Injury Report: Injury Thread 2018-19 [Klefbom (Finger Surgery, Out 2 Months)]

[Smart Alek]

His shot would fill in better on the PP then Jones would. That’s the only reason I can think of.

He can also keep the puck in and hold the point, get his shot through, and make a decent pass.

During his stint last year, he showed better power play instincts than any d-man on the team. I'd like to see him given a chance to play under Hitchcock's tutelage. Else, Wideman is certainly the best option.

Having a sinkhole on the power play kills it every time.

I mean, I've been right before: any predictions on who will be the next coach for the oilers

 

[Skolman]

His shot would fill in better on the PP then Jones would. That’s the only reason I can think of.

That is definitely the only reason why. He's struggling in the AHL, he would struggle big time in the NHL.

 

[Mav3rick07]

I hope Gregors wrong and we find out this morning that it’s like 3 weeks.

I looked it up and there have been other cases in the NHL with a broken finger where it’s less than a month.

 

[McCombo]

Thanks Benning! What an idiotic penalty it was.

 

[McBigYak]

This team is in deep trouble without Klefbom. That really, really sucks.

 

[russ99]

I really hope the Oilers don’t do something dumb like rush Sekera back from two major leg surgeries.

 

[russ99]

This team is in deep trouble without Klefbom. That really, really sucks.

Not so sure, Nurse could do better with Larsson as his pairing mate and Gravel - Benning has been pretty good the last few games.

The trick is who to play with Russell. Maybe we give Lagesson a shot.

 

[CupofOil]

I honestly don't understand the love for Bear. If we are calling anyone up, it should be Jones without question.

They aren't calling anybody up. It'll likely be...

Nurse-Larsson
Russell-Wideman
Gravel-Benning

Garrison

Keep Jones away for this season. There's no need to rush him up here.

 

[McBigYak]

Not so sure, Nurse could do better with Larsson as his pairing mate and Gravel - Benning has been pretty good the last few games.

The trick is who to play with Russell. Maybe we give Lagesson a shot.

Not so sure? You have to split up the ice time of a guy who is logging the fourth highest minutes in the whole league.

This is going to hurt the Oilers. I'm not as critical of Nurse as most of this board, but he's probably going to be playing 25+ a night now, same with Larsson.

Gravel and Benning have been good with limited ice time. Like 12-13 minutes a game. That is likely going to go up now.

When you've got a guy who logs that many minutes, it definitely is a ripple effect down the lineup and you've got guys who can't log the minutes they are playing.

 

[CupofOil]

Not so sure? You have to split up the ice time of a guy who is logging the fourth highest minutes in the whole league.

This is going to hurt the Oilers. I'm not as critical of Nurse as most of this board, but he's probably going to be playing 25+ a night now, same with Larsson.

Gravel and Benning have been good with limited ice time. Like 12-13 minutes a game. That is likely going to go up now.

When you've got a guy who logs that many minutes, it definitely is a ripple effect down the lineup and you've got guys who can't log the minutes they are playing.

I don't think the distribution of minutes are going to change much. Nurse will get the Klef minutes and Russell will get a different D partner which is my biggest concern, that 2nd pairing.

Obviously losing Klef is a major blow but I don't think the pairings will be deployed that differently, Nurse was able to log big minutes with Larsson last season and did fine, Larsson generally has a calming effect on whoever he's partnered with. Nurse struggled when moved to the Benning pairing.

 

[Zaddy]

Honestly after the small sample size of last night I would probably bump up Gravel into the top4 and have him play with Larsson. They looked real solid together. Then just keep Nurse and Russell together and have those two pairings share the big minutes.

 

[McBigYak]

I don't think the distribution of minutes are going to change much. Nurse will get the Klef minutes and Russell will get a different D partner which is my biggest concern, that 2nd pairing.

Obviously losing Klef is a major blow but I don't think the pairings will be deployed that differently, Nurse was able to log big minutes with Larsson last season and did fine, Larsson generally has a calming effect on whoever he's partnered with. Nurse struggled when moved to the Benning pairing.

If you move Nurse up to the first pairing to log Klefboms 25+, somebody will have to come in from the third and log Nurses 22 mins a night. You're essentially going to see one of Benning, Gravel or Wideman putting up 20+ minutes a night. Which is honestly terrifying, and I would consider that a big distribution. I mean most of those guys only play 13-14 a night. If I was to give one a vote though, I would go with Gravel.

 

[CupofOil]

If you move Nurse up to the first pairing to log Klefboms 25+, somebody will have to come in from the third and log Nurses 22 mins a night. You're essentially going to see one of Benning, Gravel or Wideman putting up 20+ minutes a night. Which is honestly terrifying, and I would consider that a big distribution. I mean most of those guys only play 13-14 a night. If I was to give one a vote though, I would go with Gravel.

As I said, that's my biggest worry. Whoever replaces Nurse on the 2nd pairing.

