Quote:
Originally Posted by Sooner
A week ago the bandwagon was overfilled, today they are jumping off in record numbers 
If the oil played at full tilt like they did for half of the series, we would be waiting for the next round to begin.
If we tried Campbell more, might have a different outcome vs giving Skinner chance after chance and falling behind a couple goals before yanking him.
If the refs called what they should have, might be a different story.
If we did not run into a hot back up goalie(I thought for sure our guns would run him from the net but he did great). They threw everything at him last night and could not get any puck luck whatsoever.
I am as disappointed with the season being over this early as anyone but another good step into the playoffs and more learning on what it takes to go deep in the playoffs. Now if Holland can make some moves to get even deeper, dump dead weight. Who knows how deep they can go next year.
It was a fun ride watching the Oilers. They broke a lot of long standing team records this season but I guess that means nothing if you don't get to the finals/win the cup. I look at it as another good step forward. |
Yep.
It was a heckuva ride all year long. I watched some amazing hockey and got to see my team make the final 8. Definitely not the ultimate goal, but nothing to be ashamed of. The Oilers are a very good hockey team, capable of hoisting the Cup on their good days, just not quite there on their bad to average days. They came up short in the goaltending department, had a few subpar performances from key players, and ran outta steam, they were just outplayed as the series went on. Me thinks there's some nagging injuries in that room, but that's the playoffs...
Holland has been steadily building towards a winner, he's now got another critical offseason to continue the build. Having Ekholm signed long term is a HUGE win. The emergence of Skinner and McLeod, and the progess of Bouchard are all important steps. Gotta get some guys signed to fair deals, and we need Lavoie and Holloway to push next year, along with Broberg taking the next step. A healthy Kane is a major difference as well.
Campbell was the big swing that was supposed to be the answer this year. It didn't work out to say the least. That's going to be a $5MM yoke that Holland has to deal with for a lonnng time. I agree with the statement above that what the coaching staff was seeing behind the scenes must have been pretty bad. Loyalty to your starter is one thing, but they clearly had ZERO faith in him being a better option than a very mediocre Skinner.
I'd like to see Holland find a new home for Yamamoto, he tries hard, but he's just not the answer at $3MM. Unless they can bump Ceci to the 3rd pair, he's not the answer either. I like the guy, but I'm not at all convinced Desharnais is an NHL defencemen, especially on a Cup winning team. RD was a glaring weakness in the playoffs, they really need to sign a 1RD/2RD somehow, and that's a tall order.
All in all, it was a very good season. I'm disappointed it's over, but the memories of the decade of darkness are still all too fresh, so seeing a team this good on so many nights, with a legit chance of hoisting the Cup, is massive for me. I'm going to focus on enjoying the ride while it lasts.
Next year!