Tag Archives: AHL

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Trades

What a Colossal Waste

I’m glad I didn’t spend the day watching TSN’s and Sportsnet’s coverage of the trade deadline… Wow! What a shitshow the deadline has turned out to be. I’d suggest the NHL just go to something similar to what they have in club soccer and have windows at the beginning of the year and at the midpoint of the season but NHL teams barely make any trades in-season as it is, so that probably wouldn’t work. I mean if it wasn’t such a kick in the junk to the players, I’d be all for making it a big draft-like event where all the GMs pile into an arena where there are 31 tables set up for one weekend and it’s televised and you can see what deals are being offered and rejected. THAT would be fun to watch. Instead, we’re treated to questionable attempts at sketch comedy unless of course you have Ilya Bryzgalov… Kudos to Sportsnet for snagging that beauty!

So, who did the Oilers manage to bring in for their playoff run?

  • David Desharnais (C/W):
    Yesterday, we posted an article with a variety of reactions from local Edmonton media and bloggers here if you’d like to refresh yourself. Myself, I’m still on the fence because I haven’t made a point to watch a lot of Habs games in the past but from what I’ve gathered since Chiarelli joined the team, he likes hard-working character guys. Players who can fit into his team’s style and are excellent locker room additions. He’s got no time for egos.

    So I’m curious to see how Desharnais fits into this Oilers squad. I believe he will replace Drake Caggiula in the lineup and will most likely play a mentor-like role for Caggiula. I support this notion and the timing is just right as I feel the college kids (Benning, Caggiula) are starting to hit a wall as the season moves on.

    I believe that Desharnais will be an option for bottom-6 centre. I’m not necessarily convinced he’s a better candidate for important faceoffs than Hendricks, Letestu, or even Khaira. In my opinion, he’d look good with Benoit Pouliot on his left wing and Anton Slepyshev on his right IF he’s drawing in at centre. If he’s coming in on the left wing, then, I’d like to see him on Letestu’s wing with Kassian on the right side.

  • Justin Fontaine (RW):
    The former Bonnyville Pontiac (AJHL) has tallied 30 points in 50 games for the AHL’s Hartford Wolfpack this season. In the previous three seasons, he has racked up 68 points in 197 games playing for the Minnesota Wild.

    Fontaine replaces Taylor Beck, who was having a stellar campaign for the Condors but some feel he was getting in the way of Jesse Puljujarvi’s development by taking more of his ice time be it 5×5 or on the PP. Fontaine is an excellent option for the Condors 2nd-line RW.

  • Ryan Mantha (D):
    We posted an article waaaaaaaay back in December telling you that the Oilers were looking at this hulking OHL overager and what do you know, he actually signs with the team! I’d actually been tipped off on this signing but was told to keep it on the down-low. Lucky for me at that time, there were some other factors that helped point us in the direction that hinted at Mantha signing with Edmonton.

    For me, there’s nothing wrong with this signing at all. The captain of the Niagara Ice Dogs is really starting to develop nicely is emerging as the top overage defenseman in the OHL. I like players who are leaders on their junior teams. I like big defensemen who can put up offense and in this day and age, I like right-handed defensemen. Mantha checks all of those boxes.

    Lastly, I really dig the idea of him joining the Condors once his OHL season is over. Bakersfield could use a righty who can possibly put some points up on the board.

And who left the organization?

  • Brandon Davidson
  • Taylor Beck

I’m not surprised one bit that the Oilers didn’t buck up and bring in some of the higher profile players rumored to be available. I know that they were in on some goalies but as I said over and over with Halak, the Isles just wouldn’t budge on the contract thing. If they’d decided to eat some of his salary, we might be adding his name to the list of players acquired by Edmonton.

That being said, PA Parenteau for a 6th rounder? That’s a bet I’d be willing to make. And who foresaw Andrew Ference’s contract being dangled out there? Would Radim Vrbata be an Oiler right now if Ference’s contract had been moved?

In the end, I’m stoked to have an older player available for the Oilers as they go into the final leg of this epic playoff drive. I don’t have high expectations for him though. We say that he could be a Derek Roy-like acquisition for the Oilers but don’t hold your breath. Desharnais wasn’t having a great season before he came here and now he has to acclimatize himself to a new team, a new system, a new conference, and a new city. There are a lot of roadblocks in his way but I still have faith in him to try his damnedest while he’s a member of the Edmonton Oilers.

What do you think of the 2017 NHL trade deadline for the Oilers? Did Chiarelli do enough to give these boys a chance at the 2nd round of the playoffs this year? Let us know in the comments below!

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

The Oilers’ Monday Moves

1 Comment

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

Two Oilers That Need to Get Their Sh*t Together

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Here we have two players of immense talent being squandered. One by the team and the other by the player himself.

Now, the title might be a bit overdramatic but is there any reason that Jesse Puljujarvi should be up with the Oilers right now? And if Ryan Nugent-Hopkins can’t be relied upon to take face-offs for the team OR put up offense, then where does his future lie within the organization?

