Monthly Archives: September 2015

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

Three Disaster Scenarios for the Edmonton Oilers in 2015/16

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It’s true that the Edmonton Oilers under Peter Chiarelli have become a vastly improved club. The goaltending has improved, the defence is a bit better, the team actually has good coaching, and oh yeah that guy named McDavid is going to be the no.1 center on the team by Christmas.

But actually there are a few scenarios that people are forgetting and I’m regretfully here to tell you.

One of the Top 6 Wingers Gets Injured

If Hall, Eberle, Pouliot or Yakupov go down the team doesn’t have the proper depth on the wing to absorb the impact. Especially Hall and Eberle. So what happens if one or both of them go down for an extended period of time? They’d be replaced by Teddy Purcell… Jebus no! There’s even talks of him starting the year along McDavid and Hall… Idiocy. Some other candidates include Iiro Pakarinen, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Hamilton, Andrew Miller or Anton Slepyshev. Not ideal I say.

And if one of those wingers gets injured because of the actions of an opponent… A bloody shame. To hell with “The Code” if that actually happens.

We Find Out Cam Talbot is Really a Back-Up Goalie and Not a Starter

Imagine that! Edmonton trading serious assets to acquire a goalie that could very well be no better than Ben Scrivens.

The team is up Poop Creek if Cam Talbot can’t hold his own in a division that will force him to see shots from some of the NHL’s elite forwards.

Not only that but the entire league would know their kryptonite and the team would be forced into making a…

A Big Trade

I’m talking about a deal where Chiarelli moves a major piece of the Oilers. A player like Hall, Nugent-Hopkins, Eberle or one of the Superkids 2.0 (Draisaitl, McDavid, Nurse).

If the team starts slowly again and the Oilers make a snap decision, I think they’ll be dealing the wrong player at the wrong time and it could have dire consequences on the future of the franchise. The team is finally pointed in the right direction. If a deal is to be made the team has to be patient and wait for a team to be in an untenable situation where the Oilers can take advantage at the sacrifice of the other team’s best interests.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the post!

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If you’re starting to feel that winter breeze crop up why not head over to our BLH Merch Shop and pick up a 16-Bit Superstars hoodie or a long sleeve shirt (These can be ordered in orange).

We’ve got a plethora of colors, all the sizes, and tops for women and children. Basically you’re covered no matter who you are!

So head on over and find something to keep you warm this winter and if you can’t find a design to your liking, contact us and we’ll do one up for you!

Can you think of any disaster scenarios that the Oilers should be planning for this season? Is there anything you can see happening that they aren’t prepared for? Let me know in the comments below!

Take Care!

BLH

Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Rumors

Trading Kane

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Is Kane gonzo?

So little Patty Kane has drunk himself into another hole that the Chicago Blackhawks are going to have to dig him out of. Is he our generation’s version of Derek Sanderson? Troubled NHL star with addictive tendencies and seems to attract the wrong kind of people due to his inability to control himself.

The trade rumors have been swirling all week since this article was posted. Apparently teams aren’t scared off by the PR debacle that Kane has made for himself. Well what if you put all of that aside for a moment. I know its hard to do that but let’s concentrate on Kane the hockey player not Kane the douchebag.

Is this a player that would benefit the Edmonton Oilers? Keep in mind, we’re forgetting about all the off-ice stuff. Starting with his HERO chart.

HERO chart courtesy of http://ownthepuck.blogspot.ca/

He’s elite… There’s no doubt about that but he’s not a team player. His linemates seem to suffer from his lack of a defensive game but nobody really cares because his offense is so good.

Now this is the part where I say forget about what I said earlier because we’re going to talk value. Given his history off the ice it must certainly be something that has to be considered when discussing trades. His contract is another albatross that would factor in greatly. Another thing will be his punishment IF he’s convicted and there’s reports online that he’s as close to guilty as one can be found before a trial. I mean think about it, there has been nothing out of his camp to suggest he’s innocent. So will he be suspended by the league? If so, how long? A season? More?

Kane is only 26 years old so even if he were shut down for a season it wouldn’t affect his on-ice career greatly.

If I were to trade for Pat Kane and I’m the Edmonton Oilers. I’d find a way for them to eat that contract and take Nail Yakupov. That is the base from which I would work from. I imagine tossing in some prospects like Jordan Oesterle, Tyler Pitlick, or Iiro Pakarinen would also be part of the plan. But there’s no way I’d be taking more than half of that contract and keeping Yakupov.

Patrick Kane is Stanley Cup winner in the most purest of senses. He scored the OT goal to win a Stanley Cup and not many players can say that. He’s also a Conn Smythe winner so we know he rises to the occasion (no pun intended).

