Category Archives: Jack Gruninger

Jack Gruninger, NHL

15-16 Season Primers: The Arizona Coyotes

Welcome back for the second part of 15-16 Season Primers. Today we’re going to take a look at the Arizona Coyotes. The team had a very disappointing season on a number of fronts. The season was plagued by losing and an arena controversy, and by the end of it all, they still didn’t get one of the two highly touted franchise centers in the draft, despite finishing in second last place. On December 31st, 2014, the NHL Board of Governors approved IceArizona’s sale of a 51% stake in the Coyotes to entrepreneur Andrew Barroway. Following the conclusion of the season, the Glendale City Council voted to terminate the arena lease agreement between them and the Coyotes. A legal dispute ensued, and on July 23rd, the city and team reached a new 2 year agreement. In a press release on the team’s website, co-owner, president, and CEO Anthony LeBlanc said that “we did not agree to a two-year agreement so we could relocate in the future. The simple truth is, if we wanted to leave we had the out to do so this summer. We didn’t take it. We fought as hard as we needed to because we believe in this market. We have never changed our opinion on that simple fact. Anyone who says otherwise has no idea what he or she is talking about.”

LeBlanc wants the Coyotes and the city to work out a long-term agreement, although I suspect the two sides have differing views on the long-term potential of the Coyotes in Glendale.

Key Additions: C Dylan Strome, C Antoine Vermette, C Brad Richardson, C Boyd Gordon, RW Steve Downie, LD Nicklas Grossman, RD Zbynek Michalek, G Anders Lindback

Key Subtractions: C Sam Gagner, C Mark Arcobello, LW Lauri Korpikoski, LW Tye McGinn, RW Martin Erat, RW David Moss, RW B.J. Crombeen, LD John Moore, LD Andrew Campbell

The Coyotes will come into this season with some familiar faces back on the roster in Antoine Vermette and Zbynek Michalek. Michalek won’t provide much offense but he’s a very good defensive defenceman who has had success playing alongside Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Vermette will be a center in the top 6, but his value will more likely come as a veteran presence rather than through his playing abilities:

Antoine Vermette HERO Chart.

The Coyotes drafted Dylan Strome third overall, who will go back to juniors this season and be asked to prove that he can produce without McDavid. I could see him in the NHL for the 16-17 season, but not this season. With rookies Max Domi and Anthony Duclair almost certainly going to be in the lineup, and likely even in the top 6 for Arizona this season, they won’t want 3 rookie forwards playing key roles.

One trend I saw from the Coyotes this offseason was a replacement of skilled players with more “gritty” players. Sam Gagner, Mark Arcobello, Lauri Korpikoski, Martin Erat, and John Moore have been replaced with Brad Richardson, Boyd Gordon, Steve Downie, and Nicklas Grossman. If we compare players by the positions they will be taking, we have Brad Richardson taking Arcobello’s spot, Gordon taking Gagner’s, Downie replacing Erat, Grossman replacing Moore, and Korpikoski simply being replaced by a rookie. Let’s compare some of these players.

Richardson/Arcobello: I think Arcobello is clearly the better player here. Arcobello was very good in his limited time in Arizona, and I was surprised that they let him go. In the right role, Arcobello could excel, and with a lack of depth I think they could have given Arcobello an opportunity. Instead the team has decided to go with former Vancouver Canuck Brad Richardson. Richardson is an energy player that can produce some offense but he isn’t great defensively. Arcobello’s size may limit him in defensive situations, but he is a possession driver and I believe he should have been kept to create more competition in the top 6 for Arizona. Richardson will be better suited for a role on an energy line than Arcobello though, which explains the change.

Gordon/Gagner: The Coyotes sent Gagner to Philadelphia in the Nicklas Grossman trade. With Vermette and Hanzal in the top 6, Gagner was destined for a role in the bottom 6, which is more ideally taken by a better defensive forward. Boyd Gordon won’t produce the offense that Gagner would have, but he is significantly better defensively and will fit in better on Arizona’s 4th line.

Downie/Erat: Like Richardson replacing Arcobello, I’m not sure if Downie is an upgrade on Erat. Erat is definitely on the decline, but Downie is going to be asked to take on a top 6 role with the Coyotes.

Martin Erat HERO Chart.

 

Steve Downie HERO Chart.

The two players produce very similar offence, but Erat has the slight edge possession wise. Downie also had the advantage of spending some time with Sidney Crosby, which has likely boosted his totals somewhat. I give a slight edge to Erat here, but surely there is a reason he hasn’t been signed yet, no?

