Did the Oilers actually make the right move?

 On November 12, 2023, the Edmonton Oilers fired then-head-coach Jay Woodcroft. A move that, at the time, was considered to be the wrong one, with multiple Oilers fans (myself included) citing Jay's record as Oilers HC (best winning% in franchise history), the lack of goaltending (something he couldn't control), and advanced analytics saying Edmonton was better than their 3-9-1 record indicated. Furthermore, the optics surrounding his replacement, Kris Knoblauch, was just awful. Knoblauch used to coach Connor McDavid when Connor was in the OHL with the Eerie Otters, and while he was considered an up-and-coming coaching prospect, his AHL coaching record was meh at best, WAYYYYY worse than Jay's at the time of hiring in February 2022. 

Welp 13 games later, the Oilers are 10-3 under Kris Knoblauch, their currently riding an 8-game winning streak, AND have gone from 3-9-1 to 13-12-1, one point out of a playoff spot. This does beg the question, are the Oilers smarter than we give them credit for, considering it looks like the move is working.

I'd give it a 50/50. On the one hand, Kris' changes have had a positive impact. The PK (something that struggled under Jay and Dave Manson) is currently on a heater (25/26 = 96.1%), the forward lines (save for line 2) are set just right and performing well (espcially the top line of Nuge-McDavid-Hyman), the defensive structure is improved and working well, and the goaltending (aka Stuart Skinner) is no longer giving up weak goals. On the other hand, Edmonton was too good to remain that bad for much longer. The stats and analytics said that a turnaround was going to happen, and Edmonton would start performing as expected. 

Now I want to preface that I liked Jay. I like his attitude, his energy, what he brought to the table. He more than earned his winning percentage, and for the longest time, it looked like he unlocked the key to success in Edmonton. That being said, it seems like the firing of Jay was the jolt Edmonton needed to wake up and actually start playing, because they look like the team that went 18-2-1 in the final 21 games last year. 

Too add to that, Jay's lineup decisions were sometimes questionable, and his insistence on changing up the defensive structure seemed to mess with Edmonton to the point where they couldn't do anything on the defensive side of the game. 

So, was the firing of Jay the correct move? Right now? Yes, it was. Down the road? Who knows? But this team is in "win now" mode and "down the road" doesn't matter. What matters is happening RIGHT NOW and right now, Kris is knocking it out of the park. 

Edmonton Oilers 2023-2024 Season Preview

 Well folks, training camp has opened, preseason hockey is here, which means the dawn of a new Oilers season is upon us. And this is a big one. What many, including the Oilers themselves, are labelling as a "Cup or bust" season. Will they do it? We have 82-games to get through first before we even think about that question.

Last season record: 50-23-9 (2nd in division, 2nd in Western Conference)

Key additions: Connor Brown, Lane Pedersen, Brent Sutter (PTO), Sam Gagner (PTO), Adam Erne (PTO)

Key subtractions: Nik Bjudstad, Kailer Yamamoto, Klim Kostin

So yeah, as I said above, it's a cup or bust season for Edmonton. After being eliminated in back to back years by the eventual Stanley Cup Champions (Colorado in 2022, Vegas in 2023), most everyone in the NHL feels that this is the year Edmonton HAS to win a Stanley Cup. Me persoanlly? I know they won't do it, but it's great that the players have that mindset. With that in mind, they've got a lot of work to do. They lost some key players in Bjudstad, Kostin, and Yamamoto, while their most notable addition is McDavid's former teamamte from Erie in Connor Brown. That being said, not much needed to change for the team. Most of the pieces are in place, it's just they need to get going. 

Projected Lineups:

Kane - McDavid - Brown
Nuge - Draisitl - Hyman
Foegle - McLeod - Holloway
Janmark - Ryan - Caggiula

Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Ceci
Kulak - Desharnais

Skinner
Campbell

Heading into this season, the Oilers made some changes to their front office staff. Jeff Jackson (McDavid's former agent) is now the President of Hockey Operations for the Oilers. And his impact was immediately felt, as he has helped establish an anlytics department in Edmonton. This should, in theory, help Edmonton identify talent throughout the league (and in their organization) that can contribute to a Stanley Cup victory. Furthermore, according to media sources close to the organization, Jay Woodcroft and co. are going to return to their 1-1-3 style of play. This was the style they implemented when Jay first started coaching the team after his hiring in Feb of 2022. They got away from that style last season, for some reason, so to see them return to that style is a welcome change.

