Major Oilers line-up shuffle: Two veterans moved in, two out, one bumped up
Article content
This in from the Oilers practice, news of major line and d-man pairing changes at the Edmonton Oilers practice. Jeff Skinner and Troy Stecher appear to be moving into the line-up, with Viktor Arvidsson and John Klingberg moved out, and Connor Brown bumped up to the top line.
Ryan Rishaug@TSNRyanRishaug
Stecher with Nurse Brown on 97 line with 93
Article content
Tony Brar 🚀 @TonyBrarOTV
EDM lines – Thursday Morning Skate:
RNH – McDavid – Brown
Kane – Draisaitl – Kapanen
Skinner – Henrique – Frederic
Podkolzin – Janmark – Perry
• Arvidsson, Ryan, Jones
Ekholm – Walman
Nurse – Stecher
Kulak – Bouchard
• Klingberg, Emberson, Dineen
My take
1. Hmm. I like the players being moved in, Jeff Skinner and Troy Stecher, and think it's the right thing to turn to them just now. But I don't know why Viktor Arvidsson would be taken out and not Trent Frederic, who has struggled both with injury and with making plays in the offensive zone. Frederic's game lacks explosiveness. Meanwhile Arvidsson has played strong two-way hockey and scored a key goal in Game 1 against Florida.
2. For the third year running Darnell Nurse has struggled to find his 'A' game in the playoffs, even as he so often brought it in the 2024-25 regular season. This has meant a constant changing of the guard when it comes to Nurse's partners, with Cody Ceci, Vincent Desharnais and Brett Kulak all struggling along with him last season, and Evan Bouchard, Brett Kulak and Klingberg struggling with him this year. But Philip Broberg eventually came in to form a steady pairing with Nurse last year. And Troy Stecher has brought out the best in himself and Nurse this year.
It's critical that the Oilers get solid minutes out of Nurse and Stecher, and they're a solid bet to give the team just that.
Latest National Stories
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Edmonton Journal
3 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Edmonton Oilers working to sign two veteran free agent wingers. Good or bad idea?
This in Editor-in-Chief David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, news that the Oilers are pursuing new deals with two veteran wingers, Connor Brown and Corey Perry, who are soon to be Unrestricted Free Agents: 'Oilers still have some fine-tuning to do on Frederic's new deal before it gets done. As that continues, the team's also trying to lock in Perry and Brown. Brown talks expected to pick up in the coming days. Told he played with a fractured toe in the Stanley Cup Final.'
CBC
8 hours ago
- CBC
Edmonton Oilers GM ready to work on McDavid's timeline to sign contract extension
Social Sharing Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman is ready to work on Connor McDavid's timeline for a contract extension. "Connor is the most important player in the league," Bowman said Friday. "He's our captain, he's our leader. He's certainly our top priority and he's earned the right for us to be respectful of his timing. "He's driving that process." McDavid is heading into the final year of his contract and becomes eligible to sign an extension on July 1. The Oilers captain, however, said Thursday after the Oilers' exit meetings that he's in no rush to make a decision about his future. McDavid also explained that winning is his top priority, which doesn't surprise Bowman. "He wants to win," Bowman said. "He just wants to win the cup, that's all he cares about. He's not driven by statistics or points or records or money." Bowman and head coach Kris Knoblauch met reporters for an end-of-season news conference three days after Edmonton's loss to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup final. The GM said the Oilers will look to make changes during the off-season, particularly among its group of forwards and in goal. "We're not going to bring the same guys back," he said. "The area with the least amount of change is going to be our defence. Up front, we need some different players. I wouldn't expect wholesale changes; we're not going to have nine or 10 new players. "Forwards and the goalies are the ones we're going to evaluate the most deeply." Beyond McDavid, the Oilers' most pressing matter is signing star defenceman Evan Bouchard, who's set to become a restricted free agent July 1. Bouchard said Thursday he wants to stay in Edmonton. So did forwards Corey Perry and Trent Frederic. The Oilers, according to multiple reports, have a deal in place for Frederic. Bowman wouldn't confirm the contract, but he called Frederic "a pretty unique player in the league." "There's not a lot of guys that have that combination of his age, his experience, his competitiveness, size, physicality," Bowman said of the player he acquired from the Boston Bruins before the NHL trade deadline. "And I think when you add it all up, he could bring a lot to the team." The 27-year-old Frederic had one goal and three assists during the playoffs, albeit with 85 hits. Frederic produced 40 points during the 2023-24 season with the Bruins. Bowman previously said he feels Frederic could be a top-six winger or a third-line centre. "Incredibly competitive, great teammate, great guy," said Bowman. "He brings an element that I think you need, which is very competitive, fearless. Nobody's going to push us around.
CTV News
8 hours ago
- CTV News
‘I've enjoyed it, it's been really fun': Local pastor keeps getting mistaken for Oilers head coach
A pastor in Sherwood Park has been recognized a lot more in the past few years since he looks a lot like Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. Loading the player instance is taking more time than usual Loading the player instance is taking more time than usual A local pastor has had a few laughs over the past two years as fans keep mistaking him for Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. Matt Ziprick is a pastor at Bethel Lutheran Church in Sherwood Park. He also looks very similar to Kris Knoblauch. Sherwood Park pastor is Kris Knoblauch's doppelganger Since Knoblauch joined the Oilers in 2023, Ziprick has been occasionally stopped by people who think he's the head coach. His basketball teammates first pointed it out by 'congratulating' him on getting the job as the Oilers bench boss. 'I've enjoyed it. It's been really fun and I can honestly say that I think everybody that I've met through this has enjoyed it too,' Ziprick said. 'It's just been a lot of fun connections and yeah, I'm rolling with it, riding the wave.' Ziprick has gotten a bit of local fame through being Knoblauch's doppelganger, even being shown on screen during an NHL broadcast of a playoff game between the Oilers and the Dallas Stars. Now that people are more familiar with him, he still gets noticed, but people are starting to be able to correctly identify Ziprick. 'I do feel like I've let a few people down just by not being Kris, and so that's been kind of funny too,' Ziprick said. At the end-of-season press conference, the real Kris Knoblauch seemed amused by the doppelganger situation. 'He was so handsome, almost (like) Brad Pitt,' Knoblauch said. Matt Ziprick Matt Ziprick, a Sherwood Park pastor who looks like Kris Knoblauch, posing with Oilers fans. (Matt Ziprick) One thing Ziprick hopes to be able to do is have Knoblauch come to his church and hold up a sign saying, 'I'm the real Matt Ziprick,' as the reverse of what Ziprick did. '(I) love his sense of humor, and (I'm) just really glad that he's maybe enjoying some of this too. It's just been a lot of fun,' Ziprick added. Matt Ziprick Matt Ziprick, a Sherwood Park pastor who looks like Kris Knoblauch, posing with Oilers fans. (Matt Ziprick) Ziprick, 51, is actually five years older than Knoblauck, 46, so one has to wonder if that would technically make Knoblauch the doppelganger even though he's more famous than Ziprick. With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nahreman Issa
