Tag Archives: Todd McLellan

Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors, Trades

Speed Isn’t the Problem, Patience is.

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This supposed lack of speed isn’t a concern for the Edmonton Oilers and I’m not just saying that because they’ve got the fastest player the game has ever seen playing on it. I’m saying that because when I look at the standings of the Pacific division I see three of the oldest, biggest, slowest teams in the NHL plodding their way to ANOTHER playoff appearance.

San Jose, Anaheim, and Los Angeles still use heavy hockey to win games. Argue that heavy hockey is dead all you want to but it’s very much alive and until Getzlaf, Perry, Kesler, Thornton, Vlasic, Kopitar, Doughty, etc. have gone elsewhere or retired, it will continue.

I know you’re thinking about Vegas right now but let’s be real. Their success is a mirage. they will not be repeating that success next year unless they decide to trade for more players on contract years. Next year that chip on their shoulder will be gone. They’ll no longer be the “rejects” who have something to show their former GMs, they’ll be the prey instead of the hunter.

I think the definition of speed is rarely defined when pundits and bloggers write about it too.

They’re not talking about end-to-end speed, they’re talking about fast jitterbug-like players who can get in on the forecheck and are smart with the puck and make the right play without needed 3-5 seconds to get it done. You’re seeing that sort of puck-moving with Ethan Bear during his audition right now. He gets the puck, moves it. Gets the puck, moves it. He doesn’t wait about, he gets rid of it and usually, the pass is right on the tape. Perfecto!

**Quick sidenote: I don’t remember who brought it up but one of the MSM on the radio/podcasts offered this hypothetical, what if Ethan Bear was the one being showcased and not Oscar Klefbom?**

And I’ll reiterate this once again. Speed is the flavor of the day folks. The coaches will find a way to counter it, they always do. Watch, we’ll see a positioning revolution where the term “defensive specialist” will come into play. You’ll have players who can keep up with McDavid and Matthews but are mind-blowingly good at defense.

The game evolves on its own. You’ll get fathers teaching their sons to be the anti-McDavid. To be the player who goes out and shuts down the other team’s best player because in minor hockey there’s always a ringer and if you shut that player down, you shut their team down and that player will get noticed. Especially with the current onus on players to be the next Jonathan Toews.

Could you imagine a player as physically gifted as a Connor McDavid but as defensively talented as Patrice Bergeron?

I believe smart intelligent clever hockey players will be the future of hockey. High hockey IQ will be a requisite in the near future.

That said, the Oilers must absolutely upgrade their wings and their defense. There’s no question there. They might need to upgrade their goaltending too. But how do they propose doing it and how much of an upgrade is truly required?

Who do they move out to upgrade on the wing though after a year like this? Is Pat Maroon considered an upgrade? The Oilers had interest in Austin Czarnik, a zippy winger that plays for the Bruins, around the deadline; would he be an upgrade? He’s an RFA this summer.

One reason I’m not concerned to very much about the Oilers wings is that Puljujarvi will be another year older and I see him starting to take control again on that 3rd line. We’ve got Kailer Yamamoto coming. Be that from the start of next season (I hope not) or 30 games in (I hope so), he’ll be helpful from the skill and IQ area. If Slepyshev re-signs, that’s more skill in the bottom 6. Pontus Aberg looks to be more middle-6 but his speed and a little more comfort in the new system will be key next season.

What if the Oilers add Brady Tkachuk, Filip Zadina, or Andrei Svechnikov this summer? How would that change the perception of the Oilers lack of speed and skill on the wings?

It’ll change it drastically.

Might we see Zack Kassian moved or Drake Caggiula? Have we seen their PK TOI cut down lately? I feel like they haven’t been killing penalties recently. And I ask about those two specific players because Kassian’s contract seems to be a tad heavy for his role and Caggiula can’t put two good games together.

*Sidenote #2: Man, if Caggiula and Pakarinen could just alternate games, I think they’d look a helluva lot better. To me, as least, they can’t put a run of good games together and are way more impactful after a healthy scratch. Do you agree?*

Jason Gregor wrote an intriguing article over at OilersNation (about the only writer apart from Paige that I read from them these days) and it tells that the wings aren’t the problem, the defense is.

I took away a couple of very telling points that should tell us what direction the Oilers are pointed.

The Oilers are tied for 10th in 5×5 goals. They have 130 5×5 goals in 66 games (1.97 goals/game). Last year the Oilers were tied for eighth in 5×5 goals for with 166 in 82 games (2.0 goals/game).

They are basically scoring at the same rate despite Milan Lucic not scoring for 29 games, Oscar Klefbom going 33 without a goal and losing Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who was their leading goal scorer when he was injured on January 13th, for 18 games.

The Oilers have 109 5×5 goals from their top-nine forward goal scorers (McDavid, Draisaitl and RNH have 52), while the Pittsburgh Penguins have 102 5×5 goals from their top-nine forward goals scorers (Malkin, Kessel and Crosby have 56 goals).

Wh-What?!

These sort of numbers are free to the public. These aren’t cooked up or obtained from some “black box” analytics company but to me, EVERYONE is ignoring this.

So, IF the Oilers come back to the surface a bit next season and their special teams recovers, Talbot plays like we know he can, Lucic scores like he was before Christmas, Puljujarvi takes another step… You get the point, right?

This season WILL be the aberration, not the 103pt one.

And of course the 5×5 team defence is a concern. Last season they allowed 140 goals at 5×5, ninth fewest in the NHL, but this year they are 27th. They’ve already allowed 141. Cam Talbot hasn’t been as sharp, but the defensive zone breakdowns have been more noticeable this year. The Oilers have reverted back to being a trainwreck in their own end — too many errant passes, too many wrong reads, and turning the puck over too often.

Does a healthy Talbot, Sekera, Klefbom, and Larsson change that?

