Tag Archives: New York Islanders

Armchair GM, Edmonton Oilers, Micah Kowalchuk, NHL, Rumors

Just Another Manic Monday as an Oilers Fan

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zack-kassian-nhl-edmonton-oilers-san-jose-sharks-1-850x560

Well, it is what it is, against horrible defensive teams we’re fine, but if we’re against a team who has defense, our lack of defense shows up.

Our forward corps isn’t bad, but it lacks a few elements.

First, I’d try a Hall-Draisatl-Kassian first line, Purcell’s a skilled defensive veteran, but they need a net-crasher with physical play up there.

Second, Pouliot-McDavid-Eberle have a whopping 4 games together to build chemistry, let’s just give them time.

Third, I’d consider giving Korpikoski-Letestu-Pakarinen the third line spot at this point, the two Finns are playing well together.

Fourth, with Lander-Hendricks-Khaira, that would be a physical fourth line with a ton of faceoff ability and defensive skill. Minimal scoring, but hey.

Fifth, Yakupov really has no place in this lineup right now sadly, he doesn’t fit the needs on the top two lines better than other options, and he’s not a good Bottom-6 piece. The same would apply to using RNH as a Bottom-6 center, and, again, he’s not the right fit in the Top-6, which needs more aggression. And Purcell has value right now, time to make a deal.

However, if you have to keep a piece, you keep RNH, although he’s not a fit in the Top-6 (other than injuries), he IS an upgrade at 3C, if far too expensive in the spot. Korpikoski-RNH-Pakarinen would be an interesting 3rd line, and then Lander-Letestu-Hendricks would be a very skilled defensive 4th line (if lacking in point potential).

So, that leaves Yak, RNH and Purcell as pieces to deal to fix the D, with RNH the one you try to keep.

On the back-end, Klefbom, Sekera, Davidson and Nurse look like keepers. Gryba’s done well, but he’s worth dealing when he’s got good value. Fayne is a bad fit, Schultz needs a change of scenery, it is what it is. And Clendening looked ok in limited time, worth giving him that 3rd pairing.

So, if you put the pieces together we have:

Klefbom-xxx Sekera-Davidson Nurse-Clendening

We end up with Fayne, Schultz, Gryba, Purcell, Yakupov, Reinhart, and as a last resort RNH as the pieces we can deal to fix that top-pairing RHD spot.

Now, odds are no one gets picked up this season, going into next season, depending on who signs where, odds are Hamonic, Shattenkirk and Vatanen will be the options if any for now. Hamonic requires a quality RHD in a deal, or a good D-man and a RW, but the only way the Oilers get that deal done is a Schultz+Yakupov+1st round pick for Hamonic and a salary like Clutterbuck coming back, and I’d venture Schultz has played his way out of this being a realistic deal, nor that Chiarelli wants to give up that pick.

Shattenkirk, odds are they either go for Drouin or wait until the off-season.

So, that leaves us with Anaheim and Vatanen. Now, Anaheim’s a team desperate for scoring and they’ve shown they’re willing to take chances. If the Oilers were to offer Yakupov, Purcell (50% retained), and Gryba (50% retained), it’s possible Anaheim listens, especially if the Oilers will take back a more expensive forward, such as Chris Stewart. It might be that the Oilers need to throw in a 2nd round pick to get it done, but that’s the most likely option. It helps that Yakupov is a cheap contract at $2.5mil and Anaheim’s not a cap team, so that adds to his value, and since Vatanen’s on their 3rd pairing right now, a guy like Gryba (who’ll be a cheap re-signing) who plays with the classic Anaheim physical style, it might just be enough to play “Let’s make a deal”.

I can understand doubting it, but here’s how Anaheim looks after the deal.

