Who has the best OVERALL prospect pool in the NHL?

[OK Okposo]

Well, what exactly is so great about them? If you have faith that Kabanov is an elite prospect, for which you could certainly make a case, that improves them. But I just don't see that they have anywhere close to the overall quality of the teams I put in the top 5. Again, once you're past the top 3 (or 4), then you are into secondary territory. There are lots of teams with considerably more than that.



Well, they do have a top-notch prospect in Granlund, and very good ones in Scandella and Hackett. Granlund alone puts them well above the Flyers, and I don't see three prospects of that quality in the teams I have below them.




You would seriously rather have Nino Niederreiter, Travis Hamonic and Calvin DeHaan than Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and MPS? Or think that the Islanders lesser prospects are so much better than the Oilers' and will yield such great results that it outweighs the difference? When I buy an NHL team, you're not getting hired kompis.

Haha, man you really have it in for the Islanders. Did Garth Snow piss in your cornflakes or something? The fact that the majority of people ranking the Isles so high arent isles fans should tell you something. The oilers have a couple great players, but not much depth. They have no centers, no defense to speak of, and one legitimate goalie prospect.

Seems to me your just riding the hype train and basing your rankings off of first round picks and "blue chippers". Theres more to orginizational depth than that.

 

[xIsle]

This is why I came here and was surprised that the Islanders were getting some "best prospect pool" votes. Now that Tavares has graduated, they don't really have a blue-chip prospect. Depth is nice, but you do need high-end talent to have an elite prospect pool.

ok. Now take a look at the other teams and tell how many teams have more "Blue-chip prospect" than the Islanders? I think you'll be surprise...

And yes "Depth" is very important. The Habs have won their last two Stanley Cups because of their depth and of course, Patrick Roy's performance.

 

[CupofOil]

Haha, man you really have it in for the Islanders. Did Garth Snow piss in your cornflakes or something? The fact that the majority of people ranking the Isles so high arent isles fans should tell you something. The oilers have a couple great players, but not much depth. They have no centers, no defense to speak of, and one legitimate goalie prospect.

Seems to me your just riding the hype train and basing your rankings off of first round picks and "blue chippers". Theres more to orginizational depth than that.

More misconceptions about Oiler prospects coming from non-Oiler fans. It's amazing that so many non-Oiler fans think that the Oiler prospects consist of Hall, MPS, Eberle and not much else. The Oilers have plenty of capable centers in their prospect pool with Pitlick, Lander etc. and with Petry, Plante, Marincin, Peckham etc., the defense prospect pool is decent, it just lacks a top end defender and there are also players like Omark, Hartikanen, Rajala, Martindale and Hamilton who are all capable especially Omark and Hartikanen who doesn't get talked about nearly enough so there is more to the Oilers prospect pool than just the Big 3.

 

[OK Okposo]

More misconceptions about Oiler prospects coming from non-Oiler fans. It's amazing that so many non-Oiler fans think that the Oiler prospects consist of Hall, MPS, Eberle and not much else. The Oilers have plenty of capable centers in their prospect pool with Pitlick, Lander etc. and with Petry, Plante, Marincin, Peckham etc., the defense prospect pool is decent, it just lacks a top end defender and there are also players like Omark, Hartikanen, Rajala, Martindale and Hamilton who are all capable especially Omark and Hartikanen who doesn't get talked about nearly enough so there is more to the Oilers prospect pool than just the Big 3.

Not trying to trash the Oilers prospect pool but I would hardly call Pitlick (Isnt he a RW?) or Lander anything more than fringe prospects... Petry is decent but guys like Marincin and Peckham are more likely to be bottom pairing defensemen than anything too special. Omark is highly skilled but the problem is you guys have tons of highly skilled wingers.

The one thing I have heard from Oilers fans on these boards is that they lack prospects that have the capability of being a number 1 dman, and they lack prospects that have the capability of being a number 1 center. None of the guys you listed really strike me as filling either of those holes, and IMO a team in the top five overall prospect pools shouldnt have ANY holes or orginizational weaknesses. (Unless they are already part of the NHL team)

 

[One Trick Pony*]

Not trying to trash the Oilers prospect pool but I would hardly call Pitlick (Isnt he a RW?) or Lander anything more than fringe prospects... Petry is decent but guys like Marincin and Peckham are more likely to be bottom pairing defensemen than anything too special. Omark is highly skilled but the problem is you guys have tons of highly skilled wingers.

