On Sunday, Oiler blogs around the blogosphere and fans on Twitter went into rage mode when some comments from an Oscar Klefbom interview came to light. In what was overall a really insightful piece, Klefbom talked about his December injury, how his recovery is currently going, the egoboost he received from how much his teammates missed him, and Adam Larsson.
As part of the conversation about Adam Larsson, Klefbom touched on the Hall trade and had some surprising thoughts. Kris Hansen translated the quotes and touched on them here.
“At the same time, I understand the reactions. Taylor has been our best player in recent years, but it’s also hard to tell what he has contributed. He never played his best games against the tougher teams, which we really needed it. However, he was fantastic when we met the little inferior teams.”
It’s a little choppy due to the translation, but the message I get here is that while Hall dominated against lesser teams, he wasn’t there for his team against the top dogs in the NHL. When the Oilers needed Taylor Hall to step up and lead them past other teams, he simply could not do so.
Is Klefbom Wrong?:
Woodguy did an excellent job over on his blog (here) of breaking things down and looking to see if what Klefbom said was right or wrong. I won’t go into too much detail, I recommend that you read his blog post, but the conclusion I drew from his piece is that yes, Oscar Klefbom is wrong in this situation.
The numbers would suggest that Taylor Hall performed just fine against the elite teams in the National Hockey League, at least during the 2015-16 campaign (Woodguy’s tested area).
This Is No New Narrative:
Oiler fans have this thing where, no matter what, they protect players they like. While the stats would suggest that Klefbom is wrong this season, this is NOT a new narrative. I’ve had casual hockey observers and those who hold positions in the sport question whether Hall can be “the guy”.
No one doubts that Hall is an extremely talented hockey player that can help you win games. Everyone I’ve talked to thinks that Hall is a valuable player, but a lot of people question whether he can put a team on his back and lead them to wins night in and night out. Fair or not, that narrative is not going to die because Hall never did lead the Oilers anywhere.
But Let’s Introduce Some Facts:
Now, as anyone who has followed this team will tell you, Hall didn’t get much help. He never played with six NHL defenders at once and usually had anywhere from three-to-four AHL’ers in the forward ranks with him. The fact of the matter is, the Oilers were a bad hockey team when Taylor Hall was with them. That, in my mind, falls at the foot of the General Mangers of the time, not Hall.
Of course, there has to be some blame for the young group of forwards that never won a thing in Edmonton. There were stretches of inconsistency from everyone, Hall included. You can argue that Taylor’s second half slump this season was a big reason why Edmonton skydived out of the race after jumping into a playoff spot in mid-December.
That said, blaming Hall for all the losing isn’t accurate and it’s not really fair.
Saying that he didn’t play his best hockey in the biggest games is both right and wrong. While he posted decent numbers, he never seemed to play his best against the top teams. Then again, I can’t name you a single Oiler that has played their best against the top dogs in the last ten years.
The Wrap-up:
Klefbom later clarified his comments (via Cult of Hockey):
“It’s not that it was only Taylor, but everyone, including myself. The reason we have not taken us to the playoffs is that there are too many players who have underperformed when it is really needed.”
Oscar is right in this statement. The Oilers, as a team (This includes Taylor Hall) never played well enough against the top teams in the NHL to make a serious run at the postseason. That’s not an opinion, folks, that’s a sad, sad fact.
I see a lot of Oiler fans telling Klefbom to “shut his mouth” or bad mouthing him in other ways because of these comments. Let’s cut that out right now. I understand the attachment to Hall, I was a huge fan of his and will remain so, but let’s all take a deep breath and use some common sense here.
Klefbom was asked to given an opinion, and he did so. You can disagree with it, that’s your right, but this isn’t some new opinion that he simply made up. Many people, fans, media and professionals in and around the league, have questioned his ability to lead a team to victory on a consistent basis. Judging by the track record of wins and losses in Edmonton, that’s a fair question to ask.
Remember, this was also translated. No matter what, it’s going to come out choppy and some of what Klefbom said is going to get lost in translation. So, before you all lose your collective minds, let’s take a second to realize that and proceed with caution regarding these comments.
Some people seem to have a big issue with what Oscar Klefbom said this past weekend. Me? I don’t really care, I don’t see the big deal and I don’t see a reason to get on the guy. I don’t completely agree with what he is saying, but he’s not just blowing smoke folks, there IS some substance here.
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