SeanMoneyHands
Registered User
- Apr 18, 2019
- 13,842
- 12,341
Don’t even take McDavid and Draisaitl off the ice. The intermissions and the TV timeouts are their breaks from here on in.
Get Draisaitl and McDavid some help
- Thread starter JungleBeat
- Start date
- Status
Can you imagine being their teammate? You get 5 minutes per night because your star players think you suck. No wonder they don't try lmao.
syz
[1, 5, 6, 14]
- Jul 13, 2007
- 29,781
- 14,252
Kane hasn't been a top 6 forward since his wrist injury. RNH is a complimentary player who needs to be out with one of McDavid or Draisaitl (or Hall before them) to accomplish much.
Matty Sundin
Registered User
- Jul 18, 2006
- 3,570
- 3,713
They need to play on separate lines other than maybe the PP or important moments of the game. If they can’t carry lines by themselves like Crosby and Malkin did for years(their wingers depth was a lot worse) then maybe they should be mad at themselves. They also don’t even appear to try and use others lines mates well. They seem to either just look for each other and or try and do it themselves.
syz
[1, 5, 6, 14]
- Jul 13, 2007
- 29,781
- 14,252
They were on different lines the majority of the season and were on different lines all playoffs until Draisaitl got injured. With both of them + Henrique playing hurt they're loading up to compensate.
roccerfeller
jets bromantic
Literally this
Worlds smallest violin for a team with 2 general players, one of them being the best in the world right now
I don’t know how Kenny Holland still has a job but like he really needs to stop letting McJesus be McScout because he really sucks at it. Campbell, Brown, Nurse (I think? Correct me if I’m wrong but I think I remember oilers fans saying Connor wanted Nurse re-signed). It’s the same reason Gretzky was a shit coach: the highest talent can have trouble identifying skill in lesser talented players. If Connor isn’t willing to stay in Edmonton unless he gets everything his way IDK if you can really build a team around that. It would help if the Oilers would stop signing the least likeable humans.
This dude has an unlimited piggy bank and the shiniest penny in the fountain and somehow he keeps coming up with goose poop. I honestly think HFoil might be able to run the Oilers by committee in a better fashion.
This dude has an unlimited piggy bank and the shiniest penny in the fountain and somehow he keeps coming up with goose poop. I honestly think HFoil might be able to run the Oilers by committee in a better fashion.
Last edited:
Is it really that hard to make a decent argument that is not a lie or trolling attempt?
Yes, Hyman, Nugent-Hopkins and Kane are very much top-six forwards, even though Kane hasn't been the same since his wrist injury.
No, Nugent-Hopkins is most definately not a "50-60" point player. Such a comment is just disingenuous. He had 67 points this season, 104 in the last one, which was obviously a significant outlier. His normal pace over the last few years has been in the 65-69 range, though he had quite a few years in which he missed about 20-30 games, which obviously dropped his actual output. You can't even pretend that you mean he actually tends to finish in the 50-60 point range, because he has only done that one time during the McDavid-years.
Yes, Edmonton does have quite a bit of depth, it just mostly shits the bed right now at the most inopportune time. McLeod and Foegele, for example, are either hot or ice cold, with nothing in between. Made even worse by their goalie once again being a complete no-show in the playoffs, which drags down the entire team, especially when they are outplaying the opponent but lose anyway.
No, Draisaitl and McDavid don't "demand to play together", nor do they want to play half the game. They largely get put together a) on specific occasions to give the team a boost (e.g. after having killed a penalty), b) one of them is hurt, or c) they are desperate for offense and no one else does anything.
That being said, coaches tend to over do it. When the depth isn't getting it done, you need to get it going. You may not always have the time for that during the playoffs, but there is no alternative to it. The less you play your depth players, the more unlikely it becomes they get out of their funk. And while McDavid and Draisaitl can play the odd 25+ minut game without much issue, you are not going to win anything in the playoffs when you force them to do that every single game.
Bouchard very much is a high-end offensive defenseman. Only a complete fool would try and reduce him to his shot. His defense has improved by leaps and bounds over the years, though yes, like with any offensive-minded player, you will see some brainfarts here and there. Basing your opinion of a player on just the occasional hiccup is utterly stupid though.
