Category Archives: Trades

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

Scenarios Going Into the Trade Deadline

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The Edmonton Oilers are on the verge of making the playoffs and going into this year’s trade deadline they need to make a choice I believe.

  • Will they load up for a Stanley Cup finals run?
  • Will they stay the course and simply add pieces to secure that playoff bid.

I think every fan would love for Chiarelli to say ‘F*ck it!’ and go for the Cup but if you have forgotten, that’s sort of how we got here, no? Lowe and co. also took that same sentiment into the draft and thankfully because of those attitudes, we’re sitting pretty with Connor McDavid.

Personally, I believe the team should tinker with the roster not swing for the homerun at this year’s trade deadline.

My concerns with the team now are:

  • Backup goaltending
  • Scoring from the bottom six
  • The right-handed bomb from the point
  • A face-off specialist for the 3rd line
  • The lack of playoff experienced veterans

Who might the Oilers’ assets for trade be?

  • Benoit Pouliot – Let’s hope his strong play continues 🙂
  • Jordan Eberle – Can’t see him being dealt mid-season but you never know.
  • Brandon Davidson – The potential is there and rival GMs know this. Davy might bring back a key piece since he’s unlikely to be protected in the expansion draft.
  • Oscar Klefbom – If Chiarelli is really looking to expedite this rebuild, he could very well use the big Swede. I wouldn’t recommend it but it’s an option nevertheless.
  • The Oilers 1st round pick this year – Edmonton will do what it takes to improve and if a 1st rounder is part of that price, then so be it. The Oilers will be looking to recoup a 2nd rounder at some point anyhow.
  • Any one of David Musil, Jordan Oesterle, Griffin Reinhart, Joey Laleggia, Anton Slepyshev, Laurent Brossoit, or Dillon Simpson – It’s time to cash in on some of these prospects as it looks like their futures as Edmonton Oilers are in jeopardy. Ethan Bear, Caleb Jones, Zayat Paigin, William Lagesson, etc. are coming in and they’ll need spots.

Let’s address the concerns one-by-one.

SUPPORT FOR TALBOT

I have heard that the Oilers aren’t pleased with Laurent Brossoit’s development and are exploring all options heading into the final half of the year. I don’t blame the Oilers for wanting to find a goalie that they feel they can trust and there are quite a few out there I’d give the job to before Brossoit.

For me, this could be a very undervalued acquisition (remember Roloson in ’05?) and I wouldn’t be against the Oilers adding an expensive goalie here but the caveat being that the player they do pick up would need to have extensive playoff experience and a positive one would be nice but not a requisite.

  • Ryan Miller (36 years old, $6M – UFA) – Is Miller that bad a keeper? I mean he’s been playing for the Canucks and that defense is questionable. As a backup for Talbot, I’d feel very safe knowing if anything goes wrong, Ryan Miller is there to come in.

    His career playoff record is 56GP 28W 27L, .915SV%, 2.49 GAA.

  • Brian Elliott (31 years old, $2.5M – UFA) – I know he plays for the Flames but it’s not like he’s lighting up the league down there and he’s had extensive post-season experience during his time with the St.Louis Blues. I like this.

    Career playoff stats: 37GP 15W 19L, .911 SV%, 2.49 GAA

  • Michal Neuvirth (28 years old, $1.625M – UFA) – The Flyers have a couple of goalies that will be UFA this summer but I’m not sure I trust Mason not to shit the bed at any given moment. Neuvirth, on the other hand has been a trusty backup for some time now. He doesn’t have tons of playoff TOI though

    Career playoff stats: 13GP 6W 6L, .933 SV%, 1.93 GAA

There are a few others like Reto Berra, Jonathan Bernier (4-1-0, 933, 2.01GAA this season!), Ondrej Pavalec, and Anders Nilsson but I dig the fellas above. You?

AFTER EBS AND DRAISAITL, CAN WE TRUST THE KIDS?

So that right wing thing is still… A thing. I have a feeling that we’re going to witness a Jordan Eberle scoring explosion soon. The chances that he is getting are coming by the handful now and the timing couldn’t be better. That being said, Jesse and his Ripper (Full House references anyone?) are tearing up the AHL right now and I really want to believe that if the Oilers called him up after the trade deadline, that he’d do the same in the NHL but I don’t know that. Anton Slepyshev is still another question mark for me. I love how the Russian plays but when will it translate to consistent production on the stat sheet?

