Speculation: Oilers off season targets

[Dunkysaur]

Just fire Schwartz into the next nearest sun and hire someone that actually can improve our goaltenders. It's so f***ing sad to know that every tender that arrives in EDM is exposed to this absolute buffoon of a goalie coach.

That move alone would improve Soup and Skinner significantly and would cost much less.

Other than that I think the important things have been said. Use Yamo's money for Bouch, try to fill gaps on the wings and on D. Can't and won't go crazy this offseason. Bjugstad would be really nice to have and a defensive D.

While I agree a change might be worth it, how much of this is teams building a defensive structure that masks goalies weaknesses? When the goalies play for the Oilers the defense seems to lack any consistent structure.

 

[North Cole]

Yamo out, Holloway in (Yamo's money goes to Bouch). I think that's probably the only thing you do. You run it back with the rest of the skaters.

I don't know how you're supposed to upgrade Ceci @ 3.5m...

I would try adding to Campbell to somehow land Hellebuck but doubt that happens. If it doesn't, I feel really good going with Skinner into next season

McDavid, Draisaitl, RNH combined for 10 posts... so much about winning the playoffs is about luck. We're pretty muich right there, I wouldn't do anything too drastic.

Ceci at 3.5M is not an issue, his issue is that he is above where he should be on the chart. The only way you upgrade on him is by one of the younger guys on the right side waking up a taking his minutes. We're pretty much all in on Broberg this year, he needs to step up.

 

[belair]

Our best defenceman all playoffs was far-and-away was an offensive-only, essentially rookie Dman who was essentially a 2nd/3rd pairing guy all year.

If you don't think adding a top pairing defenceman is the #1 priority I don't know what to tell you. We have a ton of holes but that one is the most obvious.

This was a team that had a handful of underperforming and injured veterans up front that resulted in an underperforming product at 5v5 in the playoffs. Game one next year, they aren't the same team that lost to Vegas five months prior.

Suggesting that this team has 'a ton of holes' is an unrealistic, over-the-top POV. And if you believe that moves of this magnitude are either necessary or likely to happen, you're setting yourself up for considerable disappointment this summer.

The roster as it stands was one of the top teams in the entire league from Jan 1st through to the end of the regular season. You'll see them trade underperforming contracts and they'll be replaced with FAs willing to take less to play on a competitive roster. Enjoy.

 

[Broberg Speed]

This was a team that had a handful of underperforming and injured veterans up front that resulted in an underperforming product at 5v5 in the playoffs. Game one next year, they aren't the same team that lost to Vegas five months prior.

Suggesting that this team has 'a ton of holes' is an unrealistic, over-the-top POV. And if you believe that moves of this magnitude are either necessary or likely to happen, you're setting yourself up for considerable disappointment this summer.

The roster as it stands was one of the top teams in the entire league from Jan 1st through to the end of the regular season. You'll see them trade underperforming contracts and they'll be replaced with FAs willing to take less to play on a competitive roster. Enjoy.

I believe you are wrong. This club needs a major shakeup if the Oilers expect to win a Stanley Cup.

We don't have the proper mix of players and we don't play a style of hockey compatible with winning a championship in this league. Notably our defensive structure is woefully inadequate.

Another year with the team built and coached as it currently stands, is another season the club will fall short.

The futures of Draisaitl and McDavid are on the line.

 

[belair]

I believe you are wrong. This club needs a major shakeup if the Oilers expect to win a Stanley Cup.

We don't have the proper mix of players and we don't play a style of hockey compatible with winning a championship in this league. Notably our defensive structure is woefully inadequate.

Another year with the team built and coached as it currently stands, is another season the club will fall short.

The futures of Draisaitl and McDavid are on the line.

If we get the team that played between January and the end of April in the playoffs we win the Stanley Cup. We beat Vegas, We beat Dallas, we beat Florida.

The moment this team gets its 5v5 game in order, they're a powerhouse. And that isn't going to take a major shake up. It's going to take some internal growth and development.

 

[Broberg Speed]

If we get the team that played between January and the end of April in the playoffs we win the Stanley Cup. We beat Vegas, We beat Dallas, we beat Florida.

The moment this team gets its 5v5 game in order, they're a powerhouse. And that isn't going to take a major shake up. It's going to take some internal growth and development.

I highly doubt it. We got steamrolled by Vegas. They had a tactical scheme to win and stuck to it.

The Oilers didn't have an answer to their game plan and the better team won. They'll do it again next year if corrections to the Oiler's vulnerabilities aren't addressed. If not Vegas then another Western Conference team.

We need changes or we will get played again next playoffs by a more structured team with greater depth and more adept coaching.

