"If We Don't Make the Playoffs"

[CycloneSweep]

The team is 9 points out of a playoff spot with 50 games to play.

It's an enormous hole... absolutely. Impossible to dig themselves out of though... no.

Obviously if they can't put the puck in the net at a higher rate and keep it out at a higher rate as well... they are going nowhere. Offense has been improving slowly over the last 10+ games... goaltending and GA... not so much.

Special teams are not special at all. PK especially is abysmal.

They'll go nowhere with the worst save pct in the NHL so either a better goalie needs to be brought in or we have to hope that Talbot/Brossoit/Ellis/The Ghost of Christmas Past somehow can provide better goaltending in the 2nd half.

I still have a confidence that McDavid can help propel this team to a strong push for a playoff spot over the next 50 games. It's certainly a hard journey to get there as games don't get easier in the 2nd half but I still think this team has the ability to gel together and make a hard push for a playoff spot.

The reason I and other think we can't make it is simply because....

Special teams have been abysmal all year.
Goaltending has been league worst overall.

And NONE of that has been addressed in anyway so far.

Special teams have been kept the same. PK formation is the same, PP formation and units have mostly stayed the same. The coaching staff hasn't changed the message and hasn't done ANYTHING to address them. It took them what, 25 games to go to 3 centers, something that worked in pre season but they refused to try again. And what happened? We starting putting in a full team effort and lines were rolling.

If they can miraculously take our league worst special teams and goaltending and make it GOOD. We have a chance. That said nothing has been done to help it so there is no hope there. Our PK has been awful since October last year. It's not getting fixed any time soon.

 

[shoop]

What do you mean "If"?

Exactly.

The reasons why threads like this turn into fire GM/Head Coach/Both is that those are the two guys who are most responsible for this talented team being bottom feeders yet again.

 

[Lacaar]

There's no other way to describe it but embarrassing to be honest.

This team does a wonderful job of embarrassing itself and its fan base.

At least they've been trying lately. It's less embarrassing to watch your team try hard and fail then to watch them not give a crap and fail.

 

[yababy]

Shhh... let me be fanatical. The last few games have given a little hope that a 3:1 or so run is possible sometime in the next while. Big if being the team stops turning backups into Vezina candidates for one night. Guess the point is I'd rather see a fight to the finish over another tank. So many tanks... just want to wear an Oilers toque in public again.

I'm guessing your talking about the Oilers turning the goalie into the Vezina candidate. When this is happening over and over with different goalies you have to look at the common element

 

[Soundwave]

Team is just weird. Light up Smith, Price, and Bobrovsky like Christmas trees and then get shut out by MclHinney and Saros, lol.

 

[mouz135]

If we miss the playoffs, the same people who said we don't deserve McDavid in 2015 will say we don't deserve Dahlin.

And rightfully so. You DON'T deserve another 1st OA. You will receive so much backlash if you win, and it will all be warranted

 

[NeverForget06]

If we miss the playoffs, the same people who said we don't deserve McDavid in 2015 will say we don't deserve Dahlin.

Oh they're already saying it

 

[Dan Kelly]

Yup it sure would be fun to see the Internet explode if the Oilers moved up and snagged yet another #1 overall, because after all we don't "deserve" it, LOL !

 

[Aerchon]

If we miss the playoffs I would like to see.

-Oilers to come as close as possible. Miss the playoffs by less than 3 points.
-RNH score 30 goals.
-McDavid score 40 goals.
-Serious development from Kharia, Lb/goalie in our system, and Slepy.
-Moderate development from Jessie, Nurse, and Benning.
-Draisaitl to silence critics.
-Talbot to return to form.
-Bear or Jones or one of our young defenders from the farm to have a awesome second half in the ahl.
-our junior prospects Benson, Yama, and a couple others to dominate.
-To draft surprise monsters in rounds 1, 2, and 3 of this next draft.
-Ahl coaching staff to be rehualed competely.
-Chiarelli to have patience in the face of rediculous criticism.
-Ditto Mclellan.
-Maybe new special teams coaches in the nhl tho.

 

[Mr Positive]

I am still holding out hope that we make the playoffs.

However there is a silver lining if we miss the playoffs.

It would be a powerful event, that would force the team to address lingering issues, issues that were even a problem last season while we were a success.

I am a broken record on this, but I am beside myself as to why we can't have a proper top 4 OFD. This past summer I was holding out hope for Barrie since there seems to be some friction there between him and the Avs. I suppose now it's looking like Karlsson may be avaialble. Maybe after July 1st there is a major trade to be had for him, but that trade would not happen if we were a playoff team and we had every reason to keep a good thing going. If we fail, then a shakeup makes more sense.

