Seravalli: Oilers tried to acquire Drew O'Connor last week, looking for a backup plan now with similar traits (big and fast) Holloway replacement

[russ99]

IMO this is more to replace Kane for the playoffs than replace Holloway. If they get any significant playing time out of Kane, that would be a bonus. They're thin on skill with size that can play up on the top 6 if needed.

The right handed faceoff center who can PK and handle own zone starts is a different player entirely, and while Philp has done OK, I'd think the Oilers would rather trust a key postseason role to someone more battle tested.

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

Are we really going to be ok with the Oilers getting a bottom 6 forward and a depth #7 LHD? Is this really a good enough trade deadline?

 

[OilersFanatics505]

I don't know that we need to move anyone out, honestly. If Kane's not back until playoffs we have some flexibility.

Though, if we're moving anyone out, my #1 guy is Adam Henrique. Add a good winger, shift RNH to 3C, and run:

TBD-McDavid-Hyman
Pod-Drai-Skinner (who's looked great the last few games)
Arvidsson-RNH-Brown
Janmark/Kane-Philp/Janmark-Perry

That’s not a cup winning forward group

 

[Rowlet]

Are we really going to be ok with the Oilers getting a bottom 6 forward and a depth #7 LHD? Is this really a good enough trade deadline?

They don't have a 1st this year

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

They don't have a 1st this year

Actually they do. We can trade this years first and give Philly next years.

Also Sam O'Reilly is tradable who is basically a late first.

 

[SupremeTeam16]

Actually they do. We can trade this years first and give Philly next years.

Also Sam O'Reilly is tradable who is basically a late first.

No they can’t. Condition on the trade is oilers 1st this year is top 12 protected, if it’s in the top 12 (which it won’t be) PHI gets Oilers 2026 1st. If the Oilers trade their 2026 1st then PHI gets the 2025 1st unprotected.

 

[Rowlet]

Actually they do. We can trade this years first and give Philly next years.

Also Sam O'Reilly is tradable who is basically a late first.

No.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

That’s not a cup winning forward group

Depends who TBD is and if Skinner's game keeps improving tbh. Don't underestimate how far McDavid and Draisaitl can drag this group. On their own lines, that means opposing teams will have to be playing against one of the two 46-48 minutes a night.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

No they can’t. Condition on the trade is oilers 1st this year is top 12 protected, if it’s in the top 12 (which it won’t be) PHI gets Oilers 2026 1st. If the Oilers trade their 2026 1st then PHI gets the 2025 1st unprotected.

2026 is a better draft year, I think that pick will have more value league wide than dealing the 2025 anyway.

 

[biturbo19]

I don't think DOC is going to be a difference maker for anyone, personally. Not like Edmonton cup hopes are changed in anyway. DOC was a speedy forechecker who PK'ed well but the pedestrian level of production made it difficult to have any positive feelings towards keeping him.

Yeah. Quite frankly, from a Canucks perspective...i'd readily move O'Connor to the Oilers, even in-division, if they're willing to pay up with something worthwhile. Really not a standout player to me at all, and entirely replaceable.


I'm not sure if Ruthervin see it the same way though. Whether DOC was an important target that they really want to keep...or if he was more just a target that could be useful, but could also be a coveted deadline trade chip for a team that isn't entirely sure if they're coming or going, buyers or sellers when the deadline rolls around.

But if it were up to me, i'd absolutely make a reasonable deal to send DOC to Edmonton. Problem being, Oilers don't have a lot in the way of interesting prospects to deal with, so it'd presumably just be a pick that can be flipped for something else i guess.

 

[n8]

Laughing at this. They should have just kept Ryan McLeod.
Would be even more ironic if they dealt Savoie to fill the hole they created.

 

[Jared Dunn]

Probably should have matched on Holloway if they knew they were going to need that style of player. Now he's looking like a steal at 2.4 million and will probably get over 7 on his next contract.

Better yet, should have signed him to the 1.3ish it would have likely cost to open free agency

 

[VeteranPresence]

Laughing at this. They should have just kept Ryan McLeod.

McLeod isn't a big game player and after his hot start in a new environment he's cooled right off. He also has 14 hits all season which is pretty on-brand for him. The Oilers don't really miss anything he added besides the speed, and that won't be worth what his next contract will entail.

 

[biturbo19]

Josh Anderson??

All kidding aside, if it weren't for that massive contract...Josh Anderson would be a perfect fit for what Edmonton wants/needs. Certainly fits the "big and fast" billing. He's also one of those players who can kind of chip in and generate his own offense from the bottom-6. That's useful for a team that has a lot of more "complementary" players outside the top-heavy couple of offensive play-drivers. A guy who can do his ~15G ~30Pts from the 3rd/4th line largely on his own without much support.

