Post-Game Talk: Can we leave Stu in a California Closet?

[AlbOilFAN]

Listening to Gregor defend Skinner, let me tell you brother,it’s comedy….

 

[Heavy Dee]

Yep Gregor on full blown, don't blame the goalie mode.

 

[M Ace]

Speaking of untouchable dead weight, why is Bob Nicholson still there and what say does he have in the organization? Shouldn't he have been made to resign after the Hockey Canada scandal?

Is that you Kevin Lowe?

 

[MessierThanThou]

Is that you Kevin Lowe?

What? Are you actually simping for Bob Nicholson? Is that a thing? What does Kevin Lowe have to do with this? He sucked too.

 

[McFlyingV]

Yep Gregor on full blown, don't blame the goalie mode.

He also thinks LA gave up a 7th round pick for Kuzmenko because he's so horrible at fact checking the things he says.

 

[Duke74]

An Oilers limerick:

Oilers goalie Stu Skinner
is too fat and needs to be thinner
He moves in his crease
As if slipping on grease
If you like him you could not be dimmer

Oilers' poetry is great! Here's some more:

If only Stuart Skinner could stop a puck

The Oilers would have much better luck

But Evan Bouchard and Darnell Nurse

Can they play defense any worse?

Bouchard passes the puck to the other team

And Nurse, sometimes he tries to look mean

Nugent-Hopkins just goes through the motions

And most forwards can’t put the puck in an ocean

Victor Arvidsson falls on his ass again

While Podkolzin fires the puck in row ten

Like Atlas, McDavid puts the team on his back

But Draisaitl gets pissy and slashes a nutsack

The referee’s hand shoots in the air

Another penalty – is it really fair?

Knoblauch looks overwhelmed and confused

After the game, players make more excuses

Generic platitudes about the need to dig in

This is the playoffs – you have to win

Ten years of McDavid and nothing to show

Another year that management blows

An owner with his multibillion-dollar toy

Living the dreams he had as a boy

All over the internet, passionate fans rage on

While the Oilers’ cup dreams are all but gone

 

[UHHHH SON]

Gregor just said that prime Hasek wouldn’t have won us the game.

He is a complete jackass. Why did I turn that on?

 

[Stoneman89]

Oilers' poetry is great! Here's some more:

If only Stuart Skinner could stop a puck

The Oilers would have much better luck

But Evan Bouchard and Darnell Nurse

Can they play defense any worse?

Bouchard passes the puck to the other team

And Nurse, sometimes he tries to look mean

Nugent-Hopkins just goes through the motions

And most forwards can’t put the puck in an ocean

Victor Arvidsson falls on his ass again

While Podkolzin fires the puck in row ten

Like Atlas, McDavid puts the team on his back

But Draisaitl gets pissy and slashes a nutsack

The referee’s hand shoots in the air

Another penalty – is it really fair?

Knoblauch looks overwhelmed and confused

After the game, players make more excuses

Generic platitudes about the need to dig in

This is the playoffs – you have to win

Ten years of McDavid and nothing to show

Another year that management blows

An owner with his multibillion-dollar toy

Living the dreams he had as a boy

All over the internet, passionate fans rage on

While the Oilers’ cup dreams are all but gone

Here's one as well, although not quite as long.



It's not bad luck

That the Oilers f***ing suck

 

[bucks_oil]

Being a net positive should probably be the bare minimum when you have prime McDrai and $70M to spend.

Unfortunately Holland spent all that money on guys with about three year shelf lives.

I agree the expectation should always be net positive, no matter who's on the roster when you start... you need to improve it, that's the job.

But it's a bit unfair to say he had $70M to work with... he certainly didn't have a lot of control over the cap available to him at first. We could go back and look, but if I recall each of his first 3 off seasons year he had about 5-8M available to turnover 5-6 new bodies. You aren't making major hay with that.

You would be fair that when he finally did have money, he misspent on Kassian (minor misfire), Keith (romantic fantasy, but he did help our team leadership wise), Nurse (woof), and Campbell (double desperation woof). However he also got 3+ seasons above contract value out of RNH, Hyman and two out of Kane.

I'm not arguing "Holland was good". I'm arguing "Holland inherited a worse situation than what he left behind, he improved the roster tremendously from what crap Chia left him". That's it... it's a pretty straightforward point. If you disagree, I guess you'd have to convince me that Chia was good for the franchise and left Holland in a positive situation that he wasted away? Or that the roster Holland inherited was better than the roster he brought to game 7 last year? I know that's what you are saying.

