[PDSF] Edmonton Oilers (P2) vs. Los Angeles Kings (P3) | Oilers win series 4-2

[Boudrias]

3 hours ago, philtbc829 said:

LOL Perfect

If the Canucks are out then I can cheer for the Oilers or Jets. Never for the Laffers. Oilers coming back to win is huge for them. #27 was a killer out there. Finally Kane came thru as he has been playing pretty decent hockey. 

 

If I am a Oiler fan two players who would worry me are Nurse and Yakamoto (?). Darnell Nurse is a 3 or 4 d-man but he makes a lot of mistakes on his coverages. Top that with how much he is paid. Yikes.  

 

How will the Canucks ever sign Garrikov away from LA the way he is playing? Maybe the Russian contingent in Vancouver will sway him? 

Edited April 24, 2023 by Boudrias

[RUPERTKBD]

9 hours ago, BarnBurner said:

Yeah. Suter was actually an above average defensemen, but that hit on Gretzky was an absolute unnecessary cheap shot, that not only was the turning point in Gretzy's career, but was uncalled for and showed what a piece of crap Suter was/is. 

 

8 hours ago, Kevin Biestra said:

 

Suter was a much above average defenseman.  Pretty close to a Hall of Famer.  Still a dick for that Gretzky hit though.

Suter was a very good player, but the cheap shot on Gretz was part of a pattern for him:

 

[DarthMelvin]

12 hours ago, canuck73_3 said:

Your takes on dmen are beyond atrocious 

Listen....I will never be a fan of Myers. Just stop. 

 

OEL is also gone. You heard it here first.

 

I called it for Hamhuis, Pouliot, and for gods sake EDLER.

 

Worst Dmen in the League

 

And if you watch the OT loss, you could clearly see that Doughty did nothing to stop or defend. All he did was reach his stick out. SAD!

[Bure2Win]

I have a bad feeling the Kings blew there chance to take down the Coilers.

[Elias Pettersson]

I said this a while back when the Demko trade rumours were out, that Byfield did not have a high hockey IQ.  This stat pretty much proves that.  I don't think he will ever be a top line player in the NHL...

 

 

[DownUndaCanuck]

34 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

I said this a while back when the Demko trade rumours were out, that Byfield did not have a high hockey IQ.  This stat pretty much proves that.  I don't think he will ever be a top line player in the NHL...

 

 

To be fair, the 2020 draft wasn't the greatest draft in the world so 2nd overall isn't quite the same as say 2nd overall in 2015 or 2023. It's still early days, you know they're grooming him to become the next Kopitar and while that's a bit of an ask, if they end up with a solid big, physical 60 point center out of Byfield who isn't dumb defensively I think they'd be happy. The guy picked ahead of him (Laf) is still just a 3rd liner and never hit 40 points.

[Elias Pettersson]

9 minutes ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

To be fair, the 2020 draft wasn't the greatest draft in the world so 2nd overall isn't quite the same as say 2nd overall in 2015 or 2023. It's still early days, you know they're grooming him to become the next Kopitar and while that's a bit of an ask, if they end up with a solid big, physical 60 point center out of Byfield who isn't dumb defensively I think they'd be happy. The guy picked ahead of him (Laf) is still just a 3rd liner and never hit 40 points.

Yeah, that draft was one of the weaker ones of the last 20 years for sure.  Laf is a 3rd liner because he is playing left wing behind Panarin and Kreider.  If he was on the Kings he'd be on the top line and hitting 70 points.  He has lots of talent.  Byfield is responsible defensively and plays a physical game but doesn't seem to have the same skill set as Laf or the hockey IQ.  He will probably be a good middle six forward.  Not sure he is even going to be a full-time centre as he is playing the wing right now.  We will see I guess.  At the end of the day, I think the best player from that draft will be the guy that went 3rd overall, Tim Stutzle...

 

Fun fact:  The player with the most games played so far from the 2020 NHL draft that was taken outside the first 2 rounds is...   Nils Aman with 68 games played.  He was drafted in the 6th round.  He has actually played the 15th most games so far in the NHL out of the entire 2020 NHL draft class, more than the 7th overall pick (Holtz), 9th overall (Rossi), and 11th overall (Askarov)...