There is a perfectly good reason for Peter Chiarelli to go out and acquire a Radim Vrbata or a Jarome Iginla next month and that reason is the fear of Eberle/Draisaitl going cold again. The other thing is, in a playoff run or Stanley Cup run, you generally want to put your chances in the hands of the most capable players and usually, those players are a tad older or more high-end.

I’d love for the Oilers to go out and pick up the 2nd leading scorer in NHL history, Jaromir Jagr, because as a third line player that would allow the Oilers to move Zack Kassian to the 4th line where there’s not a lot that he can do to hurt the team.

Jagr isn’t a fast player by any means but he might be one of the smartest and Chiarelli had him for a run in Boston back in 2012/13. Of course, that fact and the Panthers making the playoffs could work against the Oilers trading for the legendary Czech.

Other names I’ve heard through the rumourvine: Brian Gionta and Alexandre Burrows. Not a lot of scoring there but would provide elements of their own in bottom 6 roles.

BOMBS AWAY!

There still seems to be interest from the Oilers in trading for a right-handed player that can add that cannon from the point or the left wall to their power play. I’m 50/50 on the idea I think. The PP is running pretty well (11th in the NHL at 20.4%) and picking up a defenseman or RW with a specific skill set is a daunting and risky task.

Dennis Wideman (CGY) has been in the rumours all year long. The Islanders’ young defender, Ryan Pulock, has emerged as a possible trade candidate but I’d like to see the Oilers going into the playoffs with an older crew, not a younger one.

This is possibly an area where Radim Vrbata and Jarome Iginla draw in again.

I’ll throw out some power play long shots (pun intended) for you though:

  • Colton Parayko/Kevin Shattenkirk (D) – St.Louis – Not the same Parayko we saw last year and the Blues are struggling a bit and apparently Bob McKenzie has said, in so many words, that Shattenkirk’s tune might have changed since last season and Edmonton could be back in the picture.
  • Sami Vatanen/Shea Theodore (D) – Anaheim – The highly-rated Theodore has seemingly fallen down the depth charts since Carlyle took over again. How will the expansion draft protection list affect the Ducks? And do they still want Benoit Pouliot?
  • Torey Krug/Zdeno Chara (D) – Boston – The Bruins are on shaky grounds, would they move either of these players to shore up the offense? Probably not if they’re close to a playoff spot eh? That being said, Chara’s salary drops to $4M next season…
  • Patrick Eaves (RW) – Dallas – What is happening to the Stars?
  • Ryan Strome (RW/C) – New York Islanders – More like, what is happening to the Isles?
  • Brandon Pirri (RW) – New York Rangers – This guy shoots, plain and simple. I can’t speak to his defensive game but if you want a shooter, you pick this guy up. Maybe the Rangers would have interest in Mark Fayne.

DRAWING FROM EXPERIENCE

Having a centre who can be counted on to win an important draw is of the utmost value in the drive to the playoffs and the Oilers have one guy in Mark Letestu they can count on (sort of). One. Maybe Leon Draisaitl could be another but we’re not 100% sure as to how he’ll perform when the team NEEDS that faceoff win.

Colorado’s John Mitchell should be available and he has a respectable win percentage on the draw at 55.55%. He’s got 1 goal and no assists this season, so one would think that his price would be of the minimal variety.

Bob Stauffer likes to pump Derek Ryan’s tires every chance he can get and the small pivot for the ‘Canes is having a pretty decent season (31gp 8g 10a) whilst winning 55.2% of his face-offs in 280 attempts. Now, Ryan isn’t exactly a full-time centre like Patrice Bergeron but he it looks like he can win a face-off now and then.

Hail Mary: Sean Couturier. If the Flyers fall out of the playoff race, do you think they’d be willing to move him? I think they’d be ridiculous to even consider doing it but one has to wonder if Travis Konecny would be a more financially astute player to take on 3rd line duties in Philly until his rookie contract is up?

YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH OLD GUYS

This one is pretty simple. I’ve already named Radim Vrbata and Jarome Iginla earlier as grizzled veterans that would fill some serious holes and roles on this Oilers team but how about Shane Doan? Would he like to come home or would he be more inclined to shack up with his cousin in Montreal (Some guy named Price)?

The stats community is always singing PA Parenteau’s praises and it doesn’t look like the Devils will be making post-season plans this year. Is this a player that would help the Oilers down the stretch?

Another fella from the East, Mark Streit, has always been intriguing to me. He provides a nice puck moving option for the Oilers and he’s a UFA ($5.25M this year) at season’s end. He’s a leftie IIRC though and the Oilers have a shat ton of those.

I don’t know, I’m just thinking of the Oilers have an older roster going into the playoffs (hopefully), I’d feel more comfortable going up against a team like San Jose in the 1st round.

