Tag Archives: Sami Vatanen

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

Of Course He Did…

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Yesterday Travis Hamonic took back his trade request. I’m not surprised one bit either. I’ve been saying for some time now that fans of the Oilers should be prepared for an underwhelming summer. Now that Hamonic is off the market, I’m one step closer to being right. Not that I’m writing this to validate my assumptions and jack up the ego or anything. To be honest, I’d much rather be wrong about this one but Chiarelli’s up against the wall this summer and he’s going to have to pull off a helluva deal to get out of this predicament.

Hamonic

Something doesn’t feel right about this Hamonic situation… Check out this quote that came right after the rescinding of Hamonic’s trade request that was captured by Peter Botte of the New York Daily News:

“I love it here & want to be here & want to win a Cup here. I never wanted to leave here and couldn’t be happier to stay here.” – Travis Hamonic

He never wanted to leave and couldn’t be happier to stay there? Come again? That doesn’t sound like a person who wanted out. Arthur Staple seconded the quote on Oilers Now yesterday as well… Was there even a trade request or what? Does this have anything to do with the Islanders ownership shuffle? On July 1st, Charles Wang won’t be the majority owner anymore and it wouldn’t be irresponsible if there were major speculations going on with that whole organization.

Trade Requests

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On the note of trade requests, the players making them are not batting well. From off the top of my head Jonathan Drouin, Kerby Rychel, Travis Hamonic (apparently), and Nail Yakupov are all batting goose eggs. Which leads me to believe that Yakupov will be an Oiler for at least one more season.

Remaining Targets

So getting back to the summer of underwhelming, the remaining targets are as such:

Justin Faulk (CAR) – I don’t care how much Bob Stauffer pumps this guy’s tires. Nuge for Faulk plus because Rod Brind’Amour is tied to Nugent-Hopkins seems a read to me. Faulk is leaving Carolina like Shea Weber is leaving Nashville. Sure the ‘Canes need a top line centre but that young defense needs at least one more season to show that they’re capable of… Chopping wood and carrying water… HA! The wildcard coming out of Carolina might be the 32-year-old right-handed offenseive dman, James Wisniewski.

Tyson Barrie (COL) – I think it would be a HUGE mistake for the Avs to move this guy. But their 10th overall pick and Barrie for the Oilers’ 4th overall is a deal that appeals to me but I’m not sure how much it appeals to the Avs. There’s just as much a chance they could get a dman at #10 than #4 IF that is in fact the way they’d like to go.

Jason Demers (DAL) – He’s a solid no.4 for me with potential to be a no.3. An older less-skilled version of Travis Hamonic. A good shutdown defender but I’m very wary of paying him over $5 million dollars per year on a long-term deal. Also, I reckon the Stars will let Alex Goligoski walk and re-sign Demers. The value of the right-handed dman prevails. But the one hope or nail in the coffin to the Jason Demers to Edmonton scenario is Todd McLellan who coached him in San Jose.

Sami Vatanen/Hampus Lindholm (ANH) – These are the guys that make more sense to me despite being in the same division. Anaheim won’t be looking to add salary so that, in theory, could take Nuge and Ebs off the table. Perhaps this is an instance where Yak or Pouliot could go in a deal and of course that would depend on if McGinn and Pirri sign in Anaheim.

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Down on Nuge?

Lastly, Nuge didn’t have a great year last season and now he’s on the block… A bit premature, no? But now he’s on his way out-of-town? As we know, players do not develop in straight lines and RNH has just had his first down season but surely that is no reason to trade him and he seems to be coming up in proposals more and more recently. The team finally has depth at centre and now everyone wants to show him the door?

Unicorns?

Check out what the Penguins are doing with their unicorns… Crosby on line 1, Malkin on line 2, and Kessel on line 3… If Pittsburgh wins this year, will that be “the model” going forward? I mean if we take that and apply it to the Oilers, do you think it would be effective?

Line 1 – Pouliot/McDavid/Yakupov
Line 2 – Hall/Draisaitl/Eberle
Line 3 – Maroon/Nugent-Hopkins/Caggiula
Line 4 – Hendricks/Letestu/Pakarinen

Extra: Kassian, Lander

Caggiula is a leftie, that much is true, but surely he’ll be given every opportunity to make the roster at any position. Chiarelli did say he’ll have to learn the pro game and learn to control his emotions, so perhaps his spot will go to Kassian or Iiro or who knows, maybe Anton Slepyshev, Matty Tkachuk or Pierre-Luc Dubois will be there…

The Defense

I’m not convinced that a healthy Oilers defence needs a mindblowing upgrade. I believe it only really needs one piece. A puck mover for the second pairing. Maybe that’s Sami Vatanen but the onus should be on adding quality hockey players whether they be left-handed or right-handed. At this point, can the team afford to be picky? Davidson, Reinhart, Oesterle and Sekera all played their off sides last season.