On ice performances from players are also looking to improve. I'm especially looking to improvement from Jack Campbell and Vincent Desharnais. Some rookies are also looking to impress. Dylan Holloway in particular is one I'd like to see come in and start contributing immediately. And then there's the established guys. Kane didn't have a terrible season, but injuries limited his contributions and I expect him to come in and be the Kane we saw after he signed in 2022. Foegle had a rough start, but solid finish and I expect more from him. And then there's Connor and Leon, who are just studs and continue to be. Both of them had rough playoffs. Draisitl didn't score a goal after Game 2 vs Vegas, and Connor was kept in check for most of the playoffs, limiting his abilities (which is understandable since LA and Vegas basically had three guys on him at all times).

So, of course, that leaves the big question. Will Edmonton be the cup champs. No clue. Hockey is this weird sport where things change on a dime. Where one day your the best team in the world, and the next your absolute garbage. They have to contend with 25 American teams and 6 Canadian ones to achieve ultimate glory. Everyone is saying "cup or bust" and I'm sitting here going "win a game in the conference finals". My realistic expectations for this team are solid two-way hockey all season long, a berth in the western conference finals, and then we'll go from there. 

My Top-10 Favourite Moments from the 2022-2023 Oilers Season

 It's certainly been a minute hasn't it? The last post I wrote, I (correctly) predicted the Oilers would beat the LA Kings in 6 games. And then Edmonton went on to lose to the eventual Stanley Cup champs for the 2nd year in a row, as they were ousted by Vegas in 6 games in Round 2. A disappointing end to a rather successful Oilers season that saw multiple players record new career highs in goals, assists and points, a club that had 50 wins on the year, and a team that's on the cusp of glory. As such, I wanted to do a count of my top-10 favourite moments from this past season. So what's going to be on this list? Anything that I felt was a feel-good moment, or a milestone achievement essentially. So with all of that said, join me as I count down my top-10 favourite moments from the 2022-2023 Oilers season.

#10: Jack Campbell's save on Victor Ardvisson - Game 4

Look, it's no secret that Jack Campbell's first season as an Oiler didn't go so well. A few good moments here and there, but overall, he wasn't good. Whether it be bad goals or bad games, Campbell did cost the Oilers a few points in the standings. However, this moment right here, was probably his best as an Oiler. Let's set the scene here. It's game 4 between the Oilers and Kings. LA has a 2-1 series lead and in Games 1 & 3, the officiating had screwed over Edmonton in one way or another. LA capitalized on Edmonton's tentativeness, quickly jumping out to a 3-0 lead. Campbell would replace Skinner in the 2nd, as Edmonton clawed their way back and notched it up at 3. Then, less than 5 minutes into the 3rd, Matt Roy would give the Kings a 4-3 lead. And then with 5:48 left in the game, Victor Ardvisson got a breakaway, and Jack Campbell ROBBED him with the left pad. To call this a game-saving save is an understatement. This was a season-saving save from Jack. Because thanks to this save, Evander Kane would tie it up at 4, and Zach Hyman would win it in overtime. Edmonton would go on to DOMINATE game 5 and then win in game 6 (which I'll cover shortly) to take the series in 6 games. 

#9: Jack Campbell's shutout vs Anaheim - April 1st 2023

Continuing with Jack for a second here, on April 1st, the Oilers had a date with the Anaheim Ducks in Edmonton. Campbell got the start in the game and, as usual by that point, Oil Country was moaning and groaning. However that panic quickly turned to praise. Jack was nothing short of phenomenal in that game, especially in the 1st period where the Ducks were the better team by a country mile. Sure Jack got lucky once or twice, but he had a solid game that allowed the Oilers to pick up their feet, get to work, and skate to a 6-0 W. More on this game shortly.

#8: Stuart Skinner shutout vs LA - March 30 2023

Now I couldn't mention the Jack Campbell shutout, without also mentioning Stu Skinny's shutout one game earlier. For the longest time last season, it seemed like the Oilers were destined to not shutout an opponent at any point in the season. As the season wound down, the Oilers were one of 4 teams to not record a shutout win that season. And then boom! B2B shutouts against LA and Anaheim. This one was slightly more important though because of the playoff atmosphere it had. And Skinner was brilliant, making key and timely saves all night, capped off by goals from Kane and McDavid. An absolute BANGER of a game. 

#7: Kailer Yamamoto's series winning goal - Game 6

Game 6 between Edmonton and LA was crazy. Edmonton built a 3-1 lead, LA tied it up, Edmonton made it 4-3 (after Skinner was run behind the Oilers net btw), and then on a PK, Phillip Danault got lucky when Skinner's broken stick caused him to whiff on a pass, thus giving him an EN goal. It was a back and forth affair that seemed destine for overtime. But with 3:30 left, the Oilers went to work in the O-zone and Kailer Yamamoto remembered that playoff hockey is crazy and you should always put the puck on net. Well he throws it on net, it goes in, and the Oilers would hang on to win the game 5-4, and the series 4-2. 

