Analyzing the Future of the Edmonton Oilers

[Perfect_Drug]

Effort is the crutch used by fans that have no idea how to break down what is happening in a game.

Like the 14/15 Flames were all about effort! They tied a while bunch of games with a couple minutes left on fluke plays and snuck into the playoffs.

Had they not gotten that luck the "effort" fans would have been all over them.

I think during the pre-McDavid days, a few of the veterans broke down what exactly "effort" really meant.

When you're in last place, do you REALLY want to go down and block a fully loaded point shot?

Do you REALLY want to take a hit to make a play when you're out of the playoff race in November?

If your team has NEVER ONCE come back from a 3rd period deficit, do you REALLY want to stand in the slot taking abuse when you're down 2 goals in the third?

 

[Bank Shot]

I think during the pre-McDavid days, a few of the veterans broke down what exactly "effort" really meant.

When you're in last place, do you REALLY want to go down and block a fully loaded point shot?

Do you REALLY want to take a hit to make a play when you're out of the playoff race in November?

If your team has NEVER ONCE come back from a 3rd period deficit, do you REALLY want to stand in the slot taking abuse when you're down 2 goals in the third?

Considering those teams had a bunch of borderline NHLers playing to extend their NHL careers I didn't see an effort issue as much as a not good enough issue.

 

[Sam Spade]

This is undoubtedly the most uninformed post in this thread. Hall's team? Sure, if you were part of his clique. Just look at his history with various vets (namely Ference, Scrivens and Belanger). The guy is a fantastic talent, but he wasn't the same player he was this year during his tenure in Edmonton. It took the embarrassment of being traded (ie: being labeled part of the problem) to motivate him enough to buy in and be a leader for the Devils.

Well if that is the case than I am doing pretty well because of lot of EDM fans believe this as well.

The Oilers traded the second best player on their team, it was a huge mistake, and that is the bottom line.

 

[Rubi]

Effort is the crutch used by fans that have no idea how to break down what is happening in a game.

Did you even watch the video of McLellan? No you didn't because all he talks about is the lack of effort by the Oilers. Seems like he uses the same crutch that you accuse fans of using. I guess McLellan doesn't know how to break down what is happening in the game, either. You should give him a call. I'm sure he can use your expertise.
Nice try on redirecting the conversation about the 14/15 Flames, though. If your argument is weak bring something up in the past, that you deem to be negative, that has nothing to do with the current discussion.

Anyways that's all I have to say to you on the subject as your posts are generally so full of hyperbole and misinformation that's its not worth the time to debate you.

 

[Bank Shot]

Did you even watch the video of McLellan? No you didn't because all he talks about is the lack of effort by the Oilers. Seems like he uses the same crutch that you accuse fans of using. I guess McLellan doesn't know how to break down what is happening in the game, either. You should give him a call. I'm sure he can use your expertise.
Nice try on redirecting the conversation about the 14/15 Flames, though. If your argument is weak bring something up in the past, that you deem to be negative, that has nothing to do with the current discussion.

Every coach in the league will give teams crap about bad effort every once in awhile during a post game scrum.

It doesn't prove your point. It just proves shallow thinking. McLellan alludes to a lot of issues in his scrum and if the only thing you take out of it is effort that just speaks to lazy thinking.

 

[hockeyguy1967]

You don't have an avatar.

Thanks tips

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Positives:
-McDavid
-exceptional Centre depth with the 3 best forwards all natural C's
-competent (when Sekera is healthy) and growing defense with core all 25 and under (Nurse, Larsson, Klefbom)
-legit #1 goalie
-good 4th line

Negatives:
- really weak on the wings, particularly at RW
-no true PP QB defensemen
-back-up goalie still a question mark

Questions:
-will Talbot regain his 2016-17 form?
-how will Koskinen fair as a back-up?
-can Looch recover after going MIA after Christmas?
-will a winger emerge for Draisaitl in the form of Puljujarvi or Yamamoto to give them some scoring depth?
-can Klefbom regain his 2016-17 form after major regression last year?
-can Nurse and Benning take another step?
-can special team recover after a horrendous year now with new assistant coaches?

if they get average goaltending and average special teams (as opposed to historic lows)...then this is a wild card team IMO

 

[Roof Daddy]

I guess McLellan doesn't know how to break down what is happening in the game, either.

