Okay, the Edmonton Oilers big trade for Trent Frederic couldn’t have come at a better time, as he adds one major ingredient to this team’s puzzle. Looking at the Oilers, you have what is nearly a complete team here in Alberta, something you would expect with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the charge.
They’re 10th in the NHL in scoring with 195 goals as of Tuesday afternoon, and 11th in goals allowed, with 173. So far, so good, right? After yet another rough start in October, the Oilers, predictably, have bounced back, with 74 points, which has landed them in second place in the Pacific Division.
The Oilers are averaging a monstrous 32.0 shots on goal per game, and they’re tough to steal the puck from, evidenced by their 54.1 percent Corsi For, 53.7 percent Scoring Chances For, and 54.7 percent High-Danger Chances For, all at 5-on-5. There aren’t many teams out there in the league capable of dealing with them.
The Edmonton Oilers are good on all fronts, but they are lacking in others
I’ll always say that, once the trade deadline comes and goes, contending teams must have one secret ingredient that will take them to the top once the sense of urgency heightens. Yeah, a high-octane unit with the puck is one of them, as is good defense. Those are staples. But still, there’s another ingredient out there and one that is non-negotiable - for the most part, at least.
That ingredient involves physicality, and if you look at the raw numbers, it’s something the Oilers lack that the Trent Frederic trade will bring once he’s cleared to play. Right now, the Oilers have just 811 hits this season, and that’s good for about 13.5 per contest, far below what we need when teams start landing bone-crunching body checks.
In 57 games, Frederic has 155 hits, so if you do the math, that’s roughly 19.2 percent of all the hits the Oilers have managed this season. Quite the difference, and when you add in the number of Frederic’s body checks to the Oilers, it would give them 16.1 per game.
Why is this number important? Because, once Frederic is ready to roll in Edmonton, he will likely add roughly another 2.5 hits per contest. But, 16.1 per game is still low, so it wouldn’t surprise me if the Oilers made another trade, even if they technically added Max Jones in this deal.
Oilers sense of urgency in the physicality department must rise
Right now, the Oilers are in an excellent position to overtake the Vegas Golden Knights, as they’re only four points behind their rival heading into Tuesday. One way to do that, and to pull away from the Los Angeles Kings, is to add another layer to their brand of hockey, and it must include physical play, which is why I’m happy to see Frederic in the blue and orange.
Should the Oilers make perhaps one more trade at or near the deadline for a forward every bit as physical as Frederic, look for this team to start landing way more checks than they have been to this point in the season. And that could, as long as they keep up their high-octane game, spell trouble for any opponent they face.