As we inch our way through the season and get closer and closer to the trade deadline the speculation about what will happen to the make-up of this team will begin to rise. There are apparently fewer untouchables now than there were a year ago. Whenever management talks about the core of the team the number they use seems to shrink. Are there 5 core players? 4? Less?
What about on Defense? I don’t know who, on the current Oiler roster, would be placed in that “Core… group of players. Fayne is here for a while and I wouldn’t expect moving him, but I’m not sure what he brings to the table puts him in the core group. Oscar Klefbom is probably pretty close to it by default. He’s a young drafted defenseman who is averaging plenty of minutes. Then again so was Marincin last season and his follow up year has him firmly in the AHL. Justin Schultz was definitely in the core a year ago but I think he’s played himself out of there completely.
One player I am certain is not viewed as a core player is Edmonton’s best defenseman, Jeff Petry. A source close to the situation confirmed to me that the Oilers best defenseman has not had any contract negotiations of any kind with the club. Instead the Petry camp was informed that the Oilers are indeed looking for a place to move him.
With Petry so close to UFA status I understand completely that the Oilers have to shop him. They would be fools not to, frankly. It is my understanding however that Petry was/is still interested in potentially remaining an Oiler. That, though, is not something the Oilers seem keen on pursuing for some reason.
The failure of this team to recognize what they had in Petry stems back to last year. He was offered a long term deal, the terms we do not know, but settled instead for 1 year at just over 3M while Justin Schultz took almost 750K more than that. Maybe at that time the Oilers decided they would not pursue a new deal with Petry. It’s anybody’s guess why they wouldn’t be actively trying to keep their best defender.
Beyond Petry we are beginning to hear names like Hendricks and Gordon also thrown out there a bit. Moving the only parts of the bottom 6 who have actually done their jobs would be a monumental error, but one I think we can assume the Oilers are likely to make. There is nothing in recent history that suggests this franchise is capable of making solid hockey decisions.
Losing Petry is almost a given at this time, and that alone will knee-cap this team’s Blueline. Losing Petry and Gordon/Hendricks would cripple the team defensively. The Oilers will being going Full-Connor without their top defenseman and their best shutdown forwards, and you should never go Full-Connor. They would be giving up not just their best defensive forward but also their best faceoff man. I cant imagine worse ways to ensure a bottom of the league finish.
LINEUP
The lineup is largely the way it should be. No more of this Gazdic on the Gordon line business that was preposterous to begin with. You’ll find no bleeding heart argument from me about how fighting doesn’t belong in hockey. I love me a good hockey fight. My issue wasn’t even that Gazdic played a game. My problem is that the team mucked around with a good thing to get him in there when they had a hodge-podge 4th line with Lander and Purcell to goof around with. In any event we saw that having Gazdic in the lineup did nothing to help them when Blues players were ganging up on Pouliot at the end of the game. I thought Fasth would start, apparently not. They are going to live and die with Scrivens, it seems.
Hall RNH Eberle Pouliot Roy Yakupov Hendricks Gordon Klinkhammer Fraser Lander Purcell
Ference Petry Klefbom Schultz Nikitin Fayne
Scrivens
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Play For Each Other. If 98 pounds of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the only other Oiler willing to even skate towards a trio of Blues players throwing punches and cross-checks towards Pouliot at the end of the game then this team has a real problem. The final buzzer goes and these guys punch out like Fred Flintstone. Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle are riding the Brontosaurus tail out of the building before the horn stops. It seems like every time the Oilers played St Louis this year they were given an advanced lesson in teammatery (I made that word up). I know that since the Blues game that topic has been front and center but that’s because it’s so basic and is such a problem.
2) Never Play Nikitin And Schultz Together Again. Ever. Under any circumstances. Neither is particularly good at defense, together they are just there to test how much the other players on the team can accomplish shorthanded. Nikitin is hilariously slow. Schultz is hilariously clueless in his own zone. That is a lethal combination that I am hopeful I never have to witness again.
3) Stop Stamkos and Johnson From Scoring. Hahaha. Just Kidding. Ahhhhhhhh. *Pours self a tall glass of bleach*
Puck drops tonight at 5:38PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet Oilers. Tank On!
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