In the winter of 2011, Kevin Lowe told Oilers fans on national TV, a Saturday afternoon game against Ottawa, that the rebuild would be a five year process that would see Edmonton rise from basement dwellers to contenders in the NHL. In December 2014, as the process hits its five year mark, the Edmonton Oilers are no better than they were in 2010-11, in fact one might argue they are worse off as a hockey club.
Edmonton changed general managers, going from the inept Steve Tambellini to the lots of movement but barely any substance Craig MacTavish. The results, and the core for the matter, have stayed the same, and the losing has bought a house, and has made the yearly roster in these parts.
Many fans say there is hope with this team, a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a young and skilled hockey club, they are just developing, be patient will ya!
The sad reality is, that just isn’t true. Edmonton, in terms of average age, is a younger team, clocking in at just 26.386 years old, but the other part? Not so fast. Edmonton really isn’t that skilled of a hockey club. It’s power-play unit is one of the worst in the NHL, and outside of Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov, Teddy Purcell and David Perron, there isn’t much skill. Some might say Leon Draisaitl, but his skill clearly is not NHL ready, and he’s failed to this point as a pro.
With Leon, that isn’t to say he is a bust, he isn’t, but his skill has not translated so far this season. That’s a fact, not an opinion. Defensively? Who are the skilled guys? Justin Schultz claims to be, but is he really? The answer to that is a big fat no, he’s simply just a defensively liability. The closest thing Edmonton has to a skilled defender? Jeff Petry, but everyone wants to run the guy out of town!
The Oilers are a mess in so many areas right now, and it starts in management. Kevin Lowe has been at the helm as GM or President for all nine years of losing now, that within itself is an offense worth firing. Craig MacTavish has made moves as GM, sure, but his moves haven’t filled the holes of top-pairing defense, starting goaltending, and center.
Head Coach Dallas Eakins seems like a decent guy, but just about every single player has taken a step back since he has arrived. That isn’t a coincidence, this guy is simply not the right coach for the Edmonton Oilers, and is a part of the problem with this hockey club.
On the ice? The issues are clearly apparent. Ben Scrivens and Viktor Fasth are good backup goaltenders, but neither guy has taken the reigns as starter this season, and both have struggled mightily. In the system? There really isn’t anything close to ready right now. Edmonton is dead in the water when it comes to goalies. Oh, and the free agent market this year is not very good at all, no legit number one is out there.
Defensively, the issues are the same. Edmonton does not have a number one defender, and does not have a number two defender. They have placed their hopes in the hands of Justin Schultz, a guy who at best is a number six defender on a good team.
The Oilers have two proven top-four defenders in Mark Fayne and Jeff Petry, but that is it, oh and they are likely to trade Petry by season’s end. Go you Oilers! Andrew Ference is okay as a number five or six defender, while Oscar Klefbom shows real promise as a young defender, but will need time. Darnell Nurse should be good, but how close to ready is he? He didn’t look very close this past October in a two game stint.
Up front, the Oilers have a legit number one center in Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, a legit number four center in Boyd Gordon, a legit first line LW in Taylor Hall, a very good number two LW in David Perron, and a good RW in Jordan Eberle. They have some decent bottom six guys, like Benoit Pouliot, Matt Hendricks and Teddy Purcell, but certainly not enough depth up front to compete at the NHL level.
The point of this? To show you how poorly this team has been constructed. Edmonton has holes at EVERY single position on their NHL roster, EVERY DAMN ONE!
They certainly don’t have enough centers, not nearly enough NHL defenders, no starting goalie, and not enough good wingers. To say things are a mess would be an understatement.
This team is so poorly built and so bad on the ice, that they likely will need another three to four years to get their act together and sniff the playoffs. It sucks, but it is the sad reality built by the worst management team in pro sports today.
Sure, Edmonton might be able to get Connor McDavid at the draft, but look at their current summer shopping list:
1.) Number one defender. 2.) Second line center. 3.) Two other top-four NHL defenders 4.) Starting NHL goalie 5.) Third line NHL center 6.) NHL bottom six winger with size and a little skill.
That’s a lot for one off-season. Are there pieces from within? Maybe Oscar Klefbom is one of the top-four defenders, but it is asking a lot of the young defender.
The Oilers rebuilt this team wrong, and need a lot of things to change. It starts up top, and a new management group and new vision likely is necessary for things to turn north. We can talk advanced stats and what the GM sees, but the facts are the facts, this is still a bad hockey team.
Edmonton needs to address a number of holes, but have a management team that has proven they can’t handle the job, and simply doesn’t have the assets to get it done. That light at the end of the tunnel Oilers fans think they see? Yeah, that’s a train. Brace for impact everyone, it’s gonna be another long winter, likely followed by three or four more.
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