Edmonton Oilers Talk: “If this team fails to succeed there is no more blaming Peter Chiarelli.”

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Lowetide.ca

OPPORTUNITY

You might have a different view on some players, but this is imo a reasonable consensus roster for opening night. Key additions in primary spots include Duncan Keith (No. 2 LHD), Cody Ceci (No. 2 RHD), Zach Hyman (No. 1 LW) and Derek Ryan (No. 3 C). That’s four big pieces in one summer.
The great thing about this roster is how much can be accomplished on the lines. Coach Dave Tippett can move Hyman to right wing, run him on any of the top three lines, and still have enough quality to fill in no matter. Injuries will impact of course, and in this model names like Tyler Benson and Dylan Holloway don’t impact opening night. A reminder: Injuries will have a say in what opening night looks like.

BLH’s Thoughts: Lowetide has TWO more projected rosters over at his site that are worth taking a gander at if you want to get the whole picture. The one above is simply the version he assumes will be present on opening night.

The only change I could see is Kassian and Yamamoto flipping spots depending on how training camp plays out.

I’d also caution against looking at the names on Edmonton’s roster right now as being cemented in. There will be PTOs and some players will come surely become available via waivers prior to opening night.

Oil on Whyte (Hladunewich)

Edmonton Oilers: Is Ken Holland on the Hot Seat?

Since Holland took over, the Edmonton Oilers have played 127 regular-season games. They have a record of 72 W-44L-11OTL. That is a winning percentage of 57.7%. During that time they have outscored their opponents 408-371. That is a total goal differential of 37 goals.
To put this in perspective the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Stanley Cup winners over these past seasons, have only won 7 more regular-season games than the Oilers. They have scored 18 more goals than the Oilers, but have given up 29 fewer goals. That is a goal differential of 84, that’s 47 more than the Oilers.
I believe the Edmonton Oilers need to become annual cup contenders by the 2024-25 season. This is the year Leon Draisaitl‘s contract is up for renewal.
If this team fails to succeed there is no more blaming Peter Chiarelli.

BLH’s Thoughts: Ken Holland isn’t on the hot seat and he won’t be unless the club misses the playoffs this season. Even then, 2021-22 will be year one of his regime, more or less. The organization would be making a pretty big mistake firing him after he’s just cleaned up the financial mess left behind by the Chiarelli era and signed a plethora of big pieces for the latter half of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl’s deals.

The Daily Goal Horn

(Henrik) Lundqvist revealed he was close to returning to the Capitals. “It was three days before I was going back to Washington that I found out that I had pericarditis,” he said. “I was very close to coming back – it was very tough to go through that again, but this was a completely different thing – because it had nothing to do with the operation.”
Boston Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk was rumored to be on the block for a majority of last season but no deal ever came to fruition. One team that was interested were the Oilers and according to Fluto Shinzawa, they may still be looking at the 24 year-old.

“I have heard Edmonton remains interested in DeBrusk. Calgary to a lesser degree. Combine that with the cluster of left-shot forwards and the shortness of cap space, and trading DeBrusk remains a possibility. A No. 2 center would be the ideal return. But they are not in a great spot to trade picks. It would have to be someone of DeBrusk’s profile: an underperforming player with potential to play better elsewhere.” – The Athletic