Tag Archives: Ryan Ellis

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

The Latest Oilers Trade Rumors Leading Up to Tonight’s Draft

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The day has finally come everyone. The day where every faction of the Edmonton Oilers fanbase can come together as one glorious fanbase and… Treat it like any other day in the Oilogosphere by arguing about what moves Peter Chiarelli made or didn’t make… SMH…

Anyways, it’s draft day, one of MY favorite times of the year as a hockey fan. I don’t know about you but it has actually combined two of my favorite times into one, the trade deadline and the draft. As a person who enjoys the Oilers as a form of entertainment and not as an extension of my personal self-worth, reading rumor blogs and following insiders leading up to this day is about as good as it gets.

I’ll post twice today before the draft. This one will be re: rumors going into the draft and the next one will be an Oilers mock draft using the ISS hockey scouting service’s draft list.

I should tell you that I’ll be joining Mike from Oilers.live, Sean from theoilknight.com, and The Dirtbag for a LIVE podcast during the first round of the draft later today. If that interests you, you can head over to Mike’s website and there’ll be a link you can click to listen to us hosers flap our gums about the Oilers.

THE AVAIL

Peter Chiarelli held his pre-draft avail yesterday and told us nothing that we didn’t already know. The 10th overall is in play for the right player. If it isn’t used they’ll use it on the BPA (best player available). He’s not talking about Milan Lucic’s trade request. Eric Gryba was bought out because they didn’t think he’d play for the Oilers and they wanted to give him an opportunity to seek employment elsewhere.

Am I missing anything?

Anybody in any hockey-mad community knows that it’s a small one and that acts such as this one with Chiarelli and Gryba don’t go unnoticed. Other players will see this and remember it. I think it’s a positive light on Chiarelli. They weighed the options and decided to do it. If Chiarelli gets fired for 600k spent over two years, he never really had the job to begin with.

Bob Stauffer said that the Oilers should have between 46 and 48 spots filled on the 50-man roster when all is said and done. So that leaves a few spots for trades, waiver claims, and NCAA free agents when the time comes.

RUMORS GOING INTO TONIGHT’S DRAFT

The MSM insiders have been talking Oilers since the day the regular season ended but more recently this is what they’ve been saying.

  • Rishaug said that there are teams inquiring about Nuge’s services.
  • Friedman has said that the Oilers are in on Parayko.
  • McKenzie says the Oilers first rounder is definitely in play.
  • LeBrun has talked about Lucic’s availability.
  • Matheson has tossed out Julius Honka’s name on multiple occasions.
  • Dreger did some Rishaug-ing of his own connecting Hanifin and the Oilers.
  • Stauffer has a been throwing Ryan Ellis’ name out for a good two weeks.

The amateur insiders have also been filling websites with words about possible moves the Oilers will be making

  • Eklund has the Oilers talking to both the Senators about Karlsson and the Flyers about Simmonds.
  • Marshall has 6 teams in on the Oilers first rounder (NSH, CAR, CGY, COL, MIN, NYR).
  • Treenas Oil has popped up with tweets about the Oilers and Habs on more than one occasion. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins being the piece of interest for Montreal obviously.

So make of it what you will. It’s called silly season for a reason. It’s obvious that Peter Chiarelli is on the hunt for that defenseman that will help on the PP. With names like Krug, Ellis, Ristolainen, Hamilton, Barrie, Faulk, etc. coming up over and over in my Twitter TL. My only hope is that whatever they do, don’t trade Puljujarvi, Nuge, Drai, or the 10th overall. Deal next year’s picks, Yamamoto, Bear, Jones, or whoever but this year’s draft crop for the Oilers is very important in my opinion.

I’d be very comfortable with them trading Kailer Yamamoto though. I feel that Puljujarvi has the higher ceiling and if the Oilers would like to move a blue-chip piece to get better right now, Yamamoto is the guy they should move.

The wingers that have been discussed as trade targets for the Oilers (Pacioretty, Simmonds, Skinner, etc) are all players that are one season from UFA. Do you think that the Oilers would be willing to sacrifice the long-term future of the club to acquire one of those players?

Peter Chiarelli HAS to walk the tight rope carefully this year. I’m pretty nervous to be honest. I don’t want them to cut into the core of the offense to improve the D. I’d rather they move on from Klefbom if they’re going to use a young player.

I do wonder however if they’d be willing to trade Klefbom and the 10th overall to move up. That would free up cap room and roster space and allow them to pick a player (anyone rated that high will do for me but I’d like Quinn Hughes) they covet. Maybe Arizona cuts that deal.

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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, Lindsay Ryall, NHL

Upgrading The Oilers D, and Keeping it Real

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Forget about Weber, time for a pragmatic option

For as long as Shea Weber has been in the league there has been a constant chant by Edmonton Oilers fans that the Oiler’s GM waive some magical wand and bring over Shea Weber, or Brent Seabrook, or Duncan Keith . . .

