Are the Oilers a top 5 contender next season with Jack Campbell?

[Rubi]

The Oilers blue line is definitely a weak point but Barrie and Ceci are decent NHL defensemen that would be on most NHL defenses. Unfortunately in many cases this site has become more about hyperbole and getting a reaction. Your post is an example of this type of borderline trolling.

Barrie's defensive play did improve somewhat under Woodcroft but honestly if he couldn't score the amount of points that he normally does he'd have a tough time making the roster on most NHL teams. He's really not that good of a defenseman.

 

[Soundwave]

I'm with you for the most part, but I would narrow it down and say they actually need a premier top pairing dman to really push the team into the top tier. Top 4 will help to a certain extent, but it won't lead to a cup.

From what I've seen of Campbell in the playoffs in the last couple years, it seems you can at least count on him not to lose a game on his own. That is good enough to seriously compete for the cup if they have that blue chip dman.

In that sense, I think there is a similarity between leafs and oilers. While I would take Toronto's defense in a heartbeat over Edmonton, they too are missing that premier top end Dman to really move that needle

I think they need a shut down defensive D who can play 20 minutes a night, they don't necessarily need a guy who's going to also score 50+ points from that position, they have enough offence overall and already have offensive PP QBs.

They should make a list of the top 15-20 shut down D in the league and pay a 1st + whatever to get which ever one of those players is the most reasonably priced at some point in season this year.

Even a guy like Nick Jensen, who has terrific defensive metrics, would be a solid add.

Toronto is not in the same boat as Edmonton playoffs wise until Matthews and Marner show they can take over and dominate playoff games IMO.

 

[HockeyVirus]

The Leafs might have a better D, but the gap up front when it comes to the playoffs is pretty huge the other way.

Draisaitl had 1 less point in this year's playoffs than Matthews has in six playoffs haha.

Your top players actually showing up makes a big difference.

Easy to put up points against teams like the Kings and Flames instead of Tampa. Leafs have faced the team who went to the finals pretty regularly while the Oilers have faced bottom of the barrel every year.

On topic of the thread, who knows. Campbell can be elite but he can be awful. Maybe they get lucky and he is elite at the right time. History suggests no though, considering he is over 30 and hasn't ever figured it out as a starter. He has 1 season as a true starter and in it he gave the Leafs James Reimer level goaltending. This is who the Oilers just signed to 5x5 and why the Leafs let him walk to sign other bargain bin goalies.

Love Campbell as a person. Fearful for what the Oilers will do to him. Awful defense over there in a comparable fishbowl to Toronto. This time though, they won't have management bending over backwards to keep his confidence up (including straight up sitting him for a few weeks to just work with their trainers) and refusing to ever say anything bad about him.

Leafs defense being bad shows people don't watch the games. Leafs had a top 10 defense last year, and Campbell let in every single goal that had any chance of going in for a stretch of 3 months. A rookie AHL goalie was getting starts over Campbell at times because he at least was consistent.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Not with that Defense. Or that forward depth honestly.


Not even close.

 

[Soundwave]

Barrie's defensive play did improve somewhat under Woodcroft but honestly if he couldn't score the amount of points that he normally does he'd have a tough time making the roster on most NHL teams. He's really not that good of a defenseman.

Dude led all NHL D in points scored his first season in Edmonton.

Second season in Edmonton he scored or setup two massive goals in their playoff run





These two goals were absolutely massive for both series' (nice defence on RNH by Kylington there on the 2nd goal btw). Dude has been a plus player in both regular seasons and playoffs for the Oilers, also, but lol it's law and decree that if anyone doesn't play lights out in Toronto they're not good. Gimme a break.

 

[Soundwave]

Not with that Defense. Or that forward depth honestly.


Not even close.

How much depth do the Oilers need upfront? They probably are the best offence in the NHL as is, over 3.8 GPG under Woodcroft in the regular season once he took over, that increased to a ridiculous 4+ GPG in the playoffs.

This team's top 6-7 forwards even for Colorado now without Burkavovsky and Kadri I don't think anyone wants a piece of in a wide open type of game. You're going to get yourself into a shit ton of trouble.

 

[Three On Zero]

The Leafs might have a better D, but the gap up front when it comes to the playoffs is pretty huge the other way.

Draisaitl had 1 less point in this year's playoffs than Matthews has in six playoffs haha.

Your top players actually showing up makes a big difference.

Draisaitls production was around 50% secondary assist to….. McDavid. That a huge luxury that Matthews doesn’t have

 

[JianYang]

I think they need a shut down defensive D who can play 20 minutes a night, they don't necessarily need a guy who's going to also score 50+ points from that position, they have enough offence overall and already have offensive PP QBs.

