News Article: 2015/16 Oilers - The Hockey Writers Predicion

[McSuper]

When you're having a bad day THW never disappoints....

http://thehockeywriters.com/toronto-can-put-connor-mcdavid-in-a-leaf-uniform-in-3-years/

I am now much dumber for reading that . Leaf sign all their good players but the Oilers can't .

 

[Philly85*]

Isn't this just another random blog

I don't understand why people follow **** like this

 

[Mr Positive]

Isn't this just another random blog

I don't understand why people follow **** like this

why do any of us listen to any other poster on this forum? I take any opinion with a grain of salt, since even the best and most informed opinions are often wrong anyway. This guy has some opinions and some reasons to back it up. Sometimes being conservative in predictions can be the wrong course, since nothing progresses in real life like it does on paper. Ron MacLean is considered quite knowledgeable about the game and he was quite bullish on the Oilers as well. He's a bit biased, but he's not the only one who thinks we can make the playoffs next year, and most of those people seem to be outside the Oiler fanbase. I don't mind this article simply because we could maybe use a thread that says that next year doesn't have to only be the marginal improvement that almost everyone here says it will be, including myself.

Side note: MacLean said he thinks Nikitin will have a big year. Most say that's silly but again, that could be true too. He's in a contract year. He had nagging back issues last year. You never know

 

[CupofOil]

The article is ridiculous but this is silly season so if somebody wants to be optimistic no matter how delusional, why the **** not?

Me personally? I think it'll be an accomplishment if they finish out of the bottom 10.
More questions than answers at this point, way more questions than answers.
'16-'17 should be the breakout season once all the trash is cleared off the roster and the young players a year more experienced. Plenty more pain to follow this season I'm afraid although they should be awfully entertaining to watch.

 

[guymez]

Not sure why you say that. We finished 3rd last year, I am saying with out McDavid we improve to 5-10. I am not counting out the coaching.

My bad...for some reason I read that as finishing bottom 5.

I do however think McLellan will have a have more of an impact than you do.

 

[guymez]

The article is ridiculous but this is silly season so if somebody wants to be optimistic no matter how delusional, why the **** not?

Me personally? I think it'll be an accomplishment if they finish out of the bottom 10.
More questions than answers at this point, way more questions than answers.
'16-'17 should be the breakout season once all the trash is cleared off the roster and the young players a year more experienced. Plenty more pain to follow this season I'm afraid although they should be awfully entertaining to watch.

Agree on all points...especially the silly season part.
Some people are taking that article way too seriously.

 

[Bangers]

While I think the article is wildly improbable, other teams have completed massive turnarounds (Colorado was mentioned, and before the Hawks were a dynasty, they went from horrible under Savard to contenders under Quenneville).

The key to the season is really the Talbot acquisition. If he plays like he did in New York last year, he'll make the D look better and put the team in position to win games. If he pulls a Scrivens, I don't see any way the D has improved enough to make up for the suckage in net.

If Talbot plays well, Schultz and Yak show dramatic improvement, Hall stays relatively injury-free, Nuge, Lander, and Klefbom progress, mcDavid comes as advertised, and either Nurse or Reinhart can effectively hold down a spot in the top 4, the team can be contenders, but that's a lot of ifs.

 

[Philly85*]

why do any of us listen to any other poster on this forum? I take any opinion with a grain of salt, since even the best and most informed opinions are often wrong anyway. This guy has some opinions and some reasons to back it up. Sometimes being conservative in predictions can be the wrong course, since nothing progresses in real life like it does on paper. Ron MacLean is considered quite knowledgeable about the game and he was quite bullish on the Oilers as well. He's a bit biased, but he's not the only one who thinks we can make the playoffs next year, and most of those people seem to be outside the Oiler fanbase. I don't mind this article simply because we could maybe use a thread that says that next year doesn't have to only be the marginal improvement that almost everyone here says it will be, including myself.

Side note: MacLean said he thinks Nikitin will have a big year. Most say that's silly but again, that could be true too. He's in a contract year. He had nagging back issues last year. You never know

I see it as just another blog with someone trying to get noticed. There's already established people out there with much more credibility who have been around a lot longer.

You can't compare a blog like that (or any one for that matter) with commentary and discourse on a forum like this. This is ongoing, with tons of rooted, as well as greener, posters who continue to delve into the game at 100's of angles. It's just different.

I call ******** when I see it. No nonsense.

