Oilers v. Ducks - 1 Thessalonians 2:17-20

O faithful Oilogosphere, the playoffs have been torn away from us for a time (at least in the present, we always have video), but I want you to know that this isn't generally because of a lack of effort from those wearing the jersey.

Avalanche v. Ducks - Scoring Chances #39

Tm	P	Time	Note	COL						Opponent
ANA	1	19:35		9	23	39	41	44	52	1	9	11	19	21	42	5v5
ANA	1	18:57		16	22	27	37	41	55	1	4	22	28	34	39	5v5
COL	1	17:52	Goal	4	5	15	41	45	59	1	13	16	17	27	53	5v5
COL	1	16:26		8	22	25	26	27	41	1	4	10	15	32	34	5v5
ANA	1	15:54		8	23	25	26	27	41	1	13	22	27	34		5v4
COL	1	13:06		15	22	25	27	41	45	1	4	10	15	32	34	5v5
ANA	1	10:41		4	5	25	26	41	55	1	10	15	27	32	53	5v5
COL	1	9:09		4	5	9	23	39	41	1	13	16	17	19	21	5v5
ANA	1	7:54		15	26	41	44	52		1	4	11	32	34	42	4v5
ANA	1	7:26		37	39	41	44	52		1	9	10	15	19	27	4v5
ANA	1	7:20		37	39	41	44	52		1	9	10	15	19	27	4v5
ANA	1	6:48		8	26	41	44	52		1	9	10	15	19	27	4v5
ANA	1	4:46		9	23	39	41	44	52	1	9	11	19	21	42	5v5
COL	1	4:32		8	22	25	26	27	41	1	10	15	27	32	53	5v5
ANA	1	1:00		22	26	27	41	55		1	10	15	19	27	32	4v5
COL	2	19:03		8	22	25	26	27	41	1	11	22	27	39	53	5v5
COL	2	12:15		4	5	16	41	45	59	1	4	13	22	34	39	5v5
COL	2	11:25		4	5	8	25	26	41	1	10	15	27	32	53	5v5
ANA	2	6:09		37	39	41	44	52		1	4	11	32	34	42	4v5
ANA	2	3:47		4	9	22	23	39	41	1	19	21	22	28	39	5v5
ANA	2	2:58		8	25	26	41	44	52	1	10	15	27	32	53	5v5
COL	2	1:39		8	16	26	41	44	52	1	4	22	28	34	39	5v5
COL	3	19:44		4	5	8	23	26	41	1	22	27	28	34		5v4
ANA	3	18:22		9	22	25	27	39	41	1	4	10	11	19	32	5v5
COL	3	16:39		22	23	26	27	39	41	1	10	15	27	32	53	5v5
COL	3	16:33	Goal	4	5	8	25	26	41	1	22	27	28	39	53	5v5
ANA	3	16:15		8	22	25	26	27	41	1	10	15	27	32	53	5v5
ANA	3	16:14		8	22	25	26	27	41	1	10	15	27	32	53	5v5
ANA	3	14:06		4	5	15	41	45	59	1	4	9	11	34	42	5v5
COL	3	11:12		8	23	25	26	27	41	1	13	22	27	34		5v4
ANA	3	9:06		4	5	8	25	26	41	1	9	10	15	27	53	5v5
ANA	3	7:35	Goal	8	22	25	26	27	41	1	9	10	15	27	34	5v5
ANA	3	4:56	Goal	9	25	39	41	44	52	1	11	19	21	39	42	5v5
ANA	3	3:22		4	5	15	37	41	55	1	11	19	21	39	42	5v5
COL	3	2:34		22	23	26	27	39	41	1	4	9	10	15	34	5v5
ANA	3	0:27	Goal	22	23	26	27	39	41	1	9	10	15	19	21	5v5
ANA	3	0:12	Goal	4	8	9	23	25	26	1	11	22	27	28	34	5v5

