Around The League 40: As we barrel towards 40 teams

[AhosDatsyukian]

Speaking out my ass:

No. McDavid has been fellated his whole life by Canadian media. Remember how pissed RBA was when he came here...no way RBA can get McDavid to play defense or listen at all. We need types who thrive out of the big media in Canada just like JK has. I also think we're a worse team on ice /w that swap.

Now what I would do is Slavin (+?) for Draisaitl. Makes less, probably more likely to buy in, is bigger, and a pure finisher.....and we don't lose our 1c. Our defense is good enough to absorb the loss of Slavin, I think? The guy hates losing as was basically in tears after last nights loss to SJ. Seems like someone who would just be thankful to be moved to a contender.

Orlov Burns
Skjei Pesce
Chat TDA

Nikishin + Morrow in the wings.

Slavin is more impactful for winning than Drai, I wouldn’t trade Slavin period, honestly.

 

[Stickpucker]

I think they could trade both, suck for a year or two and be a better team than they are now surprisingly quick. It’s difficult to build a team around superstars who make that much. That’s the good part of Aho being great but not quite elite, and the general makeup of our B skill level. Easier to spread the money around and have a well rounded team. We lack the high end skill that can take over a game single-handedly but we’re always competitive, and with the right chemistry we could win it all.

Imagine the haul of young assets they could get for McDavid, Drai, RNH. Even Kane and Ekholm would return some value.

*I think they'd need to bring in a couple character guys to go with it.

Slavin is more impactful for winning than Drai, I wouldn’t trade Slavin period, honestly.

55 goal scorer with insane playoff stats....who is 6'2" 208?....man I love Slavin but I take Drai to build around over him. Perfect player to have in the POs. Guy is a Leopard 2 out there.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Imagine the haul of young assets they could get for McDavid, Drai, RNH. Even Kane and Ekholm would return some value.

*I think they'd need to bring in a couple character guys to go with it.



55 goal scorer with insane playoff stats....who is 6'2" 208?....man I love Slavin but I take Drai to build around over him. Perfect player to have in the POs. Guy is a Leopard 2 out there.

Defense is more important than that, as evidenced by the Oilers lack of success despite having Drai and McD. I’m a big Drai fan but an elite shutdown 1D is the most important position in hockey and hardest to find. I don’t want to bet on Nikishin turning into that if we traded Slavin. Our D depth without him is great, but come playoff time we’ll need him, or another D of similar impact.

 

[cptjeff]

Defense is more important than that, as evidenced by the Oilers lack of success despite having Drai and McD. I’m a big Drai fan but an elite shutdown 1D is the most important position in hockey and hardest to find. I don’t want to bet on Nikishin turning into that if we traded Slavin. Our D depth without him is great, but come playoff time we’ll need him, or another D of similar impact.

Agreed. Offensive numbers are sexy. Slavin goes up against McDavid and entirely erases his offensive numbers, and is one of the very, very few who does that.

You can win championships without McDavid level offensive players. In fact, every Stanley Cup since what, Crosby's 09 Cup has been won without the league's best offensive player, maybe one of the Chicago Cups with Kane at his peak. Nobody needs the A++ guy and the salary demands that come with him, you can win cups with a bunch of A guys, and likely have a bunch more depth as a result. I take Aho+Slavin every day and twice on Sunday over McDavid+Nurse.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Sounds like there’s only one way to settle this.

Who wants to start the Trade Board thread?

edit: never mind. I ****ing did it

 

[Francis10]

Just hypothetical as I don’t think we have a shot at either one. But just for fun, what do you guys think would be a fair trade for either McDavid or Drai to the Canes?

 

[Svechhammer]

If Drai or McJesus are traded, it would end up being the closest thing we've seen to the Lindros trade since the Lindros trade. You're talking multiple contributing pieces and futures and picks to Edmonton to make it happen. And the kicker is that both players are so good it would be worth it.

Damn, @mikeyfan was fishing with some really potent bait in that thread

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

man @cptjeff you shit posting on purpose? we would definitely have to add to slavin + aho to get mcdavid, needless to say just slavin. Slavin is awesome but McDavid is the best in the game.

 

[cptjeff]

man @cptjeff you shit posting on purpose? we would definitely have to add to slavin + aho to get mcdavid, needless to say just slavin. Slavin is awesome but McDavid is the best in the game.

A little from column A, a little from column B. I genuinely do not want McDavid at all given the sacrifices we would have to make to the rest of the roster based on cap space and trade assets. Best in the game is not the only factor in a team sport.

 

[sabremike]

Something lots of people don't seem to understand: The NHL isn't like the NBA where if you have LeBron you end up playing for a championship every year. The effect of even the best players (besides goalies) is far less than in most sports for a variety of reasons. That is not to say that a McJesus has minimal value, far from it. It just means that even a player as great as him isn't going to be able to overcome an organization that hires incompetent dinosaurs like Chia and Holland b2b as GM. Last year's cup final should've taught everyone not to buy into "he's a looosah" narratives on players who were NOT responsible for the lack of success of incompetent organizations.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

A little from column A, a little from column B. I genuinely do not want McDavid at all given the sacrifices we would have to make to the rest of the roster based on cap space and trade assets. Best in the game is not the only factor in a team sport.

its not Mcdavid's fault that Edmonton sucks at running a team. Its not like he isnt trying.

 

[SlavinAway]

In a vacuum McDavid is definitely worth more than Aho + Slavin but that's not how trades work. To pay what it would cost would hurt the Canes now and in the future.

 

[SvechneJerk]

"I can't you hear you from that far down in the standings."

