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Speculation: What do the Oilers need to do to take the next step?

ManofSteel55 said:
Shattenkirk was only on a 1 year contract, and is no better than Larsson. Shattenkirk is a pure offense defenseman, not the #1 that you are suggesting. Larsson has shown that he can be a top tier shut down defenseman, and has the tools to bring the offense too. Long term I am thinking that Larsson is the better bet by a fair margin.

Serious question, why is it that many on HF consider Seth Jones a future #1, but don't feel the same about Larsson? Both guys fell to be drafted 4th overall after contending for the #1 pick. Neither made a huge impact in their first year. Both have amazing skill sets. Yet to many, Jones is a #1 D in waiting yet nobody considers Larsson that.
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Jones, for me, was partially because he was on Nashville, they are REALLY good at developing dmen. And has shown more offensive upside than Larsson.

Both could become Suter (Larsson), McDonagh (Jones) type #1. I don't see either as a P.K. or Weber type #1.
 
They should have signed Hamhuis.
Hamhuis Klefbom Sekera larsson Nurse is a pretty great D core
 
McFlyingV said:
I guess somebody should have told that to Patrick Maroon, who is a much worse skater than Lucic.
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The same Patrick Maroon who put up these godly numbers?

GP 220 G 34 A 59 PTS 93 +/- -2 PIMS 283

He played very well for 16 games with Mcdavid, after they were elminated from playoff contention. Joe Colbourne went on a PPG pace for the last 18 games of the season and was literally let go. April hockey doesnt matter when there is no June hockey.

He will no doubt make any player better, but i dont see Lucic being a fit. Who knows
 
Ainsy01 said:
The same Patrick Maroon who put up these godly numbers?

GP 220 G 34 A 59 PTS 93 +/- -2 PIMS 283

He played very well for 16 games with Mcdavid, after they were elminated from playoff contention. Joe Colbourne went on a PPG pace for the last 18 games of the season and was literally let go. April hockey doesnt matter when there is no June hockey.

He will no doubt make any player better, but i dont see Lucic being a fit. Who knows
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Lucic has fit in with some of the best centers in the league so far, including Kopitar last year. And if he doesn't fit with McDavid, I guess we will have to play him with Draisaitl or Nugent-Hopkins. Its not like we don't have options among our forwards.
 
Ainsy01 said:
You guys realize Lucic sucks right? and is on the decline? He is not a top line winger. He has scored 20 goals in only 4 of his 9 seasons, broken 60 points twice!
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:laugh:

Hall, 20 goal seasons since 2010-11: 4
Lucic, 20 goal seasons since 2010-11: 4

Hall, 60+ point seasons since 2010-11: 2
Lucic, 60+ point seasons since 2010-11: 2

What an embarrassment of a post.
 
1) Get a new owner: The success of a franchise usually starts from the top and flows down through the organization.
2) Actually purge the dead wood: the fact that both Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish still have jobs with the Oilers is remarkable.
3) Improve the drafting: The Oilers have been relying on top draft picks to turn it all around. The teams that are successful typically will also hit on the occasional late round pick or undrafted free agent. I don't know if it's the same scouting staff or if Chiarelli has changed it up so it's possible this has already been addressed.
4) Hold players accountable: The Oilers "superstars" have been able to, more or less, do what they want on the ice. The inmates have been running the asylum. Even last year, although Coach Koala called out the players in the media it was rare for them to be held accountable via ice time. Yes, Hall did get benched but it was temporary and the same rules weren't applied to other players like Eberle.
5) Be patient with young players: Stop trying to rush high draft picks into the lineup. Leon shouldn't have played his first year although he did bounce back well last season. Nurse was probably rushed a little. That's not to mention Yakapov and RNH, both of whom probably could have used more seasoning to set them and the team up better long term.
6) Acquire better players: Okay, this one is a little obtuse and obviously goes without saying. But really the Oilers need to stop reaching and overpaying players to fill an immediate need (example: Ferrence, Fayne, Sekera, Lucic). I guess this is also the result of being impatient.

And finally...