Perron-Getlaf-Perry (Was Perron-Getzlaf-Stewart)

Purcell-Kesler-Yakupov (Was Maroon-Rakell-Perry)

Silfverberg – Rakell – Stewart (Was Cogliano-Kesler-Silfverberg)

Maroon-Cogliano-Santorelli, with Garbutt as 13th forward. (Was Garbutt-Thompson-Santorelli)

On the back-end, they have:

Fowler-Bieksa

Lindholm-Manson

Despres-Gryba (Was Despres-Vatanen)

Overall, the scoring potential and depth at forward looks far stronger now, and with Purcell and Kesler, Yakupov won’t need to do anything defensive other than hammer the puck on the net to earn his pay cheque.

Now, for the Oilers, if you plug Vatanen into that D corps alongside Klefbom, suddenly it looks acceptable. Sure, it’s not ideal having Davidson play on his off-side, but the idea of Klefbom-Vatanen, Sekera-Davidson, Nurse-Clendening is a lot more respectable and has significantly higher puck moving abilities than before, which is what a fast-moving team like the Oilers needs to execute a breakout. Plus, the powerplay now has Klefbom-Vatanen as PP1, with Sekera-Clendening as PP2. That starts to look far more dangerous.

Now, this isn’t to say that it’s not worth pursuing a Shattenkirk or a Hamonic for the top pairing by any means, and it’s possible RNH is required at that point to obtain one, but both will likely be off-season deals, at which point Chiarelli has Fayne, Schultz, RNH and probably a guy like Davidson to use in order to obtain one.

As an additional point, Talbot’s numbers (regardless of the bad stretch) are consistent with a starting NHL goalie, if not a star goalie. Nilsson, on the other hand, has reverted to his previous NHL/AHL levels, but was a worthwhile experiment. However, there’s no real need to obtain some elite goalie. It may be that Brossoit is ready for next season, and if not, a veteran backup can be obtained in free agency. If you look at LA, NYI, PHI, they all obtained a standard backup in free agency who have been more than effective in their roles (Neuvirth, Greiss and Enroth), so this isn’t an area worth expending too much effort in and can be addressed easily enough. (Ramo, Khudobin, Stalock, Johnson, Enroth, Montoya, Raanta are all pending UFAs who would be solid backup options for next season if LB requires more seasoning).

Armchair GM, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors, Trades

Nail’s Recent Inspired Play Gives The Oilers Options

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With two goals in his past five games, the Edmonton Oiler’s winger Nail Yakupov may be trending at just the right time.  Considering the challenges that loom ahead for the Oilers, they need his stock to improve.

Prior to his bizarre injury at the hands of a clumsy official, Yak appeared to be falling into a familiar negative pattern.  Forcing the play, being caught out of position, and trying to be too much of a playmaker; waiting for the perfect play instead of spraying bullets at the net whenever the opportunity presented itself.

However, after some forced rest and rehab, Yakupov seems to have an extra spring in his step.  He looks faster, seems to be reading the game better, is shooting whenever from wherever and he’s getting results.  Yak’s sharp angled goal against the Stars came from a shot he likely has passed up many times in his career.  It appears he is listening to his coaching staff, and the positive results may result in a 10 – 12 goal second half.  Heck he may even match the 17 goal total he had in his rookie season.  And that’s awesome, because with the upgrades the Oilers need to do, his value needs to be at an all time high.  That’s right, we need Yak playing at the top of his game, because in reality we may need to trade him . . . maybe (but not likely) by the trade deadline.

But why should the Oiler’s give up on the player now, after investing what they have?  The reality is, somebody will need to be traded, and if its Yak, that’s not the worst thing that could happen, because the other trade options are not ones I would want to consider.

Travis Hamonic would be a game changer for the Oilers defence.Oilers Still Targeting Hamonic

Oilers Still Targeting Hamonic

At this point Chiarelli knows his defense is as much as three pieces away from being a legitimate NHL blue-line.  Travis Hamonic is a must-land for the Oiler’s GM.  He has an advantage over his main competitor for Hamonic, Winnipeg Jet’s Kevin Cheveldayoff, because that GM is indecisive and overly methodical.  However, NY Islanders GM Garth Snow has pretty much had his way in transactions with Chiarelli to this point, landing Boychuk for a second rounder and getting two high picks Griffin Reinhart, a D-man who may not progress past a 3rd pairing defenseman.  So Snow would likely prefer to deal with Chiarelli, however, knowing the desperate state of the Oiler’s defense, he’ll be looking to take us deep.

