Tag Archives: Brad Marchand

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

Bruins Media Touting Krug to the Oilers

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The latest from Fluto Shinzawa of the Athletic (sign up here) has him pontificating upon the future of the Bruins defense. Personally, I think it should stay right the F where it is. It looks outstanding when healthy and why mess with that? Krug is pretty essential to the Bruins breakout too when he’s on the ice but Shinzawa believes they’ll be looking for a different look on the left side.

The question the Bruins need to answer is whether Krug’s offensive touch is worth the defensive compromise. It would be one thing if the Bruins had a thicker defender behind the 5-foot-9 Krug. They do not.

So I’m assuming that Shinzawa has Chara at 1LD, Krug at 2LD, and Grzelcyk at 3LD. I can definitely see his point here. I imagine it would be nice for Boston to have a bigger bodied LHD behind Krug or Chara like Nick Holden (6’4″ 210lbs) or Chris Breen (6’7″ 224lbs).

Is it just me or is something not adding up here. Are the Bruins looking to move Krug’s contract? He makes $5.25M for the next two seasons before turning UFA at the age of 29. He’s got a partial no-trade in the final two years of that deal.

But here is where the Oilers come in,

Edmonton had the NHL’s worst power play this season (14.8 percent). GM Peter Chiarelli signed Krug in 2012. Edmonton has 24-year-old Oscar Klefbom (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) and 23-year-old Darnell Nurse (6-foot-4, 221 pounds) on the left side. A one-for-one deal is unlikely for either, given the Edmonton defenders’ age and promise. Sweeney would have to package Krug with additional assets.

Fluto Shinzawa is right, Boston would have to send more than just Krug to make a deal happen for Klefbom or Nurse but he isn’t the only member of the Bruins media to toss Torey Krug’s name out there. Jimmy Murphy has as well.

That is back in February and I wrote about it here.

Geez, all we need is Joe Haggerty to say something and we’d have a well-fueled rumor out of Boston!

With the way things are sounding with regards to the coaching staff, the rumored additions of Glen Gulutzan and Trent Yawney will directly affect the penalty kill. That leads me to believe that McLellan and whomever they hire as the no.3 assistant coach (Manny Viveiros?) will be running the power play. And with those corrections, I think both will bounce back.

I don’t see a good fit for Edmonton and Boston as trade partners unless Chiarelli can find a way to send Klefbom and a dodgy contract to the Bruins in return for Brad Marchand.

Unlikely. But not impossible. I’ve thought a bit about Boston shipping Marchand out for his playoff antics and I’ve also considered Darnell Nurse not to be as untouchable as people make him out to be…

Edmonton just needs to sit back, relax and let the team do the work. Don’t force it through via trade or massive overpayment in the free agent market. Learn from past mistakes and let’s allow the players to dig themselves out of this hole. There’s no reason that a team that believes in itself can’t do the improbable, right (Vegas)?

Oh and don’t even think about moving the #10 overall. There’s going to be a player available there that the Oilers will regret taking if they trade out of that spot because it sounds like there are some prospects making some very late season pushes into the top 10 that might push a player down to where the Oilers are picking.

A NEW KICK ASS OILERS PODCAST

My friend SPR has started a new podcast called “Late Night with the Oil Knight” and he’s having it hosted by Oilers Live. You HAVE to check this out.  It’s no holds barred Oilers podcasting and it’s amazing! It’s foul and honest and it cuts right to the bone of what is the Oilogosphere. It’s a very refreshing voice for this generation of Oilers followers.

in SPR’s inaugural pod, he and fellow Beer League Heroes contributor The Dirtbag get into it regarding the Oilers media, the coaching, the draft, and much much more! Check it out below!

A couple of quotes to set the stage for you:

“Who the fuck are your smart people?” and “I went on Lowetide’s blog and thought, what the fuck is happening here?”

Enjoy!

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Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Look Forward to These Oilers Rumours in 2016

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Before we get into the nitty gritty of this post, I want to talk shop about the World Cup, then we’ll delve head-first into the rumours.

Wow! Taylor Hall passed over for a FOURTH TIME!!! How did Twitter react?

So there you have it. Opinions vary but if you’re still confused as to why Hall was left off, consider these factors:

  • Hall won’t play centre. Hockey Canada wants players that are versatile.
  • Hall doesn’t play C, therefore, he can’t take draws. O’Reilly is outstanding on the dot.
  • Hall’s off-ice attitude is well-known throughout the league. Maybe Hockey Canada would like to stay away players throwing hissy fits on the bench when their coach sets them straight.
    • O’Reilly did drive a truck into a Tim Horton’s though… So there is that.
  • The quality of competition between the World’s and this World Cup isn’t exactly equal. So throw that out the window.
    • Easy for Hall to put up points versus international powerhouses like Germany, France, Hungary, or Belarus but what about the games where it mattered? Where was he then?
  • Lastly, and most importantly, Taylor Hall picks his nose and eats it.

