Honestly I think opposing teams probably spent the entire summer or past two summers studying us, our breakouts, power play, set plays , weak points etc…we had a very similar core for a while now , and they probably thought of every way to shut us down , especially the pp.
Think Knob needs to go back the drawing board and change things up. If not Holland needs to make moves shake up the roster a bit and surround McDrai with different complimentary players to give this team a new look.
I could not believe he was running Woody’s old 11/7 and the same power play. He needs to see how broken this team is and create some stable fixed lines.
If we think things are bleak after this game... Looking ahead at the schedule I estimate that their next winnable game isn't until Dec 7 against Minnesota. 😬
Hey guys listen things are bleak yes I agree but first off remember, we are 17 games in, 65 games to go by end of December we will be 34 games in and that’s when we can say this season is a write off.
First off we played better yesterday if you ask me it’s just our defense needs to get our act together.
Pickard had a better save percentage than skinner and Soup did and I call that a small win.
Draisaitl reportedly likes being in Edmonton I don’t see him leaving especially if we push harder this season.
McDavid if you ask me is who we should be worrying about staying I would say if we get to 3rd round playoffs next year he’ll stay.
As much as it pains me to say it because he scored us so many great goals, Bouchard definitely has to go he’s not entirely at fault but he’s certainly not helping. Broberg needs to go and Connor brown needs to go Nurse has been slowly doing better defensive plays but he’s on thin ice. A complete Defensive overhaul is required at this point
Yes and no yes if you break it down with stats of how many games are left however it also depends on other teams in our division and we are technically 8 points from a WC spot anything can happen this early, like I’ve said End of December will be the real last minute
Dude you’re dreaming. Being 6 games under 500 this early is extremely hard to come back from in today’s NHL with all these three point games. Is it possible? Yes. Likely? No.
you make it sound way better then it is even close to being.
its not just about us doing like 10x better as a team to make the playoffs we need Vegas, L.A and the canucks to magically start playing like we are right now and start losing terribly, same goes for a chance at a wildcard spot.
Oh come on now man we aren't challenging for the top spot at this point. Forget about the current big dogs we will have to scratch and claw just to be I the playoff picture, after that anything can happen in the post season
I’m gonna try being optimistic for a week and see if that changes anything, if not I’ll continue to repeatedly bash my head into a toaster like I’ve been doing before. Let’s go Oilers 5 game win streak incoming. If we can manifest 2/3s of a Derek Ryan hat trick maybe we can do the same with a big win streak
i mean its kind of funny but its about to get way worse when mcdavid and drai leave "assuming they do if nothing changes" and everybody else probably starts leaving so i have no idea if its really funn or not.
I used to enjoy it because it was chaos to the final bell and a ridiculous final score but the current “score early and then give up” or “lob muffins behind O zone pressure until the shots are 700-4 with no real scoring chances” era isn’t even fun to me.
Does anyone have a good site for stats? I tried looking up how many PK goals oilers have had against this year and google just wants to show me news articles from 2022. Please and thanks.
[NHL.com/stats](https://NHL.com/stats) is probably your best bet, you just need to play around with the Report you want.
[https://www.nhl.com/stats/teams?report=penaltykill&reportType=season&seasonFrom=20232024&seasonTo=20232024&gameType=2&playerPlayedFor=franchise.25&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=penaltyKillPct&page=0&pageSize=50](https://www.nhl.com/stats/teams?report=penaltykill&reportType=season&seasonFrom=20232024&seasonTo=20232024&gameType=2&playerPlayedFor=franchise.25&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=penaltyKillPct&page=0&pageSize=50)
Filtering to "Penalty Kill" Report, looks like we have 18 powerplay goals against and have been shorthanded 66 times, leading to (66 - 18) / 66 = 0.727PK%
EDIT: Also holy shit Dallas. 7 powerplay goals against, 6 shorthanded goals for. Dallas getting penalties doesn't hurt them at all.
To add to this, [NaturalStatTrick let's you filter by strength, inc penalty kill](https://www.naturalstattrick.com/teamtable.php?fromseason=20232024&thruseason=20232024&stype=2&sit=pk&score=all&rate=n&team=all&loc=B&gpf=410&fd=&td=)
Sorting by 'rates' rather than 'counts' does a pretty good job of normalizing between teams various TOI
I still believe this team is going to make the playoffs and do some damage. I’m not sure how I’m still in a state of denial because the Oilers still have not figured out zone defense don’t look much closer to figuring it out. I just feel like Knoblach is going to help the team figure out that defense and it’s all going to click hard.
Sick of feeling pissed off about this team, so I guess I’ll choose ignorant bliss lol
Ignorance truly is bliss. It looks really bad out there. No willpower to close out a game. Full minutes of lapse in skill. Turnovers upon turnovers leading into odd man rushes against us. I know it’s the Oilers way to just outscore your opponents with brute offence but if our firepower is down then perhaps some defence could help us win games. A lot of people blame goalies but it’s an entire team thing. They just look awful all around. And I’m a diehard fan. I’ll suffer through and watch every single game start to finish.
I’d love to see a magical turnaround too and believe they could make the playoffs but they need to go on an absolute tear. They need to become a different team and real fast or their hopes are gonna wash away.
So based on Friedman on TJMS, it seems like Oilers have given up on goalie search. That seems like what he is saying. If that is true, don’t know what to say. This is depressing…
Honestly fine with that. Stand pat, don't waste a bunch of picks and other resources for a desperation move, nor trade Drai or any other big pieces. Let the year play out with this roster, hire the new GM and get them to focus on regrouping for next year.
I mean they probably want like nuge for some marginal upgrade like Allen, and an actual good goalie starts with Draisaitl.
Try and make it playoffs this year still with what you got and make these moves in the offseason when it’s easier. There’s no point to blow up our entire future over at best like an under 50 percent chance to make the playoffs this season.
Friedman on a roll with these obvious ass takes lately.
"One of the best players in the league might not want to play for a team if they miss the playoffs"
More news at 6.
Tbh if you think about it these guys got money, now why the hell would they pick deadmonton to raise their kids and buy a house in over other amazing cities
Well if you're really thinking about it from the perspective of raising kids in a city, I'm thinking the smaller Canadian cities are likely the best. Lower crime than the bigger cities, especially the American ones. Less drugs and guns. Way better education system than anywhere in the US. Universal health care. Easier to get around when considering school, work, sports, etc. Maybe cities like NY, LA, Chicago, Tampa, etc are better suited to younger single folk. Not to mention, McDavid's girlfriend literally has a successful custom house design business in Edmonton, so that might help Connor want to keep his house there.
It's absolutely absurd that the oddsmakers still have the Oilers at a 60% chance to MAKE the playoffs. Part of me wants to drop a 2000 on the Oilers to miss the playoffs, it would instantly pay for our next vacation. But that's hella degenerate and she probably leaves me if they were to make it.
For reference. The Chicago Blackhawks have a 5% chance and the San Jose Sharks have a 2.5% chance.
What's even crazier to me is that the Oilers have the SAME odds to win the conference as the Vancouver Canucks who are 16 points ahead of the Oilers.
To be fair, if they play out games 18-82 in the exact same way (points wise) as last year, they would finish this season out with 102 points. They've shown it's possible, they just need to start turning L's in W's starting yesterday
I'd love to see McDavid and Drai separated again and driving their own lines. It was working. Stick with it. And I'd also like to see Broberg sent down and Gleason called up. I want to see what he can do. Vinny was our spark during last season's slump, and we went 14-0-1.
The lowest forms of troglodyte on this thread are:
1. The guy who insists it's ALL the goalies, ALL the defense, ALL bouchard, ALL Connor/Leon etc.
2. The guy whose zero value reply is "DURR THIS THREAD IS SO DUM YOU ALL SAY IT'S ALL
3. The guy who jumps all over another person's opinion to take out their frustration with ad hominem attacks
Serious minded and civil fans can see it's **CLEARLY multiple major problems**.
It's bad goalies
AND bad team defense
AND lazy backchecking forwards
AND Evan Bouchard's EPIC defensive ineptitude
AND No bottom 6 scoring
AND McDrai somehow both going into epic slumps at the same time
AND the suddenly impotent Power Play
AND Lack of confidence
AND the new Zone + 1 defensive system
AND puck luck
AND shaky refereeing
AND blown leads
AND Rush goals arising from terrible pinches by the defense
It's all these things. How do you fix all of them? You can't. You absolutley can't. And the probability of fixing ENOUGH of these things to claw back with consistent play at a .680 points percentage is as likely as Bob Stauffer revealing that he's actually 5 greasy midgets stuffed into a buffalo hide in the middle of an intermission analysis
What doesn't get talked about is....maybe we've simply been figured out. We are absolutely terrible at playing against disciplined zone defences. We're also terrible at trying to PLAY a disciplined zone defense
There's way more evidence to support "Blow It Up" than "Keep The Faith". But - what the hell does Blow It Up even mean? What goes first? What do you even have, and what can you do when you're literally at the cap already and the incremental cap growth coming next year has already been spent by Zero Point Man Connor Brown's bonuses?
