Thursday, June 24, 2010

Oilers Acquire Colin Fraser


















The Edmonton Oilers made a solid depth move last night by acquiring C Colin Fraser from Chicago for a 6th round pick. That should be considered exceptional value. Fraser went 48.8% in the FO circle (445 sorties) and played 9:35 a game for 70 games (7-12-19 +6 92 shots). Fraser did suit up for the playoffs 3 times.

Fraser made $700,000 last season and is an rfa. He has the look of an ideal 3-4 line C who can PK (1:26 a night on that stacked CHI team) and help out a little offensively.

Whose job will he be taking? Several candidates come to mind. Cogliano took 379 FO's last year, Pouliot played the wing (when healthy) but his slot might be open by summer's end. Ryan Potulny might be a little vulnerable. Ethan Moreau, Robert Nilsson and Patrick O'Sullivan are vulnerable to everything. I don't want to overstate the issue, in fact someone like Pouliot (with say Ryan Jones) could end up being a solid line. There is no way to project a top 12F for the 10-11 Oilers and exclude Colin Fraser. That makes this a good trade.

His scouting report: Is aggressive and tenacious on the forecheck. Can play a defensive role and provide energy. Displays a projectable frame and some offensive upside. He takes too many bad penalties.

141 comments:

  1. For what it's worth, Fraser had a 0.3 / 1.3 Taken/Drawn penalty differential last season, so even if those 0.3/60 were all horrendous penalties, he's at least getting back more than his fair share.

    If Tambellini can sign him for a good price, I'm certainly not opposed to this trade.

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  2. Yay! A decent face off man with size who can kill penalties! Welcome back Kyle Brodziak. We've missed you.

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  3. Thought there might be a small chance they delt for reasoner,but this sounds like a more feisty version of reasoner. Is Fraser the Hawk who said he wanted to punch Pronger in the face after the final? So Maybe this does mean no Seguin. I will say this, he signed a checking line centre who can kill penalties. Rejoice Oilogosphere, Tambellini may actual make solid depth moves to fill out the roster. That just happened!

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  4. Sounds like the centre version of Ethan Moreau. Which sort of makes sense if we're bringing in two scoring left-wings this season and still have a lack of competent depth at centre. Bye bye Mr. Rifles.

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  5. been away in vegas for a few days and finally catching up with all the action.

    i think this is a decent depth move, but i'm wondering how it will play out when you consider Tamby's quote in a staples article:

    "Tom is on board with what we have to do here the next couple years to develop some young players," Tambellin said. "We're going to play some young people in spots. They may be close-ready but not totally ready, but they're going to get a chance."

    emphasis (i hope), mine.

    i like fraser, but if we have all of omark, MPS, eberle and hall in the lineup, i don't think fraser is the answer...frankly, he's just another guy in a long list of "maybes" with Stone, Pouliot, etc...not answers, just possibilities you slot around a bad idea (playing all the kids).

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  6. "Is Fraser the Hawk who said he wanted to punch Pronger in the face after the final?"

    no, that was adam burish.

    sadly.

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  7. LT: where did you hear about the trade? Not on TSN or anywhere. I assume on team 1260? which for you is basically work since it's down the hall if i remember correctly.

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  8. @DBO twitter is going crazy with this trade...

    it's really the best spot to get the latest news from the media types...i don't tweet, but use it as a "feed" for headlines

    http://bit.ly/bEUYWQ

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  9. No problem with the deal, but one thing I think the Oilers should keep in the back of their minds before trading to fill a bunch of depth spots is that they are #1 in the waiver priority order coming out of camp, and it seems to me that, most training camps, there's an interesting name or two on the waiver wire.

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  10. good trade. Pouliot showed some life last year, so i'd be willing to give him another chance for a FULL season this year on the 3rd or 4th line, with Fraser perhaps. i agree that Moreau, POS, Nilssin, even Pisani and of course Souray MUST all go.

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  11. Obviously it's way too early to be sure, but do the Oilers have their 4th line now?

    Jones-Fraser-Stortini

    ?

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  12. they might have their 3rd line too, with players like Pouliot, and Ryan Stone, JFJ, CVV?

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  13. so do we look something like this right now?

    penner - gags - hemsky
    hall - horcoff - brule
    MPS - pouliot (open?) - omark (open?)
    jones - fraser - stortini

    so that means these players are out (traded/AHL) or number 13?
    Eberle, JFJ, Stone, Moreau, Nilsson, POS, Pisani,

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  14. also, wasn't trying to start a line combo thread, just trying to get some idea of a depth chart.

