Stan Bowman's shopping list for those tantalizing Edmonton Oilers Boxing Day bargains

Happy Boxing Day, Cult of Hockey readers!

We hope Santa brought what you were hoping for, and if not, hey…there are always those temping Boxing Day sales to round things out!

So, if Stan Bowman is strolling the NHL isles this Boxing Day, what should he have on his list, and be keeping an eye out for?

Here is my 9 Things list for the Edmonton Oilers General Manager:

9. Discipline. I have zero issue with players defending themselves and if they end up in the box once in a while in doing so, no problem. But better situational awareness will help you win more games.

8. Manage Minutes. I get it. It is all-too easy for Kris Knoblauch to run Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl out there all the time. But it would be nice if there was still gas left in the tank come June.

7. Real TOI for Rookies. If the kids on this roster are to play a key role down the stretch and into the playoffs, get them real experience now. Put them in the situations you envision for them. Let them make their mistakes now.

6. Truculence. I do not consider Edmonton “soft”. I think the Oilers can look after themselves. But I am not so sure they can impose their will on another club, physically. An Evander Kane-like element (tough but can play) would change that.

5. Consistent Defensive structure. The Oilers are defending better than they did over the first quarter of the season. But I do not yet see a Stanley Cup Playoffs-quality structure. It is hard to outscore the other elite teams for more than a game or two. It tends to eventually catch up to you.

4. A Playoff-tested D. I like very many things about Ty Emberson, Alec Regula and Spencer Stastney. But between the three of them they have a grand total of twelve games of Stanley Cup experience. Hmmm. I know what you are thinking: That sounds like Brett Kulak. Yeah, I know.

3. Speaking of which: We all saw how seriously vulnerable the Oilers blueline was last playoffs when Mattias Ekholm was trying to play through an injury. Ekholm remains a critical member of that first pairing. You can not hide from injury. But you can watch how heavy of a workload he carries.

2. Protect Your 2A and 2B. So far, the Connor Ingram experiment is going quite well. Tristan Jarry is still the de-facto #1. But if his injuries persist, the Oilers will need both Ingram and Calvin Pickard behind Jarry. Injuries happen when you can least afford them. Do not lose one of Ingram or Pickard on waivers. You made two moves that resulted in superior goalie depth. Great! Do not waste it.

1.A two-way 3C. Unless Stan Bowman is going big game hunting for a left winger alongside Connor McDavid, I cannot imagine who would be a better fit than Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The Nuge has a long track record of being productive in that slot. He can think the game at Connor’s level. But leaving Nugent-Hopkins on the first line would effectively scotch the idea of #93 at 3C. And while I admire the hell out of Adam Henrique, at this point in his career I think he is a very good 4C. I believe the 3C item has the potential to deliver the greatest impact of anything one thing on this list.

And hey, I get that Stan Bowman does not have an unlimited limit on his credit card. Even with a generous owner like Daryl Katz, the NHL salary cap is a real thing to deal with. It would likely have to be a “money-out, money-in” scenario.

So, have two lists, a “must have” and a “like to have”. Because inevitably, one or more of the 9 things above will end up on a third list titled…

“Just can’t afford it”.

ADDENDUM:

-David Tomasek and the Oilers will be mutually parting ways, with Tomasek returning to Europe. This will likely take effect when the holiday roster freeze thaws, the club announcing on Boxing Day that Tomasek will be waived December 28th, for the purpose of contract termination. . It took guts for the twenty-nine-year-old to leave a sure thing in Europe for a shot at the NHL. I admire him for trying it. But in the end, the talented forward did not have the boots to cut it at this level. A testament to just how good of a league the NHL actually is.

This article is not AI generated.

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