‘Twas the night before Christmas,
And all through Rogers Place
Not a player was stirring
Not even Sam Gagner
Everyone knows that Santa is on his way around the world, dropping off presents for all the good little boys and girls. However, if you are on his naughty list, then you can expect a lump of coal (which, in this economy, may not actually be a bad thing).
So where do this year’s Edmonton Oilers stand on Santa’s list? Lucky for you reader, we at the Oil Rig managed to get our hands on the list, and we are ready to leak the highlights of that list like we are Frank Seravelli on Expansion Draft Day.
Nice
This season has been a rollercoaster this year, with the Oilers starting the season off with two separate four-game losing streaks in the first 12 games, resulting in the firing of coaches Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson, then winning 11 of their next 14 games (including an eight-game win streak), a three-game losing streak followed up with a two game winning streak with back to back 4 goal third period outbursts heading into the Christmas break.
Given the uneven season when expectations were “cup or bust”, the “Nice” list this year is going to be a shorter one than the “Naughty” one.
Zach Hyman
Zach Hyman has been playing his best hockey of his career this year. He leads the Oilers in goals with 19 in 30 games, five more than Leon Draisaitl over half of his career high of 36, which he notched last year. He is also tied for fourth in the NHL with David Pastrnak and Sidney Crosby.
He also leads the Oilers in plus-minus with +7, which given the teams struggles this year is pretty impressive.
Christmas present: Continued streak of no goals being called back
Last season, Hyman seemed to have a goal called back every second game, and everyone would hold their breath after every goal because of that. That hasn’t been the case this year (so far), so let’s keep those good vibes going.
Kris Knoblauch
Kris Knoblauch came into a fairly difficult situation for his first ever NHL head coaching gig.
Many fans were not pleased about Woodcroft’s firing, and the team’s morale had to be at an all time low. Goaltending was sinking the season, and there isn’t much a head coach can do to rectify that.
Further, there were whispers that, after an off-season that included the hiring of Connor McDavid’s agent Jeff Jackson as CEO of Hockey Operations and the signing of McDavid’s junior linemate Connor Brown, that the hiring of his former junior coach was yet another sign that McDavid was dictating the Oilers’ operations.
Despite all the above, Knoblauch is 12–6 since taking over, including an eight-game winning streak.
While a lot can be said about the Oilers regressing to the mean after a tough start that still showed decent performance, it was marred by bad luck. But Knoblauch seems to have helped turn around the penalty kill, a long standing issue with the offensively-minded Oilers, showing that he seems to have an actual impact.
Christmas present: Quality time with his family
After his sudden hiring, Knoblauch had to leave his family back in Hartford, which is understandably a difficult and emotional thing to do, as was demonstrated on the morning of his first day as head coach. His family was able to come visit over the American Thanksgiving weekend, but hopefully the holiday break will give the Knoblauchs that family time that they deserve.
Paul Coffey
Like Knoblauch, there were murmurs about Paul Coffey being hired. Having minimal coaching experience (his son’s AAA teams, a season in the OJHL and one Spengler Cup Canada Team), the infamous “old boys club” was again raised by fans.
Apparently Coffey didn’t even want to coach and had to be cajoled into the role.
For a guy who apparently wanted absolutely nothing to do with coaching the Oilers, Coffey has appeared to work wonders for the Oilers defence.
The defence are more involved in plays offensively but also have tightened up their defence, and the counting stats show that:
- Evan Bouchard: 20 points and +1 in 18 games (12 points and -5 in 13 games prior);
- Mattias Ekholm: 10 points and +7 in 18 games (four points and -3 in 12 game prior);
- Darnell Nurse: six points and +5 in 18 games (five points and -3 in 13 games prior);
- Cody Ceci: five points and +5 in 18 games (three points and +1 in 13 games prior);
- Vincent Desharnais: three points and +4 in 18 games (one point and -4 in 11 games prior);
- Brett Kulak: one point and +1 in 18 games (two points and -6 in 13 games prior).
Sure, lots of that is due to the eight-game winning streak, but the eight-game winning streak doesn’t happen without the defencemen performing.
Nurse is playing what might the best hockey of his career defensively (although perhaps getting hit in the head during warmups resulted in a factory reset that led to his improved play), while Bouchard has limited his glaring defensive gaffes.