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Something lots of people don't seem to understand: The NHL isn't like the NBA where if you have LeBron you end up playing for a championship every year. The effect of even the best players (besides goalies) is far less than in most sports for a variety of reasons. That is not to say that a McJesus has minimal value, far from it. It just means that even a player as great as him isn't going to be able to overcome an organization that hires incompetent dinosaurs like Chia and Holland b2b as GM. Last year's cup final should've taught everyone not to buy into "he's a looosah" narratives on players who were NOT responsible for the lack of success of incompetent organizations.

its a misnomer that Lebron = championship team. and about everyone understands that hockey =/= basketball.

Lebron hasnt been a champ contender without another (if not 2) superstar(s) and quality depth.

You can likely survive with 1 other superstar and 3 above average depth players, and 3 quality depth players.

Translate that to the NHL and you need 2 superstars, 6-7 above average depth players, and 6 quality depth players. Edmonton has some of each but not all.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Something lots of people don't seem to understand: The NHL isn't like the NBA where if you have LeBron you end up playing for a championship every year. The effect of even the best players (besides goalies) is far less than in most sports for a variety of reasons. That is not to say that a McJesus has minimal value, far from it. It just means that even a player as great as him isn't going to be able to overcome an organization that hires incompetent dinosaurs like Chia and Holland b2b as GM. Last year's cup final should've taught everyone not to buy into "he's a looosah" narratives on players who were NOT responsible for the lack of success of incompetent organizations.

This.

An NBA roster has 12 guys max, 7 or 8 of whom generally play regular minutes, it's much easier to substitute tactically at dead balls to get the right match ups, and the best guys play 90% of the game. If you've got 3 guys that can dominate, the rest of the guys can be replacement level and you can win championships.

An NHL roster has 23 guys max, 19 of whom play regular minutes, matching up on the fly can be a nightmare, and the best guys get maybe 25-30% of the game. If you don't have 3 solid forward lines, 2 solid pairings and a pair of decent goalies, you're probably not even a playoff team.

I haven't watched the Oilers enough to know what their depth is like, but obviously they're paying so much for their top 2 guys that they can't possibly have enough to fill out the team. Seemed like they were getting away with it before, and now they are definitely not. Fascinating.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

I haven't watched the Oilers enough to know what their depth is like, but obviously they're paying so much for their top 2 guys that they can't possibly have enough to fill out the team. Seemed like they were getting away with it before, and now they are definitely not. Fascinating.

Well, last year they had 3 100-pt players, including the Rocket Richard and Art Ross-winning best player in the world who put up 150. That helps.

 

[Svechhammer]

This.

An NBA roster has 12 guys max, 7 or 8 of whom generally play regular minutes, it's much easier to substitute tactically at dead balls to get the right match ups, and the best guys play 90% of the game. If you've got 3 guys that can dominate, the rest of the guys can be replacement level and you can win championships.

An NHL roster has 23 guys max, 19 of whom play regular minutes, matching up on the fly can be a nightmare, and the best guys get maybe 25-30% of the game. If you don't have 3 solid forward lines, 2 solid pairings and a pair of decent goalies, you're probably not even a playoff team.

I haven't watched the Oilers enough to know what their depth is like, but obviously they're paying so much for their top 2 guys that they can't possibly have enough to fill out the team. Seemed like they were getting away with it before, and now they are definitely not. Fascinating.

All offense and no defense never works. Edmonton needed to score 5 a night to keep winning last year, somehow got worse defensively, threw their goalie under the bus and sent him to the AHL, and we're surprised they just lost to San Jose?

Like, they've been on a one way path to this for the better part of 10 years now. It was always going to end this way as long as their entire defensive philosophy was to bring in guys who could score from the blue line rather than guys who could keep the puck away from their own net. They are so unbalanced it will be a case study down the line on how to absolutely f*** up roster management as a precautionary tale for future GMs.

And very quietly, New Jersey is heading down the exact same path.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Lebron hasnt been a champ contender without another (if not 2) superstar(s) and quality depth.

Depends on what contender means. You can't win, but Cleveland went to the 2007 Finals when their best players besides LeBron were Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao. One dominant player can drag a team way way further in the NBA.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

A team with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl lost to this year's San Jose Sharks.

I don't know if that's a mark against the players themselves, but it sure as hell is something to consider

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

If Drai or McJesus are traded, it would end up being the closest thing we've seen to the Lindros trade since the Lindros trade. You're talking multiple contributing pieces and futures and picks to Edmonton to make it happen. And the kicker is that both players are so good it would be worth it.

Damn, @mikeyfan was fishing with some really potent bait in that thread

Link?

 

[chaz4hockey]

There were a few on here that wanted Boeser....good call.

Now at peace, Boeser re-emerges as a force for Canucks

– The question of Brock Boeser’s play is secondary to the question of his happiness. But the two things are undoubtedly connected as the Vancouver Canucks winger moves past two years of personal anguish and grief and re-emerges as a star.

www.sportsnet.ca

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

There were a few on here that wanted Boeser....good call.

Now at peace, Boeser re-emerges as a force for Canucks

– The question of Brock Boeser’s play is secondary to the question of his happiness. But the two things are undoubtedly connected as the Vancouver Canucks winger moves past two years of personal anguish and grief and re-emerges as a star.

www.sportsnet.ca

Me me me me! TBF, though, I'm open to pretty much anyone who I think can improve our team.

 

[Unsustainable]

McDavid gets moved in his last season before the draft for picks and prospects.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Lets not get too excited about small sample sizes and the vast majority of the goals in 3 games, 2 against Edmonton and 1 against SJS. so yay for him but im not impressed.

 

[Stickpucker]

So when is the league going to push through the paperwok for the McDavid trade?