Now that the UFA's are mostly done it's time for each NHL team to look at the depth positions and (for some) make sure they can fit under the cap.Some signings today (Isbister to VCR an example) tell us that you can get a "replacement level" NHL player for less than $600,000 in the new NHL. That group is big but finite and while a guy like Isbister has NHL experience he also brings his own headaches and limitations.
The kids they can offer are making that or more and won't be able to help a team much this season due to inexperience but I suspect some of them have enough upside to get the job done in terms of trade value (possibly as part of a package).
That's why a kid like Marc Pouliot might be a little bit in danger here. He's got some NHL experience and looks like he might be a guy who can help you win hockey games. A team shopping their $4M veteran might ask for a Pouliot over someone like Rob Schremp (as an example) because he has NHL experience.
The Oilers have several forwards and defenders either ready or close to ready for NHL action. Among those "most ready" we'd have to put Robert Nilsson($1.013M), Marc Pouliot($942,400), Tom Gilbert($907,500), Jean-Francois Jacques($668,333), Kyle Brodziak($516,500), Mathieu Roy($475,000).
From that list, I bet Pouliot is the guy they're after.
Pouliot or Gilbert and of course those are the two guys I'd be most loathe to give up on.
ReplyDeleteIf getting Murray is going to cost one of those guys, no thanks.
I'd rather take my lumps. Even with Murray I'll be taking them anyway.
100% agreed. I don't care about the rest. Hold on to Gilbert (a 0.5 ppg defenseman) and Pouliot!
ReplyDeletePouliot at this point actually appears to be a kid who may be a roster player - so dealing him means robbing Peter to pay Paul. Who plays center if we trade MAP? The options are not pretty in the bottom six if they include two of Reasoner (done IMHO) Brodziak or Petersen.
ReplyDeleteGilbert has potential but the logjam of young dmen make him much more available to trade IMHO. I still want another top 4 dman of the tough stay at home variety so that we don't throw Pitkanen to the wolves right away. In fact 2 more would be nice - but being realistic a Kubina or a Sutton could be a god-send. Sutton would cost nothing but money but Kubina would require assets and we already traded our best young chip in Lupul (I still cant believe Holmgren made that deal). So one of the Gmen (Greene, Grebs, Gilbert) is likely available.
JFJ - Christ I don't know what to think of him - but trading him now seems like a bad idea even though the rational part of me is screaming "he sucks".
Schremp, Cogs, Gagner, Nilssen - exactly how many of these guys do we need? This is one of the reasons I wanted Voracek over Gagner - but Schremp leaving would not make me overly unhappy.
As for Murray - give them the ANA first rounder and eat the salary which we have plenty to spare - then trade Schremp and Gilbert for Kubina.
Sanderson/Nilssen Horcoff Hemsky
Torres MAP Murray
Moreau Stoll Pisani
Sanderson/Nilssen Reasoner Stortini/Ashram
Pitkanen Kubina
Tarnstrom Staios
Smid Greene Grebs
Roloson/Garon
Still want Murray and Kubina in trade and Ashram as a UFA. Sutton and Johnson as UFA signings if we cant make a trade - not thrilled with that but it's better than playing kids.
Let's hope they trade nobody over 6 ft or 200 lbs
ReplyDeleteNo kidding. They're getting a little small.
ReplyDeleteLT: I think it comes down to how much credit you can give NHL GMs. Do they truly recognize that Pouliot is clearly ahead of all those guys you listed? Does Lowe know this? (Not sure, but he picked the right guy to keep for the wing this week)
The bottom line is that it depends on what they would get in this hypothetical deal. I agree with asiaoild regarding the roster player issue, but if they were to snag a big fish and Pouliot was the one roster item you were waffling over... Well, you'd have to send him off.
They're not trading Gilbert or Pouliot. Simple as that.
ReplyDeleteI think Schremp is most likely to go. Nilsson makes him redundant in a sense.