#6: Oilers go 18-2-1 after acquiring Matthias Ekholm - March 1 2023-April 13 2023

As the season wore on, the Edmonton Oilers came to the realization that more defensive help was needed on the backend. For the most part, they were doing decently in this department, but it was clear an upgrade was needed. Rumours circulated around the NHL as the Oilers checked in on guys like Erik Karlsson, Vladislav Gavrikov, but on February 28th, the Oilers made their choice. Gone were Tyson Barrie, Reid Schaefer, a first and fourth, and in were Matthias Ekholm and a 6th. Ekholm's impact was felt immediately. The Oilers would play 21 games with Ekholm in the lineup (regular season) and proved to be a key member of the backend. Contributing 4 goals, and 10 assists in his 21 games, Ekholm not only provided stability to the back-end but also allowed Evan Bouchard to become a better player. Best part is, he's still signed for another couple of years.

#5: Leon Draisitl scores 50 goals - April 1st 2023

Look, we're all used to Leon scoring 50 goals by now. He's already done it three times in his career, and the only two other times he could've done it (2020 and 2021), forces outside of his control prevented him from doing so. Now normally, I wouldn't bring this up. Guy does something three times, it's not a milestone achievement. However what made this particular time so special, was that it was done on home ice. Leon's first 50 goal campaign came in 2018-2019 where he scored goal #50 in Game 82 vs Calgary (in Calgary), and his second came in 2021-2022 where he scored goal #50 against the Anaheim Ducks (in Anaheim). This time though, it was in Edmonton and it was fan-freaking-tastic to see. I can officially declare Leon Draisitl a 50-gaol scorer.

#4: Nuge hits 100 points - April 5th 2023

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has dealt with his fair share of shit in Edmonton, probably more so than any player currently playing right now. Multiple seasons of failure where Edmonton was a joke, many coaches and gm's who couldn't do the job right, members of a fanbase that probably demanded he be traded a long time ago. Yup, Nuge has dealt with it all. And yet, he's never complained, never whined, never even demanded a trade. He's just kept his head down and done his job. So when he was threatening the century mark this year, we were all rooting for him. And when he finally did it, it was incredible. Nobody deserved this more than Nuge and I was so happy for him! I don't care if he ever does it again, he's in the history books.

#3: Connor McDavid's 50th goal - February 27th 2023

There's not much I can say about Connor McDavid that hasn't already been said. The dude is absolutely incredible, ridiculous, otherworldly, and fantaboulous. He has the incredible ability to take over a game in ways I haven't seen anyone else, or at least not as consistently as him. Like with Nuge, when we realized he could hit 50 goals, we were rooting for him to do so, and he did. And not only that, he did in the fastest time since Lemeuix in 1995-1996, beating out ALL of Ovi's 50 goal campaigns, and Matthews; 50 goals last year. A truly elite player that WILL win a cup with Edmonton.

#2: Connor McDavid's 60th goal - March 22, 2023

Evidently, Connor wasn't satisfied with scoring 50 goals. He saw all of LeafsNation celebrating Matthews hitting 60 the year before and said to himself "rookie numbers", going off and potting 64 himself. But we're not here to celebrate 64 goals, we're here to celebrate 60. And he did. In a game against the Arizona Coyotes, McDavid was sitting at 58 goals on the year and he got one to make it 59. Then in OT, McDavid gets, not one, but TWO breakaways in OT. He flubs the first one, slams his stick against the boards in frustration, then immediately gets a pass from Leon, does the same move he did the first time, but this time he buries it for his 60th goal of the season. And incredible season from and incredible player. But, he wasn't done yet. No, no, no.

#1: Connor McDavid's 150th point - April 8th 2023

Look, we knew Connor McDavid was going to incredible when he was drafted into the NHL. But I don't think anybody, ANYBODY could've seen this coming. When you think about scoring in the modern day, compared to the 80's it's like night and day. Oh sure, players are grabbing 100pt seasons left, right, and center, but their limit is usually 110-130 points. Only 6, count them SIX, players in NHL HISTORY have hit the 150 point mark, or greater, and now Connor is one of them. Best part is, all the others played in the 80's and 90's, not in the 2020's like Connor is. It really felt like this past season was a statement season from Connor. It's like he grabbed the league and hockey writers by the neck and said, "you've forgotten what I'm capable of", and I think this is his response to Matthews winning the Hart and Lindsey last year, just because he was better than Connor at ONE thing. I don't care if he doesn't do this ever again, NOBODY can take this away from him. 

