Post-Game Talk: I hate hockey

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

And how do you suggest he does this, in a Covid flat cap landscape in particular? Who is taking bad contracts for nothing?

FTR, I'm not giving Holland a free pass but there's no doubt that he was handcuffed by the previous regime and handcuffed further by Covid. This offseason the excuses run out, this is when we'll see what he's really made of. If this team isn't, at the very least, a legit playoff contender next season then he has failed.

Also, this season isn't over yet. I know everybody is, rightfully, upset after the 3 game disaster against the Leafs but it's still just 3 games in a season that still has plenty of runway left. Lets see how they bounce back because there's a lot of Calgary, Ottawa and Vancouver coming up so if they are still scraping along bubble playoff territory after this stretch, it's going to be trouble.

There's a team coming into the league next year that we could offload at least one bad contract on, I'm sure. Other than Neal, none of our contracts are catastrophically bad. I really think you need to start swallowing some tough pills and put sweeteners into trades. If Holland can make Neal's or Kassian's contracts disappear entirely that's a good chunk of change we can spend on better players.

The season isn't over but man those losses hurt something fierce. Completely neutralized in all facets of the game, and they basically showed the rest of the division how to beat us. They didn't even need good goaltending. They completely waxed our team and could've put up far better numbers if they wanted to.

Ottawa isn't going to be the free bingo space they were when we first faced them. They're going to be tough to beat again.

 

[McOilers97]

Again, this isn't some magic show. You can't wave a wand and the bad stuff goes away. Sure, Holland hasn't been perfect (AA, Turris), but I think some of those moves were made out of a bit of desperation due to what the last guy left him. IMO, he has made more good moves than bad (Barrie for one year, getting JP back, signing KK) Getting stuck with the inherited Koskinen and Neal contracts have been huge albatrosses to wear, and then losing your # 1 Dman for the year was the shit cherry on top of the cake. And you can say, "buy them out", but unfortunately, there is still too much term on the Neal contract, so he may have to wait another year. Koski may very well get bought out after this season. Sure we can make some trades, but who's going to take a bunch of our junk for good players? And our cap situation is strangling us.

Yeah, I feel the same way about this. The team needs #1LW, #3C, #2RD and #1G, plus a few upgrades at other positions. It's kind of funny when I think about all the players that have been traded for sub-par returns, and I can look between 2014 and 2018 at assets that would have benefitted this team massively to keep, but were traded at their lowest value or just for a bad return in general.

#1LW - Hall
#3C - Strome
#2RD - Petry
#1G - Dubnyk (not a #1G any more I know, but he would've been for quite a few years)

And in return for all that, we came up with Adam Larsson, Matt Hendricks, Ryan Spooner, 2015 2nd.

Not to mention that in "replacing" a few of these pieces we ended up with the Lucic and Koskinen albatrosses.

I honestly think that the best way to lose Koskinen or Neal's contract might just be to bite the bullet and give Seattle the 2021 1st to take them off our hands.

 

[Drivesaitl]

They also made pathetic offensive decisions. Drai and Yamamoto coming down on a two on one last night and I said to my dad "Watch him f*** up the pass". That's exactly what they did. Minutes later it was 1-0 and the game was over. You haven't scored at all in two games and you force a pass to a player much less skilled than you.

How many odd man rushes has this team botched?

Coach couldn't calm them down, change his game plan (whatever it was), or make adjustments aside from re-uniting the line he should've never broken up last year.

You lose one game, fine. You lose two games that's a problem. You lose three in the exact same fashion and clearly whatever Tippett's "message" is, it's not getting through. And if he had the same game plan three embarrassments in a row, then he's every bit the screwup I think he is.

So your faulting Drai, the best 2 on 1 player in the game, for not making the pass there (and which had nothing to do with any subsequent Leafs goal). The leafs defender made a great play staying in the play by swining his stick back, which is unexpectedly what stopped the pass. Sometimes its just a good play. Drai did everything correctly on the play. Drai has no shot right now, and hasn't scored in 8 games because one of his injuries is clearly effecting his shooting ability. His shot is a muffin right now. People haven't spotted that?

