Monthly Archives: October 2016

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

What the Hell Happened?

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Ok, so I’m back in the ROC (The Republic of China aka Taiwan) now and apparently while Little BLH and myself were on the plane Kris Versteeg and the Oilers decided it wasn’t going to work out and off Versteeg went to join the Flames… Say what?!

https://twitter.com/SportsnetSpec/status/786024963555794944

If you get on that Twitter thread, Dustin Neilson talks about Versteeg not being tough enough and that’s why he wasn’t signed. I laughed out loud and immediately thought about how that must’ve infuriated some numbers guys.

I was getting stoked to have Versteeg on the team. I thought adding more veterans with playoff success was the right road to go down for this team but apparently, Versteeg wasn’t interested in 12-13 minutes a night and decided to take his show elsewhere. So good riddance and good luck tomorrow night to Versteeg (IF he’s even in the lineup). When you’ve got Maroon, Kassian, Lucic, Pouliot, etc bearing down on you, you’ll know you made the wrong choice.

And to add to the Versteeg news, Eric Gryba was signed to a 2-way deal after I was told he was on his way out of town… Say what what?!!

I mean I watched him (Gryba) in that Jets/Oilers game and he was effective in front of the net but when it came to moving the puck and actually skating… Yikes! Was/is he a better option that Mark Fayne? I can’t answer that. I think they’re both bound for the AHL or other teams. I’ve liked Matt Benning better but I’m not sure if starting him in the NHL is a positive direction to take with him even though there’s a glut of dmen lining up for Bakersfield at the moment. Actually, I expect Chiarelli deal some of those guys out to make room for Ethan Bear and Caleb Jones next season.

TSN CAN TAKE A LONG WALK OFF A SHORT PIER

https://twitter.com/AzorcanGlobal/status/786021731659943937

What kind of poppycock is that? For the first time in how many years, the Oilers’ top four defensemen are actually NHL defensemen!! They’re not starting any rookies in the top 6 on forward and the goaltending is solid IF Talbot can start well and stay healthy. Not only that but…

For the first time in how many MANY years, the Oilers’ top four defensemen are actually NHL defensemen!! They’re not starting any rookies in the top 6 on forward and the goaltending is solid IF Talbot can start well and stay healthy. This is finally starting to resemble a real team folks!

Not only that but…

Second last in the whole league? Brutal! What is that even based on (I haven’t seen the preview show…)? If you’re to ask me, I think they’ll finish a surprising 4th in the West whilst passing Arizona, Vancouver, and Calgary AND picking up the wild card spot.

There was a stat going around about teams going into their new buildings and how they’ve always made the playoffs that year… I’m not sure how far back that goes but this jet lag has me feeling like I’ve got a brutal hangover and I can’t be bothered checking. But if it’s true, that bodes well for the Oilers.

THE OILERS STARTING LINEUP FOR 2016/17

Good ol’ Lance Pitlick eh?

I think the majority of bitching these days is why the Oilers didn’t pick up Teemu Pulkkinen (too slow), PA Parenteau (too slow), and/or Mark McNeil (Stauffer doesn’t have that much pull) and you know what?

I’m f*cking stoked that he didn’t when I think about it.

He’s giving the players within his organization to make their mark. Pitlick has busted his balls to make this team each year he’s had the chance and each year the injury bug has jumped up and bit him. Poor luck I say. But not this year, he’s ready to take Matty Hendricks role and run with it.

Anton Slepyshev has looked very clinical this training camp. He’s using his size and hands to run amok on the opposition when given the opportunity. Not only that, but Slepyshev even got in a scrap! Loving the heart he’s showing and I believe Peter Chiarelli is feeling the same.

I imagine this will be that last chance for these players though. If they can’t make an impact at the NHL level within 20-25 games, surely they’ll be moved on from and maybe for one of those players that everyone was pissing their pants for just a short time ago.

I don’t agree with Jesse Puljujarvi starting the year with the team because he hasn’t really shown much positive despite what Coach McLellan has said about him needing a more structured game. He’s tentative with the puck and panics with it in the defensive zone. A far cry from the prospects tournament in Penticton eh? But how much fault can we lay at the teenager’s feet. His countryman, Patrick Laine, put up goose eggs in the preseason and we were all thinking goalies be getting lit!

