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Forums :: Blog World :: Sean Maloughney: Keys To The Off-Season Part 1 - Building Like Vegas
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Sean Maloughney
Edmonton Oilers
Location: Edmonton
Joined: 09.26.2010

May 23 @ 11:56 AM ET
Sean Maloughney: Keys To The Off-Season Part 1 - Building Like Vegas
LordHumungous
Vancouver Canucks
Location: Greetings from the Humungous. Ayatollah of rock and rolla!
Joined: 08.15.2014

May 23 @ 1:29 PM ET
Well done Sean thx.

JLO961
Season Ticket Holder
Edmonton Oilers
Location: MTL, QC
Joined: 01.16.2013

May 23 @ 2:44 PM ET
A very interesting write-up, thanks!

I still stand by my opinion; however, that this team is still MUCH too concerned about offense and they'll continue to get beaten by teams with more defensive structure and more heart. We have FAR too many forwards flying the zone and not picking up on their D-zone responsibilities and this is what always leads to our D-men being hemmed in their own zone and our goaltenders being hung out to dry. Too many passenger players waiting for "the other guy" to do the work and have the puck squeak out to them. Not enough grit by our wingers in our D-zone to get the puck over the blue and not enough responsibility by the centers in front of our own net and down low backing up the Dmen. As fundamental as these two things are, they are actually what need to be addressed on this team.

The talent is there, but I think maybe they need a more old-school ball-busting structured coach.

jfkst1
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Clackety Clack
Joined: 02.09.2015

May 23 @ 4:57 PM ET
The obvious argument would be that Vegas can configure their lines in that manner because they are not so reliant on the PP and their top duo for offensive production like Edmonton is. I think EDM is a legit contender and Vegas is simply better right now. Next year that might not be the case.
theguvna
Vancouver Canucks
Location: BC
Joined: 10.24.2019

May 23 @ 8:09 PM ET
Interesting read, thank you Sean
Oildrum
Edmonton Oilers
Location: Kenny will bring us to the promised land
Joined: 06.12.2012

May 23 @ 10:44 PM ET
I feel a little better now that it looks like Vegas is going to sweep Dallas.
HonkyTonkMan
Edmonton Oilers
Location: Home to ruined prospects and overpaid slugs', AB
Joined: 06.10.2015

May 24 @ 7:43 AM ET
A very interesting write-up, thanks!

I still stand by my opinion; however, that this team is still MUCH too concerned about offense and they'll continue to get beaten by teams with more defensive structure and more heart. We have FAR too many forwards flying the zone and not picking up on their D-zone responsibilities and this is what always leads to our D-men being hemmed in their own zone and our goaltenders being hung out to dry. Too many passenger players waiting for "the other guy" to do the work and have the puck squeak out to them. Not enough grit by our wingers in our D-zone to get the puck over the blue and not enough responsibility by the centers in front of our own net and down low backing up the Dmen. As fundamental as these two things are, they are actually what need to be addressed on this team.

The talent is there, but I think maybe they need a more old-school ball-busting structured coach.

- JLO961


That’s sorta my thoughts too. We don’t need our top 6 forwards to suddenly become Guy Carboneau but some sort of structure is needed. Marion Hossa had no problem scoring goals but back checked liked a mother (frank)er, why can’t Draisaitl? Unfortunately, I think management and ownership is hesitant to hire a taskmaster with a focus on details with our stars a few short years away from Free Agency. Our player friendly coach might make them happy but I can’t see him getting us a cup, and that is the ONLY thing that matters.
Dieselhead
Location: CA
Joined: 11.01.2011

May 24 @ 10:42 AM ET
That’s sorta my thoughts too. We don’t need our top 6 forwards to suddenly become Guy Carboneau but some sort of structure is needed. Marion Hossa had no problem scoring goals but back checked liked a mother (frank)er, why can’t Draisaitl? Unfortunately, I think management and ownership is hesitant to hire a taskmaster with a focus on details with our stars a few short years away from Free Agency. Our player friendly coach might make them happy but I can’t see him getting us a cup, and that is the ONLY thing that matters.
- HonkyTonkMan


Watching Gerard Gallant screaming at the Oiler bench would be breath of fresh air.
K-man25
Calgary Flames
Location: K Town
Joined: 09.02.2014

