About a month after the conclusion of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final, Chris Pronger made the decision that he wanted out of Edmonton and requested a trade from the Oilers. He was arguably the best player on the club at the time and without him, the team most likely wouldn’t have made it all the way to the Final (only to lose to the Carolina Hurricanes).
Recently, Pronger was a guest on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast where he described his time in Edmonton and let us in on a little tidbit about a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs that fell through. You can watch the clip below.
Just push play and it should start right as he’s talking about what teams were in on him after he told St. Louis to trade him.
The former Hart Trophy winner said that the Maple Leafs offered Tomas Kaberle, Matt Stajan, and a first-round pick in 2007 (turned into Lars Eller) and 2008 (Turned into Colin Wilson) but then GM of the Oilers, Kevin Lowe, wanted Alex Steen instead of Stajan. John Ferguson Jr was the GM of Toronto then and he declined only to send Steen to St. Louis in the Carlo Colaiacovo trade (as a throw-in according to Paul Bissonette) for Lee Stempniak.
Other things that he talked about, he said he was sold a bill of goods from the Oilers and that was one of the reasons that lead to him requesting the deal. Also, he said he shouldn’t have signed the long-term contract with Edmonton and he would’ve been better off accepting his qualifying offer and choosing where he wanted to play.
Pronger hinted that the younger players on the team had pretty exhaustive recreational lives off the ice but didn’t really get into it. Funny how that seems to be a theme throughout the club’s history…
He mentioned that the team had good leadership and veterans on the roster though and that they were thankful that the team traded for him because the coach at the time, Craig MacTavish (a former teammate of Pronger’s in St. Louis), was running them ragged and they needed the defender to get them some days off. I’m assuming that MacT was hard on them because they were running a bit wild away from the rink and he was trying to instill some professional work ethic.
The rest is history, right? Lowe sent Pronger to Anaheim for Joffrey Lupul, Ladi Smid, a first-rounder (Nick Ross) in 2007, in addition to a first (Jordan Eberle) and a second-round pick (Travis Hamonic) in 2008. Then he goes on to win the Stanley Cup with the Ducks.
I’m pretty happy with the direction that the Oilers are going now and their collection of players but imagine Tomas Kaberle, Matt Stajan, Lars Eller, and Colin Wilson (potentially) in the copper and blues as opposed to what they ended up with (which wasn’t that bad, just not quite as good). Where would have that group of players taken the club? Probably nowhere near where they ended up, but who’s really to say? It’s not like Kaberle and Stajan were world beaters and Eller/Wilson turned into solid 3rd liners.
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The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is set to kick off on August 5th and run until the 10th in Breclav, Czech Republic and Piestany, Slovakia. For those of you that are new to the competition, it’s basically the world’s best under-18 players going head-to-head. Canada has won 22 of the last 28 contests and are looking to repeat as champions after winning last year’s edition of the tournament that was played in Edmonton and Red Deer.
Today’s Group A preview comes to us from the mind of Max L. (@TPEHockey)
Canada:
The Canadians are an early favorite to run away with this tournament due to their combination of high-end talent and depth. They occupied 5/10 of the top 10 scorers at the U17s last year. The team will be without 2020’s top prospect in Alexis Lafreniére due to him being a late 2001 born player rather than 2002. Nonetheless, the team has plenty of high-end talent, and anything less than a gold medal is a failure for this squad.
In net, the Canadians have various options. The go-to guy will likely be Dylan Garand of the Kamloops Blazers who has a strong 16-year-old season with the team. They also have Tristan Lennox who is a late birthday eligible for the 2021 draft. Their defense is where it gets crazy. Canada has 4 or 5 first-round talents on their blueline including Jamie Drysdale, Jeremie Poirier, Kaiden Guhle, and Lukas Cormier. With the prominence of their blue line, Canada doesn’t lack forwards either. The consensus #2 guy for the 2020 draft, Quinton Byfield, will play for the team. The 6’5” monster dominates with his ridiculous skating ability and high-end skill set. Other potential 1st rounders include Cole Perfetti, Connor McClennon, Hendrix Lapierre, Jack Neighbors, and Theo Rochette.
Finland:
The Finns have been a dominant force in hockey as of late, but this year may be a little different. Their 2002 born and 2020 draft class lacks a ton of talent, but there is hope. They’ll be without consensus top 5 prospect Anton Lundell due to him being a late 01 which is a huge hit to their roster. Finland has a chance at competing for a medal, but they’ll likely be steamrolled by a team like Canada. Although they could be a very exciting team.
