Tag Archives: Mike Richards

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

Stauffer Says…

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Stauffer

Welcome to another episode of Stauffer Says… Where we recap some of the things that the host of Oilers Now!, Bob Stauffer, has said that should bring our ears to attention as fans of the greatest hockey club in the world!

So, over the last two days The Stauff has mentioned the following players:

  • Mike Richards (Left-handed centre, UFA)
  • Cody Franson (Right-handed D, BUF)
  • Adam McQuaid (Right-handed D, BOS)
  • Nail Yakupov (Left-handed RW, EDM)

I haven’t been through all of today’s episode yet but I wanted to bring this stuff up first and if Spector has something notable to mention, I’ll write another article entitled, “Spector Says!”…

The Oilers Defence (August 30th Episode)

“I’m going to be very interested to see how a Klefbom pairing with Adam Larsson could maybe play 20 minutes a game and be the Oilers top pairing, then move everybody else down in a spot that they belong. Maybe Sekera plays with Fayne on a second pairing. Maybe Davidson playing with Darnell Nurse on the third pairing.

And who knows, maybe there may be another addition. Specifically on the right side.”

BINGO BANGO!

This is following the show from Monday where he talked about Adam McQuaid and then subsequently had Bruins beat writer, Joe Haggerty, as a guest on the same show. Maybe it’s nothing though.

I asked my insider about McQuaid and it said that Chiarelli “likes him” but that’s it. Of course Chiarelli likes him, he’s definitely a Chia-type player and the team does need a righty for the third pairing but wouldn’t Eric Gryba be a cheaper option if they were looking for a stay-at-home blueliner? McQuaid makes $3M per year, does he not?

BUFFALO SABRES (August 30th Episode)

“The Buffalo Sabres are an org. that was hoping to get Jimmy Vesey, they did not. They were quite upset at the fact that they did not get Vesey and they do need some scoring…”

Stauffer then talks about the Evander Kane situation but adds this,

“…Buffalo needs some help scoring on the wing. So, who is to say? Do I think Cody Franson could be had by trade? Absolutely.”

So we’re back on the Franson train. I’ve always liked his size and skating ability and the year he decided to shoot the puck he did well. For whatever reason, he’s gone trigger shy recently and this is a sentiment that is shared from my source. Oilers like his size but figure he doesn’t shoot the pill enough.

Stauffer added this to the Franson comments,

“They’ve got another guy named Casey Nelson, who came in late last year, who could come in and probably play third pairing minutes and that might make a guy like Franson; who really was, frankly, not deployed in the manner where he would be successful because he didn’t get a lot of 1st unit powerplay time in Buffalo last year. That might make a guy like Franson expendable. So, maybe they could use a little bit of offense. 

Well, do the Oilers have anything they could potentially move offensively? 

Back to Nail Yakupov, right? Now that being said, I don’t know if I would do Yakupov for Cody Franson straight up. I think the Sabres would be prepared to move Franson for, frankly speaking, relatively little and I think at this stage; you look at that. 

You may not even have to give up Yakupov to get Franson but would Franson be a good short-term 1-year thing.”

I reckon this is just Stauffer pontificating on different options. If the Oilers wanted Franson, they could get him but I wonder; how different are the values for Franson and Yakupov at this point?

NAIL YAKUPOV

When I asked about Nail Yakupov I was told that he will be with the team until around the trade deadline. Sometimes radio guys just need something to talk about and Yak is an easy topic to go on. I was also told that there HAVE been offers on Yak but nothing to the Oilers satisfaction to date. As a person, the Oilers love him, but he hasn’t produced to the level expected of him and there are some in the Oilers organisation that believe that Jesse Puljujarvi is already better than him.

As a person, the Oilers love him, but he hasn’t produced to the level expected of him and there are some in the Oilers organisation that believe that Jesse Puljujarvi is already better than him. So I imagine that places Puljujarvi on the 2nd line with Nuge and Yak on the third line with Draisaitl if we’re contemplating line combos.

Now the kicker… Nail is going to have a great year because that’s what the majority of players have in contract years and the fact that he wants out will motivate him even more. This is a perfect storm for Edmonton because they need to move him or risk losing him for nothing at the expansion draft. Even if he does have a 60 point year, his time in Edmonton has been soured and he’ll be looking for major skrilla if said breakout does occur.

McDavid, Nurse, Reinhart, and Draisaitl are all going to need new contracts sooner than later and that plays into things as well.

A 3rd rounder is what I suspect the Oilers fetch for him if not more.

