Proposal: Proposals Thread: Fix this broken club

[Tw0Shoes]

Most of the high end forwards in the draft are generally not 2-way players. Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin, Kane, Stamkos, Tavares ... none of them were known as being 2-way players.

When you are drafting at the top of the draft for a forward you are drafting for offensive skill most of the time, that's just a fact.

This franchise has failed to develop 2-way players because their 2nd/3rd rounders have mostly all flopped.

Malkin was definitely known as a two-way player. If you look at the Pittsburgh boards when he was coming over, everyone there was saying he'd never lead the league in scoring, but would maybe put up 80 pts in his best year, and wouldn't cost you anything.

 

[DisgruntledGoat*]

We would be outside the top easy if we had these two goalies to start the year heck it is possible albeit unlikely but we could be out if the top 5 this year if we maintain our recent pace of wins.

... Except the management group tht thought it was OK to start the year with an AHL tandem in net and a sub-AHL rookie coach behind the bench is still in place.

It will always be something until they clean house.

 

[Halibut]

Sort of jealous of how the Avs built their forward corp. Tough 2-way players... I still blame most of the recent problems on our forwards. I couldn't watch past the first period last night... Ebs with that button hook and giveaway after he entered the blueline. He's Hemsky 2.0 and thinks it's ok.

I think we need to shake up our youthful skill identity. I'm fine with trading away our draft picks for real (2-way) NHL players

How can anyone say that?

Have you looked at what we have on our blueline? Our best d-man coming into the year was Smid and we managed to trade him for pretty much nothing. Ference is ok as part of a strong group but he's not good enough on his own to anchor anybody's defence. Petry, young and inexperienced. Schultz, young inexpererienced and a puck mover more than a defender. Beyond that we're relying on rookies and/or bottom of the barrel experiments and hoping for the best.

 

[McDrai]

We're going to pass Florida in the standings, pick the lazy German, and continue to tank next year but not be bad enough for McDavid

 

[Roof Daddy]

The only two things I like, those would have a significant impact on the roster. What's with the obsession with these crappy forwards with the bigness. Marcus Foligno, again I say Not the good Foligno, isn't even a top-6 forward in Buffalo, where they have Cory Conacher, who they claimed off waivers, and Linus Omark who they tried there.

I would barely Just trade Slepeshev there for him. Seriously Oilers fans, has Gregor brainwashed you all so much with the "Bigness and the Hitting" whining he does everyday? I know they need to get bigger, but not ****ier.

First, I don't listen to any local radio guys, but if they are discussing it on a daily basis it probably means it's a pretty big issue.

Second, what is there not to like about Foligno? He plays a simple game in terms of offence - he doesn't over handle the puck, he's the first guy in to a battle along the boards, goes hard to the front of the net. Who do we have currently who does that? He's a good skater, physical, willing to drop the gloves and stick up for teammates. He plays a bit on the PP and PK in Buffalo. Why they don't play him more, I don't know, but if I were to guess its because Nolan likes him and Gergusons together and is managing their minutes? I see a guy capable of 20-20 production while playing like a wreckingball. That's good enough for my 2nd line when you factor in the room he creates for his linemates.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

First, I don't listen to any local radio guys, but if they are discussing it on a daily basis it probably means it's a pretty big issue.

Second, what is there not to like about Foligno? He plays a simple game in terms of offence - he doesn't over handle the puck, he's the first guy in to a battle along the boards, goes hard to the front of the net. Who do we have currently who does that? He's a good skater, physical, willing to drop the gloves and stick up for teammates. He plays a bit on the PP and PK in Buffalo. Why they don't play him more, I don't know, but if I were to guess its because Nolan likes him and Gergusons together and is managing their minutes? I see a guy capable of 20-20 production while playing like a wreckingball. That's good enough for my 2nd line when you factor in the room he creates for his linemates

He's not very good and hasn't shown much at the NHL level.

You might "want" to see him as a 20-20 guy, but he's not doing that now and he's NOT PLAYING IN THE TOP-6 of the Sabres RIGHT NOW. Think about it seriously, could they have a more shallow Top-6 group? Yet he can't crack it? Maybe he's actually not good, that's most likely.

