News and Blog Report: Training camp & Preseason News & Notes, **New Pole Added**

[nexttothemoon]

The Oilers knew they weren't bring back McLeod (12 goals) and Foegele (20 goals) and they likely had a pretty good idea Kane (24 goals) would be gone for much of the season. That's 56 goals gone right there and then there was the extra kick in the teeth of losing Holloway for essentially nothing and he played at ~12 goal pace last season.

So essentially 60+ goals was ripped out of the lineup... that's not an insignificant amount of offense gone.

The Oilers pretty much HAD to bring in another decent scoring winger to replace at least some of that offense so Skinner who had 24 goals last season will hopefully provide some of that. I don't think he was quite the "nice to have but not necessary" addition as some people think.

The only other significant adds up front were bringing Henrique back which will help as he had 6 goals in 22 games with the team... he could/should hit 20+ in a full season and Arvidsson who if he can stay healthy might pot 25+ as well IF he can stay healthy.. but he hasn't been able to stay healthy consistently in recent years.

Brown in for Desharnais might be a slight downgrade but Desharnais was limited in his role as well especially in the playoffs where he was arguably a negative overall beyond the PK.

Stecher in for Ceci I think is more sideways IF Stecher can stay healthy... I think he makes a decent defense-1st dman who is smart and can move the puck well... exactly what Nurse/Kulak need for a partner.

Emberson is a question mark but imo no bigger of a question mark than Broberg was... so a sideways move there at worst as well.

On paper I think the team got a little worse offensively than they did defensively. Of course we'll wait and see on that as the season plays out... but it's quite possible adding a top 4 RD at the deadline is a strong possibility and the team overall could end up being better defensively this season going into the playoffs and possibly regressing a bit offensively... especially if Hyman can't repeat his 50+ goal season again.

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

I can pretty much guarantee those same people would be whining about #2LW if they didn't sign someone like Skinner to address #2RD instead.

Somehow the concept of there only being so much money to go around is lost on some people.

I was very adamant that #2RD should be the priority and was entirely comfortable sacrificing some offense particularly on wing to get that done so I most certainly wouldn't of complained about that, however the rumor was Drai wasn't happy about his linemate quality and wanted us to address that prior to signing.

If as a result of improving our D we lacked the resources to improve Drai's wingers and he didn't sign an extension then I would of bitched about that, which highlights the difficulties of being a GM it isn't as simple as make the best decisions for the team, sometimes you have superstar players who you need to accommodate, for example C. Perry likely isn't earning the contract we signed him to, but McDrai wanted him back, so he's back.

 

[Frank the Tank]

I was very adamant that #2RD should be the priority and was entirely comfortable sacrificing some offense particularly on wing to get that done so I most certainly wouldn't of complained about that, however the rumor was Drai wasn't happy about his linemate quality and wanted us to address that prior to signing.

If as a result of improving our D we lacked the resources to improve Drai's wingers and he didn't sign an extension then I would of bitched about that, which highlights the difficulties of being a GM it isn't as simple as make the best decisions for the team, sometimes you have superstar players who you need to accommodate, for example C. Perry likely isn't earning the contract we signed him to, but McDrai wanted him back, so he's back.

Yep, it's always easier to argue the field of options that exist outside the path that was taken. This message board wouldn't have 90% of its posts if we all decided to not be Monday morning QBs. Lol

 

[McTedi]

The Oilers knew they weren't bring back McLeod (12 goals) and Foegele (20 goals) and they likely had a pretty good idea Kane (24 goals) would be gone for much of the season. That's 56 goals gone right there and then there was the extra kick in the teeth of losing Holloway for essentially nothing and he played at ~12 goal pace last season.

So essentially 60+ goals was ripped out of the lineup... that's not an insignificant amount of offense gone.

The Oilers pretty much HAD to bring in another decent scoring winger to replace at least some of that offense so Skinner who had 24 goals last season will hopefully provide some of that. I don't think he was quite the "nice to have but not necessary" addition as some people think.

