Tag Archives: Darren Dreger

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

Oilers Trade Targets: A Goalie, A Defenseman, and a Winger

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https://twitter.com/NicholsOnHockey/status/964284963569909761

First things first, Dreger didn’t get all of that from Chiarelli. Either someone within the Oilers organization above Chiarelli leaked it, Dreger is making it up, or one of the other GMs is trying to throw a wrench into Trader Pete’s deadline/summer plans.

Secondly, why would the Oilers want a winger who can skate WITH Connor? It’s not like you see tandems breaking out of the d-zone into the neutral zone and then into the other team’s end together.

I feel the type of player the Oilers are looking for is a trigger man, not a speedster because if that was the case, why wouldn’t they have gone out and traded for Carl Hagelin when he was struggling like mad earlier in the year? Why wouldn’t they have picked up Nikita Soshnikov before TO traded him to the Blues.

They need a guy who knows where to go on the ice while Connor has the puck in order to get himself open for a one-timer.

If not this kind of winger then a winger who is quick. Personally, I don’t think they need to go out and get one. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is right there and alternatively, Anton Slepyshev is here too and if he didn’t feel slighted by how he’s been treated by the Oilers this year, he might be a cheap re-signing too.

But if we’re going outside the organization, I feel like Mike Hoffman is the perfect winger for the Oilers here. TSN’s Travis Yost feels like Swapping RNH for Hoffman would be beneficial for both teams.

I could see it but I always thought you never trade a centre for a winger…

But what if the Oilers send Kris Russell w/salary retained (remember contrary to what Capfriendly says, the first two years of his deal lack any clauses, only the final two seasons or at least that’s what I’m lead to believe from the MSM reporting on his contract and Spotrac’s website) and say Jesse Puljujarvi to Ottawa for Hoffman.

The Sens are looking to rebuild, the Oilers are looking to upgrade whilst opening cap space and even if I am wrong about Russell’s first two years having no clauses, a simple request is all it takes. If Ottawa truly wants to tear it down, would having Russell on defense help or hinder that goal?

Don’t get me wrong here, I do NOT want Jesse Puljujarvi traded. I love that kid more than Oilersnation loves anti-Chiarelli rallies. I’m just thinking out loud here and trying to work around trading Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Oscar Klefbom to Ottawa. I do feel like, despite Pulju’s young age, he shouldn’t be fading as the season goes on but this is his first real pro season. Plus I’m thinking the coaches are higher on Yamamoto than Pulju.

Again, I’m not advocating for the trading of Puljujarvi. Having him and Yamamoto on the RW for the next 5 years would please me to no end but how else do you satisfy Ottawa’s needs w/o moving RNH, Klefbom, or this year’s 1st rounder.

Another name on my list is David Perron. Not the fastest but draws penalties, is irritating as well and had his best pro season as an Edmonton Oiler in his previous stint with the club.

Thirdly, the defenseman that Oilers are looking for will have to have some puck skills. I think they one they’ve got the best shot at is Rasmus Dahlin at the moment. Not even joking.

But if we were to look at the pro roster, the Oilers have to send someone out before bringing in another because the D corps. is simply too crowded and I’d prefer to see them bring back Davidson and Auvitu too.

At the moment the D looks like this:

Klefbom/Larsson
Nurse/Benning
Russell/Sekera
Davidson, Auvitu, Lowe

Which defender might that be? I mentioned Kris Russell before but the word I’m getting is that it’s Oscar Klefbom. Management/Coaching aren’t happy with his progression or lack thereof, this year. They’re pissed that he can’t stay healthy. So, they’re listening to offers on him which is a far cry from offering him out. Let’s make that distinction clear right now.

I’d love for the Oilers to bring in Mike Green because I value his veteran experience as well as his RH’d shot, and his offensive eye for the game.

A player few might consider is Chris Wideman out of Ottawa. He’s a UFA this summer, he’s 28 years old and he’s also RH’d. Not a big guy but he can skate well and move the puck well. Before going down with an injury this year he had 8pts in 16 games. So he was definitely on pace (#OnPace) for a career year. He’s making 800k this year.

Tyson Barrie will be the name on the market connected to the Oilers from now until he’s moved and his cost is pretty high. Meaning RNH is probably the ask and I really want to avoid breaking up the 3-headed menace down the middle for Edmonton.

