Tag Archives: Justin Faulk

Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects, Rumors

Reviewing the Latest Oilers Trade and Draft Speculation

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Happy draft week folks! The rumors are a flyin’, aren’t they? By the time the Oilers are playing their first game over in Europe they’ll be rid of Cam Talbot, Milan Lucic, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Andrej Sekera, Oscar Klefbom, and Jesse Puljujarvi but at least they’ll have a random guy in net, Torey Krug, Erik Karlsson, and Justin Faulk playing D and Jeff Skinner flanking Connor McDavid.

BRUTAL!!!

THE SPECULATION

https://twitter.com/NHLbyMatty/status/1006969977167941632

  • Jim Matheson has the Oiler talking to Ottawa about Erik Karlsson this week…

It’s not happening folks. The talks start with Leon and go up and the Oilers finally have a great 1-2 punch down the middle, they’re both young, and they’re both under contract for the next 7 years. I’m not dismantling that for a 30-yr-old Erik Karlsson who is on the last year of his contract. Not one bit folks!

  • The Fourth Period has the Oilers sending Cam Talbot and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to the Hurricanes for Jeff Skinner and Justin Faulk

WTF?! Seriously? What are the Oilers going to do in net then? Is Koskinen going to take over the reigns? We’ve seen what this team is like when it doesn’t get goaltending and I do not see them dealing for any all-stars.

That said, Lowetide and Alex Thomas were talking about Tuukka Rask over the weekend and that is probably a guy I would send a package that included Talbot for. Do you think Lucic would go back to Boston? What about a blockbuster sending Lucic, Klefbom, and Talbot to Boston for Krug and Rask?

Getting back to that TFP post… Skinner has one year left on his deal and I believe Faulk has two years whereas Talbot’s on the last year of his and Nuge has 3 years left IIRC. The money is a bit of a wash but I don’t believe the talent is.

Nuge is going to be a revelation on McDavid’s LW this season. Book it!

https://twitter.com/NHLbyMatty/status/1008330578427404290

  • Another player Jim Matheson has been tweeting about is Julius Honka.

I like this guy quite a bit and he’s at that age where a player’s game starts to become more refined. And to add to that, he doesn’t have to play for Ken Hitchcock anymore. He hasn’t put up a lot of points in his career so far (9pts in 60+gp) but I believe he’d be a fair bet to help the Oilers transition game if they acquired him. I mean, can you really see Dallas playing him over Johns, Klingberg, or Pateryn? Plus they’ve got Miro Heiskanen starting next year…

Honka’s on the way out and the Oilers should try to grab him.

  • Bob Stauffer has the Oilers having their pick of Ty Smith, Vitali Kravtsov, Barrett Hayton, or Adam Boqvist at #10 overall. His choices being Hayton or Smith.

Listen, Hayton will be a fine 3rd line centre. He’s a lunch bucket guy that Stauffer likes to compare to Bo Horvat for some reason (It’s ridiculous if you really dig into things). But ISS says that Hayton has excellent Hockey IQ and that’s something that if you’ve been listening to his show for the last couple of weeks he’s been saying that Keith Gretzky really likes…

I’m also not sold on Ty Smith. When I watched him I didn’t like his skating or his engagement in the games. Maybe I picked the wrong games mind you but Stauffer likes to bring up his locker room presence and how much his teammates like him as reason to pick the kid. Not good enough for me. Stauff also brings up the Kris Russell comparable and I love me some Kris Russell but not at #10 in the draft.

Vitali Kravtsov, scratch him just because he’s based out of Russia. For whatever reason, and I’m not saying Russians are bad players or bad people or whatever, a few of my favorite players growing up were Russian, they simply don’t turn out for the Oilers unless they’re brought in from other organizations. The only way I think the Oilers would take another Russian in the first round is if they made a deal with the Hurricanes for #2 overall and took Svechnikov.

So that leaves us with Adam Boqvist.

If the Oilers cannot find a way to draft Quinn Hughes (Paul Coffey 2.0 IMO) then they should be taking Adam Boqvist. His offensive upside is unreal. He’s right-handed. The way he works his edges and how well he rushes the puck is outstanding! Add to that the planet destroyer he’s got for a shot… He’s a MUST PICK at #10 if he drops.

