Edmonton is No Good XII: "I Dunno.. it's Just Not Good."

[CaptainCrunch]

Did anyone else watch the Oilers game tonight and come to the realization that the Oilers are just a step behind, they're not a fast team, they don't play fast.


Nurse is worthless, he's even lost his physical edge.


Even with better goalies, the results will likely be close to the same.

[Reggie Dunlop]

It’s not the coach the team has tuned out, it’s the Captain.

[midniteowl]

Now I'm afraid if the Oilers keep on losing, they'll qualify the draft lottery and they'll win and draft McKenna.

[Dion]

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Eric Vail

The mighty Sabers beat down the Oilers 5-1. The great McDavid with zeros and a -2.

[Roof-Daddy]

This is starting to smell like two seasons ago where it looked like the oilers were almost assuredly going to miss the playoffs. Then they fired that pasty coach they used to have and brought in the knob.

What did they pull off, a 17 game win streak and ended up going to the finals twice in a row?

I hope that doesn't happen again.

[PuckSlap]

Originally Posted by Dion

For a second I thought that was piss on the floor. Same difference

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

This is starting to smell like two seasons ago where it looked like the oilers were almost assuredly going to miss the playoffs. Then they fired that pasty coach they used to have and brought in the knob.

What did they pull off, a 17 game win streak and ended up going to the finals twice in a row?

I hope that doesn't happen again.

No bounce, just No Good.

[Nammer403]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1990647742549680569

[NegativeSpace]

Originally Posted by Eric Vail

Projected numbers based on the start of the season:

Mcdavid 30-86-117 (7 less)
Draisaitl 52-35-86 (21 less)
Bouchard 13-62-65 (7 less)
Nugent-Hopkins 25-54-79 (16 more)
Mangiapane 17-9-26 (16 less)
Savoie 9-13-22 (19 less)
Howard 9-5-14 (26 less)
Podkolzin 13-22-35 (3 less)
Walman 18-41-58 (21 more)
Frederic 4-0-4 (31 less)
Nurse 13-17-30 (1 less)
Ekholm 4-26-30 (as predicted)

Here are some gems:


https://############.com/news/bold-p...25-2026-season

Wait. Howard calls himself Ice Man? The guy is so uncool that he has to give himself a nickname.

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

This is starting to smell like two seasons ago where it looked like the oilers were almost assuredly going to miss the playoffs. Then they fired that pasty coach they used to have and brought in the knob.

What did they pull off, a 17 game win streak and ended up going to the finals twice in a row?

I hope that doesn't happen again.

Can’t think of a team whose “successes” have been more based on luck over the years. Hopefully it has run out. Just to name a few:

1. McDavid lottery. Think of where this team would still be if that ball didn’t drop for them. Think of how poorly run they have been over the years but have had the McDavid powerplay cheat code for the past decade to get them into the playoffs and through playoff rounds.

2. The run you talked about was needed for them just to make the playoffs that season. And I remember the teams they faced for most of it - constantly facing poor teams or decent teams that were in horrible slumps. It felt like they were constantly being setup for another win during that streak.

3. When they went to the final in 2024, Vancouver vastly outplayed them in the 2nd round. Injuries to Vancouver’s top players in that series for games 6 and 7 saved them.

4. They have had multiple years where they constantly get the best matchups for their team in the playoffs. LA four years in a row in the first round. Never facing Colorado in their two runs to the finals. Always wanted them to get Cooorado because Colorado could beat them at their own game (powerplays).

5. In the 2025 playoffs, Byfield not being able to make the most simple puck off the boards play with less than a minute to go. He makes the simple, safe play to get that puck out and it’s very, very likely the Kings win that series…. Furthermore, I think it’s likely McDavid does not re-sign if Byfield makes that play. Can’t stress enough how lucky the oilers were in that moment.

I know every team needs some luck to win and go deep into the playoffs but I don’t know if one team has built so much of it on luck, diving and powerplays as the oilers. Even right now, two of their wins this season are due to pure, blind luck (Columbus fumbling the puck on their powerplay in their own end at the end of the game when all they had to do was pass it around and Philly being millimetres offside with 2 seconds to go). The oilers would be sitting at 18 points (and 4th from the bottom of the league) right now instead of 22 points if not for those two wins.

[jg13]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1990621120299512117

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by stemit14

2. The run you talked about was needed for them just to make the playoffs that season. And I remember the teams they faced for most of it - constantly facing poor teams or decent teams that were in horrible slumps. It felt like they were constantly being setup for another win during that streak.

There were a bunch of games too where they got bailed out by bad officaiting/replay review. Like when Pissy pushed in the goalie's pad with his stick and then shot it in at the beginining of the third and they still counted it. I think that one was against Montreal.

[jg13]

It's also 20 days since the Oilers have won in regulation

[flamingred89]

^^ they also had that incredible PK streak in the playoffs two years ago.

Or how about the extremely one sided reffing in the LA series where media, agents, fans, and other players were wondering what the heck was going on. I believe that was also two years ago.

Or in the 4 series against the Kings the kings have out played them by a wide margin 5 on 5 but the Oilers PP is their kryptonite.

