Tag Archives: Keith Gretzky

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

Edmonton Oilers Organized Chaos: What the Hockey Pundits are Saying about the Oilers GM Search

Yesterday was a bit of a clown show with regards to the news on the Edmonton Oilers GM search. We were told Keith Gretzky was a front runner and then at the end of the night we were told he was out. Other pundits told us that Ken Holland hasn’t even been contacted and then shortly thereafter we were informed that he’s the leading contender for the job…

And then there are these tweets this morning from Ryan Rishaug and Jim Matheson.

https://twitter.com/NHLbyMatty/status/1124294204547579904

I think there’s a feeling within the club that they’ve liked how Gretzky has pulled things together and that it’s better the devil you know than the one you don’t. Nicholson has a working history with Keith Gretzky now that he doesn’t have with Mark Hunter but I do wonder if the Oilers current interim GM would be willing to work under Hunter with an eye towards being poached by another team in the future. Would Hunger agree to that? All very interesting…

More information will come but I wanted to go through and quote all these different hockey pundits from just yesterday to show you how nuts this is and how the Oilers are either loving this because they’re orchestrating it or how bad it really is in the organization right now.

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1) Let’s start at the beginning of the day (May 2nd) with the Dustin Nielson Show (TSN) who had Darren Dreger on to talk about the Oilers GM search.

  • On the leading candidate: I wouldn’t be shocked at all if Mark Hunter emerges as the next GM of the Edmonton Oilers.
  • On Ken Holland being 100% out of the hiring process: It feels close to 100% but I never box in because you never know. Everything that we’ve been told as a group at TSN is that Nicholson and Kenny Holland would’ve had a number of conversations that would’ve lead up to the Detroit Red Wings naming Steve Yzerman as the general manager and pushing Holland further up the executive ladder of the Red Wings org.Detroit wouldn’t have done that without consent from Ken Holland, but Kenny Holland loves to be in the fight. He is an active guy… Part of me wonders if Holland is going to be satisfied professionally if he’s not in that fight.

    But I go back to what I said 30 seconds before about the relationship between Holland and Nicholson. Nicholson would’ve known weeks ago that Ken Holland wasn’t going to truly be a candidate for the Edmonton Oilers because they probably, loosely, because there are some legalities here, would’ve shared some information and I’d be more surprised if Nicholson hasn’t used Ken Holland as a resource in potentially vetting some of the candidates that he’s talked to.

    I’m not saying it’s 100% dead but unless something’s changed in the last 5-7 days, I don’t see Ken Holland being the next GM in Edmonton. 

2) Next up we move on to Lowetide’s show where he had Frank Seravalli on to give his two cents on this whole thing.

  • On how attractive the Oilers GM position is and Ken Holland: It depends on where you were coming from and what you were doing. To me, I’m a glass-half-full guy, if I have a chance to run a team with Connor McDavid at my disposal with the rabid fanbase that supports your team like no other. To me, I don’t mind having to come in maybe tear some things up or burn some things down to try and make that work and put my own stamp on it because if you can make the Edmonton Oilers a winner, you know, there’s no better job in pro sports in my opinion. With the feedback and support you get from town and that community, I mean, it’s phenomenal, it’s second-to-none.If you’re Ken Holland and you’ve won three Stanley Cups and I don’t know how many presidents trophies and you’ve been in this league for 25 years, is that the job you wanna take? Is that how hard you wanna work? 
  • On Keith Gretzky: The best thing that Keith Gretzky has done since he’s been in this role has been to bring everybody back together again. He’s done a great job of mending some fences in that front office, getting everyone on board, being the communicator and team player that I think has made him and kept him in the mix in terms of this position moving forward.

3) Elliotte Friedman discussed the Oilers on this week’s 31 Thoughts Podcast and here’s what they had to say,

  • This week I expect the Oilers to get clarity now that the u18s are over on Kelly McCrimmon and Ken Holland. From what I can tell, the Oilers did not have the “official written permission” to interview Kelly McCrimmon. So they were hoping to get that this week.I’ve been on Ken Holland since the beginning as the guy I believe is no. 1 on Bob Nicholson’s list. I think they’ll also find out this week if Ken Holland is a legit contender, legitimately interested. If Ken Holland is interested, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if they offer him the job and see what he says.
  • One of the things I’ve heard is that Steve Yzerman legitimately wanted Ken Holland there, he wants him there to bounce ideas off of.
  • After I wrote the list of guys who interviewed, I forgot to add someone. Bill Zito interviewed for the Oilers GM job. (Sean Burke, John Ferguson, Mike Futa, Ross Mahoney, Scott Mellanby). I left out Bill Zito. That’s a name somebody told me.
  • What somebody told me is not everybody suggested a quick recovery. Apparently, there were some people there that said, ‘You’re gonna have to take some more pain if you want to do this right.’ Maybe more than one (candidate) said this. ‘The way you get yourself into trouble is you try to trade your way out of these problems. You may have to take a couple years more pain to get better.’
  • You take a look at Ken Holland. He’s done it both ways in Detroit, right? Like, Detroit’s way was. ‘We’re going to keep our playoff streak alive.’ So he made moves to keep their playoff streak alive.
  • But if you take a look at it now, Larkin looks like he’s a player. Athanasiou looks like he’s a player. Mantha is up and down but he’s still there, Bertuzzi looks like he’s a player. They are stocked with picks and prospects. I know there are people killing Holland in the interim but when this team is good again, a lot of his pieces, whether they’re draft picks or prospects, are gonna be part of it. People are going to notice that. So he’s done it both ways. I’m curious to know what he’s going to say.
  • If I really believe that the guy who says two more years is right, I go there. Now I realize I’m not sitting in that chair, but if you bring somebody in and they make a bunch of trades that go badly, they could go well, but if they go badly, that’s always tied to you. That’s one thing where you have to go to McDavid and say, ‘This is what we’re thinking.’
  • But I think it’s really interesting that guys would go in there and say, ‘Okay… It’s gonna take some time.’

