Tag Archives: Justin Faulk

Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

Is It Time To Move Another Big Name Oiler?

McLellan

The powerplay just doesn’t seem to be clicking and that’s not a new story for Oilers fans. We’ve run assistant coaches out of town for less but what usually starts the ball rolling is horrid special teams. I mean I’m all for asking Ralph Krueger or Todd Nelson to come back and sort this sh*t out but I’m fairly certain those bridges have been burned with the people responsible for putting fuel on those bridge burnings still working for the team.

Edmonton is 18th in the league for PP% with 16%. Which isn’t horrendous by any means, at least we’re not Calgary, they’re sitting dead last in the league with a 10% PP… Now that is atrocious! We’re closer than ever to being a playoff team, yet, the Oilers are on the verge of another 5-game losing streak that is partly due to their inability to capitalize with the man advantage.

My thinking is that maybe that PP really needs a shot in the arm and what is more expensive to acquire, a right-handed defenseman to QB the PP or a right-handed centre that could play the McDavid role with Oscar Klefbom on the point?

I suppose that depends on the player, right?

I mean, why are the Oilers continually running the PP through McDavid like they are? His choices are:

  • cross-ice pass to Ebs
  • to the point to Klefbom or Sekera
  • stickhandle through the slot and try himself
  • shoot through two penalty killers

Why (and they might be doing this with Ebs and Klefbom put on the 2nd PP unit yesterday) don’t they run the PP through Ebs and Klefbom? And if that brings success, find a 2nd pairing righty for the McDavid unit or alter the positioning of 97’s unit in order to make room for Puljujarvi’s 1-timer?

What we do know is that Eberle can’t shoot right now despite being the most active shooter on the team and in the top 5 of the NHL.

You know, Leon Draisaitl hit the post versus Toronto with a beauty of a 1-timer, why haven’t they tried working the puck over to him?…

Maybe the Oilers should start looking at that right-handed PP QB that Hall was supposed to bring in… Somebody like:

  • Sami Vatanen (ANH) – (2013-2016) 4.99 pts/60 on the PP.
  • Justin Faulk (CAR) – (2013-2016) 17.2 shots/60 on the PP + 2.07 goals/60 (2nd in NHL in both stats).
  • Matt Dumba (MIN) – (2016/17) 20.3 shots/60 on the PP (2nd in NHL).
  • *Inhales sharply and says with a hand over his mouth*…Dennis Wideman (CGY) – (2016/17) 6.17 pts/60 on the PP + 3rd in the NHL w/3.09 goals/60 on the PP.

I dunno guys, right now Nuge for Dumba is looking pretty tasty and that was a deal turned down (rightfully so at the time) at the draft. That cannon of his, his urgency to use it and his physical play could really fit in on a Todd McLellan/Peter Chiarelli team, no?

Now, I know that a majority of the game is played 5×5, so let’s check the four players corsi for % 5×5 (close) with 100 minutes TOI minimum and see where we land (league ranking in brackets)?

  • Vatanen (#70) 51.3%
  • Faulk (#48) 52.4%
  • Dumba (#97) 50%
  • Wideman (#170) 42.9%

Comparing that with the Oilers we’ve got:

1 – Adam Larsson (#22) – 54.7%
2- Oscar Klefbom (#25) – 54.4%
3 – Eric Gryba (#26) – 54.1%
4 – Darnell Nurse (#30) – 53.8%
5 – Matt Benning (#79) – 51.0%
6 – Andrej Sekera (#135) – 47.2%
7 – Kris Russell (#138) – 46.8%

Oilers on the PP this season (I had to reduce the minimum TOI to 1 minute to get more than 2 Oilers):

1 – Matt Benning (#40) – 14:35 TOI, 4.11 pts/60
2 – Andrej Sekera (#66) – 43:23 TOI, 2.77 pts/60
3 – Oscar Klefbom (#89) – 68.50 TOI, 1.74 pts/60
4 – Adam Larsson (#161) – 6:23 TOI, 0.00 pts/60
5 – Darnell Nurse (#166) – 1:22 TOI, 0.00 pts/60
6 – Kris Russell (#183) – 11:06 TOI, 0.00 pts/60

If we jack the minimum TOI up to 50, which I think is a decent variable at this point in the season, then Oscar Klefbom jumps to #41 in the NHL. And if we change the time frame from just this season to the previous four (including this one), Kris Russell is 48th in the NHL over that time with a points per 60 of 3.80 and Andrej Sekera (3.77) is right under him at 49th. But that’s it.

