Oilers!

[chakhae1]

Draisaitl and a couple of low end picks for Price and prospects. I think it has been proven in Edmonton that Mcdavid and Leon can not win and the salaries work here and the Habs need a marquee guy to generate interest in their team. Not likely to happen, but interesting to think about.

[30ranfordfan]

Another night, another poor performance from the goalie, this time Skinner. 5 goals against and an .800SV%

McD’s post game availability was…uncomfortable.

It's just awful watching them. IMO Oilers win that game (it's the Senators) if Koskinen is in net..... but the coach clearly has no faith in him, so they keep playing Skinner. Guess they want to make sure they have three useless goalies before they deal for one. Or maybe Alex Stalock's comeback will be the turn around?

Draisaitl and a couple of low end picks for Price and prospects. I think it has been proven in Edmonton that Mcdavid and Leon can not win and the salaries work here and the Habs need a marquee guy to generate interest in their team. Not likely to happen, but interesting to think about.

I have a feeling that if the Oilers wanted to deal Draisatil to upgrade other parts of the team - the return would be better than an injured, overpaid, 34 year old goalie..... and they probably don't have to include picks to make it happen.

Don't get me wrong: If I'm the OIlers, and there is a way to make Carey Price fit into their cap - I'm listening, and I'd trade a lot to make it happen...... but there is no way that anyone would entertain Draisatil for Price.

[chakhae1]

It's just awful watching them. IMO Oilers win that game (it's the Senators) if Koskinen is in net..... but the coach clearly has no faith in him, so they keep playing Skinner. Guess they want to make sure they have three useless goalies before they deal for one. Or maybe Alex Stalock's comeback will be the turn around?



I have a feeling that if the Oilers wanted to deal Draisatil to upgrade other parts of the team - the return would be better than an injured, overpaid, 34 year old goalie..... and they probably don't have to include picks to make it happen.

Don't get me wrong: If I'm the OIlers, and there is a way to make Carey Price fit into their cap - I'm listening, and I'd trade a lot to make it happen...... but there is no way that anyone would entertain Draisatil for Price.

I agree that both teams would have to be pretty desperate to make that happen, but what are even the expectations of the Oilers this season and moving forward? The Oilers remind me of the Flyers who did not have a goalie when they were pretty good in the past with the likes of the Legion of Doom, and even with Hart right now, it might be a question mark for them. Getting an elite goalie is one of the hardest things to acquire in the NHL, but it is odd that some teams seem to struggle more than others.

[30ranfordfan]

I agree that both teams would have to be pretty desperate to make that happen, but what are even the expectations of the Oilers this season and moving forward? The Oilers remind me of the Flyers who did not have a goalie when they were pretty good in the past with the likes of the Legion of Doom, and even with Hart right now, it might be a question mark for them. Getting an elite goalie is one of the hardest things to acquire in the NHL, but it is odd that some teams seem to struggle more than others.

Yes, I realize that I'm writing this from the perspective of a fan of a team with TERRIBLE goaltending......

I think the idea that you need an elite goalie to win the Stanley Cup is simply not true. You need a good goalie for sure, but you don't need a top 5 guy. Look at the last 15 years (the Salary Cap era). There have been some elite goalies win the Cup for sure (Vasilevskiy most recently has a pair of wins). Most of us can remember Matt Murray, Braden Holtby, Jordan Binnington, Cam Ward, JS Guigere, Chris Osgood, or any Chicago Blackhawks goalie winning a Stanley Cup. These are not HOFers. Most of these guys weren't all stars more than once or twice. I'm not knocking the careers of any of them - but they are hardly the kind of goalie that made other teams worry about how the heck they're going to score.

Edmonton would probably be 1st in the Pacific right now if they had Linus Ullmark on their team.


Don't get me wrong. Carey Price dragged an overachieving Habs to to the finals last year. I suspect he could make Edmonton's defense look good, and if he's healthy - I think he makes them a contender. I absolutely believe he could be a difference maker.

I also believe there's other goalies out there they could trade for, that would cost them a lot less to acquire, wouldn't cost so much against the cap, and would also make the team much more competitive.

If I'm the Oilers, while the goaltending positive does need a massive upgrade, I would have zero interest in Carey Price at an AAV of $10.5 million. If Montreal will eat $3m of his cap hit, and you can find another team to eat $3m of his cap hit - then I'd be very interested...... but I think a $4.5m AAV Carey Price would cost A LOT to get.