Status quo is not nearly enough.

 

[Beerfish]

We lost to vegas becasue their goalie was vastly better than our goalie, that is why we lost to vegas.

765, 818, 826, 848 save % in our losses was why we lost. Hill was great to competent with only one game below 900. Skinner stunk and was the biggest reason we lost.

And come playoff time next year we will be chewing our fingers with the same duo we had last year.

Much like the stay the course with mike smith and koskinen the previous two years.

 

[Broberg Speed]

We lost to vegas becasue their goalie was vastly better than our goalie, that is why we lost to vegas.

765, 818, 826, 848 save % in our losses was why we lost. Hill was great to competent with only one game below 900. Skinner stunk and was the biggest reason we lost.

And come playoff time next year we will be chewing our fingers with the same duo we had last year.

Much like the stay the course with mike smith and koskinen the previous two years.

Can't disagree but there wasn't a whole lot of team defense in front of the "wrong goaltender" played by our incompetent coach who couldn't establish a winning philosophy.

If we had better goaltending I reckon it would have been more challenging for coach Cassidy and the Golden Knights but they would have still come out on top.

 

[Soundwave]

If we get the team that played between January and the end of April in the playoffs we win the Stanley Cup. We beat Vegas, We beat Dallas, we beat Florida.

The moment this team gets its 5v5 game in order, they're a powerhouse. And that isn't going to take a major shake up. It's going to take some internal growth and development.

The fetishization of Jan-April just needs to stop.

Playoff hockey is very different from Jan-April hockey.

The thing is the teams playing you in the playoffs are not going to play you like they do in Jan-April, and doubly so for the Oilers because they have McDavid and Draisaitl. So what ends up happening is teams work overtime to scout us in the playoffs to find every weakness they can because they know McDrai + PP is such a nuclear weapon that they need every advantage they can get on the other side, and Vegas and even frankly LA exploited a lot of different issues.

There's going to be a big difference between some random game in March, where every several opponents are just in full tank mode and have checked out for the year (the Oilers had a steady diet of the San Joses, Anaheims, Vegas with no Stone, etc. down the stretch) and a game 5 or game 6 of a round 2 or 3 in May.

 

[Sra1974]

We lost to vegas becasue their goalie was vastly better than our goalie, that is why we lost to vegas.

765, 818, 826, 848 save % in our losses was why we lost. Hill was great to competent with only one game below 900. Skinner stunk and was the biggest reason we lost.

And come playoff time next year we will be chewing our fingers with the same duo we had last year.

Much like the stay the course with mike smith and koskinen the previous two years.

I truly hope the management, coaching staff and players don’t enter next season thinking goaltending was the sole reason they aren’t in the cup final. It contributed, for sure, but so did many other factors that the team can and should control. Some of that is personnel, some of that is deployment, some the strategy the team employed and some is the players themselves making decisions not congruent with being a cup contender.

 

[McDrai]

I’m leaning toward standing pat on defense (until the deadline) and tinkering with the forwards (At least one of Yamo or Foegele for pucks to free up some cap). Would love to grab a Hellebuyck but I don’t see how that’s possible without Campbell going the other way.

 

[McDoused]

I’m leaning toward standing pat on defense (until the deadline) and tinkering with the forwards (At least one of Yamo or Foegele for pucks to free up some cap). Would love to grab a Hellebuyck but I don’t see how that’s possible without Campbell going the other way.

I'm starting to lean this way as well. I just don't see a whole lot of upgrades out there at free agency and think most of our upgrades will come during the season. Just look for some value contracts from guys who think we have a chance at winning.

Yamamoto will likely be gone.

Foegele just started hitting his stride. I wouldnt hate keeping him here if he plays the way he did against Vegas.

Kulak was great in the playoffs. No issue with his contract with the way he played in the playoffs albeit a little rich.

Ceci is good enough to make it to the deadline and could bounce back. Still good value if he does bounce back.

Campbells contract would be hard to move but hopefully he bounces back as well.

Everyone else is out performing their respective contracts by a pretty decent margin.

 

[Broberg Speed]

Imagine if Woodcroft and Co. headed into the new season, announcing with authority, "we're going to be the club with the lowest goals against this year. We're going to play defence first every game. No exceptions."

Right from training camp, implementing a new system. Same gang from last season, more or less.

We are going to need better goaltending. There is no denying that. But what if the club starts playing with a different hockey viewpoint?

It couldn't hurt, could it? Maybe one of our stars doesn't win the scoring title for once but I assume we'd still have a deadly power play.

Time to put more resources and thought into the penalty kill. Develop an identity that has the club taking fewer penalties. And a fanbase that doesn't use the officiating as an excuse every loss.

