Connor McDavid is Making it Clear

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The Athletic

The Oilers and the Cooper Marody experiment are at a crossroads

When the Edmonton Oilers traded for centre Cooper Marody, the bet was on Marody emerging as an NHL skill forward in the years that followed. Then-general manager Peter Chiarelli gave up the 65th pick in the 2019 draft in the deal, a pick with significant value.
That’s a risk. Not at the Griffin Reinhart level, but it’s an overpay based on straight value. If Edmonton doesn’t make the trade, perhaps Marody becomes a free agent, available to any team for the price of a contract.
Marody is NHL-ready based on his three seasons in the AHL. He has delivered strong offence in two seasons and had a difficult time staying in the lineup in his second season due to various maladies.
Foot speed is often mentioned as a downbeat, and the NHL seems to get faster every year.
In the AHL, Marody is an offensive difference-maker and his speed does not limit his effectiveness.
Marody is trying to beat out Jesse Puljujarvi or Kailer Yamamoto for a skill-line job, and that won’t happen.
Was Marody worth the No. 65 overall pick in 2019?

BLH’s Thoughts: I’m going to say no. At the time (of the trade), there was some talk that Marody wouldn’t be signing with the team that drafted him and they could’ve gotten into a signing competition with other teams, but the Oilers decided to beat the queue and make a deal.

They could’ve drafted these fellas in the 3rd round instead,

Zachary Jones (D) – New York Rangers – 4pts in 10 games with the Rangers last season.

Pavel Dorofeyev (W) – Vegas Golden Knights – 9g 4a in 24gp for Henderson (AHL) last year.

Graeme Clark – (RW) – New Jersey Devils – 8g 10a in 31gp for Binghamton (AHL) last season.

Nathan Legare (RW) – Pittsburgh Penguins – 38pts in 34 games in the QMJHL last season plus 18pts in 14gp during the “Q” playoffs.

Henri Nikkanen (C) – Winnipeg Jets – 6’4″ 210lbs, 20pts in 40 games for Jukurit (SM-Liiga).

I could go on but you get the gist.

In my opinion, there might’ve been better players for the organization but as LT puts it, Marody was an experiment. For whatever reason though, either nobody in his camp had the foresight to see that the Oilers were filling their skill spots (ideally where this young man would’ve slotted in given his toolbox) or someone was betting that Cooper’s game would pivot…

Marody might just be ready for the NHL, but he’s not pivoted his game to make himself a useful bottom-six player and thusly, his future may very well lie in another organization. I’m looking forward to watching him in the preseason for the Oilers and I wish him all the luck where ever he lands.

Oilersnation

The Time is Now

…when a player of McDavid’s stature goes on the record with what’s already been decided within a group that includes Leon Draisaitl, Darnell Nurse and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, he’s making it clear what the expectations are to the people waiting to see talk turn into action – the fans. It’s doubling down. “Here’s what we expect to do…”
Do newcomers Zach Hyman, Warren Foegele, Cody Ceci and the remnants of Duncan Keith represent an upgrade over the players from last season who are no longer here? Questions in the goal crease and all, I think so. The acquisition of Hyman gives coach Dave Tippett more juice in his top six than we’ve seen in a while.
It’s completely understandable that much of the Oilers’ fanbase is in “show me” mode after so many years of lots of talk with few results. There were higher hopes for the Oilers two seasons ago before they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the play-in. One-and-done against the Winnipeg Jets, in a sweep no less, last season was yet another disappointment.

BLH’s Thoughts: As I’ve aged, where I rent out my “f*cks to give” has changed. I don’t care so much if the Oilers win a Stanley Cup or not, I’m just happy to be able to watch them play on a small island in SE Asia. It would be rad if they did because I could rub it in my dad’s face (converted Flames fan), but that’s about as much ego-feeding as I need.

That said, Connor is truly emerging as the next great NHL leader. When he was young he said he looked up to Jonathan Toews and he’s starting to exhibit some of the Chicago captain’s psychological traits. How ironic is it that he’ll be playing with a guy who was part of that Blackhawks “dynasty”…

I’m truly excited for this upcoming year. To me, it looks like the roster build has a more 90s look to it. It’s beefier and grittier and not to sound xenophobic, there are a few more Canadian boys on the club. All I’m saying is that it seems to be that the focus on skilled offense has taken a backseat to two-way physicality.

We’ll see if the plan works out.

Spector’s Hockey

THE ATHLETIC: Eric Duhatschek was asked about St. Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko’s status in a recent mailbag segment. He doesn’t consider the 29-year-old’s contract as untradeable because this summer’s proved there’s no such thing, pointing to Tyler Johnson, Andrew Ladd and Loui Eriksson getting moved for a price.

Jeremy Rutherford reports the contract standoff continues between the Blues and restricted free agent Robert Thomas. The 22-year-old forward is coming off his entry-level deal with little leverage except if he signs an offer sheet with a rival club.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: Right wing James Neal, center Travis Zajac, and defenseman Jason Demers are among Steven Ellis’ list of 10 noteworthy unrestricted free agents who might get the call for professional tryout offers.