People are talking about Boqvists injury history and to that, I say two things,

  • Have you seen Oscar Klefbom’s injury history?
  • I’d be surprised if none of the top prospects in any draft didn’t get concussed once before now.

I do want to say this though, I don’t think that Boqvist will be there at #10. He’s simply too good. Now, if that happens I could see one of Bouchard, Tkachuk, or Wahlstrom being available and that’s a very hard decision for me. I like all three for different reasons but it’d be hard for me not to take Tkachuk simply because his brother plays for Calgary and he’s not a perimeter player.

Stauffer has Zadina falling to #9 and if that scenario takes place, the Oilers best be doing their damnedest to trade up to pick him. Unreal if that guy dropped to #9…

We’ve got some pretty rad draft videos up at the Beer League Heroes YouTube page. Please, go check them out and if ya can, subscribe to our channel and that way you’ll be the first to know when a new video is up!

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Thoughts on the Lucic Situation and Other Oilers Trade Rumors/Proposals

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Milan Lucic… The Oilers have quite the situation on their hands right now and part of that is on the player, part of it is on the coach, part if it is on the GM, and part of it is on the fanbase. I always knew that Edmonton could be a volatile market for players and perhaps I’m being naive but over the past 12 months was the first time I heard of a player’s family getting harassed. It has to have happened before then though.

These sort of harassment stories start leaking out, be they regarding Lucic’s family or McDavid’s, and folks still wonder why players won’t come to Edmonton via free agency unless the Oilers completely overpay.

Can you blame Milan Lucic for going to Peter Chiarelli and saying to him that he’d be willing to work with the team IF they felt a move out of Edmonton was the best course of action for the organization and the player? For a person like Lucic to go into the office of a man who’s been his boss for the majority of his career and a man who stepped up to sign him to a long-term deal, that’s probably one of the hardest things he’s had to do. I’d say that’s a pretty honorable thing to do if you ask me.

And NO it’s not quitting on the team. If you’re suggesting that I’d argue that you’re not fully on board with Milan Lucic being a member of the Edmonton Oilers and/or you’re still reeling from the Taylor Hall trade. Either way, feel free to move on.

Personally, if the Oilers can find a way to keep Milan Lucic and help whatever may or may not be happening off of the ice, that’d be the best way to go about things for me.

I’m not a huge supporter of the idea that trading him out for another bad contract is going to help the Oilers in their chances of making the playoffs next year. Milan Lucic plays a major role on the Oilers team and what message does that send to the rest of the roster if they trade him after having a bad 4 months? Mind you they did trade Eberle after a poor season but I think that had more to do with Eberle not buying into McLellan’s systems.

I do not believe that trading Lucic with a “sweetener” in order for another team to take the entire contract off their hands is a good idea either. Not only does that dig the team into a bigger hole long-term development-wise but there’s no guarantee that the Oilers will find a player in free agency that will do better than Lucic’s average of 42pts a year since joining the club.

Some will say that Pat Maroon would be a perfect replacement and that was suggested on Oilers Now yesterday. Stauffer immediately scoffed and said something to the effect that Maroon doesn’t scare anybody whereas Milan just being on the team is a deterrent for the “rats” on the other team.

Some might say David Perron or James Neal but I’m here to say that they’re not signing in Edmonton for less than what Milan Lucic made and they’re the same age. So not only would the Oilers be overpaying those players, they’d be giving them NMCs and term up to 6/7 years IF they’d be willing to sign.

Look, you could say Rick Nash, Michael Grabner, JVR, or Thomas Vanek. It doesn’t matter if none of them want to come to Edmonton after what’s happening with Lucic here. So you trade him and none of them want to sign, what then? You’ve got that cap room and Darnell Nurse, Ryan Strome, and the rest of the RFAs are licking their chops now. But you’re down a top-6 winger, again!

Speaking of Milan being a top-6 winger, it’s up for debate at the moment. I had no problems with him playing on the 3rd line near the end of last season as the opposition wasn’t as difficult. If that’s where he helps the team the most, so be it. Phil Kessel has spent time on the Pens 3rd line in the past. I believe David Backes, Andrew Ladd, and Kyle Okposo have as well. It’s not the end of the world if he plays there.

