The 2015 NHL Draft has come and gone, and it left us with a lot to think about. Clearly, the Bruins stole the show, but not in the best way possible. After trading off Dougie Hamilton and Milan Lucic, you’d think they would be able to reload with some blue chip prospects, however they made reaches at 13, 14, and 15 taking two players who were projected to be late first round picks. There were some other interesting trades and picks made at the draft, but all in all, most teams walked away with some very good prospects.
Monthly Archives: June 2015
Free Agent Options For The Edmonton Oilers
July 1st in Canada means two things that both start with the letter F, fireworks and free agency! Well it probably means three things that start with the letter F but I won’t go into that. The Edmonton Oilers still have some holes to mend in the line-up so let’s take a look at who’s out there this year!
Before we get into the candidates I think it would be prudent to look at the Oilers lineup as it stands today. Players marked with an asterisk (*) are players whose futures on the roster are a bit cloudy going into the 2015/16 season.
[table id=6 /]
I expect Iiro Pakarinen and Tyler Pitlick to push for a spot on the roster this year. They showed quite a bit of potential last season. Hopefully Pitlick can stay healthy enough to make a significant contribution. I think a lot of us really want to see Leon Draisaitl make the team and have an impact but it’s not realistic in my opinion. There are far to many young players on the team and Draisaitl would be much better served spending time in the AHL as a no.1 center.
If Edmonton is going to be successful this season and really make a dent in the standings, they’re going to have to upgrade that 3rd line because that is a line that is going to have to do a bit of everything. Anton Lander is going to need a couple of very industrious wingers that can put a puck in the net and score the dirty goals. Maybe the Oilers won’t have to dip their toes into the fee agency pool here. Perhaps Iiro Pakarinen and Tyler Pitlick could be those guys. Value Contracts folks! If you’re wondering how the best teams in the NHL stay the best… Value Contracts.
Possible Signings: Daniel Winnik (LW), Michael Frolik (RW), Justin Williams (RW), Matt Beleskey (LW), Joel Ward (RW)
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You’ll see here that Darnell Nurse isn’t in the top 6… Yet. I reckon he’ll force his way on to the team. Unlike the newly acquired Griffin Reinhart, Nurse was a dominating presence in the AHL playoffs for the now defunct OKC Barons (RIP). I would not be surprised at all if it was Reinhart with Mark Fayne and Darnell Nurse with Eric Gryba at some point next season but I’m thinking that could end in disaster. Signing a veteran defenceman short term wouldn’t hurt unless his name is Nikita Nikitin or Andrew Ference…
Possible Signings: Andrej Sekera, Mike Green, Barret Jackman, Cody Franson, Christan Ehrhoff. Francois Beauchemin
[table id=8 /]
The goaltending here is pretty straight forward. Talbot to start and Scrivens to back up. Barring anything ridiculous, this is how it will stay for the year. Maybe Laurent Brossoit will get a few games in but he’ll be numero uno in Bakersfield next season.
Possible Signings: None unless Scrivens gets dealt which in that case I like Kari Ramo or Micheal Neuvirth.
I think it would be great to go into next season signing 2 or 3 veteran bodies to help these kids move along to the next level. The Oilers sit at $56 million right now and that will give them about $15 million to play with minus the qualified Justin Schultz, Brandon Davidson and Tyler Pitlick yesterday so say $10 million or so. That’s enough to add quality to the team this year.
Just quick one today folks! Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know in the comments below what you think the Oilers roster will look like going into training camp. And don’t forget to add us on Twitter @beerleagueheroe or Like us on Facebook.
Take care everyone!
-BLH
The 50 Oilers
With the deadline to make qualifying offers now passed, we have a reasonable idea of what the 50 Man List will look like heading into free agency, as well as the cap space the Oilers will have.
