there a rush to get out from under that Lucic contract? Would you be willing to part with a Jesse Puljujarvi, Tyler Benson, or Kailer Yamamoto to do so? That’s what we’d be looking at if a new GM came in.

Now, conversely, a new coach could come in and say, “Get that Pulju kid back up here. I can use him and I know how to get the best out of him!”

All I’m saying is that we’ve gone through a few fresh voices in the playing personnel, how bad would it be to hear a new voice at head coach?

Darryl Katz should man up and do what needs to be done or be prepared to feel the wrath of not only the Oilers fans but the dozens of articles that will be written by major outlets shaming the club in a very public manner.

It’s getting to the point to where we’ll start seeing billboards rented out and parked in front of the Oilers offices again. Darryl Katz doesn’t want his team to be a national news headline again for the wrong reasons. So he should take action instead of giving the men responsible an earfull.

St.Louis, LA, and Chicago have all done it this year. When will the Oilers hold their coach accountable?

There’s a changing of the guard going on in the coaching ranks, maybe it’s time the Oilers got in touch with the times.

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Edmonton Oilers News: A Decision Will Be Made

As I sit here, I’m still shocked at what transpired last night. Not only with what happened in the Oilers game (because that was a bloody joke) but with what I was told after it. I was literally on the worst emotional roller coaster possible as it pertains to the Edmonton Oilers.

I do apologize to my followers for having to experience that with me…

**Obligatory disclaimer: Take what you’re about to read with a grain of salt. Very rarely do things come to fruition because things change all of the time at the NHL level. At the very least, this will be a great pub or water cooler banter but by no means am I an insider. I just happen to be friends with people who are close to the club and have been given permission to relay their words online. – BLH**

First it was, McLellan is gone. Then it was, nope, he’s staying. Nicholson thinks they need to stay the course and just ride out this slump. Now I’m hearing that after the game there was a closed-door meeting between Bob Nicholson, Wayne and Keith Gretzky, and Peter Chiarelli and there’ll be another meeting tomorrow between all of them and the owner.

A decision will be made.

I had a feeling something was up when Bob Stauffer didn’t tweet anything out after the game. He’s usually got a thought or two on the result of each Oilers match but nothing last night. To me, that’s the smoking gun. The Oilers media team is getting prepared.

Furthermore, I found the usual barrage of tweets coming from the MSM that covers the Oilers to be less chatty on Twitter after the game. Nothing from Lowetide and nothing from Jason Gregor should speak volumes.

It’s pretty obvious what’s going on here right? The trade has already happened that usually prefaces the firing.

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THE OIL KNIGHT GOES OFF!

My friend SPR (@theoilknight) was spitting fiery hot truths from the pulpit after the game and I’d like to share some of that with you if you haven’t read it yet. Click that link besides his name and give him a follow.

If you don’t think the Oilers need a new voice in the room and on the bench you’re kidding yourself. This team quit on him last year and it’s happening again. Some coaches are doing much more with much less right now around the league. This team is mentally done right now.

*cough* The Islanders *cough* The Canucks *cough* The Sabres *cough* The Rangers *cough*

If u think the Coyotes have more talent than EDM u need ur head checked. Their leading scorer has 12 pts & Raanta has been hurt. McDavid & Drai both have 12 GOALS apiece. EDM had ELEVEN 1st rd picks on team. TMac ran 3 off. Don’t tell me the coach didnt have anything to work with

Man, I’d love to know who suggested the Coyotes have more talent than the Oilers because that is definitely the hot taek of the week. Didn’t they deal their best player to the Habs?

This team quit on their coach last season & are doing it again. Blame his stubbornness, outdated systems, poor adjustments & inability to relate or motivate his players properly. Blame the GM for not firing him sooner. Just don’t tell me this team isn’t talented cuz that’s b.s.

I found an article by Shane Sander that was published nearly to the day from last year (11/22/2017) entitled, “Don’t Fire McLellan, Point Fingers at Players and Chiarelli”. At first, I thought that he’d posted it recently but then I checked the date and had a laugh because nothing has really changed in a calendar year and that is a MASSIVE problem.

SPR even wrote about McLellan in January. A post called, “If This is the End, Now What?”. I think this is a must read given the scenario Oilers fans are facing.

Talbot, Lucic, Strome, Puljujarvi, Yamamoto… all zero confidence. Do all these players actually suck or do they suck under Todd’s system & tutelage? Think about it. Even Eberle was in TMac’s doghouse before he got traded. What is the common denominator? (Ok Strome sucks).

Hall and Schultz as well. Maroon slumped before he was dealt too.

