Monthly Archives: February 2017

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

Re-Post: Dreger Hints at Oilers/Islanders/Avalanche 3-Way

3 Comments

**This is a re-post of the previous blog because the site hit the skids as soon as I posted it**

OK… If you follow me on Twitter or read last night’s Halak to the Oilers rumor blog, do you remember how I told you about the 3-team trade rumor that seemingly gets tossed around every year involving the Oilers? I think Darren Dreger just gave this year’s proposal some legs…

Last night I wrote a post detailing a Halak to the Oilers rumor and near the end, I included a little tidbit about a 3-team trade that I’d been passed. Well, I was prepared to wait a little bit to get this published and I did go out and ask a few more people who I believe to be in the know about this rumor to more or less get the amount of confirmation I needed to go forth with this post. I said on Twitter this morning that this rumored deal is ridiculous, like blockbuster ridiculous and probably something closer to an HF Boards trade proposal than a real one but Darren Dreger has weighed in now and that gives it real legitimacy…

These are the hazy details:

To Colorado: Travis Hamonic, Brock Nelson, *Brandon Davidson*, Oilers 1st round pick
To Oilers: Tyson Barrie, Jarome Iginla, Ryan Strome
To Islanders: Matt Duchene, Jordan Eberle

WHAT?!!

It sort of contradicts the Halak to Edmonton rumor that I wrote about last night but that is an insane rumor, right?

Now, I put an asterisk beside Davidson’s name because he was one of the iffy players my sources weren’t sure on. But the main players (Barrie, Duchene, Eberle, Hamonic) were in it for sure.

I know that Colorado is working like crazy to move Iginla and it’s becoming more apparent that Matt Duchene might be going the same way that Taylor Hall did in his last season with the Oilers. A good player whose attitude is souring on a struggling franchise who’s wasting his talents.

Any trade rumor I’ve been passed or come across on Twitter re: Jordan Eberle to the Islanders has included Ryan Strome coming back. I couldn’t confirm the draft pick, anytime in the past when I’ve asked about Chiarelli’s willingness to deal that pick I was told that if the deal was right, he would.

For the Islanders, this would be a very big statement made to John Tavares that the franchise is ready to move Heaven and Earth to get him to stay in Brooklyn. I believe the team values Ryan Pulock more than Travis Hamonic and after this season, can you blame them? Hamonic has been a disaster.

For Colorado, this would be the kind of deal that would start the reset. I believe that they need a top-pairing left-handed dman more than a right-handed one but that could be a player they acquired with Gabriel Landeskog, no? Cue, the Krug to Colorado rumours.

For the Oilers, there’s your top-4 offensive right-handed defenseman, your right-handed PP shot, and a young player with term left on his deal who can switch in and out from the centre position to the right-wing position. All that’d be left is the backup goalie and the shopping list would be complete.

But getting back to the mad deal that could be in the works above, I think there would need to be some wiggling around to do to make it work dollar-wise (mostly for the Islanders) but yeah, there you go.

I honestly cannot see a trade like this going down now. These kinds of trade fall apart so easily because there are so many moving parts but it could set something else up that could be consummated before the trade deadline passes or another deal at the draft where money is less of a problem.

If this mega-deal does actually happen, I’ll have a more detailed post to follow.

**Disclaimer** Lastly, during this crazy time of the year, we’re bound to hear a shit ton of rumors coming from every nook and cranny out there. I’m not connected to the Oilers, I hear what I hear from people who know people and I pass that on to you. Rarely, IF EVER, do the things I post here come true but the batting average of an insider has never been that good anyhow. It’s all speculation until the teams make things official folks! So I hope you can enjoy what you read here but don’t take it too seriously. I don’t. **Disclaimer**

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below, RIGHT AFTER, you check out our sweet selection of Beer League Heroes swag we have for you! Click on the pic below to head over to our shop at Teepublic!