4) The Jason Gregor Show had a few guests on that chimed in on this including Gregor himself, former Oiler defensive legend Jason Strudwick, and Ryan Rishaug. Here are some quotes from Gregor’s show yesterday.

  • Gregor: Holland isn’t really in from what I’ve been told.
  • Strudwick: Keith Gretzky, who I’ve said in the past, has an advantage over other people, not that he’s ahead, but he’s got an advantage on people because of the fact that he has a plan in place here and now.
  • Strudwick: This idea of a 3-headed monster where everyone has equal say, why would he (Hunter) do that?… If Mark Hunter is here, I believe he’s the GM.
  • Gregor: Rishaug said that Sean Burke is out of the race. Like I’ve said all along, I’ve thought it was Mark Hunter. Now here’s the thing, a lot of people think it’s Hunter and Keith Gretzky.
  • Gregor: Do you think the Oilers, the reaction to season ticket holders, and at this point, no offense to non-season ticket holders; because right now when you have renewals for season seat holders, that’s your priority today. Once season seat renewals are up, now it changes and it’s open to everybody.I’m curious if they’re leery of that impacting season ticket renewals where it looks like you didn’t make an actual change and you’ve kept somebody from within.
  • Strudwick: Who is the best candidate and do we truly feel that this is the best choice? And if it’s Keith Gretzky and you feel he’s the best one, then it might hurt you in the short term, yes Gregs, there’s no doubt about it. But with the name association, I think it would hurt the team. But if you firmly believe that long-term that he is the right guy, I think you win those fans back by the success that happens under his regime and that’s Keith Gretzky’s regime.
  • Strudwick: Keith Gretzky has a plan in place now. He has the plan. If he’s hired in 5 minutes, his plan starts at 4 pm. Boom! ‘Thanks for hiring me!’ and he starts making adjustments to the group whatever he feels on the ice, off the ice, whatever it is.
  • Gregor: I’ll say this for Keith Gretzky, he wasn’t here for the Hall and Reinhart trades. I spoke pretty candidly about the Caggiula trade, that had numerous people tell me that I trust that that was more of a GM with a little bit of input from the head coach and no one else.
  • Rishaug on Holland resurfacing: The wildcard is Ken Holland and a change of heart from Ken Holland to me. Then you look at Pierre LeBrun’s tweet, his understanding that Holland is currently taking stock of what lies ahead for him. Edmonton remains a possibility. Seattle is of intrigue or he could stay on in Detroit. But it seems like Holland will want to resurface at some point as a GM somewhere.So, a Ken Holland change of heart that felt like a wildcard a number of hours ago based on that tweet from Pierre LeBrun I think becomes a bit more realistic. I would say, I don’t know what the chances are, I don’t know how to handicap it, but I guess what I’d say is that I believe that if Ken Holland wanted to be a general manager, he would be a prime candidate for the Oilers that Bob Nicholson would have extreme interest in him and it’s just a matter of if Holland wanted to be here (Edmonton).

    So with the news that he may be interested, it definitely shakes things up quite a bit and he would move into the pole position in my opinion, IF he’s interested.

  • Rishaug on Sean Burke: I think he was close. I think Burke was a darkhorse that really impressed and it wouldn’t surprise me if moving forward he’s not in the mix if he wants to be, for some other positions that become available. I think he raised some eyebrows and impressed and there’s an appetite to potentially have him part of things and maybe he’s a, not necessarily the guy in this moment, but maybe the guy in the making.
  • Rishaug on Keith Gretzky: I think they’d worry a tremendous amount about the optics of it, but I think that if they feel he’s the best man for the job, they’ve got to hire him. I don’t think that you don’t hire Keith Gretzky because you’re worried about optics. If you go through this whole rigamarole and this whole process if you’re Bob Nicholson, you bring in all these people and you talk to them and you decide that Keith Gretzky’s presentation and his vision is what the organization needs, you gotta hire him. That’s the hardest decision Nicholson would have to make to hire Keith Gretzky in that role.
  • Rishaug on Holland Pt.2: By going back to someone who’s had success in the past, there is some risk in that.A couple of the things that would draw you to Ken Holland were Detroit’s absolute iron-clad reputation as an organization that handled development extremely well. They didn’t rush people. They had lots of home-grown talent. Their attitude towards development was solid and they were known for that and I think that’s very attractive if you’re the Edmonton Oilers based on what their problems have been.

