Yesterday, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector announces that the Edmonton Oilers have signed Riley Sheahan to a team-friendly one-year deal work 900k. So the summer-long rumors of Sheahan joining the Oilers come to a close. Edmonton gets their third-line center after exhausting all resources in search of a right-handed one, Gaetan Haas notwithstanding.
But what does it mean for the rest of the roster construction?
The Oilers have a good problem at the moment. They’ve got too many bodies for the bottom-6. I mean, you’d rather have too many than not enough, right? This will also force the youngsters from Bakersfield to really prove their mettle during training camp as they’ll be going up against “veterans” who are deathly afraid of losing their place on the squad. Players like Tomas Jurco, Colby Cave, and Sam Gagner. It’s going to force those players who want to be on the team to really assert themselves during camp as the competition is going to be cut-throat.
Bob Stauffer wondered aloud during yesterday’s Oilers Now about what it would mean for Cave specifically and I think that’s a very fair question. He’s a bubble player on this team with last season’s player personnel, now with all these extra bodies, it’s almost safe to say, he’s probably an AHLer… But then what does that do to Bakersfield’s roster make-up?
Who am I missing? I usually miss someone when I do up the Condors’ lines. Is Stukel going to be a factor for them this year?
Where does anybody coming down from Edmonton fit in there? The answer is, there isn’t anywhere. Oilers GM Ken Holland might have to make a trade or hope someone gets claimed on waivers before the season starts.
Now compound that with the idea that Patrick Marleau and the Oilers have been talking (according to TSN’s Darren Dreger)… It gets my head bone in a jumble. Where’s the money coming from and where are the roster spaces suddenly appearing out of?
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) September 6, 2019
Geez… Bloody fat thumbs. That’s supposed to say. “There have been discussions with Edmonton.”
Don’t get me wrong, I would love nothing more than for a consummate professional like Marleau to join the club and show these kids what it means to be a leader, but unless there are some trades in the works, I don’t see how it’s going to work.
What do you think? Please leave your comments below!
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It’s that time again Oilers fans! It’s time to talk about which unsigned veterans you’d like to see come to Edmonton on a professional tryout.
Now, if you remember, last season the Oilers gave Alex Chiasson a PTO and he came in, performed well, and was given a contract for the year. Then he proceeded to bury the biscuit 22 times! An excellent example of a PTO that worked out.
But what about an offer or offers that didn’t? Well, we don’t have to look that far back, do we? Last season, then GM Peter Chiarelli also signed defenseman Jason Garrison and forward Scottie Upshall to PTOs as well and what transpired was Upshall’s knee was fooked and Garrison ended up getting signed but it was quite apparent that he didn’t have the boots for the game at the NHL level anymore and eventually made it to the Djurgarden in Sweden via Chicago.
So as you can see, it doesn’t always work out when you’re signing these guys. Most of the time they’re well into their 30s and past their prime. These are players that are just looking to stay in the NHL at this point.
And that brings us to some of the candidates that I believe would serve the Oilers well if they would come to Edmonton on a pro tryout.
Thomas Vanek (LW/RW) – 64gp 16g 20a 36pts 14:06 TOI/gp
Patrick Marleau (LW/C) – 82gp 16g 21a 37pts 16:20 TOI/gp
Justin Williams (RW) – 82gp 23g 30a 53pts 17:27 TOI/gp
Brian Boyle (LW/C) – 73gp 18g 6a 24pts 12:44 TOI/gp
Magnus Paajarvi (LW/RW) – 80gp 11g 8a 19pts 13:28 TOI/gp
Joe Morrow (LD) – 41gp 1g 6a 7pts 13:57 TOI/gp
Michael Stone (RD) – 14gp 0g 5a 5pts 15:56 TOI/gp
Marc Methot (RD) – 9gp 0g 0a 0pts 16:56 TOI/gp
Ben Hutton (LD) – 69gp 5g 15a 20pts 22:21 TOI/gp
Jamie McGinn (LW/RW) 19gp 4g 3a 7pts 10:40 TOI/gp
Just for what it’s worth, Jason Gregor said recently that he believes Boyle has contract offers on the table, so that more or less removes him. Justin Williams is taking a break from hockey right now and if he was to return, you’d have to think Carolina would be his first choice. I have heard Michael Stone’s name in connection with the Oilers before, so there’s that. And I have a sneaky feeling that local Edmonton super-agent Gerry Johannson might be trying to get Joe Morrow a PTO from the Oilers.