As for the four dmen I named above, what do you think their teams would be looking to acquire in exchange?

  • Matt Dumba – Last I heard the Wild were looking for scoring. Do the Oilers have anybody they could serve up without handcuffing themselves?
  • Justin Faulk – Some don’t like that his defense is going off the rails this season but Carolina would kill to get Nuge, wouldn’t they? But do they have someone to replace Faulk? We know that person isn’t Ryan Murphy. But hey, what about Ryan Murphy for Griffin Reinhart? Hehehe.
  • Sami Vatanen – The ducks are having an odd season so far. Their big guns aren’t firing on all cylinders, so I imagine scoring is something they’d be looking for as well given their ridiculously deep back-end. Last year Pouliot was rumored to be of interest but I can’t see that this year. And what would you deal to a division rival?
  • Dennis Wideman – I think he could be had for a Bobby Nick’s Burger.

I don’t really like the idea of moving a high-profile player just to “fix” the PP to be honest but what would you do? Would you sacrifice a Nuge, Eberle, Nurse, Klefbom or a Draisaitl to upgrade the Oilers PP?

Let me know in the comments below and thanks for reading!

Click the pic and grab a 16-bit McDavid tee!

 

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

Game 4: Oilers vs. Canes – Bouncing Back

1 Comment

We’ve finally reached the day of reckoning for the Edmonton Oilers… Wait! What?! The Oilers haven’t even played 5% of the season and the fate of the team’s 2016/17 season is on its knees at the feet of game no.4 versus the Carolina Hurricanes… Does it sound a bit ridiculous? If not, perhaps consider taking up knitting or becoming a professional at watching paint dry.

Does it sound a bit ridiculous? If not, perhaps consider taking up knitting or becoming a professional at watching paint dry because you’re simply taking things a bit. Too. Seriously.

Carolina (0-0-2) is limping into Edmonton (2-1-0) after giving up 3 goal leads twice in the last two games. First, in a 9-goal thriller vs. the Jets and then most recently losing to the Canucks in OT. Well that sounds fine and dandy I do not believe this is a positive for the Oilers because generally speaking, one would prefer to not have any goals scored against them than relying on the fact that a young team cannot hold a lead early into their season.

Edmonton didn’t have an amazing time playing Carolina in 2015/16, winning one (in OT) and losing one (4-1). But that was sans Connor McDavid…

I think the Hurricanes are developing into a very dangerous team with the likes or Jordan Staal and Jeff Skinner running the offense. Elias Lindholm and Victor Rask are emerging as big players for the Canes though and we can’t forget about an Oilers trade target in Justin Faulk either. Noah Hanifin is one of the loveliest skaters in the league, you’d be remiss if you didn’t pay attention to how he plays the game.

If the Oilers can take advantage of the Hurricanes mental instability and hop on them early instead of doing what they have been doing (letting the opposition boss them early in the game), then I believe Edmonton can end this one early. BUT, if they do revert to previous efforts, it will take someone like McDavid or Talbot or maybe even Leon Draisaitl to have a Herculean performance to pull the team from the claws of fan revolt.