Does having Ekholm by his side help a lot? Well, duh! Basically every defenseman would look better and play more confident if he had someone like Ekholm by his side. By all metrics, Ekholm has been crazy good this season, hidden somewhat by the fact that he barely gets any time on the powerplay. One cannot just pretend that young players don't develop, and that Bouchard is somehow still the player he was a few years ago. He very much can be a much better player right now AND be helped by having such a great defensive partner in Ekholm playing with him.
Then there is this absurd idea that the Oilers have somehow failed to improve their team over the last few years. Even a very basic glance at the rosters would tell you, that such a acomment is pure nonsense. Just a few years ago they put players on McDavids wing who wouldn't even be on the roster as it is today. It's just kind of hard to make big changes when you are still bound to some old contracts and the cap barely moves for years. They've added Ekholm and Kulak on defense, which has helped a lot, added Hyman and Kane up front, brought in further depth in Perry and Henrique, and some other players who they couldn't afford to keep. And contrary to what some people like to claim, Holland very much tried to improve the position in net. He went after Markström when he became available, but Markström opted to sign elsewhere. He had to make do with the best short-term option available at that time, which was Mike Smith. Then he once again tried to solve the issue by looking at the (somewhat barren) UFA-market. One cannot complain about someone not doing something, and then complain when he tries to do just that and it doesn't work out. The only real alternative to Campbell that year was Darcy Kuemper. Made of glass, and who knows whether he even wanted to sign in Edmonton. His performances in Washington have not been up to par either, so there is that. Buying out Campbell and getting someone else (who exactly?) would have come at the price of depth in other areas (see the issue?) and probaly would have prevented them from adding Henrique as well. They had a tough time as it was to fit everyone on the roster.
One could point out, that they had to opportunity to draft Wallstedt, and yes, that should have been the pick, but it's not like Wallstedt would have any chance of being a solution prior to 2025/26/27 or so at the earliest.
Comments about the Nurse-contract happen to be completely devoid of knowledge about the circumstances that led to it. He is overpaid by 2m or so, but there was absolutely no way Edmonton could have let him go. It was the perfect storm of Nurse putting up a great season while being close to UFA-status, Edmonton's depth being barren, especially with Klefbom's career-ending injury robbing them of their other high-end defenseman, and quite a few other defensemen signing for around 9m as well. Sometimes you get lucky, and a player signs right before exploding, sometimes you try and secure a player long-term before that happens and it blows up in your face when injuries derail the career (e.g. Norris), and sometimes you are screwed when a player has a huge season and holds all the cards. That's just how it goes sometime. Edmonton could have tried to sign Nurse long-term two years earlier, but due to cap-constrains and Nurse still being all over the place, they opted for another bridge-deal instead.
Yes, Hyman, Nugent-Hopkins and Kane are very much top-six forwards, even though Kane hasn't been the same since his wrist injury.
No, Nugent-Hopkins is most definately not a "50-60" point player. Such a comment is just disingenuous. He had 67 points this season, 104 in the last one, which was obviously a significant outlier. His normal pace over the last few years has been in the 65-69 range, though he had quite a few years in which he missed about 20-30 games, which obviously dropped his actual output. You can't even pretend that you mean he actually tends to finish in the 50-60 point range, because he has only done that one time during the McDavid-years.
Yes, Edmonton does have quite a bit of depth, it just mostly shits the bed right now at the most inopportune time. McLeod and Foegele, for example, are either hot or ice cold, with nothing in between. Made even worse by their goalie once again being a complete no-show in the playoffs, which drags down the entire team, especially when they are outplaying the opponent but lose anyway.
No, Draisaitl and McDavid don't "demand to play together", nor do they want to play half the game. They largely get put together a) on specific occasions to give the team a boost (e.g. after having killed a penalty), b) one of them is hurt, or c) they are desperate for offense and no one else does anything.
That being said, coaches tend to over do it. When the depth isn't getting it done, you need to get it going. You may not always have the time for that during the playoffs, but there is no alternative to it. The less you play your depth players, the more unlikely it becomes they get out of their funk. And while McDavid and Draisaitl can play the odd 25+ minut game without much issue, you are not going to win anything in the playoffs when you force them to do that every single game.