Of course, if the Oilers are planning to just play out the season, then this exercise is really a waste of time, but even though my feeling is that there’s not much to look forward to this year, you might not share that opinion.
As I’ve said time and time before, the Oilers need more veterans on their team but not just any old player with a decade of experience. These individuals need to be players who the team can still lean on off the ice and on it.
Milan Lucic, for example. After a season and a half whatever game he had, left him and that wasn’t the only thing that left him. His swagger and clout in the locker room left him too I believe and now he’s getting mentioned in the same breath as Andrew Ference.
What a crock of shit that comparison is by the way. Since when do we compare a 28-year-old forward in his physical prime to a 34-year-old defenseman who was breaking down at obviously in the back nine of his career? Maybe it’s a Boston thing OR… maybe it’s an Edmonton thing where whoever is the GM of the bloody club thinks that they’ll be the one that will bring back the 80s dynasty.
You cannot build a champion on the back of teenagers and kids barely old enough to buy a beer in the States. It happened once and I’m betting it’ll never happen again. So stop trying to do it and at the same time, stop giving the keys to the city to said teenagers and kids barely old enough to buy a beer in the States.
Lucic says, "I just want to be part of the group."
Was he not part of the group? Did a portion of the group in Edmonton maybe cause him to feel unwelcome? https://t.co/d0brXbIL8M
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) September 5, 2019
Anyways, back to what I was saying about veterans. Just listening to Lucic’s comments above, vets like playing with other vets… The more the merrier, but they have to be able to play the game and be effective. It’s not enough to have a Stanley Cup ring or two nowadays. It’s not enough to be able to lead the league in blocked shots or be the scariest fighter in the NHL. You have to be able to score too.
I just reckon that the power balance is shifted too far towards “The Core” right now. It needs to head back the other way a bit and that’s why I like the signing of Mike Smith. He doesn’t take any crap from anyone, teammate or not. Same with James Neal I’ve heard. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad one, we’ll have to wait for that to be seen.
My belief is that the Oilers are still looking for a center for the third line and that they’re pretty much stocked on the wings. That analysis is one done on paper though and when camp gets going, you never know what’s going to happen. So if I had to choose out off of the list of players above, I’d offer PTOs to these three,
Patrick Marleau
Marc Methot
Riley Sheahan
A part of me would like to see Paajarvi and Gagner reunited and for Thomas Vanek to finally make it to Edmonton all those years after being offer-sheeted by Kevin Lowe. What about you?
Patrick Marleau can still contribute in every facet of the game. He can be used on both special teams’ units and as a middle-6 forward. What he did for Mitch Marner in Toronto is so sorely needed in Edmonton. McDavid has nobody to lean on for leadership advice and let’s get this out there right now. Just because he’s the best player in the game doesn’t mean jack about his leadership abilities. It’s not on one player anymore anyhow when it comes to leading a team, it’s on a group.
I like the idea of Marc Methot pairing up with Oscar Klefbom or a young guy like Caleb Jones. He was Erik Karlsson’s rock for many years in Ottawa and if I’m not mistaken, he held that same role in Dallas as John Klingberg’s partner. He’s only played 45 games over the last two seasons though, so there’s that… Maybe he’d just be another Jason Garrison…
As for Sheahan, I’m getting tired of the Oilers being shite on the faceoff. Nuge has been in the league for nearly a decade and he’s never been good at faceoffs. Why?! Why hasn’t this former 1st overall pick done anything to improve arguably the most important aspect of a center’s game in all of that time? Maybe the should’ve moved him to wing earlier in his career…
Sheahan won’t score you many points, but I think it’s prudent to ask if he’s a better option than Colby Cave, Kyle Brodziak, or Gaetan Haas.