And there we have it. My top-10 favourite moments from last year. What were yours? Let me know and I'll see you in the season preview!

2022-2023 Playoff Preview: Edmonton Oilers vs LA Kings

 What a season eh? What an absolutely incredible season from the Edmonton Oilers. After a ho-hum start to the season, and a kinda-sorta eventful first half, the calendar flips to 2023 and all of a sudden the Oilers are cup contenders and the best team in the NHL. Oh sure, they didn't finish that way, Boston gets those honours, but from January 11th to April 14th, no one in the NHL was better than the Edmonton Oilers. Sadly, Vegas won their final game and Edmonton wasn't able to get the division (and conference) title this year, but still. A 50-23-9 record is nothing to scoff at. And their reward? A first-round rematch from last years playoffs with the LA Kings. Let's take a look.

Oilers vs Kings

Regular season record

Edmonton: 50-23-9 109pts
Los Angeles: 47-25-10 104 pts

Head to Head

Edmonton: 2-2-0
Los Angeles: 2-2-0

Edmonton: 

As I said above, the Edmonton Oilers had a ho-hum first half. Not bad, but certainly not great either. They went 7-3-0 in their first 10 games, went 3-7-0 in their next ten (10-10-0 after 20), then went 7-3-0 again going 17-13-0 in their first 30 games. When the calendar flipped to 2023, the Oilers were sitting with a record of 20-16-2. Then came a game on January 9th 2023 (against the Kings no less). That game was, in my mind, the turning point for Edmonton. In that game, Edmonton went 0/6 on the powerplay, the Kings went 4/7, and Edmonton lost 6-3. It was clear to the team, and the fans, that this game showed Edmonton needs to be better. And Edmonton responded to that challenge. After that game, the Oilers would go on to win 6 of their next seven games, going 6-0-1. However, February would bring the sobering reality that help would still be needed, especially on the back end. And on February 28th, help arrived in the form of Mattias Ekholm. Arriving in Edmonton on March 1st in the afternoon, Ekholm played his first game as an Oiler against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Immediately, his impact was felt. He was solid defensively, grabbed an assist on Zach Hyman's goal, as Edmonton beat Toronto 5-2. The Oilers would play 21 games with Ekholm in the lineup, and played to the tune of 18-2-1. They went 14-0-1 in their last 15, and 9-0-0 in their last 9 games of the season. Oh, and I haven't even gotten to McDavid SHATTERING his previous career highs in goals, assists, and points (64-89-153), Draisitl notching another 50-goal campagin  (52-76-128), Nuge hitting the century mark (37-67-104), and Zach Hyman setting new career highs for the 2nd-straight year (36-47-83). But there is so much more to this Edmonton team. The defence has been revitalized with Ekholm, Oilers had 12 forwards who scored 10+ goals this year, and Stuart Skinner was rock-solid in net.

LA Kings:

The Kings aren't slouches and shouldn't be treated as such. They also improved their team this year in the form of Vladislav Gavrikov on the back-end, and Joonas Korpisalo between the pipes (at the expense of Jonathan Quick), along with Phoenix Copley. The Kings play a simple, hard-nosed, in-your-face, grind-it-down, brand of hockey. As they lack the high-end talent of other teams, LA relies on trap-style hockey, waiting for their opportunity as opposed to actively pushing for it. And we saw this in their last two meetings. LA lost both, but by scores of 2-0 and 3-1. However, LA does have some firewpower. Victor Arviddson and Kevin Fiala can score.

Overall look: 

This is going to be an interesting series. Both teams have improved from the teams that went head-to-head last year (and that went 7). On the one hand, Edmonton has been the hottest team in the league since January 11th, and have won games in all sorts of manners, meaning that they can handle whatever LA is going to throw at them. But by that same token, this is the playoffs and mental mistakes can, and often will, cost you, whether it be a game or a series. I think LA is going to try and continue to play that hard-nosed style of hockey, which is fine. Edmonton can play that way, or open it up if they have to. Of the current roster, only two players on Edmonton are below 6ft in height (Derek Ryan at 5' 10", and Kailer Yamamoto at 5' 8"). Everyone else in the forward core is 6' 0" or above, and nobody on the backend is below 6' 1". 

My prediction:

While both teams have improved since the trade deadline, I think Edmonton still takes this series. They've been nigh-unbeatable since acquiring Ekholm, and even in the three losses, it was silly mistakes that cost them the game. They've given up 6 goals in their last 7 games (4 1-goal against games and 1 2-goal against game, plus 2 shutouts), they're bigger and nastier, and they've got a hot goalie. LA will make a fight of it, but finish just short.

Edmonton in 6