THE FAMOUS ARCHIE SLAP?

One of the ongoing mysteries surrounding the Edmonton Oilers is the ‘elevator shaft’ 4th line. A tough 11-12 season should have been followed by a mass exodus for the offending parties. So, with all due respect, what the hell?

The Oilers used much of their forward roster at one time or another on the 4line this season. Sam Gagner played there coming off injury, Taylor Hall played there when coach Renney double shifted him. However, for the most part the forwards who spent time on the 4line were:

Behind the net shows us the way, with the top 7 forwards on this graph qualifying as 4line QC.Your mileage may vary, but I think that’s a fair line in the sand.

It’s interesting to note that of the 7 names listed at the top of the graph, Edmonton signed #1 (Hordichuk) and #4 (Petrell) since the end of the season. Linus Omark remains qualified but unsigned and is unlikely to return.

We have talked in the past about King’s metric, he has counted the scoring chances for Edmonton’s games over the past few seasons. He does the hard work at mc79hockey, and Derek Zona did the other hard chore in counting all of them and putting the SC totals in rational order.

Again, these are Dennis King numbers via Derek Zona, I’ve excluded the other forwards and we’re concentrating on this group of 4liners. As we can see, Magnus Paajarvi–seldom used and sent down–is the only player in the group above do (re-mi). MP did play on other lines and this isn’t a perfect reflection since a guy like Hordichuk would never have the chance to play on a truly skilled line, but it’s also true Paajarvi is already a better player (and that is reflected here).

We don’t have years and years of 4line TCF/TCA totals to compare this to, but the 11-12 4line looked like scrambled married to addled and the numbers above show it. If coach Krueger has a plan–and I think he does based on what he said about Eric Belanger–then I think it is reasonable to look at Magnus Paajarvi (and Teemu Hartikainen) as options.

The club signed Lennart Petrell, which would seem to indicate endorsement (Petrell got a contract before Krueger was hired, interestingly). I would also think Paajarvi and Hartikainen are in the mix, although both can be sent down without clearing waivers.

Could the Oilers go with a 10-14F group that would include Belanger, Lander, Petrell, Eager and Hordichuk again?

 

We all have our questions for Steve Tambellini. I’d like to know if that top 4 defenseman is coming along soon, David Staples and Jonathan Willis are focused on the goaltending and you may have your own unique thoughts on the roster as it idles in the driveway this summer.

But the question I have for Ralph Krueger is this: HOW are you going to make that 4line go? Maybe the famous Archie slap?