Edmonton Oilers Talk: “The Oilers aren’t prepared to remove the interim tag from Jay Woodcroft’s name…”

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The Athletic

How many more college players will Oilers sign this spring?

Edmonton has several draft picks who could remain in college or sign this spring-summer and begin pro careers.
- Carter Savoie is the real gem, he’s the best goal-scoring prospect among a group that includes Petrov, Bourgault, Tyler Tullio and others.
- (Filip) Engaras has signed an ATO with the Condors and played one game; he also signed a two-year AHL deal with the Condors that begins in 2022-23.
- Skyler Brind’Amour is a left-handed centre with two-way ability and could be a solid signing.
If the Oilers have some gaps at centre and left wing, then it makes sense to look at those two areas up front when pursuing free agents.
- Noah Philp is a right-handed centre with a range of skills played in Edmonton’s backyard with the University of Alberta Golden Bears.
- Riese Gaber will be on everyone’s list, the Oilers would do well to grab a skilled (if undersized) forward… Ford is also a smaller forward but more of a two-way type and can play centre.
Luca Munzenberger is the only college defence option under Edmonton’s control, and he’s 19 coming off a difficult freshman season for the entire Vermont team. It would be shocking to see Munzenberger play anywhere else next season, and pro hockey is at least one (probably more) year away.
There’s a great deal of excitement over Jake Livingstone’s future, expect a bidding war and one of the traditional college signing powers (Pittsburgh, Boston) to grab him, and the Vancouver Canucks might have an edge (he’s from Creston, B.C.).
Akito Hirose is a little less famous, but as Mark Divver from NHL.com reports he’s a smart player with the puck on his stick.

BLH’s Thoughts: Hirose is also the brother of Detroit Red Wings (you see where I’m going here) forward Taro Hirose.

I don’t have my finger on the pulse here with regards to this year’s NCAA free agent crop, but this is a chance for the Oilers to find themselves one or two older players who could bring a bit more of a two-way acumen to the organization. Brad Malone and Adam Cracknell, these guys won’t play forever and even in short bursts, players like this have value.

What I’m getting at is I would to see the team sign some gritty college kids who play on the edge. Ideally skaters with some size would be the preference because Edmonton has got the skill angle covered. Time to bring in some bangers to fill that void.

Cult of Hockey

The biggest factors in any Edmonton Oilers playoff success: 9 Things

Home ice advantage. There are 3 major factors here. Last change and a shot at the better matchups in a 7-game series helps. A little less travel over time can help too, especially the longer a series goes. But I also think the fans in the building can have a significant impact. And in the case of Edmonton, it could be the biggest edge of the 3.
Officiating. I do think the Oilers are fueled by their Power Play more than many other playoff-bound clubs. Typically, fewer penalties are called in the post-season. If the whistles do get put away, I do not think it helps Edmonton’s chances.
Coaching. Jay Woodcroft is a particularly good coach. But you cannot ignore the fact that he has never been an NHL Head Coach in a Stanley Cup Playoff series.
Experience. Having guys like Duncan Keith (135 post season games played), Derick Brassard (117), Kris Russell (54) and even guys like Cody Ceci (36), Zach Hyman (32) and Mike Smith (29) on your squad helps (both on the ice and off) when you are in the guts of a playoff game.
Depth. The Oilers may not have had organizational depth this substantial since 2006. That does not mean their depth is necessarily better than the clubs they may end up facing. But when injuries strike (they will, it is only a matter of when, how many, and how serious) the Oilers have some options. And they also have enough horses to build their lineup in several diverse ways depending on the opponent and situation.
McDavid & Draisaitl. That old saying “your best players need to be better than their best players” is true when the rubber hits the road in the Stanley Cup Playoffs… Draisaitl has 11 points in his last 8 playoff games, and McDavid 13 in his last 8. But if any team does not get production from its top guys, then you have to count on a lot of other, less reliable sources in order to make up for it. No pressure, right?
Goaltending. If a healthy Mike Smith can catch fire, he could be a real difference maker… We have all seen Mikko Koskinen play well. But the evidence would seem to be against him in a longer series. There are also examples in Stanley Cup history of a relative unknown standing on his head. Could that be be Stuart Skinner? Sure.
Defending. You had better not be counting on winning too many post-season games 6-5… I think it is fair to class the Oilers blueliners as well above average puck movers and transporters. But numbers would suggest they are only average and probably more accurately below average defenders… But Oilers defenders can be exposed, both on the transition through the neutral zone and (especially) on the cycle low in their own zone. We have seen as much all season long.

BLH’s Thoughts: I reckon if the Oilers are going to get bounced in the first round this year (should they make it), it’ll be because they couldn’t keep it together defensively. Some might say there’s a chance they’ll get “outskilled” which is pretty funny considering that Edmonton has two of the highest skilled players in the league.

The problem is, this team doesn’t have a shutdown line on forward and they’ve got no true shutdown pair on defense. The club is lacking elite grinders in their bottom six and when the going gets tough, they’re going to run into puck movement issues because the other team is going to throw everything at the Oilers’ defensemen in terms of forechecking.

