Senor Catface
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- Jul 25, 2006
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Post-Game Talk: Kevin Lowe and MacT still have jobs how!?!
- Thread starter flashy
- Start date
Wont make a difference... As with every other goaltender we've had in recent memory magically his once strong Glove hand when he arrived is suddenly the weakest in the league after adjusting to our team. Weird.
But BTW, Dustin Schwartz is a genius and there isn't a team in the league who wouldn't hire him instantly because he's a genius that had success with one goaltender in Junior who had no success in the NHL level. SO clearly thats why he's been here through three separate coaching staffs. Obviously.
The Panther
Registered User
I think some of you are quick to dump on Koskinen. Okay, he kind of sucked in two of the past three games, but remember these are meaningless games anyway. I think he needs this last third of a season (after the Oilers are effectively eliminated) to really get his head into NHL-level and style.
He's probably gonna end up around .910 on the season (or higher), and he currently has a winning record (both pre and post Bettman-loser-points). Bear in mind that the guy who was supposed to be the starter this season -- and was nearly a Vezina finalist two years ago -- ended up with an .893 and a terrible losing record.
I would say Koskinen is hugely exceeding realistic expectations given that he hadn't played in the NHL for 8 years prior to now!!
"All we are saying... is give Mikko a chance!"
He's probably gonna end up around .910 on the season (or higher), and he currently has a winning record (both pre and post Bettman-loser-points). Bear in mind that the guy who was supposed to be the starter this season -- and was nearly a Vezina finalist two years ago -- ended up with an .893 and a terrible losing record.
I would say Koskinen is hugely exceeding realistic expectations given that he hadn't played in the NHL for 8 years prior to now!!
"All we are saying... is give Mikko a chance!"
For the final 10 games, hope Hitch plays Mcdavid and Drai together every shift, heck Id put Nuge on that line as well. Lets see Drai get 50 and Mcdavid 125.
- Jun 30, 2015
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Since when are must win games meaningless? That's 4 points in the last three games you're talking about.
The Panther
Registered User
Well, I don't think they've had a realistic chance of making the playoffs for about 6 weeks.
StoveTopStauffer
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- Apr 6, 2012
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Took Vegas 1 EXPANSION off season to create a better team than we've had since the early 90s. How pathetic does this management feel? They probably think they're doing a great job.
I think some of you are quick to dump on Koskinen. Okay, he kind of sucked in two of the past three games, but remember these are meaningless games anyway. I think he needs this last third of a season (after the Oilers are effectively eliminated) to really get his head into NHL-level and style.
He's probably gonna end up around .910 on the season (or higher), and he currently has a winning record (both pre and post Bettman-loser-points). Bear in mind that the guy who was supposed to be the starter this season -- and was nearly a Vezina finalist two years ago -- ended up with an .893 and a terrible losing record.
I would say Koskinen is hugely exceeding realistic expectations given that he hadn't played in the NHL for 8 years prior to now!!
"All we are saying... is give Mikko a chance!"
As you say he hasn’t played in the NHL for 8 years. Low expectations. Then the Oilers sign said low expectations goalie who hasn’t played in the NHL in 8 years to a starters deal after 2 dozen games not because of his otherworldly talent but because they failed to plan around their goaltending position - for about the last 20 years - and had no better solutions.
Expectations are now set. He’s our starter for the next 3 years not because of talent but by default. I wouldn’t mind if he were paid half of what he is but Oiler management decided to pay him like an NHL veteran starter for no apparent reason.
A starter with a frying pan for a glove hand who also has a propensity for letting in untimely short side goals. So he gets starters money he gets to take starters bullets.
Even though the idiots that signed him should be taking those bullets.
Edit _ Lennon and Yoko Ono suck too. She sounds like a cat being tortured to death.
Drivesaitl
Finding Hyman
What happened is people assumed Koski had a good glove hand without enough sample and instances to really substantiate that. Every goalie has his get lucky moments. An interesting thing occurred several times last night. That Koski had trouble on 5-6 glove hand shots that were stoppable, that he saw. 2-3 of them beat him, one barely missed, and 3 he fought off just getting a fraction of glove on the puck. The bad news is NHL shooters with even a decent shot and accuracy can blow it buy Koski. Marchessault was beating him for fun. Could anybody imagine how bad Koski would look playing against Draisaitl? Somebody like that. Its good news he doesn't face McD or Drai but theres enough shooters in the league schooling him, this was always the concern expressed by myself and others.
What we have here is a very average starter, technically suspect, with bad form and fundamentals earning 4.5M long term and we're stuck with him. Its really a crapshoot whether Stolarz or Koski is better. Probably Stolarz because he is not so unorthodox.
