Down the Frozen River

Tag: Gustavsson

  • Edmonton Oilers 2017-’18 Season Preview

    Edmonton Oilers

    47-26-9, 103 points, second in the Pacific Division

    Eliminated in the Second Round by Anaheim

    Additions: F Jussi Jokinen, F Ryan Strome

    Subtractions: C David Desharnais (signed with NYR), RW Jordan Eberle (traded to NYI), G Jonas Gustavsson (signed with Linköping), F Matt Hendricks (signed with WPG), F Anton Lander (signed with Kazan), D Jordan Oesterle (signed with CHI), F Tyler Pitlick (signed with DAL), LW Benoit Pouliot (signed with BUF)

    Offseason Analysis: Going off the additions list, it seems General Manager Peter Chiarelli prescribes to an “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality.

    Considering Anaheim needed all seven games to knock off his Oilers in the second round last season in Edmonton’s first postseason appearance since 2006, it’s hard to argue with him.

    Of course, that also ignores the elephants in the room: centers Leon Draisaitl and Captain Connor McDavid – two players slated to cost $21 million when the 2018-‘19 season begins (McDavid’s $12.5 million AAV extension begins next year). Assuming next season’s salary cap stays at this year’s $75 million, 28 percent of Edmonton’s payroll belongs to those two players in a sport that features 19 players hitting the ice per game (to compare, one-nineteenth of $75 million is $3,947,368.42 – approximately D Kris Russell’s yearly salary).

    Thus, the Oilers were prevented from making many moves. Oh, the joy of having this generation’s Wayne Gretzky and his beloved sidekick-that-could-also-be-a-first-line-center-for-almost-every-other-club on the same team.

    The only free agent signing the Oilers made this offseason of much value was their one-year deal with 34-year-old Jokinen. Don’t be distracted by the seemingly pedestrian .57 points-per-game he posted in his three seasons with Florida, as you need to take into account the Panthers’ below-average offense last season. When Florida dominated its division in 2015-’16, he posted impressive 18-42-60 totals before following it up with an 11-17-28 performance last year. Additionally, in his lone full season in Pittsburgh with centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (a situation similar to Edmonton’s), he posted 21-36-57 marks – the second, third and third-best efforts, respectively, of his career.

    Though it can be said for every player in the league, it’s much easier to do one’s job when surrounded by talented teammates and success. That’s no less true with Jokinen, and he should be able to provide even more versatility to last season’s eighth-best offense.

    Instead, Chiarelli was forced to make trades if he wanted to make long-term plans – hence the deal with the Islanders that exchanged Eberle for Strome. Slated to make $6 million this season and next, Eberle had to make way for Draisaitl and McDavid’s contracts. Meanwhile, Strome is slated to be a restricted free agent after costing $2.5 million this season.

    The deal makes perfect sense for Chiarelli and owner Daryl Katz’ pocketbooks, but will it pan out for Coach Todd McLellan?

    With 20-31-51 totals, 27-year-old Eberle had his best campaign since his 2014-’15 63-point last season, but still significantly under the .33-.43-.75-per-game totals he’s posted over his seven-year NHL career. To compare, 24-year-old Strome posted 13-17-30 totals in only 69 games played last season – a decent effort that shows growth, but still a far cry from his impressive 17-33-50 sophomore season in 2014-’15. Strome played on the top line with Patrick Maroon and McDavid in Monday’s split-squad preseason game against archrival Calgary, scoring two power play points late in the contest, including a five-on-three goal.

    Strome should know that this is a true audition season for him, both with the Oilers and elsewhere. If he helps Maroon and McDavid make even more fireworks than they did last year, he might become a staple for the future. But if that pesky budget gets in the way, he could be well on his way to a major payday with another squad if he takes advantage of this prime opportunity.

    Oh yeah, there’s also the Stanley Cup to play for. He should probably help Edmonton win that too, because it could very well be in reach. Anything short of an Oilers Conference Finals appearance this season is a failure.

    Offseason Grade: B+

    Even though we knew it was coming eventually, Chiarelli doesn’t get a glowing review for signing Draisaitl and McDavid to exorbitant contracts. But beyond that, the Oilers’ offseason went splendidly, as they did exactly what they needed to: make a dangerous team lethal.

    I’ve said it on a podcast this season, but it bears writing: we’ve seen highly paid super teams before, as recently as last year (read: Chicago and Washington). One came away from their dynasty with three Stanley Cups; the other with three Presidents’ Trophies. Hardware is nice, but Draisaitl and McDavid must ensure their story ends like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews’.

  • October 24 – Day 13 – Something something Canadian aviation

    There’s only two games on the schedule this evening. The first involves Philadelphia visiting Montréal at 7:30 p.m. (RDS), with Calgary at Chicago dropping the puck an hour later (NHLN/SN/TVAS). All times eastern.

