Edmonton is No Good VI: Chia•den•freu•de

[MisterJoji]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

I think the oilers have about 3 glaring holes:

- top line winger

- a top 2/4 dman

- 2nd line winger



If they can get a true top pairing winger, it allows Draisaitl/Nugent-Hopkins to drop down and be what they need to be, a 2nd line C.



Their d going forward, without depending on the prospects to suddenly jump in prematurely (i assume sekera is on IR for the rest of his contract, or so the oilers should hope) :

Klefbom, Larsson, Nurse, Russell

Adding another top 4 is critical, as the Klefbom injury has shown.



Ideally, they get another dependable winger to give Draisaitl/Nugent-Hopkins someone to play with on the 2nd line.



What i would use if i was the oilers to fill these gaps?

1) Nugent Hopkins - his deal is up in a few seasons at which point they won't even be able to re-sign him. At his proper slotting, he's a 2nd line C, making him redundant to Draisaitl, who is younger, cheaper, and in opinion already better than rnh.



2) 1st round/2nd round picks - not to be used on rentals, but rather trying to plug the above 3 holes, with players with term on them.



3) poolparty - change of scenery, he looks pretty lost, and still may have decent value.



This is still a broken plan, as only rnh has $ savings reaped when he is moved out.



I don't think the oilers need to go scorched earth rebuild again. They do need to be bold, but not boldly stupid, which seems inconceivable to them.



It is funny that they already shipped out pieces with at least SOME value in Strome, caggiula, a pick, and only received deadweight cap hits in return......

Draisaitl has proven time and time again that he is not effective centering his own line. The only time he puts up remarkable numbers is when riding shotgun with McDavid. The only tradeable assets they do have merely creates a new hole that will need to be filled and no prospects ready to make that jump. Nicholson also admitted they won’t trade futures for immediate help.

Trade RNH? Your 2nd line center is now Reider or Brodziak.

Trade Draisaitl? Your top line winger is now Lucic or Khaira.

Your not going to get a quality player that helps immediately for Puljujarvi alone, additional assets will need to be attached.

Klefbom has trade value, but then your just plugging one hole and opening another.

Chiarelli so effectively gutted that roster of talent and filled it with bloated contracts that they pretty much have no choice but to trade everyone not named McDavid and go for scorched earth rebuild v5.0.

[JackIsBack]

Is so funny how they need to dump Petrovic and Manning - what a stupid move to acquire these dead weights in the first place - Chicago must be amazed how they dumped Manning on Edmonton, incredible move by them.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

I've heard it said a couple times now. Oil should:
Interview everyone.
Ask what they would do to fix the mess.
Steal best ideas

Fortunately, OBC knows better already and will not do this

But they might reach out to Glen Rather for advice.

In all seriousness, did anyone watch the intermission panel in the national game last night in which the Oilers were discussed? Elliotte Friedman suggested that he would expect Bob Nicholson to at least reach out and discuss the position with Steve Yzerman, given his Hockey Canada connections. I think it is well established that Yzerman is determined to accept only one General Manager's seat, and that one is in Detroit (although I wonder if he would take a job in Chicago?). However, in an alternate universe in which Yzerman could be enticed to lead the Oilers I think he could possibly fix them. If there was one man to do it, it would be him.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Given the lack of cap space, prospects and delusion that they think they are close, the coilers will inevitably make an Eberle type deal to save some cap space while selling at least some hope, with assuredly the same results. I predict RNH for Galchenyuk, with perhaps a pick in the mix.

Edmonton is no good.

[EldrickOnIce]

^ agreed.
But it certainly is no quick fix regardless.
Is McDavid ready for 3 more years of futility?

[metal_geek]

There’s no trade scenario that helps the oilers. People come up with all kinds but the money can’t work. Even trading pics, there’s just no room for any real salary to come back. Any roster player that has contract value ie RNH has to be traded for pics and a lesser roster player / league min player the can bury in the minors. Optics are horrible but that’s all they got. They could do Draisaitl but would have to be for 2 players @3.5 to a team with some cap.

The only real solution is to sign 4 or 5 PTOs next camp for league min, hope they have decent seasons and turn them into draft picks at the trade deadline. If they were smart they’d be shopping chaisson hard at the deadline for picks.

[Groot]

The Oilers currently have (for this season and next)

A 1st line centre and 1st line winger (McD/Drai)
An average #2 centre on a weak team or a good #3 centre on a strong team (Nuge)
An average #2 defenseman on a weak team or a good #3 on a strong team (Klefbom)
An average #3 defenseman on a weak team or a good #4 on a strong team (Larsson)
An average #4 defenseman on a weak team or a good #5 on a strong team (Nurse)

So because Edmonton has little top-end talent, players are forced to play above their skill levels. They realistically have about 6-8 major flaws as they need to acquire more top-end talent to push guys down the lineup where they belong, and then more depth talent to go along with it. Also a stable backup for unproven Koskinen.

