The Monday Mailbag – How did the Oilers do at the Deadline?

It’s mailbag time again. It’s that time when you have all the things you’ve always wanted to know about the NHL, and about life, answered by our panel of bloggers life coaches. I like to think of us as a much cheaper alternative to a college education. As always, this feature depends on you guys so I need you to submit your questions. If you have something you’d like to know you can always email me, or DM me on Twitter. With that out of the way, it’s time to learn something. Enjoy.

I thought Edmonton did very well. The club added some draft picks—they need to re-stock the prospect cupboard—and grabbed big winger Patrick Maroon. What’s more, they did not offload a player who could have been a big piece of the future (ala Jeff Petry, etc). A veteran manager like Peter Chiarelli is a welcome change for Oilers fans.

I think Chiarelli did great. I never expected for one second that there would be some kind of Eberle for Hamonic trade or anything big like that. He managed to squeeze a third round pick out of Pittsburgh for Schultz, another third for Purcell (which I contend he could have got slightly more for but still not a bad return), got a pick AND a warm body for Nilsson, made a couple solid depth pick ups off waivers, and my favourite part is getting Patrick Maroon for LITERALLY NOTHING! (No offense to Martin Gernat, if you even are a real person. I can’t even verify that.) I honestly don’t think it could have gone better for Pete. 

I think it’s safe to say the biggest loser of the day was the Vancouver Canucks. OH MAN WAS THAT FUN TO WATCH! And the fallout since then has been EVEN FUNNIER! And I’ll begrudgingly say that Brad Treliving and the Flames did the best; that HUGE haul for Kris Freakin’ Russell? Wow.

I thought the Oilers did OK at the deadline. They moved the UFAs I thought they would, added some freebies, and the Maroon trade might turn out very well (as far as bottom six trades go). While maybe Purcell was a low return, getting the Ducks to retain salary on Maroon was great. Big winner of deadline weekend was probably Chicago, though they paid a lot. Big loser was the Canucks who look to have screwed themselves.

Chicago added quality players. Vancouver was the clear loser. They had four UFAs and did not get one draft pick in return. Terrible. Chiarelli made a smart, low risk move acquiring Maroon. Schultz needed to go and he was addition by subtraction. Snagging a fifth rounder for Nilsson was a good bet, since I don’t see Nilsson playing in the NHL. His glove hand simply isn’t good enough.

I think Chiarelli did very well. We’re already seeing the benefits of adding size that can play in the top nine with the additions of Patrick Maroon and Zack Kassian before that. Getting Pardy and Cracknell adds some depth. Justin Schultz was spare parts with no future here, so his move was no surprise. Solid work by Chiarelli.

I thought Chiarelli did very well. He took care of the “housekeeping” items on his listen in signing Davidson and Brossoit. He traded for a mountain in Pat Maroon. He got rid of some UFA contracts that weren’t going to be around. What else do you want?

Not much, no. I am a little surprised that he has been so rigid — for me the place and chase is being used more than expected. Important in that you have to make sure everyone can play (and has bought in), less impressive that very talented players are not gaining the zone (when they are able to). 

I have no idea. It all just looks like hockey to me. Unless it’s the swarm — THAT was a noticeable system.

I’m sure he’s tweaked things a bit, but he’s used to coaching high end offensive players. They should be learning how to play his game. Lord knows the brand of hockey the Oilers are known for isn’t getting the job done. If anything he’s letting them get away with too much garbage still. Eberle, for example, needs to pull his socks up in the defensive zone.

He hasn’t changed his strategy. He’s been teaching his players how to play better defensively. His system doesn’t limit their offence, nor did he change to let them free wheel. There is very little offensive zone coaching. He stresses shots from everywhere, and has encouraged them to have better puck support — ie, be closer for shorter passes — but he doesn’t design offence to fit his players. He has worked hard on ensuring they are committed to being good defensively first.

Good coaches adjust the systems they want to play to best utilize the players they have and McLellan is doing that. Between injuries and roster changes at the deadline, McLellan really hasn’t had one set roster for any length of time so it’s difficult to say what the finished product will look like. McLellan wants to attack, but not at the expense of defensive play, so I wouldn’t call his system “free-wheeling.”

I doubt he’s changed his overall system much but he certainly has had to adjust his patience levels. 

Vezina: Henrik Lundqvist (leads NHL in EV SP .941 at the time of writing)
Norris: Erik Karlsson, Ottawa 
Selke: Patrice Bergeron, Boston
Calder: Connor McDavid, Edmonton
Hart: Alex Ovechkin, Washington

Vezina: Luongo (HE’S STILL GOT IT!)

Norris: Karlsson (TOP FIVE IN POINTS!)

Selke: Pavelski (20 MIN A NIGHT! 55% FACE-OFFS! +24!)

