How can the Oilers get rid of Milan Lucic’s contract?
The Edmonton Oilers could put Milan Lucic’s $6-million cap hit to better use. Lucic has 11 points in his last 74 games. He’s on pace for 15 points this season.
The Oilers should claim Valentin Zykov
The Carolina Hurricanes placed left winger Valentin Zykov and goaltender Scott Darling on waivers this morning.
Do the Oilers have the depth to load up the top line?
Will new Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock play Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together? Once again Todd McLellan’s went back to McDavid and Draisaitl. It wasn’t a surprise. The McDavid-Draisaitl combo was a McLellan favourite. Only Patrick Maroon and Jordan Eberle have played more with McDavid 5-on-5 since 2015.
Oilers after 20: Three Up Three Down
The Oilers are 9-10-1 after a quarter of the season. They’ve given pretty much everything back from a strong start and are back onto a 78-point pace. Let’s look at which players have helped, and which players have not.
Milan Lucic has cratered 5-on-5 in Edmonton
Milan Lucic’s contract was always poor. The list of big deals signed in the 2016 free-agency period is who’s who of terrible contracts.
What could the Oilers expect in a Jesse Puljujarvi trade?
Jesse Puljujarvi appears to be headed back to Bakersfield after a disappointing start to the season in Edmonton. His one goal in 11 games isn’t what many expected from him in a season where the Oilers are desperate for scoring wingers. Puljujarvi’s development hasn’t gone as planned, but Oilers haven’t set him up for success…
A weak Pacific Division could be all the Oilers need
The Oilers are 6-4-1. They have their flaws. They have three regulation wins in 11 games. Connor McDavid is basically a cheat code in 3-on-3 overtime. Edmonton’s banked enough points in a tough start to the season. They haven’t even faced a Pacific Division opponent yet. That might work towards their favour.
Connor McDavid is playing an unprecedented amount for a forward
Connor McDavid on the ice gives the Oilers the best chance to win and Todd McLellan knows that. McDavid is averaging nearly 24 minutes a game, an unprecedented amount for a forward in the NHL. His 23:51 per game is identical to teammate Oscar Klefbom and just ahead of Roman Josi. Forward’s typically don’t play…
Can Ty Rattie fill the Patrick Maroon role on the Oilers?
Ty Rattie and Patrick Maroon are different style hockey players. Rattie’s much smaller, but can he mimic Maroon and break into the NHL as a full-time player at 25 and play with highly-skilled players? Up until 2013-14, Maroon was a really good AHL player that hadn’t played more than 15 odd games with the Anaheim…
Is this the Plan?
Back in March, Oilers Entertainment Group Executive Officer and Vice-Chairman Bob Nicholson hopped on Hockey Night in Canada to discuss the Oilers’ disappointing season with Sportnet’s David Amber, Cassie Campbell, and Doug MacLean. Nicholson wasn’t happy with the season, and talked about evaluating, high expectations, and patience. Twitter blew up. Oilers fans heard it all…
Offseason Moves: Oilers vs. the Pacific
Last week, I asked if the Oilers really improved this offseason. They signed Kyle Brodziak, Tobias Rieder, and Kevin Gravel (Mikko Koskinen earlier, too), but most of those players simply replace players sent away at the trade deadline. If the Oilers are going to move up the standings it will be based off internal development…
The Oilers have been loading up on lower-tier forward prospects for Bakersfield
Since the beginning of last season, the Oilers have been aggressively adding forward prospects to fill out their American Hockey League team in Bakersfield. It looks like the Oilers will finally use their AHL team to play their prospects instead of a group of AHL veterans, but those prospects might be more quantity than quality….