Sadly none of these players are available now, nor will they ever be.  The Oiler’s future top pairing are named Nurse and Klefbom, but unfortunately they haven’t matured to a top pairing D just yet and need real support.  Defense by committee is an option (maybe the only one) but the Oiler’s D need real top 4 defenders,  not pretenders: see Nikitin, Ference, and Fayne.

So what can we do?  There are only a couple of teams flush with defencemen and in need of what we can offer.  The Winnipeg Jets have plenty of D on the roster but aren’t likely to give up any quality.  A likely D man we could pry out?  Likely Toby Enstrom who is on the wrong side of 30, not that physical, not overly offensive, and with a hefty salary.  So where else could we look?

Next best target: Nashville.  Weber again?  Nope, most have given up on that fantasy.  Seth Jones . . . wrong again.  Not enough whiskey in Nashville to impair the judgement of Nashville’s GM into that mistake.  Dare to dream, but it won’t happen.  The realistic target should be fourth year pro, Ryan Ellis.

Although Ellis is relatively deep on Nashville’s defense chart, there is plenty to be excited about when it comes to this 24 year-old rearguard.  Ironically, the Oilers could have had Ellis for free back in the 2009 draft, but instead chose to draft the now long departed Magnus Paajarvi.  Ellis was a prolific scorer in junior, but many prospects are.  It’s his work as a pro that makes him a coveted blue-liner.  Ellis split 2011 -12/2011 – 13 between the farm team and the big club and continued to produce along the way.  In his first full season with the Nashville Predators he scored a respectable 27 points (6g, 21a, +9) in 80 games.  Last year he scored the same number of points in only 58 games and has continued to produce this year with four points in 7 games and plus 2.  And what about his underlying stats?  His Corsi for was an acceptable 50.3 in 2013 – 14 and very good 54.5 last season.

The catch with Ellis is his size.  He’s 5’10 and 180lbs, which is definitely undersized as NHL players go, not to mention NHL defenseman.  But there are success stories.  You only have to look to Minnesota Wild’s Jared Spurgeon (5’9, 176lbs.) to see an example of a d-man who can survive (even thrive) in the western conference.

Looking at Ellis’ game, he’s not only blessed with good hockey sense, but is surprising physical.  In one memorable moment last season he stood up former junior teammate Taylor Hall when he was in the middle of one of his unnecessary toe drags.

Clearly he plays bigger than his size.   And as noted, all that Ellis has accomplished at this stage has come playing 4/5 (15 minutes a game) on a star-studded blue line.  Which begs the question: what could he do on a talent starved blueline in Edmonton?  As most have observed, Edmonton’s forwards are suffering from a blueline deficient of a D-man who can make the outlet pass at pace, or who has a bruising slaphot.  Ellis can provide both.  He has character, and the Oilers could use more of it.

So Who Do We Trade to Get Him?

Ok now, before everyone dusts off their pitchforks, hear me out on this one.  The realistic ask for Ellis would be Nail Yakupov.  We could pitch a high pick, some prospects, but that likely won’t be sufficient. Unfortunately now that Nail has gained some value, it’s time to trade him, and here’s why.

We all love Nail for his work ethic, charisma, and energy.  But what is his real upside?  It’s not a ppg player which he currently is.  What would his point total be this season if his centre was Anton Lander, instead of Connor Mcdavid?  Even in a top 6 role with a very capable centre (not named Mcdavid) his best production would be 20ísh goals and 50 points.  And that’s good, but it is a position that can be filled.  As for the ongoing disaster that is our current d-corps . . . Not so much.

Would Nashville Be on Board?

Ellis is not being shopped right now.  The Predators have drafted him, developed him, and are reaping this rewards of his productive play at $2.5M per season.  But they are always challenged offensively.  As a result there is a real possibility Nashville could be open to a trade for Nail on the premise he could bring more scoring to their team.  And it’s likely he would, it’s just not likely he would bring as much as they would like.

Are the Ask and Return Unequal?

Maybe, but all things are relative.  And at this time the urgency is doing something about the D.  Most would suggest the target on Nashville should be Seth Jones, not Ryan Ellis.  And of course that would be nice, but the reality is, Seth Jones is a future defensive star and the Predators (and the NHL) know it.  Unfortunately the closest the Oilers will likely get to having a Jones on the blue line would likely be Seth’s younger brother, Caleb.  But Ellis is a positive option, as seasoned blogger Rob Soria pointed out last spring.  Whether Nashville would go for it is another question.  But with talent piling up on Nashville’s blueline and their offense receiving little in the way of reinforcements, it might be a trade that works for both  parties.