I mean, those are the 4 MOST important players on the Oilers back-end and if they’re not healthy, they’re not able to do their jobs at 100% and that, in turn, results in corner-cutting. Which helps nobody.

The powerplay started well, going 21.4% in their first 20 games, but since then it’s been a mess. The PK was terrible for the final 68 games last season, 78%, and got even worst this season.

This falls squarely at the feet of the coaches and there’ll be no mulligan’s for them this summer. The special teams is the hill they chose to die on and die on it they will.

https://twitter.com/dstaples/status/972258785724018688

So, my theory is that Paul Coffey was brought in by Gretzky to get the skinny on the dressing room. He’s hanging around the team more and getting a feel for how the players are feeling about the coaching staff AND he’s helping with the powerplay. Of course.

The players respect Coffey and I think it’s Gretzky’s hope that they feel comfortable enough around him to tell him what’s going on in that dressing room. Gretzky is slowly working his hands into the team and I’d be willing to be that whatever changes come this summer will be run through him.

Going back to the idea of upgrading, the defense does need it but I feel like it’d be a lot easier to deal from the top and upgrade from there because those will be the players that other teams will want, right?

Lowetide says that you get good players and you keep good players. But what if I want better players? Can I do that by dealing my average players?

If Oscar is dealt, I hope they make it a right proper hockey trade and bring back something the team needs like a PP specialist, something Klefbom is not by virtue of his 4 goals in 450 min on the PP (that’s career!). He shoots a lot but rarely is a threat from the blueline on the PP.

Krug, Spurgeon, Dumba (!), Faulk, Barrie, Gostisbehere, Ristolainen, Oliver Ekman-Larsson etc. These are all the types of players we should be hoping for this summer.

When Klefbom is on, he’s on. The problem with that is that he’s only had one season where he’s been… on. He’s most known for not being healthy, right? He’s played nearly 300 games (think around 250 if we’re nitpicking) and we’re most likely seeing true value in the Swedish dman. At worst he’s a no.4 and at best he’s a no.2 I reckon and there’s no shame in any of that but the Oilers are in a pickle, self-made pickle, and value is going to have to go out for some to come in.

Chiarelli’s record is spotty at best when it comes to these trades and I have no problem saying that.

If he decides to sit on this roster and see what he’s got 20 games in, I don’t think I’d have too much of a problem with that but if things go wrong, it’ll cost him his job. But if a slow moving Oscar Klefbom is the ONLY problem on D next season, the Oilers could handle it.

I’m of the belief that Gretzky expects a splash this summer, hence the Klefbom/RNH rumors and now the word is that their 1st round pick WILL be in play depending on where they land in the lottery and Lowetide is (has been) throwing out Puljujarvi’s name recently.

I don’t see Pulju being moved, he’s only 19 and McLellan is finally using him in the right role (3rd line plus 2nd PP unit) and I think Chiarelli is a huge fan. How it took McLellan the entire season to figure that out is beyond me. It seems this year he’s been late to the ball on damned near everything.

I don’t know if they can outright trade that pick for a player with the way the sit under the cap but it could give them a “get out of jail free” card if they want out from under a large contract be it Lucic’s or Sekera’s or Russell’s as unfortunate as that is depending on how you feel about those players.

What about sending Lucic and the Oilers 1st rounder this year to Ottawa for Mike Hoffman and the 1st rounder Ottawa got in the Brassard trade from Pittsburgh?

Edmonton wouldn’t be able to add a potential “impact” player in the back end of the 1st round but they’d get some cap relief and an upgrade on wing plus they’d still be able to add to the pipeline.

I reckon Gretzky sees value in those players (Lucic, Russell, Sekera) though.

Speaking of prospects, my boy Sean Ryan (@theoilknight) has been doing up some pretty Oilers-centered draft guides over on his site. To date, he’s finished the OHL and the WHL and next up is the QMJHL! Check them out because they’re about as deep and informative as you can find for free these days.

Here’s a taste of Sean’s report:

Ty Smith  (Top 15 overall) –  LHD. Smith is a smart, fast, puck moving defenceman with great offensive instincts & leadership qualities. That makes him an extremely coveted player. He can Quarterback a Powerplay by using his low, hard, accurate shot that seems to get through more often than not and has tremendous passing and vision to set up his teammates. Defensively, despite a smaller frame he holds his own. He seems to make good reads & is physical when he needs to be. Like most 18 yr olds he could use more consistency and needs to get stronger but compared to his peers he appears to excel. Great at skating the puck right out his zone and is capable of those long stretch passes. He would be a dream pick for the Oilers at #7 if he were a Right shot D. Even so, he appears to be a great fit for Edmonton I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he does ended up being their guy come draft day.

Oh and another friend of the blog, Mike from The Oilers Live Podcast has another pod out with Oil on Whyte writer Eric Friesen. Check it out below!

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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Klefbom, Eberle, and More Oilers Rumours!

I’ve been sitting on a blog for a couple of days now waiting for the right time to publish it because new information keeps popping up. Add to that tonight’s game is quite important for the Oilers and the Islanders, both teams who most likely won’t make the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs but are a couple of the most exciting teams in the NHL.

OSCAR KLEFBOM

The other day on Lowetide’s show Woodguy talked about how you don’t deal off the top of the deck when referring to trading Oscar Klefbom. He said that Darnell Nurse is almost there with regards to being the top LHD on the team but not quite yet. Alex Thomas reminded us that defensemen don’t develop in straight lines when he talked about Nurse and trading Klefbom here. I’d argue that Nurse’s developmental path has been pretty straight though.

But the best argument I found in this discussion came from David Staples because he talked about both sides of the coin.

Then you’ve got the bloggers who are running around crying bloody murder before a trade even happens!

Why would the Oilers let Klefbom play if he’s injured? More on that below but to add to that, perhaps they’re not worried about him playing for the Oilers next season and the team’s talking to Edmonton (Tampa before McDonagh was acquired and Boston) aren’t worried about it either.