 

[Kerberos]

Gregor just said that prime Hasek wouldn’t have won us the game.

He is a complete jackass. Why did I turn that on?

The media covering the Oilers are as incompetent and unqualified for their jobs as the people running this team are.

 

[bucks_oil]

Chiarelli was worse and the wounds from his tenure are still here, but that doesn't make Holland a net positive. Chiarelli is one of the worst GMs in league history, so you can still be better than him and still be terrible.

The burdensome Nurse and Campbell contracts cost us two Cups, he fumbled Broberg and Holloway, and gave away a guy we could really use right now in Michael Kesselring, in favor of Vinny (who couldn't keep up in the playoffs and who Pittsburgh didn't even want to keep). Overpaid for a washed Mike Green. Thought Cody Ceci was a top-pair D-man and that a washed Duncan Keith (at over 5 million) was the answer to our blueline. Snagging Ekholm was the only good move he made and it sounds like it wasn't even his idea.

You know what Chiarelli, Holland, and Bowman all have in common? They fumbled the fortunes of their previous franchises and were on the way down before the Oilers rescued them from the dumpster. Why does this team repeat the same mistakes and expect different results?

I just made the straightforward point. He improved the roster from what he inherited in 2019, to the one that made it to game 7... like a lot. Have a look, it's pretty striking:

Edmonton Oilers 2018-19 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com

The roster, scoring and goaltender statistics for the 2018-19 Edmonton Oilers playing in the NHL.

www.hockeydb.com

Edmonton Oilers 2023-24 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com

The roster, scoring and goaltender statistics for the 2023-24 Edmonton Oilers playing in the NHL.

www.hockeydb.com

On that basis he was at least a net positive.

That's not the same as saying he was a great GM, or that he couldn't have done much better if he hadn't made blunders (your 2nd paragraph is a good list).

However I don't think it's fair to say Broberg and Holloway are his fault... he was gone... and he put them in the same situation (which is to lose his leverage as GM, until they day they have leverage as RFA) that every GM does with RFA. The issue there is that Jackson was asleep at the switch, Bowman was transitioning in, and Jackson spent the money on Arvidsson and J Skinner. You can't blame Holland for that.

I think you could also argue that RNH, Kane, Hyman were also positive moves. I mean we got 100 point season out of one, 50 goals out of another and and two really great years of playoff production out of the other (then injuries took over).

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Gregor just said that prime Hasek wouldn’t have won us the game.

He is a complete jackass. Why did I turn that on?

did the Oilers get a single chance like Byfield got? or both of Kempe's goals?
goaltending was bad, the defense was worse

 

[MessierThanThou]

I think you could also argue that RNH, Kane, Hyman were also positive moves. I mean we got 100 point season out of one, 50 goals out of another and and two really great years of playoff production out of the other (then injuries took over).

But you have to wonder how many of those moves were "no-brainers" in that those are decisions any GM smarter than a Chairelli would make. Plenty of fans were calling for us to sign Kane and Hyman. They filled obvious, pressing needs and everyone knew they were available.

 

[McDNicks17]

I agree the expectation should always be net positive, no matter who's on the roster when you start... you need to improve it, that's the job.

But it's a bit unfair to say he had $70M to work with... he certainly didn't have a lot of control over the cap available to him at first. We could go back and look, but if I recall each of his first 3 off seasons year he had about 5-8M available to turnover 5-6 new bodies. You aren't making major hay with that.

You would be fair that when he finally did have money, he misspent on Kassian (minor misfire), Keith (romantic fantasy, but he did help our team leadership wise), Nurse (woof), and Campbell (double desperation woof). However he also got 3+ seasons above contract value out of RNH, Hyman and two out of Kane.

I'm not arguing "Holland was good". I'm arguing "Holland inherited a worse situation than what he left behind, he improved the roster tremendously from what crap Chia left him". That's it... it's a pretty straightforward point. If you disagree, I guess you'd have to convince me that Chia was good for the franchise and left Holland in a positive situation that he wasted away? Or that the roster Holland inherited was better than the roster he brought to game 7 last year? I know that's what you are saying.

I think by year 3 the only Chia contracts on the roster were McDrai and Bouchard.

