Wednesdays With Austyn - 03/03/21

Well… In the past week the Oilers and us fans have been humbled greatly by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Something that tastes like soap coming out of my mouth as I say that. The Oilers had an absolutely brutal week going 1-2 and scoreless in the last six periods. It quite clearly shows that the Oilers have ended their hot streak and are now in a massive offensive slump. Under no circumstances should this Edmonton offence be scoreless especially when the Leafs are playing their backup (Campbell) and 3rd string (Hutchinson) goalie. Nonetheless, the fall from grace this week dropped the Oilers to third place in the Canadian (North) division. It has also left me with a couple questions…

Finding the Perfect Powerplay Plug!

With Chiasson being suspended for tonight's contest against the Maple Leafs coach Tippett will have to find a new player to slide onto PP1. Even with Chiasson finding recent success on the powerplay I don’t believe he is worthy of that spot anymore. Tippett, it’s time to move on to other players (preferably someone who is a part of the future).

I have a couple options for who I believe should be on the Oilers powerplay moving forward. The players in question:

1. Jesse Puljujarvi, this one seems like a no brainer. He has chemistry with McDavid and is a big net presence. I would argue he is stronger on his stick and able to jam home those juicy rebounds more so than Chiasson. Puljujarvi is someone that the organization should envision a future with. Giving him the opportunity to play on the first powerplay is important because he can continue to build chemistry with McDavid and Draisaitl and he could be a fixture on the powerplay for beyond this year.

2. James Neal. This is the most likely bet to get the nod moving forward. He was an integral part of last year's powerplay. I would argue that he is the strongest on his stick out of all the options. He is a savvy vet who the Oilers do have under contract for quite a few more years. There is no harm in playing him here because if he pops off and has a 20+ goal season you can capitalize on his high trade value and send him out. I have no qualms with Neal on PP1 seeing as the success they had last year. This year he hasn’t looked as good, I am still willing to give him more opportunities.

3. Kailer Yamamoto. Quite simply, I need to see more of Yamamoto on the powerplay. Thus far he averages 24 seconds of powerplay time per game. This pales in comparison to Puljujarvi (1:35), Neal (2:44) and Chiasson (3:28). He is an aggressive player who is not afraid to mix it up down low. I know Tippett prefers a bigger body as the fifth member of the powerplay but I want to see Yamamoto out there. With him starting out rather slowly offensively (11pts in 24 games) there is no harm in playing him on the powerplay to hopefully spark some momentum that he can carry into 5v5 play.

Is Stalock a Solution?

The Edmonton Oilers have claimed a 3rd string goalie who you could argue is better than both of their other two options at net. He is a decent goalie who can at least hold his own in between the pipes. I am optimistic that he will be a solid addition to the Oilers. Stalock is also on a team friendly contract of 785K for this season and next.

The past four seasons Alex Stalock has been in Minnesota serving as a backup until last season where he was in more of a 1B type role. He won over the starting job for the Wild in the bubble and started all four games in their play-in loss to the Vancouver Canucks. In his four year tenure with the Wild he put up respectable stats. Including a .908SV% and a 2.77GAA. Comparing his stats to the two current Oilers goaltenders he stacks up fairly well against them. Koskinen during his Edmonton tenure has a .909SV% and a 2.93GAA whereas Smith has a .909SV% and a 2.75GAA.

Taking into account how similar all of their stats seem to be I expect Stalock to be given multiple looks in the net. The reason Stalock is so crucial moving forward is his team friendly contract. That is absolutely key and because of this reason he may be more likely to be claimed if placed on waivers. This leads me to wonder if the Oilers are better off placing Koskinen on waivers to send them down to the taxi squad if needed. Now hear me out, we have seen the Oilers be brutalized by the waiver wire earlier this year so I wouldn’t be surprised if they take an extremely cautious approach and place a goalie less likely to be snatched up on waivers. In addition to this, is it really the worst thing if a team claims Koskinen off of waivers?

Who Should Join McDavid and Puljujarvi?

Once again we have another lineup change. It looks like we will be seeing the dream line reunited (Nuge - Drai - Yamo). Returning to the best second line in the NHL is a welcomed sight after six scoreless periods. Hopefully this will spark all of them in 5v5 and lead to them being PPG (point-per-game) or greater moving forward.

The Oilers now have another gap to fill. Who is going to play LW alongside McDavid and Puljujarvi? Much like I had multiple options to plug into the powerplay I have many potential candidates who I think would thrive in this role. I will preface this list by saying I have made the decision to exclude James Neal from this grouping. My decision in doing this is quite simply because I don’t believe he will excel in this role unless it is an offensive zone draw where they are already set up. Puljujarvi is already a large net presence so having another big man is redundant. Not to mention that he does not have the speed to keep up with McDavid and Puljujarvi. That being said I am well aware he will most likely be the one getting the nod on line one. Let’s now look at the options:

1. Behind door number one is Tyler Ennis. I praised Ennis earlier in the season and would love for him to get an opportunity to fly with McDavid. When he was traded to the team he did get a couple looks with McDavid and did not look out of place. He is a winger who provides speed and the ability to snipe as well. I understand Tippett is unwilling to break up Ennis - Khaira - Archibald but, it is more easy to find a replacement bottom six winger than it is to find a replacement first line winger for McDavid.

2. Another person who is on that line listed above; Josh Archibald. Archibald would be playing on his weak side if he were to switch to LW and play line one. I would welcome Archibald on the first line simply because he is one of the Oilers best forecheckers and has shown in the past to have chemistry with McDavid. We have seen a couple times throughout the season these two end up on a line together and it’s clear they work well together. He is definitely not a long term solution but if we are switching up the lines he would be a serviceable piece who can bring more of an aggressive presence to line one.

3. The final option and arguably the most wild, Gaeton Haas. Speedy Haas has passed the eye test and impressed me recently. We are unable to see what Haas is truly capable of because he has been placed alongside two pylons in P. Russell and Chiasson. Haas has the speed to keep up with McDavid and it would be very interesting to see him on the wing. This is the riskiest choice but if they were willing to give Ty Rattie a shot I don’t see why they can’t dabble with Gaeton Haas.

Those are the three “wingers” who I would like to see have an opportunity to break onto the top line. Hopefully, they get their shot and who knows maybe magic will happen and they light it up. No harm in trying to switch things up after all they have gone two games in a row without finding the back of the net.

Hump Day Hyperbole - being rebranded to The Hump Day Hot take.

Stalock (if healthy) will finish the season as the Oilers 1B goalie.

Stalock, as touched on earlier, is about equivalent to the Oilers current goaltenders. He will ultimately win the 1B role because of his team friendly contract and consistent play between the pipes. If he provides a strong enough net presence I would not be surprised if they look to move Koskinen in the offseason and replace him with a more consistent netminder. I am now looking too far down the line. Stalock’s ability combined with his contract make him an ideal option moving forward as opposed to the aging Smith and overpaid Koskinen.