I have barely posted during the offseason but if I was more active I would have shared a pessimistic outlook. It's obviously still too early but the results so far mean lots of crow on my plate.
- Was okay with the Tippett hire but it felt like a stopgap. I was wrong. It's great seeing the team attacking and defending as a unit. It's awesome when 5 guys contribute on a scoring play. I can watch this brand of hockey for a long time
- I was on the fence about Holland but warmed up to him after the hire and hearing more from/about him. The way the Oilers brass have talked about having a "plan" over the years rendered the term useless to me. But Holland has actually demonstrated he can identify problems and find (some) answers. I can't wait to see the moves he makes next offseason with some capspace to work with. So I tried not to be too disappointed about our transactions this year. I liked the Neal/Lucic trade but that was basically it. I knew I wasn't going to watch this team if Gagner and Cave were regulars, and I felt like we didn't have the depth to replace them. I was wrong. I'm now a fan of Haas/Nygaard but I need more European showtime from them. Offense in the bottom 6 would be nice for once, but as long as they don't leak goals against, it's already an upgrade and we're seeing that have an effect on the PK too
- I was a fan of Bear and Persson but I didn't think they would make an impact in the top 4. I also thought only one of them would make the team. I was wrong. Persson already looks at home with Klefbom and has outplayed Larsson already. I got the impression he was soft before seeing him play but he has made a few solid hits. I'm impressed with his offensive flair, he actually holds on to the puck to make a play. Such a rarity with our D.
Bear has impressed the heck out of me. I am a bit more critical about our players than most (I think it was the game against the Kings where I thought he was mediocre when others sang his praise) but the last two games he was rock solid. He is already my favorite player to watch back there. Wins a lot of puck battles for a rookie, neutralizes the forecheck, makes a lot of deft little passes, walks the blue line, stretch passes with ease, fires pucks at the net without assassinating shinpads. He only has 1 assist but he's made a much bigger impact than the stats show
I thought our D would be trash this season. I was wrong. We have the early makings of a solid d here and it's exciting to see it slowly transition into a team strength over the next 2-3 years esp when our depth knocks out Russell and Benning
- Smith I ridiculed during his time with Calgary. He's solid and improving each game. Koskinen still makes me nervous but he's improved. I'm still not sold on our goaltending and won't be until we reconvene again at the 20-30 game mark
- I felt we had a 0% chance of making the playoffs. I was going to watch half the games this year at most. I was wrong. So far I've watched every game. I truly feel like we have a chance at making the playoffs now.