The final poll numbers are in! You had your say when it came to the Edmonton Oilers roster next year. I just want to say thank you so much for participating in the poll. A huge thanks goes out to all the writers on this site as well. Each one took time to write a piece on each player. I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to work with. So just a big thank you to everyone who read the pieces, took the poll and the writers.
Before we get to the final results. Each persons vote counted for a single vote. Even the writers on here. So no vote was weighed more than any other. Just to make that clear. But let’s get to the fun.
The highest percent when it comes to Centers goes to:
Boyd Gordon with a whopping 98.2% Stay vote
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins came in second with a 95.8% Stay vote
Marc Arcobello was next with 76.5% of people want him to Stay
Anton Lander was the last with a 75.5% people wanting him to Stay
Sam Gagner was the only center voted off of the island, with 72.6% of people wanting him to Go
Next up are Right Wingers
David Perron lead the way with 90.9% wanting him to Stay
Jordan Eberle came in second with a 83.1% Stay vote
Tyler Pitlick was next with a 63.2% Stay vote
Nail Yakipov brought up the rear with a 62.4% Stay vote
Steve Pinizzotto was the only right winger with a Go vote, he got a 53.2% Go vote
Next up is the left side of center
This time the obvious choice took the highest percent. Taylor Hall lander an excellent 95.5% Stay vote. But is anyone surprised?
Next up is another fan favorite. Matt Hendricks, after only a few months of donning Oiler silks, nailed it with a 93.6% Stay vote
Luke Gazdic was the last guy to get a Stay vote, he got 64.7% of people wanting him to protect the stars
Kiss Jesse Joensuu goodbye according to everyone, with a 75.8% Go vote
Now we have made it too our dysfunctional back end. The highest voted defender was a huge shock to me.
Oscar Klefbom, ever so slightly, nailed it according to fans. He clocks in at an amazing 93.5% of people wanting him to Stay
Martin Marincin is another that fans want in Edmonton next year, he was another favorite at a 93.3% Stay vote
Coming in third is the Offensive Defenseman we all love, Justin Schultz registers an impressive 83.0% Stay vote
Oh Captain, My Captain, Andrew Ference finally hits the list. King Clancy comes in with a 75.6% Stay vote
The last guy to make the Stay list is Taylor Fedun, Edmonton’s favorite story inches in with a 50.3% Stay vote
The first defender fans want to see out of town is no surprise. Especially since he already skipped town to the KHL. Philip Larsen was voted to leave Edmonton with a 82.4% Go vote
This second, get out of town defender, was definitely a shock to me. Not because I want him to go, I really really do, but only if a major upgrade is brought in. But Jeff Petry gets the Go vote with 53.0% wanting him out of town.
Next up are the back keepers. The guys we here at TheOilersRig thought were safe. But what did you all feel about our goaltending tandem?
The “Professor” got top votes. He was voted to Stay by 97.4% by the folks of Oil Country. He gets the nod to show if he is the actual starter we all feel he is.
Viktor Fasth also got the stamp of approval to fight for the starting job in Edmonton. He nailed it as well with 95.3% of the people wanting him to fight it out with Scrivens for the starters job.
Yeah, everyone was on the same page when it came to the keepers. Which isn’t much of a surprise. I mean, come on. We have the best tandem we have seen here in Edmonton since Roloson was here. it was the closest position of need next to defence up until a few months ago. Neither guy might be a Quick or Price, but they have shown pedigree towards being a starter in the NHL. Even potential to being top ten keepers in the league. Not just one, both of them. So I, speaking for most, feel as comfortable as ever with the net protects here.
I had a couple of fun poll questions at the end, to get a feel of what Oilers fans want in Edmonton next year. I wanted to see which players most fans wanted to see on the opening day roster. Which two rookies that fans would be happy making the team out of training camp. One being a player that could improve the team up front. The second being a prospect on the back end that could improve the blue line. But lets take a look who we want here in Edmonton.
Which prospect do YOU feel has the best chance of making the opening day roster?
