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
- Nuge didn’t impact the McDavid five-on-five goal share, No. 97 can drive 55 all by his lonesome. He did/does have some impact on the Draisaitl line, but was it confined to that fabulous 2019-20 run?
- In the last two seasons (2021-22 and this year), the goal share is 52.5 percent (21-19). Before 2019-20, the goal share was also 21-19, also 52. 5 percent. The 33-15 (68.8 percent) outlier of 2019-20 had an enormous impact on the overall numbers.
- What does it say about Nuge moving to No. 3 center? Based on yesterday’s lines, Zack Kassian and Brendan Perlini will be his linemates. Nuge without Draisaitl since 2019-20 is 40-50, 44.4 percent, and I’m not sure the third unit will be an outscoring trio with Nuge as the feature player.
- For his career, he is 418-428 at five-on-five, that’s 49.4 percent.
- Away from McDavid? 48.6 percent. Away from Draisaitl? 47.8 percent. I’m not a math expert, but Nuge is coming up on 29 and this is a big ask in my opinion.
BLH’s Thoughts: I reckon we should temper expectations for RNH tonight. He’s coming off an injury and on any other evening he’d probably have better wingers. That being said, if there’s one metric that shines a bit brighter than the rest it’s Nuge and Kassian’s GF%, that’s a lovely 8.65.
Nugent-Hopkins is having a down year with regards to goal-scoring and that could be because his shooting percentage is the lowest it’s been since his second year in the league at 6.5%. Last year he sat around 8.2% and the three years prior to that he was in double-digits.
So, maybe when the Oilers face Nashville later on in the week Nuge will have Hyman and Kassian as wingers or Hyman and Yamamoto or what if Evander Kane becomes a member of the club… Who knows? We could be witnessing the formation of a proper 3rd line for the first time in a long time though.
What is refreshing is that Coach Tippett is trying some new stuff. Maybe by February the team will be at its healthiest and we’ll get to see what Ken Holland envisioned this summer.
Are there still folks out there saying Archibald got Myocarditis from the vaccine?…
Suppose that bubble may have just been popped. https://t.co/Jfpv2VCd5b
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) January 25, 2022
Oilersnation
Monday Mailbag – What’s the biggest issue you see with Oilers?
Obviously there are a bunch of issues going on with the Oilers right now that are contributing to these losses, but if you were going to pick the biggest one of them all, what would it be and how do you fix it?
- “I’m going to say confidence is the biggest issue right now. The Oilers look like they’re playing not to lose rather than playing to win, but I think the only thing that can fix this problem is to have them rattle off a few wins. Here’s hoping Saturday’s BOA win will be the start of getting the ball rolling.” – Baggedmilk
As usual when the team struggles the vultures appear with the usual narrative that McDavid and Draisaitl will want to be traded. Wouldn’t it be more reasonable to assume you don’t get to their level by being a quitter? If anything those guys probably have the mindset that they want to be the ones who turned it around in Edmonton. Any thoughts on that?
- “You’ve pretty much nailed it. Elite players, all players for that matter, at the NHL level are the most highly competitive people you will ever meet. Losing frustrates them. Reading more into that frustration is simply guessing — and usually guessing wrong.” – Brownlee
If the Oilers miss the playoffs this year, what do you wish happens the most? Big front office shake up, complete coaching change in all areas, major trade, all of the above, or something else?
- “…a coaching change is a for sure, and depending on how frustrated the owner is, Holland could also be on the block. If they actually miss the playoffs then GM is likely done, and even Nicholson as he hired both Chiarelli and Holland.” – Gregor
Spector’s Hockey
- THE ATHLETIC: Scott Powers reports a league source told him anyone on the Chicago Blackhawks could be had in the trade market… Powers believes Marc-Andre Fleury will have the best trade value for the Blackhawks, followed by winger Dominik Kubalik and defenseman Calvin de Haan.
- DAILY FACEOFF: The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell told Frank Seravalli and Ryan S. Clark that she believes there’s a greater than 50 percent chance the Capitals could have a new goaltender by the trade deadline. She thinks they’re among the teams interested in Fleury.
- SPORTSNET: Friedman considers the Colorado Avalanche a good fit for Giroux if he wants to chase a Stanley Cup provided they can make the cap dollars fit. Marek also suggested the Dallas Stars’ Joe Pavelski as another fit for the Avs.
BLH’s Thoughts: If the Caps go for Fleury, maybe that opens up an opportunity for the Oilers to target Vitek Vanecek and I suppose that’d be pretty convenient seeing as Craig Button recently suggested Vanecek, Minnesota’s Kaapo Kahkonen, and Linus Ullmark from Boston as goaltenders Ken Holland could target.
All three goalies wouldn’t be considered rentals as Kahkonen and Vanecek will be RFAs at season’s end and Ullmark just signed a 4yr 20$M deal with the Bruins this summer.
That first rounder burning a whole in every Oilers fan’s pocket might get used if Holland sees an upgrade in one of those candidates.
