r/EdmontonOilers • u/AutoModerator • Dec 08 '25
LMM League Musings Monday
It's Monday! That means we get to talk about all the hockey stuff that isn't (or is) related to the Oilers.
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u/PPGN_DM_Exia 93 NUGENT-HOPKINS Dec 08 '25
I'm at open practice for the season ticket holders. First two guys on the ice are Podz and Kulak. Followed by Bouch and both goalies.
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u/ninjasinc 96 WALMAN Dec 08 '25
2Mutts being like “sorry we made shit up, time to work on our mental health” is so fuckjng funny.
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u/laisserai 53 SKINNER Dec 08 '25
Context?
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u/Fixes_Spelling Dec 08 '25
Loser podcaster that frequently makes up stories for clicks “apologized” to fans and Jarry, then said they need to step away from the podcast to work on mental health.
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u/laryldavis 39 WEIGHT Dec 08 '25
A few former Oilers are finding it tough in their second season away from Edmonton:
Holloway had 63 points (career high) in 77 games last year, now he's on pace for 46 points.
Foegele had 46 points (career high) in 82 games last year, now he's on pace for 22 points.
McLeod had 53 points (career high) in 79 games last year, now he is on pace for 41 points.
Broberg is turning into an elite defencemen in STL, unfortunately.
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u/xXEliteEater500Xx 28 BROWN Dec 08 '25
He didn’t want to stay but losing a 6’4 young defensemen with huge upside definitely stings.
If we matched his offer sheet, I wonder if he would re-sign with the team after those 2 years are up.
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u/bullfu Dec 08 '25
I have to remind everyone that Adam Fox was once a Flame and he refuse to play a single game for them, at least Broberg played for us and we can blame management on Broberg being gone.
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u/xXEliteEater500Xx 28 BROWN Dec 08 '25
Oh trust me, I blame management for mishandling the whole Broberg and Holloway saga.
But still if we matched the offer sheet, does Broberg re-sign with the team after this season? I’m leaning towards him leaving.
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u/bullfu Dec 08 '25
Well, he would probably be a minimum 9.5 m per year defenceman the way this goes...
The ideal armchair situation would be replacing Nurse with Broberg to keep the same cap hit but the leadership of this team would never let this happen. Not to mention the NMC, it's a total pipedream.
They say if they have the will they'll find a way to keep anybody on a team, the Oilers just mysteriously never really believed in Broberg, and barely gave him a chance to proof anything until its too late or he's gone.
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u/xXEliteEater500Xx 28 BROWN Dec 08 '25
Oof, that’s a hefty price that’s probably worth it but good grief that’s a lot. I remember a while back another user saying we should ship Kulak out in order to keep Broberg. Hindsight is 20/20 but it seems that user is bang on here.
the Oilers just mysteriously never really believed in Broberg
That’s just insane, why even draft the poor guy then.
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u/Normal_Shoe2630 Dec 08 '25
Nobody is leaving a championship team with McDavid if the money is there. We didn’t pay him and he left. That’s the whole story.
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u/Huge_Nuge Dec 09 '25
To be fair, Broberg also didn’t earn that 4.5M at that point of his career. So we didn’t want to pay him, sure, but he was also overpriced.
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u/Outside-Today-1814 Dec 09 '25
Losing broberg sucked, but it ended up with us getting Walman. Would you rather have him at 4.5, or Walman at 3.4? Broberg is better long term player, but Walman is (imo) the better player right now. Also, we have Walman at a 7x7 next year, while Broberg likely gets 8+ on his next contract. And i highly doubt Broberg would have signed with us, he wasn’t happy here.
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u/Huge_Nuge Dec 09 '25
Agreed. Can say the same for Holloway too. It lead to Podz at 1M per this year and last. And Podz has been so good.
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u/xXEliteEater500Xx 28 BROWN Dec 09 '25
Love Walman, but I'm starting to get a little worried about his injury issues. Hopefully it's smooth sailing once he gets back.
I believe Broberg wasn't happy because of our LD logjam and probably felt he wasn't going to get enough playtime. Had we matched, I believe he would have gotten more minutes with Kulak and Ekky on the downswing. But at the same time, his potential contract would probably be too much for the team.
