Player Discussion Linus Ullmark (G)

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

These moves were pretty horrendous considering how many assets and capspace the Oil had to start their rebuild around McDavid:

• Hall for Larsson
• Traded a 1st in the 2015 draft for Griffin Reinhart
• Eberle for Strome
• Strome for Spooner
• Lucic contract
• Koskinen contract

Like this was asset management that is pathetically comical.

For sure. He made many bad decisions and I'm not defending his tenure there. I just find the hub aloo over the high picks they got slanted perception of the opportunity that was there for Edmonton. They basically didn't get 1 cornerstone player from it because it wasn't there for them to get, so I'm not convinced there was a path to great success regardless. Certainly a better team than he did put together, but guys like Eberle and Strome weren't going to lead them anywhere either. It only really started to look up when they got the real high end talent in Draisaitl and McDavid.

Not every transaction is weighted equally though.

I think taking Kotkaniemi over Tkachuk and Drysdale over Sanderson, for example, would’ve inflicted more damage than Colin White’s contract, the Murray/Korpisalo/Dadonov free agency signings, the Gus trade, Zaitsev and more combined. We got out of most of those things, not without a cost, but certainly not at crazy ones either.

It’s a bad list and Dorion was a bad GM. The sheer volume of moves is asinine. I think this ranking thing is hyperbole because you’d really have to dig into every GM to make this list and because there is so much information we don’t and will likely never have re: ownership dynamics and staffing etc.

Friedman once said a GM told him that the number one factor of accepting a job somewhere as a GM and the most important thing is who your owner is. In the Pierre Dorion assesssment of it all, I don’t think that can be forgotten. It’s not a defense of him, just context missing.

I think it could have been worse. My hope was really that Dorion could build a) a decent core and b) not get Buffalo’d with players asking out. He did that, I think had he stayed much longer he would’ve lost control and we would have been really screwed. That’s about all my feelings on the guy, I have no ringing endorsements on him and I’m glad he’s gone.

Ya I don't really care about rankings really. He stunk badly as a GM, even considering the Melnyk limitations and issues, and has a place among the historically bad GM's imo, but it doesn't matter how anyone tries to rank it. As pointless as GOAT debates.

It definitely could have been worse though. All it really would have taken would be for the Karlsson deal to go sideways and produce nothing like the rest of the rebuild sell off, and they'd already be rebuilding again, so it's a good thing that one hit. Realistically, a team that came from where they did should be bursting at the seams with assets at this point, but instead it's a dire situation outside of the somewhat flawed main roster. And they still owe a 1st rounder for his tomfoolery.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Jesus guys, take this GM crap to the Dorion thread, if you dare resurrect it.

 

[jbeck5]

Does Sweden start Ullmark next game or will they go back to Gus? I'd be fine with him getting a game in and hopefully looking sharp. That said, definitely not very interested in him playing 3 games in a row for Sweden.

How dare you try to speak about ullmark in a dorion thread!?

 

[lang006]

How dare you try to speak about ullmark in a dorion thread!?

No kidding eh? Sorry I interrupted things

 

[starling]

First round pick we sent to Boston for Ullmark. He's ... big.

 

[CornerStone61]

First round pick we sent to Boston for Ullmark. He's ... big.

View attachment 977042

That's a rough stat line

 

[bicboi64]

As much as I don't want to cheer for another prospect to fail, seeing the 1st we traded for Ullmark end up as a 6ft7 214 pound centre who can't really score is kinda funny.

Boston really has pretty meh drafting in the first round

 

[jbeck5]

First round pick we sent to Boston for Ullmark. He's ... big.

View attachment 977042

Yikes. That's worse than Tyler Boucher.

I was like "atleast he's defense"...nope, he's a forward.

 

[PatrickEaves]

As much as I don't want to cheer for another prospect to fail, seeing the 1st we traded for Ullmark end up as a 6ft7 214 pound centre who can't really score is kinda funny.

Boston really has pretty meh drafting in the first round

With our scouts we probably would have picked the same player with that pick.

 

[Wallet Inspector]

Dorion wasted an insane amount of money, so the argument that he was disadvantaged by Melnyk's internal budget falls flat.

