Tag Archives: Martin Hanzal

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

Celebrations and Trade Deadline Whispers

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I just wanted to share a bit of good news with you before getting into today’s post but a little background first.

When I started this blog way back in 2012 over on Weebly, my goal was to hit the first page of google without having “Edmonton” or “Oilers” in the URL because I figured that it’d be that much more challenging.Now I’m no SEO expert, I may have read a few blogs on the topic but if I’m not mistaken, one would like all the advantages he/she can get when it comes to making it easier for people to find your website, right?

Next, I wanted to step up the site’s coverage back in 2015 and take it to the next level, so I picked up the domain and registered www.beerleagueheroes.com with the idea that maybe, just maybe, it’d help the site reach the first page.

Well after 5 years of existence and 2 years as a dot com…

BEER LEAGUE HEROES HIT THE FIRST PAGE OF GOOGLE UNDER “EDMONTON OILERS BLOGS”!!!

So I’m pretty stoked about hitting Google page one as I can honestly say I did almost the bare minimum to get it there. That being said, you are the ones that made the most impact. You chose to read our content! And we thank you so much for that. I hope we’re still up there when you get around to reading this.

Trade me right f*cking now! Happy 40th Birthday to the Greatest Hockey Movie of All-Time!!!

Trades Completed and Otherwise

  • Patrick Eaves going to the Ducks for a conditional 2nd rounder is interesting. It turns into a first rounder if the Ducks make it to the Western Conference Finals AND if Eaves plays 50% of the games in the rounds previous. So even if the Ducks do make it to the conference finals, that 1st rounder will be akin to a 2nd rounder anyhow.

I would’ve liked to have seen Eaves on the Oilers previously but I have to question if he’d be surplus to requirement on the Oilers now that Pakarinen is healthy, Slepyshev, when he’s in the lineup, is looking dangerous and he’s not shying away from the dirty areas. Leon Draisaitl is racking up the points again and Jordan Eberle appeared to have some real jump in his game vs. Washington. And Lastly, I’m loving Zack Kassian more and more each time I watch him.

How much would Eaves have really helped? And don’t forget, Puljujarvi is lighting up the AHL right now. So he’s there to call up if need be.

  • Tomas Jurco for a 3rd rounder

I asked my source if the Oilers had any interest in this guy as a depth scorer with speed and a good possession game. I was told the Oilers had ZERO interest.

Source Says…

  • PC is talking to STL about Shattenkirk. He’s open to coming to Edm. He sees what’s happening in Edm with McDavid, Draisaitl, and Co.

So this is an interesting twist. If you’ve been following any NHL media whatsoever in the last 48 hours, you’ve probably read or heard all the talk about Shattenkirk turning down deals to go to other teams, Edmonton included. But what I was told was that as far as an extension goes, the Oilers would have to win a couple of playoff rounds to convince Kevin Shattenkirk to re-sign in Edmonton. Otherwise, the Oilers aren’t willing to go any higher than what the market is currently dictating for rental defensemen. Michael Stone went for a third and Hainsey went for a 2nd rounder plus a career AHLer, so read between the lines there.

I got a bit of flack on Twitter for asking why a team would pay more than a 3rd rounder for a player that isn’t interested in re-signing with their club. I understand that Shattenkirk is a MUCH better player than Michael Stone and Ron Hainsey but would you give up a 1st or a 2nd round pick for a rental? Providing he’s gone on July 1st?

I know a few GMs (Bergevin/Rutherford) who might but the Oilers GM won’t be unless Shattenkirk agrees to re-sign in Edmonton. And if that happens, we should be able to put the Kris Russell 2017 contract debate to bed.

  • Speaking of Russell, the Oilers have broken off talks with his camp. I guess he’s still angling for a 4 year deal with $4M per year. Surprisingly price isn’t the problem, term is.
  • Derek Ryan should be an Oiler soon. They’ve been scouting him something fierce lately.
  • The Oilers are trying their damnedest to move Pouliot and Fayne but doesn’t sound like anything is going to happen on that front.
  • No on Hanzal and Vrbata and Iginla.

Edmonton wants a sniper and would prefer a bit more speed and size up front. But none of those players are fleet of foot and their price tag is too high.

  • Dallas is strapped to the cap and looking to move some bodies. The names that came up were Sharp, Eaves (already spoken for), and John Klingberg…

I can see Sharp and the Oilers being a potential fit but John Klingberg?!! Why in the world would Jim Nill be open to moving him? If I were the Oilers, I’d have a separate phone special for Jim Nill and I’d be calling him constantly to see what the price is. Klingberg has a beauty long-term contract similar to Larsson and Klefbom’s and that would fit in too well with the Oilers future plans.

  • The Oilers are looking at two players with regards to the backup position. Jaroslav Halak and Ondrej Pavelec. With either of those players, the Islanders/Jets would need to retain salary.

Now, I know which goalie I’d prefer. The one who had a helluva playoff run not too long ago for the Montreal Canadiens. A run so amazing that it had fans of the Habs asking for the team to trade Carey Price away… But alas, we’ve heard from Bob Stauffer that he believes Halak will be bought out at season’s end by the Isles. So, who knows what will happen there. I’m not sold on Pavelec one bit…

Personally, I’m guessing the Oilers go out and grab a right-shooting face-off man for sure. I think if they can’t get the right deal for a backup, they’ll wing it and go with Brossoit or if disaster hits, Nick Ellis. I’m with Chiarelli in that the Oilers are right on the precipice of becoming a great team with excellent depth at the minor league level and the prospect level and there’s no real reason to bet the farm this season. Next season mind you, that will be a different story.

