Speculation: Hardware for Management

guymez

The Seldom Seen Kid
Mar 3, 2004
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Seeing how the season has gone so far I think its worth discussing the possibility of either Holland and/or Tippett being recognized this season.
Here we are 1 week before the TDL and the team is first in the Pacific and 4 points back of St Louis for 1st spot in the Western Conference.
No one thought this was possible when the season started....not even me and I was one of the more optimistic posters on here. :nod:

Tippett has managed to get full buy in from this group and the players have come together and are playing as a team. Its been a journey for sure but at this point in the season they are making better decisions with and without the puck. They are playing for each other and are a very tough team to beat when they are on their game.
They look to me like they are becoming a team that has a plug and play feel to them. A player goes down and they adjust and keep going. Its been like that all season when Larsson went down.
That is coaching.

Holland has managed to upgrade the bottom 6 from last years team and he upgraded the top 6 by trading Lucic for Neal. I honestly dont see how he could have done more considering how little he had to work with.
Oh...and he hired Tippett as Head Coach.

Assuming that the wheels dont fall off I honestly think both men should be in the running for the Jack Adams and the Jim Gregory awards.
 
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CookiesAndMilk

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I like how he added Archie, Sheahan, Nygard and Haas to the line-up. It really stabilized our bottom 6. Archie can even play some shifts along Drai odr McDavid. I hope, that all 4 will be back next season. Tippet and his staff are doing fantastic work so far, our special teams are hot.

In general, there is a lot of praise going around in the locker room (source: The Athetlic) right now. You realize the players believe and know what they must do in order to win. This season is already a win for me. Playoffs would be the icing on the cake.

I'm also looking forward to the summer and assume, we add at least 1 top 6 wingers for McDavid.

xxx - McDavid - xxx/Kassian
RNH - Drai - Yama
Benson - Sheahan - Archibald
Gagner - Haas - Chiasson

Doesn't look that bad if you ask me.

Both Kenny and Tippett do a wonderful job right now and it feels good to wake up early on sundays and rewatch the games, generally feeling confident.
 

T-Funk

Registered User
Oct 15, 2006
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I'm amazed Tippett isn't in more conversations for the Jack Adams. Getting a historically underachieving team like the Oilers this far is a huge.

Holland, while not doing poorly, made one great deal, and a bunch of small OK ones.
 

Zerotonine

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Apr 23, 2017
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I'm amazed Tippett isn't in more conversations for the Jack Adams. Getting a historically underachieving team like the Oilers this far is a huge.

Holland, while not doing poorly, made one great deal, and a bunch of small OK ones.

Trade deadline deals could make it or break it for Holland in this category

As for tippet I am surprised as well he hasn't been named or even really talked about for the Adam's, I have funny suspicion keefe will win if he gets leafs in playoffs, also think torts has done a hell of a job after losing so many in off season
 
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HockeyGuy1964

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Oct 7, 2013
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I said it in that other "culture change" thread & it still stands that the biggest difference from last year or the year before is the goalie are making saves & outperforming the guy at the other end on an almost nightly basis.

You can talk all you want about how the bottom 6 has been upgraded, & they've played pretty good over the last couple months, but we were winning lots of games in the first month of the season when our bottom 6 was scoring exactly nothing every night but our goalies were stopping everything.

I've played on & coached teams that have no goalie & it's tough to "buy-in" when you know the game is probably lost before you step on the ice because your goalie isn't playing at the level needed & the other team's is.
 

harpoon

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Dec 23, 2005
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All along during the offseason and through the first part of the season I said that Holland did all he could for the simple reason that he was left with only so many cap dollars to spend. The man had two choices. He could have spent his meagre pot on one decently priced free agent or he could have gone with several cheap players and hoped that one or two of them clicked with this roster.

The part that I was skeptical of was that he chose to bring in six guys (Granlund, Nygard, Haas, Jurco, Archibald and Sheahan). I felt like it was too many and I didn’t like that he spent all his cap space. Personally I still feel like the only two that have really worked out are Sheahan and Archibald. But I can’t really fault him for going with the scattergun approach, and 2/6 isn’t that bad when you are talking about >$1 million players.

Like @HockeyGuy1964 above I feel like Holland has been somewhat lucky with his goaltending tandem. But beyond that he has been extremely fortunate that Bear has played even better than his biggest fans thought he would, and Yamamoto has provided incredible secondary scoring at the exact moment the club needed it the most.

Holland has had a couple of things break his way but I think he still deserves a lot of credit because; 1) he didn’t panic and took the bargain basement players that were available to him with his limited budget. 2) He unloaded Lucic. 3) He chose a coach that fit the makeup of his roster.

Given the mess he was left with (f*** you Peter) I’m very satisfied with Holland’s work this season. Not a fan of the Kassian deal though. Too long and too much. Hope that isn’t a sign of things to come.
 

Beerfish

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Apr 14, 2007
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The Oilers have the two best players in the league on their roster. Please stop the nonsense about awards.

Also this is a beautiful curse thread if I have ever seen one.
 