All assistant coaches got fired yet Todd still runs the PP, a ridiculous PP with 5 lefties. All rookies/2nd yr players run off team. Couldn’t get it going under Todd’s system. In game adjustments have been awful. How can anyone still be blind that coach isn’t the root cause here?

For the last couple of weeks, McLellan has had a righty on the 1st unit be that Ty Rattie (a healthy scratch for some reason last night) or Alex Chiasson but he still has them in Lucic’s old role beside the goalie. I’m flabbergasted as to why he won’t like Viveiros do what he was brought in to do and that’s run the friggin’ PP. Just another way that Todd McLellan continues to defy the wishes of his superior.

Truth is whether TMac apologists admit it or not, the players hate playing this system, hate how the coach plays favorites, hate how their team gets outcoached, hate coming to the rink. THEY need a change.

I know Sean and Marty Klinkenberg had a bit of a go on this point and it’s a lot easier for Klinkenberg to say that he goes to the rink every day and the players look fine than it is for SPR but I’d have to agree with Sean here. To add to that, if the players are going to practice every day with smiles on their faces and glee in their eyes, someone needs to slap them and tell them to wake the f*ck up! This isn’t Never Never Land. Wipe that sh*t eating grin off of your face and get to work! Moreover, if you’re eating sh*t and grinning, it’s probably not your day anyhow.

Ask yourself one question. Do you think McLellan could do any better with a “better roster”. I mean, C’mon. LOL. What does that even mean? Are we talking a stacked roster that basically coaches itself? This isn’t a video game. What coach couldnt do better with a better roster? 

Trades are not easy to make in the cap world and Chiarelli is right back to where he was when he was hired. Bent over a barrel because his team is poor. There’s no GM in the NHL that is going to give him a deal that’ll help the Oilers in the short-term that won’t burn them in the long-term.

Is it the Coach’s job to wait to get a stacked roster before he turns it into wins or is it his job to get the most of what he has? Do you think McLellan has gotten the most out of his team? More than the Coyotes, for example?

I think it’s the Coach’s job to get the most out of the squad he has but time and time again we hear about McLellan’s inability to communicate with the players. He’s a “hands-off” sort of coach. He likes to leave the intermission talks to the leadership group and I can only imagine how mind-numbingly quiet it is in there…

At least Chiarelli can point to Bakersfield and the CHL (and Sweden) for reasons why he should stick around. What the hell does McLellan have to show for? 31st PP and PK last year? Ridiculous amount of lethargic efforts over the last 2 seasons?

And this is a HUGE reason why Chiarelli shouldn’t be canned. He’s taken what was one of the emptiest minor league systems and filled it. If he doesn’t trade any of the kids he’s drafted, next year Bakersfield will be overflowing with prospects. A very welcome change.

Best PP QB in EDM- Bouchard. No sniffs on PP1 by coach, sent back. Most skilled players on team other than 97, 93, 29 – Puljujarvi & Yamamoto. Coach shows zero confidence in Jesse despite big camp, puts Yamo with Drai zero chemistry. Both sent down. GM or Coach’s fault there?

Don’t forget about Pontus Aberg. Chiarelli brought him in to provide some skill on the wing and yes, he did make a mistake off the ice but was it fair to punish him to the extent they did? Now he’s in Anaheim and seems to be fitting in nicely there.

The fact of the matter is every coach has a shelf life. Before there was Sullivan in Pittsburgh, there was Bylsma, before Bylsma, there was Therien. Sometimes a team has to go through the motions a bit before they can find their groove.

I for one am tired of Todd McLellan’s style of coaching and his style of hockey. I’m ready for a change on the coaching front and I think the players are as well.

As for that meeting that I’ve been told will take place tomorrow. This is just my personal feeling, no source info here, but I wonder if Katz might just say thank you to both Peter Chiarelli and Todd McLellan and let Glen Gulutzan and Keith Gretzky ride out the rest of the year as replacements.

Last year, after that Dallas game when Katz wanted McLellan fired then, he was talked out of it by Chiarelli and Nicholson. I don’t think there’ll be a repeat of that this time around and if there is, refer to the paragraph above.

It’s much easier to find a coach and/or a GM in the summertime and if I had my picks I’d probably have a guy like Doug Weight come in but I like Mo Jaber’s suggestion too.

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Edmonton Oilers Opinion: Puljujarvi Tearing Up the AHL, Matt Tka-turtle and McLellan’s BS

The Edmonton Oilers had a chance to take 2 points from the Calgary Flames last night but gave it away chasing Matty Tkachuk around the ice thus exposing Todd McLellan’s inferior coaching once again this season.