So what if the Oilers looked like this after the trade deadline?

The Home Run Model

Maroon-McDavid-Vrbata
Nuge-Draisaitl-Puljujarvi
Lucic-Caggiula-Parenteau
Slepyshev-Letestu-Kassian

Chara-Larsson
Sekera-Shattenkirk
Russell-Benning
**Nurse

Talbot
Miller

Basically sacrificing Klefbom, Davidson, Eberle, and Pouliot plus prospects and draft picks for some immediate help and taking on some extra salary as tax.

The Tinkering Model

Maroon-McDavid-Draisaitl
Pouliot-Nuge-Eberle
Lucic-Letestu-Vrbata
Kassian-Caggiula-Parenteau

Sekera-Larsson
Russell-Benning
Klefbom-Wideman
**Nurse

Talbot
Elliott

All of the players acquired here would surely be available for nothing more than marginal prospects and later round draft picks, no? Perhaps an offloading of Mark Fayne?

I’m just spitballing here folks. Probably a lot of wishful thinking, actually, definitely a lot of wishful thinking because it’s impossible to know who will and who won’t make the playoffs right now. The standings are pretty competitive this year and a 5 game losing streak could ruin any team’s chances at the post-season.

Thanks for sticking around this far! Enjoy your day! – BLH

**stats taken from NHL.com and Capfriendly.com**

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

The Oilers’ Monday Moves

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Well, yesterday was a bit of a Twitter shit show wasn’t it? All of the know-it-alls letting us in on a little secret, that they could be better GMs than Peter Chiarelli and also that even though the Oilers are two points out of owning 1st place in the Pacific division, Chiarelli is still incompetent…

One follower of mine put it best,

OILERS FANS BE BEING OILERS FANS… 

I might add another hashtag to my growing arsenal… #HereComeTheOilersFans

 

Can you be a fan and criticize the team, its coach, players, or GM?

Yes, but don’t make that the only thing you do when following the team. You come off as a huge jaded dick. My favorites are the ones that seem to know all the answers and can’t wait to judge Chiarelli everytime one of his moves has a hint of failure coming on. The bitterness shown towards the Oilers’ GM for making that ever-so-wanted BOLD move by trading Hall for Larsson is ridiculous. It’s as if the Oilers made a mistake by moving Lowe and MacTavish and firing Tambellini.

No, by all means. We should’ve kept them because they were doing an excellent job of sitting on their hands and doing f*ck all.

Now, Peter Chiarelli isn’t immune to critique but if you’re going to sit there and nail him dry for signing Gustavsson, leaving Puljujarvi in the NHL, or trading Hall; could you do yourself a favour and check the standings, then take a short trip down memory lane and remember how the Oilers got to where they are now. They ate shit for a decade, that’s how. After you’re done remembering how bad the team (as a whole) was, check out how players like Pat Maroon, Matthew Benning, Cam Talbot, and Leon Draisaitl are turning out. And if that’s not enough for you, look at the hockey demi-god that the Oilers have playing for them in the pic below.

May the McDavid be with you!

 

THE MOVES

1. Jesse Puljujarvi gets sent down to Bakersfield

From what I can gather as to why it took the team so long to send him down, there are a few possible reasons:

– Lack of depth on RW
– Pending trades or negotiations that involved one of the Oilers’ forwards or more specifically one of their RWs.
– A disconnect between Chiarelli and McLellan on how to deploy the big Finn.

Now as we know, as soon as Puljujarvi hit the 40 game mark, the Oilers burned a year off of their control of him. Instead of being able to become an unrestricted free agent at age 26, he may now have that option at age 25. At least that’s my understanding and I could very well be wrong. Let me know in the comments below if I’m off base here.

I’m of the belief that Pulju could’ve been sent down a lot earlier but then Pitlick got hurt and that threw a wrench into some trade negotiations for the Oilers. Remember that Matt Hendricks was supposedly going to the Wild? I know, Hendy plays LW but not having Puljujarvi around if that deal did go down wasn’t a risk the Oilers wanted to take because it was unlikely that a winger was coming back in that deal.

I also believe that Chiarelli wanted McLellan to be playing Puljujarvi a whole lot more so that he could evaluate him a bit better. Reminded me of the scene in Moneyball when Billy Beane and Art Howe couldn’t come to an agreement as to who would play at 1st base. I’m glad Chiarelli didn’t feel the need to trade any of the other RWs to make a point to McLellan though… Not that Eberle hasn’t been a feature in the Oilers rumour mill this year or anything… Still is… (Montreal/Washington I hear. More below.).