In 16/17, Milan Lucic had excellent fancies with Connor McDavid but in 17/18 he had better fancies with RNH (hard to believe) but in both years, he was best served away from Leon Draisaitl. So with Nuge now on Connor’s LW and the numbers telling us that McLellan should avoid playing Lucic and Draisaitl together, that leaves only the 3rd line for him apparently.

That’s not to say that things couldn’t change next season. Maybe in 18/19 Leon will be the best centre that Milan plays with IF he’s an Oiler. I just found that when Lucic played with Puljujarvi and Strome, it was a very disruptive line and maybe that’s on Jesse and Milan’s forechecking less than Strome’s work at centre. Maybe it was the 3rd pairing defensemen they were lined up across from but whatever it was, it worked between the three of them.

Anyways, the Oilers have a top-6 winger right now. If there’s a way to keep him and keep him happy (on and off the ice), the Oilers should do it.

Jason Gregor had a helluva rant on his show yesterday that I thought summed up my feelings perfectly. Take a listen to it below. The rant starts around 13:15.

Enjoy!

TRADE RUMORS/PROPOSALS

A caller named “Travis” called into Oilers Now yesterday and offered the following proposal and I’d love to know what you think about it because I dig it.

To Buffalo: Jacob Trouba
To Winnipeg: Oscar Klefbom
To Edmonton Rasmus Ristolainen

I’ve come to the point to where the only thing that Oscar Klefbom has going for him right now is his contract. He doesn’t produce points nor is he the best possession positive player. He’s hurt a lot and isn’t very mobile.

The Jets could use a LHD to replace Enstrom, for some reason the Sabres are souring on Ristolainen (I’m not sure if that’s Jack Eichel talking or what), and a Sabres top pairing of Dahlin and Trouba wouldn’t be too bad. Although I think they should go after Shea Weber to be Dahlin’s partner, that’s just me.

I want the Oilers top PP dman to be one that actually produces on the PP. One that is actually a threat and there are a couple of defensemen in the league that always do well versus Edmonton, Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Zadorov. Or at least they had great seasons against the Oilers last year. Either of those two players would be outstanding additions to Edmonton’s back end. They shoot, their big, mobile, and they’re mean MF’ers.

CAROLINA

Stauffer had Tripp Tracy (Carolina’s television analyst) on his show yesterday and they were discussing what the Hurricanes problems where and Tracy said that Carolina was looking to add physicality to their team. He also talked about times when the team wasn’t playing the right way and specifically tossed out Jeff Skinner’s name. That got Stauffer’s attention and he hummed in agreement. So I guess we can safely assume that Skinner has got some Eberle-like tendencies. They also said that Skinner has been inconsistent in his goal scoring.

Justin Faulk’s name came up and Tracy said that Faulk has let him down on the defensive side of the puck and that he’s got a lot more to give. Tracy also noted that Faulk has lost some quickness due to the addition of more muscle mass.

“Would there be an appetite to change the makeup and add a different ingredient to the organization? Because to me they lacked a bit of physical competitiveness.” is what Stauffer asked Tripp Tracy at one point and Tracy’s response was,

“I literally couldn’t agree more.”

Tracy also went on to say that he thought the culture has quite a bit to be desired and the biggest reasons for that were,

  • “Guys not playing the right way all the time. With a team-first mindset. Jeff Skinner’s a classic example of that.”
  • “Being too perimeter based.”

I don’t watch the Hurricanes ever. I think they’re pretty boring to watch and therefore not worth my time unless they’re playing the Oilers. That said, Tracy mentioned that the ‘Canes new coach Rod Brind’Amour will demand they play the right way and that softens my stance a bit with regards to the Hurricanes being a destination for Milan Lucic.

Tom Dundon, it’s been said, is very much into the analytics and will rely on them and while Lucic doesn’t have “bad” possession numbers, they’re above water, for the most part, but he doesn’t have amazing ones either.

But maybe it wouldn’t be Lucic going to Carolina, maybe it’d be Zack Kassian. Maybe it’d be Jujhar Khaira or Darnell Nurse. Who knows?