The only other significant adds up front were bringing Henrique back which will help as he had 6 goals in 22 games with the team... he could/should hit 20+ in a full season and Arvidsson who if he can stay healthy might pot 25+ as well IF he can stay healthy.. but he hasn't been able to stay healthy consistently in recent years.

Brown in for Desharnais might be a slight downgrade but Desharnais was limited in his role as well especially in the playoffs where he was arguably a negative overall beyond the PK.

Stecher in for Ceci I think is more sideways IF Stecher can stay healthy... I think he makes a decent defense-1st dman who is smart and can move the puck well... exactly what Nurse/Kulak need for a partner.

Emberson is a question mark but imo no bigger of a question mark than Broberg was... so a sideways move there at worst as well.

On paper I think the team got a little worse offensively than they did defensively. Of course we'll wait and see on that as the season plays out... but it's quite possible adding a top 4 RD at the deadline is a strong possibility and the team overall could end up being better defensively this season going into the playoffs and possibly regressing a bit offensively... especially if Hyman can't repeat his 50+ goal season again.

How on earth did the Oilers get worse offensively, good grief.

 

[Oilslick941611]

Yes.

2024-25 Edmonton Oilers Transactions - NHL

Full Edmonton Oilers transactions for the 2024-25 season including date of transaction, player's position and the transaction. Find out the latest on your favorite NHL players on CBSSports.com.

www.cbssports.com

sorry, I knew about these, I meant a new round after the Winnipeg game.

Im kind of surprised how hard it is find to content on training camp now that I got rid of twitter.

 

[bobbythebrain]

The Oilers knew they weren't bring back McLeod (12 goals) and Foegele (20 goals) and they likely had a pretty good idea Kane (24 goals) would be gone for much of the season. That's 56 goals gone right there and then there was the extra kick in the teeth of losing Holloway for essentially nothing and he played at ~12 goal pace last season.

So essentially 60+ goals was ripped out of the lineup... that's not an insignificant amount of offense gone.

The Oilers pretty much HAD to bring in another decent scoring winger to replace at least some of that offense so Skinner who had 24 goals last season will hopefully provide some of that. I don't think he was quite the "nice to have but not necessary" addition as some people think.

The only other significant adds up front were bringing Henrique back which will help as he had 6 goals in 22 games with the team... he could/should hit 20+ in a full season and Arvidsson who if he can stay healthy might pot 25+ as well IF he can stay healthy.. but he hasn't been able to stay healthy consistently in recent years.

Brown in for Desharnais might be a slight downgrade but Desharnais was limited in his role as well especially in the playoffs where he was arguably a negative overall beyond the PK.

Stecher in for Ceci I think is more sideways IF Stecher can stay healthy... I think he makes a decent defense-1st dman who is smart and can move the puck well... exactly what Nurse/Kulak need for a partner.

Emberson is a question mark but imo no bigger of a question mark than Broberg was... so a sideways move there at worst as well.

On paper I think the team got a little worse offensively than they did defensively. Of course we'll wait and see on that as the season plays out... but it's quite possible adding a top 4 RD at the deadline is a strong possibility and the team overall could end up being better defensively this season going into the playoffs and possibly regressing a bit offensively... especially if Hyman can't repeat his 50+ goal season again.

 

[Fourier]

How on earth did the Oilers get worse offensively, good grief.

I don't see the argument that they did get worse.

 

[Drivesaitl]

The Oilers knew they weren't bring back McLeod (12 goals) and Foegele (20 goals) and they likely had a pretty good idea Kane (24 goals) would be gone for much of the season. That's 56 goals gone right there and then there was the extra kick in the teeth of losing Holloway for essentially nothing and he played at ~12 goal pace last season.

So essentially 60+ goals was ripped out of the lineup... that's not an insignificant amount of offense gone.

The Oilers pretty much HAD to bring in another decent scoring winger to replace at least some of that offense so Skinner who had 24 goals last season will hopefully provide some of that. I don't think he was quite the "nice to have but not necessary" addition as some people think.