They should make a list of the top 15-20 shut down D in the league and pay a 1st + whatever to get which ever one of those players is the most reasonably priced at some point in season this year.

Even a guy like Nick Jensen, who has terrific defensive metrics, would be a solid add.

Toronto is not in the same boat as Edmonton playoffs wise until Matthews and Marner show they can take over and dominate playoff games IMO.

I'm a little hesitant to define the top end Dman with a point total. I can think of a dman right away who I wouldn't label as a championship quality #1 dman despite his point totals.

It's someone who can effectively play alot of minutes against the best players in the world and do the job better than most. Someone who can make clean breakouts like clockwork under stress. Someone who can play all situations, and carry a higher load when injuries inevitably take place.

When you have that guy, and the domino effect it takes on the existing dman who slide to the next chair, it would be such a massive game changer.

Of course, it's easier said than done, but that's the difference between just getting better, and becoming an elite year in year out contender for the top prize.

 

[Soundwave]

I'm a little hesitant to define the top end Dman with a point total. I can think of a dman right away who I wouldn't label as a championship quality #1 dman despite his point totals.

It's someone who can effectively play alot of minutes against the best players in the world and do the job better than most. Someone who can make clean breakouts like clockwork under stress. Someone who can play all situations, and carry a higher load when injuries inevitably take place.

When you have that guy, and the domino effect it takes on the existing dman who slide to the next chair, it would be such a massive game changer.

Of course, it's easier said than done, but that's the difference between just getting better, and becoming an elite year in year out contender for the top prize.

The Oilers can inch closer and closer to those Pens teams, especially the version that won a Cup without Letang in, they're not built all that differently especially if the Oilers upgrade again during the season, which they should. Haven't spent a single 1st round pick in the McDavid era ... time for that to change.

 

[Rubi]

Dude led all NHL D in points scored his first season in Edmonton.

Second season in Edmonton he scored or setup two massive goals in their playoff run





These two goals were absolutely massive for both series' (nice defence on RNH by Kylington there on the 2nd goal btw). Dude has been a plus player in both regular seasons and playoffs for the Oilers, also, but lol it's law and decree that if anyone doesn't play lights out in Toronto they're not good. Gimme a break.

No arguments here. He is an offensive talent but I wouldn't put him on the ice to defend if we were up by one goal with two minutes to go and the opposition was pressing hard to tie the score. He'd be my last choice as a defensenan in that situation.

 

[Soundwave]

No arguments here. He is an offensive talent but I wouldn't put him on the ice to defend if we were up by one goal with two minutes to go and the opposition was pressing hard to tie the score. He'd be my last choice as a defensenan in that situation.

I wouldn't put Kylington on the ice in that scenario either. It's almost like some D are better in different scenarios. That said Barrie also is really good at moving the puck out of his zone, the best defence quite often is to not be playing defence in the first place. Get the puck up and out to McDavid or Draisaitl.

Bottom line is he's been a net positive for the Oilers and a good overall addition.

 

[Rubi]

I wouldn't put Kylington on the ice in that scenario either. It's almost like some D are better in different scenarios.

I'd rather have Kylington out there in that situation than Barrie.

 

[Soundwave]

I'd rather have Kylington out there in that situation than Barrie.

I wouldn't. Look at that D he's playing on Nugent Hopkins in that critical sequence ... absolute dog shit. Barrie is not as bad as he's made out to be, he has more veteran savvy than that.

 

[JianYang]

The Oilers can inch closer and closer to those Pens teams, especially the version that won a Cup without Letang in, they're not built all that differently especially if the Oilers upgrade again during the season, which they should. Haven't spent a single 1st round pick in the McDavid era ... time for that to change.

The penguins and Hurricanes are the two most blatant examples of teams that won a cup without a that top end Dman in the last 20 plus years.

But they were also "one and done" type of situations, whereas I'm referring more to consistently being high end contenders.

The Pittsburgh spine that year was extremely rich in their 1-2 punch down the middle, and the oilers are one of the extremely rare teams in history that can boast an insane 1-2 punch of their own too, so thats a good point. But don't the oilers tend to play drai and Connor together?

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

How much depth do the Oilers need upfront? They probably are the best offence in the NHL as is, over 3.8 GPG under Woodcroft in the regular season once he took over, that increased to a ridiculous 4+ GPG in the playoffs.

This team's top 6-7 forwards even for Colorado now without Burkavovsky and Kadri I don't think anyone wants a piece of in a wide open type of game. You're going to get yourself into a shit ton of trouble.