Main Roster – 65.277, 6.123 Space
1. F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – 6.000
2. F Jordan Eberle – 6.000
3. F Taylor Hall – 6.000
4. F Teddy Purcell – 4.500
5. F Benoit Pouliot – 4.000
6. F Connor McDavid – 3.775
7. F Boyd Gordon – 3.000
8. F Nail Yakupov – 2.500
9. F Matt Hendricks – 1.850
10. F Anton Lander – 0.988
11. F Luke Gazdic – 0.800
12. F Rob Klinkhammer – 0.725
13. F Andrew Miller – 0.630
14. D Nikita Nikitin – 4.500
15. D Justin Schultz – 3.675 (His Qualifying Offer Amount, this could change)
16. D Mark Fayne – 3.625
17. D Andrew Ference – 3.250
18. D Griffin Reinhart – 3.214
19. D Eric Gryba – 1.250
20. D Oscar Klefbom – 1.245
21. G Ben Scrivens – 2.300
22. G Cam Talbot – 1.450
System
23. F Iiro Pakarinen
24. F Tyler Pitlick
25. F Ryan Hamilton
26. F Kyle Platzer
27. F Leon Draisaitl
28. F Anton Slepyshev
29. F Mitchell Moroz
30. F Jujhar Khaira
31. F Bogdan Yakimov
32. F Gregory Chase
33. F Kale Kessy
34. D Joey LaLeggia
35. D Ben Betker
36. D Darnell Nurse
37. D David Musil
38. D Dillon Simpson
39. D Jordan Oesterle
40. D Martin Gernat
41. D Brandon Davidson
42. D Brad Hunt
43. G Laurent Brossoit
44. G Eetu Laurikainen
Let’s take a look at the list. First of all, for the cap hit calculation, it is important to note that I included all of the rookie bonuses to illustrate the “worst case scenario.” The Oilers could spend more than the cap space amount I have indicated, but they would risk having a bonus overage tapped on to next years cap. If none of Klefbom, Reinhart, or McDavid met any of their bonus requirements, the Oilers would have significantly more cap space, however this is unrealistic.
Some people may question some of the player decisions I have. Firstly, I have top prospects Draisaitl and Nurse in the AHL, and Andrew Miller in the NHL. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first is the cap space issue. Let’s say the Oilers replace Miller with Draisaitl and add Nurse to the roster. If you account for bonuses, this adds $4.484m towards the cap, which would reduce the cap space to only $1.639m. The Oilers couldn’t realistically add a much needed top 4 defenceman to the roster and not go way over the cap next season. Even as I have the cap here, there isn’t much room. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a player or players moved out to make some room. Purcell, Gordon, Nikitin, Schultz, Ference, and Scrivens are all players who could be moved to make cap space.
Now, I have Andrew Miller on the starting roster. I think he could show well in camp and could make the roster, but also, I can’t see him clearing waivers so I think he sticks around. He was excellent in his time in Edmonton at the end of the season.
I have Griffin Reinhart sticking around on defense because that seems to be the plan at the moment. If he has a poor showing at the beginning of the season though, it’s possible that we see a completely different rookie here on opening night. Nurse, Musil, Simpson, Oesterle, Davidson, and Hunt are all players who will be competing hard for a roster spot.
If we assume the Oilers want to max out at 47 contracts to leave some space, we could see 3 free agents signed this summer, unless a contract is moved out.
Oilers invite RHD Loik Leveille to camp! @Lowetide @JonathanWillis Thought he'd go 3rd-4th round in the draft. https://t.co/iyHYEt6mkC
— Mark Bowie (@bowiepuck) June 29, 2015
If Leveille has a good showing at camp he could get an ELC from the Oilers, but his contract wouldn’t count because he would be assigned to juniors. It will be interesting to see if the Oilers bring Vladimir Tkachev back to camp. They can sign him now and he could play in the AHL next season. He would count as a contract.
Thanks for reading everyone! Let me know in the comments below if you agree or disagree with my 50 man list and please follow me on Twitter and Like us on Facebook!
Oilers Post-Draft Thoughts
The Picks
No.1 – Connor McDavid – Saviour of our fine town and destroyer of planets.
No.117 – Caleb Jones – Brother of Nashville’s Seth Jones. A defenceman who shoots left and comes in at 6’0″ and 194lbs. I guess he didn’t get the same growth genes as his brother. The Hockey News tells us he is an aggressive defenceman with all-round upside. Sounds like his top-end projection is to be a 4/5/6 dman if he makes it to the NHL. More 5/6 probably.
No.124 – Ethan Bear – Lowetide was a real fan of this good ol’ Saskatchewan boy. He’s a stocky (5’11” 200lbs) defenceman out of the Seattle Thunderbirds organization. To me he looks like he could develop into a Francois Beauchemin type or maybe Stephane Robidas. He’s fearless and is willing to sacrifice his body to get the job done.
No.171 – John Marino – Another defenceman! This time a right-handed shooter because after drafting, signing, or trading for a gazillion left-handed ones, it was time to add to right-handers stable. Marino is 6’1″ 171lbs and I seen him projected as possible another Jeff Petry. He’s a great skater and puck mover. He’ll be plying his trade at Harvard University next season. At least we know he’s intelligent.