MIKE RICHARDS (August 30th Episode)

“In terms of a potential centre, I know there’s been lots of names bandied about. I would prefer to go with a guy that’s a little bit younger on a PTO….

We talked about Dominic Moore and Cody Hodgson a couple of days ago here and since then Moore has signed on with the Bruins. But Stauffer does talk drop Mike Richards’ name…

“If I were Mike Richards and I’m looking to jump start things. If I were a player like that, that to me might the scenario where I can beat out Anton Lander for a spot in Edmonton. My guess is that Mike Richards might have an opportunity with a couple of other organizations as well.”

I asked my source about Richards and it said that Richards “might” come and that Chiarelli will look at him IF he can help the team at the third line centre position.

I’m not completely sold on Richards. I watched him get his ass handed to him during the Pens/Caps playoff series and I sort of soured on him but as Brendan Ullrich pointed out, Richards came in half way through the season and it’s possible that may have had an impact on his performance. Then again, one of the concerns with Richards coming back was his ability to keep up…

As for Anton Lander, I’ve been told that he’d best have the best training camp of his career or else he’ll find himself in the AHL for the remainder of his contract.

GRIFFIN REINHART

On the August 29th episode of Oilers Now! Bob Stauffer was talking about Griffin Reinhart and it sounded like because of Reinhart’s contract and its bonus structure, that he’d be in Bakersfield to start the year. But as Bob says, he’s a left-shot that can play the right point. That has to count for something. But if the Oilers have Draisaitl, Puljujarvi, McDavid, and Nurse all on the big team; that’s a lot of bonus going on.

Would the Oilers be willing to move on from Griffin Reinhart in fear of losing him at the expansion draft do you think? Or will there simply be better players available on the Oilers roster for Las Vegas to take?

Personally, I still think he’s going to come good for Edmonton but I’m an eternal optimist and one has to ask himself, who does Reinhart beat out for a spot on the Oilers roster next year or the year after? Darnell Nurse would have to fall into a wood-chipper for Reinhart to beat him out. Sekera looks to have his spot cemented and unless Oscar Klefbom has his foot amputated, he looks to be sorted.

I want to say Reinhart could just go over to the right-side but it seems as if the Oilers are hell-bent on getting the lefty-righty pairings done up.

Would you move him? Because the more you look at his situation, it gets worse and worse. Ethan Bear is coming soon. Matt Benning was just signed. What about Jordan Oesterle and Joey LaLeggia? Will Dillon Simpson finally come good for the Oilers? Zayat Paigin is burning up the KHL right now and this Niemelainen fella playing in Saginaw, how long until he’s playing in the Bake? David Musil anybody?…

Peter Chiarelli might have to buck up, admit mistake and move on from Reinhart sooner than later.

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Edmonton Oilers, Kris Hansen

BLH Edmonton Oilers Weekly Recap Jan 3rd-Jan 9th

 

The Oilers should be 2-0-0 this week after two games.

Somehow the Oilers managed to score five goals against Tampa Bay unfortunately three of them were on themselves.

Honestly, I have never seen something like that while watching hockey. Maybe one of the pucks go off the defender and in, sure that happens.

But THREE times? That’s witchcraft right there. It’s a damn shame too because I thought the Oilers outplayed the Lightning in that game.

The Oilers have four games this week, including one tonight against the red hot Florida Panthers, who have won 11 in a row.

Edmonton Oilers Three Stars 

3. Justin Schultz (!?!). Yeah, this one is surprising considering that Justin Schultz is Tom Poti 2.0 in the eyes of Oilers fans. He’s the whipping boy of the team. That said, the whipping boy looked pretty solid these last few games, He’s looked slightly better in his own zone and has rebounded since his awful game against Calgary on the 27th of December. He was solid against the Lightning, earning the second star for the night by having a goal and five shots.

2. Andrej Sekera. Chiarelli’s free agent acquisition is starting to look really good right now. He’s the defacto number one defenceman and it would be debatable that he is still that when Klefbom returns. He’s easily the best defenceman on the Edmonton Oilers right now. He’s the type of player who does everything right, but not flashy. He’s not a physical player, it’s not his game, and that drives people crazy. He scored the lone goal in a snoozer against his former team, The Carolina Hurricanes, in Overtime no less. I was thrilled when we signed Sekera and I’m still happy we have him.

