Intangibles in the NHL - Top 75 - Scott Cullen says Oilers are the worst

Scott Cullen just put up a blog article talking about intangibles and the kind of "unsung heroes" formula that TSN.ca uses to rank their players.

Here is the article:

Intangibles are always touted as part of the reason for a team's success, yet they are invariably awarded in hindsight, after a team has won something significant.

That doesn't stop countless people from e-mailing me to extoll the virtues of heart, chemistry and teamwork. While I'm not going to go so far as to say this is a way to find the players who play that heart-and-soul, body-sacrificing game.

As part of the TSN.ca player ranking formula, there is an attempt to quantify the intangible element by addressing statistical categories like hits, blocked shots, giveaways, takeaways and faceoffs.

At the very least, it helps to identify some of the unsung hero types who contribute in ways that don't typically show up on the scoresheet.

Shotblocking defencemen and grinding forwards, this one's for you!

Here are some of the results to this point in the season:

Here's the link - click.

First of all, a few observations:

• Brooks Orpik is the most "unsung hero" in the NHL, according to the list
  
• only 30 of the top 75 are Western Conference players
• 5 of the top 10 are Western Conference players
• the list includes no Oilers
• the list includes no Flames (really? no Robyn Regehr?)
• the list includes three Islanders - Trent Hunter, Brendan Witt, and Mark Streit
  
• the list includes two Red Wings - Pavel Datsyuk and Brad Stuart
• the list includes one Shark - Douglas Murray
  
• former Oilers Matt Greene and Jason Smith are in the top 30
• former Oiler Jarret Stoll is #52
• Erik Cole and Steve Staios lead the Oilers in "intangible points" according to the list
• the bottom 25 ranks 3 Oilers among the worst: Robert Nilsson, Ales Hemsky, and Sam Gagner - with Ales Hemsky and Sam Gagner on the very bottom of the list, #2 and #1 respectively
  

Conclusions:

1. there is a clear Eastern Conference bias - seeing as how you need to add the total Sharks and Red Wings to match the number of Islanders on the list; there is a clear "big market" bias - as seen that there are no Albertan teams on this list, teams that are known for their defense-first style
2. according to the list, the Oilers are on crack to have traded away Jarret Stoll, Jason Smith, and Matt Greene
   
3. anybody who ranks Robert Nilsson on the bottom of an intangible list has not watched him play: this kid backchecks every time he's on the ice
4. according to the list, Sam Gagner is indeed as bad as I've been saying he is
5. Steve Staios being ranked higher than Denis Grebeshkov seems fishy
6. according to the list, we should re-sign Erik Cole
   

Inconsistencies:

1. if Ales Hemsky is so bad when he's on the ice, what explains his Corsi number? Jonathan Willis wrote on this a while back
2. if Ales Hemsky is so bad when he's on the ice, what explains the fact that entire team plays better when he's in the lineup than when he's not?
3. how are there 4 NY Islanders ranked higher than Nilsson, Hemksy, and Gagner?

Further impressions:

• someone needs to do a statistical analysis about these results, with Corsi numbers, QUALCOMP, and (+/-)
• TSN.ca needs to talk about what formula they're using to determine these numbers because - (1) if the numbers are right, we can figure out what's wrong with the Oilers and (2) if the numbers are wrong, then the bias is as obvious as the results they give
  
• yes, the Oilers are inconsistent and they are sometimes bad defensively - but not THAT BAD
  
• Scott Cullen is on crack

Baptism by Hemsky Volume 3

The name says it all.

Oilers 4 Blue Jackets 3

Baptism by Hemsky (Version 2)

Now that's what I call a leader: Hemsky taking the hit to make the play. In this circumstance, his pass went between the two defenders and out of the zone, but how often does he miss a pass? Does it happen more than once or twice a period? Once or twice a game?

The defensive coverage was a tad slow tonight but the offensive awareness was definitely there. I don't believe all that stuff about the Glenn Anderson night giving them a boost because the Oilers have historically played pretty poorly in those ceremonial games.