I’ve loved the preseasons from Pat Maroon, Benny Pouliot, Adam Larsson, Matt Benning, Drake Caggiula, and Oscar Klefbom. They’ve been aggressive, smart and calculated. If they can carry that over to the regular season, the Oilers could be a team to be reckoned with.

The rest of the roster looked pretty meh… Saw ’em good one day and saw ’em poor another. I think Lucic will need to pull up his socks and really start laying into guys as he looks just a fraction of a second behind McDavid. Eberle is still dusting that puck off before shooting it and we’re going to need to be patient with the Pouliot/Nuge/Draisaitl line I think. Tons of potential there but not guaranteed to work. This is Todd McLellan’s MO though. Stack those top two lines with your best players and ride ’em until they’re raw.

That being said, this roster is on a short leash and as we’ve found out, Chiarelli is NOT afraid to make an unpopular move… Hello Eberle for Simmonds!

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Brennen York, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects

15 Names to Keep an Eye On in 2016/17

Could Timothy Liljegren top Nolan Patrick for 1st overall in 2017?

 It’s hard to gauge where the Oilers will finish in the standings come April, but it would surprise no one if they ended up with a lottery pick on draft day. As opposed to last year, no player has emerged as a potential superstar, the closest being Nolan Patrick who looks like he’ll be a top line NHL’er, but may not reach the same productivity levels as a Jamie Benn or John Tavares. Timothy Liljegren is the other player competing for Timothy Liljegren is the other player competing for

Timothy Liljegren is the other player competing for Timothy Liljegren is the other player competing for top spot at the moment, however, defenceman can be tricky, and we may not know exactly what he’ll be for another three or four years. Where this draft differs from most is in the amount of players who fit a specific role nearly perfectly. Players like Nico Hischier projecting to be a top 6 playmaking right shot

Where this draft differs from most is in the amount of players who fit a specific role nearly perfectly. Players like Nico Hischier projecting to be a top 6 playmaking right shot winger, or Stellio Mattheos who’s looking more and more like he’ll become a big-time producer while also maintaining a prominent role in the team’s defence.

In an attempt to paint a clearer picture of the prospects I predict to be selected by a lottery team, I’ve included a player comparison, however, the comparison carries very little weight.

  • Timothy Liljegren – RD – Rogle BK (SHL)

Comparable: Kris Letang, John Klingberg

Liljegren plays an up-tempo, offensive style of game without sacrificing his responsibilities in the defensive zone. He’s a dynamic skater with excellent puck moving abilities, and will likely be a top two NHL defenceman. Liljegren is currently out with mono, something that may hurt his draft stock.

  • Nolan Patrick – RC – Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

Comparable: Taylor Hall, Blake Wheeler

Given his innate ability to score goals, Nolan Patrick may be the first selection come June, but it won’t be without debate. The Wheaties captain has a similar demeanor to Taylor Hall, and doesn’t jump off the sheet as the smartest player, however his offensive abilities cannot be denied. Likely a winger at the NHL level.

  • Kristian Vesalainen – LW – Frolunda HC (SHL)

Comparable: Filip Forsberg, Loui Eriksson

The speedy Finnish forward looks to join fellow countrymen Jesse Puljujarvi and Patrik Laine as a top five pick, and there’s a very good chance he does so. Vesalainen appeared in 19 games for the SHL’s Frolunda HC where he scored two points, and has already matched that total this year through seven games.

  • Gabe Vilardi – RC – Windsor Spitfires (OHL)

Comparable: Sean Monahan, Ryan O’Reilly

Though he is more of a puck handler than the two comparable players above, Vilardi’s strengths come in his two way game. He’s a big, speedy center who’s capable who can play in every situation. Vilardi is currently out with a knee injury sustained at the Team Canada U18 Summer Showcase.

  • Kailer Yamamoto – RC/W – Spokane Chiefs (WHL)

Comparable: Mats Zuccarello, Matt Duchene

There are a dozen Patrick Kane comparisons every year, and this year that same comparison will fall on the shoulders of Kailer Yamamoto. He’s a cerebral offensive force who’s shot accuracy is as strong as his passing ability. He’s a tad undersized, but he definitely has the skill.

  • Maxime Comtois – LW – Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)

Comparable: Rick Nash

Maxime Comtois has not gotten off to the start he was hoping for, however it won’t be long before he breaks out offensively. He may not be the strongest defensively, however he’s competent in defensive roles. He’s a guy that will produce 40-60 points per season if he pans out.

