Edmonton Oilers are Beating a Dead Horse Not Caring About +/-. Blame the Old Boys!

I could guarantee the Oilers make the playoffs if I was given a temporary contract as General Manager for the rest of this season. The "Chiarelli surcharge" has destroyed the Oilers.

Edmonton vs Detroit (lowest ranked team in the NHL)

Projected lines...

RNH - McDavid - Puljujarvi
Khaira - Draisaitl - Chiasson
Lucic - Brodziak - Kassian
Spooner - Cave - Yamamoto

Nurse - Larsson
Russell - Benning
Manning - Petrovic

Switching Talbot and Koskinen when one is not playing well seems to work. Hopefully, it gets the better out of them. It rewards the goalie with more games if he is performing.

I don't mind punishing Draisaitl, by not putting him on the line with McD, because of his laziness defensively that cost Oilers last game. Once he gets his act together he can rejoin McDavid. Out of desperation I would put Draisaitl, McD and RNH on the top line together. That would be something to see at least for a few games. The other 3 lines can focus on better defense.

I would not play Spooner since he is on waivers and because he sucks. His +/- every year is so bad. I would have kept Rattie to replace Spooner.

I agree with Nurse and Larsson together because last season they were +25 combined. Do not deviate from this. They were an impregnable wall. Larsson could not play with Caleb Jones (-9 in 17 games) because Jones made so many mistakes. Caleb cost the Oilers so many games. That was a very costly error by Chiarelli. And there was no reason to bring him up in the first place. His stats didn't warrant it in Bakersfield.

Manning and Petrovic should be allocated very few minutes. If you were going to acquire these players you might have instead put Bouchard on the 2nd line with Klefbom for an offensive 2nd line pairing, and Russell and Benning on the 3rd pairing. Russell and Benning should never play the 2nd pairing. That's too much pressure for them. They play great together as a 3rd pairing.

Switching RNH and Draisaitl with McD is a good strategy when Draisaitl is in lazy mode. There is no denying that Chiasson has good size and produces with McD so I can't understand why they put Puljujarvi on with McD. Puljujarvi is a hopeless case: he's long, lanky and clutzy. He is not coordinated. Everything is happening too fast for him to process. He needs to be traded.

Prioritize what must be done. Get rid of these players first because they are costing the Oilers the most (someone has to make up for them)....

Brodziak -13 (old man)
Puljujarvi -12 (clutzy)
Lucic -9 (demented sasquatch)

The lines should be as follows (do not play Brodziak ever, his slowness, like Letestu, has cost Oilers too many games)...

RNH - McD - Chiasson
Rieder - Draisaitl - Rattie
Kassian - Khaira - Yamamoto
Lucic - Cave - Puljujarvi

The players that are costing the Oilers most should be put on the 4th line and given very few minutes. When they do get some ice time they have to fight 110%.

Nurse - Larsson
Klefbom - Bouchard
Russell - Benning

Yes, it is true, Bouchard is not ready, but he is needed on the power play with Klefbom, McD, Draisaitl, and RNH. Front load this this line!

Detroit's 1st goal - Russell was backing up way too much, practically standing in the goalie crease instead of taking his man at the blue line. Anyone could do what he did.

Detroit's 2nd goal - RNH turned over the puck. This is why RNH has a lowsy +/- career of -37. Only one person needed to cover the player handling the puck. RNH was caught flat footed and should have been covering the other player.

Petrovic was in on the play and didn't cover the rushing Detroit player on the other side. He was behind the play. Petrovic has not had a positive +/- year in 4 seasons and has 2 assists, no goals, in the last 31 games. In 5 years he has a total of 5 goals. Remind me why he is on the Oilers? A defenseman is suppose to be between the opposing player and our goalie, not on one end Petrovic and Koskinen on the other, and the Detroit player sandwiched in between.

The only line that works is Draisaitl, McD, and Chiasson, but Ken Hitchcock for some unknown reason dismantled them. For starters, stop doing that. Dummy! Hitchcock is showing he is no better than Todd McLellan. Todd must be laughing his ass off watching Ken change all the lines around in a chaotic frenzy because that is what he use to do in panic mode. Faith is having confidence in what works even when it is not working. Trust that Draisaitl, McD and Chiasson will work together.