Every wondered why Klefbom didn’t get a clause in his new contract?…

So, here’s the deal with Klefbom. He can shoot but he’s always injured. Bob Stauffer talked about him even dealing with something during last year’s amazing run. He hasn’t spent ONE season in his professional career (or amateur one) healthy. He’s playing through an upper-body ailment this year that doctors reckon won’t get worse if he plays with it. So the Oilers are sticking him with needles and sending him out there.

This. Is. A. Problem.

Now, it wouldn’t be a problem IF he put up offense other places OR if he was a defensive stalwart.

4 PP goals in his ENTIRE career and we’ve got him pegged as the Oilers PP savior. That’s over 450 minutes played on the powerplay and he’s scoring a goal every 100 minutes-ish.

I’ve said in the past that Klefbom is the guy for the powerplay, so I’m just as guilty as everyone else who has believed that but 4 PP goals in nearly 4 seasons? That’s not acceptable at all.

He does own the #8 spot for shots on the powerplay this year for dmen with 49 but that’s not what the Oilers really need is it?

They need a guy who is a proven PP specialist which brings me to the next point.

Torey Krug is a player the Oilers have been watching. THIS is a player who produces with the man advantage (and 5×5). He makes $5.25M per year until 2019/20 and the final two years of that deal include a modified NTC. That screams out that he’ll be traded this summer.

There are ZERO question marks when it comes to Torey Krug and on-ice production and there’s a previous relationship with Chiarelli.

THAT is how you trade from the top of the deck.

JORDAN EBERLE

The day a person close to the Oilers from the Decade of Darkness and the Chiarelli-era writes a book is the day we’ll learn about all of the “off-the-record” trade requests…

Eberle said it himself, “It was just time for a change” and who can blame the guy? He’d been part of trade rumors for 3 or 4 years previous to last summer. Yakupov basically did it through his agent…

Now I’ve heard that Chiarelli wasn’t even looking at Strome when he was in talks with Garth Snow and that he was actually looking at a couple of defensemen on the Isles but Snow was having none of that and for these reasons:

  • Cap hit
  • Playoff performance
  • The risk of Eberle not bouncing back from a poor season

I can’t confirm who the dmen were that Chiarelli was asking about but my own feeling is that Calvin De Haan and Thomas Hickey might’ve been the ask. And that just seems crazy to me as the Oilers had enough left-handers as it was… Why ask for more?

RANDOM THOUGHTS

  • How different would things have been had Tambo given RNH, Hall, and Eberle proper contracts? Did Eberle and RNH really deserve $6M at that time? Did Hall?
  • Carolina is about to be open for business, so if there’s a RH’d defenseman a team wants, perhaps this summer is the time to get one. (*Cough* Faulk *Cough*)
  • If you’re one of those who believes the Old Boys Club in Edmonton has still got their hands in on things, I’m here to tell you that you’re right AND wrong.
    • MacTavish and Howson are scouts, so not much there but opinions on players. The guys you should keep an eye on are Paul Coffey (possible asst. coach next season) and minority owner Wayne Gretzky…
  • If there was ever a trade partner for the Oilers with regards to Milan Lucic, the Canucks would be at the front of the line.
  • Knowing the above, do you think that the Canucks would take a run at Pat Maroon?
  • Oliver Ekman-Larsson talk is real. That’s another guy with a proven track record of offense… Dealing from the top of the deck 🙂
  • I wonder how long Bob Nicholson is for his current position and might he desire a return to the international hockey scene with the 2020 Winter Olympics coming up and question marks regarding NHL involvement.
  • The Oilers’ AHL coach seems like he’s on borrowed time. I guess Chiarelli has had to make some “visits” to Bakersfield to “ask” the coach to play the younger players more…

Speaking of coaching…

I’ve heard from two completely different sources that there’s a problem in the room and it’s got nothing to do with the players…

Perhaps Todd has lost the dressing room? Is that an indictment on the players and their character or is it just a sign of the times? Does that speak poorly to Connor McDavid’s leadership? What does it say for the veterans on the team?

Would the Oilers be better off under Joel Quenneville or Barry Trotz? Could we see Paul Coffey behind the bench or in the coach’s box above the ice next season? Is Ian Herbers going to get a promotion?

Why hasn’t Todd McLellan been able to do better with this team? I can only think back to the days where Dave Tippett was coaching Phoenix… Those rosters were questionable at best and got a helluva lot more out of them.

The last comment on this blog will be thus:

The Oilers first round pick is in play if it lands outside of the top 3

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Lucic to Vancouver? Plus More Oilers Takeaways From the 31 Thoughts Podcast

Tough game for the Oilers last night. ‘Twas a shame to waste that glorious goal from Connor McDavid, that PP laser from Leon Draisaitl, and Milan Lucic’s best performance in a very very long time. The goal is coming, you can feel it. 27 games on but mark my words, it won’t be much longer especially with the Rangers coming up who have Marc Staal and a bunch of AHLers manning their blueline.

Did you know: Even though the Oilers PK is last in the NHL (that won’t last, they’ll catch the Islanders), the only month that they were the worst PK in the league for the whole month was October. In fact, they had the 14th BEST PK in the league in February. #silverlinings

BEAR WITH ME

Ethan Bear had a tough game last night. I wouldn’t say he was directly responsible for 2 of the Predators goals but he was definitely part of the reason they were scored and I would say that’s fine given the circumstances. It’s not like the Oilers are trying to lock down a playoff spot here.

Bear’s stat line read like this:

  • No points
  • minus 3
  • 14:42 TOI
  • 1 shot
  • 2 blocks
  • 1 giveaways

That said, he was noticeably out of his depth but on the plus side, that boy can pass a puck and I didn’t see any panic in his game! If he gets a few more games (hopefully not paired with Sekera), I hope to see that cannon of his. The former WHL defenseman of the year is one player I think all of us are eager to see more and more.