No.208 – Mirosloav Svoboda – Now I wanted a goalie in this draft for sure but who in the good Lord’s name is this guy? I mean if they were going to go for a stretch in the last round, they could’ve went for World Junior Stand out, Denis Godla, who went undrafted or what about that guy out of Norway, George Sorensen. Hell even taking a flyer on Vladislav Tretiak’s grandson, Maxim, would’ve been preferred. This Svoboda fella looks like another Kevin Bouchard to me… The kicker is the Oilers traded to get him! I’d love to get more insight on this one.
No.209 – Ziyat Paigin – Well if you can remember back at the World Juniors, there was an incident at the end of the game where a Russian defenceman threw his stick into the crowd as Team Canada rushed onto the ice to celebrate. This was the guy who threw the stick… Apart from that he’s a towering presence. He’s 6’6″ and 209lbs, so he’s an imposing blue liner. He’s said to love the physical game and is quite good and using his angles and stick to fend off opposing forwards. He’ll be in Russian for a few years yet, so there’s not too much to concern yourself as a fan with this player until we start to hear rumblings that he’s coming over.
Other players that were still on the board when the Oilers made their late round picks were guys like Ryan Pilon (#147), Dmitro Tymashov (#125), Radovan Bonda (#151), Chase Pearson (#140), Andrew Mangiapane (#166), David Cotton (#166), Nikita Korostelev (#185)
And there were even some great players that went completely undrafted. Below is a list compiled by Beer League Heroes friend, Sully! Follow him on Twitter @BSully097
Top 5 forwards – Nathan Noel, Dante Solituro, Sebastien Aho (SWE), Kay Schweri, and Pius Suter.
Top 5 dmen and goalies – Nikita Cherepanov, Ken Appleby, Aiden Jamieson, Phil Baltisberger, Casey Fitzgerald
I’d add Vlad Tkachev and Maxim Tretiak to that list.
The Trades
Griffin Reinhart to the Oilers for the #16 (Matt Barzal) and #33 (Mitchell Stephens) picks.
The way I see it is Bob Green (former GM of the Edmonton Oil Kings) had his hands all over this one. I don’t really care if Chiarelli said he had his eyes on him when he worked in Boston. Reinhart is a former Edmonton Oil King that was chosen 4th overall pick in 2012 and if I remember correctly was being considered by the Oilers if they were going to trade down at the draft. One thing I do remember correctly is that there were a large portion of fans hoping the Oilers would take a defenceman in that draft.
It’s hard to say whether keeping the picks would’ve offered better results? I mean the Oilers could’ve picked Kyle Connor and Mackenzie Blackwood for instance. Boom! Two highly touted players that would’ve appeased the most serious of draft geeks.
Look, they guy has size and smarts and WILL play the body, unlike the guy that the Oilers shipped out later in the weekend. My biggest memory of Reinhart is the year the Edmonton Oil Kings won the Memorial Cup and he more or less shut down the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL final. At 6’4″ 216lbs, he’s an absolute beast with room to get bigger and Oilers fans should be very pleased with him.
Cam Talbot and #209 to the Oilers for picks #57 (Jonas Siegenthaler), #79 (Sergey Zborovskiy), and #184 (Adam Huska).
Edmonton got their man for a much cheaper price than what was being asked (two 2nd rounders). I’m not a fan of Talbot yet but I’ll give the guy a chance to show me that he can do what he did in New York but in Edmonton and behind what could be a very young defence.
Todd McLellan to the Oilers for the #86 (Mike Robinson)
It’s not really a trade but it’s notable. Oilers get one of the best coaches in the game at the sacrifice of a 3rd round pick.
Brad Ross and #107 to the Oilers for Martin Marincin
Well the writing was on the wall, wasn’t it? Marincin’s biggest supporter, Craig MacTavish, finally found a way to get rid of him. Marty didn’t help himself getting scratched in the AHL playoffs for not being “assertive” enough… He’ll be a good defenceman in Toronto with Babcock, that’s not doubt but it just wasn’t a fit here for the Oilers.
Brad Ross… I remember him being the Greg Chase before Greg Chase came around. Irritating little SOB and if he could get his career turned around, might be a lesser man’s Brad Marchand but in all honesty I think this trade was to get Marincin off the books in Edmonton. I’d be surprised if I saw Ross in an Oilers jersey ever.
Eric Gryba to the Oilers for pick #107 (Christian Wolanin) and Travis Ewanyk
Ewanyk was a write-off. Edmonton’s version of Patrice Cormier but with even less a chance at making it to the NHL. Now Gryba is a 3rd pairing right-handed shut down defenceman. He’s only 27 and makes $1.25 million per year. He’s going to make sure that the kids stay alright. Keith Aulie was doing that a bit last season but I didn’t get the feeling he had the backing of all the coaches. Actually Aulie and Gryba fought last season after Aulie filled Chris Neil in.