What I will say to end this off is that IF this Lucic situation was a fabrication or a falsity made up by the media, the agents would be all over it. Lucic’s agent is local but he’s not the kind of agent that goes around stirring the pot either. The fact that we haven’t heard anything from the player, the agent or the GM says something.

I’d like to see him stay but if it’s not a fit for his family after 2 years, I’d understand.

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

Oilers Speculation: The Hunter, The Skinner, and The Faulker

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The latest Oilers speculation is not really new news. We’re all just awaiting the announcement where Peter Chiarelli welcomes Trent Yawney, Glen Gulutzan, and Manny Viveiros to the club, right?

What a great sign it is for Peter Chiarelli in that he’s snatching up high-end talent for the coaching staff and if the rumor below comes true, that just adds to what is looking like a great start to the summer for the Oilers GM.

I hope he gets the praise that he’s due.

Well, that bit of news was just the tip of the iceberg last night when one of my sources contacted me.

Now as usual and if I remember, I want to preface the following with some advice. Don’t take this as gospel. I’m just one guy who knows a guy within the Oilers organization out of hundreds of other guys in the same situation. Rumors are just that and a lot of the time these things NEVER come true. They simply get lost in the black hole that is the Oilers rumor mill.

That said, here’s what I was told.

Edm also talking to Mark Hunter about a role in management. 

I think a lot of Oilers fans would love this to come true given what Hunter accomplished in his time in Toronto in terms of the draft. He’s certainly got a lot of pedigree at the moment but I do wonder if his old playing club, the Montreal Canadiens or even the Calgary Flames, come knocking on his door. Better yet, the new expansion franchise in Seattle would be quite smart to snap him up as soon as it’s possible for them to start adding staff.

If Hunter were to come to Edmonton, I’d see that as a sign that a change in the position of general manager is forthcoming.

Tons of shakeups happening. Oilers are also talking to Carolina about Skinner and Faulk.

This would definitely move the needle a bit. I’m not sure how those players’ contracts would fit under the Oilers’ cap (combined they make close to $10M a year) but I imagine that would depend on the players going back to Carolina and I’d imagine that one of the higher paid defensemen would be going as well as someone whose contract is a bit too high within the forward group and for good measure, toss in a high draft pick along with a blue-chip prospect.

Another problem with this is that both Skinner and Faulk will be UFAs sooner than later. Skinner next summer and Faulk the year after. So would it be such a great move to mortgage a chunk of the future to possibly win next season. I mean what is Jeff Skinner going to command in 2019/2020 if he goes on to score 40 goals with Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl as his centre? $8M or $9M a year must be in the range because Doug Wilson looks like he’s going to give a 4opt winger $7M a year… And if Faulk puts up 50-60pts, he’s going to be looking for something north of $6M a season in two years…

I just don’t think it looks like a responsible long-term move and if Peter Chiarelli is making trades to try and save his job, he’s already fired.

That being said, how motivated would those two be to score when their old coach and the Flames meet the Oilers meet 6x a year?

*UPDATE*

Sounds like they may move Sekera the other way if Sekera waives his NMC. Oilers till have almost $20M in cap and Kassian could go the other way too.

They ARE shopping Sekera because they don’t know if he’ll be the same again. 

Hang tight. This deal wouldn’t happen until the draft or the start of FA season because of how big it would be. 

Ex-Oilers assistant GM Rick Olcyk is still an AGM in Carolina and I wonder if that relationship would have a positive impact on trade negotiations here.

I didn’t watch Slovakia at the World Championships, so I can’t say if he looked any better or worse but a guy his age, not OLD mind you (only 31) but not 25 either, there are going to be valid concerns about his recovery.

Do the Hurricanes want another LHD though? And does Sekera want to go back to Carolina? Will Jim Matheson get his wish and see Jesse Puljujarvi moved in this kind of deal?

Kassian has in fact been brought up in trade discussions. I don’t know what teams are offering but I believe that Chiarelli is softly shopping him just to see what the interest level is. 