WHAT I WANT TO SEE

  • I want to see Pouliot stay out of the bloody box because McLellan might just send him straight to the dressing room if he goes a third game taking PIMs like he has been.
  • I want to see a MAJOR bounce back from Oscar Klefbom. I know at least two blatant giveaways versus Buffalo resulted in goals or clear scoring chances. Not good…
  • I’d like to see Puljujarvi pot another. He’s slowly catching on and he’s playing the game right. It’ll take time for him to get his shooting confidence but we’re only at game no.4. He’s using his body and positioning in the right manner and that’s more than what Yakupov and Hall could be said of in their first seasons.
  • I think Pat Maroon could put an end to this disappearing/reappearing act any time soon. He needs to get into the games in one way or another. Be it physically or by scoring. Do something man!
  • Jordan Eberle’s great play is something I want to see continue.
  • I want to see another great game from Kris Russell so that we can get closer to ending the hockey buzzword, “small sample size”, with regards to judging his play.
  • Lastly, I’d like to see the Oilers win the possession game AND the game on the scoreboard. Going 3-1 to start the season would be wonderous and especially with the Nail Yakupov and the St.Louis Blues coming to town on Thursday.

It’s pretty early as I write this, so the lineups haven’t been announced yet but I predict the Oilers might go back to what they were originally lined up like before Benoit Pouliot decided the benches in Roger’s Place needed warming up. Please, Benoit, I’m begging you, don’t make the coach take out his McBlender and throw the lines inside…

Lucic-McDavid-Eberle
Pouliot-Nuge-Kassian
Maroon-Draisaitl-Puljujarvi
Pitlick-Letestu-Lander

Klefbom-Larsson
Sekera-Russell
Nurse-Gryba

Talbot
Brossoit

Click on the pic and grab a new 16-bit Fighting Looch tee!
Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects, Trades

Goodbye Hall/Nuge, Hello Lucic?

9 Comments

 

Milan Lucic is sort of the physical embodiment of what Peter Chiarelli stated from the get-go needed to happen in Edmonton. He wanted to get bigger, more competitive players… I do think if he goes to free agency the Oilers are going to have a solid opportunity to bring him in, but they’re going to have to move somebody out in the process because they’ve got to address that back-end as well. – Bob Stauffer (June 3rd Edition of Inside Sports w/Reid Wilkins)

Well Stauffer is making waves again. If you believe what he’s saying above and that Lucic has been in Chiarelli’s sights from the beginning, we’re in for one of the biggest team culture changes since Gretzky was sold. Out with the skill and in with the ill… Tempered. Hockey player.

Now if you read into that quote above a bit, there are two players and only two players on the left-wing that fit the description of somebody that has to be moved to address the back-end.

Taylor Hall ($6M until 2020) and Benoit Pouliot ($4M until 2018).

I’m of the impression that Pouliot was nearly traded to Anaheim along with Yakupov for a mystery return. We’re left assuming it was Vatanen and Maroon. Maroon finally made it over and it seems that he’s taken a liking to Pouliot’s old spot on the roster next to Connor McDavid.

During the season I got the distinct feeling that Oilers head coach Todd McLellan became frustrated with Taylor Hall on more than one occasion and the rumours are running rampant that Hall is joining the list as one of the players most likely to be leaving Edmonton this summer.

TSN’s Frank Seravalli spoke about Hall, Nuge, Ebs, Yakupov, and the Oilers’ 1st rounder in the upcoming NHL draft on Friday’s edition of The Lowdown with Lowetide.

Here’s the thing. IF the Oilers are intending on signing Milan Lucic to a 6x6M deal (for example), that is going to change the complection of the roster completely. The Oilers have almost always been a run and gun, throw defense to the wind sort of team. And it’s gotten them a whole lot of nothing in the last 10 years and now with McDavid running the show and the team failing to rebuild around Taylor Hall, will we see him moved to upgrade the defense? Will the Oilers finally get that brooding power forward that the fans have been clambering for since Bill Guerin and Jason Arnott were in Edmonton?

I want to throw a hypothetical at you.

Say that Lucic to the Oilers is a done deal. Now the team chooses to move Hall because theoretically he’s going to bring you back the most value. The Oilers could choose to go after PK Subban before his NMC kicks in. But do you think they could get Subban for Hall straight up? I don’t. I think they’d have to add simply because wingers don’t have the value that defensemen do. Subban is a Norris Trophy winner and they’ve already got Pacioretty running the cart on the Habs 1st line LW.

The Habs love trading their captains mind you.