1st Pairing – Klefbom/Sekera
2nd Pairing – Davidson/Vatanen
3rd Pairing – Nurse/Fayne

Extra: Reinhart, Gryba (If re-signed)

Can’t Give Up Now

I think the team has eaten shit for too long to just up and trade the pieces collected for being terrible for so long. They made up 40 goals in their scoring differential last year from the season previous and that was with a banged up roster and a disappearing act from Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl for the last 30 games.

This team can and will do better because it has the pieces to do it. Not only that but the young players are a year older, stronger, wiser, and healthier. Nurse will be a much better player next season as will Yak. So don’t be surprised if Chiarelli isn’t pressured into making a bad deal because he wants to see what he’s got as a whole before tinkering with it or he’s waiting to see what the salary cap landscape looks across the league before picking his spots.

If there are some deals to be made, I have to wonder if they’ll just be the type to change-up the team chemistry a bit.

“The reason why he’ll play is that his hockey sense and his GRIT and when you combine those ingredients with skill, these guys find a way to play.” – Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli on Drake Caggiula

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Kris Hansen

BLH NHL Playoffs Weekly Recap Apr 24th-May 3rd

 

Ah round two of the NHL Playoffs have begun and we have some good series. I’ll be honest, I haven’t watched as much of the playoffs this year as I did last year. I think it’s because of it being crunch time at work (teaching gig!) and some weird times for some games. Still you have some really good match ups with the Blues vs the Stars (tied 1-1), Islanders and Lightning (tied 1-1) Sharks vs Predators (Sharks up 2-0, boo San Jose boo) and Penguins vs Capitals (Penguins up 2-1).

My Playoffs bracket has taken a severe beating: My Stanley Cup pick (The Ducks) are out. Only 4 teams I chose (The Stars, Lightning, Penguins and Capitals) advanced. Not winning any brackets this year, that’s for sure.

The Edmonton Oilers News

Like last week, all is quiet on the Oilers news front. There’s not too much going on.

Saturday, we had the draft lottery where I did a live blog during the lottery that saw the Maple Leafs win the first overall selection (which by the way, total shameless plug, but the Oilers Rig has a new look. It’s great. Check it out.)

The Oilers ended up finishing outside the top three, finishing fourth overall, moving two spots down. I strongly believe that the Oilers will be trading the 4th overall pick.  While it’s important to replenish the farm team (no real elite talent now that McDavid, Nurse and Draisaitl have graduated), it’s time to move towards a win-sooner-than-later model. It’s an attractive asset.

If they did keep it, I’d love for them to draft Pierre Luc Dubois. He was ranked 9th on our top ten prospect rankings here at BLH.

World Championships start soon. Connor McDavid, Taylor Hall and Cam Talbot represent Team Canada this go around. Of course, McDavid will be the biggest name worth following but Hall did play very well last year with Sidney Crosby and Jordan Eberle.

Also speaking of Connor McDavid: He’s in the second round of the NHL 17 Cover Vote!  You can vote as many times as you wish.

For obvious reasons, I’d love to have McDavid on the cover. The Sharks had a player on the Cover back on NHL 2001 with Owen Nolan. Tarasenko is a great player but the Blues had Pronger in 2000. Benn would be the first Star representative to grace the cover. No Edmonton Oiler (other than some Midnight release signings) has graced the cover. So vote away.

The NHL Playoffs News

The biggest stories coming out of the playoffs are the firing of two head coaches this week.

In Anaheim after their colossal let down of a first round, fired head coach Bruce Boudreau. Feel bad for Boudreau here: he was the scape goat and did get them to a conference final the year prior. The big guns like Perry and Getzlaf underachieved on an epic level. General Manager Bob Murray promises that there will be changes.

My likely guesses? Sami Vatanen is gone (I’m really interested in seeing the Oilers snag him. He’s a good second pairing option and a Power play Quarterback.) and possibly Frederik Andersen (an RFA, have Gibson behind him). Where will Boudreau go? I was thinking Ottawa but….

The Calgary Flames fired Bob Hartley. Hartley definitely had his detractors from Flames fans: the Flames were a poor possession team with Bob Hartley under the helm. It was a rough four years for Hartley there besides last season’s Jack Adams Victory and a playoff appearance.

I’d be scared if Calgary snagged Boudreau. That would be a very wise move.