So how would you feel if the D looked like this:

Nurse/Larsson
Sekera/Barrie
Russell/Davidson
Auvitu or Wideman (I’d prefer both)

That means Benning and Klefbom would be moved on.

Fourthly, we’re looking for a goalie to compete with Talbot aka we’re afraid that Talbot might shit the bed again next year and we want to go with a 1A and 1B in the nets.

David Staples and Bruce McCurdy have brought up a good point in that perhaps the Oilers WILL need another goalie in addition to Talbot and Montoya and that Montoya should go to the minors in case of emergency next season.

The problem I have with that is, do you simply let the goalies you’ve paid to develop all these years walk away? Not that I think that Brossoit and Ellis are ready but the question still remains.

Here are a handful of UFA goalies who are putting up acceptable numbers this season:

  • Carter Hutton – STL – (15-5-3, 1.81 GAA, .940%) – Does STL move him or Allen?
  • Jonathan Bernier – COL –  (17-10-2, 2.74 GAA, 916%) – $2.75M per… Pricey!
  • Aaron Dell – SJ – (14-4-2, 2.51 GAA, 917%) – The New Cam Talbot?
  • Antti Raanta – ARI – (11-14-0, 2.53 GAA, 920%) – Maybe should’ve acquired him last year…
  • Anton Khudobin – BOS – (12-3-1, 2.32 GAA, 925%) – Chiarelli would be familiar with the little Russian.
  • Michael Hutchinson – WPG – (1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, 958%) – Rumors earlier in the year had connected the Oilers and Hutchinson.

I fancy either Carter Hutton or Anton Khudobin for the 1B position because they’re a bit older and I value experience. But would Antti Raanta be the guy who’d push Talbot a bit more for that no.1 spot? Hutchinson is a beauty too though.

Tough call! Hutchinson and Khudobin have history with Chiarelli though, so there’s that.

A couple of wild cards might be Curtis McElhinney (TOR) and Kari Lehtonen (DAL) if you’re like me and prefer experienced goalies. These two tenders’ contracts expire after next season. The Leafs have Garrett Sparks and Calvin Pickard on their AHL team right now and I’d like to think that one of them will be the back-up next season. I don’t see Lehtonen getting paid $5M per season ever again nor do I see him being a starting goalie again.

Is it even possible for the Oilers to start the 2018/19 season with the following roster?

Hoffman/McDavid/Slepyshev
Lucic/Draisaitl/Yamamoto
Caggiula/Khaira/Strome
Pakarinen/Beagle/Kassian

Nurse/Larsson
Klefbom/Barrie
Sekera/Wideman
Davidson

Talbot
Raanta

It seems like we’ve just moved the chairs around on the deck a bit, no?

I’ll leave you with one last thought here. Look at that lineup above, now add one of Rasmus Dahlin, Andrei Svechnikov, Filip Zadina, Brady Tkachuk, or Adam Boqvist.

How does it look now?

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Oilers Trades: Real, Rumored, and Speculated

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This week the Oilers trade talk has been a real treat to experience. We’ve had deals that were never made, deals that are being made up, and an actual trade. The common denominator in all of them, Oilers fans have been given another reason to bitch and moan about Peter Chiarelli.

I mean isn’t it amazing, if you go to the sponsored Oilers blogs like Oilersnation, The Oilers Rig, Copper and Blue, or Oil on Whyte, it’s all FIRE CHIARELLI! Get rid of McLellan!

I get why they do it apart from clicks for the sites but it’s really a shame. I thought re-hashing the Larsson trade every month was bad but this is getting ridiculous (and unoriginal).

Rant over.

 

The Speculated Trade

Ray Ferraro threw a trade idea out into the wind this week that sparked the fires of discontent amongst Oilers fans. A deal centered upon two stars, Max Pacioretty and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

“What if there’s a deal to be made between Edmonton and Montreal that involves Nugent-Hopkins, and Pacioretty is in it? And there are some other pieces to equal the way that works. Edmonton gets a shooter. Gee, that would look pretty good on McDavid’s side. Montreal gets a centre. Gee that would look pretty good in that centre spot.”

Over at the Athletic, Jonathan Willis also jumped on the “trade Nuge” bandwagon this week and his reason was that all of his numbers are basically the same as they’ve always been but the difference being this year he’s riding a shooting percentage that is 40% better than his career average. Sort of the opposite of what usually happens to an Oiler before he’s traded.