That’s it for now. I’ll update you later on if something comes in! And thanks again for helping us to page 1 on Google! Check out our T-shirt shop! There’s a sale going on right now where you can get some pretty sweet tees for you or your kids or maybe someone else or their kids… Click the pic below and it’ll take you to our shop! You’re a beauty!!!

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

Oilers Trade Deadline Rumblings

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Just listening to this morning’s Oilers Now! and Mark Spector and Bob Stauffer are talking about what the Oilers should do at the deadline. Stauffer did mention that Colorado is scouting the Oilers heavily and Mark Spector has said that he wouldn’t send Pouliot (and his contract), a 1st rounder, and a prospect for UFA Martin Hanzal. Both Stauffer and probably every Oilers fan (including myself) agree, that’s a massive overpayment.

How much would Hanzal cost the Oilers?

Elliotte Friedman said in his latest 3o thoughts:

1. We’ve been hearing about high prices for rentals. Word is Arizona’s initial ask from Montreal for Martin Hanzal was Michael McCarron and two draft picks — one a first-rounder, the other conditional. I look at it this way: You never know until you ask. But it also tells you why Hanzal is not a Canadien. We’ll see if both teams circle back.

What Stauffer did do was compare Hanzal to Antoine Vermette, this is an astute comparison I believe. Now, basic stats aside, if we just take a look at the two players and agree that they’re specialty is winning faceoffs and that that is a cog that the Oilers are currently missing, we’re good to go.

Vermette cost the Chicago Blackhawks a prospect and a 1st rounder back in 2015 and I’d be willing to bet there’s an NHL team out there that would pay a similar price for Hanzal’s services. I’d hope the Oilers aren’t one of them though because I don’t believe they are at that point in the team’s development to be mortgaging the future for short-term gains. I mean look at where the team has gone without a player like Hanzal.

I get that every team’s goal is to win but if the team is actually winning, why go out and mess with what’s already there? I mean, IF the Oilers really wanted to go out and pick Hanzal up, would the Coyotes be interested in Brandon Davidson and a package centred around him? We’ve heard Michael Stone’s name bandied about in connection with the Oilers in the past, would the Coyotes take Pouliot plus for Stone and Hanzal?

It makes no sense for Edmonton to move out a ton of assets for players who won’t (assumingly) be on the team next year unless they are impact players like Kevin Shattenkirk.

That being said, I have heard that the Oilers ARE in on Hanzal. So, take that for what you will.

Moving on to a quote from Stauffer:

“Danny Lapierre from COL, another team that’s really tight financially, they don’t spend a lot of money. I can’t recall in the last four years seeing COL scout the Oilers in back to back games in different cities. 

COL needs defense, that’s no question. They need a lot of things… I know they’ve got a little bit of an analytics push there as well” – Stauffer

First off, who’d want to be scouting the Oilers B2B in different cities in the past 4 years? Lol. But I do find it interesting that Stauffer tossed that little tidbit about analytics in there at the end.

Could the Avalanche have interest in Mark Fayne, Benoit Pouliot, or Brandon Davidson? Are there any players in COL that Edmonton would like to bring in? I mean apart from the obvious ones.

Slumping centre Joe Colborne’s name has been surfacing lately. Former Bruin Carl Soderberg as well. I’ve always liked John Mitchell. Could the Oilers use an energy winger like for Shark Matt Nieto?

The key players (assets) for the Oilers at the deadline are, in my opinion, Benoit Pouliot, Brandon Davidson, and Mark Fayne.

The Oilers are desperate to move Mark Fayne’s contract. He’s basically being paid big league dollars to rehab Griffin Reinhart’s fledgling career at the moment and doing a fine job might I add but that’s too much money to be playing in the AHL. The Oilers need that money off of the books so that they can give it to the handful of RFAs needing re-signing this summer. If Mark Fayne could skate like Kris Russell, I imagine he’d be in Edmonton instead of the Caroline Kid.

Brandon Davidson SHOULD be picked up by Las Vegas or at least that is the narrative we’re being fed by the online community and MSM. I don’t believe it. He’s injury prone and hasn’t been able to get back to the level he was at last season. I think Vegas will have plenty of chances to select a better player in the expansion draft.

Benoit Pouliot has really found his niche on the wing with Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle. He’s been playing like a man possessed recently and it’s made me forget about the first 40 games of the year where he was invisible apart from taking shitty penalties from time to time. We’ve been treated to his ferocious forecheck for a couple of weeks now and one really has to wonder if it’d be a good idea to move him out before the playoffs? Would you be comfortable with Pouliot’s risk/reward ratio in the playoffs? How would Nuge/Eberle play without that big winger going in and doing the dirty work for them? Not that they are adverse to getting in there themselves, but it looks like the line is better when Pouliot is doing it.

Could Anton Slepyshev replace Benoit Pouliot? He’s not one to take unnecessary penalties and I’d say he’s on par in the skills and size department. One major plus in Slepy’s column is that his contract is a million times better. Contracts going forward are important, right? Price points and balance is how this team will be set up for long-term success.

What will happen with Jesse Puljujarvi is one last point I’d like to make. How much progress will he have to make in Bakersfield in order for the Oilers to feel comfortable enough in moving an NHL player so that he can be brought up to play in said player’s stead? From what I’ve seen of his play in the AHL, he needs to spend the whole season there and possibly part of next before he’s brought up and given significant minutes.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.

Pick up a 16-bit Larsson today!!