Tag Archives: Rasmus Ristolainen

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

Oilers Speculation: What Ryan Rishaug REALLY Said Yesterday…

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Yesterday Ryan Rishaug had quite the impact on Oilers Twitter be it from his announcing of right-handed cannon-wielding Swedish defenseman Joel Persson being “locked up” by the Oilers or his radio hit on The Dustin Neilson Show where he was spitballing like a boss!

https://twitter.com/dellowhockey/status/996808838459338754

This is the tweet we’re going to focus on and it comes from former Oilers employee Tyler Dellow.

Well here is the transcript of the “proposal” section of the Rishaug interview on Dustin Neilson’s show that the tweet is talking about so that some context can be applied.

I will say that after the transcript part things get a bit… Emotional on my part. So you can stick around for that or you can take off after you read the Rishaug section. I may or may not say something I might or might not regret…

We pick up the conversation just as the Joel Persson talk ends…

DN – But in no way this means the end of a search for another right-shot dman do you think?

RR – No, it better not.

DN – I’m wondering if it does though? I’m wondering if they want to bring this guy in and give him an opportunity and then save their assets and not have to give up anything significant for a proven right-shot dman, you know?

RR – I don’t think so buddy. I think the Oilers are going to be big game hunting for their blueline. I think they’re going to be looking at big names and weighing out those options.

I think Peter Chiarelli being so vocal about having his first round pick in play, where that pick is, is a good pick in a good draft, and I think they’re going to be big game hunting. I don’t know exactly what it looks like, I don’t know how they do it but I don’t think they’re going to be complacent in trying fill this very obvious void.

Now I’ve been saying for a long time, it’s their no.1 need by a mile. I still maintain that and I think they’re going to try and be very aggressive until that need gets filled up. I don’t know if they’re going to be able to get it done but I do believe they feel that it’s a massive need and just figuring out what level to get it done at.

So whattya do? Do yoy get yourself somehow into the Ekman-Larsson play? Do you go in the Erik Karlsson direction? Well probably not necessarily in that direction. Do the Minnesota Wild make a move on Matt Dumba? With the draft that the Buffalo Sabres are about to have, is Rasmus Ristolainen all of a sudden potentially up for grabs?

Could you see the Buffalo Sabres saying, considering the pick they’re going to make at no.1, can they maybe move Ristolainen out and do they maybe look to bring a veteran Swede in to help work the blueline with their new young Swede? Is there potential for a Klefbom swap out to Buffalo maybe along with that pick?

I’m spitballing a lot of stuff here but my over-riding sense in it is that the Oilers will be aggressive in hunting some of the big game to see if they can fill that need on the back-end and if there’s something that makes sense, I think they’ll be aggressive in getting it done. 

Now, if they can’t find something that makes sense, then they probably fall back to their plan B or C options and I’m not really sure what all of those are but I do believe that the Oilers have identified this as a massive need because I’ve sort of been saying for a while that I continue to do this but I’m not sure if they agree but I get the sense that they’re going to be aggressive here. 

The Chia-haters hopped on that Dellow tweet like nobody’s business and imagine 99.9% of the folks that read the tweet didn’t listen to the spot and just jumped right to conclusions…

If you pay attention, Rishaug says over and over that the Oilers are going to be aggressive and at the end he adds, “IF it makes sense”.

Now as a fan, that’s where a lot of people divide. What makes sense to Chiarelli and what makes sense to the armchair GMs are very different things.

You had guys like TSN’s Scott Cullen just lapping that shit up. This guy isn’t even an Oilers supporter but he loves to lay into them…

“Oh woe is me… Please feel sorry for me because of the team I CHOOSE to cheer for.” How hard it must be tough to tweet for these guys when you’re jacking off that massive pity dick (Hat tip to Ryan Reynolds on that one). Clean up must be fun…

The story is so tiresome, isn’t it?

Has anybody even looked into why Ristolainen might be a better fit for the Oilers than Klefbom? Is it possible that a player could get traded for reasons apart from those that lie within the margins of a stats sheet?

But here’s the thing, it’s all for naught because it was Rishaug playing NHL 18 GM mode!!! But everyone just loved it, couldn’t get enough of it.

Not one of these SMRT Twitter characters thought why it would be a bad deal for Buffalo… Nobody said that Buffalo already is fully stocked on the left side BEFORE drafting Dahlin. None of these brainiacs mentioned that Buffalo would be insane to trade their best RH’d defender. A defender that has put up over 120 points in his last three seasons despite being on the worst team in the NHL during that time span.