[Alflives]

23 minutes ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

To be fair, the 2020 draft wasn't the greatest draft in the world so 2nd overall isn't quite the same as say 2nd overall in 2015 or 2023. It's still early days, you know they're grooming him to become the next Kopitar and while that's a bit of an ask, if they end up with a solid big, physical 60 point center out of Byfield who isn't dumb defensively I think they'd be happy. The guy picked ahead of him (Laf) is still just a 3rd liner and never hit 40 points.

Yup. Laugher is a bustaroo bonsai. Byfield is even worse. They are both third line grinders. Virtanen brains. Dumbos. 

[DownUndaCanuck]

15 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Yeah, that draft was one of the weaker ones of the last 20 years for sure.  Laf is a 3rd liner because he is playing left wing behind Panarin and Kreider.  If he was on the Kings he'd be on the top line and hitting 70 points.  He has lots of talent.  Byfield is responsible defensively and plays a physical game but doesn't seem to have the same skill set as Laf or the hockey IQ.  He will probably be a good middle six forward.  Not sure he is even going to be a full-time centre as he is playing the wing right now.  We will see I guess.  At the end of the day, I think the best player from that draft will be the guy that went 3rd overall, Tim Stutzle...

 

Fun fact:  The player with the most games played so far from the 2020 NHL draft that was taken outside the first 2 rounds is...   Nils Aman with 68 games played.  He was drafted in the 6th round.  He has actually played the 15th most games so far in the NHL out of the entire 2020 NHL draft class, more than the 7th overall pick (Holtz), 9th overall (Rossi), and 11th overall (Askarov)...

A redraft would be quite interesting. Stutzle, Raymond, Mercer, Sanderson, Drysdale, Schneider etc. probably go a bit higher but none of them are real superstars.

[Miss Korea Bob.Loblaw]

1 hour ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

A redraft would be quite interesting. Stutzle, Raymond, Mercer, Sanderson, Drysdale, Schneider etc. probably go a bit higher but none of them are real superstars.

A redraft would be to trade picks away for other prospects or future draft picks

[mll]

6 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

I said this a while back when the Demko trade rumours were out, that Byfield did not have a high hockey IQ.  This stat pretty much proves that.  I don't think he will ever be a top line player in the NHL...

 

 

 

At the TDL, LA were so fed up with trade rumours that they made it known internally and externally that Clarke and Byfield were untouchable.  

 

He's trusted as a 20 year old to play on the Kings' top line against McDavid/Draisaitl in the Stanley Cup playoffs.  Seems a bit premature to decide what he'll be when some players have yet to crack the lineup at that age, let alone be on their team's top line in the post-season.

 

Luc Robitaille, LAK's president of hockey ops, was on the NHL@The Rink podcast ahead of the playoffs.  

 

He recalls talking to their scouts and them agreeing that Stützle was likely going to be more productive over his career, but they believe they'll win more games with Byfield. Says at the end of the day you play the game to win and notes the importance of a 200ft game players.  He points out that Byfield is playing every night against top players and that they are noticing that it's changing his game, which is going to help in the long run. Talks of the value of playing alongside Kopitar.

 

He talked of how as an organisation they are learning the importance of patience with development.  He admits that it's sometimes hard when you look at some guys who are immediate stars but notes that it's not the rule - it's rare for players to come in and make an immediate impact.  He explains that when a player is willing to do the details inside the game and has the work ethic then you need to have that patience.

 

He gives the example of Kempe who only became a 35 goal scorer last season (41 this season) - he was drafted in 2014 and never even reached 20 goals before.  Says they never had a question defensively with Kempe.  They were just hoping that he was going to get open more and start shooting more and next thing you know he's doing it over and over again and he's now a 35+ goal scorer.  Gives also Kupari as example where they trust him defensively and slowly they are seeing some offence coming.  Same happened with Vilardi.

 

McLellan and Byfield say the plan is still for him to shift back to C and playing LW is only temporary but he's still early in his development.  That line has been at it's best with Byfield despite him not appearing much on the scoresheet at the moment.  LA always talks that they play to win vs play to score (which rejoins Robitaille's comment of why Byfield over Stützle).