Big game by Moreau with the HAT TRICK as well. Congratulations on the first career hat trick Mr. Moreau. Cole and Penner had a ton of chances, and Gilbert looked great.

Expect DesLauriers to get the start in Columbus so he can get in a game before the All-Star Break, which is 6 days long for Edmonton.

Most importantly, the Oilers are back in the playoff picture, at 8th place, and with 2 games on Vancouver. The bad news: so does Columbus and they are one point behind Edmonton. The good news: if the Oilers and Blue Jackets make the 7th and 8th western conference spots, the dreadful Canucks will take Sundin, Ohlund, and the rest of the rejects to the golf course. And that's a feeling that would be simply priceless.

Ales Hemsky Out

Ales Hemsky is out for the rest of 2008 and for who knows how long for 2009.

I've heard fans say it all year:

"The Oilers are nothing without Ales Hemsky"

After a heckuva outing against the Nashville Predators, I'm extremely curious to see how the Oilers respond tonight. Hopefully, they respond how we want them to - come out and beat the lesser team in the Ottawa Senators, who are without top defenseman Filip Kuba.

If we can't beat the struggling Ottawa Senators, how will we beat our provincial rivals the Calgary Flames tomorrow night?

GOILERS and git 'er done tonight!

Baptism by Hemsky

The answer to the age old question of "Who made God?" has been discovered. The answer is Ales Hemsky.

Robbie Schremp, HockeyJesus himself, when placed next to Hemsky, made it apparent to all whose "right hand" the Bible's been talking about all along. Ales Hemsky's.

And the Los Angeles Kings experienced a Baptism by Hemsky tonight. Great move for the shootout winner and better move for the Penner tying goal.

Just amazing.

--------------------------------------------------

During the Game...

... some breakouts were sloppy as hell but great puck movement was shown by Visnovsky, Gilbert, Grebeshkov, and Ethan Moreau.

... Erik Cole and Shawn Horcoff were dangerous all night.

... something dangerous happened everytime Schremp and Staios were on the ice. The difference? Schremp makes it happen in the offensive zone and Staios makes it happen in the defensive zone.

... Garon let out a lot of juicy rebounds.

... it was apparent that Brodziak was squeezing his stick a little too hard but he still managed to do all the simple things right, like get pucks deep. One notably bad giveaway in the defensive zone - but hey, mistakes happen.

... Souray played like a monster with a lasers. Except that his lasers are his slapshots and instead of coming out of his eyes like any decent laser-wielding monster, they come off the blade of his stick. Who woulda thunkit?

... Ales Hemsky showed why he is the most valuable Oiler player in at least about a decade. Yes, I must say even more than my favorite former/current Oiler, Tommy Salo.

... the Oilers couldn't kill off L.A. PPs. Work on it.

... Strudwick looked better as a forward than he did as a defenseman. He should stay there because Smid looked good.

... Marc-Antoine Pouliot looked like a good hockey player tonight. Was at all the right places to receive passes and backchecked like a demon. Might sense some movement in the "Prospect, Player, or Trade Bait" rankings if he keeps this up. Same goes for Schremp.

... Liam Reddox looked useful playing different roles. Love this hockey player.

... Dustin Penner was dominant.

... the Oilers disappeared for the second period.

... the Oilers showed that they cannot keep the lead if their lives depended on it.

... the Oilers showed what kind of depth the organization has with 4 regulars (5 if you count Jeff Drouin-DesLauriers) out with injuries large and small.

... Andrew Cogliano beat Jarret Stoll on the faceoff. There is hope after all.

... the Oilers won puck battles. Time to translate that hard work and success to the PK.

--------------------------------------------------

Gilbert Brule plays tomorrow against the NHL leading San Jose Sharks. Gulp. Brule has 8 goals and 4 assists so he's a shoot first kind of player. Could have a drastically different impact on this team than a Sam Gagner or a Jason Strudwick.