  • Eeli Tolvanen – LW – Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)

Comparable: Jonathan Drouin, Tomas Plekanec

Eeli Tolvanen is an interesting player to keep an eye on in that he plays with such a calm demeanor, rarely forcing plays, creating space and time, but when he gets the chance, he can absolutely devastate a goalie. He’s a skilled left winger who should be a 30 goal scorer in the NHL.

  • Callan Foote – RD – Kelowna Rockets

Comparable: Brent Seabrook

Callan Foote doesn’t do anything that’s exceptional, but boasts a well rounded game that allows him to be an all situations defender. Foote isn’t the fleetest of foot, but he has a long stride that allows him to cover a ton of ice. He’s also a right shot defenceman, something teams are beginning to pay a premium for.

  • Michael Rasmussen – LC – Tri-City Americans

Comparable: Jeff Carter

Through seven games, Michael Rasmussen already has eight goals. The 6’5 pivot has established himself as one of the premier goal scorers in the Western League, and you can only imagine he’ll get better from here on out. He’s a heavy player who competes hard.

  • Cale Makar – RD – Brooks Bandits (AJHL)

Comparable: Shayne Gostisbehere

Cale Makar is the best player in the Alberta Junior league, and if he were to take the jump to the WHL, he’d likely end up a consensus top ten pick at the end of the year. Makar is an explosive, powerful skater with unbelievable vision. He’s this years riser.

  • Ryan Poehling – LC – St. Cloud University (NCAA)

Comparable: Ryan Johansen

Not much is known about the St. Cloud center ranked in the top five by Craig Button, but he is sure to become a household name very soon. He’s a powerful center with excellent hands, and pretty strong finishing ability. He will be a consideration for Team USA come the World Junior Challenge.

  • Lias Andersson – LC/W – HV71  (SHL)

Comparable: Artemi Panarin

Andersson is a highly talented winger who is entering his second season in the SHL. The Smogen native already has three goals in six games, and his goal totals will only soar from here as the slippery winger has an innate ability to put himself in great scoring positions.

  • Klim Kostin – RW(LH) – Dynamo Balashikha (VHL)

Comparable: Kyle Okposo

Klim Kostin will garner top five consideration for quite a while. He has been placed in the top five by a number of scouting organizations, however after a rough start which involved being sent to the VHL after receiving very little KHL ice time, he may begin to fall on the majority of lists. Kostin opted not to play for the Kootenay Ice after being selected first overall in the CHL Import Draft.

  • Nico Hischier – LC/RW – Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)

Comparable: Derek Stepan

Nico Hischier could be the best Swiss player to enter the league since Nino Niedderrieter. The Halifax Moosehead has started off his rookie QMJHL season quite strong, registering six points in the first seven games. Hischier is a skilled playmaking winger, who if he pans out, puts up between 40-50 assists per year.

  • Nicolas Hague – LD – Mississauga Steelheads (OHL)

Comparable: Tyler Myers

At 6’6, Nicolas Hague is the biggest defender poised to ebe selected in the top 30. Hague has taken criticism for his skating ability which is his biggest obstacle from reaching the NHL. He does boast a strong defensive game and has the ability to contribute on the score sheet.

There are players at nearly every position inside the top 15, who boast a wide range of skill sets, meaning teams will have a plethora of options when they make their choice on draft day. When you look at the Oilers prospect pool, nearly every prospect listed would fit a role whether it be their ability to be a top six goal scorer or a puck moving right handed defenceman. The three players which Oiler fans should keep their eye on is Brooks Bandits defender Cale Makar, Rockets defenceman Callan Foote, and Swedish winger Lias Andersson.

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Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Trades

Yakupov Trade Review and More!

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Okay, so I’ve had some time to digest the Nail Yakupov trade. If you follow me on Twitter (@beerleagueheroe), you probably already know my stance on it but if you don’t I’ll give it one more time and I’ll toss in my take on the Russell signing.

REHABILITATING THE DRESSING ROOM

Take a look at the big names Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli has traded in the last 3 months.

  • Taylor Hall
  • Nail Yakupov

Would you say that these two players could’ve been arguably the team’s biggest distractions? I would. Might you infer that one out of the two had trouble fitting into the Oilers system of play? I would infer that. Is it remotely possible that either or both of them perhaps wanted to move on due to conflicts with coaching or management? I reckon there’s a possibility of that.