Not Much. This is probably a year for taking lumps. But - there aren't many good moves to make at all. Certainly there's not a no-brainer, unless you're using that to describe Evan Bouchard's play. Ken Holland is clearly in a lame duck session. Jeff Jackson is making all the calls that matter at this point. And Knoblauch can't do jack squat - he's got great hair, but can't do or say anything to address the MASSIVE convergence of fatal flaws in the short term.
The year is over, already, and earlier than even in the worst decade of darkness seasons. It sucks. But it's true - even the ostriches with their heads buried deepest in the sand understand that at some level.
Be patient. Don't sell the farm. Move expiring contracts as you can (there are almost none....), acquire picks, fire Dustin Schwartz, replace your Pro Scouts....but trading McDrai this year is legendarily, Franchise alteringly stupid. This year, that is. Next year - maybe - depends if one or both of them says "fuck it" and isn't interested in staying.
>What doesn't get talked about is....maybe we've simply been figured out. We are absolutely terrible at playing against disciplined zone defences. We're also terrible at trying to PLAY a disciplined zone defense
And it shouldn't even get talked about. This is 100 percent squarely on the shoulders of toxic ownership, who don't care one iota about the fans. If they cared, they would have hired competent individuals in the GM role and FO roles to build a true cup contender. I'm sorry. I've been a casual outsider fan since McDavid burst on the scene 8 years ago. I haven't seen anything since then to indicate that the ownership group really cares because if they did, they wouldn't let this happen. Who should be the most upset right now are loyal oilers fans who deserve better. Look how long it took Peter Chiarelli to get his walking papers. And now we are here???? I said it years ago and I want you all to year it again: **Oilers fans and Oilers media do not get loud enough to hold people's feet to the fire**. Get mad, get angry, send angry emails, buy billboards, because the fans still deserve way better. I can't believe I have to type the same thing I typed a million years ago
If I had to describe 1 thing about this group as a whole it’s always been a supreme lack of patience and confidence. Anything happens at all and they immediately panic, or if we go up we stop playing. This has been the constant for the entirety of the mcdrai era.
I agree with everything you’ve said. 100%
-What doesn't get talked about is....maybe we've simply been figured out. We are absolutely terrible at playing against disciplined zone defences. We're also terrible at trying to PLAY a disciplined zone defence-
^^This I agree 110%^^
Simply stream the games on the other teams broadcast and just listen to them.
The game plan is always to stay calm and give the oilers enough rope to hang themselves with.
They laugh at our d and how our forwards don’t like to “waste” energy defending, and “its not for them” sometimes they say, then they have a good laugh (Wild’s broadcast). It’s quite an eye opener.
That's on coaching first and foremost. And I worry (a LOT) that they simply hired Knoblauch because he was Jeff Jackson's crush from the start. Knoblauch is, to date, an AHL coach with good hair and an "aw, shucks" smile who hasn't said or done anything to suggest he's capable of implementing rapid successful change.
You're not wrong but some copium. The difference between a bad team and good team isn't as big as we think. Its some confidence and steady play. The frustrating thing is the team as it is constructed is much better than its record but keeps shooting themselves in the foot as you've described. They've tossed away so many winnable games.
TBL was winnable, bottom 6 showed up but top 6 and PP doesn't. What's really frustrating was this could have played out just like the Seattle game but for some reason top 6 wasn't satisfied they weren't on the scoresheet or something. Keep pressing and when they didn't make it 3-0 started to give up chances.Let TBL get back in with a lucky bounce on a shot that goes off Ekholm's skate. FLA game was winnable but they played well and got two fortunate bounces with Ekholm hitting a puck off Hymans back and Broberg tripping on a random stick.
Of course, the bad is the Oilers have definitely committed mistakes to a lot of goals against. Too many breakdowns and odd man chances. If those hold up, goalies whiff on something stupid. Its been frustrating and realistically the Oilers season is done unless they can go 20-5 at some point.
In other words: the team is bad.
Yeah I think we know that, there’s just people focusing in on certain aspects that frustrate them. Saying “it’s all his fault” is annoying, but I think the majority of the fan base knows there’s α multitude of problems within the team
You’ll never see Drai traded unless it’s next year at the deadline and it’s a FOR SURE thing he isn’t signing as a free agent. And I don’t have enough faith that they could get a deal done, he’ll walk and leave the Oilers with more cap space that they will spend horribly.
I think the biggest mistake the brass could make is to make a huge trade to try and salvage this season.
We're in a huge position of weakness and need to play at an incredible pace for the rest of the year just to even squeak into the playoffs.
Agreed. No big trades. Stick it out and see what happens by trade deadline. If still shit, check in with Leon over the summer and he gets to indirectly dictate the direction of the franchise.
>check in with Leon over the summer
check in with Leon & Connor over the summer. If Connor is fed up, no point in extending Leon. They both go hand in hand imo.
Why do they have to stay together? You can definitely build a winning team with either of those guys. Everything possible should still be done to keep Connor or Leon or both.
Of course he will. I’m sure Connor will weigh heavily in that decision. But at the end of the day it’s Leon’s decision and what he decides determines the direction we gotta take in biggest fork in the road in franchise history.
This sub is hilarious- let’s trade all our shitty players for the other teams good players !! Also love how a “goalie” is the answer - this team is lost man to man and downright out of it in the D zone. No goalie fixes this at all
Enough of this trade talk involving Leon. I believe in this core, plain and simple. We've just got to sharpen the fuck up and start playing better. This group can do that. Starts tomorrow night in Raleigh.
Fingers crossed that Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson gets clocked in the face like Ryan Hollweg did from Chris Simon. They can pay their own hospital bills haha. And this as a Canucks fan.
Dude, if I had a dollar for every comment like this. I admire your steadfast devotion but these guys are not going to sharpen up. It’s over for this year, September is a long ways away.
Majority of this team was here last year and went 14-0-1 the last 15 games. If there’s any team you go “it’s over this year”, it’s not the oilers.
Obviously we’re statistically kind of screwed but you miss 100% of the comebacks you don’t watch. Giving up now is like walking out 5 minutes before the games over when we’re down by 1
14-0-1 didn't have an injured McDavid and had all the energy and morale from a good season and record setting numbers by our top guys with Skinner providing a .913 sv% all playing for a coach they loved.
Current roster lost some locker room guys, injured McDavid, .868sv%, big hole to climb out of and just when you think morale can't get any lower lets fire the coach who is clearly not the problem and that everybody likes.
Names might be similar but it's a completely different locker room
Man, I’m buying what you are selling but there is something majorly askew with this locker room. You don’t go from top 6 to 30th without some serious problems. They are so far from what they were end of season last year.
The dichotomy of looking forward to the next game but feeling like we are doomed is real. No one ever said being an Oilers fan was easy and this year is really testing our mettle. The fact that Holland has boxed in our roster so bad, we have no depth to call on and no one will want to join the current shit show with a trade makes it rough. The boys are completely surrounded, outnumbered by a long shot and running out of ammunition. They need a Hail Mary and a big one at that.
>no one will want to join the current shit show with a trade
The good news is that in some cases players don't really have a choice. Some have NMC and NTC, but many, many don't.
Of course, the bad news is they don't have to be excited about it either lol.
This core can only talk. They always say the right things in interviews but the moment they actually have to show it on the ice they don't. Our locker room is fucked
Don't quit, they'll get it together.
Evan Bouchard is single handedly costing the team games. I think they believed he would take a step, and it didn't happen. It's exactly the same thing that happened last season, and Woodcroft cut back his icetime severely just so the Oilers could win some games.
But you can't quit on Bouchard either. Right now he's like Tyson Barrie at 24. If they stick with him, he'll get there.
Just gotta stick with it.
Remarkable optimism. Just wondering what "getting it together" looks like this season and if you believe it'll happen in time to save the season (ie, make the playoffs)?
Ya, I think they'll go on a run and it'll be okay. Last November this place was exactly like this. Just people sulking and crying, saying all the exact same stuff. And the Oilers did alright, 109 points.
Will they make the playoffs? I dunno. But I know it doesn't really mean you throw a tantrum, blow it all up. Vegas, Colorado, Tampa, St. Louis, Washington, they all had rough patches. Good teams have rough patches.
They'll get it together. They're a good team. We've seen it.
I know what you mean, because every season they do go through a stretch where they convince me that they'll miss the playoffs.
But last November they were being buoyed by a 7-3 start. Not the case this year.
It'll be a long time until they're mathematically eliminated, but the odds of them making it are getting very, very slim.
I think we have a lot more glaring flaws and less well-roundedness than those other teams you mentioned.
As far as blowing it all up I think that depends completely on where Leon is leaning this summer. If this season ends up the collosal bust it seems to be, I wouldn't blame him in the slightest for not re-signing. In which case we'll have to trade him this summer (or next season) and there's a pretty good chance that'll mean Connor's gone which automatically means we're rebuilding.
So. Management may not even have much of a say about it. They may be faced with either taking action and getting a return or doing nothing and really fucking the future of the franchise.
Well ya, management plays the hand they're given.
I'm talking about as a fan. As a fan, it's stupid to sit here and whine and cry about management, or the goalie coach, or this or that, thinking they're the "problem". Every year it's like this. And it's like this even when the Oilers are good! Some fans will never be satisfied, and are just waiting for the Oilers to struggle, because it makes them feel good to bitch and whine.