 

Edited April 25, 2023 by mll

[Elias Pettersson]

1 hour ago, mll said:

 

At the TDL, LA were so fed up with trade rumours that they made it known internally and externally that Clarke and Byfield were untouchable.  

 

He's trusted as a 20 year old to play on the Kings' top line against McDavid/Draisaitl in the Stanley Cup playoffs.  Seems a bit premature to decide what he'll be when some players have yet to crack the lineup at that age, let alone be on their team's top line in the post-season.

 

Luc Robitaille, LAK's president of hockey ops, was on the NHL@The Rink podcast ahead of the playoffs.  

 

He recalls talking to their scouts and them agreeing that Stützle was likely going to be more productive over his career, but they believe they'll win more games with Byfield. Says at the end of the day you play the game to win and notes the importance of a 200ft game players.  He points out that Byfield is playing every night against top players and that they are noticing that it's changing his game, which is going to help in the long run. Talks of the value of playing alongside Kopitar.

 

He talked of how as an organisation they are learning the importance of patience with development.  He admits that it's sometimes hard when you look at some guys who are immediate stars but notes that it's not the rule - it's rare for players to come in and make an immediate impact.  He explains that when a player is willing to do the details inside the game and has the work ethic then you need to have that patience.

 

He gives the example of Kempe who only became a 35 goal scorer last season (41 this season) - he was drafted in 2014 and never even reached 20 goals before.  Says they never had a question defensively with Kempe.  They were just hoping that he was going to get open more and start shooting more and next thing you know he's doing it over and over again and he's now a 35+ goal scorer.  Gives also Kupari as example where they trust him defensively and slowly they are seeing some offence coming.  Same happened with Vilardi.

 

McLellan and Byfield say the plan is still for him to shift back to C and playing LW is only temporary but he's still early in his development.  That line has been at it's best with Byfield despite him not appearing much on the scoresheet at the moment.  LA always talks that they play to win vs play to score (which rejoins Robitaille's comment of why Byfield over Stützle).

 

 

Stützle is literally a 40 goal scorer and 90 point player at 20 years old. He’s a stud. Already a top 20 player in the NHL. But Robitaille thinks they’ll win more games with Byfield?  That’s funny. Talk about organizational bias. Of course he’s going to say that. He’s not going to admit he screwed up by passing up on a soon to be 100 point player.  
 

Since when do you draft a player 2nd overall to be a 200’ defence first player?  Top 3 picks in the NHL draft are supposed to be game changers.  Elite 1st line players or top 2 Dmen. LA passed on a soon to be elite 100 point player for a guy that has less goals this year than Nils Aman who isn’t even playing his regular position. 
 

Sorry, but I don’t buy your argument. In a redraft Stützle goes #1 overall and it’s not even close. LA are kicking themselves right now that they passed on a soon to be 100 point top 10 player in the NHL. 

[Elias Pettersson]

7 hours ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

A redraft would be quite interesting. Stutzle, Raymond, Mercer, Sanderson, Drysdale, Schneider etc. probably go a bit higher but none of them are real superstars.

In a redraft Nils Aman goes in the 2nd round. We picked him up for free. Great move by JR. 

[MaxVerstappen33]

22 hours ago, DarthMelvin said:

Listen....I will never be a fan of Myers. Just stop. 

 

 

And if you watch the OT loss, you could clearly see that Doughty did nothing to stop or defend. All he did was reach his stick out. SAD!

It looked like the whole Oilers comeback was a Doubty fail. Not just the OT goal 

[mll]

39 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

Stützle is literally a 40 goal scorer and 90 point player at 20 years old. He’s a stud. Already a top 20 player in the NHL. But Robitaille thinks they’ll win more games with Byfield?  That’s funny. Talk about organizational bias. Of course he’s going to say that. He’s not going to admit he screwed up by passing up on a soon to be 100 point player.  
 

Since when do you draft a player 2nd overall to be a 200’ defence first player?  Top 3 picks in the NHL draft are supposed to be game changers.  Elite 1st line players or top 2 Dmen. LA passed on a soon to be elite 100 point player for a guy that has less goals this year than Nils Aman who isn’t even playing his regular position. 
 

