Tag Archives: Wayne Simmonds

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Look Forward to These Oilers Rumours in 2016

5 Comments

chiarelli mclellan

Before we get into the nitty gritty of this post, I want to talk shop about the World Cup, then we’ll delve head-first into the rumours.

Wow! Taylor Hall passed over for a FOURTH TIME!!! How did Twitter react?

So there you have it. Opinions vary but if you’re still confused as to why Hall was left off, consider these factors:

  • Hall won’t play centre. Hockey Canada wants players that are versatile.
  • Hall doesn’t play C, therefore, he can’t take draws. O’Reilly is outstanding on the dot.
  • Hall’s off-ice attitude is well-known throughout the league. Maybe Hockey Canada would like to stay away players throwing hissy fits on the bench when their coach sets them straight.
    • O’Reilly did drive a truck into a Tim Horton’s though… So there is that.
  • The quality of competition between the World’s and this World Cup isn’t exactly equal. So throw that out the window.
    • Easy for Hall to put up points versus international powerhouses like Germany, France, Hungary, or Belarus but what about the games where it mattered? Where was he then?
  • Lastly, and most importantly, Taylor Hall picks his nose and eats it.

When Taylor Hall figures out that this is a TEAM game and it’s not all about him, be it on the ice or where ever, he’ll become the player that Hockey Canada calls on. But until then, I think we can stop caring about if he ever makes the national team. He’s a New Jersey Devil now.

THE WORLD CUP

The first two games versus Team Europe were something to behold. The speed and skills were on full display. McDavid didn’t pick up any points but he opens up space for his linemates, who’ve been plenty so far. I think it’s funny that the media is starting to compare him to Crosby in that it’s hard to find a linemate that can play with him. It’s not really, find two guys that don’t need the puck all the time. Eichel and Gaudreau need the puck all the time. I thought Scheifele did okay with 97 in the first pre-tourney game and I was impressed with how Connor played with Auston Matthews in the 3rd period of the game versus the Czechs. But ultimately, maybe it’s Drouin and MacKinnon that will be the best linemates for him.

Yesterday was a helluva day for Oilers and former Oilers as Ales Hemsky had a superb outing versus the North American team. Made me fawn over days past when Hemsky’s hands were as soft as a cloud and of course, I wondered if he’d be a player the Oilers would be interested in but then I thought better of that because we know Chiarelli is not a fan of “soft” players…

Neon Leon Draisaitl… A hat-trick versus the Swedes and we’re not wondering if he can do it without Taylor Hall, are we?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UigWUfg3SII

The Oilers Rumours We’ll Be Hearing in 2016

I believe that the Oilers will unload another $6M man by the start of 2017 and that man will be Jordan Eberle. The reason I believe that is because I’m not sure how much Chiarelli and McLellan enjoy Eberle’s lack of a two-way game and his lack of intensity. Not that he needs that to be successful but show a bit of sandpaper from time-to-time, right?

Now, what will make dealing Eberle easier is Brad Marchand coming onto the market. Does anybody believe in what the Bruins are doing over there? They look like a sinking ship but lucky for them they’ve got Marchand, Bergeron and Rask holding things up.

I reckon that the Oilers will be very interested in adding a player like Brad Marchand. He’s got the edge that Chiarelli loves and he scores goals. But the kicker here is, when he’s not scoring goals; he’s helping the team in other ways whether that be on special teams or just annoying the other teams. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t want him on the Oilers and what happens when Eberle or Yakupov stop scoring?

*This is just an aside, a personal thought if you will, but I wonder what happens if Philly or Boston starts slow, do you think they’d be willing to get together with Edmonton and Boston for a 3-way? Maybe Simmonds to Boston, Ebs to Philly and Marchand to Edmonton?

Simmonds has three seasons left @ 3.975M and has a modified NTC. Marchand is making $4.5M right now but is a UFA after this season coming up and Eberle has three more years @ $6M. So obviously there’d have to be some more to the deals. (source)*

That $6M on Eberle next to Simmonds’ and Marchand’s salary looks bloated eh?*

The other rumour I believe we’ll be hearing is the Oilers going after Brent Burns.