Detroit's 3rd goal - Manning did not take his man, and Koskinen let an easy one in. Manning is -29 in the last 4 years with 4 points in the last 34 games. Not sure why he is on the team. He is the bottom of the barrel type player.

With 30 seconds left Oilers did not pull the goalie, down by one goal.

Peter Chiarelli just got fired from the guy who hired him, Bob Nicholson. Nicholson should have been fired as well. But who hired Nicholson? If it was primarily Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish then they should have been fired as well. The old boys are so entrenched why would they be willing to give up their multi-million dollar salaries? Ultimately it comes down to Darryl Allan Katz who needs to fire the lot. It all works out in the end. If Darryl A. Katz is not willing to get rid of the source of the problem, his profit margins drop, and that's fine by me. If he was smart he would hire me temporarily on contract as manager to lead the team to the playoffs. These are not hard decisions. They only become hard when you are married to the problem.

"We have to find out answers of how we can make this team better to make the playoffs but I emphasize again, we're not going to give away the future," Nicholson said.
Edmonton has three former NHL general managers working in its front office. Oilers vice chair and alternate governor Kevin Lowe was the GM from June 9, 2000 to July 31, 2008; MacTavish, the senior vice president of hockey operations, was GM from April 15, 2013 to April 24, 2015; and Scott Howson, the vice president player development, was GM of the Columbus Blue Jackets from June 15, 2007 to Feb. 12, 2013.

That's the answer, get rid of MacTavish, Lowe and Howson. They are the old boys who failed at their job as managers. Columbus under Howson failed to make the playoffs every season. He should be fired with MacT and Lowe. They are all incompetent. Their numbers speak for themselves.

https://www.nhl.com/news/edmonton-fi...li/c-304163754

How do we get rid of Milan Lucic, Kyle Brodziak, Jesse Puljujarvi, Alexander Petrovic, Tobias Rieder, Brandon Manning, Zack Kassian, and Colby Cave in this order? This is the most important thing right now.

The lesson is in the draft don't always pick the best pick by consensus.

Blow Up the Team!

First Line

Who does better with Draisaitl and McD? Is it Chiasson or Rattie? Rattie will generate more points, but Chiasson has a better +/-. Therefore, the 1st line should be Draisaitl, McD, Chiasson. It is important never to change this line up to build chemistry, and the same goes for the rest of the lines.

Second Line

Oilers need to find better wingers to support RNH.

Third Line

Khaira plays better on the left than at center. To the right is Rattie. Find a decent 3rd line centerman.

Fourth Line

Oilers need to find a whole new 4th line.

Draisaitl - McD - Chiasson
??? - RNH - ???
Khaira - ??? - Rattie
??? - ??? - ???

To fill these spots, Oilers need to get rid of and/or trade for Brodziak, Lucic, Pulju, Rieder, Petrovic, Manning, Kassian, and Cave (trading these 8 players can be done!). Take the cap space generated from moving these players to fill these roles needed.

Defense

Emphasize to not get hurt. We cannot afford the defensemen to get injured. Better to back off a play if you think you will get hurt.

Nurse - Larsson (strong wall, +25 together last season, I still believe in them)
Klefbom - Bouchard (offensive defensemen)
Russell - Benning (limit their minutes, takes the pressure off; they do not belong on the 2nd line)

I just learned something today. Draisaitl purposefully plays lowsy when he centers his own line without McDavid. Therefore, I believe the solution is create at least 3 lines with McD, Draisaitl and RNH as their own centermen to produce a constant attack, no matter the line.

Oilers are 3 games behind the wild card. That means Oilers have to win 3 games and the teams currently in the wild card have to lose 3 games. This means Oilers have to go on a winning streak of at least 6 games to get into the wild card. Not likely! Don't think Oilers can make the playoffs, but they can start building for next year.

??? - McD - Chiasson
??? - Draisaitl - ???
Khaira - RNH - Rattie
??? - ??? - ???

Nurse - Larsson
Klefbom - Bouchard
Russell - Benning
??? - ???

Make lots of trades to fill these spots.

Nicholson hired Chiarelli a few days after he got fired from Boston and a couple days after McDavid was picked. This was not a comprehensive investigative search for a manager to get different perspectives from prospective coaches interviewed.