Holland iced a better roster than Chia(mainly because he spent a bazillion dollars in UFA), but like I said, it was on assets with short shelf lives. Basically every improvement Holland brought in is now an issue we would love to be free of. Neither GM did the next GM any favours.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Speaking of untouchable dead weight, why is Bob Nicholson still there and what say does he have in the organization? Shouldn't he have been made to resign after the Hockey Canada scandal?

Is there anyone in this org that doesn't suck? Like if you just cleaned out the entire front office would any of them get hired anywhere else?

 

[MessierThanThou]

Is there anyone in this org that doesn't suck? Like if you just cleaned out the entire front office would any of them get hired anywhere else?

There was someone in the org who didn't suck, but now he's the GM of Ottawa.

 

[Da McBomb]

Gregor just said that prime Hasek wouldn’t have won us the game.

He is a complete jackass. Why did I turn that on?

Hasek and other true #1 goalies often make saves that they're not supposed to... even when the team's defensive coverage breaks down.... saves that make you drop your jaw. Have we even seen Skinner make ONE of those saves this series? And I'm not even referring to some of the easy goals Skinner lets in that most other goalies can anticipate and athletically make. It was 3-2 in the 3rd period last night... a very winnable game still despite some of the lousy D.

 

[9GWG9]

Judging from ticket prices going down some fans have taken a different approach.

Any club with McDrai on it are always dangerous. See what happens. But I sure wouldn't be spending hundreds on tickets myself.

I think if Skinner starts in game 3 we have more than fans to worry about. Would be like the real wrong message to McD and Drai particularly who have expressed their views.

Getting more Stewed Skinner would be damaging to morale of all.

Tell me about it. I am going to shoot for tickets tomorrow and don't even want to show up.....Like Skinflint and Bouchtard!

I don't think the team will be happy if he's in net either. If so they will fold like a shirt in Skinners California closet.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

This team has more problems than just goaltending.

I didn’t say they didn’t but goaltending is the biggest one.

 

[MessierThanThou]

This team has more problems than just goaltending.

Of course you would be the one to say that after these last two games. Yeah...we know. We all know. But unlike you, most of us can acknowledge the patently obvious fact that goaltending is the biggest, most persistent problem we have now had for three consecutive postseasons. You know how I know that? Because even when we had Ekholm and a world-beater PK Stu was still a massive liability and almost lost us an entire series on his own while being outplayed by literal AHL goalies. Because in 2023 he finished 26th out of 28 goalies in GSAx, and DID lose us a series on his own. He's been bad, is bad, and will continue to be bad, regardless of other problems that emerge.

 

[Cloned]

It’s pretty obvious that the reason why no one can actually score is because they practice against Skinner. Imagine every mid shot you take going in and wondering why that doesn’t work in a real game against a real goalie.

 

[Oilslick941611]

Of course you would be the one to say that. Yeah...we know. We all know. But unlike you, most of us can acknowledge the patently obvious fact that goaltending is the biggest, most persistent problem we have now had for three consecutive postseasons. You know how I know that? Because even when we had Ekholm and a world-beater PK Stu was still a massive liability and almost lost us an entire series on his own while being outplayed by literal AHL goalies. Because in 2023 he finished 26th out of 28 goalies in GSAx, and DID lose us a series on his own. He's been bad, is bad, and will continue to be bad, regardless of other problems that emerge.

Unlike me? All you guys crow about is goaltending. The goaltending suckss. But the biggest issues in the skaters being out of position and giving LA everything without earning it.

 

[MessierThanThou]

Unlike me? All you guys crow about is goaltending. The goaltending suckss. But the biggest issues in the skaters being out of position and giving LA everything without earning it.

Because the same goaltender still sucked when the defense didn't, postseason after postseason after postseason, and we're sick of listening to you deflect blame and come up with every excuse in the book to excuse it, when the eye test clearly matches the numbers for everyone who isn't bereft of critical thought.

 

[frag2]

Yep Gregor on full blown, don't blame the goalie mode.

Entire Oilers media sphere is fluffing Skinner

It’s like Oilers upfront are expected to be perfect but god forbid f***ing fat ass closet man has to make a save.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

Unlike me? All you guys crow about is goaltending. The goaltending suckss. But the biggest issues in the skaters being out of position and giving LA everything without earning it.

That’s just flat out made up. Bouchard is getting shredded. So is Nuge, Walman, the special teams…

Goaltending has been the biggest and most consistent issue all season.