Rumor: Rumours and Proposals PART6 for 2016/2017-Complaint window 1 is now open

[CornKicker]

so he cant play 82 games because he started in the a last season? please explain that logic

What? i never mentioned the AHL at all. I was pointing out the FACT that after him and hall went on their great run of outscoring the opposition he disappeared around january. Presumably because he was not ready to handle the rigors of an 82 game schedule. He can physically play 82 games, can he be an effective consistent player in those 82 games? maybe but he hasnt shown yet that he can so there is "legit concerns".

 

[guymez]

the best part about HFOil is i completely disagreed with most of what guymez was posting all afternoon and now i am arguing from his point of view. lol

lol.

My points are not that contentious.

I have been arguing all along that the Oilers need more experience on RW and that they are foolish in not addressing that problem.

Some posters are trying to suggest that I lack hockey IQ by stating this and that I dont like players like Caggiula and that Draisaitl on RW is as good as proven.

Silliness.

 

[the pen is mightier]

Barkov got a lot of sheltering his first season and struggled a lot, and I would argue he was a more NHL ready prospect than Pulju was. Is a ~20 point season worth wasting one of Pulju's ELC years on? I'd prefer he learn the NA game in the AHL, with the bonus that we don't have to deal with another high profile contract renewal right after McDavid gets his massive payday.

I don't recall anyone saying that he couldn't be sent down. So if he does go to the AHL, then someone moves up or they go out and find a 3rw, not too big of a deal, and not too hard to do.

 

[lakai17]

So uh, we trade away Yakupov, don't pick up PAP on waivers and then have Versteeg sign somewhere else. Great. Just when it was looking like we'd go into a season with some depth for once.

can't Cagguila still center the third line to place Drai on right wing in the top 6? that ultimately makes the top 6 stronger than Drai centering the third line.

 

[Stud Muffin]

Weren't Rosters suppose to be set by now?

 

[CornKicker]

lol.

My points are not that contentious.

I have been arguing all along that the Oilers need more experience on RW and that they are foolish in not addressing that problem.

Many posters are trying to suggest that I lack hockey IQ by stating this and that I dont like players like Caggiula.

Silliness.

it really is my favorite,

post - "we lack RW depth"

reaction "why do you hate xxxx and xxxx " then you get a whole argument about why xxxx is better than versteeg.

I agree about the depth. i disagree that versteeg is the answer and i think Chia will address this issue soon.

 

[CaptainSexyPants]

Silly? Aside form the defence RW is the weakest part of this team.

The depth is as follows....

Eberle
Draisaitl (20 year old player playing out of position)
Puljujarvi (an 18 year old that has virtually no experience on NA ice)
Zack Kassian (not good enough to be a consistent top 9 player)
Tyler Pitlick ( a 24 year old career AHL'er)

Perplexing how so many posters are fine with this.

RW isn't worth freaking out about, IMO.

- Eberle...legit 1st line RW, nothing to complain about. People can go ahead and say 'what if he gets injured?' but that's a looking-for-problems statement. It can be said of almost any team and position, and you can't stack your team with two at every spot to try and prepare for it.
- Draisaitl...the kid had 51 points in 72 games and is coming off of a strong WCH performance with some pretty impressive endorsements. I'm okay with a guy like that on the 2nd line. (And RW's an easier position to play than C, so I'm not sure why anyone would be worried. I get wanting to keep him at C for development, but to be 'weak' as a RW, I don't see it.)
- Pulju...as a sheltered #3? Sure, ok. See how he does...or don't. Whatever, I'm not about to say I'm more qualified to make that call than McLellan is. If he stinks send him down and move on to Kassian.
- Kassian...completely fine with him as a #3. Not much offense but still some upside there, and even if he's not scoring I don't think the other team enjoys playing against him. Much needed pain in the arse.
- Pitlick...#4...maybe? Meh. We're not gift wrapping him top minutes for 82 games. If he doesn't cut it he doesn't stick around; we give his 7 minutes to someone hungrier or we bring a guy in off of waivers or through a minor trade. 'Okay 4th liner' isn't a tough spot to fill, and it isn't going to make-or-break very many games for us.

Versteeg would have been nice for some depth but it's not a big loss.

 

[McPuritania]

lol.

My points are not that contentious.

I have been arguing all along that the Oilers need more experience on RW and that they are foolish in not addressing that problem.

Some posters are trying to suggest that I lack hockey IQ by stating this and that I dont like players like Caggiula and that Draisaitl on RW is as good as proven.

Silliness.

The Oilers are trying to address the RW position. They offered a contract to Versteeg, and they are looking at swapping Fayne with retention for a veteran RW'er.

 

[BlackDogg]

Ughh. What a week, both Yak and Versteeg will be lighting it up this week.

 

[guymez]

can't Cagguila still center the third line to place Drai on right wing I'm the top 6? that ultimately makes the top 6 stronger than Drai centering the third line.

Caggiula = unproven
Daisaitl on RW = unproven

There is a theme here and its not very comforting.

 

[Old Boys Club]

Hopefully Chia is able to address the holes on RW in the next week, but I highly doubt anything will happen. Thank god the reg season starts tomorrow.

 

[Del Preston]

weren't rosters suppose to be set by now?

 

[guymez]

The Oilers are trying to address the RW position. They offered a contract to Versteeg, and they are looking at swapping Fayne with retention for a veteran RW'er.

Didnt hear about the Fayne rumor. I cant imaging he has much value around the League especially at $3.5M.

Sounds to me like this may mean taking back a bad contract.

History suggests that trades aren't easy to make once the season starts so this lineup is likely to be what we have for at least 10-15 games.

 

[undertow]

lol.

