Oilers

[conundrumed]

2 hours ago, sak22 said:

Benning was an undrafted college guy, less heralded than Cagiula but a much better find.

And he also might be the worst Dman in the entire league.

[conundrumed]

On 11/7/2018 at 6:51 PM, Cowtownguy said:

If there is a god, then McLellan will not be replaced by Q. If he is, then there is not god.

Ummmmm,uh

[The_People1]

2 hours ago, travel_dude said:

 

No, they kept all the A/coaches.

They could end up with Gully next year as the head coach.

Hitch will be an interesting fit in EDM.

They haven't got the horses to play Hitch hockey (D, that is).

Imagine a player like Draisaitl being sat out because he cheats offensively.

 

We complain about our lack of depth sometimes, yet you look at that team and wonder how they manage to win any games.

Okay,. that's right, they have a few players on a line that can score 3 goals per game against teams that struggle to get 2 at times.

 

Either Mclellan couldn't get the Oilers to play better or the Oilers were already playing at their peak potential.  We will find out with Hitchcock. 

 

The Oilers D doesn't have the skills.  Outside of their big 3 on forward, they have a bunch of 3rd liners.  They are missing an entire "second line" worth of talent and you just can't compete in the NHL like that.  Plus Talbot is worse than Smith... We know how bad that is.

 

I lean towards the idea that Chia didn't put together a great team and that Mclellan did as good a job as anyone can.

[cross16]

I still think Mclellan is a good coach and while I understand why they did this I don't think it's going to help. It's a bad roster, devoid of depth and devoid of puck moving dmen and thus unable to play the game the way it is structured today. Mclellan tried to get them to play a game that works in today's NHL and the roster construction held him back. Good coach or not, any coach who loses as much as Edmonton has under his tenure will eventually lose his players (see Peters in Carolina) and I thikn that happened here. 

 

Hitch will likely gt decent short term results but I think that roster is so poorly constructed it wont' matter much. 

[Cowtownguy]

2 minutes ago, The_People1 said:

 

Either Mclellan couldn't get the Oilers to play better or the Oilers were already playing at their peak potential.  We will find out with Hitchcock. 

 

The Oilers D doesn't have the skills.  Outside of their big 3 on forward, they have a bunch of 3rd liners.  They are missing an entire "second line" worth of talent and you just can't compete in the NHL like that.  Plus Talbot is worse than Smith... We know how bad that is.

 

I lean towards the idea that Chia didn't put together a great team and that Mclellan did as good a job as anyone can.

They might as well have fired a concession stand operator because that will be just as impactful as this move. Hitchcock will enjoy a quick, short-term bump in wins for a little while, Oiler fans will plan the parade, and then the deterioration will set in again. They don't have the players, chemistry, and culture needed for success. This is just Chiarelli's last act of desperation hoping to keep his job by making it into the playoffs. 

[Cowtownguy]

2 hours ago, travel_dude said:

 

No, they kept all the A/coaches.

They could end up with Gully next year as the head coach.

Hitch will be an interesting fit in EDM.

They haven't got the horses to play Hitch hockey (D, that is).

Imagine a player like Draisaitl being sat out because he cheats offensively.

 

We complain about our lack of depth sometimes, yet you look at that team and wonder how they manage to win any games.

Okay,. that's right, they have a few players on a line that can score 3 goals per game against teams that struggle to get 2 at times.

I noticed that Oiler fans are just realizing that Russell is not the defensive solution they had hoped. Really?

 

How long will it take until they realize that GG is not their saviour?

[Thebrewcrew]

Interested to see how Hitchcock does. At his age though, he certainly can't be the long term answer there given his age. Probably very likely EDM is looking for a coach again at seasons end. I'm also skeptical EDM has the guys to play Hitch's brand

[The_People1]

38 minutes ago, Thebrewcrew said:

Interested to see how Hitchcock does. At his age though, he certainly can't be the long term answer there given his age. Probably very likely EDM is looking for a coach again at seasons end. I'm also skeptical EDM has the guys to play Hitch's brand

 

I'm skeptical Hitchcock's brand is even relevant in today's NHL built around speed and more speed.

[Thebrewcrew]

16 minutes ago, The_People1 said:

 

I'm skeptical Hitchcock's brand is even relevant in today's NHL built around speed and more speed.

I would agree with that too. Thought the Oilers would go with a younger coach and they still may next season

[The_People1]

11 minutes ago, Thebrewcrew said:

I would agree with that too. Thought the Oilers would go with a younger coach and they still may next season

 

Ya and the whole coaching "millennials" thing.  It's an art form.  Hitch is out of touch with his agressive style.

[travel_dude]

1 hour ago, The_People1 said:

 

I'm skeptical Hitchcock's brand is even relevant in today's NHL built around speed and more speed.