Bouchard very much is a high-end offensive defenseman. Only a complete fool would try and reduce him to his shot. His defense has improved by leaps and bounds over the years, though yes, like with any offensive-minded player, you will see some brainfarts here and there. Basing your opinion of a player on just the occasional hiccup is utterly stupid though.
Does having Ekholm by his side help a lot? Well, duh! Basically every defenseman would look better and play more confident if he had someone like Ekholm by his side. By all metrics, Ekholm has been crazy good this season, hidden somewhat by the fact that he barely gets any time on the powerplay. One cannot just pretend that young players don't develop, and that Bouchard is somehow still the player he was a few years ago. He very much can be a much better player right now AND be helped by having such a great defensive partner in Ekholm playing with him.
Then there is this absurd idea that the Oilers have somehow failed to improve their team over the last few years. Even a very basic glance at the rosters would tell you, that such a acomment is pure nonsense. Just a few years ago they put players on McDavids wing who wouldn't even be on the roster as it is today. It's just kind of hard to make big changes when you are still bound to some old contracts and the cap barely moves for years. They've added Ekholm and Kulak on defense, which has helped a lot, added Hyman and Kane up front, brought in further depth in Perry and Henrique, and some other players who they couldn't afford to keep. And contrary to what some people like to claim, Holland very much tried to improve the position in net. He went after Markström when he became available, but Markström opted to sign elsewhere. He had to make do with the best short-term option available at that time, which was Mike Smith. Then he once again tried to solve the issue by looking at the (somewhat barren) UFA-market. One cannot complain about someone not doing something, and then complain when he tries to do just that and it doesn't work out. The only real alternative to Campbell that year was Darcy Kuemper. Made of glass, and who knows whether he even wanted to sign in Edmonton. His performances in Washington have not been up to par either, so there is that. Buying out Campbell and getting someone else (who exactly?) would have come at the price of depth in other areas (see the issue?) and probaly would have prevented them from adding Henrique as well. They had a tough time as it was to fit everyone on the roster.
One could point out, that they had to opportunity to draft Wallstedt, and yes, that should have been the pick, but it's not like Wallstedt would have any chance of being a solution prior to 2025/26/27 or so at the earliest.
Comments about the Nurse-contract happen to be completely devoid of knowledge about the circumstances that led to it. He is overpaid by 2m or so, but there was absolutely no way Edmonton could have let him go. It was the perfect storm of Nurse putting up a great season while being close to UFA-status, Edmonton's depth being barren, especially with Klefbom's career-ending injury robbing them of their other high-end defenseman, and quite a few other defensemen signing for around 9m as well. Sometimes you get lucky, and a player signs right before exploding, sometimes you try and secure a player long-term before that happens and it blows up in your face when injuries derail the career (e.g. Norris), and sometimes you are screwed when a player has a huge season and holds all the cards. That's just how it goes sometime. Edmonton could have tried to sign Nurse long-term two years earlier, but due to cap-constrains and Nurse still being all over the place, they opted for another bridge-deal instead.
Larry Hanson
Registered User
- Aug 1, 2020
- 1,835
- 3,223
They have tried consistently to break them up in the regular season then seemingly scrap that come playoff time once there is any sign that one or the other isn't going. I assume the coach thinks he cannot waste any time messing around with other line combos. Perhaps it is better for the coach to lose due a lack of depth, which is on the GM, than for not playing his two star players together.
The Oilers strategy is basically "We need three from McDrai or we die".
They are both offensive weapons and more like C/W hybrids but neither of them can seemingly carry a line to the extent that the coach can count on. The comparisons to Crosby and Malkin are inevitable as they won their three Cups and got to another SCF on the strength of a great Top 6 despite the presence of many non-Top 6 caliber forwards most notably in 2016 where they were able to load up a 3rd line.
archangel2
Registered User
- May 19, 2019
- 2,308
- 1,457
Oilers are screwed.