I asked the guys on the BLH team about RNH and this is what they had to say:

  • Eric Friesen (@EricJFriesen) – Not the right time to trade him at all
  • Johnny Potts (@Kosmicburrito) – His value is WAY too low right now
  • Michael Gerber (@Gerberoo) – RNH from 2011 – 2016 has a pts per 60 scoring rate of 1.62 points at even strength.  That scoring rate is good for 173rd in the NHL over that span among active players.

    Given that you would expect a top line center to be in the top 90 in scoring (there would be 90 top line players in the NHL based on 30 teams) and you would like a second line center to be at least in the top 180 RNH’s production makes him on par with the lower end of second line players. While you can point to usage as contributory to lower production, particularly this year, we are looking at a large sample size.

    In direct comparison his teammates Leon Draisaitl (1.88 p/60) and Connor McDavid (2.69 p/60) are 84th and 2nd respectively are both scoring at a very good rate equal to first line players.

    Thankfully for Nuge, points per 60 is only one measure of the value of a player and he does have redeeming qualities. He has decent skating ability, above average defensive acumen and can make and take a pass.

    Overall, a $6M center providing 2nd line equivalent scoring, 2nd power play minutes and checking depth isn’t ideal.

    Having Nugent-Hopkins right now is a luxury, but the Oilers still have needs in other areas on their team and would be wise to cash in if the price is right. 

  • G-Money (@Oilersnerdalert) – Nuge is being used by TMc as the shutdown power vs power centre this year. Not McDavid. Not Draisaitl. Nuge is the guy spending 41% of his time against the best players in the NHL. That’s creating a ton of clear air for McDavid and Draisaitl. If you’re comparing things like points, you better take that into account. Nuge’spoints are being sacrificed to give the other two a chance to score more.When Nuge is up against those great players, it’s true he’s struggling to keep his head above water.  Moreso than in years past.  And he’s not the only one. My suggestion: give him Eberle and Pouliot on an ongoing basis. Let those two (who are both struggling) right their ships. Nuge’s ship will get fixed right along with them.

    When Nuge is not against those great players, against pretty much every one else, he runs roughshod.  The Nuge is Yuuuuuuuge!

G-Money’s comments are just an excerpt from something he whipped up for us and I’ll be sure to post that on its own for you to read.

  • BLH (@Beerleagueheroe) – RNH… At around the 15 game mark something started to go wrong and his face-off percentages have taken a nose-dive since then. His best day at the dot was Nov.17th versus the Kings, where he was 52% on the draw. His worst day was on Dec.4th versus the Wild, a mind-boggling 16.7% on face-offs… 13 points in 28 games is not cutting the mustard but if we cut that down to the past 5 games we can see that he has a goal and two assists in that time. So there’s a sliver of hope still hanging for us.I mean, it’s not like he’s doing THAT bad. Patrice Bergeron has 8 pts this year… Even so, RNH is the de-facto no.2 centre and yes, the responsibilities within that position include taking on the opposition’s best offensive centre, but it doesn’t mean Nuge has to shut down his own offense at the same time. And if that is going to be what happens, he’d better be next version of Guy Carbonneau in order to be earning that $6M paycheck annually.

    I’ve always felt ever since the Oilers got Hall, then Nuge, then Yakupov; that they’d have to go through the same process that the Quebec Nordiques went through when they drafted Mats Sundin, Eric Lindros, and Owen Nolan. Meaning that before the Oilers will be able to take the next step, those three 1st overalls will need to move on and if Nuge is progressing this badly, then I stand by the idea that the Oilers should see what they can get for him.

I know the Habs are constantly the name being linked with 93 this year with injuries taking out their no.2 and no.3 centres. But I don’t see anything apart from Brendan Gallagher that I reckon would be realistically possible unless you believe that Max Pacioretty is available…

Pacioretty-McDavid-Eberle
Lucic-Draisaitl-Puljujarvi
Pouliot-Caggiula-Slepyshev
Maroon-Letestu-Pitlick/Kassian

Makes you think a bit, doesn’t it? Then again, why would the Habs even consider moving their no.1 LW?

The Islanders would be a target for me, the Ducks’ defense, as well as, the Wild’s defense; would be targets if I were GM.

But let’s not kid ourselves, Nuge’s ticket is staying in Edmonton. He’s an underperforming centre who makes $6M per year.

As for Puljujarvi…

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Tyler Pitlick and Anton Slepyshev are experienced professional hockey players now and Jesse Puljujarvi is not. This is becoming painfully obvious with each passing game where he’s either scratched or lining up in the bottom 6 without an adequate center. Actually, what he reminds me of is that first year that Leon Draisaitl played. Flashes of brilliance mixed in with a shit ton of growing pains. Puljujarvi should be getting time on the second PP unit but for whatever reason, the coach doesn’t see him as a fit and I’d love to know why… Maybe Jim Matheson can ask another question on behalf of the bloggers like he did the morning after the Buffalo game 🙂

Pitlick and Slepyshev deserve to be playing for the Edmonton Oilers on a nightly basis. They bring speed and sandpaper, skill and smarts to the ice when they are out there. One could argue that Anton Slepyshev would be handy on the powerplay with his shot and puck patience and Tyler Pitlick would be a huge add to the penalty kill with his size, speed, and forecheck.