My thoughts: If there’s a year to trade RNH, it’s this one unless the Oilers go on a ridiculous tear and are in a playoff spot come trade deadline. His value couldn’t get any higher and the Oilers still need a top 4 right-handed PP specialist on defense. Someone who can transition the puck a helluva lot faster than what the Oilers dmen are doing now. They could also use a proper right-handed 3rd line centre who is a marvel on the PK too and if they acquired both of those pieces in a trade for RNH, what’s the problem?

On the other hand, if the Oilers are looking for a LW who can score, why not simply move RNH to McDavid’s left wing and be done with it. Internal solution utilized!

The Real Trade

Al Montoya from the Montreal Canadiens to the Oilers for a 5th round pick which may turn into a 4th rounder if the former 6th overall pick plays more than 7 games.

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My thoughts: I like it but the folks in the Oilers Twittersphere who think they’re smarterthan everyone else hate it because they think that the Oilers could’ve grabbed a backup off of the waiver wire, even Montoya had they waited for Montreal to activate him off of the IR. The problem with that line of thinking is we don’t know what the price was for those backups and the Oilers defense could be held just as responsible for the poor goaltending performances earlier in the year.

Another thought out there was that 3rd string goalies can be had anything for a 4th round pick but I don’t subscribe to that. If that was the case, we would’ve seen some of these goalies like Pickard, Hutchinson, Hammond, Lindgren, or Sparks with new homes.

Todd McLellan said that they’re worried about Brossoit getting reps but somebody is going to have to be sacrificed for LB to get some games in. I’m guessing Brossoit hits waivers (gets claimed… wouldn’t that be fun fodder for the Chia-haters?), clears, goes down and then Eddie Pasquale goes to the ECHL or is traded/loaned. Nick Ellis, who’s had better AHL stats than Brossoit since taking over in Bakersfield is getting a raw deal here and I feel bad for him.

The Rumored Deal

What did Peter Chiarelli do to Darren Dreger? Geez.

Yesterday on Dustin Nielsen’s show Dreger dropped this massive bombshell that the Oilers had a deal with the Ottawa Senators that would’ve seen Taylor Hall traded for Cody Ceci but Sens ownership needed to approve it, was nowhere to be found, and subsequently Adam Larsson was traded for instead.

Taylor Hall was rumored to be traded for a lot of different dmen before he was actually traded. PK Subban was one, Dougie Hamilton was one, and Kevin Shattenkirk was another. So don’t get your speedos in a bunch by second-guessing Chiarelli’s player evaluation abilities.

We know GMs talk all of the time and they hash out potential deals on a weekly basis and then tweak them up if need be. Sometimes they sit on a trade for months before pulling the trigger.

The timing couldn’t get any better eh? Dreger had been sitting on this little tidbit of information for nearly two years before throwing it out into the world right when the Oilers mired in a 4-game losing streak and the heat couldn’t get any hotter on Peter Chiarelli?

Or was this a veiled shot at Sens GM Pierre Dorion?

Either way, what was Dreger’s motivation to do this? I can’t see any scenario where saying this would benefit anybody but himself or TSN’s radio numbers. He did mention it whilst talking about Edmonton and Ottawa not being good trade partners but still, I do not believe it was mentioned without ill intent aka it was a dick move.

Last Night’s Game

Fack! Was that a fun game to watch or what?!

The win versus the Ducks has their record versus teams in the Pacific to 4-1-0. They’ve outscored their division rivals 23-12 in that time but do you know what the fun part about the rest of the year is?

21 out of the remaining 41 games remaining in the season for the Oilers are against Pacific Division teams… And if you’re worried about that home PK (obligatory statistical preface: #smallsamplesize), the Oilers PK at home versus the Pacific, 85.7% and an added bonus is that their PP is 37.5%.

Peter Chiarelli said that he was going to build a team that would compete in the Pacific and despite how you feel about his handling of assets, you have to agree that he’s a man of his word.

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Oilers Fans Gearing Up for a Sens-ational Trade?

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The Ottawa Senators are open for business folks! According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, the Sens are expected to make another deal before the Christmas trade deadline next Tuesday and that could be good news IF the Oilers are looking to tinker with things but lets look at some of the other things that have been published today regarding the Senators and the Oilers that might give us a better idea as to the trade compatibility of both teams.