While Puljujarvi is in the AHL, he’ll be a top-line player and I might try to catch some of Bakersfield’s games online to see how Puljujarvi acclimatizes himself to that league. I’d expect him to be on a line with Khaira and Laleggia or Beck AND to get some cherry minutes as the go-to guy on the PP.

As for the language concern. He’ll be fine in Bakersfield with fellow countryman Jere Sallinen plying his trade for the Oilers farm team as well.

I reckon that Puljujarvi will be back with the Oilers this season and that seems to be a common sentiment amongst the pundits. They’ll send him down in hopes that he finds his game and when the time comes, Chiarelli will call him back up with said game in tow.

Lastly, Puljujarvi was barely 18 when he started the year and he’s not the first highly drafted 18 year old to have struggles scoring in the NHL (Thornton, Stamkos, Seguin, and Draisaitl come to mind), Remember that.

2. Gustavsson hits the waiver wire

I’ll just ask this question to the know-it-all bloggers off the bat, how is Jonas Enroth doing this year?

On Jason Gregor’s show last night he explained to us the reason that Chad Johnson wasn’t an option (because he’s the next player that fans/bloggers bring up in the backup goalie debate) for the Oilers. Chad Johnson wasn’t going to sign with a team that wasn’t prepared to give him some real ice-time and with Cam Talbot being the no.1 guy in Edmonton, Johnson wasn’t going to get that wanted TOI.

On the Cult of Hockey podcast, Staples and McCurdy discussed Gustavsson and length. Bruce McCurdy, who was a proponent of the signing for Edmonton (I didn’t know this. I didn’t know anybody was okay with it.), explained how Gustavsson’s career SV% at that time (.909) wasn’t that far off of the NHL’s average SV% (.915) from the year previous.

So there wasn’t this supposed extreme risk for Chiarelli in signing the Swede. He’s got a winning career record to boot and he signed for relatively cheap. Brossoit was going to be in the minors on a one-way deal, so if Gus didn’t work out, Brossoit was already there.

But this year has been quite unforgiving for him (1-3-0-1, 3.10 GAA, .878 SV%) and I support the decision of putting him on waivers with the intention of sending him down to the minors. As far as I’ve been told and Rishaug echoed this on Gregor’s show last night, Gustavsson will most likely never play another game for the Oilers unless something drastic takes place. Meaning an injury is the only way he will suit up for the Oilers again in 2016/17. I guess McLellan was pretty steamed at his performance vs. Ottawa and that lead to this move being made.

A lot of speculation is being bandied about as to who the Oilers will get to replace Jonas Gustavsson now and the 1st name that came up was Columbus’ back-up, Curtis McIlhenney, because he was put on waivers as well yesterday and his numbers don’t look too shabby either (2-1-2, 2.39 GAA, .924 SV%). But that loss to the Rangers scuffed up the shine on him.

Another name is Laurent Brossoit but he’s not lighting up the AHL right now. So I’m not too sure with regards to an AHL goalie coming in.

Other goalies that have been connected to Edmonton recently:

Jaro Halak, Ondrej Pavelec, Reto Berra, and Michael Neuvirth.

Oilers aren’t taking on Halak due to his contract’s term, but those other three are viable options. I like Neuvirth the best to be honest.

I don’t believe that the Oilers will make a claim on McIlhenney because they are sitting at 48 out of 50 contracts and going into the trade deadline with only 1 contract spot available could make negotiations quite tight. But I could see the Oilers sending over a LHD prospect in return for McIlhenney.

Gustavsson may very well stay on the roster until the time comes too. He doesn’t have to be sent down for another 30 days or 10 games after he clears waivers… So don’t get too ancy as to why he’s not being moved to the AHL if it takes some time.

3. Anton Slepyshev recalled!

AWESOME!!!

I’ve been a huge fan of Slepy all year and, in my opinion, he brings all the right tools to Chiarelli’s renovation party. He hits, he skates, he shoots, he’s a creative passer, he’s young, he plays a very gritty game, and he’s such a hard worker.

It’s going to be good to watch him again.

FUTURE MOVES

I know that the Oilers had scouts in Montreal watching the Habs/Caps game. There was some chatter online talking about Montreal having interest in Jordan Eberle and I guess Chiarelli likes Lars Eller but I can’t see either team moving on either player.

Edmonton can’t trade Eberle right now with that super funk that he is in. They’ll get taken to the woodshed Miroslav Satan-style. Not saying that the Oilers couldn’t use another Barrie Moore and Craig Millar but… No, I’m saying that. But if he doesn’t find that scoring touch by the deadline… Things could get some interesting.