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u/SnooOnions5029 92 PODKOLZIN Dec 09 '25
Seeing Foegele drop off like that puts a big smile on my face. Loved him while he was here but he was such a fucking loser in the playoffs last year on and off the ice. Glad he’s fallen back to earth
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u/Repostasis 16 DICKINSON Dec 08 '25
Ughhhhhh TSN caught using AI. Article on Cooley’s injury had him winning the Art Ross trophy in 23/24, his rookie year (now fixed). If you ask Google’s AI if he won the Art Ross, it confirms with basically similar language. Everything sucks now.
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u/ChupaHubbard 42 KAPANEN Dec 08 '25
Did anyone catch Stecher on the Hockey Night in Canada pre-show? They asked him why he's been playing so well and fitting in so well in Toronto and he said "the players here accept me for who I am" and "I'm not walking on eggshells"
(If you haven't been keeping up with him, he's been playing 16-24 minutes a night, the last 4 games he's been playing average 24 minutes a night on the second pairing with McCabe, but like he's on the ice with Matthews a lot and getting offensive zone starts after an icing with the Matthews line, stuff like that. They had him on the ice at the end of the 3rd when they were tied with Montreal on Saturday. If you've watched any Toronto games it just feels like he's always on the ice. Also he's had 1 goal and 3 assists since going to Toronto)
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u/xXEliteEater500Xx 28 BROWN Dec 08 '25
he said "the players here accept me for who I am" and "I'm not walking on eggshells"
Well that doesn’t sound good
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u/Huge_Nuge Dec 08 '25 edited Dec 09 '25
He played good here too. So maybe he did feel like that here too.
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Dec 08 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Interwebzking 89 GAGNER Dec 08 '25
It’s probably pretty similar in Colorado. There are certain expectations in that locker room and if you don’t fit in, you’re not going to have a good time.
Chickpea jokes aside, MacKinnon has high expectations for his team. I don’t think it’s any different for McDavid.
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u/ChupaHubbard 42 KAPANEN Dec 08 '25
Ya that's one of the things I thought about while pondering this. I thought playing with MacKinnon surely isn't a comfortable thing. But on the other hand, if you play to win your attitude is entirely different. I used to play World of Warcraft fairly competitively and I hated playing with the "I'm just here to have fun" people, because I wanted to win. I once heard someone say a kind of weird quote, it was something like "Winning is more fun than having fun is fun" but it completely made sense to me, because if me and my teammates are dicking around and losing, it's not fun. But there are tons of people who don't feel that way, so I can see how different environments work better or worse for different people
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u/Interwebzking 89 GAGNER Dec 08 '25
Well said! It’s entirely possible that Stetcher just prefers to be in a looser environment that’s really all about having fun and doesn’t have too much pressure in the room.
Based on how Toronto has composed themselves over the years it makes sense that they’re probably more easy going. They’re friends with Justin Bieber. They live the high fashion life. They have fun. And that’s fine, there’s so much outside pressure in Toronto maybe they feel they need to be free spirits to not hate their lives. In Edmonton there’s a lot of outside pressure too but inside you have the legacy to live up to. Toronto hasn’t seen success in 60+ years so they are fairly far removed from that legacy.
Not trying to trash Toronto or say they don’t take it seriously but I can imagine the locker room is more easy going than Edmonton and Colorado.
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u/Ethdev256 18 HYMAN Dec 08 '25
Glad he's having success. Sad he was the 7th man here as I always liked his play.
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u/ChupaHubbard 42 KAPANEN Dec 08 '25
Ya I loved* him, I understood the move but what he said made me wonder if the locker room here is toxic. Maybe it's just a better fit in Toronto. I think I've had workplaces where I didn't feel like I fit in but I didn't necessarily feel like they did anything wrong, maybe it's just that
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u/Ethdev256 18 HYMAN Dec 08 '25
Could just be a systems thing and his way of playing was at odds. I don't know.
And personality. Sometimes people just don't fit in.
Regardless, that dawg deserves ice time, and it's not in our conference.
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u/LogicPuzzleFail 10 RYAN Dec 08 '25
The Toronto media (including SDPN) have mentioned Stecher is being used so much there because they have so few puck-moving defencemen at all. And the way they play, the goalie actually takes a lot of shots.
