This roster is quite the puzzle, and who knows what we’re going to get but we are trusting a coaching staff that frequently doesn’t get things right to solve it:
Got McDrai, who we don’t want to play together since they’ll wear down with all the ice time.
Top six wingers Nuge and Hyman are way off their expected level
Who knows what Kane can contribute when he can play, and when he can play is iffy.
Perry and Skinner can score goals but Perry seems on a heater and who knows how Skinner can get out of the doghouse and actually play
Podzolkin and Arvidsson are being cast as top 6 wingers but sure aren’t playing like ones.
Henrique and Janmark have been awful, hopeful for some bounce back to last season’s playoff form. Brown has been little better, but no great shakes.
Frederik and Jones are the new guys, and should really help, especially when Frederik is back.
Ryan and Philp aren’t good enough to play 4C but we have to hope one of them can handle it in the playoffs.
Kapanen should be back on the waiver wire.
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Ekholm is beaten up and sick, and a long way off his expected level of play
Bouchard can be the best defenseman in the world past the centerline and the worst one behind the centerline
Nurse has bounced back. Nice to see, hope he can keep it up, he’s been pretty much our only reliable top 4 D lately.
Walman was added. Good offensive guy but we’ll see what we get at the back
Kulak has been a bit off, but good all year, a bad idea to put him at 2RD where he should be only on spot duty against specific opposition
Emberson has been OK, but not great, not sure what we’re going to get from him and if we should bring him back hitting RFA this summer
Klingberg - the experiment isn’t working, sit him down until next camp, then give him one more shot
Stetcher has been decent but coaching and GM would try anyone over him for some dumb reason.
Brown shouldn’t be back, keep buried in the AHL.
Dermott was awful here, and not good enough to crack a couple of rosters, close to Bouchard bad in our zone, no idea why we wasted a waiver claim on him other than Knoblauch playing favorites which is a bad way to run a hockey team.
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Skinner is flawed and streaky as hell, hope he can go on a good streak, and that the Oilers skaters figure out they have to defend to get the best from him
Pickard has not been as good as last year, has fallen off, not a 1B candidate, I wonder if Rodrigue takes his role next year.
How an NHL GM would be OK with a cup run with such a fragmented and broken roster is beyond me.