One of the goaltenders might catch fire. It sure couldn't hurt their confidence or stat lines.

Do it for the goaltenders. Do it for the Cup.

 

[Spawn]

Imagine if Woodcroft and Co. headed into the new season, announcing with authority, "we're going to be the club with the lowest goals against this year. We're going to play defence first every game. No exceptions."

Right from training camp, implementing a new system. Same gang from last season, more or less.

We are going to need better goaltending. There is no denying that. But what if the club starts playing with a different hockey viewpoint?

It couldn't hurt, could it? Maybe one of our stars doesn't win the scoring title for once but I assume we'd still have a deadly power play.

Time to put more resources and thought into the penalty kill. Develop an identity that has the club taking fewer penalties. And a fanbase that doesn't use the officiating as an excuse every loss.

One of the goaltenders might catch fire. It sure couldn't hurt their confidence or stat lines.

Do it for the goaltenders. Do it for the Cup.

What if you had a Lamborghini and tried to haul dirt with it?

The cup winning team is either going to have finished 11th best or 21st best in terms of goals against this season. Hardly defensive world beaters. The Oilers were right around league average in goals against with bad goaltending the majority of the year. There are plenty of ways to win in this league. You don't completely revamp how your team plays because you have a goalie who can't make a save. You go out and get a goalie who can.

 

[Broberg Speed]

What if you had a Lamborghini and tried to haul dirt with it?

The cup winning team is either going to have finished 11th best or 21st best in terms of goals against this season. Hardly defensive world beaters. The Oilers were right around league average in goals against with bad goaltending the majority of the year. There are plenty of ways to win in this league. You don't completely revamp how your team plays because you have a goalie who can't make a save. You go out and get a goalie who can.

Your analogy is altogether ridiculous.

A team finishing with the best goals against, meaning they excel at defensive hockey, would likely defeat either the team that finished with 11th best or the 21st best goals against, particularly when the team giving up the least goals against also had the best power play in NHL history.

I'm assuming you don't assume the Oilers would be playing defense when they had the man advantage. I assumed you might think that the Oilers increasing their defensive efficiency would be a good thing.

Good defense leads to offense and the Oilers still have the two most offensively potent players in the league. Asking them to play more defensively aware isn't asking them to slow down, it's asking them to cut down on the goals against. They wouldn't have to spin their wheels while enacting a superior structure of positional defence. And they would still be skating on ice... not dirt.

Maybe they hustle to complete their defensive assignments negating high danger scoring chances against, block the passing lanes, and cause turnovers. Then when the team has possession the of puck they can go on the offence. When a team doesn't have possession of the puck they are more likely to get scored against!

Vegas scored as many goals as they needed to win against the Oilers. It is a theoretical construct that I propose the Oilers be the team with the least goals against. But it is a real world solution to the approach with which the Oilers can win championships, by playing better defensive hockey.

The Oilers problem is the Oilers can't play defence. If the Oilers refuse to play better defensively you'd have them play more offensively?

 

[Soundwave]

Vegas being "only" 11th in GA is probably misleading too. They were missing Theodore for a huge chunk of the season, with him in, they're probably comfortably a top 6-10 team in GA.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Vegas being "only" 11th in GA is probably misleading too. They were missing Theodore for a huge chunk of the season, with him in, they're probably comfortably a top 6-10 team in GA.

@Spawn's point remains, we are built to outscore the opposition, we are not LA for instance. We just need to limit errors where we make it easy on the other team to score. Mental errors after we just score, etc. Also getting rid of dead weight pulling in a decent AAV like Yamamoto. We are not a broken team and our team should be sick to their stomach's watching these playoffs because it could've been them still playing. No Colorado or Boston level teams left on the way to the cup.

 

[Broberg Speed]

@Spawn's point remains, we are built to outscore the opposition, we are not LA for instance. We just need to limit errors where we make it easy on the other team to score. Mental errors after we just score, etc. Also getting rid of dead weight pulling in a decent AAV like Yamamoto. We are not a broken team and our team should be sick to their stomach's watching these playoffs because it could've been them still playing. No Colorado or Boston level teams left on the way to the cup.

All teams that win outscore the opposition. We lose in the playoffs because we have been outscored by our opponents in more games than we have outscored them. In the McDrai era every year we have been outscored by an opponent. You propose we don't try to play a better defensive system of hockey?

 

[Spawn]

Your analogy is altogether ridiculous.

A team finishing with the best goals against, meaning they excel at defensive hockey, would likely defeat either the team that finished with 11th best or the 21st best goals against.