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  15. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  16. jfry: depth chart may be a good idea. here's mine (which means nothing)

    C: Horcoff. Gagner. Fraser. Potulny. Pouliot
    LW: Penner. Hall(I assume). MPS. Jones. Stone
    RW: Hemsky. Brule. Eberle. Stortini. Omark

    now for a trade for some depth dmen or on July 1st a solid 4/5 dman with experience.

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  17. Yay ! A roster move!
    A decent one.
    Another Pouliot.

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  18. DBO: your depth chart is good. Going to be more changes shortly.

    jfry: Can't see a way the Oilers have 4 forwards in the lineup who are all rookies. That's asking for even more trouble. Safe to bet on 2 making the roster, 3 if they force it. But more than that and your back to the issues MacT has with breaking in too many kids, some are going to be scorched.

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  19. great write up on Fraser from copperandblue. Can't do link's, but here's the thread:

    http://www.coppernblue.com/2010/6/24/1533899/oilers-acquire-colin-fraser-from#storyjump

    Makes me happier with the minor deal then i thought. Looks like the kind of player we need. Now if tambellini could somehow pry Ladd from the hawks, then our forwards are set.

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  20. oilerdago: I actually think they will go with 3 rookies based on Renney and tambellini's comments at the presser. Especially Renney who said something to the effect that he has to have a short memory so the young players can make mistakes and know they won't be benched, and I think Tambellini mentioned that the kids may not be totally ready but they are going to play this year and learn with the big club.

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  21. @OD

    i agree with you that we don't want that many rookies in the lineup. 100%

    but Tambi's quote that I put in bold, reads to me like a team that's going to run with kids and get another high pick next year and hope to get 150 games under their collective belts at a young age -- forcing the fruit instead of letting it hang on the branch for a bit. the quote scares me because it sounds like maybe we (the higher ups) didn't learn much with the gags/cogs years.

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  22. On McCown's show Tambo said 'we may have 3 rookies in the lineup'.

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  23. On a pretty stacked team here are some of Fraser's fancy boxcars:

    Relative Corsi -2.4 8/12
    RelCor QC 11/12
    RelCor QT 7/12

    Scoring
    +/-ON/60 +0.53 6/12
    QC 12/12
    QT 9/12

    4v5
    TOI/60 1.41 5/6 of forwards over 1min/60
    GAON/60 6.69 6/6

    Thoroughly meh numbers across the board, but as Showerhead said in the previous thread:

    Not a franchise changer but you have to think it's a safe bet Fraser is better than whoever that 6th round pick will become.

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  24. He's a decent player, and from what I understand a very good guy in the locker room. Not the kind of guy who's aquisition makes headlines anywhere other than Edmonton, but for a 6th rounder how do you go wrong? Looks like as good a choice for #4C as anyone and he's the right age too.

    He can kill some penalties too (he was actually CHI's go-to PKer in 08/09), and with Pisani not likely to come back, that's something in very short supply around here.

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  25. I'll give Tambi this much - he made a good pick up from a team that is under pressure to lose some good players. And he didn't give up anything of value either.

    More of this and I may not bash him every post I make.

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  26. jfry: I'm with you. Am very concerned even w/3 kids making the roster given the other young parts here now (Gags, Cogs, Brule, Smid) as well. Too young a lineup imo.

    Would think there's going to be more movement here in the next couple of days. Forget who said it, but Renney likes to ID role players for PK and winning FO, and there are some cheap vets available to fill the roles through FA or trades. Frasier's only the first.

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  27. clap clap!

    Seems like a strange contract for the boohawks to toss out..

    chartleys

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  28. I like this deal more from Chicago's perspective because they got something for someone they weren't going to sign.

    Hopefully we can get something for the Pouliot's and Potulny's.

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  29. After reading Bruce's piece I have to say I love the trade; not love the way you eventually would when the aforementioned Hawks stole Sharp from the Flyers but love in a way that I will take what Fraser is over what a 151 OV pick might become and love in a way that the guy's a real NHLer who just may turn into something resembling a third line pivot outscorer.

    The kid looks good already and is still young enough where we can expect improvement and while I don't think we picked up our tough min outscorer -- it's hard to say how we're gonna match anyway until all the July trading dust settles -- but we picked up a guy who's really too good to be a 4th line pivot so now let's see if he can make the leap to top nine dependability; he's a tweener but in a good way.

    Regarding who this impacts I'll agree that it's Poultny. If Lowe's still got a say -- and I imagine he does -- then 78 still has some truck with the brass and he showed some nice things last year while a guy like 16 faded and looks like an offensively geared bottom sixer which is something I don't think we can afford to have given we're already gonna be chancey if we play the kids on the second line.