The one thing I have heard from Oilers fans on these boards is that they lack prospects that have the capability of being a number 1 dman, and they lack prospects that have the capability of being a number 1 center. None of the guys you listed really strike me as filling either of those holes, and IMO a team in the top five overall prospect pools shouldnt have ANY holes or orginizational weaknesses. (Unless they are already part of the NHL team)

You're absolutely right.

You're also absolutely blind in thinking the Oilers won't address those needs with another top-7 (maybe top-5) pick next year.

It's impossible to have a complete prospect pool, Florida gets a ton of credit even though they have no elite talent on the blue line or up front.

 

[CupofOil]

Not trying to trash the Oilers prospect pool but I would hardly call Pitlick (Isnt he a RW?) or Lander anything more than fringe prospects... Petry is decent but guys like Marincin and Peckham are more likely to be bottom pairing defensemen than anything too special. Omark is highly skilled but the problem is you guys have tons of highly skilled wingers.

The one thing I have heard from Oilers fans on these boards is that they lack prospects that have the capability of being a number 1 dman, and they lack prospects that have the capability of being a number 1 center. None of the guys you listed really strike me as filling either of those holes, and IMO a team in the top five overall prospect pools shouldnt have ANY holes or orginizational weaknesses. (Unless they are already part of the NHL team)

I'm not denying that the Oilers need a #1C and #1D prospect but you made it sound like they have little depth, no centers at all to speak of and no D at all to speak of which is certainly not the case.
As for Pitlick, he can play either C or RW but i believe that he's better suited to play center from what i read and Lander is very highly regarded as a leader and a good 2 way player so i could see those two having #2-#3C potential.
I think that Petry has an outside shot of being a top pairing defenseman, he has all the tools and if he learns to play more physical, that will make him that much better, Marincin is a project but apparently he has all the physical abilities, Plante and Peckham have already shown that they can at least play at the NHL level in their short stints so that's a positive sign.
I haven't seen Olivier Roy play but everything i read about him gets me excited to see what he can do and apparently he has a great shot of making the Canadian WJC team so i can't wait to see how well he does.
As for the wingers, Omark and Rajala are the definition of high boom-bust prospects and Hartikanen who's my sleeper has a great shot to be a very strong 3rd liner down the line.
My point is that the Oilers prospect pool is a whole lot more than just Hall, MPS and Eberle.

 

[Dominator13]

Rangers:

Kreider
McDonagh
Grachev
Stepan

..not too shabby

What? lol. If that's a nice prospect pool then i'll nominate the Habs who are a goalie prospect away from being top 5-10:
Subban
Eller
Leblanc
Kristo
Tinordi
Avstyn
Pacioretty
Webber.

 

[Qvist]

Haha, man you really have it in for the Islanders. Did Garth Snow piss in your cornflakes or something? The fact that the majority of people ranking the Isles so high arent isles fans should tell you something. The oilers have a couple great players, but not much depth. They have no centers, no defense to speak of, and one legitimate goalie prospect.

Incredible as it may seem to you, I am not ctually making an appraisal based on rabid fan sentiment one way or the other. I don't even have a favorite team, and have no particluar feelings one way or another about the Islanders. As far as I can see, the Islanders simpply do not have more than three - or at most four, if you include Kabanov - really good prospects. Many other teams seem better off than that to me.

"Depth" is overrated, and a balanced prospect pool is a pointless criterion. Nobody is going to get more than 5 or 6 players out of their current prospect pools, and once you're past the top 50-75 guys, the odds are slim. Nobody is going to get a balanced input of goalies, different kinds of defensemen, wingers, centers, scorers and checkers. What you can generally hope for is an impact player or two, never mind of what kind, and a few support guys who won't come made to order either.

Seems to me your just riding the hype train and basing your rankings off of first round picks and "blue chippers". Theres more to orginizational depth than that.

Oh, right - I'm just riding the hype train, whereas you have this arcane insight that tells you there's going to be players who are the Islanders 12th best prospect but will be impact players in the NHL because you've watched them at the prospects camp and they have all this great promise? You're right, I am assuming that the only players who have a really high likelihood of becoming good players in the NHL are those who currently have a high reputation as prospects. And the reason I do so is that this is how experience suggests that things work.

