I profiled Reddox and his season recently (here) and discussed this possibility (the Oilers setting him free). Reddox has always been a fringe player and Edmonton could easily upgrade the position (4th line winger, energy player and penalty-killer) over the summer.
The big question is "will they find a veteran penalty killer?" and the secondary question is "why didn't they sign him as insurance?"
I think the answers have to be "of course" and "they probably tried but the player felt a one-way deal had been earned." Ryan Rishaug confirmed the second part of the question via twitter earlier today.
Reddox almost left the organization two years ago and it looks like the situation hadn't changed much in the ensuing 48 months.
Reddox will probably show up somewhere in the NHL down the line. Edmonton likely flushed him for legit reasons (offensive ability at the NHL level) and poor reasons (size. Liam Reddox played much bigger than his vitals). I think another NHL team will sign him in a year or two and he'll resume the battle for big league employment.
Liam Reddox has always been a personal favorite, he played the game intelligently and won the loyalty of every coach he played for during his Oiler career. Sail on, Wellington Duke. We'll see you again.
Reddox is far from an irreplaceable player, but the problem always seems to be the organization's ability to actually replace these guys.
ReplyDeleteHe was arguably our best penalty killer last year, and we needed to upgrade that part of the roster already. It's even more important now.
The one thing I'll be watching is how they replace him. Because we all know Toby Petersen isn't here and any fool can replace that guy but damned if we're still freaking here waiting.
ReplyDeleteIt's like last summer. Let's flush Pouliot because we're going to get Malhotra. Malhotra doesn't want to come here? No worries. Colin Fraser, he's our man.
I expect the replacement for Reddox will end up being Colin McDonald.
Love the "Sail on" posts, LT.
ReplyDeleteIf the Oil find a way to trade up before the draft this year, I'd lose it if you dedicated one to the LA pick.
Sail on, No. 19. We hardly knew ye.
Reddox could have been claimed by 29 other clubs on multiple occasions and he passed through unclaimed multiple times.
ReplyDeleteFor good reason.
He sucks. So does Poulot for that matter.
Give him 20 stone and he still couldn't hit a bird.
What about a Traktor? Could he hit a traktor? :-)
ReplyDeleteSome people can really be dense with their posts - and I know better than to feed trolls but am going to anyway.
ReplyDeleteWhether it was Toby Petersen, Brodziak, Reasoner etc... these are role players that management made the decision to flush yet did not adequately replace. What's so hard to understand about that?
One would think it'd be easy but look at what we've done. Squat. Each piece has been a regression.
In and of itself that doesn't make that a good reason to keep them - but give us something more than Colin flipping Fraser.
Management doesn't need defending on this move. The Ginger helped make a brutal pk a little better, but he alone was not going to be the answer. It's several answers (a vet 3C among them) and the fanbase is waiting to see what 3.0 (or will it be 4.0) does.
Some decent vets to stabilize the kids is a move long overdo.
Maybe we're too patient.
@lowetide....2 years 48 months .....are you moonlighting as a used car salesman?
ReplyDeleteNot sad to see him go.To bad he only scored once every 2 years and did not have size
I think its great that the players are taking things into their own hands instead of waiting for "Mr.Dithers" to make a decision. One less small forward going into training camp only 5 more to deal with.
ReplyDeleteNo issue letting him walk if we replace him. That is our issue. This young team needs some vets who can play in their own zone and who bring experience and calm both on the ice and in the dressing room. He is replaceable, but as our management has proven, I would not say easily.
ReplyDeleteCould not agree with you more. Reddox gave you everything he had and is one of two Oilers that played above his weight (along with Brule when not sick, injured or simply out of town)
ReplyDeleteWe send guys out of town and somehow we expect to replace their skill set with what? Reddox was one of the best players on OKC and nobody down there is replacing his minutes up here.
Mr Dithers
"What about a Traktor? Could he hit a traktor? :-)"
ReplyDeleteTrue, but he wouldn't leave a dent.
@LT
ReplyDeleteA future radio show may be a good opportunity to try to get Jamie Lundmark in for a chat. No idea if that's even possible but I think he's a local boy no?