Florida already beat the team that finished best in goals against. And then walked through the team that finished 7th and then swept the team that finished 2nd.

As to the rest of your post, there is a difference between trying to reduce goals against (which I agree with) and completely changing the way your team plays, and has been built to play by revamping all of the systems to shift to a defense first team like you proposed. It's a preposterous suggestion.

Vegas being "only" 11th in GA is probably misleading too. They were missing Theodore for a huge chunk of the season, with him in, they're probably comfortably a top 6-10 team in GA.

And the Oilers being 17th best is misleading because their goaltending is trash.

 

[Soundwave]

Fundamentally I don't think the game is all that complicated.

There are 3 main aspects to a hockey team

1.) Forwards (offence)

2.) Defence (defending)

3.) Goaltending (last line of defence)

To win a Cup, I think it's pretty well established that even though there are multiple different styles of teams that have won, there's pretty much no one that's won by just being really, really good in 1/3 of the above categories.

You have to be good in 2/3 categories.

Right now the Oilers are good in no.1 ... no.2 and no.3 they aren't good in (come playoffs).

 

[tiger_80]

Not the ideal choice, but I'd be curious to see Nurse with Kulak.

I don't think Brett is that far behind Ceci in a vacuum defensively, but he is a far better skater and doesn't get Ceci's "deer in the highlights" when the puck ends up on his stick. Both elements I can see working well with Nurse.

That let's you drop Ceci to the 3rd pairing with Broberg, or more likely due to the cap: move Ceci and sign a vet replacement for about half the price (think like Hamonic or Schenn.


Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Kulak
Broberg-Schenn/Hamonic
Niemo, Vinny


You'd still need an upgrade towards the deadline if Broberg doesn't take a step forward, but I'd be fine to start the year with that.

They need to re-sign Bouchard and get an upgrade on Desharnais. Leave Sissy alone. He's fine as a No.4 guy.

 

[Soundwave]

Florida already beat the team that finished best in goals against. And then walked through the team that finished 7th and then swept the team that finished 2nd.

As to the rest of your post, there is a difference between trying to reduce goals against (which I agree with) and completely changing the way your team plays, and has been built to play by revamping all of the systems to shift to a defense first team like you proposed. It's a preposterous suggestion.


And the Oilers being 17th best is misleading because their goaltending is trash.

Our goaltending is poor, but if you're being honest, this D can be dumb as shit at times too.

Game 6 (where we got eliminated) was a master class in stupid defensive play by the Oilers.

 

[Broberg Speed]

Florida already beat the team that finished best in goals against. And then walked through the team that finished 7th and then swept the team that finished 2nd.

As to the rest of your post, there is a difference between trying to reduce goals against (which I agree with) and completely changing the way your team plays, and has been built to play by revamping all of the systems to shift to a defense first team like you proposed. It's a preposterous suggestion.


And the Oilers being 17th best is misleading because their goaltending is trash.

Status quo is the preposterous avenue. Without a systems change the Oilers will lose out again next playoffs.

What is pathetic is unwillingness to change. Some are reluctant to admit the Oilers keep getting outmatched in the playoffs by deeper teams that are better coached utilizing better systems.

With another failure next postseason will come another sad sack set excuses. Posters swearing we had the better team and were vanquished by an inferior team. Just like the fanbase over at hf Leafs.

 

[Fourier]

It has literally never been true that there is one way to win a championship. In fact just the opposite. Teams win and everyone tries to imitate how they did it but that typically fails and within a few years there is a new formula for what it takes.

Like it or not with McDavid and Draisaitl this team's best chance to win is to play to their strengths which is offense. That does not mean that they can't be more responsible defensively, but there is no way that you are going to reinvent this version of thee Oilers. They simply have to execute better while making opportunistic changes to make incremental changes when they are possible.

Status quo is the preposterous avenue. Without a systems change the Oilers will lose out again next playoffs.

What is pathetic is unwillingness to change. Some are reluctant to admit the Oilers keep getting outmatched in the playoffs by deeper teams that are better coached utilizing better systems.

With another failure next postseason will come another sad sack set excuses. Posters swearing we had the better team and were vanquished by an inferior team. Just like the fanbase over at hf Leafs.

I have no idea how old you are but you are making the exact same claims made about the Oilers in 82 and 83.

 

[alphahelix]

There seem to be very few avenues to marked improvement. Nothing left to do but put all faith in Holland. We’ve already burned bridges and lost time, but honestly we could have a much worse pilot on this bridge. I know he has his detractors but there really are a lot of incompetent GMs in the NHL and he’s not one. I wish he were the GOAT but I don’t think he is. But he is competent. He’ll take calculated risks and we’ll say our prayers.