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

[Mr Positive]

I don't see us getting a forward. Our forward acquisition will be Kane. The boost to our bottom six will be Podkolzin, or maybe Kane going down there. Kane has had nagging injuries handicapping him so long. If he comes back close to 100% that is huge.

2nd pair RD is the only core need left. I also believe goaltending is a core need but I can at least see the argument that our tandem can do it. So I do say we should go for that RD and if there is space and assets left, see if there's a Blackwood tier addition to goaltending to be found, someone who will play as much as Skinner or more.

 

[TheNumber4]

I don't see us getting a forward. Our forward acquisition will be Kane. The boost to our bottom six will be Podkolzin, or maybe Kane going down there. Kane has had nagging injuries handicapping him so long. If he comes back close to 100% that is huge.

2nd pair RD is the only core need left. I also believe goaltending is a core need but I can at least see the argument that our tandem can do it. So I do say we should go for that RD and if there is space and assets left, see if there's a Blackwood tier addition to goaltending to be found, someone who will play as much as Skinner or more.

4RHD is my priority. And sure, a backup, if only to quell the disbelief in this market that in itself could kill a Cup run anyways.

On that front, I still see not great options on the market for either position. But things can change as the season moves along. Buffalo and NYR are about to open up for business in a big way.

 

[TheNumber4]

Matheson sucks. That’s not a good enough upgrade. Grab Kostin at 50% retained with another team.

In a mostly mediocre market. Matheson is among the better choices. Still not ideal, but compared to what's available, there could be something helpful there.

He plays the RD already. He fits the mold of what were are looking for in terms of skill set in moving pucks and play making potential.

 

[TheNumber4]

This is a misrepresentation of what's going on in St. Louis and looking at Broberg in a vaccuum without context. He is actually leading Blues top 4 defenders by quite a bit in most possession metrics as seen in the chart below. His is also one of the only players on the entire team with an >50% HDCF differential. And the other defenders tend to do better with Broberg on the ice than without. The reality is that the Blues are an absolute disaster of a team and when your teammates suck and your system is nonfunctional, you're not gonna have pretty shot metrics (even McDrai had bad raw possession numbers during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons because they were stuck with linemates who belonged nowhere near a top 6 NHL lineup like Chiasson/Neal/Kassian etc and had poor support from bad defensemen like Adam Larsson).
View attachment 946926
He is also most certainly not being propped up with gratuitous offensive zone deployment and in fact he's actually being deployed more often in the defensive zone both on an absolute and relative to teammates basis. He's 3rd on the team in quality of competition, so while he's not exactly being deployed like 2021-22 Darnell Nurse or 2022-24 Moritz Seider, he's not exactly sheltered either.
View attachment 946930
His plus minus and points pace are indeed being propped up by PDO and he will probably not be scoring over 50 points and going +30 this year. But he is without question the best defenseman on the St. Louis Blues both in terms of possession metrics and the eye test (I've watched way too many Blues games this season than what is mentally healthy) and would do even better on a superior system with better teammates like the Oilers.

Unfortunately, this is true. On that Blues squad, he is their best defenceman.

All good though, Oilers sloppy seconds brings the Blues back to relevency. I'm over it.

 

[Oilhawks]

In a mostly mediocre market. Matheson is among the better choices. Still not ideal, but compared to what's available, there could be something helpful there.

He plays the RD already. He fits the mold of what were are looking for in terms of skill set in moving pucks and play making potential.

Agreed, but really meh...feels like making a move for the sake of a marginal upgrade.

 

[BarDownBobo]

I don't see us getting a forward. Our forward acquisition will be Kane. The boost to our bottom six will be Podkolzin, or maybe Kane going down there. Kane has had nagging injuries handicapping him so long. If he comes back close to 100% that is huge.

2nd pair RD is the only core need left. I also believe goaltending is a core need but I can at least see the argument that our tandem can do it. So I do say we should go for that RD and if there is space and assets left, see if there's a Blackwood tier addition to goaltending to be found, someone who will play as much as Skinner or more.

They’ve got themselves into a weird spot with the forwards where they’ve arguably got too many of them, but it’s not necessarily the right mix of players. When they get healthy you’ve probably got Ryan as one of the healthy scratches but if that happens you have to slide RNH back to center where he’s less effective, move Henrique to 4C which feels like a waste having him that low in the lineup, and also means you don’t have a right shot faceoff option in your lineup. It feels like they’ll do some kind of a shuffle of the bottom 6 before the dust settles, likely targeting a right shot 4C unless they feel Philp can come up in the new year and fill that role.

 

[TheNumber4]

Apparent the Oilers ask was Kucherov and Cirelli for Draisaitl which is all very interesting.