The list can go on and on. If there ever was a whole franchise whose foundation is built on luck and good fortune it's them.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

It’s not the coach the team has tuned out, it’s the Captain.

That's a really interesting thought. When you look at what's happened with the Oilers.


If you look at the list of Edmonton Coaches since McDavid has gotten there.


Todd McLellan - 3 years, had a 123-119-24 coaching record, it became clear that the core of players turned against them.
Ken Hitchcock came in for a season, he was interim so fine.
Dave Tippett - 2 years 95-62-14 - Edmonton fans felt like he quite on the team, which again could be a core dressing room issue.
Jay Woodcroft - less then 2 years 79-41-13 - Team definitely turned on him in the end and started playing Conna hockey giving up and semblance of a defensive system.
Knobby the house elf - less then 2 years and is definitely on the hot seat at this point. He's being blamed for the woes of the Oilers while dealing with an old badly built team.


When you are replaceing coaches every two years, its at that point not a coaching issue. Some of these coaches like Tippet, McLellan and even Hitchcock are good experienced coaches that were known to be fairly strict with players. Woodcroft was a players coach, and Knobby is considered a players coach bought in due to his relationship with the Conna.


This dressing room kills coaches, and Knobby has even said that the teams culture is Conna. They're going to fire another coach and pray for a new coach bounce. But the problem is any coach worth his salt, is not going to go to a team like Edmonton that chews up and spits out coaches unless they get a long term big big money contract to protect himself. If they get another inexperienced coach, Conna and Leon are going to run over him.


The Oilers still have no cap room for this year, an old team and not a lot of prospects and draft picks. They might go on another miracle run, but you can't count on that with a team that is the oldest team in the NHL.

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by Inferno

There were a bunch of games too where they got bailed out by bad officaiting/replay review. Like when Pissy pushed in the goalie's pad with his stick and then shot it in at the beginining of the third and they still counted it. I think that one was against Montreal.

Perfect example.

During that winning streak in 2023-2024, of the 16 teams the Oilers played, only five held a playoff position at the time. Those teams were the Rangers, Kings, Flyers, Red Wings and Maple Leafs. Furthermore, the Rangers and Kings were just 3-5-2 and 2-5-3, respectively, in their previous 10 games before playing the oilers. If you had to design an easy stretch for a team to go on a run - that was pretty much it. And the oilers needed that badly at the time.

My hope is their luck finally runs out. Not just by losing games but by losing draft lotteries. That team should be banned from winning draft lotteries for decades. I mean, they literally had to change the draft lottery rules because the oilers kept on being so bad year after year and kept picking at the top of the draft.

[Southside]

Originally Posted by midniteowl

Now I'm afraid if the Oilers keep on losing, they'll qualify the draft lottery and they'll win and draft McKenna.

Because Oilers they would not even consider Keaton Verhoeff, would they?

[Rejean31]

Originally Posted by stemit14

Can’t think of a team whose “successes” have been more based on luck over the years. Hopefully it has run out. Just to name a few:

1. McDavid lottery. Think of where this team would still be if that ball didn’t drop for them. Think of how poorly run they have been over the years but have had the McDavid powerplay cheat code for the past decade to get them into the playoffs and through playoff rounds.

2. The run you talked about was needed for them just to make the playoffs that season. And I remember the teams they faced for most of it - constantly facing poor teams or decent teams that were in horrible slumps. It felt like they were constantly being setup for another win during that streak.

3. When they went to the final in 2024, Vancouver vastly outplayed them in the 2nd round. Injuries to Vancouver’s top players in that series for games 6 and 7 saved them.

4. They have had multiple years where they constantly get the best matchups for their team in the playoffs. LA four years in a row in the first round. Never facing Colorado in their two runs to the finals. Always wanted them to get Cooorado because Colorado could beat them at their own game (powerplays).

5. In the 2025 playoffs, Byfield not being able to make the most simple puck off the boards play with less than a minute to go. He makes the simple, safe play to get that puck out and it’s very, very likely the Kings win that series…. Furthermore, I think it’s likely McDavid does not re-sign if Byfield makes that play. Can’t stress enough how lucky the oilers were in that moment.

I know every team needs some luck to win and go deep into the playoffs but I don’t know if one team has built so much of it on luck, diving and powerplays as the oilers. Even right now, two of their wins this season are due to pure, blind luck (Columbus fumbling the puck on their powerplay in their own end at the end of the game when all they had to do was pass it around and Philly being millimetres offside with 2 seconds to go). The oilers would be sitting at 18 points (and 4th from the bottom of the league) right now instead of 22 points if not for those two wins.

And don't forget the Oilers home game against Montreal where the refs absolutely gifted the Oilers a win in a game where they had been vastly outplayed. Refs saved them with 2 late very questionable powerplays.

[SuperMatt18]

Moving McLeod and not prioritizing Holloway and Broberg so they could sign Jeff Skinner, Victor Arvidsson, and Adam Henrique was some great long term roster building.

They have no prospects. Have moved most of their picks and no cap space.

They could still turn it around just because 97 can do that alone, but that bottom 6 is horrendous.