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Oilers » What changes need to be made?

What changes need to be made? [message #852185]	Fri, 01 May 2026 06:52

HamBlaster
Messages: 1413
Registered: June 2007

1 Cup

Well, that was one rollercoaster of a season. I think we all saw this coming, considering the kind of ho hum hockey the team played for most of the campaign. There were so many problems with this roster.

- Goaltending remains a glaring issue, magnified by a lack of team commitment to D.

- Our squad was exposed by Anaheim's team speed and agility, consistently beating the Oilers to pucks and applying a relentless and productive forecheck (very similar to the Panthers).

- We have "leaders" on this team that have poor body language far too often, are dismissive, and seem to choose when they'll follow the script or just go off and do their own thing.

- We have coaching that is possibly as blasé as anything I've ever seen, an automaton at the helm that offers canned and frequently repeated answers after every substandard or catastrophic result. Knoblauch often just stares off into the horizon, searching for answers that seem to present themselves to better coaches.

- We have a pro scouting staff that has managed to convince management to pick up some god awful players and re-sign one in particular to a total nonsense contract.

- The amateur scouting is borderline (I'll give them a pass for now as we've consistently given them little to work with).

- The President of Hockey Ops is some mess of a guy that eradicated core elements of our pipeline just as they were emerging in favour of complete busts that lasted one year with the team.

It was a mess.

Where do we even start?

[Updated on: Fri, 01 May 2026 06:56]

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Re: What changes need to be made? [message #852186 is a reply to message #852185 ]	Fri, 01 May 2026 07:05

Iamheretoday
Messages: 71
Registered: August 2007

No Cups

The easiest change will be the coaching staff, not just one, but outside of Coffey, I think they all go this time. There has been no adaptation on the fly, whether the players were asked and just did not do I do not know, but the result is the same.

Fredrick needs a new home, if you can not make the roster in playoffs then you need to move on.

Beyond that the team just never gelled this year, they never seemed in sync, they could get it for a game or 3 max, but generally only one or two periods. Maybe they are all just burnt out, to much hockey.

The scouting etc has proven that they do not understand how to find the missing pieces, there is no Kurri to McDavid, no Anderson to Drai, they cannot find the required pieces, and maybe that is on our stars.

Like everyone eles I do not have the answers, but I am certainly not surprised by the outcome of this series.

Will be interesting off season to see what happens.

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Re: What changes need to be made? [message #852189 is a reply to message #852185 ]	Fri, 01 May 2026 08:27

NCREDiBLE
Messages: 280
Registered: February 2007
Location: Cold Lake, AB

No Cups

Kris Knoblauch has to go, they have been so flat in three elimination games.
Guys are hardly together long enough to build any chemistry.
That blank stare out into the abyss, looking for an answer.. thanks for the last 2 years but I hire Bruce Cassidy as that guy is an amazing coach, I also let him bring his own staff.

I also replace Stan Bowman, he has made us far worse in a short amount of time.
Let him go before he ruins our offseason when we actually have money to make a difference. I don’t know who to replace him with but I don’t want Keith Gretzky or anyone currently in our organization.

Scouting needs a major overhaul upgrade, too many misses that fans scream about.
Throw money to scouting and fix this so there’s no more passing on players like Wahlstedt.

Floaters need to go and we need more players like Podzkolzin with his heart and leadership.

I wish both could but 1 has to go in Nurse or Frederic.
Stop throwing out NTC’s like candy for players who haven’t earned it.

We need a goalie.. our last solid goalie was Dwayne Roloson 20 years ago.
We need the defence fixed.. also haven’t had a true #1 since Pronger 20 years ago lol
Our d is messy and turns over too easily.

I love the way Silovs battles as a goalie, id inquire about him.
Pipe dream, inquire about Saros.

I don’t bring back Ingram, Max Jones or Henrique.

Don’t over pay on Dickinson, Roslovic, Kapanen or on an extension for Murphy but I keep these guys.

9.25 Nurse, 10.5 Bouchard and 7 for Walman is insane.
I don’t think you win with these three on the same team, I’d try and only keep one and move two as they’re all grossly overpaid for what they bring.
I’d love to get a player who’s the next Doughty on our D.
Replace Emberson with an upgrade as well.

There is a lot of work to do here and I don’t trust Bowman to do the job.

[Updated on: Fri, 01 May 2026 08:29]

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Re: What changes need to be made? [message #852190 is a reply to message #852189 ]	Fri, 01 May 2026 10:27

tardigrade81
Messages: 4515
Registered: November 2022
Location: Regina, Saskatchewan

4 Cups

NCREDiBLE wrote on Fri, 01 May 2026 15:27

Well said. Agree win all things. Nurse just needs to go. This defense is horrendous and we haven’t had a solid defensive player since Kulak.

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Re: What changes need to be made? [message #852196 is a reply to message #852185 ]	Fri, 01 May 2026 12:48

Skookum Jim
Messages: 6133
Registered: March 2006
Location: Burnaby, BC

6 Cups

before anything is done the team needs to adress their pro-scouting and player evaluation.. don't try a "re-tool" making roster changes and aquisitions if you still have the same people involved with the decisions that led to;

-letting Broberg, Holloway walk out for beans .. Oilers needed a young puck carrying D-man with size.. and they had him in house. He'd be impossible to aquire now. Broberg leads teh Blues PP now, and plays 1st pair D.

-Mangiapane ..

-Signing Frederik for 8 years c/w a NTC based on hope he'll eventually "improve" ..

-not valuing McLeod's speed and puck carrying enough.. as well as size/reach.. no one on the Oilers could gain the O-zone as well except for 97 and 29 .. they never replaced it.. his speed also helped on the PK forecheck pressure. Savoie was tried this year on the PK and he's not it.

Its GM, and scouts.. I thought the Oilers had an "Analytics Department" now.. maybe they need to go too..? Player decisons might be being based on the wrong analytics algorithms ?

This review better be made before any current UFA's are resigned.. any new UFA's July 1st .. Trades .. and Draft

[Updated on: Fri, 01 May 2026 12:53]

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Re: What changes need to be made? [message #852197 is a reply to message #852185 ]	Fri, 01 May 2026 12:59

hitmen4
Messages: 9
Registered: April 2010

No Cups

The reality is that the core of the team is still a core that's been to two cup finals. The sky isn't falling yet. If we're in the same spot this time next year, then that's a different story. The core is locked in, so no changes can realistically be made there. Unfortunately, that includes Nurse due to his full NMC.

The best we can hope for is improvement on the margins. The good news is that this is achievable.

Wholesale coaching changes. Fire Knoblauch and let the new guy bring in his own staff. An established coach would be ideal, and as others have pointed out Bruce Cassidy is available.

Find an emotional leader for the team. From an outsiders perspective, McDavid just doesn't seem to be that guy. I think this was the real value that Perry brought to the team the past few years. McDavid has raved in the past about Matt Hendricks, and how much he helped him in the locker room and how good of a leader he was. A guy like that is important, provided they can still contribute in some way on the ice.

Youth movement upfront for salary cap efficiencies. Howard & Samanski need to be written in stone into the lineup. Rumours are Berezkin is likely to sign and come to North America. If that's the case there needs to be space for him, or some of the other AHL guys who are close (Clattenburg, Jarventie, etc.) to actually crack the lineup. While guys like Roslovic add value, they will be too expensive. The goal here is to maximize cap room for...

A goalie. We need a solid, reliable goalie. I don't know who is available, or how we could trade for one. But there needs to be an actual upgrade at the position. Not a shot in the dark, but an actual upgrade.

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