    So, for today at least:), I'll say it's 10-89 as the top two pivots and then Fraser and 78 for the last two pivot spots. It would be nice to know if the Oilers intend to give Fraser the bump to third line centre and maybe we'll have a better idea if that's the case when the GM speaks.

    Overall it's nice to see the GM address an area of weakenss by picking up a real NHLer. Now we wait to see how many D we pick up because that's now the weakest part of our team provided that we keep Khabby off the juice and out of the trainer's room.

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  30. Same as the Atlanta deal from the Hawks' point of view. Fraser, Sopel, Eager, even Byfuglien are all replaceable.

    But its still a good deal for the Oilers. Fraser is a legitimate fourth line centre and they need one.

    Going to be a bloodbath in the next week or so. I count like a dozen bottom sixers.

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  31. don't overlook the fact that, although he's a BC boy, his family is local (Fraser Brothers roofing in Spruce Grove) - so he's probably pretty pumped about the opportunity to play for the 30th place Edmonton Oilers!

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  32. "So, for today at least:), I'll say it's 10-89 as the top two pivots and then Fraser and 78 for the last two pivot spots. It would be nice to know if the Oilers intend to give Fraser the bump to third line centre and maybe we'll have a better idea if that's the case when the GM speaks."

    Our top 4 pivots combined for a whopping 42 goals last year. lol

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  33. Takes too many 'bad' penalties.
    I know there is a lot of suspicion about my penalty stats, but here are Frazer's advanced 2009-2010 PiMs Stats:
    13 Penalties (1 elbowing, 6 fighting majors, 4 roughing, 1 highsticking, and 1 tripping) for a total of 11 Aggressive Penalties and 2 Lazy Penalties.

    a) 0.16 AP/GP (this is the same 'score' that Brule had last year; while it is significantly lower then Zorg or Stone & JFJ, by about 50+%, it would still have Fraser above average in the Oilers' Forwards last season, average was 0.10 AP/GP).

    b) 0.03 LP/GP (this is incredibly low: this would be the lowest score on the Oilers by far and significantly below the average, 0.16 LP/GP)

    c) +0.13 Differential (any differential in the positive is a bonus for me, the only forwards last season to accomplish this were: Zorg, Stone, Brule, and JFJ).

    d) 3.93 PiMs/60 and 0.63 PiMs/G. This is quite low for an agitator or anyone that fights, or a little over one minor penalty every four games.

    Well, I know Lazy does not equal bad and aggressive equal good, but this does give us an idea on how Fraser normally takes penalties. Good and Bad are I saw that penalty good or bad; the numbers show a player that is more responsibile with his stick and skates opposes to hooks and slashes, but is not afraid to mix it up with his fists. I like that in a fourth liner.

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  34. B.C.B.: agreed. We have lacked an agitating 4th liner for a while. And he kills penalties and gets in peoples faces. i think Stortini may benefit the most if he plays with him since Storts played well when gelncross was agitating and Zorg seemed to step his nastiness up

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  35. Traktor said...
    "Our top 4 pivots combined for a whopping 42 goals last year. lol"


    Yea, but 3 of them played for a crappy team.


    ;-)

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  36. "Marleau, who would have become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, has agreed to a four-year deal worth $6.9 million per year, while Pavelski, a restricted free agent, has also agreed to a four-year contract, one that will pay him $4 million per year."

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  37. i have no problem with having a very young lineup next season. if we suck, then we're in line for another shot at 1st overall in 2011.

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  38. I guess the Sharks are blaming everything on goaltending.

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  39. Schitzo, I think we have know a goalie with a proven track record who can help them out and take them over the top.

    :o)

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  40. Of the 13 at least the 6 majors and probably a couple of the roughing calls are offsetting. No powerplay = no apologies required.

    Agree in part about the waiver wire, but you can't leave this hole open [again] hoping that what gets floated will be the right size and shape, ie. you wind up waiting on your C and it's short RW'ers that start dropping through.

    This is good. And it doesn't matter who the #151 turns out to be, he won't be 25yrs old this year, and - not to put too fine a point on it - you still have to play the games this year.

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  41. Fraser responds to the trade...

    http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/06/blackhawks-trade-fraser-to-oilers.html

    ... and ends with the continued rumour that Versteeg may also be moved.

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  42. Fraser couldn't even play 4th line C on the Hawks when it came to crunch time, so I guess he'd be the perfect 3C for us.

    And Fraser will turn 26 this season so there's plenty of time for him to develop into something.

    ...Call me underwhelmed.