The one thing that is going to irk you about these three players is that their advanced analytics are poor and is that something that a coach like Dave Tippet would be able to work with? Basically, with Marleau and Methot, the ice is tilted pretty severely when they’re out. It’s a bit of a new thing for Marleau, do he might be able to snap out of it, but I’m not sure Methot would be able to.
Click the names to see their career analytics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.
If you’re asking how the Oilers would fit any number of these guys in, it’s simple. I don’t believe that anybody would claim Kyle Brodziak or Colby Cave if they went through waivers and if one or both of Haas and Nygaard couldn’t cut it, they could have their deals mutually terminated and back to Europe they would go.
The problem with adding players is that there’s a limit on contracts though… Oilers are tight to the 50-man ceiling as it is and they’d definitely want to stay around 47 contracts if possible. They’d have to get creative, that’s for sure.
What do you think? Who’d you like to see come to Edmonton on a professional tryout? Let is know in the comments below!
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There are some murmurs out of the East that Montreal has some interest in our disgruntled Finnish man-child, Jesse Puljujarvi. Now, my French is spotty at best and I’m not going to attempt to use the same method that the old boys in Edmonton used last week with Pulju’s quotes, I’m going to dig WAY back in my headbone and simply use the gr.4-9 French class knowledge I haven’t forgotten and my powers of deduction to translate the quote below. If I’m wrong, I’m sure you’ll be first to let me know, right?
EXCLUSIF: Le #CH a bel et bien démontré de l’intérêt envers Jesse Puljujarvi. Le dossier ne serait pas clos même si Puljujarvi a déjà mentionné qu’il préférerait poursuivre sa carrière aux USA. "Préférer” ne veut pas dire fermer la porte au Canada. À suivre… #Habs#Canadiens
According to the gentleman above, the Montreal Canadiens have interest in Puljujarvi and then something about there being some talk about Jesse wanting to continue his career in the USA but not shutting the door on another Canadian team. If you click on the tweet and read the thread, Mr. Beaudoin goes on to say that given the Finnish presence (Kotkaniemi, Lehkonen, and Armia) on the Habs, that might be something that would appeal to Pulju and that there’s room in the Habs’ top-6 on the right side.
To my knowledge, Beaudoin is an independent writer out of Montreal who gets the odd break from time to time. A Google search found that he’s had work posted on various Canadiens blogs and TSN’s sister station RDS.ca.
Elliotte Friedman was the one who I believe hinted that Puljujarvi didn’t want to go to a Canadian market, but that’s since been corrected. He said in his most recent media appearance that his goal is to play in North America this season. Last I checked, Canada is still in North America. So whoever might be saying that he won’t play in Canada, is wrong.
I do believe Montreal has had interest in Puljujarvi well before his trade request went public. But I’m not 100% sold that they need JP as much as Beaudoin is claiming. No doubt, they’d love to upgrade their right-wing, but I feel like they could get by with who they have there at this present time (Brendan Gallagher, Artturi Lehkonen, Jordan Weal, and Joel Armia).
My feeling is that IF a trade did go down between Montreal and Edmonton, the Oilers would have interest in Lehkonen but my spidey-sense tells me that maybe Ken Holland would try to target Jonathan Drouin given the Habs have Tomas Tatar and the emerging Ryan Poehling coming along. Drouin isn’t progressing into the high-end forward that most prognosticated him to be when he was drafted (weird, I’ve heard that one before.) and it wouldn’t shock me if he was available to the right GM. That’d be a massive addition to the Oilers top-6 but it’d cost a lot more than Puljujarvi. I’d go as far as to say that one of Darnell Nurse or Oscar Klefbom would have to be included in that sort of deal.
