Well Dubey let in 5 tonight!!!

It still baffles me. I see flashes of brilliance but it might just be me but we seemed to be playing better at the start of the year even. Way better last year. Our team really does look decent on paper. Arcobello has good potential for a solid third line scorer, which surprised us all. Marincin looks like he could compete for his 5-6 role on a permanent bases next year which was also a pleasant surprise. If we can feed that guy something he could be that good sized dman we were looking for to keep players out of the net.

Scrivens is the back up we wanted and if we get our starter in the off season we have the goaltending tandem we dreamed of. Perron I think turned out better than we expected. Gagner never found his legs but that might be because the team hasn't. Yak is doing well considering the coaching he is getting. It looks like we have a solid top 6. I am not against trading Gagner and Hemsky to upgrade that center spot on the second line but if we could our centers are not terrible. Gordon is a great faceoff guy with grit that could lead a solid fourth line of shut down guys.

I like the way Petry is developing. Schultz is coming along slower but the whole team seems to be so I can't say much. Ference adds grit. So really we are not that far off on paper.

However some days it looks like a father son match out there. I hate to say it because many disagree but they look unmotivated. That is management and it is getting worse, not better. We are well on our way to getting Ek in the draft. Coach is obvious but if we are keeping MacT, we need to bring in an experienced assistant GM or a new President of hockey operations to help him for the first couple years. Don't bother saying we have one and that Lowe is cool because I don't believe either.
- ABFan918

I totally disagree. Mac T doesn't need another assistant GM.hes only had the job for half a year.he has expressed many times what he feels the needs of the team are and he's bang on IMO. I do t think the fact that he hasn't got us the 2 D we need, the big 2C and banging top 9 winger has anything to do with inexperience or capability....there just hard to get. It isn't NHL 14.
My biggest criticism of MacT is that he revealed his intentions publicly a bit too often. I still prefer that over Tambo's multiple 'we will access our team' speaches.
There is no quick fix, but I think he is chipping away. Give him another draft and free agency before you judge his abilities, so far he has done well IMO .

I disagree completely about Brodziak. I wish we still had him in our bottom 6. I think him and Gordon are very similar players and I'd love to have them both
- Ihatebrianburke

u disagree that brodziak isn't as good as paille??
well ud be wrong

and who said I wouldn't want both him and Gordon? I never said any such thing.


I think you're really looking for a debate where there aint one.

brodziak is good. be nice to have him. far from a huge error to let a decent 4th liner go

u disagree that brodziak isn't as good as paille??
well ud be wrong

and who said I wouldn't want both him and Gordon? I never said any such thing.


I think you're really looking for a debate where there aint one.

brodziak is good. be nice to have him. far from a huge error to let a decent 4th liner go
- hugefemale dog77

Hold on. Brodziak isn't just a fourth liner. He plays upwards of 17 minutes/night, kills penalties well, has put up his fair share of points, and wins faceoffs at an above average rate. Honestly, I hold him in higher regard than Paille.

Edit: Upon really looking at it, I think it's entirely reasonable to suggest that Brodziak is in fact superior to Paille in almost every facet of the game (besides skating and hitting).

you guys are all wrong and I'm right so now that everything is clear I'm going to watch a movie with few beers and wings

u disagree that brodziak isn't as good as paille??
well ud be wrong

and who said I wouldn't want both him and Gordon? I never said any such thing.


I think you're really looking for a debate where there aint one.

brodziak is good. be nice to have him. far from a huge error to let a decent 4th liner go
- hugefemale dog77

I think it was a huge error to let him go. Just look at what we have this year at 4th line center. Smyth, Arcobello, Acton, Lander rotating through there. This team could definitely use a Brodziak. Not to mention the amount of secondary scoring that entire line was giving us together. Glencross and Brodziak made Stortini look useful out there. Breaking that up was a huge mistake. They had great chemistry.