My points are not that contentious.

I have been arguing all along that the Oilers need more experience on RW and that they are foolish in not addressing that problem.

Some posters are trying to suggest that I lack hockey IQ by stating this and that I dont like players like Caggiula and that Draisaitl on RW is as good as proven.

Silliness.

do you consider yzerman to be foolish? 2 rw on the entire team and they are a cup favourite. actually, please name us a team that has 4 rw with no rfa

 

[oobga]

I don't recall anyone saying that he couldn't be sent down. So if he does go to the AHL, then someone moves up or they go out and find a 3rw, not too big of a deal, and not too hard to do.

I'm just guessing that the Oilers fully intent to give Pulju the push to develop his game in the NHL based on everything we've seen/heard. Stauffer has been pumping Pulju all summer. Versteeg told outright that him having a solid spot in the lineup is questionable. And just general history of how the Oilers handle their forward prospects. My guess is that the Pulju has a spot now and he needs to be extremely bad to lose it. Could go very much like Drai's season did a couple years ago.

 

[Blitzago*]

Caggiula = unproven
Daisaitl on RW = unproven

There is a theme here and its not very comforting.

Do you remember that Drai started on the wing early on last year with RNH and Hall? and he put up more points there than center, so hes proven at RW.

 

[ujju2]

RW isn't worth freaking out about, IMO.

- Eberle...legit 1st line RW, nothing to complain about. People can go ahead and say 'what if he gets injured?' but that's a looking-for-problems statement. It can be said of almost any team and position, and you can't stack your team with two at every spot to try and prepare for it.
- Draisaitl...the kid had 51 points in 72 games and is coming off of a strong WCH performance with some pretty impressive endorsements. I'm okay with a guy like that on the 2nd line. (And RW's an easier position to play than C, so I'm not sure why anyone would be worried. I get wanting to keep him at C for development, but to be 'weak' as a RW, I don't see it.)
- Pulju...as a sheltered #3? Sure, ok. See how he does...or don't. Whatever, I'm not about to say I'm more qualified to make that call than McLellan is. If he stinks send him down and move on to Kassian.
- Kassian...completely fine with him as a #3. Not much offense but still some upside there, and even if he's not scoring I don't think the other team enjoys playing against him. Much needed pain in the arse.
- Pitlick...#4...maybe? Meh. We're not gift wrapping him top minutes for 82 games. If he doesn't cut it he doesn't stick around; we give his 7 minutes to someone hungrier or we bring a guy in off of waivers or through a minor trade. 'Okay 4th liner' isn't a tough spot to fill, and it isn't going to make-or-break very many games for us.

Versteeg would have been nice for some depth but it's not a big loss.

Hit the nail on the head. However, I don't think we'll find someone hungrier than Pitlick. Always really liked how he plays, hope he stays healthy. I'd rather also make a trade for a 3Rw than play Kassian there, but it's not a big deal either way.

 

[guymez]

do you consider yzerman to be foolish? 2 rw on the entire team and they are a cup favourite. actually, please name us a team that has 4 rw with no rfa

Better yet...instead of trying to frame my argument for me how about naming another team that doesnt have just 1 experienced top 9 RW.

Keep in mind that this has been an Oilers calling card ofr years now. Play the rookies in situations they shouldnt be oin and hope for th4e best.

Lets just say that I am tried of expecting this proven formula for failure to come out as a success.

 

[Tyrolean]

Next time an Alberta area player comes on a PTO make it a condition that he cannot sign in Cowtown for at least a year. I am serious.

 

[guymez]

Do you remember that Drai started on the wing early on last year with RNH and Hall? and he put up more points there than center, so hes proven at RW.

How many games was that?
Also...the main driver on that line (Taylor Hall) is gone.

You and I have different definitions of 'proven'.

 

[Jean Ralphio]

Is Benning a part of the current 23?

 

[Senor Catface]

Losing Versteeg seems a little stupid to me, but it's RW. It's really the least of a team's concerns.

Pittsburgh had Kessel, Hornqvist then...Kuhnhackl and Fehr.

San Jose had Joel Ward then...Karlsson and Brown.

It truly is one of those positions where you clearly don't need depth 1-4.

It's a clear exaggeration on the damage this would cause to us being competitive.

But, it's dumb. Give Puljujarvi time in the AHL and give Versteeg an extra 250 or whatever it would have taken.

 

[ujju2]

Better yet...instead of trying to frame my argument for me how about naming another team that doesnt have just 1 experienced top 9 RW.

Keep in mind that this has been an Oilers calling card ofr years now. Play the rookies in situations they shouldnt be oin and hope for th4e best.

Lets just say that I am tried of expecting this proven formula for failure to come out as a success.

So where do you think Drai should be. Not a rookie either.

 

[Stud Muffin]

Yes but Benning and Lander have yet to be assigned and The Gryba deal still isn't official.

 

[the pen is mightier]

I'm just guessing that the Oilers fully intent to give Pulju the push to develop his game in the NHL based on everything we've seen/heard. Stauffer has been pumping Pulju all summer. Versteeg told outright that him having a solid spot in the lineup is questionable. And just general history of how the Oilers handle their forward prospects. My guess is that the Pulju has a spot now and he needs to be extremely bad to lose it. Could go very much like Drai's season did a couple years ago.

Fair enough, however, last season they started Drai in the AHL, so I think the new regime has shown they aren't afraid to send guys down. And I think the comment about not having a concrete spot for Versteeg makes sense as well, why lie and guarantee it to him? Pulju could do just fine and then Versteeg is stuck as a 4th liner and blew his shot at CGYs first line. Between the Fayne rumblings and what the acquisition cost would be for another 3rw, I'm not too stressed.