C/LW-Bodgan Yakimov
6’4
220lbs.
Shoots: Left
This one cause me off guard. I personally thought that Mitch Moroz was going to take the vote on this one. But the hulking Russian got the most love. He won with 37.5% of the votes. It could be the fact they want to see announcers mess up Yakimov and Yaupov. But I think it’s more to the fact that Oil fans are smarter than most other sports fans. Hockey is a religion here. Yakipov has size and can skate for a big man. People have researched enough to know that he has enough skill to keep up. He put up 12 points in 33 games in the KHL this last year. The only question mark is if his game will translate to the North American game. So the ball is in his court.
No real surprise on the back end
D-Darnell Nurse
6’4
193lbs.
Shoots: Left
I honestly thought that there would be a closer race in this derby. But Nurse blew everyone out of the park. He got a whopping 75.6% of the votes. But why wouldn’t he? At last years training camp, he got better each game. Many believed he was the best defender the Oilers had to start off the year. The right decision was made to let him get stronger by dominating the CHL. But many fans know he has another year left with the Greyhounds or it’s the NHL for him. And he really cant be any better in the juniors. He could have made the team without a doubt last year if he was more physically mature. But this year, with no real upgrades, he should be a slam dunk.
Everyone out their is talking about players that could upgrade the Oilers back end. They need to be big and hit. Have a howitzer of a shot. Be able to skate. Need to have a good first pass. Being able to play good in their own zone is a must as well. But to acquire a player like this is damn near impossible. As well as, kinda near sighted. Nurse brings every single one of these attributes to the table. he has top pairing stud written all over him. He just might make some mistakes along the way. But with how bad it’s been in Edmonton for years now, we’d be okay with it. Nurse is the prospect that everyone wants to see. A guy, who could very well make a huge impact his first NHL season. And with the majority vote, we all agree on it.
According to the people, the guys they don’t want to see back in Oilers silks are:
-Sam Gagner
-Jesse Joensuu
-Steve Pinizzotto
-Philip Larsen
and
-Jeff Petry
So that would make the opening day roster look something like this:
Line 1: Hall(6.0)/Nugent-Hopkins(6.0)/Eberle(6.0)
Line 2: Yakupov(3.775)/NEW PLAYER/Perron(3.812)
Line 3: NEW PLAYER or Yakimov(0.925)/Gordon(3.0)/NEW PLAYER
Line 4: Hendricks(1.85)/Lander(0.6)/Pitlick(0.866)
Extras: Gazdic(N/A), Arcobello(0.6)
D1: NEW PLAYER/NEW PLAYER
D2: Marincin(0.87)/Schultz(N/A)
D3: Ference(3.25)/NEW PLAYER
Extras: Nurse(1.775), Klefbom(1.525), Fedun(N/A)
Goalie: Scrivens(2.3)/Fasth(2.9)
When it comes to Nurse, Marincin and Klefbom. The Oilers more than likely will have two on the roster if a true left side top pairing guy is acquired. So the jobs will be worked for. If one is acquired, then only one young defender could win the job out of training camp. Another option would be to move Ference over to the right side and play them. Also, up front, if no player has been acquired. The 3rd overall pick or as a filler, Arcobello could slot in on the second line.
So while, a lot of returning players were voted back. It still leaves quite a bit of room for an upgrade. So Oiler fans are spot on with what MacTavish was saying about having 5 new faces come next year. Nikitin was acquired, but has still yet to sign. But this is the type of upgrade that people could expect. While not the “Elite” level guy, Nikitin is still an upgrade over a Belov or Fraser. So even though fans are growing restless and frustrated. And as annoyed they’re going to be to hear it. Management is on the exact same page as the fans. So with a group in place that just needs to be added too, can management do enough to fill the holes set forth by the fans and make this a team that can push for a playoff spot?
Thank you so much for participating in the polls and for reading our work on TheOilersRig. We truly do it for the readers. Don’t forget to give us all a follow on twitter, especially me @sharkyzeee. and have a great night!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