The team is now 9-9-1 and can either go over .500 with a win over Vegas tonight or fall under .500 with a loss.

How long is Todd McLellan’s leash do you think?

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Todd McLellan’s BS

If I were Peter Chiarelli, I’d be phoning up Darryl Katz and getting permission to move forward with a coaching change. This is getting ridiculous.

Cooper Marody played a shade over 3 minutes last night… THREE FOOKIN’ MINUTES! What was the point of inserting him into the lineup? McLellan said they couldn’t get him back into the game because of all the penalties and then by the time they could, they’d shortened the bench.. Geez…

Then the new guy couldn’t break 10 minutes because the coach decided to put Lucic up on the McDavid line to combat Matthew Tkachuk who, by the way, was having NO IMPACT on the actual playing part of the game.

Now, I have no problem with Lucic taking a shift or two now and then with Connor or Leon but the entire 3rd period when the team was looking flat?! No no no no no no. You get Spooner back in the game, you get Marody back in there, and you start playing hockey again. Enough running around looking for payback or at least if you’re looking for blood, start taking out the Gaudreaus, the Lindholms, the Monahans.

Did RNH even play last night? I hardly noticed him.

Like, how is McLellan even running that bench? His decisions are costing the team in a season where he’s coaching for his job…

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Matt Tkachuk

I’ll say this, I think he’s elite and what I mean by that is, he’s the best player in the NHL at not getting caught.

How many times was he punching an Oiler in the face, taking a run at someone, or getting his shots in after the whistles? Yet, no penalties. He’s Teflon. Nothing sticks to that kid and at the same time I hate it and love it. He’s perfect for the game today because he throws chaos into every game he plays. Chaos is good in a league that is so rigid and planned.

That said, he’s playing a very dangerous game. Zack Kassian and Milan Lucic could’ve really hurt him last night (yes, there was a part of me that was hoping one of the Oilers tough guys would’ve knocked him out).

Mark my words. His day will come and it might not even be him getting tuned in. Maybe next time Kassian grabs Gaudreau in the same manner John Scott went after Phil Kessel years ago. Just an apology before the puck drops and then POW! RIGHT IN THE KISSER!

Stauffer made an interesting point on Twitter after the game.

The Oilers could’ve won that game easily had Leon Draisaitl or Jujhar Khaira scored on the three breakaways they had combined. So there’s that.

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Jesse Puljujarvi

I’m so happy I bought the Bakersfield Condors package from AHLTV. I’ve watched both games that Jesse Puljujarvi has played in since being sent down and let me tell you… WOW! Not a sign of poor confidence that I’ve seen.

Remember how Pulju was looking during pre-season when we all thought the Oilers RW depth was sorted? Well, he looks even better than that vs AHL competition.

In his first game, the Condors played ex-Oilers coach Dallas Eakins and the San Diego Gulls. Jesse lined up with Josh Currie and Kailer Yamamoto to start but Woodcroft did end up switching things up later in the game.

The Condors spent WAY too much time in the penalty box and the Gulls made them pay for it. They actually chased Al Montoya from the net early in the game forcing Shane Starrett to mind the net for the rest of the match.

The game will most likely be remembered for career minor-leaguer Corey Tropp sticking Jesse Puljujarvi in the nuts and then proceeding to fight the big Finn after Pulju slapped his stick away. It was not a great showing for Jesse in that department but in the hockey playing department, he was looking like that kid who was dominating the SM-Liigga as a 17-year-old.

He was hitting, skating, shooting, making plays, and just being the end-to-end force we know he can be. Seriously. I have never seen him play like that apart from maybe the World Juniors but even then I’m not sure the physicality was there. He was truly a beast in that game but unfortunately, the Condors dropped the decision 4-0.

The next game was against the Colorado Eagles and Pulju was back at it alongside Josh Currie (again) and Tyler Benson. Jay Woodcroft even had him lined up on the PP in his old trusty spot, half-wall left side. I just remember him and Ethan Bear passing it back and forth trying to figure out who was going to take the one-timer.

I love how Woodcroft is using him. He knows exactly how to use him and it’s so refreshing. You see, Puljujarvi is a line driver. He, like Connor and Leon, loves to swoop into the d-zone and gather the puck in order to drive it through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone but Todd will not allow that on his team. Only Connor is supposed to be doing that I’ve heard.

Great way to put a guy in a position to succeed.

Anyways, Pulju ended the night with a goal and an assist. I believe the goal was the GWG to boot with the Condors winning 4-2. Tyler Benson also had 2 assists.