LOWETIDE

The Ottawa Senators appear to be contemplating something rash and a team like the Edmonton Oilers would do well to pay attention. The Alberta team’s continuing search for a shooter to place on Connor McDavid’s line could be solved with the addition of a pure scorer like Mike Hoffman of the Senators.

I love the idea of adding a player like Mike Hoffman but not for the reason that LT outlines here.

It’s because he’s a pure shooter and the PP needs that injection. Hoffman is as selfish (I use that in a complimentary way) as one can hope for when it comes to shooting vs. passing.

Could McDavid run a line with two pure shooters on it? It’s very possible but the rub with Hoffman is similar to that of Eberle’s, if he’s not scoring, what else is he doing? That said, he’s one of the elite shooters in the NHL today in my opinion.

I look at their roster and think the club requires defence, but Ottawa is extremely patient with their blueliners. The Sens are an internal-cap team, so saving a couple million dollars on a trade (Hoffman is at $5.187 million through 2020 summer and has a modified NTC) should have appeal.

Read into that what you may but what I’m getting out of that is Pat Maroon (to replace Hoffman) and the Oilers’ younger dmen like Nurse, Benning, Bear, or Jones. You can combine one of those players with a draft pick and/or other prospects I imagine and with the Oilers extra cap space available, there should be a fit for a trade.

Those quotes come from The Athletic. You should sign up for it because you’ll get all of your roster speculation articles from LT there as opposed to his own site nowadays. Plus if you do sign up through the link below, I get a bit of scratch to help feed the kids with 🙂

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Speaking of Darnell Nurse and another article from The Athletic…

WILLIS

Jonathan Willis has an article out speculating which Oilers dmen might get pushed out with the emergence of the defensive beast that is Darnell Nurse.

The typical Edmonton solution to this would be to deal Klefbom. Like most NHL teams, the Oilers tend to move guys at low ebbs in their career, rather than waiting for a better return later on. It might even be the right move, depending on what his value on the market is; if there’s a team out there willing to pay full price for the guy, it’s a trade that could make sense. There are precious few untradeable players in hockey today.

It’s possible yeah. Klefbom has had one real good season to date, the others have been tainted by injury or inconsistent performances and you’d have to wonder how that makes the coach and GM feel. This is a team that is desperate for consistently solid defensemen. From what I’ve noticed just as a fan, Klefbom starts his seasons slowly and really picks it up as the year progresses. He was one of the Oilers best players let alone dmen last season… So there’s that.

The outside-the-box idea would be to deal Nurse. His value is undoubtedly high right now, and as a general rule it’s better to trade a player when he’s at a peak rather than a valley in his game. It’s hard to imagine such a deal, though. Nurse fits the kind of team Chiarelli wants to build to a tee, he’s strong in some areas the Oilers are weak, and given his age we probably haven’t seen the best of him yet.

Yup, Willis makes another good point here. Would this be the carrot you dangle in front of Senators GM Pierre Dorion in order to get trade talks regarding Erik Karlsson started?

I really love the way that Nurse has progressed and questions about Karlsson’s health are starting to emerge. Add that to the idea of having to pay Karlsson MORE that Connor McDavid and things start to get a bit murkier.  Could a team survive in the cap era with those kinds of salaries on the books? Or would acquiring Erik Karlsson be akin to when the Pittsburgh Penguins traded for Paul Coffey?… Something to think about.

The best solution might actually be dealing Sekera, since that would leave Edmonton with two young guys on modest deals to anchor the defence for years to come. The problems with this are myriad. Trade value is one. Another is that Edmonton hasn’t fared very well without their veteran safety net on the blue line this season; Nurse has excelled while Klefbom has struggled, and given their age and experience levels it’s not crazy to expect a few more ups and downs from both players before they settle into a steady mid-career keel. Finally, Sekera has a full no-move clause through 2019, which theoretically means he could block any deal made before that point.

 

Andrej Sekera is going to get traded sooner or later, as is Kris Russell. I know that because that’s what I’ve been passed on. I agree with Willis here though and I’ve always thought that an older roster is one that I trust more, especially when the team is bringing along young A-level prospects. The trick being not to give those young prospects as much leash as they want and to trust your veterans.

Who would you trade?

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THE INSIDERS

The insides like Friedman, McKenzie, Dreger, and Lebrun are all over this story as expected. Here are a few quotes from them courtesy of Fanrag Sports.