The team features a few stars that will come up in later drafts that everyone should have an eye on. Underaged Brad Lambert will likely make this team and he is nothing short of phenomenal. He is one of the best upcoming Finnish players we’ve ever seen, but not eligible until 2022. Lambert has far exceeded the benchmark put up by a player like Kaapo Kakko at the same age. Aatu Räty is also a top player as he’s the #1 prospect for the 2021 draft. Other players to look out for are Veeti Miettinen, Valterri Karnaranta, Roni Hirvonen, and Kasper Puutio.
Czech Republic:
Czech hockey has seemed to be getting weaker as of late and the trend may continue. There isn’t much to be expected from this team, but there are a few good players.
In net Jan Bednar and Jakub Malek will compete for the starting job. Both are top prospects for 2020. On defense, we can expect to see Stanislav Svozil who is a 1st round prospect for the 2021 draft. The only real forward of note is Jan Mysak. Mysak could compete for a top 10 root in the 2020 draft after his time in the Czech pros as a 16-year-old. He had a remarkable playoff run with HC Litvinov where he scored 5 goals and 4 assists in 6 professional hockey games at 16.
Switzerland:
The Swiss team this year won’t be fun to watch. With only one real prospect they don’t stand a chance. They lost dual citizen Theo Rochette to Canada, a huge hit to the program. Their only guy to watch is Noah Delemont who served as an assistant captain for Switzerland at the U18s.
The Group B preview written by Keith Fries (@keithfries) will be posted tomorrow as well as a little rumor on the Oilers search for their third-line center.
The Oilers Defence Past 2019/20
Earlier this week I tweeted out a video of Darnell Nurse fluffing a 10ft pass and it caused a bit of an uproar amongst some of his biggest fans. My point was, and has been for some time, that even though he’s a tough son of a bitch and he can skate like the wind (when there’s an open lane), his decision making, IQ, and passing isn’t up to snuff for a player who is looking at Jacob Trouba’s new $8M per year deal as his own deal is expiring after this season.
When I say that Darnell Nurse has problems passing, I'm talking about things like this… #Oilers
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) July 29, 2019
Personally, I think his numbers are propped up by playing most of his career TOI with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. At least over the previous three seasons, it looks that way,
Connor McDavid – 1583:55 min
Leon Draisaitl – 1517:54 min
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – 1275:37
Who are the three guys who stand at the blueline during warm-ups each game again?
And don’t ask me why Todd McLellan, for the most part, and Ken Hitchcock, to a lesser degree, decided to do this. It’s obvious that Nurse was a drag on the team’s best forwards. Here are his possession metrics in all strengths With/Without/Player without Nurse during the same three seasons,
For a game where the defensemen are evolving every year, it’s just not a good look on a defender who can’t move the puck without having to take it himself, to have such poor metrics. And Look, Nurse isn’t the only one, he just happens to be the one that might be asking for the moon in his next deal. Sam Girard (COL) just signed a 7-yr deal with $5M per year and I think they compare quite well and think that’s the ideal AAV for Nurse to sign that would help not only the team going forward but possibly himself should he make it for 5 years and walk himself into free agency.
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So, when people tell me that you can’t move him because he was the team’s highest-scoring defender last year and he’s only 24 or that he’s the Oilers best blueliner, I think you have to look into those 40+ points he got last year and realize that approximately 25% of them came on the PP, which isn’t a bad thing but he probably wouldn’t have gotten them had Klefbom (or Sekera) stayed healthy. Also, his secondary points (19) nearly match his primary (22) and his SH% almost doubled from the season prior (3.09% to 5.10%).
Getting back to the powerplay for a moment, do you think that Nurse will be playing a lot of minutes with the man advantage with Joel Persson and Caleb Jones most likely making the team next season? And what about that when Evan Bouchard is on the team?
My argument isn’t that Nurse is a bad player even though I’m presenting some pretty damning evidence that doesn’t really speak to the pluses of his game. I’m saying he’s not worth what Trouba makes right now and he’s never been an offensive defender.
I want Darnell Nurse to be the next Chris Pronger, but as weird as it sounds, he’s not as mean as Pronger was. He looks it when it’s time to throw down, but Pronger was as dirty as he was mean. Could Darnell be like that? Absolutely and I’d love to see it.