He played with Lander, and posted some rave reviews about him on twitter. In fact I think he stated Lander is the 'best young hockey player' he's ever played with.
That's big praise. Hearing him qualify that statement would make for great summer radio :)
Here's the Lander tweet if anyone was curious.
ReplyDeleteRich:
ReplyDeleteSince the majority of people here think Edmonton ranks near the bottom of the league when it comes to identifying "usefulness", what does it say when 29 other clubs said no thanks to claiming Reddox?
Oil fans should be celebrating; this move point to Edmonton sneaking up on league-wide average intelligence.
Pretty funny that Reddox's agent knew Edmonton was Little Liam's only chance to crack the show.
I have nothing against Reddox either. He went from a ECHL 4th line player to a guy with 100 NHL games under his belt.
Traktor:
ReplyDeleteMy issue is Reddox didn't suck. He gave you effort on every shift and provided a level of "usefulness" on a terrible team.
He's undersized for the league, and not much of a scorer but he reinvented himself in the minors and carved out a role on a crappy team. He was one of the few forwards on the roster who did not embarrass himself on the PK.
Again, that doesn't mean he is a long term answer. And I don't think a good team should have room for him. He's a career AHL'er in all likelihood.
But the Director of Hockey Ops and his puppet keep talking about building something long-term and keep jettisoning role players and don't replace them with anything useful. If you look at the roster, you could argue JFJ, Smac, Struds, Fraser and Khabibulin should have been gone long before the Ginger.
It'd have been one thing if he was a Bobby Nilsson, but that's not what we were dealing with this kid.
I've always thought that I've been respectful at this blog and typically agreed with the consensus opinion.
ReplyDeleteWhat does it say about me now that I find myself agreeing with Traktor lately? :P
Reddox could have been claimed by 29 other clubs on multiple occasions and he passed through unclaimed multiple times.
For good reason.
He sucks.
Sail on Reddox...
Tambo seems to have the right idea with respect to weeding out players though his ability to bring in vet talent is concerning.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting the feeling that he may go small game hunting in free agency and the end result could likely be Colin McDonald slotting Reddox's role sadly.
scrism: sarcasm and criticism rolled into one.
When you weed out players you are supposed to replace them with better ones.
ReplyDeleteThe Oiler model is to replace them with worse players, or to not replace them at all.
The Org gave Jacques a one-way, why can't they cough it up for the Red Ox this year? If there's little worry of losing him to waivers, then it's nearly a zero risk deal. Ah well, I hope The Little Ginger Who Could makes some bank/gains traction in Sweden this year.
ReplyDeleteI'll second danny on putting Jamie Lundmark on the Nation Radio wishlist. Loved his quote about Lander and I've always had a soft spot for the local product.
Geeeez. CBC just went live on location to Vancouver where Greg Adams and Kirk Maclean are hosting a celebration commemorating 1994.
ReplyDeleteReally Vancouver? REALLY?
lol. That was so lame. The entire broadcast has been Monty Python funny (except they're not trying to be funny).
ReplyDeleteIt started with Ron MacLean quoting some obscure Bob Cole call from 1994 (I think) WITH HIS EYES CLOSED so we'd know he wasn't peaking.
Dear Vancouver Canucks fans,
Your team has never won a game worth remembering the pbp to; if that ever changes--and it could next month--you'll know the difference between winning a series and winning the Stanley.
The Oilers would have been aware of Reddox's options. This sayonara is definitely on purpose. Considering his scoring production, I think the two way is the right call. And really, despite how much I will miss his effort, he is not the equivalent of replacing Peterson or Brodziak.
ReplyDeleteBrodz and Glencross and Spacek and Dvorak resonate far deeper. Their losses were not born out of any plan. If the Oilers are having difficulty replacing people, why are they passing on the easier guys to sign? If they are just giving up too early, how good a judge of player are they? If they can't read or properly value what they have, why do they have the jobs they have?
Or has the lack of injury over the past few seasons inured management to the need for depth?
The Oilers had two chances to rebuild before--immed after the Pronger trade, and when they picked 6th--and instead chose to swim upstream and against the tide. And these people are in charge.
