Oilers in playoff spot at season pause helped by meeting, GM says

The Edmonton Oilers were in a great position to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs when the NHL season was paused March 12, and a meeting near the end of December likely played a big part.

On Dec. 27, general manager Ken Holland, assistant general manager Keith Gretzky, director of salary cap management and assistant to the president Bill Scott, coach Dave Tippett and his staff sat together for two hours in the coaches office at Rogers Place to brainstorm after a 5-1 loss to the Calgary Flames was the Oilers' eighth in 10 games.
"We knew that we had to try to do something, so we called up (forward) Kailer Yamamoto (from the American Hockey League) and the coach made a decision that he was going to separate (forwards) Leon [Draisaitl] and Connor [McDavid]," Holland said. "From that point in time ... Yamamoto came up and found chemistry with Leon, and we had Leon on one line and Connor on another, and it made it a little more difficult for the opposition matchups."
From there, the Oilers were 17-8-5 until the pause, with production spread out on two lines. Yamamoto, who made his season debut Dec. 31 in a 7-5 win against the New York Rangers, has 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists) in 27 games.

Edmonton (37-25-9) is second in the Pacific Division, three points behind the Vegas Golden Knights with the season paused due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
"We played our way into the thick of things," Holland said. "We're in a playoff spot now, only [five points] from being out, but we're in the game. I remember thinking at the start of March that we were in a good position, controlling our own fate. ...
"The goal in the short term was that we could be competitive and be in the playoff race when the calendar turned to March."
The Oilers did that by improving their competitiveness and consistency -- they lost three straight games in regulation once this season -- and by playing better defense. Edmonton allowed 3.03 goals per game, 15th in the NHL at the pause, compared to 3.30 last season, 25th in the League.
A big part of the success has been reliable play from goalies Mikko Koskinen, who is 18-13-3 with a 2.75 goals-against average and .917 save percentage in 38 games, and Mike Smith, who is 19-12-6 with a 2.95 GAA and .902 save percentage in 39 games.

All of that is a backdrop to the play of Draisaitl, who leads the League with an NHL career-high 110 points (43 goals, 67 assists) in 71 games, and McDavid, who is second with 97 points (34 goals, 63 assists) in 64 games.
"When you've got a team with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, two of the best forwards in the game today, the goal as a manager is to build a team, to try to find a supporting cast so that we are competing for the Stanley Cup," Holland said. "It's why we're all in this game. How do you compete for it? First, you do it by making the playoffs. And if you can make the playoffs annually, you get multiple chances at it. If you don't make it, you can't compete for the Cup.
"[You start thinking about] making the playoffs two years in a row, but then it gets harder and harder. Everybody's trying to build their team. I signed a five-year deal coming to Edmonton (on May 7). The short-term goal is to be in the race. Looking forward to next season and beyond, how do we make our team a little bit better and deeper?"

With so many things to be determined in the short-term, it's difficult for Holland to come up with a clear picture too far out. During the pause, he's talking to Oilers chairman Bob Nicholson multiple times a day, to Tippett every other day, and to his hockey operations staff and scouts on a regular basis.
"We've been giving our pro scouts some assignments, to watch teams they haven't covered, doing some video scouting and putting in some reports, and it's helped them get a feel," he said. "We've had some conference calls already, planning to do them regularly.
"On the amateur side, I'm talking to (director of amateur scouting) Tyler Wright all the time. You've done all the work and we're as ready as anybody for when the [2020 NHL] Draft will be held."
Holland said he's had in-depth discussions with Scott and Gretzky about the plan next season for their American Hockey League affiliate in Bakersfield, which will not make the Calder Cup Playoffs this season.
Holland and his wife, Cindi, are spending the pause at their offseason home in Vernon, British Columbia, about a nine-hour drive from Edmonton. He said it's easier to self-isolate and practice social distancing there.
"The most important thing is for everybody to be safe," Holland said. "You've heard the prime minister and the president and all the health officials talking about the importance for all of us to be social distancing, to stay home, to have as little contact as possible with nonfamily members. We're all thinking about making good decisions, including for those around us, because we've got to get this virus under control.
"And then somewhere down the road, hockey is an important part of a lot of peoples' lives. And in Edmonton, it's something that's really important for our fans, to have somebody to cheer for, to make the community feel good. But in the short term, it's all about making the right decisions from a health standpoint, to protect one another via social distancing, don't be in gatherings and let's shorten this time frame so that soon we'll start to get a more normal world back."