‘Overrated Oilers are looking top-heavy already’: NHL’s elder statesman blasts Edmonton Oilers

October 10, 2024

9

Published Oct 10, 2024 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 5 minute read

Winnipeg Jets Rasmus Kupari (15) scores on Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner (74) during second period NHL action on Wednesday, October 9, 2024 in Edmonton. Photo by Greg Southam /Postmedia

This in from the elder statesmen of hockey writers, New York’s Stan Fischler, 92, who started to cover the NHL 70 years ago and has been doing so with a flourish ever since: “The overrated Oilers are looking top-heavy already…Why the Oilers won’t win The Cup. Porous goaltending; mediocre defense.”

And from TSN’s Ray Ferraro on his Ray & Dregs podcast, one of the two or three sharpest commentators in hockey: “Edmonton, what is the question about the Oilers? Their defence. Their defence is not top-end caliber. If they think they’re going to be a top-end team, that defence is not going to get it done. They got run over (in the 6-0 loss to Winnipeg on Wednesday night). They gave up chances right in front of the net. They got up pass seams through. Stuart Skinner was not very good in goal either.:

Advertisement 2

Article content

Ferraro continued: “I think there is zero chance that this Oilers defence looks like this at the New Year…They’ll do everything they can to acquire a player, but that defence is not going to get it done… Darnell Nurse was in the picture a few times last night, in the movies, and I’ve had every coach tell me, and every player will say, ‘If you’re in the movie — which is the video the next day — it’s not a good thing, right?’ You don’t want to be an Oscar winner in the video the next day. At the same time the Oilers are the oldest team in the league. They got markedly slower over the summer. Noticeably slower. They’ve got to work through some things.”

Update: The Edmonton Oilers have put Raphael Lavoie back on waivers. It’s the third time he’s been waived in the last week, first by Edmonton, then Vegas, not Edmonton again. He’s been claimed three times as well. We shall see what now transpires, but it seems likely a team will claim him.

My take

1. Let’s first deal with Fischler’s first critique, that the Oilers are over-rated. This is definitely so. Exhibit A: We’ve just had half the experts in the NHL pick the Oilers to win the Stanley Cup.

Article content

Advertisement 3

Article content

But there is no way the Oilers are such favourite to win the Cup, which is an extremely difficult thing to do in a 32-team league with a hard salary cap. In most other eras of the NHL, with such six-to-21 teams, the Oilers would have already won a Cup. But now the talent is spread much more thinly and evenly, and there are far more teams in contention.

It’s great that so many NHL writers and broadcasters like the Oilers, but that a $4.00 will get you a cup of coffee in Justin Trudeau’s Canada.

Fischler never passes up a chance to blast the Oilers. He disliked the team in the 1980s, always arguing that his hometown New York Islanders were the better squad of the competing Stanley Cup dynasties.

He is a persistent, unrelenting and razor sharp critic of the Oilers. But he’s got a point today. These Oilers have plenty of promise but also plenty of warts.

2. Both Fischler and Ferraro call out Edmonton’s defence. That’s a fair comment after a 6-0 loss, but in this game the forwards, not the d-men, were the primary culprits on most goals against, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins turning over the puck on the first goal against, Connor McDavid and Jeff Skinner with iffy backchecks on the second and fourth goals respectively, and Corey Perry slow to the puck and Vasili Podkolzin slow to the danger man in the slot on the third goal. It was a crap show of defensive non-excellence from Edmonton’s forwards that got this team down 4-0 in the game.

Advertisement 4

Article content

3. All that said, Edmonton does indeed have some work to do on defence. Every single Oilers d-man made a major mistake on two Grade A shots against at even strength this game, save for Mattias Ekholm, who was his old, steady self. Each d-man made major errors and each needs to do better.

I also don’t get why Edmonton failed to play Troy Stecher, who was the second best right shot d-man in pre-season, and who is a steady veteran and ready to step up and partner with Darnell Nurse.

I’d prefer to see Ty Emberson get a less daunting job for now, third-paring with Brett Kulak. If Emberson thrives there, then move him up to play with Nurse. The Oil have that luxury, I believe, because Stecher looks good to go for a stretch of games with Nurse.

4. Will a trade help our Edmonton on defence? Yes, eventually. But Edmonton has little cap room and little to barter away in trade. I’m not expecting a miracle, though if GM Stan Bowman can conjure up one, bully for him. For now, let’s see if Emberson, Stecher and Travis Dermott can bring it and answer the questions and criticisms of their critics.

5. My main concern is one Ferraro raises, that the Oilers are slower than last year. They’re also less physical. Frankly the loss of Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, two outstanding young skaters, with Holloway also a big hitter, was a hammer blow the Oilers. It was devastating. Can Edmonton recover from it? We shall see.

Advertisement 5

Article content

I expect Edmonton can. I suspect they can find more speed and physical play. It will likely mean moving out some older, slower vets. But with the right two or three roster moves, Edmonton can find a way to get the speed and toughness it needs at the bottom end of the roster.

P.S. Here’s the latest from the Journal’s Hall-of-Fame writer Jim Matheson: “Let’s take deep breath on Ty Emberson’s 1st Oiler game alongside Darnell Nurse. It wasn’t good. He looked very nervous against Jets, didn’t handle glare of expectations well, and was on 3rd pair with Kulak eventually. But this is also young D with 31 NHL games… The guy Emberson is replacing, maligned (by fan base) Cody Ceci (salary trade dump to San Jose) has played 786 games. Maybe Oilers will scour available veteran right D at trade deadline and Ceci’s name will be on their list. But SJ has used up their salary retention slots.”