    I think there’s also a willingness to be open and work with different people and not be somebody who’s just going to go in there and close your office door and do everything yourself. I think he would be an inclusive type of guy. I think that’s a draw for them.

    The other thing he’s shown he can do is develop good people underneath him. He’s developed some exceptional people underneath him and maybe that’s part of this as well. You want a guy that can do it now for sure but there’ve been a number of guys, the Jim Nills of the world, Steve Yzermans, and people like this. Maybe it’s a tandem type thing. Maybe it’s Ken Holland overseeing everything but then it IS a more increased role for Keith Gretzky developing into that role eventually. I don’t know.

    I think maybe Nicholson after McCrimmon falls off the board, maybe it’s about circling back and making sure and double-checking. Maybe increasing an offer before going down the path of the next candidate.

    Nicholson has to be careful here. This is dragging out and people need answers too.

  • Rishaug on Keith Gretzky pt. 2: I think Keith Gretzky is a good candidate for this job and I know that’s an unpopular opinion to hold in this city because people tend to get irate over it and I’m sure the Oilers take notice of that. But Keith Gretzky has been around this game a long time and he’s got lots of experience and he’s done things on his own. Nevermind the name, people need to get that out of their head that if he gets the job it has anything to do with his name, it doesn’t. It has everything to do with his accomplishments.

5) Next is a clip from yesterday’s TSN Overdrive that involves mostly Bob McKenzie and Gord Miller discussing Ken Holland with Jamie McLennan chiming in briefly. The feeling here that I got listening to this is similar to what you’ve already read, IF Holland wants the GM’s job in Edmonton, he can have it but there’s no indication (yet) that he wants it.

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

Edmonton Oilers Rumors: Gretzky Leading the Pack for Oilers GM Job? Kypreos says it’s Holland Though.

I’ll start this off by saying that this morning’s post regarding Mark Spector saying the Oilers had interviewed Kelly McCrimmon, well I guess that has been privately denied. I was in touch with another source and was told that they’d dug into that quote and was informed by their own source that improper wordage was used. That wasn’t what Spector intended to say.

Believe what you will, but I’m not really buying that. Spec prefaced that quote very clearly as one he could share with us. If he misworded or what he said wasn’t the intended, a) he would’ve gone public and corrected it or b) he would’ve said what he meant to. It was a prepared statement.

I’m also of the belief that we’re hearing what both McCrimmon’s party and the Oilers’ want us to hear.

So where do we go from here?

*EDIT* I wrote an entire piece here on the premise that Keith Gretzky was the front-runner for the job, but Nick Kypreos has just said this during the Sharks/Avs intermission:

So you can continue to read on if you like as there’s some information in this post that still pertains but it looks like things have changed on the GM front in Edmonton… Or at least that’s what we’re being told. 

Is Ken Holland the big fish? What happens if he passes? Are we back to Gretzky and Hunter? This is going to be fun!!!

Well, the common belief is that Mark Hunter has jumped to the front of the queue but when I asked around about that I was told that that might be the public perception NOT the internal one.

What I’m understanding there is that the order of preference has changed now that McCrimmon is out and now it looks like this:

  1. Ken Holland
  2. Keith Gretzky
  3. Mark Hunter

I’d read about a possible 3-headed management team consisting of Sean Burke and Keith Gretzky serving as assistant general managers with Mark Hunter as GM but that was quickly refuted. Instead, it was passed along that if the Oilers can’t convince Ken Holland to join the team (aka “make him an offer he can’t refuse”) that they’d prefer to install Gretzky as GM.

For those thinking of a Holland/Gretzky tandem, I’m not sure I see that happening. I don’t feel that Holland would leave a very cushy position in DET as their POHO to go to Edmonton to be the Oilers’ POHO. But if you’ve been listening to Kurt Leavins and Elliotte Friedman, they’ve been pumping Holland’s tires for quite some time now…

There are some things to be worried about with Holland as GM though and my friend SPR who’s a Red Wings supporter out of London, Ont. has spoken to this in the past,

https://twitter.com/TheOilKnight/status/1118505355636396032

https://twitter.com/TheOilKnight/status/1122957248194420736

Why is this team so fearful of big change? I guess there isn’t a fear of big change, that is just what it seems like.

Of course that’s what it seems like!

You have a gentleman who is considered as talented as Kelly McCrimmon in Mark Hunter and he’s going to want full control. So the idea is to go with someone else? Even after you’ve interviewed him twice already? That’s not going to play well with Hunter or other GMs in the future when it’s time to go down that road again…

No disrespect to Gretzky and his 19 years in the NHL over Hunter’s three, but this seems a bit fishy. I’ve never heard Kretzky’s name bandied about as a possible GM candidate for other clubs… Ever. But I have heard Mark Hunter’s, Mike Futa’s, Bill Zito’s, etc.

Why is that?

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Then you’ve got Jim Matheson wondering if Gretzky would leave the Oilers much in the way that Hunter left Toronto when Kyle Dubas was chosen over him as GM of the Leafs.

I suppose that’s a possibility, has anybody been calling and asking for permission to talk to him? His contract expires at the end of June… But maybe, just maybe, that might be what’s best for the Oilers.

