Speculation: Looking back on the Hamilton trade , should the Oilers have gave up Nurse

[McSuper]

I don't think Dougie Hamilton is really the answer to the Oilers defensive issues, Adam Larsson is a way better actual defender. In Edmonton Hamilton would've been expected to play on the top pairing and probably would've been a -20 or -25 player.

Darnell Nurse is really not the type of player you can trade on a whim before you let him even play for your team either.

Kid is a beast physically, he's 6 foot 5 with a linebacker dad, and lives in the gym. Wait till he fills out, he already looks massive at this year's BioSteel camp. In 2-3 years I think teams are going to absolutely hate playing against that guy.

With Lucic, Maroon, Larsson, Nurse I think these guys give the Oilers an identity ... Hamilton can score from the back end, I'll give him that, but he's not really a "back bone" type of player. The Oilers have all the skill in the world, they need more "back bone", they have not had that in a long time.

They should be patient with Nurse. That is the type of player you go to war with.

The Oiler have never been successful as a finesse/soft team, even the 80s Oilers ... that team was big and had several guys who would smash your face in for just looking at them funny.

Maybe you go to war with a Nurse but when you are down by one goal in game 7 of a playoff game and you have a PP you don't put Nurse out you put a Hamilton type of D out . You can argue it either way base on your point of view . With Nurse and Reinhart out and Hamilton in Edmonton has better balance on D . That is not an opinion that is a fact

Klefbom Larsson
Sekera Hamilton is a well balance top 4 .

Mind you with that D I would rather trade Sekera and run with

Klefbom Hamilton puck moving with a solid defender
Davidson Larsson 2 solid defenders who can both move the puck and can shoot give the chance

Of course this is only my opinion . Maybe Nurse breaks out big time in the next couple of years . I just think with our forwards this would complete the Oilers

 

[DJJones]

And if Lucic "falls off a cliff" at 34, then he plays the 3rd line for 1 year (like Iggy should be doing now) and that is that.

If I were Calgary fans, I'd be more worried about Brouwer's contract than worrying about what Edmonton gave to Lucic.

I am worried about Brouwer's contract haha. He should have only gotten the fourth year or no NTC. Getting both was an overpayment imo. Same fear with Lucic in my mind.

 

[Soundwave]

Maybe you go to war with a Nurse but when you are down by one goal in game 7 of a playoff game and you have a PP you don't put Nurse out you put a Hamilton type of D out . You can argue it either way base on your point of view . With Nurse and Reinhart out and Hamilton in Edmonton has better balance on D . That is not an opinion that is a fact

Klefbom Larsson
Sekera Hamilton is a well balance top 4 .

Mind you with that D I would rather trade Sekera and run with

Klefbom Hamilton puck moving with a solid defender
Davidson Larsson 2 solid defenders who can both move the puck and can shoot give the chance

Of course this is only my opinion . Maybe Nurse breaks out big time in the next couple of years . I just think with our forwards this would complete the Oilers

Oilers have time to find a PP specialist D-Man (they might even already have that player in their system in Ethan Bear to be honest).

It's not like they have to win the Stanley Cup all at once next year. They can pick up a player like a Keith Yandle or a Mike Green at a trade deadline at some point.

Larsson, Klefbom, Nurse is a credibly solid trio to build you D around, all three of these guys can develop to be hard to play against and log big minutes. Larsson and Klefbom are good puck movers, Nurse right now is good at skating the puck out but needs work on his outlet pass. Nurse is obviously at this stage the most raw. Having Larsson and Klefbom back will be great for his development, now he can play on the bottom pairing, it pushes everyone down two spots.

 

[The Nuge]

I fail to see how you can say Larsson is unquestionably betier than Hamilton or how Lucic is even "close" to Hall, especially when Hall still has room to grow.

Because Larsson has proven to be the better dman thus far in their careers. Hamilton could very well catch him, but it's no guarantee. And absolutely Hall has room to grow, but again, that doesn't change how they are right now. They're similar in terms of scoring ability, and Hall has the edge in terms of playmaking, while Lucic gets the nod in terms of physicality. It wasn't so long ago that Bruins fans said they wouldn't trade Lucic for Hall.

 

[DJJones]

Because Larsson has proven to be the better dman thus far in their careers. Hamilton could very well catch him, but it's no guarantee. And absolutely Hall has room to grow, but again, that doesn't change how they are right now. They're similar in terms of scoring ability, and Hall has the edge in terms of playmaking, while Lucic gets the nod in terms of physicality. It wasn't so long ago that Bruins fans said they wouldn't trade Lucic for Hall.