Also, can Schremp keep up his scoring pace of 1.5 pts/GP? So far, some people may say that Cogliano makes Schremp look a lot better than he is. I'd argue that Schremp has made Pouliot look a lot better than he is, though Mr. Chicken has put in some hard work in the last two games himself. I think having those 3 elements - speed, skill, and "rough and tumble" are giving this line success.

But is it sustainable?

Need proof of their imminent success? They're already Legends of Hockey, apparently.

( Gilbert Brule, Robbie Schremp )

Too Little Too Late - Red Wings Hold Off Oilers in Win

This is an image from this website which sells sports merchandise. It's Bobby Orr's famous "DIVE." Kris Draper dives too, but that's because knows a thing about drawing penalties dishonestly. Bobby Orr would frown on you, Draper.

The exaggeration from Samuelsson and Draper, combined with the officiating at tonight's game whioch was plain atrocious, made for a gong-show, phantom penalty filled afair. Most of the Oilers actually played really well tonight except for M.A. Pouliot. Best Oilers tonight were Souray, Hemsky and Staios. I was at the game courtesy of Suneil Parmar of Addicted to Oil. David Staples was there, and so was Danny On, Jermine Paglicauan, and Travis Yano (alphabetically).

-------------------------------------------------------------

Suneil Parmar, David Staples, and myself all agreed right before the game that Roloson would not play well and it was Garon's turn in net. It took a while, but our prediction came true. The long-established rules of (1) don't give the same team two consecutive looks at the same goalie and (2) don't play Roloson more than 3 or 4 games in a row were not dutily followed by MacTavish. Not that we doubt Roli or anything. But common sense would indicate that Garon should've got the start.

The story of the game was that the officiating was horrendous. Phantom calls were made everywhere and calls that should've been made weren't. And don't tell me there were 7 penalties for each team - just because the numbers are even doesn't make the officiating fair. Save that for the NFL.

Here's a quick summary of the officiating B.S. tonight:

Stuart cross-checking on the back of someone's head NOT CALLED

Detroit D-man boarding on Hemsky NOT CALLED

Penner's "slash" on the Detroit D-man's hockey stick nowhere near his hands, gloves, or body, which resulted in Penner's stick exploding and not the opponents CALLED SLASHING

Draper holding the stick on Reddox CALLED HOOKING

Draper interfering with Moreau and holding him down away from the play CALLED ROUGHING

Not to mention the Oilers had bad luck tonight. Dump-ins were hitting linesmen. The puck had two bad careems off the boards - one that barely missed the Detroit net and one that ended up right on an open Hudler's stick for a goal.

Roloson had 7 saves and despite the poor save percentage had no chance on some of the goals. Not to mention the wicked glove save he made through traffic despite being screened.

The Oilers need to MOVE GUYS OUT FROM IN FRONT OF THE NET. Yes, I'm talking to you Strudwick. First the Samuelsson goal on Monday and now the Kopecky goals tonight.

The Oilers have a bad habit of being too nonexistant on penalty kills. I know MacT and Huddy have the "let them pass it around the perimeter" strategy going strong on most nights, but it's simple hockey to get into passing lanes and to not let guys get set up in front of your net. Even if you let them stand there, it should just be the illusion of a passing lane.

Watch the Detroit PK and learn.

Another thing is that Detroit is really good at staying on-side. It's not something that involved great skill to do. After you pass it to a guy trailing the play (because you're getting forechecked in the neutral zone) skate laterally and stay behind the blue line until the puck crosses the line. The little twirl the Oilers do near the blue line actually puts us off-side more often than not.

Ryan Smyth was good at this: he'd pass it off, skate parallel to the blue line, then turn and crash the net hard after the puck gained the zone. This way, he could keep his speed but stay on-side at the same time.

It was a particularly good perforance from Hemsky and Souray, but they too had some bad plays during the game.

Souray lets too many guys skate around him on icing plays and without communication to Gilbert allowed an icing call to be beat by a forechecking Detroit player. He needs to be aware of the guys coming down the wing behind him and communicate with Gilbert.