PUL-ME? PULJU! 

When is Todd McLellan going to put Jesse Puljujarvi in the top-6? When will Jesse get his shot on the first PP?

Since he joined the Oilers, I’ve gotten the impression that McLellan was the type of coach who would give TOI where TOI was earned. Well, what I’ve noticed is that isn’t really the case. He’ll move players up and down from Lines 1 and 2 or Lines 3 and 4 or sometimes from lines 2 and 3 he’ll swap a bit but not often.

If ice time is earned, what does Jesse Puljujarvi have to do to get some ice time with Leon Draisaitl or Connor McDavid? And if that isn’t something that is in the coaches plans, then can he keep some linemates for more than a game? I thought that the Aberg/Strome/Puljujarvi line looked very dangerous against San Jose.

I just don’t understand how McLellan is “rewarding” his players…

31 THOUGHTS PODCAST TAKEAWAYS

  • Milan Lucic for Loui Eriksson

This was something near the end of the podcast that Friedman had suggested reasoning it with the notion that he thought they could both use a change of scenery. Marek added that the Oilers would have to “sweeten” the deal because Lucic had more term.

I have to decline on this one. We saw last night what kind of physical impact Milan Lucic can have on a game and just because he didn’t score doesn’t mean he wasn’t useful and that’s the difference between the two really. When Eriksson isn’t scoring, what else is he doing to impact the game?

IF Loui Eriksson was the shooting machine he used to be, then that might be a different story but it looks like he’s lost confidence there or he could be dealing with some physical ailments.

As it stands, Lucic brings more to the table than Eriksson.

  • Marek mentioned that the Blues were asking organizations other than the Jets about BIG LH’d dman Logan Stanley before they dealt Paul Stastny to Winnipeg for picks and prospect Erik Foley. 

The Oilers have a few LH’d dmen they’d like to move but this SO weird because it seems like the Blues only have LH’d dmen in their system. According to rosterresource.com, the only RHers playing defense for St.Louis are on their parent roster…

But I mean if they’re looking to add to that stable of lefties, I think the Oilers could help there 🙂

  • The cost for Pacioretty is HIGH!!!

Friedman says he believed MTL asked LA for Toffoli, Vilardi, a 1st rounder this year and maybe a 1st rounder next year and LA for good reasons said no. He also mentioned the Habs wanted Charlie Coyle plus and Minnesota said no. Lastly, Florida was one of the teams that Max Pacioretty wanted to go to but Montreal wanted Trocheck and so no deal was made because the Panthers turned that down.

So if the Oilers are looking at Max Pacioretty, I’m not sure it’s going to be a worthwhile trade because it’ll cost players like Yamamoto, Puljujarvi, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or more.

It’s not worth it to deal that much future out for a guy whose contract is up shortly. Not only that but it sounds like Pacioretty is willing to make it work in MTL. Who knows if that’s true or not? Maybe Max is doing his GM a solid by saying that publicly and something at the draft happens like a 3-way between Montreal, Ottawa, and Edmonton…

  • Could the Blackhawks trade a core player?

Friedman and Marek pontificated upon what Chicago might do this summer. Are Bowman’s and Quenneville’s jobs safe? Could the move Toews because of the season he’s having? Is Duncan Keith an option to go because he’s got the easiest contract to move?

Friedman said he’d give Toews one more year before moving on him but that he’d check the market on Saad, Anisimov, and Duncan Keith.

Keith and Toews have NMC’s on their deals which means they’re not going anywhere w/o consent. Anisimov’s NMC lifts July 1 but Saad is clause-free.

Keith and Saad jump out to me for a couple of reasons:

  1. Duncan Keith is the type of General that the Oilers blueline is desperate for. There isnt’ a go-to guy in that defense. Not one. A lot of “complimentary” dmen back there but no alpha. It needs one and Duncan Keith would be that guy.

    He’s 34 years old, makes $5M+ per yer and his contract goes for another 5 years but the real money comes way down starting in 2019/20.

    He can’t score 50pts a year anymore but I’d say he’s still good for 40 at least. He’s one of the NHL’s great dmen and I could see him playing at a 1st pairing pace until he’s 39 too. What would you give up for him?

  2. Brandon Saad is only 26 years old and has another 3 years @$6M per on that deal left. He’s got the wheels, we know that. And he can shoot the pill. That’s pretty apparent.

    In order to get a guy like Saad, some major futures would have to go. What I mean by that is exactly the kind of players that the Oilers are looking for right now. I think Puljujarvi or Yamamoto for sure. But then the Oilers would have to get Chicago to take a contract back too.

    Or maybe the only deal would be Saad for Nuge… Both players contracts are the same term and dollar…

    I still think RNH on McDavid’s wing would yield the Oilers a 50pt winger, so why move a guy that could do that for you AND provide you with a kickass centre if one of McDavid or Draisaitl goes down or if McLellan wants to move Leon up to Connor’s line…

Anyways, those are a few of the trade murmurs that Marek and Friedman talked about on this weeks 31 Thoughts Podcast.

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Latest on Oilers Trade Rumours re: Pat Maroon and OEL PLUS the Return of Ryan Robinson?

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HE’S BACK PT.1

I’m so so happy to see Adam Larsson back practising with the team. I think I can speak for the majority of us in saying we were all shocked when news came of his father’s passing and that for one day everyone could throw their support behind an Oiler.

I hope that when he plays his first game back in Edmonton he gets the biggest standing ovation Rogers Place has ever seen. The fans owe it to him.

HE’S BACK PT.2

Our favourite Edmonton Oilers vlogger, Ryan Robinson, came out of his self-imposed vlogging hiatus to let us know what he thinks has gone wrong for the Oilers this season.