Just as an aside, I like Lehkonen quite a bit. He’s young (24) and skilled, he’s quick, he’s positionally fluid, he scores around 30pts a year, but he’s always in trade rumors out of Montreal. I believe he’s really undervalued by Marc Bergevin and the Oilers should be looking to pick him up and perhaps Charles Hudon as well. They’re excellent middle-6 options I reckon and much better than what the Oilers have on the farm right now in Joe Gambardella, Patrick Russell, and Cooper Marody.
If you were Oilers GM, how would you navigate a deal with the Habs? Would you simply try to grab a player like Lehkonen and be done with this whole saga or would you swing for the fences and try for Drouin? Let us know in the comments below!
Click the image above to get the new Pulju shirt!
Is Edmonton Really Puljujarvi’s Best Option?
Something that irritates me when listening to Oilers talk radio is this constant narrative that the only place in the entire NHL that Jesse has a good opportunity to play in the top-6 is in Edmonton. That’s a crock of shit and something you’d only hear from delusional Oilers fans. I’d love for him to continue his career in Edmonton because the roster does have an open spot ready for him, but I’m not thick enough to believe there aren’t other places with the same opportunities for the former World Junior Hockey Championship MVP.
I mean has anybody looked at Boston’s right-wing depth chart? It’s David Pastrnak, two AHLers, and the American version of Milan Lucic. They’ve got NOBODY… Nobody on the roster and nobody on the farm. Zach Senyshyn? Please… Plus, they’ve been interested in Puljujarvi as long as, or longer than, the Habs.
Problem with Boston is, who would you consider in return for Puljujarvi that they’d be willing to give up? I know one guy but it’d probably be a cold day in hell before they moved him… John Beecher. That kid is going to be a BEAST!
But let’s move on from Boston to another Eastern Conference team, the Ottawa Senators. Their RW depth chart goes thusly,
Drake Batherson, Connor Brown, Bobby Ryan, Max Veronneau, and Anthony Duclair.
Not pretty folks. Puljujarvi would slide into that group and easily be one of the better players. I think I could find a player or two from the Sens (*Cough* Pageau *Cough*) that would fit into the Oilers plans, don’t you?
That’s two teams in addition to Edmonton and Montreal that could use Pulju. How about one more?
The San Jose Sharks have Kevin Labanc, Melker Karlsson, Dylan Gambrell, and Johnny Brodzinksi penciled in at right-wing. Are you telling me that Gambrell and Brodzinksi are even in the same universe as a fully healthy Jesse Puljujarvi? If you are, maybe stop huffing glue and come back to reality.
My only issue with trading with San Jose is the inter-divisional rivalry and they don’t really have a lot that I like and they’d be willing to let go of. In fact, the only player I’d probably like is Labanc and he’s not going anywhere. Man, could you imagine Doug Wilson trading him after making that team-friendly deal (wink, wink) with Labanc? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Labanc signed for a million dollars for the year and the speculation is that after January, I believe, the Sharks will extend him and give him the money he should have received this past summer.
That’s not the point though, I’m trying to present the notion that Edmonton isn’t the only team in the NHL where Jesse would be in a good spot.
If you’re wondering where I’m getting my depth chart info from, Dobber’s Fantasy Guide is a wonderful resource for this sort of stuff and it’s CHEAP. They’re not paying me for the plug, I’m just letting you know where you can fact-check me if you want to.
My feeling is that Tampa, Carolina, and the Rangers are still interested in Pulju, but some roster moves still have to be made in order to open things up. Either way, I hope that Jesse finds himself a team that truly values him as a human, first and foremost, then as a player and he can flourish in the manner he should’ve in Edmonton. How fitting for some would it be if he went to the Hurricanes and became a “Jerk”?
