Edmonton Oilers

[2014olympicgold]

Who are their goalies again?

Goalies that promote offense lol.

[Axeman33]

Who are their goalies again?

Chirp them all you want but Mike Smith had the 7th most wins last year. 7th best SV%. 12th best GAA. Mike Smith isn't the issue. The backup, Koskinen is more worrisome but to be fair, most of the leagues backups don't put up great numbers because they don't play enough.

[tweetdrivr]

Goalies that promote offense lol.

Thank you. Great stuff.

[SeaDawg]

Thank you. Great stuff.

no one is going to pretend the Oilers have Vezina-quality goal-tending. We also know our defense has some major holes. If this team is ever going to win, it will be because McDavid and Draisaitl carry the team on their shoulders despite the goal-tending and defense. And with a bit of a better supporting cast up front, that is "possible". I mean, if it doesn't happen this year, I won't be surprised, but it is the pre-season and the time for all fans to be excited about their team.

[tweetdrivr]

Chirp them all you want but Mike Smith had the 7th most wins last year. 7th best SV%. 12th best GAA. Mike Smith isn't the issue. The backup, Koskinen is more worrisome but to be fair, most of the leagues backups don't put up great numbers because they don't play enough.

Here’s hoping Mike Smith can recreate that magical 12th best GAA season…
I don’t hate this team. But my goodness…the $$ they spent on Keith…why. Why not go after Nedjekovik or any number of other goalies who were out there? Even a warm fuzzy worthy backup if Smith comes down to earth from the lofty heights of the 7th best SV%? I just don’t get why they addressed needs they sort of have with complete crap and ignored glaring needs. Sort of shades the positives like Puljarjvi’s continued growth and the Hyman signing.

[SeaDawg]

Here’s hoping Mike Smith can recreate that magical 12th best GAA season…
I don’t hate this team. But my goodness…the $$ they spent on Keith…why. Why not go after Nedjekovik or any number of other goalies who were out there? Even a warm fuzzy worthy backup if Smith comes down to earth from the lofty heights of the 7th best SV%? I just don’t get why they addressed needs they sort of have with complete crap and ignored glaring needs. Sort of shades the positives like Puljarjvi’s continued growth and the Hyman signing.

There aren't many fans who support the Keith signing. And yes, obviously getting Nedjekovik would have been awesome...by all accounts, that deal sort of fell into Yzerman's lap. I don't think many thought he was even available, and certainly not for something so small or I'm sure many teams, including the Oilers, would have been involved.

I feel Foegele btw was a good acquisition, along with the Hyman signing.

It is easy to criticize this team, obviously. With all the first-round picks, getting McDavid, and currently having arguably the two best players in the world, everyone thinks this team should be in a better position to win than they are right now. It is easy to pick this team apart for the mistakes it's made, but fans can still cheer and be excited for the season ahead. It would be awesome if the Oilers could fix their goal-tending and find a top-pairing defenseman, but until that happens (if it ever does), there's still reason to be excited. It wouldn't surprise me if at some point McDavid and Draisaitl carry this team far into the playoffs, perhaps even win a Cup, with a roster similar to the one we have right now. It won't be easy, but it's a possibility.

[tweetdrivr]

I’m actually pretty bullish on their D. They have some nice pieces. And I dont think Keith is going to make the D worse. He does still have a little in the tank. It’s just such a bummer they paid far too much for it and that he’s come with the distractions on top of that. As a former Habs fan (my fandom for them is on hiatus until noted scumbag Bergevin is gone), I’m quite used to being overly optimistic going into a season and being made fun of for it. The goaltending was not an impediment during the regular season. But it’s only a matter of time.

[2014olympicgold]

Thank you. Great stuff.

You asked a question, I gave an equivalent response.

[SeaDawg]

I am bullish on the defense as well, to a point. I think Nurse is pretty damn good (though overpaid), and I have faith that Bouchard and Broberg will one day be good as well. I also quite like Barrie and what he brings to this team and was somewhat surprised that he re-signed with the team for the money he did. I'm not naive to think the defense couldn't be better, but I am ok with it, given how hard it is to find quality dmen. Really, the only way is to build from the draft, and with Nurse, Bouchard, and Broberg, the Oilers have had some success there.

Goal-tending has always been my biggest concern and as much as Smith carried his own last year, it is putting a lot of faith on a 39-year old goalie. I'm not sure what the answer is, but if Smith can get them through this year, Koskinen is off the books next year and at that point, if not sooner, I am hoping the Oilers can find a goalie. I even wonder if they can trade Koskinen with some retained salary partway through the year for a goalie to help them in the playoffs.

Again, maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but this is the time of year to do that! Everything is up in the air at this point.

[lobo1969]

The goaltending was not an impediment during the regular season. But it’s only a matter of time.