This dovetails nicely with what Bob Stauffer has said recently, and these were his rumblings, but he said that the Oilers could bring in a $4M winger IF they could find a way to move out a bottom 6 winger who makes around $2M…

Frankly, Kassian does make too much money for what he provided last season BUT that being said, he’s exactly the kind of player that Oilers will want in the playoffs. A heavy player with skill who contributes on the PK and can withstand the rigors of NHL post-season intensity. Think Auston Watson or Devante Smith-Pelly. Not the greatest during the regular season but ramp up their games in the playoffs.

Could the Oilers find a similar player that would be willing to make $1M less? Sure. I think they could do that no problem but I’m not sure they could find the sort of player that fans and teammates are so emotionally tied to like Zack Kassian.

Milan Lucic has been heavily challenged by the Oilers brass to come to camp lighter and quicker or 2018/19 is his last season as an Oilers forward. 

Contrary to the negative reports, there is, in fact, TONS of interest in Milan Lucic via trade because of what he brings.

But the Oilers want to give him a year to bounce back. 

I can definitely see this. Especially if this could be Chiarelli’s last year with the club, the next GM would have zero qualms trading the big man and freeing up some cap room.

If we take Milan Lucic’s year-end avail and what he said there as truth, then we know that he’s going to be working his ass off to drop some muscle mass but then again, you do have to wonder how serious he’ll be when he sees Ryan Reaves playing in the Stanley Cup Final knowing that Reaves is a worse player in every aspect.

I know talking to my Vancouver source that they’d be at the front of the line if Lucic hits the market. Any deal involving Lucic will have the Oilers taking some cash back and/or sending a highly regarded prospect or draft pick along with him, right? Plus he’d have to give it the green light.

So there are some pretty obvious roadblocks in moving Lucic.

Just one last thing on Milan before we put a bow on this post.

Bob Stauffer said something very interesting with regards to Looch on his show yesterday morning that made me go hmmmmm.

He has to get order in his life in order to succeed on the ice and that’s part of the challenge when you’re coming in as an older guy. Edmonton is an intense market. 

What does that mean? Lucic has to get order in his life… Something going on off the ice that is affecting Milan’s game on it?

Anyways, let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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Armchair GM, Around the Oilogosphere, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects, Rumors, Trades

Around the Oilogosphere – May 3rd Edition – Could the Oilers Draft the Next Jake Guentzal? RNH to the Canes Proposal, See Ya Slepy, and Many NHL Rumors!

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It’s always tough to say goodbye to an Oiler who you think could’ve been a great contributor to the club had he been given some more opportunity. I really liked watching Anton Slepyshev progress through the club from his days in the AHL to bottom 6 spot duty to being top 6 in the playoffs in 2017 but it seems as if the Oilers management and coaching staff haven’t seen enough from the Russian skiller to be able to give him what he needs to stay in North America and so he’s off back to his homeland to play with CSKA Moscow.

I hope the Oilers retain his rights somehow because there’s a player there and maybe he just needs a bit more time to refine his game in a different environment. Could he be Evgeni Dadonov 2.0?

THE NEXT JAKE GUENTZAL/KYLE CONNOR

Last week we talked about  three of the draft options the online scouting community were projecting for the Oilers at #10 which included Isac Lundestrom and Jesperi Kotkaniemi as well as the player we’re going to talk about below whom I’m ready to throw my support behind 100% as the player the Oilers should take.

I imagine the reason I really like this kid has recency bias playing a major part. I think he looks very similar to Jake Guentzal or Kyle Connor and both of those players are having good-to-great playoffs right now. And Farabee had an outstanding U18s as well.

But I’ll let you judge for yourself.

Joel Farabee
Position: Left Wing
Shoots: Left
Height / Weight: 6’0, 164 lbs
Born: February 25, 2000 | Cicero, NY
Nation: United States

First off, you can’t go wrong taking a highly touted prospect who’s playing for the USNTDP these days. That program is fast becoming one of the best for developing high-end NHL players like Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Charlie McAvoy, Matthew Tkachuk, John Gibson, Jacob Trouba, etc. I could go on and on.

Basically, you’re going to get an NHLer if you take a player who is thriving on this team.

Secondly, I like players with some jam to their game. Not taking anything away from the skilled Marners, Ehlers, or Johnny Hockeys. It’s a personal preference. To me, it means there’s a bit more depth to that player apart from offense. Joel Farabee has this in spades.

