Top NHL analyst questions roster decisions by general manager Stan Bowman
Photo credit: Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports
Former NHL player now NHL analyst Ray Ferraro has serious questions regarding the roster construction of the Edmonton Oilers after the team lost Stuart Skinner to a head injury during his podcast with Darren Dreger.
The injury occurred during the game against the Dallas Stars and Ferraro feels that the decisions that were made regarding signings and lack of goaltender depth puts serious question marks on their playoff hopes.
Ferraro feels Oilers management didn't think construction through
«Maybe they didn't think this through with roster construction enough. Maybe you do need to be heftier. Maybe you do need to be a little bigger. And I would say that's a pretty fair view of their team.
«I mean, to go back, again, you go back to July 1st, and they signed Skinner and Arvidsson, who are both 5'9», and you could have addressed that with bigger people if you thought down the road this could be a concern. That also led into the Broberg/Holloway thing. That's something different. But your roster construction basically tells you what kind of team you've got, and what you're able to do.» Ray Ferraro
«I mean, to go back, again, you go back to July 1st, and they signed Skinner and Arvidsson, who are both 5'9», and you could have addressed that with bigger people if you thought down the road this could be a concern. That also led into the Broberg/Holloway thing. That's something different. But your roster construction basically tells you what kind of team you've got, and what you're able to do.» Ray Ferraro
The Oilers had decided to build their team on skill and speed over the past couple of seasons but after playing the Florida Panthers last year in the Stanley Cup finals, the team realized that size and physicality are needed for success.
General manager Stan Bowman made a few trades to help in that category as he acquired Trent Frederic from the Boston Bruins and Jake Walman from the San Jose Sharks.
The team will also have Evander Kane back in the lineup just prior to the playoffs beginning which will give the team more depth in physicality.
Goaltending should have been addressed at the deadline
With Stuart Skinner injured and no timetable on his return, this position will now go down as the area of the Oilers that should have been addressed at the trade deadline as both goaltenders have struggled with consistency all season.
Bowman felt that this position was sufficient with the players he has and did not go out and find a bonafide starting goaltender or a goaltender who could tandem with Skinner to help shoulder the load down the stretch and into the playoffs especially if an injury takes place.
It remains to be seen on how the Oilers will adapt to the possibility of not having Skinner for some time but the team will need to make do and hope to contain the opposition on the defensive side of the game.
| POLL | ||
MARS 27 | 617 ANSWERS Top NHL analyst questions roster decisions by general manager Stan Bowman Do you think Stan Bowman made a mistake not picking a goalie at the trade deadline? | ||
| Yes | 560 | 90.8 % |
| No | 57 | 9.2 % |
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