Noooo. Why would they do that?

Would they mention that Rasmus Ristolainen has 9 FEWER POINTS than Oliver Ekman-Larsson or 21 MORE POINTS than Justin Faulk since the start of the 2015/16 season?

Of course not…

I’m 100% sure that these media guys, as well as the bloggers, are well aware of what the market value is on a player and that’s why they get paid the big bucks to cover the game from the seat of their pants.

Now, let’s be clear, I’m not fully in support of the SPECULATED trade proposal from Rishaug because that 10th overall pick is the stumbling point for me. I see the Oilers getting a good player there but I can see the logic behind Rishaug’s idea and we know that when Peter Chiarelli has zeroed in on his target, he’s willing to overpay to get it.

Now, that’s not to say that the Sabres couldn’t add to that to make me feel comfortable about moving that first rounder. I know that Sam Reinhart has been rumored to be on the move and that Sabres GM Jason Botteril is not happy at all with the current roster make-up.

I think another thing to add is that we all know that right-shot defenders and centres (especially righties) cost more than left-shot dmen. Hence the price tag Rishaug brought up.

Nurse/Larsson
Sekera/Ristolainen
Russell/Benning
Persson

I’ll tell you what, I do not mind the look of that because I value this team having a deep and talented back end full of NHL defensemen. And it just so happens the Oilers have an excess of LH’d defenders. That group of dmen (healthy) would rival that of any other team in the Pacific division and it wouldn’t cost the Oilers one of their good young forwards either.

So just as the Chia-haters have formed their judgement of Peter on his tenure as Oilers GM, that being 3 seasons so far, I have done the same with Oscar Klefbom and I’m led to believe that the sexy Swede has troubles staying healthy. This is a problem for me. If you can’t stay healthy, you can perform to your absolute best abilities. Why would I want a player who has this problem? This isn’t Peter Forsberg we’re talking about where we’ve got a player who simply dominates games when he’s healthy but simply has trouble doing so.

Can you remember the last time Oscar Klefbom scored a hat-trick in a game? What about the last time he had a fight or a penalty for that matter…

I would be happy if the Oilers acquired Rasmus Ristolainen but leave the pick out of it. Rishaug above mentioned how often Chiarelli has been saying the #10 is available, I just hope that it’s not burning a hole in his pocket and he does the right thing and keeps it.

Lastly, this PALES in comparison to what my source told me today about the other deals that have been brought up by other GMs to Chiarelli… Good Christ, if I post those, Oilers Twitter really will burn down… All I can say is the Oilers better have Ottawa and Arizona on their “blocked” list if Chiarelli wants to keep his job this summer.

So now that I’ve upset the majority of you, here’s a kickass Oilers YouTube video to watch! Please Subscribe to our channel!

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

Five Trades I’d Like to See the Oilers Make

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Trade me right f*cking now!

With the NHL trade deadline making it’s decent sooner than later, I reckon it’s time to get into some hypotheticals and create some stir. In my opinion, the Edmonton Oilers are an improving team but they are lacking some key elements found in the teams that brought coach Todd McLellan’s San Jose Sharks and general manager Peter Chiarelli’s Boston Bruins Success.

I feel that the Oilers are lacking in the following:

  • Veteran Playoff-Experienced Leadership – I don’t think this team has a definitive leader that everyone looks up to. No Chara, no Thornton. Hendricks is a dandy veteran and Hall is an emotional guy but I don’t see the team buckling up and following those two into the trenches.
  • Intelligent Puck-Moving Defenceman – Jultz, I’m sorry, but he’s not going to cut it and as good as Oscar Klefbom is, he’s not the guy you’re looking for here. Sekera is okay, Davidson too but there’s not-a-one guy who can move the puck fast enough or smart enough on this Oilers team.
  • Shooters – Have you watched the Oilers PP or whenever they get set up in the offensive zone? How many cute little passes do they try to make before the other team takes the puck away and sends it down-ice? They need a trigger man and for some reason Yakupov isn’t getting the chances or taking advantage of the one he does have. Eberle is doing well now but he does well every year when the playoffs are out of reach and he’s just as guilty of making those cute plays as the others.
  • Physical, Tenacious, Fearless Wingers – McLellan and Chiarelli want a better cycling team down low? Well players that are slight in stature won’t last long in that system. The team needs size and puck protection on their wings. If Nuge comes back and Draisaitl is moved to the wing, this could be a redundant element.

