Joined Lowetide this morning on TSN 1260 to discuss the Oilers. Audio below.

Couple thoughts:

Last night’s game had to have been the third or fourth straight one that was just dreadful to watch. The Oilers cannot sustain any sort of pressure in the offensive zone, rarely picking up rebounds or getting second chances. They may have outshot the Panthers, but they weren’t really a threat around the net. The Oilers are sitting near the bottom of the league when it comes to goals, scoring chances and possession, and I don’t expect much to change until Klefbom and McDavid come back.

.@EdmontonOilers only had 1 o-zone loose puck recovery in the @FlaPanthers defensive-slot last night; #panthers had 4 in #oilers d-slot #nhl

— Christopher Boucher (@Chris_LogiQ) January 11, 2016

 

The hit on Hall was clean in my opinion. I just don’t get why there’s a need for instant retribution, and lacking a quick response is any sort of indication that the team lacks unity or toughness. Hall plays a style that makes him vulnerable to these hits..it’s part of the trade-off to generate offence. If the Oilers want to replace skill with goons, they can’t expect to win. Now if you can find guys that can play physical and have an impact on a nightly basis, and not be a liability, I’m all for it. I’m hoping Khaira can be that guy in a season or two. And I really  wouldn’t spend big money to solve team toughness.

I’m also reminded of this line from Kassian shortly after he broke Gagner’s jaw and the Oilers brought in McIntyre. Loved it.

Also keep in mind that the Sharks management kinda lost their minds last off-season when they thought they needed toughness and signed Mike Brown and John Scott to contracts. Seriously, we should ask Todd McLellan how that worked out for him.

I’m also very interested to see how the team will handle the Cam Talbot contract. He’s been getting better game to game, but it’s hard to judge what his true value is. There’s always that balance between the goalie’s actual value, and how the team perceives his value. The Oilers have already invested two draft picks in him, which really puts Talbot in the driver seat of negotiations. Having said that, the Oilers can point to his record and save percentage and try to portray Nilsson as a candidate for the number one job to drive down the cost. I’ll have to dig into this more, but the three contracts I would point to if I were the Oilers is Martin Jones 3yr/$9M contract with San Jose, Corey Schneider’s 3 yr/$12M contract with the Canucks and Schneider’s 7-year/$42M extension with the Devils. Obviously different situations for each player and team, but based on age and experience, these are the ones I would look at first. Right now, I think Talbot is worth $3.5M per season for four seasons, which would take him through his prime. Based on his play, I don’t think teams will be lining up to sign him as there are always plenty of options in the off-season.