What really occurred here is a GM that loved Tim Thomas loved this goalie. BECAUSE of the fish flopping, the out of position chronic desperation saves. To the Oilers brass, and Chia, Koski's play resembled try. As in look, he's trying harder. To me its looked like Koskinen was fundamentally inept and made saves and situations more difficult than they needed to be. But that this org went out and got Koskinen on the basis of his "never gives up on a puck" is one indication of how completely whacked this teams scouting, assessment, and management is.
We'll have to look at Koskinen and Lucic and think about Chiarelli for several more years.
The Panther
Registered User
I thought it went without saying that the management were idiots...?
All fair points, but clearly you're blaming management and not Koskinen. Don't hold Koskinen accountable for Oilers' management!
Drivesaitl
Finding Hyman
One of the things Schwartz has stressed with all the goalies here is "Don't open your form". He's a real stickler for stoic goalies that come out, cover angles, take away chances with body positioning. Dubs, among our starters struggled the most imo with this instruction here (I'm only saying relative to his usual NHL game) because it resulted in Dubs going too late to make a glove hand save. He'd often be caught in his stick hockey goalie fixed position while a snipe beat him glove hand a couple times, without hardly moving the glove hand. Or moving it too late.
Now it is possible that Koski is also impacted by this, but I do think Koski is not necessarily an ideal goalie for Schwartz schemes. The latter needs to go, no doubt, he's hampered goalies here instead of helping them improve. Short question. What goalie has improved here? Name one. See if you can.
The Panther
Registered User
Wait, didn't Nicholson say that Chiarelli didn't make that decision on his own?
I think what he was implying was that the PR office coffee-boy/gopher made that decision.
Managment doesn’t have a bad glove hand or let in bad goals short side at inopportune times.
The Panther
Registered User
I dunno about that... Kevin Lowe was pretty awful at blocking shots by diving, which was basically the one move he repeatedly made on D.
Drivesaitl
Finding Hyman
This has been disputed by even other org comments. For instance that they like Keith Gretzky more because he consults on decisions all the time whereas Chiarelli was reluctant to do that. The Oilers org, themselves, are disseminating conflicting information, seemingly without even realizing it.
The Strome for Spooner trade, the Koski extension, the Manning acquisition, and the famous Colby Cave acquisition (Chiarelli's signature I'm fired move) all suggest some possibility of rogue action on the part of the GM.
Even the sum of his moves, the Hall trade, the Lucic acquisition, big money thrown at Sekera, Klef, Russell, Lucic,, the erosion of ready to play talent, these are all moves that are very GM stamped. Chiarelli more than most is a GM that has a very stamped brand on his team, his kind of team.
Collectively Chia moves indelibly changed the look of the team but that also lock an org in with that plan and trying to see it to fruition. Because after everybody is sober and wakes up you look around after the smoke is cleared and you are then caught in reluctance to fire the guy because then you've told all your shareholders the whole Chia path and dream was all wrong and at great cost. Got it all wrong. The team took as long as it did to fire Chia in the first place because as soon as you do that in calls into question everybody in the org that had a hand in getting this guy here and allowing him to firesale the team talent. Namely Nicholson, the OBC.
Obviously the moves/acquisitions don't reflect well on anybody. But for Nicholson an admission that Chiarelli was making rogue decisions before being fired would be more culpable in him not intervening or handcuffing him, than saying consultation occurred (which is bad enough, but the former would be gross negligence to act, or incompetence).
You don't let a manager make several key asset decisions when that manager is going to inevitably be fired. No competent org allows that. No org would admit it to shareholders later.
ElysiumAB
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- Sep 12, 2013
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Koskinen can be a good goalie, but he is so prone to giving up shitty goals on what should be harmless shots. Not sure if it's mental lapses or he just can't follow the play or what, but the guy is not reliable enough to have been given the contract he got. So now they're pretty much stuck with a flawed goalie, which is a problem when you can't outscore the bad goals he gives up. Smallest 6'7 goalie I have ever seen.
Hey. He has 6 rings. If that’s ever a concern.
DingerMcSlapshot
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BlackDogg
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- Oct 3, 2015
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They must - and no other team will hire them, otherwise they'd have moved on to other pastures. Won't step down and can't go anywhere else.
BlackDogg
perpetuum defectum
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FlameChampion
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- Jul 13, 2011
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The coaching staff simply doesnt make any sense. What I find weird is that McLellan and Hitchcock despite being different coaches have basically used players the same way (especially AHL call ups or waiver wire fodder). We have seen basically no changes on the PP all year. Not sure about the PK, but its been awful all year too. It makes you wonder if management is calling the shots on a lot of things?
FlameChampion
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- Jul 13, 2011
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Koskinen is probably a decent back up but honestly I still cant believe he got 4.5 FOR 3 YEARS. The timing of the deal was so bizarre (and BRUTAL) and considering they were about to the fire the GM, it was so completely stupid.
Paralyzer
Hyman >>> Matthews
No, keep them FAR AWAY from the team this year. They need to stay in the AHL.