So, we move on from PK. Erik Karlsson isn’t going anywhere, so you can scratch that idea off the board. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, no… Drew Doughty, no… Victor Hedman, no… Basically any elite level NHL defenseman is a target to far to reach because there are ZERO teams looking to move their no.1 dmen. Name two if you can. The only one I can think of is Montreal and they’re insane. But we’ve been hearing a lot about four other dmen.

  • Hampus Lindholm (ANH) – RFA. Can’t see the Ducks adding Hall’s salary nor losing their best young blueliner to a division rival and for the same reason, I can’t see Edmonton wanting to play Hall six times a year.
  • Jacob Trouba (WPG) – RFA. It’s possible that maybe something could be struck with the Jets but Trouba has fallen off a bit lately and hasn’t recovered. Also, he’s looking for 1st pairing money ($6M/yr) and that isn’t happening.
  • Tyson Barrie (COL) – RFA. He’s at the top of the trade rumour charts at the moment but with Landeskog, Duchene, MacKinnon, etc. Do the Avs want to add another expensive young forward? Surely they’re going to want to add a defender.
  • Justin Faulk (CAR) – ($4.83M AAV ’til 2019) Here is a team that is in dire need of an impact forward and according to some pundits in the YEG, the ‘Canes are ready to put their faith in the likes of Brett Pesce, Jaccob Slavin, Noah Hanifin, Ron Hainsey, Michal Jordan and James Wisniewski…

So for argument’s sake, at the draft, let’s say the Carolina Hurricanes are willing to offer the Oilers a multitude of deals such as:

A) Justin Faulk and their two first-round picks in 2016 (#13 and 21)
B) Justin Faulk, Sebastian Aho (W/C), and a 2nd round pick in 2016 (#43)
C) Noah Hanifin

We know that the Oilers prospect cupboard isn’t teeming with burgeoning NHLers right now apart from MAYBE Drake Caggiula, Jujhar Khaira, and Jordan Oesterle but that could change. I’m aware that trading Hall for anything less than Alex Ovechkin will probably result in a drop in some offensive and possession stats and I’m okay with that because I believe the team would grow as a group a bit more if there was one less chef in the kitchen. No stats to prove that of course and I suppose you can’t change what you can’t track but if trades were made with calculators at the forefront, wouldn’t they be easier to make?

Anyways, say they choose option A. The Oilers would have the #4, #13, and #21 theoretically. They could come away from the draft with a completely re-stocked prospect cupboard. Not only that but Chiarelli would totally redeem himself of last season’s draft trade debacle.

  • #4 – Matt Tkachuk/Jesse Puljujarvi/PL Dubois/Jakob Chychrun
  • #13 – Charlie McAvoy/Mike McLeod/Julien Gauthier/Clayton Keller
  • #21 – Max Jones/Tyler Benson/Alex Debrincat/German Rubtsov

Not only that but then the Oilers hold the #32 pick as well where they could pick Carter Hart, Boris Katchouck, Lucas Johansen, or Cliff pu.

But it doesn’t stop there because they’ve got three 3rd round picks to boot! The likes of Sean Day, David Quenville, Evan Fitzpatrick, James Greenway, etc. could be Oilers.

They could also choose to move those draft picks for roster players. But the more bullets Chiarelli has in the chamber, the better the Oilers’ chances are of finding a hockey player that will play 100 games for them in the future.

But take this overhaul a step further and say they sign 27-year-old Jason Demers to a respectable 5yr deal worth $4.75M per annum. That’s more than doubling what he makes now. So then you plug Demers into that hole on the 2nd pairing above and voila! A respectable Edmonton Oilers roster that is capable of challenging for a playoff spot and arguably more importantly, the roster is built in such a way that it allows it’s prospects the necessary time to develop properly.

Let me know if I’ve missed anything but the fictional Oilers roster would look like this after all is said and done:

A couple of drawbacks (depending on how you see it) include having a hair over 950k in cap room, no way to sign a backup keeper for Talbot, no RH’d one-timer off of the wall on the PP, and a shat ton of LH shooters…

I think the team could save some money by LTIR-ing Ference and/or trading Reinhart.