I’ve really missed Robinson’s vlogs this season because I feel he really brings the fan’s perspective out into the open without slagging others in the process. In this post, I will include the vlog from YouTube (at the bottom) and some commentary of my own on his thoughts.

RUMOURS

According to Andy Strickland, Pat Maroon’s agent and Peter Chiarelli have spoken but it looks like an agreement on a contract won’t be happening and the Oilers will be trading the big winger. Which is probaby a better scenario for the Oilers anyhow, right? They need to bring in some fresh young talent on the wings and Maroon is the asset they are most willing to move to get that player.

Jim Matheson tweeted out yesterday that the Oilers want Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Was he reading my blog or seen one of my tweets recently? Weird. Even Jason Gregor was talking about it on his show yesterday with Jason Strudwick and Lowetide, specifically my proposed offer of Nuge and Klefbom for OEL.

I still think you do it and handle the contract after. He only makes $5.5M this year, so say he wants $7.5M a year for 7 years. Well since you dealt away $10M in Nuge and Klefbom, why not? It’s obvious that the Oilers are fine with JJ Khaira playing center and Ryan Strome can do it too. There, we fixed the problem fans have with RNH being a $6M 3rd line centre AND gave the team the elite PP dman it’s been craving.

Robinson’s vlog starts with him talking about one of the reasons why he stopped making his famous vlogs. He tells us a story about the game vs. Dallas where Cam Talbot got rocked for 5 goals and after the game, his wife, Kelly, posted a lovely picture of the Talbot family on social media. That’s not the issue, the issue came when someone commented on the photo basically telling Cam Talbot’s wife to pass on the message to Cam to get his head out of his ass and concentrate on hockey because his family will always be there for him.

What’s wrong with these fans? I’d be willing to put money on it that this guy isn’t a season ticket holder but a guy who sits on his sofa with a case of Kokanee and a bucket of KFC. Even if he was a season ticket holder, that is atrocious behaviour for a human being let alone a fan.

Pro Tip: When you comment on the socials or are talking about your team in the pubs, the things you say represent other fans as well. Just because you’re behind a keyboard or a smartphone, doesn’t make it okay for you to be an asshole. Be mindful of your language and the words you choose to use to express your opinion and realize just because you can say something doesn’t mean you should.

AN UNMITIGATED DISASTER

The Edmonton Oilers are going to join the Florida Panthers as two teams who have missed the playoffs 11 out of 12 seasons. It’s safe to say that Robinson is right when he says that this year has been an unmitigated disaster.

The main reason: There’s ZERO benefit to a year like this.

What we will be looking for as fans is if Connor McDavid can win the scoring title. Can Puljujarvi show us some of that offence we saw at the World Juniors a few years ago? How many games will Milan Lucic go before he scores a goal? Might Leon Draisaitl end up in the top-ten in scoring despite having a down year (according to some)?

Ultimately I’ll be looking for any signs of life from the team as a whole. There are 26 games left for the Oilers to show me, at least, that they don’t need a heart transplant (thanks, Georges!) and they are a team to be reckoned with. They’ve got quite a few Pacific Division matchups remaining and I want them to be the spoilers for Calgary’s playoff hopes.

RYAN ROBINSON’S FORENSIC AUDIT

Darryl Katz: Teflon

Bob Nicholson: Will he fire Chiarelli and hire Wayne Gretzky?

Peter Chiarelli: Regarding dealing away the younger players in Boston, Would you take years of a productive player or a Stanley Cup ring? When you start to exaggerate and omit facts, it doesn’t leave room for debate which is exactly what fans, “influencers” and sponsored Oilers blogs are doing right now.

Robinson goes into a few of the bad trades that Chiarelli made at this point in the vlog. The Reinhart trade and the Eberle trade. Let’s start with Griffin!

I still agree with the rationale behind those two moves. Back in the summer of 2015, the Oilers were desperate for young dmen that could grow with their core of players. And last summer they need to move out salary to protect themselves from a potential offer-sheet to Draisaitl. 

Contrary to popular opinion, the Oilers didn’t lose the Reinhart deal because Barzal has emerged as such a strong player. He’s a fantastic young player and he might even win the scoring title one day. He lost that trade becaues Reinhart turned into nothing! Both as a player and as an asset. He couldn’t establish himself on the Oilers roster and then he was claimed in the expansion draft. Barzal tearing it up just makes the trade look even worse. 

Same goes for the Eberle trade. Ironically, Eberle has been rejuvinated playing with Barzal! But the real problem for Edmonton was that Strome has been horribly mismanaged and remarkably unremarkable for long stretches. 

It took until the other night against Florida, game 55, for the Oilers to finally give Strome a shot on McDavid’s wing. And it took until a few games ago, I think game 52, for them to put him on the left half-wall on the PP for his one-timer.

THAT’S WHAT I THOUGHT HE WAS ACQUIRED FOR IN THE OFF-SEASON! He’s got a hard, accurate wrist shot and the Oilers haven’t take advantage of it. Why did it take so long? 

I’d like to also point out that when Chiarelli was hired there was this outcry for a strong possession team, to which he’s built.

Robinson really gets going in his next topic here.

HOW WILL NICHOLSON HANDLE CHIARELLI?

Nicholson has to be very careful in how he handles Chiarelli. Because of what Vegas has done taking everyone’s scraps and rising all the way to the top, I think that has given every manager league-wide a free pass for this season. 

If Nicholson does fire Chiarelli, what he needs to do is hire someone with experience, a good track record, and just like Chiarelli, zero ties to the Oilers old boys club. 

This is interesting because I thought that was what Nicholson did in the first place. Chiarelli has all three of those requisites listed unless you consider being part of Hockey Canada as something.

That’s where I’m a bit concerned. If Chiarelli gets the axe, does he simply dip into his Hockey Canada network and find someone?

TODD MCLELLAN

The thing with Todd is, he didn’t just forget how to coach overnight. He was nominated for coach of the year last season. The problem this year has been some horrendous decision making and a complete refusal to adapt on the fly. 