For 2019-2020 the Oilers currently have 13 contracts and 8.5 million in cap space (according to capfriendly). Make that 11.5 million with the increase and they have on average $653k to spend per player for 8-10 players

[old-fart]

Did someone say Drysaddle was cheaper than Nuge? Uh, nope. Not even close.

[MisterJoji]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

I think the oilers have about 3 glaring holes:

- top line winger

- a top 2/4 dman

- 2nd line winger



If they can get a true top pairing winger, it allows Draisaitl/Nugent-Hopkins to drop down and be what they need to be, a 2nd line C.



Their d going forward, without depending on the prospects to suddenly jump in prematurely (i assume sekera is on IR for the rest of his contract, or so the oilers should hope) :

Klefbom, Larsson, Nurse, Russell

Adding another top 4 is critical, as the Klefbom injury has shown.



Ideally, they get another dependable winger to give Draisaitl/Nugent-Hopkins someone to play with on the 2nd line.



What i would use if i was the oilers to fill these gaps?

1) Nugent Hopkins - his deal is up in a few seasons at which point they won't even be able to re-sign him. At his proper slotting, he's a 2nd line C, making him redundant to Draisaitl, who is younger, cheaper, and in opinion already better than rnh.



2) 1st round/2nd round picks - not to be used on rentals, but rather trying to plug the above 3 holes, with players with term on them.



3) poolparty - change of scenery, he looks pretty lost, and still may have decent value.



This is still a broken plan, as only rnh has $ savings reaped when he is moved out.



I don't think the oilers need to go scorched earth rebuild again. They do need to be bold, but not boldly stupid, which seems inconceivable to them.



It is funny that they already shipped out pieces with at least SOME value in Strome, caggiula, a pick, and only received deadweight cap hits in return......

Draisaitl has proven time and time again that he is not effective centering his own line. The only time he puts up remarkable numbers is when riding shotgun with McDavid. The only tradeable assets they do have merely creates a new hole that will need to be filled and no prospects ready to make that jump. Nicholson also admitted they won’t trade futures for immediate help.

Trade RNH? Your 2nd line center is now Reider or Brodziak.

Trade Draisaitl? Your top line winger is now Lucic or Khaira.

Your not going to get a quality player that helps immediately for Puljujarvi alone, additional assets will need to be attached.

Klefbom has trade value, but then your just plugging one hole and opening another.

Chiarelli so effectively gutted that roster of talent and filled it with bloated contracts that they pretty much have no choice but to trade everyone not named McDavid and go for scorched earth rebuild v5.0.

[puckedoff]

I think if they can get a pick for Chiasson this year
Get a 1st rounder or more for Hopkins this year or next
Sit tight and suck for 2 years while cap hits fall off, cap rises

They have a shot at being competitive in the 2022-23 season. It is obviously a rebuild, but if they are able to be smart about it it could go relatively quickly.

[the2bears]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

1) Nugent Hopkins - his deal is up in a few seasons at which point they won't even be able to re-sign him. At his proper slotting, he's a 2nd line C, making him redundant to Draisaitl, who is younger, cheaper, and in opinion already better than rnh.

Not sure what you mean here, that he doesn't tip as well in restaurants? Draisatl is more expensive that RNH by ~2M.

[bubbsy]

Originally Posted by MisterJoji

Draisaitl has proven time and time again that he is not effective centering his own line. The only time he puts up remarkable numbers is when riding shotgun with McDavid. The only tradeable assets they do have merely creates a new hole that will need to be filled and no prospects ready to make that jump. Nicholson also admitted they won’t trade futures for immediate help.

Trade RNH? Your 2nd line center is now Reider or Brodziak.

Trade Draisaitl? Your top line winger is now Lucic or Khaira.

Your not going to get a quality player that helps immediately for Puljujarvi alone, additional assets will need to be attached.

Klefbom has trade value, but then your just plugging one hole and opening another.

Chiarelli so effectively gutted that roster of talent and filled it with bloated contracts that they pretty much have no choice but to trade everyone not named McDavid and go for scorched earth rebuild v5.0.

Fair enough. If their is lack of trust Draisaitl can be effective without mcdavid, then if i were the oilers, I'd be trading rnh for a quality winger to play on a line centered by Draisaitl. Mcdavid should then be able to carry a line with guys like Chiasson.

If the truth of the matter is that mcdavid/Draisaitl must play together, or both require elite wingers to be effective, then they are definitely screwed with their cap allotment for mcdavid/Draisaitl. I do believe mcdavid can provide top line productivity with lesser wingers, Draisaitl requires elite talent.