Grossman/Moore: Another surprising move by the Coyotes was not qualifying John Moore, who was acquired in the Keith Yandle trade. The team isn’t jammed full of waiver eligible defencemen, so much like Arcobello, keeping him around for the competition wouldn’t have hurt. Regardless, the team has again added a veteran presence, although Grossman seems like a clear downgrade here:

John Moore HERO Chart.

 

Nicklas Grossman HERO Chart.

Moore seems like a very underrated player, New Jersey got a good deal there. Arizona feels that Grossman can be a good mentor for Klas Dahlbeck, a young defender acquired from Chicago whom they are very high on.

Examining these moves, I don’t think the Coyotes have done much in terms of upgrading their team, and they will be relying heavily on rookies to fill key roles. John Scott will clearly make them an instant cup contender though.

Projected Lines (All Players Healthy):
Mikkel Boedker – Antoine Vermette – Anthony Duclair
Max Domi – Martin Hanzal – Steve Downie
Tobias Rieder (Thanks Tambellini) – Brad Richardson – Shane Doan
Kyle Chipchura – Boyd Gordon – Joe Vitale
John Scott – Craig Cunningham

Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Zbynek Michalek
Brandon Gormley – Michael Stone
Klas Dahlbeck – Nicklas Grossman
Philip Samuelsson

Mike Smith
Anders Lindback

Roster Contenders: C Henrik Samuelsson, C Brendan Shinnimin, C Dustin Jeffrey, C Matthias Plachta, C Dylan Strome, LW Lucas Lessio, LW Jordan Martinook, LW Christian Dvorak, LW Brendan Perlini, RW Jordan Szwarz, LD Derek Smith, RD Connor Murphy, RD Dylan Reese, G Niklas Treutle

It will be interesting to see how Max Domi and Anthony Duclair do. Duclair was good in a short stint with the Rangers, while Domi has been tearing up the OHL for the last few seasons. If we use NHL equivalencies, we get 14-30-44 for Domi and 12-16-28 for Duclair, both over 82 games played. I think these are reasonable expectations for these players, I think Duclair could produce even more.

The center depth on this team isn’t great. Hanzal is an excellent player, but the rest may be better suited for bottom 6/depth roles. The depth on the wings is alright, assuming the rookies aren’t a disaster. Mikkel Boedker seems to be a lot like Antoine Vermette to me though:

Mikkel Boedker HERO Chart.

Arizona’s defence is solid. It’s not spectacular, but there are good pieces here. Ekman-Larsson and Michalek will form a very good top pairing, while Gormley and Stone could be very good on the second pair. As mentioned, Grossman will act as a mentor for Dahlbeck, and those two work as a third pairing.

In the system, Arizona has several promising rookie forwards who will likely take on key roles for the team in the future, including Dylan Strome, Henrik Samuelsson, Brendan Perlini, and Christian Dvorak. The team lacks depth on defense and in goal though, and goes into this season with a tandem of Mike Smith and Anders Lindback, two players who struggled at times.

An interesting name amongst the roster contenders is Connor Murphy. Murphy spent the entirety of the 2014-15 season with the Coyotes. The Hockey News describes Murphy as a talented offensive defenceman, but he only put up 7 points in 73 games. Unless there is an injury on defence, I think he starts the season with Springfield, Arizona’s AHL affiliate, but is the first call-up when a defenceman is needed.

All in all, while Arizona has made some significant changes this offseason, there weren’t any moves that clearly upgraded the team from what they had last season. This again looks like a team that is destined for the basement, and maybe this year they will be able to get their franchise center in Auston Matthews.

Next time we’re going to jump over to the Eastern Conference and take a look at the Carolina Hurricanes. Thanks for reading!

 

If you haven’t already, check out the new “Straight Outta Oil Country” shirt from the Beer League Heroes! For a limited time only, they are on sale for $14, so get yours today!

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the other parts of the “Season Primers” series:
Anaheim Ducks
Arizona Coyotes
Carolina Hurricanes
Colorado Avalanche
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars

Jack Gruninger, NHL

15-16 Season Primers: The Anaheim Ducks

Quick Note: This post was written before the Ducks signed Mike Santorelli. Santorelli adds even more depth to the Ducks and likely forces Max Friberg to the AHL.