Hold on. Brodziak isn't just a fourth liner. He plays upwards of 17 minutes/night, kills penalties well, has put up his fair share of points, and wins faceoffs at an above average rate. Honestly, I hold him in higher regard than Paille.

Edit: Upon really looking at it, I think it's entirely reasonable to suggest that Brodziak is in fact superior to Paille in almost every facet of the game (besides skating and hitting).
- MaximumBone

he's been -18 and -15 in consecutive years. and is neither as good of a skater nor as strong of a physical presence.

he's not as good defensively, cant skate as well nor establish himself as well physically.
but yes he's put up more points. he has 4 more this year but a worse plus/minus.

paille is better than kye brodziak at the job they both are asked to do 7 days a week

I totally disagree. Mac T doesn't need another assistant GM.hes only had the job for half a year.he has expressed many times what he feels the needs of the team are and he's bang on IMO. I do t think the fact that he hasn't got us the 2 D we need, the big 2C and banging top 9 winger has anything to do with inexperience or capability....there just hard to get. It isn't NHL 14.
My biggest criticism of MacT is that he revealed his intentions publicly a bit too often. I still prefer that over Tambo's multiple 'we will access our team' speaches.
There is no quick fix, but I think he is chipping away. Give him another draft and free agency before you judge his abilities, so far he has done well IMO .
- Jeropotato

There is no reason to not bring in a veteran guy to help MacT. My comment comes right from Craig's press conference during last years draft. He mentioned being the new guy and spending his time getting to know people and something with regards to building relationships. There is nothing wrong with having a second guy on the phone come UFA time or to help bounce ideas off at draft time. I am not saying replace him or that he needs to follow their advice but he is new and quite frankly he had a poor showing at last years draft. Maybe a couple poor signings in the off season in terms of Labarbera, Omark, Grebeshkov, I personally think Belov, Jones, Gaznig was one I think could have been better and maybe a couple others. Maybe some were missed and some might argue the wrong coach was chosen. There have been blogs on here suggesting that if we were going to stay with a losing coach, numbers suggest Krueger deserved more than half a season.

I am only suggesting that we key spots filled. MacT does seem to know what spots we want but doesn't seem to be going after them like when he passed on Nichuskin for what many argue is our 5th best dman under 23. Others will say Klefbom is even better making him our 5-6 guy if we are never able to trade for a 1-2 and if we get rid of Ference and Nick. I do know in the off season we will be looking for a large winger and a top dman. Nichuskin is one of those that could fill the role we need next year. Nurse is not ready and is no where near a 1-2 dman. We also could have had numerous great players with our second early pick but he opted for 10 players which most aren't even doing well enough to play in the CHL. Our top pick wasn't even a thought for the world Jrs but numerous players picked after were.

Hard to be encouraged when the team gets better on paper, the only thing that changes is management and they appear to be playing worse. I think something needs fixing and if you guys know what it is, let me know because I don't think it is simply players at this point. Our guys don't seem to be playing with the skill they were in October. Some nights they come out but others they seem completely demoralized. We know what they are capable of, we have seen it and the team that has been playing 2 periods of every three are not the guys we know.

he's been -18 and -15 in consecutive years. and is neither as good of a skater nor as strong of a physical presence.

he's not as good defensively, cant skate as well nor establish himself as well physically.
but yes he's put up more points. he has 4 more this year but a worse plus/minus.

paille is better than kye brodziak at the job they both are asked to do 7 days a week
- hugefemale dog77

You know exactly what I'm gonna say about your plus/minus argument so I'll keep it brief; Brodziak plays tougher competition on a weaker team and only starts in the offensive zone an average of 35% of the time over the past 3 seasons. I'll have you compare that to Paille's 46.5% off. zone start %.

As I said, Paille is a better skater and more frequent hitter, but Brodziak brings more offense (higher career PPG) and is used in more of a shutdown capacity than Paille. Perhaps on a shallower team Paille would show better in that regard with more minutes, but as of now, Brodziak wins that battle.