First-rounders? Sure, other than Maxim Goncharov, Jeff Petry, Marco Scandella, Matt Hackett, Tomas Tatar, Jeremy Morin, Viktor Stalberg, Jake Allen, Brad Marchand, Danny Kristo, PK Subban, Patrick Wiercioch, Robin Lehner, Steve Bozak, Eric Tangradi, Evgeny Grachev, Derek Stepan, Travis Hamonic, Drayson Bowman, Shawn Matthias, Jacob Markstrom and Patrice Cormier, every player I mentioned was a first-round pick.

In the HF Organisational ranking of April last, the Isles placed 20th. In the last THN FW, they were 8th - and that is not actually a prospects ranking but a ranking of performance at the past four drafts, including NHLers Tavares and Bailey. Neither is the bible, but on the other hand, either can lay claim to a good deal more authority than you or any number of posters in this thread. So clearly, it is not a self-evidently preposterous notion to argue that the Islanders prospect pool isn't among the five or ten best in the NHL.

 

[Qvist]

ok. Now take a look at the other teams and tell how many teams have more "Blue-chip prospect" than the Islanders? I think you'll be surprise...

And yes "Depth" is very important. The Habs have won their last two Stanley Cups because of their depth and of course, Patrick Roy's performance.

Yeah, depth is really important. But "depth" doesn't equate to having 15 prospects who might make the NHL as players with a meaningful impact, but aren't likely to.

There are at least 12 teams with more blue-chip prospects than the Islanders.

 

[Qvist]

What? lol. If that's a nice prospect pool then i'll nominate the Habs who are a goalie prospect away from being top 5-10:
Subban
Eller
Leblanc
Kristo
Tinordi
Avstyn
Pacioretty
Webber.

WTF does the Habs need a goalie prospect for? They're settled with Price for a decade and a half, if they want to. And the Habs are 5-10, in my opinion. And so are the Rangers.

 

[startainfection*]

Don't be that guy...

You would seriously rather have Nino Niederreiter, Travis Hamonic and Calvin DeHaan than Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and MPS? Or think that the Islanders lesser prospects are so much better than the Oilers' and will yield such great results that it outweighs the difference? When I buy an NHL team, you're not getting hired kompis.

well i based it on team needs and the character i want the islanders to have
i want tavares and bailey to have power forwards on both wings, all of the bottom six forwards to be grinders and power forwards and maybe a pest and i want a defense that can score but wont be making dumb decisions defensively to score

although the oilers have outstanding prospects i want toughness, size and speed
sure hall mps and eberle probably have better potential but thats also because they are going to be the core of the oilers rebuild while the islanders prospects compliment tavares, okposo and bailey better then hall, eberle and MPS would.

does that make sense?

 

[OK Okposo]

Incredible as it may seem to you, I am not ctually making an appraisal based on rabid fan sentiment one way or the other. I don't even have a favorite team, and have no particluar feelings one way or another about the Islanders. As far as I can see, the Islanders simpply do not have more than three - or at most four, if you include Kabanov - really good prospects. Many other teams seem better off than that to me.

"Depth" is overrated, and a balanced prospect pool is a pointless criterion. Nobody is going to get more than 5 or 6 players out of their current prospect pools, and once you're past the top 50-75 guys, the odds are slim. Nobody is going to get a balanced input of goalies, different kinds of defensemen, wingers, centers, scorers and checkers. What you can generally hope for is an impact player or two, never mind of what kind, and a few support guys who won't come made to order either.



Oh, right - I'm just riding the hype train, whereas you have this arcane insight that tells you there's going to be players who are the Islanders 12th best prospect but will be impact players in the NHL because you've watched them at the prospects camp and they have all this great promise? You're right, I am assuming that the only players who have a really high likelihood of becoming good players in the NHL are those who currently have a high reputation as prospects. And the reason I do so is that this is how experience suggests that things work.

In the HF Organisational ranking of April last, the Isles placed 20th. In the last THN FW, they were 8th - and that includes Tavares and others from the past four drafts who are already in the NHL. Neither is the bible, but on the other hand, either can lay claim to a good deal more authority than you or any number of posters in this thread. So clearly, it is not a self-evidently preposterous notion to argue that the Islanders prospect pool isn't among the five or ten best in the NHL.

Whatever dude, earlier in the thread you admitted you dont know jack about the Isles prospects anyway, so theres no point in trying to convince you anything. LOL WHO NEEDS DEPTH? BLUE CHIPS!

Forgive me if I'm bias, as I am an Isles fan. Not saying were the best, but your slander against the team and its prospects is ridiculous. To claim that they are not even top ten is ridiculous. Our 20th rated prospect on HF led the USHL in scoring for gods sakes.