Welcome everyone to part 1 of what will be a lengthy series, “Season Primers.” I’m going to be taking a look at every team around the league and their projected rosters, strengths and weaknesses, some players to keep an eye on, etc. I’ll probably be going in alphabetical order, with the exception of a few teams who might still be making moves. We’ll be starting with Anaheim, I hope you all enjoy.

The Anaheim Ducks had a very good season, as anticipated, winning their third Pacific Division title in a row and finishing on top of the Western Conference. In the playoffs, Anaheim waltzed through Winnipeg and Calgary only to run into the brick wall that is the Chicago Blackhawks. The Ducks jumped ahead in the series 3-2, but Chicago battled back and came away with the win in 7 games. Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews later said their series against Anaheim was the toughest of the playoffs, even tougher than the finals against Tampa Bay.

Following their disappointing playoff exit, there was some speculation that head coach Bruce Boudreau would be let go and the team would move forward in a different direction, but that change never occurred. This may be Bruce’s last chance as the Ducks come into this season with yet another very strong roster.

Key Additions: C Shawn Horcoff, LW Carl Hagelin, RW Chris Stewart, RD Kevin Bieksa, G Anton Khudobin

Key Subtractions: LW Matt Beleskey, LW Tomas Fleischmann, RW Kyle Palmieri, RW Emerson Etem, LD Francois Beauchemin, RD James Wisniewski

The Ducks lost Matt Beleskey and Francois Beauchemin to free agency, two players who played significant roles on their team. Matt Beleskey will be replaced in the top 6 by Carl Hagelin, who I would consider an upgrade:

Matt Beleskey HERO Chart.
Carl Hagelin HERO Chart.

Kyle Palmieri was traded to the Devils for 2 draft picks, and the Ducks replaced him with Chris Stewart. It’s tough to compare these two players as they were in very different situations for most of the season. Stewart was on an awful Sabres team while Palmieri spent much of the season in the top 6 with the Ducks. Palmieri will be expected to take on a more significant offensive role in New Jersey, but I’m not sure if he’s a player that will be able to carry the offense. In Chris Stewart, the Ducks get a physical top 9 complimentary forward that can hopefully fit in well and produce some offense for them.

The final major change was replacing the departing Francois Beauchemin with Kevin Bieksa. These two are quite similar players, the only difference being that Bieksa will give the Ducks more depth on the right side of their defence.

All in all, this was a standard offseason for the Ducks, with no major, team-altering changes being made, which was likely the best choice to make.

Projected Lines (All Players Healthy):
Patrick Maroon – Ryan Getzlaf – Corey Perry
Carl Hagelin – Ryan Kesler – Jakob Silfverberg
Jiri Sekac – Rickard Rakell – Chris Stewart
Andrew Cogliano – Nate Thompson – Shawn Horcoff
Max Friberg – Tim Jackman

Hampus Lindholm – Kevin Bieksa
Cam Fowler – Simon Despres
Clayton Stoner – Sami Vatanen
Korbinian Holzer

Frederik Andersen
Anton Khudobin

Roster Contenders: C Chris Mueller, C Michael Sgarbossa, LW Nick Ritchie, LW Harry Zolnierczyk, RW Chris Wagner, RW Brian McGrattan, LD Shea Theodore, LD Shane O’Brien, LD Joe Piskula, RD Josh Manson, RD Brandon Montour, G John Gibson

Let’s get something out of the way first. Ryan Kesler is overrated, and when his 6 year/$41.25m contract extension kicks in next season, he will also be overpaid.

Ryan Kesler HERO Chart.

How does everyone like the HERO Charts by the way? I think they’re one of the greatest hockey tools ever made, a quick and easy way to determine what you’re going to get out of a player.

Back to the Ducks, behind Kesler in the centre depth chart is Rickard Rakell, who I think could have a breakout season. Nate Thompson and Shawn Horcoff are both veteran centers who can handle a 4th line role.

The Ducks have decent depth on the wings, with no glaring weaknesses anywhere. On defence, the talent is spread out somewhat, with top defencemen Lindholm and Vatanen playing on seperate pairings with complementary players. Fowler and Despres will make a great second pairing to round out a very good defensive unit.

In goal, the addition of Anton Khudobin likely forces John Gibson to the AHL, and really solidifies that position for them. Goaltending is the last thing that will be an issue for the Ducks this season.