The only other significant adds up front were bringing Henrique back which will help as he had 6 goals in 22 games with the team... he could/should hit 20+ in a full season and Arvidsson who if he can stay healthy might pot 25+ as well IF he can stay healthy.. but he hasn't been able to stay healthy consistently in recent years.

Brown in for Desharnais might be a slight downgrade but Desharnais was limited in his role as well especially in the playoffs where he was arguably a negative overall beyond the PK.

Stecher in for Ceci I think is more sideways IF Stecher can stay healthy... I think he makes a decent defense-1st dman who is smart and can move the puck well... exactly what Nurse/Kulak need for a partner.

Emberson is a question mark but imo no bigger of a question mark than Broberg was... so a sideways move there at worst as well.

On paper I think the team got a little worse offensively than they did defensively. Of course we'll wait and see on that as the season plays out... but it's quite possible adding a top 4 RD at the deadline is a strong possibility and the team overall could end up being better defensively this season going into the playoffs and possibly regressing a bit offensively... especially if Hyman can't repeat his 50+ goal season again.

Its possible the team got worse offensively and defensively due to the massive changes and due to getting so much older and losing multiple younger pace players. People will say all the old players we've accrued can ratchet it up but we've seen they can't for the majorities of the time. We even saw that almost all of last regular season. The solid vets tend to show up in playoffs. Not as much in regular season. Janmark for instance can't even play half the games with the kind of pace he showed at times in playoffs. Ryan can't play any games that way and so on. We got worse defensively as well for the type of players we brought in. Jeff Skinner is simply awful defending, its not a strong point in Arviddson now either (getting too old and injured to cover back or Hoffman. Team D got worse as well as Team O. On paper it will look like we have more goals in lineup but it may not play out that way. Pretty convinced we will see more GA.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1840069425028051000

 

[Duke74]

Really want to see someone else tried on McDavid's LW. There is just no getting around what a ghost Nuge is 5v5 when the going gets tough. 4 primary points 5v5 the entire last run while McDavid was blowing the doors off more than any player in 3 decades.

Was McDavid vs the world in the finals with Hyman run down from the run. Nuge was near mint condition but barely any help at all.

It would have made sense for Knoblauch to move him down to help an injured Draisaitl. I think that Nuge is too similar stylistically to McDavid to fit that well with him.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1840077884230361349

 

[McShogun99]

I don't get that because I feel Henrique is a better fit at 3C than RNH. If you want to run a more balanced top 3 lines, you drop one of RNH, Skinner, or Arvidsson to 3rd line wing, and Arvidsson seems like the best fit on that line, with Skinner being the worst. Then you move up one of the young guys to 2nd line wing. Savoie/Lavoie/Podkolzin all have limited to ZERO NHL experience, but also, all have the highest offensive upside.

Chances are they start out like this...

RNH-McDavid-Hyman
Skinner-Draisaitl-Arvidsson
Janmark-Henrique-Brown
Podkolzin-Ryan-(Perry/Lavoie)


give it a week or 2, see how it goes. Send down Savoie and Philp and see how they look in the AHL, if they look good, they become the first call up, depending on what hole needs to be filled.

ya, one wing on the 3rd line is a little weak, meanwhile, 7 out of 9 spots in the top 9 are stacked, and Brown on 3rd line wing, if he's the Brown of before he hurt his knee, is also a great piece for the 3rd line.

The team has some question marks, but they aren't major ones at this point, imo. If Nurse and his partner struggle, that changes things, but why not trust that maybe Nurse was hurt and that is why he struggled. Nurse was great for the majority of his career, my feeling is he will bounce back in a big way.

I'd still keep the Henrique line together. It would just be a 3rd scoring line with RNH centering any combination of Podkolzin, Ryan, Perry, Lavoie, Savoie or any deadline winger pickup.