“The best thing about Joel is that he competes so hard, and he goes to the areas most people don’t want to go to, and he scores tons of goals at the front of the net. He’s talented enough to score nice goals, but he adds so many goals because of his willingness to go to the hard areas, and he’s comfortable in those areas because he’s legitimately tough.” – NTDP Coach Seth Appert (link)

That’s not to say that Farabee is simply all blue-collar with respects to his game. No, he’s also got the skills to play in today’s NHL.

  • Shot? Check!

“He has a quick release and can snap the puck with pace.” – NHL Central Scouting’s Greg Rajanen (link)

  • Stickhandling? Check!
  • Playmaking? Check!

“Farabee has good hands and stick skills allowing him to control the puck while moving at top speed. Defenders must respect his speed, and so they back off him on the rush, creating shooting and passing lanes.” (link)

  • Skating (Speed/Agility)? Check! Check!

“Joel Farabee is an excellent skater, with the agility and edge work to get by defenders in one-on-one situations. He also has an outstanding first step and lightning quick acceleration” (link)

  • Hockey IQ? Check!

Farabee has good vision and is an outstanding playmaker off the wing. He anticipates extremely well and seems to be a step ahead of the play. Farabee finds open ice without the puck and makes smart plays with it. (link)

  • Two-Way Attentiveness? Check

What sets Farabee apart is how effective he is defensively. He uses his smarts to put himself in position to intercept passes and break up plays. Once he gets the puck on his stick, he’s excellent at transition offense. He’s one of the best 200-foot players at the top of the draft. (link)

  • Compete? Check!

“His fearlessness and work ethic make him a load to handle in the offensive zone.” (link)

“One thing you notice instantly is his work ethic on the ice — Farabee has a nonstop motor and will bust it from start to finish on every shift” (link)

“He excels in all zones, providing his team with a tireless work ethic” (link)

That’s a lot of checks and one would think if he’s that good he’d be no.1, right? And that’s true. What I’d say to that is he’s not at the same level in some of those areas as the forwards listed ahead of him (Svechnikov, Zadina, Tkachuk, Wahlstrom) and vice versa.

What is holding him back from being ranked higher is his physical stature. He’s on the smaller end being 6’0″ and 165lbs at the moment and what that means is that his shot isn’t where Wahlstrom’s or Zadina’s is and his skating isn’t as powerful as Svechnikov’s or his checking isn’t quite as good as Tkachuk’s, but by no means is that an indication of the kind of player he’ll develop into.

A player as smart as Farabee is will find a way around his limitations and turn them into strengths as a professional and if his floor is as a 3rd line special teams specialist, I’m fine with that because his ceiling is that of a top-6 scoring winger.

AN INTERESTING HURRICANES/OILERS TRADE PROPOSAL

I’ll just lay it out here and let you mull it over.

To Carolina: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins + Jesse Puljujarvi OR the #10 pick
To Edmonton: 2nd overall pick this year + Justin Faulk

We all love Nuge, myself included, and we all know Chiarelli and McLellan love him but does the salary cap love him? Could the Oilers use a bit more room under said cap to add a free agent or two?

Look, I know that if RNH plays alongside McDavid for an entire season AND stays healthy, he’ll put up at least 60 pts. He’s probably one of the last players I’d like to see the Oilers trade BUT Andrei Svechnikov will score 20 next season for sure. He’s that good. My good buddy The Oil Knight (Sean) has watched him a bit closer since he’s based in Ontario and he says that Svechnikov plays a very similar power game to that of Evgeni Malkin.

So would the Oilers be better off with Nuge at $6M and 60pts for the next three years or Svechnikov at $3.75M for the next three years with 20 goals or more each year?

Conversely, could McLellan handle another teenager on the roster where English is his 2nd language? (Ridiculous excuse btw)

I think Carolina wants a star centre and as much as I like Jordan Staal, he’s not that guy. Justin Faulk is now Carolina’s Justin Schultz and could use a change of scenery and depending on if they took Pulju or the #10, they could have Aho’s winger for the next 10 or so years.

Thoughts?

OILERS NEWS

Shots fired! Drew Remenda: “Firing the assistant coach to me is ridiculous.”

