**POLL** What are the top 3 problems with the Oilers

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

We know the Oilers 5 versus 5 play is abysmal. We know the depth scoring is non-existent. We know the goaltending is inconsistent leaning to poor. We know the powerplay has gone ice cold.

But to drill down, why are these problems happening? Honestly you could point to everything in the poll and it be valid but what are the top 3 issues you think that can be identified to fix and move this thing forward?

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[barry halls]

Lack of leadership and confidence. This might sound crazy but I think Neal and Smith are missed right now. Whenever the camera pans the bench the team looks quiet and sullen.

Lack of bottom 6 scoring, obviously. I knew building a third line with reclamation projects would not work in the Oilers favour.

And they don't have a goalie who can steal games. Koskinen can tread water but he is essentially a back-up or 1B at best.

 

[Cloned]

Mostly all of it. I give Holland some more rope because he’s been insanely cap tied.

 

[MoontoScott]

For the last decade, the top 3 problems are ownership, management and coaching.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Mostly all of it. I give Holland some more rope because he’s been insanely cap tied.

sure, but the jury is very much out as to whether he's used the space he has had intelligently.

Again, it's only four games, and we'll know better 15-20 games in, but Barrie/Turris/Smith/Kassian contract/Chiasson contract/Khaira contract looks like a whole lot of absolute mediocrity, at best.

Koekkoek and Kahun have been decent to good, and Puljujarvi is the only guy in the bottom six worth a damn, so those are positives.

 

[Cloned]

sure, but the jury is very much out as to whether he's used the space he has had intelligently.

Again, it's only four games, and we'll know better 15-20 games in, but Barrie/Turris/Smith/Kassian contract/Chiasson contract/Khaira contract looks like a whole lot of absolute mediocrity, at best.

Koekkoek and Kahun have been decent to good, and Puljujarvi is the only guy in the bottom six worth a damn, so those are positives.

Kassian is the big culprit in that list. The rest are short term contracts. Holland hasn’t been perfect but I still think he’s had decent offseasons considering his cap situation.

 

[NeverForget06]

You forgot - "koekkoek is our best defenceman"

 

[Weitz]

I mean i picked the first 3 in the list I thought applied but there are a bunch more that apply too.

It all boils down to bad players and terrible cap management though.

 

[Darkwinter]

Makes me wonder what Gordie how would think of the NHL these days

 

[DropTheGloves]

You could ask me to pick 13 from that list and I'd still have trouble narrowing down which I should choose.

 

[BudBundy]

On paper, this team should be decent. On the ice, they are awful. Poor defensive coverage by every D and all our forwards all over the ice. Terrible breakouts. Forwards flying the D zone too fast. Zero forecheck despite not playing a trap system. Poor depth on D with a corps that can’t box anybody out, or break up a cycle. A coach that refuses to put the Nuge-Drai-Yamo line back together - leading me to think darker dressing room forces are at play. Guys that used to be tough giving up (Kassian, Nurse, Khaira) that leads me to think darker dressing room forces are at play. No cap room to fix anything (thx Chia). Bad luck with a good top pairing D having a glass shoulder. Newcomers Turris, and Barrie (despite pedigree) being invisible. Mediocre goaltending locked in (thx Chia). What’s left??

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Management/coaching/players

 

[Frank the Tank]

For the last decade, the top 3 problems are ownership, management and coaching.

Ownership has been a problem for longer than a decade. IEG gutted the minor league system to save money and also installed Kevin "the Original OBC member" Lowe because they didn't want to pay Sather.

 

[Del Preston]

1. Terrible systems
2. Dumb players
3. @Soli

 

[McDrai]

If we're talking about the top 3 problems recently:

1. Injuries to Klefbom, Neal, Haas have hurt more than we realized they would
Klefbom took on the top minutes for the Oilers. Him being injured pushed all of our dmen up the depth chart which they are not capable of doing. Barrie was signed to help fill some of this void but he is more of a 2nd pairing dman who cannot take on top minutes against the opposition's best players. Neal is also a bit of a blow just from a swagger/leadership standpoint. Ditto with Smith (The guy can be ass at times but he has a confidence about him that rubs off on other players)

2. Poor execution, reads, and decision making.
I don't know what it is but we seem to draft/bring in the worst players who have no clue in terms of execution/decision making. I think part of the problem may be that they really rely on McDavid to bring the puck up the whole ice surface instead of working as a team (imo), which leads to the others players literally not knowing how to make a proper pass or read when they don't have a McDavid to pass the puck to. But honestly I do not really know what it is. All I know is that this team has been horrible in this department for years no matter who their coach was.

