2018/19 Edmonton Oilers style of play and identity

[Little Fury]

Coaching can make a big impact... negative or positive.... ie Eakins.

I think this team could improve if they worked their asses off practicing better puck movement and positioning.

It's not some pseudo babble "corsi++/swarm" scheme the new coaches are talking about like the previous snakeoil salesman... it's simply getting faster with puck movement... which is obviously something we as fans have seen and acknowledged they must do as well.

To have incoming coaches on the same page and realizing that's an area that has to change is "good" imo. Now we just have to see how capable they and the players are at actually achieving those improvements.

It's still up to the players to execute and the concern is there just isn't enough skill up front to make it happen.

 

[joestevens29]

It's still up to the players to execute and the concern is there just isn't enough skill up front to make it happen.

It should be up to the coaches to come up with a coaching playbook that will get the most out of the talent on the club. I really think MacT was good at this, but since him a lot of guys just stick to their plan and don't adjust.

The fact that the PP took so long to be adjusted really emphasis this point. Of all things that PP should've been the easiest thing to fix. You can't find a way for a McDavid PP to be successful? Let alone just god awful

 

[Del Preston]

More comments from Gulutzan about how the Oilers will play:

“North-south. Shorter passes. More support to the puck. Less D-to-D passes. More quick-ups. Cleaner breakouts. Different forechecks,” he listed. “You can play quicker, rather than just playing that traditional style. We’ve gone over every one of those things and identified three areas where we want to change.

“Pace of play, overall, is what the people in the seats will be able to say, ‘Hey, they look quicker.’”

“Less video, more communication,” Gulutzan said. “The one thing we sometimes undervalue as coaches is confidence. At this high level, a lot of it is mental, and sometimes it’s about clearing guys’ plates and letting them focus in on certain areas. And building their game up.

“When I say less video, I’m saying it’s more on the mental side. ‘Let’s not worry about this. Let’s just focus on this.’”

And he talks about Lucic:

As a guy who has spent much of the past decade figuring out how to beat the Oilers, Gulutzan can’t wait to get his coaching hands on Milan Lucic.

“For Trent and I, coming from Anaheim and Calgary, we still think he is one of the most feared players in the league. There are two guys in the league who get a lot of room because of their presence. One is a fourth-line guy in (Ryan) Reaves, and the other is Looch. I know teams are leery to play against him.

“Everyone here knew that. But I don’t know to the extent that they knew it had an effect on other teams. I think we have to tap into that, and Trent thinks that too. Looch wields a pretty big stick in this league, as far as room and presence.”

Gulutzan talks boosting Oilers' speed, Lucic's redemption potential - Sportsnet.ca

 

[TB12]

Warms my heart hearing they will be changing their breakout. Seeing D to D and hard rim as (almost) the only breakout option the last few years almost gave me an aneurysm.

 

[SomeDudeOTI]

More comments from Gulutzan about how the Oilers will play:

And he talks about Lucic:

Gulutzan talks boosting Oilers' speed, Lucic's redemption potential - Sportsnet.ca

I like what he said about confidence, we need the coaches to help build that and not destroy it. Also liked the Looch comments, it'll be interesting to see his usage and linemates this year.

 

[Aerrol]

More comments from Gulutzan about how the Oilers will play:

And he talks about Lucic:

Gulutzan talks boosting Oilers' speed, Lucic's redemption potential - Sportsnet.ca

All good things on paper - including the points about Lucic. If we're ever going to get value out of him we absolutely have to play to his strengths, not expect him to pace McDavid and Draisaitl. Happy to hear it. Especially the reduction of D to D passes lol.

 

[nabob]

I am glad that the coaching staff is talking like they have already done a ton of evaluating from last season and know how they want to play and know what they are working with. Seems like it’s been forever that coaches have been talking about evaluating what works and giving the process time. Really all they have been doing it making sure that the things that aren’t working are indeed not working. That it took so long to make simple adjustments to our special teams is proof of that.

 

[McFlash97]

You do realize that this is about moving the puck faster...correct?

.....did the players I mention magically develop puck moving skills as well ? Sekera will be a shadow of himself. He was just above average at moving the puck before his injury....