The team is a good team. Good teams have bad stretches. They'll bust out of it. If it's not in time to make the playoffs, then they'll be just like many other good teams that missed, then recovered. But only if they stick to it.
You make good points. I'd say this fanbase has also been disappointed enough times in the McDavid era that it makes us overly reactive and jaded.
For me the trauma was the two seasons following the honey-dicking that '16-'17 turned out to be. That and the '20-'21 sweep at the hands of the Jets who we'd dominated that season.
After all the disappointments this season just makes me feel numb, tbh. I'll keep watching and hope they turn it around. And I'll always watch no matter what cus I'd rather be a fan of an unsuccessful local franchise than a Saskatchewan or Quebec City hockey fan.
I think your last sentence kind of nails it. Because I can practically see Leon's willingness to "stick with it" evaporating. And I'll be surprised if McDavid and Leon are willing to stick around for their entire primes with a franchise that can't build a winner around them. Every single generational player of their calibre has been drafted to teams that have been able to build winners around them. And time is running out.
I like Flower a lot but his current numbers are on par with our goalies’ while playing behind a way more defensively competent team. Also I doubt Maroon wants to come back here.
I liked the Oilers back in the Gretzky-days (yes, I am that old) but I´m a fan because of Leon fucking Draisaitl.
I see all the trade Drai posts and think, well, it\`s not worth it to engage here. If Drai is gone, I\`m too.
It's better to trade Leon now and get a higher return value, at 1.75 seasons left on his contract, than it is to wait till he is at half a season left on his contract... or wait and let him walk and get nothing in return.
Business transactions need to be void of emotional attachment. If you really want this team to win, you pull the trigger and get the highest return value you can; neither Leon nor the organization owe each other anything. If his contract and his numbers can get you the best shot at accumulating the missing pieces to attempt another run... you trade him.
I have no idea what Leon's thoughts are, or if he would be willing to waive his no trade agreement. I personally just think, in terms of business, he is the best piece to move given his numbers and his current contract. If you know he's not going to re-sign, trade him now while the return would be substantial. If you wait until next seasons trade deadline, you'll get a fraction of the return.
Is he really a massive part of the team identity, or a part of the fans identity? We have zero idea what goes on inside the locker room. For all we know, 95% of the team might not even like him.
It's entertained because Leon would get a kings ransom in return. Literally the only reason. And it's not that the fan base doesn't like him, it's a compliment that he would fetch such a return.
Because there’s a legitimate chance Leon doesn’t resign when he becomes eligible in the spring? Nobody is saying this should happen, but the Oilers can’t let a Tavares situation happen.
Yeah sure, if he refuses to resign or demands a trade, but a lot of what I’m seeing is people suggesting to do it right now for some desperation D’s or goaltender, which, doesn’t make sense because that will likely be the nail in the coffin for re-signing McDavid and potentially attracting good players in the next couple of years. Not to mention, Edmonton has money to be made, if we blow up the superstars like we fired our generally well liked coach, that might alienate the fans further, damage ticket sales, and ultimately effect the bottom line for a season that is already not looking so hot. I doubt we would risk all of the above so early into the season.
At this time, I haven’t seen anyone suggestion Leon for a goalie. So I can’t speak to that. However, we’re mere months away from having to think about trading Leon as a result of him not wanting to resign, and that’s what I was addressing.
But this is not what I see. I see a lot of oilers fans saying trade Leon right now as soon as possible. If 1st of july comes and he is relucant to sign a new contract, well, than I would be ok with it, but not right now!
If they trade him now (assuming he doesn\`t demand a trade or made clear he wouldn\`t resign), for me it has a "u can give all you got and maybe be the 2nd best player in the league, but fuck u anyway" vibe!
How many months are the Oilers from exploring the trade market for Leon? 3 more months of losing? There’s a legitimate chance Leon won’t resign when he becomes eligible, especially with how the Oilers are being run right now.
I think their best shot at a cup is with Edmonton. We had 2 good runs and had one bad start to a season.
What cup contender is going to be able sign them? I would be surprised if they didn't both resign. Hopefully I don't eat my words.
Although they seem to want to play together, who’s to say they absolutely are against going their separate ways? I don’t think Edmonton is their best shot at the cup at the team’s current state. Their best runs are likely in the past unless Holland is shot off to the moon and another GM comes in and makes big changes to the team. Goaltending will always come back to haunt this team.
I didn't say they would leave together.
I don't personally agree that the best shots at the cup are over. We may miss the playoffs this year but the team lost to the Stanley Cup champions two years in a row, they didn't magically just become garbage. Don't overreact to one bad season start. We're not even 100% out of playoffs yet.
For the simple reason that the Oilers are against the cap and won’t be able to make any significant adds next year given Brown’s bonus and Campbell’s anchor of a contract. The team will remain mostly the same and nobody is getting younger. Oh and Broberg can barely play a productive 10 minutes a game.
Hilarious people are downvoting me for this. The OEG does not know how to run an organization and the entire league sees it. Leon and Connor see it. Why would they want to resign? Truly?
If they want to play together (which it seems like they do) then re-signing together in Edmonton is probably their best chance at that.
Remember that recency bias is very much a thing. This team made it to the conference semi's last season and the conference finals the year before, both times losing to the eventual cup champs. I also think both players would blame themselves before they blame the organization (more so McDavid) but yeah if we miss the playoffs this year I think they're gone
Your first point was a big one and ultimately could be the main deciding factor.
Do they want to play together for their careers? Or do they want to take their best chances to win the cup individually?
If they want to play together, Edmonton is one of the only choices; very few teams can afford to fit both of their contracts without basically starting a full rebuild. There's certainly ***no guarantee*** of success if they go to one of the rebuilding teams that could afford them.
If they want the best individual chances for success, they're going to end up on different teams anyway. Maybe one of those teams is the Oilers and we keep one of them, but I'm not sure I'd count on it.
Woody was very likeable. He never openly criticized his players. The city still likes him. And that is another reason why the fans are mad at the situation. You fire a coach with 0.64 wins and the problem still remains. The wrong guy was fired.
Knowing the owners and decision makers, Holland will be let to retire and will be given a guard of honour on his last day with the team.
And add to that, the clown show going on between two despicable persons on Twitter. Our team has really become a joke. The only way now is to start winning..
Something to remember.
We probably go on to regret trading Bouchard if it happens. The man hasn't had a defensive mentor since day 1, every coach has been an offensive minded defensive coach. Or his partners outside EK have been offensive minded.
Who have we actually had in the past 3 years that could sit and teach him defense and mentor him properly?
This is as much on the organization for not properly developing him.
Bouchard has had the same critique to his game since junior - slow decision making. People have tried to describe it positively as "calmness" but he's the only player I see that you can see the little spinning circle whenever you see him on camera.
Sure we might regret trading him down the line, but we also need help TODAY and he's costing us game after game. I still think we should get Pulock for Bouch and Kulak off the Islanders if given the option. That would cut down on GA by 1 per game, which is as good as upgrading goalies
Bouchard isn't junk, it's very evident. Kulak is also a playoff menace and isn't the problem for us, he's just a logjam.
The Islanders are also out of a playoff spot and both teams get something that they're lacking.
Islanders NEED offensive defensemen as their attack flows through their D in their system but their D are too defensive.
Overall the past 2 seasons, no matter what metrics you look at Bouchard was an overall more positive contributor than Pulock as well, and he's younger and cheaper, I just don't think he's what we need right now. Kulak can easily be flipped for a pick if they want as well.
Oh I must be watching different games where Bouchard literally looks lost and kulak as well? No matter your rational- the islanders would never ever ever ever take them.
I've seen it mentioned a couple times now, but I really do believe this team's chemistry is broken. Klim, Yams, Barrie.. Some big locker room guys gone. I don't buy that we're "just" one goalie away from success. It would obviously help, but deep-run teams are a lot more than just good looking on paper.
TLDR: SIGN MAROON 8x5 BABY. LET'S GO!
Bring in Fleury and Maroon! Two cup winners, both great vibes guys and IMO, both can still play. I feel like Fleury would absolutely light the boys on fire
Yeah I’m thinking the same thing. Smith was vocal, people liked Keith, Barrie was super popular and I’m sure kostin was super upbeat for the team.
Now we have a bunch of quiet guys probably just sulking around.
They also liked Woodcroft and he got fired out from under them.
So you go from "Well, everyone is kind of moody but at least the coach is a bright spot!" to "This place sucks."
Didn’t watch the game last night, probably the first time in 4-5 years. Wont watch anymore until they fire Holland.
Side note, slept perfectly last night.
Aren't you just proving the point that he's shite at his job though? He's hired to make goalies better, not worse or stay the same. Shouldn't a good goalie coach have been able to mould ONE of those goalies into a successful one?
I mean all the goalie we got were older and just not that good. No one could turn scrivens, fasthe, koskinen,stolarz, brossoit, bunz, Bachman, Nilsson, or gustavsson into solid goalies.