    Seeing as Philly has much higher expectations for this season than the Flames, we’ll head up to the Bell Centre to catch them take on the Habs.

    Philadelphia Flyers LogoUnknown-1

     

    This game was supposed to be made a little bit more fun by the return of Dale Weise, but he is serving one-third of his suspension for his illegal check to Korbinian Holzer‘s head this evening. We’ll just hold that story until November 5.

    …Or will we?

    The season hasn’t treated the 2-2-1 Flyers very nicely so far. Before beating the Hurricanes 6-3 on Saturday, the Flyers were riding a 0-2-1 skid, being outscored 14-9 in that stretch.

    As indicated by that statistic, defense and goaltending have been the issue on Broad St. – something Flyers fans have become all too familiar with. Steve Mason has taken the decision in four of Philly‘s five games for a 1-2-1 record. He has a .882 save percentage for a 3.35 GAA, both numbers well below the league average. Although he’s seen limited time, Michal Neuvirth has statistically been worse, posting a .854 save percentage for a 4.24 GAA in 85 minutes played.

    Offensively, the Flyers are led by Jakub Voracek, who has scored two goals and notched five assists for seven points. Matt Read leads the club in goals, with five to his credit.

    Montréal has yet to not earn a point having gone 4-0-1 so far this season, including their current three-game win streak. Most recently, the Canadiens went into the TD Garden to beat the Bruins 4-2 on Saturday. That success has propelled this squad that many wanted dissected a season ago to the top of the Eastern Conference early on.

    Defense has been the name of the game for the Canadiens so far this year. Overall the Habs have a +11 goal-differential, but their eight goals-allowed is seven below the league average. Al Montoya started the first three games, saving .962 percent of the shots he faced for a 1.3 GAA. Carey Price has since returned to post a perfect 2-0-0 record, saving .92 percent for a 2.02 GAA.

    Offensively, Montréal has turned to Alex Galchenyuk (1G/4A), Brendan Gallagher (3G/2A), Max Pacioretty (1G/4A) and Shea Weber (1G/4A), all of whom have five points. Gallagher and Torrey Mitchell have both scored three goals to lead the squad in that department.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Montréal‘s Nathan Beaulieu (+7 [tied for fifth-best in the NHL]), Montoya (1.3 GAA on a .962 save percentage [both second-best in the NHL] for two wins [tied for eighth-most in the league], including one shutout [one-of-five this season]) or Price (2.01 GAA [ninth-best in the NHL]) and Weber (+8 [tied for third-best in the league]) & Philadelphia‘s Claude Giroux (six assists [tied for the NHL-lead]), Read (five goals [tied for second-most in the league]), Wayne Simmonds (four goals [tied for fourth-most in the NHL]) and Voracek (five assists [tied for sixth-most in the league]).

    Montréal has a -160 advantage over the Flyers this evening. Given Philly‘s goaltending situation and the fact that this game is in the Bell Centre, that might be a conservative mark. Expect the Habs to earn two points this evening.

    Hockey Birthday:

    • Jamal Mayers (1974-) – Over 65% of Mayers’ 915 career NHL games were played with St. Louis. A right wing by trade, he scored 90 goals en route to a 219 point career and currently acts as an analyst for NHL Network.
    • Jonas Gustavsson (1984-) – This is the eighth NHL season of the goalie’s career and his first with Edmonton. One of his best accolades is the silver medal he won at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi with Team Sweden.

    In case you didn’t watch the Heritage Classic yesterday, Edmonton scored three goals in 7:52 to beat the Jets 3-0 at Investors Group Field in our Game of the Day.

    The first of those goals, thus the game-winner, was struck 36 seconds before the midway point of the game. Third Star of the Game Mark Letestu fired a unassisted short-handed snap shot past Connor Hellebuyck to open the scoring. 1:46 later, Darnell Nurse (Connor McDavid and Second Star Zack Kassian) doubled that lead with a snapper of his own. With 2:44 remaining in the second period, Kassian (Benoit Pouliot and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) scored the second insurance goal for the Oilers to set the score at the 3-0 final.

    First Star Cam Talbot saved all 32 shots he faced en route to the shutout victory. Hellebuyck takes the loss, saving 29-of-32 (90.6%).

    Edmonton‘s win is the second-straight for a road team in the DtFR Game of the Day series, but the home sides still have a four-point advantage with a 9-5-1 record.

  • October 18 – Day Seven – Condon can’t escape the Canadiens

    In yesterday’s Battle of the Undefeateds, it was the Colorado Avalanche that took the overtime victory in Pittsburgh.

    If you like offense, these opening 20 minutes were for you. Four goals were scored, but the opening period ended tied at 2-2. Phil Kessel (Kris Letang and Nick Bonino) opened the scoring 8:57 after the opening puck drop with a power play goal, followed 36 seconds later by Third Star of the Game Matt Cullen‘s (Chris Kunitz and Conor Sheary) first tally of the season. Pittsburgh‘s 2-0 lead lasted until 3:33 remained on the clock before ex-Penguin Jarome Iginla (Second Star Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie) pulled the Avs within one with a power play tally. Patrick Wiercioch (Rene Bourque and Fedor Tyutin) completed the comeback 1:23 later with a slap shot from the point.

