Will Edmonton Oilers G.M. Ken Holland "zig" or "zag": 9 Things

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Oilers General Manager

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is about to arrive at the proverbial fork in the road, on his way to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Does he turn left, and spend assets on big name players who could help get his club over the post-season hump? Or does he instead crank the wheel to the right, and adopt a more organic road to growth?

More on “zig” versus “zag” in this edition of…

9 Things

9. Edmonton Oilers prospect

has been named to the Team Canada World Junior roster. No

. No

. But 16-year old

is on the list. Hard to imagine Savoie, a 19-year old NCAA player, not being a better 2-way option.

8. I expect

will be an Oiler, long-term. He has elite talent. But pump the brakes on keeping him on the NHL roster once

and

return. That doesn’t make sense. At this stage, this club doesn’t need more puck movers or less experience.

is a better option. This year.

7.

scored his 500

NHL point on Friday. All in Edmonton. That puts him 10

in franchise history. Impressive, given the history here. But a perhaps more poignant mark will fall 20 games from now when The Nuge will pass

and into 9

place on the all-time Oilers games played list. When you pass 99 in any fashion, it’s a big deal.

6. I expect the Oilers to slow-play

return. Given how well

(12-2) and

(.921 SV% in 7 games) have played since Smith was sidelined, and where the club’s record is, there should be no rushing him back. When he is healthy, I still believe that Mike Smith is still the team’s best goaltender. I expect the coaching staff feels the same way.

5. The Oilers are not a 4-line team. With

and

on the same roster I don’t see them ever being that. But it’s fair to say that teams are only as string as their weakest links. And the only 4

liner consistent as of late has been

.

is almost healthy again and when he is, he’ll play. And Shore is a better winger than a pivot. That will spell bad news for either

or

.

4. In 2 years from now, one of

or

is likely to be the Oilers 3LD. Niemelainen brings a physicality that you don’t much see anymore (my

colleague

tells me The 6’5 205 Finn has 12 hits in his 1

24 NHL minutes). He is a bit of a throwback. Samorukov, while not quite as rugged, moves the puck much better. He is more of a complete package. But development is an inexact science. There are zero guarantees which (or either) of them will ultimately pan out.

3. Edmonton-born

is on the market. Yes, Edmonton is interested. Here is a pointed question for you: Are the Oilers are more likely to win a playoff series with DeBrusk or

? I know they play opposite sides, but Zach Hyman could move over. In the regular season, I like Yamamoto lots. But the 6’, 200-pound DeBrusk is built more like a post-season performer. I think it is far more likely that Edmonton looks at DeBrusk in the off-season. After all, with him at $3.675m and the Oilers at the cap…salary would have to go the other way mid-season. He’s also an expiring RFA who will need to be qualified at a high number ($4.4m). I think there’s a good chance he ends up a Free Agent. And then…

2. The Oilers were chasing the game yet again Friday night.  I don’t see the “poor starts” issue as the coaching staff’s fault. They don’t lace ‘em up and play the games. But it IS their problem. Could the answer be related to

coaching preferences? Dave would like to play the same game from minute 1 to minute 60 like his Prince Albert Raiders did under

in the early 80’s. Problem is, the Oilers aren’t built like that team. Edmonton is more of a fire wagon club, like the Swift Current Broncos were from that same 80’s era in junior hockey. A “shock & awe” approach to starting games may deliver better results on a more consistent basis. Tippett has the horses to pull that off. Yes, it occasionally backfires and the puck end up in the back of your own net. But that’s already happening now.

1.I will fall over backward if

does not shore up the lineup prior to the post-season. But in terms of big moves, I see Holland’s path continuing down the longer-term road. The future projections of

,

,

,

and

(all #1 picks) allow him that luxury. This club will likely get better by osmosis even if he doesn’t nothing. He won’t do that, of course. But with long-term solutions developing at all 5 skater positions, Ken can instead focus on upgrading versus having to fill holes. He can also work on adding a player

that isn’t duplicated on the existing lineup.

Here’s an example of what I mean:

Montreal is said to be asking for a 1

Round pick for Defenceman

. He would make the Oilers better. But at $3.5m and as an expiring 30-year old UFA? I think that a #1 is an over-pay for him. I’m sure someone will pay that price. But remember: Ben Chiarot himself was a 4

Round pick. And I don’t mean to denigrate the player at all. He has turned into a very good pro. But there’s an excellent chance the Oilers 2022 1

Round pick will be a better player than Chiarot for a decade to come, let alone the afore-mentioned Philip Broberg who is already close to NHL-ready.

Alternative: Seattle’s

. He is 3+ years younger than Ben Chiarot, $700K cheaper and would be under club control for another full season before he could hit the UFA market. Soucy also has a comparable draft pedigree. If you are going to spend draft capital on a add at the deadline, is it better asset management to do so on something with a greater long-term return? Yes, Chiarot is a more physical player, for sure.

To be clear: I’m not saying the Oilers’ path to the Stanley Cup is specifically paved with Carson Soucy. He is just an example of the level of help that I suspect Ken Holland will be looking for come deadline time.

And not much before then.

Find me on Twitter @KurtLeavins

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