Monday Mailbag – What’s going on with the goalies?

The timing of the Koskinen signing was a head-scratcher. Who plays is a coaching decision. Who gets a contract is a management decision and plays no part in who starts. Hitchcock has said he’ll go with whoever has been playing better. That’s been Talbot. After the loss to San Jose, I expect we’ll see Koskinen get the next start.

The signing of Koskinen made little sense. A three-year deal after only 26 starts was premature, and the timing was odd. Couldn’t they have waited until after the trade deadline, because now every team knows Koskinen is the guy you are going with next year which could lower Talbot’s value.

The organization felt like they had enough information to make the decision that Mikko Koskinen was their goaltender of the future. They think that for the next three seasons, Koskinen will be a better option between the pipes than Cam Talbot. Ken Hitchcock doesn’t really care about the next three years, he cares about getting wins right now and for the time being, Cam Talbot gives them a better chance at getting two points, so he’s getting the starts. At some point, Koskinen will get another crack at things and there’s no doubt he’ll be given every opportunity to win back the crease before the end of the season but for now, it makes sense for Talbot to keep getting starts. A real issue will arise if Cam Talbot somehow finds his near Vezina form from 2016-17 and pulls this team to the playoffs.

The Koskinen extension was baffling. He hasn’t been good for a decent stretch. Talbot hasn’t been great, but he’s been better than Koskinen so he should play. I was stunned when they signed Koskinen to that contract. There was absolutely no reason to do it. Antti Raanta had a far better track record and season before free agency and the Coyotes signed him to a three-year contract worth $4.25 million per year. Raanta was younger too. The Oilers cap situation isn’t good because they made poor decisions and they need to get it right from now on. The Koskinen singing was more of the same that got them into this mess.

Part of me thinks that they are showing Talbot off to build up his trade value. I feel like that’s the only good reason they have to not play Koskinen right now. OR maybe he has some sort of signing bonus that Hitchcock is helping him get to like minimum games played?

Can I answer your question with another question? Are you surprised that the goaltending situation in Edmonton is odd? Considering the way these last couple of years have gone, I’m certainly not.

He’ll start in the third pairing. It’s Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson and Darnell Nurse is with his old partner, Kris Russell. Sekera has played with Matt Benning in the past, so that might be the best bet as a third pairing. I wouldn’t count on too much from Sekera at this point in his career after the two injuries he’s had.

He will play in the third pair with Matt Benning or Kevin Gravel on the right side. He has only played 36 NHL games since May, 2017 so they shouldn’t be slotting him in any higher.

Sekera was at his best in the 2016-17 season and he played almost exclusively with Kris Russell that season. Last year, in his limited time, he struggled and was mostly playing with Matt Benning. So from Sekera’s perspective, it would probably make sense to put him back on a pairing with Russell, since that’s who he’s most comfortable with. The problem with that being, Russell is currently on a pairing with Darnell Nurse and those two are being trusted with some heavy minutes and tough matchups. I don’t think Hitch can split those two up. It might be best to put Sekera on the third pairing and ease him into things, even if it means he can’t play with his go-to partner.

If he can play you have to start him on the third pairing. I think Sekera-Benning can be your third pair to finish the season.

I think it depends on how he feels coming out of his conditioning stint in Bakersfield. It would make sense to put him on the third pairing with Benning for a couple games to give him sheltered minutes. BUT if he’s feeling and looking pretty good, I’m guessing he’ll slot in on the second pairing with Nurse, and have Russell slide down to the third pairing.

I’d like to see him playing with Nurse to move Russell down to the third pairing but that’s probably asking too much from a guy that’s barely played over the last two seasons. SO, with that in mind, I’d guess that he’ll land on the third pairing with Gravel or Benning.

Probably Draisaitl. A lot of people, for reasons that escape me, seem fixated on flaws in his game rather than applauding his production. He’s not perfect for sure, but at the end of the season the results are there.

Good question. I think McDavid is the most impressive all the time, so I will exclude him. I will lean towards Draisaitl because he’s added goal scoring to his repertoire. Scoring 40 goals is very hard in today’s NHL and he might get 45.

I’ve been a big fan of Leon Draisaitl’s ability to score goals this season and of course, how could you not be impressed with Connor McDavid literally every night? But Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been mostly playing with sub-par wingers and while I realize he’s gotten prime powerplay minutes and did play with McDavid at the beginning of the season, he’s continued to produce offence away from 97 and not a lot of Oilers have been able to say that this season. If you gave him a legit top-six winger to play with, I could honestly see RNH getting into the 90-100 point range.