#	Player	EV			PP			SH
4	J. LILES	15:34	5	6	3:05	1	0	0:00	0	0
5	B. CLARK	12:23	5	4	2:35	1	0	1:46	0	0
8	W. WOLSKI	16:48	6	6	4:08	2	1	0:07	0	1
9	M. DUCHENE	15:02	1	6	1:52	0	0	0:00	0	0
15	M. HENDRICKS	5:48	2	2	0:00	0	0	0:54	0	1
16	D. TUCKER	7:59	2	1	1:51	0	0	0:00	0	0
22	S. HANNAN	18:31	6	7	0:01	0	0	2:06	0	1
23	M. HEJDUK	14:47	3	5	4:08	2	1	0:00	0	0
25	C. STEWART	15:54	6	9	3:24	1	1	0:00	0	0
26	P. STASTNY	16:54	8	8	4:08	2	1	0:57	0	3
27	K. QUINCEY	17:14	6	6	2:54	1	1	1:43	0	1
37	R. O'REILLY	11:57	0	2	0:00	0	0	4:05	0	3
39	T. GALIARDI	15:26	3	6	1:52	0	0	4:41	0	3
41	C. ANDERSON	47:54	12	15	6:00	2	1	6:00	0	6
44	R. WILSON	15:33	1	4	0:00	0	0	2:53	0	5
45	C. DURNO	6:04	3	1	0:00	0	0	0:00	0	0
52	A. FOOTE	17:39	1	4	0:01	0	0	3:32	0	5
55	C. MCLEOD	10:26	0	3	0:01	0	0	1:16	0	1
59	B. YIP	6:07	2	1	0:00	0	0	0:00	0	0

Period	Totals		EV		PP		5v3 PP		SH		5v3 SH
1	5	10	5	4	0	1	0	0	0	5	0	0
2	4	3	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
3	5	10	3	10	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	14	23	12	16	2	1	0	0	0	6	0	0

I and others have hammered the Avalanche a lot this season because of the degree to which they get outshot. And this game was a thorough beating by that metric with the Ducks holding a 43-17 advantage. But as you can see by the scoring chances, especially at EV, the Ducks weren't really generating that many more chances than the Avalanche despite the gaudy shot totals. For a large portion of the game the Avalanche were effectively preventing shots from the middle of the ice and limiting odd-man rushes against. They were a bit rough on the first PK (four of the six chances came on that one kill) but they cleaned that up as the game went along but their PP was ineffective throughout. All that to say, the Avalanche weren't piss poor in this one. The top line of Wolski, Stastny and Stewart in particular played well, considering they were matched consistently against Getzlaf and Perry and managed to pretty much break even.

The turning point in the game came when the Ducks notched their first goal. Up to that point in the third period the chances were fairly even (5-4 Ducks) and the Avalanche didn't look to be in much danger. But then, Bobby Ryan crashed the crease, prevented Anderson from making a save and the Avs came a little bit unglued. Anderson was clearly very upset at the way the game was officiated, partly because of that first goal, but also because of Corey Perry's antics in and around the crease all evening. This was one of those games where you can really understand why the NHL went to the "no feet in the crease, no exceptions" rule, not that I want it back.

Oilers v. Ducks - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-28

Let us all be joyful no matter the circumstances. Let us all pray continually for God's deliverance. Let us give thanks for God's generosity in letting us being truly terrible instead of the worst kind of middling. Indeed, this sort of thankful spirit is exactly what God desires from us as we prepare to cast lots for the first pick overall.

See Also:
Oilers v. Ducks - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Oilers v. Ducks - 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15

Oilers v. Ducks - 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15

Now, to all of you younger players, I need to ask that you respect those have poured out blood and sweat for this team for many years. They wear letters on their jerseys and puff themselves up because of it even though they sometimes only play well against teams that are rumoured to be interested in them but they are in fact over you in the Lord.

See Also:
Oilers v. Ducks - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Oilers v. Ducks - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Now all of you who suffer with me do not need to be reminded that we cannot be distracted by individual games or seasons. The day of the Lord's deliverance may seem to tarry but ou know as well as I do that its coming is certain.

The Acquisition of Joffrey Lupul

After checking out the recent transactions of the Edmonton Oilers I was struck by the relatively low number put up by Joffrey Lupul. He produced very similar numbers against the Oilers as compared to most other teams, although he did tend to score more goals and collect fewer assists. Kevin Lowe has taken a lot of deserved criticism for the return on the Pronger trade. This has been exacerbated by the fact that Getzlaf, Perry and now Ryan have all turned into very good players. But how were they all performing at the time of the trade? How did their general performance compare with their performance against the Oilers? I think these are relevant questions. I will only be using a one year sample instead of the regular two years for this exercise since most of the players in question were rookies in 2005-06. Here is the performance of the Anaheim young stars in that season:


I think that it's significant that Joffrey Lupul is at the very bottom of this list. It implies one of two things: (1) he may not have been Kevin Lowe's first choice of young forward given his other acquisitions over the last few seasons or (2) recent performance against the Oilers was not a significant factor in his acquisition.

The first thing worth noting is that Bobby Ryan isn't in the NHL at this point. Instead he's putting up 95 points in 59 regular season OHL games along with a -1 rating. He also scored 12 points in 11 OHL playoff games before his team was eliminated. After they were knocked out Ryan moved to the AHL playoffs where he scored 1-7-8 in 19 playoff games. Ryan would probably not have provided immediate help to the Oilers and I imagine the Ducks would have insisted he be one of the two main pieces (according to Guy Flaming this is what the Oilers were seeking) going back to Edmonton in any deal. The Oilers seem to have thought that Smid could play in the NHL immediately and decided they wanted him as part of the package. I can certainly understand not wanting Smid and Ryan to make up the bulk of the package coming back for Pronger and, as such, think it's pretty defensible that Lowe took Lupul over Ryan.