Listen, Chiarelli has not only revamped this team in a MAJOR way since he took over but he’s rid the dressing room of, and I’ll be frank here, its divas.

When you ask for a trade and/or have a public conflict with the coach on national TV, those are signs of complete selfishness. When you constantly tell the press that you’re just going to do things the way you have been and aren’t interested in changing your game… Again, selfishness creeps its way in.

Well kids, the players that may or may not have exhibited those characteristics are now gone and replaced with “team-first” guys. Milan Lucic, Kris Versteeg (maybe), Adam Larsson, Drake Caggiula, and Kris Russell are team first type of players.

What’s that? You don’t think their fancies look great? Tough sh*t. They’ve got some history of injuries. Tough titty little kitty but the milk is all gone. Chia is putting his stamp on this team and its locker room and if there’s an Oiler that thinks he’s bigger than the collective, SEE YA!

YAK NAILED!

I feel bad for Yak because his personality was so infective. He looked like a good guy and by all accounts he was a great guy who worked hard but I watched him in that game versus Winnipeg last week and I had no idea what he was doing for a good portion of the time he was on the ice.

The Oilers DID NOT want to go into the season with the Yak distraction ongoing. Simple as that. And the other thing is, his value was a 5th rounder!!! What did Chiarelli get for Yak? A 3rd rounder, possibly a 2nd, and a dodgy prospect that won’t be re-signed. The Oilers got exactly what they were asking for him at the draft AND they didn’t need to retain salary. BOOM!

Another tell was when Ken Hitchcock was talking about acquiring him and saying that he was in no rush to make him a 200ft player. Well of course not! Hitch will “nail” his ass to the bench or pressbox and then let Mike Yeo take over when he retires… Hitchcock said they were going to play to Yak’s strengths, right? I’m sure getting him on a line with the sensational playmaker Patrik Berglund on the Blues’ 3rd line is going to bring out the Stamkos-like scoring…

I’m happy that Yak will get an opportunity (maybe) in another city but he is literally the modern-day Alexandre Daigle. Check the stats kids… Nearly identical.

Did the Oilers improve by trading Nail Yakupov? IF Versteeg is signed and stays healthy, then yes. I reckon the Oilers have their eyes on Puljujarvi spending some time in Yak’s old slot and that isn’t a sound idea in my opinion. Slepyshev or Pitlick could be slotted in there. Hell, Lander could line up there too.

I think the addition by subtraction adage holds true here and I suppose that makes me the second person to say that with regards to Yakupov.

RUSSELL THE LOVE MUSCLE

Just a few things on the Russell signing.

I was not a fan beforehand because all I really had to go on was the analysis’ done by numbers guys. I watched him against the Canucks and I wasn’t disappointed. He did come out on the short end of the Corsi game but to my eye I thought he played well given he hadn’t gone through camp and that was his first game action with the team.

Russell can skate and move the puck and he’s a beauty in the dressing room. He’s basically an older version of Oesterle and there’s a good chance that he could be moved at the deadline (if the Oilers are out of it) for a tasty draft pick.

Russell pushes younger players down the depth chart a bit and at this point, that’s a good thing. Reinhart obviously needs some more time, as does Nurse.

RHINO

Okay, Griffin Reinhart… If you’re watching Matt Barzal and his push to make the Islanders AND thinking back at how bad this trade looks, you’re doing yourself a disservice.

Matt Barzal is looking like he will make it to the last round of cuts for the Islanders but he did that last year and was sent back. I watched a bit of him today and there’s no doubt that there is a player there but he’s not ready yet. I heard that there’s a chance he might play on Tavares’ wing? Not a chance he gets that kind of cherry ice while Ho-Sang and Dal Colle tear it up in the AHL.

Johnny Boychuk played nearly 400 games in the AHL before making it up the NHL for good. A lot of good dmen had to get to at least 100 games in the minors before being brought up for the long haul. Griffin Reinhart has yet to hit 90. Let’s let him find his game in the AHL before declaring him a bust.

Those are my thoughts at the moment. Let me know how you feel in the comments below!

Breaking News, Edmonton Oilers, Fancy Stats, G Money

Will Kris Russell help?

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Hall’s gone. Yak’s gone. Devalued then shipped off.

But that’s water under the bridge.

There’s something else under the bridge that I’m much more worried about, even though he’s only 5′ 10” and about 170 lbs.