Click the image and head over to our Teepublic shot to grab some sweet BLH merch.
Brennen York, Prospects

Oilers Prospect Grades (U-21)

The Edmonton Oiler prospect depth has been suspect for more than a few years, and it’s safe to say that their inability to draft and develop beyond the first round contributed to their failures over the past decade. Between 2006 – 2014, the Oilers made a total of 56 post-first round selections, with only 20 of those players having played NHL game, and of those 20, only five have played more than 100 NHL games. Of the 56 players selected, only two are currently active on the Oilers roster (Davidson and Slepyshev), and 14 of the 56 selected remain under Oilers control. The most notable misses over that eight year window include the selection of Mitchell Moroz with the 32nd overall pick, a selection Oilers management took flack for after missing out on Ville Pokka who went only two picks later.

 

 

With a new management crew in charge we’ve seen a much different approach to the drafting and development of prospects, seeing many more college prospects added at the draft, as well as a focus on adding proven junior players instead of taking big risks on projects. The shift in philosophy came to light in the 2015 draft when the Oilers were able to add both Ethan Bear and Caleb Jones outside of the first round. The addition of college players looks good long term as they will then be afforded additional years to sign ELC’s.

 

 

There are many ways different services rank players and project potential, but the criteria for this list is fairly simple. Level of play and production given level of league. For example, a player who spent half of a season in SuperElit and was then promoted and able to produce at the SHL level is likely going to be ranked higher than a player in the OHL who was just under a point per game in their draft year, and a hair over a point per game this year. Now I understand many will say “you can’t just look at stats and say this guy is going to be better than another” which I fully agree with, however, given the inability to get a look at all of the prospects, the list is more so based on the way their career path is trending. So take a look, and let me know your thoughts.

 

 

Edmonton Oilers Prospect Grades (U-21)

 

 

A – Projected to be a top 6 forward, top 3 defenceman, or NHL 1A or 1B goalie. Very little uncertainty regarding these prospects, and their trade value would be a first round pick or a first round pick plus.

 

Jesse Puljujarvi (RW) – Bakersfield Condors

 

Expect him to be a full time top six NHL player next season. Has been able to produce at just under a point per game at the AHL level, and may earn a call up before the end of the season. Going to be a point producer in the top six, just have to be patient.

 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWEBUT1qFuM]

 

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=152117

 
B – May not be a big time player, or even a top six forward/top three guy, but they are the most likely to carve out full time role in the NHL. Trade value is fairly high, likely a second rounder, or a second round plus.

 

 

Caleb Jones (LD) – Portland Winterhawks

 

Gained a lot of attention at the World Juniors when he logged over 30 minutes in the gold medal game. Has been stellar for the Hawks this season, and is on pace to pass his point total from last season. High on him given his ability to be a sound defensive zone player as well as jump in on offense.

 

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=199902

 

Tyler Benson (LW) – Vancouver Giants

 

He’ll be an NHL’er if he can get past the injury problems. The positive on that is the lack of repeating injuries. Good nose for the net and is likely a bottom six forward. The real test for Benson will come next year on what will be a Giants team that should be able to score, so we’ll see how big of a factor he is.

 

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=154220

 

Ethan Bear (RD) – Seattle Thunderbirds

 

Hasn’t had the most consistent year, but is on pace to blow past 70 points from the blue line. Reminds me a lot of Duncan Keith, could be a big time player. Good skater, good hockey sense, will see him in the AHL next year, with the hope being his game transitions easily.

 

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=197561

 

Filip Berglund (RD) – Skelleftea AIK

 

Taken in the third round and was able to jump up to log full time SHL minutes this season. Has a contract through 17/18, and will hopefully make the jump to North America in two years, but the Oilers are able to be patient and hope he’s able to continue to develop.

 

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=113834

 

 
C – Projected to be a fringe NHL player, and there’s quite a bit of optimism with these players. Unlikely to ever be a top six forward or top three defenceman, but could carve out a role at the NHL level.

 

 

Dylan Wells (G) – Peterborough Petes

 

Strong year with Peterborough, maintaining above a .910 save percentage throughout most of the season. Has performed well internationally and has sound fundamentals. Have to be patient with goalies, but he’s proving to be a good pickup.