He's shown he's better defensively while Hamilton has shown he's better offensively.

Both are #3's with different styles right now imo. Should both hit at least #2 status by the time they are 27. Saying either is better is ridiculous right now, they're hardly even comparable. Burns vs Vlasic if you will.

 

[lamp9post]

Lots of reasons. Maybe they felt that they were already offering an overpayment. Maybe he felt like Boston was trying to screw him. Maybe he felt like they wouldn't trade Hamilton to Edmonton regardless of what was offered. If there actually is/was hostility between the 2 teams, I don't think that adding a couple of mid round picks makes the deal anyway.

I'll never understand it. Obviously Edmonton had their reasons. It just seemed to me at the time, about to draft McDavid, when your biggest need is D and has been for years and a 22 year-old established 6'5" RHD becomes available, you add what it takes to get him.

 

[Soundwave]

I'll never understand it. Obviously Edmonton had their reasons. It just seemed to me at the time, about to draft McDavid, when your biggest need is D and has been for years and a 22 year-old established 6'5" RHD becomes available, you add what it takes to get him.

I don't think Boston was ever really dealing in good faith. They weren't going to give Chiarelli, the guy they just fired, Hamilton unless it was a severe overpay and make Chiarelli look good. Neely is too proud.

It'd be nice if trades were purely unemotional, logical transactions, but there's always the human element.

I think Nurse in time will become an integral part of the Oilers anyway. There was no way the Oilers could just trade him without even knowing what they had.

 

[Soundwave]

He's shown he's better defensively while Hamilton has shown he's better offensively.

Both are #3's with different styles right now imo. Should both hit at least #2 status by the time they are 27. Saying either is better is ridiculous right now, they're hardly even comparable. Burns vs Vlasic if you will.

Larsson's played on New Jersey's top pair for two years now basically. Obviously Hamilton is better offensively, but in terms of keeping the puck out of your own net ... I think Larsson has him beat by a pretty fair margin at that.

 

[McNuge]

Ok, tell us how Larsson is unquestionably better than Hamilton? The numbers say you are very wrong.

Well... one was tasked to take on the other teams best players and excelled in the role... The other puts up some numbers and is very questionable defensively. Not to mention he is 6'6" pad of butter. I take Larsson everyday of the week and twice on Sunday.

 

[DJJones]

Larsson's played on New Jersey's top pair for two years now basically. Obviously Hamilton is better offensively, but in terms of keeping the puck out of your own net ... I think Larsson has him beat by a pretty fair margin at that.

He played with Chara two years ago and played a decent amount of time with Brodie this year. He's just stuck behind Gio. I would have given my left nut for him to have been on our top pairing in 2014/2015 instead of Engellend.

New Jersey has been a bad team with a top 3 goalie for the last two years in a very defensive system.

Both just played what the situation allowed.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Between this thread and a few other threads on oilers s lot of posters were not paying attention to what was asked of the oilers or are trying to rewrite history

 

[lamp9post]

Between this thread and a few other threads on oilers s lot of posters were not paying attention to what was asked of the oilers or are trying to rewrite history

And what exactly was asked of the Oilers?

 

[DraberlyakMcHallkins*]

way too much value going for Hamilton

he drops a season where he doesn't give up what he creates and I'll talk, was among the bottom 20 in the league at conceding HDSCA

 

[DraberlyakMcHallkins*]

He's shown he's better defensively while Hamilton has shown he's better offensively.

Both are #3's with different styles right now imo. Should both hit at least #2 status by the time they are 27. Saying either is better is ridiculous right now, they're hardly even comparable. Burns vs Vlasic if you will.

I would sincerely take Vlasic over Burns 100 times out of 100. Someone who creates offence and defends like few in the league or someone who creates more offence and can't defend worth ****

 

[Flamesjustwin]

Lot's of connections with NHL front offices have you?

No, you don't need those, you just need common sense. What you are saying would be like me saying I would choose Backlund over McDavid.It is that ridiculous.

 

[Flamesjustwin]

Well... one was tasked to take on the other teams best players and excelled in the role... The other puts up some numbers and is very questionable defensively. Not to mention he is 6'6" pad of butter. I take Larsson everyday of the week and twice on Sunday.

The fact that Hamilton hits harder than Larsson shows you have no idea. You can choose Larsson though, every GM in the NHL would choose Hamilton so go nuts.

 

[belair]

Other than shot suppression, I'm unsure what numbers you are looking at.

Start Hamilton in the defensive zone 70% of the time next season and you'll see why Larsson is unquestionably better.