Oilers had conversations with Lightning in 2019 about trade surrounding Leon Draisaitl and Nikita Kucherov

When Ken Holland arrived in Edmonton in May 2019, it didn’t take long...

oilersnation.com

Holy shit. Thank god Holland didn't make that move.

Agreed, but really meh...feels like making a move for the sake of a marginal upgrade.

I think with the right addition, a struggling defenceman could really take off under Knob's system. Or a mid-tier defenceman can be great, as we saw with Ekholm. I also worry a bit about Emberson/Stecher's lack of experience in the playoffs, so there needs to be some insurance on that front.

That said, the market isn't showing me much potential for that type of defenceman. The only name I really like is Provorov but he's a LD and likely goes to a team needing a LD that can/will extend him like f***in Vegas. Outside of that, it's Matheson and other guys with serious warts.

 

[TheNumber4]

Holy shit. It actually dropped?

Math has impressive games against Oilers and that sticks in the minds of Oilers personnel (even though it really shouldn't). And us as fans. It makes sense that he's the target from the organization.

He already plays RHD for Montreal. And he has the rumored skill set we are interested in. I watched a Matheson game recently (have video clips too and will post them). Out of the rumored guys out there, he hit the top of my list when I watched that one game. A decent game showing good to great outlets, some bad reads, a bit of physicality and puck battle effectiveness, good sticks/takeaways, one horrific giveaway. There's definitely warts in his game, but also positives that fit what we are looking for.

 

[belair]

Matheson sucks. That’s not a good enough upgrade. Grab Kostin at 50% retained with another team.

He doesn't suck, but I'm not sure he's the guy you want considering the cost of acquisition and intended role. He's stood out on teams that underperform, but I have a hard time seeing him thrive in a 'shutdown' role playing a considerable amount on his off-hand.

Good size, good speed, confident with the puck and breaks out decently. Essentially Broberg as a finished product. Wouldn't be the worst target, but a highly inflated asset.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Holy shit. It actually dropped?

Math has impressive games against Oilers and that sticks in the minds of Oilers personnel (even though it really shouldn't). And us as fans. It makes sense that he's the target from the organization.

He already plays RHD for Montreal. And he has the rumored skill set we are interested in. I watched a Matheson game recently (have video clips too and will post them). Out of the rumored guys out there, he hit the top of my list when I watched that one game. A decent game showing good to great outlets, some bad reads, a bit of physicality and puck battle effectiveness, good sticks/takeaways, one horrific giveaway. There's definitely warts in his game, but also positives that fit what we are looking for.

Due to Stauffer being on the OIler payroll--this could be viewed as tampering. Since that has been in discussion on the main boards

 

[TheNumber4]

If you ask Habs fans. Matheson is available and they would be happy to get rid of him. Which means there's obvious warts to his game. But also means they might not be fully realizing his value as they are so focused on the shiny new toy of Draft picks and prospects. They didn't see Kulak's potential, that's for sure and were happy to get rid of him for picks.

Due to Stauffer being on the OIler payroll--this could be viewed as tampering. Since that has been in discussion on the main boards

But he's a trade target and not a UFA though... doesn't make sense to me on the tampering front.

 

[McTonyBrar]

Matheson's metrics over the past three seasons are actually way worse than Ceci's haha.

Like we're talking bottom 10 in the league bad if it weren't for Ducks/Sharks players.

Sorry is he on a good team or bad team?

 

[McTonyBrar]

He doesn't suck, but I'm not sure he's the guy you want considering the cost of acquisition and intended role. He's stood out on teams that underperform, but I have a hard time seeing him thrive in a 'shutdown' role playing a considerable amount in his off-hand.

Good size, good speed, confident with the puck and breaks out decently. Essentially Broberg as a finished product. Wouldn't be the worst target, but a highly inflated asset.

Intended role? He plays top pair for Montreal with a rookie and a garbage team.

Here, he’d be on the 2nd pair with a good top 4 Dman.

 

[Sheikyerbouti]

They would probably ask for Savoie and maybe a bit more.

ya exactly, for anything of value teams will want Akey, Savioe, or our first next year, maybe orielly. We can't spend those assets on reclamations, so we are pretty much stuck waiting for a trade fit in value and money.

The situation makes not spending mid draft assets on Blackwood especially frustrating, because we had the flexibility, and he could potentially solve a significant issue.

 

[TheNumber4]

Cam Fowler @ 2x4M (2.5M Retained) for 2nd Round Pick and Biakabutuka (ECHLer, nothing player).

I'd imagine Matheson costing similar to Fowler, maybe a tad more. Both are having similarly mediocre to bad seasons, with Fowler's being worse. Let's say we get Matheson at 50% Retained (2.425M). So he comes in at a Cap hit of 2.425M, that should cost a 2nd and 3rd, around there. Not a bad cost.