Having said that, Snow won’t be able to get in exchange what he ideally wants (a legitimate top four D) from any trading partner.  But he would likely ask for at least one of the Oiler’s top offensive weapons in compensation.  And who might that be?  There are some obvious options:

Somebody Will Need To Be Traded

Jordan Eberle: This is a light year for Ebs, but make no mistake, he has the best hands on the team and is the best pure scorer.  He’s also been among the most consistent point producers on the club over the last five years and is a great team guy.  You would hate to give him up, but considering the upgrades that need to be done, Chiarelli would have to consider it.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: Everybody seems to want to throw the Nuge’s name into trade rumors these days, and it makes sense considering the Oiler’s sudden depth at center (at least when they’re healthy.)  The Islanders aren’t too shabby at center depth themselves, but most people recognize that Nuge is quality.  In the “more skill, less size” eastern conference, RNH would likely reach the 70 point season everyone knows he’s capable of.

Or, with a re-emergene from Yak, could there be another option?

While Yakupov does not have the pedigree for consistency that Snow may be looking for, he offers other marketing aspects that could appeal to Snow.

Good Value:  If Nail becomes a 20 plus goal scorer for 2M per season, that’s a heck of a bargain in today’s NHL.  And with star players asking 10M per season, you need value contracts to compete.

He’s Russian: In most markets, this is not a big deal, but with the Islanders moving into a new building they need to put bums in the seats. New York has a very large, well-known Russian community.  They don’t all live in Brooklyn, to be sure, but they will commute to watch one of their countrymen.

His Potential: Yakupov was a first overall pick and it’s not clear whether he will fulfill his potential.  At this stage I would say he’s a 25 goal 60 point guy at a maximum, 15 goal 40 point guy at a minimum.  If Snow sees the glass as half full, he may go for it.

Now, Yak straight across for Hamonic would never happen.  However, if you added rapidly and maturing defensive prospect David Musil things could get interesting.  Throw in a highish pick (2nd rounder) and I think that would be a better offer than most would pitch for Hamonic, especially considering he’s injured.

Now there would be a few stars that would need to align for this to happen.  First and foremost he would have to produce, and if he is re-united with Connor Mcdavid at some point in the season that would be a probability.  And considering his improved possession states (documented by Oilers Nation’s Matt Henderson here) his coach will feel better about giving Yak the ice time he needs to produce.  So while it doesn’t make sense to trade an improving player, his offensive season is not that of Eberle or the Nuge, and if a deal can be put together, Chiarelli would likely jump on it.

 

 

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

Could the Islanders Come Calling for Taylor Hall?

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Hall Day Long Baby! Bow to the King, Chewbacca!

Veteran sports journalist Larry Brooks recently wrote an article in the New York Post discussing what the New York Islanders need to do take the Eastern Conference and part of his post included a tidbit about a player on the Edmonton Oilers…

If we’re going beyond rentals, and why not, don’t the Islanders have enough to get Jonathan Drouin? And is there enough for Snow to pull off a deal with old trading buddy Peter Chiarelli, now in Edmonton, to get young Taylor Hall onto No. 91’s left wing? Wouldn’t that be something? – Larry Brooks

Now this is nothing more than commentary on the part of Larry Brooks but I feel that it’s not completely unrealistic. It’s pretty far out there but for the sake of igniting a bit of water cooler talk, I think we should delve into it.

Now the reason we can sit here and talk about the idea of moving Taylor Hall is simple, what’s he done the last 15 games when the team has needed him so badly? Well he’s contributed three goals in that time. Ouch. The good thing is that in the past three games he’s produced five points. But that 15 game stretch hurts the Oilers. He’s their main man this year and up until the loss to Vancouver on Boxing Day, he was getting points left and right.

Let’s be straight about something though, this is not an anti-Hall post. It’s simply me taking a shot at an idea put forth by another writer. Just for shits and giggles if you will.

