Tonight is the Banner ceremony for the great Glen Sather, architect – coach – mentor to the Oiler dynasty teams of the 80’s.
There are people in this world who were made to lead. People whose impact is felt merely by being in their presence. It’s not something that can be learned, I don’t think. You cannot fake it. And “it… is what he has.
Every Glory Years event is filled with countless stories about the exploits of the team and their players, but almost always it filters back to stories about how Sather taught them what it meant to be a professional. They played the best hockey in the world, wore the finest suits, and worked harder against each other in practice than the other team would in games.
I don’t purport to know many Sather stories, or even have many memories of him as a GM. I don’t have a lot of them and the Oilers were in a different era when my serious fandom began. I’m in my early 30’s. He left for New York when I was in high school. Glen Sather as an Oiler, in my memory, was a man desperately trying to keep the team viable with his hands tied by budgetary constraints.
I remember the dual feelings about his departure to New York. At the same time I was angry that he was abandoning (remember these were the feelings of a teenage fan) the Oilers for what was obviously a better financial situation and I was also intrigued by what he could do with what felt like impossibly deep pockets in New York.
At the time, I recall, it felt like everybody was thinking the same thing. Without begging for pennies he was going to build a winner in no time. It never really did work out that way for Slats and the Rangers.
By virtue of not being born until just before the Cups started coming to Edmonton, I was robbed of the chance to witness Sather in his prime as a Coach and a General Manager. The closest I come now are events like tonight’s where he will be honoured for his role in shaping the Franchise as he did.
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After Fayne cleared waivers the Oilers called up none other than Nikita Nikitin.
Nikitin had 9 points in 14 games with the Condors and had a 5 game point streak going when he was called back. McLellan said he thought Nikitin looked like he was more confident and in better shape since the last time he saw him.
Last year for Nikitin was overall not very positive, but it wasn’t all bad. We could see from shift to shift that he was capable of both being very good and suddenly make terrible choices. He was Secret Agent Nikitin or Dr Jekyl and Mr Nikitin on too many nights. Right now he’s the 7th Defenseman on the team and probably wont be inserted in the lineup right away unless there’s an injury.
LINEUP
The Oilers recalled Nikita Nikitin from the AHL so they have 7 healthy defensemen again. Pouliot skated with the team the other day, but is still unlikely to return to the lineup just yet. Talbot will not play tonight, but may in New York next week.
Hall Draisaitl Purcell Khaira RNH Eberle Korpikoski Letestu Hendricks Gazdic Lander Pakarinen
Nurse Sekera Klefbom Schultz Davidson Gryba
Nilsson OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Cannonball. Taylor Hall has 30 points in 29 games this year and is showing no real signs of slowing down from that pace. He is 3rd in shots this season for the entire NHL and isn’t hitting a ridiculous percentage. Edmonton has won 12 games this year and 4 of them have come off of Hall’s stick. He is the motor that never quits for the Oilers. His incredible chemistry with Draisaitl is something to behold. The two of them together get the job done via possession and goal scoring. The Oilers have a Goals For percentage of 63.6% (5v5) when they are on the ice together.
2) Riding The Wave. The Rangers are riding a wave of percentages to a lot of Wins this year. At Even Strength the Rangers are 1st in the league for both Save Percentage and Shooting Percentage. With regards to their Save Percentage, Henrik Lundqvist is going to give them a chance to win every night. As for their Shooting Percentage, it was high last year too, but a year before that it was 28th. These things go up and down all the time. They are one of the worst possession teams in the NHL (29th, 46%) but as long as they are converting at a high rate on the chances they do get they will keep out running what looks like an inevitable collapse.
3) Jultzing The Special Teams. I know that I harp on Justin Schultz all the time, but the Oilers really need him to step up if he’s going to get 1st Unit duties on the Power Play. The numbers don’t lie, the PP struggles to create shots on net when he’s out there 5v4. He has to do more. If he’s not unleashing a big shot then he has to do the things that he CAN do to make a difference. At the very least he has to keep the puck in at the points and move the disc to the players who can make a difference.
Puck drops tonight at 7:30 (Ceremony starts 6:20) PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Get Better, Connor!
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