 

[guymez]

I think that it cant be overstated how important it is to have 2 (former) opposing team perspectives on the Oilers and their players. I also like the fact that McLellan is letting both Yawney and GG (and Vivreos) develop their own one on one opinions of each player instead of coloring it with his input.
I like this approach.

I am also going to suggest that having the long road trip to start the season is going to be a huge positive for this team. It provides an opportunity for team unity right from the get go and that will also include more relationship building with the players and coaches. They will be with each other every day on and off the ice for a few weeks.
I also think that being out of Rogers Place to start will make a big difference as well. They are out of the fishbowl for a few weeks so they can get their feet under them.

I am really looking forward to September when all this gets under way...even more so than last season. I expected regression last season...I am expecting the opposite this season and the new coaching staff combined with the season starting road trip is a large part of why my expectations are much higher this year.

 

[guymez]

.....did the players I mention magically develop puck moving skills as well ? Sekera will be a shadow of himself. He was just above average at moving the puck before his injury....

Of course there are question marks...nobody is saying otherwise. You seem to think you have things all figured out before the puck even drops.

Re Sekera...you do realize that it often takes a year to get over the type of injury he had...right?

 

[Del Preston]

.....did the players I mention magically develop puck moving skills as well ? Sekera will be a shadow of himself. He was just above average at moving the puck before his injury....

It is easier to move the puck with shorter passes though.

A few more faster players would be nice to have but nothing moves faster than the puck. If the Oilers stop the hail mary passes and use short, quick passes instead, they will be a much better team at moving up the ice. The team doesn't have a great passer on the back end right now (maybe Bouchard will be), so the system should be designed around the strengths of what they have.

 

[Drivesaitl]

All good things on paper - including the points about Lucic. If we're ever going to get value out of him we absolutely have to play to his strengths, not expect him to pace McDavid and Draisaitl. Happy to hear it. Especially the reduction of D to D passes lol.

Its the same old same old. Build the players up, build on their strengths. Jebus this is why we brought McLellan and Mr Rogers here. With Woodcrap now being tossed to the AHL so he can smile at players there all night while drawing squiggles on his etch a sketch.

This for the most part has been good ship nice except when McLellan loses his mind and starts saying stupid shit about Draisaitl.

Talk of moving the puck with crisp short passes is nice but this has been the scheme for years. The players decided not to execute this scheme. We had players like Kassian who's version of puck support is being on the wrong side of the blueline.

D are passing it back and forth sometimes because guys are flying zone without a breakout pass being there. WE had complete games where McD, Drai, especially would be flying zone. What we seem to be lacking is some intermediary passes to get it to guys on the fly.

That said our problems are generally not on the rush. Our problems are giving the puck away blind with AWFUL passes or failures to receive a pass. With Lucic it was so mind numbingly awful seeing not even being able to receive a medium tempo pass. We have two of the purest passers in the game and you'd never know it by watching any of Lucic, Strome, Khaira, Caggs, Pulju taking a pass. Those are supposed to be our better wingers, not even going to mention the rest.

 

[belair]

This isn't exactly fair. Cogliano himself said it wasn't until Boudreau(2nd coach in ANA) told him that he was a winger that should be more of a fore checker/special teams guys that he finally decided to buy into what coaches had been telling him for years.

It was something I was saying in his third year here. I hated that trade.

 

[Drivesaitl]

So heres the problem with statements like less D-D passes. The converse is quick passes into traffic on strong coverage side. That's the side of the dump in right? Teams shoot the puck into the side that they bring heat. That's cover side usually. That's WHY teams pass D - D to try to disguise which side the breakout is going. To not do that is worse than doing it..think about it. That's why when you hear stuff like "We'll be doing less D - D passes its not only simplistic, its scary, or should be. Because we're talking a higher risk break out scheme trying to hit people hot without the PMD or the puck support to have that happen. Instead what will occur is quick D passes into traffic. Mark it down.

Heres a key thing here. We have this bold gameplan of quick outs from our own zone. But we forgot one detail. We don't possess one goalie who handles the puck well. Neither Talbot or Koskinen are good at it. That's a pretty important point to be leaving out of all this. Because basically ALL teams that have a quick strike breakout have goalies that are stopping the puck up or moving it to D on nearly every dump in. G-D is an integral part of most quick breaks in the NHL. Its huge. I love Talbot, but he really does lack that. Scouting and visual report on Koskinen is he's an adventure handling the puck. (maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised) So that either D has heat right away on the forecheck and are pressured. That's why the D-D passing occurs. It isn't for fun and games.

