Rumor: Rumors & Proposals Thread | Y'all Got Any Good Goalies?

[belair]

I like getting Savoie back, but I dont think hes going to help us this year where McLeod would of.

No doubt. But I think the only reason that McLeod is a Sabre is because that offer blew the doors off. They would've found other ways to pinch pennies.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Never disagreed with that. But the results show that McLeod put up significantly better defensive numbers with the 2023-24 Oilers than Henrique did on the 2024-25 Oilers despite this current team actually having better defensive structure and support, and the eye test would suggest this too with how often McLeod was the guy carrying the puck out for us. It's possible that Henrique plays better as the year progresses, but until he does we've gotten ourselves a downgrade at 3C.

Ok then, not really worried about that, the team is actually better than last season, they aren't completely healthy and the roster isn't finalized.

McLeod is a solid player, it's the reason the Oilers got such a good return, but Henrique's experience will do many things to help this team in different spots

 

[VeteranPresence]

With how much Kulak has improved and Nurse finding his game again , no need to make changes to the top 4. Oilers need a depth defenseman who can skate and hit and is still relatively young and a forward who is also relatively young, has some playoff experience and can move.

I don't think we can or should bank on that, because one injury would mean dressing Brown full-time with no proven NHL depth beyond that now that Dermott has been claimed.

Ideally we enter the playoffs with this sort of formation:

Ek-Bouchard
Nurse-?
Kulak-Stecher
Emberson

I don't think Emberson could complain too much about being a black ace given he's never played an NHL playoff game in his life and is the clear #6 right now. Provorov, Pettersson, Andersson, Matheson, Carlo, Borgen, Murphy, Jensen, Ferraro, Carrier and Liljegren are all players I would kick tires on for different reasons. Even if none of them turn into an Ekholm-level player (and that's a big ask obivously) they all represent something different we could use for a Cup push.

 

[TheNumber4]

I like getting Savoie back, but I dont think hes going to help us this year where McLeod would of.


McLeod was miles better on Draisaitl's wing than he was as a center.

Production wise. But how much of that was driven by just Drai being Drai (ie. playing with a Top 2 player). As a Sabres he’s been only a Center and he’s producing better than he did for us, and playing well for them in general. I think he touches more areas of the game as a Center and it plays towards his strengths which isn’t really production but responsible 2 way play.

Keep in mind we had this guy for years, and always had him at center except for the couple weeks with Drai to try to break his slump.

No doubt. But I think the only reason that McLeod is a Sabre is because that offer blew the doors off. They would've found other ways to pinch pennies.

I thought it was Savoies name being out there first and we answered the call with Mcleod.

 

[McShogun99]

If we’re fully healthy by the trade deadline the only forward addition we really need is an upgrade on Ryan. The main priority should be a partner for Nurse and maybe an experienced depth goalie as an insurance policy if Skinner gets injured in the playoffs.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Production wise. But how much of that was driven by just Drai being Drai (ie. playing with a Top 2 player). As a Sabres he’s been only a Center and he’s producing better than he did for us, and playing well for them in general. I think he touches more areas of the game as a Center and it plays towards his strengths which isn’t really production but responsible 2 way play.

Keep in mind we had this guy for years, and always had him at center except for the couple weeks with Drai to try to break his slump.


I thought it was Savoies name being out there first and we answered the call with Mcleod.

Hes been producing more because hes playing a much higher offensive role and was riding a hot streak there.

hes been shit lately.

He did the same thing here where when he was hot we thought he would be a top 6 player, and then goes through times where hes a 4th liner production wise, hes about as inconsistent as Stuart Skinner is.

If we’re fully healthy by the trade deadline the only forward addition we really need is an upgrade on Ryan. The main priority should be a partner for Nurse and maybe an experienced depth goalie as an insurance policy if Skinner gets injured in the playoffs.

They should give philp a good 15-20 game sample before they decide thats the spot to upgrade.

If we cant win games going with Philp instead of Ryan, we got bigger issues.

I don't think we can or should bank on that, because one injury would mean dressing Brown full-time with no proven NHL depth beyond that now that Dermott has been claimed.