 

[startainfection*]

Our 20th rated prospect on HF led the USHL in scoring for gods sakes.

anders lee didnt lead the ushl in scoring, he won rookie of the year but still its impressive yet i always seem to forget about him

 

[OK Okposo]

anders lee didnt lead the ushl in scoring, he won rookie of the year but still its impressive yet i always seem to forget about him

Fine, whatever. Qvist, believe what you want. Internet arguments give me a headache.

 

[One Trick Pony*]

well i based it on team needs and the character i want the islanders to have
i want tavares and bailey to have power forwards on both wings, all of the bottom six forwards to be grinders and power forwards and maybe a pest and i want a defense that can score but wont be making dumb decisions defensively to score

although the oilers have outstanding prospects i want toughness, size and speed
sure hall mps and eberle probably have better potential but thats also because they are going to be the core of the oilers rebuild while the islanders prospects compliment tavares, okposo and bailey better then hall, eberle and MPS would.

does that make sense?

I really do think the Oilers are farther along in their rebuild than the Isles, so no, I don't agree with what you said.

It'd be nice if both teams could relive their glorious past sometime this decade.

 

[AwesomePanthers]

Well, what exactly is so great about them? If you have faith that Kabanov is an elite prospect, for which you could certainly make a case, that improves them. But I just don't see that they have anywhere close to the overall quality of the teams I put in the top 5. Again, once you're past the top 3 (or 4), then you are into secondary territory. There are lots of teams with considerably more than that.



Well, they do have a top-notch prospect in Granlund, and very good ones in Scandella and Hackett. Granlund alone puts them well above the Flyers, and I don't see three prospects of that quality in the teams I have below them.




You would seriously rather have Nino Niederreiter, Travis Hamonic and Calvin DeHaan than Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and MPS? Or think that the Islanders lesser prospects are so much better than the Oilers' and will yield such great results that it outweighs the difference? When I buy an NHL team, you're not getting hired kompis.

Well, I believe in having different types of players. To me Hall, MPS and Eberle are quite simular. Oilers lack defence prospects and not sure about their goalie prospects. That's why they aren't in my top5.

If you gonna compair NYI and Oliers prospects, its only fair to ask someone about Tavares or Hall. Both first overall, one year apart. And then you can ask if you would take MPS and Eberle over Niederreiter and Bailey. Bailey was drafted the same year as Eberle, so that Bailey played on a team letting him get his chance shouldn't matter in this discusion about who you'd pick then.
I know that Bailey and Tavares isn't prospect, but they were drafted the same year so it really shouldn't matter in a case where you have to pick one over the other, because a team choose to develope their players differently.

Yeah, Minnesota added Granlund, but that doesn't mean that they jump the prospect list. Other teams picked great prospects too, and Wild clearly has one of the weakest prospect pools in the league. Every team has some decent players like you mentioned, but Wild is in the bottom 5 of prospect pools (probably bottom 3 too).

 

[One Trick Pony*]

Well, I believe in having different types of players. To me Hall, MPS and Eberle are quite simular. Oilers lack defence prospects and not sure about their goalie prospects. That's why they aren't in my top5.

If you gonna compair NYI and Oliers prospects, its only fair to ask someone about Tavares or Hall. Both first overall, one year apart. And then you can ask if you would take MPS and Eberle over Niederreiter and Bailey. Bailey was drafted the same year as Eberle, so that Bailey played on a team letting him get his chance shouldn't matter in this discusion about who you'd pick then.
I know that Bailey and Tavares isn't prospect, but they were drafted the same year so it really shouldn't matter in a case where you have to pick one over the other, because a team choose to develope their players differently.

Yeah, Minnesota added Granlund, but that doesn't mean that they jump the prospect list. Other teams picked great prospects too, and Wild clearly has one of the weakest prospect pools in the league. Every team has some decent players like you mentioned, but Wild is in the bottom 5 of prospect pools (probably bottom 3 too).

The Oilers don't lack goaltending prospects, as Olivier Roy is someone fans and scouts are extremely high on, and he should get his recognition this December (hopefully) at the World Juniors.

As for the defense prospects, Marincin and Petry are nice guys who should round out a top-4 in their NHL career, but neither are No.1 material.

 

[Dominator13]

WTF does the Habs need a goalie prospect for? They're settled with Price for a decade and a half, if they want to. And the Habs are 5-10, in my opinion. And so are the Rangers.

