“I have talked to other teams already about possibly moving that pick, getting an established player back,” Nill said during an interview on SiriusXM NHL Network. “It gives us lots of options.”
I was talking to my source today and I asked him what’s going on with the Oilers? He told me that they’re talking to Dallas about the 3rd overall pick.
**Disclaimer: I’m not an insider by any means but like most people who live in an NHL city, I know someone who knows someone that works in the club. Actually, I know a lot of people who work with the Oilers but that’s not the point. Now, it’s up to you whether to believe what I tell you but these things rarely come to fruition, EVER. Ask McKenzie, Friedman, Dreger, or LeBrun. So all I ask is that at the very least, you treat this post as entertainment and if by some luck, it comes true, great. Thanks a bunch!**
Last I checked, the Stars were looking for an established NHL defenseman in exchange for that no.3 overall pick, right? But with Patrick Sharp, Ales Hemsky, and Jiri Hudler coming off of the books, they’re going to need scoring on the wing.
Don’t forget that Chiarelli was the GM of the Bruins and Nill was the GM of the Stars when the Tyler Seguin trade went down… Not sure if that’s a fair point to make since it was Harry Sinden and Cam Neely making the call there but whatever, it’s already been carved in stone.
To me, this is the easiest way to for Chiarelli to rid himself of that $6M weight that is sitting on his chest. Problem being, Jim Nill is not Jim Benning… So, that kind of deal wouldn’t be so cut and dry but I’ll toss it out there nevertheless.
Now if there were a way to get the 3rd overall AND Cody Eakin… That’s something. Can’t see Nill doing that though unless Chiarelli takes one of Lehtonen or Niemi at full contract off his hands…
You could go over countless scenarios but I’ve only got time for a couple…
OPTIONS AT 3RD OVERALL
- Gabriel Vilardi – A highly skilled and very competitive right-handed centre. Has size (6’3″, 201lb) and is said to be a possession beast!
- Casey Mittelstadt – A sniper with major speed and puckhandling. This guy is ridiculous.
- Miro Heiskanen – Left-handed defender. NHL speed and mobility. Good Hockey IQ. Solid 2-way defender.
If it were me and I was actually able to pick up the 3rd overall pick for Eberle, I’d be taking Valardi or trading down with say, Arizona, because they own the no.7 and no.23 overall picks. Dealing Eberle outright like this would allow the Oilers to go down the right side next season with Anton Slepyshev, Jesse Puljujarvi, Zack Kassian, and Iiro Pakarinen.
If that trade with ARI were to go down, I might look at drafting the best pure goal scorer available, Owen Tippett (Mississauga), and one of the hardest working centres, Robert Thomas (London). Both are righties and both have skills that the Oilers are lacking down their pipeline.
Imagine THIS Coyotes centre depth in a few years down the middle though… #Yikes
- Dylan Strome
- Gabriel Valardi
- Clayton Keller
All of that being said, in the last 5 years, the highest pick traded was 8th overall…
Look, the Oilers are out of the playoffs and there’s not a whole lot going on now that Cocksucker-gate is over… My rooster is still pissed about that. I mean unless you consider the Alphonse and Gaston routine that the Oilers are playing with Drew Remenda and Todd McLellan on Oilers Now! this week as entertainment.
What do you think? Would you get serious about the 3rd overall pick if you were the GM? Let us know in the comments below!!
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