What if the best thing for the organization is if all of the guys that have been with the club through the decade(+2) of darkness got jobs with other teams? Why does the playing roster have to be rebuilt but not the executive one?

Bob Stauffer said to keep an eye out for what current IIHF president Rene Fasel is doing? If he goes to run the KHL, there’s a strong chance Bob Nicholson would get the push to be the new president of the IIHF.

Then we have Ray Ferraro saying that this GM search for the Oilers is going poorly. I call bullshit on that too. Remember last summer when Carolina was trying to hire a GM and candidates were turning them down? THAT is a bad GM search and I don’t recall those execs who turned them down doing it because they were getting promoted. Holland and McCrimmon both accepted promotions.

The funny part about that Ferraro spot on a Toronto radio show is that he went ahead and pumped Ron Hextall’s tires after and for those of you who didn’t know, Hextall and Ferraro were teammates in junior with Brandon (WHL), Kelly McCrimmon’s team now…

Has the New GM Been Working For the Oilers All This Time?

Have the Oilers had the new GM since January? It’d make sense given Nicholson had Kretzky on the podium with him at the year-end avail, right? But then what the hell was the point in interviewing all of these candidates? Were they looking for support pieces for Keith? Some rumors have Sean Burke, whose son plays for the University of Alberta and spends a lot of time in the west, joining the club in some capacity that isn’t the general manager’s.

This is what Pierre LeBrun had to say about former Edmonton Oiler Scott Mellanby,

“The Habs assistant GM is known as a hard worker who rolls up his sleeves and puts in the hours. He’s also had a front-row seat to the pressure-cooker his boss Marc Bergevin has lived through over the years, experiencing that roller-coaster, which would serve him well if he’s ever running a franchise that’s under that kind of a spotlight.”

And this is what LeBrun had to say about Sean Burke,

“This is a guy that deserves a break at some point. Canada’s Olympic GM from last year was a longtime assistant GM in Arizona. He’s put in his time.”

https://twitter.com/chrispagnani/status/1124068981520912397

As I said before, we hear what the organization wants us to hear and wouldn’t it be right in the Oilers’ wheelhouse to try and pull the wool over everyone’s eyes by saying they’d go through “the process” to find a new GM, then actually do it thus furthering the illusion, but then only to come back and say they knew Keith Gretzky was the one the whole time?

Now that is a really pessimistic way of looking at things and if you know me, I’m not really that kind of person. So I’d like to set things straight on this front.

I’m not against the Oilers hiring Gretzky. My feeling is that they need to bring in new blood, fresh opinions, and ideas. Since Keith has rolled into town, I feel like the quality of the Oilers’ pipeline has improved. Sure, he was part of the Chia regime and there will be ire if he’s hired, but as far as I can gather, he wasn’t part of that privileged group that Chiarelli surrounded himself with before he was fired.

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The impression that I get is that I think there’s a strong internal push for Gretzky to be hired as those who’ve been working alongside him have enjoyed the time. I hear that he listens whereas Chiarelli didn’t.

The Oilers can walk this line if they’re careful and bring in a couple of guys like Sean Burke (Pro scout w/MTL) and say, Al Murray (TB’s Dir. of Am. Scouting). It really is about surrounding the GM with the right people as the support staff must be of the highest quality in order for this to work.

But just as important as the additions are, the subtractions are as well. I don’t think for a second that if Keith Gretzky is hired that there won’t be changes and this begs the question, what is the minimal amount of turnover that would appease the fanbase?

Let us know in the comments below!

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

Edmonton Oilers: New GM/Head Coach Rumors + 2019 NHL Draft Q&A w/Max (@TPEHockey) and Keith Fries (@KeithFries)

Yesterday, during the intermission of the Blues/Jets game, uber-insider Elliotte Friedman said that Mark Hunter had completed his 2nd interview for the General Manager’s position.

Just before we get into this, I need to comment on the playoffs.

I’m not one that cheers for teams because they’re in Canada. I cheer for the Oilers and when they’re not playing in the post-season, I cheer for whatever team I find most entertaining. I’m pretty sure I cheer against the Canadian teams because I think that the “Cup has to come back to Canada” narrative is daft.

So I was happy to see Calgary lose, I was hoping St. Louis would win because I love Pat Maroon, and I’ll be putting my Bruins hat on later today and going for Boston to beat Toronto.

The Stanley Cup only deserves to be in one place in Canada and that’s Edmonton 🙂

Back to the GM talk now…

With the news that Pat Verbeek and Mike Gillis, in addition to Hunter, have been interviewed bodes well for the Oilers. The organization is actually going about this in the right manner.

Looks like Ken Holland is out of the picture and we’re still waiting on news of any other candidates (Ron Hextall, Bill Guerin, and Mike Futa for example) getting an interview. Oh, and don’t forget, Kelly McCrimmon is still a name lingering about.

My feeling is that Seattle is probably McCrimmon’s destination given his experience getting Vegas off the ground and the May 1st “soft” deadline that Darren Dreger said the Oilers have set in place. Unless the wheels fall off for Vegas, I’m not sure he’ll be made available to interview before the first of next month.