What I truly desire for Nurse is for him to embrace the shutdown role. Really dig in on being amazing defensively for this team so that they can pair him with a righty who needs a clean-up man in order to be the best player he can be for the Oilers. But in order to do that, he can be doing things like this,
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) July 29, 2019
If you think that the Oilers would have a gaping hole in the toughness department without Darnell, you need to watch a bit more of William Lagesson. This guy is as tough as nails plus he can skate and pass the puck and I think if I’m being honest, his progression is part of the reason I think I feel comfortable with the idea of moving Nurse.
Tying all of that in with the title of this portion of the post, IF Anton Thun decides he’s going to be brave with Holland like he was with Chiarelli, I don’t think it’s going to end up well. In addition to that, we’ve heard from pundits covering the team that this group of defensemen could be getting a facelift. Now whether that comes internally or externally, my belief is that the Oilers are looking for better puck-movers and more offense from the blueline.
After this season, I would project the defense to look something like this if Nurse re-signs,
Oscar Klefbom/Adam Larsson
Darnell Nurse/Evan Bouchard
William Lagesson/Caleb Jones
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I do believe that this year will be the last time we see Kris Russell and Matt Benning in Oilers gear. Joel Persson is also a question mark past this upcoming campaign, so I didn’t include him.
If Nurse doesn’t re-sign and is moved, I think the defense would look like this,
Klefbom/Larsson
Lagesson/Bouchard
Jones/Bear
I know. It looks awfully green and it is, at the NHL level, but Lagesson, Jones, and Bear will have had multiple seasons of experience in the AHL and most likely games in the NHL too. Bouchard would have one full year (probably) and if Tyler Benson can get the push after one year, why not Old Man Bouchard? Can’t forget how Bouchard was the team’s best passer as a 19-year-old in his stint last year.
That group of defenders CAN move the puck extremely well and I’d be willing to bet that we’d soon forget about the toughness and puck-rushing that Nurse brings today not to mention the return on a trade for him would most likely net Edmonton a pretty good forward…
Let me reiterate this one more time, I don’t want Nurse traded. I want him to sign a team-friendly contract that pays him what he is worth long-term. But in the event that his camp is asking for too much money, I do believe the organization depth would give the Oilers the ability to field offers on the defenseman and allow them to upgrade the roster.
FYI: Almost 14 years to the day, Chris Pronger was traded to the Oilers for Eric Brewer, Jeff Wowitka, and Doug Lynch. The anniversary of that trade is very soon and I asked my followers on Twitter what the equivalent of that deal would look like today if we were using this roster? Would it be Nurse, Lagesson, and Bear for Victor Hedman? Let me know your idea in the comments below!
F*ck those guys! Click the link and grab one of these beauty shirts!Elias Pettersson’s nickname is “Alien”. Here’s a shirt to celebrate it! Click the image to buy one!A new season means a new design! Click the image above to get the new Pulju shirt!
I thought that the 2017 NHL All-Star competition was one of the worst I’ve ever seen. Do we really need to see more shootouts? And how about the Four Line Challenge? What in the hell is that? Glad Connor’s team won it but good Lord, that was a brutal watch. Two pucks per guy? Whoever thought up that idea needs to go back to the drawing board.
But luckily for us, there were a few highlights. The Oilers’ phenom, Connor McDavid, being the most talked about (more on that below) but the Justin Bieber/Chris Pronger (former Edmonton Oiler) highlight is surely on par…
Of course, Pronger didn’t destroy Bieber but by the look of that pic, you’d have to wonder. How does this guy get into these games anyhow? He was on the ice in that clip with Sergei Federov, Peter Forsberg, Jari Kurri, Ray Bourque, AND Chris Pronger… Ridiculous. Something more ridiculous is that balls on the kid to try and go it alone versus Bourque and Pronger. lol.
I haven’t decided if that clip is a little funny, hilarious or neither… Let me know in the comments below and subscribe for more shenanigans in the future!
Selena Gomez is finally officially over the Biebs after seeing him in that full cage
This, on the other hand, is ridiculous! My feelings are pretty clear in the video (Please subscribe btw). Connor McDavid is the fastest skater in the history of the NHL and I don’t think it’s even close.
This is how the Twittersphere reacted…
red line to blue line at start was 1.48sec and red line to blue line after finishing was 0.78sec. 13.31 – 0.7 = 12.61
I like that Larkin put that out there. A nice gesture. How much could the NHL profit from a Donovan Bailey/Michael Johnson-like showdown? I mean personally, I believe that the skills competition should be open to the winners of each team’s skill competitions’ champions instead of just the players that have been voted to the game.