Early on in the year Todd publicly called out his best players, something that Don Cherry pointed out on Coach’s Corner as a poor choice. I couldn’t agree with that more. Do that behind closed doors but do not embarrass them publicly. As much as I do not like it, this is a different generation of player and they do not respond well to that kind of motivational tactic. 

A lot of people are asking of the players have tuned out the coaches and I think to a degree they have. Do you remember that “special” PP formation they used against the Ducks, the one that Kevin Bieksa commented on during the intermission? Basically, every player picked a corner and one guy stood in front of the net and they just held on to the puck for the majority of the powerplay? I think that was the players’ dig at the coaches.

I have said in the past that perhaps McLellan is not suited to run a team driven by young players because I’m not sure he knows how to ride out the waves that come with young players. He coached the San Jose Sharks for what, a decade? That team was headed by Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Dan Boyle, etc. Not 5 or 6 key players under the age of 24.

THE REFUSAL

Secondly, the refusal to break up Connor and Leon for so long did irreperable damage to the Oilers’ season. While several players were struggling with their confidence he just hung them out to dry. 

If I’m the coach and someone is struggling I throw them on McDavid’s wing, just to give them a boost and get them going. And the thing is, McLellan did this in the past. I remember him putting Yakupov and Pouliot on McDavid’s line but this season he’s just continued to beat a dead horse. 

WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IS IT TO GET THE PLAYERS READY TO PLAY?

Also, the Oilers are never ready to play. They’ve given up the first shot of the game ten times. I mean, it must be a record but I don’t think anybody would bother tracking such an embarrassing and obscure statistic. They’ve also been scored on first 34 times. It is the coach’s responsibility to have the players ready to play. 

Preach it, brother! Amen! I’m surprised that they haven’t been axed already. But the Oilers are on a 5-game losing streak and you do have to wonder how long that streak goes before somebody is let go.

WHAT KIND OF TEAM DO THE OILERS HAVE?

A lot of people believe the Oilers are a big slow team. I think earlier this year Ray Ferraro said Chiarelli has built the Oilers to win in 2011 not 2018. The thing is the Oilers aren’t really a big slow team. 

Kassian is a great skater. Darnell Nurse is a fantastic skater. Draisaitl is a very powerful skater. Now that Gryba is in the minors they only have two slow guys, Maroon and Lucic. And they have perhaps the fastest player ever to play the game in Connor McDavid. 

Here’s the thing, what moves faster? Connor McDavid or the puck? 

I’ve said this many times before, it doesn’t matter how fast your players are if they don’t play with pace. Last year McLellan did a really good job of having the Oilers play a balance of finesse game but also a very physical game. This year he seems to have completely abandoned giving the players any offensive creativity and he’s in this routine of playing a cycle into the corner, back up to the point, back into the corner, trying to wear the other team down. 

I truly believe that the pundits that were saying the Oilers are slow this year were referring to quickness and not straight away speed. Meaning your Mitch Marner-types who are very agile on their blades. I think that when Drake Caggiula is on his game, he’s one of those players as he’s zippy and he hits anything that moves.

If you still believe that the Oilers aren’t fast enough, I guess I’d ask you what kind of goals are being let in by the Oilers this year? I’d also ask, what aspect of the game do you think the Oilers are slow in?

THE PART OF THE SEASON THAT IS INEXCUSABLE

To have Connor McDavid, the best player on the planet, running a powerplay that is 30th in the league is an absolute disgrace. 

It’s not even so much about the results, it’s about how non-threatening it is. The Oilers pass the puck about wildly around the perimeter and then they get it to Klefbom for the point shot and the problem is he never freakin’ shoots it! And when he does, he shoots it wide of the net because he’s hurt! I’m pretty sure he’s been hurt all year and yet, the coaching staff continually puts him out there squandering endless opportunities and also killing the guys confidence because he can’t get the job done. 

The Oilers could have a threatening powerplay IF players would shoot it. IF Connor, or anybody for that matter, would shoot the puck, regardless of if it goes in or not, that will back the dmen off. They’re looking for that cross-seam pass for the one-timer and the other teams know that so they cut it off and leave the point open because they know two things, either they’re not going to shoot it or they will but there’s no hope of it going in.

THE PK

What the Sam Heck is even going on here? It is the worst home PK of all-time! Of all the terrible teams that have played throughout the years, none of them come close to the travesty that is the Oilers home penalty killing. How many goals do you have to let in from the point before you realize that the L-shape or the diamond or whatever you want to call it doesn’t work. 

It’s not rocket science, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Play a tight box have active sticks, clear lanes so your goalie gets a clear view of the puck. And the reason that the PK is such an achilles heel is that the Oilers have some big strong players who can intimidate the opposition and they’re scared to hit anyone because they know they absolutely can not under any circumstances take a penalty because it will almost certainly end in a goal against. 

Unfortunately, the Czech press is the tactic that is used all over the league to combat how most of the PPs are being run in the league. Watch any team and I’ll bet you’ll see the same tactic used by that team as the Oilers use. The difference is this:

Their players are willing to get in the lane. They’re willing to do what’s necessary to stop a shot. Which leads me to this question, why aren’t the Oilers’ PKers willing to do this?

WHAT SHOULD THEY DO FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR?

I don’t really have a problem with them riding out the rest of the year and continuing with the same head coach and GM next season. Look at Colorado, they were absolutely awful last year, kept their coach and GM, they rebounded very nicely. 

But.

ACCOUNTABILITY

I preach accountability on this blog. Someone at some level within the organization needs to pay the price for this absolute miserable failure of a season and Woodcroft and Johnson don’t have a leg to stand on. They have ZERO justification for keeping their jobs. 

