2018/19 Edmonton Oilers style of play and identity

[guymez]

I think the effort and will to make significant systematic changes to the way the team plays is a good thing. It shows that the coaches are at least somewhat adaptable and not completely rigid, which was a complaint about TM last year.

As with everything, effort is only one part of the equation though. We will see how they execute the new gameplan.

Wow...I agree 100% with this.
Feels odd.

 

[Mr Positive]

well, all reports are that coaching has been studying a lot of tape, and Tmac is included, and so when they say that they are doing a style that will suit the players I'll be cautiously optimistic about it. As for Lucic in this... I'm not sure. Either they have confidence in him improving over the summer, have an idea for a reduced role, or they plan on not having him on the team. You never know. Maybe playing a fast style will help Lucic.

 

[Cloned]

Wow...I agree 100% with this.
Feels odd.

Get used to being on the right side.

 

[guymez]

Get used to being on the right side.

Not the left?
I'm good with that.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

Not sure what you stating here. Are claiming that you wrote the article?

No. Nevermind.

I didnt read the article.

 

[Aerchon]

Seems like a terrific failure bound to happen .

I love the hires. I love the things Mclellan has been saying. I think Gul is a good coach...

Im not sure changing the system to suit faster players is a good strategy with players we have. We are now a bigger team with a few faster guys. We still need to play to those qualities.

Fast players: McDavid...

Above average to average: Leon, Nuge, Rattie, Cagullia, jp, Reider, Kassian... Sometimes? Yama if he makes the team?

Below average to average: Lucic, Strome, Kharia, Brodziack. Some pretty key players imo systematically speaking.

Our back end isnt exactly a plethora of fast pucking moving types either. More a mixed bag of 2 way guys.

Guys with great size and strength: Leon, JP, Kassian, Lucic, Kharia, and Brodziack. Only a few weaker guys.

Back end has toughness as well with Nurse, Sekera, Larsson, Benning, and Russel...

I think being hard to play against and tight systems is the better appoach and failed last year due to lack of buy in/player execution/coaching/injury.

Going too extreme for speed will go against both Todd and Guls strengths as well as the teams imo. Tweaking systems and utilizing particular players slightly different is what I would suggest.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Negative for the sake of being negative.

Sounds familiar.

Imagine one being negative about how sports teams are run in Edmonton. Oh the horror of reflecting how bad they are.

lmao that we got a Calgary coach that this board spend years laughing at and saying "he's as bad as Eakins" but you like it BECAUSE he's a Calgary coach.

 

[rboomercat90]

Imagine one being negative about how sports teams are run in Edmonton. Oh the horror of reflecting how bad they are.

lmao that we got a Calgary coach that this board spend years laughing at and saying "he's as bad as Eakins" but you like it BECAUSE he's a Calgary coach.

Gulutzan has better hair than Eakins, that should make him a better coach.

 

[oobga]

Gulutzan has better hair than Eakins, that should make him a better coach.

How is his body fat % though? ANd best marathon time? daily carb count?

 

[Drivesaitl]

Gulutzan has better hair than Eakins, that should make him a better coach.

Plus he's more interesting at practice. No wait, watching Eakins sneer at players was comedy gold even if he didn't throw sticks around. Eakins could show his entire contempt just with his chicklets.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

I love the hires. I love the things Mclellan has been saying. I think Gul is a good coach...

Im not sure changing the system to suit faster players is a good strategy with players we have. We are now a bigger team with a few faster guys. We still need to play to those qualities.

Fast players: McDavid...

Above average to average: Leon, Nuge, Rattie, Cagullia, jp, Reider, Kassian... Sometimes? Yama if he makes the team?

Below average to average: Lucic, Strome, Kharia, Brodziack. Some pretty key players imo systematically speaking.

Our back end isnt exactly a plethora of fast pucking moving types either. More a mixed bag of 2 way guys.

Guys with great size and strength: Leon, JP, Kassian, Lucic, Kharia, and Brodziack. Only a few weaker guys.

