The Edmonton Oilers returned home from a brief two game road trip with two points in the bank. Unfortunately, they came away with no wins, losing twice in overtime after leading into the third period of both games. The Oilers easily could have won both games, but instead came away with pity points in both Philadelphia and Montreal.
Overall, I don’t think the team played poorly in either game. They dominated the Flyers at five-on-five but couldn’t kill a penalty or get a big save from Cam Talbot on the PK. I thought they were the better team in Montreal as well, but Mikko Koskinen gave up a soft goal in the third period and Kris Russell got walked (again….) in overtime to cost them the extra point.
Bottom line? The Oilers lost two points at the hands of their penalty kill, defense and goaltending this past weekend.
The Oil still sit three points out of the final Wild Card spot, currently held by the Vancouver Canucks. The Oilers also have a game in hand on the Canucks and still have a head-to-head match-up with them on the schedule.
Are the Oilers done yet? Not officially, not even close. That said, it’s time to take a real step back here and be realistic about this team. The mandate is there from ownership to make the playoffs, that’s the expected result. The expectation is that management will be buying at the upcoming trade deadline, but I can’t help but think that would be a mistake.
Why It’s Better To Sell:
The way I look at it, the Oilers could sneak into the playoffs as a Wild Card team, but the odds simply aren’t very good. St. Louis is a better team AND has games in hand right now, while Arizona, Colorado, Vancouver and Anaheim are all in the race as well. Anaheim is reeling, but I’d argue all of the other teams in this race are better than the Oilers, sans maybe Arizona.
Even if Edmonton got hot and got in, what does that accomplish? They aren’t a playoff team in a normal year, they are catching the west in a down year. Should they get into the dance, does anyone think they could knock off the Calgary Flames or Nashville Predators? I guess it is possible, but it would be considered a massive upset.
The Oilers are currently searching for a new General Manager and possibly a new President of Hockey Operations. Odds are, they will be taking a new direction and will need both asset and cap flexibility. Investing picks and prospects into rentals doesn’t seem like a smart play when the man making those moves isn’t likely to be in the same position in just three months.
It’s not like the Oilers are a Stanley Cup contender, reality says they are not at this point in time. Investing assets and potentially cap space into players like Mats Zuccarello, Cody Ceci, Kevin Hayes, Wayne Simmonds or Tyler Toffoli when a regime change is coming probably isn’t the best move.
And let’s be honest for a moment here, does anyone think one addition is going to make a difference and push this team into the playoffs? Two additions might, but I don’t think one forward is going to make that kind of difference unless his name is Artemi Panarin.
The Oilers have assets to sell. Alex Petrovic should net a mid-round pick, Zack Kassian could be appealing to a team like Pittsburgh, while Cam Talbot and Tobias Rieder are rental options for other teams. Matt Benning could be on the block as well, and obviously the Oilers would love to shed the contracts of Brandon Manning, Ryan Spooner and Milan Lucic.
The smartest moves for interim GM Keith Gretzky, in my mind, would be to shed salary and acquire picks/prospects. The Oilers aren’t a threat to win it all this season and are in tough to make the playoffs. Setting this team up for a strong summer could be step one into turning this organization around. It’s not an easy decision and it won’t be an easy sell to fans, but it is the right thing to do.
Final Thoughts:
Look, I want the Oilers to be good, I want them to make the playoffs and turn this thing around. I, like everyone reading this, am sick of the losing and frustration with this organization. There is a chance here to clean the slate. A new management team will take over in the summer and bring their own plan to the table. When that happens, a lot of Chiarelli’s guys will be on the chopping block.
It would be, in my opinion, smarter to deal some of those players off now to open up cap space and acquire assets to use in the summer to acquire new players.
I firmly believe that a good off-season could set the Edmonton Oilers on the path to contending as early as next season. I don’t think they are that far off right now, and are two big pieces away. Adding cap space and assets to use on that top-six forward and top-four right-shot defender is smarter than investing in rentals that might not even push you into the playoffs.
Set this organization right. Set yourself up for a big off-season, go to work this summer, and rise again next season. It will make for a painful spring in Edmonton, but we can survive one more in the name of turning this around, no?
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