 

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=239801

 

Kyle Platzer (C) – Bakersfield Condors

 

Hasn’t had the best season in terms of offensive production, but has been held to a fourth line role for the majority of the season. He has a good offensive toolset, and may be a bottom six forward down the road. Would like to see what he could do in a more prominent role.

 

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=126916

 

Aapeli Rasanen (C) – Sioux City Musketeers

 

Strong first year in North America, earning a spot on the Finnish World Junior roster where he was a point per game player. Right handed center who has been very strong in the dot. Heading to Boston College next season.

 

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=118081

 

William Lagesson (LD) – UMass (Amherst)

 

Was left off the Swedish World Junior roster after playing with them the year before. He’s a mean two way defenceman who can pass the puck. Defends well. Next two years at UMass will be extremely beneficial.

 

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=86158

 

John Marino (RD) – Harvard University

 

Strong freshman campaign with Harvard. Plays a steady two way game. Strong skater who will see his role with Harvard expand in the coming years. Right handed shot adds value, especially to the Oilers.

 

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=278675

 

 
D – Unlikely to ever be a full time NHL player, and may be considered a project or labelled as enigmatic. May have some trade value, but would likely be a later pick.

 

 

Matthew Cairns (LD) – Powell River Kings

 

After moving from Fargo to Powell River, Cairns picked up his offensive production logging 16 points in 18 games. He’s heading to Cornell next year where we will get a more accurate idea of what his game really is.

 

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=245621

 

Graham McPhee (LW) – Boston College

 

Had an average first year at BC, however his two way game seems to be a bright spot. Good bloodlines, likely finds a contract down the road, but hard to read an 18 year old playing a depth role in college. Patience.

 

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=226444

 

Markus Niemelainen (LD) – Saginaw Spirit

 

A bit of a disastrous year for Niemelainen as his offensive totals dropped tremendously and his inability to find consistency really hurt his game. He’s a project worth investing in, and I wouldn’t doubt we see him return to Europe to find his game.

 

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=175894

 

 

E – Not likely to sign a pro contract, zero trade value at the moment.

 

 

Miroslav Svoboda (G) – HC Dukla Jihlava

 

Has posted good numbers in the Czech 2 league, but has struggled with conditioning and athleticism. He’s still young, and like I said, you never know with goalies, but he seems like a lifetime European player.

 

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=101860

 

Vincent Desharnais (RD) – Providence College

 

With the importance of puck moving defenceman at an all time high, not sure the 6’6 defenceman who has only registered 6 assists in the past three years, his chance at the NHL seems doubtful.

 

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=264690

 

 

Thanks for reading! I’d love to get your feedback to know where you’d make changes or who else you might push up to an A or B rating. To get ahold of me, send a tweet to @york_dg

Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors, Trades

Ridiculous 3-Team Trade Rumor Confirmed by Dreger?

OK… If you follow me on Twitter or read last night’s Halak rumor blog, do you remember how I told you about the 3-team trade rumor that seemingly gets tossed around every year involving the Oilers? I think Darren Dreger just gave this year’s proposal some legs…

Last night I wrote a post detailing a Halak to the Oilers rumor and near the end, I included a little tidbit about a 3-team trade that I’d been passed. Well, I was prepared to wait a little bit to get this published and I did go out and ask a few more people who I believe to be in the know about this rumor to more or less get the amount of confirmation I needed to go forth with this post. I said on Twitter this morning that this rumored deal is ridiculous, like blockbuster ridiculous and probably something closer to an HF Boards trade proposal than a real one but Darren Dreger has weighed in now and that gives it real legitimacy…

These are the hazy details:

To Colorado: Travis Hamonic, Brock Nelson, *Brandon Davidson*, Oilers 1st round pick
To Oilers: Tyson Barrie, Jarome Iginla, Ryan Strome
To Islanders: Matt Duchene, Jordan Eberle

WHAT?!!

It sort of contradicts the Halak to Edmonton rumor that I wrote about last night but that is an insane rumor, right?