The elements at work here show some other interesting things. Firstly, Corey Perry doesn't look like a guy about to become an offensive star. He concluded his age 20 season with 28 points in 67 games which is a pretty paltry total. At the same age Lupul had 34 points in 75 games. I think Lowe can be forgiven for choosing Lupul over Perry.

If I had to bet, I'd say it's Getzlaf, Penner and Lupul that the Oilers were strongly considering. While Penner had played well against the Oilers and had registered a dominant AHL season, he was still a 23 year-old NHL rookie. I can see why the Oilers would have passed on Penner in favour of Lupul.

Last is Getzlaf. I think it's pretty likely that Getzlaf was the Oilers first choice for a forward. He had size on Lupul and his 20 year-old season is definitely more impressive. His play against the Oilers was also quite good. Much has been made about the "five assets" that Kevin Lowe was trying to get but as I noted earlier, it would seem the Oilers primary objective was securing two good young talents and extras. It seems quite plausible to me that the Oilers got the second round pick as a throw-in for taking Lupul instead of Getzlaf. The "five assets" mantra may not have started until after the second 1st rounder was sealed with the Ducks Cup run and after the disappointing performances of Smid and Lupul. In may have been a later narrative created to save face (P.S. It didn't work).

Including his playoffs Lupul had put up 64 points in 97 games in his 22 year-old season. Some of the underlying numbers may not have been good, but the boxcars were and I can see how Oilers management thought that Lupul would be ready to explode offensively. Then there's the reaction of some astute fellows from around the Oilogosphere at the time of the trade. No one was glowingly positive and that's for sure, but there wasn't as much, "what about frakking Getzlaf!!!" as there is now. Here's Vic Ferrari's take:

"Don't get me wrong, I don't think the Pronger deal is a terrible trade, just that there is no right now! component."

Tyler Dellow on the same subject:

"Suffice it to say that I haven’t been a big fan of Joffrey Lupul in the past... I’m cautiously optimistic that, if fed PP minutes with Hemsky, Lupul can be a real producer on the PP. He just wasn’t a good EV player last year and I see no reason to expect that to change in the coming season; Lupul was EV+33 and EV-39. Given that he was playing in front of really good goaltending last season, this probably overstates his competence. He’s a good young offensive player but he’s going to need to be fed some soft TOI in order to keep him from sinking the ship. I’m somewhat concerned that the Oilers are starting to pile up guys like this: Hemsky, Torres, Stoll and Lupul are a lot of putative top 9 forwards to hide at ES."

And Pat McLean:

"I thought he was a good young player who would likely become a great player. I also thought he was a punk. Well, now he's our punk... But [Lowe] got a shooter, something the Oilers need, and he's a 22 year old who scored 28 goals playing with, who, Todd Marchant? That's a nice pickup."

This isn't a comprehensive look at the Oilogosphere's reaction, but I think it's pretty fair to say the general complaint was about getting someone that could help the team immediately, not about getting the wrong kid out of Anaheim. The trade was a poor one and that's the truth but I think it was poor because of the overall "young pieces that don't help now" strategy. I think talk of Getzlaf or especially Ryan/Perry/Penner needing to be included in the deal smacks a bit of revisionism when we know a lot better how each of these guys turns out.

Oilers v. Ducks - Judges 16:18-22

When the woman saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to Strachan, "You must trust me once more, he has told me everything." So Strachan went to Californ(ication)a with the hefty sum that he and his cohorts had promised her. She told them all about the Orbs of Power but Strachan was frustrated: "I cannot print this in a national newspaper, even if it is true! Do you think I am just some basement-loving-pygama-wearing blogger!"

Then she called in to the next room, "Pronger, the media are upon us!"
He awoke from his pregame nap and thought, "I need to give him some juicy piece of information in order to conceal this thing I have done." So he decided to follow-through with his request for a trade and he told Strachan all about it so long as he promised to wait until the season was over to report it. At this point Yahweh was angered and decided on that day to crush the hearts of Oiler fans in the Stanley Cup finals for employing such a man as this.

So the media seized upon this story after the playoffs and Oiler fans, not realizing that the sin belonged to them as much as to Pronger himself, burned his furniture and dragged his name through the mud. Oiler fans lashed out at him at every opportunity and eventually Kevin Lowe traded Pronger to a pathetic hockey market. But the punishment that Oiler fans would endure was only beginning.