It doesn't have to be Karlsson though. That's the A-bomb solution.

 

[Tkachuckycheese]

This was always going to be a 2/3 year rebuild. Year 1 was just watch and see. They are really in year 2 with this rebuild. I think after the 18/19 season if there is no playoffs then there should be some flags. Tweak of some staff but keep Mclellan. Then after 19/20 get into the management and coaching situation.

 

[Gret99zky]

I think the playoffs are out of reach now.

I hope:

1. Nurse, PJ, and Khaira continue to progress.
2. Draisaitl and Klefbomb get their shit together. If they are injured, GTFO of the line-up and get healthy for f*** sakes.
3. Chia finds a qualified back up goalie.
4. TMc gets the f***ing PK sorted out. It's absolute shit.
5. Three lines find some chemistry instead of the McBlender.
6. Trade Maroon and Letestu for futures.
7. RFAs & UFAs sign team friendly contracts, for the pleasure of playing with McDavid and winning cups, like we were f***ing promised!
8. Pre-season 2018 is used to set the roster and hit the ground running when the regular season starts, instead of auditioning f***ing 18 year olds and washed up vets on PTO's.
9. We don't finish bottom 5, despite the increased lottery %, because it builds a culture of losing that can last 10 f***ing years.
10. We beat the Flames every game from now until the apocalypse.

 

[Soundwave]

This was always going to be a 2/3 year rebuild. Year 1 was just watch and see. They are really in year 2 with this rebuild. I think after the 18/19 season if there is no playoffs then there should be some flags. Tweak of some staff but keep Mclellan. Then after 19/20 get into the management and coaching situation.

How is it that none of Toronto, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Washington used that excuse? How many points did the Leafs have in the year they won the Matthews lottery? And didn't they dump Phil Kessel for basically nothing?

So how is it that Auston Matthews is likely going to be playing playoff hockey again in both his first two seasons, while Connor McDavid is likely to be watching him on TV from the golf course?

If 2/3 years of missed playoffs isn't a giant red flag with a generational player, I'm not sure what is. Red flags are popping up like crazy *now* dude. We are driving through Red Flag City right now and the forecast is calling for a red flag warning.

 

[Alowlyoilersfan]

at this point, playoffs seem unlikely. i would be happy if we went above .500 for the remainder of the season. i would be even happier if we could just improve our home record in general

 

[Tkachuckycheese]

How is it that none of Toronto, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Washington used that excuse? How many points did the Leafs have in the year they won the Matthews lottery? And didn't they dump Phil Kessel for basically nothing?

So how is it that Auston Matthews is likely going to be playing playoff hockey again in both his first two seasons, while Connor McDavid is likely to be watching him on TV from the golf course?

If 2/3 years of missed playoffs isn't a giant red flag with a generational player, I'm not sure what is. Red flags are popping up like crazy *now* dude. We are driving through Red Flag City right now and the forecast is calling for a red flag warning.

Your expectations are way too high. How messed up did those other organizations do in drafting beyond the 1st round cripple their team in depth? Those organizations by the time they had new management come in had prospects ready to come in and help push them forward. Location wise for them how many of them felt way more appealing for a free agent to go to than Edmonton?

Year 1 for Chia does not count when he was assessing what players could be a asset to the team.

Year 2 for Chia he gut the whole team and the team overachieved.

Year 3 for Chia injuries as well players taking a step back.

Year 4 for Chia is where things should be coming to form and they should be competing yearly

Expectations are just way too high for them to be contending right away. Media filled everyones heads with that and how players really overachieved as well. He had nothing from previous management to build with and hit the reset button. Had to build up the prospect pool and draft players who could make a difference.

 

[BudBundy]

It’s basically a certainty now that the team will miss the playoffs. Sadly there are enough players coming on a bit after awful starts that we will wind up in the mushy middle in terms of drafting. Not bad enough to get a really good pick, not good enough for the playoffs.

My “to do” list:
1). Can the special teams coaches. The players arent blameless here but the stubborn personnel choices and alignments are awful and have been for far far too long. Launch them into the sun. I’m tempted to do the same with TMac for his stubbornness but I loathe flipping head coaches so he gets one more year on a short leash.

2). Start looking for younger Maroon 2.0 and trade Big Rig now. He is ripe for an overpay contract on a ridiculous term with a no movment clause. It shouldnt be from the Oilers. If he can be re-signed at a reasonable term and cap hit, great. I love the guy. Think Chiarelli can accomplish that negotiation? Neither do I.

