Normally, a tough road trip to Chicago, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh that generates three out of six points wouldn’t be anything to be upset about. That means the Oilers held ground, went .500 and will get to return home. The problem? Edmonton left points on the board that they should have had during this road trip.
Not only that, but the Oilers now find themselves at 2-5-1, good for 14th in the Western Conference. That isn’t a good spot for a team whose Stanley Cup window was supposed to be open starting this season. Edmonton has also scored 15 goals in their eight games, less than two per game. Where does that put them? 31st in the NHL, dead last, even behind the new expansion team from Vegas. Ouch.
Yes, it’s only eight games and we can play the “it’s early” card, but at what point does concern become legit? At what point do we sit back and say “Boy, the Edmonton Oilers are in trouble”? The team simply hasn’t been able to score, and now they find themselves five points back of a wild card spot and six back on a Pacific Division playoff spot.
I’ve said it here before, but you can’t make the playoffs in October. What you can do, however, is play your way out of the playoff picture. See, in today’s NHL it is almost impossible to come back from a big deficit to make the postseason. With the parity in the league and all the three point games, if you fall behind it usually takes a miracle to get back into the dance. The Oilers are close to needing a miracle.
So, while the season isn’t over at 2-5-1, it’s certainly in trouble. This team is bleeding out right now, unable to score goals. A team that was supposed to take the next step has only taken a step back, and it’s left all of us to ask the question of “What happened here?”
Asking The Hard Questions:
We can bicker among ourselves until the end of time, but really it does us no good. We all have our own opinions about the Edmonton Oilers, and the two factions of the fanbase will never agree on anything, that we know for sure. We’re all frustrated with this team, and I think we all expected a lot more than this.
Again, it’s only eight games, but the Oilers are falling behind in the playoff race quite quickly and soon it’s not going to matter because they will be too far out, much like last year’s Dallas Stars. But why? How could a team that was a bounce away from making the Western Conference Final fall so far, so fast?
Many won’t want to hear this, but it starts upstairs with management, with a bad bet and a poor evaluation of the current roster.We’ll get to Peter Chiarelli in a moment, but it is time for people to start asking the hard questions. Why does the club have so much cap space sitting in the driveway without use? Why was Andrej Sekera, a top-four defender, never replaced? Why was the season risked on so many young and unproven players?
Essentially, why did the Edmonton Oilers waste an entire off-season, arguably their last one with a chance to add? Why was this group content with going into the season with this roster, and is ownership okay with throwing this season out the window?
It’s early to be asking these questions, but there is a nasty habit in Edmonton of avoiding the hard questions, of placing softballs and of not making things uncomfortable.
I’m from Boston, a city that will (and has) question Tom Brady, David Ortiz, Paul Pierce and Patrice Bergeron. A start like this for a team that has championship hopes would be met with nasty fan reaction and pressure from the local media. It’s time, and long overdue to be honest, for Edmonton’s media and fans to start applying that pressure and to start asking the hard questions. I think some answers are owed in this spot.
Why The Questions Need To Be Asked:
When I mentioned above that it’s time to start asking Peter Chiarelli the hard questions, many of you probably rolled your eyes. You’re probably expecting this to turn into a cesspool that just shreds that GM of this hockey club. That isn’t going to happen here. Fact of the matter is, while I don’t agree with everything he does, Peter Chiarelli has done a lot of good since taking over in Edmonton.
He brought in Cam Talbot, Patrick Maroon and Zack Kassian at low costs in trades, and did well in free agency with Mark Letestu and Andrej Sekera. All of those players are key components of this team at different levels.
Part of Chiarelli’s picture, however, is also the negative. I’m a fan of Adam Larsson and think he helps, but trading Taylor Hall for him was bad value. Another bad value trade? Dealing Jordan Eberle for Ryan Strome, who has been a complete no-show for this club eight games into the season. Buying out Benoit Pouliot, allowing David Desharnais to walk via free agency, and even to a degree trading Nail Yakupov for a pick depleted Edmonton of any and all offensive depth.
That’s a huge issue, because the Oilers are seriously lacking NHL-level ability to score outside of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Kailer Yamamoto isn’t ready just yet, while no one else on this roster has established themselves as a scorer of note at the NHL-level.
Sure, Jordan Eberle had his warts, but he was good for 20 goals a season, even in a bad year. Now? Edmonton has an unproven player that doesn’t quite look like he belongs in Strome.
Bottom line is, the forward group was actually made worse this off-season. Chiarelli downgraded on Eberle with Strome, and he downgraded on Benoit Pouliot with Jussi Jokinen, who I’m not sure can skate in the NHL anymore. He didn’t replace a top-four defender in Andrej Sekera either, and that’s had a huge impact.
Essentially, with the best player in the world on the last year of his entry-level contract, Chiarelli downgraded his forward group, left a massive hole on defense, and stockpiled cap space to add at a deadline that may be for selling come February.
The Oilers took a risk on Drake Caggiula, Anton Slepyshev, Ryan Strome and others. The result? The worst offense in the NHL, scoring less than two goals per game. On top of that, only McDavid’s line is producing chances consistently. Not only do those who proclaimed this was a one line team look correct, this issue could very much keep Edmonton out of the playoffs.
Bottom line is this, the Oilers missing the playoffs is 100% unacceptable. This team took the turn north last season, and the goal had to be to take the next step this year. The off-season moves by the organization suggest that they aren’t going for it this year. They took risks on youth, ignored blatant holes, and actively made the roster worse when cap space wasn’t needed for another calendar year.
That’s why it is time to ask the hard questions in Edmonton. This team is falling behind and soon it may be too late. The reason for that is a self inflicted gun shot to the foot. Now it’s time to ask why this was the course of action in such an important year.
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