    However, I'm thinking the same way as Dennis here, that this move might spell the end of Potulny. I think Pou's job is safe, I doubt the Oil will attempt another season with Gagner as the only RH centre. And like Dennis I'm okay with losing Potulny if the scoring kiddies are making the team. Fraser will fill a need in that regard and for once it appears The Braintrust understands the importance of balance.

    And Fraser's not a smurf. Which is a good sign in and of itself.

    And he's from a winner, which is the Oiler new template: acquire winners.

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  43. Like to hear this kind of quote from fraser:

    "I love Chicago," Fraser said. "They were very good to me and gave me the opportunity to play in the NHL, but obviously it's a business and moving forward I'm a little bit closer to home which is exciting and going to a team where hoping I'll be able to play a bigger role and maybe prove myself as a player more and get more ice time."

    A guy with something to prove and wanting more. I like it, no sense of entitlement

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  44. So anyone going to watch Oil Change tonight?

    If you can't catch it, read Terry Jones' column today, it's practically a blow-by-blow of the hour long special.

    But if you don't like spOILers, do not read the column!

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  45. agreed, @DBO. he has decent size, and is a good faceoff guy, just what we need! having a good attitude is also what we need. now if we could only get 1st and 2nd liners with good attitudes to come here? :D

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  46. Spoiler,
    You started off underwhelmed, but it sounds like you almost talked yourself into, I guess, 'whelmed'?

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  47. As stated above:

    Jones-Fraser-Stortini

    Is a very serviceable fourth line.

    A solid trade. We get a good faceoff / PK center who is younger than most NHL players with the same skill-set for a 6th rounder.

    It's not saying much, but the Oilers are a better team today than they were yesterday.

    And I agree on the upcoming bloodbath of bottom 6-ers. I think Jones sticks as the stink of losing isn't quite so strong on him—but besides him who knows.

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  48. Marleau 4 yrs at $6.9. pavelski 4 yrs at $4 mill

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  49. Very encouraging aquisition. I love this guys game. He just got lost in the mix a bit in Chicago. He is going to help going forward.

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  50. from ESPN:
    Sources indicated the Calgary Flames also were interested in Fraser.

    Makes me even a little happier for some reason.

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  51. I like the trade, but I'm not sold on Fraser's fighting abilities.

    Colin Fraser on hockeyfights.com

    Most of these are Fraser face-mashings, including a particularly memorable one delivered by Johnny Boychuk.

    The guy also got tossed on his melon by some jerk named Ladislav in 08-09.

    Of course: Draws, defensive zone starts, outscoring et al > fighting prowess... But I wouldn't lay money on the guy in a brawl. Though he does appear to be getting better (read: losing less) and he will be lacing them up next to Storts...

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  52. @ Downright Fierce:

    Don't worry! Oilers live by team toughness!

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  53. Tencers latest...

    Heard from 2 different sources last night that the Oilers were pushing to move one of their RFA's to Chicago for Fraser, but Hawks said no.

    Oilers RFA's...

    Gagner, Sam
    O'Marra, Ryan
    Cogliano, Andrew
    Pouliot, Marc
    Brule, Gilbert
    Dubnyk, Devan
    Drouin-Deslauriers, Jeff
    Peckham, Theo
    Potulny, Ryan
    Jacques, Jean-Francois
    Reddox, Liam

    What! They didn't want O'Marra??

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  54. This is a good pick up for the Oilers. He was there fifth center behind Bolland, Toews, Sharp and Madden. Would any of the Oilers current centers bump any of those players?

    He'll be our 3rd or 4th line center for the Oilers. We gave up Brodziak for a 6th pick. It sounds like Fraser is a little more aggressive. Looks like a good pick up.

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  55. What would it take to get Carter?

    Smid, Cogliano and next years first pick?

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  56. Pretty damning when your RFA rights are less desirable than a 6th rounder.

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  57. Ribs,

    Word on the street is that they are shopping JFFJ hard.

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  58. Pretty damning when your RFA rights are less desirable than a 6th rounder.

    Don't have to pay a 6th rounder next year or count his contract toward the 50 cap.

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  59. Hmm.. nhlnumbers missing some guys...

    Lerg, Bryan
    Arsense, Dean
    Trukhno, Vyacheslav
    Hrabel, Josef
    Paukovich, Geoff

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  60. Yea, that cap limit is a bugger to get around at times.

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  61. If Tambellini can get anything more than a bag of pucks for jffj than he will have actually earned a paycheck this week...

    Not surprised our RFA's (other than probably Gagner and Cogs) are not worth much but...Chicago has big cap issues still which are driving everything. They would have immediately lost the asset.