 

[powerserge]

Its possible the team got worse offensively and defensively due to the massive changes and due to getting so much older and losing multiple younger pace players. People will say all the old players we've accrued can ratchet it up but we've seen they can't for the majorities of the time. We even saw that almost all of last regular season. The solid vets tend to show up in playoffs. Not as much in regular season. Janmark for instance can't even play half the games with the kind of pace he showed at times in playoffs. Ryan can't play any games that way and so on. We got worse defensively as well for the type of players we brought in. Jeff Skinner is simply awful defending, its not a strong point in Arviddson now either (getting too old and injured to cover back or Hoffman. Team D got worse as well as Team O. On paper it will look like we have more goals in lineup but it may not play out that way. Pretty convinced we will see more GA.

Think we will get the same amount of goals. It is unreasonable to expect Hyms to get 50+ again, 30+should do it. McD should score more. No Kane for most of the season and his 24+ goals. We agree we need more young players. Think Philp may make it over the others (he looks better than Pederson/Ryan/Hamblin) even though he missed over a year. Emberson we will have to see.

Would love a kid line like we had in 1990. Pod Philp Lavoie/Savoie. Insert Ryan/Perry as needed

 

[Oilslick941611]

Im sure you have a list.


The oilers lost the cup cause they couldnt score more than 1 goal.

They needed forward upgrades also.

I would say injuries played more of a role in lack of scoring than a need to upgrade the offence. McDavid, Drai and Kane were extremely hurt and not providing the offence they were capable of. There were no passengers in the finals in regards to effort. Came up short because our top guys were too hurt. Not sure how you plan for that. You can't have top end talent in every position.

 

[CycloneSweep]

I would say injuries played more of a role in lack of scoring than a need to upgrade the offence. McDavid, Drai and Kane were extremely hurt and not providing the offence they were capable of. There were no passengers in the finals in regards to effort. Came up short because our top guys were too hurt. Not sure how you plan for that. You can't have top end talent in every position.

Yes but you want offensive depth that can help cause injuries do happen. Yeah Draisaitl was injured which didn’t help but having guys like Skinner and Arvidsson that can score could have made the difference.
Drai was hurt running with a revolving guys that mostly only scored if Leon willed it to be do.

 

[Oilslick941611]

Yes but you want offensive depth that can help cause injuries do happen. Yeah Draisaitl was injured which didn’t help but having guys like Skinner and Arvidsson that can score could have made the difference.
Drai was hurt running with a revolving guys that mostly only scored if Leon willed it to be do.

sure, but then if we have offensive depth in the bottom six we likely don't have that historic penalty kill with janmark and brown as they probably wouldn't be in the line up and that PK was a big reason we made the finals in the first place. We had depth. Not many teams survive their top talents going down to injury.

 

[CycloneSweep]

sure, but then if we have offensive depth in the bottom six we likely don't have that historic penalty kill with janmark and brown as they probably wouldn't be in the line up and that PK was a big reason we made the finals in the first place. We had depth. Not many teams survive their top talents going down to injury.

We still have Janmark and Brown. We didn’t have a top 6. We had a top line and then Draisaitl and whoever sucked less that week.
Janmark and Brown were on our third line during the playoffs cause everyone else sucked. They are great 4h liners.

 

[Oilslick941611]

We still have Janmark and Brown. We didn’t have a top 6. We had a top line and then Draisaitl and whoever sucked less that week.
Janmark and Brown were on our third line during the playoffs cause everyone else sucked. They are great 4h liners.

Foegle had 20 goals.

who are wanting to play on the third line that provides offence without hurting our defensive depth? ? Like I said earlier, you can't have top end talent in every position. Our team did very well. we had the ghost of McDavid and Drai in the finals.


regardless, we shored up the offence this offseason at the expense of defensive depth, so we will see how far that gets us.

 

[FlameChampion]

The Oilers knew they weren't bring back McLeod (12 goals) and Foegele (20 goals) and they likely had a pretty good idea Kane (24 goals) would be gone for much of the season. That's 56 goals gone right there and then there was the extra kick in the teeth of losing Holloway for essentially nothing and he played at ~12 goal pace last season.