I have to wonder if Gryba will be the partner for Griffin Reinhart or Darnell Nurse next season. Big boys those three are. The return of the Twin Towers?
For those of you too young to know who they were, back in the 80s and early 90s, the Oilers had two guys named Jeff Beukeboom and Steve Smith patrolling the blue together. Both were 6’3″ 200lbs plus and played with injurious intent on every shift.
Final Thoughts
I don’t think that Chiarelli is done. He did a nice job of adding some value contracts over the weekend. Marty Marincin wouldn’t have been waiver exempt this season but Griffin Reinhart will be. Cam Talbot and Eric Gryba are a combined $2.7 million for the year then they turn UFA.
The Los Angeles Kings added Milan Lucic and the Calgary Flames added Dougie Hamilton. The muscle is getting added in the Pacific and Edmonton is going to have to do the same in my opinion.
Just an aside on that Hamilton deal.
The Boston Bruins really slammed their dicks in the door this weekend. Goodness me! Lucic and Hamilton for picks? And Sweeney/Neely wanted Darnell Nurse plus the same 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rounders? Darnell Nurse could very well turn out to be better than Dougie Hamilton and I can’t wait to see the two go head-to-head 6 times a year. Bruins fans, it’s going to be okay. It might take a few years for Brandon Carlo to develop and passing on Matt Barzal and Kyle Connor may look like a mistake at first but everything will be fine… Someday…
The Calgary Flames might’ve won the weekend. They did so well to add Dougie Hamilton, Rasmus Andersson, and Oliver Kylington to their defence. But I wonder with the addition of Dougie if Mark Giordano and his $9 million dollars a year will be heading elsewhere…
Let’s get back to adding some muscle to the Edmonton Oilers. It looks like and if I have heard correctly, they could be adding some more to the blue line. Personally I’d like to see them add a Matt Beleskey-like player to the forward corps. Someone who can hit and fight and put the puck in the net. Give me Kyle Okposo for Jordan Eberle and we’ll call it a day on this topic.
Does anybody else get the feeling that Oilers will be going into next season with two new goalies? I’m not sure if Ben Scrivens will be here by the time the season starts. I wonder about Kari Ramo. He’d be the best Oilers goalie named Kari since Kari Takko was tending net for the Oilers in 1991.
Lastly, will Peter Chiarelli address his lack of a top pairing defenceman? The Seabrook rumors won’t die and usually that’s a pretty good indicator that there’s something up there. Would adding two middle pairing dmen like Paul Martin, Andrej Sekera, or Cody Franson on short term deals make more sense until Darnell Nurse and Oscar Klefbom are ready to take the torch? Food for though nevertheless.
That was a helluva read! Congrats on making it to the end. And with that I’d like to point you in the direction of the Beer League Heroes Teespring Shop! We’ve got some crazy ass designs that I’m sure you’d love! Especially the 8-bit McDavid shirt! Click this link and pick a shirt up for a friend or a loved one.
Take care everyone!
– BLH
Oilers First Round
Well, the 30th pick has been made and the first round has come to a conclusion. The Oilers made noise on the draft floor moving picks 16 (Barzal) and pick 33 to the New York Islanders in exchange for Griffin Reinhart. Many have criticized this move, but it will prove to be a valuable addition to the Oilers roster. Not only does Reinhart bring a strong defensive presence, he also brings the experience factor the Oilers lack. Yes, I know he’s 21, so “experience” isn’t exactly a trait that would pop into your head immediately, but if you take a glimpse at his track record you will be more than impressed.
Aside from that trade, the Oilers clearly won the day as they walked away with the greatest prospect to come along in the past 30 years. McDavid means a new era for the Oilers. His unprecedented speed and puck skills will take the NHL, as well as the Oilers, on to a new level. If the Oilers walk away with zero picks throughout the remainder of the draft and still acquire an A+ rating given the caliber of player they left with.
Granted, selecting Mathew Barzal at 16, and one of Bittner, Roy, or Harkins at 33 would have been a memorable haul, but the Oilers chose to address a position which they were shallow on. Reinhart creates depth on the blueline, and for the first time in years, the Oilers can potentially say no to adding another left handed defenceman.
All in all, it was a solid day for the Oil, but it doesn’t end there. Tomorrow is when we’ll see picks and players on the move, possibly Nikita Nikitin on his way out, as well as the chance a goalie is added to the fold. It will be an exciting day, and for once Oiler fans have faith in management.