In both matches, Jesse Puljujarvi was slicing through AHL defenses like a hot Finnish blade through some Valio. It could be the adrenaline but I’m willing to bet that he’s just too good for this league with the way he’s punishing the opposition.

I will add this though, he’s taking shots but they’re a lot like the ones he was taking in Edmonton. From the outside and at distance. He needs to get right in there and flick the wrists as Lemieux used to when he’d score bar-down on a nightly basis in the 90s. That’s my only gripe.

After the first game, where he was bulldozing players and getting into scraps, I felt really proud of Jesse because it’s not easy to take a demotion like that and the way he has chosen to channel that emotion really impresses me. He’s using it to be the better player on the ice and if he continues to play like this, he’ll earn a call-up to the Oilers in no time. Hopefully, by then the Oilers will have a new bench boss that will use him properly.

Just a quick note on some of the other players for Bakersfield.

  • Hebig has been invisible the last two games.
  • Benson is already dominating at this level as a two-way playmaker.
  • Ethan Bear will not be ready this season even though the Oilers could use his passing. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s available in the right trade.
  • Yamamoto has been hot/cold these last two games. He’s good at the AHL-level but he still needs some refinement.

I’ve really enjoyed watching this minor pro hockey. It’s very unpredictable whereas NHL hockey is getting too regimented. Almost like watching football. Set plays are everywhere. I love the mistake-laden hockey as it offers up way more chances.

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Elias Pettersson’s nickname is “Alien”. Here’s a shirt to celebrate it! Click the image to buy one!
Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Edmonton Oilers Rumors: Spooner Acquisition Just the Beginning?

She’s been a busy weekend here in Taipei and I haven’t had the chance to comment on the Strome/Spooner trade. So I’d like to do that right now and also address some possibility of future moves being made by the team.

The Trade

I like the trade but how much longer will Peter Chiarelli put up with Todd McLellan’s BS? More on that in a second.

Ryan Strome was spinning his wheels in Edmonton on the third line and the PK. Funny, this was the second season in a row where the elder Strome started the year horribly. Remember when Nick Kypreos went on Hockey Night in Canada early last year and let it be known that the Oilers weren’t happy with Strome’s performances and might be looking to move on from him?

Well, I guess Chiarelli didn’t want to wait for Kyper to get his meathooks stuck in again this year and pulled the trigger on a deal to bring in a former 2nd round pick of his.

Full disclosure, I have never really paid close attention (or any attention at all really) to the career of Ryan Spooner so I had nothing to really go on until I watched him vs. Calgary last night and what I saw didn’t disappoint me. Although, he’s got to tie his man up a bit better than that in front of the net.

He’s quick and he looks like he doesn’t mind taking a shot which is good. I think the Oilers could use a few more shoot-first players.

Getting back to Strome a bit here. I never really minded his game but one of my pet peeves regarding how he played was that he spent far too much time on the perimeter. He can skate and he can stickhandle and shoot but he really had no time for the interior of the ice and that’s not how you’re going impress the coach. I thought he could’ve done more to become a more dominant defensive player though.

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More Deals Coming?

Maybe. What I was told was that if the Oilers keep up with the sub-par performances, changes will come. They still want that PP QB and possibly another centre.

The way I interpret that is the coach will be replaced. We can talk about how the Oilers could move Zack Kassian or Milan Lucic but trades are difficult to make I feel. Axing the coach and bringing in a new one is just a matter of getting the owners approval because it’s going to hit him in the wallet.

Now, I can’t say one way or another if the Oilers would hire Joel Quenneville but I will say with certainty, if the Oilers do go out and get him, they’ll be paying a very dear price to hire him on.

My question would be, do you think he’d only come in on the interim basis? The reason I ask that is that Pittsburgh is absolutely floundering right now. Would they axe their coach and bring Quenneville in? Which sort of team would Coach Q prefer?

Before I end this, I just want to float a few names your way and you tell me if you think they’re too far-fetched, ok?

  • Nikita Zadorov (COL) – LHD – The hard-hitting Russian is in Bednar’s doghouse.
  • Phil Kessel (PIT) – RW – How long will Rutherford keep Phil the Thrill during this slump?
  • Jeff Carter (LA) – C – How far will LA go in dismantling things?

Lots of questions to be asked and so… We wait.

Elias Pettersson’s nickname is “Alien”. Here’s a shirt to celebrate it! Click the image to buy one!
Grab this sweet Nintendo parody shirt! Click the image above!
A new season means a new design! Click the image above to get the new Pulju shirt!