If the pass to Yama connects he has most of an empty net to pot it home. It was the correct play.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

So your faulting Drai, the best 2 on 1 player in the game, for not making the pass there (and which had nothing to do with any subsequent Leafs goal). The leafs defender made a great play staying in the play by swining his stick back, which is unexpectedly what stopped the pass. Sometimes its just a good play. Drai did everything correctly on the play. Drai has no shot right now, and hasn't scored in 8 games because one of his injuries is clearly effecting his shooting ability. His shot is a muffin right now. People haven't spotted that?

If the pass to Yama connects he has most of an empty net to pot it home. It was the correct play.

I fault Drai for not shooting. He's a far better scorer than Yamamoto is. He had a lane to at least get a shot off instead of forcing a pass over (which had a very low chance of working). The Oilers constantly botch odd man rushes like it's going out of style. If Drai shoots and scores there, there's no doubt in my mind the game is a completely different one. I understand that he's in a slump but time after time of the same 2-on-1 play. Shoot the puck. One of three things happens: You score, the goalie saves and freezes it, or the puck goes for a rebound with a forward on the way to deposit it.

Even the pass got over to Yamamoto, I very highly doubt he would've scored.

 

[Oilers in NS]

Foghorn leghorn

I messed up, I added the picture now

 

[alphahelix]

I fault Drai for not shooting. He's a far better scorer than Yamamoto is. He had a lane to at least get a shot off instead of forcing a pass over (which had a very low chance of working). The Oilers constantly botch odd man rushes like it's going out of style. If Drai shoots and scores there, there's no doubt in my mind the game is a completely different one. I understand that he's in a slump but time after time of the same 2-on-1 play. Shoot the puck. One of three things happens: You score, the goalie saves and freezes it, or the puck goes for a rebound with a forward on the way to deposit it.

Even the pass got over to Yamamoto, I very highly doubt he would've scored.

This has been a big problem for Drai this year, he was constantly trying to get Kahun going too even when he had a strong shooting lane and much higher chance to score. It’s funny because elite players are always criticized if they are unable to elevate their linemates, but in this case Draisaitl is being faulted for the opposite. But its just a fact, he’s one of the most efficient shooters in the NHL. If he doesn’t have a big enough of an ego to demand the puck and shoot the lights out, then the coaches need to step in and lay out a Drai-centric strategy.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I fault Drai for not shooting. He's a far better scorer than Yamamoto is. He had a lane to at least get a shot off instead of forcing a pass over (which had a very low chance of working). The Oilers constantly botch odd man rushes like it's going out of style. If Drai shoots and scores there, there's no doubt in my mind the game is a completely different one. I understand that he's in a slump but time after time of the same 2-on-1 play. Shoot the puck. One of three things happens: You score, the goalie saves and freezes it, or the puck goes for a rebound with a forward on the way to deposit it.

Even the pass got over to Yamamoto, I very highly doubt he would've scored.

Drai hasn't scored a goal in weeks. He's getting nothing on his shots. He's missed 3 practices. He's injured, and whatever he has is also effecting his shot and fine motor control. he can barely make a pass now and is having trouble in all offensive aspects of his game. Hes been fine for defending. I suspect its a combo of lower body injury and wrist. Hopefully its not a shoulder problem. If Drais shoulder is f***ed the Oilers season is.

Notice how much trouble Drai has now trying to shelter the puck. This used to be easy for him now he's struggling doing it. Also when is the last time anybody saw Drai make a one handed pass? This used to be a staple. It could be a shoulder injury.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Drai hasn't scored a goal in weeks. He's getting nothing on his shots. He's missed 3 practices. He's injured, and whatever he has is also effecting his shot and fine motor control. he can barely make a pass now and is having trouble in all offensive aspects of his game. Hes been fine for defending. I suspect its a combo of lower body injury and wrist. Hopefully its not a shoulder problem. If Drais shoulder is f***ed the Oilers season is.

I understand that he's probably banged up, I'm just frustrated at the amount of low percentage passes this team constantly makes and never learns from. McDavid does the exact same thing 95% of the time on odd man rushes. I don't know why they're not being told to shoot on those.

This has been a big problem for Drai this year, he was constantly trying to get Kahun going too even when he had a strong shooting lane and much higher chance to score. It’s funny because elite players are always criticized if they are unable to elevate their linemates, but in this case Draisaitl is being faulted for the opposite. But its just a fact, he’s one of the most efficient shooters in the NHL. If he doesn’t have a big enough of an ego to demand the puck and shoot the lights out, then the coaches need to step in and lay out a Drai-centric strategy.