When Taylor Hall figures out that this is a TEAM game and it’s not all about him, be it on the ice or where ever, he’ll become the player that Hockey Canada calls on. But until then, I think we can stop caring about if he ever makes the national team. He’s a New Jersey Devil now.

THE WORLD CUP

The first two games versus Team Europe were something to behold. The speed and skills were on full display. McDavid didn’t pick up any points but he opens up space for his linemates, who’ve been plenty so far. I think it’s funny that the media is starting to compare him to Crosby in that it’s hard to find a linemate that can play with him. It’s not really, find two guys that don’t need the puck all the time. Eichel and Gaudreau need the puck all the time. I thought Scheifele did okay with 97 in the first pre-tourney game and I was impressed with how Connor played with Auston Matthews in the 3rd period of the game versus the Czechs. But ultimately, maybe it’s Drouin and MacKinnon that will be the best linemates for him.

Yesterday was a helluva day for Oilers and former Oilers as Ales Hemsky had a superb outing versus the North American team. Made me fawn over days past when Hemsky’s hands were as soft as a cloud and of course, I wondered if he’d be a player the Oilers would be interested in but then I thought better of that because we know Chiarelli is not a fan of “soft” players…

Neon Leon Draisaitl… A hat-trick versus the Swedes and we’re not wondering if he can do it without Taylor Hall, are we?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UigWUfg3SII

The Oilers Rumours We’ll Be Hearing in 2016

I believe that the Oilers will unload another $6M man by the start of 2017 and that man will be Jordan Eberle. The reason I believe that is because I’m not sure how much Chiarelli and McLellan enjoy Eberle’s lack of a two-way game and his lack of intensity. Not that he needs that to be successful but show a bit of sandpaper from time-to-time, right?

Now, what will make dealing Eberle easier is Brad Marchand coming onto the market. Does anybody believe in what the Bruins are doing over there? They look like a sinking ship but lucky for them they’ve got Marchand, Bergeron and Rask holding things up.

I reckon that the Oilers will be very interested in adding a player like Brad Marchand. He’s got the edge that Chiarelli loves and he scores goals. But the kicker here is, when he’s not scoring goals; he’s helping the team in other ways whether that be on special teams or just annoying the other teams. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t want him on the Oilers and what happens when Eberle or Yakupov stop scoring?

*This is just an aside, a personal thought if you will, but I wonder what happens if Philly or Boston starts slow, do you think they’d be willing to get together with Edmonton and Boston for a 3-way? Maybe Simmonds to Boston, Ebs to Philly and Marchand to Edmonton?

Simmonds has three seasons left @ 3.975M and has a modified NTC. Marchand is making $4.5M right now but is a UFA after this season coming up and Eberle has three more years @ $6M. So obviously there’d have to be some more to the deals. (source)*

That $6M on Eberle next to Simmonds’ and Marchand’s salary looks bloated eh?*

The other rumour I believe we’ll be hearing is the Oilers going after Brent Burns.

How much do you think adding Burns and Marchand will cost the Oilers in straight up cash? $15M?

Brent Burns is making $5.76M right now and he’s 31 years old. Could we shoot that up to around $7M or $7.5M per year on the open market? I think those would be reasonable numbers but the term… THE TERM!!! If I were Chiarelli, I’d need him to sign for 5 years maximum. Getting up there around 36/37 years old is a dangerous game. But it’s quite possible that Burns’ next contract will be his last, so… Bump that term up to 7 years and maybe he goes the way of the Ference… Er I mean the dodo.

What about Marchand? He’s making $4.5M this season, so do you give him Eberle’s $6M for 7 years? Surely, that’s what he’d be looking for. Something along the lines of what Lucic signed for.

Yup, I’m saying that Chiarelli will be looking at adding his coach’s former team’s best defender and his own former team’s best scoring winger. How could it be any other way? Isn’t that how things work?

Of course, everything is dependent upon where the Oilers are come trade deadline. If they are in a playoff spot or fighting for one, expect some of the defensive depth the Oilers have accrued through the draft to be used as well as 1st round picks.

Would it be smart for Edmonton to add those two players? I think it would be but they’d have to be clever in how they do it. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Darnell Nurse are all players that will be putting a major dent in the Oilers’ salary cap sooner than later.

Maybe we say goodbye to Nuge and Sekera too? Shall we take a look at a modified pre-2017/18 roster?

Lucic-McDavid-Marchand
Pouliot-Draisaitl-Puljujarvi
Maroon-Cagguila-Slepyshev
Khaira-Letestu-Kassian

Klefbom-Burns
Davidson-Larsson
Nurse-Fayne

Talbot
Brossoit

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below!

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Check out some of our options below but keep in mind, we’ve got lots of amazing t-shirt designs over at the Teepublic shop! You can click on any of the designs below and you’ll be sent to that design’s page. If you’d like to check out more designs click HERE <=====

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