Edmonton Oilers may have lost Anton Slepyshev to the KHL

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Sorry state of what Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers rivalry has become

NHL RUMORS

NHL Rumors: Hurricanes, Oilers, Canucks and Maple Leafs

NHL Rumors: Minnesota Wild … Plekanec and Canadiens

NHL Rumors: Canucks Options At Center … John Tavares

NHL Rumors: Dallas Stars and the Philadelphia Flyers

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

Bob Stauffer’s Three Needs for the Edmonton Oilers

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Bob Stauffer, the host of Oilers Now, woke up the Oilogosphere with an interesting tweet this morning…

I don’t think that any of these things are a surprise to anybody, especially if you saw the line combos that Todd McLellan had together during practice on the first day of 2018… GAWD they are ugly… But I am SO looking forward to seeing them in action! I really want to see Auvitu as a forward. That said, when the coach starts doing things like this, there’s trouble in the hen house Frank…

If you’re the type that really reads into things you might come to the following conclusions based on Stauffer’s tweet:

  • A Shooting Left Wing = Maroon is gone and Lucic is being transitioned into a middle-6 player AKA they’re looking for Connor’s and or Leon’s winger.
  • A Powerplay Right-Shot D = The Matt Benning experiment on the power play is over. (I’m not sure why it was even started…)
  • A 3rd Line Centre Who Takes Faceoffs and Kills Penalties = Nuge is on the market and Letestu probably is too.

I’ll start off by saying that I’m not sure we’ll ever see a complete 1st line ever. The door to McDavid’s LW may be ever-swinging for the duration of his time in Edmonton but with the way that McLellan has been switching between Lucic and Maroon on that line tells me his “big man on 97’s wing” theory is a failure and maybe it’s time to toss some skill up there with the greatest player in the game.

I do question why that player has to be a shooter though. The Oilers have ZERO problems shooting the puck which is evident in the numbers. In fact, Pat Maroon is 8th in shots for LWs in the NHL. Lucic is 40th mind you but that’s still more than Filip Forsberg.

Their problem is getting the puck into the net on the PP. I’d argue that they need a trigger man for said powerplay though. Someone who doesn’t hesitate to fire the puck on the net with the man advantage.

LEFT-WING CANDIDATES:

  • Evander Kane (BUF)
  • Mike Hoffman (OTT)
  • Max Pacioretty (MTL)

These three players are the target of every team in the league, as they should be. Their teams are struggling and looking to shake things up. They would be priced at a premium rate though.

  • Tyler Ennis (MIN)
  • Max Domi (ARI)
  • Carl Hagelin (PIT)
  • Alex Galchenyuk (MTL)
  • Thomas Vanek (VAN)
  • Michael Grabner (NYR)

I feel that these players would be a bit easier to acquire as nearly all of them, apart from Vanek, are slumping. Max Domi has one 5×5 goal this year according to naturalstattrick.com. Tyler Ennis has been a healthy scratch in Minnesota. Galchenyuk can’t escape the ongoing media scrutiny in Montreal and Hagelin can’t seem to find his game this year.

I like Hagelin a lot here because he’d be very handy on the PK I feel with his speed and forechecking ability. For those same reasons PLUS he can score, I like Grabner but I’m not sure the Rangers would be willing to trade him as they’re in the hunt for the post-season.

Funny thing about the Oilers left wing is that both Maroon and Lucic are having good seasons from an even strenght POV. Maroon has more EV goals (9) than Taylor Hall, Brad Marchand, and Artemi Panarin. Milan Lucic has the same amount of even-strength goals (6) as Filip Forsberg and more than Mike Hoffman, Matthew Tkachuk, and Max Pacioretty. Funnier yet, Jujhar Khaira has the same amount of 5×5 goals as Lucic.

Twenty-one 5×5 goals between Maroon, Lucic, and Khaira is great I feel. CGY’s top three LW’s have EV 24 goals, NJ has nearly 30, NYI has 25, Vegas has 21, and WAS has 24.

I will caveat this by saying naturalstattrick doesn’t seem to have everybody’s positions 100% correct. For example, I don’t think that the San Jose Sharks have only played with two left-wingers this year.