Earlier in the year, I reported that Chiarelli wanted to make a change with the assistant coaches but McLellan wouldn’t sign off on it and knowing how Chiarelli hangs onto his head coaches, he’s gone along with it. Well, I think that loyalty has shifted a bit because we haven’t seen improvement in the slightest amount from the special teams coaches.

I predict that Woodcroft and Johnson will be shown the door and at least one of the new assistant coaches will be the new head coach at some point in the next 12 months. Maybe that’s Darryl Sutter or Dave Tippet, Todd Nelson or Sheldon Keefe.

THE PLAYERS

Surprisingly, these are the only ones I have any sympathy for for a few reasons. 

First of all, did you know that the Oilers hit the post more than any team in the league? 

Secondly, the Oilers have lost every single coach’s challenge this season. 

Despite the Oilers having Connor McDavid, the fastest player in the league, the Oilers draw less penalties than any other team. 

Offside calls and goalie interference plays are 50/50 at best. The fact that the Oilers have been on the wrong side every time is awful luck. As for the penalty calls, I think that Connor McDavid’s speed has actually prevented him from drawing calls. Think about it for a second. 

McDavid blasts by the official, he gets hooked, held, or slashed but they’re so far behind at that point they can’t see it. And if they don’t see it, they can’t call it. 

Also, the Oilers have some bigger stronger players, they don’t go down easy. I can’t count the number of times Lucic got hooked or slashed and he didn’t go down. 

Is it not completely unbelievable that there are so many members of the Oilers fanbase that are this ignorant of how bizarre the results are going for Edmonton yet they still ask for Chiarelli’s head as if he’s responsible for these mad stats?

WHEN THINGS AREN’T GOING YOUR WAY…

Can you think of even one game this year that the Oilers won that they didn’t deserve to? 

Exactly! And what happens when you feel like you’re hitting the post all of the time and you know the you need to outplay the opposition in order to have a chance to win and you know you’re probably not going to get your share of calls or challenges and you know that you absolutely cannot take a penalty?

It begins to wear on you mentally. 

Why do you think that the Oilers have had so many games this year like the one against Nashville where they’re outshooting them 29-4 and let in a goal and everything falls apart. 

THE RESULT

The Oilers have completely lost all of their confidence and swagger that they had last year and the thing is, no amount of trades, free agent signings, or firings is going to bring that back. 

I wonder how the mob would react to this comment? I mean let’s say they fire Chiarelli, how many years are they willing to wait for the new GM to turn it around. Oilers Nerd Alert said that GMs should only get 2 years to show progress. I find that to be a tad harsh.

WHAT ABOUT LAST YEAR?

I know a lot of fans believe that last year was an anomaly but I have a hard time believing that when I see all those bizarre statistics surrounding the Oilers. 

So I know it’s hard and frustrating because you invest so much in the team but my advice is take a deep breath… 

I love the truths that Ryan Robinson throws out there. I’m sad that he’s not vlogging as much lately and I’d love to hear him on a regular podcast someday or perhaps his own radio show. He’s got the skills and he analyzes the game very well in my opinion. I guess there’s always next year 🙂

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Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

Ex-Oilers and MSM Rip into Current Oilers

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BIG SALE happening RIGHT NOW!

I would’ve hated to have been an Edmonton Oiler yesterday after that 5-0 loss to Buffalo. My goodness, if you listened to any Oilers talk radio yesterday you would’ve heard Craig Simpson, Ryan Smyth, and Ryan Rishaug give the team a kind of verbal thrashing we haven’t heard in a very long time.

I’d like to share what they said 🙂

Craig Simpson and Ryan Smyth were on Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer and here are a few quotes from their segments.

First up Craig Simpson, former player and special teams coach.

All of the mainstays of good penalty killing, good active stick, stops and starts, don’t turn away from the puck, close off where passing lanes came from, take away cross-seam passes, sticks in lanes, bodies in lanes, are just non-existent.

The things Simpson lays out there that the Oilers aren’t doing don’t seem like skills only superstars can perform if you know what I’m saying.

There are a lot more at fault than just the goaltender. The fact that Al Montoya has been here for 7 games and he’s been in 3 of them replacing your starter is damning enough.

I’m sure the goalie would agree.

I don’t know whether it’s players not understanding the system they’re supposed to be in or getting confused on what the read is from it but If I’m on a powerplay and every time my defenseman gives me the puck on the half-wall, I have the option to give it to him back, I have the option to go down low to my low support, AND I have the option to go cross-seam, I mean you might as well be out against pylons.

Ouch! That has to go deep not only affecting the players but the coaches too.

I do think that it starts with Connor and Draisaitl, that you have to be in an aggressive attack the net mode. At least maybe once you do it 2 or 3 times with some success it’ll back off the pressure a little bit and allow you then to maybe open up where you fake the shot to get that passing lane to get that pass away. 

I don’t think this is an attack on the young players on the team but it’s something we’ve been saying since at least last year with regards to Connor’s actions on the PP or a 2v1 for example. SHOOT THE PUCK CONNOR!

There’s something off with the mental stability of the group.

You’re telling me Craig! Whose responsibility is it to rebuild the mental stability of the group though? The coaches?

We’re 48 games later and there’s definitely a disconnect and last night was probably the most damning of them.

That’s a former player and coach of the Oilers digging right into the team and he’s saying there are mental problems and disconnects throughout this roster. I wonder why that is? I wonder what caused it?

Next up is Captain Canada! Ryan Smyth!

Not everybody is going to have it on a nightly basis and that’s what makes a team go round. You rely on certain players at certain times but at some point everyone has to be a factor and contribute and it’s not firing right now for the Oilers. 

Another former player tells us how it is and you can’t really blame these guys for having an off night from time to time. I know these players are elite athletes and their bodies are fine-tuned to be able to perform many nights per week but hockey is a tough tough sport to play as much as these guys do. That being said, when the entire team shuts down like they did vs. Buffalo, concern is a given.

