As depressing as it is to be talking about the Edmonton Oilers off-season plans and the draft, if you’re a fan of the team you have to be glad that the team was “in it” until the final ten games of the year. They haven’t been mathematically eliminated yet but unless they go on an undefeated streak to end the year and the teams ahead of them in the standings stumble, they’re out of it for the 12th time in 13 campaigns.
That 12 of 13 stat is funny, because in 13 yrs, they've actually won more playoff series than the Leafs, Panthers, and Blue Jackets, and are tied in series wins with Colorado, Jets/Thrashers, and the Islanders. In a 30-team league, that's 20% tied or below. #JustSaying #BarIsLow
— Jamie Munroe (@J4M13M) March 21, 2019
So we’ve indeed come to that time.
Mark Spector released his thoughts on what the Oilers should do this summer here and I think he offers up some ideas that are good, okay, and bat-shit crazy.
Interview people from as many organizations as you can (for the GM’s position)
I agree and yesterday I posted what Bob Nicholson had to say in the Oiler season ticket holder’s event on this. He said he had about 34 names on his list that he wants to trim down to 10-12 to interview.
All signs pointing north there.
The Oilers are a top-five revenue team in the league. We can list off the names of 15 hockey scouts whose names make hockey people nod their heads in respect. Guys whose pedigree for evaluating talent is proven, and deadly. Not one of those people work for the Edmonton Oilers.
They’re easy to find because everyone knows who they are. Guys like Craig Heisinger (Winnipeg), Vaughn Karpan (Vegas), David McNabb (Anaheim), Al Murray (Tampa), Pat Verbeek (Tampa). There are 10 more people we could name off the top of our head.
Find them. Pay them.
Once again. I concur.
It’s incumbent upon the Oilers to pluck some talented individuals away from some successful clubs and whatever the cost might be. Rumor has it that the Detroit Red Wings are planning to hire Steve Yzerman as their POHO and Pat Verbeek as their GM. That’s exactly the kind of procurement I’m talking about.
We’ve all heard the list. We’re not in the interviews, so we won’t pick a name. But hire a bird dog — a real personnel man like Kelly McCrimmon or Mark Hunter — who knows talent. Then hire people to do the contracts, etc.
Depth in talent is the issue for Edmonton. Player evaluation skills are first, second and third on my hiring list.
I think that the team needs to make a HARD pivot here and copy the model that was used to build the Vegas Golden Knights and if that means hiring Kelly McCrimmon to do it, so be it! BUT let’s be clear, that team started with a blank slate and some of the trades they’ve made haven’t been amazing. McCrimmon won’t have that luxury in Edmonton IF he comes in. That said, he’s got the right blueprint. Can he find a way to acquire a future hall-of-fame goalie to tide the team over while the overhaul is in process?
This organization should be able to afford the best Director of Analytics, aided by four or five support staff. It’s 2019. Get after it.
The team SHOULD be hiring the best of the best at every position in the organization and that includes sports science. They’d have to spend on it mind you and they’re behind the 8-ball (as usual), so they wouldn’t have a lot of leverage in negotiations.
I like what my friend SPR has said about analytics in a thread today,
Oh god. "Analytics will be more a focus in trades". Just picturing that "Draisaitl & Nurse for Ekman-Larsson" trade in my head again. Or "Oilers should sign Cody Franson" every year. 😬 pic.twitter.com/L3bQljqxrs
— ☘️🏒SPR 🏒☘️ (@TheOilKnight) March 20, 2019
Take a Hard Look at the Pro Scouts:
We’d take a long, hard look at the last five years of reports from anyone who said Ryan Spooner could help. From anyone who was on-side with acquiring Brandon Manning, Nikita Nikitin, Tobias Rieder, Anton Belov, Chris Wideman, Alex Petrovic…
Sure, some of those players go years back. But if that scout is still working for me, I want to see about two things: has he been making the same mistake all the way along, and if so, why is he still working for me?