Having it all wrapped up by the first of May would give the new management team time to get briefed on the draft, free agents, ongoing trade negotiations, etc. I like that they’ve set this line in the sand.

Funny, Eklund had an E5 out today! Mark Hunter will be the Oilers new GM and his coach will be DJ Smith.

I contacted a source directly connected to the team about this and the answer was a very direct, “NO!”

I think it’s natural to connect the GM to a coach he’s worked with in the past though. Hunter/Smith, McCrimmon/Rocky Thompson, Verbeek/Benoit Groulx, Gillis/Vigneault (before being hired by Philly)…

According to Sportsnet, Smith is being groomed to be an NHL head coach and his mentor is none other than Mike Babcock.

Buffalo Sabres blog, Die by the Blade, did a little profile on Smith here if you’re curious as to why his name is being brought up.

I’m still awaiting answers from two more sources on the topic mind you, so we’ll see where that goes. I do believe Jeff Marek and Friedman were pontificating on Edmonton bringing in that exact combo in their most recent podcast though.

Some folks are of the belief that Hunter is a very good player evaluator. Someone who can project a player’s potential quite well. I would question that at the NHL level because I don’t feel he did an extraordinary job at the draft the three years he was with Toronto.

In that trifecta of seasons, the Maple Leafs had 28 draft picks and the number of players they might’ve hit on I can count on one hand.

Anyone with Bob McKenzie’s list of draft rankings should be able to get an NHL player in the top half of the first round. It’s all the rest of it that’s tricky, and my opinion on Mark Hunter is simply that I have no idea if he’s any good or not, but that’s a very large number of draft picks playing in the AHL out of the 2015 draft. On the other hand, the team was bad, had a good draft position and some extra picks. Oh, and scouting department that is so big the Ottawa Senators wouldn’t know what to do with it. And of course, to further complicate things, no one actually knows how much influence Hunter had on that draft. (source)

Whatever the final outcome is, Bob’s on it.

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A 2019 NHL DRAFT Q&A

We decided to do a little pre-draft Q&A with a couple of bright minds who cover NHL draft prospects, Max (@TPEHockey) and Keith (@KeithFries), to give you a bit of clearer idea on this year’s draft class.

By now, you should be familiar with Max’s work. He’s been doing some very interesting and informative prospect profiles for us this season, but Mr. Fries will be new to you.

I met Keith whilst reaching out to various scouts at numerous levels on Linkedin and the amount of time he afforded to me as I asked him question after question on this year’s class was beyond what I’d expected. So I asked him if he wanted a place to publish his work, and he accepted.

At the end, there’s a little gift from Keith to the hockey world that I think you’ll really dig.

Let’s get into this Q&A because she’s a bit of a long one. I asked some tough questions, or at least questions I thought were tough and there are some that are Oilers-centric for us Oilers fans.

What does your top-10 look like for this year’s draft?  

Max (@TPEHockey): 1. Jack Hughes 2. Kaapo Kakko 3. Alex Turcotte 4. Dylan Cozens 5. Trevor Zegras 6. Bowen Byram 7. Peyton Krebs 8. Kirby Dach 9. Alex Newhook 10. Cole Caufield 

Keith (@keithfries): 1. Jack Hughes 2. Kaapo Kakko 3. Vasili Podkolzin 4. Kirby Dach 5. Dylan Cozens 6. Matthew Boldy 7. Peyton Krebs 8. Bowen Byram 9. Trevor Zegras 10. Cole Caufield 

Can you give me your top-15 mock draft? Who might jump into the top-10 that we aren’t expecting to (i.e. Barrett Hayton)? 

Max (@TPEHockey): 1. NJD – Jack Hughes 2. NYR – Kaapo Kakko 3. CHI – Alex Turcotte 4. COL – Bowen Byram 5. LAK – Vasili Podkolzin 6. DET – Trevor Zegras 7. BUF – Dylan Cozens 8. EDM – Peyton Krebs 9. ANA – Kirby Dach 10. VAN – Cole Caufield 11. PHI – Matthew Boldy 12. MIN – Victor Soderstrom 13. FLA – Arthur Kaliyev 14. ARI – Alex Newhook 15. MTL – Bobby Brink  

Like how Hayton went 5th-overall since centers were rare in that draft, a defenseman could do just that. If so, look for Victor Soderstrom to go higher, possibly in the top-10. Thomas Harley could also make some big strides.  

Keith (@keithfries): 1. NJD – Jack Hughes 2. NYR – Kaapo Kakko 3. CHI – Vasili Podkolzin 4. COL – Bowen Byram 5. LAK – Kirby Dach 6. DET – Dylan Cozens 7. BUF – Matthew Boldy 8. EDM – Peyton Krebs 9. ANA – Trevor Zegras 10. VAN – Cole Caufield 11. PHI – Alex Turcotte 12. MIN – Cam York 13. FLA – Moritz Seider 14. ARI – Victor Soderstrom 15. MTL – Nick Suzuki 

I can’t see anyone making a giant leap up the draft boards, this year. However, I think some of the guys already seen as top-10 prospects could wiggle into the top-5 – like Caufield, Boldy, or Cozens. 

Who do you think has the potential to fall in the draft (i.e. Joe Veleno)? 