May 24 @ 11:53 AM ET
That’s sorta my thoughts too. We don’t need our top 6 forwards to suddenly become Guy Carboneau but some sort of structure is needed. Marion Hossa had no problem scoring goals but back checked liked a mother (frank)er, why can’t Draisaitl? Unfortunately, I think management and ownership is hesitant to hire a taskmaster with a focus on details with our stars a few short years away from Free Agency. Our player friendly coach might make them happy but I can’t see him getting us a cup, and that is the ONLY thing that matters.
- HonkyTonkMan

Agree. Woodcroft blew a glorious opportunity that doesn’t come around very often. Oilers were built to win and now are just another team sitting at home watching.
Any word from Mrs McDavid? Would like to hear her take on this series.
Quinn's Quest
Vancouver Canucks
Joined: 08.08.2022

May 25 @ 2:31 AM ET
Balanced lineups seems to be the theme of these playoffs. So take pairs and add the third wheel to each could work. Though without better structure and goaltending it won’t be enough.
jfkst1
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Clackety Clack
Joined: 02.09.2015

May 25 @ 10:12 AM ET
Balanced lineups seems to be the theme of these playoffs. So take pairs and add the third wheel to each could work. Though without better structure and goaltending it won’t be enough.
- Quinn's Quest


Florida has been extremely top heavy. They are just getting great goaltending to cover up all their issues.
LordHumungous
Vancouver Canucks
Location: Greetings from the Humungous. Ayatollah of rock and rolla!
Joined: 08.15.2014

May 25 @ 10:16 AM ET
Florida has been extremely top heavy. They are just getting great goaltending to cover up all their issues.
- jfkst1

Vegas hits hard with 4 lines and technically Florida hasn't seen that kind of pressure yet. Will be interesting even though I'm not watching. Is Mrs. Kadri watching??

JLO961
Season Ticket Holder
Edmonton Oilers
Location: MTL, QC
Joined: 01.16.2013

May 25 @ 11:53 AM ET
Balanced lineups seems to be the theme of these playoffs. So take pairs and add the third wheel to each could work. Though without better structure and goaltending it won’t be enough.
- Quinn's Quest


Please do not perceive this as another "trade Draisaitl" post, but this was my line of thinking all along. Yes, I love Drai's offensive ability, I also love a motivated and angry Drai backchecking like a mofo and winning puck battles (it actually seems easy for him when he decides to do it.), but imagine what the return would have been for him right after his MVP season? Wouldn't we rather have had a top line winger, a top pairing D, and an elite tendy?....maybe MORE?

I'm on the fence about this now though, as Draisaitl has now had two or three very disappointing playoff exits, all while he absolutely killed it offensively. He's probably there now mentally and he actually has a chance to be THE best player in the league if he becomes a truly complete player. I actually see him possibly becoming better all around than Connor (slow down...I said "possibly").

Both Leon and Connor have a long way to go still to become the types of players that win (Crosby, Toews, Messier, Forsberg, Bergeron, etc. etc.) but this past season should help them get there. Hopefully.

I'm completely off of the trade Drai train now, I think he will change his game this summer. He's only, what? 27yrs old?
jfkst1
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Clackety Clack
Joined: 02.09.2015

May 25 @ 2:37 PM ET
Both Leon and Connor have a long way to go still to become the types of players that win (Crosby, Toews, Messier, Forsberg, Bergeron, etc. etc.) but this past season should help them get there. Hopefully.

I'm completely off of the trade Drai train now, I think he will change his game this summer. He's only, what? 27yrs old?

- JLO961


McDavid is a superior player to all of those mentioned. If Eichel wins the SC with Vegas does that mean Eichel changes his game better than McDavid? I recall these same retarded arguments about Crosby and Malkin from 2010-2015. Then the supporting cast improved and they won. The surrounding teams are the difference. McDrai are by far the best duo in the league and if they were given proper support they would win more.
Quinn's Quest
Vancouver Canucks
Joined: 08.08.2022

May 26 @ 10:31 AM ET
McDavid is a superior player to all of those mentioned. If Eichel wins the SC with Vegas does that mean Eichel changes his game better than McDavid? I recall these same retarded arguments about Crosby and Malkin from 2010-2015. Then the supporting cast improved and they won. The surrounding teams are the difference. McDrai are by far the best duo in the league and if they were given proper support they would win more.
- jfkst1