My sense, according to people that I talk to, is that Melnyk does not want to make that change (firing the coach). So we might see some trades. Dorion may not be done yet with his three-way trade that brought Duchene to Ottawa. Maybe he has to move out some other pieces before they decide that it’s time to give up on the coach.

If they’re not certain that they’re going to be able to sign this guy either financially or if Karlsson decides he wants to test the free agent market, then they don’t have much choice. – Dreger (source)

It seems that the coaches of struggling teams are getting some leeway this season and I dig that. After seeing the Oilers fire so many coaches season after season, it’s a breath of fresh air to get the feeling that the coaches might have some security and the players are the ones who are sitting on eggshells.

Dreger didn’t mention other teams or other players

I don’t believe for a moment that right now they’re picking up the phone and they’re trying to make a trade for Erik Karlsson, or that that’s even a consideration for them at this point in the season. And it may not even be at any point in this season, although I suppose you’ve got to leave the door open a crack depending on what happens between now and March and if they keep going the way they’re going.

But I do think that – and Bruce Garrioch  wrote this in the Ottawa Sun/Citizen this morning – that they are looking at making some moves. I think Mike Hoffman’s name and Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s name have been mentioned. We’ll see.

Now, I don’t think they’ll trade Hoffman or Pageau for a bunch of draft picks and call it a day by any stretch. They’re obviously looking to make a hockey deal here using some pretty good hockey players. – McKenzie (source)

I tell you what, if the Oilers could get their hands on Pageau AND Hoffman, that would be a coup for Chiarelli but what kind of “hockey deal” could be made there? Both Pageau and Hoffman are vital to the Senators special teams. Would you deal RNH and say… Ryan Strome for both of them?

But I think Pierre Dorion is working the phones for sure right now trying to make another trade and trying to shake his team up here.

I think there’s a bunch of guys on the Senators I think they would listen on. I mean, Cody Ceci is an interesting player to look at. Right-handed defenseman, top-four guy, plays behind Karlsson. It just so happens where his deal is up at the end of the year where he’s an RFA. So the Senators were going to have to decide on him at some point anyway between now and the summer because either you commit to him financially or you move on, right. – LeBrun (source)

I’ve got no interest in Ceci right now. I’ve watched a few Sens games this year and he looks a bit like Phaneuf at the moment. Meaning I’m not sure how smart of a player he is compared to what we’ve got now in Edmonton. I like Larsson AND Benning much more and I probably like Brandon Davidson more too.

Ceci used to be a hot prospect coming up but I just see an average player there. Mind you, if the Oilers could lose something off the cap in a deal for him, maybe that’s something to consider.

one of the things I was told – or theories I was told – was that maybe they were upset that Karlsson had said what he said, so they wanted to rattle his cage back by asking for his list. I mentioned that to someone, and I guess that person mentioned it to someone else, and they called me. And they kind of knew Ottawa’s situation a bit. And they said that’s not what’s going on here.

And I think that’s what this is. If you look at their contracts, they’ve got to deal with Cody Ceci, they’ve got to deal with Mark Stone who’s having a phenomenal year, they’ve got to deal with Derick Brassard, they’ve got to deal with Matt Duchene, they’ve got to deal with Erik Karlsson in the next two years. I think they’re looking at it and saying, ‘What are we going to do here.

So I just think it’s – when you’re losing, it’s always worse. And they’re losing and the walls close in on you when this happens. – Friedman (source)

If the player and the team are playing games like this in the media, it’s time to move on because it’s not going to get any better and the trust between both parties isn’t going to get any stronger. That’s just my thoughts on Friedman’s Karlsson comment there.

Mark Stone is another player I absolutely love from Ottawa. He would look outstanding on the Oilers, right? He’s simply one of the smartest players in the league.

I’m under the impression that the Oilers aren’t looking to trade right now and the reason for that is they don’t want to be negotiating from the position their in right now. Meaning, they’re behind the 8-ball and other teams know that. I reckon Chiarelli wants to make a deal but is using every ounce of patience he has not to.

BUT. I’m a fan first and foremost and I like roster speculation as much as the next guy…

I’d have ZERO problems if the Oilers decided to go all in and try to acquire Hoffman, Pageau, and Stone. I’m a fan of earth-shattering trades but what would the Oilers have to give up to get all three?