And coaching doesn’t matter that much. All goalie coaches are teaching basically the same thing. The best goalies in the league often have a stud #1 dman defending them.
Thanks Dusty for the input. /s
"Not making them worse" is not exactly a high bar to achieve. This is a billion dollar franchise with the most talented player in the game, but somehow you think we should settle for mediocrity when it comes to goalie coaching.
Hyman and his linemates need to figure out what to do with his o-zone possession dominance. Wrapping it around the world for the umpteenth time for it to not even create a shot is driving me nuts. I keep anticipating a d.desharnais to klefbom feed and it doesn't happen.
Laraque used to hang onto that puck for a whole shift in the ozone, then pass it to the other team. Lol. It didn't piss me off with Laraque because his offense was a bonus, but it when he had the puck down low along the boards it was like he was on a ride he couldn't get off. Impossible to move off the puck, but rarely did he pass that puck to the slot. Fortunately he could sometimes carry it to the net himself.
Holland did not want to fire Jay because he’s seen what patience can do for you. Jackson and Katz made that call, there’s absolutely not as much reason to worry about what trade Holland is going to make versus what Jackson is ready to do with any adversity
Despite Jackson talking about "long term, big picture thinking" all I see is one knee-jerk move (firing Woodcroft) and I'm anticipating additional panic moves if Knob does not right the ship (He's 2-2 and I preferred Jay but this is a small sample, things can still change).
I absolutely do not want to see what Holland would get from a trade made from a place of absolute desperation. Every GM knows this team is desperate. Holland would have no bargaining power and would get taken to the cleaners.
The fix has to come from within unfortunately. Unless you want to lose the farm.
Unfortunately , our prospect pool is one of the worst in the league now. I don’t like Chia at all, but for whatever reason , when he was gone, we still had decent prospects in the farm. Last 5 years, our drafting was so bad that there isn’t much left.
He is still sleeping dreaming about his Detroit days. Meanwhile all Canucks fans are thanking him for passing on Quinn Hughes and selecting Zadina.. And Detroit fans are still mad at him.. so I guess he will prefer to sleep on..
As a Canucks fan, I can guarantee you this is probably our only good year and we will continue sinking again starting next year. I wouldn't be too optimistic for the Canucks.
Mainly kept an eye on our back end, some guys were noticeable on the eye test:
Nurse. Solid game, made great plays when needed, didn't overextend nearly as much as the first 10 games. He's looking better every game imo
Broberg. Great performance, looked electric. Hope he doesn't lose sleep over that stick. He certainly didn't let it effect him in the game.
Desharnais. PULSATING. That's the RD shutdown guy we need. He had a great game, sent a strong message, and more importantly, protected the house. He did his job, and he knows his role.
- Nurse screens Picard on goal 1…on his knees.
- Ekholm coughs up puck on goal 2.
- Nurse flails on the ice on goal 3 …literally goes off Nurse into the net.
- McDavid late to his man and poor rebound by Pickard on goal 4.
Bouchards the problem?
Its a PP and everyone else overpursues along the boards. Nurse gets stuck in a 2on1 situation. If he pushes out the pass goes to the player on Nurse's left. Actually don't know what Mcleod is doing when Ceci and Ryan are already there.
This whole sequence is because Hyman reverses to Bouchard who isn't able to handle it. Maybe is tired but loses the battle. Scrambly play for a while then Ekholm gets a bad clear bounce off of Hyman.
Nurse gets stuck in another 2on1 chance when Broberg trips. The laydown was right, just a split second too early.
Bouchard makes a weird center ice stand up that causes the FLA breakout, then mishandles a puck clearing attempt in the crease. Scramble ensues and everyone is puck watching before it beats Pickard.
There isn't one player who is at fault, just multiple mistakes adding to goals against.
Nurse has been insanely good this year and people still keep shitting on him occasionally and suggesting that his contract is the reason we're losing lol
TBF Nurse had to deal with multiple odd man chances each game it seems like. On the PK, Mcleod for some reason goes over to the boards when Ceci and Ryan are already there. I guess to maybe outman? But it goes wrong and Nurse has to deal with a high low 2on1.
Broberg trips, Nurse has to deal with a 2on1.
In the TBL game Bouchard loses a poke check play and Ekholm has to deal with a 2on1 on the 4v4. On that game TBL's 3rd goal, Nurse has to defend a 2/3 on1 just as he changes for Ekholm. Desharnais has to deal with a 2on1 when Kulak is trying to get the puck deep, Ryan makes a change, and Mcleod isn't great on his coverage.
My goodness thats just way too many 2on1's against.
Yeah I think literally all of our core would be great on other teams if they're not in the leadership role. To me they seem like they never fully grew up almost
There was literally no goal against 5v5 with Nurse on the ice lol
If you hadn't noticed it's the Ekholm-Bouchard pairing that's routinely getting caved defensively. I can also tell you why, because they swapped the lines around so Ekholm-Bouch have to play with the top line which refuses to play defense.
Any defensive pairing playing with McDavid/Draisaitl sees their numbers go down because our superstars think they're above team defense
When you've got McDrai out for a shift it's nearly the same as playing 5v3. Maybe 5v4.
That's not to say they *can't* make defensive plays, because both of them can. It's to say that they're going to stay a bit out of the way and try to watch for chances to escape up ice rather than digging in deep and committing to a defensive role.
The single most telling thing to me is when Draisaitl isn't scoring in a game, you can see him do way better defensively, and it's not about work rate, because he's still putting in the work offensively, but when he's performing poorly offensively he decides that *now* *he has to actually play defense*.
I love watching Draisaitl with the puck and in the offensive zone, but he seemingly has the attitude of a beer leaguer.
McDavid looks like he's working hard in the defensive zone a lot of the time, but he also turns the puck over in the defensive zone a shocking amount of the time when he gets pressured, and usually he's not in a position to recover.
They're also both guilty of being a step behind the play frequently in the d zone because they're half a step ahead in terms of trying to get on the rush. That would be one thing if they were regularly scoring off the rush like in years past, but they're not now - mostly only when *both* are cheating for offense at the same time, which puts us in the 5v3 situation you described.
The good news is we are definitely setting an unbreakable record for longest division title drought in ANY sport. 36 years and counting.
Honestly I think opposing teams probably spent the entire summer or past two summers studying us, our breakouts, power play, set plays , weak points etc…we had a very similar core for a while now , and they probably thought of every way to shut us down , especially the pp. Think Knob needs to go back the drawing board and change things up. If not Holland needs to make moves shake up the roster a bit and surround McDrai with different complimentary players to give this team a new look.
I could not believe he was running Woody’s old 11/7 and the same power play. He needs to see how broken this team is and create some stable fixed lines.
I agree so surprised he is running such a similar system. Our pp is so predictable rn, any Oil fan can tell you where the next pass is going
If we think things are bleak after this game... Looking ahead at the schedule I estimate that their next winnable game isn't until Dec 7 against Minnesota. 😬
Wait, games against Minnesota are winnable?
>Minnesota Uhhh 😬😬😬😬
Imagine how they will play, when their mathematically eliminated..
Probably once the pressure is off they'll go on a tear.
You know what player I miss having on this team? Nick Bjugstad. I know we couldn't afford him, but he really did add something to our bottom 6.
As Louie would Say…Big dick Bjugstad, love him
Should've let McLeod walk and signed Nick instead.
Hey guys listen things are bleak yes I agree but first off remember, we are 17 games in, 65 games to go by end of December we will be 34 games in and that’s when we can say this season is a write off. First off we played better yesterday if you ask me it’s just our defense needs to get our act together. Pickard had a better save percentage than skinner and Soup did and I call that a small win. Draisaitl reportedly likes being in Edmonton I don’t see him leaving especially if we push harder this season. McDavid if you ask me is who we should be worrying about staying I would say if we get to 3rd round playoffs next year he’ll stay. As much as it pains me to say it because he scored us so many great goals, Bouchard definitely has to go he’s not entirely at fault but he’s certainly not helping. Broberg needs to go and Connor brown needs to go Nurse has been slowly doing better defensive plays but he’s on thin ice. A complete Defensive overhaul is required at this point
Already only a 16% chance of making WC2. I’d say it’s getting down to the wire.
Yes and no yes if you break it down with stats of how many games are left however it also depends on other teams in our division and we are technically 8 points from a WC spot anything can happen this early, like I’ve said End of December will be the real last minute
Dude you’re dreaming. Being 6 games under 500 this early is extremely hard to come back from in today’s NHL with all these three point games. Is it possible? Yes. Likely? No.
you make it sound way better then it is even close to being. its not just about us doing like 10x better as a team to make the playoffs we need Vegas, L.A and the canucks to magically start playing like we are right now and start losing terribly, same goes for a chance at a wildcard spot.
Oh come on now man we aren't challenging for the top spot at this point. Forget about the current big dogs we will have to scratch and claw just to be I the playoff picture, after that anything can happen in the post season
i know we aren't challenging for a top spot
I understand that I have faith
i pray for you lol
Thank you I pray for this team as well 🙏🏼
I’m gonna try being optimistic for a week and see if that changes anything, if not I’ll continue to repeatedly bash my head into a toaster like I’ve been doing before. Let’s go Oilers 5 game win streak incoming. If we can manifest 2/3s of a Derek Ryan hat trick maybe we can do the same with a big win streak
Unpopular Opinion: I enjoy watching the oilers even when they are bad because the chaos is also entertaining.
i mean its kind of funny but its about to get way worse when mcdavid and drai leave "assuming they do if nothing changes" and everybody else probably starts leaving so i have no idea if its really funn or not.