Max (@TPEHockey): I don’t see a Veleno-like drop from anyone, this season, but Kirby Dach could end up falling. He has flashed some insane talent, and at points looked like easily the 3rd-overall prospect. But, he’s also been wildly inconsistent. He at one point went on a 15+ game skid where he only managed to put up a few points. The inconsistency could contribute to a big fall, but I don’t see him dropping past 15th-overall. 

Keith (@keithfries): Based solely on the recent news that he’ll be staying in Russia for two more seasons, it’s entirely possible that Vasili Podkolzin drops to the 11-15th-overall bracket. That’s not indicative of his play, mind you. And for how much shuffling and moving up there was for playoff bubble teams, in this year’s lottery, I can’t see Podkolzin’s stock dropping that dramatically. Maybe more the equivalent of a Filip Zadina-esque fall than Veleno’s. 

After Hughes and Kakko, who is the best player available? 

Max (@TPEHockey): It’s gotta be Turcotte. His stock plummeted after he missed most of the season with injury, but as he came back people realized the massive mistake they made. He’s a stellar skater and playmaker, but also phenomenal defensively. He takes the puck to dangerous areas with his skating abilities and makes perfect passes to create opportunities. So far at the U18s, he’s been great on the PK. His defensive play is probably the best of the top-forward prospects, maybe second to Dach. 

Keith (@keithfries): When it comes down to taking the best player available, it’s really hard to look past all of Podkolzin’s offensive gifts. 

The Edmonton Oilers will have the opportunity to take a pretty talented forward at #8 overall. If you were the GM of that team, who would you take and why? 

Max (@TPEHockey): If he’s available I’d definitely go with Peyton Krebs. We’ve seen Leon Draisaitl lacking support from the wing, but in a few years, Krebs could fill that role. 

Keith (@keithfries): I’ll piggy-back on Max’s answer and say Krebs, as well. He finds ways to make it on the score sheet with little help around him, and that sounds like a Godsend to the nightly hot-and-cold Oilers. 

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Based on the previous question, I’d like to know how you’d approach their 2nd–round pick, as well. 

Max (@TPEHockey): The Oilers need a goalie. Shane Starrett has had quite the season in the AHL, but I don’t see him being a starter for Edmonton. With that 2nd–rounder, I’d take a long look at Ilya Konovalov. He’s an overager in the KHL who has been very good for Lokomotiv. His stats are similar to those of Igor Shestyorkin and Ilya Sorokin, but he’s two years younger. He might only be a year or two out from getting some NHL playing time. 

Keith (@keithfries): If there’s one knock against the Oilers it’s their lack of defensive depth and spark out of the back end. I’m projecting forwards to be the flavor of the first round, so a defender with some upside, like an Anttoni Honka or Tobias Bjornfot, might be the way to go.  

Would you trade the Oilers’ first-rounder for help in other areas? If so, what would that deal look like? 

Max (@TPEHockey): I would not trade a 1st–rounder, this year. Passing on a top-prospect like Krebs for immediate help could look really bad in a few years. In general, I’m against trading away high 1st-round picks. 

Keith (@keithfries): A top-10 pick in this draft would be the equivalent of a top-5 in recent classes. So moving out that pick has to net a viable return. At this point as an organization, they’re nowhere near a playoff push, so I don’t see how a trade helps them. Build for the future and make the pick. 

Is this a good year to draft a goaltender if you’re the Oilers? If so, who would you take, where would you take him, and why?  

Max (@TPEHockey): 8th is definitely too high to go after the highly-touted Spencer Knight, and while the 2nd-rounder is a little high for Konovalov, it’s still a good pick in my opinion. What he’s been doing in the KHL would be made a bigger deal of if he was a prospect for a high profile team. 

Keith (@keithfries): There are only a handful of goaltenders that I can see have starting potential, so if they’re off the board, I’d imagine Edmonton sticking with what they have in their system, already.  

When you’re scouting players, what are the most important attributes you look for in a: forward, defenseman, and goalie? What are things that you might consider red flags? 

Max (@TPEHockey): In both a forward and defenseman, the first thing I look for are basic attributes in a player. Usually, that means skating, passing, shot, etc.

For forwards, I look for how a player drives the play. Are they creating the offense or are they benefiting off linemates?

For defensemen, I usually look at how well they move the puck and see the ice in the offensive zone as well as how well they cover their guy, cover a zone, and cut off passing lanes.

One thing to look at is NHL Central Scouting’s player checklists. They’re available to the public and a good thing to look at when evaluating a player.

For goalies, there are a lot of things I look at. My priorities are mainly on puck tracking and technical ability. How well does a goalie follow the puck? How are their angles? Depth? Overall puck tracking is the one thing I want to see. This means seeing how well a goaltender can keep themselves square with the puck and in position to make a save. If a goalie is always square to a shooter it’s very hard to score nowadays. Goals today come from taking a goalie out of position. 

Keith (@keithfries): In a forward, I like to quickly identify their skill set. If they’re a playmaker, sniper, two-way, etc., and then see how their attributes best help the team. If you have a player who’s a sniper, and you keep lining him up at center but complain that there’s a lack of production from your wingers, then move him to the outside and put a playmaker down the middle. That’s not true of every line, just providing a quick example…

As for defensemen, I want to know for sure that they can be disciplined in the art of defense. It’s in their job description, after all. Backchecking, physical play, blocking shots, you name it.