Seeing him on a line with Connor McDavid and Taylor Hall might just destroy what is left of humanity. And don’t tell me, “Oh he’ll be bad for the kids!”

Look. The Oilers have plenty of good characters on the team that could show the youngins how to behave as professional hockey players not only that but let’s not take away from the young players themselves. Not every player under the age of 20 is prone to Peter Pan Syndrome.

But this is something we’ll never see. Just some musings from a Beer League Hero.

I hope you enjoyed the read. Let me know in the comments below if you think you’d trade for Patrick Kane.

Don’t forget to check out all the new t-shirt designs at the BLH Merch Shop! We’ve got Yak, McDavid, Hall, Talbot, Nurse, and Ranford up for 30% off right now! And if you really want there’s a Patrick Kane one as well!

And don’t forget to follow us on all the major social media platforms:

Take Care!

-BLH

Armchair GM, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Prospects, Rob Cooke

Beer League Heroes 15 -16 Season Primers: The Calgary Flames

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Welcome back to the season primer series. The Calgary Flames were the team that everyone expected to come crashing back to earth all year last year and somehow they never did. The analytics crowd was screaming that the teams PDO had to come back to an even level and there was little to no chance that they could sustain their productivity through-out the entire year. Well they did and that just allowed the media and analytics crowd to change their tune to they won’t be able to duplicate that success next year. The Flames had solid defense all season, even when Captain Mark Giordano went down with a season ending injury the rest of the rear guards picked up the slack and soldiered on. Add in up and coming top pairing defender Dougie Hamilton to the mix and Calgary now has one of the best defense cores in the league.

Key Additions: RW Michael Frolik, D Dougie Hamilton

Key Subtractions: D David Schlemko, RW Brian McGrattan, D Corey Potter, D Raphael Diaz

Calgary only added two players this summer but the two that they did add are excellent additions to the team. Dougie Hamilton has the ability to be a top pairing guy in the NHL for a very long time. Michael Frolik brings decent size but more importantly he brings a veteran presence and should be good for between 15 and 20 goals.

Projected Lines (All Players Healthy):

Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Jiri Hudler
Sam Bennett – Mikael Backlund – Michael Frolik
Mason Raymond – Josh Jooris – Joe Colborne
Michael Ferland – Matt Stajan – David Jones

TJ Brodie – Mark Giordano
Kris Russel – Dougie Hamilton
Deryk Engelland – Dennis Wideman

Jonas Hiller
Karri Ramo

Roster Contenders: D Ladislav Smid, LW Brandon Bollig, C Lance Bouma, C Paul Byron, C Markus Granlund, D Tyler Wotherspoon, and G Joni Ortio.

Calgary seems to have a roster that is pretty much set even before we enter training camp. A player like Ladi Smid will likely end up being the 7th defender but will still see significant time because we all know how hard it is to keep six healthy defensemen all season.

The key concern with Calgary is going to be their forward depth again this year. Outside of the top line there isn’t anyone on the team that can be counted on for a 20-goal season. Frolik is a possibility but since he hasn’t gotten there yet I wouldn’t hold my breath.

The Flames defense is what is going to power them through for the most part this season. We know Monahan is good for 20 plus goals and so is Gaudreau, well as long as he doesn’t hit the dreaded sophomore slump.

People have been expecting a Calgary regression since November of last year and it never happened. Sorry Oilers fans but it isn’t going to happen this year either. Calgary will be in the playoff picture come April. In what slot is anyone’s guess though.

 

If you are a Flames fan or know of one please direct them to our t-shirt shop. We have 16-Bit Johnny Gaudreau, Sam Bennett, Sean Monahan, Dougie Hamilton, and Mark Giordano all waiting to go to a caring home where they can keep you warm throughout those “miserable” Calgary winters…

Thanks for reading and let us know in the comments below if you think the Flames are due to make the playoffs again this year?

Stay tuned for the next installment of the Beer League Heroes Season Primers series!

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers

New Connor McDavid Adidas Commercial

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https://youtube.com/watch?v=JpVULjoF7uI

Surely this is the just the beginning of the machine called McDavid. This Connor McDavid Adidas ad is wicked! I’m loving the intensity at the end and can he turn this franchise around? HELL YA!!

Let me know in the comments below what your favorite hockey ad is!

If you think that is cool then check out our new t-shirt design called “The Lottery Line” featuring Hallsy, Yak, and McJesus! Click the pic below and get the shirt for 30% off but hurry because the sale ends today!

Click on the pic!