A NEW SET OF STORYLINES
Oilers have many decisions to make: Matheson
NHL teams that win like St. Louis or come close like Boston don’t usually have many storylines heading into training camp except for the usual: the “how are we going to afford this guy?” contract question.
It’s a different kettle of fish for the Edmonton Oilers, who missed the playoffs by 17 points. But at least there’s no Mitch Marner or Mikko Rantanen contract situation hanging over new GM Ken Holland’s head.
From goal on out for the Oilers there are things to figure out before early October, however, including who gets the ‘A’ that Milan Lucic had here.
Here are 10 things that new coach Dave Tippett will be looking at:
1.
Who’s going to play with Oscar Klefbom on the first defensive pairing?
It won’t be fellow Swede Adam Larsson, who is his next-door neighbour in the dressing room but could be in the No. 3-4 slot in a shutdown role this year if you listen to Jim Playfair, who’s coming in to look after the back end. Best bet is they see what another Swede, Joel Persson, who was going to play in the Worlds for his country this past spring before hurting his knee, looks like. Persson is 25, they’re paying him US$1 million, one-way. That ensures he’s going to be on the team somewhere.
2.
What’s with the idea of
Darnell Nurse in a stopper role with Adam Larsson?
Here’s what Playfair may be thinking. It worked well in Winnipeg with former junior offensive-defenceman Josh Morrissey and Jake Trouba before Trouba was dealt to the New York Rangers, so why not Nurse, who also was a puck threat when drafted? Morrissey is one of the best shutdown D -men in the league and he doesn’t have Nurse’s ill humour or size. Nurse and Morrissey are both wonderful skaters, though, so they can cover lots of ground. Nurse might still see second PP time after 41 points last year. And Larsson, who was guilty of trying to do too much last year, hopes for a rebound.
3.
How long will Zack Kassian be with Connor Mcdavid and
Leon Draisaitl?
That’s up to Zack. They need his ability to keep the fleas away from the stars. But Kassian also had a career high 15 goals last year, showing for weeks he could contribute with the other two. Not only that but they were looking to pass the puck to him because they knew he’d do something with it. Most scouts feel Kassian has second-line NHL skill, a good thing, and he can certainly skate well enough to keep up to Mcdavid.
4.
Who plays on the second line with Ryan Nugent-hopkins and James Neal?
Nugent-hopkins finally has a regular and a shooter for his passes in Neal, who still has the game and release at 32 to score 20 to 25 goals, but the left-wing slot is a crapshoot. At first blush, if they want a threat offensively, it has to be farmhand Tyler Benson, who had 66 points in 68 games in his first pro season in Bakersfield, or Euro signee Joakim Nygard, who had the second-most goals (21) in the Swedish Hockey League. Benson passes better and does terrific work along the boards and Nygard is a burner.
5.
Will it be a No. 1 and No. 1A in net with Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith?
That’s what Tippett is saying, although not against an even-up split in net. That’s the way the NHL is with teams basically going with two goalies sharing the load but for Carey Price, Andrei Vasilevsky, Sergei Bobrovsky and a few others. Koskinen is the titular starter off his salary of $4.5 million. Smith isn’t here for scraps as a backup like Laurent Brossoit was when Cam Talbot was the guy for weeks on end. Knowing his personality, Smith would like to be the opening night starter Oct. 2 against L.A. But it’s probably Koskinen’s job to lose.
6.
Who’s the all-important third-line centre?
The Oilers goofed trading Ryan Strome to the Rangers for Ryan Spooner, now in Europe. He was the perfect third-line centre. A right-shot centre, good on draws, able to get 30 to 40 points. Right now, it appears to be a three-horse battle between Riley Sheahan, who could also be a fourth-line centre, Swiss-born Gaetan Haas and farmhand Cooper Marody, the last two righties on a team heavy on left-shot pivots for faceoffs. Sheahan’s history lately suggests he’s a fourth-line, heavy-body centre. Marody was point-a-game in Bakersfield.
7.
Which farmhand defenceman makes the team?
Right now, Matt Benning and Kris Russell appear to be the third pair for good reason, but the Oilers have to start to break in some Bakersfield kids. Caleb Jones played 17 games and can play both sides and could be used as a No. 6-7 guy to start. Lagesson is Larsson Lite, a heavy, hard-to-play-against defender whose stock has gone up dramatically. Bear, who had 20 games two years ago, can hammer the puck and he’s a smart player. He and Bouchard are right-shot puck-movers. Bouchard has the tools to be a first-pairing, power-play guy but might benefit from half a season in Bakersfield.
8.
Where does Alex Chiasson fit now?
Chiasson was the feel-good story last year as a camp walk-on who scored a career-best 22 goals playing on the first power-play unit as the net front presence. He’s the best deflector of pucks on the team. Right now, he looks like the third-line right-winger, which is fine because he’ll give that line some offensive juice. It might be unrealistic to count on 20-plus goals again because of his 17.9 shooting percentage but he should be 15, and he’s a pretty portable player. He’s also letter (A) worthy.
9.
How does Tippett look at Sam Gagner?
Gagner is another guy who can play lots of places. If you’re looking at him fiscally, his $3.15-million cap hit is too much for a fourth-liner but he’s certainly a second-unit power play candidate as well. He can take draws as a right-shot player but at this stage he’s more right wing than centre. He did a nice job after the Oilers got him from Vancouver for Spooner last February, but he goes to camp as a bubble guy because the fourth line possibilities are endless with Jujhar Khaira, Colby Cave, Markus Granlund, Josh Archibald, Joe Gambardella, Tomas Jurco and Patrick Russell. Khaira or Granlund might be third-line left-wingers, Khaira will also get a look at third-line centre.
10.
How’s Connor Mcdavid’s knee and how much will he play in pre-season?
Mcdavid says it’s fine, so you can exhale. In informal workouts, he’s flying around after rehabbing his torn knee ligament over the summer. But he’ll likely be eased into exhibition work. There’s no need to see him play more than a couple of games so he gets some contact. His status in the pre-season, though, will mean some jockeying at centre. Maybe Draisaitl plays some centre on the top line or maybe Gagner gets a shot.