JR Ewing Posted November 16, 2023 Author Share Posted November 16, 2023 2 hours ago, thegx.ca said: True enough...it usually is the agents that influencing everything either covertly like McDave agent or overtly like Huberdeau agent helped get Sutter fired... In this case, McDavid's agent is now running the team, quite literally. Jeff Jackson is the Oilers CEO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted November 22, 2023 Author Share Posted November 22, 2023 Yeah... I'm still not thinking this way a very good move, not because Kris Knoblauch is a bad coach, but because the coaches don't seem to be really setting the strategy. Knoblauch has come in and is running the exact same defensive strategy, setting the exact same lines and deploying the players in the same way, and other than two quality starts from Skinner, is getting the same poor goaltending and is being Bouchard-ed hardcore. Management didn't need to fire the guy with the .643 Pts% if they wanted to run the bench from the pressbox. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomdog Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 Reading through this thread one common theem runs through. The Oilers are a bad team with a few really great players, but continue to do what bad teams do, address the wrong problem the wrong way. Pretty much everyone who follows hockey knows that the weakness of the Oilers is the goaltending and defenseman, pretty much in that order. And what to date have they done about it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted November 23, 2023 Author Share Posted November 23, 2023 (edited) 26 minutes ago, Tomdog said: Reading through this thread one common theem runs through. The Oilers are a bad team with a few really great players, but continue to do what bad teams do, address the wrong problem the wrong way. Pretty much everyone who follows hockey knows that the weakness of the Oilers is the goaltending and defenseman, pretty much in that order. And what to date have they done about it? Yes and no about the "bad team" part. When Jay Woodcroft was hired, the Oilers were a .500 hockey team. He used a system that played to the team's strengths, and in that stretch they had the 5th most wins and the 2nd most regulation wins. This is a team game, and a couple of superstar players can't create that out of thin air. Even this season, they have the best share of scoring chances and high danger chances in the NHL, including the 3rd fewest high danger chances against. Bad teams don't have the majority of the best and most dangerous chances in a game; it's quite the opposite. Well, none of that matters if the goaltenders can't make play at a level that somewhat approximates what you should expect in the NHL. The other night in Tampa Bay, with a 2-0 lead, Stuart Skinner surrendered 3 goals that hit the middle of the net. Have you ever played a sport where a guy on the team, in a key position, couldn't begin to hold up his end of the bargain? It's horrific and is beyond deflating What have they done to address their needs? Defense - sent out Tyson Barrie, a terrible defensive player for Mattias Ekholm. A clear upgrade. Goaltending - signed Jack Campbell to a 5-year contract, which was an immediate albatross. I don't understand why General Managers in the NHL haven't figured out that 30+ year old goaltenders face a steep decline in play. Campbell's started before they signed him, and he fell off a cliff after that. Now... The Oilers have had issues in management for a long time, and I'll say something that I will stand by for the rest of my life: if they had kept Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish in management, they'd be doing better than what they got from Peter Chiarelli, who's disastrous run continues to echo through the roster. Ken Holland has been steadier, but has produced literally not one NHL player in the draft. And please... Don't take that as saying that Lowe and MacTavish would have been good... Just not a disaster. Edited November 23, 2023 by JR Ewing 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 Would you blow it up.... Goaltending sucks, defense sucks....losing hope for a post season spot coming with every game. And the thought of trading Mcjesus or Leon seems insane, imagine the monster return the oil could get for both of them.... 1st rnd picks and prospects for both plus a serviceable netminder. You are not going anywhere as it is, so would you consider it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegx.ca Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Can't break up the big guys ever...they just have to do better at improving goaltending and defence...they changed nothing and are still going to get back up to top 3 in the Pacific so I'm curious to see what they do to improve before the deadline... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 It's always interesting to match up what people say to what happens on the ice. One of the main thing I keep hearing people say is that the Oilers are a bad defensive team. Shots Against: 2nd Corsi Against: 2nd Fenwick Against: 1st Expected Goals Against: 4th Scoring Chances Against: 4th High Danger Chances Against: 1st Teams that are bad at defense don't sit at or near the top of the league in key defensive stats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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