Hemsky, during the extended powerplay late in the third, had a chance to dump it deep and make a safe play. I understand that the Oilers had come storming back and he was feeling it, I suppose. But that was a poor decision trying to dangle the puck through 3 Detroit Red Wing sweaters. He did make Niklas Lidstrom look foolish a couple of times though.

Another thing: turnovers. The Oilers need to simplify their game. For a team that can barely get out of their own zone the last thing they need to do is make cute passes to nobody and turn it over to the Detroit Red Wings - of all teams.

Simple rules for dumping the puck into the opposition zone not being carried out by the team:
(1) no puck support: dump it into an empty corner where there aren't any players
(2) with puck support: dump it into an area where your supporting man can fight for the puck and then support him back the way he supported your puck dump by getting open or trailing him along the boards

In neither case should the puck go straight to the opposition D-man. This happened several times tonight. And when we dump and chase, there is little to no puck support. How is a cycle supposed to start up with everyone along the same half boards? We need the team to start helping their fellow teammates out.

When the puck goes straight to the opposition D the puck comes back the other way instantly and your man gets caught chasing a puck dump that doesn't exist.

Simple rules for dumping the puck out of the defensive zone not being carried out by the team:
(1) do not ram it around the boards with a man pinching on the point (Reddox is particularly good at following this rule)
(2) do not pass it up the middle in front of the net out of your zone
(3) do not make a cute backhand pass towards the middle high slot when on the half boards

These simple turnovers can kill any team's momentum, especially in your own zone.

Simple rules for playing on powerplays not being carried out by the team:
(1) cycling the puck down low works - cycling the puck when there are opposition guys along the boards doesn't
(2) do not pass it back to the point when the D-man is getting hounded by a backchecker (Penner needs to be aware of this)
(3) (if you're not Souray or Visnovsky) shoot the puck low so that there are more rebounds

These are all simple things that I thought everyone who watched hockey knew. But Horcoff, Gagner and Nilsson, though they played decent games, did not execute simple plays when the opportunity presented itself. They choose to do little spins and cycle it forever until the Red Wings cleared their zone.

The Red Wings are so fearless of the Oilers forecheck and backcheck that even Hossa tried to lay a big hit on Brodziak. They are that unconcerned about their defensive zone coverage.

Props to the Oilers for making it close against the defending cup champs. But "too little too late" is a tune that gets old fast. It's time to start coming through on games where you need to make a statement as a team.

---------------------------------------------------------



Pictured above are Suneil Parmar and David Staples. I was surprised too when I found out in real life they were really Zdeno Chara and Chuck Norris, respectively. Who woulda thought.

Keep it a secret between you and me, though.

Oilers soar past Flyers in Philly with 5-4 win

Look familiar?

This scandalous goal that Hemsky scored on Kipper last year was the one that won the Oilers.nhl.com "goal of the year" contest was the same move Hemsky used in his goal-scoring debut as he beat Biron for his first of the year. It was the source of "Sweet Jesus" moments in basements and sports bars everywhere across Edmonton and Philadelphia.

Key to the Win: Maintaining the lead throughout, and thus not letting momentum slip away
Story of the Game:: Sick dangles

Holy mother of pearl... did we ever wake up in that game or what? The Oilers should play more matinee games because we are unbeaten in contests that start betweeen 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM, and we were 4-0 last year in matinees. Ethan Moreau's two goals in Carolina was just the start of things for this team: Ales Hemsky and Sheldon Souray cemented their roles as key offensive contributors on this team and some key players turned the page on the early season funk. Those would include Tom Gilbert, Erik Cole, and Dustin Penner. Staios, Smid and Visnovsky look solid too and Strudwick was sound despite playing with an injury.

Signs of Oilers Confidence: Hemsky has a multigoal game; Souray hits the net with everything; PP is clicking; Roloson bats the puck out of the air; Smid rushing the puck
Signs the Oilers won the trade: Lupul in the penalty box, Pitkanen on the IR and Cole on the scoreboard
Signs of Oilers turning the tide: scoring 5 goals for the first time this season; team toughness shows through

And in case you wanted to know, I was pretty tempted to shoot for a stereotypical newspaper headline for this post title and I think I managed that in this post. A for effort.

