Injury Report: McDavid out 1-2 weeks

[CycloneSweep]

Are many other GMs in the league clowns because of this as well?

This is a dumb NHL rule that a lot of teams, not just the Oilers are a victim of as a result of the 5 year flat cap. All the league has to do is allow an emergency call up when you can't dress 18 skaters, but an adherence to a fundamentalist ideology around the cap is more important than having teams dress the most competitive lineup apparently.

I mean, yes?
Teams are usually supposed to carry 2 extra skaters so you can handle a couple injuries.
Which we are carrying an extra skater so we can. Unfortuantely for us our extra skater is a defender. Which, if the team really wanted to could easily just assign Broberg to Bakersfield and call up a forward. However, we won't do that cause this team likes 11-7 anyways.

 

[jeffff]

It always amazes me how much crappy team play and injuries go hand in hand. Winning teams are loose, relaxed, efficient, energized etc. When you're playing like shit, you're lazy, trying to do too much, tense etc......happens all the time.

The schedule is pretty favorable though. Only 2 games this week and the 3rd is 8 days after the injury.

As much as I don't want him injured, it might help this team.....

 

[larek]

The Oilers are soft and lack a true heavyweight. They had one for a few months, and Connor obviously loved him, but Hollands weakness has always been building small soft teams.

Look at the bottom six.

Connor Brown, McLeod, Ryan, Janmark, the oft-injured Holloway. None of these guys are physical or know how to throw a punch.

That is one small, soft bottom six. Pointless, 6'1" Ernie is your tough guy who protects everybody.

Kane is the only forward on the team who knows how to throw a punch (honorable mention to Nuge).

Things don't look good for McDavid or Drai. The abuse will probably go up.

kostin who fit in well with Oilers not sure if he was kosher with the coach-- was a valuable player for Oilers played tough would fight some and would score some

 

[jeffff]

Kostin, Kostin Kostin...good grief.

Detroit is 5-1 with a +15 goal differential and Kostin has O points and is -1.

 

[Pass the Saitl Sauce]

I was being mocked for saying just this in the offseason and that a muck like Connor Brown hardly addressed any of our issues. This team was older, slower, and lacking in physicality. The team got worse in offseason. People didn't want to believe it. you have to look around the league and see what other clubs are doing. Standing still or peddling back in an offseason is not viable in the competitive NHL.

Outside of mcdrai we don’t have the players for a skill and speed game but we also don’t have the right players for a forecheck and cycle game. Ideally the oilers would deploy mcdrai lines and the bottom 6 should be a down low forecheck and cycle that chips in but management tried going both ways and ended up in the middle not being good enough at either

 

[Drivesaitl]

Kostin, Kostin Kostin...good grief.

Detroit is 5-1 with a +15 goal differential and Kostin has O points and is -1.

Its how good Detroit is that they're parking players like Petry and Kostin. Team is so stacked and loaded they can't even fit them into the lineup some nights.

Be fair. Which players in our bottomsix presently are better and offer more to a team than Kostin or say Bjugstad?

 

[Kerberos]

The no identity is what bothers me the most outside of mcdrai I have no idea what this team is. A mix of speedy players with little skill or fillers chasing the puck and no creativity. this team has no chemistry or identity, we’re not a fast team we’re not a physical team. We’re a powerplay team.

This is the biggest takeaway from watching the Oilers, yep.

It's a mishmash of individual pieces that don't fit together and have no defining qualities. Bizarre watching this team and then watching Boston, or Toronto or Vancouver. You know what you're gonna get with teams like that but the wild game-to-game fluctuations with the Oilers is akin to ordering a mystery box.

 

[larek]

Kostin, Kostin Kostin...good grief.

Detroit is 5-1 with a +15 goal differential and Kostin has O points and is -1.