Puljujarvi needs a pick-me-up and sending him to the World Juniors is not an option. At least no more an option than sending McDavid back to Erie. The Grinnin’ Finn should be gone to Bakersfield before any more of his confidence is sapped out of him. Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen did it last year and that choice turned out to be nothing short of brilliant.

I understand why Pulju isn’t going down and that is because the Oilers are actively shopping Benoit Pouliot and Matt Hendricks and need Puljujarvi up to cover on the wing in case they are moved. But I hope the Oilers can do something and fast because we’re now closer to the 50% mark on the year than the beginning mark and teams are starting to catch up to the Oilers in the mire that is what we call the Pacific Division. Calgary are even-steven with us now baby and it’s time to start getting real about roster decisions.

What do you think? Are you ready to move on from Nugent-Hopkins or do you think the Oilers should hold onto him and wait for his ridiculously low shooting percentage (5%) to come back to normal (approx. 10%)? And Puljujarvi? Do you think he’s better off on the Oilers or down in Bakersfield on the Condors?

Let us know in the comments below!

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Bakersfield Condors, Edmonton Oilers, Michael Gerber, NHL, Prospects

Bakersfield and Oiler Recall Options

It’s only October 20th but the list of injuries is stacking up quickly on the Oilers. Who in Bakersfield is fit for a call-up should any more arise?

Seven of the top eight players (as far as points per 60 minutes) from the 2015/16 Bakersfield season are not available for call-up. They were:

Name P/60 Where are they?
Josh Winquist 3.046 Not in Oilers System
Rob Klinkhammer 2.401 Not in Oilers System
Tyler Pitlick 2.243 On Oilers
Matt Ford 2.205 Not in Oilers System
Marco Roy 2.075 Not in Oilers System
Jujhar Khaira 1.919  Available
Anton Slepyshev 1.856 On Oilers
Bogdan Yakimov 1.788 In KHL on loan

 

The candidates for NHL duty this year are:

Bakersfield NHL Forward Prospects
Player Position G/Gp Prim P/GP P/60 5 on 5 Rank AHL GF% Age NHL Salary NHL Experience Waivers?
Taylor Beck RW 0.34 0.52 2.138 201 56.3 24          650,000  87 Games Yes
Jujhar Khaira C/LW 0.204 0.469 1.917 280 47.7 21          875,000  15 Games No
Greg Chase RW 0.056 0.278 1.726 351 64.3 20          715,000  0 Games No
Kyle Platzer C 0.085 0.191 1.46 467 40.7 20          735,000  0 Games No
Mitch Moroz LW 0.128 0.231 1.283 547 58.8 21          875,000  0 Games No
Braden Christoffer LW 0.03 0.152 0.735 27.3 21          650,000  0 Games No
Patrick Russell RW Did Not Play 2015/16 23          925,000  0 Games No
Jere Sallinen C Did Not Play 2015/16 25          792,500  0 Games No

 

Taylor Beck and Jujhar Khaira are the most likely candidates up front. Both have some NHL experience and are capable of a third or fourth line role.

Khaira had a two goal game to start the season, followed that up with another two points in game 2, and is far more important to the future of the Oilers than Beck so he likely gets the first nod should the bosses come calling.

 

Bakersfield NHL D Prospects
Player Position G/Gp Prim P/GP P/60 5 on 5 Rank AHL GF% Age  NHL Salary  NHL Experience Waivers?
Jordan Oesterle LHD 0.093 0.395 1.707 29 49.1 23          585,000  23 Games No
Joey Laleggia LHD 0.129 0.29 1.336 74 50.8 23          883,750  0 Games No
Griffin Reinhart LHD 0.067 0.167 1.216 94 50.8 21          863,333  37 Games No
Dillon Simpson LHD 0.071 0.179 1.215 95 47.7 22          836,667  0 Games No
David Musil LHD 0.045 0.121 0.735 41.8 22          600,000  4 Games Yes
Ben Betker LHD 0 0.143 0.63 36.8 20          683,333  0 Games No
Mark Fraser LHD 0.033 0.05 0.385 37.3 28          575,000  219 Games Yes
Matt Benning RHD Did Not Play 2015/16 22          925,000  0 Games No

Betker is the man on paper that was called up first. He wasn’t a part of the lineup in the season opener for Bakersfield and should an actual slot in the top 6 arise on the Oilers it won’t be Betker that gets a look in NHL action. He’s the #8 defender in Bakersfield and will resume that role again soon.

Jordan Oesterle and Griffin Reinhart both have NHL experience and didn’t look out of place in their stints with the Oilers last season.

Matt Benning outlasted both Oesterle and Reinhart in Oilers camp, eventually making the initial 23 man roster before a late return to the AHL. He has an important distinction from the rest of the group as well, he shoots right.

It will be important to see as the season progresses which left-handed D-men play and do well on the right side. In game 1 it was Oesterle and Laleggia playing their off-side.

What would your call be? Do you think the organization has enough depth on the farm? Let me know in the comments section below.

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