After a couple days off, the Oilers return to Rogers Place to take on the Red Wings for the second time in a week. Edmonton finished their road trip going 2-1-1. On paper that might seem, acceptable but delving just a hair deeper that should be seen as wildly dissapointing.
The Oilers lost in the shootout to the Flyers, were tied with the Senators going into the third and were simply outmatched by the Canadiens, breaking their 11 game point streak. This isn't a "the sky is falling" moment but Edmonton did not play anywhere close to their best hockey and looked completely disinterested at some points.
The schedule favors the Oil but we have seen them play down to the level of poorer teams. That is a dangerous habit to get into as they will quickly need to transition to playing against tougher competition.
That brings us back to the likes of Erik Karlsson and Jacob Chychrun. I would rather see this team swing for the fences and give up some futures to acquire one of these players, rather than half measures like Edmundson or Gavrikov. A meaningful big add would not only bolster the roster and show the team that their GM believes they can win the Cup, but also energize this fanbase and get some real recognition around the NHL.
If Edmonton is a Cup contender, they should at bare minimum be in the top 4 every season for the next few years. That would make their first round picks at the very highest, 29th overall. Here are the bottom four picks from the first round since 2017:
2017: 29) Chicago - Henri Jokiharju 30) Nashville - Eeli Tolvanen 31) St. Louis - Klim Kostin 32) Colorado - Conor Timmins
2018: 29) Toronto - Rasmus Sandin 30) Detroit - Joe Veleno 31) Washington - Alexander Alexeyev 32) Buffalo - Mattias Samuelsson
2019: 29) Anaheim - Brayden Tracey 30) Boston - John Beecher 31) Buffalo - Ryan Johnson 32) Ottawa - Shane Pinto
No players in that range from 2020 or later have yet played in the NHL. Would anyone be upset trading any combination of those players in exchange for Karlsson or Chychrun?
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Kailer Yamamoto is healthy and ready to play... except he won't because the Oilers do not have the cap space to take him off LTIR and have not yet put Jesse Puljujarvi on waivers. That by definition is cap circumvention. The league won't penalize the Oilers for this...yet, but if this continues for more than just one game than people are going to start taking notice. Perhaps this is the team just wanting to give the player a bit more breathing room, or maybe it's because they almost have a trade in place that involves Puljujarvi.
The mediocre road trip leaves Edmonton still in a Wild Card position but also fighting for first in the Pacific Division. That is how close things are right now. I wonder which team the Oilers would want to face the most or the least in a playoff round. The Oilers could very well finish first in the division and end up playing the Minnesota Wild in the first round. More than any other matchup, that is one I would avoid like the plague.
Tonight, the Oilers will face off against the Red Wings and another player they have been tied to in Tyler Bertuzzi. The 27 year old winger who was drafted by Ken Holland had had a 30 goal season last year but has been subpar all season this year with only 2 goals and 8 points in 21 games. This brings back less than fond memories of the Athanasiou trade a few years back.
If Edmonton's plan is to once again keep Draisaitl and McDavid together, there is an argument for adding another LWer that can play somewhere in the top 9. The snag with Bertuzzi comes to his vaccination status. He is currently eligible to play due to his American visa but people are unsure how that would work if he played for a Canadian market. Something to keep an eye on regardless.
We are just over two weeks away from the NHL trade deadline. Hopefully this is an exciting time for Oilers fans. A quiet trade deadline from Holland should be seen as an embarrassment and will be remembered vividly should the Oilers fail to make real noise in the playoffs.
Thanks for reading and enjoy the game!