Calder: McDavid (BEST ROOKIE WHO DIDN’T START PLAYING PRO HOCKEY IN 2008!)

Hart: Price (CLEARLY MONTREAL’S MOST VALUABLE PLAYER! LORDY!)

Vezina: Holtby, Norris: Karlsson, Selke: Bergeron, Calder: McDavid, Hart: Spoiled Ballot. I can’t in good conscience vote for the player who will probably win this. I’ll give it to Holtby if I have to pick someone.

Hart: Patrick Kane

Vezina: Henrik Lundqvist

Calder: Artemi Panarin (McDavid will need 55+ points to have a realistic shot)

Norris: Drew Doughty

Selke: would have to research a lot more to have accurate answer. Bergeron is likely favourite.

Holtby for the Vezina. Erik Karlsson for the Norris. McDavid should win the Calder, but I can see it going to Artemi Panarin. As of right now, I see the Hart being Patrick Kane but I wonder if Evgeny Kuznetsov might be a darkhorse. As for the Selke, Patrice Bergeron looks pretty good to me.

Calder – McDavid. He’s the best rookie and it’s not close

Vezina – Cam Talbot. Stopping any pucks behind this defense is a miracle at times.

Norris – Brandon Davidson.

Selke – NUUUUUUUUUGE!

Hart – McDavid

Don’t like my answers? Start a blog and your own mailbag. 

Yes, McDavid and Eichel both played extremely well. I am an older fan, and am thrilled to be around to see this young man from the beginning. Eichel is also a substantial talent.

I think overall the game was pretty sloppy, but that’s to be expected from two of the lesser teams in the league. That being said; HOLY CRAP DID I ENJOY THE HELL OUT OF THAT GAME! Connor scoring 22 seconds in! Eichel dominating in the face-offs! Both guys being by far the best players on the ice. Then OT — MY LORD! I thought for sure that Eichel was gonna score on that breakaway and we’d be back at square one; THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN CONNOR COMES OUT OF NOWHERE AND BURIES ONE AND THE DEBATE HAS BEEN PUT TO BED FOREVER! Connor is clearly the superior player! It’s going to be so much fun watching this battle for the next decade!

I think Jack Eichel is still alone in the dark listening to REM’s Everybody Hurts, muttering something about there being more people on the ice than McDavid. Did the game live up to hype? I don’t know. McDavid lived up to the hype. Eichel performed well enough to make it interesting.

I didn’t buy into it since they are both rookies. When their teams are good and they have a few years under their belt it should be more exciting. McDavid is the better player, but Eichel is going to be very exciting as well. Both of them are electrifying skaters and their ability to make plays at high speed was apparent. It was fun to watch.

McDavid was the best player on the ice and showed a real flare for the dramatic by scoring the first goal and then the winner, even though it was a weak goal. Lived up to the advanced billing.

I honestly feel sorry for Jack Eichel that he will forever be compared to Connor McDavid. It’s not Jack Eichel’s fault that McDavid is better and it’s not his fault when he was born. Both those things aren’t his fault but they are his problem. McDavid won round one easily. 

5) TJ asks – The NHL went towards 3-on-3 OT after regulation to deter the amount of shootout’s games go to. Why don’t they want to get rid of it altogether? The shootout has become a joke. It’s useless. I literally get pissed when games (especially Oilers) go to one. 

I miss tie games, so you are preaching to the choir.

I’ve been advocating the abolishment of the shootout, and the adoption of a three point system for years now. I’m willing to listen to arguments that three-on-three OT is similar to the shootout in that it’s fairly gimmicky and it’s not as true to the “team sport” dynamic as playing five-on-five. But at least there’s a semblance of the team element to it. I’m having trouble finding updated numbers but during the first month of implementation 70% of games that went past regulation were decided in three-on-three OT. Even if we drop that down to 55-60%, that’s still a solid majority. Extend three-on-three to 10 minutes, and if the game still ends in a tie then give each team one point. Sounds much more reasonable to me than handing out points to losing teams!

I’m perfectly fine with unlimited OT in the regular season. Baseball does it. Basketball does it. Three-on-three in 10 minute periods until there’s a winner is fine by me.

Bettman and the NHL want games decided rather than end in ties. I’m not sure why they think it is so necessary, but he is too stubborn to eliminate the shootout.

You say the shootout is useless. You say it’s a joke. Some fans feel differently. I like the move to three-on-three to cut down on shootouts and I wouldn’t mind seeing them done away with, but the NHL will make that decision based on what fans tell them they want. As it should be.

I actually like the shootout. I understand why people hate it, but I think it’s kinda fun. That being said, the Oilers haven’t been in a position where shootout points have ever really mattered so maybe I would hate them more if they had playoff implications.