Post-Game Talk: “I think I know a little bit about winning.” - Coffey, but unironically

[alanschu]

I know, but I at least know who they are. Letestu was a pretty good "guy". The D was quite suspect, but what surrounded McDavid was far superior to the bucket of anchors Bedard is carrying around. (Like 4 guys on D with a combined 100 NHL games.)

I knew who they were as well and the primary reason for that is they were on the team I follow!

I also know who Anton Lander is haha.

 

[Slats432]

I knew who they were as well and the primary reason for that is they were on the team I follow!

I also know who Anton Lander is haha.

There are a lot more just bodies on Chicago. They are obviously looking at the Pittsburgh/Colorado/Washington model to get a few top guys then build around them. Bedard is going to be on a shit team for several years.

 

[tiger_80]

I have 6 Stanley Cups.

1 point back of a WC spot now. I don't think we will be looking back anymore.

Wild card spot. But seeing that they are running against the likes of Nashville and Arizona, they should be able to get a couple more wins than those teams over the 50 games stretch.

 

[foshizzle]

His upside is massive if his defense even rounds out to average overall. I'd say he's top 5 in the league in offensive skillset in terms of IQ, passing and shot. Very special talent.

The only thing I wonder is how his game will evolve once Ekholm slows down because the variance in his game right now is highly dependent on how well Ekholm is playing. Ekholm struggled to start the season so did Bouchard, Ekholm appears healthy the last 10-12 games or so and now Bouchard's game is taking off as a result. It's fine because Bouchard is still young in the process but he's going to have to learn how to fly without Ekholm eventually. Why couldn't Ekholm be 5 years younger or even 3 years younger? Then again, a prime Ekholm wouldn't have been available in the first place.

On that note, and I know they had no choice because of flat cap blah blah blah, but not signing Bouchard long term right out of his rookie contract could prove to be a fatal mistake. He had some big flaws but you need to lock up offensive talent like that as soon as you can like they did with Drai off of his rookie contract. It's going to be a rough negotiation in 2 years, Holland left quite a task for the next GM.

The Bouchard being bad defensively and carried by Ekholm just needs to die already. Bouchard is not doing anything different than he always has. Ekholm is playing better, Skinner is making a few more saves, and forwards are coming back. Even before Ekholm got here- he was, by far, the best defenseman at denying zone entries and successful exits. His in-zone defense is his soft spot- that gets better with experience- but that’s just one aspect of defence. Playing defense isn’t just about how well you do against the cycle. Next game- just watch how many pucks he deflects away, takes away the puck receiver, pokes pucks in the neutral zone or blue line. He is excellent at that

 

[Mav3rick07]

I love how the all things Oiler bashing mega thread on the main boards with thousands of posts got locked as soon as we turned things around.

I guess you are only allowed to talk about this team when we suck

I expect the thread to be unlocked the next time we lose a couple of games in a row.

 

[CornKicker]

I wonder how many points Bouchard will need to score before TSN/Sportsnet/NHL acknowledges his existence.

the less press he gets the better come contract time

 

[Slats432]

The Bouchard being bad defensively and carried by Ekholm just needs to die already. Bouchard is not doing anything different than he always has. Ekholm is playing better, Skinner is making a few more saves, and forwards are coming back. Even before Ekholm got here- he was, by far, the best defenseman at denying zone entries and successful exits. His in-zone defense is his soft spot- that gets better with experience- but that’s just one aspect of defence. Playing defense isn’t just about how well you do against the cycle. Next game- just watch how many pucks he deflects away, takes away the puck receiver, pokes pucks in the neutral zone or blue line. He is excellent at that

https://x.com/loganj2997/status/1722460057894552034?s=20

He is not doing those things anymore. If he was still doing these things people would bring it up.

 

[TheNumber4]

the less press he gets the better come contract time

True. Good silver lining there.

 

[K1984]

There are a lot more just bodies on Chicago. They are obviously looking at the Pittsburgh/Colorado/Washington model to get a few top guys then build around them. Bedard is going to be on a shit team for several years.