I dont think you understand what Forward depth means....

They have two elite Centers that are the driving force of that offense. They have an absolutely awful bottom 6 group and even the Top 6 wingers are heavily propped up by the Two Elite centers.

It's the exact reason they got swept away like a joke by Colorado last year. The forwards are a two man team and if you can slow those two down, the rest of the lineup is easy pickings for teams with real depth(Like Colorado last year).

 

[Soundwave]

I dont think you understand what Forward depth means....

They have two elite Centers that are the driving force of that offense. They have an absolutely awful bottom 6 group and even the Top 6 wingers are heavily propped up by the Two Elite centers.

It's the exact reason they got swept away like a joke by Colorado last year. The forwards are a two man team and if you can slow those two down, the rest of the lineup is easy pickings for teams with real depth(Like Colorado last year).

Except Colorado doesn't have the same depth any more, and really no one can actually stop McDavid or Draisaitl.

If the Oilers add more depth to their forward core they're going to be scoring at what? A 1980s Gretzky era rate? Like it's going to be ridiculous if they score any more than they already do under Woodcroft.

And they're not a "2 man team", Hyman and Kane and RNH can play too, they have a powerhouse of a top 6/7, that's just the reality of the situation.

You give McDavid and Draisaitl even a little help and it's lights out. You give them more depth on top of that? That will be a nightmare for the rest of the league.

McLeod and Holloway are promising players though and Janmark has been a decent bottom 6 player so I think they can improve on the bottom 6 as well with time.

 

[John Mandalorian]

How much depth do the Oilers need upfront? They probably are the best offence in the NHL as is, over 3.8 GPG under Woodcroft in the regular season once he took over, that increased to a ridiculous 4+ GPG in the playoffs.

This team's top 6-7 forwards even for Colorado now without Burkavovsky and Kadri I don't think anyone wants a piece of in a wide open type of game. You're going to get yourself into a shit ton of trouble.

LOL

 

[Mav3rick07]

The best part about delusional Oilers fans (outside of them thinking the WCF was a very close series) is them thinking that Campbell is an upgrade on Smith/Koskinen. Holland paid double for a goalie that is, at best, a lateral move.

View attachment 583167

The Maple leafs had the worst goaltending of any playoff team. And Campbell was a huge part of that.

You guys told us the same thing about Hyman and look how that turned out.

 

[Rubi]

I wouldn't. Look at that D he's playing on Nugent Hopkins in that critical sequence ... absolute dog shit. Barrie is not as bad as he's made out to be, he has more veteran savvy than that.

Kylington was playing with cracked ribs so wasn't exactly at his best. Plus he was either playing with a badly damaged Tanev or an unfamiliar partner in Stone. Not saying he didn't shit the bed there but he's young enough to learn from the experience. Barrie is well.. Barrie. He's not going to change his style of defensive play significantly.

Edit: Kylington had a shoulder injury. It was Zadorov that had the cracked ribs.

 

[powerbomb]

They're not a top 5 contender next season with Wayne Gretzky

 

[Soundwave]

They're not a top 5 contender next season with Wayne Gretzky

Congrats on one of the 5 dumbest posts of the year.

 

[nammerus]

You guys told us the same thing about Hyman and look how that turned out.

Damn. Look at what happens when you put a decent top 6 forward next to the best player of this generation.

That’s exactly like the Campbell situation. But instead of playing front of a generational defence, he’s behind a middling group of dman. So basically an apples to apples comparison. Well played.

 

[Bank Shot]

Kylington was playing with cracked ribs so wasn't exactly at his best. Plus he was either playing with a badly damaged Tanev or an unfamiliar partner in Stone. Not saying he didn't shit the bed there but he's young enough to learn from the experience. Barrie is well.. Barrie. He's not going to change his style of defensive play significantly.

False. That was Zadorov.

Kylington apparently had a sore shoulder.

Kylington isn't that young either. He's 25. Just because it took him forever to become an NHLer doesn't mean he automatically has a bunch of upside. If he improves at the same rate he has been, he's likely close to his peak.

 

[Mav3rick07]

Damn. Look at what happens when you put a decent top 6 forward next to the best player of this generation.

That’s exactly like the Campbell situation. But instead of playing front of a generational defence, he’s behind a middling group of dman. So basically an apples to apples comparison. Well played.

Holey moly, you Leafs fans are just filled with excuses to fit your narrative eh ?

I'm just saying that your fans judgement has been flawed in the past so I take everything that you guys say with a grain of salt.

 

[behemolari]

Nope.