Tag Archives: Brandon Davidson

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Ridiculous 3-Team Trade Rumor Confirmed by Dreger?

OK… If you follow me on Twitter or read last night’s Halak rumor blog, do you remember how I told you about the 3-team trade rumor that seemingly gets tossed around every year involving the Oilers? I think Darren Dreger just gave this year’s proposal some legs…

Last night I wrote a post detailing a Halak to the Oilers rumor and near the end, I included a little tidbit about a 3-team trade that I’d been passed. Well, I was prepared to wait a little bit to get this published and I did go out and ask a few more people who I believe to be in the know about this rumor to more or less get the amount of confirmation I needed to go forth with this post. I said on Twitter this morning that this rumored deal is ridiculous, like blockbuster ridiculous and probably something closer to an HF Boards trade proposal than a real one but Darren Dreger has weighed in now and that gives it real legitimacy…

These are the hazy details:

To Colorado: Travis Hamonic, Brock Nelson, *Brandon Davidson*, Oilers 1st round pick
To Oilers: Tyson Barrie, Jarome Iginla, Ryan Strome
To Islanders: Matt Duchene, Jordan Eberle

WHAT?!!

It sort of contradicts the Halak to Edmonton rumor that I wrote about last night but that is an insane rumor, right?

Now, I put an asterisk beside Davidson’s name because he was one of the iffy players my sources weren’t sure on. But the main players (Barrie, Duchene, Eberle, Hamonic) were in it for sure.

I know that Colorado is working like crazy to move Iginla and it’s becoming more apparent that Matt Duchene might be going the same way that Taylor Hall did in his last season with the Oilers. A good player whose attitude is souring on a struggling franchise who’s wasting his talents.

Any trade rumor I’ve been passed or come across on Twitter re: Jordan Eberle to the Islanders has included Ryan Strome coming back. I couldn’t confirm the draft pick, anytime in the past when I’ve asked about Chiarelli’s willingness to deal that pick I was told that if the deal was right, he would.

For the Islanders, this would be a very big statement made to John Tavares that the franchise is ready to move Heaven and Earth to get him to stay in Brooklyn. I believe the team values Ryan Pulock more than Travis Hamonic and after this season, can you blame them? Hamonic has been a disaster.

For Colorado, this would be the kind of deal that would start the reset. I believe that they need a top-pairing left-handed dman more than a right-handed one but that could be a player they acquired with Gabriel Landeskog, no? Cue, the Krug to Colorado rumours.

For the Oilers, there’s your top-4 offensive right-handed defenseman, your right-handed PP shot, and a young player with term left on his deal who can switch in and out from the centre position to the right-wing position. All that’d be left is the backup goalie and the shopping list would be complete.

But getting back to the mad deal that could be in the works above, I think there would need to be some wiggling around to do to make it work dollar-wise (mostly for the Islanders) but yeah, there you go.

I honestly cannot see a trade like this going down now. These kinds of trade fall apart so easily because there are so many moving parts but it could set something else up that could be consummated before the trade deadline passes or another deal at the draft where money is less of a problem.

If this mega-deal does actually happen, I’ll have a more detailed post to follow.

**Disclaimer** Lastly, during this crazy time of the year, we’re bound to hear a shit ton of rumors coming from every nook and cranny out there. I’m not connected to the Oilers, I hear what I hear from people who know people and I pass that on to you. Rarely, IF EVER, do the things I post here come true but the batting average of an insider has never been that good anyhow. It’s all speculation until the teams make things official folks! So I hope you can enjoy what you read here but don’t take it too seriously. I don’t. **Disclaimer**

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Islanders Looking at a Pair of Oilers?

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I got a message late last night from my source and it said that Eberle to the Islanders was heating up. Oilers were looking at Strome and multiple draft picks in exchange for Eberle but that there was more to it and to wait and see…

I think I called something similar a couple of days ago…

In the summer, could Chiarelli get the Islanders to send him Ryan Strome and a pick or prospect for Jordan Eberle? (source)

Of course, it was a hypothetical but I’ll take it! Oh and just before we really get going into this, my source isn’t the lovely Treena’s Oil even though she just went on a twitter craze with a handful of tweets that mentioned some of the thoughts I will go on talk about below.