1. Cam Talbot. Remember when people were declaring they were done with him after 12 games played? I do. It was silly to proclaim that. He’s been very good for the Oilers and has taken the number one job from Anders Nilsson. Woodguy55 of becauseoilers.com mentioned this after his game against Carolina:

That’s a starting goalie’s save percentage right there. Ten games isn’t a huge sample size, that’s granted, but it sure is a lot better than saying “I’m done” after twelve games. Talbot is starting yet again against a strong Panthers team and while he took the loss against Tampa Bay, there was no way any of those fluke goals were his fault.

Edmonton Oilers News and Trade Rumors

That’s too bad, but at least we have a date when McDavid will be returning. Not going to lie, I thought McDavid would be back by next week, but then again, I’m no doctor. I understand and fully support Management’s decision on this injury: there have been far too many times where the Oilers would rush players back from injury and it impacted them negatively. It stinks not having McDavid for another month, but we’ve lived without him for two.

Even worse news was the revelation that Oscar Klefbom would not be back until after the all star break. It’s rough news as fans were expecting a huge boost when both players returned.

One big name that is thrown out there is Kevin Shattenkirk. It was reported earlier that his name is receiving calls and the Oilers for sure should be involved there, but I’m wary of his contract status. There are not many options out there for a Right Handed top four defenceman for the Oilers right now, with Seth Jones recently traded and Hamonic injured. You can bet that Chiarelli would be interested.

Jonathan Drouin requested a trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was revealed via his agent, Allan Walsh on Twitter, but the requested dated back to November. Can’t really blame Drouin here: he wasn’t getting any playing time and was recently sent down to the AHL. I don’t think the Oilers will be runners in this race, but St Louis has been mentioned a few times.

Keith Yandle is not talking an extension with the Rangers and that makes him a candidate to be traded. Yandle was acquired last year from the Rangers (with Chris Summers and a 4th round pick) for John Moore, Anthony Duclair and a conditional 1st round pick in 2016 and a second round pick in 2015. It was a heavy price.

Around the League

The biggest trade so far this season took place on Wednesday when Seth Jones was traded to Columbus for Ryan Johansen.  You just don’t see one for one deals of that magnitude in the NHL anymore!

Earlier that same day, the Los Angeles Kings acquired Vincent Lecalvalier and Luke Schenn . Philadelphia received Jordan Weal and a 3rd round pick in return.

Mike Richards signed with the Washington Capitals on Wednesday as well. 

Emerson Etem was traded from the Rangers to the Canucks for Jensen and a 6th round pick in 2016. 

Highlights

Lightning and Oilers game

 

Johansen scored in his first game as a Nashville Predator

 

Here were some of the best radio calls of the week

 

The Week Ahead

The Oilers play four times this week including tonight against the Panthers. They have a two game road trip visiting the Coyotes on Tuesday and the Sharks on Thursday, while hosting the Calgary Flames on Saturday.

Three big divisional games, with no McDavid or Klefbom to save them. It’ll be tough.

That’s the week that was. Follow me on Twitter (I changed my Twitter handle recently) and have a good week!

Armchair GM, NHL, Rob Cooke

Beer League Heroes 15 – 16 Season Primers: Los Angeles Kings

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Fans of the Los Angeles Kings have had plenty to cheer for over the past few seasons. They’ve seen two Stanley Cup winning teams and a third season that ended in the conference finals. There were five consecutive seasons of playoff hockey in Hollywood.

Last season the Kings missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2008/09 season. It was quite the shock at the end of the season to see the reigning Stanley Cup champions on the outside looking in. But having an atrocious shootout record (2-7) and going sub .500 on the road (15-18-8) will kill any postseason hopes there are.

There have been some massive changes to this team in the off-season and I wouldn’t expect the same results as last year.

Key Additions: F Milan Lucic, D Christian Ehrhoff, G Jhonas Enroth

Key Departures: F Mike Richards, F Justin Williams, F Jarret Stoll, D Andrej Sekera, D Slava Voynov, D Robin Regehr, G Martin Jones

Roster Contenders: G Peter Budaj, F Andy Andreoff, F Jordan Weal, D Damir Sharipzyanov, D Derek Forbort

Projected Lineup:

Milan Lucic – Anze Kopitar – Marion Gaborik
Tanner Pearson – Jeff Carter – Tyler Toffoli
Dwight King – Nick Shore – Dustin Brown
Kyle Clifford – Trevor Lewis – Jordan Nolan

Jake Muzzin – Drew Doughty
Alec Martinez – Christian Ehrhoff
Brayden MacNabb – Matt Greene

Jonathon Quick
Jhonas Enroth

The addition of Lucic brings some functional toughness to the top six. He is a capable scorer, netting twenty plus goals three times in his eight year career. Adding him to the Kings offensive lines will mean just another tool in Darryl Sutters tool box to deploy as he sees fit.

