Category Archives: Breaking News

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

Oilers Trading for Travis Hamonic

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Travis Hamonic would be a game changer for the Oilers defence.
Travis Hamonic would be a game changer for the Oilers defence.

Missing out on Dougie Hamilton might’ve been a blessing in disguise. We found out today that New York Islanders defenceman Travis Hamonic is homesick and would like to return to the west. Hurray! This might be the break that Peter Chiarelli was waiting for! A two-way no.2 defenceman who is right-handed is available?

Peter Chiarelli and Isles GM Garth Snow have a prior trading relationship. It was Chiarelli who dealt Boychuk to the Isles and also the Griffin Reinhart trade was masterminded by these two gentlemen. So there’s no reason to believe that the Oilers have the worst odds of grabbing Hamonic from the Islanders. I have to think they have a much better chance at getting the young defenceman out of Brooklyn.

Of course they’ve been talking. The only reason we’re hearing about Hamonic is because the Islanders are having issues getting the package they want in return and need to drum up more interest and they want to put pressure on the other teams to up the anti. I mean just go to Twitter and type Hamonic in the search bar. Oilers fans are shitting the bed with the news that their long lost and potentially piece of the pie is available, especially after losing out on Doug Hamilton.

I’m not sure the Flames and Canucks have the pieces to grab Hamonic. I really believe that it’s between the Oilers and the Jets. Winnipeg has a ridiculous pool of prospects (Kyle Connor, Josh Morrisey, Eric Comrie, and Nic Petan) and some defenders that could step right in and replace Hamonic immediately, meaning Jacob Trouba and Dustin Byfuglien. The other thing working in Winnipeg’s favor is they’re just recently stated they’re looking to shake things up.

Travis Hamonic – The Player

Defense — shoots R
Born Aug 16 1990 (25 years old) — St. Malo, MAN
Height 6.02 — Weight 205 [188 cm/93 kg]

The Oilers are lacking high-end defensemen that can move the puck effectively. Oscar Klefbom is arguably the best passer on the team, Schultz being another. Hamonic blows Kbom out of the water according to Ryan Stimson’s Passing Charts. Check out the comparison below.

I also like to look at @mimicohero’s HERO charts to determine a player’s value. Let’s look at Travis Hamonic’s!

So we have a player that is moving into the prime of his career as a top pairing defender but not quite an elite one. He’s not being considered for Team Canada at the upcoming World Cup but I don’t really see that as a con. There’s only a few spots on that team and it’s basically the cream of the crop that get picked.

But on the Edmonton Oilers, he’s automatically the best blueliner hands down.

As for the dollar end of things, Elliotte Friedman said this about it:

There’s a ton to like about this player. He’s a right-hand shot, top-pairing defenceman with four years remaining on a good-value contract. The average annual amount is $3.857 million, although the actual dollars will be $4.875 million beginning in 2016-17.

I have to agree with him. The money is good and it’s what Justin Schultz will be looking for when his contract is up at the end of the year. It’s also one of the reasons why I believe Schultz should be part of any deal going forward.

For all of you expecting the Oilers to deal Mark Fayne or Andrew Ference, Anton Lander, or Eric Gryba, it isn’t happening. As bad as he looks on the ice, the Oilers need veteran dmen more than rookies. According the Stephen Burtch, Fayne is the Oilers best defensive dman according to the fancy stats. So take that for what you will. Ference can’t be moved w/o permission, Anton Lander is not bringing the team anything of Value and Gryba is a recent acquisition by the current GM. He’s likely to stay.

Grab a 16-Bit Superstar hoodie for the winter!

If I were the Oilers GM I would be looking at expanding the deal slightly. We know that Kyle Okposo is set to he a free agent this summer and one would have to consider that he’ll be looking for around $6 million per year. I wonder aloud if Jordan Eberle, Justin Schultz, and this years 1st round pick unprotected would be enough to entice Garth Snow into pulling the trigger? Puck Daddy’s Josh Cooper touches on Hamonic and Okposo here.

There’s Ryan Strome to consider as well. He’s sitting in Bridgeport (AHL) when he should be playing in the NHL… Not sure what the deal is there but could he be a guy that’s tossed into the mix.

Garth Snow doesn’t want prospects as he has one of the best looking groups of up and coming players in the league and a deal like this would allow the Isles to continue on their current trajectory without having to toss a rookie in a tough spot. Also, Eberle and Tavares… Are you kidding me? Remember the World Juniors when Eberle scored that last second goal to tie the game versus the Russians? Who was his center? Johhny T baby!

Forgive me but I can’t remember who said it, but I distinctly remember hearing this week on one of the Oilers radio shows, either Oilers Now or Lowetide, that the Oilers are likely to go after Milan Lucic his summer or a player like him. Kyle Okposo is pretty similar to Lucic and he provides that element the team is sorely lacking and has been lacking for a very long time. Who’s the last good power forward to play for Edmonton? Bill Guerin? Jason Arnott? Don’t say Pancakes Penner…

The only counter to my proposal is the deals made for Johnny Boychuk (draft picks) and Doug Hamilton (draft picks). Both players arguably are equal if not better than Hamonic.