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Aerchon

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Jul 20, 2011
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The Oilers have the two best players in the league on their roster. Please stop the nonsense about awards.

Also this is a beautiful curse thread if I have ever seen one.

I'm anti Tippand and even i think they should get some recognition if the Oilers continue to do well.

However, realistically speaking, it's not like the team even today is doing "that" well. Tops in the Pacific isnt even top 3 in most the other divisions.

We have had a fair share of unwarranted melt downs/poor efforts that would have pushed us into an upper echelon if cleaned up.

And while I appreciate what Holland has done with limited flexibility it's not like he added big names or filled big holes. Chiarelli has arguably done more for this club this year than Holland. Holland has even publicly praised Chiarelli for the assets left behind. This isn't a pro Chiarelli post he sucks, just stating facts.

Both have done good work and should be recognized but as it stands not award winning. Not to mention Eastern bias/anti Oilers rhetoric will make awards that much more difficult.

Only a small sample size so far for the Oilers but there are enough examples of how in hockey individual superstars just no longer impact the game like they used to. Look at Pittsburgh or even the Islanders for good examples this year. Nhl hockey is won by good teams with good buyin and star power if often more for entertainment value than on ice impact. 5v5 McDavid, as good as he is, doesn't impact winning much if at all. With the PP of course he does but even there the Oilers can still thrive without him.

Also, while this and other recent threads fall into jinx territory, even i think it's acceptable to be discussing some positives.

Getting the team to where they are today is impressive. Hope it continues. I'm almost excited for the future as I am the present with guys like Jones, Bear, Yamamoto, and Benson all taking solid nhl strides this year. Plus Bouchard is waiting in the wings and looking very promising as well.

It's a rare good time to be an Oiler fan. With injuries and a jam packed Pacific Division our spot atop the Pacific will most likely be fleeting. Time for a quick whiff of the roses before this board implodes with the typical reek of negativity.
 

Ritchie Valens

Registered User
Sep 24, 2007
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@guymez

I agree 100% on the roster buy in. I haven't seen the team play this well as a whole in a lot of years. You can tell they really respect the coaching staff and are playing the system.

I also agree with @HockeyGuy1964 about the goaltending. Smith is one of the most competitive goalies I've seen. He doesn't like giving up the net and the "battle" for the crease between Koskinen and him has really solidified the crease. I think Smith's veteran leadership has really helped Koskinen this year too. When you've got two guys who give your team a chance to win practically every game, that helps the team relax and boost their confidence. Goalies are going to struggle from time to time as we see with Smith but Koskinen has improved enough to pick up the slack.
 

guymez

The Seldom Seen Kid
Mar 3, 2004
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Too soon! Too soon!

Probably is a little too soon but I did qualify things by saying 'if the wheels dont fall off'.

So assuming the team stays on track I just dont see how they cant be in the conversation.
 

guymez

The Seldom Seen Kid
Mar 3, 2004
32,644
12,153
The Oilers have the two best players in the league on their roster. Please stop the nonsense about awards.

Also this is a beautiful curse thread if I have ever seen one.

You mean the same 2 players they had last season?
 

guymez

The Seldom Seen Kid
Mar 3, 2004
32,644
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G
I said it in that other "culture change" thread & it still stands that the biggest difference from last year or the year before is the goalie are making saves & outperforming the guy at the other end on an almost nightly basis.

You can talk all you want about how the bottom 6 has been upgraded, & they've played pretty good over the last couple months, but we were winning lots of games in the first month of the season when our bottom 6 was scoring exactly nothing every night but our goalies were stopping everything.

I've played on & coached teams that have no goalie & it's tough to "buy-in" when you know the game is probably lost before you step on the ice because your goalie isn't playing at the level needed & the other team's is.

Goaltending was more of a factor early in the season for sure. I havent seen the stats but by eye the HDSC have been decreasing.
Since the early part of the season the team has started adhering to the system and has had much more balance offensively. It just took some time to adjust which was fairly predictable.
 

guymez

The Seldom Seen Kid
Mar 3, 2004
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@guymez

I agree 100% on the roster buy in. I haven't seen the team play this well as a whole in a lot of years. You can tell they really respect the coaching staff and are playing the system.

I also agree with @HockeyGuy1964 about the goaltending. Smith is one of the most competitive goalies I've seen. He doesn't like giving up the net and the "battle" for the crease between Koskinen and him has really solidified the crease. I think Smith's veteran leadership has really helped Koskinen this year too. When you've got two guys who give your team a chance to win practically every game, that helps the team relax and boost their confidence. Goalies are going to struggle from time to time as we see with Smith but Koskinen has improved enough to pick up the slack.

Smith has brought elements to this team that were really needed for sure. I like hearing the reports about how vocal he is in the room and his battle level is really fun to watch.
His save percentage though is well below average...I think he is giving just enough for the team to stay competitive.
 
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Ritchie Valens

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Sep 24, 2007
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Smith has brought elements to this team that were really needed for sure. I like hearing the reports about how vocal he is in the room and his battle level is really fun to watch.
His save percentage though is well below average...I think he is giving just enough for the team to stay competitive.