    After a scoreless second period, Pittsburgh reclaimed the lead 9:12 after beginning with a Trevor Daley (Cullen and Justin Schultz) power play slap shot, but it lasted only 4:16 before First Star Gabriel Landeskog (Mikhail Grigorenko and Erik Johnson) took advantage of a man-advantage of his own to force overtime.

    Twenty-two seconds after returning to the ice after the completion of regulation, Landeskog (MacKinnon and Johnson) capped his two-point night with his second goal, giving the Avalanche the 3-2 overtime victory.

    Calvin Pickard earns the victory after saving 28-of-31 (90.3%), while Marc-Andre Fleury takes the overtime loss after saving 27-of-31 (87.1%).

    Although the Pens fell, the home teams still hold a one-point advantage over the roadies in the DtFR Game of the Day series with a 5-3-1 record.

    On your way home from work, make sure to buy some batteries, because you’re going to need them for your remote tonight with a dozen games taking place. Three get started at the usual starting time of 7 p.m. (Anaheim at New Jersey, San Jose at the New York Islanders and Colorado at Washington), with another trio dropping the puck 30 minutes later (Pittsburgh at Montréal [SN360/TVAS], Arizona at Ottawa [RDS] and Florida at Tampa Bay). 8 p.m. brings with it two contests (Dallas at Nashville and Los Angeles at Minnesota) and Philadelphia at Chicago trails half an hour later on NBCSN. Another pair of games finds their starts at 9 p.m. (Buffalo at Calgary and Carolina at Edmonton) and St. Louis at Vancouver, this evening’s nightcap, gets going an hour later. All times eastern.

    I’m torn between two games tomorrow, both involving the return of a player to his home stadium of a season ago. Although Jon Marchessault‘s return involves a rivalry, I’m more intrigued by Mike Condon presumably starting in the Bell Centre for the Penguins.  To the City of Saints we go!

    pittsburgh_penguins_logoUnknown-1Montréal never intended for this contest to mean anything. Condon was supposed to remain in the Canadiens‘ system by clearing waivers after final roster cuts. He was supposed to be an IceCap.

    It’s not like the Penguins had their eye on him either. That is to say, at least not until September 19, when Matt Murray broke his hand at the World Cup of Hockey. When they saw Condon was placed on waivers, they gobbled him up with a one-year, one-way contract as a better backup goaltending option than Filip Gustavsson, Tristan Jarry or Sean Maguire.

    But that’s all in the past. With Fleury playing his third game in five days last night against the Avalanche, Condon is almost assured to be thrust back into the Montréal spotlight – one of the brightest in hockey – albeit wearing different colors.

    Last season with the Habs, Condon went 21-25-6 – not bad for a rookie with a team with little morale playing in front of him. His .903 save percentage ranked 64th in the NHL for a 2.71 GAA. He has one career NHL shutout to his credit – his game in Tampa Bay on March 31.

    His return to Montréal should be an interesting one. When Carey Price went down last season, he looked to be more than capable of manning the crease. It took him nine games – over a month of action – before he lost a game in regulation! But he eventually regressed to the rookie mean, having losing skids of nine, four (one in overtime) and five games. Perhaps he was thrust into the spotlight too quickly (although that was never the original plan in Montréal) and will improve as a backup over the next season or more, but his initial audition left much to be desired. For his sake, I hope Habs fans don’t give him too hard a time this evening.

    Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Montréal‘s Nathan Beaulieu (+5 [sixth-best in the NHL]) and Al Montoya (.942 save percentage [tied for sixth-best in the league] for a 1.92 GAA [seventh-best in the NHL] and one win [tied for eighth in the league]) & Pittsburgh‘s Cullen (three points, two of which are helpers [both tied for team-lead]), Kessel (two goals [leads the team]), Evgeni Malkin (three points, two of which are assists [both tied for team-lead]) and Sheary (three points, two of which are helpers [both tied for team-lead]).

    Montoya’s lone win of the season was in Buffalo against a team missing two of their top-four goalscorers from a season ago. Furthering that point, he gave up four goals in Ottawa two days later. I expect the Penguins‘ offense to be too much for the Canadiens to handle, regardless of their scoring success against Condon.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Mike Antonovich (1951-) – Center Antonovich played only 87 games over four seasons in the NHL, most of which was with New Jersey. Instead, he predominantly spent his time in the now-defunct WHA, playing 486 games in that league.
    • Kjell Samuelsson (1958-) – Over 14 seasons, Samuelsson laced up the skates 813 times. The defenseman played almost 730 games for a Pennsylvanian team, but a majority of those (545, to be exact) were for Philadelphia.