It’s funny, a lot of the same names keep popping up in rumours and in various blogs. I mean, Lowetide has mentioned Reto Berra on numerous occasions on his blog and I feel like the Halak to Edmonton murmurings have been on low-rumble since he was demoted to the Islanders farm team.

Personally, I don’t believe the Oilers coaching staff is convinced that Brossoit can handle the backup duties. Brossoit looks to be the kind of goalie that needs the no.1 spot and has to be playing all of the time, similar to Talbot. I also believe that Nick Ellis might be the better of the two.

How much better is Curtis Lazar than Anton Lander?

We’re two veteran dmen down right now after last night’s game vs. the Panthers. It’s unknown how long Larsson will be out and we haven’t heard a lot on Sekera. The Oilers will need Brandon Davidson now more than ever. Is trading him in a deal that smart? Unless said deal was bringing back a defenseman… *Cough* Shattenkirk *Cough*

I can’t see Edmonton dealing Khaira. He seems very much in the mold of a Chiarelli-type player. Big, strong, hard-working, positionally versatile…

The other little tidbit, I was also told that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was another player the Islanders might be looking at…

Not a huge surprise there but would it be a bigger surprise if the Oilers dealt both Eberle AND Nugent-Hopkins to the Islanders? That’s a MAJOR chunk of cap space right there and the Oilers would have to bring some back their way. Would you be shocked if it was Johnny Boychuk waiving his NMC, Jaro Halak (Bob Stauffer did say yesterday that he believes the Isles are prepared to buy Halak out though), and Ryan Strome coming Edmonton’s way? Edmonton taking the short-term hit on Halak and then going out and signing Brian Boyle and/or Derek Ryan in the offseason? If the Oilers can find a taker for Pouliot as well as Fayne, the kind of deal mentioned here becomes more palpable financially for the Oilers.

So maybe a version of the roster before July 1st hits would look similar to this:

Maroon/McDavid/Puljujarvi
Lucic/Draisaitl/Strome
Slepyshev/Boyle/Ryan
Khaira/Letestu/Kassian

Klefbom/Larsson
Sekera/Boychuk
Nurse/Benning

Talbot
Halak

When it comes to Nuge and Eberle, I really think we’re going to find out how much of the things we’ve ingested are true before the 2017/18 season gets going with a lot of what the Oilers can or will do in the future riding on what the upcoming RFAs will be demanding, right? So we wait… Will Draisaitl demand north of $6M or can Chiarelli convince the kids who are driving this bus to take a bit less for the better of the team? It’ll be interesting nevertheless.

Just before we conclude and I shamelessly plug our wicked t-shirts, I do wonder how much of the news we get is information vs. disinformation, this time of the year. How much of what Stauffer says is genuine as opposed to something just being tossed out to keep prying minds away from precious truths. Same goes for the news that I hear from my source or the rumours you hear or read from the sites or people you know.

The other thing is, I think it’s pretty common for the GMs to use the insiders to influence negotiations? For example, yesterday on Oilers Now! Frank Seravelli was really pushing the idea of the Oilers acquiring Kevin Shattenkirk and earlier in the week Dreger was saying how the Islanders/Eberle talks had taken place earlier but had cooled off more recently. Yet, here we are today getting news of trade talks heating up between the Isles and Oilers and my feeling before today on Shattenkirk was that the Blues were going to keep him. Bob MacKenzie has stated that he believes otherwise here.

So are the Islanders looking to put pressure on the Oilers to make a deal here while they are in the thick of a pretty kickass resurgence? Are the Blues laying some heat on Chiarelli to get his butt in gear because the pieces they’d like would be of better use now than later?

