The battle of the Edmonton Oilers continues and the needs increase
B/R Open ice: Frank Seravalli, on the Edmonton Oilers and their struggles, especially with secondary scoring. The Oilers need some help up front in terms of net and depth. They’re not getting a return and the seat is heating up for head coach Kris Knoblauch. They need some help in scoring.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
“Look, it’s been a disaster on so many different fronts. And we talked very early in today’s show about the idea of the over-reliance that the Oilers forwards have had on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Believe it or not, if you look back over the last decade, the Oilers have gotten fewer points of production from the bottom half of their lineup this year than any other year in the McDavid and Draisaitl experience. That’s kind of hard to believe.
If you’re talking about net goal share so far this season with the Oilers, McDavid and Draisaitl on the ice versus off, they’ve been outscored 30 to nine so far this season with Conor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl off the ice. That’s crazy.
So where do the Oilers go from here? Well, David Tomasek hasn’t worked. Isaac Howard is back in Bakersfield. Matt Savoie is moving in the right direction. He looks like a guy who is coming and going to be a player for this team. Not only do the Oilers need help on defense, not just in net, where their goaltending has been poor, but they also need some more talent in their forward group. That is certainly visible so far.
NHL Rumors: Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers
And man, this depth has eroded in a very short time for Edmonton. So stay tuned to see what Edmonton does next. Because, you know, I think the seat under Kris Knoblauch has gotten a little warmer as this road trip has gone on. They don’t see the returns and Jay Woodcroft was fired under very similar circumstances. Even though Kris Knoblauch has taken this team to two straight Stanley Cup Finals, the seats are getting warmer.
But beyond that, they’re going to have to do something at some point because they’re missing the playoffs this year, and they’re teetering, believe it or not, closer and closer to that edge because we’ve had to adjust some expectations for Edmonton. It’s been ugly. How do they find their way out? How do they find more skills?
Stan Bowman has his work cut out for him. He has tried to find solutions. David Tomasek, Sweden’s top scorer last season, has hardly played. And so trying to find diamonds in the rough hasn’t been it.
They will have some tough decisions to make as the Edmonton Oilers are tied with the Calgary Flames, believe it or not, for regular season wins so far this season. They both only have four, and Calgary has played one fewer game so far this season, and Calgary sits next to St. Louis at the bottom of the West standings.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? Rumors overviews and hot topics from around the league. We also post some stuff Instagram.
#NHL #Rumors #Edmonton #Oilers #struggles #continue #increase