Ten games into the 2014-15 season, the Edmonton Oilers have a predictably mediocre 4-5-1 record. There have already been some high highs (four-game winning streak), low lows (five-game losing streak) and middling middles (David Perron) in the young season, as the Oilers forge an identity for themselves. That begs the question, what kind of team is this? Let’s break down possible characteristics to find out.
Fast or Slow?
Nobody would accuse the Oilers of being a fast team, especially after watching Monday’s 3-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens or last night’s 4-1 manhandling by the Nashville Predators. Fast doesn’t just apply to velocity, but decision-making as well. Edmonton has a couple quick-thinking, fast-acting players, but as a whole the team looks a step slow and reluctant.
Tough or Soft?
Toughness is difficult to quantify, and its definition has changed as the one-dimensional cementheads increasingly find themselves on the fringe of the sport. Today, toughness is more a measure of a team being tough to play against. By that measure, the Oilers haven’t posed a difficult test against many teams this season, and looked soft as a kitten’s belly against the Predators.
Young or Old?
The Oilers have the fourth-youngest average age (26.38) in the NHL, so you could call them a young team. Only four players on the current roster are over 30 years of age (Fasth, Ference, Gordon, Hendricks) and you wouldn’t include any of those greybeards in the core of the team. The highest-profile, most important players on the roster are 21 to 24 years old.
Offensive or Defensive?
Most would consider Edmonton more offensive than defensive, although the team doesn’t excel at either end of the ice. Averaging 2.7 goals per game, the Oilers find themselves 15th in scoring, but lack secondary scoring. They rank 26th in the league defensively, allowing 3.5 goals per game. Those numbers don’t offer enough evidence to cement an identity either way.
Big or Small?
Edmonton made a conscious effort to bring in bigger players during the offseason, as Mark Fayne, Nikita Nikitin, Benoit Pouliot and Teddy Purcell are all 6-foot-2 or taller. However, the Oilers are ranked 23rd in the league, with an average height just a shade over six feet. AHL players Mark Arcobello (5-foot-8) and Brad Hunt (5-foot-9) drag the average down, but the Oilers aren’t big.
Resilient or Vulnerable?
You could make a strong argument that the Oilers are a more resilient team than they were last season. We’ve seen them respond well to adversity, whether it’s an early deficit or unfortunate puck luck, and the team is developing resiliency through experience and trust. They have a long way to go, but I wouldn’t consider the Oilers a mentally fragile or vulnerable team.
Heavy or Light?
The Oilers are a very light team. In fact, they’re the lightest in the league, with an average weight under 194 pounds. That could be attributed to their youth, since most of us were much lighter 10 years ago than we are today. Unsurprisingly, the Oilers also play a light game. Aside from Hendricks and Jesse Joensuu, the team’s hit leaders are barely heavy enough to rattle the boards.
Mean or Kind?
Edmonton is not a mean team. Count the number of Oilers after-whistle scrums this season and you might not need more than two hands to add them up. After-whistle scrums instigated by the Oilers? You might only need two fingers. Like a kindergartener whose mom licks her thumb to wipe some errant jam from his cheek, the Oilers have their faces washed rather than doing the washing.
What We Learned
Based on our eight categories, the Oilers are young, soft, kind and light. Aside from the eternal optimism associated with youth, those aren’t desirable ingredients when you’re trying to assemble a winning hockey club. They have below-average size and speed, and don’t have enough offensive ability or resiliency to build an identity around those traits. That’s the team in a nutshell.
In my opinion, the Oilers have a complete absence of malice, and need to be tougher to play against. They’re one of the most polite teams in the league, from their top line to the bottom pairing on defence. I mean, it wouldn’t be a stretch to see Ryan Nugent-Hopkins turn to the opposition centre and say “buy you a soda after the game.” The entire team exudes sportsmanship to a fault.
Just look at the way the Oilers attack the offensive zone. Even when open ice presents itself up the middle, the Edmonton forwards often engage themselves in a race to the corner, sending a soft dump-in to the boards in an attempt to get the cycle going. Unlike the Canadiens or Predators, who would pound pucks on net and then dive after them, the Oilers don't run-and-gun or drive to the net.
How do you change that mindset? Inserting Luke Gazdic or some other knuckledragging goon into the lineup doesn’t help, because you simply sacrifice skill in exchange for eight minutes of bluster. The change has to come from the players themselves, finding a corrosive competitiveness that turns the opposition into the enemy. Until that happens, Western Conference foes will just keep feasting on Edmonton.
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Be sure to submit your queries for Friday’s Burning Questions. Every topic will be handled, from the latest Oilers loss to the secret Chevy Guy inside each of us. If you have a burning question (or just a mildly irritating question) feel free to either drop an e-mail or hit me up on Twitter. All questions submitted will be answered.
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