The people saying the Hall and Hamilton pairing would've been the better choice seem to have the same opinion as the previous management in Edmonton who thought it was possible to simply outscore their bad defense.

 

[DJJones]

I would sincerely take Vlasic over Burns 100 times out of 100. Someone who creates offence and defends like few in the league or someone who creates more offence and can't defend worth ****

Ya so would I.

Neither Hamilton or Larsson are at either of those extremes yet though.

 

[ManofSteel55]

No, you don't need those, you just need common sense. What you are saying would be like me saying I would choose Backlund over McDavid.It is that ridiculous.

If I said that Larsson was comparable to Erik Karlsson, that might be similar to Backlund vs McDavid. Seems to me that you just don't know much about one of the players in question. Or severely overrate the other. It isn't fantasy hockey, you need elite defensive defensemen to win just as much as defensemen who can score. Larsson is a top pairing defensive d-man (#2/3), and Hamilton is the same as an offensive defenseman. Comparing the two is not in any way, shape or form like comparing Backlund to McDavid, and I don't think you have any basis for your "every GM would choose Hamilton" opinion. It's not common sense, its just an opinion from someone who thankfully doesn't get to make those decisions.

 

[ManofSteel55]

The fact that Hamilton hits harder than Larsson shows you have no idea. You can choose Larsson though, every GM in the NHL would choose Hamilton so go nuts.

Hitting isn't the only aspect to playing a "hard" game. Larsson is stronger in the tough areas of the defensive zone and much, much harder to play against there. Hamilton is big, but its well known that despite throwing a few hits, he isn't hard to play against and many consider him to be soft. That could change though, just as Larsson, if given the opportunity, could end up putting up 45 points a season. We'll have to wait and see about how these players progress going forward.

 

[Rebuilt]

Been thinking about this trade the last few weeks and with the addition of Larsson and Nurse not being ready for the NHL yet ( At least last season ) Should Chia have given up Nurse to Boston ?

Klefbom Larsson
Sekera Hamilton

Plus Davidson could be in the top 4 . Mix and Match how you will . I know some fans will come in here and bash Hamilton . Please don't . He a young D who got better as the year when on . He had to get use to a new system , new players . He is a puck moving D that the Oilers could of really used .

As of today you could not trade Reinhart and Nurse for a D with Hamilton upside . So In my opinion we should have bitten the bullet and did the trade .

Opinions ?


Edit : I still think Nurse will end up a good D . Just a different D then Hamilton and I think with Larsson added Hamilton would be the better fit

I think re hashing things that we cannot do anything about is unhelpful.

 

[Flameshomer]

He looks like a Dougie Hamilton with a more physical side to his game.

asinine. Nurse has had no where near the offensive acumen as Dougie at any level.

 

[Brock Radunske]

Been thinking about this trade the last few weeks and with the addition of Larsson and Nurse not being ready for the NHL yet ( At least last season ) Should Chia have given up Nurse to Boston ?

Klefbom Larsson
Sekera Hamilton

Plus Davidson could be in the top 4 . Mix and Match how you will . I know some fans will come in here and bash Hamilton . Please don't . He a young D who got better as the year when on . He had to get use to a new system , new players . He is a puck moving D that the Oilers could of really used .

As of today you could not trade Reinhart and Nurse for a D with Hamilton upside . So In my opinion we should have bitten the bullet and did the trade .

Opinions ?


Edit : I still think Nurse will end up a good D . Just a different D then Hamilton and I think with Larsson added Hamilton would be the better fit

No.
The plus that woukd be required on top on nurse wouldn't make it worth it.
Besides, regardless of what flames fans say, Hamilton is not a top pairing dman and I don't foresee him becoming one. He's got too many holes in his game

 

[thepuckmonster]

...almost perfect list

To look at the other side of the equation, here's the teams who have their top pairing filled with their own draft picks. (or if I'm not sure about the top pair, best LHD and RHD)

Anaheim (Lindholm-Vatanen)
Arizona (OEL-Murphy)
Calgary (Giordano-Brodie)
Carolina (Slavin/Hanifin-Faulk)
Chicago (Hjalmarsson-Keith)
San Jose (Vlasic-Braun)

It can be argued whether or not Pittsburgh has two in Määttä-Letang, but I guess we will have to find out if Dumoulin continues to play with Letang or not.

Vancouver didn't draft Tanev but was a college UFA. So we basically did with him and taking Edler in the 3rd round of 2004.

 

[YesCubed]

The mental gymnastics Oilers fans go through to convince themselves that Larsson is better than Hamilton or that Darnell Nurse will be a #3 shutdown defenseman is very amusing to me.