Latest news with #OilersNow
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'There might not be a more scrutinized player': Edmonton Oilers veteran under the gun
This in from NHL insider Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, talking to Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now about Stuart Skinner, and how no other NHL player may be more under the gun right now than the Edmonton Oilers goalie. Skinner let in one soft goal on a rebound against Buffalo on Monday, a night when the Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stole a 3-2 win for his team, UPL facing 20 Grade A shots (five hitting the post) as opposed to nine Grade A shots on Skinner. 'You know, he made some really good saves,' Friedman said of Skinner, 'But he gave up some really rough goals and they lost. So that's what we're focusing on right now. Like, you know, the Oilers made a choice at the deadline, and I think it was a defensible one, with what I think was potentially available to them in goal. They said, 'When you add in the acquisition cost, it just wasn't worth it.' I think it is — from what I can tell, knowing I don't know everything — I think you can say it's at least a defensible position. You know, I know a lot of people talk about (Anaheim goalie John) Gibson, but the health thing is, it's a thing. 'You know, I think right now, as we go into the last 20 games of the regular season and head towards the playoffs, there might not be a more scrutinized player in the league than Stuart Skinner.' 1. Friedman is connected as they come, and as observant as anyone, so he's in as good a spot as anyone to gauge which NHL player has the most pressure on him. If he says it's Skinner, I'll buy that, that makes sense. Of course, all kinds of Oilers have immense pressure on them, from Connor McDavid to Evan Bouchard, from Viktor Arvidsson to Calvin Pickard. It's the nature of this market to focus with unholy intensity on the performance of each player. But I agree that the level of scrutiny on Skinner is the most of any Oilers player right now. 2. Skinner faced even greater pressure last year against Vancouver in the playoffs when he played so poorly early on but was bailed out by Pickard and game back to help win the series for the Oilers. He then starred in the Dallas series, and held his own in the seven game Stanley Cup Final. I take it as good news that Skinner has once faced such heat but he survived it well enough. 3. Skinner has always been a hot and cold NHLer, prone to long slumps and long runs of strong play. This year he's had two extended slumps, 12 games to start the year and now his last ten games, while also going on one 20 game run of super solid play from mid-November to the end of January. T here's nothing to say he won't get hot in the playoffs and go on a run of strong games. 4. The Oilers defence has been terrible in the past month, just as both Skinner and Pickard have struggled in net. I wondered how much their struggles might be related to team play in front of them, so I dug into this. During Skinner's two extended slumps this year, the Oilers as a team played 31 games, creating 15.6 Grade A shots per game, giving up 12.7 Grade A shots per game, a +2.9 Grade A shots per game differential. When Skinner was on a hot streak, the Oilers played 30 games, creating 16 Grade A shots per game, while giving up 11.7, a +4.3 Grade A shots differential. That's somewhat of a difference, +2.9 Grade A shots per game differential when Skinner has been cold, +4.3 when he's been hot. If the Oilers can pick it up on defence — and they have zero chance to win the Stanley Cup if they don't get their rush defence in order — I suspect that will go some way in helping Skinner out of his current slump. But the rest has got to come from Skinner. He's got to find a way to avoid letting in a bad goal or two each game as he's done throughout this slump. The good news is he got it together before under even more pressure, so he's evidently got the focus, mindset, intestinal fortitude and technique to do it again.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Oilers Had Matthew Tkachuk Convinced They Were Drafting Him
EDMONTON – There are plenty of fish that get away. The Edmonton Oilers have had their fair share of players that slipped through their fingertips in one fashion or another. But one of those players came to bite them by winning the Stanley Cup against them. On Monday, former Oilers GM Craig MacTavish and Oilers Now host Bob Stauffer discussed how close the team was to drafting current Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk. Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers team site to never miss the latest news, game-day coverage, and more. MacTavish said that Tkachuk had an 'unreal' interview with the Oilers before the 2016 draft. Sometime during the interview process, he explained that he had Tkachuk over at his house. He told a follow-up story about a time he ran into Tkachuk while in St. Louis. He didn't specify when this story occurred but shared what Matthew thought of the interview. Oilers Starting Lineup Today Against Struggling Sabres The Edmonton Oilers are on the road again. Edmonton Oilers Prospects: Sam O'Reilly Continues Strong Year Ex-Oiler David Perron And Wife Welcome New Baby After Tough Pregnancy Oilers Best Goalie Prospect Ready For The NHL 'That's Not Really What They Are Like': Oilers Receive Surprising Praise From Matthew Tkachuk Oilers Game Schedule For March 2025 EDMONTON -- It's trade deadline month. 'I was out in St. Louis and ran into Matt,' MacTavish reveals. He then said that Tkachuk said this to his Dad (Keith Tkachuk), 'I told my Dad when I left your house, 'this is the team that I think is going to draft me. I'd love to play here.'' Fortunately (or unfortunately), Calgary drafted Tkachuk and eventually traded him to the Panthers. Instead of drafting Tkachuk, the Oilers picked up Finnish forward Jesse Puljujarvi. 'We had the misfortune of having Puljujarvi fall to us,' MacTavish explained. 'Because we were going to take Sergachev. There was a big discussion between Sergachev and Tkachuk. It was almost a positional bias at the time to get a defenseman.' 'But there was plenty of support for Matt.' There was so much support that someone not in the organization urged the team to select him in the first round of the draft. Stauffer recalled when current Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch contacted the Oilers Now host to give him his thoughts. 'Kris Knoblauch texted me when the draft lottery results came in,' Stauffer revealed. He reportedly said to Stauffer, 'you guys have to take Tkachuk at 4. He's an absolute pain…and he's got a lot of skill.' It's tough to imagine what the Oilers would have looked like if they had gone in this direction. Either way, Mikhail Sergachev and Tkachuk have become full-time NHLers, while Puljujarvi is still looking to see where he fits. Now the Oilers can only dream of what could have been and look to the future, hindsight be damned. Add us to your Google News favorites, and never miss a story.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Could The Oilers Sign Mikko Rantanen?
