He Is Back, Kris Knoblauch Officially Announced The Return Of Dylan Holloway After He….
Since the NHL trade deadline on March 8, the Edmonton Oilers have been rolling and looking good to finish in second place in the Pacific Division.
Then came the road trip to Toronto, Ottawa and Winnipeg.
Until the team came alive in the second period against the Jets, it looked like it would go in the books as one of the poorest three-game road sets in years.
As it turned out, that second period might have been the best middle stanza by the team all year.
Problems remain, though, including a glaring lack of speed on the two bottom lines.
Two of the trade deadline acquisitions, centres Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick, were targeted by management as the key acquisitions for this year’s stretch run and postseason.
Deploying those two pivots with older veteran wingers like Corey Perry, Derek Ryan, Mattias Janmark and Evander Kane has effectively turned Edmonton into a team with two fast high skill lines and two lines that can’t keep up.
It’s a big problem.
Someone call Holloway
At that time Dylan Holloway was demoted to the minors, I suggested he needed to improve his scoring before a return trip to the NHL was warranted.
Holloway was getting shots on net, in fact, more than average were high-danger chances.
The shooting percentage was low, giving us a clear indication Holloway has some issues finishing.
An organization typically sends the young player to the minors in that situation, allowing him to gain confidence offensively and then return. This late in the season, that return could be at training camp in the fall.
The other key reason Holloway is in Bakersfield is that he isn’t waiver eligible, meaning he can be sent down without fear of being lost to a claim.
Many Oilers fans were clamouring for veteran Connor Brown to be waived and sent to the minors instead.
Brown has scored three times and is one of the few bright lights among the bottom-six forwards since the deadline.
Holloway’s absence is obvious in every Oilers game, in every race to a puck, but the waiver worry will stretch until one day after the end of the regular season.