Ideally we enter the playoffs with this sort of formation:

Ek-Bouchard
Nurse-?
Kulak-Stecher
Emberson

I don't think Emberson could complain too much about being a black ace given he's never played an NHL playoff game in his life and is the clear #6 right now. Provorov, Pettersson, Andersson, Matheson, Carlo, Borgen, Murphy, Jensen, Ferraro, Carrier and Liljegren are all players I would kick tires on for different reasons. Even if none of them turn into an Ekholm-level player (and that's a big ask obivously) they all represent something different we could use for a Cup push.

I think Stecher will come out before Emberson.

Emberson is our top RD for PK right now.

Him and Ekholm are killing it on the PK.

 

[TheNumber4]

Hes been producing more because hes playing a much higher offensive role and was riding a hot streak there.

hes been shit lately.

He did the same thing here where when he was hot we thought he would be a top 6 player, and then goes through times where hes a 4th liner production wise, hes about as inconsistent as Stuart Skinner is.

Slightly higher role. Mostly 3C but I think he saw 2C time with injury. If I remember right most of his production was as a 3C though.

He’s been unproductive lately. I don’t know if he’s been shit. He did break his pts slump though with an assist. I tuned into the 3rd period of that embarassing Avs game, I swear Mcleod was the only sabre with a pulse in that 3rd. He’s still viewed favourably by Sabres fan base, unlike ALOT of their other forwards.

We’ll see though. We’re still in early days, small sample days. I think he’ll continue to be a good 3C for the Sabres. But with Savoies potential this could still turn into a great deal for us.

 

[TheNumber4]

If we’re fully healthy by the trade deadline the only forward addition we really need is an upgrade on Ryan. The main priority should be a partner for Nurse and maybe an experienced depth goalie as an insurance policy if Skinner gets injured in the playoffs.

Sam Carrick was sposed to be our Ryan upgrade last year. Ryan was still the better player overall. Let’s hope we aim a little higher than Sam Carrick this year.

Oh and we don’t leave a $1M Cap left over cause we couldn’t find extra scoring depth to add to this team.

 

[Jarvi]

For those nitpicking Henrique, Skinner and the bottom 6.

Last year we ended up with 4 fwds outside basically the top PP unit guys, who paced for or got 25 pts.

Foegele, Kane, Perry (paced) and Mcleod.

This year so far, we have 8, while missing Kane entirely.

Janmark, Brown, Skinner, Podkolzin, Henrique, Perry, Arvy, Kap.

Some of those may fall off when Kane/Arvy are back in the lineup, but this bottom 6 is inarguably performing a lot better than last year. I like Skinner as an offensive line driver more than Foegele who needed Drai minutes to produce. Henrique plays a better team game than Mcleod, so it's no surprise that those around him seem to be producing even if he hasn't racked them up so far. I would put money on him hitting 30pts by years end, with the bottom 6 as a whole performing better, that would be a win.

A couple years from now, when Skinner, Kane, Henrique etc have fallen off or been moved we may miss the young guys we've lost. But for this year? The bottom 6 has been a strength of this team, imo.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Slightly higher role. Mostly 3C but I think he saw 2C time with injury. If I remember right most of his production was as a 3C though.

He’s been unproductive lately. I don’t know if he’s been shit. He did break his pts slump though with an assist. I tuned into the 3rd period of that embarassing Avs game, I swear Mcleod was the only sabre with a pulse in that 3rd. He’s still viewed favourably by Sabres fan base, unlike ALOT of their other forwards.

We’ll see though. We’re still in early days, small sample days. I think he’ll continue to be a good 3C for the Sabres. But with Savoies potential this could still turn into a great deal for us.

McLeod was playing wuth Zucker and Greenway and they had a 19.3% on ice shooting%.

Thats inflating his stats pretty good.

Unless you think that lines going to continue at that pace.

 

[TheNumber4]

I ageee on trying Philp as 4C. He should atleast be given a serious look soon, and see what we have. If he can split time with Ryan maybe that hole is already filled.