The team has fairly good minor league depth, although most prospects of significance are defenders, with the exception being Nick Ritchie, and of course, John Gibson. I have Max Friberg on the starting roster as a 14th forward, although anyone else could very easily take that spot, or perhaps it will be given to an 8th defenceman. I believe the defence for the Ducks is set for the most part, unless one of their top defence prospects is clearly a better option than a current roster player. That could be a mid-season addition to the roster.

I anticipate the Ducks again being at or near the top of the Western Conference and again being a contender for the Stanley Cup. Next time we’ll look at a team at the opposite end of the spectrum, the Arizona Coyotes. Thanks for reading!

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the other parts of the “Season Primers” series:
Anaheim Ducks
Arizona Coyotes
Carolina Hurricanes
Colorado Avalanche
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, Jack Gruninger, Rob Cooke, Sunday Night Pint, Zach Laing

BLH Sunday Night Pint #2

We’re back for another edition of the BLH Sunday Night Pint! Coincidentally this is the anniversary of the Chris Pronger trade! So Happy Pronger Day everyone!!

This week we have Zach “The Ladies Man” Laing (@loweded), Grapplin’ Jack Gruninger (@jackgruninger), and Rob “Don’t Call Me Cookie” Cooke (@cooke_rob) to tackle the hard-hitting Oilers topics of the week!

We’re going to start things off with an easy question:

1.Have the Oilers Done Enough to Make the Playoffs in 2015/16?

Jack – Not yet, no. They could be close, but unless some younger guys can have a surprise impact at the NHL level, the Oilers aren’t playoff bound yet. I think there are still question marks at forward. Lauri Korpikoski was brought in in the Boyd Gordon trade, how will he do? In the right situation he could excel, but there are likely better options. Will Yakupov finally turn his game around and start producing like a first overall pick? He hasn’t been trending upwards. Matt Hendricks is aging, how much longer can he have an impact? Also, not much needs to be said about the team’s defensive woes. Sekera and Klefbom are good defencemen, but what about the rest? Schultz can produce offense, but the defensive side of his game is clearly lacking. Fayne had a poor first season in Edmonton, they need more from him. Can Darnell Nurse take on a top 4 role like we desperately need him to? If Ference and Nikitin are both in the lineup at any point this season I might lose my mind. Finally, this team isn’t getting out of the bottom 5 unless they can get a save.

Rob – The answer to this is no. Not necessarily for the reason that most people might think though. The Western Conference is a killer to begin with and unfortunately for the Oilers most of the teams that made the playoffs last season improved this summer. The obvious exceptions being the Canucks and the Blackhawks. No clue what Jim Benning is planning for the fall but it does appear that the Canucks are headed for a rebuild in the near future. The Blackhawks are worse than last season but that has been due to cap issues that required some really good players to be moved for less than full value. So out of eight teams that made it last year six either improved or at least remained at the same level. Add to that Los Angeles and San Jose were outside the playoffs last season and definitely will challenge for the post-season again.

2.Who Will Lead the Oilers in Scoring This Season?

Zach – Taylor Hall! He’s going to have a monster year. I can’t feel it in my bones.

Jack – If Hall could stay healthy, he would lead the team in scoring easily, but since coming into the league, and not counting the lockout year, he has only averaged 64 games a season. A lot of people might say Nugent-Hopkins, but with Gordon no longer on the team, they will need him to start taking some tougher defensive assignments, so I’m not expecting a huge increase offensively. Jordan Eberle can always be relied upon to put up 60-70 points. We can’t forget about McDavid, of course. It will be really interesting to see what he puts up. It could be a tight scoring race, but I’m going to say that Hall leads the team in points.

Rob – Taylor Hall. He is the only bona fide point per game player on the team right now. McDavid will get there in short order I believe but until he has done it the only guarantee is Hall when healthy. Hall is going to have a bounce back season after losing 29 games to injury last season. He will not only lead the team in scoring this year but he will also be back in the league top ten in scoring.

3.Who Will McDavid Benefit Most From Playing With?

Zach – Whoever he’s on the ice with. Connor is one of those players that will presumably be playing a good amount of time even-strength and will likely see power play minutes as well. His skill will raise the level of play of the teammates around him, and I look forward to seeing him build chemistry with different guys. If I had to pick one specific player, I would say Nail Yakupov as I see him being a winger for McDavid.