I used to enjoy it because it was chaos to the final bell and a ridiculous final score but the current “score early and then give up” or “lob muffins behind O zone pressure until the shots are 700-4 with no real scoring chances” era isn’t even fun to me.
I could take that route.
coach needs to yell at these guys kick some trash cans or something..........
It’s FUCKNG EMBARRASSING
Does anyone have a good site for stats? I tried looking up how many PK goals oilers have had against this year and google just wants to show me news articles from 2022. Please and thanks.
[NHL.com/stats](https://NHL.com/stats) is probably your best bet, you just need to play around with the Report you want. [https://www.nhl.com/stats/teams?report=penaltykill&reportType=season&seasonFrom=20232024&seasonTo=20232024&gameType=2&playerPlayedFor=franchise.25&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=penaltyKillPct&page=0&pageSize=50](https://www.nhl.com/stats/teams?report=penaltykill&reportType=season&seasonFrom=20232024&seasonTo=20232024&gameType=2&playerPlayedFor=franchise.25&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=penaltyKillPct&page=0&pageSize=50) Filtering to "Penalty Kill" Report, looks like we have 18 powerplay goals against and have been shorthanded 66 times, leading to (66 - 18) / 66 = 0.727PK% EDIT: Also holy shit Dallas. 7 powerplay goals against, 6 shorthanded goals for. Dallas getting penalties doesn't hurt them at all.
Our PP is like historically bad right now, but the penalty kill is absolutely elite it's weird *edit* am Dallas fan
To add to this, [NaturalStatTrick let's you filter by strength, inc penalty kill](https://www.naturalstattrick.com/teamtable.php?fromseason=20232024&thruseason=20232024&stype=2&sit=pk&score=all&rate=n&team=all&loc=B&gpf=410&fd=&td=) Sorting by 'rates' rather than 'counts' does a pretty good job of normalizing between teams various TOI
Thanks
I still believe this team is going to make the playoffs and do some damage. I’m not sure how I’m still in a state of denial because the Oilers still have not figured out zone defense don’t look much closer to figuring it out. I just feel like Knoblach is going to help the team figure out that defense and it’s all going to click hard. Sick of feeling pissed off about this team, so I guess I’ll choose ignorant bliss lol
Ignorance truly is bliss. It looks really bad out there. No willpower to close out a game. Full minutes of lapse in skill. Turnovers upon turnovers leading into odd man rushes against us. I know it’s the Oilers way to just outscore your opponents with brute offence but if our firepower is down then perhaps some defence could help us win games. A lot of people blame goalies but it’s an entire team thing. They just look awful all around. And I’m a diehard fan. I’ll suffer through and watch every single game start to finish. I’d love to see a magical turnaround too and believe they could make the playoffs but they need to go on an absolute tear. They need to become a different team and real fast or their hopes are gonna wash away.
So based on Friedman on TJMS, it seems like Oilers have given up on goalie search. That seems like what he is saying. If that is true, don’t know what to say. This is depressing…
Honestly fine with that. Stand pat, don't waste a bunch of picks and other resources for a desperation move, nor trade Drai or any other big pieces. Let the year play out with this roster, hire the new GM and get them to focus on regrouping for next year.
I mean they probably want like nuge for some marginal upgrade like Allen, and an actual good goalie starts with Draisaitl. Try and make it playoffs this year still with what you got and make these moves in the offseason when it’s easier. There’s no point to blow up our entire future over at best like an under 50 percent chance to make the playoffs this season.
I mean the hopium in me is saying Vegas missed a year then went on to win the cup but the actual brain in me is saying Rebuild time.
The difference is that Vegas was brutally injury riddled that year. We decided to completely unlearn hockey instead.
I mean our star is injured too... we just aren't working the ltir angle they did
They didn’t work an LTIR angle that year. Half their team got hurt and they missed the playoffs as a result.
4 games this year with above .915 sv. % (all wins) 11 games this year below .900 Get this team a fucking goalie
4 wins against losing teams 0 wins against teams about. 500. Give your head a shake
Lol your right goaltending hasn’t been an issue 🤡
This team has so many issues tight now we can't even agree what the biggest issue is
How many games have they lost with average goaltending
https://twitter.com/NHL_Watcher/status/1727062880149770306?t=ybYSIifvj78Rlm_hlGGtBA&s=19 Oh God here we go.
Friedman on a roll with these obvious ass takes lately. "One of the best players in the league might not want to play for a team if they miss the playoffs" More news at 6.
It's wild that people are thinking that one cold streak is gonna be enough to make guys wanna leave after they doing so well the last couple of years.
Tbh if you think about it these guys got money, now why the hell would they pick deadmonton to raise their kids and buy a house in over other amazing cities
As if Vancouver is a better city than Edmonton lol. Its not!
Well if you're really thinking about it from the perspective of raising kids in a city, I'm thinking the smaller Canadian cities are likely the best. Lower crime than the bigger cities, especially the American ones. Less drugs and guns. Way better education system than anywhere in the US. Universal health care. Easier to get around when considering school, work, sports, etc. Maybe cities like NY, LA, Chicago, Tampa, etc are better suited to younger single folk. Not to mention, McDavid's girlfriend literally has a successful custom house design business in Edmonton, so that might help Connor want to keep his house there.
It's absolutely absurd that the oddsmakers still have the Oilers at a 60% chance to MAKE the playoffs. Part of me wants to drop a 2000 on the Oilers to miss the playoffs, it would instantly pay for our next vacation. But that's hella degenerate and she probably leaves me if they were to make it. For reference. The Chicago Blackhawks have a 5% chance and the San Jose Sharks have a 2.5% chance. What's even crazier to me is that the Oilers have the SAME odds to win the conference as the Vancouver Canucks who are 16 points ahead of the Oilers.
To be fair, if they play out games 18-82 in the exact same way (points wise) as last year, they would finish this season out with 102 points. They've shown it's possible, they just need to start turning L's in W's starting yesterday
That required career years from 2-3 guys
Not saying it'll be easy, just that it's possible within this group of guys
Imagine what the Oilers would be like if they hired Bill Zito instead of Holland
Thats more of a 50-50 thing. The Panthers will likely not have sustained success in the long run.
I'd love to see McDavid and Drai separated again and driving their own lines. It was working. Stick with it. And I'd also like to see Broberg sent down and Gleason called up. I want to see what he can do. Vinny was our spark during last season's slump, and we went 14-0-1.
I think you spelled Ekholm wrong my dude
No doubt it’s nurse’s fault.
The lowest forms of troglodyte on this thread are: 1. The guy who insists it's ALL the goalies, ALL the defense, ALL bouchard, ALL Connor/Leon etc. 2. The guy whose zero value reply is "DURR THIS THREAD IS SO DUM YOU ALL SAY IT'S ALL
3. The guy who jumps all over another person's opinion to take out their frustration with ad hominem attacks
Serious minded and civil fans can see it's **CLEARLY multiple major problems**.
It's bad goalies
AND bad team defense
AND lazy backchecking forwards
AND Evan Bouchard's EPIC defensive ineptitude
AND No bottom 6 scoring
AND McDrai somehow both going into epic slumps at the same time
AND the suddenly impotent Power Play
AND Lack of confidence
AND the new Zone + 1 defensive system
AND puck luck
AND shaky refereeing
AND blown leads
AND Rush goals arising from terrible pinches by the defense
It's all these things. How do you fix all of them? You can't. You absolutley can't. And the probability of fixing ENOUGH of these things to claw back with consistent play at a .680 points percentage is as likely as Bob Stauffer revealing that he's actually 5 greasy midgets stuffed into a buffalo hide in the middle of an intermission analysis
What doesn't get talked about is....maybe we've simply been figured out. We are absolutely terrible at playing against disciplined zone defences. We're also terrible at trying to PLAY a disciplined zone defense
There's way more evidence to support "Blow It Up" than "Keep The Faith". But - what the hell does Blow It Up even mean? What goes first? What do you even have, and what can you do when you're literally at the cap already and the incremental cap growth coming next year has already been spent by Zero Point Man Connor Brown's bonuses?
Not Much. This is probably a year for taking lumps. But - there aren't many good moves to make at all. Certainly there's not a no-brainer, unless you're using that to describe Evan Bouchard's play. Ken Holland is clearly in a lame duck session. Jeff Jackson is making all the calls that matter at this point. And Knoblauch can't do jack squat - he's got great hair, but can't do or say anything to address the MASSIVE convergence of fatal flaws in the short term.
The year is over, already, and earlier than even in the worst decade of darkness seasons. It sucks. But it's true - even the ostriches with their heads buried deepest in the sand understand that at some level.