Peter Chiarelli is bound to make the Oilers roster one that teams fear playing against and at the moment, they are not that… At all… If Hall or Nuge, Ebs or Yak have to go, then so be it. I welcome a change to the make-up of this team because for ten years they men running the show have been trying the same thing over and over and it simply isn’t working. You NEVER build a team from the wings inwards… And I’d prefer the wingers be dealt before the centers personally but that’s a conversation for another day.

Draft day, please hurry.

Get your 16-Bit McDavid and support the #connorforcalder movement! Click the pic and get your tee today!
Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects, Rumors, Trades

Of Course He Did…

6 Comments

Yesterday Travis Hamonic took back his trade request. I’m not surprised one bit either. I’ve been saying for some time now that fans of the Oilers should be prepared for an underwhelming summer. Now that Hamonic is off the market, I’m one step closer to being right. Not that I’m writing this to validate my assumptions and jack up the ego or anything. To be honest, I’d much rather be wrong about this one but Chiarelli’s up against the wall this summer and he’s going to have to pull off a helluva deal to get out of this predicament.

Hamonic

Something doesn’t feel right about this Hamonic situation… Check out this quote that came right after the rescinding of Hamonic’s trade request that was captured by Peter Botte of the New York Daily News:

“I love it here & want to be here & want to win a Cup here. I never wanted to leave here and couldn’t be happier to stay here.” – Travis Hamonic

He never wanted to leave and couldn’t be happier to stay there? Come again? That doesn’t sound like a person who wanted out. Arthur Staple seconded the quote on Oilers Now yesterday as well… Was there even a trade request or what? Does this have anything to do with the Islanders ownership shuffle? On July 1st, Charles Wang won’t be the majority owner anymore and it wouldn’t be irresponsible if there were major speculations going on with that whole organization.

Trade Requests

If your’e a fan of Lowetide, you need this shirt! Click the pic and get yours today!

On the note of trade requests, the players making them are not batting well. From off the top of my head Jonathan Drouin, Kerby Rychel, Travis Hamonic (apparently), and Nail Yakupov are all batting goose eggs. Which leads me to believe that Yakupov will be an Oiler for at least one more season.

Remaining Targets

So getting back to the summer of underwhelming, the remaining targets are as such:

Justin Faulk (CAR) – I don’t care how much Bob Stauffer pumps this guy’s tires. Nuge for Faulk plus because Rod Brind’Amour is tied to Nugent-Hopkins seems a read to me. Faulk is leaving Carolina like Shea Weber is leaving Nashville. Sure the ‘Canes need a top line centre but that young defense needs at least one more season to show that they’re capable of… Chopping wood and carrying water… HA! The wildcard coming out of Carolina might be the 32-year-old right-handed offenseive dman, James Wisniewski.

Tyson Barrie (COL) – I think it would be a HUGE mistake for the Avs to move this guy. But their 10th overall pick and Barrie for the Oilers’ 4th overall is a deal that appeals to me but I’m not sure how much it appeals to the Avs. There’s just as much a chance they could get a dman at #10 than #4 IF that is in fact the way they’d like to go.

Jason Demers (DAL) – He’s a solid no.4 for me with potential to be a no.3. An older less-skilled version of Travis Hamonic. A good shutdown defender but I’m very wary of paying him over $5 million dollars per year on a long-term deal. Also, I reckon the Stars will let Alex Goligoski walk and re-sign Demers. The value of the right-handed dman prevails. But the one hope or nail in the coffin to the Jason Demers to Edmonton scenario is Todd McLellan who coached him in San Jose.

Sami Vatanen/Hampus Lindholm (ANH) – These are the guys that make more sense to me despite being in the same division. Anaheim won’t be looking to add salary so that, in theory, could take Nuge and Ebs off the table. Perhaps this is an instance where Yak or Pouliot could go in a deal and of course that would depend on if McGinn and Pirri sign in Anaheim.

Get your 16-Bit McDavid and support the #connorforcalder movement! Click the pic and get your tee today!

Down on Nuge?