Patrick Marleau
Friend of former Edmonton Oiler Alex Petrovic, Josh Marshall, put out a tweet yesterday that said the Oilers and Marleau were speaking and that there’s mutual interest. This was cryptically confirmed by Cult of Hockey writer Kurt Leavins and more or less so by Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now.
Marshall has been on and off in the past with his proclamations but I get the feeling that he’s more “on” than “off” on this one given the follow up comments from Leavins and Stauffer.
On Twitter, I said that I was pretty skeptical of signing a player like this, but then I dove into his numbers a little bit and I think I’d be okay with the Oilers signing him. He’s still capable of scoring 15-20 goals and chipping in with 15-20 assists. Playing him 15 minutes a night doesn’t seem to look like a problem either. To add to that, I’d absolutely love the leadership he’d bring to that locker room. To me, it’s clear as day how desperately it is needed.
That being said, there are some things that concern me.
His underlying numbers are declining at an increasing rate. Just looking at 2017/18 to 2018/19, he’s going downhill.
Yikes. It went so poorly for Marleau last season that Babcock went from starting him in the offensive zone around 50% of the time in 2017/18 to 60% of the time last year. So how would he be utilized in Edmonton if the Oilers were to sign him? Second unit PP and on a soft-minute 3rd line? Forget about the PK, he hasn’t featured regularly on one of those since ’15/16 and while he’s capable of winning a faceoff now and then, it’s not his deal. Last season he took 203 draws and won a shade over half.
But at the end of the day, he still managed to score 16 goals and 37 points for the Maple Leafs.
So what would the forward lineup look like with Old Man Marleau in it?
That leaves Gagner, Cave, Brodziak, Jurco (and obviously Puljujarvi but let’s leave him out of this exercise for now) on the outside looking in and you can’t have four guys on the taxi squad. At least two of those players would have to go to the minors and through waivers to get there and even if they arrived in Bakersfield, where would they play?
This is without adding any of the surplus players on the big club. Ostap Safin and Nolan Vesey are the only guys I could see getting sacrificed right now, you? Maybe Haas or Nygard don’t make it and head back to Europe. I’m not sure.
If you’re Ken Holland, do you blow the remainder of your budget on this Marleau? It’s best to have more than enough than not in most cases, but it’s hard to see how the Oilers could get everyone the adequate amount of ice-time if there are too many players and that leaves me wondering if a pre-season deal might be made to relieve some of the weight on this roster.
My wish is if that is the case, that they grab a really good third-line center and be done with it. Get the guy they want and move on. If that’s Pageau, so be it. But make sure it’s the right man so they aren’t re-visiting this year after year.
What do you think? Let us know down below!
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I don’t want to say that the season is over quite yet. Especially with so many games left (20-ish) versus the Pacific Division where they have the 3rd best record behind Anaheim and San Jose since Chiarelli, McLellan and McDavid came on board.
The Oilers have two games left before their bye week and they’re back-to-back Friday and Saturday. Luckily neither are afternoon games, amirite?
Listen, everybody is going to think that the Oilers will walk all over the Coyotes and that the Golden Knights are going to walk all over the Oilers but we know better, it’s going to be the opposite isn’t it?
Actually, I have tons of faith in the boys that they’ll come out with 3 or more points this weekend and those games could very well be the catalyst that sparks a serious 10 (or more) game streak of positive results.
Of course, I’m less a realist and more an optimist, so naturally, I’ll take that route of thinking. I just find that reading any sponsored Oilers blog (Oilersnation, Oil on Whyte, The Oilers Rig, Copper and Blue, etc) or their Twitter personalities to be a real pain in the ass. WAY too negative. I mean good god people. Let’s take a step back and realize that we’re getting upset at something that’s way out of our control. But I suppose it’s a bit easier for me not being in Edmonton or Alberta or Canada for that matter as I can go out in public with my Oilers swag on and nobody gives a flying fart.