You know exactly what I'm gonna say about your plus/minus argument so I'll keep it brief; Brodziak plays tougher competition on a weaker team and only starts in the offensive zone an average of 35% of the time over the past 3 seasons. I'll have you compare that to Paille's 46.5% off. zone start %.

As I said, Paille is a better skater and more frequent hitter, but Brodziak brings more offense (higher career PPG) and is used in more of a shutdown capacity than Paille. Perhaps on a shallower team Paille would show better in that regard with more minutes, but as of now, Brodziak wins that battle.
- MaximumBone

Stats

You know exactly what I'm gonna say about your plus/minus argument so I'll keep it brief; Brodziak plays tougher competition on a weaker team and only starts in the offensive zone an average of 35% of the time over the past 3 seasons. I'll have you compare that to Paille's 46.5% off. zone start %.

As I said, Paille is a better skater and more frequent hitter, but Brodziak brings more offense (higher career PPG) and is used in more of a shutdown capacity than Paille. Perhaps on a shallower team Paille would show better in that regard with more minutes, but as of now, Brodziak wins that battle.
- MaximumBone

U cant fault someone for playing on a deeper team with a greater number of players able to shoulder defensive responsibilities as well as more stiff competition for minutes.

4th liners are meant to provide energy, physical pressure and give respite to the offensive players. In this regard, paille has been more effective without hurting his team.
Kb played way higher minutes the couple of years he put up points. Hardly even used as a true 4th liner

U cant fault someone for playing on a deeper team with a greater number of players able to shoulder defensive responsibilities as well as more stiff competition for minutes.

4th liners are meant to provide energy, physical pressure and give respite to the offensive players. In this regard, paille has been more effective without hurting his team.
Kb played way higher minutes the couple of years he put up points. Hardly even used as a true 4th liner
- hugefemale dog77

That was my point. You suggested that Brodziak is no more than a "decent 4th liner" and that Paille was better (by a fair deal as well, based on the tone I read it in). We can't know whether Paille is better as we don't have any large enough sample size of him playing significant enough minutes to legitimize your claim.

If I may ask, did you perhaps mean that Brodziak was merely a decent 4th liner at the time of the trade? If so, then sorry for the misunderstanding.

You are too funny
- HawkfaninBC

I love you, Hawkfan... I love you.

As dumb as Lowe and Eakins may be, I'm not blaming them anymore -- Especially when I see that kind of "effort" coming from the Oilers. It doesn't matter who is on your team, if the players are half-assing it 60-70% of every game, they're going to lose. The 80's version of the Oilers would have sucked too if they played with as little effort as the current team does.

I love you, Hawkfan... I love you.
- laughs2907

Get a room you two

Get a room you two
- Yeti1181

Any recommendations?

As dumb as Lowe and Eakins may be, I'm not blaming them anymore -- Especially when I see that kind of "effort" coming from the Oilers. It doesn't matter who is on your team, if the players are half-assing it 60-70% of every game, they're going to lose. The 80's version of the Oilers would have sucked too if they played with as little effort as the current team does.
- laughs2907

agreed

Any recommendations?
- laughs2907

agreed
- Reveen

That's because you're a genius like me

- Reveen

I like the color of this particular building... Hawkfan, book this place for us.

That's because you're a genius like me
- laughs2907

It's a shame that Yeti refuses to appreciate our intelligence.

Well Dubey let in 5 tonight!!!
- nanook82

Scrivens only let in 4 -- I guess we now have a better goalie

It's a shame that Yeti refuses to appreciate our intelligence.
- Reveen

Completely agree... Yeti, why do you hate us?

Completely agree... Yeti, why do you hate us?
- laughs2907

He's intimidated by two things

1) People that live east of Winnipeg

2) People with sweet nun chuck skills

He's intimidated by two things

1) People that live east of Winnipeg

2) People with sweet nun chuck skills
- Reveen

He should be envious of the unknown, not afraid of it. He should be taking this opportunity to learn from us -- We have so many skills to offer.