With 24 goals and 30 assists to date and 28 games left in another pointless Oilers’ season, Jordan Eberle is almost certainly going to break the 70 point barrier. This is very good for Jordan Eberle. There’s a pretty good chance it will turn out to be bad for Oilers’ fans. As of July 1, the Oilers can sign Eberle to an extension. I think it’s fair to say that the consensus view amongst fans is basically aligned with that of authority figure fan Godot10, who has been spamming the comments here and at Lowetide’s with what appears to be the management line: Ales Hemsky needs to go. He justifies it by arguing...

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“Ales Hemsky should be amongst the top five Czech players in the National HOckey League on a nightly basis. He’s THAT skilled and THAT talented. We haven’t seen it the last three years.” -Bob Stauffer, February 7, 2012 The complete list of Czech players who have a higher pts/gm than Ales Hemsky’s 0.79 in the last three years, minimum 100 GP: Patrik Elias. I’m the first guy to say that points aren’t all there is to a hockey player. Hemsky’s -5 over that span; probably a plus player when you back out the empty net goals against. He’s done this on the worst team in the league, with the...

It seems pretty likely that we are seeing the last days of Ales Hemsky in an Oilers jersey. The whole thing is playing out as it always does, with increasingly emboldened media members smelling blood and getting their shots in on Hemsky. Just like they did with Sheldon Souray. Just like they did with Ryan Smyth. Just like they did with Anson Carter. We aren’t even back into the 20th century yet, but you get the idea. Long time Oilers leaving town has certain rituals that must be observed. It’s Northern Alberta’s version of seppuku, only with generally honourable people being disembowelled. I thought it might be fun,...

One of the particularly insulting points made by the Edmonton media in defence of the preposterous idea that Steve Tambellini deserves more time to finish his rebuild of the Oilers is that those fans who think it’s time for him to go are somehow being driven by where the Oilers are in the standings. Personally, in considering this question, I don’t put too much weight on where they are in the standings right now, except insofar as it suggests that the people running the show have no idea about timelines or what they ought to reasonably expect from the people that they put on the ice. My approach to evaluating the GM is a bit...

Scoring Chances for NHL Game Number 20783 Team Period Time Note EDM Opponent EDM 1 19:39 Goal 14 4 5 14 40 58 89 3 16 34 36 41 84 5v5 TOR 1 17:36 4 5 14 40 58 89 3 9 18 20 34 36 5v5 EDM 1 15:12 83 5 40 55 57 58 83 2 15 34 42 51 81 5v5 EDM 1 13:55 28 10 13 20 28 40 77 3 12 15 34 46 51 5v5 TOR 1 12:18 4 5 14 40 58 89 3 16 34 36 41 84 5v5 TOR 1 12:15 ...

Scoring Chances for NHL Game Number 20778 Team Period Time Note EDM Opponent DET 1 18:14 SH 4 10 14 40 44 93 5 13 18 29 43 5v4 EDM 1 17:36 PP 94 6 13 40 83 89 94 23 29 40 51 55 5v4 EDM 1 17:19 PP 6 6 13 40 83 89 94 23 29 40 51 55 5v4 EDM 1 17:18 Goal PP 89 6 13 40 83 89 94 23 29 40 51 55 5v4 EDM 1 14:19 Goal 14 4 13 14 25 40 89 5 11 20 23 29 43 5v5 DET 1 9:31 PP 10 20 40 58 5 13 29 40 55 96 3v5 DET 1 8:15 PP 6 20 40 94 5 13 29 40 55 96 3v5 DET 1 8:14 PP 6 20 40 94 5 13 29 40 55 96 3v5 DET 1 3:52 4 6 14 40 44 89 5 18 26 29 40 51 5v5 EDM 1 0:01 Goal 89 6 13 40 83 89 94 5 11 18 29 43 ...

Scoring Chances for NHL Game Number 20759 Team Period Time Note EDM Opponent CHI 1 19:20 4 5 10 40 58 83 2 7 19 25 50 88 5v5 CHI 1 17:28 13 14 25 40 51 89 2 7 16 36 50 65 5v5 CHI 1 15:50 4 5 10 40 58 83 2 7 19 25 50 88 5v5 CHI 1 15:49 4 5 10 40 58 83 2 7 19 25 50 88 5v5 CHI 1 15:35 4 5 20 28 40 58 2 7 19 25 50 88 5v5 EDM 1 12:53 4 4 13 25 37 40 57 5 19 25 32 50 88 5v5 CHI 1 11:31 6 20 28 40 44 94 4 8 10 17 50 81 5v5 CHI 1 11:30 6 20 28 40 44 94 4 8 10 17 50 81 5v5 EDM 1 11:17 28 6 20 28 40 44 94 4 8 10 17 50 81 5v5 CHI 1 9:30 4 5 10 40 58 83 7 19 25 32 50 88 5v5 CHI 1 9:13 ...

Scoring Chances for NHL Game Number 20746 Team Period Time Note EDM Opponent EDM 1 17:23 57 post 5 37 40 55 57 58 1 6 7 17 27 55 5v5 COL 1 16:07 4 6 14 40 44 89 1 8 23 37 39 44 5v5 COL 1 15:54 6 14 40 44 51 89 1 5 23 26 39 44 5v5 EDM 1 15:02 14 14 24 25 40 51 89 1 5 26 39 44 88 5v5 EDM 1 15:01 Goal 14 14 24 25 40 51 89 1 5 26 39 44 88 5v5 COL 1 13:28 PP 5 10 24 40 94 1 23 26 37 88 92 4v5 EDM 1 13:07 SH 20 20 25 28 40 58 1 23 26 37 88 92 4v5 EDM 1 10:18 28 5 20 28 40 58 94 1 3 8 26 39 88 5v5 COL 1 9:13 4 10 24 25 40 83 1 6 23 27 37 92 5v5 COL 1 5:51 Post 4 5 37 40 57 58 1 6 23 27 37 39 5v5 EDM 1 5:33 Post...

I’m gonna move past the CHL F drafting issue, I promise. Last post on this topic before I move on to the D (and I’ve got a pretty cool one lined up about lines in the sand, I think). From Lowetide’s comments: Woodguy: The age thing imo (and the subject of my research), hinges on not only physical maturity, but mental maturity, and much less on games played. That’s why I’m more inclined to give late birthdays a slide. Bruce McCurdy: You and I are on the same page w.r.t. that last comment, WG. “While Pitlick, Hamilton and Martindale are all struggling to score in their 19->20 year-old seasons, let’s just say this...