(Started this post about three hours ago, but was interrupted by my baby-son waking up, and them my wife sent me to the grocery store and other things happened... So, to finish it...):
This is what I think of the Oilers right now:
GOAL: Thank God Chiarelli did one competent move and signed Koskinen. I'm a big fan of him. He's good. Assuming he doesn't suddenly crap the bed and stays in shape with his head screwed on, I am hopeful of a few really good years from him. (He's the only reason it wasn't 8 - 1 tonight.) Talbot is a trainwreck right now, and barely good enough to be a back-up, but the Oilers have so many personnel problems that they can't bother dealing with back-up issues now. So let him sit, but only play him against the weakest possible teams, maybe 15-20 games per year.
DEFENCE: This year is probably (yet) another write-off, but if all the D-men are healthy and if Bouchard pans out and they don't rush him in (seems like they aren't), then the Oilers' situation on D is... between average and sub-par. The problem with that is that one to two top-4 (so called) players are always injured, and AHL players are always in the line-up. Russell is okay, and Larsson is okay but disappointing since 2016-17. He just has never been the same. Benning isn't terrible, but he wouldn't be good enough to play on most NHL teams.
Klefbom is pretty good. Nurse is the only other really good defenseman, and even he makes a couple of boneheaded plays per game. But he is a good athlete, a great skater, and he actually shoots the puck sometimes. There's some offense there.
(I do not get why Ethan Bear isn't playing every game, since he can skate, pass, and shoot, all of which the Oilers desperately need on the PP. In his brief stint at the end of last season, Bear looked amazing on the PP, and had real chemistry with players like Draisaitl. But I guess the Oilers' management knows best... [laughs]).
Besides Nurse, not one Oiler D-man is capable of exerting any kind of offense whatsoever. (Klefbom supposedly has a great shot, but since 2017 it hasn't hit the net.) You know how normal NHL-level teams have defense who will occasionally skate to the blue line and drive a hard shot on net? The last time an Oiler D did that was probably Pronger 13 years ago.
Despite mass incompetence managing the personnel, if everyone stays healthy, and if Bouchard works out soon-ish, and if they would bring up Bear for the power-play, the Oilers might have an 'average' team defense within one year or so. But all those things won't happen, let's be honest.
FORWARDS: Here is where Chiarelli has destroyed all depth, and, consequently, the team. I don't necessarily have a problem with the team's trading away players like Hall (obviously some locker-room issues there, and he was very inconsistent) and Eberle (a depreciating asset who, to this day, never produces against stronger teams). The problem, as we all know, is that Chiarelli failed to come remotely close to getting fair value for wingers he lost. You can't trade an NHL top-6 winger and get a stay-at-home defenseman only. You can't trade a 25-goal winger and get a 10-goal replacement whom you then trade for spare parts. To top it all off, Chiarelli let almost 30-goal Patrick Maroon -- a guy who really wanted to stay here -- leave in exchange for a guy who hasn't made the NHL and to-be-wasted draft pick this summer.
In sum, then, Chiarelli let three 20-40 goal wingers go (one went on to win the Hart trophy) and in exchange got Adam Larsson. Meanwhile, he signed Lucic to a 47-year contract just as his prime ended. And, gee, the team can't score... Shocking!!
******
So, the players whom I would rate as untouchable are:
- Koskinen
- Nurse
- Klefbom
- Bouchard (for now)
- McDavid
- Draisaitl
That's really it. Everybody else is expendable.
I don't really care that the Oilers lost to Calgary tonight -- the Flames are red hot and are a way better team. I do care that the Oilers were no-shows against Arizona and L.A. earlier this month. Those were two very 'winnable' games that, if won, would have the Oil just in a playoff spot now, despite the incompetent behind-the-scenes mismanagement.
As ever, I'm torn between not cheering for the team anymore and cheering dispassionately.