Anyways, I’m not writing today to bitch and moan about other sites. I want to get into my thoughts on the team looking back and going forward into this summer. Talk about some roster speculation and what not.
IS THE TEAM A WRITE-OFF FOR 2017/18?
I don’t believe it is because anything can happen but it’s harder and harder to tow that line every week as the divide between the Oilers and the rest of the Pacific grows. That said, if Edmonton can outright win most of their remaining games vs. their division rivals, that’d go a long way to getting into a playoff position. Securing it is another story. Gotta have a good rest of January though.
WHAT HAVE YOU TAKEN AWAY FROM THIS SEASON?
The parity is real. Take what the media says with a grain of salt at the beginning of the season. Never get too high on your team but never get too low on them either.
The failures of this team are on the players and the coaching staff. I refuse to blame Chiarelli for this even though he made a poor trade dealing Eberle for Strome (Even though Strome has more goals than Eberle in the last month… hehe). Even with that deal and the apparent lack of depth on the wing, the Oilers have shown the ability to keep up with the major NHL clubs.
You could say that the Oilers failed to replace Sekera but when people say this they never offer a solution. Sekera is a $5M player, right? So were the Oilers supposed to find another $5M dman? I thought Auvitu was supposed to be the critic’s choice anyhow?
Did Chiarelli fail to shore up the goaltending behind Talbot? Go take a look at Brossoit’s numbers last year and tell me you would’ve replaced him this year because you still felt nervous…
What Chiarelli did wrong, in my opinion, was that he put his faith in the Caggiulas, Bennings, Slepyshevs, and Yamamotos. I really feel that in today’s NHL you MUST have great veterans on your team when you have the likes of McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, and Nurse on your team. I love what Toronto did in signing Marleau and I loved what Calgary did in signing Jagr even though that’s not working out. But back to Toronto for a second, they’ve got a great group of older players insulating Matthews, Nylander, and Marner and I simply think that’s how you do it. If you go the route that Edmonton has, you risk having the highest of highs and the lowest of lows more often.
When you build a team you build from the spine out. That means centre depth, D depth, and goaltending depth. Then after that, you sort out the wings. This is the first time in probably a decade where the Oilers have had this kind of depth down the spine but that’s not good enough for the “diehards”.
Special teams, bad starts, injuries, and basically all the things that went right for the Oilers last season have gone wrong for them this year but I do believe that things happen for a reason and this year will be a great learning experience for the players, coaches, management, and ownership.
With those supposed failures are some successes as well.
Jesse Puljujarvi is going to be one of the best 21-and-under players in the NHL very soon. Darnell Nurse has turned a corner in his development. Kailer Yamamoto will most likely be in the NHL next season (possibly on McDavid’s line), Tyler Benson has found a way to stay healthy (knock on wood), Kirill Maksimov is ripping up the OHL, and in the minors, Caleb Jones and Ethan Bear are coming along very nicely!
One more thing on Puljujarvi, he’s looking like he’ll score most of his goals from in tight until he learns to be more creative with his shot and that’ll come with experience and more confidence. He’s already one of the team’s best defensive players due to that long stick/reach and quick forechecking. He’s an untouchable for me on this team.
The Oilers have a top-5 PK on the road… With the same players… The same coaches… The Same GM… Same puck, sticks, ice, and skates. Top 5 people. Let that sink in before calling for someone’s head. Or at least offer a tangible solution
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT CHIARELLI’S LATEST AVAILS?
I feel like he told us a lot without telling us anything. He’s a trained lawyer so he knows what he’s doing there. He pissed off a lot of people telling them he was going to stick with the grander plan and pissed off, even more, explaining the Eberle trade.
So, here’s the thing with him saying what he did about that trade. If what he said angered you that’s probably because you feel as if you deserve some sort of transparency on his part but you don’t. You’re a fan, why should Peter Chiarelli or any other GM give two shits about your feelings regarding a trade, how it got done, how long it took, or how many permutations of the deal there was before the final one was decided on.