The Return

So Hall is the Oilers (and possibly the NHL’s) best LW, he’s doing a majority of the scoring and the next person on the depth chart after him is Benoit Pouliot… So I’d be looking to toss a band-aid on there but my main concern would be on defence. With the Islanders that’s easy, Travis Hamonic. But it couldn’t be a straight up deal there, Garth Snow would have to toss in something else… Something big.

Brock Nelson is a guy that would have some value to the Oilers. He’s a big body, is about to put up around 200 shots this season if everything goes to plan and should be good for around 25-30 goals (which would be a career high but he’s shooting at 17% when his career average is around 10%, so we can expect that to come back to earth at some point). He’s good on the face-off dot (51%) and is above water (barely) on the CF% Rel (.2)

Ryan Strome is another player that is worth your time. He’s a forward that can play across the board with a solid build (6’1″ 199lbs). He put up 50pts in 81 games last season and then for whatever reason found himself on the outside looking in this season. He was sent down to the AHL for 8 games where he racked up 10 points in that time. He’s too good for the AHL and he needs to find a team that could accommodate him in the NHL if the Isles aren’t willing to do so. Not that there is any indication that the Isles are unhappy with Strome but he’s def. not getting the same push this year as he was last season.

But let’s say it’s one of those players, prospects, and a pick deals… We’ve got Hamonic already, so moving on to the prospects. Two jump out at me right away, Michael Dal Colle, a LW plying his trade with the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL, and Mathew Barzal of the Seattle Thunderbirds. Another prospect by the name of Ryan Pulock, a right-handed shooting dman, catches my eye a bit too.

Dal Colle hasn’t had an amazing season so far. He was cut from the Team Canada World Junior team as he wasn’t producing at the rate he was expected to (he had back to back 90+ point seasons before this one) in Oshawa before his trade to Kingston. But since that deal MDC has been scoring at more than a 2 PPG clip, so that is a plus. The other thing that is intriguing about him is his size, he stands 6’3″ and 198lbs according to eliteprospects.com and he’s a former 5th overall pick from the 2014 draft.

Mathew Barzal is a crafty playmaking centre who is remarkably good at reading plays. He had a few highlight plays at the World Juniors in Finland for Team Canada but was under-used in my opinion. He has an injury history but has moved on from that to put up very respectable numbers this year (45 points in 27 games so far). The Oilers did have a chance to select him but chose to move their second first round pick in the Griffin Reinhart trade where the Islanders landed him at #16 overall. Lastly, he was one of the final cuts at Islanders camp this year so there’s that to consider as well.

Ryan Pulock could be the powerplay quarterback the Oilers have been looking for since they signed Justin Schultz. He’s got a cannon of a shot and decent size (6’2″ 220lb.) but his downside being he’s not the most physical of players and his skating could use a bit or work.

As far as draft picks go, the Islanders first rounder is a given. At this point it is sitting at 23rd overall and we don’t know how the Isles will do in the final third of the season, so it could go up or down but they’re sitting in a playoff spot right now, so let’s assume it’ll stay in the 20-25 range thus giving the Oilers a plethora of options.

At that point in the draft they could add depth to the forwards by picking skilled players like Sam Steel (Regina Pats), hard-working two-way players like Tyler Benson (Vancouver Giants), or a sniper like Connor McDavid’s linemate last year, Alex Debrincat (Erie Otters). Chiarelli could possibly pick up another defenceman with the pick and I’m thinking the likes of the level-headed Kale Clague (Brandon Wheat Kings), the hulking Logan Stanley (Windsor Spitfires), or the uber-intelligent Libor Hajek (Saskatoon Blades).

Then again Edmonton could very well do as they did last year and use it in a trade too. Who knows?

The Conclusion

The team trading Taylor Hall in this situation never wins. As I said earlier, he’s one of the best left wings in the game if not THE best left-wing. He’s finally maturing into the guy we’ve been waiting for and he’s staying healthy! The other thing is, scoring is hard enough with one of the best in the league, you can only imagine how much harder it would be without him.