You Complete Me

That something is Kris “The Holy Terrier” Russell. (That’s not his real nickname, I made it up. It was either that or “Blockhead” and that one seemed unnecessarily mean)

So … Kris Russell is the guy Chia has decided will ‘complete’ the Oilers defense.

Fan – freakin’ – tastic.

I already see people in my Twitter feed rationalizing the deal.

“Well, maybe he’s not so bad.”

“OK, I think he’s a decent third pairing guy.”

“He scores points though, right?”

“Blocks a lotta shots man!”

Is it true? How good or bad is Russell?

Russell! Somebody gonna get a seen real bad

Without having previously done any detailed digging on the player, my impressions nonetheless have not been positive.

A. I’ve watched him play for the Flames. I wasn’t paying particular attention to him, but I was never impressed. There – the seen ‘im bad folks should be satisfied!

B. The Flames (and it pains me to say this) have two outstanding defensemen in Giordano and Brodie. They have a third defenseman who is pretty good in Dougie Hamilton. Ignoring handedness, all three of those guys would play on the Oilers easily, and probably with a lot of Top 4 ice time.

Yet somehow defensively the Flames are one of the worst teams in the league, giving up the fourth worst shot attempts rate in the league at even strength. Yes, that’s worse than Edmonton.

How is it possible they have such good defensemen and still suck defensively? Well, some of that is coaching (as an Oiler fan, I’ll miss Bob Hartley terribly). But based on watching the team (I live in Calgary, and my company has – had – corporate tickets, so I’ve seen more Flames games than I care to admit) a lot of it is the bottom 3 – Russell, Engelland, and Wideman just aren’t good defensemen, and they drag the team down.

Russell in particular dragged Hamilton down – if you dig into the stats (sorry eye test only folks) they were 5v5 CF 45% together, while Russell was 45.6% apart from Hamilton, and Hamilton was at 52% away from Russell.

In other words, if you think Hamilton had a bad year in Calgary, you’re wrong – he had a bad partner in Calgary that made it look like he had a bad year. And that partner is now an Edmonton Oiler.

MERITORIOUS!

But you know what? I’ve had bad (or good) opinions about players before, and then I’ve started digging into their actual results and been forced to change my mind. Maybe that will happen here. Let’s take a look.

I mentioned Russell’s results with and without (WOWY) Dougie Hamilton. Instead of just looking at a single WOWY, let’s look at my favourite WOWY visualization, which is from Micah Blake McCurdy’s hockeyviz.com. This lets us look at the entire pattern of how a player impacts the other players on the ice with him. Here’s Kris Russell in Calgary (feel free to skip to my explanation below):

Ouch. This is ugly. See how the blue area is clustered well below the red line? That’s bad. It means Russell’s shot results overall are well below breakeven … but we knew that already.

What makes it so much more alarming is that the black squares are mostly to the left and below the blue squares. That means Russell makes most of his teammates worse when he’s on the ice with them. And the red squares are mostly above and to the right. That means most of his teammates are better – in some cases, much better – without Kris Russell.

That’s as ugly as it gets.

Quality of Competition – the Wood and the Money

Now let’s take a look at the metric that @Woodguy55 and I developed, the “WoodMoney” metric. What this does is it isolates performance vs specific matchups. We look at how the player did when facing the 60 best players in the league, and also vs the middle and the ‘gritensity’ players. (You can find the specific lists, and details on how WoodMoney is calculated, in this article).

Here’s a visualization of the results, but you can ignore this and just go to my interpretation if you like:

So what is this telling us?

1 – The relatively even TOI splits tell us Russell was regularly used as a Top 4 defenseman

2 – But his results were below breakeven against all levels of competition. This is a particularly terrible result, as actual Top 4 defensemen should have at least passable results against middle tier competition, and better than passable vs bottom tier competition.  His danger (shot distance and type) adjusted results were at least better than his raw shot results, that’s a small plus.

3 – His Rel results were below zero against all levels of competition. In other words, he did worse against all levels of comp than his teammates did against that same level of comp. This is an acceptable result for a bottom pair defenseman, but not for a second pair defenseman.

It’s possible to see bad results like this and have reasons for it – Adam Larsson for example doesn’t look great, but then you have to account for his zone start usage, which is brutal. This isn’t the case for Russell, who, if anything, got a pretty big push as far as offensive zone starts go.