Christmas present: Enjoyment of his coaching experience
It seems that Coffey has embraced his coaching role after being hesitant prior, but hopefully the Oilers will continue improved play so he enjoys his time behind the bench.
Evan Bouchard
I’m sure this will be a controversial entry on the “Nice” list, but at the end of the day, being second in goals and fourth in points (third in points per game) among all defencemen in the league at the age of 24 is impressive and deserves credit. Not to mention a 13-game point streak, the second highest in franchise history after his coach, Coffey.
Christmas present: Better defensive puck luck
Bouchard has the second worst on-ice save percentage on the team, while he has second best On-Ice Shot Attempts Against per 60 minutes in the LEAGUE.
That’s not to say that he hasn’t made some bone-headed defensive decisions, but it appears that every time he does so the puck ends up in the back of the net.
If he can get some better luck, then the defensive issues that have been lamented by Oilers fans will be overlooked given his amazing offensive production.
The fourth line
James Hamblin, Sam Gagner, and Derek Ryan have been dynamite since being put together. I have dubbed them the “Feel Good Line”. All three are under 6 feet tall, Hamblin is a local boy who has played his way up to the team to make his late mother proud, Gagner has come back for his third go around with the team and has posted 4 goals and 9 points in 18 games (putting him at over half his totals from last year), and Ryan’s shorthanded prowess has been huge in the PK’s turnaround.
Christmas present: More ice time
All three are averaging less than 11 minutes per game, and while it is definitely possible that giving them more ice time would result in deteriorating performance, the energy they bring is something this team needs from time to time. Given how they have taken the bull by the horns when given opportunities so far, why not give them some more?
Naughty
Oilers goalies
Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell have not played up to snuff this year and that has been a huge issue in the team’s performance. This is no secret, as they both have admitted to the same.
When Skinner is 10–1 in games, he has posted above 0.900 in save percentage, which shows that it’s not so much his team letting him down. He has the worst goals saved above expected in the league and the ninth worst goals saved against expected.
Meanwhile, Campbell was sent down to the minors, and has barely better stats there than he had in the NHL.
If the Oilers had even average goaltending, it is likely that they are comfortably in a playoff spot.
Coal equivalent: Campbell has already received his coal via a demotion (although, thanks to no escrow in the AHL, he is actually making more than he would in the NHL). Skinner’s coal could potentially come via losing his starting job if the Oilers do manage to make a trade for another goaltender.
Oilers management
Sticking to the goaltending issues, management has been unable to solve the same, which is tanking the Oilers season.
While there were concerns with running back the goaltending this season, the hope was that Skinner would be able to take the next step as a starter and that Campbell could find his groove back.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened.
It appears the Oilers were aggressively pursuing a goaltender, but after the eight-game winning streak that urgency has lessened. That is a mistake, and with the Oilers losing three straight games where goaltending was not up to snuff, and the other team’s goalie won the game for their team, it shows the importance of goaltending.
Management needs to get a goalie, full stop. The failure to do so already costed a good coach in Jay Woodcroft, and now the Oilers are going to need a hell of a run for the rest of the season just to make the playoffs.
Coal Equivalent: We already know Ken Holland is in his last year of his contract and it always seemed inevitable he was going to retire at the end of the season anyway. But perhaps an actual change prior to the season ending is what is needed. You don’t have to fire Holland and can “promote” him within the organization out of respect, but unless he can make a drastic move soon, the season can go from being on life support to flat line by the end of January.
Connor Brown
One assist and a -10 in 23 games is not acceptable for an NHL player making league minimum. It is even more unacceptable for a player playing consistent top-six minutes with either Leon Draisaitl or Connor McDavid. It is absolutely unacceptable when that player is getting a $3.25M bonus that will count on the cap next year when the player isn’t even on the team.
Yes, he is coming off a major knee injury and it would be naive to think that hasn’t had an effect on his performance, but at the end of the day when you are making the equivalent of $4M, expectations are going to be high.
Coal Equivalent: Brown was a healthy scratch against the New Jersey Devils, and that is something that probably should have been done earlier. Hopefully, some time to rest and watch the game from upstairs might be what the doctor ordered for Brown to help him get back on track.
Photo by Bailey Hillesheim/Icon Sportswire
