Author: Stephen Vani

Oilers fan in Toronto. Staying up past my bedtime for Western games since the mid 2000s.

This Week On Oilers Hockey: 26

Happy Easter, Oilers fans. Your holiday gift, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, is a 100 point player. The longest current Oiler, who had played through many of Edmonton’s darkest seasons since being drafted, and now part of a Stanley Cup contender after 12 NHL seasons. Turning 30 on Wednesday, he still looks like an 18-year-old going first overall […]

This Week On Oilers Hockey: 25

A week without a single loss. Kane, Draisaitl, and McDavid all reached 300 career goals. Draisaitl recorded his third 50 goal season. Back-to-back shutouts from both goalies after not having even one all season long. And the Edmonton Oilers are officially a playoff team in 2023 after Saturday night’s win. Yes, this was a very […]

This Week On Oilers Hockey: 24

Congrats to Cody Ceci for playing his 700th NHL game on Saturday night. He has notoriously been a whipping boy for the analytics community and has not played his best hockey paired with Darnell Nurse throughout most of this season. But it’s still a significant accomplishment for any player, and there’s still a lot of […]

This Week On Oilers Hockey: 23

It was the perfect week for Edmonton on the ice. Three wins, no losses, and a slightly bigger hold on third place in the Pacific division. Off the ice, not many happy stories. Defenseman Slater Koekkoek, who has his contract with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors and will be a UFA after this season, has taken […]

This Week On Oilers Hockey: 22

After Saturday’s 7-4 loss against the Maple Leafs, Ryan McLeod and Vincent Desharnais were initially on the list of players to speak with the media. But as Oilers media members pointed out on Twitter, they had their names taken off that list; Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evander Kane answered questions instead. As someone who attended the […]

This Week On Oilers Hockey: 21

Except for Saturday’s loss, this past week looked like a statement week for the Oilers. They held their own against the Bruins, the best team in the East. That night’s physical element made the Mattias Ekholm trade a perfect fit. Then, against the Maple Leafs and the first of that back-to-back against the Jets, they […]

Edmonton Oilers: Little Nicky

The moves keep on coming. Yesterday afternoon, the Edmonton Oilers traded a third-round pick and defenseman prospect Michael Kesselring to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Nick Bjugstad and defenseman prospect Cam Dineem. After getting himself an experienced top 4 two-way defenseman in Mattias Ekholm, Ken Holland is having another good trade day by adding […]

Matti-ing The Blue Line

How was everyone’s day today? Ken Holland made his biggest deal as Oilers GM this afternoon. Trading Tyson Barrie, Reid Schaefer, a 2023 first-round pick, and a 2024 fourth-round pick to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Mattias Ekholm and a sixth-round pick. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweeted that 4% of Ekholm’s contract is also being […]

In His Mind, He’s Going To Carolina

It finally happened. Jesse Puljujarvi, at long last, is getting his fresh start. News broke out this morning that he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes for prospect Patrik Puistola. Also from Finland, where he is currently playing and drafted 73rd overall in 2019, Puistola put up 38 points in 56 games with Jukurit Mikkeli […]

This Week On Oilers Hockey: 20

The last week of hockey to try and facilitate trades. This coming Friday is the NHL Trade Deadline, and there is more anxiety among Oilers fans awaiting management to make a big move for the team. A potential Erik Karlsson deal started feeling like a reality until this past week when it started looking more […]