Back end has toughness as well with Nurse, Sekera, Larsson, Benning, and Russel...

I think being hard to play against and tight systems is the better appoach and failed last year due to lack of buy in/player execution/coaching/injury.

Going too extreme for speed will go against both Todd and Guls strengths as well as the teams imo. Tweaking systems and utilizing particular players slightly different is what I would suggest.

I dislike when they react just pick an identity and make it work.

The chia plan did work-- for the firSt time in a decade they had success.

I just hope katz lowe arnt fawning over gulutzan and being sold an eakins level screwjob.

If they are making competent adjustments fine. Im not saying they cant adjust after a down year.....just worried who is in the drivers seat and are they reacting or sticking to a plan?

 

[McDNicks17]

I love the hires. I love the things Mclellan has been saying. I think Gul is a good coach...

Im not sure changing the system to suit faster players is a good strategy with players we have. We are now a bigger team with a few faster guys. We still need to play to those qualities.

Fast players: McDavid...

Above average to average: Leon, Nuge, Rattie, Cagullia, jp, Reider, Kassian... Sometimes? Yama if he makes the team?

Below average to average: Lucic, Strome, Kharia, Brodziack. Some pretty key players imo systematically speaking.

Our back end isnt exactly a plethora of fast pucking moving types either. More a mixed bag of 2 way guys.

Guys with great size and strength: Leon, JP, Kassian, Lucic, Kharia, and Brodziack. Only a few weaker guys.

Back end has toughness as well with Nurse, Sekera, Larsson, Benning, and Russel...

I think being hard to play against and tight systems is the better appoach and failed last year due to lack of buy in/player execution/coaching/injury.

Going too extreme for speed will go against both Todd and Guls strengths as well as the teams imo. Tweaking systems and utilizing particular players slightly different is what I would suggest.

Increasing the pace of play isn't really about skating speed, IMO.

It's going to be more due to quicker decisions and cleaner zone entries.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Increasing the pace of play isn't really about skating speed, IMO.

It's going to be more due to quicker decisions and cleaner zone entries.

Maroon I felt was the one winger that got it and knew that making decisions with the puck quickly and moving it was the answer.

Rattie showed some signs, Aberg showed he could move the puck quickly to either jersey and..

 

[Aerrol]

How are they trying to outsmart the League? Gulutzan said that a few teams are already using the system they want to implement.

As far as I can see this isnt an Eakins reinvent the wheel thing going on here.

To be fair, Eakins also said a lot of things that I thought sounded interesting at first. Even the 'swarm' defence sounded just crazy enough that it might work to me. I'm tentatively hopeful about how this sounds, but it could still blow up in our faces. Of course, it also sounds like how the better offensive teams in the league play (Tampa, Pittsburgh) so I don't have any arguments with the approach other than a concern that our roster isn't fast enough.

 

[Aerchon]

Increasing the pace of play isn't really about skating speed, IMO.

It's going to be more due to quicker decisions and cleaner zone entries.

If that's all it is they were saying that last year already. I get the impression this is a more significant change.

 

[rboomercat90]

If that's all it is they were saying that last year already. I get the impression this is a more significant change.

The only way changing game plans will work is if you have coaches capable of teaching the players. I knew Eakins was done here when he started complaining publicly that the players didn’t know how to play defence. He didn’t seem to get that part of his job was to teach them. We started hearing similar things from Mclellan last year and it concerned me neither he nor his assistants were good teachers either. Hopefully Gulutzan, Yawney and Vivieros are.

 

[Aerchon]

Teaching defense is something McLellan, Gulf, and Yawney (?) are all good at... mostly.

McLellan improved the team immensely in year one and two.

Gul did the same for Calgary.

Both teams were very bad at defense before those coaches came you thier teams.

 

[Cloned]

If that's all it is they were saying that last year already. I get the impression this is a more significant change.

Yeah, this sounds like a significant systematic change to me. Changing the forecheck and breakout systems completely.