Lastly, in the back of my mind, I’d like the things I share here with you to come true because it’d make me ego feel good and who doesn’t enjoy a good stroking of the ego 🙂 But the reality is, even if the reports I get are true, they may never come to fruition because the line is always moving in negotiations and trades fall apart all of the time. I mean, what is an insider’s batting average when it comes to rumours anyhow?

How would you feel about a blockbuster trade like the one proposed above? Let us know in the comments below! But don’t forget to check out our Teepublic shop as EVERYTHING IS ON SALE!! (For the time being) Click on the pic below and clothe yourself or your loved ones in some sweet sweet BLH attire! I recommend the Kris Army Tee!

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

Today’s Oilers Rumours: My Take

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The Edmonton Oilers bye week is upon us and not that we’ve got 5 days of no Oilers hockey there’s not a lot going on in the rumor mill these days regarding the Oilers so what we’re seeing is some fan fiction being tossed about on Twitter. Today, we had two instances, one coming from Alan Hull (Copper and Blue) and another from Josh Marshall (I know you’re asking yourself, who? It’s fine, you’re not the only one wondering.) and I’m going to offer my commentary on both if you please. If you don’t, go here.

Let’s start with the more notable of the two.

I think Brain Boyle must be Brian Boyle’s smarter cousin or it could just be a typo. Anyways, I don’t think that the Lightning are looking to deal for Davidson. Reason being, they have younger dmen who are equally as good, if not better AND they have three actual NHL defenders on the left side in Hedman, Garrison, and Coburn. Yes, Brandon Davidson can play the right side but even there Tampa has Stralman, Sustr, and Witkowski. One would have to argue if Davidson is better than Witkowski IF that was even an option. Jon Cooper likes his righty/lefty pairings on D. You can check out their organizational depth

You can check out their organizational depth here.

From an Oilers perspective, this would be a steal of a deal. Edmonton would get their BIG strapping centre who’s good on the dot, it would give them some more centre depth, and he’s very experienced playoff in the post-season. Being a 32-year old UFA at the end of the year wouldn’t worry them one bit.

From a Tampa Bay expansion perspective, the Lightning are a tad screwed. Stralman, Hedman, Garrison, and Coburn all have no-movement clauses and to add to that group on forward are Ryan Callahan, Valtteri Filppula, and Steven Stamkos. So that is 7 players they need to protect and automatically are forced into the 4-4-1 format for the expansion draft unless one or more of them agree to waive their clause. One of those players could do that this month and make Steve Yzerman’s job a bit easier too. In that scenario, MAYBE Davidson

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becomes a member of the Lightning.

So I call BS on Mr.Marshall’s “breaking news”.

Alex Thomas from the Oilers Rig also offered his take on this rumour here. Thomas’ coverage of the rumour is tight and worth a read but it’s this one sentence that irks me a bit.

Tampa Bay is in desperate need of young defenders

This is simply not true. If you look at the link above and check out their org. depth, you’ll see that of the left-handed defenseman in the Lightning’s pipeline that there are players like Slater Koekkoek, Dominek Masin, and Jonathan Racine playing in the AHL. We could add to them the Saskatoon Blades’ Libor Hajek. So they’re not “desperate” by any means. Could they get younger, YES! Coburn and Garrison are in the latter halves of their careers and not getting any faster.

I agree with Thomas, in that the Oiler should pull the trigger, I just don’t see it as realistic.

HULL OF A EFFORT

To NYI:Jordan Eberle (RW) & Kris Russell (D)

To EDM:Travis Hamonic (D) & Jaroslav Halak (G)

This is a fan proposal from Copper and Blue and if you can’t see the plethora of wrong in it already, we may have a problem, Houston.

The whole proposal is banking on the Oilers picking up a goal-scoring right winger. If the Oilers made this trade, and Hull certainly does a fine job trying to sell you on it, they’d be behind the 8-ball again. Just like in the summer when they traded Hall. I like the Hall trade more than ever now and perhaps that deal might not be viewed as trading from a bad position today but it really did in the summer and this is not the kind of place you want to be trading from because the other GMs will eat you alive.

