Andrej Sekera is on the ice today for Oilers morning skate
— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) November 27, 2018
You’ve probably seen the tweet sent out by Oilers Now host Bob Stauffer entailing the return to the ice for defender Andrej Sekera, right? I’m as shocked as you are but that said, Stauffer did mention during the pre-game show vs. the Kings that Sekera had been skating back in Edmonton.
This is outstanding news! I’m very curious about the timeline but he must be closer than not if he’s taking part in Ken Hitchcock’s practices.
Now, I think it’s safe to say that we should be tempering expectations as any normal human being coming back from major knee surgery AND a torn Achilles tendon would be out of commish for years let alone months. We shouldn’t expect ‘Rej to come back in his 2016 form and the way I look at it is by remembering players like Sergei Gonchar and Andrei Markov and how well they played after they returned. Gonchar had some mobility issues but Markov seemed to come back alright.
Here’s to hoping that Andrej Sekera can come back somewhere in the middle and that he’s brought along properly by the Oilers meaning a conditioning stint in Bakersfield and 3rd pairing minutes to start.
Philly Needs a Tender!
After giving Ron Hextall his walking papers, interim GM (I guess?) Paul Holmgren said this during his media avail this morning,
Holmgren says he will personally look around for a short-term fix in goal, maybe even before new #Flyers GM is hired. “If I can make our team better, I’d be foolish not to look at it.”
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) November 27, 2018
That HAS to be music to the ears of Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli because as far as I’ve been told, the Oilers have been listening to offers on Cam Talbot for some time now.
Now you might be asking yourself why Philly would want Talbot? Well, at the moment they’ve got Calvin Pickard and Alex Lyon tending the nets as Brian Elliott and Michael Neuvirth are on the IR.
Philly has a shade over $7M available in cap space right now and the Oilers simply need a backup goalie and someone to alleviate the pressure on their own cap. Talbot makes $4.16M per year so they could easily absorb that.
So I propose the Oilers send Talbot to the Flyers for one of Pickard, Lyon, or Elliott and a draft pick or a prospect.
Puljujarvi and Chiasson to the Top Six!
It’s about time! Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock said that he’d accelerate Jesse’s progression and put him in the top-6 within the month and he’s done so. This is very exciting for me because I feel like Puljujarvi simply hasn’t had the confidence of his coach since he joined the Oilers.
An interesting quote from the book published way back in 2004 entitled “Simply the Best” provides us a very interesting insight into Hitchcock,
I have learned in coaching that even though the player is not playing his best at the time, if you instill confidence, then he will. When things aren’t going as well as they should, good coaches stick with the players.
I know that it’s only been one game since Puljujarvi was recalled but this is his chance to finally break into the top-6 and stay there. His team needs him, his coach has complete faith in him, and he HAS to seize this opportunity and hold on for dear life.
Here are the lines for tonight’s matchup versus the Dallas Stars.
Garrison and Benning will play tonight on defence. Gravel and Wideman out. Koskinen starts vs Dallas. https://t.co/hCK3ghvlWF
— Jack Michaels (@EdmontonJack) November 27, 2018
Last comment, do not be surprised to see the Oilers shite the bed tonight. They do not perform well the first game back after coming home off a road trip and if we use a couple more narratives that have backfired on Edmonton recently, Dallas will be without top defenceman John Klingberg and they’ll have their backup, Anton Khudobin, in net.
I watched Dallas vs. Edmonton last season and it was a great back and forth game. If I’m not mistaken I think Matt Benning scored the GWG and Jamie Benn was quiet but Radulov was in beast mode.