 

This is brilliant.  Gully loves to play with a one goal lead and try to win without any offense after that, and at worst plays to get to OT.

Hitch loves to play a one goal game.  No other scoring, just one goal.

SHould be an exciting brand of hockey.

McDavid gets a goal, then they go into dump and chase, trap, high possession, goalie duals.

What could go wrong with that?  

[The_People1]

1 hour ago, travel_dude said:

 

This is brilliant.  Gully loves to play with a one goal lead and try to win without any offense after that, and at worst plays to get to OT.

Hitch loves to play a one goal game.  No other scoring, just one goal.

SHould be an exciting brand of hockey.

McDavid gets a goal, then they go into dump and chase, trap, high possession, goalie duals.

What could go wrong with that?  

 

I'd love to see Hitch coach McDavid into a 60-point two-way player.

[conundrumed]

Hitch kix it off with a win.

Seems like a good time to mention Martin Jones has been hot garbage all year.

[conundrumed]

Pros: seeing the old feller so invigorated

Cons: this team is bad

[travel_dude]

6 hours ago, conundrumed said:

Hitch kix it off with a win.

Seems like a good time to mention Martin Jones has been hot garbage all year.

 

I'm glad he's not in my pool (or Flames team).

Another in the list of under-performing goalies.

 

Give me Ritter or give me death.

 

5 hours ago, conundrumed said:

Pros: seeing the old feller so invigorated

Cons: this team is bad

 

I like Hitch, but don't like his brand of hockey anymore.  Would do well with a team that had more than an offensive line.  Draisaitl has to be one of the worst C's n the league for two way play.  He only gets going in one direction.  But, he can score goals playing with McDavid!!

[Carty]

Damn...   I was hoping that they would fire McLellan and make Gully their head coach...

[Cowtownguy]

One wonders why Edmonton doesn't just sign coaches to .5 year contracts. 

[travel_dude]

Not sure what to think of the Oilers right now.

1-0 OT win against the Stars

3-2 win against the Kings

2-1 win against the Knights.

 

Barely enough firepower to win, but getting good goaltending.

Not dominating wins in any sense.

2 on 1 goal in OT.

Late 3rd PP goal.

Opening period breakaway against Vegas.

 

Has Hitch improved the team, or has he gone wth the hot hand?

There are stretches of games where they are absolutely dominated in the D-zone.

 

[420since1974]

I think that the Oilers are currently benefiting from the "new coach bump".

Usually, Hitchcock likes to have his teams play a strong defensive game and the Oilers just aren't built for that style of hockey.

I expect to see their play drop off again before 2019 begins.

[travel_dude]

37 minutes ago, 420since1974 said:

I think that the Oilers are currently benefiting from the "new coach bump".

Usually, Hitchcock likes to have his teams play a strong defensive game and the Oilers just aren't built for that style of hockey.

I expect to see their play drop off again before 2019 begins.

 

One of their castoffs, Aberg, is enjoying his time in Anaheim.  11 points in 22 games.

Wideman scratched already.

Zykov hasn;t suited up yet.

Puljujarvi 2 points in 14 games.

Rattie mostly in the doghouse.

[Fins&FIre15]

No mcdavid against the stars tonight, cant say the result is all that surprising.

[travel_dude]

51 minutes ago, Fins&FIre15 said:

No mcdavid against the stars tonight, cant say the result is all that surprising.

 

And the fans are back on the ledge;

[cross16]

funny thing is that the Oilers, in terms of shots against, chances, high danger etc, really are not executing better under HItchcock then they did under Mclellan. 

 

So I agree, it's that new coach bump. See how long it lasts, but looks like it won't last much longer. 

[travel_dude]

1 hour ago, cross16 said:

funny thing is that the Oilers, in terms of shots against, chances, high danger etc, really are not executing better under HItchcock then they did under Mclellan. 

 

So I agree, it's that new coach bump. See how long it lasts, but looks like it won't last much longer. 

 

To his credit (or lack of), the Oilers as a group onlly had two practices since he started.  Most of the changes are one-offs.  Play this situation like this.  Don't do that.  Specific things.  Watching them play without McDavid is pretty much like watch an AHL team or worse.  Maybe just an isolated event, but none of them looked good enough to play in our top 6.  I don't know what's wrong with Draisailt, but he looks like he doesn't even want to play in the D-zone.  Get me outa here, I want points.

[Khrox]

Andrew Ference was on 31 Thoughts recently, and this is a transcript that I found about what it was like playing in Edmonton:

On Lucic:
He’s got as much pride as anybody, absolutely loves being in the NHLand loves playing an important role on a team. I see the same frustrations that I had too in going Edmonton about certain aspects of going there and especially coming from a really dialled in culture. When you’ve seen a dialled in culture and team and how its operating and you go to something different it can be extremely frustrating.