That's Detroit and it's only been a few game for him-we are talking about How he played on Edmonton - some nights he was Oilers best player
You don't think Oilers need too toughen up?
Koston obviously fit in very well with Oilers
And did what he was supposed to do

 

[CupofOil]

Connors been getting tagged with more hits this season, more than I've usually noted, and I think he lost a bit of a step because he is reachable now. Not sure if he got dinged in preseason but we haven't seen that top gear. In addition to the accidental hit by Kane Connor was hit in the hip on another play as well that gave him some trouble.

Connor has also been finishing a fair amount of hits. Even though he seldom misses games he doesn't have the same build as Drai to withstand. Its amazing really that he's had so little injury in the past several seasons.

The Oilers have been incredibly fortunate since McDavid's last serious, fluke, injury to have their top players largely healthy year after year which makes all the more frustrating that they haven't even won one Conference Finals game in that timeframe.

 

[CupofOil]

The Oilers are soft and lack a true heavyweight. They had one for a few months, and Connor obviously loved him, but Hollands weakness has always been building small soft teams.

Look at the bottom six.

Connor Brown, McLeod, Ryan, Janmark, the oft-injured Holloway. None of these guys are physical or know how to throw a punch.

That is one small, soft bottom six. Pointless, 6'1" Ernie is your tough guy who protects everybody.

Kane is the only forward on the team who knows how to throw a punch (honorable mention to Nuge).

Things don't look good for McDavid or Drai. The abuse will probably go up.

The Oilers don't need a facepuncher, they need better hockey players.

What they need more of in the bottom 6 is guys that are hard on the puck and make life difficult for the opposition. I like the reliability of Janmark and Ryan and the speed and puck carrying ability of McLeod but when you have the inconsistent Foegele and the wet behind the ears Holloway as the only two guys that fit the bill, it's an issue especially in playoff hockey. They need more guys that are hard to play against in the bottom 6 and the defense needs to learn how to box out/block shots better. That's why they're soft, not because they're missing a fighter.

 

[Drivesaitl]

The Oilers have been incredibly fortunate since McDavid's last serious, fluke, injury to have their top players largely healthy year after year which makes all the more frustrating that they haven't even won one Conference Finals game in that timeframe.

Yup. Not geting any closer eihter. It took 13 Draisaitl goals, an incredible amount, just to get into the 2nd round and extend that series. Took heroic efforts from several players just to get through first round.

The goaltending and defending was untenable. you don't get far with limitations there. It HAD to be addressed in offseason. It wasn't.

Team really needed to move out players like Ceci, maybe even Nurse.

 

[Drivesaitl]

The Oilers don't need a facepuncher, they need better hockey players.

What they need more of in the bottom 6 is guys that are hard on the puck and make life difficult for the opposition. I like the reliability of Janmark and Ryan and the speed and puck carrying ability of McLeod but when you have the inconsistent Foegele and the wet behind the ears Holloway as the only two guys that fit the bill, it's an issue especially in playoff hockey. They need more guys that are hard to play against in the bottom 6 and the defense needs to learn how to box out/block shots better. That's why they're soft, not because they're missing a fighter.

Ryan and Janmark are mostly done. You could get the reliability they provide with younger legs with more pace. I was in favor of these players being brought in but with limitations on timeframe. They are old. Add to it that they are not hard to play against in the physical nature of hockey.

The Oilers are such an unphysical lineup that it falls on its top players, like McDrai to be the physical players. That is silly. Hockey innately involves physicality, hitting, some mayhem. Its a bloodsport. We have a lot of players that don't engage that atll including McLeod. Foegele sure doesn't bring consistency either.

This club could sure use a Raffi Torres or Mike Peca around. Its a part of hockey you need in a lineup to keep opponents looking up. Teams have comfort in our end making plays because they won't get hit a lot. They don't even have to worry about it.

 

[I am the Liquor]

Kostin, Kostin Kostin...good grief.

Detroit is 5-1 with a +15 goal differential and Kostin has O points and is -1.