Bill Armstrong was dealing with the same kind of money issues, only more severe, as the GM of the now defunct Arizona Coyotes, yet he managed his spending significantly better than Dorion did during the rebuild. He managed to add a treasure trove of picks by taking on bad short-term contracts, while Dorion instead decided to spend tens of millions, not to mention actually giving up assets, to add guys like Murray, Gudbranson, Stepan, Namestnikov, Sanford, Tierney, Hainsey, Boedker, etc...

And given his awful track record of pro-scouting, we should count our lucky stars that Melnyk kept the purse strings tight and that we aren't a desirable UFA destination, as I can only imagine how many terrible contracts and buyout cap hits we'd be saddled with right now if Dorion got to spend money in UFA willynilly.

I've been hearing these arguments for almost a decade now and they are all discredited. Dorion wasn't playing GM on easy mode like a GM of a desirable low tax U.S team, but most of the mistakes he made were self-imposed, not imposed upon him by external factors.

Also if anything, Dorion had the best conditions for a rebuild. He

A. Had a ton of good assets to trade(Karlsson, Stone, Duchene, Dzingel, Pageau)
B. Had an owner that, while cheap, didn't seem to be pressuring playoffs any time soon.

Yet he botched so much of the rebuild and only got saved by the Sharks unexpectedly being terrible in 2020.

 

[PlayOn]

With our scouts we probably would have picked the same player with that pick.

Not true, he barely has any PIMs.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

 

[bicboi64]

Ugh I'd rather Ullmark start against Finland over USA given how many rats on USA might take him out

 

[Hale The Villain]

As much as Gustavsson playing over Ullmark sucks, it's definitely better for the Sens

Last thing we need is another Hasek situation. Ullmark shouldn't even have gone with his back issues being so recent.

 

[Neil Patrick Harris]

Meh. If it keeps Ullmark mentally sharp and practicing regularly, I think it's fine. We *really* need him to come out of this tournament ready to play; I'm not sure icing him for two weeks coming off an injury would've necessarily have been better.

 

[Good in Osgoode]

With our scouts we probably would have picked the same player with that pick.

That was my first thought, seeing his size.

 

[Ouroboros]

Ugh I'd rather Ullmark start against Finland over USA given how many rats on USA might take him out

I don't get the feeling that Sweden are planning to use Ullmark at all.

 

[HSF]

short tournament a lot of teams are just going to stick with one goalie

sucks for Ullmark as it would be nice for him to get games in but Gus has had a solid year

 

[L'Aveuglette]

Meh. If it keeps Ullmark mentally sharp and practicing regularly, I think it's fine. We *really* need him to come out of this tournament ready to play; I'm not sure icing him for two weeks coming off an injury would've necessarily have been better.

I'd rather he be resting than potentially re-aggravating his back playing in what amounts to playoff-style hockey.

 

[PatrickEaves]

I don't get the feeling that Sweden are planning to use Ullmark at all.

Good. Let another team get Hasek'd.

 

[ottawagm]

I don't get the feeling that Sweden are planning to use Ullmark at all.

He's rusty, so I don't see him getting in a game in a short tournament unless they're down early and they want give the team a boost.

 

[starling]

It's an NHL tournament, not IIHF. He didn't have an option to sit it out. If anything, the fact that he's there means he's actually healthy, which is good.

 

[Micklebot]

It's an NHL tournament, not IIHF. He didn't have an option to sit it out. If anything, the fact that he's there means he's actually healthy, which is good.

What do you mean he didn't have an option to sit it out? Pietrangelo is sitting it out, pretty sure there is nothing in the CBA that says players must play in a mid season tournament with no extra pay.

 

[Cosmix]

Yikes. That's worse than Tyler Boucher.

I was like "atleast he's defense"...nope, he's a forward.

Boucher was a #10 pick in the 2021 draft. Dean Letouneau was a #25 pick. That 15 pick difference is a significant difference!

 

[sena]

I'd rather he be resting than potentially re-aggravating his back playing in what amounts to playoff-style hockey.

He's a faker. Magic healed him for the tourney