Edited Jan. 13, 2021 at 4:00 a.m.
Last season that "horrible depth" (since bolstered) produced the best record among Canadian teams and second in their division points wise. They've improved.
Maybe we're looking at "really bad in his own end" differently. To me a defenseman who consistently outscores (often) elite opposition at 5v5 is a net positive player. Single mistakes in time are still just single events. At the end of the day your measure as a hockey player comes down to what you create minus what you give up. A player who has a career positive GF% is a quality player. One who's in the top 10 in 5v5 defenseman scoring over the last ten years while only having been in the league for 8/10 years is no fluke. Not to mention you can give TOR a pass for a coaching change (poor results early) and not give Barrie the benefit of the doubt at the same time. Look up the splits; his results after Babcock left are startling.
Ennis has scored at elite second line rates for years now, across multiple organizations. Not bad depth to have on your fourth line. For $1M. His versatility will come in handy.
Unlike Rattie, Kahun has likewise shown he can play up with skill in the top-6 and produce. With Towes in CHI and again with Malkin in PIT, as a recent for instance. From reading the press and blogs, guys like Geno and the fans seem to like him. I don't know a lot about him, but there are plenty of fancies that suggest there's a player. Another low risk bet, this time even cheaper at $975k for one year... and we retain his rights if it works out well. Oh, Draisaitl suggested him as a player to acquire so he's got that going for him. Chances are good he'll do well, beyond his established level of ability and relative risk.
Turris is slow and just not really not good anymore. Okay then. Agree to disagree. As I said earlier, one under performing season doesn't define a career. We'll know more about his decline or redemption this year, whether he's hit a cliff or a speed bump. He's a solid bet at 3C, and the price and term are (again) low risk bets for the upcoming season.
TOR had injuries? So did EDM. We were without core roster players for long stretches (Larsson, Klefbom, the irreplaceable Connor McDavid and others) and forced rookies (Bear, Jones, Yamamoto) into prominent positions, while integrating basically an entirely new bottom six and coaching staffs. Tough... that's pro sports. The Oilers had the best line in the NHL during 2020. That was our second line. But they were by far the worst in the division? Okay then. From a distance it would appear you've bought into a narrative instead of results/numbers.
The problems you allude to with outscoring largely stem from the cumulative effect of a disastrous December slump. We'll see how that works out going forward. Improvements in the bottom six -- really, a 35 GF% shouldn't be that hard to build on -- and consistency year over year with the bulk of the coaching staff and much of the roster will help. There's a cumulative effect of running your top two C 25 mins a game, where they know no matter how much they score the bottom-6 will just give it up. A lot of the guys we were breaking in were fringe guys last year who've graduated or will graduate this year. That goes a long way. Koskinen will be fine; he's improved each year and is still young. If Smith can keep doing what he did last year -- win more than he loses -- but in a reduced role, we'll be fine in net. VAN got worse in net. Koskinen = Markstrom so at a glance we're not giving up much compared to TOR or CGY, for instance.
And take a look around the Canadian division... hell the whole league, every team has deficiencies. And this year the Oilers have fewer. They'll improve. Again. So, tell me again about how TOR isn't flawed and how they'll get over the top. Provided, of course, they finally win a playoff round. Just like CGY, TOR is a one and done team.
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