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From The Cult of Hockey - For Edmonton Oilers fans is this another "Winter of Discontent": 9 Things

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If you’re like me, you woke up Sunday morning and checked your phone. Just in case Saturday’s 7-4 result against San Jose was just a bad dream.

It wasn’t.

Instead, reality is staring us hard in the face. The Oilers are the 11th best of 15 teams in the Western Conference. They are 4 points out of a playoff spot. They have lost 5 games in a row. And they are averaging 5 goals against per game over those last 5.

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That the club is not right out of it right now is fortunate. The West got off to a slow start. The Oilers got a bounce when Ken Hitchcock stepped in as head coach. But as Saturday’s product on the ice portrayed, Hitchcock is battling most of the same demons that Todd McLellan was when he was fired. And the West has woken up.

What to do, what to do? I think Peter Chiarelli would have liked to have stayed the course. But I think others above him and a large majority of the fan base want to be in the playoffs. So if Peter wanted to save his job (who wouldn’t, in his position), he wasn’t going to stand pat.

Thus the trade for Alex Petrovic. The Cult’s Bruce McCurdy has more on that here. And here is my analysis of the Brandon Manning deal here.

As for the rest of this mess…

9 Things

9. Don’t get too bent out of shape over the loss of Valentin Zykov. He was worth taking the flier on. But it doesn’t take a very big NHL sample to expose his main issue: Zykov can’t skate. In this league today, your other skills had better be substantial in order to over-look sub-par foot-speed. Zykov’s aren’t. Move on.

8. The goaltending has not been up to par the past few games. But I don’t see it as the problem at all. Mikko Koskinen’s earlier run helped paper over a number of roster issues that existed then and still do now. Cam Talbot wasn’t great last night. But name me a goaltender that would have delivered a different result considering what was going on in front of him. Short list.

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7. Many wanted Jesse Puljujarvi in the NHL and playing with skill. They saw Todd Mclellan’s apparent lack of trust in Jesse to be his biggest impediment. Well, it’s 20 games later. Puljujarvi is here and playing with skill (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins). And the results are…meh. I think Jesse will ultimately be fine. But I also believe that you need to be prepared to see this version Puljujarvi for another 80-100 games first. Are you?

6. I have some time for Matt Benning. I don’t believe an NHL team should give up on a young, right-shot D-man too quickly. But I have seen Benning’s foot-speed exposed all season long. He is at the age that its fair to expect some progression. Is he hurt? Did he fail to put in the adequate off-season work? I don’t know if either is true. But what I do know is that Matt Benning is having trouble keeping up. And that’s a problem.

5. Some folks were unhappy with the recent recall of Kailer Yamamoto. I can’t agree. When he was sent down, I saw Yamamoto as a player capable of keeping up at this level but lacking some offensive confidence. But he possesses some of the offensive tools that all too few wingers in this organization can offer. So as long as his solid defensive play continues (it has) I think you need him here.

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4. Drake Caggiula is a smart kid. But the play he made Saturday on the 1-1 goal was head-shaking. Matt Benning made a decent read to pinch, and Caggiula dropped back in support. All fine to there. But then Caggiula sees a puck pop loose and inexplicably decides to pinch, too. You have to read the situation, man: You just scored to go up 1-0. You know there is no support behind you because you ARE the support. The guy 50 feet from you is an NHL rookie with 6 games on his resume. If you miss, it’s not a 3-on-2 the other way, it’s a 3-on-1. You have to back off on that play. It’s the only option. It defies any logic why he didn’t take it. Exhibit “A” while Ken Hitchcock wanted him gone.

3. At the time I will admit to viewing the Ryan Strome for Ryan Spooner trade as a bit of a wash. Neither man was performing particularly well where they were. The salary was pretty much a saw-off. But for all of Strome’s struggles with the puck this season as a member of the Oilers he was holding his own defensively as a 3C. Last night, Jujhar Khaira was exposed in that slot. Spooner was a healthy scratch. So right now the only NHL-ready option in the organization available to fill that slot? Would be one of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Leon Draisaitl. But both are badly needed in the Top 6. Yet we will see all 3 centers down the middle in Winnipeg tonight.  Fair to say Chiarelli lost the Strome trade? I think so. Especially considering the G.M. was trying to move Spooner too.

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2. I get frustrated with how some see Leon Draisaitl. My opinion is that far too many people view his performance through the filter of his contract. Edmonton has a history of doing that. Just ask Shawn Horcoff. The difference this time around? While Horcoff was an excellent soldier and a reliable 2-way player Draisaitl is an elite talent. The guy is on pace for a 41-goal, 101-point season on what has turned out to be a bad team. The last guy not to be named McDavid to score 100 points for the Oilers in a season was Doug Weight (1995-96). The last non-McDavid player to score 40? Petr Klima (1990-91). By the time the next wave of RFA’s are re-signed Draisaitl’s $8.5m contract will be seen as a value deal. So perhaps we should get a head start appreciating Leon Draisaitl now? Just a thought…

1.The biggest miscalculation on this roster had been on Defence. Peter Chiarelli was looking at bringing in another substantial D-man as early as last Spring and then again as late as the end of training camp. The emergence (at the time) of Evan Bouchard was one factor that held him back. The other was that Chiarelli did not like what the market was offering and held off. Are the injuries to Andrej Sekera, Oscar Klefbom and Kris Russell Chiarelli’s fault? Of course not. But they are his problem. And there is a strong argument to be made that the D-core Chiarelli built had players slotted higher in the batting order than where they were capable of succeeding over the course of time. When that happens your depth guys also end up taking minutes and responsibilities they weren’t built for (insert Kevin Grave and Chris Wideman here). Todd McLellan lobbied Peter Chiarelli for a Justin Faulk/Tyson Barrie-type player. The G.M. did not deliver. And that’s ultimately what led us to yesterday.

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You may not trust Peter Chiarelli to steer this franchise any further. But if he was moved out now, his replacement (even if it’s an internal guy like Keith Gretzky) would face the same personnel and salary cap issues that Chiarelli does today. And those things are damn hard to fix overnight.

I felt in September that this Oilers team was one that could squeak into the playoffs. And they’re not too far from that now. Alexander Petrovic and Brandon Manning should help stem the bleeding. But the patient is far from out of the woods yet.

And given that the Oilers are now utilizing Sekera LTIR money…there is another shoe yet to drop.  Stay tuned.

Find me on Twitter @KurtLeavins

Cult of Hockey David Staples

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