Brooks Orpik was handed a three game suspension. It was a nasty, nasty hit. Clear, late hit, interference. Very easy decision.

He wasn’t the only player suspended. Kris Letang was given a one game suspension. 

Videos

NHL Draft Lottery

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peZEcmo3CsU

Top Moments

Capitals and Penguins

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

Backes scores OT winner to tie the series

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqt8M1DU51w

Sharks go up 2-0….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKvkpMdge84

 

A Special Message

While this is a hockey blog and I just do a weekly recap, I cannot express my sincerest wishes to all those effected by the Fort McMurray fire that is taking place right now.

I don’t have anything for what’s coming up or some follow me on Twitter thing. There’s just far more important things going on.

I’m lucky. My dad and brother have worked up north multiple times. I may not be in the trades, but both of them are Ironworkers. They’ve gone up there months at a time. I can only imagine the families of loved ones who are trapped up there or without any place to go.

Or the ones who live there on a full time basis. People who are about to or have already, lost everything.

I am providing a Red Cross Link for donations. Keep them in your thoughts.

 

Edmonton Oilers, Micah Kowalchuk, Rumors, Trades

Recapping 24 Hours in Oilerville

So, in the spirit of catching everyone up on things involving the Oilers trades…

  • Nilsson was traded for a 5th round pick and prospect goalie Niklas Lundstrom.  For those wondering, this was more than fair value.  The Oilers originally traded a prospect drafted in the 5th round for Nilsson, so they got back a bit more than they dealt.
  • Teddy Purcell went for a 3rd round pick to Florida.  Now, some people were disappointed after the deals for Hudler and Ladd, however this is fair value.  Purcell, although he had 17 points in 18 games one year in the playoffs, had 1 in 4 games his next time up.  Ladd has 52 playoff games in his career and Chicago paid more for a proven quantity who knows their lineup.  Hudler, he has 77 playoff games and can also play center.  You take the cards you’re dealt, Purcell’s trade wasn’t for great value, but it was market price.
  • Justin Schultz is moving on, and it’s for the best.  Although I still think there’s a player there, he’s one who won’t find his game here, and having a mentor in Kris Letang will work wonders for him.  For the Oilers, they got a 3rd round pick and can move on from there.  Schultz was essentially a 3rd pairing defenseman getting paid 2nd pairing money to be a first pairing defenseman, the scenario was never good for anyone.
  • Apparently Sami Vatanen and Eric Gelinas are now on the market and their teams want scoring for either one before the deadline.  Vatanen is a pending RFA rumored to want $6mil a season (but that’s likely just an opening offer, expect a 4-year $4.5 deal or so).  This explains why Jordan Eberle’s name is now being brought up again, and I’d say there is a chance we see a deal done.
  • Yakupov is also being thrown about as a possible trade candidate, with Montreal having quite a bit of interest to reunite him with Galchenyuk.  However, there’s other teams snooping around also, with a variety of rumors about his value.
  • What can we expect as Oilers fans?  There’s a solid chance we see Yakupov dealt, a smaller chance we see Eberle dealt for a defenseman, and that Korpikoski and/or Hendricks may be moved yet.  Chiarelli made it clear he doesn’t expect a big deal to go down, and that he wants to keep Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the roster, so those are the likely candidates.
  • The stats on Vatanen say Top-2 offensive defenseman, Top-4 defensively, but he’s been on the third pairing in Anaheim, so it’s unsure if he can do the same in a more prominent role.  Gelinas is in a similar situation.
  • Tomorrow could get interesting thanks to the arms race in LA, Chicago, Florida and New York.  Teams like Nashville, Anaheim, St. Louis, Tampa, Pittsburgh and the like may decide they need to keep pace to have a chance, and we could see a lot more movement (and some higher end pieces) than we’d normally see, makes things interesting;

At the end of the day

We could see a very different team by Tuesday morning, one without Purcell, Schultz, Nilsson, Eberle, Yakupov, Fayne, Hendricks and Korpikoski… We could also see a team that looks essentially the same as the one that played last game with no other additions or subtractions. If I had to bet a beer or two on it, I’d be willing to bet a pint on a Yakupov deal, a can of Original 16 on an Eberle deal, and nothing firm on anyone else;

Check out the latest from Three Points Dave! You’re going to want to catch his intensity in this one… WOW!

Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

Exit Stage Left: Thinning Out the Herd

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Seks all. night. long. baby!

Take a look at this list of defensemen in the Edmonton Oilers system and let me know if you see a problem. And just as a preface for the rest of this post, it’s a tad jumpy. So bear with me and I think you’ll get the point at the end.

