Playoff range? They were in "Playoff range" for a day then spiralled out of control, including some very heartless losses to a beatable Flames team. They ended the season 10 points out of a playoff spot, which over the course of a full season probably would've been about double that.
This is kind of silly. Splitting hairs. We're well out of a playoff spot right now if one properly considers how many clubs stand between us and a playoff spot and have games in hand.
There was also no wild card spots when Krueger was here and as stated all games were against WC opponents.
So in Krugers season the team finished with 45pts, a mere 3 pts below technical .500.
This year we are already 4 games off that pace in only 37GP.
Now consider that our record against WC this season is 6-13-2.
krugers year it was; 19-22-7
We had better performance and coaching the lockout year and its not even close.
I think he's been our best coach in quite some time. Having said that, Justin Schultz has to be moved and if he isn't before or during the trade deadline then I have no words why he's being showcased. TM has made the right moves and allotted the right minutes to everyone besides Schultz. He's a tremendous liability everywhere on the ice.
Let's call a spade a spade. This thread isn't about McLellan, it's about how much you dislike Schultz. Do you honestly believe that McLellan has lost or is about to lose the locker room over his handling of Schultz? When Taylor Hall looks around the room do you think he would rather see Schultz getting ice time or would he rather see fat Nikitin/glacial Fayne/quicksand Gryba or cluster f**k Hunt eating up minutes?
These young players have been surrounded by bad coaching for awhile now.
It's gonna take longer than normal for coach McLennan to get all the bad habits that they have developed over the years, out of their games.
This has been the first year in a very long time, that they have played with some structure.
It may not have translated in the standings but the improvement on the ice has been huge this year.
Let's face it, a D lineup consisting of fayne, Schultz, gryba, Nikitin isn't gonna win u many games.
A healthy lineup will see better results as the year goes on.
When mcdavid went down, the goal became, keep our heads above water.
The team has done that so far, if we can play .500 next 2 weeks, we will be fine.
Oof that's pretty scathing. I don't think Krueger was ever really that effective, especially 5-on-5 where the Oilers were the worst team in the league.
because say whatever you want but as an offensive threat Schultz is Oilers' best bet.
The West wasn't as deep then as it is now (Columbus had the same number of points as the final playoff team that year if you want some context) Dallas wasn't the powerhouse it is now, and we somehow managed to finish ahead of Nashville.
The Oilers also had the WORST home record in the West that year (9-11-4) whereas this year we're a very respectable 10-5-1. The road play will come.
The only thing the Krueger team did better was special teams. The Oilers won 3 out of their final 12 games that year after they made it into a playoff spot, and in all but one of those games they scored a goal or less. Many losses here to the Ducks and Kings. Seem familiar?
You have no proof of the bolded, just a hope. Dallas is better now, so what. Blah, blah, blah. Vancouver was better then. So was San Jose. Detroit was in our division.
The western conference has been a tough conference for a number of years. The fact we finished near .500 playing exclusively in it, with ZERO training camp, with a team that boasted such luminaries as Corey Potter, Theo Peckam, Marc Fistric, "Pegleg" Whitney, and rookie Schultz anchoring the defence and Eric Belanger, Jared Smithson, a one shouldered RNH, and a still green Hall and Yak is actually quite remarkable.
Oh Lord, now I'm being derided for being positive. Go figure.
That season was an illusion. The Oilers completely folded down the stretch losing some very winnable games.
Schultz is Oilers worst offensive threat. A forward, Klefbom, Davidson, Sekera, Nurse are all more offensively talented than Schultz.
Lol. You can be derided for a lot of things on here, including not getting your facts straight, but being positive is not the issue here. Personally, I think TM is an excellent coach and a wise choice at this juncture. This is not a poke at him. You just needed some "clarification" on some of your myths from the 2012-13 season. The Oilers didn't lose "winnable" games down the stretch that year. They lost to teams with far superior talent, experience and size. The universe unfolded as it should have.
So in other words they weren't very good and things normalized themselves?
He didn't have a lot to work with and did a good job with what he had. Including the 5 on 5 that you blathered was worst in the league.
Fine it was 23rd. Coincidentally that's around where the Oilers finished. Still not very good. The Oilers that year were buoyed by really good special teams (9th in PK and 10th in PP), but the fact of the matter is that when the heat was on the Oilers melted.
26th in Shots for and 29th in Shots against suggest a team that didn't get much and gave up a lot.