So I wrote at length about the Oilers inability to properly manage their assets on and off the ice, give the players defined roles where they can thrive. Well 2026 has begun and they have not disappointed. I am no GM, I am no scout, I am no coach, but I really don’t understand what they see vs what I see when I watch these games. Perhaps some of you can enlighten me in the comments. Here are my gripes.
Noah Philp Claimed Off Waivers by Carolina
From day one, I really liked this player and I’ve spoken about him often previously. In short he’s big at 6’3, is a right hand shot and he legitimately understands the game. It’s little things that most people miss, but things like avoiding a bad turnover in the neutral zone by putting the puck in awkward spots for opposing players, or making quick give and go plays to his linemates.
To quote Martin St-Louis “Don't make plays which help the opposition”, and Philp does that. He did all the little things right. And that's where a player's role comes in. As a coach you need to encourage those strengths in his game and put him in a position to use them effectively within the established system (Is there one?)
I thought he played great hockey this year, but his ice time was always limited to 10 minutes and his linemates were constantly changing. On a team like the Oilers, the coaching staff needs to put less emphasis on the bottom six generating secondary scoring, and more on giving them confidence that they will hop the board 12-14 minutes a night and all they need to do is play their game. The rest will sort itself out.
David Tomasek Contract Termination
Again, I’m no scout or GM, but watching the games, I like how he plays. He’s another smart player who can generate creative plays and has size at 6 '2. He is not the fastest skater but I really did not think it impacted him negatively. Much like Philp, he had a revolving door of linemates and only played about 10 minutes a game. The result of doing this, like I’VE SAID THIS ALL SUMMER utilizing players like this will cause them to be out of synch and have no defined role. Here is what Tomasek said himself according to the Hockey News,
“It has been tough, of course,” Tomášek told the Färjestad website. “Tough for me, who’s been used to playing a lot and knowing my role. Now I’ve hardly played for a very long time, and definitely not had any role, and now that I’m close to 30, I had to make a decision. I still fought as long as I could, and if I’d been younger, maybe I could have adapted better and learned a new role.”
And that's been the problem with the Oilers for the past 4-5 years. The bottom guys have no established roles, they never know what is expected of them or how they will be used game in game out
Isaac Howard Called Up
I really like Isaac Howard. As a player, he is creative and his shot is deadly. But I don’t see how calling him up is a good idea. He’s currently tearing it up in the AHL with 10 goals and 23 points, while playing big time minutes. Why call him up to play 8-10 minutes with zero powerplay time? This is the perfect example of what I mean when I say you need to put a player in a position to use his talents to succeed. If you call him up and put him on a line with McDavid or Draisaitl, fine I guess, but a line with Savoie Hutson and Howard will see 7-10 minutes of ice. The plan from day one should have been to let Howard tear up the AHL and next year he’s a full time 82 game NHL guy. I hope I’m wrong but I think it would benefit him immensely to just dominate the AHL.
I like the Quinn Hutson call up better as his role is not a sniper like Howard, despite putting up 32 points this year in the AHL. He can slot into the bottom six and still be an effective players as he’s a good forechecker and plays a better 200 foot game. Furthermore, the longterm plan is quite different for Howard than Hutson. However, I'd love for them to make me eat my words.
The Future and Actually Having a Plan
Now the Oilers have been winning lately, but this is because McDavid and Draisaitl have put the team on their back. For the next game vs the Flyers Mangiapane is slated to be a healthy scratch.
I’ll admit that he has not had the best season, and I know I’m repeating myself, but put players in a position to use their strengths to succeed! On an Oilers team with a lot of offensive players, Mangiapane is not going to score 30 goals. Not because he's not a good player but there's no PP time for him and like others, the linemates are constantly changing. Just tell him to be a pest, creat turnovers and don't worry about the rest. There needs to be structure and realistic expectations on the part of the coaching staff and front office. You're not going to get secondary scoring if your bottom six plays 7-10 minutes.
Now I know this is impossible as some of these players are now gone but I would have rolled with these lines from the start of the season and never looked back
RNH-McDavid-Hyman
Savoie-Draisaitl-Roslovic
Padkolzin-Philp-Mangiapane
Tomasek-Henrique-Frederic
Extra: Hutson, Kapo, Janmark
Role the Lines and Trust Your Players
The game plan is simple, for the bottom six, each game you’ll see 10-14 minutes of ice time. All you need to do is play to your strengths, forecheck hard and draw penalties. No need to score goals, no need to force the offense. And by playing that way, the offense will just come naturally. Tell the bottom six you’re not out of the lineup if you haven't scored in 10 games. Tell them if they stick to the plan, they will play. And the coaching staff need to stick to that plan also.
Perfect example, look at Jake Evans in MTL. Plays 15 mins a night, has 10 points in 34 games, but no one has ever talked about taking him out of the line up. Why? Because his job is to play the PK and be defensively sound and create turnovers. The Oilers need to do this with their bottom six guys, as it's becoming a joke all over again.
These are good hockey players on the Oilers roster, but they can't be expected to sit on the bench for 10 minutes and be called upon to play a shift vs McKinnon and have success., They need a plan, support and a clear consistent realistic message from the coaching staff about what's expected of them.
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