Post-Game Talk: Oilers win in Minnesota, go find an Ark and get in it before the fire and brimstone start raining down

[Drivesaitl]

Kapanen has 3 points in 9 games since joining the Oilers vs. 5 points in 16 games for Arvidsson. It's not like Kapanen is forcing anyones hand to stay in the top 6. I still think he and Draisaitl were showing quite a bit of chemistry right before he got hurt. Those 5 points did come in his last 9 games after going pointless in the first 7.

Kapanen has also hit the post twice, even from range and has had several howitzer shots. The big difference is Kap is healthy, stronger on puck, and for instance not falling down a lot. Kapanen is younger, looks stronger, and is cheaper.

I wish we could move the Arvid contract but nobody would bite on that one. Obviously if its a toss which one is better you take the one that cost 25% of the other. Maybe Calgary wants Arvid.

The other thing in your comparison is that Arvid is unlikely to ever be in lineup full seasons anymore. There is no value in the player being out of the lineup a lot. Sure he's only been on the ice 16 games. He's been here all year. Again its one of the reasons I wouldn't have arvid and certainly not at 4M. Take the healthy player anytime. Playing 16, missing 14 games, and only having 5pts with constant topsix play, that ain't good.

Finally. just for the sake of it the Oilers are paying Arvid almost 1M/G so far. (assuming he'll be back by halfway point. ) They're paying Kapanen less than 1M for the whole season. Kap has 2 goals for us already in around 100K of pay and has had the much more difficult role of stepping in midseason and doing it seamlessly.

 

[CrazyJoeDavola]

Also kinda funny how the "teh Oilers are a SLOW team now!" crowd has magically gone dead silent on that.

"Slow" team that also somehow gets multiple odd man rushes almost every game.

Yeah. It's moreso the fact that our breakout has completely transformed and we are back to supporting, utilizing short touch passes under pressure, and it's causing us to transition so much better than we have all year.

Tbh, I think we're still slow, but with an amazing breakout under pressure, even slow teams can look much faster.

The only rim arounds I saw were done purposely as the wild overloaded one side and we knew a fwd was waiting for the puck on the other side with time and space. No panic kris russell rims.

Really liking how the d-pairs are looking. Hell, we might just need to look for a third/second pairing calibre LD to play alongside Emby.

 

[TheNumber4]

The dumbest thread is the mcDAVId FInALLy ReGREssING by far.
Remind me again why I even bothered to check the mains. Bunch of morons in that area.

Haha yeh saw that one earlier, had to throw my 2 cents in.

Like all Oilers hater threads though, they all end up embarassing to the haters. Always fun to revisit and quote some clown takes.

I think the “Oilers are old” thread started with a Flames fan going off on how Draisaitl will leave on Page 1 LOL.

 

[Soundwave]

Yeah. It's moreso the fact that our breakout has completely transformed and we are back to supporting, utilizing short touch passes under pressure, and it's causing us to transition so much better than we have all year.

Tbh, I think we're still slow, but with an amazing breakout under pressure, even slow teams can look much faster.

Eh I don't really buy that either. We play more or less with a similar pace as last year under Knob.

A bit slower than under Woody, but that was just pure run n' gun and often times a lot of stupidity with his system.

 

[McTonyBrar]

Kapanen has 3 points in 9 games since joining the Oilers vs. 5 points in 16 games for Arvidsson. It's not like Kapanen is forcing anyones hand to stay in the top 6. I still think he and Draisaitl were showing quite a bit of chemistry right before he got hurt. Those 5 points did come in his last 9 games after going pointless in the first 7.

Give Arvidsson a chance with Leon and Podkolzin. I do like Kapanen on that line but he can also play bottom six because he has a scoring touch, is defensive and has speed

 

[Soundwave]

Oh totally. Hard to evaluate Arvidsson anyways because all the forwards were not producing at the time.

It's ridiculous to judge someone solely on a metric from that time period, Hyman had the same number of goals as Arvidsson at that point too and Nuge fewer.

 

[McAsuno]

Haha yeh saw that one earlier, had to throw my 2 cents in.

Like all Oilers hater threads though, they all end up embarassing to the haters. Always fun to revisit and quote some clown takes.

I think the “Oilers are old” thread started with a Flames fan going off on how Draisaitl will leave on Page 1 LOL.

Yeah but but but say anything positive = gloating. Not like that thread wasn't filled with the usual yappers that trash the Oilers any chance they get. Mains can SMD.

