TopShelfGloveSide
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- Dec 10, 2018
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Grade Holland’s deadline (week)
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KCC
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- Aug 15, 2007
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Finally after all these years we got a #1 defenseman. That's huge. Obviously we all wish he could have added more but he addressed the biggest concern. Now the next biggest concern is Campbell. Anytime he's in net I feel like it's an instant loss. lol
A
He acquired a top pairing 2-way D - one of the biggest needs. Added a depth forward.
I wanted Karlsson, but at least he tried on that front and he got probably the next best option.
Gotta give credit where it’s due.
He acquired a top pairing 2-way D - one of the biggest needs. Added a depth forward.
I wanted Karlsson, but at least he tried on that front and he got probably the next best option.
Gotta give credit where it’s due.
You realize Bjugstad has 13 goals on the season already and was a plus player on a horrendous Coyotes' team? i'd say he's definitely more than a 4th line pug.
McShogun99
Registered User
I don't know how people can give Holland anything less then an A.
- Got rid of JP's contract without retention or taking a contract back.
- Acquired Ekholm for Barrie and magic beans that might not make any impact in the NHL. I don't think some people fully understand what kind of impact Ekholm is going to make for this club.
- Got rid of JP's contract without retention or taking a contract back.
- Acquired Ekholm for Barrie and magic beans that might not make any impact in the NHL. I don't think some people fully understand what kind of impact Ekholm is going to make for this club.
McMozesmadness
5-14-6-1
PULJUJARVI
Dumping Jesse will prove to be the wrong decision, but I acknowledge the situation. He never felt welcomed, we handcuffed ourselves and when we tried to reverse course late, the damage was already done. I'm happy to see him in Carolina that will be a good fit for him. This trade gets an "C-". Avoids an "F" because we did need to shed money, however the reason we needed to shed money was Ken's mismanagement of the cap
EKHOLM
Lovely trade from Holland. I was floored that people were crying about Barrie when this went down, he wasn't needed. He was good in the room in the sense that he kept things light, he's not a competitive player though. His point totals were inflated by the PP, in which he was not the QB nor an essential piece. I hated the Schaefer pick from day one, so I was elated that we moved him in this deal. Ekholm adds a veteran competitive edge and experience to the backend. This could be bumped to an "A+" after some time, but for now, I give it an "A"
BJUGSTAD
I was ok with Bjugstad for a 3rd. Made some sense as a depth add for a run. They retain 50%, even better. Then I find out Kesselring is involved. That turns this trade from solid to a disaster. I had Kesselring, a player I've seen a ton of going back to his USHL days, as a potentiual fit as soon as next year. We dumped him for three months of Nick Bjugstad, who was healthy scratched for Minny in the playoffs last year. This trade gets an "F" from me
Overall I went with a "C". Ken did well on the big trade, but I didn't like the other two. I also don't feel he did enough to maximize this team, when we need to be going all in
Reading the grades, damn. You guys need to raise your expectations
Every season we don't win the cup under the McDavid era needs to be looked at as a complete failure. So, I liked the Ekholm deal, but I'm not sure we did enough. If we win the Cup, all is forgiven
Dumping Jesse will prove to be the wrong decision, but I acknowledge the situation. He never felt welcomed, we handcuffed ourselves and when we tried to reverse course late, the damage was already done. I'm happy to see him in Carolina that will be a good fit for him. This trade gets an "C-". Avoids an "F" because we did need to shed money, however the reason we needed to shed money was Ken's mismanagement of the cap
EKHOLM
Lovely trade from Holland. I was floored that people were crying about Barrie when this went down, he wasn't needed. He was good in the room in the sense that he kept things light, he's not a competitive player though. His point totals were inflated by the PP, in which he was not the QB nor an essential piece. I hated the Schaefer pick from day one, so I was elated that we moved him in this deal. Ekholm adds a veteran competitive edge and experience to the backend. This could be bumped to an "A+" after some time, but for now, I give it an "A"
BJUGSTAD
I was ok with Bjugstad for a 3rd. Made some sense as a depth add for a run. They retain 50%, even better. Then I find out Kesselring is involved. That turns this trade from solid to a disaster. I had Kesselring, a player I've seen a ton of going back to his USHL days, as a potentiual fit as soon as next year. We dumped him for three months of Nick Bjugstad, who was healthy scratched for Minny in the playoffs last year. This trade gets an "F" from me
Overall I went with a "C". Ken did well on the big trade, but I didn't like the other two. I also don't feel he did enough to maximize this team, when we need to be going all in
Reading the grades, damn. You guys need to raise your expectations
Every season we don't win the cup under the McDavid era needs to be looked at as a complete failure. So, I liked the Ekholm deal, but I'm not sure we did enough. If we win the Cup, all is forgiven
Slats432
Registered User
- Jun 2, 2002
- 15,545
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RW and RD went unaddressed, so compared to Boston who added Orlov, Hathaway and Bertuzzi and NYR who got Motte, Kane, Tarasenko, Mikkola, that would be the A division. B is pretty good.