How much do you think adding Burns and Marchand will cost the Oilers in straight up cash? $15M?

Brent Burns is making $5.76M right now and he’s 31 years old. Could we shoot that up to around $7M or $7.5M per year on the open market? I think those would be reasonable numbers but the term… THE TERM!!! If I were Chiarelli, I’d need him to sign for 5 years maximum. Getting up there around 36/37 years old is a dangerous game. But it’s quite possible that Burns’ next contract will be his last, so… Bump that term up to 7 years and maybe he goes the way of the Ference… Er I mean the dodo.

What about Marchand? He’s making $4.5M this season, so do you give him Eberle’s $6M for 7 years? Surely, that’s what he’d be looking for. Something along the lines of what Lucic signed for.

Yup, I’m saying that Chiarelli will be looking at adding his coach’s former team’s best defender and his own former team’s best scoring winger. How could it be any other way? Isn’t that how things work?

Of course, everything is dependent upon where the Oilers are come trade deadline. If they are in a playoff spot or fighting for one, expect some of the defensive depth the Oilers have accrued through the draft to be used as well as 1st round picks.

Would it be smart for Edmonton to add those two players? I think it would be but they’d have to be clever in how they do it. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Darnell Nurse are all players that will be putting a major dent in the Oilers’ salary cap sooner than later.

Maybe we say goodbye to Nuge and Sekera too? Shall we take a look at a modified pre-2017/18 roster?

Lucic-McDavid-Marchand
Pouliot-Draisaitl-Puljujarvi
Maroon-Cagguila-Slepyshev
Khaira-Letestu-Kassian

Klefbom-Burns
Davidson-Larsson
Nurse-Fayne

Talbot
Brossoit

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below!

SHIRT SALE!!!

We’re having a sale over at the Beer League Heroes’ Teepublic shop!! All t-shirts are $14 plus S&H… It comes out to around $20. A very fair deal and the shirts are facking outstanding! We also do custom 16-bit player designs, so just give us a shout via email (beerleagueheroes@hotmail.com) or Twitter (@beerleagueheroe), or even Facebook, and we’ll do our best to get you your favorite player in 16-bit form! Men’s, women’s children’s, baby’s… We’ve got it all!

Check out some of our options below but keep in mind, we’ve got lots of amazing t-shirt designs over at the Teepublic shop! You can click on any of the designs below and you’ll be sent to that design’s page. If you’d like to check out more designs click HERE <=====

Dig skateboarding? Click the pic and grab this new “Thrasher Magazine” inspired tee!
Click on the pic and grab a new 16-bit Fighting Looch tee!
Click the pic and grab a 16-bit McDavid tee for the summer!
Our tribute to the Team Canada of ’87! Click the pic to get yours!
If you’re a fan of Lowetide, you need this shirt! Click the pic and get yours today!
Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, Edmonton Oilers Post Game Report, NHL

BLH Post Gamer-G13 Edmonton Oilers vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Uh oh… The Oilers rookie injury curse rears it’s ugly head again.

Well have you ever felt disappointed after winning a game? Connor McDavid goes down with what looks like a clavicle injury at the end of the 2nd period doesn’t feel good at all. The Oilers out shot the Flyers 49-22 which is a plus and they dominated the game at times with ease. Let’s go through the game a little bit here:

First Period:

Anders the Giant gets the nod in place of Cam Talbot and proceeds to bounce back from a poor performance. The first period was dominated by the Oilers top 6 and by the 10 minute mark they were up 12-1 in shots on goal. Griffin Reinhart had three of those shots which was a bit of a surprise to me. I didn’t expect the Flyers to be this bad to be honest.

The one scare for the Oilers in that period was when former Oiler Nick Schultz creeped in to the slot and nearly scored on a tip in. I missed the center that should’ve had him covered but I did see Sekera covering that post… Lucky it was only Nick Schultz.