Lastly, Nuge didn’t have a great year last season and now he’s on the block… A bit premature, no? But now he’s on his way out-of-town? As we know, players do not develop in straight lines and RNH has just had his first down season but surely that is no reason to trade him and he seems to be coming up in proposals more and more recently. The team finally has depth at centre and now everyone wants to show him the door?

Unicorns?

Check out what the Penguins are doing with their unicorns… Crosby on line 1, Malkin on line 2, and Kessel on line 3… If Pittsburgh wins this year, will that be “the model” going forward? I mean if we take that and apply it to the Oilers, do you think it would be effective?

Line 1 – Pouliot/McDavid/Yakupov
Line 2 – Hall/Draisaitl/Eberle
Line 3 – Maroon/Nugent-Hopkins/Caggiula
Line 4 – Hendricks/Letestu/Pakarinen

Extra: Kassian, Lander

Caggiula is a leftie, that much is true, but surely he’ll be given every opportunity to make the roster at any position. Chiarelli did say he’ll have to learn the pro game and learn to control his emotions, so perhaps his spot will go to Kassian or Iiro or who knows, maybe Anton Slepyshev, Matty Tkachuk or Pierre-Luc Dubois will be there…

The Defense

I’m not convinced that a healthy Oilers defence needs a mindblowing upgrade. I believe it only really needs one piece. A puck mover for the second pairing. Maybe that’s Sami Vatanen but the onus should be on adding quality hockey players whether they be left-handed or right-handed. At this point, can the team afford to be picky? Davidson, Reinhart, Oesterle and Sekera all played their off sides last season.

1st Pairing – Klefbom/Sekera
2nd Pairing – Davidson/Vatanen
3rd Pairing – Nurse/Fayne

Extra: Reinhart, Gryba (If re-signed)

Can’t Give Up Now

I think the team has eaten shit for too long to just up and trade the pieces collected for being terrible for so long. They made up 40 goals in their scoring differential last year from the season previous and that was with a banged up roster and a disappearing act from Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl for the last 30 games.

This team can and will do better because it has the pieces to do it. Not only that but the young players are a year older, stronger, wiser, and healthier. Nurse will be a much better player next season as will Yak. So don’t be surprised if Chiarelli isn’t pressured into making a bad deal because he wants to see what he’s got as a whole before tinkering with it or he’s waiting to see what the salary cap landscape looks across the league before picking his spots.

If there are some deals to be made, I have to wonder if they’ll just be the type to change-up the team chemistry a bit.

“The reason why he’ll play is that his hockey sense and his GRIT and when you combine those ingredients with skill, these guys find a way to play.” – Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli on Drake Caggiula

Click the pics and grab a tee!
Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects, Rumors, Trades

Trader Pete

6 Comments
Could one of these fellas be on the move to shore up the blue line this summer?

Yesterday was a busy day for Bob Stauffer and the listeners of Oilers Now. The talk was all about who the Oilers should pick at 4th overall at this summer’s NHL Entry Draft, which one of the $6M men could get traded, and a multitude of trade scenarios to which I am going to discuss below.

There are a few points of view when talking about the Oilers’ first rounder this year.

  • Keep it and draft one of Matthew Tkachuk or Pierre-Luc Dubois.
  • Trade down and draft one of Logan Brown or Olli Juolevi.
  • Trade it outright or package it with a roster player for an upgrade on the blueline.

Stauffer said he’d talked to two coaches in the OHL and one described Matthew Tkachuk as a better prospect than Dylan Strome right now, whilst the other said Tkachuk is comparable to a 6’2″ version of Brendan Gallagher or Brad Marchand. Kosmic did a little profile of him here.

I think Bob mentioned this like 5 or 6 times over the entire show which sort of leads me to believe that either he was told to sell those two players to the listeners or there wasn’t anything else to talk about regarding Tkachuk or Dubois… 

Now, I’ve definitely got time for a player like that. To me, that sort of player screams Corey Perry and boy do the Oilers need someone in that mold. It’s been a long time since the team had a goal-scoring agitator who could think the game on an NHL level.

But there are two things that should be discussed when it comes to the left-winger.

  • He’s a left shot and the Oilers are pretty stocked with those.
  • He’s putting up big numbers this season playing alongside Mitch Marner who himself is racking up McDavid-like stats… You don’t want to get caught in the Sam Gagner trap again.