Honestly, I feel that the drive isn’t there. The Passion. Not like it was last year and honestly I don’t know what the disjointment is but I feel that there’s enough great skill and enough great hockey players on that team that it can prevail. 

Preach it Cap!

The work ethic. There’s one thing you can control on a nightly basis. 

Stauffer had asked the question, “Do you think something’s missing in that regard with this group?” The regard he was speaking to was having everyone on board to have a chance. #OUCH…

Instead of watching, just play. Just play the game. It’s a great game! 

Leave it to Ryan Smyth to warm your heart whilst criticizing his old team.

What I’ve noticed from both Simpson’s and Smyth’s quotes is they both mentioned a disconnect or a disjoint in the team and I’ve been getting that old decade of darkness feeling right before Eakins was fired. You know the one where you see players not playing for each other and not sticking up for one another. A lack of intensity… I hope I’m wrong because it took a major jolt to the roster to knock that out of them last time and I’m not sure they can afford to do that again. I mean with Calgary up tonight, I’m willing to be that we’re going to see a VERY good hockey game because if we don’t, somebody is gonna get a hurt… Real bad. 

Ryan Rishaug was on Gregor’s show last night and he was FIRED UP! Here are the quotes:

There’s something wrong. It’s something in the leadership group in that room, in the core players who are relied on the most. Something’s missing.

I love the answer the player’s and McLellan gives when a question predicated on the response above is asked.

“If we knew, we’d have fixed it by now.”

But they’re not wrong and either is Rishaug.

What they absolutely cannot let happen is for the rest of this season to mean nothing. 

I agree wholeheartedly. I’ve been told that since the season is lost, there’s nothing left to play for and that kind of attitude is how the Oilers wound up getting McDavid and Puljujarvi. So maybe they really should give up and maybe the Oilers would end up with Rasmus Dahlin?

Far too many years they were out of the playoffs, spent 3 months of meaningless hockey and terrible habits developed, terrible work ethic developed, and more problems crept into their game that showed up the next year and they need to learn from that mistake. 

I’ll just go out on a limb and say Rishaug is talking about the decade of darkness here. I mean even Hall was questioning whether there was a light at the end of the tunnel before he was moved out (a quote that bought his ticket out of town btw).

Let’s use Connor McDavid as the example, he’s far from the problem but he DEFINITELY holds the key to a solution. If you’re Connor McDavid, you’re a brilliant player, you’re 41% in the faceoff circle. It’s not good enough.

You have not yet developed a one-time threat from one of the most important positions on the powerplay. It’s not acceptable to just say I don’t have a good one-timer and oh well. 

So why not make it a goal from now to the end of the season to be working on your faceoffs non-stop, take it to a new level and to continue to try to develop a one-timer? Why not tap a couple of teammates on the shoulder and challenge them and drag them along as well. 

He’s going on a huge rant here. Almost Lowetide-esque. So there’s more to come. One thing you might think right away is that Rishaug is picking on the kids again. On the surface that’s how it looks but if you can look past the person in the example, you might see that he just wants the Oilers to do a bit extra so that next season they’re that much better.

Rant cont.

I’m telling you. I DO NOT LIKE THE WORK HABITS OF THE YOUNG PLAYERS ON THIS TEAM. I don’t like it. I don’t think it’s good enough. I don’t think that the young players on this team and some of the players on this team like working on things they’re not good at and I don’t see dog-on-a-bone effort to fix them. And that’s what it takes to be world class and elite on a whole new level. 

I’m not at the practices (or in the country let alone the city for that matter) but I can see where Rishaug is coming from. Last year we did see that intense never-give-up attitude that we’re not seeing this year. Why that is, I haven’t the foggiest. I mean nobody really enjoys working on things they’re bad at but that harkens back to Rishaug’s point and even to Simpson’s and Smyth’s to a degree. Work ethic, does it need to be improved?

We watched for years. It started with Ales Hemsky and it worked its way through Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov. Two generations of talented players come through the organization that never developed the proper practice habits to push their game to the next level. 

And I’m telling you, I’m seeing it happening again and I don’t think it’s okay. I think these players need to take the rest of this season and put new habits in place so that does not happen again and so that better habits are developed.

I’m telling you if Connor McDavid does this, players will follow. In other organizations, this happens. 

Leadership is a funny thing. If Lowe and MacTavish had supported their vets and coaching staff instead of giving their support (and keys to the city) to Hallsy and the kids, would we be sitting here looking at a different team? A more successful one.

Now I know you can’t be as hard on kids these days as generations past but you are allowed to put a foot down and feelings are actually allowed to be hurt because they heal and they heal even faster if you’re winning. I mean, I had some mean teachers in my day but if I was succeeding in their class, I didn’t mind the harshness of their ways and as I got older I found that the teachers and coaches I didn’t like as a kid, I respected more.

This team might be relying on Connor a bit too much this year and McDavid could use that to his advantage like Rishaug is saying here. I bet the coaches would love it. I bet the GM would love it and I bet ol’ Wayner would love it too.

Last one. Louie Debrusk during the 1st intermission of the Buffalo game.

It (the powerplay) absolutely sucked the life out of them (the Oilers) and gave life to the Buffalo Sabres. And you know what? We’ve seen this a little too often this season where this team has an opportunity on the powerplay to do something and these are the types of plays we see on the ice.

Not sharp. Not disciplined. Just not together. 

I don’t know what it is. I can’t put my finger on it but one thing I do know is stop trying to make the easy play, go to work, put pucks in behind, and create your opportunities from that. 

Hmmmm. Another hint from a former player suggesting a lack of togetherness.

That is what’s wrong with this powerplay right now is guys not willing to pay the price and they’re not willing to go out there and outwork the penalty kill which by the way is 30th in the National Hockey League. 

Yet another former player directing us to the issue or work ethic…

So, what do you think? Are these ex-Oilers and pundits way off base? Let us know in the comments below!

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