Then focus our assets and cap space towards a 4RHD. Get the best one we can get on the market and push for ones that aren’t on the market.

We are so full up at Wing and the potential is already there now for more scoring going into the playoffs this year than last. Plus we’ve gotten rid of playoffs offensive black holes like Foegele and Mcleod.

 

[TheNumber4]

McLeod was playing wuth Zucker and Greenway and they had a 19.3% on ice shooting%.

Thats inflating his stats pretty good.

Unless you think that lines going to continue at that pace.

Zucker is a good player. Greenway is just okay. Maybe better than Foegele and whoever he centered here, but not that much difference.

Even if he doesn’t continue at that pace say he falls short of .5ppg for the season that he’s currently trending towards. It’s not bad if he’s at like .4ppg and if he’s giving them good 2 way play.

Right now Buffalo is such a trash fire though, they’ll be changing everything and anything they can for the foreseeable future. So who knows what the lines will even look like.

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

If we’re fully healthy by the trade deadline the only forward addition we really need is an upgrade on Ryan. The main priority should be a partner for Nurse and maybe an experienced depth goalie as an insurance policy if Skinner gets injured in the playoffs.

I think everyone's expecting Philp to be that Ryan upgrade.

I'm interested to see how the defense shapes out when we get to the deadline. We're 10th in the NHL in expected goals against with Ekholm-Bouchard as the 22nd worst pairing for expected goals against per 60. Nurse-Kulak have been killing it, and Emberson has been getting better each game.
I'm not sure how much better we can make it.

 

[TheNumber4]

I think everyone's expecting Philp to be that Ryan upgrade.

I'm interested to see how the defense shapes out when we get to the deadline. We're 10th in the NHL in expected goals against with Ekholm-Bouchard as the 22nd worst pairing for expected goals against per 60. Nurse-Kulak have been killing it, and Emberson has been getting better each game.
I'm not sure how much better we can make it.

This upcoming Florida game will be a good test of our D.

Lots of players can look up to par and playoff ready when the oilers have been playing as good as they are.

But can Emberson/Stecher handle the increased pace and physicality of playoff hockey? We don’t know that yet. And with their size and experience level, you would think not.

Hope the panthers bring their A forecheck game on Monday. Would be a good test for these guys.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Amazing, I love that the nucks, from the top down, are not over the reality they will never be as good lol

 

[Jarvi]

If we call up Philp, I'm assuming Ryan is sent down?

I'm not too worried about losing him on waivers, but I'm just wondering if the team is just doing him a solid keeping him up through Christmas seeing as they have also been winning lately, so he isnt hurting things too bad. Give the vet that respect for 7 very winnable looking games, by then it's Jan 3 and we have 25 games left til the trade deadline to test run Philp.

We play Florida and Boston between now and the roster freeze. Win either of those in good fashion, and I don't think we see any moves until the new year as long as the team keeps winning.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

Shutdown line players often have excellent fancies lol, what are you talking about? And even if you want to ignore analytics, Henrique's actual production itself is awful too. Our penalty kill is also much worse in part because of replacing McLeod with him (yes I'm aware that losing Desharnais and Skinner's terrible start are bigger reasons).

3rd liners with majority D zone starts against tough competition usually have excellent fancies? Seems hard to believe. Happy to be proven wrong though.

Our Pk has been solid lately no? Who has been more productive lately Henrique or McLeod?

No doubt Henrique / PK were an issue to start the season but the team is playing entirely different now.

 

[K1984]

As others mentioned here, McCarron would be my #1 target for 4C because it kills multiple birds with one stone. PK, forecheck, fighting, physicality, intimidation, etc. Pretty much a mix of everything we need in one player.

Having said that, I have the feel that he’s a guy that someone will flip and absurdly big package for just because he’s in demand and his skill package is rare. A la the ogre that the Predators flipped to the Lightning a few years ago.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

nvm

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

This upcoming Florida game will be a good test of our D.

Lots of players can look up to par and playoff ready when the oilers have been playing as good as they are.

But can Emberson/Stecher handle the increased pace and physicality of playoff hockey? We don’t know that yet. And with their size and experience level, you would think not.