I agree. Drai wasn't a 50 goal scorer by accident. He's the best pure goal scorer this team has.

 

[LMFAO]

I wish we saw a bit more intensity and player who look like they care out there.

Still can't believe Caggiula was up for grabs for league minimum this summer and we signed completely useless players like Patrick Russel, Alan Quine and Nygard instead.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I understand that he's probably banged up, I'm just frustrated at the amount of low percentage passes this team constantly makes and never learns from. McDavid does the exact same thing 95% of the time on odd man rushes. I don't know why they're not being told to shoot on those.


I agree. Drai wasn't a 50 goal scorer by accident. He's the best pure goal scorer this team has.

ftr before the season started I said there was no way that Drai or McD were going to be getting crazy production this season because NHL divisional scouting would occur in spades, and scheming to shut them down would occur in spades. When you play a team 9-10 times a season this is plausible, and you can take specific time plotting for the 6 teams you face. This is not the case when you play 30 clubs and many of them only twice in a season. Superstars benefit from the latter fully interlocking play. They get stymied more when playing the same clubs all the time.

Teams are scheming for Drai, and McD, as they should. Like any superstar in history its much more difficult when that occurs. for two superstars that inhabit a very poor roster where they have little help, its easy for opponents to just double team our stars all day. There were several plays last night where 3 leafs are converging on McD.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I wish we saw a bit more intensity and player who look like they care out there.

Still can't believe Caggiula was up for grabs for league minimum this summer and we signed completely useless players like Patrick Russel, Alan Quine and Nygard instead.

All of the above do not move the needle in anyw way. Caggiulia is a nothing player. Capable of negligible offense. One of the least effective players Chicago had last season and thus they had zero interest in retaining him. Cagg is just an earlier version of the disposable nothing type wingers we've been airlifting in for years.

 

[ThePhoenixx]

Drai hasn't scored a goal in weeks. He's getting nothing on his shots. He's missed 3 practices. He's injured, and whatever he has is also effecting his shot and fine motor control. he can barely make a pass now and is having trouble in all offensive aspects of his game. Hes been fine for defending. I suspect its a combo of lower body injury and wrist. Hopefully its not a shoulder problem. If Drais shoulder is f***ed the Oilers season is.

Notice how much trouble Drai has now trying to shelter the puck. This used to be easy for him now he's struggling doing it. Also when is the last time anybody saw Drai make a one handed pass? This used to be a staple. It could be a shoulder injury.

He needs to sit just like Matthews did.

He doesn't help the team playing injured. It will just let it linger.

 

[gordonhught]

View attachment 403254 Change it up a little, get everyone of suicide watch
Anyone know who fella in picture is, on left?

Is that MacKinnon? Red haired bastard.

 

[Drivesaitl]

He needs to sit just like Matthews did.

He doesn't help the team playing injured. It will just let it linger.

I said he should have sat yesterday. But like most coaches on the hot seat Tippett is not wanting to sit Drai, and Drai is not inclined to sit out. But I think a week off is required. It should have happened already as after game 1 of the Toronto set it was probable that we were losing these games anyway. Drai may have well been resting and rehabbing. The team has tried to just let him skip practices but that isn't the answer either.

 

[Oilers in NS]

Is that MacKinnon? Red haired bastard.

No, I’ll give ya a hint though, he is an Oilers fan

 

[ThePhoenixx]

I said he should have sat yesterday. But like most coaches on the hot seat Tippett is not wanting to sit Drai, and Drai is not inclined to sit out. But I think a week off is required. It should have happened already as after game 1 of the Toronto set it was probable that we were losing these games anyway. Drai may have well been resting and rehabbing. The team has tried to just let him skip practices but that isn't the answer either.

He's a stubborn German. Time to sit whether you like it or not.

 

[Drivesaitl]

To be fair, Leafs fans have to get their trash talk in now, won’t last long till they are booted out of the playoffs yet again.

They do this over on the Sens board constantly. Even though the Sens have been much more successful in the playoffs this last decade than the Leafs have been. Oilers as well..... At least Edmonton has made it past the first round.