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  62. per TSN Boychuk signed for $3.75 over 2 years

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  63. And bye bye Johnny Boychuk. 2 year deal for $2.75 mill total ($1.875 mill cap hit). Bruins look like contenders next year.

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  64. Nice trade.

    It's hardly earth shattering, but the Oilers need guys who can take draws, kill penalties and be tough to play against.

    I'll take it.

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  65. Oh, and thank god we don't have to worry about the Oilers giving a stupid contract to Marleau.

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  66. I have no difficulty with the pickup but if Colin Fraser is our 3rd line center we had better not trade away next years #1 because we will be picking in the top 3 for sure.

    He will be on our last line or in the press box. Not a bad pickup because he is what we do not already have...... good defensively and with some grit.

    His 48.8 % FO percentage is troubling in that in 2006 we had 4 guys at 50%+ and that was a bonafide weapon. He will have to be 15% better to be acceptable in that role

    Not right handed and sorry not Boyd Gordon who does precisely what Fraser does but .....just does it better for similar money

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  67. //What would it take to get Carter?
    Smid, Cogliano and next years first pick?//

    No whales. We're doing a rebuild correctly. Carter will be unrestricted and gone by the time the Oilers are contending.

    No name affordable free agents to fill holes only.

    Our goaltending is Deslauriers and Dubnyk. Our 1st choice next year still has a high probability of being a lottery pick, and almost certainly top ten.

    And you want to repeat Burke's mistake in Toronto, trading a lottery pick and a ton of other draft picks for Kessel?

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  68. From the article that NBOilerFan posted:

    He was born in Surrey, Canada and played junior hockey in nearby Red Deer, Canada, and lives in that area.

    I wonder if, during his time in Chicago, Fraser ever visited nearby Oklahoma City.

    Heard from 2 different sources last night that the Oilers were pushing to move one of their RFA's to Chicago for Fraser, but Hawks said no.

    Sheesh - if you value an RFA less than a sixth round pick, you should probably just not qualify the guy.

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  69. Don't have to pay a 6th rounder next year or count his contract toward the 50 cap.

    You don't have to do that with an RFA, either: a little known fact is that the "FA" stands for "free agent", meaning "not under contract".

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  70. Tamb can't really rework the bottom 6 unless he gmoves some bodies out. Who shouldn't we move from this list:

    Potulny
    Pouliot
    Stortini
    Stone
    Jones
    JFJ
    Pisani
    Moreau
    Nillson

    I'd keep Stone and that's it. (Bruce will keep Stortini, which I'm okay with, too, as long as we surround him with a better bottom 6 and more PK'ers and guys who can play decent opposition to a draw.)

    (POS makes too much to be considered a bottom 6 player.)

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  71. @ godot: Agreed. Trading #1's when your team is still going to have big holes is a way to guarantee that we stay in the same spot that Toronto finds themselves in for the last 4 years (and next few still).

    Damien Cox can support Burke all day long, but giving up a top 2 pick this year and a pick next year that could still be in the top 10 is not smart when you're as far away from contending as Toronto will still be.

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  72. I think there's a lot more cap space this year than real money. Burke should be able to attract the FA's that he wants to Tarana.

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  73. http://oilersnation.com/2010/6/24/the-31st-pick-whos-in-the-cards

    The Oilers are back to looking for Coke Machines after their first pick.

    Sigh.

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  74. The Oilers are back to looking for Coke Machines after their first pick.

    With due respect to Robin Brownlee, who knows more about how the Oilers do business than I ever will, earlier this week he predicted that an Oilers' news conference was going to be just a pre-draft press availability. Then the Oilers replaced their head coach. I'm not sure we can "book it", as it were.

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  75. Yeah, Brownlee swung and missed there, but he is in LA and he has a bunch of direct quotes from MacGregor, so I'd assume he's on the mark here.

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  76. Boondock,

    I think the Oilers are deploying the same strategy as last year.

    BPA in the first two rounds. Coke Machines, goons, and Stortini's in rounds 3 and 4, hodgepodge in rounds 5 and 6. They're less crazy about college kids than a while back, maybe a little more open to Europeans. LT said it better a few posts ago.

    I don't like the coke machine strategy -Abney was the absolute worst- but I'm willing to accept it as long as they use their 1st and 2nd rounders wisely. And size is a good thing still in NHL'ers; the Oilers may wind up with some large, reasonably effective bottom pairing D and lumbering bottom 6'ers, if they keep shooting for Coke machines in the middling rounds.

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  77. Speaking of Brownlee "swinging and missin" he posted this earlier...