EDMONTON -- Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives. Hockey, like soap operas, can be unpredictable. The Edmonton Oilers know this all too well. For the Oilers, that came in the form of Stan Bowman becoming the GM of the organization in the summer. Speaking of summer, one thing that was not on anyone's bingo card before October was the Colorado Avalanche trading superstar Mikko Rantanen. But alas, here we are. That has brought to light more speculation. Or, in this case, "informed speculation," on Rantanen's future with the Hurricanes. If he doesn't re-sign there, he may find himself in the Western Conference once again. Andy Strickland highlighted some information on his "The Cam & Strick Podcast." In an episode published yesterday, he said the following. "Can I tell you where I think he's going to sign?" Strickland asked his co-host. "This is not just speculation; it's informed speculation." "You know where he's going to end up? Edmonton." Do the Oilers need someone like Rantanen, and can they even sign a player like him? Let's take a look. The short answer is yes. Even a team doing as well as the Oilers right now could use a game-breaking talent like Rantanen. But let's look at some numbers. The Oilers' top three scorers are Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and Evan Bouchard. They have scored 75, 66, and 37 points, respectively. Having more players producing over a point per game would be beneficial. Rantanen has 64 points in 50 games. If the Oilers were to add a player of his caliber, it would certainly bring stability to the revolving door that has been the Oilers' top-six forward group. Additionally, Rantanen won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche. And you can never have too many winners on your team. Oilers Projected Lineup: Three Big Absences At Morning Skate Underrated Oilers Pickup Pays Off In A Big Way Oilers Call On U Of A Student As Emergency Backup Oilers' Superstars Own The Seattle Kraken Ex-Oiler Surprising Addition To Big Trade Now, the (several) million-dollar question is: Can the Oilers afford Rantanen? In a word, yes. Let's look at the numbers at our disposal on PuckPedia. According to the salary cap site, the Oilers will have $11.61 million of cap space next year. However, that figure assumes the salary cap will be $88 million. Several insiders have said the cap will increase to at least $95 million, but potentially more. Frank Seravalli said as much in his guest appearance on Oilers Now on Monday, January 27th. This would greatly increase the Oilers' chances of signing a player of Rantanen's caliber. Andy Strickland has been hearing that if not re-signed by Carolina, Mikko Rantanen may be headed to the Edmonton Oilers in the offseason saying there's 'a belief they can make it happen' cap wise. Rantanen also shares the same agent as Leon Draisaitl.#letsgooilers #raiseup — John Puck (@johnpuck1992) January 28, 2025 Assuming that the cap goes up to $95 million, the Oilers could have $18.61 million available to them in the summer. However, here are the players that will need a new contract in the summer: Jeff Skinner Evan Bouchard Corey Perry Connor Brown Kasperi Kapanen Noah Philp Ty Emberson John Klingberg It's fair to assume that the Oilers won't bring back Skinner. The big name here is obviously Bouchard. Is it possible that the Oilers can sign Rantanen AND Bouchard for less than $18 million? That would be a tough pill to swallow. However, the Oilers could trade a few players to make room for signing Bouchard and Rantanen. Starting March 1st, Evander Kane's no-movement clause will become a modified no-trade clause. At that time, Kane would have a list of 16 teams to which he would approve a trade to. The trade deadline is on March 7th. The Oilers could and should sign Rantanen. The team must decide where to focus its assets for the future. Do they keep Bouchard and Kane, or switch things up and keep Bouchard and Rantanen? If I were the Oilers GM, I know what I'd do. Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers team site to never miss the latest news, game-day coverage, and more. Add us to your Google News favourites, and never miss a story.