Grabbing a handful of prospects and picks with Travis Hamonic or acquiring Hamonic with Strome or Nelson would definitely add to the scoring quandary as oppose to solving it but I guess with that said, it would add depth to a team that looks to be lacking in it not only at the NHL level but at the AHL level and it could open up the possibility of adding a high-ticket marquee defenseman.

What say you? At the cost of an amazing hockey player, would you try to shore up the holes in the Oilers roster so that the foundation of the team was stronger going forward? Let me know in the comments below!

Thank you for reading! Take care!
BLH

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Ryan Robinson

Oilers Still in on Hamonic?

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Is Hamonic coming to Edmonton or what?! The suspense is killing me!

According to this tweet from Chris Nichols, who I highly recommend if you’re into NHL insider highlights, and via Elliotte Friedman; the Edmonton Oilers are apparently still in the Travis Hamonic sweepstakes. One would think things have simmered down since last week, wouldn’t they?

https://twitter.com/nicholsonhockey/status/670330428318846976

Well friend of the blog Ryan Robinson laid out his thoughts in his most recent vlog below. Check it out and I’m going to comment on his thoughts below!

Comments on Mr.Robinson’s vlog:

  • “I don’t believe that Edmonton has a desperate need to trade for him (Hamonic)”
    • The Oilers lack a two-way RIGHT HANDED defenceman in the mold of Hamonic. So I strongly disagree with this sentiment. Not only that but he’s not a spring chicken and he’s capable of playing a shut down role and 20+ minutes per night.
  • “The main problem I see with it (defense) is that it’s young.”
    • So by this sentiment, wouldn’t you want to acquire an older player?
  • “This is the core that the Oilers should be building around: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, Darnell Nurse, and Oscar Klefbom.”
    • I like this core but given what Hall is bringing to the table right now, you definitely keep him in the core because he is not a complimentary player, he’s a driver. Eberle and Yak are complimentary wingers thus expendable. Not only that but his contract is an absolute steal.

What I come away with is that Mr.Robinson isn’t willing to part with Hall, Eberle, or Yakupov at the beginning of his vlog (surely they’d fall under the title of “talented young forwards”) but then at the end those players don’t fit into the core of his team and trading Hall for Hamonic would be a massive overpayment… So would he be willing to trade Eberle, as many are suggesting, or a healthy and producing Nail Yakupov? I’m so confused…

In order to acquire talent, one has to be willing to part with talent, no?

I get the feeling that Ryan is willing to be patient with this squad and I respect that and I also get that Nurse is going to be a top 20 defender within the next three years but it’s all but guaranteed that Peter Chiarelli is far from willing to wait 2-3 three years for that nor are the fans of the team.

Lastly, how many years of Connor McDavid’s entry level deal are you willing to waste waiting for Reinhart, Davidson, Klefbom, and Nurse to develop to their potential?

What are your thoughts on the vlog? Let me know in the comments below!

 

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Beer League Hero, Breaking News, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Oilers Trading for Travis Hamonic

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Travis Hamonic would be a game changer for the Oilers defence.

Missing out on Dougie Hamilton might’ve been a blessing in disguise. We found out today that New York Islanders defenceman Travis Hamonic is homesick and would like to return to the west. Hurray! This might be the break that Peter Chiarelli was waiting for! A two-way no.2 defenceman who is right-handed is available?

Peter Chiarelli and Isles GM Garth Snow have a prior trading relationship. It was Chiarelli who dealt Boychuk to the Isles and also the Griffin Reinhart trade was masterminded by these two gentlemen. So there’s no reason to believe that the Oilers have the worst odds of grabbing Hamonic from the Islanders. I have to think they have a much better chance at getting the young defenceman out of Brooklyn.

Of course they’ve been talking. The only reason we’re hearing about Hamonic is because the Islanders are having issues getting the package they want in return and need to drum up more interest and they want to put pressure on the other teams to up the anti. I mean just go to Twitter and type Hamonic in the search bar. Oilers fans are shitting the bed with the news that their long lost and potentially piece of the pie is available, especially after losing out on Doug Hamilton.

