The Edmonton Oilers have the ability to go into a tailspin without its fan base really noticing.
We’re probably desensitized to it after a decade of (sometimes comical) failure, but the Oilers have quietly amassed all of one regulation win in a month, going 3-9-3 and plummeting to the bottom of the West, probably for good. They’ve scored 23 goals in those 15 games, and even with the impending return of The Chosen One, seven points and three games out is probably too much to overcome. With seven of the next 10 on the road, there’s a good chance we could be entering next season mode pretty soon. It feels like the Oilers should patent next season mode (it could be an NHL ’16 feature, where players pad stats, there’s no hitting, and the crowd is listless).
The frustrating thing about this losing streak is how soft the schedule appeared to be. The Oilers managed to survive the first few months of the season with most of the league’s heavy hitters, only to slip up with a schedule that featured a lot of the Pacific Division and middling Eastern Conference teams.
That leaves bloggers like me digging deep to try to find some writing material. I’ve come up with five questions for the second half of the season.
Is this the end of Anton Lander with the Oilers, and perhaps North American hockey?
I’ve never been a Lander fan; it’s hard to succeed in the NHL when you’re slow and small. But his stat line (44 GP, 2 assists!) is worse than even his biggest detractors could imagine. I think he’ll do okay for Modo next year.
Is this the end of Justin Schultz with the Oilers, and perhaps North American hockey?
“Do a little dance…” pic.twitter.com/OUtURElCas
— bituman (@bituman532) January 13, 2016
I’d love to know what the Oilers braintrust think of Schultz this season. I could see them qualifying him for one more year, but this season has been a damning indictment which is impossible to defend. Or, in Schultz’s case perhaps I should say “to defend is impossible.”
Is this the final run with the core of youngsters?
Peter Chiarelli is clearly not afraid to make big trades; I suspect we will finally see one involving the Oilers “core” this off-season. No matter how angry the fan base gets, their young stars – Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, Nail Yakupov, Connor McDavid – all are good players. But it’s troubling to see the lack of improvement in some, especially Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins.
I’m torn on this, because Nugent-Hopkins is only 22, and Eberle only 25; but in the same breath, they’re entering their 5th and 6th seasons and are not being asked to carry the load like years past. Their previous statistics may be a bit misleading considering the positions they were put in (ice time, first unit power play, etc.).
Of course, this all depends on what the market is like.
Goalies…?
This year has been competent, but not good. Is that enough? Is this a 40-game audition for Cam Talbot? Which would you keep? Could any goaltender succeed in this system? Is it fair to judge goalies only on stats? How much would you spend on a goalie?
Obviously, there are a few questions in net.
What will public interest be like for the remaining 38 games?
Higher than usual. The Oilers have three things in their favour – the final few games at Rexall (and what team loves to celebrate their past more?), the return of McDavid, and NHL statistics. Seven points and three games doesn’t really sound like that much (even though it’s harder than ever to catch up with loser points), but if you can just go on a run…
Thoughts By Tougas 