 

[Soundwave]

While I think the article is wildly improbable, other teams have completed massive turnarounds (Colorado was mentioned, and before the Hawks were a dynasty, they went from horrible under Savard to contenders under Quenneville).

The key to the season is really the Talbot acquisition. If he plays like he did in New York last year, he'll make the D look better and put the team in position to win games. If he pulls a Scrivens, I don't see any way the D has improved enough to make up for the suckage in net.

If Talbot plays well, Schultz and Yak show dramatic improvement, Hall stays relatively injury-free, Nuge, Lander, and Klefbom progress, mcDavid comes as advertised, and either Nurse or Reinhart can effectively hold down a spot in the top 4, the team can be contenders, but that's a lot of ifs.

If Talbot plays well and Schultz shows improvement, that alone will change a lot about the team.

 

[thadd]

I'm not saying I support what this guy wrote... but here's my take on what has to happen for Edmonton to be a top 4 team.

#1: Coaching. New coaching staff had great success with tons of different youngsters in San Jose. This has to be a repeat. If a couple of key players don't buy in or can't wrap their head around the new system, we ain't gonna be anywhere near the playoffs.

#2: Talbot: Made a ton of saves when shooters were shooting in very dangerous areas last season. Has to prove that wasn't a fluke. If he's only slightly above average we're a bottom 10 team again.

#3: Breakout seasons: We need them out of Yakupov and Hopkins. Hopkins looked much better last year. Much stronger and more effective defensively. More effective against guys who're bigger than him. But it's still not enough. Hopkins and Yakupov BOTH have to really show us why they were drafted 1st overall. If this doesn't happen, we're not making the playoffs.

#4: Connor needs to put up 80 points. I have him pegged for 68-72 points. 80 is a ton.

#5: LD needs to take what he did in the memorial cup and show that he can use it in the NHL. If he can't do this, our third line won't have any offence and we won't be a top 4 team in the West.

#6: Klefbom needs to keep shooting and the puck needs to start going in the net. We all love his shot and he's shooting from the correct place. The puck needs to find the back of the net. Whether he's getting to goal or whether someone is deflecting it in or getting a rebound, it doesn't matter. Klefbom's point shots need to result in goals. Klefbom needs 40 points to convince me that we're going to be a top 4 team.

#7: Justin Schultz needs to prove that Tambo and Mac-T were not complete idiots to sign him. Needs to put big numbers up on the PP and needs to be much more decisive out there. If he doesn't pot at least 25PTS on the PP alone, we're not going to be a top 4 team.

#8: Nikitin needs to come into camp into shape and motivated to earn a contract with an NHL team for the 16/17 season. We can't rely on Nurse and Ference is too old and small for the West. If Nikitin is a bum, we aren't going to make the playoffs.

#9: Hall needs to play at least 75 games. If he's out for 1/3 of the season then our lines are really messed up and some players are going to be playing out of their comfort zone and we won't be going anywhere.

#10: Teddy Purcell needs to play like he actually cares that he's on a contract year. If he's a complete bum again he'll be lucky to get a contract for league minimum after this season.

#11: Pouliot has to play just like he did last season. If we get a lesser Pouliot it's going to screw our Hopkins line up real bad. I love their chemistry.

#12: Sekera needs to play like he did in Carolina. Given he was played on his off side and given a different role in L.A, he wasn't the player the Kings were hoping for when he was traded to L.A. If he flops (I don't think he will) we will flop hard.

#13: We can't get totally screwed over by the injury bug. We have a handful of players in the AHL who're ready to play limited roles in the NHL, but we have no reason to believe that anyone down there is ready for any big responsibilities.

Ah cool. Unlucky #13. That wasn't on purpose. But if all of those things go right we could be a top 4 team in the NHL. Anyone who's nodding their heads with enthusiasm and optimism obviously has no clue how unlikely it is for all of those things to happen. You'd probably have better luck getting struck by lightning on a sunny day, TBH.

Anyhow, that doesn't matter. I'm hoping we finish 9th or 10th in the West.