How Christian Ehrhoff got inked for one year at $1.5M is beyond me. Surely he got shares in the team for signing for that cheap. Check out his HERO chart… You know he could’ve gotten upwards of $4 million if he wanted to.

In the 2015/16 season I think the Kings are a much more competitive team from start to finish. They removed a locker room issue when Mike Richards had his contract terminated in late June. Depending on how the immigration hearing goes for Voynov, Kings fans might have seen the Russian blueliner for the last time. Will Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson continue their rise possibly making Marian Gaborik obsolete?

If I have to pick one area that I would be concerned with it would still be the goaltending. I am not at all convinced that Jonathon Quick is as good as his previous play in the Kings Stanley Cup runs. He is a much more average player than most media seem to make him out to be and his save percentage on the road attests to that.

There isn’t really any one player on this team that I look forward to watching, although I really do enjoy seeing Doughty play as I think he is the best defenseman in the entire league. The Norris trophies might not be there but he is at the top of his game and there is no one in the league that is a more complete defender than Drew. Part of me is looking forward to watching McDavid and Hall blow past him at some point this season.

Thanks for reading!

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

Free Agent Options For The Edmonton Oilers

July 1st in Canada means two things that both start with the letter F, fireworks and free agency! Well it probably means three things that start with the letter F but I won’t go into that. The Edmonton Oilers still have some holes to mend in the line-up so let’s take a look at who’s out there this year!

Before we get into the candidates I think it would be prudent to look at the Oilers lineup as it stands today. Players marked with an asterisk (*) are players whose futures on the roster are a bit cloudy going into the 2015/16 season.

[table id=6 /]
I expect Iiro Pakarinen and Tyler Pitlick to push for a spot on the roster this year. They showed quite a bit of potential last season. Hopefully Pitlick can stay healthy enough to make a significant contribution. I think a lot of us really want to see Leon Draisaitl make the team and have an impact but it’s not realistic in my opinion. There are far to many young players on the team and Draisaitl would be much better served spending time in the AHL as a no.1 center.

If Edmonton is going to be successful this season and really make a dent in the standings, they’re going to have to upgrade that 3rd line because that is a line that is going to have to do a bit of everything. Anton Lander is going to need a couple of very industrious wingers that can put a puck in the net and score the dirty goals. Maybe the Oilers won’t have to dip their toes into the fee agency pool here. Perhaps Iiro Pakarinen and Tyler Pitlick could be those guys. Value Contracts folks! If you’re wondering how the best teams in the NHL stay the best… Value Contracts.

Possible Signings: Daniel Winnik (LW), Michael Frolik (RW), Justin Williams (RW), Matt Beleskey (LW), Joel Ward (RW)

[table id=7 /]
You’ll see here that Darnell Nurse isn’t in the top 6… Yet. I reckon he’ll force his way on to the team. Unlike the newly acquired Griffin Reinhart, Nurse was a dominating presence in the AHL playoffs for the now defunct OKC Barons (RIP). I would not be surprised at all if it was Reinhart with Mark Fayne and Darnell Nurse with Eric Gryba at some point next season but I’m thinking that could end in disaster. Signing a veteran defenceman short term wouldn’t hurt unless his name is Nikita Nikitin or Andrew Ference…

Possible Signings: Andrej Sekera, Mike Green, Barret Jackman, Cody Franson, Christan Ehrhoff. Francois Beauchemin

[table id=8 /]
The goaltending here is pretty straight forward. Talbot to start and Scrivens to back up. Barring anything ridiculous, this is how it will stay for the year. Maybe Laurent Brossoit will get a few games in but he’ll be numero uno in Bakersfield next season.

Possible Signings: None unless Scrivens gets dealt which in that case I like Kari Ramo or Micheal Neuvirth. 

I think it would be great to go into next season signing 2 or 3 veteran bodies to help these kids move along to the next level. The Oilers sit at $56 million right now and that will give them about $15 million to play with minus the qualified Justin Schultz, Brandon Davidson and Tyler Pitlick yesterday so say $10 million or so. That’s enough to add quality to the team this year.

Just quick one today folks! Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know in the comments below what you think the Oilers roster will look like going into training camp. And don’t forget to add us on Twitter @beerleagueheroe or Like us on Facebook.

Take care everyone!

-BLH