GOILERS!

Preseason Game 3, FLA @ EDM : 3-2 Loss (SO)

I missed the game, but a few thoughts:

(1) Liam Reddox has turned out to be exactly the kind of player Craig MacTavish likes. He can play offense, forechecks like a demon, and is all over the ice. He's not shy to get involved in on-ice contact despite not being an overly physical player. This one's a keeper.

(2) As I had predicted, Rob Schremp came out and proved why he's well known to be a shootout specialist. He's not well known the way Sam Gagner is (nor as much of a well rounded player) but I think Schremp is at the point where he has enough assets to make the team. As excited as I am to see Gilbert Brule join the team, I think it's the right time for Schremp to come in on the 4th line, and earn his stripes. If an injury crops up, he will be available for 1-2 line duty.

(3) Jeff DesLauriers is looking like a legitimate NHL goaltender. A few tweaks here and there and we have 3 NHL goalies on the squad. That is a terrible situation. It's great for the goalies (competition) but bad for the team (taking up an extra roster spot). With the way Dwayne Roloson played at the end of last year and so far in training camp, it's difficult but one would have to say that he is most probably the odd-man out.

(4) Theo Peckham is a monster. 'Nuff said.

(5) The era of the Oilers' shootout domination - is it already over? Or is it too soon to proclaim anything? Or is it just that Gagner isn't around? Personally, I think Nilsson and Pisani should get as many looks on the shootout as Hemsky and Horcoff do.

(6) Who is going to end up in Stockton? Perugini, Fisher, Pitton, or Dubnyk? A combination of these?

shouldn't Steve Staios be s-squared as well?

I have an Oilers joke, albeit incredibly lame...well it's more like a random thought than it is a joke...

If Mellon Arena is called the Igloo and is home to the Penguins, shouldn't Rexall Place be called Fort McMurray then?

Get it? Fort McMurray. oil sands. Oilers...haha

Random idea from a comment left by the user Marion. Not bad, maybe we should refer to Rexall as Fort McMurray. But then would we have to rename the Oilers the Oil Sands (or Tar Sands)... maybe we should call it The Refinery?

Oilers Training Camp Update

After watching much of the Oilers' training camp, including rookie games and Joey Moss Cup, I thought it would be appropriate to think about some fun ways to refer to our players. Thus, I have some Oilers' jokes and nicknames.

Newest Oiler jokes:

1. What did the coach say when he wanted the rookie to be a better team player?
Answer: Make like the Cogs in the machine!

2. What did the coach say to the player heading to the press box?
Answer: Don't make me Paukovich!!!

3. Who in the Oilers' organization has the least funny name?
Answer: Phillipe Cornet

I have come up with some nicknames for some of the Oilers and Oilers' hopefuls:

David Rohlfs - Rohlfcopter (or ROFLcopter, for those of you familiar with Internet Lingo)
Erik Cole - The Slaw (as in Cole Slaw)
Geoff Paukovich - The Headhunter, or Highlander
Marc-Andre Bernier - A.L.I.A.B (At Least I Aint Bergeron!)
Toby LaFrance - The Revolution, or Viva Toby, or Wine and Cheese, or Cup of T, or French Fry
Phillipe Cornet - The Comedian (see Oilers' joke #3)
Glenn Fisher - The Apostle (refer to the gospel)
Ales Hemsky - Hemmertime
Shawn Horcoff - Tuberculosis (I don't want to explain this one... but jesting and jokes aside, I believe Horcoff is the future captain after Ethan Moreau)
Sheldon Souray - S-squared
Lubomir Visnovsky - V-Nov

...

I'm out of ideas.

Just a thought: If Gilbert Brule were female, and he married Tom Gilbert, wouldn't his name be Gilbert Gilbert?