Sunday, November 23, 2014

Edmonton Oilers Postgame 21: Numb


30 SOG
25 SOG



Now what? Some thoughts after the hop.
1) Minor league moves: You could possibly call up Klefbom and/or Anton Lander. Both have some NHL experience (Lander has 94 NHL games, ~ 400 as a Pro), and both could possibly make marginal contributions to breaking the Oilers out of the dreadful slump.

2) Trade for another goalie: You could swing some picks and prospects to try and poach a #2 guy with some upside and youth. Philip Grubauer from the Caps farm, Malcom Subban has some pedigree and Boston has Rask. Maybe Jean-François Bérubé or Jacob Markstrom if we are just picking early 20 something goalies we hope will become the next Broduer. Or none of the above, and try to pick a teams #2 (Khudobin?) if they feel their guy in the minors is ready for a backup role.

3) Make the "Big Trade": Some package of picks, with or without some combination of Eberle, Yakupov, Marincin, J.Schultz, or whomever else you deem expendable. The Oilers have valuable assets at almost every position (except #2 above) and if they want to trade them, don't believe in their ability to carry the team forward, they could try to swing a Tyler Myers or a Kulikov or a Johansen. Unless the Oilers are willing to part with their truly elite guys, they will have to look at players with warts or without long track records.

4) Fire Eakins: There is plenty of precedent in firing a coach after 100 demoralizing games behind the bench, and if the move was made there would probably be a lot of support from virtually every non-Oiler employee around. As someone who has been concerned about Eakins decisions for most of this season, my only caveat would be that we would have to hire someone who learly has the chops to pick up the team and attempt to make something happen. Dan Bylsma is basically Eakins with 5 extra seasons of experience, brought into the NHL to turn around the Crosby-lead Penguins. Would he coach here? I don't know. I do know that if you wanted to pick a replacement that would have the puckheads nodding, that would probably be it.

5) Do nothing: You could stay the course. You could trust the numbers and hope that the Oilers aren't as bad as they seem, that their luck won't stay as rotten as it has been. It costs you nothing but time, and maybe there's no coach available, no trade worth it, and no secret Martin Broduer to be plucked from an unsuspecting team.


The Oilers are fast approaching the point of no return. If they truly are going to be completely out of the playoff picture, do they run the youngsters to get them experience? Do they enter in the - god forbid - McDavid discussion?

Right now, I'm in favour of both 1 & 2 right now, and if this streak continues, then probably 4 as well. One thing I do know is that the Oilers are now sporting the worst goaltending numbers in the league, and that just has to change somehow, no matter what it takes.

Or else the rotten season last year will seem like a stroll through candy-land.


  1. You know I have been hard on the coach but I dont think its just the coaching, Its the whole management team, First you bring in a Rookie GM then you can tell he is a rookie GM by the moves he makes.
    He Fires Kruger after 1/2 a season,
    He brings in a rookie coach so both GM and coach feel like they are a gift to hockey. They sit there in the beginning of the season acting like they see hockey like no one else does, they are on another level of hockey genius. FYI say what you want of Kruger but at least he had the respect of the players and had the team moving in a somewhat positive way
    Then the GM gets rid of our second line center for an even softer winger because he has size which he doesn’t use. Then the GM signs 2 career backup goalies thinking he is again outsmarting the league in his knowledge. The GM goes out and signs (overpays) for Nikitin like he is a rough gem that just needs a bit of polish and throws that useless dman on to a rookie useless coach. That’s when the coach in his rookie-ness, takes the club, plays the wrong players in the wrong positions for them to succeed (because he is above the law and sees things us simple minded people don’t see), plays Nikki like 25 min, plays Aulie over Klef or Marincin. Anyway sooo many mistakes were done by a management group and a coaching group that don’t have a clue that I could go on forever. This season was lost before it even started and for the first time since I started following the OIL back in 1988 (I was 8 then), I find myself not excited to watch the oil and now I am even spending unwanted family time instead. Thanks Oilers.

    Hey Kevin L, tell us again how you know a little bit about winning and the fans have no clue?