The goaltending question is not yet settled and Holland will improve it when he can. The trade deadline may be the next logical point where this happens next because the season goal for the Oiler's is not only to make the playoffs but start winning playoff rounds.

[Axeman33]

The goaltending question is not yet settled and Holland will improve it when he can. The trade deadline may be the next logical point where this happens next because the season goal for the Oiler's is not only to make the playoffs but start winning playoff rounds.

Could he have bought out Koskinen in the off-season and brought in a different viable option? Of course. I was hoping he would. It's tough to put faith in Mike Smith's ability to play the games needed and stay healthy. Ken Holland was on Bobcat's podcast the other day and was asked how many games does he feel comfortable with Mike Smith playing this year. Holland's reply was "something that starts with a 4. If that's 41 or 49, so be it", or something to that effect. That means Koskinen could start something in the 30s.

My fear isn't with Mike Smith's ability to play at a higher level given his age; my fear is Koskinen's ability to play at a higher level when Smith isn't in there. Koskinen isn't a bad goalie, but he's not a very good one either. Too inconsistent for my likings. He makes some incredible saves and lets the stupidest goals in and it's frustrating watching him play. If you are just looking at numbers on a webpage and not actually watching the games on a regular basis, you wouldn't understand the frustration on that part.

If you're a Blue Jays fan, you'll appreciate it when I say, Koskinen in net is like Bo Bichette fielding a ground ball hit to him. You never know what it going to happen next but you've learned to expect the worst, not the best.

[lobo1969]

Could he have bought out Koskinen in the off-season and brought in a different viable option? Of course. I was hoping he would. It's tough to put faith in Mike Smith's ability to play the games needed and stay healthy. Ken Holland was on Bobcat's podcast the other day and was asked how many games does he feel comfortable with Mike Smith playing this year. Holland's reply was "something that starts with a 4. If that's 41 or 49, so be it", or something to that effect. That means Koskinen could start something in the 30s.

My fear isn't with Mike Smith's ability to play at a higher level given his age; my fear is Koskinen's ability to play at a higher level when Smith isn't in there. Koskinen isn't a bad goalie, but he's not a very good one either. Too inconsistent for my likings. He makes some incredible saves and lets the stupidest goals in and it's frustrating watching him play. If you are just looking at numbers on a webpage and not actually watching the games on a regular basis, you wouldn't understand the frustration on that part.

If you're a Blue Jays fan, you'll appreciate it when I say, Koskinen in net is like Bo Bichette fielding a ground ball hit to him. You never know what it going to happen next but you've learned to expect the worst, not the best.

Holland had no move to make apparently in the off season, probably mostly to cap restraints. So I'm sure both goalies are on a unofficial 10-15 game watch to see how things go. The Oiler goaltending tandem only needs to be at the NHL average in the regular season, Oiler offense will take care of the rest. How to bolster the goaltending come playoffs will be the next question. Keep in mind that Koskinen's contract is in it's final year and will be much easier to move/dump at the trade deadline then it was in the offseason if he ends up faltering again.

[LawMan]

Holland had no move to make apparently in the off season, probably mostly to cap restraints. So I'm sure both goalies are on a unofficial 10-15 game watch to see how things go. The Oiler goaltending tandem only needs to be at the NHL average in the regular season, Oiler offense will take care of the rest. How to bolster the goaltending come playoffs will be the next question. Keep in mind that Koskinen's contract is in it's final year and will be much easier to move/dump at the trade deadline then it was in the offseason if he ends up faltering again.

Agreed. I think Holland was stuck with the 2 guys he had signed this offseason. Also, prior to Stalock being knocked out for the year I thought there was a real chance that he could force his way into a backup roll if Koskinen faltered early. Stalock was a reasonable emergency 3rd option to have. I think it was only September when it was determined that Stalock would not play this year, possibly the team knew sooner but hard to know.

Oilers need the D-core to be competent, the goaltending to be NHL average and let the offence do what it does, carried by McDavid and Draisaitl.

[SeaDawg]

No matter how frustrating it can be at times to be an Oilers fan, I wouldn't swap our current roster for most other NHL rosters. I feel we are a few key pieces away, but getting closer. And that's not just being naive. If you start with McDavid and Draisaitl, you are already so close to having a Cup contender.

[Axeman33]

Holland did a good job adding secondary scoring, which was a big missing piece for this team for some time. Whether it works out or not is to be determined. It's as good as it's been in McDavid's time there. I dont like their D and I was hoping for a better goalie tandem. Thankfully the West is garbage so making the playoffs should be a given but who knows how this plays out. To win in the playoffs, first you have to make it to the playoffs. Who knows what moves will be made in-season as well possibly to shore up goaltending.