Post-Game Talk: This is the end

[48g90a138pts]

They save 3.9 mil next season, then 2.7 and 2.4 and 3 seasons of -1.5 mil if they buy him out now..

If they wait a year then they save 2.85 and 2.55. and 2 seasons of -1.35 mil.

I think they're going to need the extra 3.9 mil for next season so I think they will buy him out now.

What a travesty of a signing that turned out to be

Man I'm going to miss capfriendly

F*** *** Capitals

 

[McTedi]

Not questioning his motives. But with the cup on the line McDavid was pointless. That is something that’s going to haunt him.

Well I'm sure it will but that is a long ways from your initial BS take...didn't show up/can't handle pressure. Both McD and Drai are the only reason the Oilers even sniffed game 7 of the SCF. If you don't get that, you never will.

 

[Oilhawks]

I watched the 1990 win by myself as a kid and then hopped on my bike to go tell my parents and all their friends to who were playing a Slo-Pitch game. They were happy, and the game continued. Five Cups in seven years apparently dulled Oilers fans appreciation of how hard it was to win a Cup.

Thinking about my earlier post, I think that was part of my parents attitude to all the wins as well. They took it for granted.

 

[oilers4life5]

What exactly did the refs do in the last period besides get in the way? Seriously, only the linesmen were needed. Great to see clutch and grab hockey alive and well when the US team is winning.

It was obstruction era level bad. Was not even hockey.

 

[gretzkyoilers]

This makes no sense. Are you saying Yamo should have been on the team, cuz Drai's best wingers have been RNH and Yamo

Also, The Janmark, Henrique, Brown additions were absolutely key in getting us here

So are you saying Holland should have added those guys AND a superstar winger for Drai??

Holland did a great job in the end. Looking for excuses is just that. We were a post away from OT

Holland did the best he could. Brown, Janmark and Henrique were so crucial in these playoffs

Didn't he have trouble trying to get another defender?

 

[Emotive]

What exactly did the refs do in the last period besides get in the way? Seriously, only the linesmen were needed. Great to see clutch and grab hockey alive and well when the US team is winning.

Are you even surprised in the slightest they only "let them play" when it benefited the American team? The refs weren't the only factor in the results tonight but they definitely were A factor. Not saying our PP would have got it done anyway, but they had ample opportunities to make one of the game management calls they love so much against Florida's many infractions the last 5 minutes of the game at least... If it was a 4-1 game 100% guaranteed at least one of those are called.

 

[CycloneSweep]

This makes no sense. Are you saying Yamo should have been on the team, cuz Drai's best wingers have been RNH and Yamo

Also, The Janmark, Henrique, Brown additions were absolutely key in getting us here

So are you saying Holland should have added those guys AND a superstar winger for Drai??

Holland did a great job in the end. Looking for excuses is just that. We were a post away from OT

At the end of the day Draisaitl went into the cup final with Foegele and Holloway as his wingers and neither are top 6 quality players.

 

[The Panther]

This playoffs was interesting, but honestly I don't think the Oilers were at their best for most of it, and I don't think they were really any better than in the '23 playoffs (and only marginally better -- esp. defensively, of course) than in the '22 playoffs. They got a little lucky this year with Colorado going out and with Vancouver imploding from game four onward. And, really, after being down 0-3 to Florida, this series was over. The Oilers showed some tenacity in extending it, but the margin for error is too small and the inevitable happened.... (much to the delight of the NHL brass, currently swimming in piles of cash, like Scrooge McDuck, thanks to gambling ads... wonder how many lives of kids will be ruined by those? The NHL doesn't care).

Draisaitl was clearly injured (as always seems to happen in the second/third round) and was basically a non-factor in the Finals. That's huge, because if Florida manages to keep McDavid off the scoreboard, their chances of winning are, like, 90% in that situation. Drai just didn't have it.

McDavid hasn't been able to (a) stickhandle consistently at top speed or (b) shoot the puck, all season. I've lost count of how many times this season he was in full control of the puck and then just suddenly lost it, for no apparent reason (other than Florida's crappy ice). This basically never happened last year, or previously. Clearly, there is something wrong with his arm / wrist and that had a huge effect on reduced scoring totals this season and his playoff production at some key moments. (Still deserved the Conn Smythe, mind you.)