The Caps paid a pretty salty price for Lars Eller, can’t see them moving him. Marcus Johansson on the other hand…

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Oilers Trade Target: Thomas Vanek

Back in 2006/07, there was an Austrian playing for the Buffalo Sabres, his name was Thomas Vanek, and that year he scored 43 goals to lead the NHL. Well, the Oilers were looking for some scoring on the wing and decided to piss everyone off and do the unthinkable and given that Vanek was an RFA, a 7 year/$50M offer sheet was offered and signed by Thomas Vanek.

Of course, now we know that Buffalo matched the offer and Vanek remained a Sabre for another nine or so seasons before moving on to the Canadiens, Islanders, Wild, and now Red Wings.

Which brings me to the next point.

The Detroit Red Wings are not exactly out of the wild card race but they’re competing against the teams in that ridiculously competitive Metropolitan Division and at the moment it looks as if Philadelphia is their closest target. The Red Wings have 39 points and Flyers have 45 points with Detroit having a game in hand, so not really a major obstacle to overcome but still.I believe that this is the year that Ken Holland and co. bite the bullet and start a minor rebuild.

I believe that this is the year that Ken Holland and co. bite the bullet and start a minor rebuild and that starts with dealing the soon-to-be free agents. Vanek, Drew Miller, and Steve Ott would all be great additions to a playoff-bound Edmonton Oilers but for this post, I’m speaking more to right now than come playoff time. So Thomas Vanek is the guy.

Check out the shot at the 1:37 mark of that video… Good lord, that goalie never even seen the puck coming.

What are the Oilers Looking For?

  1. Size
  2. A shooter for McDavid
  3. A right-hander for the PP

Thomas Vanek (33 years old) is 6’2″ and 218lbs according to Eliteprospects.com and he’s averaged about 190 shots per year. Compare that with annual Oilers 1st line RW Jordan Eberle’s 160 shots per year and we can deduce that Vanek shoots more… Obviously. That’s just an elementary observation though and he’s failed to reach the 190 mark in his previous two seasons…

In 28 games this year, the Austrian has 9 goals and 14 assists with 70 shots on goal and 14 PIMs. He’s no.2 in scoring for Detroit.

I’ll preface the following with the more than suitable hashtag, #SmallSampleSize.

In 2016/17, Vanek is (according to stats.hockeyanalysis.com, using 5×5, 300 min. TOI, fwds):

  • #7 in the NHL amongst forwards for pts/60: 2.79 (SAY WHAT?!)
  • #33 in shots/60: 9.12
  • #62 in All PP situations for shots/60: 12.38 (Draisait, Lucic, and Letestu ahead of him)
  • #77 in All PP situations for pts/60: 4.34
  • #63 in Corsi For per 60 Relative to Teammates: 5.30

So, what I’m reading here is that the numbers presented tell us that he is still a top-6 winger in the NHL and in most cases still a 1st line winger. At least, offensively.

Earlier in his career, he was a PP goal-scoring machine scoring in double-digits with the man advantage in his first 7 seasons. In 2007/08 and 2008/09 he combined for 39 goals on the PP…

Now he hasn’t come close to those early-career numbers in some time but he has a history of scoring in double digits and Who knows? Give him the right kind of centre and he might get close again.

The fact of the matter is that he ticks off the necessary boxes.

Speaking of teammates, I was wondering how Vanek did with his current ones. So I checked out who he was playing with the most and their impacts on each other.