Don’t believe me, watch how LA plays. I use the Kings because there’s a good chance Edmonton might face them in the first round and if not them, they’ll be up against a better team with better depth and forechecking.

But getting back to LA, they have a very quick roster and they forecheck like there’s no tomorrow. They attack the puck (and its carrier) in an unapologetic manner whereas Edmonton goes around trying to puckhandle around everyone as they try to score off of the rush, and when they hit, it seemingly comes with a dusting of regret.

The only team that the Oilers really get up for is Calgary and maybe to a lesser extent, Toronto. Reckon the stars will align and the hockey gods give us both this year? Wouldn’t that be something?…

Now, what I will say is that Edmonton’s improved 5v5 scoring is very encouraging seeing as the refs usually put their whistles away in the post-season. If the Oilers can get on a heater going into the first round here, I like their chances of getting through it.

Also, this ability to come back and win games is kind of intriguing but it comes with great risk since most clubs tend to clamp things up this time of year.

An in-form Skinner, Smith, or Koskinen would help way too much to think of that option as realistic…

I suppose we’ll see here how this team is going to get the job done.

Trade Rumors

Spector’s Hockey:Stefen Rosner believes the New York Islanders will have to move out a couple of contracts in the offseason if they intend to add some high-end talent for next season… One of them would have to be winger Josh Bailey, who has two years remaining on his contract worth an annual average value of $5 million. Another could be goaltender Semyon Varlamov, who also carries a $5 million cap hit and has a year left on his deal.
- Jimmy Murphy recently reported a rumor linking Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman to the Arizona Coyotes leading up to the trade deadline. The Bruins wanted to acquire defenseman Jakob Chychrun but Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong insisted the 23-year-old Swayman be part of the return.
The Hockey Writers: There’s a lot of attention being paid to the commentary crew of the Arizona Coyotes who praised Jay Beagle for cross-checking Trevor Zegras and beating on Troy Terry of the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night…
- Zegras had a lot to say after the game and said of the player who kept punching Terry who wasn’t engaged in a fight, “It’s humiliating and I think he should be f****** punished.”
- The Jets are hanging onto hope that they’ll be a playoff team this season, but should they not get into the postseason, there is talk that there could be big changes coming to the roster… Dreger said it could be anything from a small coaching change that wouldn’t bring Dave Lowry back to big roster moves. The more significant deal is that they hit the core of the roster.
- Despite solid numbers and a strong turnaround by the Edmonton Oilers after he took over as head coach, the Oilers aren’t prepared to remove the interim tag from Jay Woodcroft’s name just yet. Friedman reports that GM Ken Holland has said the organization will decide on Woodcroft’s future as coach after the season.

BLH’s Thoughts: Listen, with regards to that Zegras/Beagle incident, that’s ALL on Trevor Zegras. If he doesn’t poke the goalie like that, nothing happens. So he’s the one that’s on the hook for the whole fracas. Then he goes off to the media after the game like an entitled little brat? Nice job rookie! You’ve now let the whole league know what gets your goat and how to throw you off your game. That’s lesson one.

As for Troy Terry, I think it’s great that he went in to defend his teammate, but I don’t think he knew who he was squaring off with nor do I think he was capable of fighting him. That’s lesson two and just as some people out there are saying that if the Coyotes don’t want to be embarrassed on the ice, be better hockey players, I’m saying if you don’t want to get your ass kicked, be better at sticking up for yourself.

Everybody is all up in arms as to the commentary and Tyson Nash was simply stating what every hockey player knows. You don’t embarrass the other team, but the problem is, all the snowflakes out there didn’t hear that, they heard that part about that’s what happens when you skill it up in a blowout. So they’re all flustered because they believe Nash is saying skilled players should be punished for being better at hockey and that’s not his point at all.

In a one-sided game with five minutes remaining, you don’t try to run up the score and pad your stats, it’s an unwritten rule that’s always been around. I could care less if Zegras “thought” he saw the puck or not, in a close game you’ll pay the price for digging around in the goalies equipment for loose pucks let alone a game where there’s such a discrepancy on the scoreboard. You don’t do it unless you think you’re going to get away with it…

Side note #1, how hurt was Zegras after that little cross check from Beagle? Man, he popped up pretty quickly after he saw Terry getting tuned in and then it looked like he wasn’t hurt at all as he was trying to get at the Coyotes forward. Hmmm… Weird.

Side note #2, Zegras is in competition with Mo Seider and Lucas Raymond for the Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) and I imagine if he wins that he’s in store for one helluva bonus. Geez, I wonder why he was trying to run up the score against the worst team in the league?

So, again, to reiterate, this whole thing has nothing to do with taking skill out of the game, it’s all about a narcissistic rookie and his bid to win the rookie of the year trophy.

Don’t get me wrong, Trevor Zegras is electrifying and every team could use one of him because the NHL is way more fun to watch when he’s on the ice. Alternatively, the pendulum has swung way too far to the “skilled” end and we’re going to start to see it come back the other way in the coming years as the league’s stars continue to take abuse with no help coming from the league or the refing.

That said, if you don’t want to get your ass handed to you or a teammate, don’t do stupid shit on the ice that might trigger an opponent.