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Today's question: What is the Oilers' biggest problem?
Todd Cordell: Defense
The Oilers have a whole whack of problems and goaltending is probably the one that stands out the most, but I'm going to go off the board a bit in saying their defense is the biggest issue.
As bad as Edmonton's goaltending has been - and it has been bad - the same tandem posted much better numbers last year with a very similar team. They'll be hard pressed to do any worse going forward so I think their SV%'s should increase.
As for their defense, it's an absolute tire fire.
Justin Schultz looks so lost in the defensive zone that he needs a map and compass to navigate through it. Nikita Nikitin has not at all lived up to the expectations that came with signing a pretty lucrative contract. Andrew Ference's best days are behind him and Mark Fayne, who may be the best of the bunch (especially this season), has been way underused.
Add all that up with the fact Keith Aulie and Brad Hunt have combined for 14 games played, and your defense is an absolute mess.
Ryan Wilson: Goaltending
While I think hanging onto 1980's Edmonton Oilers players to run the franchise is a direction that the franchise needs to get away from I believe that currently goaltending is the biggest issue for the 2014-15 Edmonton Oilers. Why? They are the worst team in the NHL when it comes to goaltending. They own a miserable .895% even-strength save percentage as a team. League average hovers between .921-.923% in any given year.
I don't care what kind of lines and personnel you are running out there you can't win with such sub par goaltending.
For those that want to blame the team in front of the goaltenders keep in mind that Buffalo, yes that Buffalo, ranks 11th overall in the NHL with an EVSV% of .925%
If Edmonton had league average goaltending their record wouldn't be what it is right now.
Tim Chiasson: Front Office
The biggest problem in Edmonton for me is the front office and how they value their younger players.
It doesn't seem to matter who is at the helm in the front office, the Oilers consistently over-value their younger players and the result is they haven't been able to make any moves to improve their team. Dallas Eakins can only work with what he's given, which isn't much, so I refuse to place blame on a guy trying his best to put a round puzzle together with square pieces.
The only players on the Oilers roster that should be "untouchable" are Taylor Hall and RNH. The rest should be fair game and some of them should have been dealt already. It's hard to continue to blame the goaltenders when the team in front of them is so disappointing.
The Oilers will continue to get the same ugly results in the standings each year until the management makes trades to improve the team and that's going to mean bringing trade return expectations back down to earth.
Michael Stuart: Goaltending
Goaltending. By a long shot.
While it's true that the Oilers are only scoring 2.33 goals per game, this is an Edmonton team that is controlling 51.1% of the shot attempts at 5v5. That's a massive improvement on their performance last year, the year before that, and the year before that.
Goaltending, on the other hand, has been a huge problem. At 5v5, the Oilers are receiving league-worst goaltending. Exemplified by an 0.895SV% in those 5v5 situations, the team's goaltending has just been brutal. To put that in perspective, consider that last year, when the Edmonton skaters were worse, the team's 5v5 SV% sat at 0.9134. If they were getting that sort of goaltending this year, the Oilers would almost certainly be a few spots higher in the standings.
That's not on Dallas Eakins, though it wouldn't surprise me to see him pay the price.
Ed Stein: Culture
I'll let you in on a little secret. I love listening to Jack Michaels and Bob Stauffer call a game. If I've got nothing going on and the Oilers are playing, I try to tune in. The past three seasons, I know I've caught at least 15 games each, probably more. I have some familiarity with the team.
Whats wrong with the Edmonton Oilers?
Culture
This version of the Oilers has no culture of winning attached to it. They have players who have won at lower levels, but not here. In the Taylor Hall Era (2010/11-Pres) there has been no one to show the young core “this is how to be a winning team in the NHL.” During this period Edmonton has not had a well respected veteran with a winning pedigree and some gas left in the tank to teach these guys.
They had Ales Hemsky, but he is not a leader. Ryan Smyth was brought back last season, however his career was at an end. Additionally, any impact he might have had was emasculated by the coaching staff due to healthy scratches and limited minutes. This year Benoit Pouliot and Teddy Purcel were added to the mix. They are good role players, not guys who would make an impact on the culture of a young team.
Additionally, the Hall era has not seen a coach with a winning pedigree either. Tom Renney, never won anything. He was followed by Ralph Kruger and Dallas Eakins, neither of whom had even been head coaches in the NHL.
What's the answer?
First of all spend some money on quality coaches and players. Again, using the arrival of Taylor Hall; Edmonton have been in the bottom quartile of payroll in the past 3 of 4 seasons. Their reputation is that the team doesn't spend money on players or coaches. Money is not a panacea, and it should be spent wisely. The goal is to give an impression that the organization is willing to spend for quality.
Next, embrace the history. If Green Bay, WI can be Titletown, USA; certainly the Oilers can come up with something similar. Players want to come to the “frozen tundra” and be part of the Packers tradition. NHL players have to want to come to Edmonton and the club needs to market itself accordingly.
Reducing this whole thing down, spend some money, act first class and bring in players and staff with a history of success.
Adam French
Can my answer be "All of the Above?" I don't really think we can point to one solitary thing as the "problem with Edmonton." People have been labeling problems and denoting them as "the one" for years, but I think most Oilers fans have moved past the infamous "one problem" and are seeing the systemic issues. Since this is a brief take on the subject I will just focus on one issue that stands out to me.
1. Unreliable goaltending inflamed by atrocious defending caused by a lack of cohesion.
It's easy to say that the Oilers need better goaltending...because they do. It's easy to say that they need a first pairing defender and a better supporting cast...because they do. It's also easy to point out that for the majority of the game the Oilers are pinching inanely and trying to score off quick rushes without any wish to cycle and put pressure on their opponents (assuming they could cycle effectively that is)...because it is easy to do so. The Oilers problems might be coaching and systems, it might be personnel, but more likely it is all of the above.
It reminds me of Mikhail Grabovski and Clarke MacArthur in Toronto. Misused as third liners including force-feeding Grabovski the majority of defensive zone starts, then complain bitterly that he isn't scoring to the media...well duh.
Eakins' swarm defense doesn't seem to be causing any swarm other than their opponents swarming whichever poor sod has the poor luck of being in goal at the time before their career is imploded and they land on waivers. Will another system fix this? Probably not since any team with Petry and Fayne as your top defensive defenders are in for a real shift storm of a season. Yet it might mitigate some of the problems.
The Oilers aren't buying into this system, or else the system is designed this way and is dreadful. Maybe they need a personnel move, maybe leadership change, maybe a new direction, maybe a lobotomy...or all of the above.
All I know is this. If the rumours are true that MacT is trying to trade David Perron for a first line centre (let's assume the best of MacT and that Perron is the start of a package) then I would be incredibly frustrated as an Oilers fan. Especially since he was the only player to have the guts to stand in front of a camera and voice the problems writers and fans have seen for years.
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