So, while (esp.) McDavid and Draisaitl were the team's best players when at their best, they weren't at 100% most of the time and were inconsistent.

I love Derek Ryan and what he's brought to the team the past few years, but he has looked kind of 'cooked' this season. His role now is too small (considering his age) to resign him. If we'd had the c.2022-model Derek Ryan this playoffs, he may have made a difference in a game.

Foegele was a pathetic bust through three playoff series, and no amount of Finals' empty-calorie points will make me forget that. (He did get one huge goal, but it was really Drai who created it.) I don't know whether they ought to try to resign him or not. I think not.

Ryan McLeod... so frustrating. Has amazing wheels and is an ace penalty-killer. He's almost worth keeping, just for that. But he also never gets his hands dirty or goes to the net. He almost never scores, and -- ostensibly a center-man -- he managed to rack up ZERO assists in 24 playoff games. And go -7. So, thanks for comin' out...

Darnell Nurse has the boat-anchor contract as we all know. Managed to redeem himself somewhat in the Finals with a pretty good showing (like Foegele) but prior to that he was embarassingly bad (something like -13 or -14 through three rounds, pacing to match the all-time plus/minus futility record in the playoffs). But nothing can be done -- he's a team 'leader', loved by his teammates, and no other team would swallow even 80% of that contract. He'll stay, but we hope on the bottom pairing.

Desharnais was fab for almost the whole regular season, but his speed (or lack of) became an issue in the playoffs. Went -9 in only sixteen games. A worthy player, though since the PK carried on better than ever without him, suddenly his value seems dimished. (He's the kind of player other teams want, too, so they might have to look into sending him out.)

Perry is obviously done. Time to retire.

Kane isn't done, but he's down a pint. Should they hold onto him? Probably have to for one more year, right? His lack of defensive awareness is staggering pretty much every game, so unless he's scoring about 30+ goals (which I don't think he ever will again), he's not really worth his pay. If any team makes an offer, I'd take it.

Campbell needs to be bought out. There is no other way.

On the positive side, I thought Hyman, Skinner, Bouchard (less so in Finals), Holloway, Ceci, and Broberg (in limited games) all did well, or at least didn't disappoint at all. Four of those six are 25 or under, so that bodes well. (I think this forum is way too hard on Ceci, whom I quite like.)

RNH, Eckholm, and Kulak were fine. Nuge is never going to get much offense done at evens, but his main offensive contribution is on the PP, at which he's still pretty adept. Eckholm, I think, was sick during the Vancouver series and sagged, and I don't know if he fully got his health back. When he's good (which is much of the time), he's amazingly good. But he is slowing down and getting older. Kulak was great this season, though he did have some iffy moments in the Finals. He's an ideal bottom-pairing D.


The MVPs of the season are probably Knoblach and Coffey. They turned it around almost overnight and forced the team into playing some responsible defence. Knoblach made a lot of ballsy moves in the playoffs which seemed crazy at the time, but which all worked out (except reuniting Nurse / Ceci in game one... that may have cost us the Cup).

Tough luck, I guess. If they hadn't played Nurse-Ceci together in game one, or if that Bouchard bomb off the post in the 1st perod today had gone in, maybe our guys lift the Cup.

_______________________________

Future outlook? I'm not sure. A lot will depend on what Drai does in the off-season. Until he's signed, it's hard to predict. Need to do something about Campbell, urgently.

 

[Emotive]

Well I'm sure it will but that is a long ways from your initial BS take...didn't show up/can't handle pressure. Both McD and Drai are the only reason the Oilers even sniffed game 7 of the SCF. If you don't get that, you never will.

Not to take anything away from mcdavid and draisaitl by any means but I think our depth guys scoring like 10+ goals in the finals probably had something to do with it. I also must have missed when mcdavid and draisaitl played on the pk that was damn near perfect in the post season. This post is as bad as the critics who still think this is a "2 man team"

 

[Xelebes]

In this game, the Panthers succeeded in what they were trying to do in games 5 and 6. They realised Bobrovsky was vulnerable, so they kept the shots on the outside for the first 30 minutes. Exhaustion set in for them after that. for the Oilers, they didn't get the opportunities but exhaustion set in at the same time and their reactions delayed. Wiping out on attempted quick turns, delayed reactions, setting for comfort instead of doing the quick move.