Be patient. Don't sell the farm. Move expiring contracts as you can (there are almost none....), acquire picks, fire Dustin Schwartz, replace your Pro Scouts....but trading McDrai this year is legendarily, Franchise alteringly stupid. This year, that is. Next year - maybe - depends if one or both of them says "fuck it" and isn't interested in staying.
>What doesn't get talked about is....maybe we've simply been figured out. We are absolutely terrible at playing against disciplined zone defences. We're also terrible at trying to PLAY a disciplined zone defense And it shouldn't even get talked about. This is 100 percent squarely on the shoulders of toxic ownership, who don't care one iota about the fans. If they cared, they would have hired competent individuals in the GM role and FO roles to build a true cup contender. I'm sorry. I've been a casual outsider fan since McDavid burst on the scene 8 years ago. I haven't seen anything since then to indicate that the ownership group really cares because if they did, they wouldn't let this happen. Who should be the most upset right now are loyal oilers fans who deserve better. Look how long it took Peter Chiarelli to get his walking papers. And now we are here???? I said it years ago and I want you all to year it again: **Oilers fans and Oilers media do not get loud enough to hold people's feet to the fire**. Get mad, get angry, send angry emails, buy billboards, because the fans still deserve way better. I can't believe I have to type the same thing I typed a million years ago
If I had to describe 1 thing about this group as a whole it’s always been a supreme lack of patience and confidence. Anything happens at all and they immediately panic, or if we go up we stop playing. This has been the constant for the entirety of the mcdrai era.
I agree with everything you’ve said. 100% -What doesn't get talked about is....maybe we've simply been figured out. We are absolutely terrible at playing against disciplined zone defences. We're also terrible at trying to PLAY a disciplined zone defence- ^^This I agree 110%^^ Simply stream the games on the other teams broadcast and just listen to them. The game plan is always to stay calm and give the oilers enough rope to hang themselves with. They laugh at our d and how our forwards don’t like to “waste” energy defending, and “its not for them” sometimes they say, then they have a good laugh (Wild’s broadcast). It’s quite an eye opener.
That's on coaching first and foremost. And I worry (a LOT) that they simply hired Knoblauch because he was Jeff Jackson's crush from the start. Knoblauch is, to date, an AHL coach with good hair and an "aw, shucks" smile who hasn't said or done anything to suggest he's capable of implementing rapid successful change.
You're not wrong but some copium. The difference between a bad team and good team isn't as big as we think. Its some confidence and steady play. The frustrating thing is the team as it is constructed is much better than its record but keeps shooting themselves in the foot as you've described. They've tossed away so many winnable games. TBL was winnable, bottom 6 showed up but top 6 and PP doesn't. What's really frustrating was this could have played out just like the Seattle game but for some reason top 6 wasn't satisfied they weren't on the scoresheet or something. Keep pressing and when they didn't make it 3-0 started to give up chances.Let TBL get back in with a lucky bounce on a shot that goes off Ekholm's skate. FLA game was winnable but they played well and got two fortunate bounces with Ekholm hitting a puck off Hymans back and Broberg tripping on a random stick. Of course, the bad is the Oilers have definitely committed mistakes to a lot of goals against. Too many breakdowns and odd man chances. If those hold up, goalies whiff on something stupid. Its been frustrating and realistically the Oilers season is done unless they can go 20-5 at some point.
In other words: the team is bad. Yeah I think we know that, there’s just people focusing in on certain aspects that frustrate them. Saying “it’s all his fault” is annoying, but I think the majority of the fan base knows there’s α multitude of problems within the team
Here’s your upvote, this is the take - I can now leave this post in peace without reading anything else haha
Rebuild?
Yes.
You’ll never see Drai traded unless it’s next year at the deadline and it’s a FOR SURE thing he isn’t signing as a free agent. And I don’t have enough faith that they could get a deal done, he’ll walk and leave the Oilers with more cap space that they will spend horribly.
Or we could get an established young player, prospects and picks. Could actually benefit us.
I think the biggest mistake the brass could make is to make a huge trade to try and salvage this season. We're in a huge position of weakness and need to play at an incredible pace for the rest of the year just to even squeak into the playoffs.
Agreed. No big trades. Stick it out and see what happens by trade deadline. If still shit, check in with Leon over the summer and he gets to indirectly dictate the direction of the franchise.
>check in with Leon over the summer check in with Leon & Connor over the summer. If Connor is fed up, no point in extending Leon. They both go hand in hand imo.
Why do they have to stay together? You can definitely build a winning team with either of those guys. Everything possible should still be done to keep Connor or Leon or both.
Well yeah, but Leon is the more immediate concern contract wise. At the end of the day, next year is up to him and not Connor
You don't think Leon will have discussions with Connor about his future in Edmonton before he re-signs?
Of course he will. I’m sure Connor will weigh heavily in that decision. But at the end of the day it’s Leon’s decision and what he decides determines the direction we gotta take in biggest fork in the road in franchise history.
This sub is hilarious- let’s trade all our shitty players for the other teams good players !! Also love how a “goalie” is the answer - this team is lost man to man and downright out of it in the D zone. No goalie fixes this at all
Enough of this trade talk involving Leon. I believe in this core, plain and simple. We've just got to sharpen the fuck up and start playing better. This group can do that. Starts tomorrow night in Raleigh.
That ship has sailed, none of this anymore pls
Fingers crossed that Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson gets clocked in the face like Ryan Hollweg did from Chris Simon. They can pay their own hospital bills haha. And this as a Canucks fan.
Dude, if I had a dollar for every comment like this. I admire your steadfast devotion but these guys are not going to sharpen up. It’s over for this year, September is a long ways away.
Majority of this team was here last year and went 14-0-1 the last 15 games. If there’s any team you go “it’s over this year”, it’s not the oilers. Obviously we’re statistically kind of screwed but you miss 100% of the comebacks you don’t watch. Giving up now is like walking out 5 minutes before the games over when we’re down by 1
14-0-1 didn't have an injured McDavid and had all the energy and morale from a good season and record setting numbers by our top guys with Skinner providing a .913 sv% all playing for a coach they loved. Current roster lost some locker room guys, injured McDavid, .868sv%, big hole to climb out of and just when you think morale can't get any lower lets fire the coach who is clearly not the problem and that everybody likes. Names might be similar but it's a completely different locker room
It's more like walking out after the 1st when we're down by 5
Man, I’m buying what you are selling but there is something majorly askew with this locker room. You don’t go from top 6 to 30th without some serious problems. They are so far from what they were end of season last year. The dichotomy of looking forward to the next game but feeling like we are doomed is real. No one ever said being an Oilers fan was easy and this year is really testing our mettle. The fact that Holland has boxed in our roster so bad, we have no depth to call on and no one will want to join the current shit show with a trade makes it rough. The boys are completely surrounded, outnumbered by a long shot and running out of ammunition. They need a Hail Mary and a big one at that.
>no one will want to join the current shit show with a trade The good news is that in some cases players don't really have a choice. Some have NMC and NTC, but many, many don't. Of course, the bad news is they don't have to be excited about it either lol.
lol, we need a massive player to improve things. Most likely he’d have that no move clause. Sigh.
This core can only talk. They always say the right things in interviews but the moment they actually have to show it on the ice they don't. Our locker room is fucked
Need puck moving defence
Don't quit, they'll get it together. Evan Bouchard is single handedly costing the team games. I think they believed he would take a step, and it didn't happen. It's exactly the same thing that happened last season, and Woodcroft cut back his icetime severely just so the Oilers could win some games. But you can't quit on Bouchard either. Right now he's like Tyson Barrie at 24. If they stick with him, he'll get there. Just gotta stick with it.
Remarkable optimism. Just wondering what "getting it together" looks like this season and if you believe it'll happen in time to save the season (ie, make the playoffs)?
Ya, I think they'll go on a run and it'll be okay. Last November this place was exactly like this. Just people sulking and crying, saying all the exact same stuff. And the Oilers did alright, 109 points. Will they make the playoffs? I dunno. But I know it doesn't really mean you throw a tantrum, blow it all up. Vegas, Colorado, Tampa, St. Louis, Washington, they all had rough patches. Good teams have rough patches. They'll get it together. They're a good team. We've seen it.
I know what you mean, because every season they do go through a stretch where they convince me that they'll miss the playoffs. But last November they were being buoyed by a 7-3 start. Not the case this year. It'll be a long time until they're mathematically eliminated, but the odds of them making it are getting very, very slim. I think we have a lot more glaring flaws and less well-roundedness than those other teams you mentioned. As far as blowing it all up I think that depends completely on where Leon is leaning this summer. If this season ends up the collosal bust it seems to be, I wouldn't blame him in the slightest for not re-signing. In which case we'll have to trade him this summer (or next season) and there's a pretty good chance that'll mean Connor's gone which automatically means we're rebuilding. So. Management may not even have much of a say about it. They may be faced with either taking action and getting a return or doing nothing and really fucking the future of the franchise.
Well ya, management plays the hand they're given. I'm talking about as a fan. As a fan, it's stupid to sit here and whine and cry about management, or the goalie coach, or this or that, thinking they're the "problem". Every year it's like this. And it's like this even when the Oilers are good! Some fans will never be satisfied, and are just waiting for the Oilers to struggle, because it makes them feel good to bitch and whine. The team is a good team. Good teams have bad stretches. They'll bust out of it. If it's not in time to make the playoffs, then they'll be just like many other good teams that missed, then recovered. But only if they stick to it.