 

[oilexport]

Our key challenge will be team defence and coaching. We will be good at scoring. I am optimistic every year but this should be a breakout year, points wise. There are many teams that rebuilt like us that turn the corner quickly if managed correctly. Nobody predicts these big jumps but they come. People laughed at Chicago, Pitts, LA and never got those breakout years predicted. It's hard for a hockey writer to predict this, that's why they all usually go the conservative safe route and carry the last years stats to the new year. Kutos to the writer that called the oilers to improve. I'm with him, it's totally possible for a big turnaround, just hard to predict.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

Our key challenge will be team defence and coaching. We will be good at scoring. I am optimistic every year but this should be a breakout year, points wise. There are many teams that rebuilt like us that turn the corner quickly if managed correctly. Nobody predicts these big jumps but they come. People laughed at Chicago, Pitts, LA and never got those breakout years predicted. It's hard for a hockey writer to predict this, that's why they all usually go the conservative safe route and carry the last years stats to the new year. Kutos to the writer that called the oilers to improve. I'm with him, it's totally possible for a big turnaround, just hard to predict.

Those aforementioned teams had youth, but were also elite at each position which lead to their turnarounds.

Edmonton doesn't have anyone remotely in the same tier as Gonchar/Letang, Keith/Seabrook, Doughty.

Can't win the cup in this league without a Norris Caliber Dman.




This article is nothing but Clickbait. Belongs on Buzzfeed or UpWorthy.

 

[oilexport]

Those aforementioned teams had youth, but were also elite at each position which lead to their turnarounds.

Edmonton doesn't have anyone remotely in the same tier as Gonchar/Letang, Keith/Seabrook, Doughty.

Can't win the cup in this league without a Norris Caliber Dman.




This article is nothing but Clickbait. Belongs on Buzzfeed or UpWorthy.

So, Nurse and klef are chop liver ? Your right, our biggest question is a stud or 2 on d but look at what we have.

1. High end forwards ( top 5 in the league).
2. Better coaching and management
3. Good chance at better goaltending.
4. Good depth at D besides the Norris class d which may develop somewhat.

This is a recipe for a playoff team. No big stretch to call that.
Did those D-men you refer to develop from Nurse type talent ?

 

[Game 8]

While I think the article is wildly improbable, other teams have completed massive turnarounds (Colorado was mentioned, and before the Hawks were a dynasty, they went from horrible under Savard to contenders under Quenneville).

The key to the season is really the Talbot acquisition. If he plays like he did in New York last year, he'll make the D look better and put the team in position to win games. If he pulls a Scrivens, I don't see any way the D has improved enough to make up for the suckage in net.

If Talbot plays well, Schultz and Yak show dramatic improvement, Hall stays relatively injury-free, Nuge, Lander, and Klefbom progress, mcDavid comes as advertised, and either Nurse or Reinhart can effectively hold down a spot in the top 4, the team can be contenders, but that's a lot of ifs.

Its a lot of ifs but the more I look into it it appears that each of the Players you are mentioning are taking this off season seriously. The other piece of this that may fall into play is most of these guys are hitting the age when the light turns on if that happens look out! I have not been a sunshine poster during the summer months on here. Im also not saying I expect great and wonderful things this year, I expect we still miss the playoffs. That being said if all of the lights turn on this year it would not be a complete surprise!

 

[Perfect_Drug]

So, Nurse and klef are chop liver ? Your right, our biggest question is a stud or 2 on d but look at what we have.

At least 15+ teams have players on caliber as Nurse/Reinhart/Klefbom developing in their systems or incubating in the NHL.



Less than 10 teams currently have a 'Norris-caliber' player.


We are not among those 10 teams.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

The article was pretty silly but it did bring up on valid point: Our division is really, really weak. The Ducks are the only surefire playoff team with the Flames/Kings in the next tier and then comes a bunch of teams in disarray and turmoil.

 

[Worraps]

It's a very optimistic take on things and needless to say, I wouldn't bet on it.

However ... it's not outside the realm of possibility.

It definitely was outside the realm of possibility on April 17.

 

[Stoneman89]

I'm very optimistic, but that is a lot of inexperience with many of the guys coming in, and it will take some time for that to settle down. I look for a slow to mediocre start with things picking up as the season goes on.

 

[nerblet]

I hope mainly that we don't tank it the first ten games and lose confidence. We need a good solid first few and get the confidence going

 

[nexttothemoon]

Oilers start out the season with 5 out of their first 6 games on the road... which is probably good so that can get into the swing of things without extra pressure of the home game environment.

 

[McDynasty]

That article has got some gems lol







What a laughable article.

It's BOLD, I lol'd, But there was thing I did agree with is that we will ice three good lines, and have really good players like Lander and Drai, (maybe Yak?) playing against third line opposing teams.