Now just to preface, I don’t want the team to make all of these trade. That’s just nonsense. I would, however, like to see the team make some considerable moves. I really think that the team is due for a big shake up and this might be the last season where we see Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Justin Schultz playing for the Oilers.

These aren’t rumors I’ve heard through the grapevine nor are they proposals I’ve ripped off of HFBoards or Facebook or Twitter. They’re simply cannon fodder for conversation, nothing more and nothing less. Besides, I’m sure there are much smarter people over at HFBoards with much better suggestions. I’m just trying to have a bit of fun and hope you guys will join in.

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Trade #1

Justin Schultz to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 3rd round pick.

Reasoning: To get him the F out-of-town. He’s harshing my mellow and the Lightning could use a RH dman to cover for Jason Garrison while he sits on IR. The Oilers need to stock up on early round picks too. Their system is bone dry.

Trade #2

Teddy Purcell to the Chicago Blackhawks for Mark McNeil.

Reasoning: Every likes Teddy and he deserves to go to a team that has a good chance at winning the cup. The Oilers would get back a 22-year-old, hard-working, gritty forward who scores at nearly a point-per-game pace in the AHL. He’s 6’2″ and nearly 200lbs and plays a style suited to the bottom six. Regularly spoken of by Bob Stauffer when it comes to trade rumors between the Hawks and Oilers.

Trade #3

Taylor Hall to the Winnipeg Jets for Jacob Trouba, Kyle Connor, and Andrew Ladd.

Reasoning: As I’ve said in the past, I do not believe that Taylor Hall is in Peter Chiarelli’s long-term plans. He’s not afraid to make the difficult move either. Jacob Trouba is a highly regarded young dman who is struggling in his third NHL season but he’s coming up in trade rumors a bit more frequently now. The American-born defenseman plays the right side and is a restricted free agent this summer. Trouba reminds me of Dave Manson a bit, he’s mean and he’s got a cannon. Left winger Andrew Ladd is the leader this team has been clambering for since Bill Guerin left, and Kyle Connor is tearing up the NCAA Jack Eichel-style.

For Oilers fans, yes it would hurt to lose a talent like Hall and the Oilers would have to work hard to get Trouba and Ladd signed but every year Hall plays I can’t stop thinking about other elite wingers that had to go elsewhere to experience success. Marian Gaborik, Rick Nash, and Ilya Kovalchuk are all examples. And I look at a defense that is built around Oscar Klefbom, Andrej Sekera, Darnell Nurse, Jacob Trouba, and Brandon Davidson and think, “Yup, that’s not too shabby! Expensive down the road but effective.”

Jets fans can rejoice in potentially having one of the best lines in hockey in Hall-Little-Wheeler as well as a defence that includes Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers and Josh Morrisey.

Trade #4

Jordan Eberle to the New York Islanders for Kyle Okposo and Josh Ho-Sang

Reasoning: Here comes the muscle. Okposo would be the Nathan Horton-like player Chiarelli is looking for. I added Ho-Sang here because he’s a headache with tremendous potential but is also a wildcard AND Okposo is a free agent at season’s end who is looking for some top dollar. Another note on Ho-Sang, the Oilers are truly lacking some real offensive prospects in their cupboards. Sleypyshev? Is he the only real offensive gem (if you can consider him a gem) down in Bakersfield that is an Oilers draft pick?

Ok now. I’m sure you’re fuming over that Hall idea but calm your tits. Yes, Eberle and McDavid are having success together and Ebs looks like a man possessed. He’s fun to watch again but I urge you to look up the names Blair MacDonald and Rob Brown… He’s a complimentary winger who doesn’t fit into McLellan’s and Chiarelli’s system in my opinion. McDavid is THAT GUY who makes others better, right Benoit Pouliot?

Trade #5 (If the Oilers win the draft lottery)

The first round pick to the Buffalo Sabres for Rasmus Ristolainen and the Sabres first round pick.

Reasoning: Auston Matthews-Jack Eichel-Ryan O’Reilly… That is a 1-2-3 punch if I’ve seen one. I think it’d hurt for them to lose the big Finn Ristolainen but they signed Cody Franson to be an impact defender and he’s playing third pairing… Perhaps he’s being deployed incorrectly. With Brendan Guhle coming in next year or Chad Ruhwedel, they’ve got cover for that #6 spot in the defense.

Edmonton simply doesn’t need any more 1st overalls let alone high impact forwards. They’re dying on the back-end and a deal like this would do wonders I believe.

So what do you think about my trades? Let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to check out the new Better Call Hall tee below! It’s on for $14 until Tuesday I believe, then she goes back up to regular price.

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