Post-Game Talk: The summer of our discontent

[oobga]

We seriously tried to win a cup 4 years in a row without a legit NHL starting goalie. Smith was probably the closest we had, but he was too old and we all knew he was gonna wear out.

You have to find a way to push Nurse to move on. His contract is complete sabotage of this organizations chance to win with Drai's deal coming on the books. You can't have a guy giving you a 3M performance, at best, for 9.25M. I know Nurse has the NMC and he's a bro, but if management doesn't explore this, then that's almost like throwing in the towel.

I almost forgot because of the first 3 rounds, but our wingers are trash. Even Hyman was playing mediocre aside from short bursts here and there. He was not that useful last year in the finals. Nuge a ghost again. Kane horrible defensively, and not sure what's gonna happen with his game as he keeps getting slower. It's insane that Perry was our best winger in the playoffs by a mile. That really says something about the rest of the group we assembled, and JJ spent 7M on last summer.

Once again our coach had to do the 1 line thing because playing McDrai apart just meant an easy double team on the 1 useful forward because the wingers can't do shit. McDrai together leads to more gambling and risky play and only 1 line to worry about for the opposition, so it rarely is an actual solution. There really is no solution against a really good team, which we just watched play out. We needed some wingers that could consistently make plays 5v5. Like, actual heads up plays, carrying a puck and being able to pass or shoot with some accuracy. Florida had 4+ of them. We had basically 0.

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

Its a fireable offense.

Not just because he didn't address the biggest spot in hockey, but because he said we were set and he didn't need to et a goalie. f*** him.

Do you think he didn’t try? Not saying he did, just curious to see if you guys think he didn’t try. I wonder if he tried but the league knew how over a barrell he was and tried to extort him.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

The Sportsnet broadcast mentioned the Panthers had scored 14 goals within 10 seconds of an Oilers turnover and they added two more in this game.

Just an insane stat and completely self-inflicted.

Oil self mistakes were a massive part of this series. I can't dispute Florida is a better team but the Oilers d-zone follies of own zone mistakes was a big difference. Especially when you face a white hot, elite finishing group that put home basically everything. All the talk of learning to manage the details and margins of the game were out the window this series.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Do you think he didn’t try? Not saying he did, just curious to see if you guys think he didn’t try. I wonder if he tried but the league knew how over a barrell he was and tried to extort him.

What goalie is bailing this team out for consecutive pathetic efforts?

 

[McBigYak]

Tomasek and Savoie will be on the team next year I expect. But one of Nurse or Bouchard cannot be on the team with 20M in 2 defenders. I think one of them will be gone. Bouchard gets you a haul back and the cap space to chase down a proper starting goalie with money retained via trade using the Bouchard assets and also try to get Byram who can backstop the powerplay and be more responsible defensively, but not dynamic enough defensively. (Ducks and covers from the incoming salvo). Cannot see where we have 2 forwards making 30 million and 2 defenders making 20 million and be remotely competitive until the cap is at 125M.

There is not a snowballs chance in hell this organization ever even remotely considers trading Bouchard, and if they did, the Oilers will not win that trade.

He is a top pairing defenseman who makes some gaffs, but makes up for them tenfold in offensive ability and puck moving skill.

He is going to be an Oiler for a very long time.

Nurse, on the other hand, is awful, and should go yes. But his contract is essentially not able to be moved without significantly impacting the Oilers.

 

[bellagiobob]

Not a single penalty called in that game. By the same duo who killed the Oilers in game three. What a f***ing joke.

A Canadian team will never win the Cup with Bettman in charge. Hopefully the old f*** strokes out or something soon.

FLA had 34 more drawn penalties than we did these playoffs. Seems legit.

 

[McDeepika]

You have to beat 4 good teams 4 times to win the cup. To do that with Skinner is a monumental task.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Oil self mistakes were a massive part of this series. I can't dispute Florida is a better team but the Oilers d-zone follies of own zone mistakes was a big difference. Especially when you face a white hot, elite finishing group that put home basically everything. All the talk of learning to manage the details and margins of the game were out the window this series.

Yup, just a lot of avoidable mistakes between penalties, turnovers, overpassing....

"I think we still haven’t seen our best, and now it’ll be a great time to show it."

Well you didn't. At all. Might pin that on the wall of infamous Oiler quotes.

 

[MessierThanThou]

Sucks but I had a feeling this was going to happen having watched Florida play against the Leafs and Canes. They are just too complete a team right now, it is what it is.

I think the people saying get rid of McDavid need to take a deep breath though. Teams don’t just trade or let a player walk of this calibre and expect to not get significantly worse. He went cold at an unfortunate time, but Florida played him as flawlessly as you possibly could.

I think the people saying get rid of McDavid need to f*** off completely and cheer for another team entirely, or take their meds.

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

The Quinn Hughes projecting is hilarious. The funny thing is it's such a big deal for other fan bases to see drai am mcdavid be disloyal here.

Meanwhile Quinn Hughes can leave and no one gives a shit in Edmonton

Funny isn’t it ? Like how much time do other teams fans spend on the Oilers?

 

[Seth92]

Nurse. Has. A. Full. No. Move. Clause. And. Negative. Value.

I hope for an NHL compliance buyout like ASAP or that Bowman can convince him to switch to playing basketball (in China) so we can terminate that contract.

 

[Sanchez]

Go get a f***ing goalie this off season! It won't be easy but holy shit we can't come back with Skinner and Pickard

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

There is not a snowballs chance in hell this organization ever even remotely considers trading Bouchard, and if they did, the Oilers will not win that trade.