 

[TheNumber4]

It's ridiculous to judge someone solely on a metric from that time period, Hyman had the same number of goals as Arvidsson at that point too and Nuge fewer.

Didn’t you say Arvid and Skinner were big wastes of cap space?

 

[guymez]

Kane coming back will be huge in that area. He brings a violent swagger with him. When he starts bringing the heat I find the team tends to follow.

Agreed.
It might take some time for Kane to get up to speed though.

 

[Soundwave]

Didn’t you say Arvid and Skinner were big wastes of cap space?

I said if you're not going to click with them on the 2nd line and put them on the bottom 6, then yeah it probably is a waste of cap.

Leon needs to get it going with one of them. That's not the same as "OMG!!! You Hate Leon!!!", like I just insulted a 14 year old girl's favorite boy band.

I like him fine, but in that aspect yeah we need him to click with at least one of these guys because we've made a massive cap commitment to these players. You just can't have a revolving door 2nd line where you have 5/4/3 million dollar players pushed onto your 3rd line because none of them have chemistry with the 2nd line center.

Get that shit figured out. I don't even care how. If you have to staple one of those three to the PP unit 1 so they can feel better about their game, then do that. It's better than the alternative.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Yeah. It's moreso the fact that our breakout has completely transformed and we are back to supporting, utilizing short touch passes under pressure, and it's causing us to transition so much better than we have all year.

Tbh, I think we're still slow, but with an amazing breakout under pressure, even slow teams can look much faster.

The only rim arounds I saw were done purposely as the wild overloaded one side and we knew a fwd was waiting for the puck on the other side with time and space. No panic kris russell rims.

Really liking how the d-pairs are looking. Hell, we might just need to look for a third/second pairing calibre LD to play alongside Emby.

This is what it is. The team is playing phenomenal positional play and moving puck well. Our passing is crisp and fast now. We're moving the puck fast. We're also standing up better on D, forcing plays and turnovers because our D can come forward more when Forwards are in back pressure. So we're getting the rush going a lot more with teams turning it over at our blueline. D creating offense. The D have been fantastic this year not just defensively but scoring, and supporting scoring as well

 

[guymez]

Only saw bits and peices of the game but any day you can beat a team like the Wild 7-1 (yes I know that Wild has significant injuries) is a good day.
Draisaitl couldnt do anything wrong in this game.

 

[Cloned]

Edmonton had 70 powerplays going into tonight

Calgary 84

Boston 110

We need a little more respect

How does one team have almost double our pps. Insane

The refs rationalize it by penalizing the Oilers less. We’re also in the bottom 5 for PIM taken.

It’s a stupid, broken system.

 

[TheNumber4]

I said if you're not going to click with them on the 2nd line and put them on the bottom 6, then yeah it probably is a waste of cap.

Leon needs to get it going with one of them. That's not the same as "OMG!!! You Hate Leon!!!", like I just insulted a 14 year old girl's favorite boy band.

I like him fine, but in that aspect yeah we need him to click with at least one of these guys because we've made a massive cap commitment to these players. You just can't have a revolving door 2nd line where you have 5/4/3 million dollar players pushed onto your 3rd line because none of them have chemistry with the 2nd line center.

Get that shit figured out. I don't even care how. If you have to staple one of those three to the PP unit 1 so they can feel better about their game, then do that. It's better than the alternative.

Well like you said, it’s ridiculous to judge someone “solely on that metric from that time period.” There’s time yet for Arvie and/or Skinner to show they can work on the 2nd line with Drai. The story’s not over yet.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Jimmy Bob and John John. What you got to say is only one side of the coin. What they did with that shyte was new back then. You might say they pushed heavy metal in the direction it eventually took.

Here is the thing.. They tried down playing just how much of Willie Dixon stuff they ripped off until they just had to finely admit it. That is one reason they fought to the death over being accused of plagiarising Stairway

 

[McFlyingV]

Kapanen has also hit the post twice, even from range and has had several howitzer shots. The big difference is Kap is healthy, stronger on puck, and for instance not falling down a lot. Kapanen is younger, looks stronger, and is cheaper.

I wish we could move the Arvid contract but nobody would bite on that one. Obviously if its a toss which one is better you take the one that cost 25% of the other. Maybe Calgary wants Arvid.

The other thing in your comparison is that Arvid is unlikely to ever be in lineup full seasons anymore. There is no value in the player being out of the lineup a lot. Sure he's only been on the ice 16 games. He's been here all year. Again its one of the reasons I wouldn't have arvid and certainly not at 4M. Take the healthy player anytime. Playing 16, missing 14 games, and only having 5pts with constant topsix play, that ain't good.

