This is what you’re here for. Nation Takes are opinion pieces from our voices of the nation, ranging over a variety of topics. Who’s good, who’s bad, why did the team do this, why didn’t they do that, and what do they have to do to get better. In here, you’ll find all the answers to questions you didn’t even know you had.
With the hustle and bustle of the opening weeks of free agency now behind us it’s time to take a look at what’s left. First of all, let’s take a look at the last edition of the Wish List and where everyone ended up. As you will see, the Oilers went 0 for 10 on…
There’s no real debate that the Edmonton Oilers’ record of player acquisitions by way of trades and free agent signings under former GM Peter Chiarelli was abysmal. The bad trades and free agent signings during Chiarelli’s regime speak for themselves. They also speak to a glaring deficiency in the pro scouting staff the team employed….
Ken Holland hired Archie Henderson as director of pro scouting and Tyler Wright as director of amateur scouting on Friday. Henderson worked with Holland for four years in Detroit, while Wright spent six years In Detroit. They are familiar with each other, but both have worked for other organizations. The Oilers amateur scouting has been…
When Mikko Koskinen got signed to a three-year deal that pays him $4.5-million annually, there weren’t many fans of the deal. But would the Oilers have been better off waiting?
As the summer rolls on and NHL rosters start to take shape, I find myself wondering (again) what the plan is here in Edmonton. This time around, I look at the top-six, cashing in on the low cost bets, and that damned Jesse Puljujarvi situation.
We continue our trek through the 2019 offseason, putting the disappointing, anger-inducing, expletive-filled 2018-19 season behind us. But, even in the darkest, coldest, scariest tunnels there are always at least a handful of diamonds to pick out and flee with to a brighter day. One of those diamonds from the rough past season is the…
The Edmonton Oilers hiring of Archie Henderson as director of pro scouting to replace Duane Sutter isn’t exactly a headline grabber, but it provides a walk down memory lane for me — a return to a time when I was a teenager cheering my face off in the cheap seats, not somebody toting a notepad….
Ken Holland has taken a conservative approach in his first summer as the general manager of the Edmonton Oilers. There’s still time left for him to change the roster, but rather than talking about what he has done, hasn’t done, or might do, let’s look at what everybody else in the Pacific Division has been…
There’s a pocket of Oilers fans who appear to be frustrated with Ken Holland’s lack of activity during the offseason. I understand that to an extent because looking at the team on paper, it looks very similar to the group that they had to start last season, minus a competent third line centre. A little…
The middle of July is not exactly prime time when it comes to rumour talk around the NHL. Most executives and players are out at their cabins, enjoying what little offseason they get before things ramp up once again. Thankfully, Jesse Puljujarvi’s agent is continuing to talk to the media and we got both a…
Jesse Puljujarvi’s agent Markus Lehto added another chapter to the trade talk yesterday when he went on Vancouver radio to talk about his clients Olli Juolevi and Puljujarvi. Lehto discussed many things, but he stepped back from his earlier statement about Puljujarvi playing in Europe this coming season.
Based on what people in the know say about him, I don’t think there’s a lot of doubt that Edmonton Oilers’ prospect Tyler Benson is going to be an NHL player. With a terrific rookie season playing for the Bakersfield Condors in the books, the only real question is when. Might it be this coming…