I prefer save percentage to GAA but one flaw with save percentage is you could have one goalie who faced limited shots but allowed three goals he had no hope of saving. Look at a Reimer yesterday...4 goals on 24 shots. He had no hope on the Draisaitl goal, the Yamo goal banged off the post, hit him in the backside and went in so no chance on that one. The last two were breakaway goals so the goalie has a 50/50 shot at stopping those. His save percentage looks ugly at .833 but Reimer, I thought, also played well and made some nice stops that may have just as easily gone in vs being stopped.

Smith, despite having a below average save percentage is making key saves and keeping the team in games, like in OT yesterday. Those two stops on Aho were imperative to the Oilers getting the chance to score when they did. Smith is what, 9-1-2 over his last 12 starts? That's a guy who is battling and getting his team wins.
 

guymez

The Seldom Seen Kid
Mar 3, 2004
32,644
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I prefer save percentage to GAA but one flaw with save percentage is you could have one goalie who faced limited shots but allowed three goals he had no hope of saving. Look at a Reimer yesterday...4 goals on 24 shots. He had no hope on the Draisaitl goal, the Yamo goal banged off the post, hit him in the backside and went in so no chance on that one. The last two were breakaway goals so the goalie has a 50/50 shot at stopping those. His save percentage looks ugly at .833 but Reimer, I thought, also played well and made some nice stops that may have just as easily gone in vs being stopped.

Smith, despite having a below average save percentage is making key saves and keeping the team in games, like in OT yesterday. Those two stops on Aho were imperative to the Oilers getting the chance to score when they did. Smith is what, 9-1-2 over his last 12 starts? That's a guy who is battling and getting his team wins.

Regarding sv% over the course of the season I think its quite reliable. That being said I absolutely agree that Smith is making the saves when he needs to.
He just needs to be the better of the 2 goalies in a game and he is doing that more often than not.
 
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Ritchie Valens

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Sep 24, 2007
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Regarding sv% over the course of the season I think its quite reliable. That being said I absolutely agree that Smith is making the saves when he needs to.
He just needs to be the better of the 2 goalies in a game and he is doing that more often than not.

Yep absolutely, save percentage is a very telling stat. Smith has certainly had his share of adventures or misadventures (however you want to view it) that has lead to some awful goals against but both goalies are giving them a chance to win most nights.

But back to your main topic...I apologize for briefly derailing your thread into a convo about goaltending :oops:. I'd say they definitely have to be wading in the conversation, Tippett at bare minimum anyways. Here we are with just 20-ish games to go sitting atop the Pacific without McDavid the last three games and nearly got at least one point out of Tampa. He's really instilled belief into the players and the players in each other. You can see why ex-players make sure they pop by to see him in the visitors room to say hi after games.
 

MaxR11

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Mar 28, 2017
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Smith has brought elements to this team that were really needed for sure. I like hearing the reports about how vocal he is in the room and his battle level is really fun to watch.
His save percentage though is well below average...I think he is giving just enough for the team to stay competitive.

I'll go back to what i've stated before. People assess goalies too much solely in a vacuum. They don't value enough how critical and of high importance how the team plays in front of him is. I tend to think it's less about how much better our goalies are actually playing vs last year but rather i think it's more about how much more responsible and urgent the players are playing in front of them allowing them to look good and feel more comfortable and confident in their net.

When your players are a gong show running around with their heads cut off or have no urgency and allowing opposition a lot of time and space to make plays it makes the goalies look bad and they lose confidence in their net and it spirals out of control.

I don't take too much credence in HDSC stat because it's subjective and sometimes poorly recorded. I mean is a completely uncontested shot with time and space from a grade A location the same as one in the same location where the player is rushed and the defender has a stick in your shooting radius (maybe wacking your stick slightly) affecting your shot and ability to pick your spot? Is another shot from a grade A area where the opposition moved the puck around with ease and is a back door one timer the same as one from the same spot where the goalie is set and able to confidently come out aggressively because he does not fear the back door pass because he knows his defenders are doing their job? Of course not.

Basically it's the team buy in and on ice habits that allow the goalies to perform to the best of their mental and physical abilities. We saw this with Tampa. Vaso was "terrible" early this season because the team did not play well in front of him. Then when the got their s*** together in front of him he once again became the best goalie in the league. This came directly from the mouth of one of the tampa bay analysts.

Though an important position no doubt, people give too much credit and blame to goalies as far as wins and losses.
 

Beerfish

Registered User
Apr 14, 2007
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You mean the same 2 players they had last season?

You have the two best players in the league and scratching and clawing for the payoffs is hardly award worthy.

I swear the oilers have been so awful for so long that any little improvement is met with coach of the year and management of the year talk when this team could easily lose 3 or 4 in a row and be in trouble.

Have you learned nothing about this team?
 

Mc5RingsAndABeer

5-14-6-1
May 25, 2011
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I don't think Holland deserves to be in the conversation. It's not like the Oilers are at the top of the conference.

Tippett deserves some consideration. Special teams is clicking at a historic pace.
 

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