Finally. just for the sake of it the Oilers are paying Arvid almost 1M/G so far. (assuming he'll be back by halfway point. ) They're paying Kapanen less than 1M for the whole season. Kap has 2 goals for us already in around 100K of pay and has had the much more difficult role of stepping in midseason and doing it seamlessly.

I'm not really looking long-term though I'm looking this season. And tbh I really don't even think about the regular season as anything but a primer to get this team ready for playoffs. I think the two players can both be beneficial when playoffs come around. Arvidsson falls down a lot, but he's also a puck hound and he plays with pace. Kapanen brings a lot of good qualities that can also help this lineup.

I think with the players available this team can run a very deep 4 line system similar to Dallas last year. The only difference is the Oilers have the two horses on top of that, and this team's built exceptionally well for not only 5 on 5 play, but to have elite special teams when the playoffs roll around.

 

[McAsuno]

Only saw bits and peices of the game but any day you can beat a team like the Wild 7-1 (yes I know that Wild has significant injuries) is a good day.
Draisaitl couldnt do anything wrong in this game.

It's criminal how little recognition he's getting for the Selke. Drai's been a f***ing beast with or without the puck this season.

 

[Arty Spooners Bsmnt]

yeah-- I am not a Zepp fan either. IT has mostly how the ripped off Willie Dixon so badly and then played dumb over ripping off his stuff and other blues artists

Is Willie Dixon the guy they stole Stairway to Heaven from?

 

[Drivesaitl]

Well like you said, it’s ridiculous to judge someone “solely on that metric from that time period.” There’s time yet for Arvie and/or Skinner to show they can work on the 2nd line with Drai. The story’s not over yet.

Gonna disagree here. its not a fit. For years now Arvid hasn't been the player he was in Nashville. Sure he still got pts in LA but that buoyed by PP pts. Since the back injuries and surgeries he can't stay healthy. Before season I was saying we'd get maybe 50 games out of him this season and woudn't get much value out of him at all. Bad contract. Arvid with injured back is like going back to Yama in his playing hurt phases. It just doesn't work. All teams were doign is waitng for puck to go to Arvid and erasing him. I swear he was on his pants 50X in the small amount of games he played. It was harder to establish cycle. Sure there were some instances of zone time on completely peripheral play but not dangerous. Kap is quicker getting to spot and is stronger in those spots and protecting puck better.

People won't agree but having smallish players that are also chronically hurt just makes your team really easier to play. Arvid can't be in topsix here as he eats WAY too much punishment to stay healthy. He gets squashed multiple X a game. Arvid in prime was a premium skater that could avoid hits and play in traffic. its not the one we got. Even in his 16games he played here several times he was hurt and taking time getting to the bench after getting crunched. Same thing in LA last seaon in the limited time he was there. I can't even say when Arvid was last at 100%.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I'm not really looking long-term though I'm looking this season. And tbh I really don't even think about the regular season as anything but a primer to get this team ready for playoffs. I think the two players can both be beneficial when playoffs come around. Arvidsson falls down a lot, but he's also a puck hound and he plays with pace. Kapanen brings a lot of good qualities that can also help this lineup.

I think with the players available this team can run a very deep 4 line system similar to Dallas last year. The only difference is the Oilers have the two horses on top of that, and this team's built exceptionally well for not only 5 on 5 play, but to have elite special teams when the playoffs roll around.

But Arvid isn't that player anymore and he hasn't been here. He has the worst GVA/TKA stats on the whole club and that falling down a lot everytime he gets touched, those are puck losses everytime, and the rush going the other way, and Arvid being caught. Its the problem now with the player. This was happening for awhile. Realizing that miscelleneous stats can be taken with grain of salt but its sure matching the eyetest. This is one of the chief reasons now Arvid is easy to play against and isn't ideal for topsix. The other is that he can't physically survive the punishment.

NHL Stats

The official source for NHL Stats including skaters, goalies, teams stats and more.

www.nhl.com

 

[TheNumber4]

Gonna disagree here. its not a fit. For years now Arvid hasn't been the player he was in Nashville. Sure he still got pts in LA but that buoyed by PP pts. Since the back injuries and surgeries he can't stay healthy. Before season I was saying we'd get maybe 50 games out of him this season and woudn't get much value out of him at all. Bad contract. Arvid with injured back is like going back to Yama in his playing hurt phases. It just doesn't work. All teams were doign is waitng for puck to go to Arvid and erasing him. I swear he was on his pants 50X in the small amount of games he played. It was harder to establish cycle. Sure there were some instances of zone time on completely peripheral play but not dangerous. Kap is quicker getting to spot and is stronger in those spots and protecting puck better.