As for Local Radio and it being issue, it's partly true, because it's obvious. However with how much Gregor whines about it, it's more likely he has a bet with someone like Rob Kerr about being able to convince the fans to convince the team to trade one of the kids sooner rather then later.

 

[Roof Daddy]

Not to mention the rookie nurse on the top pairing. You want to suck in the NHL, put a rookie on your top pairing.

The pairings were just where the talent level seemed to fit. All 3 pairings would get equal minutes, ideally.

I also remember a guy named Doughty who led his team in minutes as an 18/19 yr old. No, they didn't make the playoffs, but that had nothing to do with him.

Or, if you want an example similar to Nurse (one year of development post draft year), look no further than Anaheim. Lindholm is 1 year removed from his draft year and has played the 3rd most minutes of their D. They have 2 rookies on the back end and are 1st in the division.

Trouba is playing 22 minutes a night on a team in a playoff race. Maatta playing 18 a night on a powerhouse Penguins team.

If a young guy is good enough to play, you play him. End of story. How many Dmen with better skill than Nurse or Ekblad - all while having more experience - are actually available? I saw your suggestion of acquiring Myers, and I agree would be a great target, but you might want to reevaluate the price tag. 90% of Sabres fans didn't want to do Eberle for Myers straight up. The recent instalment of Friedman's 30 thoughts more or less confirms how high the price is on Myers.

I agree it's not ideal to be playing so many rooks on the backend, but I don't see too many better options available. As long as they are paired with veterans who compliment their game and are good mentors, I say why not? It's better than watching Petry make the same mistake every night.

 

[Up the Irons]

I don't think there are any solutions, other that Fire Lowe, and draft D and wait for the prospect D corp. Eakins has so lowered the value of the only pieces that could actually improve the team, that Yak and/or Eberle can't and won't be moved for better D. Th
is Lineup will not be drastically different to start next season. Add a couple rookie D, that's about it.

in a couple years, they will be trading Hall, Ebs for the pieces that are needed for the young D core.

buckle up for 3 more years of suck. become a Rush fan in the meantime, or follow the Bears/Oilkings.

there is no hope for the Oilers.

 

[dancecommand]

Easy solution.

Field 5 forwards and a goalie.

This will not fix the non-existent defense, but at least the offense will be consistent.

 

[Quinteoilers]

Have you ever watched Gudbranson? Dude might be the dumbest player defensively in the NHL, think Justin Schultz without offence. When he's on the ice, the only thing on his mind is "big hit", he'll go out of his way to take himself out of the play to hit someone, often who doesn't even have the puck. His decision making is terrible and he's always out of position, usually because as previously mentioned, the only term in his hockey dictionary is hit and simply because his hockey IQ is comparable to Alex Plante and Colten Teubert. In the offensive zone, he has no decision making, there is one and only one thing he'll do: fire hard but inaccurate clappers that turn into a breakout the other way. Also for a guy his size, he's surprisingly terrible along the boards. Keep in mind that all this is with him playing relatively sheltered minutes. Honestly the only thing that separates him from a Plante or Teubert is his skating for his size, and even that isn't elite or anything. The only players I'd trade for Gudbranson are Smyth, Joensuu, Jones, Fraser, and Larsen, not even Sammy Snowpants is as bad as him.

I used to watch him in Jr. Playing for Kingston Frontenacs. He was pretty good then, I didn't realize his NHL game is so bad.

 

[Broilers]

To me getting 2D that are better than anyone that we have right now should be priority number one.

Our goaltending looks very much improved going in to next season
Our forwards can score without moving Gagner (not saying I don't want to but it shoudl take a backseat)
Now if we get the D shored up we will be fighting for a playoff spot next year.

That would be my priority too. It seems to me that Ekblad will be first over all pick. We must be extremely lucky to get that pick. Florida seems to be in the downward spiral and Calgary and Islanders can be reached too.

If Ekblad was available, he should be picked and we should try to ***** center ice throught the trade or free agency

 

[Broilers]

I think your being overly optimistic if you think we're not picking top 10 for the next decade. I have a hard time seeing us even outside the bottom 5 again next year without a significant revamping of our defense.

You can be right but at least I try to be optimistic in finances. Rebuilding has been possible only through the fan support. We are paying salaries. Now it seems to be that idea of rebuilding is not sold to us any more. Katz letter was responded negatively.

