Oilers put rookie centre on waivers, but was he really the problem?

This in from the Edmonton Oilers: “The Oilers have placed forward Noah Philp on waivers, in addition to placing forward David Tomasek on waivers for the purpose of contract termination.”

My take

1. The Edmonton Oilers bottom two lines are in a shambles. They can’t score. They don’t hit. They’re getting outscored badly. While the rest of the team is looking like it’s ready to challenge for the Stanley Cup, that’s not going to happen unless there is major change to the performance and make-up of the Bottom 6. And while it’s not clear if moving out Noah Philp, who was reportedly out with a concussion, will help improve the Bottom 6, it is clear that he wasn’t the major issue in that group. He put up a few points at least, 1.28 points per 60, which is more than you can say for veterans Trent Frederic, 0.43 per 60, Adam Henrique, 0.67 per 60, Curtis Lazar, 0.75 per 60, and Matt Savoie, 0.78 per 60.

Yes, Henrique, Lazar and Savoie are all useful penalty killers to some extent, but their lack of scoring is becoming alarming, with Savoie in particular not coming through given how much he’s played in the Top 6.

2. Will another team grab up Philp? It’s possible, given he’s a big, right shot centre who can help another team’s fourth line. I’d say he’s got a 33 per cent chance of getting grabbed up. The last time I made such an estimate, I said Stecher had a 50/50 shot at being grabbed, which is what happened.

Given that Philp was out with a concussion, perhaps his odds of getting picked up by another team go down. I suspect he’ll fall through to Bakersfield for the Oilers, but you never know.

3. It’s not clear to me that Philp is the answer in the Bottom Six for the Oilers. He’ll have to be more of a physical player to make it in the NHL, bringing at least one more hit per game. He doesn’t yet show the necessary game sense to make it as a third-line centre, so if he’s a fourth-line centre on an energy line, more hitting is the way for him to make an impact. But it’s not easy for any player to suddenly become a more aggressive hitter.

4. The situation on Edmonton’s bottom lines is dire. Along with the lack of scoring, the bottom six is weak defensively. When McDavid and/or Draisaitl have been on the ice 5-on-5, Edmonton has scored 61 goals and given up 48 goals against. Without either of them on the ice, the team has scored 17 goals and given up 41.

What’s most alarming is there seems to be no real plan to fix it, other than to stick with the under-performing vets and hope that they improve, which seems increasingly unlikely with players like Henrique, who is being asked to do too much at third line centre, and Frederic, who shows few signs of becoming a useful two-way bottom line player, let alone any kind of power forward.

5. Which players on the current roster can find a way to contribute to the third and fourth lines? Maybe Savoie, given his PK work. Maybe Henrique and Janmark on the fourth line, as both are solid PK players and are known to crank up their physical play in the playoffs. Max Jones has demonstrated some oomph to his game, but he’s mostly known for being inconsistent. Connor Clattenburg has the needed ferocity and energy, but does he have the skill? Perhaps Kasperi Kapanen can step up when he gets back.

6. At this point the Oilers could do worse than bringing up players crushing it in the AHL, such as big centre Josh Samanski and winger Quinn Hutson and see if they can’t get it done on the third line. There’s no harm in experimenting because we’ve seen almost half a season of the current group and they’re not remotely close to getting the job done.

At the Cult of Hockey

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