I never said the Habs needed a goalie prospect, i said we needed a goalie prospect to move up in ranks for overall best prospects pool. The Rangers are nowhere near top 5 imo.

 

[startainfection*]

I really do think the Oilers are farther along in their rebuild than the Isles

you cant possibly be serious about that, the isles are already at the point of there rebuild where their goal is making the playoffs
the oilers have a few years left of drafting in the top 5

 

[Duke749]

Machacek, Carrozzi, Klingberg and Kulda, sure. How could I forget.

Look, Homer. There are 20 guys on every team who have a chance to make the NHL and who showed potential at prospect camp. It's just that nearly all of them won't. Atlanta has Burmistrov, Cormier and then pretty much the same kind of bunch of longshots that all the other teams have (and in fact I don't even think their secondary prospects look very strong, compared to many other teams). If you think that's one of the better prospect groups in the NHL, dream on.

And sorry, but that last paragraph of yours deserves to stand as a near-perfect summation of the mental processes behind chronic fan over-rating of own prospects.

Your right, Mahachek doesn't have a very good shot at winning the open 3rd line winger spot. Kulda isn't basically the 6th/7th d-men onthe roster.

Your reasoning for putting Atlanta 24th on your list was because they traded away a lot of their prospects. They traded away Morin and Vishnevsky, just two players. So somehow they go from being top 7 to being bottom 7 just because they traded away those 2?

The only changes since the last rankings was trading those 2 and adding more from the draft. I never even said they were one of the better ones. They are obviously one of the more underrated prospect pools as you have shown. With all due respect to Calgary, but how exactly do they have better prospects then Atlanta?

 

[One Trick Pony*]

you cant possibly be serious about that, the isles are already at the point of there rebuild where their goal is making the playoffs
the oilers have a few years left of drafting in the top 5

Really?

To be completely honest with you, the Oilers roster is just as terrible as the Isles at the moment.

Tavares
Okposo
Bailey
Hunter
Schremp
Nielsen
Konopka
Comeau
Weight
Parenteau
Martin
Sim
Gillies
Streit
Wisniewski
Jurcina
Eaton
Martinek
MacDonald
Hillen
DiPietro
Roloson

vs.

Hemsky
Hall
Eberle
Paajarvi
Brule
Penner
Gagner
Horcoff
Cogliano
Fraser
Jones
MacIntyre
Stortini
Whitney
Gilbert
Smid
Souray
Foster
Vandermeer
Strudwick
Khabibulin
Gerber

I've resigned myself to the fact that Souray will start the year off as an Oiler. Both teams have similar forwards, with the advantage going to the Oilers because Hemsky and Penner are likely to score more than Tavares or Okposo in a full year. The edge also goes to the Oilers on defense (if Souray starts), but the Isles have a huge advantage in goal.

I think both teams are literally at the same position. The Oilers, have come to accept that another lottery pick is likely, yet you're convinced the Isles are a playoff team?

 

[OK Okposo]

Really?

To be completely honest with you, the Oilers roster is just as terrible as the Isles at the moment.

Tavares
Okposo
Bailey
Hunter
Schremp
Nielsen
Konopka
Comeau
Weight
Parenteau
Martin
Sim
Gillies
Streit
Wisniewski
Jurcina
Eaton
Martinek
MacDonald
Hillen
DiPietro
Roloson

vs.

Hemsky
Hall
Eberle
Paajarvi
Brule
Penner
Gagner
Horcoff
Cogliano
Fraser
Jones
MacIntyre
Stortini
Whitney
Gilbert
Smid
Souray
Foster
Vandermeer
Strudwick
Khabibulin
Gerber

I've resigned myself to the fact that Souray will start the year off as an Oiler. Both teams have similar forwards, with the advantage going to the Oilers because Hemsky and Penner are likely to score more than Tavares or Okposo in a full year. The edge also goes to the Oilers on defense (if Souray starts), but the Isles have a huge advantage in goal.

I think both teams are literally at the same position. The Oilers, have come to accept that another lottery pick is likely, yet you're convinced the Isles are a playoff team?

Forwards are a wash, Penner and Hemsky are better than anything we got but you have to remember that Hall, Eberle, and MPS are rookies and likely wont dazzle people in their first full year in the NHL. I'm sure Hall will put up decent numbers but the fact remains that you guys are icing three rookies in your top 9, likely two in your top six.