But that contract is just untenable for a team like Edmonton. Only way to fit that in to their cap structure, would be to blow it up into a megadeal that moves Nurse the other way. And i don't think Edmonton has the juice in terms of assets to make that sort of thing happen, other obstacles to moving Nurse notwithstanding.

 

[AnInjuredJasonZucker]

All kidding aside, if it weren't for that massive contract...Josh Anderson would be a perfect fit for what Edmonton wants/needs. Certainly fits the "big and fast" billing. He's also one of those players who can kind of chip in and generate his own offense from the bottom-6. That's useful for a team that has a lot of more "complementary" players outside the top-heavy couple of offensive play-drivers. A guy who can do his ~15G ~30Pts from the 3rd/4th line largely on his own without much support.

But that contract is just untenable for a team like Edmonton. Only way to fit that in to their cap structure, would be to blow it up into a megadeal that moves Nurse the other way. And i don't think Edmonton has the juice in terms of assets to make that sort of thing happen, other obstacles to moving Nurse notwithstanding.

Anderson has a hit of $5.5M for 2 more years. There are plenty of ways to make that work without sending Nurse back (which would be insane without a plan to backfill on defense.)

The question is if Anderson is the right player or not. His underlying numbers kind of suck, so if he can't play responsible hockey, it's a non-starter.

Laughing at this. They should have just kept Ryan McLeod.
Would be even more ironic if they dealt Savoie to fill the hole they created.

Holloway and Broberg are missed. Nobody misses McLeod. He might grow into a player in Buffalo, but doesn't have the makeup for what was needed out of that role in Edmonton.

 

[SEALBound]

Yeah. Quite frankly, from a Canucks perspective...i'd readily move O'Connor to the Oilers, even in-division, if they're willing to pay up with something worthwhile. Really not a standout player to me at all, and entirely replaceable.


I'm not sure if Ruthervin see it the same way though. Whether DOC was an important target that they really want to keep...or if he was more just a target that could be useful, but could also be a coveted deadline trade chip for a team that isn't entirely sure if they're coming or going, buyers or sellers when the deadline rolls around.

But if it were up to me, i'd absolutely make a reasonable deal to send DOC to Edmonton. Problem being, Oilers don't have a lot in the way of interesting prospects to deal with, so it'd presumably just be a pick that can be flipped for something else i guess.

I assume his value is a third.

Cap+1st for Pettersson

Fernstrom (3rd rounder) for DOC

is how I broke that down.

Not sure what Vegas and Edmonton were offering? A 4th? I'd be fine with a 3rd as a return unless he blossoms for Vancouver.

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

No they can’t. Condition on the trade is oilers 1st this year is top 12 protected, if it’s in the top 12 (which it won’t be) PHI gets Oilers 2026 1st. If the Oilers trade their 2026 1st then PHI gets the 2025 1st unprotected.

Is this true? It's not what I've heard

No.

If you are right then the Oilers will just trade the 2026 first which teams seem to be higher on.

 

[Rowlet]

Is this true? It's not what I've heard


If you are right then the Oilers will just trade the 2026 first which teams seem to be higher on.

The draft is better but picks in years further away are worth less.

 

[biturbo19]

Anderson has a hit of $5.5M for 2 more years. There are plenty of ways to make that work without sending Nurse back (which would be insane without a plan to backfill on defense.)

The question is if Anderson is the right player or not. His underlying numbers kind of suck, so if he can't play responsible hockey, it's a non-starter.


Holloway and Broberg are missed. Nobody misses McLeod. He might grow into a player in Buffalo, but doesn't have the makeup for what was needed out of that role in Edmonton.

I just think it'd be hard to justify Anderson at $5.5M for 2.5 years on the 3rd/4th line...without unloading some sort of major cap liability the other way to balance it out. Kane is probably a non-starter, so my thinking goes to Nurse as the obvious cap albatross. It'd have to blow up into a much bigger deal that included an option to backfill Nurse's spot as well. Maybe Matheson or something. But that gets into wild hairbrained schemes sort of territory that probably doesn't make a lot of sense.

I'm just not sure what all these other ways to "make it work" without doing something bigger are though.

I assume his value is a third.

Cap+1st for Pettersson

Fernstrom (3rd rounder) for DOC

is how I broke that down.

Not sure what Vegas and Edmonton were offering? A 4th? I'd be fine with a 3rd as a return unless he blossoms for Vancouver.

Yeah. That's probably round abouts the value range for O'Connor. The thing speaking to the last point though, is that not all 3rd round picks for example, are created equal. I'm not sure how much it really matters...but if you've got say, multiple "3rd round picks" on the table as an offer...you're going to pick the one you think has the best chance of being higher. Which is to say...there are some teams whose 3rd round picks might be closer to Edmonton's 2nd round pick, than Edmonton's own 3rd rounder.

So that could impact what the ask would be from Edmonton.

