EDMONTON — The trade deadline has come and gone, but it looked like the Oilers made an extra deal based on Friday night’s action.
Kailer Yamamoto seemed like a different player than he has all season against the Jets, performing like the elite winger the Oilers have been searching for to complete their top six.
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The dog-on-a-bone forward has endured a miserable campaign thanks mostly to injuries that have bled over to a lack of production when he has been in the lineup.
That was not the same Yamamoto who was on the ice torching the Jets in a 6-3 win.
“It’s been a while,” Yamamoto said when asked when was the last time he felt this good. “I don’t even know about this year. Maybe last year. It’s been a while.”
There was some angst that Oilers GM Ken Holland didn’t add another right winger to his roster before Friday’s deadline.
Well, Yamamoto assuaged those concerns — at least temporarily — by scoring twice in a 40-second span midway through the middle period, showing a combination of deft dekes and a nose for the net in the process. He added an assist late in the game to cap off a three-point outing.
To suggest the game was a confidence-builder for him would be an understatement.
“It’s huge,” Yamamoto said. “I’m happy I got two on the board and an assist, but it was a good team win.”
The 24-year-old owes some gratitude to longest-serving Oiler Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for his first goal of the game. Nugent-Hopkins broke up a Winnipeg rush just inside the Edmonton zone and then fired a pass to Yamamoto, who was waiting at the far blue line. Yamamoto went forehand, then backhand, and placed a shot over the pad of Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.
my lord. what an incredible backcheck by ryan nugent-hopkins, who has a tremendous feed to kailer yamamoto to make it 3-0. pic.twitter.com/VoxEk8DDyn
— zach (@zjlaing) March 4, 2023
Less than a minute later, Yamamoto was in the right place (the slot) at the right time to capitalize on a loose puck.
yamamoto again! his second of the game gives the oilers a 4-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/vZ5dQ6hvku
— zach (@zjlaing) March 4, 2023
The way he scored was meaningful to him.
“All my goals, I’m pretty sure, up until these last two have been tip-ins or around the net,” Yamamoto said. “It’s definitely good to get some shots in and a breakaway goal.”
All that was missing for Yamamoto was his hat trick.
He was set up by Leon Draisaitl and Vincent Desharnais for two banner chances in close late in the period but was stymied each time by Hellebuyck.
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“I should have had like four or five (goals) in that second period,” he said. “But I’m glad I got two of them.”
Offence aside, it was a vintage Yamamoto performance.
“He was just hungry on pucks right from the get-go,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “He’s playing his best when he’s tenacious and really going in there and creating loose pucks. He was doing that early and that led to production for him.”
Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft calls Yamamoto a “pest.” He means that as the sincerest form of flattery.
He trusts Yamamoto on the penalty kill but also cites the 5-foot-8, 153-pound winger’s “will and determination” as his weapons for being able to strip pucks away from much larger opponents.
“He’s had an injury-riddled year. It’s nice to have him back in the lineup here,” Woodcroft said. “I still think there’s more there.
“I still want him to continue to play without pause in his game.”
Ah, yes. Those injuries are likely the biggest reason why Yamamoto hasn’t been firing on anywhere close to all cylinders.
Yamamoto took an awkward hit in the penultimate exhibition game, which caused him to miss the regular-season opener because of an upper-body injury. The ailment lingered, and his campaign has become akin to rush-hour traffic — a series of agonizing stops and starts.
He has been limited to appearing in just 39 of 63 games. He has a modest eight goals and 17 points after his output Friday.
“It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster for me — playing, getting injured; playing, getting injured,” Yamamoto said.
“It’s tough. It’s almost like you’re losing your rhythm again. But the more games you play, the better you get back into it.”
It seemed like Yamamoto was regaining his touch as he scored in Pittsburgh last week and then tipped in a shot against the Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
But concern arose when Yamamoto was struck by what he called a “cheap hit” by Leafs defenceman Justin Holl late in that game. After Nugent-Hopkins rushed to Yamamoto’s defence and fought Holl, the Oilers’ head athletic trainer T.D. Forss opted to remove Yamamoto from the game.
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“It was 5-2 with seven minutes left,” the winger said. “They have my best interests in there. I’ve got to listen to them, but I wasn’t too worried about it.”
That hit sure wasn’t affecting him Friday. Backed by his best game of the season and just his second multi-point outing, Yamamoto now has four goals in his last five contests.
His offensive finish and instincts — to say nothing of his all-around game — were reminiscent of when he teamed up with Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins from January 2020 until the pandemic halted play.
Fresh off a call-up from the minors, Yamamoto joined Nos. 29 and 93 one game in and formed perhaps the best line in hockey over a two-month stretch. The diminutive winger finished the season with 11 goals and 26 points in 27 games.
He was the guy who fished out pucks for his star linemates and netted chances when needed, too. Déjà vu — especially since Yamamoto started the game with those two and they skated 5:25 together as a trio.
“When I first came up it was 26 games, and we had some really good chemistry. It definitely brought me back to those good old days,” Yamamoto said. “They’re amazing players. When they’re going, they’re so easy to play with.”
Anything remotely close to that level of play would be a huge boon to the Oilers.
General manager Holland and his staff did some excellent work ahead of the deadline, acquiring two players they needed — defenceman Mattias Ekholm and a righty forward with bottom-six chops and some skill in Nick Bjugstad.
If there’s any critique of Holland’s work, it’s that the right side of the blue line is unheralded and a bit inexperienced, and the right wing is perhaps a little thin.
Holland was pressed against the salary cap and operating with the constraints of a roster that had been in long-term injured reserve all season. If Holland wanted to acquire another player, he would have had to move someone out of Edmonton.
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There were only a handful of Oilers that could have been dealt, and Yamamoto fit the description.
After already dealing right defenceman Tyson Barrie and right winger Jesse Puljujarvi, Holland kept the rest of the existing roster intact — much to Yamamoto’s relief.
“I was a little bit nervous, but it’s a business. You’ve got to look at it that way,” he said. “I’m happy I’m here. A little bit of pressure’s off now. I can just focus on hockey now.”
If that’s the type of hockey Yamamoto is going to exhibit with greater frequency, he’ll quickly dispel any notion of right wing being a perceived weak link on this team.
More performances like Friday night, too, and it’s like the Oilers acquired that bona fide top-six winger they’ve longed for — the player Yamamoto has proven he can be.
(Photo of Oilers forward Kailer Yamamoto battling for the puck against Winnipeg’s Karson Kuhlman: Perry Nelson / USA Today)