Which would make him better than half the Oiler forwards atm

Klim Kostin > Connor Brown

 

[larek]

Which would make him better than half the Oiler forwards atm

Klim Kostin > Connor Brown

Brown has really done nothing up to now
Atleast play tough

 

[K1984]

Its how good Detroit is that they're parking players like Petry and Kostin. Team is so stacked and loaded they can't even fit them into the lineup some nights.

Be fair. Which players in our bottomsix presently are better and offer more to a team than Kostin or say Bjugstad?

I can't help but laugh. In what world?

Jeff Petry in 2023 is not Jeff Petry in 2018. The Red Wings have mediocre defensemen that are overpaid all over their lineup. Holl, Charoit, Matta. That's just the back end, up front they have JT Compher and Andrew Copp on giant long term deals. All players not that great, all overpaid which will become abundantly clear when they have to sign Moritz Sieder, Rasumussen and Lucas Raymond to a massive extensions that they won't have very much room for (these are the key ELC players that you ignore when comparing situations).

Oh, but they are on a hot start to the year on the back of one player shooting the lights out, so naturally they're amazing and "stacked." Good grief.

 

[larek]

I can't help but laugh. In what world?

Jeff Petry in 2023 is not Jeff Petry in 2018. The Red Wings have mediocre defensemen that are overpaid all over their lineup. Holl, Charoit, Matta. That's just the back end, up front they have JT Compher and Andrew Copp on giant long term deals. All players not that great, all overpaid which will become abundantly clear when they have to sign Moritz Sieder, Rasumussen and Lucas Raymond to a massive extensions that they won't have very much room for (these are the key ELC players that you ignore when comparing situations).

Oh, but they are on a hot start to the year on the back of one player shooting the lights out, so naturally they're amazing and "stacked." Good grief.

Oilers could sure use a player like Kostin

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

“Sure wish we had a guy like Albert on our team”

 

[Chet Manley]

“Sure wish we had a guy like Albert on our team”

Was his name Albert Albert?

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

Was his name Albert Albert?

I dunno but I identified with that guy. We both grew up to be superhuman.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I can't help but laugh. In what world?

Jeff Petry in 2023 is not Jeff Petry in 2018. The Red Wings have mediocre defensemen that are overpaid all over their lineup. Holl, Charoit, Matta. That's just the back end, up front they have JT Compher and Andrew Copp on giant long term deals. All players not that great, all overpaid which will become abundantly clear when they have to sign Moritz Sieder, Rasumussen and Lucas Raymond to a massive extensions that they won't have very much room for (these are the key ELC players that you ignore when comparing situations).

Oh, but they are on a hot start to the year on the back of one player shooting the lights out, so naturally they're amazing and "stacked." Good grief.

Red Wings are going to be a winning club this season. Mark it down. I would say playoffs except division and conference they are in its pretty tough to make some years. I think you're short changing them and they've added a lot of talent. Look at the roster.

In any case a competitive club that is vastly improved.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

They're lucky the the schedule's pretty light over the next 2 weeks.

Still, let's see how they respond to some adversity. Truth be told, the top 9 still looks decent, but I think Woody needs to play Holloway in an offensive role.

Kane-Drai-Holloway
Make the kid the 3rd wheel to your best offensive duo. Best spot to grow his confidence.

Foegele-RNH-Hyman
This trio has worked well. Sort of acts as a nice backup for both the more of offensive top line and more defensive 3rd line. Even if I'd like an upgrade on Foegele, I think Brown is more valuable on the 3rd line.

Janmark-McLeod-Brown
Fast skating checking line that should be able to take on difficult matchups and defensive situations.

 

[fuswald]

Was his name Albert Albert?

From st Albert alberta

 

[Satoru Gojo]

Went 3-2-1 without him in 19-20 and that was a significantly worse roster

There is hope

 

[GhostfaceWu]

Saying he isn't ruled out for the Heritage. I have a feeling thats why he pulled himself so he wouldn't aggravate it to the point he would definitely miss it.

 

[syz]

Didn't McDavid take a crosscheck late in the season last year against Vegas that was in the same area before he slowed way down?