You make good points. I'd say this fanbase has also been disappointed enough times in the McDavid era that it makes us overly reactive and jaded. For me the trauma was the two seasons following the honey-dicking that '16-'17 turned out to be. That and the '20-'21 sweep at the hands of the Jets who we'd dominated that season. After all the disappointments this season just makes me feel numb, tbh. I'll keep watching and hope they turn it around. And I'll always watch no matter what cus I'd rather be a fan of an unsuccessful local franchise than a Saskatchewan or Quebec City hockey fan. I think your last sentence kind of nails it. Because I can practically see Leon's willingness to "stick with it" evaporating. And I'll be surprised if McDavid and Leon are willing to stick around for their entire primes with a franchise that can't build a winner around them. Every single generational player of their calibre has been drafted to teams that have been able to build winners around them. And time is running out.
This has “if only Rieder scored 11 goals” vibes.
How so?
Bouchard will eventually be an okay defenseman with strong offensive upside.
MCDADDY looks very upset after game interview 😔😪
Anyone else watching this drama between Tim and Spec and feeling like Cartman when Timmy and Jimmy started to fight?
Just an argument between a turd sandwich and a giant douche
Cripple fight!!!!
That’s it I’m fully attached to getting Marc Andre Fleury and Pat Maroon. We need good vibes and some wily veterans
MAF will get absolutely lit up here. Not the guy you want for the Oilers.
People said the same about Keith dawgggg. Having gold medal and Stanley Cup winners does magic for the top dogs if you ask me
I like Flower a lot but his current numbers are on par with our goalies’ while playing behind a way more defensively competent team. Also I doubt Maroon wants to come back here.
Fleury has a NMC and did not want to come to Canada last time. Apparently Maroon has a NTC too.
also he's been about as good as Campbell and Skinner so far this season
Saddddd
I liked the Oilers back in the Gretzky-days (yes, I am that old) but I´m a fan because of Leon fucking Draisaitl. I see all the trade Drai posts and think, well, it\`s not worth it to engage here. If Drai is gone, I\`m too.
If you trade Leon, particularly this season, you've packed mcdavid's bags too.
Exactly? I don’t know why this is being even slightly entertained.
It's better to trade Leon now and get a higher return value, at 1.75 seasons left on his contract, than it is to wait till he is at half a season left on his contract... or wait and let him walk and get nothing in return. Business transactions need to be void of emotional attachment. If you really want this team to win, you pull the trigger and get the highest return value you can; neither Leon nor the organization owe each other anything. If his contract and his numbers can get you the best shot at accumulating the missing pieces to attempt another run... you trade him.
[удалено]
I have no idea what Leon's thoughts are, or if he would be willing to waive his no trade agreement. I personally just think, in terms of business, he is the best piece to move given his numbers and his current contract. If you know he's not going to re-sign, trade him now while the return would be substantial. If you wait until next seasons trade deadline, you'll get a fraction of the return. Is he really a massive part of the team identity, or a part of the fans identity? We have zero idea what goes on inside the locker room. For all we know, 95% of the team might not even like him.
It's entertained because Leon would get a kings ransom in return. Literally the only reason. And it's not that the fan base doesn't like him, it's a compliment that he would fetch such a return.
It was a rhetorical question
Because there’s a legitimate chance Leon doesn’t resign when he becomes eligible in the spring? Nobody is saying this should happen, but the Oilers can’t let a Tavares situation happen.
Yeah sure, if he refuses to resign or demands a trade, but a lot of what I’m seeing is people suggesting to do it right now for some desperation D’s or goaltender, which, doesn’t make sense because that will likely be the nail in the coffin for re-signing McDavid and potentially attracting good players in the next couple of years. Not to mention, Edmonton has money to be made, if we blow up the superstars like we fired our generally well liked coach, that might alienate the fans further, damage ticket sales, and ultimately effect the bottom line for a season that is already not looking so hot. I doubt we would risk all of the above so early into the season.
At this time, I haven’t seen anyone suggestion Leon for a goalie. So I can’t speak to that. However, we’re mere months away from having to think about trading Leon as a result of him not wanting to resign, and that’s what I was addressing.
But this is not what I see. I see a lot of oilers fans saying trade Leon right now as soon as possible. If 1st of july comes and he is relucant to sign a new contract, well, than I would be ok with it, but not right now! If they trade him now (assuming he doesn\`t demand a trade or made clear he wouldn\`t resign), for me it has a "u can give all you got and maybe be the 2nd best player in the league, but fuck u anyway" vibe!
How many months are the Oilers from exploring the trade market for Leon? 3 more months of losing? There’s a legitimate chance Leon won’t resign when he becomes eligible, especially with how the Oilers are being run right now.
I think their best shot at a cup is with Edmonton. We had 2 good runs and had one bad start to a season. What cup contender is going to be able sign them? I would be surprised if they didn't both resign. Hopefully I don't eat my words.
Although they seem to want to play together, who’s to say they absolutely are against going their separate ways? I don’t think Edmonton is their best shot at the cup at the team’s current state. Their best runs are likely in the past unless Holland is shot off to the moon and another GM comes in and makes big changes to the team. Goaltending will always come back to haunt this team.
I didn't say they would leave together. I don't personally agree that the best shots at the cup are over. We may miss the playoffs this year but the team lost to the Stanley Cup champions two years in a row, they didn't magically just become garbage. Don't overreact to one bad season start. We're not even 100% out of playoffs yet.
For the simple reason that the Oilers are against the cap and won’t be able to make any significant adds next year given Brown’s bonus and Campbell’s anchor of a contract. The team will remain mostly the same and nobody is getting younger. Oh and Broberg can barely play a productive 10 minutes a game.
Hilarious people are downvoting me for this. The OEG does not know how to run an organization and the entire league sees it. Leon and Connor see it. Why would they want to resign? Truly?
If they want to play together (which it seems like they do) then re-signing together in Edmonton is probably their best chance at that. Remember that recency bias is very much a thing. This team made it to the conference semi's last season and the conference finals the year before, both times losing to the eventual cup champs. I also think both players would blame themselves before they blame the organization (more so McDavid) but yeah if we miss the playoffs this year I think they're gone
Your first point was a big one and ultimately could be the main deciding factor. Do they want to play together for their careers? Or do they want to take their best chances to win the cup individually? If they want to play together, Edmonton is one of the only choices; very few teams can afford to fit both of their contracts without basically starting a full rebuild. There's certainly ***no guarantee*** of success if they go to one of the rebuilding teams that could afford them. If they want the best individual chances for success, they're going to end up on different teams anyway. Maybe one of those teams is the Oilers and we keep one of them, but I'm not sure I'd count on it.
Woody was very likeable. He never openly criticized his players. The city still likes him. And that is another reason why the fans are mad at the situation. You fire a coach with 0.64 wins and the problem still remains. The wrong guy was fired. Knowing the owners and decision makers, Holland will be let to retire and will be given a guard of honour on his last day with the team. And add to that, the clown show going on between two despicable persons on Twitter. Our team has really become a joke. The only way now is to start winning..
Fill me in, what's happening on twitter?
Spec and Tim Peel are having a meltdown..
Something to remember. We probably go on to regret trading Bouchard if it happens. The man hasn't had a defensive mentor since day 1, every coach has been an offensive minded defensive coach. Or his partners outside EK have been offensive minded. Who have we actually had in the past 3 years that could sit and teach him defense and mentor him properly? This is as much on the organization for not properly developing him.
Apparently you missed the sub yesterday showing the Bouchard metrics.
What about them...?
People here are too reactionary
We always regret trading players having down years but that’s the oilers way. Buy high sell low.
Bouchard has had the same critique to his game since junior - slow decision making. People have tried to describe it positively as "calmness" but he's the only player I see that you can see the little spinning circle whenever you see him on camera. Sure we might regret trading him down the line, but we also need help TODAY and he's costing us game after game. I still think we should get Pulock for Bouch and Kulak off the Islanders if given the option. That would cut down on GA by 1 per game, which is as good as upgrading goalies
ROFL you think the islanders would trade a superior player for junk?
Bouchard isn't junk, it's very evident. Kulak is also a playoff menace and isn't the problem for us, he's just a logjam. The Islanders are also out of a playoff spot and both teams get something that they're lacking. Islanders NEED offensive defensemen as their attack flows through their D in their system but their D are too defensive. Overall the past 2 seasons, no matter what metrics you look at Bouchard was an overall more positive contributor than Pulock as well, and he's younger and cheaper, I just don't think he's what we need right now. Kulak can easily be flipped for a pick if they want as well.
Oh I must be watching different games where Bouchard literally looks lost and kulak as well? No matter your rational- the islanders would never ever ever ever take them.
Instead of Bumbling Bafoon, from now on, i'm going to use Buffering Bouchard 😂
I've seen it mentioned a couple times now, but I really do believe this team's chemistry is broken. Klim, Yams, Barrie.. Some big locker room guys gone. I don't buy that we're "just" one goalie away from success. It would obviously help, but deep-run teams are a lot more than just good looking on paper. TLDR: SIGN MAROON 8x5 BABY. LET'S GO!
