Oilers hype: Is HF buying in on a 2024 run?

[Czechboy]

What do you mean by "Taking away their powerplay" ? Do you mean just making it forbidden for McDrai to play on it ? Or you mean just based off their 5v5 game (i.e. powerplays don't exist at all) ?

If it's the latter, putting aside the fact that removing powerplays from the game would completely change how the game is played as a whole, they'd still likely (based off goal differentials) make the playoffs based off strictly their 5v5 play for the past 3 seasons. By a hair, for sure.

If it's the former, do you get to take away the 2 best players off of the powerplay of any opponents they face ? Otherwise, it's quite unfair.

This reminds me of Nagano when the Czechs won Gold and Canadian posters were saying it wasn't fair because we had Hasek (Canada had 2 HOF goalies on that roster).lol

You're allowed to have elite players doing elite things in hockey. It's actually encouraged! A smart coach would play to those strengths.

So yes, if you takeaway McDrai and PP then we really suck.haha

 

[tucker3434]

Did they make a big mistake not getting someone like Erik Karlsson? A chance like that won't come again and they blew it.

Nah. The need to work on their weaknesses and not burn assets to strengthen what they’re already good at. Ekholm was a step in they right direction.

 

[Edgelord]

We are very much built like the Leafs were a few years ago. Glorious forwards and huge holes. It didn't work for them and it isn't working for us. Regular season world beaters. Although, not right now for us.lol

my gut feeling is all the offseason hype got into their heads a bit and they thought they were just going to offensively steam roll teams and they forgot about team defense.
I have seen what a lottery roster can do when they get a full buy in(Habs going to the finals) so if a team with the horses the Oil have get a full buy in then they return to the mix of 3 or 4 true contenders

 

[sennysensen]

I would never write off a good team after 2 games. That being said, I can't see Campbell or Skinner ever winning the cup. Skinner was outplayed badly by Adin Hill last season.

Is there a modern-day Duane Roloson available from a team that will miss the playoffs?

Fleury is probably washed, so not him. Gibson has been bad for about 5 years.

If NYI don't look like a contender in a couple months, what about Varlamov?

Maybe Boston will trade one of their 2 good goalies?

Jake Allen is average at best, but he's better than Skinbell.

Carter Hart? High cost as he's young and highly thought of.

LA, Seattle, Detroit, Buffalo, and New Jersey might also be looking to upgrade in goal.

 

[MCR74]

Did they make a big mistake not getting someone like Erik Karlsson? A chance like that won't come again and they blew it.

Yes. The chance to acquire a mega expensive D who bleeds goals won't come again. Edmonton dodged a bullet.

 

[guzzy]

Did they make a big mistake not getting someone like Erik Karlsson? A chance like that won't come again and they blew it.

The Oilers dodged a bullet with Karlsson, and I say that as a Flames fan who wanted them to get Karlsson. It would have strapped them cap wise for years.

Ekholm was 100% the player they needed. They still have holes to fill on the backend but Ekholm helps out more than Karlsson would have. If they got Karlsson, they would literally have no defensive dmen, pure offence. It would be great hockey to watch because it would be high scoring games every night

 

[TruKnyte]

What do you mean by "Taking away their powerplay" ? Do you mean just making it forbidden for McDrai to play on it ? Or you mean just based off their 5v5 game (i.e. powerplays don't exist at all) ?

If it's the latter, putting aside the fact that removing powerplays from the game would completely change how the game is played as a whole, they'd still likely (based off goal differentials) make the playoffs based off strictly their 5v5 play for the past 3 seasons. By a hair, for sure.

If it's the former, do you get to take away the 2 best players off of the powerplay of any opponents they face ? Otherwise, it's quite unfair.

Not the OP, but they could be referring to how in the playoffs PP opportunities generally decrease relative to the regular season, making 5 on 5 goals even more important.

 

[Oneiro]

Look at this roster and then every cup winning team.

They are not even close in terms of makeup. The two stars can’t paper over that.

 

[Heldig]

There are a bunch of bubble teams that are not going to deal a goalie unless they are clearly out of the race by the TDL.
Waiting until then to see if a team like Nash moves Saros, but that also requires Askarov being NHL ready and actually showing it at the NHL level first. As they have no reason to move Saros until they have a better read on Askarov.

