Speculation: Oilers 2 Players Away From First NHL Team Since 2006

[Jordo2001]

gordon and hendricks on different lines? Check

gordon and hendricks playing center? Check

gordon and hendricks not on the 4th line? Check

this is what the oilers lineup won't look like

check!

 

[GretzkytoKurri9917]

I'd imagine someone would be swapped to center. Didn't Hall play center for a bit in junior?

Hall can't play center at the NHL level.

 

[CorpseFX]

Hall can't play center at the NHL level.

that's OK because he probably plays as well at center as 90% of the team does at their supposed "specialized" positions

this team is going to Gong so hard again.
can't wait to check out after the first 10 games

 

[sepHF]

I'd imagine someone would be swapped to center. Didn't Hall play center for a bit in junior?

After last season I never want to see Taylor Hall play center ever again.

 

[Moose Coleman]

that's OK because he probably plays as well at center as 90% of the team does at their supposed "specialized" positions

this team is going to Gong so hard again.
can't wait to check out after the first 10 games

Why wait?

 

[Aerchon]

We have a full line up of "mostly proven" NHL defenseman.

We have a "mostly proven" set of goaltenders.

We have only 2-3 spots for forwards that are as of yet "unproven".

We have an NHL roster. We have to be close to league average or even a bit better. I would be curious how many teams only have 2-3 roster spots they need to fill.

 

[Tw0Shoes]

Vancouver's center depth is worse than ours.

 

[Arpeggio]

The Oilers have the worst center depth in the league WITH RNH. That's how bad the situation is.
If he gets injured for any length of time, might as well plan the McDavid draft party.

But hey, if they get McDavid, they'll have close to the best center depth in the league, at least within a couple years.

 

[Beerfish]

Vancouver's center depth is worse than ours.

No, just no.

Sedin
Bonino 3 year vet 22-27 last year
Matheies 5 nhl season
Richardson vet nhl player 23 points last year.

Gaunce and Horvat listed as centers as prospects.

 

[Tw0Shoes]

No, just no.

Sedin
Bonino 3 year vet 22-27 last year
Matheies 5 nhl season
Richardson vet nhl player 23 points last year.

Gaunce and Horvat listed as centers as prospects.

Sedin had about as many points as Bonino last year, and Bonino scored most of his points playing wing with Getzlaf and Perry. Mathais & Gordon are a wash. And I don't think Richardson was their 4th line center last year.

 

[McGoMcD]

Hall-Nuge-Ebs
Perron-LD-Yaks
Purcel-Gordon-Pouliot
Jenensu-Hendriks-Gaz

Nikitin-Fayne
Fernce-Petry
Klef/Marincin-Schultz

 

[oilz89*]

that's OK because he probably plays as well at center as 90% of the team does at their supposed "specialized" positions

this team is going to Gong so hard again.
can't wait to check out after the first 10 games

... What is wrong with you Have a little faith you pessimist. We don't have NHL ready Dman on every pairing? Jeff Petry, for the first time in his NHL career, gets to play at the 3rd or 4th position. Ference will play bottom pairing minutes most likely. We also have 3 scoring lines now. The only thing really holding us back is a true No.1 Dman and a second line centre.... So please tell me how this teams a gong show?

 

[oilz89*]

No, just no.

Sedin
Bonino 3 year vet 22-27 last year
Matheies 5 nhl season
Richardson vet nhl player 23 points last year.

Gaunce and Horvat listed as centers as prospects.

Matthias is GARBAGE Just because the guys played 5 NHL seasons doesn't make him great . Also, you seriously think Richardson is a better centre then Gordon??? Can he even win faceoffs?

 

[oilz89*]

But hey, if they get McDavid, they'll have close to the best center depth in the league, at least within a couple years.

And what if LD has a calder season then what? We have Good centre depth? Don't judge the freakin team before we've even reached training camp Most of you Oiler fans are the biggest pessimists I have ever encountered. This is so sad and petty that its embarrassing

 

[Samus44]

Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
Perron-_____-Purcell
Pouliot-Arcobello-Yakupov
Hendricks-Gordon-Lander
Gazdic-?Pinizotto/Pitlick?

_____ Fayne
Marincin-Petry
Nikitin-Schultz
Ference

For us to make the playoffs those are the pieces we need IMO. Thankfully our best young prospects play those positions (Draisaitl, Nurse, Klefbom).

I think the Oilers are looking good going forward up front with Draisaitl in the system and with the duo of Arcobello and Lander still having solid upside. Giving a job to Arcobello is far from a crime or something other teams wouldn't do, Draisaitl is more concerning given his age and that's where the question marks begin. If Draisaitl has a Nuge like rookie year all is good in Oil Country, if not the here and now doesn't look nearly as good as the future does. Also i'd prefer to pretend Joensuu isn't an option to make the roster, i really don't care for him, his flashes of ability are too infrequent.

The Oilers should have enough depth on defense to not be an embarrassment but i'm concerned still about the lack of a top end player back there. Ference as a spare isn't because he's bad or anything he's just probably not as good as Marincin or Nikitin who both probably fall short of what we need right now. They're looking good for the future, but they aren't quite where they need to be.

