This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!
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Lowetide.ca
- The point of today’s post is to prepare you for the loss of Jay Woodcroft to another organization. Now, I know some of you think that if you yell about Dave Tippett long enough, Woodcroft will be hired in Edmonton, but history is an excellent forecast for the future and Ken Holland likes to hire a coach once every decade and that’s a long, long time.
- Holland’s first coach in Detroit was Scotty Bowman, who left after winning the 2002 Stanley Cup.
- His next hire was Dave Lewis, who lasted just two seasons and won just a single playoff round.
- Mike Babcock was more successful, he spent a decade in Motown and won a Stanley there.
- Jeff Blashill was chosen by Holland in 2015, never won a round of playoffs and remains the coach for the winged wheel.
- Any change in direction now will involve reassessing, retooling and a period of transition. This train is headed for glory.
BLH’s Thoughts: I think there should be some sort of caveat here. Holland kept guys around who’d been Cup champions previously or had been to the Cup Final. Bowman with a plethora of clubs and Babcock with the Ducks. Also, Jeff Blashill was an AHL champion for Detroit’s AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids in 2012.
Dave Lewis took over from Bowman and so his fate was sealed the day he took the job. How often does it ever work when an assistant coach is awarded the head coach’s position let alone when it’s a hall-of-famer that’s being replaced. Lewis was the good cop and Bowman… I’ll let you finish that.
If you look at the coaching histories of both the Adirondack Red Wings and the Grand Rapids Griffins when they were affiliates of Detroit under Holland’s guidance, their head coaches got between three and four seasons before moving on, but not a lot became head coaches. Jeff Blashill is one, Barry Melrose is one, and Bruce Cassidy did a one-off with Grand Rapids before another one-off with the Washington Capitals, so I’m not sure if he counts.
What does it all mean? Nothing really. Jay Woodcroft could get hired in Edmonton in the same vein as Jeff Blashill or he could join a very exclusive group of AHL coaches under a Holland-led organization to become an NHL coach elsewhere.
Dave Tippett could stick around for another five years but his lack of post-season success is concerning if we’re making predictions according to the trends and the I’m just not getting the feeling that Tippett wants to coach beyond this year anyhow.
There are two available coaching legends who’ve won before, would fit the description of a Ken Holland hire, and both have coached very successful NHL champion teams for long stretches.
C’mon… Don’t tell me that the post-game media avails wouldn’t be appointment viewing if Torts was behind the bench in Edmonton.
Oilersnation
Monday Mailbag
Who has been the most pleasant surprise and why?
- “Has to be Stuart Skinner, right? I don’t think anyone expected him to play this much or this well this season and it’s been a lot of fun to watch.” – Baggedmilk
Have any of Skinner, McLeod or Broberg played their last game in the AHL?
- “I expect Broberg will need more time in the AHL. Really rare for a 20-year-old to stick after just 13 AHL games. Looks like a player, though.” – Brownlee
It was reported that Mike Smith may not be back until mid-December and I’m wondering what happens with Stuart Skinner considering he’s played very well over these last few weeks.
- “He likely goes back to AHL for a stint. He doesn’t require waivers. Koskinen just played unreal in a big game against Vegas, and I see him as the starter more now than Skinner.” – Gregor
Broberg has been recalled at almost the exact point in his career as Nurse was, after about 20 games in their D+3 season. Given that virtually every writer in this site has for years lamented that the Oil management of the day rushed Nurse into the NHL and this hurt Nurse’s career development, what are their thoughts about bringing Broberg up at this time Should Holland quickly acquire a journeyman fringe NHL/AHL type guy to fill so that Broberg won’t be damaged?
- “Very different situation, but if injuries do continue then Broberg will play 20+ min most likely. I don’t see it ruining him. He is on a much better team than Nurse was, so even if he has to play more minutes than he should for longer he will be okay.” – Gregor
BLH’s Thoughts: There will be a massive temptation from the organization to keep Broberg if he’s playing well, but I’d rather see him play out the year in Bakersfield and then return next season full-time I think. It’s a painless transaction for the club and if they really believe in him, they could put Koekkoek, who can’t see to stay healthy, on waivers and maybe he gets claimed or he becomes a well-needed veteran on the Condors blueline.
Skinner and Broberg will see the AHL again this year, book it.
The Hockey Writers Rumors
- Montreal Canadiens: While he believes the team is stronger than it has shown this season, Molson also confirmed that Gorton and the new GM will decide if a rebuild of the roster is necessary. He’ll be supportive of it if it made sense for the betterment of Montreal. Chris Johnston names Mathieu Darche as a candidate to replace Marc Bergevin as GM of the team. Darche is currently Director of Hockey Ops for the Lightning. Other names in the mix are Daniel Briere, Martin Madden Jr., Martin Brodeur, and Roberto Luongo.
- Ottawa Senators: According to Shawn Simpson of TSN, the Senators have four players who are legit buyout candidates after the season — Matt Murray, Colin White, Nikita Zaitsev, and Michael Del Zotto. They have a combined $18 million cap hit. Simpson notes that during a rebuild, you can’t have that much bad money on the books.