    RUMOUR DU JOUR

    I got a text tonight from somebody asking if I'd heard anything about Tambellini talking to Columbus Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson about what it might take to get the Oilers the fourth pick -- the name being tossed out was Ales Hemsky.

    File this bit of buzz under the category of "completely unfounded rumours" as of now -- and there will be no shortage of those over the next couple of days.

    Howson has said he's not married to the fourth pick and Tambellini said Tuesday he'd like to acquire another first-round selection. That's a long way from adding up to shipping Hemsky to the Blue Jackets, but it's worth a call or two tomorrow.

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  78. You don't have to do that with an RFA, either: a little known fact is that the "FA" stands for "free agent", meaning "not under contract".

    Steve,

    The point is that an RFA has less value than a draft pick to Chicago is because they would have to qualify and sign him by July 1 or lose his rights, which is not what they want. They do not want more contracts so that draft picks are more valuable to them than RFA's who do need contracts.

    Trying to trade RFA rights to realize some kind of value instead of just letting them go is good asset management.

    Kinda like what Chicago did with Fraser. No plan to resign him, so get a 6th rounder for him.

    If the Oilers can get a 6th for JFJ then its better than nothing.

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  79. Deano: seems that the FA class this year has more $'s chasing less than marquee talent. Going to be hard to fill out your top 6 with what's left. Not even sure he can do the RFA thing because of the picks he's given up.

    For Tambellini, another trade or two like he swung for Fraser and maybe we don't even need to go the FA route to fill the bottom 6 needs.

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  80. Brownlee gets through three guys on his wishlist before he gets to a CHL guy. That seems unlikely at first, but maybe he's onto something: does a US jr have to get sent back to his squad, like Eberle, or is AHL an option? That bit of flexibility might look nice from an outfit like ours who sorely need to load up the minor league team as well. Anyone know if the 'back to jr.' is CHL-only?

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  81. Neither here nor there from an Oilers standpoint, but found it interesting that Montreal didn't qualify Pouliot today. Granted he went to sleep in the playoffs, but thought his regular season resurgence was enough to get a new deal. They're gonna be in a tough spot cap-wise.

    Gotta find a taker for that Hamrlik contract.

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  82. I'm okay with whelmed, hehe. I'd probably pay a little more for a better guy in that role, especially with Pouliot's attendance history, but I'm okay with it.

    The Boychuk signing prior to Jul 1 was certain as soon as Boston dealt Wideman.

    I imagine one of Stone or POtulny is not being signed by us, with the Fraser move.

    I've been thinking about the BJ pick too, as they need somehting now, but I'm not sure what we could offer that they don't already have, besides Horc and Souray, neither of which is likely to garner the 4th overall. If we could somehow put a package together that brings Commodore or the 4th or both I would be ecstatic (ie, not under-whelmed). I suspect that Phoenix's 22nd overall will be easier to obtain though.

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  83. Wolski re-signs in Phoenix... $7,800,000 / 2 years.

    ... huh?

    Kid was an RFA with no arbitration rights.

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  84. Well, 6'3 and he's 1PPG and +6 in his stint there, so they're giving him Khabi-level money (3.8). He's a better bet than POS or Nilsson, that's for sure.

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  85. If Colin Fraser is worth a 6th then O'Sullivan is worth at least a 3rd. Cogliano - more.

    I wonder what Tambo will get on the market for these guys?

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  87. @Moose:

    Since it's only for one season, Souray for Hamrlik.

    Then we can sign Pouliot and have the Pouliot line.

    Hall-Horcoff-Hemsky
    Penner-Gagner-Eberle
    Pouliot-Brule-Pouliot
    Jones-Fraser-Stortini
    MPS/Omark/Stone/Potulny/VVV/etc.

    ... yeah... no.

    Say no to the Pouliot line.

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  88. I would like to see oil change tonight. is there anyone in oilerland that could stream it on atdhe.net or justin.tv? i live in nevada and no tsn. thanks

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  89. I believe "Oil Change" will be archived on the oilers website soon after it airs on TSN

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  90. If Colin Fraser is worth a 6th then O'Sullivan is worth at least a 3rd.

    If we're divorcing this from contract status, you might be right (although even there, I think you're overrating O'Sullivan), but once you factor contract into account O'Sullivan has significant negative value. There is no way anybody will give us a 6th for him.

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  91. @Raven
    Fraser is cheap and does positive things on the ice.

    POS is paid too much and sucks. He brings nothing. They would be LUCKY to get a 6th round pick for his useless a$$

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  92. If half of O'Sullivan's shots that rang off the post went in, he ends up with 20 easy. I hope this guy stays here and not only because of how he got to where he is.

    That +/- is brutal though.

