The Jesse Puljujarvi Saga

Isn’t it funny how things can go so wrong over the course of three short years? The date was June 24, 2016, and the setting was the NHL Entry Draft in Buffalo. It was on that day the Edmonton Oilers were handed the good fortune of having Jesse Puljujarvi fall into their lap at the No. 4 position in the draft. Well, so much for predictions and those sort of things. 

Oilers Need To Focus On Tomorrow, Not Today

The Edmonton Oilers find themselves in a curious predicament. The limitations of their roster are obvious to any hockey observer and yet the opportunity to grab a playoff spot in a rather pedestrian Western Conference is quite real. Though a return to the post-season remains priority one for the here and now, the long-term viability of this organization being able to enjoy future success is of far greater importance. 

Finding Leon Some Help

From the moment the Edmonton Oilers announced the signing of Leon Draisaitl to an eight-year extension for an eye-popping $68 million, expectations for the talented German pivot skyrocketed. Though on the surface, asking the 22-year-old to drive his own line while playing second fiddle to Connor McDavid may seem reasonable enough, in reality, it's not so cut and dry.

Making Room For Kailer

From the moment the Edmonton Oilers used the 22nd overall pick in the 2017 Entry Draft to select Kailer Yamamoto, the youngster has become a fan-favourite across Oil Country. Despite having played just nine regular season games during his first go-round to start the 2017-18 campaign and no pro resume to speak of, there is arguably no player the masses want to see make the jump more and it’s easy to understand why.

The Return Of Tobias

With the Edmonton Oilers cap situation being far from ideal, the hope heading into the off-season was Peter Chiarelli would find a way to secure a handful of value contracts via the unrestricted free agent market to help round out his roster. In a perfect world, signing a bona fide top-six winger would have been ideal but adding a pair of depth forwards in Kyle Brodziak and Tobias Rieder were solid acquisitions.

Depth Players Are Not The Issue

When it comes to the NHL, there is perhaps no more overused term than “depth player”. Year after year, we hear about team “X” needing better players in the bottom half of their lineups and while that is all well and good, let’s get serious. At the end of the day, without enough impact pieces in the top half of one’s roster, everything else is window dressing and this is where the Edmonton Oilers currently sit. 

For Better or Worse

So here we are. Just two seasons into the seven-year/$42 million deal Milan Lucic signed via free agency with the Edmonton Oilers and it appears as though the worst-case scenario has come to fruition far quicker than most imagined. In fact, it has gone so poorly that even those who were onboard with the move are suddenly wondering aloud what the next five years might bring. With that said, this organization has little to no choice but to use the veteran winger in a top-six role in 2018-19 and hope for something that resembles a bounce-back campaign.

Damage Control Time

Even for those of us who weren’t completely sold on the Edmonton Oilers being as good as many an expert thought they would be heading in the season, no one could have seen this coming. At what is essentially the midway point of the 2017-18 NHL campaign, this club finds itself with the second-fewest points in the Western Conference and on the verge of falling completely out of the post-season picture. 

Puljujarvi Time

The sample size is awfully tiny but it appears as though Jesse Puljujarvi has “improved” his game enough to ensure he remains with the Edmonton Oilers from here on out. Though the argument could be made his game wasn’t in need of further rehabilitation but rather an opportunity. Either way, the opportunity he was after has been granted and it looks as though the youngster plans on making the most of it.

Take Two For Jesse Puljujarvi

Though his first year playing in North America didn’t go the way Jesse Puljujarvi had hoped, being forced to take the extra time to adjust to his new surroundings will likely serve both he and the Edmonton Oilers well in the not too distant future. You can bet on more growing pains during the 2017-18 campaign but the future for the third overall pick of the 2016 Entry Draft still appears quite bright. 

