LEON
This morning the Oilers made it facebook official and sent Draisaitl back to Prince Albert. No trades can be made involving the Swiss player supposedly going back the other way until the WJC is over.
Speaking of the WJC, the tournament the Oilers denied Draisaitl from playing in, the German team which Leon Draisaitl would have no doubt Captained was relegated the other. So not only did the Oilers deny their own player from suiting up for his country, but it may have cost his program and his country big.
Is it possible that the player was involved in this decision? Yes, it is. It is also probable that the decision to keep him away will be regretted by both the player and the organization for a very long time.
In any event, nobody can change what happened and as of today the young man is playing where he should be. He can regain his scoring touch and confidence while playing for a winner. It is the best decision for Draisaitl's future. It's the best decision for the team's future.
The Oilers need him to be a 18 minute a night C with the ability to score. He isn't succeeding enough at the NHL level. 9 points on the season, 6 in his last 25 are proof of that. Sending him in to Jr. should have happened 9 games into the season but it didn't. All that matters now is that the right decision has been made.
PERRON
In his first game on a line with Sidney Crosby the former Oiler middle 6 winger scored. Finding him ice and good linemates was a problem all year after the Oilers loaded up on wingers and downsized on Centermen this past summer.
Last year he was playing roughly 19 minutes a night mainly with Gagner or Nuge as his Centermen. This year he was playing 17 minutes a night with Arcobello or Draisaitl. To say that was a huge downgrade would be putting things mildly. Now he's found sweet freedom in the form of playing with Crosby. What a massive swing that is for him.
The 1st Round pick the Oilers received for him looks like it could end up in the 25-30 range depending on how well the Pens do in the playoffs. As of right now they are 5th in the NHL and capable of making a long run in the post-season.
I still haven't come to terms with the team parting with Perron without getting an asset back that it actually needs.
LINEUP
The Oilers lineup today is probably the best one we'll see the rest of the year. In all honesty, it will likely only get worse as more quality players are shipped out for pennies on the dollar. Klinkhammer will take up a spot on the 4th line. He should be an upgrade on Jesse Joensuu/Steve Pinizzotto/Luke Gazdic which means the 4th can start soaking up tough minutes again with regularity. Lander's spot on the 3rd line looks set in stone now which mean we'll get 40 more games from him barring injury. And, Fraser is going to see some OZ time with soft match ups too. This is as good as it gets until the Oil find out if all this tanking pays off.
Hall RNH Eberle Pouliot Roy Purcell Fraser Lander Yak Hendricks Gordon Klinkhammer
Ference Petry Klefbom Fayne Nikitin Schultz
Scrivens
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Say Hi To Johnny. Edmonton native and actual NHL Defenseman who was acquired for relatively little at the start of the season is 2nd on the Islander in Possession (only to his partner Leddy) and has 16 points in 28 games. He's a 6'2" 225lb right shooting Defenseman who plays 22 minutes a night. Be nice, he's a pending UFA.
2) Colonel Klink. It's his first game as an Oiler and while he couldn't really hide his disappointment during the first interviews he gave after the trade he should still be full of energy tonight. He's a big man who plays "An honest game", which is hockey talk for he hits people and doesn't back down.
3) No More Sievens? Scrivens continues to get the starts and in his last 3 outings he hasn't been responsible for the losses. In fact, he has been pretty good. I will set aside how infuriating it is for that kind of goaltending to only show up after the season is dead on the side of the road and collecting flies so that I might enjoy it.
Puck drops tonight at 7:38PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Tank On!
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