Now, I put an asterisk beside Davidson’s name because he was one of the iffy players my sources weren’t sure on. But the main players (Barrie, Duchene, Eberle, Hamonic) were in it for sure.

I know that Colorado is working like crazy to move Iginla and it’s becoming more apparent that Matt Duchene might be going the same way that Taylor Hall did in his last season with the Oilers. A good player whose attitude is souring on a struggling franchise who’s wasting his talents.

Any trade rumor I’ve been passed or come across on Twitter re: Jordan Eberle to the Islanders has included Ryan Strome coming back. I couldn’t confirm the draft pick, anytime in the past when I’ve asked about Chiarelli’s willingness to deal that pick I was told that if the deal was right, he would.

For the Islanders, this would be a very big statement made to John Tavares that the franchise is ready to move Heaven and Earth to get him to stay in Brooklyn. I believe the team values Ryan Pulock more than Travis Hamonic and after this season, can you blame them? Hamonic has been a disaster.

For Colorado, this would be the kind of deal that would start the reset. I believe that they need a top-pairing left-handed dman more than a right-handed one but that could be a player they acquired with Gabriel Landeskog, no? Cue, the Krug to Colorado rumours.

For the Oilers, there’s your top-4 offensive right-handed defenseman, your right-handed PP shot, and a young player with term left on his deal who can switch in and out from the centre position to the right-wing position. All that’d be left is the backup goalie and the shopping list would be complete.

But getting back to the mad deal that could be in the works above, I think there would need to be some wiggling around to do to make it work dollar-wise (mostly for the Islanders) but yeah, there you go.

I honestly cannot see a trade like this going down now. These kinds of trade fall apart so easily because there are so many moving parts but it could set something else up that could be consummated before the trade deadline passes or another deal at the draft where money is less of a problem.

If this mega-deal does actually happen, I’ll have a more detailed post to follow.

**Disclaimer** Lastly, during this crazy time of the year, we’re bound to hear a shit ton of rumors coming from every nook and cranny out there. I’m not connected to the Oilers, I hear what I hear from people who know people and I pass that on to you. Rarely, IF EVER, do the things I post here come true but the batting average of an insider has never been that good anyhow. It’s all speculation until the teams make things official folks! So I hope you can enjoy what you read here but don’t take it too seriously. I don’t. **Disclaimer**

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below, RIGHT AFTER, you check out our sweet selection of Beer League Heroes swag we have for you! Click on the pic below to head over to our shop at Teepublic!

Click the image and head over to our Teepublic shot to grab some sweet BLH merch.
Armchair GM, Edmonton Oilers, Micah Kowalchuk, NHL, Rumors, Trades

Oilers Trade Deadline: Alternative Theory

1 Comment

**This is a guest post from an old friend of the site, Micah Kowalchuk. You might know him if you’re part of some of the Oilers groups on facebook or from some of the great articles he posted when he was part of the writing staff here.**

Now, this isn’t going to be a popular suggestion, we’ve all been going on about the players we can add to make a cup run, in spite of our GM saying he had no plans to do that.

We’re now seeing guys like Boyle go for a good prospect and a 2nd round pick, and there has to be a question of “Are we good enough this year to blow that much on players”.

If the answer is yes, then carry on.  But, what if you genuinely believe this isn’t the year.  What we can do then is shop for future pieces and sell expiring assets for a high dollar figure.

We know the following players aren’t going anywhere:

Maroon, McDavid, Lucic, Draisaitl, Puljujarvi, Letestu, Kassian, Khaira, Slepyshev, Klefbom, Larsson, Sekera, Benning and Nurse.

And we know RNH and Eberle, if they are dealt, will be in off-season deals where players with term tend to get dealt.