Hope the panthers bring their A forecheck game on Monday. Would be a good test for these guys.

You certainly can't have too many good defencemen when playoffs come round.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

I don't think we can or should bank on that, because one injury would mean dressing Brown full-time with no proven NHL depth beyond that now that Dermott has been claimed.

Ideally we enter the playoffs with this sort of formation:

Ek-Bouchard
Nurse-?
Kulak-Stecher
Emberson

I don't think Emberson could complain too much about being a black ace given he's never played an NHL playoff game in his life and is the clear #6 right now. Provorov, Pettersson, Andersson, Matheson, Carlo, Borgen, Murphy, Jensen, Ferraro, Carrier and Liljegren are all players I would kick tires on for different reasons. Even if none of them turn into an Ekholm-level player (and that's a big ask obivously) they all represent something different we could use for a Cup push.

Personally I highly doubt the Oilers are going to take out a growth potential guy in Emberson who's established himself as a top pair PK player, has good size and some grit to manage marathon, hard game playoff series hockey. It was telling that Knoblauch opted for a walk on PTO Dermot to start game 1 over Stetcher. Stetcher is a gamer who's a good #7 guy along with meat eater Brown if injury happens.

The Oilers will shop for a defenseman upgrade. Kulak elevating his responsibilities, toi and flexibility to play the right side will give management more flexibility for their shopping in a competitive trade market. The veteran player likely a clear upgrade (now) from the emergent Emberson who they've locked into 3RD role. That will bump Stetcher down into the emergency role like last year.

 

[stewy04]

And McLeod's transition play is so much better that he puts up better defensive numbers than Henrique anyway. What's the point of having better in-zone defense if the puck stays in your zone for significantly longer and the opponent gets more time to generate scoring chances?

He's gone! .....he's gone.....who cares

 

[jukon]

There will be no 4C trade this year, the upgrade is Philp. They are giving Ryan a chance to continue his career, while the younger Philp gets his game up to speed in the AHL.

Assets and cap is better off sorting out the D and goalies. Something like a 4/5D and a 1B.

 

[Trafalgar Sadge Law]

3rd liners with majority D zone starts against tough competition usually have excellent fancies? Seems hard to believe. Happy to be proven wrong though.

Our Pk has been solid lately no? Who has been more productive lately Henrique or McLeod?

No doubt Henrique / PK were an issue to start the season but the team is playing entirely different now.

These were our forwards who played over 200 minutes ordered by xGF metrics from last season. McLeod pulled off some great numbers with 45.59% offensive zone starts (only Derek Ryan had a lower percentage of offensive zone starts) and very strong quality of competition (see chart below). HDCF and FF percentages look similar. Adam Henrique was an absolute disaster in possession while being one of the more sheltered players on the team with 55.29% offensive zone starts and slightly lower quality of competition than McLeod.

Flash forward to this season and Henrique is again an absolute disaster in possession, somehow being outchanced across the board on arguably the best, at worst top 3, possession teams in the league. His defensive zone starts are quite low this year at 42.55%, only ahead of Derek Ryan, but now has basically 4th liner caliber quality of competition (and this makes sense, we can all see that the Oilers are sending McDavid and Draisaitl lines at the opponent's best players whenever we can). And if you watch carefully you'll notice that a lot of Henrique's defensive zone starts are because his line gets pinned in the defensive zone and ends up icing the puck, leading to extra defensive zone starts. He is not being used as a "shutdown" center at all the way McLeod was being used, and is in fact actually being actively deployed away from the opposing team's strong players, and still gets gapped at even strength. On a happier note. Podkolzin is putting up an absolute monster of a season in terms of underlying numbers. Valeri "better than Draisaitl" Nichushkin esque numbers in fact, to bring up an old Evolving Wild joke.

 

[BarDownBobo]

Amazing, I love that the nucks, from the top down, are not over the reality they will never be as good lol

Such a hilarious comment when you consider what they’re paying Petterson, he’s supposed to be that guy who can win them games on his own. That contract is going to guarantee them mediocrity for the next decade, going to be fantastic to watch.