They also get Kris Russell, who, I’ve been among the largest critics of, though I have always maintained he was a legitimate NHL Dman. Russell’s inclusion is a short-term plug for the hole left by the loss of Hamonic.

It’s not surprising to see Hull include Russell in such a proposal, his allegiance to Matt Henderson does nothing to help. But with that said, swapping Russell for Hamonic would be an upgrade for the Oilers and I’ve advocated for Halak being the Oilers backup before. Of course, my proposal was that the Oilers trade Pouliot for him… Not sure if that is any better than the above.

Is Travis Hamonic not a less skilled version of Adam Larsson though? I wanted to say grittier but Larsson has shown us this year that he’s no shrinking violet and he’s been consistently healthy (knock on wood). He also cost the team Taylor Hall. #ThePriceYouHaveToPay

Bottom line is, Hull makes a semi-compelling argument but the Oilers defense is performing fine, in fact, better than fine. According to NHL.com, the Oilers are 10th in the NHL in goals against. Last season the Oilers finished 27th…

So adding anything more than a Shattenkirk-type to aid the PP is redundant. Taking away from the RW with the “hopes” of adding to it is pie in the sky thinking. Are the Islanders in a position to be removing such a strong part of their defense in return for offense?

So adding anything more than a Shattenkirk-type to aid the PP is redundant. Taking away from the RW with the “hopes” of adding to it is pie in the sky thinking. Are the Islanders in a position to be removing such a strong part of their defense in return for offense?

I’d love to add Travis Hamonic and Jaro Halak to the team but in my opinion, take it for what you will, it doesn’t work without both teams making other moves first and that’s the kicker. It’s hard enough to make a trade in the NHL today but to have not just one team but two teams move multiple pieces around so they can make this one deal, it simply doesn’t fly.  I’d argue that the Islanders would rather add a player like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins anyhow and then restructure the roster to fit around a 1-2 Tavares/RNH punch.

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

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Davidson on the Block According to Friedman

“The Oilers don’t want to lose [Davidson] for nothing. I think there’s some interest in him,” Friedman said Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada. “And especially since they have to sign the likes of McDavid, Draisaitl and Russell in the next little while.

“I think there’s going to be some talk around Davidson’s name.” – Elliotte Friedman (source)

This shouldn’t be news to anybody but I’m not convinced that Davidson would be lost to Vegas in the expansion draft and with today’s recall of Griffin Reinhart, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was actually the former 4th overall pick that was selected instead of Davidson who’s been having a very difficult time since having Dustin Byfuglien take out his knee last March.

Look, we loved him last season because he was a great hockey story and he was playing out of this world for a team that desperately needed a defender like him at that time. He’s not that player this year so far. I’m guessing he gets the push to the 2nd pairing alongside Sekera for the game against Montreal and his performance will tell me what I need to know with regards to his future if that is indeed where he gets deployed. #SmallSampleSize

We know that Colorado and Arizona have been scouting the Oilers quite a bit recently and it’s possible that both teams have pieces that would interest Edmonton. Radim Vrbata, Martin Hanzal, Mark Stone, Jarome Iginla, Joe Colborne, etc. have been mentioned in rumor mills and media spots over the last month or so.

The Oilers are looking for a right-handed centre, a back-up goalie, and possibly a right-handed dman for the PP.

I hope he does VERY well so that he brings the team a bit more at the deadline but the fact is, if Chiarelli can find a buyer, Davidson will be plying his trade with another team come March 2nd, 2017.

MARK FAYNE 

Somebody who won’t be playing for another NHL team, nevermind his own, is Mark Fayne. He was overlooked when the swift-skating Jordan Oesterle and the possibly emerging Griffin Reinhart were recalled to Edmonton instead of him. Some folks are just flabbergasted by this and I am not one of them.

Mr.Leavins has it right and my argument is IF Mark Fayne was really THAT good, he’d be in the NHL but he’s not and no amount of numbers from the time he spent in New Jersey will untie the piano from his ass and make him an NHL-level dman in 2017. Just because he shoots right-handed doesn’t make him the right man for the job.