[mooneyes]

The Oilers need to add a few players like Hedman and Vasilevskiy without losing Draisailt, or any other good players!
They would also need to send McDavid home with a phantom injury and have him recover just in time for the play-offs to get around the cap.
If they can swing that, and get Evander Kane a personality transplant, and be able to sign him, than maybe they could lose in the finals. lol

[chakhae1]

The Oilers goaltending is horrendous at this and being able to land any available goalie would be an improvement at this point in time. I have not been following the Oilers all that closely but Mcdavid does not look happy during his press game conferences and management needs to do everything to keep him happy. That's all I know.

[RGM81]

The Oilers goaltending is horrendous at this and being able to land any available goalie would be an improvement at this point in time. I have not been following the Oilers all that closely but Mcdavid does not look happy during his press game conferences and management needs to do everything to keep him happy. That's all I know.

After the game on Saturday, you could almost feel through the TV how disgusted McDavid was.

My good friend Brian Wilde, who is on the Habs beat but also watches a lot of Oilers content, pointed out that Holland has said that he won't mortgage the team's future and truly believes that the answers are in the room. So any "big move" isn't happening in the immediate or possibly even short term. The Oilers are currently living the definition of insanity right now. I don't know what it will take to press Holland into action. Maybe he is, and like Marc Bergevin used to say, "Making trades is hard." But how he can be content with the status quo...I don't get that. He's a smart guy.

[30ranfordfan]

The Oilers need to add a few players like Hedman and Vasilevskiy without losing Draisailt, or any other good players!
They would also need to send McDavid home with a phantom injury and have him recover just in time for the play-offs to get around the cap.
If they can swing that, and get Evander Kane a personality transplant, and be able to sign him, than maybe they could lose in the finals. lol

lol.

Honestly, the goaltending is a mess - and just about any deal represents an upgrade. It is doable though. Koskinen + futures for a different goalie is a realistic trade, as the other team can let Koskinen walk at the end of the season. Will they do it? Who knows.

The Oilers are spending far too much and counting too much on Cody Ceici & Duncan Keith. Either of them for half their current price, as a 3rd pairing guy, would be okay (I guess?). Nurse has regressed, but you have to hope he can look more like last year's version of himself soon. Barrie is what he is. Aside from that, they're counting on rookies.

I don't see an actual upgrade coming to the blueline.

Kane would (clearly) improve the forward group... and despite having the best two players in the league.... forwards are a weakness again. No secondary scoring (though that wasn't an issue against Ottawa). I think that's about as big an improvement as you can hope for at this point (though it's potentially huge, while also potentially blowing up in their faces).

The Oilers goaltending is horrendous at this and being able to land any available goalie would be an improvement at this point in time. I have not been following the Oilers all that closely but Mcdavid does not look happy during his press game conferences and management needs to do everything to keep him happy. That's all I know.

Agree with both comments. I just don't think you have to blow up the small group of good players they have, to upgrade the goalies.

As for keeping McDavid happy: He basically got to be the GM last summer. Barrie (extended), Nurse (extended), Hyman (UFA signing) and Foegelle (trade) are four of his off-ice buddies. That was last summer's moves.... signing McDavid's friends.

After the game on Saturday, you could almost feel through the TV how disgusted McDavid was.

My good friend Brian Wilde, who is on the Habs beat but also watches a lot of Oilers content, pointed out that Holland has said that he won't mortgage the team's future and truly believes that the answers are in the room. So any "big move" isn't happening in the immediate or possibly even short term. The Oilers are currently living the definition of insanity right now. I don't know what it will take to press Holland into action. Maybe he is, and like Marc Bergevin used to say, "Making trades is hard." But how he can be content with the status quo...I don't get that. He's a smart guy.

That's what Holland has said, yes. Doesn't believe in firing a coach mid-season... won't mortgage the future. I've been saying for well over a year now: Anyone who will not be a key contributor before the 2024-25 season is expendable.... or at least they should be. Leon Draisaitl is one of the biggest bargains in the league, and there are three years left on his contract. If the Oilers are going to win a Cup (or multiple?) with this group - it has to be done in the next three years. 1st round picks in 2021 or 2022 are NOT going to help you with that..... but they can be used to bring in players that will, or rid you of contracts that are hurting your changes.

BTH, I don't understand why Holland is so worried about the future. This team should be in "win now" mode regardless, but if they miss the playoffs this season - he'll be looking for work (granted it's the Oilers, so maybe not?).


Making trades is hard, clearly us armchair GMs don't really know what's going on.... but how anyone believed that going into this year with the same goalies was a good idea, is beyond me. Why a 39 year old Mike Smith would get a two year contract extension (further compounding the goalie issue) is beyond me. Trading for an old, hasn't been great in a while, Duncan Keith (at a full cap hit) is beyond me.