As for netminders, it’s always about being the last line of defense in the trenches, so to speak. You need someone who stays calm and keeps you in the game on nights when there’s chaos and little to no production. 

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Can you give me a few players who might be hidden gems that could be snapped up in the later rounds of the draft?  

Max (@TPEHockey): Justin Bergeron. He’s an overager, but only missing the 2018 Entry Draft by a few hours. He’s been an integral defensive piece on Rouyn Noranda, who have been one of the best teams in the CHL. Other players I’d look for would be Cole MacKay, Xavier Simoneau, and Drew Helleson. 

Keith (@keithfries): There are a couple of USNTDP kids that could fly under the radar of the first few rounds, like Henry Thrun or Alex Vlasic. It’s also entirely possible that a guy like Nolan Foote, who has been a ghost on draft boards all season, could be an everyday NHLer. 

Which players do you feel have the ability to play in the NHL right away? 

Max (@TPEHockey): The only players I can say will play in the NHL are Hughes and Kakko. Cozens would be the next guy to look for. He’s got the size, speed, and power to survive in the NHL, but I think throwing him in would be rushing him. He’d benefit more from playing another year in juniors. 

Keith (@keithfries): Agree with Max that I can only really see Hughes and Kakko being promoted to the NHL, next year. A few players who are already physically mature – Boldy, Dach, and Cozens – all may get a 10-game contract at some point, though. 

What are your thoughts on projection metrics like NHLe? 

Max (@TPEHockey): While interesting, you have to take them with a grain of salt. Some leagues I’ve found feel undervalued, mainly the NCAA. They’re fun to look at and good for people that want to get a quick look at who the top guys are, but they don’t tell the full story. 

Keith (@keithfries): They’re bulls**t. 

That was a lot of fun to do and I thank them both for taking the time to help out. I hope we can do some more as the draft draws closer. Make sure you give Max (@TPEHockey) and Keith (@KeithFries) a follow as they are quite keen on hockey prospects and know their shite.

GIFT: Keith’s has released a 2019 NHL draft journal that you can download here.

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Edmonton Oil Drops: Oilers 2019 NHL Trade Deadline Preview

Keith Gretzky basically laughed at the idea of the Oilers being in on any of the big-name rental players, as he should have. The Oilers are currently 8 points back of a playoff spot with 5 teams to hurdle in order to get into the final wild-card position.

The Oilers have already made two trades prior to this deadline. They traded Cam Talbot for a younger and cheaper backup named Anthony Stolarz. They also unloaded failed experiment Ryan Spooner on to Vancouver for Edmonton’s new favorite former Oiler, Sam Gagner. Stolarz has yet to make his Oilers debut, but Gagner has 2 goals in his 4 games in an Oilers uniform since being acquired, including the game-winner against the Ducks last night.

The team has gone 2-1-1 since making those trades after the loss in Carolina. Gagner represents a clear upgrade in the forward group, and the return of Andrej Sekera has been helpful. Coach Hitchcock has said that they have played well in all but one of their games since the bye week ended. They certainly haven’t been rewarded in kind for their efforts, but the team is playing better than it had been prior to the break.

What might they do on deadline day? Will Milan Lucic get moved? Is Jesse Puljujarvi going to get traded? Will Alex Chiasson and Zack Kassian remain Oilers? Click here to find out

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Edmonton Oilers: Three Ways Gretzky Can Rid Himself of Those Bad Contracts Plus New Rumors!

Every morning I wake up with the expectation that the Oilers have made a trade and recently mornings have been disappointing on that front. Except for today, I woke up to see that they had extended offensive defender Joel Persson for one more year and for $1M.

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The timing is pretty interesting as I’d recently had a conversation with a Swedish journalist that covers the SHL about Persson. I was asking when Persson would be eligible to come over because Bob Stauffer had hinted towards that in the past on his radio show. Basically what I was told is if Växjö only gets to the quarter-finals, he could be available to Edmonton in late March/early April. If his team goes to the finals, he will be in Sweden until May. Then there was the possibility of Persson playing for Sweden at the World Championships.

The bottom line on Persson coming to play in Edmonton this year, and what might’ve prompted the team to get him signed now, is that it’s highly unlikely we’ll see him this season. Maybe about as likely as the Oilers playoff chances right now.

TSN’s Little Switcheroo

Did anybody catch TSN’s little sleight-of-hand

yesterday?

Funny how the Maple Leafs’ 1st round pick all of a sudden appeared at no.5 on their list after Edmonton’s pick was there up until that Muzzin trade…

I could be wrong (I often am) but I haven’t been able to find an updated list between the Jan.16th version and the Jan.28th one.

Basically, the differences between the two lists are:

  • TSN removed the players that had been traded (L.Schenn, Del Zotto, Niederreiter) and added Brassard/Beaulieu/Weise.
  • Conveniently took Edmonton’s 1st round pick OFF of the list and added Toronto’s in the exact same spot, No.5.

Every other player on the list is exactly where they’ve been since Jan.16th. That tells me that whoever makes the TSN Trade Bait Board is full of shit… As if there’s not been some shifting about of players availabilities in that near two-week window.