Nicholson is the problem.

Oilers need 4 full waves instead of front loading the top line.

??? - McD - Chiasson
??? - Draisaitl - ???
Khaira - RNH - Rattie
??? - ??? - ???

Nurse - Larsson
Klefbom - Bouchard
Russell - Benning
??? - ???

Most of what Oilers offer are weak players acquired by Peter Chiarelli with lousy +/-, e.g. Rieder -64 career. In his 6 NHL seasons, he has never had a positive +/-. You may get the perception he is getting better because the last two seasons he was almost positive. That's more wishful thinking than anything.

Latest lines...

Lucic (-9) - McD - Rattie
Rieder - Draisaitl - Chiasson
Khaira - RNH - Kassian (-6)
Cave - Brodziak (-13) - Pulju (-12)

Miraculously, we are going to resurrect Lucic. Not! Oilers need to play with the top 3 centermen on their own lines to create a constant source of attack. However, the one change I would make is get rid of Brodziak because he is killing the Oilers. Coby Cave also plays center. Brad Malone was recalled so put him on the 4th line with Cave and Pulju. Even better recall Patrick Russell (right wing) instead of Malone since Patrick has the best +/- on the Condors of +18. This is the kind of number Oilers need to acquire more of. At least give Patrick some respect by achieving +18. Besides...the 7 games Malone played for the Oilers, he generated no points. Nothing to get excited about.

Brodziak is soon to be 35 years old (slow), his career +/- is -51, and worst on the team at -13. He is not getting better any time soon, at least until he is resurrected. We rightly got rid of Letestu for the same reason.

Klefbom - Larsson
Nurse - Russell
Manning - Benning
Gravel - Petrovic (-7)
Sekera

It looks like Gravel, Petrovic, and Manning are competing for the 6th slot on defense. That spurs healthy competition. Oilers do need to acquire a top quality defenseman or put Bouchard in the lineup.

Nurse - Larsson (impenetrable wall at the blue line)
Klefbom - Bouchard (offensive pairing, also good for power plays)
Russell - Benning (dependable 3rd pairing)

Russell should not be on the 2nd pairing. Anticipate he will be slowing down soon to be 32 years old.

Oilers are only two games back of the wild card. That means Oilers need to win 2 games and Colorado lose 2 games. And Oilers are going to prove it by having 3 lines instead of 1 line like Colorada front loaded with Rantanen, MacKinnon and Landeskog.

Philadelphia 5 Oilers 4

The lines for this game...

Lucic – McD – Rattie
Rieder – Draisaitl – Chiasson
Khaira – RNH – Kassian
Cave – Brodziak – Pulju


Russell – Nurse
Gravel – Larsson
Manning – Benning

Having 3 top centermen is going to be the key to success, because what it does is generate sufficient offense by supporting each line, giving each line an opportunity for success with a strong centerman. The only problem is that Pulju and Brodziak are having troubles playing a two-way game. Puljujarvi and Brodziak are at -12 each. Limit their ice-time.

The priority should be to trade Lucic, Pulju and Brodziak and find replacements.

Oilers vs. Canadians

Lucic - McD - Rattie
Rieder - Draisaitl - Chiasson
Khaira - RNH - Kassian
Malone - Brodziak - Pulju

This is a good setup because it spreads out the attack.

Nurse - Larsson (watch their +/- improve significantly now they are playing together)
Russell - Benning
Manning - Gravel (limit their minutes)

I still don't understand why they put Malone on the ice and not Patrick Russell? Russell has a +21 far exceeding any player on Bakersfield. Ken Hitchcock is not incentivizing players.

Oilers vs. Blackhawks

Oilers lost the last game against Montreal because Koskinen let in some easy ones.

Latest lines...

Lucic - McDavid - Rattie
Rieder - Draisaitl - Chiasson
Khaira - Nugent-Hopkins - Kassian
Malone - Brodziak - Puljujarvi

Are you kidding me? Malone has a career of -29. He should not be in the NHL.

Putting Lucic with McD is going to backfire!

Klefbom - Larsson
Nurse - Russell
Gravel - Benning

This defense is the best we can do until we replace Gravel with Bouchard.

Klefbom - Larsson
Nurse - Bouchard
Russell - Benning

Put Lucic on the 4th line and get rid of Brodziak (-12)….