So essentially 60+ goals was ripped out of the lineup... that's not an insignificant amount of offense gone.

The Oilers pretty much HAD to bring in another decent scoring winger to replace at least some of that offense so Skinner who had 24 goals last season will hopefully provide some of that. I don't think he was quite the "nice to have but not necessary" addition as some people think.

The only other significant adds up front were bringing Henrique back which will help as he had 6 goals in 22 games with the team... he could/should hit 20+ in a full season and Arvidsson who if he can stay healthy might pot 25+ as well IF he can stay healthy.. but he hasn't been able to stay healthy consistently in recent years.

Brown in for Desharnais might be a slight downgrade but Desharnais was limited in his role as well especially in the playoffs where he was arguably a negative overall beyond the PK.

Stecher in for Ceci I think is more sideways IF Stecher can stay healthy... I think he makes a decent defense-1st dman who is smart and can move the puck well... exactly what Nurse/Kulak need for a partner.

Emberson is a question mark but imo no bigger of a question mark than Broberg was... so a sideways move there at worst as well.

On paper I think the team got a little worse offensively than they did defensively. Of course we'll wait and see on that as the season plays out... but it's quite possible adding a top 4 RD at the deadline is a strong possibility and the team overall could end up being better defensively this season going into the playoffs and possibly regressing a bit offensively... especially if Hyman can't repeat his 50+ goal season again.

I think you’re better off comparing the team at the beginning of this season compared to the team at the beginning of last season. Because the team will be different after the trade deadline than it is now.

I think if you compare it this way, the team is better than last year.

One of my big problems with McLeod and Foegele is that it felt like they did absolutely nothing in the bottom 6. Felt like they only produced with Draisaitl with any sort of consistency. Good for them for still producing but I don’t think either of them are top 6 long term options. Furthermore I wouldn’t trust Foegele to produce when its not a contract year. We will see whether or not Skinner and Arviddson will outproduce McLeod and Foegele but its a pretty good bet.

Because neither of the two mentioned above produced much on the third line I would argue we didn’t really have anything beyond two lines until probably the deadline.

Henrique is a much better player and more capable 3C than McLeod. The third line this year should be better than last year’s third line.

I honestly don’t like the fourth line this year. But it is probably still better than last year’s fourth line. I think the team desperately needed a legit 4C both years. I think Philp gives them more hope this year than last.

I personally think the team is quite a bit better than last year’s at the forward group. We still need to start the year better though.

I am not really going to analyze the defense. I think we need some actual games from Emberson, Stetcher and Brown.

 

[Oilhawks]

He was playing RD and was expected to play there this season. Yes I agree they couldn’t meet the offer sheet but they gambled letting 3 RD go this season and instead bulking up line 2. It doesn’t sound like Emberson is meeting early expectations from the Bobfather. But again, gambling that a 30 game player will fit the role of a 2nd pair RD.

I fully expect they will get a RD but doing so from a position of weakness isn’t the smartest move and one the Oilers keep repeating.

The hole on RD has been there now for many years. It’s gaping wide open now.

I'm not one to cling to every little bit of speculation out there, but I thought the idea was he didn't want to play RD which is one part of why he wanted out. If true, the effort would have been to accommodate him at the position he's most comfortable playing. In which case, he wouldn't be considered an RD

I think the panic here is a bit much, but maybe that's just me.

 

[Oilslick941611]

I'm not one to cling to every little bit of speculation out there, but I thought the idea was he didn't want to play RD which is one part of why he wanted out. If true, the effort would have been to accommodate him at the position he's most comfortable playing. In which case, he wouldn't be considered an RD

I think the panic here is a bit much, but maybe that's just me.

If you think the panic is bad now, just wait until the season starts and we dont beat Seattle by a touchdown, or worse lose.

 

[SupremeTeam16]

We’re definitely going to be worse offensively after replacing a bunch of guys who’ve never scored 20 goals a year (minus Foegele one time last year) with a bunch of guys who do it pretty consistently.