 

[oobga]

The only way changing game plans will work is if you have coaches capable of teaching the players. I knew Eakins was done here when he started complaining publicly that the players didn’t know how to play defence. He didn’t seem to get that part of his job was to teach them. We started hearing similar things from Mclellan last year and it concerned me neither he nor his assistants were good teachers either. Hopefully Gulutzan, Yawney and Vivieros are.

I think Eakins thought he was teaching them, but he was trying to teach something that had no hope of working. He would have cratered any team in the league, full of vets or not with what he was selling. Same thing as our PK last year until they just went back to a normal box around Feb. Eakins also didn't seem to believe in actually practising stuff. Just listening to him in front of a white board should be enough to execute flawlessly at game time.

I think we have a staff now of guys that not only have a grasp of what should and shouldn't work in the NHL, but also get the importance of practice.

 

[guymez]

To be fair, Eakins also said a lot of things that I thought sounded interesting at first. Even the 'swarm' defence sounded just crazy enough that it might work to me. I'm tentatively hopeful about how this sounds, but it could still blow up in our faces. Of course, it also sounds like how the better offensive teams in the league play (Tampa, Pittsburgh) so I don't have any arguments with the approach other than a concern that our roster isn't fast enough.

I think its fair to say that some posters out there (not directing this at you at all) will do their best to try and spin this in a negative light. They consistently show up in any thread that tries to generate some positive vibes.

My take on this is that the most likely plan to blow up in their faces would be to maintain the status quo.

Also...this is less about team speed and more about quicker puck movement.
Implementing a system that utilizes team strengths based on personnel and encourages quicker puck movement is absolutely fine by me.
To be honest I dont see a single negative with this approach.

 

[KCC]

Work ethic is the biggest problem. Standing around like pylons most nights watching McDavid do all the work.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Teaching defense is something McLellan, Gulf, and Yawney (?) are all good at... mostly.

McLellan improved the team immensely in year one and two.

Gul did the same for Calgary.

Both teams were very bad at defense before those coaches came you thier teams.

Calgary was good at defense?

As mentioned above work ethic, adherence, and the right personnel were the biggest problems last season. Our winger support was abysmal and continues to be moving forward with this lineup.

Competent Centers cannot both make and receive all passes and sustain puck possession themselves. As long as we have entirely uninvolved wingers like Kass, Lucic, and a slew of not very good wingers it doesn't matter what system we play if half our forward lineup isn't much good at NHL level of hockey.

So that pinning this all on coaching is org window dressing. We know the main problem is the team Chia put together.

 

[Aerchon]

Calgary was good at defense?

As mentioned above work ethic, adherence, and the right personnel were the biggest problems last season. Our winger support was abysmal and continues to be moving forward with this lineup.

Competent Centers cannot both make and receive all passes and sustain puck possession themselves. As long as we have entirely uninvolved wingers like Kass, Lucic, and a slew of not very good wingers it doesn't matter what system we play if half our forward lineup isn't much good at NHL level of hockey.

So that pinning this all on coaching is org window dressing. We know the main problem is the team Chia put together.

Calgary got better at defense... Much better than they were anyways.

While obviously you need wingers they are just as obviously the least important pieces of a team. We were also a much worse team with elite wingers and crap everywhere else. Imo anyway.

Only so much cap space to go around. We have a plethora of winger prospects... Every year, every team, says they have a plan. Chiarelli has filled out an average nhl defense from very little, an incredible group of centers, and at least decent goaltending. Prospects at every position...

After the BS of the previous 9 years being able to actually see a semblance of a actual plan with some actual results seems 1000 times better than loading up on elite winger and hoping for the best.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

I have a highly unpopular opinion:

I think RNH is going to end up being Draisaitl's winger, and they will be dynamite together with Yam/Pool.

McDavids line will continue to operate as just McDavid does on his own. Likely with Reider and Yam/Pool

Lucic-Strome-Kassian
Khaira- Brodz - Cags

Rattie will be our serviceable 13th

 

[belair]

Rattie's a scoring winger or he's on waivers. He doesn't have the game to be an effective checker. St Louis and Carolina can attest.