  1. Gustav Nyquist (248 min)
    – Together: GF60 – 3.38, GA60 – 2.41, GF% – 58%, CF60 – 55.05, CA60 – 58.68, CF% – 48%
    – Vanek Apart: GF60 – 4.07, GA60 – 2.44, GF% – 62.5%, CF60 – 53.67, CA60 – 59.36, CF% – 47.5%
    – Nyquist Apart: GF60 – 2.14, GA60 – 1.91, GF% – 52.9%, CF60 – 51.22, CA60 – 58.18, CF% – 47.3%Major Observations: The GF60 when Nyquist and Vanek are apart from each other. It’s nearly 2 goals! Nyqvist’s GF% also drops hard when away from Vanek but his GA60 is also much better away.
  2. Frans Nielsen (106 min)
    – Together: GF60 – 2.82, GA60 – 3.38, GF% – 45.5%, CF60 – 71.54, CA60 – 61.96, CF% – 53.6%
    – Vanek Apart: GF60 – 3.89, GA60 – 1.95, GF% – 66.7%, CF60 – 46.44, CA60 – 57.29, CF% – 44.8%
    – Nielsen Apart: GF60 – 1.64, GA60 – 2.96, GF% – 35.7%, CF60 -48.60, CA60 – 53.53, CF% – 47.6%Major Observations: Some big differences here. CF60 together is YUGE! Vanek’s GF% is WAY better away from Nielsen, as is his GA60 and GF60 (weird). Please correct me if I’m wrong but when these two are together, they are really good at getting shots to the other team’s net and bad at keeping them away from their own net but take Vanek away and everything suddenly improves exponentially?
  3. Dylan Larkin (87 min)
    – Together: GF60 – 2.06, GA60 – 2.75, GF% – 42.9%, CF60 – 34.4, CA60 – 59.86, CF% – 36.5%
    – Vanek Apart: GF60 – 4.08, GA60 – 2.30, GF% – 64%, CF60 – 62.28, CA60 – 58.45, CF% – 51.6%
    – Larkin Apart: GF60 – 1.97, GA60 – 2.68, GF% – 42.4%, CF60 – 53.88, CA60 – 53.59, CF% – 50.1%Major Observations: GF60, GF%, and CF60 jump out immediately. Vanek seems to score at double the rate away from Larkin but Larkin’s possession stats are better away from Vanek (apart from CF% slightly).

Another reason I wanted to look at those WOWY numbers is because of Larkin especially. He’s probably one of a handful of players that can match Connor McDavid’s speed and that has been a point of contention in Edmonton recently when talking about players that can produce with McDavid. Lucic and Eberle are too slow (But Draisaitl and Maroon are the next comings of Selanne and Bure…)

Since Larkin isn’t producing more than Vanek away from him, I’ll say this shouldn’t be a concern when considering Vanek as a winger for Connor.

If Jordan Eberle can continue on the pace he is, he should end the season with around 16 goals and 52 points. Vanek? Nearly the same but for a third of what Eberle is being paid AND he’s a shooter w/size… That being said, we are waiting for Eberle’s shooting percentage to come back to normal as he usually shoots around 14% and he’s firing blanks so far this year (7.8%).

What you won’t like about Vanek… He’s streaky, can look Eberlazy, and he’s staying about as healthy as Taylor Hall (Sorry, had to get that in there. Oh! Did you know that Patrick Maroon has 5 more goals than Hall this year?). Plus, don’t expect much defense out of the guy. His 5v5 Fenwick (unblocked shot attempts) Against per 60 Relative to Teammates is 4.04 and that places him 271 out of 305 fwds. The silver lining there is that his nearest peers are players like Jeff Carter and Jeff Skinner.

The Price You Pay

Vanek is making $2.6M for this year only and I feel that’s very affordable. Not as affordable as say, Radim Vrbata ($1M) but definitely not as expensive as Jarome Iginla (%5.3M).

I’d expect him to cost a premium IF the Oilers were to ring up Ken Holland and inquire as to the asking price. Now, given that Detroit has draft picks for every round in the upcoming draft, I don’t believe that would be a priority but they’d have to be included. I’m also of the belief that the Red Wings would rather not go the route of a long rebuild. So, I’m going to say IF I was in the GM’s seat in the Motor City, I’d look for younger players that are NHLers already or on the verge of becoming full-time NHLers.

What do the Oilers have that fit that bill that they’d be willing to move?

  • Brandon Davidson (LHD): For sure. I’ll go out on a limb and say that Davy is better than Ryan Sproul, Xavier Ouellet, Nick Jensen, and Alexey Marchenko.
  • Anton Lander (C/W): Remember the damage he did when Todd Nelson was the coach of the Oilers for that short time after the Eakins firing? Well, Nelson is the Red Wings minor league coach. Is the connection too obvious?
  • Mark Fayne (RHD): Fayne doesn’t quite fit the description of young NHLer but Detroit’s defense looks to be in shambles with all the injuries. Would they be interested in a player with the kind of experience that Fayne has? Contract would be a problem here though, I’m sure.
  • Anton Slepyshev (RW): The Russian would most likely be the player traded I think. He’s got speed, size, grooming time in the AHL, he’s gritty. I mean, I wish the Oilers would toss him up on the big team some more so we could watch him but I think the Red Wings could envision a line where Dylan Larkin centres Evgeni Svechnikov and Anton Slepyshev and they’d light the NHL on fire.

Others include: Iiro Pakarinen, Jordan Oesterle, and Dillon Simpson.