LEFT HANDED SHOOTERS RIGHT HANDED SHOOTERS
Andrej Sekera Justin Schultz (RFA)
Oscar Klefbom Mark Fayne
Darnell Nurse Eric Gryba (UFA)
Brandon Davidson (RFA) Adam Clendenning (RFA)
Andrew Ference (IR) Ethan Bear (Junior)
Griffin Reinhart John Marino (NCAA)
Nikita Nikitin (UFA)
David Musil (RFA)
Jordan Oesterle (RFA)
Brad Hunt
Joey LaLeggia
Dillon Simpson
Ben Betker
Martin Gernat (RFA)
William Lagesson (unsigned)
Caleb Jones (unsigned)
Ziyat Paigin (unsigned)

Feel free to let me know if I’ve missed someone in that list but it looks like Peter Chiarelli definitely has his hands full here. He needs to thin this pack out, upgrade it and try to create some balance.

Surely Jultz will be gone by the end of next week and if someone is desperate enough, they just might make a deal for Gryba but I can’t see it. I see him getting re-signed. From what I’m hearing, Gryba is part of the glue of the room. The players look up to him and he looks out for them. Just as Matt Hendricks does for the forwards. I’m in favour of keeping these kinds of players and he’s had a brilliant season to date. Unlucky to have been injured this late in the season but if there’s a team out there that wants that reliable muscle for the playoff run, he’s a pretty good candidate and the Oilers could always re-visit him this summer and see what he’s looking for.

I’m skeptical that Clendenning gets another deal and is allowed to walk and if someone is willing to take a flyer on Nikitin next week. It’s been a blast Nikki. Not really. Mark Fayne could be a rightie that gets moved if there’s a team out there that has cap room and wants the insurance on the back-end.

So that would put the right side at Fayne or Gryba, Fayne and Gryba or neither of them, leaving Mr.Chiarelli a hole or holes to fill. Maybe.

As for the left side, I think that is locked down for the foreseeable future with Sekera, Klefbom, Nurse, Davidson, and Reinhart sitting pretty there. But therein lies another problem. Too many lefties. PC has to move some bodies here. Of course Sekera can move to the right side but then where do you have room to upgrade? You don’t unless you’re willing to move someone.

I wonder if PC will cut bait on Griffin Reinhart. He was supposed to be a full-time NHLer this year and hasn’t been able to hold down a place. That being said, he’s had as many good games as Justin Schultz this year. But would it be so bad if it took him a season more in the minors before he made the switch to pro? With all the lefties competing for a spot, one would have to think that there’s definitely room to have him marinate in Bakersfield for another year. Maybe send him to the gentleman that helped Leon Draisaitl’s skating last summer.

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Do you think Chiarelli would move Klefbom in a deal for Hamonic? Or in a deal where the odds are a million to one, could Nurse be sent to Montreal for Subban? What about St.Louis? Would the Blues want a defender back in a deal for Shattenkirk?

Brandon Davidson has been a revelation for the Oilers this season and is one of the only players on the team that was gifted the time in the minors to develop properly. Funny how things work out when you don’t take shortcuts, isn’t it? I’d like to keep him as he looks to be the kind of guy that calms things down for his partner. He’s still a young guy though, so I wouldn’t exactly start pairing him with Nurse or any other rookies just yet. So hopefully PC gets this guy locked up right quick!

I think ideally you could see the defense going into the 2016-17 season tlooking something like this:

Klefbom – New Guy
Nurse – Sekera
Davidson – Fayne
Gryba

But what if it looked like this?

Nurse – Hamonic/Shattenkirk
Sekera – Vatanen/Demers
Davidson – Gryba
Reinhart

So you’ve moved out Klefbom and Fayne and added Hamonic/Shattenkirk/Vatanen/Demers. Is this a defensive grouping that gets you closer to the playoffs? Closer than the previous group above? I’d have to say yes. Now, I’m not saying the Oilers would deal Fayne for Vatanen. That’s mad. Work out the deals yourself. I’m just throwing names out there that we’ve discussed previously.

Would the latter group be too heavy on the cap? S-kirk is definitely going to be looking for north of $6M per, Vatanen I would think might be looking for Klefbom numbers and Hamonic is already on a pretty sexy deal ($3.8M for the next five years). Demers is a tough call. He’s getting $3.4M now, so let’s say he seeks upwards of $5M per.

Would you be happy with a loading up of higher priced dmen at the sacrifice of skill up front? It’d probably cost an Eberle, Nuge, and/or Hall to get it done. Go the Nashville route?

What do you think the Oilers should do with their glut of lefties on the back-end? Let me know in the comments below! And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

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

Just Another Manic Monday as an Oilers Fan

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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).