Hump Day Oilers Randoms

It’s Wednesday, meaning yes, it’s hump day. Instead of diving into one topic, I wanted to touch on a couple because there are a few things bouncing around in my head regarding the Edmonton Oilers. Obviously, the team has a massive game tonight against San Jose and that’s where I’ll begin.

Must Win In December:

For a team that is four games under .500, it’s kind of funny to say they are playing a must win game in December, but here we are. Tonight, against the Sharks, Edmonton has a real chance to gain ground within the division. The Coyotes lost again last night while San Jose is also coming off of another loss and is only four points ahead of Edmonton. The Oilers could be two points back of the postseason with a victory.

Obviously there is a long way to go, but this is Edmonton’s biggest divisional game in about three years. The last two seasons haven’t seen a single meaningful game within the division, I honestly can’t think of one. I’d say April of 2013, around the trade deadline, was the last time Edmonton played a game that meant something in the division.

I’d say this is pretty close to a must win game, and I’d imagine this group is jacked up. They can sniff a potential playoff battle opening up and have some confidence going. Oh, and I imagine that they want to win this one for Todd McLellan.

Compensation:

Speaking of McLellan, the Oilers paid a price to hire him over the summer when they gave their third round selection (86th overall) to San Jose as part of the new NHL compensation rule. Well, that new rule is now the old rule as the league essentially voted to do away with it effective on January 1st.

I said it then, the rule was stupid. If someone has been fired or mutually parted ways with an organization, then that should be it, there is no need to give up compensation to hire a fired staff member. I hated the fact that Edmonton had to surrender a useful asset to hire a guy that the Sharks essentially kicked to the curb just about two months prior. It made no sense.

The NHL corrected a wrong here, no doubt about that, but they need to take this a step further. Obviously you can’t give the picks back, but any pending situations should be voided. That means the Oilers shouldn’t have to give the Boston Bruins a 2nd round pick either this June or in June of 2017.

The NHL probably won’t fix this, but admitting a rule is so bad that you get rid of it within a year is pretty telling. Waiving the Oilers paying Boston is probably the right thing to do, but I highly doubt that we see that happen.

Hopefully Bill Daly and Gary Bettman change their minds.

Jujhar Khaira:

I briefly touched on Jujhar Khaira while talking about the prospect system on Monday, but I wanted to touch on it a little more in-depth here. Khaira, in my opinion, isn’t just showing strong in his first recall, he’s pushing for permanent NHL employment.

Khaira is a perfect Peter Chiarelli player, he’s big and plays a very physical style while being a pretty hard worker. His speed isn’t an issue and even thought he only has one point, I think he’s been okay offensively here for Edmonton. Todd McLellan clearly likes him too, he’s spent time on both of Edmonton’s top lines and hasn’t looked out of place at all.

That’s probably the most impressive thing to my eyes. Khaira has played solid hockey on skilled lines and doesn’t look like a young player playing in his first NHL games. He’s not afraid to throw the body around and he’s actually made some really nice plays around the net. I like this player.

In his favor, on top of his skill set, is the fact that he is outplaying some veterans on the roster. Without a doubt, Khaira has been better than Lauri Korpikoski and you can argue he’s been better than Anton Lander too. When Connor McDavid, Benoit Pouliot and Nail Yakupov return, the easy decision would be to demote Khaira, but I don’t think it’s the right one currently.

One Last Thing:

Not Oiler related but it’s hockey related. I feel terribly for Penguins forward Pascal Dupuis, who had to retire from hockey yesterday due to a medical condition. Dupuis always seemed like a really classy player and he was extremely useful to the Penguins teams that went to the Cup finals. While I’m sad he has to cut his career short, I think we can all be happy that the right course of action is being taken for his health.

I wish the best for he and his family.