Other notable hightlights in that period include Hendricks missing right in close after some great work behind the net by Teddy Purcell to get him the puck. Gryba’s hit on Matt Read along the boards got the crowd going and Nuge scoring on the PP to end the period really got the team fired up!

Second Period:

I’ll be honest, I missed the first ten minutes of the second so that means I missed the Laughton goal but I got back to the game at the Vandevelde goal… Another former Oiler bites the team in the ass. Not only that but the 2nd periods are killing the Oilers so far this season.

Then it happened…

That happened at the end of the period. If this isn’t the worst second period of the year so far, I’m not sure what game’s was worse. What will happen to Yakupov? Will Leon Draisaitl get moved to the 2nd line? Will Jordan Eberle be inserted into the lineup versus Pittsburgh?

How many of the players are stoked to be leaving Rexall? I mean Hall and Nugent-Hopkins have both missed games due to shoulder injuries… How long will Connor McDavid be out?

https://twitter.com/Sun_Tychkowski/status/661763034503757824

So those two tweets kind of sum up the whole ordeal but here’s the bright spot. The team finally has some depth to which they can draw from. Eberle will come back and hopefully pick up where McDavid left off.

Third Period:

The first shift of the period felt depressing but the Oilers went on the power play and absolutely bossed it. My problem with it was they were being kept to the outside a bit too much and I hoped they would make the Flyers penalty killers move around a bit more.

By the 15 minute mark the Oilers were kicking the Flyers asses on the shot clock 37-16 and momentum was slowly bring regained by Edmonton. I was worried about the effect of McDavid’s absence might have on Yakupov but he showed the same vigor and confidence as before, I think the difference being he didn’t have anybody to get him the puck which is what McDavid was doing till now.

Photo courtesy of Andy Devlin

Around the 14 minute mark Matt Hendricks potted one in his return to the lineup! He was absolutely delighted too. A point shot took a bounce off the glass behind Flyers goalie Michael Neuvirth and fortuitously bounced right to Hendy for an easy tap in.

One minute and twenty seven seconds later Taylor Hall took the puck from Leon Draisaitl at the Flyers blue line and broke into the middle of the ice and made a shot on net that took a deflection off a Philly stick and dribbled past the Flyers goalie with Draisaitl tying up the dman. That turned out to be the game winner for the Oilers.

The Flyers tried to change the game by getting more physical but it was to no avail as the Oilers fended them off and Nuge potting the empty netter sealed the deal! Oilers win!!

General Thoughts:

I think the Oilers dominated the Flyers for the most part. They played a very sound and simple game. I’m hoping this is something they’ll continue versus Pittsburgh. The third line also showed up a bit more and I couldn’t imagine how this game would’ve turned out if Todd McLellan couldn’t’ve shortened the bench in the third to preserve that lead.

  • Taylor Hall continued his all-star play and he’s up to 3rd in scoring for the entire league.
  • Leon Draisaitl picked up two more points to take his tally up to seven in three games.
  • Teddy Purcell had 7 shots to lead the team and has really picked up his play of late.
  • Matt Hendricks had 5 shots, 7 hits, and a goal to boot in his return from injury! Love my energy guys!
  • Nuge picked up a pair including an empty net and a power play goal.
  • Eric Gryba had 3 shots, 3 blocks, and an assist
  • Nail Yakupov didn’t score but he had 4 shots and 3 hits. Well done!
  • Pakarinen and Gazdic didn’t break the 6 minute mark in TOI this evening…

Three Cheers

  1. Taylor Hall – Beast mode versus the Flyers! A goal and two assists and 5 shots… Beastly
  2. Matt Hendricks – refer to the General thoughts above
  3. Radko Gudas – An assist, a penalty, two shots, three blocks and five hits. Old School Hockey!

The Next game is versus the Pittsburgh Penguins who are coming in 7-4-0 and will be a whole new ball of yarn for the Oilers. This is a team that has Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, and Kris Letang to deal with. Not only that they have an elite goalie in Marc-Andre Fleury… The Oilers will have their work cut out for them to say the least and without McDavid no less.

Let’s hope the boys can continue to dig deep and pull one out!

Good Night!