Sharks at Oilers – Lowetide.ca (2024)

What the Oilers really need right now is a Miro Satan. Can you imagine his value to this team moving forward? An inexpensive and brilliant winger who could cash goals like ringing a bell. Sweet and wonderful thought. The Oilers do have some useful pieces that are ready to jump in, we’re seeing it now with Dylan Holloway and some believe Philip Broberg will play an NHL game this week. There are also veterans we could see before the end of the season and most certainly once the playoffs begin. Injuries can make a distant bell into a player of importance in one heartbeat.

THE ATHLETIC!

• Lowetide:What are Oilers’ optimal lines for 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs?
• DNB: Why Oilers shouldn’t be affected by missing out on a Pacific Division title
• Lowetide: Edmonton Oilerstop 20 prospectsranking, winter 2023

WHAT TO EXPECT IN APRIL

• On the road to: STL, DAL (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 0-1-1)
• At hometo: COL (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 1-0-0)
• On the road to: CAL (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 1-0-0)
• At home to: VEG, ARI, VAN, SJS (Expected 2-1-1) (Actual 1-1-1)
• On the road to: ARI, COL (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
• Overall expected result: 6-3-1, 13 points in 10 games
• Actual April results:3-2-2, 8 point in seven games
• Oilers in 2023-24:48-25-6, 102 points in 79 games

We’re about to talk about Vegas versus Los Angeles for this week and I’d like to see the Golden Knights as the opponent. Why? If the Oilers lose to the Golden Knights in the first round, there can be no avoiding difficult offseason decisions. If the Oilers lose in the first round, it will set all manner of tumblers clicking.

I believe Ken Holland’s procurement since the signing of Zach Hyman in the summer of 2021 has been excellent, and acknowledge the Jack Campbell contract has turned out so poorly it ranks as his worst transaction. There’s lots of good here, and we can agree that Bill Zito would have been a more inspired choice for the general manager job but the ship sailed long ago. I like this team, I liked this trade deadline.

I see no reason for anyone to fear the Golden Knights. Edmonton wasn’t dominated by them a year ago, and winning a first-round series against the team that ended the dream one year ago is an exceptional plot twist on what most who read this (hi HH!) are hoping ends with Stanley No. 6 in the city. A victory over Vegas in the first round would be a great topic no matter what the rest of this spring holds.

A loss in the series would represent a possible end to the McDavid-Draisaitl era. It would set in motion the announcement of the new general manager and Ken Holland’s new position (my guess is that he’ll take on a role similar to the one Jim Devellano accepted after Holland became GM in Detroit).

This has been a weird year. A brilliant young coach got fired and was instantly replaced by another one. The Oilers started so poorly, then played so well, that the exit ramp for quality youth (Dylan Holloway, Philip Broberg) was closed off. I want the summer to make sense in terms of those two men and prospect development in general.

Things got a little strange this year in Bakersfield, but for me there’s talent down below that needs to see NHL action in 2024-25. I would start with Holloway and Broberg, but also list Olivier Rodrigue and Raphael Lavoie as players who have earned 250 at-bats (half a season). Edmonton won’t let them all play at once, but it’s time to find out about these men.

Later in the season, if things go well in the fall of 2024, I’d like to see Xavier Bourgault, Noah Philp, Carter Savoie and Tyler Tullio. Farther along, Max Wanner, Jayden Grubbe and Matvey Petrov. Not all will play even one game in the NHL, but there’s talent there and if warranted, time in the NHL is the purest form of evaluation. Edmonton shut off the pipeline this season. Baffling and potentially harmful. Time to get back where you once belonged.

A busy day on the Lowdown, noon to 2pm on Sports 1440. Rachel Doerrie from Staph & Graff podcast will discuss the wisdom of resting McDavid on the weekend and the cost of one point in two weekend games. Jason Gregor will pop in to chat about Edmonton’s chances of getting through the first round versus Los Angeles, and the possibility of Vegas being the first round opponent. Declan Krueger will talk Mamma MMA after a massive event on the weekend, and we’ll have the usual jocularity all over the radio. You can reach me at Lowetide on twitter, in the comments section or on the Sports 1440 text line at 1.833.401.1440 directly.