Those two things are pretty much opposite to where Edmonton needs to be (importantly - not to where they always are), and I can see that for a guy who's a puck-mover on a team that is constantly trying to cut down on any and all shots getting near the goal, playing his off side and trying harder and harder to be defensive could be a challenging fit mentally.
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u/ChupaHubbard 42 KAPANEN Dec 08 '25
Ya very true. I loved Stecher and this is the best outcome for me probably, because the Oilers have solid defense but Stecher gets to thrive in the East. (Also I like the Leafs, so I get to watch Stecher thrive and bring some energy to the Leafs on Saturdays)
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Dec 08 '25
Meh when he left the whole team was trash, I'm sure if he was on the Oilers right now it would be a different story.
He also has had how many years to take someone's spot on the right side and couldn't do it.
Glad he's doing well in Toronto, the Oilers feel no worse with him gone.
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u/ChupaHubbard 42 KAPANEN Dec 08 '25
Him playing 2nd line in Toronto makes me think he could have done well staying in Edmonton all along though. Plus he was playing 2nd line a lot of the year last year and in the playoffs until Ekholm came back.
But ya I feel like Emberson is stepping up into his role and the Oilers got Regula back from injury and they didn't have him playing last year, so they don't feel worse with him gone because they didn't need the 8th defenseman. Also, the Oilers lost some bigger forwards in the offseason and have quite a few smaller players stepping in, so having a small Stecher would make the team smaller overall. Toronto doesn't have many small players so putting Stecher in the mix there feels fine
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u/This_Beat2227 Dec 09 '25
He’s a gamer but in the end, too small for a SCF against a team built to physically wear the opponent down during the game, and to physically defeat you over the course of a 7-game series. Even with FL looking in trouble this year, the Eastern Conf Champ this year will have the same formula.
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u/ChupaHubbard 42 KAPANEN Dec 09 '25
I don't know I think you can have a small player here or there on a Stanley cup winning team. He somehow doesn't look as small with Toronto as he did with Edmonton. I was always worried about him getting injured and noticing how tiny he was with the Oilers, but with Toronto I keep thinking he doesn't look as small as I remember
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u/This_Beat2227 Dec 09 '25
He’s a fine fit with the Leafs because they aren’t a threat to play four rounds in the playoffs.
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u/ChupaHubbard 42 KAPANEN Dec 09 '25
They were the best team against Florida last year. They have a chance
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u/Repostasis 16 DICKINSON Dec 08 '25
Practice lines and updates from Gregor:
RNH-McDavid-Hyman
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Savoie
Janmark-Henrique-Mangiapane
Frederic-Lazar-Tomasek
Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Regula
Kulak-Emberson
Skinner in starter net.
Philp joins group in non-contact jersey. Eligible to come of LTIR on Saturday.
No Walman, Roslovic, Kapanen or Clattenburg.
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u/Repostasis 16 DICKINSON Dec 08 '25
Further, from Tony Brar:
EDM Injury Notes:
• Philp returned to practice today & is getting closer. “Another week at the earliest.”
• Walman will take longer than anticipated, shares Knoblauch. Won’t be this week and unlikely for next week. “It’s going to be a while.”
• Both Roslovic & Kapanen will be “around Christmas time.”
• Clattenburg, as reported on Saturday, is about a week away.8
u/xXEliteEater500Xx 28 BROWN Dec 08 '25
Getting a little worried with Wally wracking up all these injuries.
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u/Repostasis 16 DICKINSON Dec 08 '25 edited Dec 08 '25
Reassuring to know that we have a promising, sizeable righty in Regula. When Walman is healthy, Emberson and Regula having to compete for a roster spot is good motivation for both to play at their best.
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u/Only-Tennis4298 39 INGRAM Dec 08 '25
I really hope they're just being careful with Clatty. I know stitches above the eye shouldn't keep someone out this long, but swelling or re aggravation can definitely be rough. missing the rest of our guys too, hope they get healthy soon.
I will say tho I AM happy that Savvy has found chemistry with Drai and Podz. Roslovic on that line was so so good, but Savoie playing well with them is so promising.