Trade Assets:
Nuge, Yamamoto, Puljujarvi, Maroon, Letestu, Benning, Klefbom, Nurse, every draft pick…

I can’t imagine the Sens wanting to part with Stone if we’re being honest. Not unless Puljujarvi is coming back and that would be a mistake for the Oilers. Pulju is coming on and I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts scoring more as the team continues to pick up steam.

Thoughts? If I’ve got any Senators fans following the blog, let me know what you think about all of these rumors and what you guys expect back for players like Hoffman and Pageau.

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

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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Dreger on Eberle/Isles

Yesterday over at Fan Rag Sports (Elliotte Friedman’s favourite blog), Chris Nichols had a little tidbit on Darren Dreger talking about how the Islanders were one of three teams “kicking the tires” on Jordan Eberle.

“I would say a month  or so – maybe six weeks ago – there was some tire-kicking. I know that there were three teams that were calling Peter Chiarelli in Edmonton, but no one really willing to jump and take the bait. I believe that the Islanders were one of those teams. But obviously it didn’t go anywhere.” (Source)

Well, this is nothing new. Anybody who watched their magic at the World Junior’s back in Ottawa circa ’09 and has followed them during their NHL careers would want to re-visit this combination as well. And it makes sense. The Islanders have been trying RWers all year on Tavares’ line concluding with minimal luck. Okposo was the man there last year and they let him walk…

A lot of people online say that Eberle has no value right now. He’s in the middle of his worst season as a pro hockey player and fans are lead to believe that that is the utmost important factor with which NHL GMs take into consideration when dealing for a player. And to that I say,

And to that, I say, Ni! (here’s the reference if you don’t get it.)

More seriously now, GMs will be looking at a player’s entire career. Not just a small portion. Of course it works in their favor if said player is having an off year but GMs aren’t stupid and they know that players go through tough years, players sometimes have trouble fitting into a new coach’s systems, and they know that a change of scenery can occasionally be just the remedy for a player who is down on his luck.

So if you’re a fan that is saying the Oilers should:

  • leave Eberle exposed for the expansion draft
  • trade him for picks
  • sit him in the pressbox for an evening

All of these things do more to handicap the Oilers ability to win games and we know, for a fact, that players eventually bust out of these slumps and despite what you believe as a fan, there’s definitely a market for Eberle.

“So when you start seeing signs like this, then – look, I’ve been around the league long enough to know how most (teams’ executives) think, and I’d be surprised if Chiarelli doesn’t get calls in the days ahead here just inquiring about Eberle.”

“The ask for Jordan Eberle has always been high, understandably so, because he’s been one of the Edmonton Oilers’ players that is a big part of the core. But if he’s no longer that, even on a short-term basis, that’s going to ignite some kind of short-term market.”

“But that doesn’t mean the Oilers are any more willing to trade him, unless the value is there.” – Elliotte Friedman (Source)

Now, I do believe that the Oilers will trade Eberle this summer because I’m of the belief that he doesn’t fit into McLellan’s system and when I think back to San Jose’s rosters of past, I’m not finding any Eberle-types. He’s had two seasons (about) under Todd McLellan and Peter Chiarelli and when he’s not scoring, he doesn’t do the other things on the ice well enough to make a difference there. That’s not saying he’s not doing those other things though. He is. Very much so. And I reckon that his attention to the 200ft game is partially to blame for this dry year on the scoresheet.

Chiarelli and McLellan are going to want someone who can be more of a “presence” if they’re not going short-side cheddar. A name that comes to mind… TJ Oshie.

Now before you jump all over me, consider that a good GM adds good players first and deals with the consequences (cap hit) later. I’m aware of the RFAs that need to be re-signed…

So if the Oilers can find a way to move Jordan Eberle for a package with a minimal cap hit, that would alleviate some of the pressure on the cap that signing TJ Oshie would bring. Another thing that would help is if Darnell Nurse signs long-term for Adam Larsson/Oscar Klefbom money.

Let’s bring this conversation back full circle and get back to Eberle and the Islanders.

In the summer, could Chiarelli get the Islanders to send him Ryan Strome and a pick or prospect for Jordan Eberle?Is there a deal there where Halak gets tossed in if the Islanders agree to take one of Mark Fayne or Benoit Pouliot?

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below but first you should head over our Teepublic shop and take part in our T-SHIRT SALE!!!