Battle of Alberta - Round Two

For hockey fans of a certain vintage, the phrase “Battle of Alberta” jogs up glorious memories from the past. Unfortunately, it has been so long since both teams have been good at the same time, most fans have no idea at just how intense the rivalry between the organizations and their fan bases used to be. No question the game has changed quite a bit in the 25 years since this matchup meant something but it appears as though we are about to be treated to the modern-day version of the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames going head-to-head when it matters most.

Oilers Banking On Jokinen Making An Impact

It was the sort of signing many Edmonton Oilers fans were hoping Peter Chiarelli would pull off during the summer but were not sold on the idea it would actually come to fruition. By inking veteran Jussi Jokinen to a one-year deal worth $1.1 million late last week, the club decided to finally dip its toe into the unrestricted free agent “value contract” pool. It was nice to see and it was the kind of move Oil Country should get used to seeing.

Thanks But Not Interested

With the Edmonton Oilers looking as though they are about to end their decade-long absence from the NHL post-season, names of potential Trade Deadline targets are starting to make the rounds. Of all the possible upgrades which have been mentioned in recent weeks, there are two this organization would be wise to steer clear of. As sexy as the notion of acquiring either one of Shane Doan or Jarome Iginla may sound to some, neither one would help address any of the holes currently on this roster.

McDavid, Puljujarvi and Slepyshev

Like most hockey-crazed markets, Edmonton has its fair share of armchair general managers when it comes to their beloved Oilers. Win or lose, much of this fan base lives, breathes and thinks about ways to improve their team on daily basis. As sports fans, we have all been guilty of it at some point and many of our “solutions” are concocted in the heat of the moment. While most are off base and often unrealistic, there are some that make you take a step back and think long and hard about what you just heard or read.

Caggiula Pays Immediate Dividends

While it may not have been the road that either Drake Caggiula or the Edmonton Oilers had envisioned for the 22-year old to take en route to the NHL, his debut against the Dallas Stars could not have gone much better — and it was Hockey Night in Canada to boot.

Puljujarvi Time

While the hockey world is focused on Toronto and the start of the reinvented World Cup of Hockey, that isn’t the case in Edmonton. Keeping tabs on the trio of Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Connor McDavid on the “world stage” is all well and good but fans in this neck of the woods are just as curious to see how this year’s batch of Oilers kids do in Penticton at the 2016 Young Stars Tournament. 

Betting On Benson

When the first-round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft came to its conclusion and Vancouver Giants winger Tyler Benson was still available, there was little doubt as to where he would end up being selected on Saturday morning. After the Toronto Maple Leafs kicked things off by grabbing Russian winger Yegor Korschkov, theEdmonton Oilers surprised absolutely no one by taking the local product at No. 32. If not for an injury-plagued campaign in 2015-16 many felt the kid was a slam-dunk to be a mid to late first-round pick. 

More Draft Day Magic For Edmonton

There is no question that the Edmonton Oilers were the big losers at this year’s NHL Draft Lottery.  The hope going in was to either win the lottery outright or hold their position at No. 2 but to be perfectly honest, sliding down a slot would have even been an acceptable outcome for Peter Chiarelli. After all, this year’s Entry Draft was always supposed to be about three players; Auston Matthews, Patrick Laine, and Jesse Puljujarvi. As long as one of them found their way to Edmonton, there would be no problems. 

Working From A Position Of Strength

Isn’t it funny how things can change? Following what was another difficult campaign in the overall standings, many believed Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli would be forced into making a splash at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft; be it dipping into the pool of “$6 million men” currently on his roster to make a move or trading the fourth overall selection in the draft. 

Déjà vu

It is that time of year again. While it may be little later than normal, today is the day we find out who will have the honour of making the first overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Much to the chagrin of the other 29 clubs across the league and their collective fan bases, watching the Edmonton Oilers continued good fortune at the annual event hasn’t sat well with the masses. Despite the Draft Lottery being nothing more than a game of chance,  all anyone seemingly wants to do is whine and complain about the Oilers grabbing one talented youngster after another.