Many times last year this was why we seemed to lose games. Letestu was useless on the PP last year, yet he continued to gift him minutes on the top unit instead of give someone else a try. He gifted Lucic top minutes with McDavid and Draisaitl to try and “get him going,” despite a lot of Lucic’s issues coming from overhandling the puck and coughing it up, or being out of position defensively trying to go for a big hit. The same lack of discipline Puljujarvi would get benched for, Looch continued to get top minutes for.

 

[Roof Daddy]

@ Sam Spade

You claimed the Oilers traded Hall because it was his locker room and they wanted it to be McDavid’s. That’s not the case.

If you want to argue whether it was a mistake to trade Hall, that is fair (I still would have dealt him). If you want to argue the Oilers should have got more for him, that’s a pretty obvious yes. But to say the trade was a product of making the locker room McDavid’s is ridiculous. Everyone knew the kid was going to be captain and be the leader, Hall was never that guy during his time there. You can’t take something away from someone if they never had it to begin with (ie your concept of it once being “Hall’s locker room”).

 

[Three On Zero]

Bad management, poor prospect pool, up against the cap. These things lead to a bleak future

 

[Aurinko]

Positives:
-McDavid
-exceptional Centre depth with the 3 best forwards all natural C's
-competent (when Sekera is healthy) and growing defense with core all 25 and under (Nurse, Larsson, Klefbom)
-legit #1 goalie
-good 4th line

Negatives:
- really weak on the wings, particularly at RW
-no true PP QB defensemen
-back-up goalie still a question mark

Questions:
-will Talbot regain his 2016-17 form?
-how will Koskinen fair as a back-up?
-can Looch recover after going MIA after Christmas?
-will a winger emerge for Draisaitl in the form of Puljujarvi or Yamamoto to give them some scoring depth?
-can Klefbom regain his 2016-17 form after major regression last year?
-can Nurse and Benning take another step?
-can special team recover after a horrendous year now with new assistant coaches?

if they get average goaltending and average special teams (as opposed to historic lows)...then this is a wild card team IMO

Goalie is always your most important player, if you don't get scored on, you can't lose.

Koskinen has 93,8% in 77 khl playoffs... that's pretty impressive stat to begin with. From the current goalies, Holtby is the only one with similar stats... (93,0% saves in playoffs in 81 games).

Based on goalie alone, I could see a potential for huge surprise.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Goalie is always your most important player, if you don't get scored on, you can't lose.

Koskinen has 93,8% in 77 khl playoffs... that's pretty impressive stat to begin with. From the current goalies, Holtby is the only one with similar stats... (93,0% saves in playoffs in 81 games).

Based on goalie alone, I could see a potential for huge surprise.

KHL goalies have incredibly inflated save percentages, I would be surprised if koskinen is even over a .915

 

[Aurinko]

KHL goalies have incredibly inflated save percentages, I would be surprised if koskinen is even over a .915

Almost 94% in 77 games, and best of whole KHL history looks like a pretty good start to me.

High PO S% could suggest that the player has good competetiveness. KHL.ru says won 50, lost 24 PO games.

 

[LeafFever]

I can't believe Chia walked into that organization with so many assets and screwed-it-up so bad.

 

[Hunter368]

Positives:
-McDavid
-exceptional Centre depth with the 3 best forwards all natural C's
-competent (when Sekera is healthy) and growing defense with core all 25 and under (Nurse, Larsson, Klefbom)
-legit #1 goalie
-good 4th line

Negatives:
- really weak on the wings, particularly at RW
-no true PP QB defensemen
-back-up goalie still a question mark

Questions:
-will Talbot regain his 2016-17 form?
-how will Koskinen fair as a back-up?
-can Looch recover after going MIA after Christmas?
-will a winger emerge for Draisaitl in the form of Puljujarvi or Yamamoto to give them some scoring depth?
-can Klefbom regain his 2016-17 form after major regression last year?
-can Nurse and Benning take another step?
-can special team recover after a horrendous year now with new assistant coaches?

if they get average goaltending and average special teams (as opposed to historic lows)...then this is a wild card team IMO

Yup that's pretty fair evaluation IMO.