Wonder if we'll hear nonsense about him "wanting out" if they don't have a cup in hand by about year three like we heard about McDavid in Edmonton?

I already know the answer to this, but decided to frame as a question anyways.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Its interesting how good a player can continue to be when they train like a beast. Sam Gagner is one of the hardest off ice workers there are. he works out tons and its kept him in good playing shape even at age 34. For a bit player on 4th line mostly this is a pretty valuable contribution. Gagner brings the skill play to the bottomsix. its a nice addition to have.

I've always felt Gagner is a special Oiler and hope he gets to retire here. Nice that he probably will notch 200 goals. Not sure that was going to happen for him but looks like it now.

I've been lucky to have a conversation with Gagner out in public.

He's everything you would think he is.

All class, glad to have him back on the Oilers.

I still go back and watch him in the shootout when he was just breaking into the league and im still amazed how good his hands and stickhandling were.

I wonder how many points Bouchard will need to score before TSN/Sportsnet/NHL acknowledges his existence.

TSN cares more about Matthews farts than anything Oilers related.

 

[Exile of Atlantis]

https://x.com/loganj2997/status/1722460057894552034?s=20

He is not doing those things anymore. If he was still doing these things people would bring it up.

Absolutely. He had some terrible moments at the start of the season. It seems that's turned around, which is great. Hopefully he can keep it up.

 

[Oilslick941611]

I have 6 Stanley Cups.


Wild card spot. But seeing that they are running against the likes of Nashville and Arizona, they should be able to get a couple more wins than those teams over the 50 games stretch.

WC =wild card

 

[foshizzle]

https://x.com/loganj2997/status/1722460057894552034?s=20

He is not doing those things anymore. If he was still doing these things people would bring it up.

It’s still happening- but now he has support with the forwards so it doesn’t look so bad. He also can be more aggressive in the N zone because his parter or forward will chase the puck so he doesn’t get caught in these battles. Like I said- his in-zone defense will continue to get better- but his neutral zone play, zone denials have always been excellent. He is the new breed of d-men who is excellent and transitions (Makar is elite elite at that)

 

[tiger_80]

As far as Bedard goes and comparing him to McDavid, McDavid was just over a point a game with this roster. (or some combination, I didn't look to see who was around when)

Hall Draisaitl Eberle
Pouliot RNH McDavid
Letestu Purcell Maroon
Korpikoski Hendricks Yakupov

Sekera Schultz
Nurse Klefbom
Fayne Gryba

Talbot
Nilsson

Bedard is just under a point a game with this roster...

Foligno Donato Bedard
Guy - Guy - Guy
Guy - Guy - Guy
Guy - Guy - Guy

Jones - Guy
Guy - Guy
Guy - Guy

Mrazek
Guy

What he is doing is pretty special for a rookie. (24 pts in 28 games) Even Fantilli has Jenner, Gaudreau, Provorov, Laine, Werenski and is only .5 ppg.

It's actually not a bad team on paper. Surprised they did as poorly as they did that year. I guess McDavid and Draisaitl were not yet as good as they are now. And some players underperformed.

 

[WaitingForUser]

Its interesting how good a player can continue to be when they train like a beast. Sam Gagner is one of the hardest off ice workers there are. he works out tons and its kept him in good playing shape even at age 34. For a bit player on 4th line mostly this is a pretty valuable contribution. Gagner brings the skill play to the bottomsix. its a nice addition to have.

I've always felt Gagner is a special Oiler and hope he gets to retire here. Nice that he probably will notch 200 goals. Not sure that was going to happen for him but looks like it now.

It’s funny because for years in Edmonton he was called too small and soft. I remember one off season he put on 15 lbs to try and shut people up. However the added weight just slowed him down more and it took months for him to recover. Now he’s rather slow but he will do anything that he asked to. Class act and stupendous team mate through and through.

 

[Mr Positive]

It’s funny because for years in Edmonton he was called too small and soft. I remember one off season he put on 15 lbs to try and shut people up. However the added weight just slowed him down more and it took months for him to recover. Now he’s rather slow but he will do anything that he asked to. Class act and stupendous team mate through and through.