Yeah can’t get far without balance in goal and defense as most important in playoffs.
HonkyTonkMan
Edmonton Oilers
Location: Home to ruined prospects and overpaid slugs', AB
Joined: 06.10.2015

May 26 @ 12:11 PM ET
McDavid is a superior player to all of those mentioned. If Eichel wins the SC with Vegas does that mean Eichel changes his game better than McDavid? I recall these same retarded arguments about Crosby and Malkin from 2010-2015. Then the supporting cast improved and they won. The surrounding teams are the difference. McDrai are by far the best duo in the league and if they were given proper support they would win more.
- jfkst1

They certainly are the best and most prolific offensive weapons in the league but they have a bit of work to do in their own end. We don’t need them to contend for Selke’s but they need to be a bit better
HonkyTonkMan
Edmonton Oilers
Location: Home to ruined prospects and overpaid slugs', AB
Joined: 06.10.2015

May 26 @ 1:12 PM ET
Not a terrible Blog but something I always sorta laugh at every year is the Copy cats. Someone wins a cup and all we hear is chatter about “ in todays NHL you need _____ to win”. Then half the teams try and do that, fail miserably ( as most all teams do) and someone else wins with a different brand of hockey and everybody says “ in todays NHL, you need _____ to win”.
Just like after last year everybody said goaltending doesn’t matter and then you see Bobrovski stealing games 😂.

Rolling 4 interchangeable lines is fine if you have a team full of plumbers , but it doesn’t really work when you have McDavid and Draisaitl. It seems like everyone is trying to find some magical way to adjust the roster and lines so there is always a defensive stalwart on any given forward line and not put the onus on ALL players to commit to back checking and team defence.

Then again, what do I know? The tried and true methods that remain consistent amongst winners for 3 decades don’t seem to be evident with this club.
jfkst1
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Clackety Clack
Joined: 02.09.2015

May 26 @ 2:06 PM ET
Not a terrible Blog but something I always sorta laugh at every year is the Copy cats. Someone wins a cup and all we hear is chatter about “ in todays NHL you need _____ to win”. Then half the teams try and do that, fail miserably ( as most all teams do) and someone else wins with a different brand of hockey and everybody says “ in todays NHL, you need _____ to win”.
Just like after last year everybody said goaltending doesn’t matter and then you see Bobrovski stealing games 😂.

Rolling 4 interchangeable lines is fine if you have a team full of plumbers , but it doesn’t really work when you have McDavid and Draisaitl. It seems like everyone is trying to find some magical way to adjust the roster and lines so there is always a defensive stalwart on any given forward line and not put the onus on ALL players to commit to back checking and team defence.

Then again, what do I know? The tried and true methods that remain consistent amongst winners for 3 decades don’t seem to be evident with this club.

- HonkyTonkMan


Agreed. In the cap era, the most consistent manner of contending is by winning the contest at ES. LAK, CHI, PIT, TBL all built their success based on that. Chasing the goalie success of Florida and Vegas this year is an almost sure fire way to fail as goalies are ridiculously inconsistent and thus unpredictable for roster construction (Bobrovsky and Hill being prime examples).
HonkyTonkMan
Edmonton Oilers
Location: Home to ruined prospects and overpaid slugs', AB
Joined: 06.10.2015

May 27 @ 11:20 AM ET
Agreed. In the cap era, the most consistent manner of contending is by winning the contest at ES. LAK, CHI, PIT, TBL all built their success based on that. Chasing the goalie success of Florida and Vegas this year is an almost sure fire way to fail as goalies are ridiculously inconsistent and thus unpredictable for roster construction (Bobrovsky and Hill being prime examples).
- jfkst1

You bet. This team doesn’t need new and/or innovative methods. Just the basic construction of a solid roster good for all situations. This was a team that not only lacks a true number 1 defencemen, but has partnered him up with a pylon that neither enhance or insulate his game , had both Tyson Barrie and Evan Bouchard occupying regular spots on the blue line, and the two most prolific scorers in the league on the ice for almost as many goals against as goals for….and let’s not even talk about goaltending. The Blue line is half way there IMO, and really just need an ideal partner for Nurse, no point in (frank)ing with goaltending because as you said , Voodoo, so to me it conned down to a couple of veteran forwards that understand the two way or defensive aspect of the game and can influence the likes of McD and LD ( there are only 2 names that come to mind here with that kind of respect) and possibly a hard look at coaching.