So we lack PMD, we lack PMG, and we lack adequate PMW but we're going to be great moving the puck up ice quick. yeah, dumping it out..

Its so clear we don't have the lineup for the schemes we are hearing about. Look for adjustments and retooling in gameplan by around game 20.

 

[Aerrol]

Its the same old same old. Build the players up, build on their strengths. Jebus this is why we brought McLellan and Mr Rogers here. With Woodcrap now being tossed to the AHL so he can smile at players there all night while drawing squiggles on his etch a sketch.

This for the most part has been good ship nice except when McLellan loses his mind and starts saying stupid **** about Draisaitl.

Talk of moving the puck with crisp short passes is nice but this has been the scheme for years. The players decided not to execute this scheme. We had players like Kassian who's version of puck support is being on the wrong side of the blueline.

D are passing it back and forth sometimes because guys are flying zone without a breakout pass being there. WE had complete games where McD, Drai, especially would be flying zone. What we seem to be lacking is some intermediary passes to get it to guys on the fly.

That said our problems are generally not on the rush. Our problems are giving the puck away blind with AWFUL passes or failures to receive a pass. With Lucic it was so mind numbingly awful seeing not even being able to receive a medium tempo pass. We have two of the purest passers in the game and you'd never know it by watching any of Lucic, Strome, Khaira, Caggs, Pulju taking a pass. Those are supposed to be our better wingers, not even going to mention the rest.

Agree with some of this - of course talk is cheap, and we need to see results. I also share your concerns about the roster flat-out not being good enough. But I disagree that our largest problem was forwards flying the zone. The Oil have very obviously been coached something along the lines of "when in doubt, chip it deep up the boards". It's not just the damn D doing this instead of making a break-out pass (though they're the most aggravating to watch). Tonnes of our forwards were doing this, especially mid-late last season when I suspect McLellan was trying to get them back to basics. Anything that cuts down on dump and chase when pass options are there is a good thing in my eyes.

 

[nexttothemoon]

So heres the problem with statements like less D-D passes. The converse is quick passes into traffic on strong coverage side. That's the side of the dump in right? Teams shoot the puck into the side that they bring heat. That's cover side usually. That's WHY teams pass D - D to try to disguise which side the breakout is going. To not do that is worse than doing it..think about it. That's why when you hear stuff like "We'll be doing less D - D passes its not only simplistic, its scary, or should be. Because we're talking a higher risk break out scheme trying to hit people hot without the PMD or the puck support to have that happen. Instead what will occur is quick D passes into traffic. Mark it down.

Heres a key thing here. We have this bold gameplan of quick outs from our own zone. But we forgot one detail. We don't possess one goalie who handles the puck well. Neither Talbot or Koskinen are good at it. That's a pretty important point to be leaving out of all this. Because basically ALL teams that have a quick strike breakout have goalies that are stopping the puck up or moving it to D on nearly every dump in. G-D is an integral part of most quick breaks in the NHL. Its huge. I love Talbot, but he really does lack that. Scouting and visual report on Koskinen is he's an adventure handling the puck. (maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised) So that either D has heat right away on the forecheck and are pressured. That's why the D-D passing occurs. It isn't for fun and games.

So we lack PMD, we lack PMG, and we lack adequate PMW but we're going to be great moving the puck up ice quick. yeah, dumping it out..

Its so clear we don't have the lineup for the schemes we are hearing about. Look for adjustments and retooling in gameplan by around game 20.

It's easy to be critical after the season they just had and why not... it all looks like doom and gloom and it's easy to think it's a team filled with one armed sloths save for Usain Bolt and only a couple other players who have a clue offensively... Drai and RNH and not much else.


You have to turn the page though. New coaches can bring a new focus and this team does have some players with some actual skill.

There's some fresh faces on this team as well that should/could be hungry and they may respond well to the new coaching regimes.

