Hot Links: Thursday, November 28

Morning, folks.

Tough one last night, as both the #Oilers and the referees had tough nights out there and Edmonton wound up losing 4-1 in a game they were treated unfairly by their opposition and the officials.

No word on whether there will be additional supplemental discipline for Adam Larsson after last night’s game misconduct. No word on whether Steve Kozari will either, but that guy is a joke. Ever since Connor McDavid showed him up, it feels — at least anecdotally — like he’s tried to get his whole forearm in whenever he’s been charged with handling an Oilers game. And it’s not just Edmonton. He was part of the crew that was removed from game 7 of the SCF last spring after a job-losing performance in game 5. He’s an objectively bad referee and the NHL continues to tarnish its own brand whenever they hand him a whistle.

Alex Chiasson has been placed in concussion protocol after getting absolutely mangled at centre ice last night. He stayed down for a few minutes before skating off under his own power but after he didn’t return it was pretty likely he’d suffered a concussion. The Oilers might have to look at bringing up one of Tyler Benson or Kailer Yamamoto in his stead.

Ethan Bear, despite having a tough night along with most everyone else yesterday, has been revelatory this season. He’s in the last year of his ELC and seems likely to be the Oilers’ best late-round draft pick in a decade. So, what’s he worth? Should he be bridged? Should he be signed long-term right away, like Taylor Hall was? Where are we landing here? I’d prefer term myself. I’m a believer.

Nail Yakupov is the highest-profile draft failure in recent memory for the Oilers. Apart from trading for Griffin Reinhart, of course. But, what happened?

The remainder of the links are going to be various flavors of game recaps, so get your fill and digest the rest and we’ll run it back again tomorrow.

From Us

Oilers Drop 4-1 Decision in Colorado (Copper and Blue)

Rolling along (Copper and Blue)

The Farm & Unincorporated Oil Country - November 27 (Copper and Blue)

From Elsewhere

Oilers’ Chiasson In Concussion Protocol After Hit By Avalanche’s Graves (Sportsnet)

Player Grades: Imperfect Storm In The Mile High City As Oilers Buried By Avalanche (Journal)

Short-Handed Oilers Fall To Avalanche In Final Stop Of 5-Game Road Trip (CBC)

Nathan MacKinnon Scores As Avalanche Use Big Third To Beat Oilers (Sportsnet)

Roof Falls In On Edmonton Oilers (Sun)

For Money

Willis: Should The Oilers Go Short Or Long Term On Ethan Bear’s Next Contract? (The Athletic)

The 2010s: What went wrong with Nail Yakupov? How the No. 1 pick became the decade’s biggest NHL draft bust (The Athletic)