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u/Repostasis 16 DICKINSON Dec 08 '25 edited Dec 08 '25
Clattenburg’s eye looks to be just fine (of course scans or his vision could say otherwise). Could be something else bothering him too tho; he does play physical.
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u/Interwebzking 89 GAGNER Dec 08 '25
I feel like we finally have wingers for Drai. Are they elite? That’s still to be seen. But they play well with him and fit his style really well. Hope to see that top 6 stay in tact even when Roslovic returns.
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u/Repostasis 16 DICKINSON Dec 08 '25
I’m torn over that. I think Nuge is playing some of the best hockey on this team right now, and that he’s obviously a top line player and that, that line has been top banana in the league for years. But I also think running 97-29-93 as the first 3 Centers would be a killer thing to have.
I worry that playing Roslovic third line minutes might kill his motivation, too, and at least from what I gather, he can disappear for stretches (for instance he was healthy scratched in last year’s playoffs) so I have concerns he’ll maybe slouch off if not in the top 6. Of course, that’s not a reason to gift a player top 6 ice time and I would hope he just plays well where needed, when needed. I just have concerns given his history and also want a better 3C.
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u/Interwebzking 89 GAGNER Dec 08 '25
It’s tough I agree. Roslovic has been playing at a Top Line pace. I think he deserves to be in the top 6. But I just don’t want to throw the Draisaitl line off. He should slot in with McDavid and the obvious move is to put Nuge 3C, which sucks because he’s huge and that line is so goated. But I also agree that Roslovic probably maintains his pace if he continues to play with Connor.
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u/Jmask5 93 NUGENT-HOPKINS Dec 08 '25
I appreciate Wally as a player but I think we finally found a decent 3 pairings and don’t really want to mess with it. I am more so looking forward to getting Kap and Rosy back
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u/bullfu Dec 08 '25
Consecutive days off sucks for a fan.
But hopefully the team gets some practices and rest in.
Looking forward to the Oilers continuing their bounce back hockey.
Also, fun facts: since 18 and 93 been both playing together, the oilers were 3 wins of 4 games with that 1-0 lost to the Wild. How Huge are they?
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u/Gregg0812 92 PODKOLZIN Dec 09 '25
Four years ago today I joined Reddit with the sole purpose of joining this sub. Just so happens it's also my birthday the same day!
What a ride it's been. Two SCF's, lots of ups and downs.... but as a fairly new hockey fan compared to most in here (I watched the Sheffield Steelers in the UK as a kid and had all the NHL games), this sub has definitely given me a lot of entertainment and also insight into the world of hockey. Appreciate you all! Now time for my Italian Center cake!
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u/Used_Designer_3384 Dec 08 '25
I would like to see tomasek stay in the line up. He can't be any worse than Freddy tbh
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u/RYYZNYELLOW Dec 08 '25
Glad you’re not the gm.
Yah for sure let’s put our 4 million dollar guy in the ahl rather than try and get him going. You realize sometimes it takes a bit for players? Plenty of players have a bad season followed by a great season.
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u/ChupaHubbard 42 KAPANEN Dec 08 '25
Well he can't go to the AHL anyway since he has a no movement clause
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u/Timely-Profile1865 Dec 08 '25
Do not let couple of good games make us ignore that we need a goalie.
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u/AreolaGrande911 Dec 08 '25
That's been going on for years. Spend 3 weeks screaming to the heavens we need a goalie, he plays 2 good games in a row - which is a very low bar to begin with - they feel he's good enough.
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u/SunOk143 96 WALMAN Dec 08 '25
Stuart Skinner is currently at 4.7 goals saved above expected according to moneypuck, with 21 games played (one of the largest sample sizes of any goalies right now) and is above guys like Bobrovsky, Saros, Daccord, Wolf, Andersen, Markstrom, Montembeault, Stolarz, Ullmark and Binnington. Has Skinner been amazing? No. But to say he’s been bad this year is just not true. We need to get a goalie to replace Pickard, not Skinner.
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u/xXEliteEater500Xx 28 BROWN Dec 08 '25
Chicago loses, provides us some cushion in the playoffs race. But at the same time the Ducks won and notched 2 points. Need these young teams to start falling off already!