Being from Edmonton and I grew up in Sherwood Park, Ive seen it a million times, there’s always a sacrificial lamb on the team that just gets roasted by the radio guys and the newspaper guys and then the fans just continue that on. I think he’s obviously taken that a bit and you always got the target on your back with the big contract and he’d been the first to admit he should be getting more points and scoring more goals, you get all that.

But its tough, its really tough play there and and to be the centre of so much negativity and I dont care who you are negativity gets to you and doesn’t usually help you at all. Its tough for him and I think that its tough for any player transitioning from a really super important role on a team to a secondary role on the ice. I think he’s still incredibly important in the room and I think thats probably, whenever Ive talked to him, its goals and assists and sometimes your play can dip and change and sometimes its luck and sometimes your just not playing so good but you can always do the stuff in the room and create that culture and lead off the ice.

You always have pretty much full control of that that shouldn’t dip and ebb and fall off the map. So I think for a guy like that thats where you have to maybe transition where your role on the ice isn’t so important but your role off the ice and in the room and as a leader, you have to magnify that yourself and really make yourself important in those ways as well.

On the game changing vis a vis Lucic:
Everythings changing yes, there’s probably not too many defensemen that still like playing against him. Him on the forecheck when he’s all rambunctious and running around, he’s not a fun player to play against. its just that when you’ve had really successful seasons, I don't know what his top line numbers are and his best years but your not hitting those same numbers you used to hit, your not getting the same playing time, your not scoring as many goals, does that mean your horrible?

No, people will automatically look at your contract and have expectations where you should be and so they should but I think its just some people might adjust their own personal expectations a little quicker than others and just accept the fact Im not going to be that 40 goal guy 22 minute a night guy so what can I do. If you dont adjust that quick enough the frustration will be never ending.

On the culture in Edmonton when he played and why doesn’t it work in Edmonton:
(Elliott asking about being the After Hours guest in Edmonton where Edmonton got pummelled that night - he says with a laugh “Surprise!”)

I don’t think it’s one thing. I think its a combination of elements that go into it. I think that aspect of feeling more scared to make a mistake and be the whipping boy rather than being bold and taking your chances and having that confidence to try a play. Some guys might get into that role of being scared to be the whipping boy. I don’t know if that makes sense (Elliott says "I have heard that theory before").

You take less risks, your urge to win and be bold is less than your urge to not be the whipping boy or stand out right? So I think that is one aspect. The quickness that radio or newspaper or fans jump and attack their own guys is horrible. I think that the quickness to defend players within the organization I remember Jeff Petry or Schultz getting raked over the coals and nobody coming to defend them and then just trading them when their value, after they’ve beaten them down for months, then trading them, its like God, its not just for those guys but its for other guys on the team and your looking at it and saying like well f… they don’t have his back, are they going to have mine when its my turn to be the whipping boy you know?

But I think the most frustrating part for me as a player when I went in there straight from Boston was talk is cheap. I went in, Dallas Eakins is a fantastic coach, there’s another whipping boy who got dragged over the coals, he’s a fantastic coach that was dealt just a pure crap hand in a team that would actually listen. You got a group of players that talked about how they wanted to make the playoffs and talked about how sick they were of losing and then by game 3 after losing 6-1 they’re straight out to the bar till 3 in the morning lighting up the night life scene in Edmonton.

Cmon give me a break. It was to the point where it was ridiculous, where the lifestyle was way more important than actually playing the game and making the playoffs but like I said talk is cheap. Even in practice, came from a group where you’re practicing against guys like Bergeron or Chara and your going at each other, game intensity and thats how you get better, thats how you be a playoff contender, thats how you be a champion and you try to instil some of those values, and we had some other guys had been on playoff teams and they had the same frustrations, they’d come and practice hard and theres a group of guys there that had, that were too cool to try hard, like derogatory terms for trying too hard in practice. Thats the culture right. So how do you break that?

Well you come in and try to disrupt. Over the years there have been attempts to disrupt whether it was Eakins or I come in there or Pronger or whoever it was. Different people come in and disrupt but I know personally it was really hard for me. You come in as an older guy but far from being one of the better players on the team so you can be a leader with experience but I am not a game changer, I am a number 4/5 defenceman. Your voice only goes so far with people that only respect how good your toe drag is and wether or not you're out partying.

So your voice doesn’t carry much weight with people that don’t put value on those aspects I was bringing from Boston or that Dallas was trying to instil in the team so was it not only frustrating but it really pissed me off because its a waste of those years in your NHL career where you never get those back and you see a coach like Dallas get really so unfairly treated. Like I said was he perfect, no and he’d be the first to admit that he would rather do some of those things different but taking the blame, what are you supposed to do with a culture like that?

“You could have had any kind of defense or any kind of system. But if you go on a Western swing and your guys are out every single night until 5 in the morning, I mean, you’re not going to win too many games”