Benson - McD - Rattie
Rieder - Draisaitl - Chiasson
Khaira - RNH - Kassian
Lucic - Brodziak - Pulju (-12)

Lucic could be useful if he played like Craig Simpson standing in front of the net, screening the goalie the the whole game.

Blackhawks 6 Oilers 2

Oilers are definitely not making the playoffs this year even though they are still miraculously only 2 games back after losing tonight. The players know the team is not good enough. The team needs to be blown up! Bob Nicholson last year in an interview said, "I will not blow the team up!" That's exactly what he should have done was blow the team up! He is still not willing to blow the team up showing Nicholson needs to be let go.

The players are exhausted by their failures, or rather, the failings of Peter Chiarelli and Bob Nicholson for hiring him. Because Bob Nicholson is not being fired, along with Peter Chiarelli whom he hired, the players don't want to play for this group of management (old boys club of MacTavish and Lowe). Not until Nicholson is fired, along with MacTavish and Lowe, will the Oilers have a future. The aura of having them around for so many years is bringing the Oilers down.

The goalies are not that bad, but they are getting beat badly because the defense perpetually sucks. Once Connor and Draisaitl, in the run for the scoring title, get their two points on the night they take it easy. It's exhausting to try to get that 3rd point. Nobody else on the team can contribute besides McD and Draisaitl.

The solution is obvious: get rid of everyone who is showing extremely negative +/-. Puljujarvi is now -13, Brodziak is -12, and Lucic is -9. Get rid of these players for starters. By the way Lucic did nothing all night, again, as usual. He is slowing McDavid down. Bench Lucic, Brodziak and Pulju. Anyone can do better than them. It's amazing how incompetent the Oilers management is that they can't see how long, lanky and uncoordinated Pulju is, how slow and old Brodziak is, and what a demented sasquatch Lucic is. What does Lucic care? He is getting paid $6 million a year for 7 years. He has other interests than hockey.

After being up 2-1 Oilers gave up 5 unanswered goals.

Heads will roll!

Latest lines...

Rieder - McDavid - Draisaitl
Lucic - Nugent-Hopkins - Chiasson
Malone - Brodziak - Kassian
Cave - Khaira - Puljujarvi

Klefbom - Larsson
Nurse - Russell
Gravel - Benning
Manning - Petrovic

During the break Ken Hitchcock sought out advice about what to do with the Oilers. One of the things given was not to keep changing the lines. But that exactly what he did, changing them up all over the place. Funny.

Lucic does not belong on the 2nd line. He is a 4th liner at best as a brawler. The lines should be...

RNH - McDavid - Draisaitl
Rieder - Khaira - Chiasson
Malone - Cave - Kassian
Lucic - Brodziak - Puljujarvi

If nothing is working for the Oilers at least support the top 3 players vying for the Art Ross Trophy by placing them on the same line. This is the one thing the coaches have never tried.

Oilers vs Wild

So much for 3 lines centered by the top 3 players; at least we know Oilers don't play well that strategy. Old man Brodziak is finally out of the line-up. I have been calling for this since he was first acquired. I predict the Oilers do really well tonight because Brodziak (-12) is out!

Rieder - McDavid - Draisaitl
Lucic - RNH - Chiasson
Rattie - Khaira - Pulju
Cave - Malone - Kassian

Klefbom - Larsson
Nurse - Russell
Manning - Benning

Gravel, Petrovic, and Manning are all the same to me.

Basically this is as good as the Oilers can get, and no injuries, until they start making some traders.

I think the Oilers should throw a hail Mary and do this...

RNH - McD - Draisaitl (this is like having a free power play ever few minutes)
Rattie - Khaira - Chiasson
Rieder - Malone - Kassian
Lucic (-9) - Cave - Pulju (-13)

We got rid of the -12 player Brodziak. Yea!!!

While it may look like Ken Hitchcock cares about +/- now for the first time in his career by getting rid of Brodziak, he still doesn't understand that Lucic has to go to the bottom line (not the 2nd line), along with Pulju (not the 3rd), and severely limit their minutes. Numbers matter!