The bad teams are:
Ana - Gibson
SJ - I don't even know
AZ - The Czech goalie V?
Chi - I don't even know
Phi - Carter
Mon - Allen

I would not go so far as to call Arizona a bad team. They likely are not a wildcard team yet but are trending the right way.

The D core needs work still. Trading a 1B goalie is probably not in the cards right now.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Can anyone recall a top team with so many holes that refuses to trade its first round picks to plug holes? I mean the window is McDrais prime and Holland is still hoarding draft picks. Pittsburgh went all in every year for Crosby and Malkin.

 

[Muffin]

Their goaltending is just their scapegoat. They gave up a 2 on 0 and it’s still the goalie’s fault.

They’re just not good defensively and it’s not just their defenseman. Their forwards don’t buy into the defensive side of the puck and that starts with McDavid and Draisaitl.

 

[HockeyVirus]

Oilers should be using draft picks as currency to go out and trade for and G. Ship out bad contracts as part of the deal so you’ve got cap space. They have to be in win it now mode.

One thing I don't get is the unwillingness to trade draft picks. When is the last impact NHLer the Oilers drafted? Its your win now 2 year window, they should be all in.

 

[kranuck]

Part of it's on McDavid. Great player. Poor leader. Zero personality. He doesn't inspire his teammates. Crosby was able to overcome his issues and mature into a great leader. It's possible mcdavid could do the same, but he hasn't yet.

Disagree, he pulls his weight.

 

[jackjohnson]

The Oilers definitely have a shot at winning the Cup either this season or next season. (After that, contracts leave it up in the air and age of some players starts to become a factor.) "A shot" doesn't mean that they're the favorite, but it means they have about as good a chance as anybody.

Absolutely key to this chance, however, is the health of Mattias Eckholm. In the small number of games he played last season, Eckholm was the Oilers' best defenceman since Chris Pronger 17 years ago. Forget salaries---Eckholm is undoubtedly the Oilers' top blueliner. He was so good that, if Nurse and Drai hadn't been hobbled (as usual) in the playoffs, the Oilers might have got past Vegas and might very well have won the Cup last spring.

Stuart Skinner was great last year and will be better this year. He's a good enough goalie to win a Cup with already. The forwards are great and can score. No problems there.

The Oilers' Achilles Heel, as we all already know, is the defence core. With a healthy Eckholm and a small step-up from Deharnais and/or Broberg, their defence suddenly becomes about average. No better than average at best, but maybe average is good enough to win it all if things fall into place.

For now, we wait and see if they can beat Vancouver in the regular season....

So you are saying with Drai and Nurse at 100% they would have won a cup last year? Knowing full well that all teams probably have players in nagging injuries once they get to conference finals? If those are the excuses then I won't see Oilers ever winning a cup since all of their roster needs to be healthy to win which is not possible. Especially when they play McDavid and Drai for 40 minutes every regular season game to the point where their gas tanks are close to empty in playoffs.

 

[jackjohnson]

It would be a damn shame if the Oilers end up winning a cup. Theirs will be a testimony that says that even if you draft poorly, develop talent poorly, and issue bad player contracts, you can still win a cup if you have a McDavid fall into your lap.

Don't worry, they will never win with their goalie and D being what it is now. You need to be able to play defense in cup finals and McD will wear out soon before getting into that stage when he keeps playing 40 minutes per game.

 

[kranuck]

It’s called Team defence, and it starts with the leaders who are on the ice for half the game…
A little back checking would go a long way. Maybe they had an excuse when they truly had no depth and were the only ones who could create offense, but they’ve got some now so really no excuses. McDrai would just prefer to pad their stats. It’s a loser mentality that will rub off on the rest of the team.

McDavid blowing the zone early to maximize his speed isn’t a loser attitude.

Everyone else deciding to go with him and giving up a f***ing 2 on 0 isn’t on McDavid, it’s on the coach who won’t fix the system and the guys who can’t make a good read and keep in position to cover for the aggressive forwards.

I would not go so far as to call Arizona a bad team. They likely are not a wildcard team yet but are trending the right way.

The D core needs work still. Trading a 1B goalie is probably not in the cards right now.

I feel like every year we hear about how Arizona finally has their shit together and every year they fail then find a new way to embarrass themselves of ice.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

1st goal - point shot, tipped. No chance for Skinner, Broberg doing f*** all.

