Not A Bad Spot To Be In

After not only surviving but thriving through the month of October, the Edmonton Oilers have positioned themselves in a pretty good spot as they make their way through November. How good you ask? Well, despite falling to the Stanley Cup champion Capitals in Washington last night and a pending date with the Tampa Bay Lightning later today, a pair of back-to-back regulation losses would be of no real consequence and that in itself is saying something.

The Healthy Oscar Klefbom

If you talk to fans of the Edmonton Oilers or those who cover the team, the vast majority will point to goaltending and special teams as keys to the fast approaching 2018-19 campaign. No question the club will need better showings on the penalty kill and man advantage, a bounce-back performance from Cam Talbot and Mikko Koskinen to prove he was worth the risk but if the defence isn't improved, none of it will matter. Sitting atop that list is Oscar Klefbom.

Not A Good Enough Return But Still A Nice Fit

At no fault of his own, Adam Larsson was put in an awfully difficult position to start his Edmonton Oilers career. Though any reasonable fan, media member and student of the game would never view the rugged rearguard as fair value for Taylor Hall, one has to remove that part of the equation in order to fairly judge his performance. On its own merit, the trade is a fail every single time for the organization but the 25-year old has managed to deliver exactly what should have been expected of him. 

Hall Deal Remains A Headscratcher

It has been almost a year and a half since the Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey pulled the trigger on the blockbuster deal that saw Taylor Hall and Adam Larsson swap organizations. At the time, the move seemed a rather puzzling one from an Oilers standpoint but after the club put together a surprising campaign in 2016-17, public opinion on the trade seemingly shifted in the minds of many across Oil Country. 

Oscar Will Be Just Fine

Heading into the 2017-18 season, the Edmonton Oilers had more than a few obstacles to overcome, most notably the extended absence of defenceman Andrej Sekera due to off-season knee surgery. However, what has been a rather unpleasant surprise is the addition of fellow blueliner Oscar Klefbom to said list with what can only be described as an awful start to his campaign.

Oscar, Oscar, Oscar

Barring another injury-riddled campaign, the 2016-17 season was always going to be a campaign in which the Edmonton Oilers made substantial gains in the overall standings. The question was whether or not the improvement would be great enough to allow them to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Considering the club finished the year as a top ten team, the answer to the question was a resounding a yes.

Stepping On An Opponent's Throat

Despite finding a way to sneak past the Anaheim Ducks in their second round series opener, the Edmonton Oilers were not exactly clicking on all cylinders during their Game One 5-3 victory. While they started to show signs of life on the man advantage and defenceman Adam Larsson enjoyed what was arguably the finest all-around performance of his career, the team wearing white had exactly two players deliver what would be considered a typical showing over the course of the past seven months.

The Importance of Klefbom and Larsson

At the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the Edmonton Oilers felt they had secured a pair of key pieces in their rebuild with the selections of Swedish forwards Magnus Paajarvi and Anton Lander. While both were expected to develop into productive NHL players, neither one managed to live up to their advanced billing. Ironically enough, the organization went out and found another pair of fellow countrymen to fill a need but this time around the duo of Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson have delivered on their promise.

Oilers In Uncharted Territory

No matter how things play out in their New Year’s Eve tilt with the Vancouver Canucks, the Edmonton Oilers will close out 2016 as a playoff team in the Western Conference. For a franchise that has not come close to claiming a post-season berth since their run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2006, this can only be viewed as a step in the right direction and one that was long overdue. So much so that, if the Oilers were to miss out on qualifying for the playoffs by season’s end, it would be viewed by most as a surprise. 

The Importance of Andrej Sekera

Back in the summer of 2015, the Edmonton Oilers turned more than a few heads by jumping with both feet into the unrestricted free agent market and landing one of its biggest prizes in defenceman Andrej Sekera. After agreeing to a six-year/$33 million pact, a large chunk of this fan base was under the impression Peter Chiarelli had finally secured the No. 1 rearguard this club so desperately needed. Unfortunately, in the real world, that was never the expectation and nor should it have been.

Getting Something Out of the Backend

It has been an extremely long and interesting summer for both the Edmonton Oilers organization and their fans. While it has been yet another off-season of substantial change in the Alberta capital, the Oilers are once again a team with many unanswered questions heading into what the masses are hoping will be a year in which this club makes substantial gains in the Western Conference standings. 

What Are Reasonable Expectations?

If both players manage to stay relatively healthy throughout their NHL careers, there is no question that the Edmonton Oilers will end up on the wrong end of the Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson swap. Trading away a 24-year-old proven driver and point producer for a guy who “could” one day turn into a legit top pairing defenceman,  is a deal that has potential disaster written all over it. While the return was certainly underwhelming, the addition of the former New Jersey Devils blueliner will instantly upgrade Edmonton’s paper thin backend. 

Milan Lucic and Playing the PR Game

Give the Edmonton Oilers credit. After trading away Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for defenceman Adam Larsson, they were well aware of the fact there would be major pushback from much of the fan base after making such a deal. However, by pulling the trigger on the swap when he did, Peter Chiarelli gave both himself and the organization an easy out to help soften the blow. To their credit, they played it perfectly and after feeling the heat for the better part of 48 hours, all seemed to be forgiven after announcing the signing of Milan Lucic to a 7-year/$42 million pact. 

Desperation Cost the Oilers Taylor Hall

It was a move we could all see happening but hoped would not come to fruition. Outside of the new shiny generational toy that is Connor McDavid, the best player to have pulled on an Edmonton Oilers jersey since the Dynasty Years was none other than Taylor Hall. The first of what turned out to be a quartet of first-overall selections for the Oilers over a six-year span was shipped out-of-town in exchange for former New Jersey Devils defenceman Adam Larsson on Tuesday afternoon in what was a crazy day across the NHL. 

So what is #89 really worth?

So it has finally come to this for Sam Gagner and the Edmonton Oilers. While it may or may not come to fruition during tonight’s matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins, it looks as though #89 could be headed for a twirl or two on the right wing in the not too distant future.