Aberg
Rieder
Brodziak
Rattie
Yamamoto
Gravel
Bouchard

I expect all these players to make a push for spots on the team... some are a given (Brodziak at 4C) but the rest should be hungry to show what they can do to get roster spots. Rieder/Aberg/Yamamoto have good to above average speed. Rattie has some offensive skills. Gravel had some offense in his game when he was in LA and Bouchard we know is a great passer and his offensive IQ is huge.

The Oilers hopefully have a healthy Sekera and Klefbom back again... both of whom are at least average offensively whereas you might as well say they were missing from the team last year with how they played.

Nurse has got speed and isn't finished developing either.

Benning... same story... he isn't a finished project and his abilities in the offensive end are better than he's given credit for.

Kassian has some speed... same with Caggiula... same with JP who is well above average in his skating ability. Their offense has gone pretty dry but with a sustained focus on speed and breakouts... that may be re-ignited in those players as well.

RNH can skate well... not blistering but he's agile and plays well with McD.

Drai once he gets going is above average... they need to find more ways to get him wheeling and getting him the puck in motion because with his size and skill he should be a demon coming into the ozone.

McDavid is McDavid... we know he's going to be elite and likely even better as he drives himself likely harder than anyone in the league. That 1st line will continue to dominate and may even be better when teams actually have to focus on lines 2 and 3 if they do indeed get better this season (which shouldn't be hard seeing how poor they were last season outside of Drai).


I actually am neutral.. not negative on this upcoming season... because I think there are ingredients there in this roster to improve a lot upon what the team did last year. We just obviously have to see if the coaches can get those players to actually channel the strengths of their skillsets into something that creates more wins than losses.

Quicker passes and better positioning also will help defensively as well... getting the puck out and deeper down the ice under control obviously means less time spent defending and trying to chase opponents around in the D-zone.

I also agree that it shouldn't take that long to notice if the new "speed game" is working either... if the team still seems slow and plodding and isn't noticeably quicker with their passing/breakouts and isn't providing better puck support... that's something we can all notice a few weeks into the season.


This won't be a situation where we have to watch for the magic of swarms and winning the corsi battles to play out on the ice... we'll know right on the scoreboard each night whether they are increasing their quickness enough to produce results that lead to outscoring the competition and winning more games.

 

[guymez]

The problem as I saw it last season was less about personnel and more about what was going on between their ears.

Many ex Oilers (and current Oilers like Lucic) have said in interviews that after their 103 point season the team thought it was going to be easier than it was. There was evidence of that throughout the season. Players not bothering to back check (most specifically Draisaitl, Maroon, Lucic...et al)...players not picking up assignments in the D zone....players overthinking and over handling the puck. This was a team that wasnt in sync with what it takes to win.
When a team is mentally out of the game the rest follows....lack of execution....missed assignments...negative disposition...and and on it goes. Its a losing season folks and it was throughout the roster.
I love the people slagging Larsson....I am willing to bet that 90% of them still havent gotten past the deal that brought him here. So his one bad season with the Oil is now held up like its a beacon for things to come.
What utter nonsense.
The player evaluations in this thread (for the most part) are overtly negative. I say that because posters are using last season as their primary evaluation tool...they conveniently omit the prior season like its an outlier or something and then heavily weight last season like it has more relevance. Really odd but I get it...it supports their negativity.

I would be shocked if we dont see a more determined and committed group this season. Shocked.
That in and of itself will make a huge difference. The coaching changes are another positive IMO and if they can help to simplify the game and help to disconnect players from overthinking then that is another huge positive.
The unusual length of the upcoming Europe trip and subsequent road trip will be an opportunity for the team and coaches to get on the same page and unify. Another potential positive.


I get that some posters have this seemingly never ending need to be negative (and piss all over anything positive) but here is a novel concept...instead of trying to convince the board that you are smarter than everyone else (or at least inconsolably forlorn in your life) how about actually waiting to see how this is going to play out?

Its fine if there are skeptics...I get that. Its justified for sure.
That said at the very least maybe (like a true skeptic) be open to the possibility that these changes will make a difference and stop being a miserable cynic with incontinence issues.
/rant

Man...I feel much better now.