Bobrovsky was beatable today. But when you have a team with the roughly same game plan as the Oilers, it was a coin toss determined by the first half of the game. After that, both teams were exhausted and it just wasn't that entertaining to watch. If anything, it allowed us 30 minutes to mourn the game that never was.

 

[oilers4life5]

Are you even surprised in the slightest they only "let them play" when it benefited the American team? The refs weren't the only factor in the results tonight but they definitely were A factor. Not saying our PP would have got it done anyway, but they had ample opportunities to make one of the game management calls they love so much against Florida's many infractions the last 5 minutes of the game at least... If it was a 4-1 game 100% guaranteed at least one of those are called.

Exactly this. Infuriating

 

[Oilhawks]

Well, just got back from the watch party. Sigh. When your offence comes from Ceci and Janmark, you probably aren’t going to win. The guys tried hard, but in the end Flordai did what they needed to do win.

With about 5 minutes left in the second period it occurred to me how much this felt like game 7 in 06. Never really out of the game but at no time did I feel they were about to take the game by the throat. In many ways the series were parallels too.

As we look ahead there will be much discussion about who stays and who goes, but one thing is the team sort of backed their way into too many series this year, getting better as they went. Problem is against a good team that hole just got too deep. It’s also the way they tend to play too many hockey games, so going forward learning to impose their will I think will be a key to winning.

100% agree with the bolded, was thinking about that on my drive back from my parents

They had to come back from one too many series deficits. Next year they need to win the division and start off series stronger than they did this year.

Hockey is too random to “believe” you will win 4 in a row in the playoffs

 

[Lay Z Boy GM]

I think a lot of people need to wait and hear about the injuries these guys have.

I will be SHOCKED if Drai doesn’t have multiple injuries, definitely something completely neutered him on faceoffs and his shot.

If Draisaitl could do what he does best we would have won.

Also McDavid hasn’t been 100% all year for sure, there’s no way you score 60+ and drop to 30 the next year if you’re fully healthy.

 

[McTedi]

Not to take anything away from mcdavid and draisaitl by any means but I think our depth guys scoring like 10+ goals in the finals probably had something to do with it. I also must have missed when mcdavid and draisaitl played on the pk that was damn near perfect in the post season. This post is as bad as the critics who still think this is a "2 man team"

Obviously they need a supporting cast and yes secondary scoring helped them to the finals. But in what make believe world do the Oilers make the finals without Drai or McD.

 

[bobbythebrain]

At the end of the day Draisaitl went into the cup final with Foegele and Holloway as his wingers and neither are top 6 quality players.

Those wingers won us a few games........and at the end of the day Drai went into the final game as McDavid and Hyman on his line almost every shift

Also, as I said, what part of that 3rd line depth are you discrediting. Those 3 got us here at several points this playoffs. You understand how cap works right?

 

[CycloneSweep]

Those wingers won us a few games........and at the end of the day Drai went into the final game as McDavid and Hyman on his line almost every shift

Also, as I said, what part of that 3rd line depth are you discrediting. Those 3 got us here at several points this playoffs. You understand how cap works right?

What the f*** are you even saying dude.

I do understand how the cap works. You do realize that bad contracts that Holland signed made our cap bad right?

You understand your hero isn’t great at his job right?

 

[Oilhawks]

Bye then, seriously. Leave, stop cheering for the team and go away. You are just being a dramatic prima Donna with your posts now.

Why does anyone think that poster is sincere at this point?

 

[gretzkyoilers]

This playoffs was interesting, but honestly I don't think the Oilers were at their best for most of it, and I don't think they were really any better than in the '23 playoffs (and only marginally better -- esp. defensively, of course) than in the '22 playoffs. They got a little lucky this year with Colorado going out and with Vancouver imploding from game four onward. And, really, after being down 0-3 to Florida, this series was over. The Oilers showed some tenacity in extending it, but the margin for error is too small and the inevitable happened.... (much to the delight of the NHL brass, currently swimming in piles of cash, like Scrooge McDuck, thanks to gambling ads... wonder how many lives of kids will be ruined by those? The NHL doesn't care).