And my darkhorse pick to be dealt is Ladislav Smid. Why? High return, people....
I now read your blog to find out what is never going to happen
ReplyDeletejeff: That was funny, and you're right! In fairness to me though, who on EARTH could have predicted the Oilers moves the last 12 months?
ReplyDeleteRiv - IIRC you are in ATL right? If so what's your take on Sutton? Worthwhile or worthless?
ReplyDeleteI am guessing teams are asking for MAP and the oil are saying how about Gilbert instead. Though I think for the right deal they could be talked into either.
ReplyDeleteAsia - If we could get both Murray and Kubina. That is a lot of dough to take on but man I would be an awful happy camper.
Hmm... Can't stand Sutton. He runs around for the hit all the time. As one can imagine, that's a really bad quality on the PK too - no wonder ATL's PK unit was so freaking awful. His mobility is poor as well. I suppose he'd be OK if the price was right, but it won't be so there's really no point.
ReplyDeleteI think there are still several UFA dmen out there that would be better choices. Hejda or Markov would be far better.
Got a revised Kubina deal in mind?
Anyway, the forward ranks are the real problem. They needed another top sixer before Smyth left and now they need to replace him as well. I'd like to see Slava Kozlov here on a 2-year deal. That would be ideal given the circumstances.
Fuck, I don't want to lose MP. He's an NHLer at this point and though we haven't seen a sustained offensive attack, the kid knows how to keep the puck out of his own net. And as much as we need someone to make the PP hum, MP's aforementioned skill has to count for something.
ReplyDeleteIf you really want or have to deal him, I imagine he'll fetch more NEXT summer. It sucks that we can't add anyone via FA but let's not throw away the kids we have who are are sure can play in the bigs
I agree with Dennis for once :)
ReplyDeleteDoes bringing in a number of older borderline vets at this point improve your chances much in a very tough conference?
I loved the Pitkanen deal and like the Tarnstrom and Garon deals. To date Lowe has kept from making a dumb panic move that will cost the team in the future. If they are going to bring in anyone it should be a young guy with potential like Pitkanen or an older vet with 1 or 2 years on the contract/signing at the most (tarnstrom).
Frankly if its around $4M bucks (they have plenty of cap space) I wouldn't mind seeing Yashin as he can probably be had on a 1 or 2 year deal rather than the stupid "terms" other "undamaged" players are getting. If your going to make a mistake better to be a short one and let the kids continue to develop.
To date Lowe has kept from making a dumb panic move that will cost the team in the future.
ReplyDeleteActually, only Nylander's agent prevented him from doing that, but point taken.
Trade Pouloit or Gilbert? No way. They are the Oilers two top NHL proven/ready guys in the system. If it has to be one of the many, I choose Nilsson (worth next to nothing I suspect).
ReplyDeleteGaron or Toivonen...?
I like the signing of Garon. He is a good 2nd choice IMO. I would rather have Toivonen but what do I know (WAY more upside).
Either way, goaltending should not be the Oilers problem next season.
That we can all agree on.
Thanks for the info Riv - like the physical aspect but not so much the rest of it. Like you said if the price is right - but he's getting Staios dough at least.
ReplyDeleteYeah Kubina makes even more sense now IMHO since we dealt a RH shot in Smith and brought Dick and the Finn in who are LH shots. He could eat ES minutes, no need for much PP production and we wouldn't have to rush Pitkanen quite as much. I'd start with Schremp, JFJ, Nilssen, Gilbert, Grebs are all in play as far as I'm concerned.
I'm OK getting the goalies and dmen solidly in place and being solid at ES this season - then seeing how it goes
Saw quite a bit of Kubina this year and the guy is solid. I would think the Leafs would prefer to move McCabe though.
