It is a tale of regret. One that haunted the Edmonton Oilers franchise for a decade or more.
Now, with the Oilers battling hard to return to the Stanley Cup Finals, some are inexplicably arguing to repeat that very mistake.
Do not do it, Stan Bowman. Learn from other’s past errors.
That and more in this edition of…
9 Things
9. Leon Draisaitl is now 44-46-90 in 60 games and is +28. And the gap in the Rocket Richard race at eleven games is equal to that between second and thirty-eight. A lot can change in twenty games. But to this point, especially considering a “mere mortal” season from Connor McDavid, he is a lock for NHL MVP.
8. Speaking of Connor: Much speculation about his fall-off in play lately. Sickness? Injury? Or could it be that McDavid has not slept in his own bed in twenty-one days and admirably emptied the tank during the Four Nations Faceoff. He looked to have more jump Saturday but is still not quite himself.
7. Sam O’Reilly is 21-35-56 in 54 games this season for the OHL’s London Knights and is a sparking +47. And he registered his first hattrick on Friday. A 2024 First Round pick by the Oilers, the right-shot O’Reilly promises to be Edmonton’s 2-3C of the future. Encouraging! But alas, he is still at least one season (and far more likely two) away.
6. Perhaps the plan for young Matt Savoie was only ever to give him a cup of coffee in the NHL, as a reward for his progression in the AHL this season. Otherwise, it makes little sense for him to be up but not playing. Savoie outperformed a number of veterans on this squad so if his ice time going forward was predicated on merit he would be in the lineup.
5. From time to time someone will write how the Oilers should move Brett Kulak’s contract. I have always thought that thinking is narrow and short-sighted. Kulak has been such a clutch playoff performer for this franchise. This regular season, Kulak has already hit a career high in points (7-12-21 in 60 games) while taking on extra minutes both on the right side alongside Darnell Nurse and in Nurse’s place due to Darnell’s recent injury. Kulak was Edmonton’s best skater on Saturday. I will gladly keep that contract, thank you very much.
4. After Kris Knoblauch’s “passengers” comment after Thursday’s game more than a few people were surprised to see the same lines together at practice the very next day. But the one thing the coach has not tried this season is to put units together and leave them that way for a while. Maybe this is that. Except for the lack of a “real” center on the fourth trio, the lines look like they should work on paper. And the trio of Adam Henrique, Connor Brown and Mattias Janmark who was not good against Florida was excellent against the ‘Canes. The coach has a splendid record of getting these decisions right.
3. Evander Kane is still weeks away from game action. But Kane is back and skating. Meanwhile, the player has fulfilled an obligation by submitting a sixteen-team trade list to the Oilers. It is his new, partial no-move pact. This gives Stan Bowman a chance to accurately assess Kane’s potential trading value, which is at minimum Bowman doing his due diligence. Elliott Friedman reported Saturday that Kane very much wants to play and has “unfinished business” after having to shut it down during the Stanley Cup Finals last year. From a cap and deadline standpoint, it would be better for the club if Kane were ready to go for Game #1 of the playoffs. They could add valuable assets and still have a healthy Kane for the post-season. That would be better for all involved, right? But will the player see it that way.
2. I have been doing my level-best to think about Evan Bouchard right now without letting my emotions get in the way. Instead, I have been thinking about his usage. There is no question Bouchard is a top-pairing D-man in terms of offence, even though his stats and power play performance are both off last year’s mark. But he is not, never has been and likely never will be a top-pairing defender. And since Bouchard is often on the ice with McDavid, he also usually faces the other team’s best. Maybe he is simply not up to that. In the final analysis, much of Bouchard’s success (or lack thereof) is heavily dependent on confidence. If he is managed properly, he will find it again and you will still want Bouchard on this team. Whether you want this player at $10m per season is a separate question.
1.I was in Rexall Place for most of Devan Dubnyk’s starts as an Edmonton Oiler. So, I lived through the exciting early days and the heady 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons when it looked as though this franchise had developed their very own home-grown starting goaltender again. But then it all fell apart. 2013-14 paled comparison to the couple campaigns previous. His SV% went from .921 to .850 and fans panicked. Seemingly every night on our drive home we would hear callers on the post-game show lament that “Dubnyk had to have that one”, “We will never win with him” and “Trade him”. Sound familiar? The was the seed that sprouted the infamous quote from Craig MacTavish: “If you have to ask the question, you know the answer.” Not long after, he was indeed traded.
As we know now, after Dubnyk hit rock bottom, he then more than resurrected his career. He went on a run that delivered six consecutive seasons with SV%’s over .913. Dubnyk won a Masterton and earned four all-star berths. He was a Vezina finalist in 2014-15. And as for the franchise that had drafted and developed Dubnyk, it became a depressing “what could have been.”
Think how long it took the franchise to develop another goalie close to that quality. I wish Oilers fans in 2025 would reflect on that experience with Dubnyk vis-à-vis Stuart Skinner. Dubnyk was 26 when he hit his rough spot. Which is exactly how old Stuart Skinner is today.
Almost nightly, these days, I read calls for the Edmonton Oilers to replace Skinner.
Well…be careful what you wish for.
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.
Recently, at The Cult…
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McCURDY: Kris Knoblauch calls out a few passengers
STAPLES: Some clarity in the Evander Kane file
LEAVINS: FLA 4 Oilers 3 – Game Grades
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