 

[CupofOil]

Their future looks kinda grim. I don't think Mcdavid can play much better. He was insanely good last year, and they still easily missed.

Interesting seeing all these "future is grim" posts when just about everybody in the hockey community pegged them as a perennial contender just 1 short year ago.

They have some holes without question but this is pretty much the same roster that almost made the Conference Finals 2 years ago and was lauded as a Cup contender last offseason. Obviously, cup contender was too lofty of a goal for this group but it's not far away from being a playoff contender now even with all the question marks going into the season. I don't expect a whole bunch of guys who had the worst year of their career by far (Talbot, Klefbom, Sekera, Lucic and Larsson to an extent) to be that poor again so it's inevitable that the team will bounce back at least somewhat.

I think the Oilers might take some lumps this season but I see them being a perennial contender after that. Their current weaknesses (scoring RW, puckmoving D) are their strengths in the pipeline (Puljujarvi, Yamamoto, Bouchard, Bear) and all those guys are close to NHL ready. No guarantee that any or all of them pan out but that's where they need to rely on their development system like every team has to.
So basically, get your digs in while you can because they won't be down for long despite their poor management as long as "I hate skill" Chia stops trading away their high end skill guys.

 

[Boud]

Goalie is always your most important player, if you don't get scored on, you can't lose.

Koskinen has 93,8% in 77 khl playoffs... that's pretty impressive stat to begin with. From the current goalies, Holtby is the only one with similar stats... (93,0% saves in playoffs in 81 games).

Based on goalie alone, I could see a potential for huge surprise.

How the hell are you figuring that you can compare NHL and KHL stats?

Danny Taylor was a .930 save % goalie in his last 84 KHL games and last year got back in the AHL and put up .900 in 32 games lmao.

That's all you need to know about KHL vs NHL stats. Never ever compare those two leagues.

 

[Aurinko]

How the hell are you figuring that you can compare NHL and KHL stats?

Danny Taylor was a .930 save % goalie in his last 84 KHL games and last year got back in the AHL and put up .900 in 32 games lmao.

That's all you need to know about KHL vs NHL stats. Never ever compare those two leagues.

50 wins , 24 losses in KHL playoffs. Highest save% in the playoffs history. Yes, all this means nothing xD

 

[MessierII]

This thread will be hilarious in a few months. Funny to look at the Calgary thread in comparison. Apparently the team who won a whopping 1 more game last year with a mostly healthy roster is going to crush it and we’re completely screwed.

 

[super6646]

This thread will be hilarious in a few months. Funny to look at the Calgary thread in comparison. Apparently the team who won a whopping 1 more game last year with a mostly healthy roster is going to crush it and we’re completely screwed.

We had 6 more points, and we lost 3 top 4 d, 2 top 6 f, and had an injured starter. Yeah, "healthy roster" my ass.

 

[MessierII]

We had 6 more points, and we lost 3 top 4 d, 2 top 6 f, and had an injured starter. Yeah, "healthy roster" my ass.

Complete non sense. Not one top 4 D played less than 73 games.

 

[X66]

We had 6 more points, and we lost 3 top 4 d, 2 top 6 f, and had an injured starter. Yeah, "healthy roster" my ass.

Complete non sense. Not one top 4 D played less than 73 games.

Guys, guys, come on!

Both your teams are going to be garbage next year.

 

[super6646]

Complete non sense. Not one top 4 D played less than 73 games.

Well that last 11 game skid is when a lot of our players went down. We lost Brodie, Hamilton, Hamonic, Tkachuk, and Monahan. For a team with crappy depth, it was a death sentence. Hopefully our additions this off-season will be enough.

 

[super6646]

Guys, guys, come on!

Both your teams are going to be garbage next year.

Love the optimism.

 

[North Cole]

Trade drai for depth and defense, make rnh 2c and strome 3c

Success

Chia, is that you?