Sorry, I can’t see the Red Wings having a use for Benoit Pouliot unless the Oilers included a good prospect and a 1st rounder.

Right now the Oilers are at 48/50 contracts. So any deals they make should be a 2 for 1, or the Lowetide-famous, 3 for 1.

That defense in Bakersfield needs to be trimmed up a bit. They’ve got Joey “I was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award” Laleggia playing LW for Heaven’s sake.

In conclusion, I feel that anytime you have the option to add a veteran that has scored over 300 goals in the NHL, that’s something, as a GM, you should be doing.

10 years after the original offer sheet, it’s time to bring Thomas Vanek to Edmonton. For real this time.

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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rob Cooke, Trades

Good Wood: A Defenseman for the Oilers

The Oilers are going to play a red-hot Columbus Blue Jackets tonight and I think they might get the two points. But that’s not the only thing on my mind today…

NHL draft and prospect guru Corey Pronman recently posted an interesting tweet that got my headbone churning. It was a list of the top 20-year-old point scorers in the AHL and atop said list was a defenseman out of the Arizona organization surnamed “Wood”.

I’ll be honest, I had no bloody clue who this kid was but the reason I decided to dig into him is because he was a d-man piling up the points as a rookie in the AHL. The most immediate question that came to mind was, is he right-handed?… YES! The next question was, did he have size. YES! And that sealed the deal, an article was to be posted detailing this 20-year old rearguard.

I mean honestly, if you’re looking at the Oilers depth chart, what position are they in dire need of upgrading? Right-shot players I’d say and one that plays defense is the cherry on top.

At the moment the right-side defense’s depth chart looks something like this (please let me know if I’ve left anybody out):

  • Adam Larsson (NHL)
  • Matt Benning (NHL)
  • Eric Gryba (NHL)
  • Mark Fayne (AHL)
  • Ethan Bear (WHL)
  • Filip Berglund (SHL)
  • John Marino (NCAA)
  • Vincent Desharnais (NCAA)

So they way I see it, Fayne and Gryba will most likely be gone sooner than later. Ethan Bear will need a season or two in the AHL, Filip Berglund probably won’t come over until he’s at least 21; and John Marino and Vincent Desharnais are probably long shots at playing a game in the NHL.

On top of that, the Oilers AHL club has so many left-handed dmen that they moved Joey  Laleggia to forward and are using Mark Fayne and another fella named Bryce Aneloski (I don’t know who he is either). They could use some help down there.

So that’s why the Oilers should be looking into the availability of Kyle Wood. He’s 3rd in AHL rookie scoring, 4th in points for a defenseman, and sits in 18th place overall for scoring in the entire league. Not too shabby, if you ask me.

Sir McDavid takes on Kyle Wood back in their OHL days.

Kyle Wood

Born: May 4th, 1995
Birthplace, Waterloo, ON, Canada
Age:20
Position: Defense
Shoots: Right
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 209lbs
Drafted: 3rd round #84 by Colorado in 2014

Kyle Wood was originally a pick by the Colorado Avalanche but the Arizona Coyotes acquired him as part of the package for Mikkel Boedker and he is rapidly making a name for himself in Arizona.

Wood’s stats are pretty damned good for a player who wasn’t known to bring much offense to the table coming out of junior. Here are some quotes regarding Mr.Wood that will help shed some light on the player he was in junior and is now as a pro in Tuscon.

“At 6’5, 230lbs, he has the size to cause scouts to salivate. And he actually moves decently well for a big man. He’s also a physical player who is already very tough to play against in the corners. As time goes on, he’ll become quite a defensive force. Offensively, he’s actually surprisingly effective. He can lead the rush and he’s been quarterbacking the Battalion 2nd powerplay unit.” – Brock Otten (source)

“He’s obviously a big kid but one of the things our scouts liked about him is that he was willing to move pucks under pressure. He’s calm and makes a good first pass; he doesn’t seem to get rattled easily.” Jim Playfair, ARI Asst. Coach (source)

“Towering over other players, Wood can be mistaken for a pure defensive defenseman but that is not the case. Wood has an underrated offensive game and was the second power play unit’s quarterback for his junior team. He uses his size well and to his advantage. Teammates love having him on the back end and opposing players hate going up against him.” – Hockey’s Future (source)

“Wood is a big defenseman who has shown solid two-way potential.  He has great size that he uses to his advantage, and an above average hockey IQ.  The book on him is a little lacking because he missed the first half of the season due to injury, but Wood will most likely be a solid defender for North Bay in the future with a very solid chance to make it at the NHL level.” – Shane O’Donnell (source)