I think there's definitely some plans to upgrade in the summer. I'm expecting something on RW and RD. Don't know if Karlsson is the right move based on cap. It will basically ensure the team is constantly capped out every year of McDrai which will make any future deadline additions suuuuper difficult. Guess we'll find out!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaa
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- May 16, 2009
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FlameChampion
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- Jul 13, 2011
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B+/A- for me. Maybe upgrade to A depending on Bjugstad.
Ekholm is a huge upgrade. Maybe the single best acquisition for any team. I think he’s going to have a ripple effect on the entire dcore but Nurse, Bouchard and Broberg in particular.
Bjugstad. Just going to watch him and form opinion later. I am more excited after seeing his interview though.
Puljujarvi. I give Holland some credit for putting JP in a good position to succeed. I think it’s good leadership on Hollands part.
Kesselring. Wasn’t happy to see him go. But considering he’s getting his first NHL game tonight, I think it was more on Kesselring and his agent that they wanted a new opportunity.
Would of liked to see a RD upgrade. Only real guy on the market that would of moved the needle was EK. I am sure Holland tried but near impossible trade to make.
RW upgrade would of been nice. Kane didn’t want to come here. Who knows with Tarasenko. Bertuzzi pretty expensive for a rental. Not much of a market though.
I think you have to be careful in trade deadline that you don’t mess up team chemistry too much. But I do wish was a bit more of a swing after getting Ekholm. That said, teams in the west didn’t do much.
Ekholm is a huge upgrade. Maybe the single best acquisition for any team. I think he’s going to have a ripple effect on the entire dcore but Nurse, Bouchard and Broberg in particular.
Bjugstad. Just going to watch him and form opinion later. I am more excited after seeing his interview though.
Puljujarvi. I give Holland some credit for putting JP in a good position to succeed. I think it’s good leadership on Hollands part.
Kesselring. Wasn’t happy to see him go. But considering he’s getting his first NHL game tonight, I think it was more on Kesselring and his agent that they wanted a new opportunity.
Would of liked to see a RD upgrade. Only real guy on the market that would of moved the needle was EK. I am sure Holland tried but near impossible trade to make.
RW upgrade would of been nice. Kane didn’t want to come here. Who knows with Tarasenko. Bertuzzi pretty expensive for a rental. Not much of a market though.
I think you have to be careful in trade deadline that you don’t mess up team chemistry too much. But I do wish was a bit more of a swing after getting Ekholm. That said, teams in the west didn’t do much.
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McShogun99
Registered User
RD was addressed. Ekholm can play both sides so you pair him with Nurse when closing out a close game and when he's on LD we essentially have 2 top pairing on our top 2 pairings which makes our D better.
RW wasn't addressed but there was nothing out there that would have made an impact for us and don't say Kane or Tarasenko because neither player had us ahead of going to NY. Our top 6 is fine, we have 4 players in the top 20 in scoring, 1,2, 12 and 19. If Kane was healthy he'd be up there as well. Not even the Rangers can match that with their new additions.
Our bottom 6 with the addition of Bjustad has 60 goals which puts us in the top 3rd of the league in that category. Yamamoto is our weak link but he's capable of regaining his form from last season if he can stay healthy.
Trafalgar Sadge Law
Registered User
- Nov 8, 2007
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Overall B-: I think we had 3 major holes to fill: top 4 LHD, top 4 RHD, both of whom should ideally be able to play against top 6 forwards and not be sheltered like Barrie, as well as 2RW. We filled 1 of the 3 major holes, added a bit of forward depth, but gave up quite a bit of value to do so. Would've liked to see one more move to grab a top 4 RHD or a top 6 forward with someone like Yams/Foegele going the other way+some retention even if it meant giving up more draft/prospect capital.