It doesn't get said enough but i think the Scrivens-Fasth duo despite having some bust potential is something that's potentially exciting given both guys have very good upside and have obviously shown that in their time here and in California. I think there is a very strong chance we get a long term starter out of this experiment.

So in summary i think things look great, a year or two from now, and as of right now we're still relying on a lot of hope.

 

[Tad Mikowsky]

... What is wrong with you Have a little faith you pessimist. We don't have NHL ready Dman on every pairing? Jeff Petry, for the first time in his NHL career, gets to play at the 3rd or 4th position. Ference will play bottom pairing minutes most likely. We also have 3 scoring lines now. The only thing really holding us back is a true No.1 Dman and a second line centre.... So please tell me how this teams a gong show?

What's wrong is that the Oilers franchise has him at gunpoint and forces him to watch every game.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

We have a bad center depth but Imo we have one of the best wing depths in the league, especially on left wing. All of our dmen are good quality not super great top pairing but not the worst d in the league, no stud dmen yet but none of them are awful.

If Nurse, Draisaitl and Arcobello pan out then we have a legit team. If Nurse becomes the top pairing guy we need from him and Arcobello and Draisaitl both prove they are capable centers then we got ourselves a good team

 

[Tarus]

Hall can't play center at the NHL level.

The two or three game stretch he had last year is hardly indicative of whether he can play the position. Especially not when you consider that a typically slow starting player was saddled with the apathetic Hemsky, old man Smyth, terrible goaltending, and the worst coaching we've ever seen in Edmonton; all of which occurred during the worst start in franchise history.

Hall actually looked decent, albeit unseasoned in his other short stints at center under competent coaching. Which was part of the reason why people were so keen to see him play the position in the first place.

 

[rboomercat90]

The two or three game stretch he had last year is hardly indicative of whether he can play the position. Especially not when you consider that a typically slow starting player was saddled with the apathetic Hemsky, old man Smyth, terrible goaltending, and the worst coaching we've ever seen in Edmonton; all of which occurred during the worst start in franchise history.

Hall actually looked decent, albeit unseasoned in his other short stints at center under competent coaching. Which was part of the reason why people were so keen to see him play the position in the first place.

Do you think the plan is to put him back there again this season? Makes me wonder when I look at the terrible depth in that position and the glut of wingers.

 

[Tarus]

Do you think the plan is to put him back there again this season? Makes me wonder when I look at the terrible depth in that position and the glut of wingers.

Who knows? They may not have a choice if injuries hit.

I suspect that it's unlikely though. Eakins spent his entire first training camp giddy at the thought of grooming Hall into a first line center despite the player's obvious reluctance, and dropped the entire experiment after 2 whole games. Seems to me that a coach who had no problems sticking with other strategies that didn't work for long periods of time was under pressure to dump this particular pet project as soon as possible.

It's more than likely that pressure originated from Hall himself too, making any attempts to revisit difficult.

 

[TheRebuild]

The center depth is so bad, that I would go as far to say, the entire season hinges on RNH's surgically repaired shoulder. Hope they did a good job.

 

[oilz89*]

What's wrong is that the Oilers franchise has him at gunpoint and forces him to watch every game.

I watch every game too.... and i still have optimism.

 

[tiger_80]

that's OK because he probably plays as well at center as 90% of the team does at their supposed "specialized" positions

this team is going to Gong so hard again.
can't wait to check out after the first 10 games

I think this year's team will be much better than last year:
1) better goal-tending
2) improved defence: they added a pair of bona fide top 4 defence men in Fayne and Nikitin. J.Schultz, Marincin, Klefbom are 1 year older and have more NHL experience.
3) better forwards: Pouliot, and Purcell add some size and a little bit of grit.
4) Draisatl should be an upgrade on Gagner on account of his size and puck protection ability alone.
5) Yakupov can't be so horrible as he was last year or can he?

Very important player is RNH. If he takes a major step forward in his development, this team may be able to challenge for a play-off spot or at least not get eliminated until close to the trade deadline.

 

[tiger_80]

The two or three game stretch he had last year is hardly indicative of whether he can play the position. Especially not when you consider that a typically slow starting player was saddled with the apathetic Hemsky, old man Smyth, terrible goaltending, and the worst coaching we've ever seen in Edmonton; all of which occurred during the worst start in franchise history.

Hall actually looked decent, albeit unseasoned in his other short stints at center under competent coaching. Which was part of the reason why people were so keen to see him play the position in the first place.

I hope Hall never plays centre again. He's at his best as LW. Hopefully RNH and Draisatl live up to their potential and the centre position becomes an area of strength in a year or two.

 

[GretzkytoKurri9917]

And what if LD has a calder season then what? We have Good centre depth? Don't judge the freakin team before we've even reached training camp Most of you Oiler fans are the biggest pessimists I have ever encountered. This is so sad and petty that its embarrassing

You need to get off the backs' of the fans of this team because the team has missed the playoffs 10 out of their last 12 seasons.



Fans have a right to be pessimistic.