7) Stop telling us how great the Oilers are going to be: It seems like every offseason the Oilers management, players, media and fans assure everyone that this (no, really THIS) is the year that everything turns around. Just you wait. This player is > than that player. We drafted whats-his-face and he's just the best. The new coach will really help. Generational stadium or something. Etc. Etc. Etc. (x 10). For just one offseason can we please not hear how great the Oilers are going to be? Let's just see what happens before we proclaim dynasties, Hall of Fame careers, scoring trophies, record breaking seasons and other amazing feats of future endevours. Even Miss Cleo (R.I.P.) was like "oh chile, that be some crazy voodoo futuring you be doin..." Yes, the team's management is largely to blame for this since they drive the hype train hard every year and especially in the offseason. The media (Edmonton, TSN, SNET, CBC, etc.) totally buy into it and stoke the fire ("it's not a matter of when they win the Cup but how many", "it's simple math", "They're building something special", etc). The fans eat it up (as would any desperate group of passionate people that have had to endure this mockery for 10 years...and counting?) and every offseason proclaim themselves all over the place. This in turn puts more pressure on the team to overpay free agents, make lousy trades and rush prospects. Take a deep breath and let it play out.

Of course, I hope none of this happens.

Katz owner for life!
Re-instate Lowe as Hockey Pres. and promote MacT to GM!
Bring back Eakins!
Play Puljarvi 30 minutes a game focussing primarily on the defensive zone!
This is the year. The Oilers have to win the Cup this year or trade McGoliath!
 
Ainsy01 said:
to go from good to great, they first have to become good !



Heard this before, about .. Hall... Yakupov... Nugent-hopkins.... etc....

Go flames.
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Agree with your first statement.

As for the second. Hall, Nuge, Yak...etc... aren't even close to the talent McDavid is. Not to mention the Oilers roster is way more balanced now then it has been in 10 years.
 
A coaching staff that keeps the players confident and believing in one another. Basically what every team needs but the Oilers just need it more than pretty much anyone. Even without another good defenceman they’ve got more than enough proven talent to compete in the playoffs.
 
Oilers seem to lack a competitive culture of winning roster spots due to how they favour first round picks and fill their team with declining vets. There's no one pushing their bottom lineup guys from the AHL to play at 100%. They way they still hand spots to guys like Nurse while guys like Oesterle languish in the minors is telling. In turn their bottom lineup guys don't push their middle lineup guys, and so forth to the Hopkins and Eberle tier guys.

Stars will have lulls and injuries but you need someone to step in who is clawing at the opportunity. Oilers lack that. Sure, by this point they have so many top ten picks on roster they may as well be a Draft Museum but I don't think they are set up for adversity. When the going goes well they will look like Village Burner Downers. But even with McDavid, when things start to become difficult there will be no unexpected sources of energy, offense, and accountability. Everything is too structured.
 
Frankly their organizational depth is really thin, any kind of injuries seem like they'll just wreck this teams chances.

The blueline still isn't great, they are really lacking on the top end.

Hope that Talbot continues his superman defending the fortress of solitude from Zod level or play.

I expect that they're still a year or two away from competing for a playoff spot. so they can't panic, when things go wrong this year.
 
I feel like you have already done that this year. You've changed the environment, built a better defense, got a steady goaltender. You have more diversity in your forward group now, with a lot of team toughness.

People can say how much better Hall is than Lucic. But Lucic has come from winning environments his whole career. That should count for something.
 
McSuper said:
Oilers are a vastly different team over last year . They have size , grit , an up graded D , more depth . What more do you think they need to do to becoming a good to great team ?

I know some will think this is better suited to the Oilers board but then you have fans that see the world thru rosy glasses . I am looking to hear from the true hockey fans and not the Oilers haters .

To me just base on cap

Out Hall and Nikitin = 10.5 million
In Lucic and Larsson = just under 10.2 million

Hall > Lucic
Larsson >>>>>> Nikitin

I am hoping to keep our C depth while adding a PM RHD . Not sure it possible but if it could be done I believe we are a playoff team
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I think they have already made the move to get to the next step (realistically finishing 16-23rd with potential to squeak into the playoffs) by getting Larsson.

To go further they need another RHD to play on the right side who has a great shot and transition ability a Giordano style player.
 
