What are the chances of the Edmonton Oilers or the Toronto Maple Leafs meeting in the Stanley Cup Final, with one of them taking home the Cup?
I’d love to see such a series.
On their Toronto youtube show, former NHL Nick Kypreos and ex-minor pro player Justin Bourne, dug into the Stanley Cup promise of both teams on Monday and suggested both the Leafs and the Oilers have holes that need filling with trades.
Kypreos and Bourne, two sharp commentators when it comes to hockey talent, don’t have on their Leafs goggles. They see that team’s flaws clearly. Along with the show’s producer Sam McKee, they think Toronto must make a big move but they wonder if GM Brad Treliving can pull off such a move.
The three also suggest the Oilers need to make a move or two at the trade deadline.
Here’s the key part of their conversation on Edmonton.
Bourne: “A team like the Oilers, they’re not done. Oilers are going to add someone, they’re going to add some D.”
Kypreos: “Did you see anything Saturday night (against the Leafs) that suggests that they (the Oilers) can win the Stanley Cup?”
Bourne: “… I saw a couple of guys that make you think they can win the Cup.”
Kypreos: “A couple of guys. I didn’t see a blue line, and I’m not sure I saw goaltending.”
Bourne: “Yeah, (Oilers goalie Stuart) Skinner, I said to Sam in our chat, sometimes it looks like he’s using like a worn out velcro pad when you’re playing at the Sticky Catch.”
McKee: “Some of his nights are just like, ‘Holy!’ But I mean, he was huge for them in a lot of big games in the playoffs last year, but you catch him on the wrong night and you’re like, ‘They’ll never win anything with this guy.’”
Bourne: “Yeah, you just kind of don’t know.”
McKee: “You don’t really. (Then sarcastically) that’s exactly what you want in your goalie. Having no idea.”
Bourne: “Which guy we got tonight?”
My take
1. Intriguing to get an outsider’s take on the Oilers. That said, they’re not watching the Oilers nearly as close as hardcore Oilers fans. Their sense of Skinner, for example, is heavily influenced by him not bringing his “A” game against the Leafs on Saturday, I’ll suggest.
Skinner had an .857 save percentage in the loss to the Toronto. He coughed up a few big rebounds on goals against, one of them fairly nasty. This is typical of Skinner’s recent games where he’s been hot and cold, just as the team has been defensively. But in the 15 games before this recent eight-game streak of up-and-down play, Skinner had a .920 save percentage and won 11 games. We’ve seen him put together lengthy streaks of solid play. T
hat said, I’m not keen for the Oilers to go into the playoffs with the Skinner/Calvin Pickard tandem.
If Skinner gets cold, I’d rather that the Oilers have a 1A goalie on hand, as Pickard has struggled this year.
2. Bourne and Kypreos also saw the Oilers when Mattias Ekholm was out for illness. The Oil aren’t the same team without The Viking, not even close.
Edmonton only has so much draft and prospect capital to spend at the deadline. I’ve seen enough of John Klingberg to believe his skating and agility are back to a high level. He’s moving well. When his reads and hockey sense pick up again, he’ll be a solid, maybe even elite, puckmover on the blueline.
I don’t see Edmonton going all-out to acquire a Top 4 d-man as a result. Maybe a depth d-man will be brought in.
3. Will Evander Kane be back at forward for the playoffs? If not, Edmonton’s going to need a rugged winger with some skill. For me at least this is the biggest hole to fill.
Even if Kane does come back, I can see Edmonton bringing in a tough and skilled centre to round out the team.
But with the arrival of Klingberg, and the possible return of Kane, the big need as I see it is another goalie and another centre, with another month to decide which of those two needs is the bigger one.
How do you see it?
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