Oilers Would Be In The Cup Final If They Drafted Tkachuk Instead of Puljujarvi
The Edmonton Oilers 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs could have turned out differently with Matthew Tkachuk on the roster.
The Florida Panthers pulled off an incredible trade during the 2022 off season. They sent Mackenzie Weegar and Jonathan Huberdeau to the Calgary Flames for Matthew Tkachuk. There were other pieces involved, but that's the backbone of the deal.
Tkachuk has had an astonishing post season performance this year. Scoring game winning goals and game tying goals. He has four game winning goals in the 2022-23 Playoffs (so far). He scored the game tying goal in Game 3 of the Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights. He has the point production and the snarl in his game to make himself be the ultimate playoff performer. Jesse Puljujarvi doesn't have the same snarl. He can be a physical player and use his size to his advantage. But he doesn't have the same irritability on opposing teams that Tkachuk has.
The Edmonton Oilers could have drafted Tkachuk, but didn't because Puljujarvi was higher up on their ranking list. Was that a mistake? Should management have stuck to who they were committed to picking, even after Puljujarvi didn't get selected at 3rd overall like the projections said he would?
Tkachuk Is Clutch
Tkachuk has to be a front runner for the Conn Smythe Trophy, even if the Panthers don't win the Stanley Cup. He and Sergei Bobrovsky have been incredible during these playoffs. He's had great point production with 24 points in 19 games. Tkachuk has brought his brand of physicality with 58 hits. That's over three hits per game, which he hasn't even come close to before in the post season or regular season.
He's been a big gamer for the Panthers in the playoffs in addition to putting up his second consecutive 100+ point regular season. He's an impact player for whoever he plays for.
Tkachuk With Draisaitl or McDavid Would Be Unstoppable
To think of Tkachuk skating around with Leon Draisaitl or Connor McDavid would be a scary thought for opponents. Tkachuk could play a similar role to Zach Hyman or Evander Kane. If Tkachuk was drafted by the Oilers, it's entirely possible that either Kane or Hyman would not be with the Oilers if Tkachuk was already on the team.
Tkachuk is more offensively productive than either of those players, while playing style that could really gel with Draisaitl and Hyman. Of his 24 points 15 have been at even strength, and even strength scoring was the Oilers biggest weakness in their series against the Golden Knights. With more even strength scoring they could have punched their ticket to the Conference Final. Carrying that momentum over to the next series against Dallas, and you can imagine them making short work of their Western Conference rivals.
Tkachuk Was Almost an Oiler
Back at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Puljujarvi was projected to go 3rd overall to the Columbus Blue Jackets. But when Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen selected Pierre-Luc Dubois instead, it made Oilers management change their plans.
Before that moment, Tkachuk thought he was going to be an Oiler. Every sign from team interviews led him to believe he would be picked 4th overall. Moments after the Blue Jackets made their selection Tkachuk recalls seeing someone from the Oilers draft table put a jersey under the table, take a name off of it and put a new name on.
Drafting Puljujarvi Wasn't A Mistake
Regardless of how Puljujarvi's career as an Oiler went, drafting him was not a mistake. He was drafted to be a top six offensive player, but was not deployed as such for the majority of his time in an Oilers uniform. Generally speaking, 16-20 minutes per night would be considered top six deployment. Puljujarvi only averaged more than 16:00 of time on ice (TOI) for one of his six years in the NHL. Coincidentally (or not) it was last year, where he was his most offensively productive with 36 points in 65 games.
Puljujarvi was off to a great start with 16 points in the first 20 games of the 2021-22 season. He also clocked in 17:17 TOI. Everything seemed to be coming together. During that stretch his most common linemates were Zach Hyman, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. If things could have just continued where they left off after he returned from having COVID-19, it would have been an amazing season for Puljujarvi.
Could Puljujarvi have done more in his time in an Oilers jersey? Absolutely. The blame doesn't rest entirely on his shoulders. Before Ken Holland, the management juggled his ice time back and forth between the American Hockey League (AHL) and the NHL. They should have committed to one until Puljujarvi was ready for top six NHL minutes.
Kekalainen, being a former scout-turned-GM should have the most intel on Finnish players. The Blue Jackets not selecting Puljujarvi at 3rd was a red flag that the Oilers should have paid attention to. Regardless of the risk, Peter Charelli still selected him.
What do you think? Do you think the Oilers would have made the Cup Final with Tkachuk? Would they have made it with Puljujarvi instead? What could they have done differently with Puljujarvi?