I’ll start this off by saying that I refuse to blame last night’s result on Josh Archibald. Logan Stanley hasn’t exactly been the next coming of Nik Lidstrom during this series and my guess is that with the Oilers up 4-1 with nine minutes left in the game, Archibald took his moment to get a little bit of retribution and I’m 100% okay with that.
Now, if you want to talk about Dmitry Kulikov’s inability to hit his teammate with a pass that would’ve led to a zone exit and then JJ Khaira forgetting about Blake Wheeler, let’s do that. We could also have a conversation about Connor McDavid handing the Jets the game-tying goal, I’m game. Should we even get into Mike Smith flubbing that soft wrister from the point or why Khaira was taking that defensive zone faceoff in OT?
See, what we had last night was a collection of individual errors leading to that collapse. For most of the game Edmonton was in full control and it should’ve stayed that way but for whatever reason, the team allowed the Jets to gather what little emotion they received from that PP goal and turn it into a tsunami of momentum.
I think it’s very fair to say that the Jets deserved that win and Edmonton earned that loss.
Is anybody else wondering why the Oilers are struggling to do the things they did best during the regular season right now? If McDavid and Draisaitl get a handful of points in a game a month ago, that’s a win for Edmonton. If their team is up by three with nine minutes left, that’s a win for them. If the score first, that’s a win. It’s like they kicked some hockey god’s dog and now they’re paying the price…
So here we are again talking about hard lessons learned and what needs to happen in order for this team to become a playoff winner as opposed to just a regular season contender.
I see some similarities to Detroit’s early 90s teams, don’t you? From 1990-95, the Red Wings finished no worse than 3rd in their division and didn’t get past the 2nd round until 1995 when they lost to the NJ Devils in the Stanley Cup final and ’96 when they lost to that powerhouse Colorado Avalanche team in the Western Conference Final.
Finally, in 1997 and 1998, they won back-to-back championships.
If you wanted, you could go back even further with Detroit. From 1986-88, they finished 2nd, 1st, and 1st in the Norris Division only to lose to the Oilers in the Conference final in ’86 and ’87 and then the first round to the ‘Hawks in ’88.
How angry do you think the fanbase in Detroit was with all that playoff disappointment? That said, I would be willing to bet that if you asked a die hard Red Wings fan to choose between winning a Cup in those early years over four Cups in eleven years (’96, ’97, ’02, and ’08) tha they would stick with the four championships.
The fact of the matter is, well, there are a few facts,
- This team has to learn to win in the playoffs.
It’s as simple as that. This team isn’t ready yet and every good team goes through this process. It’ll be frustrating for everyone but it’s absolutely necessary.
There’s still time for this group of Oilers to show the entire world that they are on the brink of becoming what everybody has been expecting them to be. Three games down is a helluva hole to dig yourself out of but Edmonton has lost three games in a row once before this year against the Toronto Maple Leafs. They followed that up a four game winning streak…
- Ken Holland’s turned this team from a regular season whipping boy, into a regular season powerhouse with not a lot to work with considering what the previous regimes left him.
What Happens if the Oilers Are Swept Tonight?
I fully expect this summer to be a transformational one for this team. Here are a few areas I expect Ken Holland and his staff to address,
- Head Coach
If the Oilers get swept, Tippett’s post-season record would fall to 1-8 and both of those series’ losses would’ve come to teams Edmonton was heavily favored to beat. With the likes of Gerard Gallant (keep an eye on this name if Tippett rumors start up), Rick Tocchet, Bruce Boudreau, Claude Julien, Mike Babcock, and perhaps even John Tortorella available, I don’t think Edmonton could be faulted if they wanted to go a different direction coaching wise. Add to that the fact that Tippett is in the last year of his deal, it makes things a bit more palpable.
- Bottom Six Depth
There is a wealth of potential upgrades available on the free agent market this year that I believe would be massive upgrades for the team and if the Oilers are to turn into a Stanley Cup contender, they’re going to need the kind of forward depth they’ve seen all year on Montreal, Toronto, and Winnipeg.
I believe there’s going to be a lot of focus on skaters who have size, physicality (I don’t mean goons or tough guys either), and character. They’re going to need wingers who are willing to crash the net and score dirty goals and centers who can win faceoffs.
Also, since they’re going back to the old divisions next season, they’re going to need some beef in their lineup to counter what Vegas, Calgary, and LA throw at them.
Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow, Mikael Granlund, Alex Wennberg, Mattias Janmark, Riley Nash, Jordan Martinook, Luke Glendening, Erik Haula, Brandon Sutter, Sean Kuraly, and depending on how you feel about them, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.
- Top Six LW (or two)
If Ryan Nugent-Hopkins fails to record a single point in this series with WPG, I think we could be seeing the last of The Nuge in an Oilers jersey. For me, I’m okay with that. He’s paid his dues and he deserves to call his own shot. Plus, I’ve been told that Seattle is willing to pay him like a #1 center and from the info that’s been made public, it doesn’t sound like Ken Holland is.
That’ll mean a couple of new LWs who can play in the top-six. Here are a few names from the free agent market to consider on that front,
Zach Hyman, Taylor Hall, Tomas Tatar, and Mike Hoffman.
Everything could change between now and July 1st, but barring a change of mind, Tatar sounds like he is coming to Edmonton.
- Goaltending
If Tippett is let go, I wouldn’t expect Mike Smith to return. The fact that he brought in his own goalie coach says enough about that to tell me he’d be okay playing elsewhere too.
Therefor the UFA goalies on my list are as follows:
Chris Driedger and maybe Linus Ullmark.
I think there’s an outside chance Petr Mrazek, Philip Grubauer, and Antti Raanta are considered as well.
We’ll get to the trade options and who I’d like to see on the Oilers next season another day.
Real talk. With the amount of possibilities on the table for Ken Holland to upgrade this roster, be that through free agency or trade, he cannot f*ck this up and if he does, he should be asked to step down.
So what do you think? Let my know in the comments below and if the Oilers do lose tonight, do what you have to do to process everything and then start looking to the future. Things may be dark in the moment, but the future holds all sorts of promise with the likes of Philip Broberg, Evan Bouchard, Dylan Holloway, and Ryan McLeod coming up and Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Darnell Nurse, and Jesse Puljujarvi leading the charge!
This is just the start of something beautiful.