Jack – There have been a lot of line combinations thrown around, and a lot of suggestions regarding who McDavid should be played with. Hall is the choice of many people, but some think that McDavid should be put with two veterans to start the season, such as Pouliot and Purcell. From an offensive standpoint, Hall would obviously help McDavid the most, but it’s the third player on that line that could be key. I think Teddy Purcell could be a good fit, and he could really help McDavid out in his adjustment to the pro ranks. After all, Purcell does have a resume of playing with a certain young phenom in Tampa Bay.

Rob – To me this question is backwards and it should be who is going to benefit from 82 games of awesomeness the most. But either way my answer is still going to be the same. The player that will benefit McDavid and get the most benefit from having him on their line is Taylor Hall. Hallsy is a solid point per game guy and an absolute terror flying down the port side. Imagine Hall and McDavid going full tilt towards the opposition nets on a nightly basis. Probably going to be more than a few goalies that need to change their shorts during the intermission. This is not a knock against Nuge or Ebs as they are both fantastic players and hopefully Oilers for many years to come but Hall has never had the opportunity to play with a guy of this caliber. Hall to McDavid back to Hall. He shoots! He scores!!!! Sounds beautiful already doesn’t it?

We asked some of our biggest fans and friends of the blog for their opinions on the topics on Facebook and Twitter and these are some of the responses:

Dave Gordon (@rustyknuckler):
1 – No
2 – McDavid if he stays healthy
3 – Good question, depends on who McLennan puts him with, there aren’t any real skilled vets to play with him. Maybe Pouliot, the better question might be who benefits most playing with McDavid.

Shawn Kelemen (@sharkyzeee):
1) No. But by only a few points. It will be a year we are actually in the hunt towards the end of the year. But we need a few tweaks to put us over the hump. Plus another year of experience under a computing coach will help a lot.
2) Nugent-Hopkins/Hall will both tie for the lead this year. Hall will win goals and Nuge will win assists. Eberle will be a close third to them and McDavid will finish fourth with a strong second half after he figures things out and wins our teams first rookie award.
3) I have to go with a few guys. For his two way development I’d say letestu is going to help him. A guy with skill who adapted his game to be a great bottom six guy with all the little things he does. Plus help McDavid with his face offs and positioning(if he needs it). Hendricks and his balls to the wall is going to show him sacrifice/hard work aspects. And Hall will be the perfect line mate for him. Both with blazing speed, will be able to push back defenders so less guys try and come across at McDavid, trying to hurt him. Plus defenders and slower venters will go bananas trying to check two speed demons. While Nuge/Ebs cycle the puck and attack with skill to wear down top defenders.

Rob Soria (@Oil_Drop):
1. Not a chance
2. McDavid
3. Probably Hall

The player who could possibly benefit most from No. 97’s presence may very well end up being Mr. Justin Schultz.

For a nice little change up I asked the guys who their Edmonton Oilers All-Time Starting 6 were but none of my guys are original and they more or less picked the same 6… Lol. Just kidding guys! I’ll flip the switch a bit with mine though…

Zach
G – Grant Fuhr, D – Coffey/Pronger, LW – Ryan Smyth, C – Wayne Gretzky, RW – Jari Kurri
Jack
G – Grant Fuhr, D – Coffey/Pronger, LW – Mark Messier, C – Wayne Gretzky, RW – Jari Kurri
Rob
G – Grant Fuhr, D – Coffey/Pronger, LW – Mark Messier, C – Wayne Gretzky, RW – Jari Kurri
BLH
G – Curtis Joseph, D – Coffey/Lowe, LW – Glenn Anderson, C – Wayne Gretzky, RW – Jari Kurri

Well that’s a wrap for another BLH Sunday Night Pint! Thanks for joining us and a HUGE thanks to all of those who participated online! Let us know your thoughts below in the comments section!

And don’t forget to head on over to the BLH T-Shirt shop! We’ve got a massive collection of 16-bit Superstars waiting for you to take them home and show them the kind of love only a NHL fan can give.

If you guys liked the post please hit the share button below! It’s a massive help for us and it lets us know we’re doing a good job!

Take Care!

– BLH

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Armchair GM, Edmonton Oilers, Jack Gruninger, NHL

Signing Franson Without Using a Buyout

5 Comments

 

There has been a lot of talk about the Oilers using their upcoming buyout window to buyout the contract(s) of Nikitin, Purcell, and/or Ference. The logical explanation for buying out a contract would be to make room for the addition of a defenceman either via trade (Seabrook perhaps) or through free agency (Franson or Ehrhoff). Personally, I believe Franson makes the most sense for the Oilers. He would fill the role that Justin Schultz is in now more effectively than Schultz, and would be cheaper and cost no assets to acquire, unlike Brent Seabrook. While Ehrhoff would also be a decent, and likely even less expensive option, Franson adds depth to the weakest organizational position, right-handed defencemen.