You might argue that Eric Gryba is no better a defenseman and you may be partially right from a mobility viewpoint but here are some stats from stats.hockeyanalysis.com. These are the 5×5 numbers from the 2015/16 season.

As you can see, there is very little difference in the numbers of the fancy variety to make an educated judgment. Mark Fayne make nearly $4M dollars annually (Thanks, previous regime!!) and Gryba brings home a paltry 950k per year. So that’s another strike against Fayne. There is one more thing that puts Gryba over the top and I believe it’s his ability to fit into Chiarelli’s team profile.

There is one more thing that puts Gryba over the top and I believe it’s his ability to fit into Chiarelli’s team profile.

It’s a funny thing when the Oilers starting adding all these “Glue Guys” to the dressing room what has happened. The team has actually started to come together. Respect amongst your teammates is so important when going into battle night in and night out. Russell, Gryba, Maroon, Kassian, Hendricks, Nurse, Larsson, and Lucic are all players that do that and I’m a happier Oilers fan that they’re on my team and not another. How are those players doing that were moved this summer anyhow? Stanley Cup Finals-bound, I’m sure.

TWITTER

I’ve had a pretty interesting weekend, to say the least on Twitter. Former Oilogosphere icon Dennis King decided that he’d come out of nowhere and have a go at me and was tossing out his usual smart-ass comments but didn’t like it when I threw them back at him resulting in him blocking me. Matt Henderson decided to go the same route after I called him out for being a hate monger.

For those that do know me or have followed me online for some time, you’d know that I’m not the type to go this far on a consistent basis, but I felt compelled in this instance due to Henderson’s mightier than thou attitude. He let the mob get to him and you can’t do that when you’re in a position such as his. I could’ve just let him stew in his own juices, which in hindsight might’ve been a better and more mature option but the “I hate bad players and the people who like them.” comment really irked me and I feel justified in letting Matt know how I felt in a public forum. Hate has no place within the Oilogosphere that I participate in let alone in the world.

Now I’m not showing these to you because I want you to feel sorry or because I want you to go and give Henderson and King a piece of your mind. But there is a tone that one can use whilst participating on the socials that will get you in a lot of shit and you’ll lose the respect of your peers if you decide to utilize it. Of course, this only matters if you actually value and respect those around you.

I implore you to ignore your ego when it comes to pushing on closed doors. There’s a reason those doors are closed and shackled with the locks of arrogance and ignorance. I don’t claim to be any better than the boys below but I do hope that by seeing this you might not go down the same route as myself or Henderson/King.

We all have our opinions and hills to die on but being an asshole online rarely gets you where you want to go in life or otherwise. If you ever feel like I’m being a dick with my posts or tweets, let me know!

What do you think about the Davidson availability and Mark Fayne debate? Let us know in the comments below.

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Oilers Trade Deadline Rumblings

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Just listening to this morning’s Oilers Now! and Mark Spector and Bob Stauffer are talking about what the Oilers should do at the deadline. Stauffer did mention that Colorado is scouting the Oilers heavily and Mark Spector has said that he wouldn’t send Pouliot (and his contract), a 1st rounder, and a prospect for UFA Martin Hanzal. Both Stauffer and probably every Oilers fan (including myself) agree, that’s a massive overpayment.

How much would Hanzal cost the Oilers?

Elliotte Friedman said in his latest 3o thoughts:

1. We’ve been hearing about high prices for rentals. Word is Arizona’s initial ask from Montreal for Martin Hanzal was Michael McCarron and two draft picks — one a first-rounder, the other conditional. I look at it this way: You never know until you ask. But it also tells you why Hanzal is not a Canadien. We’ll see if both teams circle back.

What Stauffer did do was compare Hanzal to Antoine Vermette, this is an astute comparison I believe. Now, basic stats aside, if we just take a look at the two players and agree that they’re specialty is winning faceoffs and that that is a cog that the Oilers are currently missing, we’re good to go.

