From an 0-3 start to 18-10-2 today…
And over the course of the last three games, the Edmonton Oilers have defeated three Stanley Cup contenders all with elite-level NHL goaltenders.
What a wild, and at times unsettling, ride it has been.
But peer under the hood to see what drives this engine, you will find a capable and battle-tested mechanic tinkering away.
Is that behind-the-scenes guy the difference in this in-season turnaround?
That and more in this edition of…
9 Things
9. Darnell Nurse led all Oilers in ice time on Saturday. We have seen a resurgence in his play so pronounced it has forced the trolls who dislike anything remotely associated with Nurse underground. Darnell is at a forty-point pace and playing some of the best defence of his career.
8. Here is a name you will have heard before: Taylor Hall. Chicago will unload the veteran winger at the deadline for an asset. It is inevitable. The former MVP and Edmonton Oiler could be a summer option in Edmonton. Would a playoff run be the best way to road test that option? Hmmm.
7. Zach Hyman has four goals in his last five games. At what point do you suppose the fellas responsible for picking the Four Nations roster picks roster realize they may have made a serious omission? In their defence, Hyman did start slow in terms of the numbers. But those are coming fast and furious now.
6. I was among those who were sorry to Vincent Desharnais leave the Oilers as I loved his story and his determination. But you should only pay so much for those kinds of guys and Vancouver is now learning that the hard way. Vinny has not been good enough for the Canucks who are now, according to rumblings out here on the West Coast, looking to move him.
5. After the double offer sheet, Stan Bowman acted quickly to replace Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. Over time, both Vasily Podkolzin and Ty Emberson have grown nicely. Thursday was Emberson’s best as an Oilers. He is looking like a solid “six” all day, maybe more. Podkolzin may not have quite the same speed and offensive upside of Holloway. But Vasily plays a bit heavier game and has a work with real purpose. I was/am on record as being a fan of Holloway. But is he $1.3m/year better than Podkolzin?
4. In the last month of play Stuart Skinner’s save percentage at evens is almost .920. I was not one of those wringing my hands over his early season returns. To me, this is one of the best young goalies in the NHL. Almost by definition, they are going to have a few ups and downs. If Skinner played for a different team and produced the same results, I would bet a bunch of people in Edmonton would be clamoring for Stan Bowman to acquire him. I did not like the short-handed giveaway either. But do not let that distract you from the thirty-eight saves he did make.
3. A few things have changed over the past few weeks that have helped reverse the Oilers’ fortunes. For one, they are just playing better. That seems overly simple, perhaps. But if you consider this roster is not really that different from the one that played Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals against Florida, you can easily conclude that they were always going to stabilize. And a lot of the metrics over the beginning of the season suggested as much. But they are also getting some bounces now they were not earlier in the year. And anyone who has played this game at a decent level will tell you that the Hockey Gods are “a thing.”
2. I scored Leon Draisaitl a rare “perfect 10”, in our Cult of Hockey Player Grades on Thursday after the Minnesota game. He was dominant against the Wild and at both ends of the ice. Then, “all he did” was pitch anther three-point night against Vegas. Draisaitl leads the NHL in goals with twenty-two and is third in points with forty-five. In a town blessed to have a generational talent in Connor McDavid, Draisaitl is a different kind of “great.” Not altogether unlike Mark Messier during his time here, Leon has the ability to physically impose his will on the opposition. It is that ability to “lean into your opposition” that sets him apart. Also, keep in mind, Messier had one 50-goal season and six 100-point campaigns in his career. Leon at 29 years old is already at three 50-goal years and five 100-point performances.
1.Ken Holland certainly had his detractors as General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers. I am critical of some of his decisions, too. But at the end of the day, Mr. Holland brought this franchise to within a goal of a Stanley Cup. You can argue with a lot of things that happened on his watch if you wish, but Game 7 is not subjective measurement of Ken’s record. However, we are in a now new era of Oilers management. This is now Stan Bowman’s ship. And after some choppy waters early on, the club has been sailing with a stiff tailwind these past few weeks. They are looking very much like a Stanley Cup contender once again as a rematch with the Panthers looms just ahead this week.
As mentioned, a few paragraphs back, Stan Bowman made his initial impact on the roster with the Podkolzin and Emberson transactions in August. He then re-signed Len Draisaitl in September. He gave Noah Philp an eye-opening first glimpse in October. In November, a fairly quiet waiver claim resulted in an impactful Kasperi Kapanen (a “real” NHL player essentially taking the departed Raphael Lavoie’s roster spot, Lavoie 2-3-5 in 17 games for Henderson of the AHL) on the Oilers second line. Then in December another waiver claim, this time of big, right-handed D prospect Alec Regula from Boston. Regula looks to be a more tool-sy version of the afore-mentioned Desharnais. Whew!
And that is just on the ice. Behind the scenes, the Oilers have also revamped their player development model. They have integrated analytics people and principles deep into the organization’s DNA. They have even reorganized their scouting department, which no doubt has had some impact on many of the transactions listed above. The organization under the new G.M. has taken on a vastly distinctive look from what we have watched here in Oil Country over the past fifteen, often frustrating years. It looks…connected.
Stan Bowman also still has access to the brilliant mind of legendary Father Scotty. Let me be clear: Stan has long since surpassed any need to trade on the name of his Hall of Fame Dad. Stan’s own career stands for itself. But I have worked for a number of really smart people in my own career who believed in exchanging ideas with other really smart people. It is a damn good model.
In the end, Ken Holland certainly still wanted to win games and cups and did a lot for this organization. You will not convince me otherwise. But I also do not think Holland had anything left to prove. And perhaps that is the subtle difference we are seeing.
I do not get that same feeling off Stan Bowman in the slightest. In fact, my sense is that Bowman is operating as if he really does have something to prove both on and (frankly) off the ice.
And his work-rate since arriving on the scene confirms that to me without a shadow of a doubt.
That bodes very well for the future…both near and far.
Newly on Bluesky @kurtleavins.bsky.social. On Twitter @KurtLeavins, Threads @kleavins, Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, and even on Mastodon at [email protected]. This article is not AI generated.
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