The bottom line and my reason for creating this thread....If the coaches can simplify their game and make it more instinctual then IMO its a major difference maker. I am willing to bet that it works out.
In any event I thought it was worth discussing.

 

[Cloned]

A fantastic post about the Penguins' system:

The Penguins run a 1-2-2 in the neutral zone with an added wrinkle that is generally called a swing. This means the middle "2" will interchange with/join the top "1" to provide dual pressure on the forecheck. They'll press the top forechecker high, and they'll loop a second player in to provide pressure on top of the first forechecker. That first forechecker rotates into his spot, and the cycle repeats.

Defensively, the Penguins (to the bane of all of us) run a puck-side overload. That means they attack the puck side of the ice four strong, generally leaving one player back in the slot to protect the back door.

Offensively it's basically no holds barred. They gain possession, cycle, and generally just run wild. There's mostly no sense in attempting to discern commonalities when 87/71/81 are out there just doing whatever comes naturally.

This guy is a writer for The Athletic and breaks down the Pens systems play on his Twitter account too.

I think there's a chance we'll see the Oilers run that type of forecheck.

 

[Aerrol]

I think that it cant be overstated how important it is to have 2 (former) opposing team perspectives on the Oilers and their players. I also like the fact that McLellan is letting both Yawney and GG (and Vivreos) develop their own one on one opinions of each player instead of coloring it with his input.
I like this approach.

I agree on this point as well. I think it's really interesting that we recruited from our enemies, so to speak. Anyone know how common this is? It seems fairly rare to me, but I pay very little to coaching staffs outside of the Oilers and Penguins.

 

[Spawn]

The problem as I saw it last season was less about personnel and more about what was going on between their ears.

Many ex Oilers (and current Oilers like Lucic) have said in interviews that after their 103 point season the team thought it was going to be easier than it was. There was evidence of that throughout the season. Players not bothering to back check (most specifically Draisaitl, Maroon, Lucic...et al)...players not picking up assignments in the D zone....players overthinking and over handling the puck. This was a team that wasnt in sync with what it takes to win.
When a team is mentally out of the game the rest follows....lack of execution....missed assignments...negative disposition...and and on it goes. Its a losing season folks and it was throughout the roster.
I love the people slagging Larsson....I am willing to bet that 90% of them still havent gotten past the deal that brought him here. So his one bad season with the Oil is now held up like its a beacon for things to come.
What utter nonsense.
The player evaluations in this thread (for the most part) are overtly negative. I say that because posters are using last season as their primary evaluation tool...they conveniently omit the prior season like its an outlier or something and then heavily weight last season like it has more relevance. Really odd but I get it...it supports their negativity.

I would be shocked if we dont see a more determined and committed group this season. Shocked.
That in and of itself will make a huge difference. The coaching changes are another positive IMO and if they can help to simplify the game and help to disconnect players from overthinking then that is another huge positive.
The unusual length of the upcoming Europe trip and subsequent road trip will be an opportunity for the team and coaches to get on the same page and unify. Another potential positive.


I get that some posters have this seemingly never ending need to be negative (and piss all over anything positive) but here is a novel concept...instead of trying to convince the board that you are smarter than everyone else (or at least inconsolably forlorn in your life) how about actually waiting to see how this is going to play out?

Its fine if there are skeptics...I get that. Its justified for sure.
That said at the very least maybe (like a true skeptic) be open to the possibility that these changes will make a difference and stop being a miserable cynic with incontinence issues.
/rant

Man...I feel much better now.

The bottom line and my reason for creating this thread....If the coaches can simplify their game and make it more instinctual then IMO its a major difference maker. I am willing to bet that it works out.
In any event I thought it was worth discussing.

People think the most season is more relevant than the one from two seasons ago? What a shocker...

 

[Drivesaitl]

People think the most season is more relevant than the one from two seasons ago? What a shocker...

Also considering the roster which is worse than the one seen in 16-17. But yeah, recent results are usually most indicative of status quo, being that it is status quo.

That said I too expect the Oilers to rebound a bit because it would be difficult to be as bad or worse. We should see better performances from Lucic, Kass, and helf from Reider and Brodziak. But its only so much. This team could flirt with a playoff spot but it will be a struggle to get one. But any injury to McD or Draisaitl and it is all over. Done.