I mean, it’s completely possible that TSN took Edmonton’s pick off the board because Bob Nicholson said they weren’t trading it. So why not update the list back on the 23rd then?

But like I said, if there’s another trade bait board that was published between the 16th and the 28th, I’d love to see it and be 100% wrong on this.

TSN has updated the list again now. So nothing in nearly two weeks but RIDICULOUS movement in one day…

But if I’m right, and this doesn’t have anything to do with Edmonton’s pick being taken off, it’s more to do with Seravalli claiming an undeserved victory. I think that would put a dent into the unshakeable integrity that Seravalli claims to possess. How’s that untenable situation between the Oilers and Lucic going? I haven’t heard much from Frank on that since McLellan was let go…

But what should we care? It’s only a silly list, right?

The Three Ways Keith Gretzky Can Rid Himself of Those Bad Contracts

My belief is that this is the no.1 priority at the deadline. The Oilers have to clear the decks for the new GM and give him as much room as possible to work enough magic to get the team into the playoffs in year one. I don’t think that the mandate from ownership has changed one bit.

Playoffs are of the utmost importance and the belief that the team can still make it this year prevails despite the Oilers place in the standings. Why fire the coach and GM within 2 months of each other if the playoffs wasn’t the priority?

These players are the most likely to be traded, in my opinion, due to their contracts.

  • Ryan Spooner – $3.1M is simply too much to be an AHL player. Then again the Oilers did bury Mark Fayne in the minors for the majority of his contract…
  • Brandon Manning – $2.25M isn’t ridiculous for a bottom-pairing defender I feel but if Edmonton as a player like William Lagesson who can do the same job or better, then why not move manning out?
  • Andrej Sekera – Sad but we’ve seen the last of ‘Rej I feel. $5.5M will be on LTIR for the next two years.
  • Kris Russell – I love Russell but if the Oilers are sellers, I can pretty much guarantee you there’ll be buyers who are interested in Rusty’s services. That’s $4M off the cap.
  • Milan Lucic – Despite what some “smart” folks say, there’s a market for Milan. Just not for his $6M per year deal. If another team could get him and only pay $3M per year, that’d open up the options for trades massively.
  • Tobias Rieder – $2M for a guy who can’t score. Not gonna work in Edmonton.
  • Matt Benning – $1.9M for the rest of this year and next. I could see a playoff-bound team looking to add some sandpaper to their backend for the run.
  • Zack Kassian – $1.95M is a tad high for a 4th liner but Kassian has proven he can help on the PK and he can float up and down the lineup. He’s not taken AS many dumb penalties lately as well, so that’s a plus too.
  • Alex Petrovic – $1.95M and he’s playing worse than Manning. I predicted that Manning would probably be the better of the two when they were brought to Edmonton and I’d have no issue with the Oilers moving on from Petro.
  • Cam Talbot – $4.1667M for the Oilers back-up goalie is a bit rich for my blood and there are other teams that will remember the 2016 playoffs and have a need for some depth in net this year.

Ultimate best case scenario is the Oilers move all these players and open up $20M plus in cap room but that’s about as realistic as Arizona winning the Stanley Cup this year.

Out of that group of players, I think Talbot, Kassian, Benning, Rieder, and surprisingly enough Spooner will be the ones most likely to leave. Other players like Ty Rattie, Kevin Gravel, maybe Kyle Brodziak could be on the move as well.

Here’s how Gretzky could be able to move some of those unsavory contracts:

  • They’ll eat salary in trades.

So I’ve heard that for Spooner to get traded, they might take on salary in order to move him. Is that more preferable than buying him our or burying him in the AHL?

  • They’ll add sweeteners.

So maybe they add a mid-round draft pick to a player to move him or a higher pick depending on how desperate they are to get rid of that player.

  • They’ll take the “L” on a deal

They’ll trade a “good” player and get little in return for him. Think of the Yakupov trade for example. Now he wasn’t really a good player at the time of the deal but you get the gist of what I’m trying to say. He was still young and the potential was there.

Conclusion

There’s talk that teams are calling on Tobias Rieder and if the Oilers can move him without taking back salary, that’ll go a long way in moving Spooner (salary retained).

Other things I’ve had passed on are:

  • Sam Gagner for Spooner
  • Benning for Connor Brown
  • Oilers interested in Brassard, Pens in Kassian
  • Jim Matheson is finally jumping on the “Return of Eberle” train. Stauffer started that one and we wrote about it here at the beginning of January.

I think these are just loose ideas of what some deals might be built around. The players might be wrong but the teams could be right. Elliotte Friedman has spoken about a larger deal with Chicago that I’m looking into right now. Perhaps we’ll get more on that this week.

Then there’s LA moving out Muzzin and his salary for this season and next without taking any back… That opens up the possibility of a return to LA for Lucic eh? A happy Milan is a productive Milan.

So as I said above, the goal for Edmonton here is to first clear cap space and THEN add players of significance. But we have to keep in mind that it’s more or less Hockey Canada running the deadline right now. How much say will Ken Hitchcock have in these upcoming deals? I guess we’ll find out when they happen…

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