{"id":453011,"date":"2026-02-10T07:49:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T07:49:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/453011\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T07:49:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T07:49:35","slug":"brace-for-impact-nhl-insider-rips-failing-edmonton-oilers-as-complacent-and-lacking-urgency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/453011\/","title":{"rendered":"Brace for impact! NHL insider rips failing Edmonton Oilers as “complacent” and “lacking urgency”"},"content":{"rendered":"

This in from NHL insider Frank Seravalli of Frankly Hockey, speaking to Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now, and letting it rip with a scathing critique of the current state of the Edmonton Oilers<\/a>, a team with just 28 wins in its first 58 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis team needs a real wake-up call,\u201d Seravalli said. \u201cLet\u2019s just call a spade a spade. To me, Leon Draisaitl\u2019s comments were pretty pointed. And it\u2019s not that the coach needs to be singled out. I think the point is that it\u2019s getting late earlier than you think. The Oilers are on track for 91 points this year. Something like that may be enough to make the playoffs, but it might not. And I think this team is in a tougher spot statistically, schedule-wise, and everything else than people might realize because there\u2019s been a complacency here. I think from the players, from the coaching staff, from even at times an exasperated fan base that just says, \u2018Oh, well, because they\u2019ve gone to two straight Stanley Cup finals, this team will figure it out and will get it together and be a playoff team and then just flip the switch.\u2019 And I\u2019m here to tell you, like, that\u2019s just not always how it works.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seravalli continued: \u201cI think this team is waiting for something to happen. I don\u2019t know if they\u2019re waiting for a trade at this deadline. I don\u2019t know if they\u2019re waiting for the triumphant return of Paul Coffey on the bench. I don\u2019t know what it is that this group specifically is longing for, but it\u2019s pretty clear that status quo and continuing to pound your head against the wall is not going to be a recipe for success for this team this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re in 19th place and you have Stanley Cup aspirations, it\u2019s not good enough. Like I said, the Oilers are on track for 91 points. That no one had that on their bingo card this year. And when you get to that place, it\u2019s not one player, one person, one facet of the operation. It\u2019s everything together. And I think that\u2019s whether you want to look at it from one way or the other, whether it\u2019s complacency or lack of urgency. I believe truly that that\u2019s the root of the Oilers\u2019 struggles and issues this season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seravalli singled out the team\u2019s mediocre defence, Darnell Nurse in particular. \u201cDarnell Nurse is this team\u2019s biggest problem, start and finish. Like, you could end it right there. At nine and a quarter million bucks, he needs to be an impact piece, and the Oilers are trying to survive in spite of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said the team\u2019s forward lines were a mess. \u201cThis is a thin team upfront that\u2019s made thinner by the way that they\u2019re deployed. There\u2019s a very clear distinction between top six and bottom six. And I can see it both ways. I do have some sympathy for Kris Knoblauch and his coaching staff because they\u2019re saying, \u2018Someone step up and we\u2019ll give you opportunity.\u2019 And the answer from the players has been, \u2018Well, we\u2019re not getting any opportunity. How could we possibly show you something?\u2019 \u2026 I think there\u2019s some frustration that exists because I\u2019m sure the coach feels like he doesn\u2019t have the pieces required to win. I\u2019m sure the players that aren\u2019t seeing as much ice time feel like they\u2019re not even given a chance. And then the stars are going, \u2018Well, we can\u2019t do it alone. So who\u2019s it going to be?\u2019 And around and around in a circle, we go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"58<\/a><\/p>\n

58 games<\/p>\n

My take<\/p>\n

1. Seravalli is one of the most connected reporters in the NHL, but he\u2019s also an astute observer of teams and players. And he\u2019s not given to making negative comments just because he\u2019s an American and from the East, so he reflexively blasts western Canadian teams, the kind of nonsense we see now and then from Toronto and New York commentators.<\/p>\n

If Seravalli makes a negative critique, it\u2019s not knee jerk. He\u2019s thought about the matter awhile, he\u2019s studied the situation, and he\u2019s giving his considered judgement in blunt language.<\/p>\n

2. I\u2019m much more optimistic about the Oilers than is Seravalli just now. I also think that while Nurse had been inconsistent this year, up and down, bad for a period, OK for a period, great for a period, the big d-man averages out this year as an OK-to-good player. He\u2019s not the big problem on defence. The big problem is the defensive play of three struggling players, Jake Walman, Alec Regula and Spender Stastney.<\/p>\n

It could be that Seravalli was mainly thinking of Nurse\u2019s weak playoff play when making this critique. Nurse has indeed been a poor playoff performer four years straight. For Edmonton\u2019s #25, this coming 2026 playoff season is the biggest test of his career.<\/p>\n

3. That said, several parts of Seravalli\u2019s scathing critique do hit the target. He\u2019s right that the Oilers do seem complacent, and that urgency seems lacking. There\u2019s no rush to develop the defensive habits and commitment to play the kind of high level defensive play the Oilers attained in their 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup Final runs. In fact, the Oilers seem allergic to doing this kind of hard, dedicated work. They\u2019d rather just ramp up the attack and try to win that way.<\/p>\n

4. I do think that a team can suddenly start to play nasty physical hockey. We saw this last year when the Oilers were passive when it came to physical play for much of the 2024-25 regular season, but suddenly became hard-hitting beasts in the playoffs. But when it comes to defensive habits and commitment, it\u2019s not nearly so easy to suddenly change. The Oilers, as a team, have never really played high level defence through an entire playoff series. They\u2019ve done it in many playoff games, sometimes in as many as four or five games in any one series. But they\u2019ve often slipped up in the playoffs on defence. They did so in too many games against Florida in both Finals. They gave away wins with poor defensive reads and habits. In this way, Seravalli is correct to point out this team\u2019s lack of defensive discipline and to suggest you can\u2019t simply fix such an issue all at once.<\/p>\n

5. Are the Oilers waiting for something? I don\u2019t know. But that something might just be the return of Paul Coffey. The sooner this happens, the better, I\u2019ll suggest. I\u2019ve been wanting to see it since early November. It seems like an obvious move to make. Why not do it?<\/p>\n

At the Cult of Hockey<\/p>\n

STAPLES: Former Oilers winger is on the block \u2014 and might just be right for Edmonton again<\/a><\/p>\n

STAPLES: Player grades: Team Canada strong 5-1 win over Czechia, but loses talisman Poulin<\/a><\/p>\n

LEAVINS: 9 Things<\/a><\/p>\n

STAPLES: Team Canada puts perfect linemate with McDavid, but those defensive pairings? Yikes!<\/a><\/p>\n

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