Thanks for reading! Let me know in the comments below what deal you’d be willing to make to get Travis Hamonic for your team!

Take Care!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SMdBL6atCo

Breaking News, Edmonton Oilers, Zach Laing

UPDATED: Connor McDavid To Miss “Months” With Broken Clavicle

As reported by TSN’s Bob McKenzie, it is expected that Connor McDavid will undergo surgery on a fractured left clavicle. The Oilers are set to have a 10:30 AM MT press conference.

Tough pill to swallow especially given that McDavid has been on a tear after a slow start to the season; it’s actually devastating. We can sit and play doctor as much as we like, but the truth is that we won’t know more until the press conference.

As noted by Bob McKenzie on twitter earlier, Patrick Kane fractured his clavicle on February 24, 2014 and was given a 12 week prognosis. He was able to return to play seven weeks later in game one of the playoffs.

UPDATE:

Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli briefly addressed the media this morning reporting that Connor McDavid will miss “months” with a fractured clavicle that will require both plates and screws.

Again, the news received today can only be described as devastating. The best part of the entire presser was when Chiarelli was asked if he believed in curses. Well I sure do. How else can you explain Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle and now Connor McDavid missing time in their rookie years? Quite bizarre.

None the less, the team will need to rebound strongly after suffering the loss of McDavid. Looking ahead, I could see a lineup that looks similar to this:

Hall – Draisaitl – Yakupov
Pouliot – Nugent-Hopkins – Eberle

This was suggested by Derek Blasutti and it makes the most sense. Leon gets his chance to play Center, and the line of Pouliot – Nugent-Hopkins – Eberle can hopefully get back to the level they were at towards the end of last season.

Beer League Hero, Breaking News, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Ryan Robinson

GOAL!… No Goal… My Take

Inconclusive? The NHL might want to take another look at it’s policies regarding the goal review process. Maybe taking the human element right out of the equation as is done in soccer and tennis would be a benefit to everyone.

Did Connor McDavid really score that goal last night? Was the Parallax Effect in full… Effect? Does it really matter? It didn’t to me.

Look, I’d say 90% of fans and pundits alike are all in agreement that this Oilers team will not make the playoffs, myself included. So why get your panties in a bunch regarding a botched call? At the time of the incident I completely understand being emotional about it and I knew as soon as the goal was called back that Twitter would be a war zone but honestly. Save your strength and emotions for a game that actually matters. Getting all worked up will not change the outcome and as I said on Twitter:

Now I’m not going to sit here are let you believe that I thought the reffing was good. It wasn’t. They missed some really blatant ones but this is becoming quite the theme this year and I have to wonder to myself if it’s always been like this and now it’s different because the team is starting to play well or if this is a new element to the challenge that is being an Oilers fan.

The Oilers shouldn’t have been in this situation to begin with. Korpikoski shouldn’t have taken that penalty but he did. And maybe the Oilers defence will take a look at this defensive tactic (pic below) and revisit it’s effectiveness for future reference.

Three in the Key? WTF is Fayne doing here?

Anyways, maybe the boys could do a better job in the 2nd period and next time they won’t be in this situation. On the bright side, we might be seeing Darnell Nurse sooner than later due to Justin Schultz’s questionable status after leaving last nights game. It’s either him or Nikitin…

Check out what Ryan Robinson has to say about the whole ordeal in his newest vlog!

The new McDavid inspired design! Click the pic and get it now!
Beer League Hero, Breaking News, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

Taylor Hall Shouldn’t be the Next Oilers Captain

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Our favorite Oilers tough guy chimed in today with news that Taylor Hall will be named the next captain of the Edmonton Oilers… Woof!

“By the way, Bob, I heard (Andrew) Ference is taking off his ‘C’,” Laraque said suddenly during the interview. “Who is going to be the captain in Edmonton?”

Stauffer: “Who told you that?”

“I heard that, well, on the vine that the coach in Edmonton was talking that he was going to have a new captain.”

“When did he discuss that, Georges?”

“We’re heard that a while ago in the media. They haven’t changed (captains)? They haven’t done anything? Is Ference still the captain?”

“Not officially,” Stauffer replied. “Just T.B.A. (to be announced) on the captaincy issue at this time, Georges. Let’s leave it at that for today…”

“No, but Bob I can pretty much announce to everybody who it’s going to be,” Laraque said. “I already know. In Montreal we know everything.”

“Who is it going to be?”

“It’s going to be Taylor Hall.”

“Oilers insider Georges Laraque out of Montreal, former Oilers player!” Stauffer piped up . “We shall see.”

“You know it, too. You work with the team. I know you can’t say it, you just can’t say anything, but you know yourself,” Laraques said.

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Fast forward in that clip to about 13:50 unless you want to hear them ramble on about old Oilers stories and Montreal Canadiens news. The transcript is courtesy of David Staples’ post here. I like David’s work and his thoughts on this are bang on!

I’m going to preface this post by saying I think that Taylor Hall is an amazing talent and that the Edmonton Oilers are a better team with him than without him and I can’t discount how great of an athlete he is because to make it the NHL let alone be drafted no.1 he has to be an extraordinary human but there is no bloody way that this guy should even be considered as captain of the Edmonton Oilers.

