Like Bob McKenzie tweeted last night. Don't project too much into how the season breaks down after week one or three. The real trends will show after week four. That being said, Edmonton really needs to sell one.of their big four to the highest bidder and get some D and a Goalie. Hopefully though Mac does squat and bets on his roster as it is now, although I would despise the oilers nabbing an ekblad.
He is pretty much a ####ty winger, eh? Last night was embarrassing to watch. The way he avoids going into tough places is cringe worthy for a defensive player.
Like Bob McKenzie tweeted last night. Don't project too much into how the season breaks down after week one or three. The real trends will show after week four. That being said, Edmonton really needs to sell one.of their big four to the highest bidder and get some D and a Goalie. Hopefully though Mac does squat and bets on his roster as it is now, although I would despise the oilers nabbing an ekblad.
Last night there was a page of #tankforekblad posts by Oilers fans on HFBoards. Not even joking.
2011: Landeskog, Huberdeau > RNH (Hamilton is close too).
Honestly, if Edmonton nabs Landeskog/Murray over those two years, they would be a significantly better team. I know would'ves and could'ves are dumb, but when you get to drafting for 3rd or 4th high pick in as many years, you HAVE to grab organizational needs, or at least be willing to move these guys for those needs. RNH and Yakupov are both good, and they both obviously have tons to show, but they need to be shipped out for a stud defenceman or goaltender if Edmonton wants to be a great team, instead of a terrible team with great players.
Hindsight is 20/20 but lets not blame RNH for the Oilers complete disaster of developing players. RNH IMO would still be taken first overall 9 times out of 10. I'd argue a properly developed and healthy RNH would blow the rest of that draft year out of the water.
Can't belive I'm defending an Oiler here but that kid is good, real good. Only downfall is he got dragged into Edmonton.
Tyler Dellow did some good spade work expanding on how terrible the analysis is on HNIC from everyone except Friedman, worth a read. I wasn't really paying attention but I cannot fathom how Healy watched the game and got the game story he ended up with. Just pathetic.
Except that sometimes, sometimes…the analysis is just horrific. I actually transcribed a piece of tonight’s segment because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The panel quotes are in italics.
Healy: (Dubnyk’s) body language wasn’t there tonight. He was behind the puck, chasing the play and as a coach, you look at it and you say: “Gotta make a change.” When you look at the stats, every stat was in Edmonton’s favour. Faceoffs, they were better in faceoffs, They were better in hits. They had more blocked shots. But they weren’t even in the game. New Morning Sun was Jim Cuddy’s song to start the show? They can’t wait for the morning sun because they need a fresh start.
Edmonton got outshot 44-23. 44. 23. They were outshot 27-18 at 5v5. Is this a stat in Edmonton’s favour? I think Healy’s point was intended to be that Edmonton won the stats war because they hit more (not a predictor of victory) and won more faceoffs but the most fundamental stat of the game, outside of goals, the Oilers got crushed.
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Yup, in his usual fashion, he tried to pull a stat out of his a$$ to justify his position.
In this case, he was trying to justify pulling the goalie and he wanted to make it look like it was the goalie's fault. "Look, they are winning the faceoff battle and the hits battle, so it must be Dubnyk's fault"
I mean let's be fair Dubnyk didn't give anyone any help in the first 30 minutes of that one, the Hamhuis goal needs to be stopped. But the Oilers have essentially no system. Which is exactly what Eakins needs to instill. Listening to Tortorella the last few conferences (admittedly just hoping for some classic Torts moments) you get the sense that he's relentlessly hammering home the need to play his system and do it throughout the whole game rather than getting back into the bad habits that he's trying to correct. That kind of rigid, unwavering pressure to adhere to a gameplan rather than young stars trying to win the game themselves with skill (coughTaylorHallcough) is what the Oilers need.
Tyler Dellow did some good spade work expanding on how terrible the analysis is on HNIC from everyone except Friedman, worth a read. I wasn't really paying attention but I cannot fathom how Healy watched the game and got the game story he ended up with. Just pathetic.
I agree... There is this bias amongst so many hockey analysts that keep giving Edmonton the benefit of the doubt. I think it's because year after year, these analysts keep saying this is the year Edmonton takes that first step and they keep getting it wrong.
People need to realize that rebuilding does not guarantee a great team down the road. It's not like every team that rebuilds gets to have a Stanley cup. That's why you have to build the team the right way. While everyone else seems to think its just a matter time for the oilers, I could just as easily see that time never coming. I could see the oilers ascend from being a terrible team to being a mediocre team at best that never makes the playoffs in the years to come. Next thing you know... RNH is 28 years old, hall left in free agency, yakupov turns into the next radulov, and eberle is a 31 year old whose best years are behind him. And all the oilers have to show for their rebuild is a mediocre 19th place finish.
I agree... There is this bias amongst so many hockey analysts that keep giving Edmonton the benefit of the doubt. I think it's because year after year, these analysts keep saying this is the year Edmonton takes that first step and they keep getting it wrong.
People need to realize that rebuilding does not guarantee a great team down the road. It's not like every team that rebuilds gets to have a Stanley cup. That's why you have to build the team the right way. While everyone else seems to think its just a matter time for the oilers, I could just as easily see that time never coming. I could see the oilers ascend from being a terrible team to being a mediocre team at best that never makes the playoffs in the years to come. Next thing you know... RNH is 28 years old, hall left in free agency, yakupov turns into the next radulov, and eberle is a 31 year old whose best years are behind him. And all the oilers have to show for their rebuild is a mediocre 19th place finish.
It doesn't help when you have this young guns mentality, but are still clinging on to old horses like Ryan Smyth. The guy is playing 17 + mins a night still....
Tyler Dellow did some good spade work expanding on how terrible the analysis is on HNIC from everyone except Friedman, worth a read. I wasn't really paying attention but I cannot fathom how Healy watched the game and got the game story he ended up with. Just pathetic.
