I’ll give it to Oiler Brass. If that last game doesn’t elicit an immediate firing of somebody then these guys are more committed to losing than I ever imagined.
That gameplan, effort, and execution from the players and coaching staff had to be one of the worst I’ve witnessed from Edmonton. The worst? Maybe not. Among them? For sure. I think it’s fair to question whether or not this club has given up on its season. You can hardly blame them for realizing that the dream is dead, but as my colleague Lowetide said on his recent radio broadcast, there are still paying customers.
There are people who have been paying through the nose for the honor of witnessing that abomination in person. When it costs the equivalent of your mortgage payment to take your family to the game and feed them there then you are right to expect the performers actually try to entertain you.
It's easiest to rip the players, so lets do it. They were terrible.
Milan Lucic looks about 10 years older than he actually is and he cannot handle the puck. He’s responsible for more turnovers than a German bakery. He is especially bad at skating, passing, and carrying the puck…so almost all the essential elements of playing hockey. He hits people sometimes though, so thanks Chia!
Leon Draisaitl looks out of shape and out of breath on every shift. He rarely finds himself in the right position to shoot anymore, which is not great. The only time he appears like an offensive danger on a regular basis is as McDavid’s Right Winger, which means that the Oilers are paying $8.5 million a season to a fantastic 1st line winger but one who can’t produce on his own.
Drake Caggiula is a farce of an NHL player who doesn’t belong in the league if he can’t produce on a regular basis with McDavid as his centerman.
Ryan Strome hasn’t scored a goal in a month and the newspapers think that’s worthy of an article because they were drinking Oiler Kool-Aid and forgot to investigate the fact that Strome is a 3rd line player who shouldn’t have been counted on for offense. He’s almost worthless.
Patrick Maroon is already in St Louis mentally.
Jesse Puljujarvi is too busy trying to translate “Strome gets your spot on the PP… to focus on hockey.
Jujhar Khaira is great. I have no complaints. Love the beard.
Zack Kassian is the most talented 4th liner I’ve ever seen. The only thing holding him back is his apparent brain dysfunction.
Anton Slepyshev…present…
Mark Letestu is a 9 year vet who seems to have forgotten how to shoot on the PP and skate on the PK.
Mike Cammalleri’s legs are used up and hollow.
Nuge is a good boy. Leave him alone.
Oscar Klefbom looks broken. He doesn’t want to hit, be hit, shoot, or just get in the way of anyone. He says his shoulder feels better now than at any time this year. So what’s the problem?
Darnell Nurse is great. Now he needs to take games over.
Andrej Sekera looks like he came back about a month too early. He’s a shadow of himself.
Adam Larsson is not an ambi-turner and he can’t pass the puck. Every game that passes is more proof that the Oilers made a grievous error trading Hall for him.
Matt Benning looks like he got the job as part of a charity event. He genuinely looks ill all the time. His play looks like it needs a shot of penicillin also.
Kris Russell…too easy
Davidson is a great 6/7 defender. I’m not criticizing this guy.
Cam Talbot is absolutely brutal this year. As crappy as the team in front of him has been, Talbot has matched them every step of the way. This is not the same player we saw a year ago.
Connor McDavid just needs to pretend like he’s the best player in the world when he’s on the Power Play. Where else can you criticize him? I don’t know how vocal he is in the locker room, but I sure wouldn’t mind stories leaking about him blasting Lucic and demanding accountability. If not from his teammates then from management. LINEUP
The Oil scrambled lines in practice yesterday to send messages. What does that mean? No idea.
Maroon McDavid Draisaitl Lucic Strome Puljujarvi Caggiula Khaira Kassian Slepyshev Letestu Kassian
Klefbom Davidson Nurse Larsson Sekera Russell
Talbot
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Apologize Like You Really Mean It. The only way to make up for a garbage performance is to provide a good one on the next night. Edmonton needs to play like they actually want to win this hockey game. And maybe if the coaching staff wants to show the same thing, it would be great. I don’t want to see another minute of McDavid’s shift wasted by having to drag Caggiula AND Russell around the ice.
2) Johnny Hockey. Lil Johnny Gaudreau is 5th in NHL scoring with 15-41-56 through 48 games. He is easily Calgary’s best offensive player and will be a handful for Edmonton’s struggling defense. If Russell gives him too much space, he’s going to abuse the team. If Larsson can’t keep up with his skating, he’s going to abuse the team. If Klefbom isn’t able to play mistake free, he’s going to abuse the team. Edmonton has to have a real gameplan for this player and, frankly, I’m not holding my breath.
3) Hopefully Diamonds Aren’t Forever. Edmonton’s weak Diamond or “L… or “Wedge + 1… formation is hot garbage. Hot. Garbage. They are 31st overall, 31st at home, and 1st on the road. What? I have never, ever, seen a team have the best PK on the road and the worst at home. And if that were the case you would expect the overall rank to be somewhere in the middle. How is it even possible for a Home PK to be running at 54.2% after 48 games? The 30th ranked Home PK is at 70.1% efficiency. The players have no idea what they’re doing out and it’s clear when you watch them.
Puck drops tonight at 7PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Game On! Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy