Rumor: Rumors & Proposals: "Looking for a trade to happen, making stops along the way."

[McDNicks17]

Exactly, which is why I said that they don't necessarily need plus scorers in the bottom 6, they just need more reliability. Even with someone like Ryan Strome at 3rd line center, this team would be miles better with a break even 3rd line if they had McDavid and Draisaitl running two consistent scoring lines in the top 6 which is why a top 6 winger is the priority, in addition to 3rd line center.

Hell, I feel like the Winnipeg series even with the rag tag group at winger they had this season would have taken on a different complexion if Tippett didn't stubbornly stick to the McDrai line leaving all the other lines dry, not DRY but dry. That's the key for long term success, those two remaining split, and a 3rd line that merely breaks even so the forward group doesn't need a complete facelift. Fill those two key spots, top 6 winger and 3rd line center, and it changes the complete look of the forward group.

I agree 100%. Strome was exactly what this team needed. That Lucic-Strome-Pulju line played about half their minutes against top lines and had insanely good defensive numbers. Sure, they didn't score much, but we don't need scoring down there. We just need not getting outscored.

My worry now is the Tippett effect. Tampa is pretty much the only team that has a third/fourth line that can handle heavies and they spent some insane draft capital to build it. The two guys Tampa went out and got just so happen to be UFAs now. It might not be sexy and the dollar numbers might not be pretty, but signing Coleman and Goodrow to anchor a matchup third line might actually have one of the biggest positive impacts on the team.

 

[The Nuge]

Really don't think we need a Jones or a Hamilton. I think all that does is hamstring the team even more.

That's just the McDrai situation on the top pairing.

Not necessarily. I’d love Jones or Hamilton, but I definitely wouldn’t play them with Nurse. You do it like Pronger/Niedermayer. With our current defense, you could run something like

Broberg (?) - Jones/Hamilton
Nurse - Bear
Russell - Bouchard
Jones

that’s 2 pairings that are going to eat up 45-50 minutes per night

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Yeah I see the forward lines with the addition of Krejci as:

??? - Mcdavid - Puljujarvi
RNH - Drai - Yamamoto/???
??? - Krejci - Yamamoto/???
Archibald - McLeod - Kassian

This is what I would hope for.

Hall/Rackell/Hyman - McDavid - Puljujarvi
Nuge - Drai - Yamamoto
Coleman/McGinn - Krejci - Archibald
Kahun - McLeod - Kassian
Glendenning, Shore.

 

[Sweetpotato]

This is what I would hope for.

Hall/Rackell/Hyman - McDavid - Puljujarvi
Nuge - Drai - Yamamoto
Coleman/McGinn - Krejci - Archibald
Kahun - McLeod - Kassian
Glendenning, Shore.

Punt Kassian, promote Glendenning and move McLeod into the #3RW spot and that'd be a roster I could get behind.

 

[The Nuge]

I agree 100%. Strome was exactly what this team needed. That Lucic-Strome-Pulju line played about half their minutes against top lines and had insanely good defensive numbers. Sure, they didn't score much, but we don't need scoring down there. We just need not getting outscored.

My worry now is the Tippett effect. Tampa is pretty much the only team that has a third/fourth line that can handle heavies and they spent some insane draft capital to build it. The two guys Tampa went out and got just so happen to be UFAs now. It might not be sexy and the dollar numbers might not be pretty, but signing Coleman and Goodrow to anchor a matchup third line might actually have one of the biggest positive impacts on the team.

Disagree. We still need offense out of the 3rd line. If you can get Coleman and Goodrow for ~5.5 million combined, that’s fine, but you still need a 3C that can produce in between them. That or you’ve got to be really confident in McLeod. If Turris didn’t regress from what he was in Nashville (I was only hoping for him to put up 30 points in a full season), I’d feel really good about that 3rd line.

 

[McJadeddog]

Hymen @ 6 with a flat cap is crazy..

It is, but you know somebody will give it to him, hopefully it's not us.

It is one of the reasons why people thinking RNH getting 6 is crazy has always been laughable to me. UFAs get overpaid, this has been true since UFAs were a thing, and it will continue to be true forever. Why will RNH not get overpaid just like most UFAs get overpaid? Why is RNH different?

 

[GOilers88]

Not necessarily. I’d love Jones or Hamilton, but I definitely wouldn’t play them with Nurse. You do it like Pronger/Niedermayer. With our current defense, you could run something like

Broberg (?) - Jones/Hamilton
Nurse - Bear
Russell - Bouchard
Jones

that’s 2 pairings that are going to eat up 45-50 minutes per night

Fair point.

 

[CupofOil]

Disagree. We still need offense out of the 3rd line. If you can get Coleman and Goodrow for ~5.5 million combined, that’s fine, but you still need a 3C that can produce in between them. That or you’ve got to be really confident in McLeod. If Turris didn’t regress from what he was in Nashville (I was only hoping for him to put up 30 points in a full season), I’d feel really good about that 3rd line.

This is the same mentality Chia had when he made the Strome for Spooner trade.
Strome hardly scored and that was the best 3rd line the Oilers have had since ???
Danault who is being universally praised for his play this postseason, a line that gets a lot of ice time against top guys, has 2 points in 15 games. When you have a top heavy team like the Oilers always will be, they just need a 3rd line that won't get outscored. A break even 3rd line with the two MVP level centers split and running their own line and this team is a real contender.

Getting a high scoring 3rd line center would be a nice bonus but the reality with the cap and the structure of the forward group is that they just need a defensively reliable 3rd line center who can score a little, preferably a guy who can take some of the defensive responsibilities and win big faceoffs.
BTW, the Turris in Nashville was a bad player the last two years. He scored a bit, mainly in a top 6 role, and stunk in the 3rd line center role because he's defensively deficient.

 

[McDNicks17]

Disagree. We still need offense out of the 3rd line. If you can get Coleman and Goodrow for ~5.5 million combined, that’s fine, but you still need a 3C that can produce in between them. That or you’ve got to be really confident in McLeod. If Turris didn’t regress from what he was in Nashville (I was only hoping for him to put up 30 points in a full season), I’d feel really good about that 3rd line.

Offense in the bottom six is fool's gold.

A 30 point +5 player doesn't help you win more than a 15 point +5 player. They have both have the exact same impact on the scoreboard.

You just end up paying more for points that don't matter.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Punt Kassian, promote Glendenning and move McLeod into the #3RW spot and that'd be a roster I could get behind.

I mean it's possible Kassian's traded for his replacement if the Rangers or Pens' interest is to be believe.

Now Kassian is overpaid for his role, but I will say if you move him and don't replace his size, that could become a slight concern for the team lacking some size and grit upfront. Again, OVERPAID, but that's a hole you could create.

 

[Ritchie Valens]

Where did this come from?

I like Hyman as he 49 even strength goals over the past 3 seasons (165 games) and +48 over those games. Thats just under 0.3G/GP.

That's better than guys like Point, Gaudreau, Tkachuk, Barkov, Landeskog, Svechnikov, etc.

Having said that he's been playing with great players and has injury issues. Anything that doesn't start with a 4 will be bad.

It's a few pages back in this thread. I was playing catch up in the thread after a busy weekend.

 

[jukon]

How funny would it be if we end up trading our first for Reinhart on draft day.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Offense in the bottom six is fool's gold.

A 30 point +5 player doesn't help you win more than a 15 point +5 player. They have both have the exact same impact on the scoreboard.

You just end up paying more for points that don't matter.

I'm going to need a more thorough explanation of this. Are you suggesting that 30 point players dont matter?

 

[ManofSteel55]

Disagree. We still need offense out of the 3rd line. If you can get Coleman and Goodrow for ~5.5 million combined, that’s fine, but you still need a 3C that can produce in between them. That or you’ve got to be really confident in McLeod. If Turris didn’t regress from what he was in Nashville (I was only hoping for him to put up 30 points in a full season), I’d feel really good about that 3rd line.

I agree but I don't know if we can get iether of Coleman or Goodrow. Certainly not both for 5.5M. Coleman is looking at 4-5M on his own. Goodrow is going to get paid too, everyone loves him. 3M+ isn't crazy to think of for him. Add Rakell via trade, and we're looking a lot better up front, albeit we still have a major hole or two to fix.

Rakell - McDavid - Puljuarvi
Kahun/Benson/Holloway - Drai - Yamamoto
Coleman - McLeod - Goodrow
Archie - Shore - Kassian

What I like about this lineup, and what makes it unrealistic to me, is that only the 4th line would be exposed if they were bumped up a line. I'd still like an upgrade on Yamamoto but I'm not wanting him gone at any cost either. If he stays and rebound I will be happy for him and happy to have him, despite his size.

 

[barry halls]

I just don't see the point in complaining about something that hasn't happened yet.

That’s fair, I just think that fans probably should be worried and skeptical based on the job Holland has done so far.

 

[McDNicks17]

I'm going to need a more thorough explanation of this. Are you suggesting that 30 point players dont matter?

Outscoring your opponent matters.

Scoring more doesn't matter if you're also getting scored on more.

 

[North]

How funny would it be if we end up trading our first for Reinhart on draft day.

At least it would be the right Reinhart.

 

[North]

That’s fair, I just think that fans probably should be worried and skeptical based on the job Holland has done so far.

With limited cap space he’s done a fine job. A couple of missteps but every GM has those.

 

[Oilers]

As much as I'd love all these UFA's to sign here, the reality is, Edmonton isn't an attractive place for UFA's to sign.

- Yes we have McDavid and Drats, but we really aren't close to winning a cup, so the veterans chasing a cup likely go elsewhere.
- I'm sure a ton of these NHL'ers would much rather go to somewhere warm.

UFA's are only signing here if we overpay them or give them long term deals that no one else is offering. Rakell, Coleman, Goodrow, Hyman, Hamilton, Schwartz are all guys I'd love to see here, but are all players on other teams radars. They aren't signing here unless we pay them like 15/20% more than the rest of the market.

I could see us making a play for 1, maybe 2 of those type of guys, but it'll cost us. I think we're more likely to see us signing your less sought after guys.

 

[McShogun99]

Sorry have to agree with Bobo on this one. Ur out to lunch. Many 6' defenseman or shorter defenseman are making a difference for their teams ...most as two way puck movers. Further this trend looks to continue....last year 5'11" Jamie Drysdale looks to be a top pair guy for sure.
Really there aren't that many sub 6ers to work with but it likely will become more over the next decade.
Usually they are top pairing guys though that take quite alot of time and experience to become impact guys. Bear for example has had a major flaw exposed by Chicago and is obviously working to correct this and he may or may not do this. He only has really just over a year and a half in the majors. Probably gets cut some slack for another year and then if not he will get pushed down the line up as better players come up. Lets hope he finds a coach this summer that can push him hard on his backwards skating and his turns and his gap control cause everything else seems to be there including some underdeveloped offensive potential.
Ray Bourque was less than 6' and wasn't fast either. Both Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey one of which always had demon speed and the other worked at it so hard were a shade less than 6' tall. These guys played when things were a fair bit rougher than the vanilla we get today.

More HOF Dmen and arguably top 5 of all time but they also played in an era with smaller players. I'm not saying that you can't have Dmen under 6ft, they just have to be very good and mobile. You also shouldn't have mostly small Dmen just like you shouldn't have mostly big Dmen. You just need a good mix. Bear did get exposed against Chicago and Winnipeg but he's still a good regular season Dman that needs to figure out how to play in the playoffs against heavy forecheckers that target his side.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

As much as I'd love all these UFA's to sign here, the reality is, Edmonton isn't an attractive place for UFA's to sign.

- Yes we have McDavid and Drats, but we really aren't close to winning a cup, so the veterans chasing a cup likely go elsewhere.
- I'm sure a ton of these NHL'ers would much rather go to somewhere warm.

UFA's are only signing here if we overpay them or give them long term deals that no one else is offering. Rakell, Coleman, Goodrow, Hyman, Hamilton, Schwartz are all guys I'd love to see here, but are all players on other teams radars. They aren't signing here unless we pay them like 15/20% more than the rest of the market.

I could see us making a play for 1, maybe 2 of those type of guys, but it'll cost us. I think we're more likely to see us signing your less sought after guys.

So all hope is lost, probably best to give McDavid and Draisaitl a chance to be successful elsewhere. I mean that's probably a silly take, but it does help temper expectations.

 

[fuswald]

I don't trust Holland to not go nuts..

Guy was gonna give Markstrom ALL THE MONEY

There is a possibility (not probable) that Markstrom playing for the Oilers may have got us further in the playoffs. Calgary really sucked.
He may be a very good goalie.

 

[fuswald]

So all hope is lost, probably best to give McDavid and Draisaitl a chance to be successful elsewhere. I mean that's probably a silly take, but it does help temper expectations.

Could likely get a few entire teams in trade for those 2.

 

[ujju2]

This is what I would hope for.

Hall/Rackell/Hyman - McDavid - Puljujarvi
Nuge - Drai - Yamamoto
Coleman/McGinn - Krejci - Archibald
Kahun - McLeod - Kassian
Glendenning, Shore.

I'd like to see Benson in the Kahun spot but I like the look of that. Coleman-Krejci might be prohibitively expensive as 3rd liners though.

 

[fuswald]

Offense in the bottom six is fool's gold.

A 30 point +5 player doesn't help you win more than a 15 point +5 player. They have both have the exact same impact on the scoreboard.

You just end up paying more for points that don't matter.

So you're saying plus minus is all