Ken Holland ran the Red Wings with a lot of success. I can't say that he doesn't know hockey... clearly he does. His track record is not nearly as impressive as some make it out to be. He's made very few good moves since the Red Wings won a cup in 2008 - and if you look at his signings, trades, etc since then.... most of them have been either bad, or awful.

[mooneyes]

I think one thing is obvious. Drafting and developing some stud D-men is crucial for any organization to be successful. The last real star they had on D I can remember was Pronger?
Can't help but wonder what potential franchise D men they passed over while drafting all those forwards at #1, or even in first 2 rounds?
Isn't McDavid the only one left? Oh they still have RNH who is decent, but decent isn't what you need from a #1 overall pick.

[30ranfordfan]

I think one thing is obvious. Drafting and developing some stud D-men is crucial for any organization to be successful. The last real star they had on D I can remember was Pronger?
Can't help but wonder what potential franchise D men they passed over while drafting all those forwards at #1, or even in first 2 rounds?
Isn't McDavid the only one left? Oh they still have RNH who is decent, but decent isn't what you need from a #1 overall pick.

Since Pronger they've had guys like Souray & Ryan Whitney - both were AMAZING for a year.... got hurt... never the same. Justin Schultz was okay. Jeff Petry was run out of town too early. Oscar Klefbom has been very good for Edmonton, until he got hurt.

They've used high picks in recent years (Bouchard, Broberg) on dmen that look like they'll be really good eventually.

Pronger was the last true "do everything, in all situations, as often as you need him" kind of guy. Yes. Chris Pronger (IMO) is one of the greatest half-dozen (or so) players to have ever played defense in the NHL though. He's kind of a high bar, and one I don't think anyone should be held to. I'm 41 years old, and I can think of maybe one other guy that I saw in his prime (Lidstrom) that I thought was better (no, I'm not forgetting about any of those perennial all stars in the 80s, 90s, or 00s).

The Oilers defense, in all honesty, has not been as bad over the last decade as people have made it out to be (at least most of the time). I think their d-core has always taken more than its fair share of criticize, but mostly by people who don't watch the team. They've never had that stud Chris Pronger was, but they've had some good ones. Darnel Nurse is a good NHL dman Tyson Barrie lead all dmen in scoring last year (though he's certainly no Pronger). Adam Larsson was VERY good for the Oilers, and I think they're missing him a lot this season (Duncan Keith is nowhere near as good).


Since 2010.... the Oilers have picked #1 four times (Hall, RNH, Yakupov, McDavid). They've picked in the top 10 five other times (Nurse, Draisaitl, Puljujarvi, Bouchard, Broberg), So of those 9 really high picks.... three were defense. I don't think that's a bad ratio. Of there other 1st round picks (2010 or later) that were outside the top 10: Klefbom (19th, in 2011) is the only other dman.

I'm a firm believer in taking the best player available, regardless of position. If it creates a surplus, then trade from that surplus later.

Could the Oilers have drafted that stud dman. I guess?

Taylor Hall was traded for Adam Larsson. They picked him over Tyler Seguin & Erik Gudbranson (the 2 and 3 picks that year).

Larsson, who they later traded for, was the consensus best dman available in 2011, when they selected RNH. Maybe they would have been better off trading down, and selecting Dougie Hamilton? Not sure I would agree with that though. I think RNH was the right pick (especially when the other #1 pick, Hall, was not a C).

Yakupov in 2012 was the obvious bust.... and I would suggest the Oilers would be a better team today with Morgan Reilly on the roster - but if they were going to pass on Yak, they would have taken the consensus best dman available: Ryan Murray. I don't think the Oilers would be any better today if they'd made that pick.

Next three 1st rounders after that were Nurse, Draisaitl, McDavid. They did take a D with one, and there is no questioning the other two picks.


2016 and 2017, therefore, are the only two seasons when (in theory) taking a D might have been the better move, and there's a reasonable chance they'd be better today because of it.

Instead of Puljujarvi (4th, 2016), they could have taken Olli Juolevi (first D off the board that year). Sergachev and McAvoy and Chychrun were all on that board that year. Trading down and selecting one of them may have been a good move. Puljujarvi was considered a can't-miss prospect though. The fact that he fell to 4th (rather than Dubois) was a huge deal at the time.

In 2017, they took Yammoto 22nd. Maybe they should have been look for a Dman.... but I don' think Pierre-Oliver Joseph would be making the Oilers that much better right now either (he was the 23rd pick that year).



I do agree with you though.... it's something that teams need to do to win. Letang, Doughty, Keith, Hedman, etc: They were all home grown talent, and huge pieces of their respective wins.