ReplyDeleteThey could afford to pay Murray but does having him a)make the team that much better and b)take away ABs from a kid you should get his shot now to see what he can do (I'm talking Nilsson)
I would presume he would cost nothing as Boston is trying to get rid of his contract.
rivers' point says it all - at this juncture you move Pouliot but only if it brings back someone of quality who is going to help this team now and down the road - sending him away for Wade Redden without signing him to an extension would be foolish - an extended Redden would give three quality NHL dmen for the enxt four years (lets say) - good move
Not to say they should chase Redden - just the first guy who popped into mind
Have Comrie and Carter signed anywhere yet?
I could live with Pouliot being gone. I want Gilbert to be left alone, I like him lots!
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty apparent they had no interest in Hejda - not sure what they don't see in him.
ReplyDeleteWhat was the D called by some wag? A puppy mill?
Either way, goaltending should not be the Oilers problem next season.
ReplyDeleteThat we can all agree on.
... until at least February when the Oilers have yet to record their 30th win and Roloson quietly requests a trade to a contender, that is.
I don't know if its all that important, but Hejda was another Left Hand Shot LD.
ReplyDeleteLHS Pitkanen, Tarnstrom, Smid, Grebeshkov
RHS Staios, Greene, Gilbert, Roy
The Smid experiment will continue. That's why Hejda didn't fit.
Find me another vet for that right side please!
Wow, Hejda signed with the BJ's. I honestly thought the Oil would be bringing him back.
ReplyDeleteAndy. True enough. Maybe it's a sign the karma is changing...
ReplyDeleteSucks about Hjeda. I think he will do well with the jackets
Howson's inside info pays off. Hejda will once again be one of the steals of free agency.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Hedja didn't want to come back? How come everyone assumes they didn't make an offer to him?
ReplyDeleteGreene now signed for another 2 years
ReplyDeleteInteresting to speculate that the Oilers will deal one of their young pups for more veteran assistance - but I'm curious, what is the status of Robbie Schremp with the team?
ReplyDeleteI have him as a prospect in my pool, and I had assumed hockey-Jesus would have been ready for prime-time by now - or at the least traded away for something useful.
From what I saw of his AHL numbers, they weren't great, has he simply torched his rep so bad, he's stuck in the A?
With this lineup:
ReplyDeleteLHS Pitkanen, Tarnstrom, Smid, Grebeshkov
RHS Staios, Greene, Gilbert, Roy
...a Kubina deal would look awfully nice and worry about upgrading the forwards as we go. Sub Kubina for Gilbert and the defense is looking pretty darn solid - and along with good goaltending and some decent ES performers on the forward units - I could see us winning quite a few 3-2 games.
Schremp and ANA #1 for Kubina - Toronto interested - who knows?
Also see my many Fedotenko went to the Isles for a large 1 year deal ($2.9 million) - that's too much but I know why they did it and it makes sense.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think this season is going to be fun to watch. Will any of the young guys step up? Will we lose 18 out of every 20 games? Will we break even or work our way within grasp of a playoff spot?
ReplyDeleteMaybe we'll just go down hard and stay down.
Whatever happens, I think it'll be high entertainment.
I guess I'm an atypical fan, having returned in 05/06 to a love of hockey after a 20 year absence. I don't mind a year or two of "rebuilding" while our guys find their way and the prospects gear up and get ready.
Maybe if we had different management we could be a Cup contender this year, but that's a huge maybe even if we had retained Smyth. From what I gather, building a Stanley Cup team only happens for one club a year.
On another note, this Nylander situation is embarrassing all around and I hope it quietly goes away. Having him would have been interesting, but that's life. I'd like to see a few vets to help our guys along and no big splashes for the sake of a splash.
Our team this year is what it is. At this point whatever other players we get are pretty much interchangeable in the grand scheme of things, and who knows? We may still get a surprise after all.
Either way, it's going to be interesting.
Fedotenko would have been nice.
ReplyDeleteSigh.
Don't know if Kubina will be on the block. Maybe next season if any of the Leaf kids on D make a move.
Ferguson is trying to save his job. Can't see him moving a solid veteran Dman for futures.