That leaves this deadline and the following assets:

Hendricks <- soon to be a UFA, with retained salary may have depth value, and more than we thought after today (As of today’s prices, possibly a 3rd for him);

Russell <- yes, fan favorite, but what we hear from management indicates he’s not likely to sign here next year at the price we want; (As of today’s prices, outside change we might even get a low first round pick, or a 2nd and a prospect at least)

Gryba <- a warrior rental 7th defender who might be worth something to a playoff club; (Maybe we get a Polak special with him and Hendricks combined for a couple of 2nds, you never know)

And Pouliot and Fayne <- if we retain 50% on them, maybe we find a buyer to get the space off our books; (At 50% retained, some mid level picks)

So.. Let’s say we dealt those pieces based on the idea of maximizing value, what is the roster we have left assuming we could sell them all?

Maroon-McDavid-Draisaitl
Lucic-RNH-Eberle
Caggiula-Letestu-Kassian
Khaira-Lander-Slepyshev

(We basically lose Pouliot and Hendy up front and give Lander his last shot playing with a couple of guys who he tore the AHL to shreds with.  Rather than let him walk, let’s give Lander his last shot at proving he’s got something, and let’s give him that shot the best way we can.  We’re not going to be taking much of a step back anyhow over Hendricks worst case).  And we call up Beck as the 13th forward, another expiring asset in the AHL who’s shown he may have something.

On the back end:

Klefbom-Larsson
Sekera-Benning
Nurse-Davidson 

Let’s face it, this won’t be much worse either, and we have a pile of 7th defenders who’ve earned time up here and done well enough in Oesterle or Reinhart or Musil or Simpson. 

What we’d be doing here is going with players we might have next season and gathering as many possible assets as we could get our hands on.  Maybe we land a young right shot forward asset or a young right shot D asset to try out, maybe we just get picks we can sell to Vegas towards clearing bad contracts or getting players we need.

This isn’t to say I’m recommending this strategy per say, but I’m giving some insight into what we may see PC do instead in building for the future rather than the short term, feel free to scream all you want over the idea.

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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors, Trades

Halak to Oilers Rumor Raging

Got word just now from my source that the Oilers could be on the verge of acquiring Jaroslav Halak, Ryan Strome and a draft pick for Jordan Eberle. I’m still waiting for more information that is pretty much in line with what I’ve been thinking. But there’s still tons of time left and the market for Halak is heating up at a ridiculous pace. I was told earlier that the only way that Halak goes to Edmonton is if the Isles retain salary, so I can only assume that is what is going down.

I’m not the only one reporting this Halak news, Jimmy Murphy, a journalist out of Boston who covers the Bruins has been all over rumours this week and he sent out a couple of tweets re: Halak.

We seen what happened with Bishop as that trade was more about the Kings keeping him away from another Western Conference team (Calgary presumably). Does that put the onus on Peter Chiarelli and drive Halak’s price up?

IF this deal or any of the players mentioned above do make it to Edmonton, I have a few thoughts on them:

  • Halak is the perfect backup for Talbot, this playoff run and next.
  • If you don’t like Eberle’s game, you might not dig Ryan Strome’s. That said, Strome is the brother of Connor McDavid’s best friend and can be used at centre and RW.
  • The draft pick that could be tossed in might be used to pick up a scoring RWer. Think Vanek.

You may think that a deal like this would be massive underpayment but it could very well set the Oilers up for a much bigger deal down the line or give the team room to sign an important free agent.

The annual three-way trade rumour is also making its way around the Twittersphere. The only deets I’ve got on that is that Eberle and the Oilers 1st rounder would go out and Edmonton would end up with Barrie, Iginla, and Strome.

**Disclaimer** Lastly, during this crazy time of the year, we’re bound to hear a shit ton of rumors coming from every nook and cranny out there. I’m not connected to the Oilers, I hear what I hear from people who know people and I pass that on to you. Rarely, IF EVER, do the things I post here come true but the batting average of an insider has never been that good anyhow. It’s all speculation until the teams make things official folks! So I hope you can enjoy what you read here but don’t take it too seriously. I don’t. **Disclaimer**

So lots of names flying about right now! Stay tuned kids, she’s shaping up to be completely awesome or totally anti-climatic! #HereComesTheChiarelli!

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