Defense goes to the Isles. Streit and Wisniewski are superior to Souray IMO, an injury riddled locker room cancer that the Oilers couldnt even give away. Andy Mac and Hillen are both looking promising and Eaton is fairly reliable. Dont judge the Isles defense based on last year, it is much improved.

Were both screwed on goal. Roli is an artifact and DP is made of glass. I would agree with you that the Isles arent particularily close to reaching the playoffs, but its not as cut and dry as you would make it out to be.

 

[Seachd]

Not trying to trash the Oilers prospect pool but I would hardly call Pitlick (Isnt he a RW?) or Lander anything more than fringe prospects... Petry is decent but guys like Marincin and Peckham are more likely to be bottom pairing defensemen than anything too special. Omark is highly skilled but the problem is you guys have tons of highly skilled wingers.

Pitlick and Lander are fringe prospects? One has done nothing but impress since being drafted a little over a year ago. The other one was drafted two months ago.

I'd like to hear how "fringe" you think Koskinen and Nelson are.

 

[s7ark]

As for the defense prospects, Marincin and Petry are nice guys who should round out a top-4 in their NHL career, but neither are No.1 material.

True, but how many teams have a likely number 1 D prospect? St Louis, Phoenix probably and maybe Florida and Anaheim? Number 1 D prospects are rare. If the Oilers are to be judged heavily by the fact that they don't have a number 1 D prospect so should 25 other teams. Petry, Marincin and maybe even Plante have 2/3 upside and Peckham and Chorney could turn into NHLers too. Why is our depth at D to be ignored when other teams depth overall is to be praised?

We have top end talent at forward, plus depth/wildcard guys like Omark, Pitlick, Lander, Hartikainen, Vande Velde, Rajala, Hamilton, Martindale, etc. We have depth at D with the name I mentioned above. We have a solid goalie prospect in Roy who should compete for the starting job at the WJC, and perhaps a wildcard in Bunz. How does that not get us into the top 5?

Note: I am not asking you specifically OTP, it is more of a general question, you just got me rambling

you cant possibly be serious about that, the isles are already at the point of there rebuild where their goal is making the playoffs
the oilers have a few years left of drafting in the top 5

The Oilers got an early start when we took Gagner, Eberle, and MPS before we bottomed out and got Hall. If the Oilers have a relatively injury free season(knock on wood) playoffs aren't out of the question. Although to be fair, if we even get 1/2 the significant injuries of last year the playoff are impossible.

However, I think the Isle are in the same boat. Even in the East, they aren't likely going to be a top 8 team. If they don't get killed by injuries, they are probably looking at an 8-13 pick this year with the playoffs happening next year.

 

[One Trick Pony*]

True, but how many teams have a likely number 1 D prospect? St Louis, Phoenix probably and maybe Florida and Anaheim? Number 1 D prospects are rare. If the Oilers are to be judged heavily by the fact that they don't have a number 1 D prospect so should 25 other teams. Petry, Marincin and maybe even Plante have 2/3 upside and Peckham and Chorney could turn into NHLers too. Why is our depth at D to be ignored when other teams depth overall is to be praised?

We have top end talent at forward, plus depth/wildcard guys like Omark, Pitlick, Lander, Hartikainen, Vande Velde, Rajala, Hamilton, Martindale, etc. We have depth at D with the name I mentioned above. We have a solid goalie prospect in Roy who should compete for the starting job at the WJC, and perhaps a wildcard in Bunz. How does that not get us into the top 5?

Note: I am not asking you specifically OTP, it is more of a general question, you just got me rambling




The Oilers got an early start when we took Gagner, Eberle, and MPS before we bottomed out and got Hall. If the Oilers have a relatively injury free season(knock on wood) playoffs aren't out of the question. Although to be fair, if we even get 1/2 the significant injuries of last year the playoff are impossible.

However, I think the Isle are in the same boat. Even in the East, they aren't likely going to be a top 8 team. If they don't get killed by injuries, they are probably looking at an 8-13 pick this year with the playoffs happening next year.

Exactly.

The Oilers were extremely fortunate that they were able to snag Paajarvi and Eberle where they did (absolute foolery by other GM's, in hindsight), and that Gagner is slowly developing into a core player and a cornerstone for the rebuild.

Hall was the cap-off for the last four years of misery, and its very likely that we finish with another top-5 pick next season.

Both teams are atleast a year away from contending for the playoffs, however, the Oilers have the advantage over the Isles for these reasons.

- They have two legitimate 1st line talents, both on contract years a year from now.
- They have the ability to spend to the cap