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  93. Reminds me, almost exactly, of a trade a little over a decade ago: Ethan Moreau.

    Same kind of player, same upside, same downside, etc.

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  94. raventalon:

    Ha, yeah, the Pouliot line has a decided stench to it.

    But I would definitely do Hamrilk for Souray. Not sure they can or would. Doesn't really save them any money without extra pieces.

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  95. Reminds me, almost exactly, of a trade a little over a decade ago: Ethan Moreau.

    It's been a while, but didn't Moreau come with some offensive expectations? He was a 14th overall pick who scored 15 in his rookie season, and I didn't think his next season and a half had fully convinced people that he was never going to light it up in the bigs.

    The, of course, there's the fact that Boris Mironov was no 6th round pick.

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  96. Darren Dreger: "15th overall is in play. Florida is willing to move the pick. Oilers among those interested."

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  97. Not that the Oilers have much chance at 1st overall next season as well (one can only hope) but trading away the 2011 1st on a rebuilding team is near lunacy.

    Adam Larsson (by all the hype) could anchor the blueline for the coming two decades. Bleed for the Swede, Arson for Larsson, whatever you want to call it, I'm really hoping against hope that they get him.

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  98. Darren Dreger: "15th overall is in play. Florida is willing to move the pick. Oilers among those interested."

    Hmmm... wonder why Penner's mug ius directly above that caption on TSN.

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  99. "15th overall is in play. Florida is willing to move the pick. Oilers among those interested."

    Well, it could work.
    If the Oilers agree to take Allen's or Olesz' bad contract,
    throw in the 31st or 48th, and
    one or two of the usual suspects
    Cogliano, Brule, Nash

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  100. My fervent wish for Larsson is that the B's get him with Toronto's lottery pick. I think Pat would have to agree, the MSM down here would have a collective Linda Blair-style meltdown.
    Just. Fn. Awesome.

    Seriously, I've a full stomach of losing, not really interested in tha path it would take to get us to Larsson. Not one bit.

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  101. Penner for the 15th would be a pretty shittacular trade...

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  102. That would be Toronto's next lottery pick, of course. Pinch me.

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  103. Trouble is they'd just take McIlrath with the 15th.

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  104. Darren Dreger: "15th overall is in play. Florida is willing to move the pick. Oilers among those interested."

    I wonder what the Oil could offer?

    Hemsky or Penner would seem to be overpays for this spot. (I was thinking they might be a bit much for the #4 pick).

    So what do they offer Florida? Pouliot or Potulny and Nash? Cogliano? Cogs and Nash seem to be a bit much.

    If Tambo went:

    Hemsky for the 4th and maybe a later pick
    Cogs and Nash for the 15th
    and keep #31

    Would that be good? I know I would be happy.

    They could come away with

    Hall or Seguin
    Connelly or Gudbranson or Gormley @ 4
    McIlrath @ 15
    Another D @ #31

    That sure as heck would start the rebuild. Of course it would hurt next season when they have a bunch of moops on the big team, but we are thinking longterm right?

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  105. I guess the Sharks are blaming everything on goaltending.

    That's not unreasonable. Nabokov was all kinds of no good against Chicago, and had his struggles in the other rounds, too.

    Granted he went to sleep in the playoffs

    More accurately, he went to sleep in mid-March and never awoke. After scoring six points in five games in early March, he went 1-4-5 and -5 in his last 30 games as a Canadien.

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  106. How come Jones is a given?

    So far he hasn't done anything oh so impressive.

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  107. On Pouliot : He's having medical test right now, for a future qualifying offer.

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  108. How come Jones is a given?

    So far he hasn't done anything oh so impressive.


    In my head he has the inside track because he's under contract. Only eight Oilers' forwards are under contract for next year, and three of them are the subject of buyout rumours. I agree that there's been nothing special about his performance, though.

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  109. Penner for the 15th would be a pretty shittacular trade...

    Yeah, but Penner for the 15th plus the other guy Florida has been rumored to be shopping, one Stephen Weiss, would be actually very intriguing.

    LW: Hall, MPS
    C: Weiss, Horcoff, Gagner
    RW: Hemsky, Eberle

    We'd be solid down the middle, and while young on the wings, there would be high potential for improvement.

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  110. Hbomb: Is it unreasonable to believe Florida wouldn't want it because Weiss is a better player anyway?

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  111. fpb: Is Weiss a better player than Penner? Debatable.

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  112. Hbomb: I think that what puts the 15th out of the debate.

    Because either could like Weiss better, or Penner better.

    I think the swap is possible, tough, I believe the little extras wouldn't be as big as a 1st round pick.