That isn't even a knock on Draisaitl. Monahan/lindholm generate elite productivity playing with an elite player in Gaudreau. I do believe Gaudreau could remain a upper echelon points producer with lesser talents, but the same can't be said for Monahan/lindholm.

So.... They made mcdavid the top salary in the league so he should be fine with the Chiassons of the league. Instead they should invest assets on shoring up the Draisaitl line to help create a true secondary threat to the mcdavid line.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Originally Posted by puckedoff

I think if they can get a pick for Chiasson this year
Get a 1st rounder or more for Hopkins this year or next
Sit tight and suck for 2 years while cap hits fall off, cap rises

They have a shot at being competitive in the 2022-23 season. It is obviously a rebuild, but if they are able to be smart about it it could go relatively quickly.

Ha ha, smart about it, good one.

That is the beauty of the recent presser. Coiler brass don't/can't see the issues and solution that you have correctly given (although not sure about the return for RNH, I think some cap dump would be returned along with a first). Rebuild is the tough pill to swallow, espicially with McDavid wasting a few years. They won't do it. The answer is in the dressing room, remember? They played well for 3 weeks, remember?

It is so wonderfully predictable. They will extend Hitch and make K. Gretzky full time GM as they miss the playoffs, but blame injuries, refs or something outside of their control (never their fault). Next year they load up on PTOs or other reclamation projects, as they have no other option outside of a rebuild. They will still suck and will then tune out Hitch, as Hitch is basically saying the same thing that McLelland was saying. Media turns on Hitch, coach is fired. New coach sees marginal improvement for 3 weeks, miss playoffs. Rinse/repeat.

[sun]

Of course there's no reason the oilers can't become the next TBL. All they have to do is:

Find an undrafted 20 goal winger (Tyler Johnson)
Draft a 100 point winger at 58th overall (Kucherov)
Draft a 20 goal winger at 208th overall (Palat)
Draft a 30+ goal centre at 79th overall (Point)
Trading a disgruntled top 3 pick (Drouin) for a D that doesn't suck (Sergachev)
Draft a franchise D at 2nd overall (Hedman) instead of a flashy forward

NOT be the Siberia of North America
NOT sign their back up goalies to absurd contracts after half a season
ETC

Yeah. That'll happen.

[keenan87]

Originally Posted by sun

Of course there's no reason the oilers can't become the next TBL. All they have to do is:

Find an undrafted 20 goal winger (Tyler Johnson)
Draft a 100 point winger at 58th overall (Kucherov)
Draft a 20 goal winger at 208th overall (Palat)
Draft a 30+ goal centre at 79th overall (Point)
Trading a disgruntled top 3 pick (Drouin) for a D that doesn't suck (Sergachev)
Draft a franchise D at 2nd overall (Hedman) instead of a flashy forward

NOT be the Siberia of North America
NOT sign their back up goalies to absurd contracts after half a season
ETC

Yeah. That'll happen.

As much as Tampa has turned it around.. they have sucked for many years.

Its really hard to screw up 1-3 overall picks (which they did in Drouin but then lucked out). I know what you are trying to say and they have drafted well, but it just irks me because lots of people think they have done it without completely tanking.

[TheIronMaiden]

The Oilers are 109 - 137 - 26 since McDavid Was drafted.

[genetic_phreek]

Just listened to Boomer and Warrener, they ask Burkie if he would ever consider taking a call from the Oilers and he pretty much shut it down before they even finished the question. I love it.

[the2bears]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

The Oilers are 109 - 137 - 26 since McDavid Was drafted.

The Greatest Generation(tm)

[sun]

Originally Posted by keenan87

As much as Tampa has turned it around.. they have sucked for many years.

Its really hard to screw up 1-3 overall picks (which they did in Drouin but then lucked out). I know what you are trying to say and they have drafted well, but it just irks me because lots of people think they have done it without completely tanking.

They both tanked, but tanking was the extent of edmonton's plan. Tampa drafts and develops well, top 5 pick or not.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by keenan87

As much as Tampa has turned it around.. they have sucked for many years.

Its really hard to screw up 1-3 overall picks. I know what you are trying to say and they have drafted well, but it just irks me because lots of people think they have done it without completely tanking.

Tampa has had a pretty good history for a relatively young expansion franchise.

From 92-02 they had a pretty rough go (as expected for most expansion teams), although they did make the playoffs in their 4th season.

02-07 they had some good years including of course their Stanley Cup . But some early exits as well.

They then had a few off years where they began drafting what is now their high-end talent. A crazy finals appearance followed by a fall back down to earth but then steady rise back to respectability and have been a team to beat for the past 5 or 6 years.

Really when you look at cycles of success, Calgary, Edmonton and Tampa should all be around the same timeframe. Calgary has had a similar last 20 years as Tampa and hopefully can see some sustained success now like they have. Edmonton has been a disaster that entire time.