Edmonton Oilers: Fans need to have patience as the season unfolds

The Edmonton Oilers get off to a slow start and patience starts running thin as naysayers come out of the woodwork hardcore. Comments sections across the internet on Oilers are negative as the season has literally just started.

I saw 1 person suggest that we should trade Darnell Nurse.  Yeah, ’cause trading one of our top 2 d-men right now would help the team so much.  We’d be guaranteed to get an upgrade on the position because every GM is itching to trade one of their top 2 d-men for Darnell Nurse, right?  /sarcasm.

And then there was the person who suggested we put Evan Bouchard in the active lineup.  If you look up Evan Bouchard’s stats you’ll see that he’s only played barely 1 full season of North American pro hockey.  The 21-year-old did well offensively in Bakersfield last year but finished with a -10…..in the AHL.

That means that, like most 21-year-old d-men, he needs to work on his defensive play.  There’s no shame in that, most 21-year-olds aren’t refined enough to play in the NHL just yet, and defence is the hardest position to master  – and the defensive part of defence is the hardest part to learn.

But maybe, just maybe, that means he needs more seasoning in the minors and is not ready for the NHL yet. But hey, let’s just panic right now and rush our best prospect to the NHL, right?  I mean, that’s a strategy that’s worked so well in the past, right?  /sarcasm.

It wasn’t that long ago that people far and wide were accusing the Oilers of rushing their prospects to the NHL, now they’re advocating to do that very thing.  Oh, the irony. I saw 1 guy declare the Oilers weren’t going to make the playoffs this year….just because they started the season 2-4.  Someone doesn’t understand the concept of sample size.

For all of you who suggest these things, it makes zero sense.  This is exactly why fans don’t run the team.  If every person with an internet connection could actually make real trades for the team, the Oilers would be ruined in short order.

Come on people, let’s look at the REAL reasons behind the slow start.

Shoddy defensive play by the Edmonton Oilers

In the early going, the Oilers were terrible defensively, particularly in both games against Montreal.  If the win against the Leafs taught us anything, it’s that it’s not that the players don’t know how to defend, it’s bad decision making at the moment that caused them to lose 2 out of their 1st 3 games.

Caleb Jones and Ethan Bear, in particular, got reprimanded by being healthy scratched by Dave Tippett and his staff after both guys arguably made terrible reads in previous games.  At this point, it might be 2-3 more games before they draw back in again.  It was well deserved.

Slater Koekkoek has been a rock in his own end in the early going, and if it weren’t for him those losses likely would’ve been worse. Can’t blame Mikko Koskinen for the losses either as even the best goaltenders in the league can only stop a firing squad for so long before one or 2 of them goes in.

Injuries hit the Edmonton Oilers hard

In the early going, Jujhar Khaira has picked up where he left off the last 3 seasons and been rather forgettable.  He was demoted to the taxi squad and the next guy in line – Gaetan Haas – was supposed to get a chance to be a full-time guy but then he ended up getting injured.  This then left newcomer Devin Shore, who originally came here on a PTO, to take the spot until Haas is ready to play.

As much as I can’t stand Mike Smith, his injury has been a kick in the pills to our goaltending corps, and the yanking of Anton Forsberg on waivers by Carolina – who chose not to re-sign him after last season – was another blow to the goaltending corps.  Forsberg was later put on waivers again and claimed by the Jets, so he’s not suiting up for the Oilers again unless he goes on waivers again.

Why you would re-claim a player you had previously let walk in the 1st place is a mystery to me, but that’s what Carolina did.  It was hoped we could claim Aaron Dell as help, but New Jersey snapped him up before we had a chance to.

This leaves Mikko Koskinen’s backups as career minor leaguer Stuart Skinner and AHL bubble player Troy Grosenick.  This means until Smith’s ready to go the Oilers will likely have to ride Koskinen unless Holland can trade for a guy with at least a modicum of NHL experience.

The Oiler’s anemic PP in the early going can in part be attributed to the injury of James Neal, an elite producer on the PP.  Fortunately, we have some good news in this area as he’s back.  That should help the PP get going back to its #1 ways again. This is a lot of player movement to experience, and inevitably it will have an impact on the start of the season.

New players need to get used to each other on the Edmonton Oilers

Anyone expecting new players to be inserted into your lineup and instantly click is dreaming in technicolor.  NHL hockey is based on split-second decisions, and you have to get used to each other.  Holland did a great amount of work in player procurement over the offseason and up until now.

Tyson Barrie hasn’t scored a goal at evens or the PP yet.  Does this mean after 5 games he’s a failed signing?  Not at all.  The rest of the guys on the 1st unit PP are used to Oscar Klefbom and his left-handed shot, so inserting a right-shot guy in Barrie into the PP will take some time to get used to.  Not to mention playing with McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nuge on the PP takes some getting used to on Barrie’s end too.

A lot of people are calling out the Oiler’s depth after only 2 of those players – Josh Archibald and Devin Shore – have scored a goal.  But Kyle Turris is new to the team, as is Jesse Puljujarvi.  The 1 incumbent, Tyler Ennis, has no history of playing with either one.

Yes, Ennis and Turris both played for Ottawa, but both players were with the Sens at different times.  This is an entire line that needs to learn how to play together.  Devin Shore is new to the 4th line and will have to learn to play with his regular linemates in James Neal and Josh Archibald.

If Kahun, Barrie, Turris, and Pulujarvi still have no goals at the halfway mark of the season, then we can panic.  But we’re only 6 games into the season right now, so please, everyone, let’s calm it down.  It’ll take all these players at least 10 games to learn to play with each other, maybe more.  The point is you can’t write off the entire bottom 6 after 6 games.  That’s just silly.