3 Edmonton Oilers Players That Fell Under Expectations This Year
Mike Smith
Even thought Mike Smith has played well in his last 3 starts, that isn’t a big enough sample size for me to say he is back to last years Mike Smith. His last 3 games are hopefully a sign that his game is back, but 2 of the 3 games have been against much weaker teams than the Oilers. His last game against the playoff bound Kings was his weakest game, but he still played good.
| Goalie Stats | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Date | Tm | Opp | DEC | GA | SA | SV | SV% | SO | PIM | TOI | ||
| 1 | 2022-04-07 | EDM | @ | LAK | W | 2 | 33 | 31 | .939 | 0 | 0 | 60:00 | |
| 2 | 2022-04-05 | EDM | @ | SJS | W | 1 | 32 | 31 | .969 | 0 | 0 | 60:22 | |
| 3 | 2022-04-03 | EDM | @ | ANA | W | 1 | 32 | 31 | .969 | 0 | 0 | 60:00 | |
| 4 | 2022-04-01 | EDM | STL | W | 5 | 36 | 31 | .861 | 0 | 0 | 61:11 | ||
| 5 | 2022-03-26 | EDM | @ | CGY | L | 4 | 26 | 22 | .846 | 0 | 2 | 34:34 | |
Provided by Hockey-Reference.com
Related Story. Is The Mike Smith Deal Already A Bust?. light
If he continues to play this way in the coming weeks prior to playoffs, there will be no doubt that he will be the starter on the opening night of the playoffs. The problem with Smith is his injury history so far this season. So, even if he is playing good one wrong leg movement and he will be out.
| Season | GP | W | L | T/O | GA | SA | SV | SV% | GAA | SO | QS | QS% | RBS | GA%- | GSAA | adjGAA | GPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 23 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 68 | 698 | 630 | .903 | 3.19 | 0 | 10 | .455 | 3 | 106 | -3.7 | 3.33 | 3.5 |
Provided by Hockey-Reference.com
If you take the stats from his whole season he has been an average goaltender. Like I mentioned above his biggest downfall of his season has been health. In the games he played earlier in the season I assume he was playing when not 100% healthy, which is why his numbers struggled.
I believe if Mike Smith can stay healthy and play average hockey the remainder of the season he will have worked his way off this list. Until he does that he will stay here because coming into the season he was penciled in as the Edmonton Oilers Number 1 goalie.
Warren Foegele
It is not cause Warren Foegele has had a bad season that he is on my list, it is because I thought he would be a better fit on this team. So far this season Foegele has been unable to secure a solid role on this team.
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He has bounced around from line to line. I was really hoping he would start on the third line and play there the whole season. He just hasn’t been able to hold that spot. Plus with the addition of Derick Brassard he has now been pushed to the 4th line.
The good news about Foegele being on the Edmonton Oilers 4th line is he is over qualified for that roll. Putting him with McLeod and Ryan makes for a 4th line that is hard to play against and has the ability to score goals.
| Season | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | ATOI | FOW | FOL | FO% | BLK | HIT | TK | GV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 72 | 10 | 14 | 24 | -10 | 22 | 12:46 | 12 | 15 | 44.4 | 14 | 109 | 36 | 26 |
Provided by Hockey-Reference.com
Generated 4/8/2022.
Foegele’s stats for the Edmonton Oilers this season haven’t been terrible, they are about average so far for his career. It isn’t the stats for Foegele that have him below expectations it has been his play. Like I said before he has been very up and down this season.
If he can level out his play the rest of the way, he is going to be an important piece in the Edmonton Oilers playoff success. When it comes to the playoffs the teams that go on deep runs have good depth players. When it comes to depth players Warren Foegele needs to be one of the top players.
Zack Kassian
Last year Zack Kassian had a rough season. Many people assumed that it was caused by the lack of fans and energy in the building. So far this season he has not been much better. This leads me to believe Kassian has been the worst full time player for the Edmonton Oilers this season.
| Season | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | ATOI | BLK | HIT | TK | GV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 48 | 5 | 11 | 16 | -1 | 47 | 12:00 | 6 | 136 | 12 | 21 |
Provided by Hockey-Reference.com
Generated 4/8/2022.
During the Edmonton Oilers last playoff run Kassian was a fan favorite. He would hit any player that had the puck and would use his size and strength to create chances. I don’t know if its cause of his injuries over the past season or not, but that seems to have left his game.
A player like Kassian is only effective when he plays on the line between dirty and clean. Right now he is nowhere near that line. Is this because he doesn’t want to take penalties that could hurt his team?? I hope so, because if this is the new full time Zack Kassian, there isn’t much room for him on this team moving forward.
Edmonton Oilers Playoff Run
If all three of these players are able to find their A game for the rest of this season the Edmonton Oilers will thrive. If they can get top tier goaltending along with depth scoring and some skilled sandpaper, no one will want to play this team.
I would love to see this team go on a run, but for that to happen all the players on this roster will need to show up every night.