Rebuilding has been back up an idea that the Oilers will become perennial contender. Team can be transformed in one off season play off team by moving some young players for veterans and mortgaging the future. I f attendance goes down enough we will see something like that happen. Only way is to keep fingers crossed that MacTbonehead can change the course of the team without sacrificing the future.

 

[Suxnet]

One player is not going to drastically change anything. Even if Ekblad comes in and plays like a stud, the team will continue to be garbage defensively. I guarantee you that. We couldn't score before getting Yak and we still can't score with him and there's also the need of a better #2C, so we can't go wrong with either Ekblad or any of the top centers, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Raab]

We would be outside the top easy if we had these two goalies to start the year heck it is possible albeit unlikely but we could be out if the top 5 this year if we maintain our recent pace of wins.

All it takes is a few injuries and were at the bottom again. Imagine if Hall got hurt again or if Petry and Schultz both went down for extended periods. We can plan to be better but we don't have the depth and skill yet to overcome the best in the west. On top of that there is a chance we see guys like Marincin&Scrivens/Fasth regress next season and have this year be an outlier(I wouldn't bet on it but who knows). Also got to assume the other teams will be getting better as well, Florida will be better IMO, Islander maybe, Buffalo will still suck. It's not unrealistic considering the conference were in.

 

[Soundwave]

They honestly should've started the "tank rebuild" right from the moment Smyth was traded to the Islanders.

Waiting and doing things like offer sheeting Penner and chasing Heatley and Hossa was always stupid.

That turned what should have been a 3-5 year rebuild into something that's now going to take like 10 years.

Once Pronger demanded that trade, we needed to just take our lumps.

 

[GretzkytoKurri9917]

Drafting Ekblad is so critical to our teams success it isn't even funny.

The day the Oilers traded for Scrivens,was the day any chance of the Oilers getting Ekblad died.

 

[Soundwave]

The day the Oilers traded for Scrivens,was the day any chance of the Oilers getting Ekblad died.

There's always degrees of luck involved, even if the Oilers out-tanked Buffalo, the odds of getting Ekblad (assuming he is the no.1) only sit at 25%.

 

[McJeety McJeet]

We're going to pass Florida in the standings, pick the lazy German, and continue to tank next year but not be bad enough for McDavid

Thus entering the stall phase of a failed rebuild. The light at the end of the tunnel for this group is actually star light, light years away.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

I used to watch him in Jr. Playing for Kingston Frontenacs. He was pretty good then, I didn't realize his NHL game is so bad.

Florida is just Edmonton East. So many top picks wasted.

 

[Brewster]

We have the marquee names (ie Eberle/Yakupov) to fix the forwards with in-house assets. Ekblad is the priority with the first rounder.

 

[Mr Forever]

The day the Oilers traded for Scrivens,was the day any chance of the Oilers getting Ekblad died.

Not necessarily.

We can still win the lottery and select him first overall

Or

We can draft second overall, behind Buffalo, who may draft Reinhart or Bennet

 

[GretzkytoKurri9917]

Not necessarily.

We can still win the lottery and select him first overall

Or

We can draft second overall, behind Buffalo, who may draft Reinhart or Bennet

This option is quickly dwindling away as this team is accumulating more points due to Scrivens stealing points.

 

[Mr Forever]

This option is quickly dwindling away as this team is accumulating more points due to Scrivens stealing points.

Unfortunately, you're right. I think if we had Scrivens all season we would be drafting no lower than fifth overall.

 

[GretzkytoKurri9917]

Unfortunately, you're right. I think if we had Scrivens all season we would be drafting no lower than fifth overall.

Looking back,I think the acquisition of Scrivens during the season was a bad move by Mactavish.



No Top Defenseman that is available through Free Agency.
Top Defensemen aren't usually available through Trades.
Aaron Ekblad was most likely the best defenseman that the Oilers could have gotten this offseason,but by the looks of it,Scrivens is going to destroy that chance all on his own.

 

[GretzkytoKurri9917]

I wonder if blowing the opportunity at drafting Ekblad is going to come back to haunt the Oilers.



Remember that Defense is the most important position for turning a team into a contender.