Oilers 4 vs Wild 1

The only goal by Minnesota was funny. First, Nurse along the boards passes to the Minnesota player behind the net (not sure why he did that), and then that player behind the net passes to the Minnesota player in front of the net, and Rattie and McDavid are not covering that man, giving him free reign to shoot. This is where most goals are scored and they did not protect this area. That's terrible hockey sense. You could see McDavid was fixated on watching the play behind the net instead of covering his man in front of the net. Ridiculous dumbness! Also, what was Draisaitl doing behind the net drifting in no man's land (3 players behind the net)? So dumb! What they say about Draisaitl is true, he is great when he has the puck, but has no idea what he is doing when he doesn't have the puck.

When in defensive mode you're suppose to cover another player; otherwise, you give the other team an open player. It really is about positioning. At all times there is an optimal spot for a player to be. If you are not in that spot, you are giving them chances.

However, when Lucic is in the optimal spot it doesn't matter anyway because he is slow as molasses. I watched Lucic again and notice he is so ineffective. His legs are the problem. If I were him I would work out just on sprints, 3 yard sprints.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Parture

Oilers 4 vs Wild 1

Old man Brodziak is finally out of the line-up. I have been calling for this since he was first acquired. I predict the Oilers do really well tonight because Brodziak (-12) is out!

---

Do you believe me now? Now they just need to bench Lucic. He contributes nothing.

Oilers vs Sharks

Draisaitl - McDavid - Rattie
Lucic - Nugent-Hopkins - Chiasson
Khaira - Malone - Kassian
Rieder - Brodziak - Puljujarvi

Klefbom - Larsson
Nurse - Russell
Manning - Gravel

Where is Benning? Damnit, Brodziak is in the line-up so Oilers lose. And Lucic is with RNH so Oilers will definitely lose. The lines should be...

Draisaitl - McD - Rattie
Rieder - RNH - Chiasson
Khaira - Malone - Kassian
Lucic - Cave - Pulju

This will be Talbot's 2nd game in a row so he will lose this game. He can't play two games in a row successfully.

Sharks 5 Oilers 2

#26 Manning and #5 Gravel (he was -3 in the game) are horrible and it showed in their +/-. They back up all the way to the goalie Talbot on the Shark's rush. That's a sure way to lose defensively.

At the very least get rid of these players (they are showing their true colors). You do not need to analyze their games. Their +/- sums it up in a nutshell. Players need to be told their job is on the line if they are the worst +/- players on the team. What they are experiencing is no imminent threat since they are all still hanging around, and we don't have a manager who implements these corrective measures.

Pulju -14
Brodziak -12
Larsson -12
Lucic -9
Khaira -8
Nurse -8
Petrovic -7 in 6 games
RNH -6
Cave -3 in 6 games

McDavid was lucky tonight. He had no points. But neither did Kucherov even though Tampa Bay had 5 goals.

Penguins 3 Oilers 1

What players must the Oilers absolutely get rid of?

Pulju -14
Brodziak -12
Larsson -11
Nurse -11
Lucic -9
RNH -8
Khaira -8
Petrovic -7 in 7 games
Cave -3 in 7 games

Hurricanes 3 Oilers 1

Ken Hitchock should go back into retirement. If I was coach and manager I would trade these players...

Pulju -14 (long, lanky and uncoordinated; should never have been acquired in the draft)
Larsson -14 (he really is not that good, not to mention no offense at all)
Brodziak -12 (too old and slow)
Nurse -11 (he is really not that good)
Lucic -10 (demented sasquatch)
RNH -9 (not good defensively)
Petrovic -6 in 8 games

Have you ever seen a team that only has 1 positive +/- player (Benning) This shows how bad the Oilers really are.

It looks like the old boys, MacTavish, Lowe and Nicholson are trying to destroy Connor McDavid's career. There is no way McD is going to get ahead of Kucherov. McD is 10 points behind Kucherov. Under any other circumstance McD would have won the Art Ross Trophy for the 3rd year in a row. Not this year!

Oilers are locked into long, expensive contracts that will curse Oilers for years, e.g. Lucic.

Connor & the Oilers have no chance at a Stanley Cup for many years to come. Connor might be close to 30 years old when the team has changed enough and these contracts have run off to give him an opportunity at success. But as long as MacT, Lowe and Nicholson are still in the organization it will never happen. They should do the right thing and resign from their jobs. Who is responsible for firing Nicholson? That's step #1.

