Edmonton Oilers Playoff Talk: “Jay Woodcroft’s decisions in this series have people questioning him…”

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Lowetide

It’s clear the Avalanche are the better team, but for me the Oilers have contributed to the 3-0 status with dozens of poor plays around the puck, inconsistent goaltending and several miles of penalties. Woodcroft mentioned the penalty totals were out of balance in this series, suspect the organization will need to reflect on that over the summer. Sometimes not retaliating and not running a guy into the boards is the best tactic.
Jay Woodcroft’s decisions in this series have people questioning him for the first time since he arrived from Bakersfield. Several things he’s tried, or not tried, have the look of stubborn this morning. You’ll have to look long and hard to find a more zealous Nurse defender than this blog’s author, but placing Kulak with Ceci was the play here after Game One, and Woodcroft didn’t pull the trigger.
Ken Holland should take a little time this summer to hire an analytics department. The team could use help in pro scouting, this team will need an edge in the years to come when making trades. I’m not anti-Holland, the amateur scouts are rocking and credit to him for Kane, Cody Ceci, Zach Hyman and deadline acquisition Brett Kulak.
What the Oilers really need is someone to build a list of possible targets in free agency, trade and minor league acquisitions. Not every useful player costs two picks and $6 million. This team needs to get smart in the subtle pro procurements. Edmonton used to do that kind of thing, grab Steve Staios in free agency and plug him in for five years.

BLH’s Thoughts: Would you blame the Mahe brothers if they just up and said, “f*ck this place, we’re out!”?

See, the Oilers do have an analytics department and it consists of those two gentlemen, yet, they’re the Rodney Dangerfields of the organization… No respect, I tell ya.

Should the the organization EXPAND their analytics department? Sure! The more minds, the better, no? And there are about 50 guys in Edmonton alone that could do it too, but I feel that OEG undervalues their talents. Meaning, they lowball them so badly, it turns them off of being a fan of the team.

Now, that being said, this team is at the point in its development where the core is in place but smart money/assets need to be utilized to cover the complimentary pieces. I’m talking bottom six forwards and bottom four dmen and so my question is, do the Oilers need to double or triple the amount of people working with the Mahe brothers to accomplish that?

I don’t believe the lack of a larger analytics department is the reason the Oilers are down three games to none in this series, but I’d be willing to bet there are some loud voices on line that do share that sentiment…

So what do the Oilers do tonight? In games one to three, I didn’t have a good feeling about them getting the win, but I like their odds tonight. I think Kadri being out hurts the Avs more than Kane being out hurts the Oilers. I remember seeing Josh Manson getting dinged up last time out and Colorado is already without Burakovsky and Kuemper. Also, didn’t Bouchard kill another Av with his shot in game three?

My point is, MacKinnon’s boys are hurting and they’re under a lot of pressure to get this series over and done with so that they can rest and be ready for the Lightning or the Rangers. Colorado can’t let their grip on this series loosen while at the same time Connor McDavid can flip the script at any point here. Relative to the Calgary series, he’s been quiet so far and usually that lasts no more than a two games before be breaks out and wrecks a team on his own.

Let’s be clear though, I don’t think Edmonton has the soldiers to take four in a row off of the Avalanche, but could they find a way to get one more game in Edmonton before it’s all done and dusted? I think there’s a chance they could do that.

Oilersnation

Edmonton Oilers to terminate contract of goaltender Ilya Konovalov

Edmonton Oilers goaltender Ilya Konovalov will have his contract terminated by the team so he can sign a deal in the KHL…
Konovalov is set to sign a deal with the KHL’s Dynamo Moscow, club general manager Alexi Sopin told championat.com.
With the Condors, he posted a 5-7-5 record, a 2.73 GAA and a .893 save percentage.

BLH’s Thoughts: So much for that little experiment. I remember wondering what the Oilers were going to do with their goaltending at the AHL level seeing as all the goalies there were pretty young, right? Then you tack on the fact that Mikko Koskinen is heading to Switzerland next season and there’s some uncertainty as to who Stu Skinner will be sharing the pipes with next season. I was, and still am, of the opinion that Ken Holland would need to sign a good AHL tweener to mentor Fanti and Rodrigues in addition to being able to be a capable backup in case one of Edmonton’s NHL netminders gets banged up.

https://twitter.com/BeerLeagueHeroe/status/1532935621248811009

Trade Rumors

Spector’s Hockey

Elliotte Friedman reports the Chicago Blackhawks could be a team to watch over the next few weeks in the trade market.
Kevin Kurz recently mused over what it might cost the New York Islanders to make a pitch for Kevin Fiala.
- Kurz believes any potential trade for Fiala would have to start with the Isles’ first-round pick in either this year’s draft or next year’s.
- …suggested Oliver Wahlstrom as an alternative.
- If the Islanders don’t want to part with their first-round pick, perhaps a prospect such as Aatu Raty might push the deal over the finish line.
Jimmy Murphy recently reported Joel Armia’s performance for Finland in the World Championships has generated some trade buzz about the Canadiens winger.
- Murphy also wondered if Ethan Bear might be a fit with the Canadiens. The 24-year-old Carolina Hurricanes defenseman is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer.
- Murphy’s source cited Bear’s conditioning as an issue, which could hurt his trade value.

BLH’s Thoughts: Interesting… So that’s TWO clubs now where rumors of Bear’s lack of attention to his conditioning have cost him… Will a third team take a chance? He did have surgery on his foot I believe right after the Hurricanes were knocked out of the playoffs but he was out of Carolina’s lineup since the end of April. So why didn’t he have the surgery earlier if his injury required going under the knife? That would’ve explained being out of lineup for so long…

It doesn’t matter. That trade is a wash to a degree (although I would still give Edmonton the nod considering Foegele actually got to play in the post-season). The Canes saw all they wanted of Bear and Foegele disappeared down the stretch never to be seen again. The feeling I get is that he’ll be moved this summer too as there was interest in him leading up to the deadline.

Watch, McLovin’ will score a brace tonight and help stave off elimination for the Oilers…