I took a look at how the Oilers could potentially add Franson, on a 6 year, $30m contract ($5m AAV) without using a buyout, and also did some armchair GMing to determine the cap implications for the next few seasons:

[table id=11 /]

In this scenario, instead of buying out Nikitin’s contract, I have him being buried in the minors, freeing $0.950m in cap space and resulting in $3.550m in buried cap hit. The additional $0.050m in buried cap space is from Anders Nilsson’s contract. I believe that Scrivens will beat out Nilsson for the backup job. Chances are, if Nilsson was sent to the AHL, he and the Oilers would just agree to mutually terminate his contract, allowing him to return to Europe, or he would be loaned to a team in Europe, allowing the Oilers to retain his rights. I have Andrew Miller making the team because I don’t think he would clear waivers and I thought he played very well in his limited time here last season. Another very important thing to note is that Draisaitl, Reinhart, and Nurse are all in the AHL. Of course, I doubt that any of them will spend all season in Bakersfield, but in this case this will be a development year for all 3 for most of the season. The addition of Franson reduces the need to bring Nurse or Reinhart into the NHL too quickly. The “Maximum” amount referenced in the table refers to the cap hit that would exist if all bonuses were achieved. In this scenario, we would see a $0.988m overage carried into next season:

[table id=12 /]

In this case, I only listed the bonuses that fit under the bonus cushion as “bonuses” in the final cap calculation. The rest, approximately $4.234m worth of performance bonuses are included in the “Cap Hit” to show that the Oilers would not be above the upper limit. Current salary cap projections have the cap staying about the same due to the low Canadian Dollar, so we’ll assume the cap remains at $71.4m. This means that the Oilers would be carrying a $1.988m bonus overage into the 2017-18 season, at most.

Let’s take a look at some of the roster moves that lead to this roster for 2016-17. Amongst forwards, I have Teddy Purcell, Rob Klinkhammer, and Andrew Miller leaving via free agency, and Lauri Korpikoski being buried in the minors. Essentially, Draisaitl replaces Purcell, Slepyshev replaces Korpikoski, Pakarinen replaces Klinkhammer, and an additional forward, from either within or outside the organization replaces Miller. On defence, Ference is bought out of the final year of his deal, Nikitin and Gryba walk as UFAs, and the Oilers either trade or let Justin Schultz walk. Klefbom is re-signed to a long term deal at $4.5m a season, while Reinhart, Nurse, and a defensive prospect, I have Oesterle, join the big club. In goal, Scrivens walks as a free agent and is replaced by Brossoit on a 1 year bridge deal. Cam Talbot is re-signed to a 4 year, $5m AAV deal.

In the 2017 offseason, I figure that the Oilers will have some tough roster decisions to make, with the large bonus overage and several key re-signings coming up such as McDavid and Nurse. I came up with this for the 2017-18 season, using a projected salary cap of $73m:

[table id=13 /]

First off, the two major moves are trading Nail Yakupov and Mark Fayne. Mark Fayne would be traded because with the development of our young defencemen, he would no longer fit. It is the last year of his deal so the team should be able to find a taker. I chose to trade Yakupov because he is a RFA at this point and I don’t believe the Oilers would be able to re-sign him to a reasonable amount. The desired return would include a young right-handed defenceman to play on the third pairing with Reinhart.

For some of the more minor moves, I have Draisaitl signing a bridge deal similar to Ryan Johansen’s. Anton Lander re-signs to a deal around 3-4 years with a $3m AAV. Pakarinen re-signs to a bridge deal and Yakimov joins the team full time on a small one-year deal. Hendricks walks as an UFA. On defence, Reinhart is re-signed to a long term deal. It’s difficult to project his AAV until we know what he can provide to the team but I have put it at $4m. Laurent Brossoit is re-signed to a $2m AAV bridge deal for a couple seasons. This roster carries a $0.386m overage.

Finally, into 2018-19, where we’ll predict a $76m salary cap:

[table id=14 /]

Here the last year of Benoit Pouliot’s deal is traded as well as Cam Talbot, who is replaced by Laurent Brossoit. McDavid and Nurse are both re-signed to long term deals. Yakimov and Slepyshev are re-signed to bridge deals, and the Oilers are left over with $810k in cap space.