This is a crisis moment.

Islanders 5 Oilers 2

Rule #1 in flight club. Don't acquire a player you previously owned (e.g. Brandon Davidson) that's just bringing back old wounds. Oilers acquired previous Oiler Sam Gagner. Not only is he is about 30 years old, but his career +/- is -112. He is not going to improve this statistic as an old man. Nice to see Oilers are up to their old tricks of continuing to purchase horrible +/- players and wondering why they are still losing?

In the first minute of the first period instead of Kassian passing it to McDavid who was barrelling across the blue line, Kassian made McD go and have to chase after the puck behind the net. Why is Kassian with McDavid? That combination has not worked ever!

The tradition of stupid trades continues! Sam is the guy Oilers traded whose +/- was -29 then he was -28 for Arizona. Wow! This is a player Oilers want? It's a comedy of errors.

Get rid of...

Larsson -16
Pulju -14
Brodziak -13
Nurse -12
Lucic -11
RNH -11
Petrovic -7 in 9 games

Management is not willing to do what must be done, because they are clueless. Bob Nicholson must be fired! Assuming Keith Gretzky and Bob Nicholson approved this Sam Gagner trade, then Bob and Gretzky are the problem.

The team must be blown up! even though last year Bob Nicholson said, "I will not blow up the team."

Don't forget to fire Craig MacTavish and Kevin Lowe, the old buys club. Just their very presence on the Oilers is toxic! How many more years as failures must this be realized? This could be the most incompetent group of individuals the NHL has ever seen as it has gone on for so long. Only one player on the Oilers has a positive +/- and that is Benning. Good for him! How does acquiring a horrible +/- player (Sam Gagner) solve this problem?

I looked at the very last pace team in the NHL Ottawa Senators and was curious to see if they have any positive +/- players. They have 5 positive players.

Oilers are beating a dead horse. Solution? Get rid of...

Larsson -15
Pulju -14
Brodziak -13
Lucic -12
Nurse -12
Petrovic -7 in 9 games

When you get rid of the worse +/- players on the team that makes the job for everyone else easier. And you don't add to the problem by acquiring even more terrible +/- players like Chiarelli was apt to do.

Oilers 3 Islanders 2 OT

Rattie – McD – Kassian
RNH – Draisaitl – Chiasson
Rieder – Cave – Gagner
Lucic – Brodziak – Currie

Klefbom – Larsson
Nurse – Russell
Sekera – Benning

Limiting Brodziak to 7 minutes, Lucic to 12 min. and Currie to 9 helps out a lot.

This is Oilers dream team defense, no injuries. I really don't care what the lines are for offense. Six of one or half a dozen of the other.

Oilers are 2 1/2 games behind the Wild Card.

Oilers 4 Blue Jackets 0

It doesn't really matter what the lines are because everyone sucks. At least for the rest of the season keep Draisaitl playing with McDavid to allow them to maximize their points.

Draisaitl – McDavid – Kassian
Lucic – RNH (-13) – Chiasson
Rieder – Cave – Currie
Gagner – Brodziak (-13) – Rattie

Since RNH is not a good center, indicative of always having a poor +/-, put him on the line with McD and Draisaitl.

Klefbom – Larsson (-16)
Nurse (-10) – Russell
Sekera – Benning

Toronto 3 Oilers 2

All I want to say about this game is Nurse is an idiot. With a few seconds left in the game he could have shot it on net and could have gotten a deflection to score, but instead he passed it off along the side of the boards which they had no time to afford to do that. The team could have converged on the goalie if Nurse shot it on net. Nurse has low hockey IQ. I was trying to see who it was who was so dumb, and it was #25 who passed it along the side the boards.

Get rid of these players...

Larsson -22
RNH -16
Pulju -14
Brodziak -12
Khaira -11
Nurse -10
Lucic -9
Petrovic -7 in 9 games

Blow up the team. The 10 worst players on the Oilers...

Larsson -23 only 18 points this season so far
RNH -15
Pulju -14
Brodziak -12
Khaira -11
Lucic -8
Nurse -8
Petrovic -7 in 9 games
Rieder 0 goals in 61 games


If the new CEO who replaces Bob Nicholson doesn't get rid of these players it will be a repeat of this last season.