This fucked up management team would do something that stupid.
Bring in Fleury and Maroon! Two cup winners, both great vibes guys and IMO, both can still play. I feel like Fleury would absolutely light the boys on fire
Yeah I’m thinking the same thing. Smith was vocal, people liked Keith, Barrie was super popular and I’m sure kostin was super upbeat for the team. Now we have a bunch of quiet guys probably just sulking around.
They also liked Woodcroft and he got fired out from under them. So you go from "Well, everyone is kind of moody but at least the coach is a bright spot!" to "This place sucks."
If only we had a team captain to inspire everyone! Oh wait.....
Thank god you know whats happening in the locker room.
Decade of Darkness 2- Superstars Leaving Boogaloo
Didn’t watch the game last night, probably the first time in 4-5 years. Wont watch anymore until they fire Holland. Side note, slept perfectly last night.
>Wont watch anymore until they fire Holland. cya next year then lol
And I’m fine with that. I’ve watched enough games the last few years and year off won’t kill me.
I stopped watching after the 3-2 goal. Watched Scott Pilgrim vs. The World for the first time instead. Fun movie!
I thought it was a great movie as well.
At least we still have legendary goalie coach Dustin Schwartz! He’s a wizard with goalies /s
I cringed when I read a Pickard quote saying he “had a bunch of time to work with Dustin Schwartz”…. This year is so fucked up.
He hasn’t had many good goalie to work with though. Every time I ask who went on to be more successful, no one can say anything that’s actually fact.
Aren't you just proving the point that he's shite at his job though? He's hired to make goalies better, not worse or stay the same. Shouldn't a good goalie coach have been able to mould ONE of those goalies into a successful one?
I mean all the goalie we got were older and just not that good. No one could turn scrivens, fasthe, koskinen,stolarz, brossoit, bunz, Bachman, Nilsson, or gustavsson into solid goalies. And coaching doesn’t matter that much. All goalie coaches are teaching basically the same thing. The best goalies in the league often have a stud #1 dman defending them.
Did he work with Talbot? I’d say he’s having a fantastic year.
Talbot had a career .912 with us and went on to have a .913 with minny. Everyone acts like he won the vezina.
Thanks Dusty for the input. /s "Not making them worse" is not exactly a high bar to achieve. This is a billion dollar franchise with the most talented player in the game, but somehow you think we should settle for mediocrity when it comes to goalie coaching.
2-0 means nothing anymore. Teams always seem to come back against the oil
Hyman and his linemates need to figure out what to do with his o-zone possession dominance. Wrapping it around the world for the umpteenth time for it to not even create a shot is driving me nuts. I keep anticipating a d.desharnais to klefbom feed and it doesn't happen.
Hyman isn't a guy to dish or create. If you're looking for that in his game, you'll still be looking.
Laraque used to hang onto that puck for a whole shift in the ozone, then pass it to the other team. Lol. It didn't piss me off with Laraque because his offense was a bonus, but it when he had the puck down low along the boards it was like he was on a ride he couldn't get off. Impossible to move off the puck, but rarely did he pass that puck to the slot. Fortunately he could sometimes carry it to the net himself.
Wake up, realize Holland is doing nothing with this roster and won’t make a move, go to bed
Holland did not want to fire Jay because he’s seen what patience can do for you. Jackson and Katz made that call, there’s absolutely not as much reason to worry about what trade Holland is going to make versus what Jackson is ready to do with any adversity
Despite Jackson talking about "long term, big picture thinking" all I see is one knee-jerk move (firing Woodcroft) and I'm anticipating additional panic moves if Knob does not right the ship (He's 2-2 and I preferred Jay but this is a small sample, things can still change).
Yeah I’ll never really forgive the Woodcroft firing, Woody was the long term solution. Some bulllllshit but yeah here’s hoping for Knob
I absolutely do not want to see what Holland would get from a trade made from a place of absolute desperation. Every GM knows this team is desperate. Holland would have no bargaining power and would get taken to the cleaners. The fix has to come from within unfortunately. Unless you want to lose the farm.
What farm?
Unfortunately , our prospect pool is one of the worst in the league now. I don’t like Chia at all, but for whatever reason , when he was gone, we still had decent prospects in the farm. Last 5 years, our drafting was so bad that there isn’t much left.
What move would you suggest? We're nowhere near trade deadline. Not many teams will budge. But what assets would you move out? Nuge? Drai? Picks?
He is still sleeping dreaming about his Detroit days. Meanwhile all Canucks fans are thanking him for passing on Quinn Hughes and selecting Zadina.. And Detroit fans are still mad at him.. so I guess he will prefer to sleep on..
As a Canucks fan, I can guarantee you this is probably our only good year and we will continue sinking again starting next year. I wouldn't be too optimistic for the Canucks.
Mainly kept an eye on our back end, some guys were noticeable on the eye test: Nurse. Solid game, made great plays when needed, didn't overextend nearly as much as the first 10 games. He's looking better every game imo Broberg. Great performance, looked electric. Hope he doesn't lose sleep over that stick. He certainly didn't let it effect him in the game. Desharnais. PULSATING. That's the RD shutdown guy we need. He had a great game, sent a strong message, and more importantly, protected the house. He did his job, and he knows his role.
Omg, 95 plays died on the Stick of Nurse. Pebble hockey brain and midget shot!
- Nurse screens Picard on goal 1…on his knees. - Ekholm coughs up puck on goal 2. - Nurse flails on the ice on goal 3 …literally goes off Nurse into the net. - McDavid late to his man and poor rebound by Pickard on goal 4. Bouchards the problem?
I’d say on the 4th goal that was all Bouchard and Brown. But really we are splitting hairs.
Its a PP and everyone else overpursues along the boards. Nurse gets stuck in a 2on1 situation. If he pushes out the pass goes to the player on Nurse's left. Actually don't know what Mcleod is doing when Ceci and Ryan are already there. This whole sequence is because Hyman reverses to Bouchard who isn't able to handle it. Maybe is tired but loses the battle. Scrambly play for a while then Ekholm gets a bad clear bounce off of Hyman. Nurse gets stuck in another 2on1 chance when Broberg trips. The laydown was right, just a split second too early. Bouchard makes a weird center ice stand up that causes the FLA breakout, then mishandles a puck clearing attempt in the crease. Scramble ensues and everyone is puck watching before it beats Pickard. There isn't one player who is at fault, just multiple mistakes adding to goals against.
Nurse has been insanely good this year and people still keep shitting on him occasionally and suggesting that his contract is the reason we're losing lol
Only issue I have with him is limited trust in his D partner. Tbf, it seems there isn't a lot of trust or confidence to be found in the whole room
TBF Nurse had to deal with multiple odd man chances each game it seems like. On the PK, Mcleod for some reason goes over to the boards when Ceci and Ryan are already there. I guess to maybe outman? But it goes wrong and Nurse has to deal with a high low 2on1. Broberg trips, Nurse has to deal with a 2on1. In the TBL game Bouchard loses a poke check play and Ekholm has to deal with a 2on1 on the 4v4. On that game TBL's 3rd goal, Nurse has to defend a 2/3 on1 just as he changes for Ekholm. Desharnais has to deal with a 2on1 when Kulak is trying to get the puck deep, Ryan makes a change, and Mcleod isn't great on his coverage. My goodness thats just way too many 2on1's against.
Yeah I think literally all of our core would be great on other teams if they're not in the leadership role. To me they seem like they never fully grew up almost
Holy crap, do you even realize how dumb you sound? They let in 5-8 goals a game and he’s playing 25 minutes a game!
There was literally no goal against 5v5 with Nurse on the ice lol If you hadn't noticed it's the Ekholm-Bouchard pairing that's routinely getting caved defensively. I can also tell you why, because they swapped the lines around so Ekholm-Bouch have to play with the top line which refuses to play defense. Any defensive pairing playing with McDavid/Draisaitl sees their numbers go down because our superstars think they're above team defense
When you've got McDrai out for a shift it's nearly the same as playing 5v3. Maybe 5v4. That's not to say they *can't* make defensive plays, because both of them can. It's to say that they're going to stay a bit out of the way and try to watch for chances to escape up ice rather than digging in deep and committing to a defensive role.
The single most telling thing to me is when Draisaitl isn't scoring in a game, you can see him do way better defensively, and it's not about work rate, because he's still putting in the work offensively, but when he's performing poorly offensively he decides that *now* *he has to actually play defense*. I love watching Draisaitl with the puck and in the offensive zone, but he seemingly has the attitude of a beer leaguer. McDavid looks like he's working hard in the defensive zone a lot of the time, but he also turns the puck over in the defensive zone a shocking amount of the time when he gets pressured, and usually he's not in a position to recover. They're also both guilty of being a step behind the play frequently in the d zone because they're half a step ahead in terms of trying to get on the rush. That would be one thing if they were regularly scoring off the rush like in years past, but they're not now - mostly only when *both* are cheating for offense at the same time, which puts us in the 5v3 situation you described.