Oh you’re a fan and you pay your money, well if it means that much to you, stop! Stop paying for things Oilers related. Stop buying products from companies that sponsor the Oilers (good luck with that) because your money doesn’t pay for access to the GM’s conversations and justifications for what he feels is the right move for the club.
Now, every year the Oilers hold an event where you have access to the brass and you can voice your concerns right to their faces and even use a buzz word like, “fireable offence” in their presence but only if you’re season ticket holder 🙂
Peter Chiarelli said he had a 5-yr plan when he got hired, we’re halfway into that plan. He said he was going to build a team that would compete in the Pacific and as I mentioned above, the Oilers are the 3rd best team vs. the Pacific since he took over. He said he wanted to get bigger, improve the defence, and upgrade the goaltending too. All three accomplished.
What he didn’t say was that he was going to keep the smaller skilled players around that weren’t helping them make the playoffs anyhow.
DEADLINE PRIORITIES
This really depends on where they are but let’s say nothing has changed and the Oilers are well out of the playoff picture. In that case, it’s time to get out the auction bell. Typically Chiarelli likes to get his business done early as most teams are doing now (because deadline day is about as anti-climatic as something can get nowadays) but I wonder if we’ll see him wait it out this year and try for the best deal possible.
Pat Maroon is as good as gone, I’d say the same for Letestu and Mike Cammalleri. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some of their RFAs get moved and other RFAs come in though.
My question is, do the Oilers move out Slepyshev, Caggiula or Benning or give them another year? Another thing on my mind is the future of Oscar Klefbom. His inconsistent health/performance must be giving the brass fits and the Oilers are in dire need of a RH’d PP dman.
We do have an idea that the salary cap will go up, but how far and will it go high enough to keep Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the team or is HE the guy that will bring back that RH’d PP dman?
Back to the priorities at the deadline.
Acquiring draft picks in 2018
Moving out pricey/unneeded contracts
Take advantage of Cup contenders
Skill for the farm
I’m a huge proponent of adding picks in rounds 1-3 every year. It’s where the majority if NHLers are selected after all. If Pat Maroon can get you a 2nd and a 3rd in 2018, RAD! If you have to add a pick to upgrade that to a 1st, AWESOME! If Letestu can net the Oilers a 3rd rounder in 2018, that would be outstanding!
The Oilers have quite a few contracts in the minors and part of the black aces that could use new homes. Eric Gryba and Ryan Stanton, Mark Fayne and Ty Rattie come to mind. If the Oilers aren’t going to do anything with Joey Laleggia, let him have an opportunity somewhere else. I think I’d add Laurent Brossoit to that list too now that Al Montoya is an Oiler and signed for another year.
The Stanley Cup contenders like Nashville, Tampa, Columbus, Los Angeles, Winnipeg, or Vegas might be willing to give up on some tasty draft picks and/or prospects to solidify their playoff rosters and I’d like to see that opportunity used to stock up the farm.
Speaking of the farm, I do have a list of AHL/NHL fringe players that tickle my fancy a bit too.
Ivan Barbashev/Dmitri Jaskin (STL)
Hudson Fasching (BUF)
Ville Saarijarvi (DET)
Jared McCann (FLA)
Daniel Carr (MTL)
Josh Ho-Sang (NYI)
Josh Leivo/Nikita Soshnikov (TOR)
Jonny Brodzinski/Paul Ladue (LA)
Frederick Gaudreau (NSH)
Jeremy Roy (SJ)
I reckon that the big names in the trade market will get scooped up because the Oilers don’t have those kinds of assets. If I were to predict what we’ll really see at the deadline, I imagine it’ll be a few lateral moves and trades to set something up for this summer.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR?