3.45 in overage next year, Campbells buyout, Nurses Contract, goaltending problems, is it time to move off of Kane and if so who will want him? New GM will have a handful of problems. Then does Leon D stay with the team or does who look to leave in 14 months? Then the question is do the Oiler trade and blow up the team yet again?
3.45 in overage next year, Campbells buyout, Nurses Contract, goaltending problems, is it time to move off of Kane and if so who will want him? New GM will have a handful of problems. Then does Leon D stay with the team or does who look to leave in 14 months? Then the question is do the Oiler trade and blow up the team yet again?
- Oct 9, 2012
- 30,079
- 27,609
Negative intangibles for McDrai confirmed. They're too good - they make their teammates look bad, who therefore get sad for sucking and play even worst as a result.
Bingo - we finally figured out why Oilers haven't won a cup yet.
How are the Oilers screwed? lol
They're in the 2nd round - in a competitive series vs Vancouver. True that they are currently down 2-1, but it's a tight series that can go either way, and with a bit of luck they could just as easily have been up 3-0.
This round is far from over. Anyone thinking otherwise is out to lunch.
The Gr8 Dane
L'harceleur
These past 2 years is the first time in a while they actually have a decent team around them (outside of goaltending).
This thread would be more relevant 3-4 years ago
Plus if anything , however far they get this year is just gravy , they don't have a starting goalie and the GM is Ken Holland i think oilers fans should be happy with how their team is playing this year honestly.
This thread would be more relevant 3-4 years ago
Plus if anything , however far they get this year is just gravy , they don't have a starting goalie and the GM is Ken Holland i think oilers fans should be happy with how their team is playing this year honestly.
DearDiary
🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷
- Aug 29, 2010
- 14,850
- 11,921
Holloway-McDavid-Kane
Foegele-Draisaitl-Perry
McLeod-RNH-Hyman
Janmark-Ryan-Brown
5on5 Minutes for each line
15
15
14
4
Have Hyman and RNH rotating in the top 6 to keep their minutes up and take advantage when they catch the other teams 4th line on the ice.
Foegele-Draisaitl-Perry
McLeod-RNH-Hyman
Janmark-Ryan-Brown
5on5 Minutes for each line
15
15
14
4
Have Hyman and RNH rotating in the top 6 to keep their minutes up and take advantage when they catch the other teams 4th line on the ice.
They are screwed because they don't have the cap space to get any substantial help. This is as good as it is going to get without blowing anything significant up.
bleedgreen
Registered User
Gretzky and Lemiuex both only won with stacked rosters. Neither won with a roster anywhere near what this Oiler team is. Your take is off base, significantly imo.B…b…but, I thought they were “the greatest since Gretzky”
Truly great players don’t need help.
JungleBeat
Registered User
archangel2
Registered User
- May 19, 2019
- 2,308
- 1,457
Look at Skinners save % and TOI for both teams. Outside the top line for the Oilers? Things are not good.
Oilers have no depth
Prettyisland
Registered User
- Oct 23, 2017
- 615
- 953
what capital are they supposed to use to get more help? THey are at the cap. Things are only getting worse in Edmonton. Let's assume they are going to Drai, McDavid and Bouchard. That cap hit alone is $35-38 on 3 players. Now include Nurse's contract and you have $45 mm on 4 players. You can't afford to back that up. Look at the LEafs. They have been there for 8 years now. All that money tied up in the big 4, they can't afford to support them. Edmonton is in the same boat. They wasted McDavid's prime and now they can't afford to build a team around him.
Dirty Dan
Saturday Night Lupul
They have too high of expectations. Yeah the Blackhawks , Penguins, and Avalanche won cups with a few stars players and little goaltending. But they had a little bit more depth to them
You got things like Kessel going on a tear on the third line , and Kadri putting up hat tricks against St.Louis. They aren't getting bailed out instead they lose games they dominate
HockeyVirus
Woll stan.
- Nov 15, 2020
- 16,552
- 24,548
They will get help... With another franchise. Drai is not extending there unless the Oilers are paying him insanely well. Already took a discount there to have his best years wasted, Tavares 2.0. Will go somewhere else on a discount unless the Oilers want to pay up 16 or 17M.
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