How much could the NHL profit from a Donovan Bailey/Michael Johnson-like showdown? I mean personally, I believe that the skills competition should be open to the winners of each team’s skill competitions’ champions instead of just the players that have been voted to the game.
The hardest shot competition for example. Would you like to see Chara vs. Byfuglien vs. Weber vs. Hoffman? Or a fastest skater contest where we could watch Andrew Cogliano go up against Matt Duchene, Kris Letang vs. Erik Karlsson, or Blake Wheeler vs. Chris Kreider? You’d have to think that a shooting accuracy contest featuring the Sedins, Jamie Benn, Jeff Skinner, and Henrik Zetterberg would be appealing?
I just reckon it’s a shame that we can’t watch a real competition.
I’d also like to see the game go back to it’s original format of 5v5 because I want to see if anybody can score 5 goals in a game. That was the one thing I was looking forward to each year when I was a kid. Could somebody break that record? So many came close but 5 goals was simply too much.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments section 🙂
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The hype this summer is all surrounding the future of the Oilers, Connor McDavid, and rightly so. This is wonderful news to all other prospects coming in to training camp because the attention is going to be squarely focused on Connor. This will alleviate some of the stress that will come with trying to impress coaches and management during the young stars tournament and camp. One player that will look to make a big impression and secure a roster spot in his first professional season is Darnell Nurse. What to do with Darnell? That is the question of the day. Our very own Corey Mitchell has a great write-up on Nurse and his potential. If you want to take a look it’s here. He is writing a great series on the Edmonton prospects so be sure to check that out.
There is a lot to like about Darnell. He’s a good two-way defenseman. He’s big and very mobile for a kid his size. He has great positioning and is rarely beaten one on one. He has the ability to join the rush when needed and possesses good offensive instincts. He seems to really enjoy a physical game and brings a noticeable mean streak with him. He’s not afraid to mix it up when needed and is ready to come to the defense of teammates.
The question is what will he be when he reaches his prime? He definitely has the potential to be a true number one defender in the NHL for a long time but who knows when or if that will ever happen. The tea leaves are hard to read but there is some indication that he can get there. The kid is definitely trending in the right direction.
He played huge minutes for his junior team and was vital to the gold medal effort by the World Junior squad this past year. He played 25 minutes a night in all situations and faced the best players that the other teams had. In the playoffs his coach tried to get Darnell on the ice every time that McDavid was out there and he was the only player that seemed to be able to contain him in any way. Now don’t get me wrong Connor still dominated the series but Nurse didn’t look horribly overmatched like the rest of his team.
This coming season coach McLellan will have some very difficult decisions to make before the final cuts are made. Darnell is likely already a better option on the left side than either Nikitin or Ference but the experience factor is not something that I think Todd will easily discount. He will have to be significantly better in camp and the pre-season if he hopes to be on the opening night roster. What to do with Darnell?
In my honest opinion leaving him off the opening night roster isn’t the worst thing in the world and will show that the coaching staff greatly value experience. I think that Todd and company will choose to send Darnell down to Bakersfield to start the season. He will go down to the AHL for a spell and hone his game as a top pairing defender in a very good league.
Just because I think that the kid will start the season on the farm team by no means does that mean that he will finish there. He will likely be the first call up on the left side, and will see significant time in the NHL this season. Mt prediction is that he is on the active roster by the end of November and will then make it impossible for the team to send him back.
Is Darnell destined to be our number one defenseman? Will he start the year in Edmonton or Bakersfield? Time will tell but I want to know what you all think. Come on Beer Leaguers let me hear it. The comments section is just waiting to be blown up with your responses. All we ask is that you keep it in good taste. If the comment section isn’t your thing then you can let me know on Twitter, @cooke_rob, I welcome all to join in the discussion.
On a side note I am proud to finally announce that my very own online store is ready for its official launch! Before I get into things too much I want to thank my good friend the Beer League Hero for the use of his design and the inspiration to start the store in the first place! I’ve added several of my own designs and used them to make a wide variety of items for all you great folks to purchase!
These three items and many more are available now! We’ve got shirts, hoodies, jackets, coffee mugs, cell phone cases, beer mugs, shot glasses, hats and more. New items are being added all the time! Check out Cooke Designs if you want to see more or if you absolutely must have the bottle opener Beer League Heroes shirt. (pictured above) Yes it is a legit bottle opener! How cool is that! Take a look and come back next week when I will run the first contest of the season and give away some free swag!