I blame that weight he put on for that ankle injury he got. That slowed him too. We should have been fine with him being soft skill

 

[AM]

Bedard doesn’t seem as dynamic as Sid the Kid and McDavid but he sure has one hell of a shot. I’d say he is on Matthews tier. Elite shot but not overly dynamic and can disappear at times.

So far.

 

[The Panther]

It was an interesting game. The Oilers played like ass defensively in the 1st period and parts of the 2nd, but at some point in the 2nd they seemed to decide to lock it down and win the game, and then in the 3rd they just cruised.

That Blackhawks' team, though... Yikes. I remember watching them last season and they looked awful (understandably), and I was under the impression that they were getting a bit better this season. Not so much---that defense is like the Maple Leafs in the 1980s.

So, the Minnesota game I thought the Oilers' D was a bit suspect, and much of this last game it was also suspect. But I think they were taking Chicago a bit lightly, and conversely Minnesota has been their kryptonite the past few years---just beating them at all feels like an achievement, even though it was kind of an ugly win. (In between these was a great defensive game vs. New Jersey.)

Just hope they continue to lock things down and play it smart in the back-end.

Bouchard now with 18 points in 12 games. Prior to Bouchard, Paul Coffey (1980-81 to 1986-87) was the only Oilers' D-man to ever have a ten-game points' streak (Coffey had, like, 28 of them or something crazy). So, between 1987-88 and 2022-23---i.e., for 35 years---nobody did it. Then, after Coffey had coached 1 game, an Oilers' Dman started a (now) 12-game point streak....

 

[alanschu]

I still go back and watch him in the shootout when he was just breaking into the league and im still amazed how good his hands and stickhandling were.

Was it Giguere that just gave up on that one deke? Like drop the shoulder and sell right and then go left into wide open net?

 

[AM]

He is among team worst at -8 and has less hits than Nuge this season.

There really is no way to defend this player. Even on PK he is surely to miss prime shorthanded chances.

Brown is not an upgrade over Holloway/Hamblin or Janmark. Waste of 3.5M cap space next season.

But sure will happily eat crow if he starts showing something

The team won. Wasn’t that hard.

 

[Mav3rick07]

We played so well defensively last night that I swear I don't even recognize our team lately. They are definitely buying in to whatever Knoblauch is preaching. Lets just hope it stays that way.

 

[Lay Z Boy GM]

God I’m loving Oilers hockey right now. So insane that they climbed out of that hole so fast, you have to admire it.

As for Chicago yeah they’re not amazing but it’s a real shame they lost Perry. He brought a lot to that team, I don’t know what happened but it seemed like such a perfect fit.

 

[WaitingForUser]

I blame that weight he put on for that ankle injury he got. That slowed him too. We should have been fine with him being soft skill

Right he got injured early that season too I remember that. Interesting hypothesis for sure.

God I’m loving Oilers hockey right now. So insane that they climbed out of that hole so fast, you have to admire it.

As for Chicago yeah they’re not amazing but it’s a real shame they lost Perry. He brought a lot to that team, I don’t know what happened but it seemed like such a perfect fit.

Pretty sure that’s what Perry said too

 

[dssource]

Just finished watching the game. Nice to see the Oilers soffocate an inferior team and come out with an easier win. Drai with a strong game.

 

[The Nuge]

There is a much much bigger sample size suggesting that Nurse isnt a #1.

He has been good for 10 games...thats excellent...but it isnt enough to start anointing him #1 status.

I have stated this many times on here...#1 dmen make their partner better. Nurse has never done that.
Nurse isnt even the best dman on this team.
Ekholm is a better dman than Nurse and he isnt a #1.

Not really.

And he was good before these last 10 games too. People get so obsessed with the odd brain fart. He’s played like a #1 dman since Klefa went down.

He just is. It’s funny how every coach uses Nurse above Ekholm yet the fans think they know better. Ekholm is an elite #2, and Nurse is a low end #1.