He is a top pairing defenseman who makes some gaffs, but makes up for them tenfold in offensive ability and puck moving skill.

He is going to be an Oiler for a very long time.

Nurse, on the other hand, is awful, and should go yes. But his contract is essentially not able to be moved without significantly impacting the Oilers.

I do not disagree but we are entering into a massive dilemma. A dilemma is where you have to make a one choice out of several, and none of them are good. (A Nurse trade would cost us dearly I expect in assets to take on that contract).

Ergo my point. We cannot afford both. So what do you do? Pay the assets to move Nurse (and hope he waives his NMC?) Or bite the bullet and get a less defensively error prone Byram who can take Bouchards minutes on the PP and with the cap and trade assets go get a starting goalie at the same time?

 

[iCanada]

Its a fireable offense.

Not just because he didn't address the biggest spot in hockey, but because he said we were set and he didn't need to et a goalie. f*** him.

Unforgivable Cardinal sin.

Not sure how anyone could see Skinner's body of playoff work and his year this year and think "yeah, I want to bet it all on this guy."

That's betting your house on Red and your retirement account on Black. Just guaranteed loss.

 

[McJadeddog]

Its a fireable offense.

Not just because he didn't address the biggest spot in hockey, but because he said we were set and he didn't need to et a goalie. f*** him.

Yup, many of us were saying that he needed to be fired for that alone, and I stand by that assessment

 

[StreetHawk]

It is funny to think about Holloway, Foegele, McLeod and Broberg leaving. Players that would be (relatively) cheap and could contribute for several seasons.

Guys like Janmark Brown Henrique and even Perry you keep around after being permadrunk from sipping champagne from the Cup. It's the price of doing business, just ask Chicago Boston and Tampa.

The thinking from the team was that they could squeeze the RFAs. Got burned.

But to spend $7 mill on Skinner and Arvidsson, vs pay Broberg like $3 mill and Holloway like $1.5 and keep Mcleod at his like $1.7 mill, I mean that's less than those 2 guys and you get 3 guys signed.

 

[redgrant]

I feel like Mike Grier could help us with a nurse trade. He's about 5 years out from being ready to contend with his young team.

Do your old team a favor

 

[Cloned]

Go get a f***ing goalie this off season! It won't be easy but holy shit we can come back with Skinner and Pickard

Pickard is a very good back up, probably top 3 in the league.

But they need an actual starter that can play consistently well.

 

[McBigYak]

I do not disagree but we are entering into a massive dilemma. A dilemma is where you have to make a one choice out of several, and none of them are good. (A Nurse trade would cost us dearly I expect in assets to take on that contract).

Ergo my point. We cannot afford both. So what do you do? Pay the assets to move Nurse (and hope he waives his NMC?) Or bite the bullet and get a less defensively error prone Byram who can take Bouchards minutes on the PP and with the cap and trade assets go get a starting goalie at the same time?

You keep both. Nurse is poor for his salary, but he is still a completely serviceable NHL D man. The Oil can work around it.

Trading Bouchard because Nurse is overpaid is the definition of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Your team gets worse in pretty much every practical scenario.

 

[CycloneSweep]

I feel like Mike Grier could help us with a nurse trade. He's about 5 years out from being ready to contend with his young team.

Do your old team a favor

Why would Nurse agree?

 

[mjd1001]

even if it ended in a shitty way it was a fun ride to this point

crazy to think this is only half the pain Bills fans went through when they lost 4 straight superbowls lmao

When you think of the Bills of that era, I think before they went to the superbowl, they lost the AFC title game to Cincy. Then the next year they played Cleveland and lost when a wide open RB dropped a sure TD At the end of the game. A few years after their last Superbowl, Kelly was gone but they had one of the, if not the best defense in the NFL, had tennessee beat but lost on that 'homerun throwback' play to end the game.

2 chances to win the cop being squandered feels bad, but the Bills fans had almost a full decade of kicks to the groin back then.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Pickard is a very good back up, probably top 3 in the league.

But they need an actual starter that can play consistently well.

I'll spoil the ending for you. It's not going to happen.

 

[Pass the Saitl Sauce]

Honestly, might make sense for next year to be a gap year. Sell guys you can like Ekholm, Kane etc, try some younger guys in and swing hard for 26/27

This is what I’d do but only if Mcdavid is okay with it and signs an extension

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

I was trying to ignore posts like this blaming Bettman but there’s just too many of them. You guys do realize that Bettman works for the owners right? He’s doing what they want. 25 American teams and only 7 Canadian teams. This issue isn’t going away when Bettman is gone. The next guy will run the league the same way he has. Canada hasn’t been important to the NHL for several decades and that isn’t changing.

100%

This is big business tarted up as sports entertainment. Driving revenue for cartel members is job 1, 2 and 3. Bettman's made his bosses very wealthy and the latent, yet unrealized future money to be made is south of the border. Separating emotion from stone cold logic the league is shovelling money in its pursuit of the American dream.

 

[dustrock]

People talk about trading Bouchard . How many times have teams traded the best player and won the trade? I can think of exactly one, the Lindros trade.

Draft and develop your cheap players to play on cheap ELC contracts so you can pay your stars. But not the Oilers, no.

Death by a thousand cuts and no cap space available to make that trade for that player who you didn't think was available.

Get better goaltending. I've had enough pops tonight I'm contemplating whether we would have won one of the last 2 years with Jake Allen.