As long as McDavid and Draisaitl pan out they don't really need to do much. Just let everyone develope and potentially move Nuge or Eberle when closer to compete.
 
sully1410 said:
80pt seasons
Hall: 1
Lucic: 0

Points per game
Hall: 0.86
Lucic: 0.68

It's something called context.
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EdmontonExpress had context. The post they were replying to was underselling Lucic one the basis of 20 goal and 60 point seasons. I don't think anyone considers Lucic Hall's equal in a vacuum.

In trading Hall the Oilers gave up a lot of value but despite that I like their roster more now than I did before. Change has been badly needed in Edmonton, how well it works out we'll have to see but at least you can see what they're aiming to do. In the short term I expect Lucic to be a big difference maker for them. Even adding Kassian last year seemed to help them play a more assertive game for a while.
 
EdmontonExpress said:
The "context" being a whole 1 point per 50 games? OH, GOT 'EM. YOU GOT ME.

That was a terribly misguided attempt at cherrypicking stats, as is your post. Do better.
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Um what? I didn't cherry pick anything. That's what the numbers say. In fact, Lucic's career numbers are worse than that, but I only included his numbers from Hall's rookie year forward.

I would agree that Lucic is on the decline though and that the Oilers will regret that contract before long.

It's a bit more than 1 point over 50 games lol.
 
Ovechking said:
Someone in this thread mentioned we need a RWer. Between Eberle, yakupov, Kassian, and Puljujarvi I'd say the Oilers have the best RW depth in the league.
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I do understand the criticism about it being a very poor group defensively, though. I feel like those four will bleed GA as the worst two-way players on their respective lines. Eberle is Eberle, Pulju just doesn't have the experience, Kassian is a fancy stats albatross despite the other positives he brings and Yakupov has never shown much of an inclination for minding the store.

Really, I'd love to get a 2RW that is a possession beast, thereafter pushing Puljujarvi and Kassian down the pecking order. We're a better team if that happens.
 
Oilers need Trouba as their 2nd pairing RD

Klefbom - Larsson
Sekera - Trouba
Davidson - Nurse
Fayne

That's a much better lineup than last year.

Forwards are pretty much set as long as they play a team defense they will be fine
Defense would be set with a Trouba addition
Goal tending is acceptable with Talbot - Backup could be better
 
Really all boils down to Larsson and Klefbom, IMO. If Klefbom stays healthy and if Larsson can come in and be the rock that NJ fans say he is, and possesses the outlet pass they say he does; things are looking pretty good on the top pair.

Not only is it a passable top pair for the first time in God knows how long, but it allows Sekera and everyone below him to be pushed down to where they belong. Sekera at 3 and a 4-5-6-7-8 of Davidson/Nurse/Fayne/Osterle/Reinhart is fine. The Oilers top 3 D last year were Sekera, Nurse and Fayne. Gryba and Schultz, #6-7 guys, each played nearly 50% more than the Oilers only top pair defenseman last year (Klefbom).

That absolute cluster **** on D was the biggest issue by a landslide last year IMO. Then you combine it with the time missed by top 6 forwards.. McDavid, RNH, Eberle, Pouliot, Yakupov; I'm stunned that the team wasn't in last place by 20 points.
 
Ainsy01 said:
The same Patrick Maroon who put up these godly numbers?

GP 220 G 34 A 59 PTS 93 +/- -2 PIMS 283

He played very well for 16 games with Mcdavid, after they were elminated from playoff contention. Joe Colbourne went on a PPG pace for the last 18 games of the season and was literally let go. April hockey doesnt matter when there is no June hockey.

He will no doubt make any player better, but i dont see Lucic being a fit. Who knows
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What does that have to do with anything? playing against teams fighting for playoff positions makes it easier?
Thats also a load of **** because guys still have to earn a job next season.

The Oilers just can't have major injuries to their 1/2C, 1RW, 2LW 1D, and 1G all at the same time to improve next season
 
bbr666 said:
Get a scouting department that can find them players after the 1st round once in a while.
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UGH. That would certainly help tremendously. Although I really like some of the selections from last year and this year under Chiarelli(Bear, Benson, Jones) but time will tell if the Oilers will screw them up too
 
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