The other player discussed at no.4 was Pierre-Luc Dubois and the comparable for him was Jamie Benn. Kosmic also did a write-up on PLD here.

The Oilers could also trade down. The Vancouver Canucks are supposedly high on the Dubois kid and they hold the #5 pick. Personally I don’t see a lot on the Canucks roster or in their system that might be available. Chris Tanev and Brock Boeser are probably the only two guys there.

Bob and Brenden Ullrich discussed a scenario near the end of Oilers Now that went like this:

Tyler Bozak, Jake Gardiner, and the Penguins 1st round pick
for
Mark Fayne and the Oilers 1st round pick

This would allow the Leafs to pick their homeboy, Matthew Tkachuk, the Oilers an upgrade on defense, and give Edmonton a good face-off man in the 3C hole. Chiarelli could then take one of their left-handed shooters and move him to the Islanders for Travis Hamonic.

In the end the proposed deal might look like this:

Tyler Bozak, Travis Hamonic, and the Pens 1st rounder
for
Mark Fayne, Jake Gardiner, and the Oilers 1st rounder.

Sounds okay to me as it would fill some holes on the roster with veteran players. Bozak has a no-trade clause and who knows if he’d waive it to go to Edmonton. But I’m of the opinion that the team is still too young and lacks effective impact veterans to take this team to where it needs to go.

What about trading the 4th overall pick outright for a veteran dman?

If your’e a fan of Lowetide, you need this shirt! Click the pic and get yours today!

Well the pick on its own has a lot of value. Not as much as the first three but it’s certainly more valuable than Hamonic, Vatanen, or Barrie. But maybe the Oilers would go for it if say they were dealing with Anaheim and the Ducks included their first rounder and a prospect like Jacob Larsson or Brandon Montour with Vatanen or if Colorado included their first rounder (10th overall) with Barrie… Ya never know what teams are thinking right? Isles could very well offer their first and Hamonic for the 4th overall and Brandon Davidson.

Anyways, those were some draft day ideas floating around on Oilers Now yesterday. Someone did call in and ask about Justin Faulk out of Carolina for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Which I think sounds pretty decent but Stauffer thought the Hurricanes would have to add to that. How much I wonder? Could left-winger Sebastian Aho be added to that deal to make it fair?

My Concluding Thoughts…

  • If the Oilers are in dire need of character players, could they see what’s available in the 2nd or 3rd rounds and use their 4th overall pick to take Olli Juolevi and not Logan Brown.
  • Logan Brown to me sounds a bit too much like Joe Colborne and in my opinion if you’re going to be a big guy that isn’t physical, you’d better be a damned good goal scorer or playmaker.
  • Maybe some guys like Will Bitten, Carl Grundstrom, or Nathan Bastien could be the character players Edmonton could find use for in 3-4 years.
  • I’d prefer the team trade down myself and find a way to get a dman like Charlie McAvoy or Dante Fabbro plus add more assets like 2nd round picks or 3rd round picks. The prospect cupboard is dusty and the more bullets the Oilers have, the better the odds at finding players. Developed correctly, these two right-handed dmen could have wonderful careers for the Oilers.
  • The lack of right-handed shooting wingers concerns me. Eberle has a muffin of a one-timer. They need to address this issue in the summer. With McDavid running the PP it was over 20% successful and imagine how much more success they’d have on it if they had a right-handed shooter on the left wall AND a dman who could fire the pill.
  • A caller named Brad called in and made his case for not trading any of the $6M dollar men because there’s no way the Oilers could replace their production and the team has enough trouble scoring as it is. He may have a point.
  • Yakupov’s trade return is going to be so bad right now that the best course of action is to keep him and play him with 97 then trade him when his value has increased. If Drouin can come back and perform the way he is then I believe Yak can do it too.

What are your thoughts on the topic du jour? Let me know in the comments below! Three Points Dave has a new vlog out talking about the draft lottery! Check it out and please subscribe to our Youtube channel!

Click the pic and get your tee today!