Oilers v. Ducks - Judges 16:1-17

After many years Pronger moved to Edmonton, and there he saw a fine-looking woman, and he went in to her. The media were told that Pronger had arrived and said to one another, "Pronger has come here! I think he is with a woman!" So they surrounded the place at the orders of their leader, Mr. Strachan, and set an ambush for him all night in front of the woman's house. They kept quiet all night, saying, "We need to wait until he comes out of there in the light of the morning; then we will take pictures." But Pronger awoke at midnight, looked down once again at the woman and snuck out the back door.

After this, when winter came, he loved a woman in the downtown core. So the media came up to her and said, "Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies and what he thinks about Edmonton so that we will have many stories to write, both about his power and about this terrible free-agent repelling city! We will each give you both anonymity in our stories and a hefty sum." So the woman said to Pronger, "You must tell me where your great strength lies and your feelings about the coming bitter January cold."

Pronger said to her, "I will love this city even in the bitter January cold and I always wear a lucky green undershirt in order to play my best." Now she was wearing a wire and when he slipped off her shirt he saw it and the next morning in the paper it was reported that Chris loved Edmonton and had a lucky green shirt. When Chris denied the shirt rumour to the media, Strachan was proved wrong, so the secret of his strength was not known.

On their next illicit rendez-vous the woman said to Pronger, "You have mocked me and told me lies! Please tell me the source of your strength and what might get you off of your game." And he said to her, "If they use racial slurs on my teammates then I will become frustrated and play poorly." So the woman brought this news to Strachan. He was unsure of it so he decided to pass it along to someone who would test the information. This set off a seven game losing streak. Seven being the number of completeness, Strachan concluded that the report was true so he reported that Pronger had been ruined by the racially insensitive remarks and that his play would not recover. The Oilers then won five consecutive games.

Then the woman went back to Pronger and said, "Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me the source of your strength!" Pronger knew that she was upset and wasn't sure what to do. He had been used to these visits being fun. He said to her, "If you make love to me seven times in the next week then my play will become like that of my brother." So she came to Californi(cation)a for the last half of January. Each morning he would wake up and say that he was in a weakened state but his play continued as usual.

At the end of the trip she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies. I am going to tell your wife!" When she pressed him in this way his soul was vexed to death. He immediately went to Kevin Lowe and asked for a trade. When he came back to her he said, "I will tell you the truth! You must not tell my wife! It is the Orbs! The Orbs of Power that give both me and my team our strength!"

Whitney traded for Kunitz/Tangradi

This trade has some (cap) problems for both teams. I think that the key piece involved in the trade is prospect Eric Tangradi. There is a good chance that he can play for the Pittsburgh Penguins within two years. Some comparable players have ended up with very successful NHL careers, others not, but he may well be able to outperform his entry-level contract.

That’s going to be a mighty important thing for Pittsburgh. Shero has, with good reason (see the analysis of the trade by Jonathan Willis), soured on Whitney as an all-around defenceman, but he’s moved a lot of money from one asset class to another. By taking virtually all of the 4M in cap dollars invested in Whitney and putting it into Kunitz the Penguins now have just over 25M tied up in 4 forwards. They're also locked in to an absolute minimum of 5.5M for two goalies because of the Marc-Andre Fleury deal. If the cap moves down to around 50M in the next couple of years that only leaves 19.5M for 7D and 9F. If they aren’t able to move Staal they are going to have a terrible time trying to find some quality on defence. If I was moving Whitney, I would have made sure that I wasn't taking long-term salary back, especially at forward. If Tangradi is more Stone than Cheechoo this is a big loss for the Penguins.

As for the Ducks, the deal depends on whether or not Whitney rounds out his game. It’s not a bet I would be making but it does seem to have some chance of working out and, at the very least, this move looks to have a long-term plan in mind. One of Niedermayer or Pronger will be leaving soon and Whitney is, I assume, being groomed as a(n inadequate) replacement.

Smid's Contract

There is one question I have never been able to find an answer for and I was reminded of it when I was looking at Ladislav Smid's waiver eligibility: How is Smid still on his entry-level contract? He played the 2005-06 season for Anaheim's AHL affiliate and then 06-07 and 07-08 with the Oilers. The Ducks announced that he was signed to a three-year entry-level contract in August of 2005. So how is he still under contract in 2008-09?

Oilers v. Ducks - Genesis 1:26-27

Then God said, "Let us make the Oilers in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the Sharks of the sea and the Ducks of the air, over the Coyotes, over all the Pacific Division, and over all of the other teams that move along the ice."

So God created Oilerkind in his own image, in the image of God he created it; Oilers and Oilogosphere he created them.