Last night the Oilers made a couple of moves. First they called up Jujhar Khaira, then they moved out KHL defender Philip Larsen to the Vancouver Canucks for a conditional 5th round pick that could turn into a 4th. What other moves lie ahead?

Larsen was an interesting player with the Oilers because he moved with the puck very well. In terms of 5v5 offence he was tied with Klefbom that season as 2nd on the Oiler D in P/60 with 0.74 in 2013-2014. He only appeared in 30 games with Edmonton but it was clear when he was here that his niche would be as a puck mover.

Unfortunately for him, it looked very much like his 180 pound frame was not capable of handling NHL forwards in the defensive zone. By my eye he looked overwhelmed when trying to break up the cycle. Be it because of his miniature stature or not, he was not getting the job done.

The underlying numbers support this as well. He was effectively comparable to Justin Schultz in the Corsis, which isn't exactly flattering. He was the worst possession defender on a team that housed Marincin, Petry, and then the rest of the worst possession defenders in the NHL.

What works in his favour considerably is the fact that he's a righty. They are in such limited supply that a little time can make people forget how ineffective Larsen was the last time he played in the NHL.

When he left I thought that there might be a player there in the right situation. For example, if he were to play with a strong partner in a limited role with lots of PP time, he could be a good specialist. Maybe.

Do I think the Canucks can put him in that situation?

Lord no.

For Chiarelli to get a 5th for a player who had no interest in ever playing for the team and who the team didn't really want to play is enough to give me a little hope. It might be false hope based on the illusion Chia is a great salesman when perhaps the reality is that Benning is just a terrible GM. I'm not sure. I guess we shall see.

Although, keep in mind, Edmonton is desperate for right shot Defensemen and gave one up. That should give Nucks fans an idea of what they are getting.

The recall of Khaira is interesting but there's a recall rule in effect after the deadline and perhaps Chiarelli just wants his options open when this fire sale is over. I was waiting for the other foot to drop last night. It seemed from practice that Purcell might be on the way out. He is a pending UFA and they might choose to sit him instead of risk injury against the big bad Kings and Ducks.

Let's see where the next couple days take us.

LINEUP

Jujhar Khaira was recalled and practice lines were garbled. Lander practiced but I'm not sure what to make of it.

Hall Draisaitl Kassian
Pouliot McDavid Eberle
Yakupov Lander Purcell
Hendricks Letestu Pakarinen/Khaira

Sekera Fayne
Nurse Schultz
Davidson Oesterle

Talbot

OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME

1) Maybe Get Rid Of Some Players. McLellan was more upset than I've ever seen him. His suggestion to fix some of the problems with this team? Maybe it's time to get rid of some players. There isn't a more clear message being sent. This team could be in line for addition by subtraction soon and McLellan all but burned Schultz in effigy. This team is ready for a change, whether the players see it or not. I personally believe there are a couple key faces I would like to see gone, but not wholesale change. The coach might feel differently.

2) Pride? Right now the Oilers don't look like a team that thinks it can win games. At no time against the Sens did Edmonton look like a club that could threaten to leave with 2 points. This losing streak feels like it could last the whole season and then some, but it doesn't have to. While the Defense is a tire fire featuring people in over their heads and/or lacking experience, it's not as if we've seen a quality effort from the forwards in some time. Certainly not as a group. At some point the leaders in the room need to step up and demand more from each other.

3) Control. The Kings have a well earned reputation for being able to control the game. They generate the most shot attempts for themselves. They suppress the most against them. They even generate the 6th most High Danger scoring chances as per waronice.com this season. When fancystats and traditional analysts call them a puck possession team, they mean it. What the Kings don't have on their side is a high shooting percentage 5v5. For whatever reason, and I don't have it, the Kings are 30th in 5v5 sh% and they are frequently low in the standings. On the PP they do just fine, at even strength they will dominate time of possession, but the good news for Oiler fans is that they can hopefully weather that storm. But taking advantage is tough when LA gets quality goaltending. These guys can grind the game like no one else.

Puck drops tonight at 8:30 PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet 360. Game On!

Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy

Join the Discussion: » 319 Comments » Post New Comment

» Farewell

» The Most Dangerous Game

» Calling Kovalchuk

» Oilers Sign Koskinen

» Oilers Drafting 10th...If At All