I want to see this team compete night in and night out like they’re playing in game 7 of the Stanley Cup final with 2 minutes to go and a goal down. Balls to the wall compete. I want to see the coaches stop f*cking around (if they keep their jobs) and start making some changes. I want more ice time to the younger players who’ve been taking it in the chin since game 1. What better time to give them the experience they need?
I simply want to see a team that cares and plays with intensity. Score some goals along with that and I’ll be a happy fan 🙂
Fack! This is a long one mate! I’ll sign off here but before that, take a gander at the new December 2018 Top Ten NHL Draft Rankings from ourYoutube channel!
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Are you getting ready for the most exciting part of the offseason where the free agent courting period begins and the Oilers rumors start flying high and hard?
But just a preface before getting into what I was told.
I’m not an insider per se. What I mean by that is, just as most people back home in Canada or the United States, they know people who know people involved with hockey clubs. I’m just lucky enough to know a few people close to the Oilers organization and I just relay what I’m told. Nothing more and nothing less. Is any of it true? I’m of the belief that a percentage of it is.
Now, you don’t have to take what you read here as the gospel and I’m sure that none of you will because not everything that I’m told comes to fruition as negotiations can change at the flip of a switch. So at the very least, take what you read here today as entertainment, water cooler talk if you will and if what you read here on Beer League Heroes comes true someday, high fives all around!
Click on the image to see Patrick Marleau’s career stats!
This came in late last night from one of my sources (who is neither Garfield nor Tracy Lane but she’s “reporting” it as well on Twitter):
“Todd McLellan is talking to Marleau about the possibility of signing with Edm. But, Oilers brass really likes boyle. Boyle is supposed to come for a private visit (No media) on Tuesday or Thursday. As for Pitlick, Oilers are definitely interested in bringing him back, but it’s believed that he DOES want to test the market. See what nibbles he gets.”
I asked about dollars and term and the response was thus:
“Marleau would be a 2 year term probably. Looking at atleast $3M per. Atleast. If not, more. This is Patrick Marleau were talking about”
“Pitlick is looking at a 2 or 3 year deal. If edm only offers another 1 year, he’s gone. I believe he’s looking for $2M-$2.5M on that term“
I don’t think that the Oilers can afford to sign Pitlick for that price point and that’s too bad. I really like him.
I didn’t really get anything with regards to contract details on Boyle but I was curious how these contracts might hit the salary cap and was offered this bit of insight:
“Oilers can offer max $3.5M.”
“If you only go 2 years. Any longer than that, it’ll f*ck your cap.”
“Still have to sign Kassian too. And find a stop gap D. 3-4 names for stop gap D are Stone, Franson, Wideman and 1 more.”
So that means the team is most likely out on Nick Bonino because he’ll be getting around $4M or more, right?
My Thoughts:
I think this would be an outstanding move. If Marleau could come in on a 2yr deal @3.5M and replace Eberle’s points for two and a half million dollars cheaper… Beauty.
Imagine the wealth of playoff knowledge and experience that would come along with a Patrick Marleau.
And this is a player that turns it on during the post-season as opposed to the player that was just sent to Brooklyn. 120 points in 172 games played in the playoffs. That is bloody good my friends.
I think a lot of people would be worried about the faceoffs and how Marleau has been a winger more often than a centre in his career. Well, his career FO% is 51.3 and that’s a number I can accept.
Between Boyle and Marleau, it’s a tough call isn’t it? There’ll be more teams lining up for the “younger” and bigger Boyle for sure. Hard to say if the Oilers could get him to sign for under $3.5M and only for a couple of years though.
Patrick Marleau, on the other hand, is closer to 40 years old than 30 and has a history with Todd McLellan. He can still skate and he can still put points on the board but what is more important right now, production or size + elite faceoff abilities?
The Oilers nearly made it to the conference finals without a stud on the dot right? But there were nights when they could’ve used a bit more production.
So stay tuned folks. Silly season is upon us!
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