I mean how can we expect them to improve offensively by playing a guy on their third line who scored 20+ goals and 50 points last year.

 

[GhostfaceWu]

Foegle had 20 goals.

who are wanting to play on the third line that provides offence without hurting our defensive depth? ? Like I said earlier, you can't have top end talent in every position. Our team did very well. we had the ghost of McDavid and Drai in the finals.


regardless, we shored up the offence this offseason at the expense of defensive depth, so we will see how far that gets us.

Foegele and Mcleod put up the majority of their goas/points with Leon. They were basically a bunch of nothings when they were actually playing on the third line.

 

[McDoused]

The Oilers knew they weren't bring back McLeod (12 goals) and Foegele (20 goals) and they likely had a pretty good idea Kane (24 goals) would be gone for much of the season. That's 56 goals gone right there and then there was the extra kick in the teeth of losing Holloway for essentially nothing and he played at ~12 goal pace last season.

So essentially 60+ goals was ripped out of the lineup... that's not an insignificant amount of offense gone.

The Oilers pretty much HAD to bring in another decent scoring winger to replace at least some of that offense so Skinner who had 24 goals last season will hopefully provide some of that. I don't think he was quite the "nice to have but not necessary" addition as some people think.

The only other significant adds up front were bringing Henrique back which will help as he had 6 goals in 22 games with the team... he could/should hit 20+ in a full season and Arvidsson who if he can stay healthy might pot 25+ as well IF he can stay healthy.. but he hasn't been able to stay healthy consistently in recent years.

Brown in for Desharnais might be a slight downgrade but Desharnais was limited in his role as well especially in the playoffs where he was arguably a negative overall beyond the PK.

Stecher in for Ceci I think is more sideways IF Stecher can stay healthy... I think he makes a decent defense-1st dman who is smart and can move the puck well... exactly what Nurse/Kulak need for a partner.

Emberson is a question mark but imo no bigger of a question mark than Broberg was... so a sideways move there at worst as well.

On paper I think the team got a little worse offensively than they did defensively. Of course we'll wait and see on that as the season plays out... but it's quite possible adding a top 4 RD at the deadline is a strong possibility and the team overall could end up being better defensively this season going into the playoffs and possibly regressing a bit offensively... especially if Hyman can't repeat his 50+ goal season again.

Good analysis but we need to be consistent when making these comparisons. I did a similar comparison using ice time, usage, shooting %, etc earlier this offseason. The TLDR:

1 Henrique won't have any problem replacing McLeods 12 goals as a 3C. He had double that amount last year and would have to have a career worst season not to. McLeods numbers were actually a little inflated as well getting time with Draisaitl. Factor in that we also added Matt Savoie at McLeods expense and it was a no brainer of a move.

2. Jeff Skinner will replace Kanes 24 goals. He's a 6 time 30 goal scorer and is in a contract year. He's going to be motivated to score and make the playoffs. I think it's more likely he gets 35-40 goals than 20-24. Also it's worth noting that Kane is still on the team, we can ice both these guys once healthy.

3. Victor Arvidsson is a better player than Warren Foegele. He was paid more than Foegele for a reason. Arvidsson has 179 goals and 362 points in 546 games. That's 27 goals and 54 points over a full season. That crushes Foegeles career best but I do have concerns about his health. However as long as he's good for the playoffs he's a clear upgrade.

4. Podkolzin actually has better numbers than Holloway. He's already put up a 14 goal season in the NHL. Holloway had 6 regular season goals last year which as I posted previously were all when games were out of reach and typically from just tapping home rebounds. I still think Holloway can pop off next season but replacing last years production will be very easy.

 

[McDNicks17]

Foegele and Mcleod put up the majority of their goas/points with Leon. They were basically a bunch of nothings when they were actually playing on the third line.

Yup. The Oilers bottom six scored more goals with Connor Brown on the ice than when Foegele was on the ice during the regular season.

He was a ghost away from Leon.