 

[McFlash97]

It is easier to move the puck with shorter passes though.

A few more faster players would be nice to have but nothing moves faster than the puck. If the Oilers stop the hail mary passes and use short, quick passes instead, they will be a much better team at moving up the ice. The team doesn't have a great passer on the back end right now (maybe Bouchard will be), so the system should be designed around the strengths of what they have.

Agree with you, but when did the Oilers ever develop a system designed to play to the key strenghts of players they have. Not in a very long time. The Oilers get lucky draft Drai and Connor, they then go out and supplement them with Lucic and Strome, Etc etc instead of building a team capable of pace.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Agree with you, but when did the Oilers ever develop a system designed to play to the key strenghts of players they have. Not in a very long time. The Oilers get lucky draft Drai and Connor, they then go out and supplement them with Lucic and Strome, Etc etc instead of building a team capable of pace.

Plus we trade one of the best pace players in the game in Taylor Hall. We also trade Eberle who can move the puck around. But you covered the post well. It doesn't make any sense. There is no matching with approach and personnel here, none. We also no longer have Maroon who was one of our best wingers when it came to being able to play with talent in topsix and distribute puck quickly.

But the bolded is the key. Its the difference between an org with a concerted working plan that is consistent and seen to fruition vs an org blowing it up and searching for a new plan every season.

 

[nexttothemoon]

I do agree that the team (management/coaches) don't seem to be able to get this team to play to their strengths consistently. They were good/above average 2 seasons ago... because they were healthy and everyone played up to (or beyond in some cases) expectations.

I think they were obviously a hungry team and after 10 years of losing... they played well and were a hard team to play against... opposing players and coaches noticed that and said so during that 16/17 season.

As others have mentioned... this team got lazy last season and took their previous season's success for granted.. and sure enough letting off the gas and still expecting wins (when the rest of the league likely was taking the Oilers more seriously than ever having seen their success in 16/17) caused a 25 pt decline in the team.

The margin for error in the league is slim and you can go from a playoff team to bottom ten in a flash based on a poor stretch early on where your team isn't equal to the opposition in offense, defense or goaltending... and once you fall behind, the losing feeds on itself, an injury or two hits, confidence falls... and it's all over.

I think that's why the mental part is going to be huge this season. They HAVE to be a determined team to begin the season and get their shit together early so they can build back that confidence (almost swagger) they were starting to have in 16/17. I'm hoping the coaches address that as well as the team quickness.


I don't think they are the most talented team BUT I do think they have a fairly solid lineup IF every player plays up to their fullest abilities. They have to be hungry and work their asses off and outwork their opponents from the opening faceoff instead of limping into games and falling behind because the opposition wants the game more than they do... which is what we saw too many times last season.

 

[joestevens29]

I do agree that the team (management/coaches) don't seem to be able to get this team to play to their strengths consistently. They were good/above average 2 seasons ago... because they were healthy and everyone played up to (or beyond in some cases) expectations.

I think they were obviously a hungry team and after 10 years of losing... they played well and were a hard team to play against... opposing players and coaches noticed that and said so during that 16/17 season.

As others have mentioned... this team got lazy last season and took their previous season's success for granted.. and sure enough letting off the gas and still expecting wins (when the rest of the league likely was taking the Oilers more seriously than ever having seen their success in 16/17) caused a 25 pt decline in the team.

The margin for error in the league is slim and you can go from a playoff team to bottom ten in a flash based on a poor stretch early on where your team isn't equal to the opposition in offense, defense or goaltending... and once you fall behind, the losing feeds on itself, an injury or two hits, confidence falls... and it's all over.

I think that's why the mental part is going to be huge this season. They HAVE to be a determined team to begin the season and get their **** together early so they can build back that confidence (almost swagger) they were starting to have in 16/17. I'm hoping the coaches address that as well as the team quickness.


I don't think they are the most talented team BUT I do think they have a fairly solid lineup IF every player plays up to their fullest abilities. They have to be hungry and work their asses off and outwork their oppoents from the opening faceoff instead of limping into games and falling behind because the opposition wants the game more than they do... which is what we saw too many times last season.

The main problem is teams adjusted to our game. We stayed status quo and didn't the necessary adjustments.