I'm not saying it's ideal, I'm just saying that the D pairing deployment likely won't change that much with perhaps the one difference being the Gravel-Benning pairing getting a slight bump in minutes to lessen the load on the Russell-Plug pairing.

 

[Multigrain]

Not so sure? You have to split up the ice time of a guy who is logging the fourth highest minutes in the whole league.

This is going to hurt the Oilers. I'm not as critical of Nurse as most of this board, but he's probably going to be playing 25+ a night now, same with Larsson.

Gravel and Benning have been good with limited ice time. Like 12-13 minutes a game. That is likely going to go up now.

When you've got a guy who logs that many minutes, it definitely is a ripple effect down the lineup and you've got guys who can't log the minutes they are playing.

Nurse is going to have to really step it up a little bit. They could possibly make a trade if they feel they are still in the hunt. Not sure which teams are shopping players.

 

[Multigrain]

If you move Nurse up to the first pairing to log Klefboms 25+, somebody will have to come in from the third and log Nurses 22 mins a night. You're essentially going to see one of Benning, Gravel or Wideman putting up 20+ minutes a night. Which is honestly terrifying, and I would consider that a big distribution. I mean most of those guys only play 13-14 a night. If I was to give one a vote though, I would go with Gravel.

Benning and Gravel will be playing alot more. Could they go with 7D against the Jets or not?

 

[Multigrain]

Sekera skating a bit per Chia yesterday - let's say Feb return. Not sure what we can realistically expect when he returns or for the rest of his contract.

Isn't he getting up there in age?

 

[Multigrain]

HItch says that Klef will go back to Edmonton for further evaluation.

Said he's pretty sure he'll be out "weeks, not days"

Just look at Bobby Ryan of Ottawa, If he is heading back I would assume there is the possiblilty of surgery or something along those lines.

 

[McJadeddog]

If they don't call up Ethan Bear, you can pretty much forget about the Oilers scoring power play goals for the next 4-8 weeks. He looked pretty decent in his stint last year, and he has some offensive instincts, whereas the rest of the blueliners do not.

I'm assuming they will just put Wideman back in the lineup, and he'll play on the #1 PP unit

 

[McJadeddog]

Just look at Bobby Ryan of Ottawa, If he is heading back I would assume there is the possiblilty of surgery or something along those lines.

Yeah hands are weird. It could be a finger and he is out about 2-4 weeks, and comes back like nothing really happened. Or it could be a more major injury that requires surgery and 8-9 weeks out. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

 

[Multigrain]

Yeah hands are weird. It could be a finger and he is out about 2-4 weeks, and comes back like nothing really happened. Or it could be a more major injury that requires surgery and 8-9 weeks out. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

I hope its only one finger and not multiple- fingers crossed, no pun intended.

 

[Multigrain]

I'm assuming they will just put Wideman back in the lineup, and he'll play on the #1 PP unit

Why would they call someone up when they have 2D in the wings?

 

[Delicious Pancakes]

Honestly after the small sample size of last night I would probably bump up Gravel into the top4 and have him play with Larsson. They looked real solid together. Then just keep Nurse and Russell together and have those two pairings share the big minutes.

I agree that keeping Nurse and Russell together is probably best for continuity. Gravel is the one who deserves the bump into the top 4 so that makes sense. I just really don't like the thought of Benning playing with Garrison or Wideman or Jones if he gets called up. Benning needs a composed stabilizing presence to play with, which he's had in Gravel, otherwise he tends to go full Benning which is not pretty.

So if it's 6 weeks that Klef is out for he probably comes back after that stupid 10 day break at the end of January (I say stupid because most other teams only have an 8 or 9 day break).

 

[GRadio]

How far out is Sekera?

 

[bone]

I didn't watch the game, but I thought I heard that he came out for a shift after the injury then shut it down. If it was a really major break, he likely doesn't come out and give it a try. Hopefully that means more in the range of 4 weeks rather than 8+ weeks.

 

[Zaddy]

I agree that keeping Nurse and Russell together is probably best for continuity. Gravel is the one who deserves the bump into the top 4 so that makes sense. I just really don't like the thought of Benning playing with Garrison or Wideman or Jones if he gets called up. Benning needs a composed stabilizing presence to play with, which he's had in Gravel, otherwise he tends to go full Benning which is not pretty.

So if it's 6 weeks that Klef is out for he probably comes back after that stupid 10 day break at the end of January (I say stupid because most other teams only have an 8 or 9 day break).

I mean, Jones played together with Gravel in Bakersfield and both of them were anchoring the big minutes. I think he can be a good substitution in that 3rd pair role with Benning. He's smart, he can skate and has a good outlet pass. I actually think him and Benning might complement each other quite decently. Plus Jones is in his 2nd pro year now and has shown he can handle the big minutes at the AHL level. I don't think the step from playing tough minutes in AHL to soft minutes in the NHL is that big. I think he'll be able to handle it.