The evaluation of pro players in this organization rates out at about D-minus. That means the pro scouting staff isn’t good enough.
Edmonton needs to acquire some right-now, step-into-the-lineup players. How on earth do we expect the same people who have made mistakes for a decade to have success this summer?
Was Spector taking a shot at Craig MacTavish there?
My feeling on the pro scouts is that they can only bring in so many reports on players and if the GM on hand doesn’t take that knowledge and put it to use, then what more can they do? Or what good are the scouts if the director of pro scouting is directing them to find moar grit?
The Oilers tried to bring back Matt Hendricks at the deadline for the same reason that Winnipeg re-acquired him. He brings locker rooms together. He has the respect of the players on every team he plays for and he loves playing hockey. He’ll do anything for his teammates.
Edmonton brought in Sam Gagner for the same reasons.
So I don’t have a problem with one more year of the current crop of pro scouts but I’d like to see the Oilers tack on another five new ones with some different thinking. I don’t think that Duane Sutter will be back next year, so a new director will be heading that group up.
Package Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and get a top pairing defenceman.
We use Nugent-Hopkins for two reasons: The Oilers already have two top-six centremen, and Nugent-Hopkins is a very good player who has excellent value. He is the Oilers’ best chip, below the two obvious ones.
Edmonton does not have a legitimate, no-doubt, top pairing defenceman on their roster. So package Nugent-Hopkins — a good second-line centre on many teams — with an Adam Larsson, or more preferably, a Kris Russell or Andrej Sekera, and make a deal.
If it’s Nugent-Hopkins and Larsson, you should get your defenceman and a serviceable winger. If it’s the Russell or Sekera model, you take the D-man, maybe a prospect, but gain in the salary that goes out the door.
I’m not against using RNH to bring in an upgrade on defense. There are teams out there that would love a player like Nuge on their roster. I don’t see him as a massive loss if the Oilers move him. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a VERY good two-way pivot but he’s still not great on the faceoffs and his career high in points has come playing a good chunk of time with Connor McDavid.
The way I’d do it is if RNH were moved, the team would have to bring in a center who could float between 3rd line center and 2nd line center for those times that the coach puts Leon and Connor together.
So is that a player like Sam Reinhart? A guy who can float throughout the lineup and play every forward position? Is it a guy like Alexander Wennberg, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Brayden Schenn, or Nazim Kadri?
Jason Gregor and Ryan Rishaug brought up an interesting scenario,
RNH+Klefbom for Sam Reinhart+Rasmus Ristolainen
Personally, I’d keep Klefbom and replace him with Darnell Nurse. Then you’d have some balance on the back end. Ristolainen is a perennial 40pt/yr defenseman. He’s a massive SOB on the back end (ask Lucic), and he’s can move the puck. Reinhart will help on the PK and he’s a very versatile and high hockey IQ forward. Both are cheaper as well, now and in the future.
Buyout Milan Lucic:
Lucic asked for a trade last summer. If he asks for one again at the exit meetings, then buy him out and wave goodbye.
If he promises to spend the summer with a skills coach, shed as much weight as possible (he’s always been in great shape) and shows me that he wants to succeed in Edmonton, then give him the chance. Because a buy-out saves you about $1.4 million per season, which buys you a decent fourth-line winger.
Which Lucic already is.
Man. That’s a solid chunk of change to buy him out and I’m of the belief that the Oilers made some ground before the trade deadline on a deal to move him this summer.
I just think that the team should move on from him but in a manner that doesn’t eat up a bunch of their cap. A good GM should be able to trade him.
What I’m hearing is that this summer is gonna be a BOLD one in Edmonton but we’ve also heard that before and nothing crazy ever really happens in hockey anymore, does it?
So we wait and see… I hope that the Oilers absolutely blow the doors off this summer and create some mad drama for not only their fanbase but hockey in general.
