Fixed
- ruttager17

When we're on pace for only 50 points pretty much everybody can suck it

Oilers sign Babcok in the off season. First day of camp he beats JShultz with a bag of pucks in front of his teamates and the media. Ben Scrivens weaps openly and hides in the net. The Oil jump to the top of the conference.
- wilcops3

MacT coaches Oilers into playing just over .500 hockey the rest of the year, dropping their pick to 6th overall. Babcock signs with the Blues despite Oilers pursuing him, so Oilers sign another "up and coming" coach with no long-term NHL head coaching experience, like Brad Shaw. Oilers trade for an over-rated offensive defenseman who can't handle the defensive side of top line match-ups (Yandle) then spend all summer talking about the potential of the team to put it all together. By next December, Oilers are once again in the discussion for a first overall pick; Lowe and MacT are finally shown the door; Oiler's new GM has them in the playoffs by 16-17.

MacT coaches Oilers into playing just over .500 hockey the rest of the year, dropping their pick to 6th overall. Babcock signs with the Blues despite Oilers pursuing him, so Oilers sign another "up and coming" coach with no long-term NHL head coaching experience, like Brad Shaw. Oilers trade for an over-rated offensive defenseman who can't handle the defensive side of top line match-ups (Yandle) then spend all summer talking about the potential of the team to put it all together. By next December, Oilers are once again in the discussion for a first overall pick; Lowe and MacT are finally shown the door; Oiler's new GM has them in the playoffs by 16-17.
- Antilles

Babcock is wanting a job where he will have a larger say in personnel moves. Is St.Louis prepared to do that...

I could really care less if he's a part of this team going forward. Eberle can suck my balls too. And you better believe that I will present them.
- Ihatebrianburke

Thanks for the dumb down version.

I fully agree, I still think a true #1 d-man would make a world of difference on this team.
- Reveen

Agree 100%. That's the biggest issue. And Goaltending.

MacT and Eakins both overestimated how close "the core of our rebuild" was to being able to be "the core of our team". If there was an anthem for those guys right now, it'd be Gimme Shelter!

I bet MacT asked Eakins whether he was going to shelter the kids, and Eakins said something mavericky like "I don't think they need to be sheltered anymore, I think they need to be challenged, and set up with challenges that can help them succeed" and the MacT went googly-eyed and it was off to the races.

The truth is, they do need to be sheltered. Hall has bad habits where he tries to do it all himself, and a layman's estimate of 90% of them occur when he gets double-shifted to "go get us a goal". MacT made secondary scoring a hill to die on this summer, setting aside our centre depth and lack of defensive talent, but that secondary scoring never gets used. Eakins should have leaned on Purcell, Perron, Pouliot, etc. to go make something happen.

People talk about how Yaks is getting a raw deal, but the player put in the worst position to suceed in the NHL has been Justin Schultz. I don't think he likes Jultzing his way through the blogosphere and out of everyone's favour. He, like any young player needs a serious development path and they haven't given him one at all. He's been made to play a top pairing role and I dunno whether he's even ready for a top 4 role at ES. The guy is the least talented player we have under the age of 25, and he plays the hardest assignment of all of them. That about says it all.

I look at Yakupov, and I see a guy who's skill is miles above his hockey IQ. He's a very fluid and natural player with a world of creativity, but a cerebral Jussi Jokinen type he is not. He rarely knows quite where to be. I think it would have been an interesting idea to try to get him enthused about system play by really working on him as a powerplay prescence. For one, he could stick to what he knows, and gain confidence. For another, if you jump in to a set of scripted plays and movements as a means of introducing him to the world of pro-level strategy, than the more fluid aspects of the game could come later after he's gained confidence from essentially a no-fail opportunity: usually the consequence of not executing well at 5v5 is a goal against and being benched. When you have the man advantage, you can do a lot of poor executing and the stars won't align for a shorthanded goal against.

Maybe at the point Eakins realized the swarm was too advanced, he should have realized his line deployment and ice time was too advanced too. I hope in the interim, they think about continuing the trend of playing the players who do well, benching the players who do poorly, and sheltering the guys that still need to tweak their game.
- Morris

who the (frank) is this guy...

Agree 100%. That's the biggest issue. And Goaltending.
- Iggysbff

Look what Pronger did in 2006... It's not like we had any superstars beyond him.

I could really care less if he's a part of this team going forward. Eberle can suck my balls too. And you better believe that I will present them.
- Ihatebrianburke

Eberle has been much better the past couple weeks since being taken off the top line. Got some hustle and compete back in his game.

who the (frank) is this guy...
- HouseArrest187

Some new narc

Write your own blog. Seriously. You could ref your own thread and rule like Hitler.
- Ihatebrianburke

I agree. I think Morris should be blogging as well.

Some new narc
- Ihatebrianburke

man are the fantastic 4 movies poopty... Just watched tham both.

I agree. I think Morris should be blogging as well.
- Matt_Henderson

For the Flames... you guys have enough bloggers, we're lucky if Colin gets a game day in... (but agree Morris should be)

One thing that you left out Matt was, although the team's Corsi is better, it doesn't necessarily take into account that a lot of Oiler shots are due to perimeter shooting and nobody crashing the net.

Maybe that's Eakins system, maybe it's Mac T not getting the right bodies up front, or maybe, and likely, its both.

Eberle has been much better the past couple weeks since being taken off the top line. Got some hustle and compete back in his game.
- Iggysbff

I think it was deserved taking him off that line. I wish they'd play Perron with Hall and Nuge though. He put up a lot of points and goals last year with bigger minutes. Pitlick really hasn't done anything to earn or keep that spot. He he should be playing in the bottom 6 or the AHL.

Matt Henderson: Bloody Fingerprints
- Matt_Henderson

I was the problem of Oilers all along.

I agree. I think Morris should be blogging as well.
- Matt_Henderson

Where he can rule like hitler. Right.

I agree. I think Morris should be blogging as well.
- Matt_Henderson

How's it hanging Indianapolis Jones ?

Is this about Voynov?

How's it hanging Indianapolis Jones ?
- Reveen

Babcock is wanting a job where he will have a larger say in personnel moves. Is St.Louis prepared to do that...
- Reveen

Yes. Blues have a history of bringing in future GM's early on, so the idea of Babcock being head coach & assistant GM is a very plausible one in St. Louis, with him replacing Armstrong as GM eventually. Blues have already talked about Hitchcock being moved to an advisory role. And Babcock thinks Pietrangelo was "touched by the wand of God." Have to think he wouldn't mind coaching him.

Is this about Voynov?
- Lahey

No. Mact saying he had blood on his hands in the oilers mess.

man are the fantastic 4 movies poopty... Just watched tham both.
- HouseArrest187

I'm gonna watch both Hobbit movies back to back before I go see the new one tomorrow at midnight

Yes. Blues have a history of bringing in future GM's early on, so the idea of Babcock being head coach & assistant GM is a very plausible one in St. Louis, with him replacing Armstrong as GM eventually. Blues have already talked about Hitchcock being moved to an advisory role. And Babcock thinks Pietrangelo was "touched by the wand of God." Have to think he wouldn't mind coaching him.
- Antilles

He already did.

He wants a new challenge

Hope_Smoke 3:10pm via TweetDeck
Dreger "I'll tell you this, change isn't going to happen at the level of MacT, Bob Nicholson or Kevin Lowe. It'll be in scouting"


Well, you guys are in good hands. When a team is this bad it is always good to know you have that front office locked in place for no performance related reasons at all.

I'm gonna watch both Hobbit movies back to back before I go see the new one tomorrow at midnight
- Ihatebrianburke

Havent seen them.