The Shot

“He’s got a heavy shot, and learned to shoot it when he’s supposed to,” Samuelsson added. “But he’s got the hardest one-time I’ve seen, so it’s been nice to see him score a lot. It’s hard and it’s accurate, so it’s good to have on the power play for sure.” – Henrik Samuelsson

“When you see him loading up, it’s time to get out of the way and let him shoot,” Perlini joked. “I just try to give him a good lane because I’m in front of the net because it’s obviously coming in fast, so if I get a little screen on the goalie, he can wire it.” – Brendan Perlini

“He shoots the puck like Shea Weber,” continued Lamb. “That’s who he shoots it like. He’s a big, right-hand D that is skating.”

Where a lot of Wood’s points have come from is the Roadrunners’ deadly top power play unit, which has been the most productive power play unit in the entire league by far, cashing in on 31.3% (21-of-67) of their man-advantages. – Jason Bartel

(source)

Say What?! A shot like Shea Weber?… Well that sort of does it for me. Wood has the size, the skating, the hockey IQ, and he puts up some pretty rad numbers on the PP. Now, we know that the Oilers are looking for both size AND a shot for their PP. Wouldn’t this kid fit the bill?

Wouldn’t this kid fit the bill? I should ask though, is he more Shea Weber or Cody Franson?

The alternative to Kyle Wood would be to pick up Michael Stone from the Coyotes. The soon-to-be UFA right-handed defenseman is sure to be a playoff pickup for some NHL team but I know that the Oilers have been barking up this tree all season. This scenario is much more likely unless the Edmonton could offer the Coyotes something they couldn’t refuse for Kyle Wood. The old Griffin Reinhart + Benny Pouliot offer isn’t likely to tempt Mr.Chayka.

What would you offer the Coyotes for Kyle Wood or Michael Stone? Let us know in the comments below!

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

Let’s Get Trading!!

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Big rumour day for the Oilers eh? I love waking up on the other side of the planet to rumors of trade! Gives me a bit more time to digest what’s being said online.

Here’s what I’ve read online so far:

Obviously, those are taken from within the Facebook groups but Gruninger (a former writer here at BLH) is quite good at reporting all Oilers-related things on Facebook and I guess this Trevor Boz character is said to have some “connections” but when I asked my own trusted sources, they said this:

“Oilers like Halak but they don’t feel he’s consistent enough for the 4.5 cap hit. Plus, Winnipeg is willing to retain salary. They like Hellebuyck and Hutchinson. Pavalec is believed to be done in Wpg. Edm is VERY interested.”

Halak is under contract for another year @$4.5M after this one, so unless the Isles are willing to take on some Mark Fayne or Benoit Pouliot… I don’t see this going down. That being said, the Oilers could do a whole lot worse than a Talbot/Halak tandem going into 2017/18.

It was Jim Matheson, I believe, who also threw out the idea of the Oilers looking at Pavalec too, no? So who is one to believe?

Pavalec is a UFA at season’s end and at the moment he’s not exactly lighting up the AHL with the Manitoba Moose (5W 4L 2T, 3.17 GAA, .906 SV%). Is this really a player that is considered an upgrade on Jonas Gustavsson?

What about giving Nick Ellis a shot to see how he does?

As for Duchene:

“Duchene is bigger and he can produce whether he’s bottom 6 or top 6. Oilers like him alot. Ebs body language says what everyone thinks. Of course hell say he wants to stay to appease the fans.”

Personally, I would never put a player like Duchene in the bottom 6 unless he was playing for an all-star team like Team Canada. This is a player who makes the same money as Eberle and has the speed to match McDavid. Plus have you seen what he can do in the corners? Best tight-turns in the game bar none AND he can play right-wing! Don’t forget about the goals… THE GOALS!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsvF54YGvH0

This isn’t new news to me. I’ve been told that Brandon Davidson will be left exposed for the expansion draft, so if the Oilers can pick up a vital piece in the drive for the playoffs by trading him, so be it.

What that piece might be? All I know is that the Oilers are still on the search for a PP QB (preferably RH’d) and they’re not picky as to if that is a forward or a defenseman (We’ve talked about Cam Fowler and Michael Stone in the past). Also, as Bob Stauffer teased a couple of days ago on Oilers Now!, the Oilers are still looking to get bigger (Stauffer says it differently though, “I wouldn’t be surprised if…”).

Is that the writing on the wall for Jordan Eberle? There’d be a lot of “diehards” out there that would welcome that, eh?

What do you think about these latest rumors? Let us know in the comments below!

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