3). Start looking for a bigger faster #4C who is an ace on the PK. I dont care if he cant score in a womens prison with a fist full of pardons. Trade Letestu to a contender.

4). Find a faster #3 RW to replace Strome.

5). Send Brossoit to the AHL and lets give Nick Ellis a few starts. I actually think there is a goalie in Brossoit and I feel for him a bit but we might as well see what weve got in Ellis to help make long-term decisions.

6). Dump Caggiula for a utility forward who can PK and is harder on the forecheck. Caggiula shows some nice flashes but he just doesn’t bring enough of any dimension.

7). This is the biggest one and the most difficult one. Upgrade the #2 Right side D spot. Chiarelli bet large that Benning and Russell are good enough over there. They arent. Given the asinine contract given to Russell I dont know how it gets done. The need for a guy in this spot with a strong offensive bent has been a gaping hole as long as I can remember and I honestly dont know how it gets fixed with our mix of contracts and now lack of assets/depth.

 

[PeanutButterPoti]

1. McLellan to cut the cord with his old buddy Jay Woodcruft
2. Win the lottery and hilariously piss off the fanbases of every other team in the league
3. Give Hunter big, scary, teeth
4. And a blood soaked jersey too
5. Keep Nuge
6. Make decisions on the bottom 6 (talking Strome, Caggiula, finding a decent replacement to Cammalleri)
7. Give Craig MacTavish more soundbites.

 

[TheRebuild]

Personally, right now I'd be ok with seeing just the coaching staff getting turfed. But if next year, the team continues to suck, I want to see the ENTIRE front office cleaned out. Nuke it from orbit. That includes the cockroaches (MacT, Lowe, Howson). Honestly, I'm done blaming this train wreck on the players, the entire team has been completely overhauled at least twice in the past decade, and it still doesn't make a difference. It's not the players, it's the people in charge. It's like the Leafs, they had to nuke their front office to change their team culture, the Oilers are due for a similar full scale wipe down.

 

[ToeMcDrag83]

And rightfully so. You DON'T deserve another 1st OA. You will receive so much backlash if you win, and it will all be warranted

You're totally right. A fluke lottery process we have no control over fully warrants backlash and belittling of a fanbase. Bang on. Slow clap.

Ridiculous post. After 2.5 years, still being salty about McDavid ending up here (and/or the previous lottery picks) is your problem, not ours.

These lottery picks have nothing to do with "deserve". Anyone who thinks or implies we'd rather see Dahlin in an Oiler uniform than playoffs this year is plain wrong.

Every team and fanbase considers the best case scenarios after missing the playoffs or after crap seasons. We;re currently in the midst of that possibility. It doesn't make us unique to discuss future prospects when our team is under performing.

 

[Tyrolean]

Team is just weird. Light up Smith, Price, and Bobrovsky like Christmas trees and then get shut out by MclHinney and Saros, lol.

They don't always lose to backups. Beat backup Stalock. Not a bad goalie.

 

[oiLowe]

The games are *already* meaningless though, unless you believe we're about to go on a 12-3 run here over the next 15 games. But if you believe that, I have some really good investment options I'd like to talk to you about.

They really don’t have to go on a 12-3 run...with 49 games remaining they remarkably aren’t that far off the pace and their game has improved of late which I’m sure even the most jaded fan can see. 6-4 runs to the end of the year and they will easily make it.

 

[nexttothemoon]

Well right now it looks like the Western conference cutoff for a wildcard spot will be ~92 pts so I wouldn't say they will easily make it.

I think it will be a hard grind right to the wire for them to get in.

49 games to go and they'd need 62 pts over that stretch.

Something like 29-16-4 over the rest of the season might get them in but it also might take 30+ wins as well depending on how the rest of the top teams in the West finish out the year.

I think it's certainly doable... but it won't be easy.

 

[Todd from Leduc]

Personally, right now I'd be ok with seeing just the coaching staff getting turfed. But if next year, the team continues to suck, I want to see the ENTIRE front office cleaned out. Nuke it from orbit. That includes the cockroaches (MacT, Lowe, Howson). Honestly, I'm done blaming this train wreck on the players, the entire team has been completely overhauled at least twice in the past decade, and it still doesn't make a difference. It's not the players, it's the people in charge. It's like the Leafs, they had to nuke their front office to change their team culture, the Oilers are due for a similar full scale wipe down.

It will never happen as long as Katz is the owner. He paid good money for those friends.

 

[Aerchon]

Forgot 2 that I would really like to see.

Beat Calgary in both the games we play them and in the standings.