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This in from Frank Seravalli of the Day by day Face-off, his opinion that the Edmonton Oilers shouldn’t be complacent, even when they’re heading in the right direction giving Stanley-Cup winner Las Vegas a tricky collection within the playoffs.
Seravalli was speaking with Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now: “It tells you you’re heading in the right direction, however I additionally assume each spring the NHL is plagued by groups that assume that (Cup-winner) may have been them,” he mentioned. “And I believe my one concern can be that the Oilers doubtlessly lull themselves right into a complacency of pondering that as a result of the Golden Knights had a crew that fell wanting even making the playoffs and this yr are bouncing again to win the Stanley Cup, that the Oilers having gone toe-to-toe, with some guys that had been banged up (Zach Hyman, Evander Kane and others), principally decimating your secondary scoring, and also you didn’t actually get the saves that you simply wanted, that swiftly you could possibly assume that you simply don’t have to do a lot.
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“I don’t assume that the Oilers want seismic adjustments. However I believe to take a seat again this summer season and relaxation in your laurels of the success that you simply’ve had might be a silly means to consider it. I’m not saying the Oilers are, however I believe that’s the hazard in watching a crew that you simply really feel such as you had their quantity for many of the yr and fell quick within the post-season. However you’ll be able to fall into that entice.”
Edmonton could make quite a lot of incremental one-to-five per cent adjustments, Seravalli mentioned. “There must be a push and a problem to place this crew excessive.”
Wayne Gretzky was additionally on Oilers Now and gave a thumbs as much as the course of Edmonton. He famous it was bittersweet with the Oilers dropping out to the eventual Cup winner two years operating.
“It in all probability exhibits simply how shut the Oilers actually are. They’re proper there.”
Gretzky famous how the NHL now has aggressive stability prefer it’s by no means seen earlier than.
My take
1. Relating to NHL insiders, few have extra credibility simply now than Seravalli. He’s labored his means up the ranks and is second solely to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relating to breaking information and sound evaluation. Seravalli retains a detailed eye on all of the groups, he sees what it takes to win, and he’s sizing up the Oilers and crew administration in a good method.
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2. What had been the components in Edmonton dropping to Vegas? How can they be mounted? Total Edmonton had 92 Grade A pictures to only 77 for Vegas. However at even energy every crew had 54 Grade A pictures, and relating to the best high quality of Grade A pictures, Vegas led 31-to-21 at even energy (total Edmonton led 46 to 39 on the best high quality of Grade A pictures, which we name 5-alarm shots0. In different phrases, Edmonton’s energy play beat up on Vegas, however at even energy Vegas had a transparent edge.
3. Edmonton’s goaltending was inferior to VGK goaltending. Edmonton additionally had some poor puck luck, unable to money in on as a lot of its nice pictures as Vegas did. However Edmonton was additionally out-coached on this collection. If the Oilers had adopted Vegas’ defensive technique, which was to maintain its defencemen in entrance of the Vegas internet in a zone, and if Vegas had adopted Edmonton’s man-to-man defensive technique, Edmonton would have gained this collection in 5 or 6 video games. The Oilers want to modify to a zone defence to guard the web entrance higher this coming yr, which can play to the strengths of d-men like Cody Ceci, Mattias Ekholm, Vincent Desharnais and Darnell Nurse, large, sturdy and hard gamers who do effectively in entrance of the web. They have to be left there to do their job and shield the Oilers crease and slot space.
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4. Edmonton will have the ability to make a couple of low value signings this summer season, veterans gamers who will
help this crew win. They need to signal as many of those $1 million vets as they’ll, as such signings don’t rely in opposition to the cap. They should signal two vets on defence and one other couple at ahead. Edmonton’s defensive depth is missing with prime prospects Dmitri Samorukov and Michael Kesselring traded away. Ryan Murray didn’t work out, nor did Slater Koekkoek. Ken Holland wants to search out a couple of d-men who can slot in and get the job performed within the bottom-pairing if damage strikes onerous. The identical goes at ahead.
5. On the similar time, Edmonton’s finest wager is to maintain its energy dry till the 2024 commerce deadline,when Holland may have far more full data of what this crew wants. I count on no large strikes this summer season, however these veteran signings are going to be essential.
6. Prospect Noah Philp has determined to retire for private causes, experiences Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic. Philp was a budding prospect who had a very good likelihood of creating the Oilers this yr. He’s nonetheless younger sufficient that perhaps someday he’ll resolve to return to the sport. Good luck to the younger man.
7. For these hoping the Oilers will blow all of it up to herald a winger like Travis Konecny, I be aware that Holland mentioned this to the Athletic: “You’ve received to keep it up. You possibly can’t simply blow up half the crew. We’re in a salary-cap world. There’s contracts. There’s commitments.”
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Are you able to shoehorn in one other high-priced participant below the wage cap, Nugent-Bowman requested?
“No likelihood,” Holland mentioned.
P.S. TSN1260 has gone off the air, the most recent implosion on this robust media recreation. My finest needs exit to all who misplaced their jobs. I hope they’ll discover a new station or platform to maintain doing their work and making a residing.
Thirty-five years in the past, I keep in mind speaking to Eddie Eager, who was as soon as metropolis editor on the Edmonton Journal, and was than at CHED, an enormous presence on the air. Eddie was chatting with me and his step-son John Geiger, the gifted Journal columnist who would go on to work on the Nationwide Put up earlier than main the Canadian Geographic Society. On the time John and I had been each younger reporters on the Journal.
“Guys,” Eddie mentioned, “It is a robust enterprise. It ends effectively for nobody. In the future you’ll be fired.”
What was true then is much more true at this time, with total radio stations and newspapers dealing with the axe.
However there are additionally new alternatives for writers and broadcasters on-line with podcasts, Youtube and blogs.
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