Last year after the Leafs lost in the first round yet again, the entire board was crying the blues to blow the team up and they’re an embarrassment and they suck. Now because they have a decent record in an average division, they think they’re Gods lol. Comical.

They beat us 13-1 in a 3 game set. If this had been the opposite we would be lording it over them. I mean its the way it goes and Leafs fans, one would expect, would be vocal right now. I have no problem with that, except if its taking place on this board.

Leafs are a good club, better than most people are giving them credit for. if the leafs didn't take games off here and there, as all clubs do, they would win almost every night.

 

[Drivesaitl]

He's a stubborn German. Time to sit whether you like it or not.

What do you mean by that..

heh, I'm another one.

jk aside its a double edged sword. Its Leon being stubborn and resolute that resulted in him being at the top of the hockey world as a player. Without which he would be unsung. But I agree. But Tippett and Drai are both stubborn so who's going to make the call. Holland is neutral. (pun)

 

[brentashton]

No, I’ll give ya a hint though, he is an Oilers fanView attachment 403259

That’s funny. The names are actually in the write up adjacent to the picture. He’s listed as Mikle Smith but I couldn’t figure it out. I was thinking its not Oiler goalie Mike Smith, but now I can see the resemblance,the pouty bottom lip is there. Never took Bubbles to be a rope skipper though.

 

[ThePhoenixx]

What do you mean by that..

heh, I'm another one.

jk aside its a double edged sword. Its Leon being stubborn and resolute that resulted in him being at the top of the hockey world as a player. Without which he would be unsung. But I agree. But Tippett and Drai are both stubborn so who's going to make the call. Holland is neutral. (pun)

My mother was a stubborn German.

 

[gordonhught]

No, I’ll give ya a hint though, he is an Oilers fanView attachment 403259

It's Bubbles!

 

[barry halls]

To be honest it blows my mind that seasoned Oilers fans here are acting like making the post-season is a given, especially after being broken and humiliated in that series. Making the playoffs would be a huge accomplishment for this team and make me a happy fan, even if they burn out in the first round.

 

[Drivesaitl]

My mother was a stubborn German.

I have two stubborn genes in me. Who would have thought?

When they got stubborn with each other the roof would come off the house. This is when the yelling in German would start flying..
To this day I have an aversion to the German language. Associated with everytime my parents were fighting it was in German.

anyhoo

 

[yukoner88]

"The Oilers had started exceptionally well, but were down 1-0 when Draisaitl broke in on a two-on-one with Kailer Yamamoto.
Draisaitl tried to pass and the puck but it never made it through to his winger, another one of countless chances thwarted by the Leafs defence. As the two Oilers skated to the bench to change, Draisaitl — in full view of the entire Leafs bench — slammed his stick on the ice and looked skyward, clearly frustrated.
Here we were, not 15 minutes into the game, and the opponent was looking at one of Oilers’ leaders, nudging each other quietly and saying, “We’ve got these guys already.”"


The Leafs in the Oilers heads all three games.

A lot of that frustration was probably built up from not getting any goals in the previous 2 games, on top of missing that chance. Now everyone is squeezing their sticks and doubting themselves when in a shooting lane (exhibit A, Yammo hesitating to shoot instead of one timing).

I bet you almost anything if the Oilers had a couple goals in either of the previous 2 games, they wouldn't have been so tense in trying to make plays.

They needed a lucky bounce to go in the net and just didn't get it. The bulging floodgates will now be Calgary's nightmare to think about.

 

[Stoneman89]

The Leafs made Marleau's contract disappear. Yes they had to give up a first to get rid of it, but with Seattle on the way, you can hopefully get rid of at least one anchor to that team. Whether it's Neal, Kassian, or Koskinen... I'd prefer no buyouts at all. Dead cap space hasn't helped this team one bit.

I understand that GMing isn't easy and there are no quick fixes, but when you get paid millions of dollars to do your job, excuses aren't going to fly for very long. At some point significant moves need to be made. And while we point to next offseason, there's no guarantee that we will have the space needed to upgrade the roster especially if players are re-signed.

Okay, so you're not making the contact disappear, because there is a pretty hefty price to lose it. First round picks should be made to get good solid pieces, not move junk. We need one or both of these guys to go on long term disability.