People won't agree but having smallish players that are also chronically hurt just makes your team really easier to play. Arvid can't be in topsix here as he eats WAY too much punishment to stay healthy. He gets squashed multiple X a game. Arvid in prime was a premium skater that could avoid hits and play in traffic. its not the one we got. Even in his 16games he played here several times he was hurt and taking time getting to the bench after getting crunched. Same thing in LA last seaon in the limited time he was there. I can't even say when Arvid was last at 100%.

I called out his snowpants tendency early. I know his injury history either but I’m not going to make definitive statements about something like that.

But I also saw him and Drai buzzing for a time and generating shot after shot, at a time when our team was still lost and finding its legs. That’s not enough to say it will work 100%, but I think there are signs there. If there was no shot and chance generation, id give up on the experiment. Let’s see what happens.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I called out his snowpants tendency early. I know his injury history either but I’m not going to make definitive statements about something like that.

But I also saw him and Drai buzzing for a time and generating shot after shot, at a time when our team was still lost and finding its legs. That’s not enough to say it will work 100%, but I think there are signs there. If there was no shot and chance generation, id give up on the experiment. Let’s see what happens.

Hopefully you're right. Arvid might contribute something but he's never going to be contract value here. LA weren't even resigning him. No interest. If the Oilers had taken a run at maybe 2M then its at least a bet. Paying dearly for oft injured player 4X 2 is just bad. Wasted money. What kind of lineup of teams you think there was for a small often injured player that needs first unit PP to produce much? Arvid hasn't been a considerable EV scorer now for a long time. He's about as helpful to Drai at this point as Yama was. 54-5yrs ago Arvid would've been better. Not in 2024.

Even on the current injury timeline its highly suspicious of recurring back injury. The player went from day to day to now missing over a month and counting and 14 and counting games with the latest news being the healing hasn't occurred as expected. Prognosis isn't great with this player now. Really it wasn't when we got him. LA knew more than we did. I'm suspicious of that and wouldn't be the first time the oilers were remiss with medical assessment. Think we got damaged goods here.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Is Willie Dixon the guy they stole Stairway to Heaven from?

Nope. They stole about 6 of his songs and the agreed to add his name to copywrite and pay an undisclosed. Zep went to the matts against Spirit over Stariway




Side by side--

The Crux of Spirits case was that they opened for Zep 3 years prior to stairway being record

 

[TheNumber4]

Hopefully you're right. Arvid might contribute something but he's never going to be contract value here. LA weren't even resigning him. No interest. If the Oilers had taken a run at maybe 2M then its at least a bet. Paying dearly for the player 4X 2 is just bad. Wasted money. What kind of lineup of teams you think there was for a soft often injured player that needs first unit PP to produce much? Arvid hasn't been a considerable EV scorer now for a long time. He's about as helpful to Drai at this point as Yama was. 54-5yrs ago Arvid would've been better. Not in 2024.

Even on the current injury timeline its highly suspicious of recurring back injury. The player went from day to day to now missing over a month and counting and 14 and counting games with the latest news being the healing hasn't occurred as expected. Prognosis isn't great with this player now. Really it wasn't when we got him. LA knew more than we did. I'm suspicious of that and wouldn't be the first time the oilers were remiss with medical assessment. Think we got damaged goods here.

I do think the injury history should have lowered his price. Money could have been used more efficiently. But that’s a different discussion as to whether Arvie can make Top 6 impacts for us. I’m guessing we had to compete with other offers to get him at 4M and maybe we should have walked away.

 

[Soundwave]

Hopefully you're right. Arvid might contribute something but he's never going to be contract value here. LA weren't even resigning him. No interest. If the Oilers had taken a run at maybe 2M then its at least a bet. Paying dearly for the player 4X 2 is just bad. Wasted money. What kind of lineup of teams you think there was for a soft often injured player that needs first unit PP to produce much? Arvid hasn't been a considerable EV scorer now for a long time. He's about as helpful to Drai at this point as Yama was. 54-5yrs ago Arvid would've been better. Not in 2024.

Arvidsson hasn't produced much on the PP, outside of one year (22-23) his career high in a season is 4 PP goals.

Even in that one outlier year only 10/26 goals were on the PP.

A PP merchant is someone more like RNH, not Arvidsson.