I’m not sure the Flames and Canucks have the pieces to grab Hamonic. I really believe that it’s between the Oilers and the Jets. Winnipeg has a ridiculous pool of prospects (Kyle Connor, Josh Morrisey, Eric Comrie, and Nic Petan) and some defenders that could step right in and replace Hamonic immediately, meaning Jacob Trouba and Dustin Byfuglien. The other thing working in Winnipeg’s favor is they’re just recently stated they’re looking to shake things up.

Travis Hamonic – The Player

Defense — shoots R
Born Aug 16 1990 (25 years old) — St. Malo, MAN
Height 6.02 — Weight 205 [188 cm/93 kg]

The Oilers are lacking high-end defensemen that can move the puck effectively. Oscar Klefbom is arguably the best passer on the team, Schultz being another. Hamonic blows Kbom out of the water according to Ryan Stimson’s Passing Charts. Check out the comparison below.

I also like to look at @mimicohero’s HERO charts to determine a player’s value. Let’s look at Travis Hamonic’s!

So we have a player that is moving into the prime of his career as a top pairing defender but not quite an elite one. He’s not being considered for Team Canada at the upcoming World Cup but I don’t really see that as a con. There’s only a few spots on that team and it’s basically the cream of the crop that get picked.

But on the Edmonton Oilers, he’s automatically the best blueliner hands down.

As for the dollar end of things, Elliotte Friedman said this about it:

There’s a ton to like about this player. He’s a right-hand shot, top-pairing defenceman with four years remaining on a good-value contract. The average annual amount is $3.857 million, although the actual dollars will be $4.875 million beginning in 2016-17.

I have to agree with him. The money is good and it’s what Justin Schultz will be looking for when his contract is up at the end of the year. It’s also one of the reasons why I believe Schultz should be part of any deal going forward.

For all of you expecting the Oilers to deal Mark Fayne or Andrew Ference, Anton Lander, or Eric Gryba, it isn’t happening. As bad as he looks on the ice, the Oilers need veteran dmen more than rookies. According the Stephen Burtch, Fayne is the Oilers best defensive dman according to the fancy stats. So take that for what you will. Ference can’t be moved w/o permission, Anton Lander is not bringing the team anything of Value and Gryba is a recent acquisition by the current GM. He’s likely to stay.

Grab a 16-Bit Superstar hoodie for the winter!

If I were the Oilers GM I would be looking at expanding the deal slightly. We know that Kyle Okposo is set to he a free agent this summer and one would have to consider that he’ll be looking for around $6 million per year. I wonder aloud if Jordan Eberle, Justin Schultz, and this years 1st round pick unprotected would be enough to entice Garth Snow into pulling the trigger? Puck Daddy’s Josh Cooper touches on Hamonic and Okposo here.

There’s Ryan Strome to consider as well. He’s sitting in Bridgeport (AHL) when he should be playing in the NHL… Not sure what the deal is there but could he be a guy that’s tossed into the mix.

Garth Snow doesn’t want prospects as he has one of the best looking groups of up and coming players in the league and a deal like this would allow the Isles to continue on their current trajectory without having to toss a rookie in a tough spot. Also, Eberle and Tavares… Are you kidding me? Remember the World Juniors when Eberle scored that last second goal to tie the game versus the Russians? Who was his center? Johhny T baby!

Forgive me but I can’t remember who said it, but I distinctly remember hearing this week on one of the Oilers radio shows, either Oilers Now or Lowetide, that the Oilers are likely to go after Milan Lucic his summer or a player like him. Kyle Okposo is pretty similar to Lucic and he provides that element the team is sorely lacking and has been lacking for a very long time. Who’s the last good power forward to play for Edmonton? Bill Guerin? Jason Arnott? Don’t say Pancakes Penner…

The only counter to my proposal is the deals made for Johnny Boychuk (draft picks) and Doug Hamilton (draft picks). Both players arguably are equal if not better than Hamonic.

Thanks for reading! Let me know in the comments below what deal you’d be willing to make to get Travis Hamonic for your team!

Take Care!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SMdBL6atCo