2nd goal - shot from the point, deflected shot. Wingers too low, Kulak and Broberg are there, but didn't do anything. Not tying anyone up. Thats on Kulak.

3rd goal - brutal shot, completely misses the net by someone. 2 on 0. Whomever shot the puck that misses the net that poorly is an idiot

4th goal - this one was weakish. It's not a terrible goal, but it's one you want to see the goalie save.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

1st goal - point shot, tipped. No chance for Skinner, Broberg doing f*** all.

2nd goal - shot from the point, deflected shot. Wingers too low, Kulak and Broberg are there, but didn't do anything. Not tying anyone up. Thats on Kulak.

3rd goal - brutal shot, completely misses the net by someone. 2 on 0. Whomever shot the puck that misses the net that poorly is an idiot

4th goal - this one was weakish. It's not a terrible goal, but it's one you want to see the goalie save.

Agreed. Three of the four were on the D and forwards. Skinner should have stopped the fourth.

 

[dubey]

Losing to a bottom feeder like Vancouver should be the last straw

Edmonton needs to make a move or McDavid is leaving

 

[devo09]

The Oil are just making sure they don’t peak too early

 

[Czechboy]

Can anyone recall a top team with so many holes that refuses to trade its first round picks to plug holes? I mean the window is McDrais prime and Holland is still hoarding draft picks. Pittsburgh went all in every year for Crosby and Malkin.

How did we get Ekholm?

 

[Heldig]

I feel like every year we hear about how Arizona finally has their shit together and every year they fail then find a new way to embarrass themselves of ice.

Really? Every year? My impression most years are the Coyotes are the butt of most jokes and fans of other teams just assume they will be bad both on and off ice.

 

[Czechboy]

One thing I don't get is the unwillingness to trade draft picks. When is the last impact NHLer the Oilers drafted? Its your win now 2 year window, they should be all in.

Oil fans get mad at me for this but we are dogshit at drafting.

1. we lost JP and Yam for nothing (2 first rounders)
2. Broberg has yet to arrive
3. Neither has Holloway
4. We have almost no one on the roster not drafted in round 1 - zero depth from our Draft. We have the awesome McLeod. Skinner in net (but most goalies don't go in round 1) and Desharnais on the fringe of our D. That's it. 1 guy in our F and D not drafted in round 1 by us last night.


Note: Still hoping for Broberg and Holloway to improve as they are now due.

Bouch was our last impactful drafted player to answer your question (2018). Too early to tell on Xavier B as he does look to be good one day.

 

[StreetHawk]

Oil fans get mad at me for this but we are dogshit at drafting.

1. we lost JP and Yam for nothing (2 first rounders)
2. Broberg has yet to arrive
3. Neither has Holloway
4. We have almost no one on the roster not drafted in round 1 - zero depth from our Draft. We have the awesome McLeod. Skinner in net (but most goalies don't go in round 1) and Desharnais on the fringe of our D. That's it. 1 guy in our F and D not drafted in round 1 by us last night.


Note: Still hoping for Broberg and Holloway to improve as they are now due.

Bouch was our last impactful drafted player to answer your question (2018). Too early to tell on Xavier B as he does look to be good one day.

Edm has to be primarily a draft and develop market. On almost every players ntc list. Are they getting any discounts on middle of the pack or better free agents on the open market? Not really.

That has to be where the owner and team pour their resources into and spend to hire the best people they can. Drai and McDavid were drafted 8 and 9 years ago.

 

[Madap]

McDavid blowing the zone early to maximize his speed isn’t a loser attitude.

Everyone else deciding to go with him and giving up a f***ing 2 on 0 isn’t on McDavid, it’s on the coach who won’t fix the system and the guys who can’t make a good read and keep in position to cover for the aggressive forwards.


I feel like every year we hear about how Arizona finally has their shit together and every year they fail then find a new way to embarrass themselves of ice.

How many coaches has Edmonton cycled through? At some point it’s not on the coaching. The players know McDavid wants to maximize his stats and they do what they can to help that.

And hey, I get it. McDavid and Draisaitl are fantastic offensive talents and they want to maximize that. I’m just saying it hasn’t worked so far, so I don’t see how it could hurt for them to at least give it a shot to play more defensively. No doubt they would both be very capable if they tried.