Mike Matheson @ 2x2.425M (2.425M Retained) for 2nd Round Pick and 3rd Round Pick.

Would still leave us with about 2.5Mish to spend on the fabled 1B to Skinner if they go that route and everyone's happy.

 

[McDoused]

Montreal could be a one stop shop.

To Edmonton

Jake Evans @50% (850k)
Mike Matheson @50% (2.44M)
Sam Montembault (3.15M)

To Montreal:

2026 1st Round Pick
Stuart Skinner (2.6M)

 

[AddyTheWrath]

I still want Pulock.

Or Zub, but that seems unlikely with the Sens recent success.

Another option is Pettersson from Pittsburgh. Or maybe Sanheim shakes loose.

 

[Dirk Dangler]

I don't see us getting a forward. Our forward acquisition will be Kane. The boost to our bottom six will be Podkolzin, or maybe Kane going down there. Kane has had nagging injuries handicapping him so long. If he comes back close to 100% that is huge.

2nd pair RD is the only core need left. I also believe goaltending is a core need but I can at least see the argument that our tandem can do it. So I do say we should go for that RD and if there is space and assets left, see if there's a Blackwood tier addition to goaltending to be found, someone who will play as much as Skinner or more.

4th line centre still needs an upgrade. Plus we need to get a little harder to play against. Seeing a lot of liberties being taken this year.

 

[McHelpus]

Matheson sucks. That’s not a good enough upgrade. Grab Kostin at 50% retained with another team.

This team is not a Matheson away from a cup lmao

 

[Jumptheshark]

If you ask Habs fans. Matheson is available and they would be happy to get rid of him. Which means there's obvious warts to his game. But also means they might not be fully realizing his value as they are so focused on the shiny new toy of Draft picks and prospects. They didn't see Kulak's potential, that's for sure and were happy to get rid of him for picks.


But he's a trade target and not a UFA though... doesn't make sense to me on the tampering front.

Employees of NHL clubs are not suppose to talk about players under contract to other teams. A couple of years ago a coach said something like "I would love to have player X on my team tomorrow" and was told not to do it again.

This goes back to Larry Brooks being Larry Brooks and suggesting that the Rangers should go all in on Turtles brother who plays with the sens and the Sens owner complained to the NHL as he believes it was a planted story by someone with the Rangers to send a message to Turtles brother. Brooks does not work for the Rangers and that caused problems. Stauffer does work for the oilers--so why would it not cause problems.

On the flip side--that last time he did something like this 24 hours later we traded Ben Scrivens for Kassian.

 

[Jarvi]

Montreal could be a one stop shop.

To Edmonton

Jake Evans @50% (850k)
Mike Matheson @50% (2.44M)
Sam Montembault (3.15M)

To Montreal:

2026 1st Round Pick
Stuart Skinner (2.6M)

Drop the goalies and I'm ok with it.

I don't mind keeping Skinner, as long as we get an upgrade on Pickard. Skinner can still be the G of the future, and he has invaluable experience from last year. We need a capable vet that can potentially steal the starters role, and be an example for Skinner. We've largely gotten over throwing forwards and Dmen to the wolves, choosing to over ripen them til they decide to leave instead. Yet for goaltending, we threw Skinner to the wolves because we failed with Jack Campbell so spectacularly that we just decided "Stu's our guy" despite him not really earning it. And thats not Stu's fault, but our management's for not providing him the proper environment to have that healthy internal competition.

I think he will be a better netminder if he has to prove he should be the guy every night. There is really no threat for Pickard to steal the crease.

Give me Talbot, Quick, Fleury or someone like that and I'm happy. I think the only potential longterm solution in net is off the market, in Blackwood, so our best option is to get someone seasoned that has a wealth of experience to rely on, and to be able to disregard our goalie coaches. I don't like the idea of any of the younger goalies rumored, too much room for error.

 

[Dirk Dangler]

Agreed, but really meh...feels like making a move for the sake of a marginal upgrade.

A marginal upgrade? Over Stecher? Since moving to Montreal Matheson has put up .7 points per game. He had 62 points last year alone. It has taken Stecher the past 7 years to put up that many points. A marginal upgrade is a little bit pessimistic.

 

[belair]

Intended role? He plays top pair for Montreal with a rookie and a garbage team.

Here, he’d be on the 2nd pair with a good top 4 Dman.

Yes, intended role. Matheson is a guy who has inflated his offensive numbers as a primary PP option in Montreal. That provides absolutely no value to us, because he's a #4 in Edmonton likely fourth in line for regular PP duty.

Matheson is going to cost a 1st and a prospect at the very least, not even factoring in the necessary retention.