I’d say RNH. Draisaitl is a fantastic player but when you play with the best player in the league it’s not as impressive. RNH spent time with McDavid too, especially on the power play, but 5-on-5 he has almost no one. He’s still on pace for 77 points.

They’ve all had incredible performances so far this season. I think the guy who is outperforming my expectations is Leon Draisaitl. I knew he was good, but I didn’t think he was 100 point good. I hope he maintains this pace.

Nuge is on pace for a career year while having to centre a mixed bag of spare parts and random wingers. To me, that’s been very impressive.

I’d be surprised if he comes back. He doesn’t need to bang his head against a wall trying to convince a group of players — a group that has won absolutely nothing — that they need to play a certain way only to have them ignore it. We saw some of that frustration after the Oilers got waxed by San Jose Saturday. Two established and proven coaches, Hitchcock and Todd McLellan, haven’t managed to coax this group of players to where it needs to be, so I’d suggest the question should be about what kind of players this team needs, not what type of coach.

No I don’t. He and the players aren’t on the same page. I wouldn’t be stunned if he didn’t last the rest of the year behind the bench. To be honest I haven’t looked deep into a new HC yet. Joel Quenneville is the obvious name, but after him I’d like the Oilers to look at a coach who hasn’t been an NHL head coach before. They need a good communicator, and someone who can connect with the players. I would interview Manny Vivieros. He won in WHL, had a lot of success in Europe. He knows how to connect with players. He has a lot of experience. Do the same with Gulutzan. The advantage of hiring one of those two is there is a good chance they keep Yawney. They don’t need an entire new staff again. Of course if the management doesn’t improvement the roster it will be difficult for any coach to make this team into a Cup contender.

I do not think Ken Hitchcock will be the Oilers Head Coach next season. I could see him staying in the organization and even helping out the next HC, but I would like to see the Oilers go out and get a young, up and coming coach. Someone with a different perspective on things and could be more of a long-term fit than Hitch is. Kris Knoblauch, who’s currently an Assistant Coach in Philadelphia and before that, he was the Head Coach of the Erie Otters and coached Connor McDavid. I think he would be a great option if Hitch does indeed not return behind the bench. I also wouldn’t be surprised if the Oilers elevated one of Jay Woodcroft or Glen Gulutzan, but that probably wouldn’t be a very popular move within the fan base.

Nope. You have to let the new general manager choose his own head coach. I love Hitchcock and he’s a fantastic coach, but the Oilers have to stop pushing personnel on people that should be making the decisions. I think you have to go with a more modern coach that pushes offence. Hitch did some good things in his time here, but he’s not the guy long term.

Nah, I think Hitch was brought in on a temporary basis and it will stay like that. Maybe the group needs a more player-friendly coach? It’s really tough tho say because I don’t know what’s happening behind the curtains, but Hitch’s coaching style won’t be good for the group long term.

No, I think he’s done. I think he tried to do the organization a solid by stepping in as an experienced coach but there’s no way he wants to do this again next season. I wouldn’t be surprised, though, if he got some kind of office/scouting/consulting job with the team when the year is done. As for who replaces him? With this team, it could be anyone.

Hitchcock had his say at the morning meeting before the team went on the ice. Not a bad idea to have a change of pace for the skate, especially when it’s pretty likely he gave a lot of guys crap in the meeting. Like you said, fresh perspective — and a chance to talk with Keith Gretzky and Scott Howson during the skate.

He did it because there was a lot of tension after the Chicago blowout. A source told me he told the players he was frustrated with them and would take a break from practice. Even the most healthy relationships can benefit from some time a part. It was about having a different voice in practice for a day and giving the team and HC some space from each other.

I think Hitch wanted a different perspective on things and also saw it as an opportunity to see how the players would react to hearing from a different voice. My answer is short because I honestly don’t think this is anything worth reading into. It is worth noting that he sat next to Keith Gretzky and Scott Howson during the practice, so maybe the three were comparing notes ahead of the trade deadline.

I read that Hitch can be tough and demanding, so they wanted to give the players a break.

I think it’s a great coaching move only done by a veteran. The Oilers had just lost six in a row and the last thing they want to do is head back into practice and hear the same old screams from the same old guy. Hitch’s decision to pull himself out was a great move to give the guys a break from him. Otherwise, that specific practice would not be productive at all.

New day, new voice? Might also be nice for Hitch to watch the team from a different vantage point.

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