3. Lack of intensity/heart (I'd also lump work ethic into this one)

My main issue with this team is that you do not know what you are going to get night in and night out. Teams such as Ottawa or Montreal at least put in a solid effort every game and don't make things easy for their opposition. Sure, teams have off nights but it seems like when we have an "off" night, we are one of if not the worst team in the league which shouldn't be the case. Watching this team is like playing the roulette table. You have no f***ing clue what you are going to get as the effort is wildly inconsistent. Do we need a Tortorella/Mike Keenan type to throw shit around the room and get the boys going? It's possible. It's just a shame that it has to get to that point where the coach has to constantly try to motivate the players for the start of each f***ing game.

 

[Aerchon]

Surprised lack of nhl depth has any votes. We have a loaded team in that regard compared to most.

The reason our bottom 6 isn't producing has more to do with systems than talent.

 

[jeg]

we have never properly focused on obtaining a true #1 Goalie or # 1 D when they were clearly a glaring need.
Followed by poor drafting and asset management which tied are hands to naturally be gifted with enough talent to trade off for that hole when we couldn't develop our own

 

[LTIR]

Surprised lack of nhl depth has any votes. We have a loaded team in that regard compared to most.

The reason our bottom 6 isn't producing has more to do with systems than talent.

Other than down the middle and maybe RD where is the depth?

Even on C we got no #4C and RD we got no top quality.

Any of our RDs could be a healthy scratch candidate on a given night

 

[LTIR]

we have never properly focused on obtaining a true #1 Goalie or # 1 D when they were clearly a glaring need.
Followed by poor drafting and asset management which tied are hands to naturally be gifted with enough talent to trade off for that hole when we couldn't develop our own

So many became available but we had no cap space.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

I voted for the weird ones.

 

[Spawn]

The Oilers have not made a good hire since Katz took over ownership.

Anyone else remember when Nicholson was going to do a thorough job search for our next GM. Turnover ever stone, interview them all and pick the best candidate?

Then Ken Holland got pushed out of his job in Detroit and Nicholson dropped all that “work” and gave Holland the job on the spot.

The amount of organizational turnover we’ve had over the last 10 years or so is astonishing. We never seem to hire the right people lol.

 

[McShogun99]

This team has zero intensity unless they are either playing Calgary or down 3 goals.

It's mind boggling how Tippet won't reunite the DRY line out of fear of making Mcdavid unhappy.

Koskinen is a quality backup goalie, not a starter.

Stop pairing Bear with Nurse on the 1st pairing, put him lower in the lineup to help him succeed.

Once everyone is healthy(minus Klefbom), I'd go with this lineup;

JP-Mcdavid-Neal
DRY
Kahun-Turris-Kassian
Ennis-Shore-Archibald

Nurse-Barrie
KK-Larsson
Russell-Bear

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

You forgot - "koekkoek is our best defenceman"

File under Choice Number 1

 

[Weitz]

Surprised lack of nhl depth has any votes. We have a loaded team in that regard compared to most.

The reason our bottom 6 isn't producing has more to do with systems than talent.

Um. No. The bottom 6 is still replacement level players.

 

[joestevens29]

As bad as injuries and as bad as the salary cap is, those shouldn't hinder guys from putting in an effort. It also shouldn't force them to be dumb.

And it's not like there are a ton of guys that I think are being overplayed that maybe are burned out. I can make a case for Bear as I never thought it was a good idea for a guy with his experience to be playing 23 minutes a night. Then again most people saw no issue with him playing 22 minutes a night last year.

Guys simply have to find a way to be better.