Vermette cost the Chicago Blackhawks a prospect and a 1st rounder back in 2015 and I’d be willing to bet there’s an NHL team out there that would pay a similar price for Hanzal’s services. I’d hope the Oilers aren’t one of them though because I don’t believe they are at that point in the team’s development to be mortgaging the future for short-term gains. I mean look at where the team has gone without a player like Hanzal.

I get that every team’s goal is to win but if the team is actually winning, why go out and mess with what’s already there? I mean, IF the Oilers really wanted to go out and pick Hanzal up, would the Coyotes be interested in Brandon Davidson and a package centred around him? We’ve heard Michael Stone’s name bandied about in connection with the Oilers in the past, would the Coyotes take Pouliot plus for Stone and Hanzal?

It makes no sense for Edmonton to move out a ton of assets for players who won’t (assumingly) be on the team next year unless they are impact players like Kevin Shattenkirk.

That being said, I have heard that the Oilers ARE in on Hanzal. So, take that for what you will.

Moving on to a quote from Stauffer:

“Danny Lapierre from COL, another team that’s really tight financially, they don’t spend a lot of money. I can’t recall in the last four years seeing COL scout the Oilers in back to back games in different cities. 

COL needs defense, that’s no question. They need a lot of things… I know they’ve got a little bit of an analytics push there as well” – Stauffer

First off, who’d want to be scouting the Oilers B2B in different cities in the past 4 years? Lol. But I do find it interesting that Stauffer tossed that little tidbit about analytics in there at the end.

Could the Avalanche have interest in Mark Fayne, Benoit Pouliot, or Brandon Davidson? Are there any players in COL that Edmonton would like to bring in? I mean apart from the obvious ones.

Slumping centre Joe Colborne’s name has been surfacing lately. Former Bruin Carl Soderberg as well. I’ve always liked John Mitchell. Could the Oilers use an energy winger like for Shark Matt Nieto?

The key players (assets) for the Oilers at the deadline are, in my opinion, Benoit Pouliot, Brandon Davidson, and Mark Fayne.

The Oilers are desperate to move Mark Fayne’s contract. He’s basically being paid big league dollars to rehab Griffin Reinhart’s fledgling career at the moment and doing a fine job might I add but that’s too much money to be playing in the AHL. The Oilers need that money off of the books so that they can give it to the handful of RFAs needing re-signing this summer. If Mark Fayne could skate like Kris Russell, I imagine he’d be in Edmonton instead of the Caroline Kid.

Brandon Davidson SHOULD be picked up by Las Vegas or at least that is the narrative we’re being fed by the online community and MSM. I don’t believe it. He’s injury prone and hasn’t been able to get back to the level he was at last season. I think Vegas will have plenty of chances to select a better player in the expansion draft.

Benoit Pouliot has really found his niche on the wing with Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle. He’s been playing like a man possessed recently and it’s made me forget about the first 40 games of the year where he was invisible apart from taking shitty penalties from time to time. We’ve been treated to his ferocious forecheck for a couple of weeks now and one really has to wonder if it’d be a good idea to move him out before the playoffs? Would you be comfortable with Pouliot’s risk/reward ratio in the playoffs? How would Nuge/Eberle play without that big winger going in and doing the dirty work for them? Not that they are adverse to getting in there themselves, but it looks like the line is better when Pouliot is doing it.

Could Anton Slepyshev replace Benoit Pouliot? He’s not one to take unnecessary penalties and I’d say he’s on par in the skills and size department. One major plus in Slepy’s column is that his contract is a million times better. Contracts going forward are important, right? Price points and balance is how this team will be set up for long-term success.

What will happen with Jesse Puljujarvi is one last point I’d like to make. How much progress will he have to make in Bakersfield in order for the Oilers to feel comfortable enough in moving an NHL player so that he can be brought up to play in said player’s stead? From what I’ve seen of his play in the AHL, he needs to spend the whole season there and possibly part of next before he’s brought up and given significant minutes.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.

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