Trading The Oilers “Soft Skill”

Last week on 630 CHED’s Oilers Now program, Bob Stauffer and Mark Spector were conversing about the state of the Oilers and trades. You can listen to the segment here if you like. They went on to name a few players they thought were very skilled but to soft to continue with the team if the Oilers were going to be successful.

Yesterday on TSN 1260 Morning show Ryan Rishaug hinted that the list of untouchables may be smaller then we thing, naming only McDavid, Hall, Draisaitl and Nurse. Back to Mark Spector, he left Hall of that list, more on this later.

But it was Spector who created the original buzz surrounding the “soft skill” on the Oilers and it got me to thinking.

This year is a write off, it’s sad I know really, but it’s true.

This teams biggest need has been a number 1 defenseman to lead the young team into greatness, but should that be the number one priority right now? Spector is right, the Oilers are a team rife with skill players that don’t do what it takes each and every night to win. This isn’t the fault of these players, some people simply don’t get it, it’s not a learned skill. Willingness to battle comes naturally, there is no give up in some players and “meh” attitudes in others.

The video above is a perfect example of the lack of pushback from the Oilers. The announcers even picked up on it when Nurse finally stood up and got in Phaneuf’s face. There is a lot to be said about skill, and the improvement we’ve seen in the advanced stats front, but the bottom line is the Oilers are easy to play against and that needs to change. I think Peter Chiarelli agrees.

Oilers Trade Bait?

Jordan Eberle has had gutsy performances in big games before (See Team Canada WJHC circa 2009/2010) but in the NHL he hasn’t shown a huge willingness to engage with the opponents. Maybe he’s still not 100% recovered from his pre-season shoulder injury, but he’s soft and it’s not that new.

Benoit Pouliot came to the Oilers from the New York Rangers after a stellar playoff performance. While he has looked good for the Oil in stints, he doesn’t consistently use his size to his advantage. He had a great chance to show some push back in the game against Toronto on Monday night after being rocked by Dion Phaneuf, instead he just got up and skated away and DARNELL FREAKIN NURSE stepped up to Dion. A teenager, fighting Poo’s battles, says it all.

Teddy Purcell basically read above, he’s looked better this year and may have a place alongside Neon Leon and Taylor Hall. Draisaitl can stick up for himself and Purcell seems to be a decent option with him and Hall, but he’s still soft. He doesn’t battle in the corners with consistency and when he does he loses those battles more often then not.

On defense, there’s Justin Schultz who I don’t need to write about here much. It’s self explanatory. Mark Fayne isn’t a physical presence nor is Sekera. Davidson is ok but he’s undersized. Gryba plays physical but can only handle limited minutes, a fact which I’m dissapointed in. Nurse brings it every night (see above comments on Pouliot), and Klefbom might be the strongest defensemen on the team.

There are players on the team that battle, none better exemplified then Matt Hendricks. He leads by example every game he plays, I’m sure the guy is a walking ice pack every game. But a team full of Matt Hendricks won’t win you all the games either.

I’m going to name one player as an example that I would like to target, but there are a few guys that probably meet PC’s expectations. Wayne Simmonds has a perfect mixture of skill and grit, and could play on either of the Oilers top 2 lines. He can be a net front presence on the powerplay, and he’s definitely not afraid to take on anyone in the corners. The reason I brink Simmonds up is because I believe that the Flyers are headed towards an inevitable rebuild, they’ve got some big contracts that are going to be tough to unload (Andy McDonald) and they aren’t going to move either Giroux or Voracek.

Like I said there are more players I think are available, but my inside sources are about as good as Treena’s Oil. If there is someone that you think the Oilers should target comment below and lets get arm chair GM debate started.