Top 4LHD is filled and then some with Ekholm. He has a proven resume playing against elites and often did so with a young dman by his side, which allowed Josi to get the easier matchups and have historic seasons preying on opposing bottom 6 forwards/bottom pairings. He's going to make Nurse's job so much easier and allow Nurse to become the 25 mins per night all situations gazelle he was for us from 2019-21. Moreover, Ekholm doubles as someone with a track record of helping young dman develop (Carrier and Fabbro) whereas Duncan Keith did not (most of the young dmen in Chicago from 2010-2020 busted, with the only 2 who succeeded being the two who were traded to other teams in less than a season). I don't value Barrie as much as most of these boards and think our overall team offense will actually improve without him despite the power play getting slightly worse. He was our weakest full time even strength offense dman the past 2 seasons and needed to be heavily sheltered. Only reason I'm not giving this trade an A is that think we paid a very hefty price for a player whose age and contract is a risk, but Ekholm the player is an outstanding grab. B+
The Puljujarvi trade is most likely going to be a loss for us but was a necessarily evil to get the cap space to obtain Ekholm. We should've either traded him this past offseason for a better return or signed him to an lower cap hit back in the offseason to either facilitate a trade or keep him as an "internal rental" b/c he's useful as a 1.5-2 million dollar player. C
I don't think our center situation is that bad and Derek Ryan is a perfectly serviceable 4C and would've liked a higher up the lineup forward to push players down to their ideal spots. Bjugstad is an upgrade on the likes of Devin Shore but I'm high on Kesselring and am not happy to see him included. I feel like we should've used assets to address one of our more pressing needs. C
Top 4LHD is filled and then some with Ekholm. He has a proven resume playing against elites and often did so with a young dman by his side, which allowed Josi to get the easier matchups and have historic seasons preying on opposing bottom 6 forwards/bottom pairings. He's going to make Nurse's job so much easier and allow Nurse to become the 25 mins per night all situations gazelle he was for us from 2019-21. Moreover, Ekholm doubles as someone with a track record of helping young dman develop (Carrier and Fabbro) whereas Duncan Keith did not (most of the young dmen in Chicago from 2010-2020 busted, with the only 2 who succeeded being the two who were traded to other teams in less than a season). I don't value Barrie as much as most of these boards and think our overall team offense will actually improve without him despite the power play getting slightly worse. He was our weakest full time even strength offense dman the past 2 seasons and needed to be heavily sheltered. Only reason I'm not giving this trade an A is that think we paid a very hefty price for a player whose age and contract is a risk, but Ekholm the player is an outstanding grab. B+
The Puljujarvi trade is most likely going to be a loss for us but was a necessarily evil to get the cap space to obtain Ekholm. We should've either traded him this past offseason for a better return or signed him to an lower cap hit back in the offseason to either facilitate a trade or keep him as an "internal rental" b/c he's useful as a 1.5-2 million dollar player. C
I don't think our center situation is that bad and Derek Ryan is a perfectly serviceable 4C and would've liked a higher up the lineup forward to push players down to their ideal spots. Bjugstad is an upgrade on the likes of Devin Shore but I'm high on Kesselring and am not happy to see him included. I feel like we should've used assets to address one of our more pressing needs. C
A.
Not in my wildest dreams did I think Holland could get us a top pairing Dman of Ekholms calibre.
I do wish we were able to grab Jensen but this also gives Bouchard a great chance to shut the haters up
Not in my wildest dreams did I think Holland could get us a top pairing Dman of Ekholms calibre.
I do wish we were able to grab Jensen but this also gives Bouchard a great chance to shut the haters up
StoveTopStauffer
Registered User
- Apr 6, 2012
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Hit A+ by accident, meant A.
Got a 1D with years left
Moved Bambi Puljujarvi w/o retention
Got a bit of forward depth
Got a 1D with years left
Moved Bambi Puljujarvi w/o retention
Got a bit of forward depth
Behind Enemy Lines
Registered User
B+
Ekholm is an upper case Massive get as a cornerstone defender who will shutdown top opposition, provide solid puck movement, veteran leadership, and mentorship for Bouchard and Broberg. His age, size and contract and two-way game is likely the best fit out of my big d-changer wish list of Parayko, Ekholm, and Karlsson.