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  113. Is Weiss a better player than Penner? Debatable.

    It is debatable, but is Penner better than Weiss PLUS whoever that 15th brings? Maybe right now, but a year down the road?

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  114. 27 for a 15ov is a salary dump and not a smart one because I doubt we're getting a Penner-type player from that position in the draft.

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  115. Hey Lowetide,
    skimming through the last thread and I noticed The Other John mention something about getting you information about VFS. You looking for some info? I'm currently working in the Film Industry in Vancouver; I didn't go to VFS but over half of my colleagues did, so I've heard a lot about it and can pretty easily get some questions answered for you. Let me know!

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  116. "27 for a 15ov is a salary dump and not a smart one because I doubt we're getting a Penner-type player from that position in the draft."

    Aye. Exactly that.

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  117. My god... we do a Penner for 15th pick and we are simply going to suck next year. Don't we have to at least ice a fairly reasonable team?

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  118. Nboilerfan: Oh cause we did that this year? Must have missed the bus =P.

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  119. Seriously FPB?

    You think this year was horrible to watch... deals like that will make this year a nightmare.

    Putting out a squad of rookies in a position to fail miserably I hope is not Tamby’s plan.

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  120. Nboiler: I would bet some money they can't fail much much harder than this year.

    I'm not really afraid by the whole ''Dressing a lot of rookies'' thing. It's usually what rebuilding teams do ya know.

    POS and Moreau aren't exactly going to hold the water back. And at least the rookies will score =P.

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  121. Boston are proving that it's possible to land yourself a lottery pick, all you need is a crazy GM like Burke.

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  122. fpb: Point taken. Ok, so if we do Penner plus Cogliano for the 15th and Weiss, is that more "in the ballpark"?

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  123. Hbomb: Yep sure, or whatever Florida would need at that moment.

    (Offense is oh so weak)

    They officially announced a rebuild so I think they'l keep that 1st rounder tough.

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  124. You don't deal the little talent you have to field a group of 4-5 rookies surrounded by middling (at best players (i.e. Nilsson, O'Sullivan..etc). That would be disaster.

    Lets deal the middling players and keep the few proven talents we have to support the youngings.

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  125. Dear Mr Tambellini GM...

    Can you please help me with this math problem:


    X + 31OV = 15OV,

    15OV + X = 2OV.

    Solve for 'X'.

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  126. Pierre Lebrun: "Oilers GM Steve Tambellini meeting media now. Says he's trying to acquire another first-round pick. Tambellini on first overall pick: 'We're close. But we haven't formally sat down as a group and said, "this is who we're taking."' My guess? They're taking Taylor Hall."

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  127. lol Gary...

    ... wouldn't that be "solve for X and Y"?

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  128. lol Gary...

    ... wouldn't that be "solve for X and Y"?


    well, i always was better at spelling than math :P

    if 'X' = Penner and 'Y' = Hemsky?

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  129. What do you guys think of this:

    Penner / Seguin / Hemsky

    MPS / Gagner / Eberle

    Omark / Horcoff / Brule

    Jones / Fraser / Stortini

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  130. VoxWah: Like it, as long as 2 of Jones, Stortini and Omark are replaced by Nilsson and Potulny =P.

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  131. I thought it was fairly balanced. Obviously there is a ton of youth there and some of them might spend a bit of time in the A (Omark probably). The good thing with this line up is lots of the players can play multiple positions (Eberle at centre, MPS on either wing, ect) in case of injuries. We know we'll have lots of those.

    It would be nice to call up someone like an Omark instead of the garbage we have had the last few years.

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  132. Ok, which one of you wiseguys took my Weiss/15OV for Penner/Cogs idea and e-mailed it into Gregor? Haha.

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  134. So are the considerations for passing on Hall going to be hidden in the Florida-Boston, and Florida-Edmonton transactions?

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  135. PDO: Brownlee didn't think it would be enough. I raised an eyebrow towards that.

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  136. Voxwah: Too many kids in your lines - can't have 4 rookies in Edmonton to start the season or this year will be worse than last year. You simply can't hide them as two will be in over their heads no matter what situation they're out on the ice.

    You have 2, 3 at absolute max here or you'll kill their development. The lessons we learned at MacT's expense.

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  137. just watched a highlight on the oilers site of fraser scoring vs. edmonton earlier this year. he looked better than all the oilers out there!

    i hope i never see that team play again.

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  138. Sources indicated the Calgary Flames also were interested in Fraser.

    DBO: That made me smile too. I came across it last night, meant to put in my article, but forgot. But if you can beat Calgary to a serviceable player, I'm all for it.

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