So he’s generated these results while starting quite often in the offensive zone.

That’s bad.

These results say that Kris Russell is a third pair defenseman – but he’s not particularly good at it.

But … but … he scores!

Chia’s been looking for a powerplay quarterback.  So , maybe KR is an ‘offensive’ defenseman that will help the powerplay!

Will he?

Russell’s career point scoring is 177 points in 573 games, or 0.31 pts per game. By comparison, Andrej Sekera is at 0.33 pts/gm in his career, and last year with the Oilers he was 0.37 pts/gm.

As for the powerplay, only four of KR’s 19 points last year came on the man advantage, though in fairness, he was not used on the powerplay much.

That may be understandable though – the Flames powerplay put up shots and dangerous shots (per corsica.hockey’s expected goals metric) faster with Russell not on it, with Hamilton and Giordano the undisputed champs of the powerplay shot rate.

Scoring upgrade? Not so much.

Penalty Kill

I have heard Russell is a decent penalty killer. I’ve also read a tidbit that suggested that the penalty kill is 3x to 5x as important as the powerplay, because you can lose the game with a poor penalty kill, but you can’t win it with a good powerplay. I’m not so sure I believe this, but I might buy the idea that the value is not entirely symmetric, that maybe the PK is a bit more important.

So can Russell help the PK?

Maybe.

His shot attempts rate against (92 per hour) is right in the middle of the pack of the main defenders, and his expected goals rate (6.05) is also good. He’s certainly not bad at it … it’s hard to make the determination that he’s ‘good’ just from a couple of numbers like this but … hey, sure, why not, chalk one up for the little guy!

Penalties

One topic I’ve added to my defenseman analysis the last few months is a look at penalty differentials (call it the Gryba Clause).

How’s Russell doing vis a vis the zebras?

Hallelujah! Our first big plus. Russell runs at a +0.38 penalties/60 rate. In other words, he draws more penalties than he takes. This is actually quite rare for a defenseman. So while his results are poor, at least his team gets a few extra powerplays as a result of his play.

That’s good.

Conclusion

Here’s Kris Russell in a nutshell:

  • Shots wise, he gets snowed under by all levels of competition. Even the third pairing doesn’t look like it will be sheltered enough for him to be able hold his own.
  • He drags most of his teammates down with him
  • Russell is not a true offensive defensemen. He scores on par with, or maybe a little less than Andrej Sekera. But Sekera (by eye and by stat) is much better defensively
  • Despite the Oilers’ dire need for a powerplay QB, Russell probably won’t help the powerplay
  • Although he should help the penalty kill
  • He might be able to draw more penalties than he takes

Is he worth $3M?

Nope.  He’s not even the third best lefty at this point.  I’d take Klefbom, Sekera, and Davidson over him in a heartbeat, in almost any situation.

And being that he adds to this crowd on the left side, if he forces one of our good LHD to the right side (where we know they were less effective last year), then his negative impact won’t just be on his own pairing, it will negatively affect other pairings.

And if he’s the one moved to RHD and proves to be even less effective than he has been in the past on the LHD, that thought is frankly terrifying.

Unless Chia and TMc plan to dress seven defensemen every game, and only have Russell out on the penalty kill … well,this isn’t good. I wish I had something positive to say, I really do.  Contrary to popular opinion, I may regularly boil over with scathing criticism of Oiler management, but I want my team to win.

But digging into his results has not made me feel better about this signing … worse if anything.  I hear Russell is gritty, truculent, good in the room, and deliberately blocks shots with his balls.  I’ll cheer for Russell and the Oilers to succeed. But I do not believe this signing will help them succeed. This isn’t good at all.

Beer League Hero, Breaking News, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Aftershocks… Hold On To Your Hats Oilers Fans

1 Comment

So now that Nail Yakupov has been moved, we’ve gor Kris Russell coming in on a deal rumoured to be in the 1 year $3M range. I was also told that Eric Gryba could very well be let go from his PTO and Mark Fayne might start the year in Bakersfield…

The first two moves don’t surprise me much but that last one with Fayne is a bit of a shocker… The Oilers need RHD don’t they? Has Matt Benning played that well?

Is this how the Oilers defence is set to line up?

Klefbom/Larsson
Russell/Sekera
Nurse/Davidson
Benning

Let me know if I’m missing someone and what your feelings are in the comments below!

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