Bjugstad is the ever tempting allure of sumo sized skill aligned with a critical support need to add a bottom six right handed face-off option (though he isn't an elite one). Think he's be a decent fit but this is a journeyman player whose game allegedly comes and goes. Decent bet.
An A grade would require GMKH stealing a player in an obvious mismatched trade. With no cap money however Holland made a great hockey deal for Ekholm with associate real cost (Barrie and Shaefer). With no money and need for (small) money retention, he lands Bjugstad with hope this players rejuvenated season will help bottom six. A likely similar but better/more consistent and more expensive option Oskar Sundqvist went for a 4th round pick. I'd have preferred to keep Kesselring as an add-on to a summer Karlsson (or Parayko) deal.
Need Ekholm and stronger own zone play can mitigate erratic goaltending and to help Bouchard elevate to second pair minutes but critically to sure handed confidence taking over top PPD responsibilities on the Oilers absolute competitive advantage, its historic level operating PP.
Overall, impressive work with no cap space.
Ekholm is an upper case Massive get as a cornerstone defender who will shutdown top opposition, provide solid puck movement, veteran leadership, and mentorship for Bouchard and Broberg. His age, size and contract and two-way game is likely the best fit out of my big d-changer wish list of Parayko, Ekholm, and Karlsson.
Bjugstad is the ever tempting allure of sumo sized skill aligned with a critical support need to add a bottom six right handed face-off option (though he isn't an elite one). Think he's be a decent fit but this is a journeyman player whose game allegedly comes and goes. Decent bet.
An A grade would require GMKH stealing a player in an obvious mismatched trade. With no cap money however Holland made a great hockey deal for Ekholm with associate real cost (Barrie and Shaefer). With no money and need for (small) money retention, he lands Bjugstad with hope this players rejuvenated season will help bottom six. A likely similar but better/more consistent and more expensive option Oskar Sundqvist went for a 4th round pick. I'd have preferred to keep Kesselring as an add-on to a summer Karlsson (or Parayko) deal.
Need Ekholm and stronger own zone play can mitigate erratic goaltending and to help Bouchard elevate to second pair minutes but critically to sure handed confidence taking over top PPD responsibilities on the Oilers absolute competitive advantage, its historic level operating PP.
Overall, impressive work with no cap space.
Jet Walters
Registered User
- May 15, 2013
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- 3,181
I’m kinda glad Holland kept some bullets for next year. We have 3 playoff runs until Drai’s deal is up. That’s our window.
CantHaveTkachev
Cap Space > NHL players
I didn't call him a "plug", I called him decent...that's what he is IMO
I liked the trade
Nostradumbass
Divinity
- Jan 1, 2007
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FanOfSadTeam
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- Dec 12, 2010
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Where are all the people who were shitting on Holland the past couple months? "Old man not working enough because that's what I imagine was going on behind closed doors" Ah, they're probably too stubborn to admit they were wrong/don't really know anything anyways.
He gets an A from me because he went out and got some of the best players that were available and made it work with the cap issues we have. Just like last year. Once more money comes off the books, I think we'll see some great signings/trades.
He gets an A from me because he went out and got some of the best players that were available and made it work with the cap issues we have. Just like last year. Once more money comes off the books, I think we'll see some great signings/trades.
Moving a useless PJ, a same type D in Barrie only smaller, Schaeffer who wasn't going to be a regular here for 4 years if ever and some magic beans in draft picks for The Viking, who was the best defenceman available and who completely changes the makeup of our D, improves our horrid PK and will solidify the back end along with Bjugstad who seems to have found his game, brings size and also PK's grades an A.
Ekholm was the guy I wanted since November. That alone grades an A in my books.
That would put VD into the AHL as he is our 7th D. We need VD on the team.
Ekholm was the guy I wanted since November. That alone grades an A in my books.
That would put VD into the AHL as he is our 7th D. We need VD on the team.
Slats432
Registered User
- Jun 2, 2002
- 15,545
- 4,082
Sell it anyway you want, but to get an A grade you can't use the excuses why you didn't acquire stuff, because he tried to and since he didn't succeed, then B to B+ is the best grade you could get.