One last player I’d like to mention is Sonny Milano (CLB). He has 7 EV goals in 268 min TOI for the Blue Jackets. I don’t watch a lot of Columbus games but I do see his name in the transactions list a lot due to being called up and sent down to the AHL. This kid is a skiller but his 200ft game isn’t quite there but that’s something I care very little about. His problem might be he doesn’t shoot enough with only 24 EV shots this year to date.

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A RIGHT-SHOT POWER PLAY POINT MAN

I do think that the Oilers would be better offer picking up this sort of player sooner rather than later and perhaps using a Matt Benning or an Oscar Klefbom to do it.

The candidates:

  • Mike Green (DET)
  • Kris Letang (PIT)
  • Erik Karlsson (OTT)

It seems I’ve put these players in order of most attainable to least. The Oilers would have to sell the farm to bring in a player like Karlsson, meaning Leon possibly going the other way and I’m not subscribing to that. If the Penguins were looking to go younger on defense, it’s weird that they’re not given it’s an area of concern for them, than Letang would be a more realistic target. As for Mike Green, Matt Benning and a prospect/pick, or maybe Anton Slepyshev or Drake Caggiula ++ may be able to bring him to the City of Champions.

But as these guys are the premium targets on this year’s market, you have to ask yourself if the Oilers have the assets to acquire one of them without crippling the future of the team.

  • Colin Miller (VGK)
  • Justin Faulk (CAR)
  • Brandon Montour (ANH)

These are your straight up PP specialists. Lotta chaos here. I believe that these players could be had for less than the Karlsson cluster above.

  • Shane Gostisbehere

The reason I bring up Ghost Bear is because not only is he one of the NHL’s premier PP specialists but the Flyers LW depth is atrocious and I do wonder if something could be done with Pat Maroon there. Not straight across of course but maybe a larger deal as I know the Flyers want to rid themselves of Jori Lehtera and his chunky contract.

A PENALTY KILLING/FACEOFF SPECIALIST

I’ve been saying for years that the Oilers lack two things,

  • vets who can take the draw
  • agitators to draw penalties

I really feel that the Oilers, whoever is running them at the time, are always trying to re-create the boys on the bus from the early 80s and I wish they’d stop. You cannot had a team over to a nucleus that isn’t old enough to buy a beer in the US. You need to have capable veterans to surround them and to take the weight off of their shoulders from time to time in order to give the kids room to breath. Take a look at Toronto now and go back and look at the Penguins rosters that Crosby played on in his early days.

  • Jean-Gabriel Pageau (OTT)
  • Matt Duchene (OTT)
  • Derek Ryan (CAR)

I want to focus on these three players at the moment. I’m sure there are more out there but I don’t think they’re available and between Ryan, Pageau, and Duchene, there are three guys who can score a goal,  take a draw and kill penalties.

I feel that with Pageau you get a player who is annoying as fack! He’s speedy, fearless, he draws penalties, and has a dusting of offense to his game (remember the playoff hatty not too long ago?).

In Duchene, you’d get a higher contract but with shorter term. That’s not where the rub lies though, it’s in his faceoff abilities. He’s one of the best in the game hands down. Over the last three seasons he’s nearly 60% on the dot AND he has shown that he can produce points in the past (116pts in his last 190 games). Another reason I include him is because I do wonder if Sens ownership is putting pressure on their GM to get rid of him. Duchene only has 6 pts in 23 games this season with Ottawa.

Derek Ryan is the player that I believe Stauffer is hinting at within his tweet. He’s a former U of A guy that has caught on in Carolina and stuck there. Not a big guy and not really much of a producer points-wise (Just a shade of 50pts in his last three years) but he’d probably be better on the kill than say Drake Caggiula plus I believe he’s a righty and very good on the draw. Not sure if Stauff would be able to strap down his U of A alumni boner if the Oilers brought Ryan in though. Careful around Rogers Place if that does happen.

Lastly, I’m getting the feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach these days with each growing loss. The feeling that something is going to drop soon be that a trade or a firing. Who could be leaving Edmonton? That I’m not 100% sure on but I’ve heard rumblings that the brass above Chiarelli is getting very impatient and action is being requested.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below! Happy 2018 everyone!

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