Now of course, the chances of everything I have said happening to the exact are very, very low. There are a lot of things we are relying on to happen here. We assume that Draisaitl, Nurse, and Reinhart all pan out, which is likely to happen, but we also assume that Pakarinen, Yakimov, Slepyshev, etc. become useful NHL players. While this scenario outlined what would happen in the seasons following the Oilers just signing Franson or obtaining another defenceman at similar value, a similar thing would likely happen if Nikitin had been bought out and replaced. Unless the cap increases significantly, if the Oilers do decide to add another defenceman to the team, there will have to be players traded to make room.

As for the quality of the team itself, here is a possible lineup for the 2018-19 season:

Hall – McDavid – Draisaitl
Lander – Nugent-Hopkins – Eberle
Slepyshev – Yakimov – Chase
? – ? – Pakarinen

Nurse – Sekera
Klefbom – Franson
Reinhart – ?
Simpson

Brossoit
? (Possibly Laurikainen)

This looks to be a very good team. That first line could be absolutely deadly, and there is an excellent defensive core, assuming all players develop to their potential.

One last thing that’s important to mention is the contracts for all of these players. It’s difficult to predict some of these contracts. Even for Franson himself, I have him signing for $5m, but he may want more. There are many bridge deals that could come back to haunt the team, but ultimately, if the Oilers want to achieve the most depth possible they may have to look an less expensive bridge deals as a way to open cap space.

Thanks for reading. Also, if you haven’t seen them yet, the “8-Bit Heroes” shirts are now available at Nation Gear. Thanks to our partners at Oilersnation.com for these awesome shirts.

We also have a bunch of new shirts available at the Beer League Heroes Store, so be sure to check those out as well.

Edmonton Oilers, Jack Gruninger, NHL

Oilers News: Herbers Hired, Nemisz AHL Deal, Schultz Arbitration Date, Ice District

The Oilers have hired University of Alberta Golden Bears head coach Ian Herbers as an assistant coach. Herbers began his coaching career as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Rampage (AHL) in 2003. He joined the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit as an assistant coach in 2004 and remained there for 3 years before becoming head coach of the ECHL’s Johnstown Chiefs. In 2009, Herbers joined the Milwaukee Admirals as an assistant coach, and spent a brief period as head coach in 2012, before becoming head coach of the Golden Bears. Herbers has coached the Golden Bears to 2 championships. He has also crossed paths with Todd McLellan before. Herbers played for McLellan’s Cleveland Lumberjacks in the 2000-2001 season.

Herbers replaces Rocky Thompson, who left the organization to become the new head coach of the Windsor Spitfires. He joins a new look coaching staff of head coach Todd McLellan, and assistant coaches Jay Woodcroft and Jim Johnson.

Photo Credits to Grant Black / Calgary Herald

According to Oilersnation.com, the Bakersfield Condors, Edmonton’s AHL affiliate, is closing in on a deal with former Flames first round pick Greg Nemisz. Nemisz, a two-way forward has spent most of his career in the Flames organization, and most recently in the Hurricanes organization. The deal with Nemisz will be an AHL contract, and while he will likely attend Oilers training camp, he is unlikely to secure a spot with the big club.

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The Oilers have plenty of forwards at the AHL level, and from looking at this, I think it’s perfectly reasonable to suggest that we see one of these forwards in the NHL to start the season. With all of this talk of buyouts, perhaps Purcell is a candidate? Or, maybe a forward is being traded? Things to keep an eye on. At the moment, several of these forwards will be starting the season down in Norfolk, Edmonton’s new ECHL affiliate, assuming there aren’t a ton of injuries.

Justin Schultz’s arbitration hearing is scheduled for July 24th, 11 days from now. This arbitration will open up a second buyout window for the Oilers, regardless of whether Schultz actually goes to arbitration or not. Personally, I’d be surprised if he went to arbitration, but you never know.

Finally, the Katz Group and Oilers Entertainment Group officially announced today “Ice District.” No “the” in front of “ice.” It’s an interesting name, one that received some criticism, but it emphasizes the culture of the city and the importance of hockey to Edmonton. You can take a look at the Ice District website here.

The only hockey tidbit from the press conference came when Bob Nicholson said that the Oilers will be in the playoffs when they move into the new building. We shall see, Bob. We shall see.