For one, in my opinion, and there are very few players to the expection (Wendel Clark/Peter Forsberg) but I want the captain of my team to be someone who can stay healthy. A player can play like his ass is on fire hitting and bulldozing his way around the ice and still stay healthy but Taylor Hall cannot seem to find a way to stay healthy. Every damn year something crops up.

I want the captain of my team to show he’s willing to do what it takes and make whatever sacrifices that need to be made for the good of the team. When’s the last time you saw Hall jump in a scrum in defense of a teammate? When the guy does fight he gets hurt…

When’s the last time you seen him laid a hit that didn’t look like he had some sort of personal vendetta with that player? Do you remember the 2-on-1 last year he had with his “best friend” Jordan Eberle where Eberle didn’t get him the puck and he went to the bench bitching and moaning.

“Oh he’s just passionate BLH…” Screw that news too. That passion he has is not the same passion I’ve seen in the eyes of hockey players before him. When a player looked into the eyes of the aforementioned Wendel Clark, Peter Forsberg, or Mark Messier they were assured it was going to be a long night. Not so with Sir Taylor.

 

One example of Hall trying out some moves that might’ve worked on his ex-teammate in Windsor…

I think this hit was in his first year so you can’t fault him much here but it seems to have been a glimpse into the future for Hall.

The guy can’t seem to get it through his thick skull that he needs to be aware of his surroundings and I’m nearly 100% certain the rest of the league knows how to take Hall out of a game.

Now we could argue that all these injuries happened at the beginning of his career and he’s still a young player but the fact of the matter is this is his 6th season in the league and even watching him during the preseason this year, he’s still cutting to the middle with his head down.

We could also argue that maybe his playing style is why he gets injured all the time. If that’s the case CHANGE THE PLAYING STYLE!! This is incumbent upon the coaching and managerial staff to sort out. If Hall is unwilling to adapt to a different style of play that benefits not only him but his team and teammates, then I’m sorry, he’s got to go. The “me first” attitude has no place in a team game.

Look, he’s an elite LW but that’s only WHEN HE PLAYS!!! It is a fact and correct me if I’m wrong but a player is no help at all to his team if he is not playing.

Hall is ELITE offensively… The Oilers need him to stay healthy

Another thing that creeps into my mind that would make me feel uneasy about Todd McLellan handing Hall the captaincy is that #4 gets benched a lot more frequently than the average superstar NHL left winger. Sure, in the past, a lot of that had to do with Eakins or previous coaches but he was just benched by Todd McLellan on the 25th in a damned preseason game… A PRESEASON GAME!! That’s not a great way to impress the coaching staff or the managerial staff…

 

 

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From McLellan’s comments in that clip, it’s obvious that he believes in Hall but he knows that Taylor’s got some things he needs to work on. Hall’s mental game is in dire need of an overhaul.

BETTER OPTIONS

Matt Hendricks is a far better option than Andrew Ference and Taylor Hall. He works his ass off, he fights, he’s in the lineup on a consistent basis and he exhibits the attributes that a Captain should. Even at his age (34) he’s still an effective NHLer which is something that can’t be said for Andrew Ference. He’s also affordable at $1.85M until 2017 and which point the ‘C’ could be handed over to Connor McDavid or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is a better candidate if the Oilers are looking long-term. He comes from the Joe Sakic line of leaders. He leads by example. He’s been a healthy player for the most part in his young career and he never seems to do wrong. He plays a 200ft game and he can be counted on in all situations.

No Captain might also be a better choice. Todd McLellan stripped both Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, two veteran NHL superstars, and went without a captain in his time in San Jose. So perhaps 3 alternate captains would work but then again why take the ‘C’ from Ference or have him vacate it and not name anybody? Perhaps this is only a possibility if Andrew Ference is dealt.

*Good on the current Oilers captain and the organization today for their work with SpiderMable by the way.*

For all the Hall-ogists out there. Below’s a lovely clip of what he can do when he’s on his game!

I hope you enjoyed the post or at least came out of it with another point of view. I don’t hate the guy, I just see no room for him on the leadership train. There are better players out there to fill that role. Let this guy concentrate on scoring goals and becoming the best Oiler he can be.

Thanks for reading and let me know your feelings in the comments below.

Take Care!

BLH

Beer League Hero, Breaking News, NHL

Darnell Nurse Fights Hunter Smith!

I just watched the Calgary Flames Hunter Smith (6’7″ 215lbs) exact revenge on Darnell Nurse for his beating of teammate Rasmus Andersson at the Young Stars Tournament in Penticton. If you don’t remember that fight, it went something like this:

Nurse certainly didn’t shy away and good on him too. He sure took some big shots there and Nurse sent Smith to the dressing room to get patched up despite Smith keeping his lid on throughout the duration of the fight. I was wondering why Hunter Smith didn’t do anything at the tournament and I guess I know why now. Smith was biding his time…

Check it out and pass it on!

A pretty good tilt I say! I’m looking forward to more of these over the next decade or so! Finally the Oilers have a player that can play AND drop the mitts!