 

[SEALBound]

Yeah. That's probably round abouts the value range for O'Connor. The thing speaking to the last point though, is that not all 3rd round picks for example, are created equal. I'm not sure how much it really matters...but if you've got say, multiple "3rd round picks" on the table as an offer...you're going to pick the one you think has the best chance of being higher. Which is to say...there are some teams whose 3rd round picks might be closer to Edmonton's 2nd round pick, than Edmonton's own 3rd rounder.

So that could impact what the ask would be from Edmonton.

That's a little more nitty gritty than what I was initially talking about but I would counter with the argument that there is no single consensus on player order or rank or draft position. Each team ranks players differently. So when you get a third, it and your guy is Joe Schmoe, it wouldn't matter if he was available at 65 or 95, you'd take him.

So the idea of "an early 3rd is a late 2nd" and "a late 3rd is a 4th" is more for HFBoards, not GMs. I tend to believe the "the highest of the picks" conditions that are sometimes included in trades are relatively minor additions in comparison to the deal as a whole.

 

[LTIR]

Anderson has a hit of $5.5M for 2 more years. There are plenty of ways to make that work without sending Nurse back (which would be insane without a plan to backfill on defense.)

The question is if Anderson is the right player or not. His underlying numbers kind of suck, so if he can't play responsible hockey, it's a non-starter.


Holloway and Broberg are missed. Nobody misses McLeod. He might grow into a player in Buffalo, but doesn't have the makeup for what was needed out of that role in Edmonton.

Broberg at what he is making isn't missed. He would be fighting Kulak and be below him on the 3rd pairing.

Foegele and Holloway are missed

 

[KrisLetAngry]

O’Connor went with Pettersson foe the rangers 2025 first (if outside the top 13), plus the Canucks 3rd round pick from the 24 draft, winger in Fernstrom, plus Heinen (who has 1 more year left on his deal) returning to Pitt so they were familiar with him and a dump of Desjarais.

Assume Pettersson is the main piece for that first rounder then Edm didn’t part with a prospect around the caliber of Fernstrom.

I mean if Edm really wanted him that does t seem like too high a price to pay.

3rd rounder that is looking like a 2nd rounder.

So either a prospect similar or a 2nd would have been comparable.
Sounds like they wanted him super cheap.

 

[AnInjuredJasonZucker]

I just think it'd be hard to justify Anderson at $5.5M for 2.5 years on the 3rd/4th line...without unloading some sort of major cap liability the other way to balance it out. Kane is probably a non-starter, so my thinking goes to Nurse as the obvious cap albatross. It'd have to blow up into a much bigger deal that included an option to backfill Nurse's spot as well. Maybe Matheson or something. But that gets into wild hairbrained schemes sort of territory that probably doesn't make a lot of sense.

I'm just not sure what all these other ways to "make it work" without doing something bigger are though.

Skinner or Arvidsson and a bit of retention on Anderson makes it work. I don't know what MTL is looking for in assets, but the money isn't a problem.

Broberg at what he is making isn't missed. He would be fighting Kulak and be below him on the 3rd pairing.

Foegele and Holloway are missed

Depending on what Klinberg ends up being, Broberg at 4RD would have been a big upgrade on what we've been running with. Would have allowed Emberson to slot comfortably into the 3rd pairing without him or Stecher (or Brown?!?!?!) having to play minutes they're not suited for.

But again, Klingberg may make this a moot point if he rounds out his game.

 

[biturbo19]

That's a little more nitty gritty than what I was initially talking about but I would counter with the argument that there is no single consensus on player order or rank or draft position. Each team ranks players differently. So when you get a third, it and your guy is Joe Schmoe, it wouldn't matter if he was available at 65 or 95, you'd take him.

So the idea of "an early 3rd is a late 2nd" and "a late 3rd is a 4th" is more for HFBoards, not GMs. I tend to believe the "the highest of the picks" conditions that are sometimes included in trades are relatively minor additions in comparison to the deal as a whole.

I mean yeah, by the time you're into the late-2nd/early-3rd round, draft lists are going to vary wildly, as are actual results. But teams will still always prefer the higher/earlier pick, because it does still give you a better opportunity to make sure you secure your guy "Joe Schmoe" over other teams.

GMs talk about this fairly regularly, or at least insinuate that it's a factor. Where they may value certain teams 2nd as similar to a bad team's 3rd or whatever. By the time you get into the later rounds, it's completely irrelevant...but that 1st/2nd/3rd range, it does still tend to carry some weight...diminishing as it may be the further you get into the 50s+ range.

Teams are kind of inherently biased toward believing in their own drafting prowess...so they tend to still value "priority" in the top few rounds to make sure "their guy" doesn't get sniped from under them, because they convince themselves that "their guy" is the optimal pick available for that range. That's why a early-mid 3rd holds more value to them than a late 3rd, and might be closer in the Joe Schmoe's available on their list to a late 2nd.