Sorry, but I don’t buy your argument. In a redraft Stützle goes #1 overall and it’s not even close. LA are kicking themselves right now that they passed on a soon to be 100 point top 10 player in the NHL. 

Luc Robitaille's argument - not mine.  I was simply recapping what he said.

 

It was at the end of the season so he saw the production difference.  He didn't have to tell that anecdote but did.  I don't think they regret yet - he made a reference to guys being immediately star players while others require more patience.  Both players taken the same year so it will be possible to compare how their teams do over the years and their role/contribution.  

 

[Elias Pettersson]

10 minutes ago, mll said:

Luc Robitaille's argument - not mine.  I was simply recapping what he said.

 

It was at the end of the season so he saw the production difference.  He didn't have to tell that anecdote but did.  I don't think they regret yet - he made a reference to guys being immediately star players while others require more patience.  Both players taken the same year so it will be possible to compare how their teams do over the years and their role/contribution.  

 

Sure, I know it's Robitaille.  For him to say that they will win more games with Byfield than with a 90 point player is ridiculous.  At least be honest about the situation and state that we are hoping that Byfield develops into the player we hoped he would be when we drafted him 2nd overall.  Don't make sh*t up by saying we think Byfield will be this great 200' player and we will win more games with him than with Stutzle.  

 

At the end of the day, Byfield is a big bodied, power forward type who's a great skater.  But his hockey IQ doesn't seem to be very high, his decision making with the puck is suspect.  He looks like a bigger version of Jake Virtanen.  I could be wrong though.  Maybe Byfield proves me wrong.  We will see...

[mll]

4 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Sure, I know it's Robitaille.  For him to say that they will win more games with Byfield than with a 90 point player is ridiculous.  At least be honest about the situation and state that we are hoping that Byfield develops into the player we hoped he would be when we drafted him 2nd overall.  Don't make sh*t up by saying we think Byfield will be this great 200' player and we will win more games with him than with Stutzle.  

 

At the end of the day, Byfield is a big bodied, power forward type who's a great skater.  But his hockey IQ doesn't seem to be very high, his decision making with the puck is suspect.  He looks like a bigger version of Jake Virtanen.  I could be wrong though.  Maybe Byfield proves me wrong.  We will see...

 

He was talking of the discussions with their scouts at the draft - not comparing the 2 today where one has broken out offensively and the other clearly not.   Thought it was interesting because it shows how teams have different philosophies on how to build a contender and they don't necessarily draft/target the same profile of players.  

 

[Elias Pettersson]

41 minutes ago, mll said:

 

He was talking of the discussions with their scouts at the draft - not comparing the 2 today where one has broken out offensively and the other clearly not.   Thought it was interesting because it shows how teams have different philosophies on how to build a contender and they don't necessarily draft/target the same profile of players.  

 

If Byfield is a 70-point Selke trophy finalist then you can say that is equal to a 100-point Stutzle in terms of value to the team.  They were probably looking for a replacement for Kopitar.  Byfield had great numbers in his draft year, almost 2 points per game.  I don't really blame them for drafting him over Stutzle.  A 6'4" 220-pound centre who is scoring at almost 2 points per game in his draft year is hard to pass up.

[Guest]

When all is said and done, LA is being carried by their two headed center monster and Drew Doughty.  

 

I get that they have some nice young players, but they wouldn't be even close to where they are without their 30 year olds. 

[King Heffy]

2 minutes ago, VancouverHabitant said:

When all is said and done, LA is being carried by their two headed center monster and Drew Doughty.  

 

I get that they have some nice young players, but they wouldn't be even close to where they are without their 30 year olds. 

And that's where they have the edge due to the leadership showing the young players how to win and be professionals.  LA has multiple Cup winners in their group while Edmonton has a locker room cancer wearing the C and putting more effort into throwing tantrums than backchecking.  Edmonton needs to do something to fix their character issues if they ever want to bring their franchise back into respectability.  It starts by telling McDiver that he either plays like a man or he doesn't play.

 

Edited April 25, 2023 by King Heffy