Draisaitl was clearly injured (as always seems to happen in the second/third round) and was basically a non-factor in the Finals. That's huge, because if Florida manages to keep McDavid off the scoreboard, their chances of winning are, like, 90% in that situation. Drai just didn't have it.

McDavid hasn't been able to (a) stickhandle consistently at top speed or (b) shoot the puck, all season. I've lost count of how many times this season he was in full control of the puck and then just suddenly lost it, for no apparent reason (other than Florida's crappy ice). This basically never happened last year, or previously. Clearly, there is something wrong with his arm / wrist and that had a huge effect on reduced scoring totals this season and his playoff production at some key moments. (Still deserved the Conn Smythe, mind you.)

So, while (esp.) McDavid and Draisaitl were the team's best players when at their best, they weren't at 100% most of the time and were inconsistent.


_______________________________

Future outlook? I'm not sure. A lot will depend on what Drai does in the off-season. Until he's signed, it's hard to predict. Need to do something about Campbell, urgently.

Therefore a healthy Drai and McDavid would have sealed the deal? Florida was really banged up last playoffs, especially Matt Tkachuk (broken sternum). The Oilers were a bounce or two away from winning the Cup!

 

[Oilhawks]

Only chance for McDavid, Draisaitl and Hyman to get a Cup, and they blew it. The powerplay was useless. If Draisaitl was playing with a broken finger, he should not have been on the 1st powerplay unit wasting opportunities or on McDavid's line wasting opportunities.

Can you tell us all how the AI Overlords are as well, oh wise time-traveller?

 

[McTedi]

What the f*** are you even saying dude.

I do understand how the cap works. You do realize that bad contracts that Holland signed made our cap bad right?

You understand your hero isn’t great at his job right?

Well in all fairness his team came within an eyelash of winning the cup. Credit where credit is due, no??

 

[Emotive]

Obviously they need a supporting cast and yes secondary scoring helped them to the finals. But in what make believe world do the Oilers make the finals without Drai or McD.

In the same make believe playoffs you apparently watched all post season. Did I say they make.the finals without Mcdavid and Draisaitl? By your logic the oilers should have made game 7 of the finals the last 3 years just because of Connor and Leon. We actually have depth for the first time in years. Take that away and we are back to wondering why we are out in the second round or getting swept in the conference finals.

 

[CycloneSweep]

Well in all fairness his team came within an eyelash of winning the cup. Credit where credit is due, no??

He made some good moves, but also made an absolute ton of bad ones.
People defending him cause of the salary cap is always funny because he made the teams cap situation the way it is.

 

[Yablo21]

I couldn't watch either of the Mcdavid or Draisaitl post game interviews. I'm so sad and angry, they didn't deserve this. Florida blew a 0-3 lead and somehow deserved no calls while the Oilers got treated like dirt?

Giving Mcdavid the MVP is just a spit in the face to everyone. It was a tactical move to try and spilt up McDrai imo.

I don't understand the NHL, call all penalties and you will have a way more exciting sport. The players will stop taking liberties and there will be way more scoring and speed.

 

[McTedi]

In the same make believe playoffs you apparently watched all post season. Did I say they make.the finals without Mcdavid and Draisaitl? By your logic the oilers should have made game 7 of the finals the last 3 years just because of Connor and Leon. We actually have depth for the first time in years. Take that away and we are back to wondering why we are out in the second round or getting swept in the conference finals.

I'm not arguing with you about semantics, I was refuting a different poster. Obviously you need a team to win. All good, go in peace lol

 

[bobbythebrain]

What the f*** are you even saying dude.

I do understand how the cap works. You do realize that bad contracts that Holland signed made our cap bad right?

You understand your hero isn’t great at his job right?

Lost by 1 goal. Hit a post. The 3rd line was instrumental all playoffs, especially there roles on the PK. Foegle scored a massive one to get us to 7

You blame Holland for not signing someone else.

Not to mention a healthy Kane could have been a strong winger.

What I understand is false excuses