Sweet baby Setoguchi. Hellavu play by Little Joe.
Heatley is looking very Lupul-esque. Minus the goal scoring.
ReplyDeleteThe Sedins look like hockey terminators sent back from the future.
ReplyDeleteEven the Hughson the Homer had to admit that the Canuck not-so-faithful are a notoriously front running crowd.
ReplyDeleteIf Douglas Murray doesn't smarten up with the puck and stop skating like he's in quicksand, V.03 just might make a trade for him.
Douglas Murray sucks.
ReplyDeleteTake the stick on that play every single time. Idiot...
Of course being that SJ should have had a 5-on-3 at that point, it should all have been moot. What BS hockey.
It's '1994 Night' and we are going to overtime. If they win commission the poets.
ReplyDeleteLT: I really would have liked to see that - and me and the LLF usually watch the openings so we can mock them - but fuck me I missed that tonight.
ReplyDeleteI did catch the interview with the two old Canucks though and how sad was that.
It's Hughson and the HNIC crew that's making me hate this run so much. Hughson's now eclipsed Irvin and Cole mostly because he's younger and he should have better goddamned sense.
Danny: few people dislike Heatley more than me - he's been given all kinds of breaks and you can never do enough for him - but when I watched baseball you knew a guy was ready to break out of a slump when he started hitting the ball hard.
Well except for the time Chris Widger went 0 for 32 and couldn't get the ball out of the infield;)
Anyway, Heatley's actually been getting himself into scoring position this game so I'll predict he scores in OT or if they manage to make it to G6 then he'll notch a game in that game.
Some dude in the pub tonight was wearing a Messier jersey. I'm like seriously, that's your lucky Canucks jersey?
ReplyDeleteGame turns on a bogus icing call. That Messier jersey is apparently working.
I'm not a guy that likes a player just because he's from this province - Ryder's been overpaid for like forever and we haven't seen Purcell do it without great linemates.
ReplyDeleteI like Cleary because he's a good two way player and young Luke Adam had a great rookie season in the A and looks like a keeper.
In any case Clowe's a fellow that would have been a great find for the Oilers. He's a bit of a mouthpiece - though he'll back it up - and he's got some swagger to him.
And he knows how to use his size too.
I sorta like to pretend that Messier as a Dy never happened. He wasn't very good on the ice and the stories go that he was terrible off the ice.
ReplyDeleteI think the last thing I remember about him was he gooned Beranek during Josef's second go around as an Oiler.
did I miss something or was Craig Simpson drafted by the Dys and went on to play every game of his career with them?
ReplyDeletehe must have been a member of that '94 team was he?
Not to mention the dagges he stabbed into their hearts one win away from Stanley in 1994.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're right.
ReplyDeleteHopefully he doesn't lose the game along the boards in the interim.
Sharks out shooting Dys *spit* 87-39 over the last two games without a win to show for it.
ReplyDeleteLowe must be so mad that nobody on HNIC asked him about Oiler memories back in 06.
ReplyDeleteHe's probably planning the "Do you remember 06?" parade.
Heatley just saved the game at one end....
ReplyDeleteCBC has lost their marbles in all this suck-up-to-the Dys nonsense. If Hughson and Simpson haven't proved it enough, Healy and MacLean haven't let up at all.
ReplyDeleteI read all the time, but must have missed the "dys" reference. What's it mean?
ReplyDeleteI like how when Sedin tackles Heatley in the slot and Kesler punches Thornton away from the play it's a good play.
ReplyDeleteCBC can go fuck itself.
Suntory:
ReplyDeleteDennis reference.
Back when all the Nuck fans kept telling us about all the cups Bertuzzi and Naslund and Morrison would win, Dennis started calling them the dynasties with all their success.
I mean, that was a team for the fucking ages.
They won a playoff round after all. That's fucking amazing.
Yeah, Heatley was fucking mobbed in the slot and somehow it was a great backcheck.
ReplyDeleteFor me it has surpassed all of the fervor over the Leafs in '99 during CuJo's first year when they went to the final four and it was the first time in about five years that they were really good.
and let me tell you that in those days Bob and Harry can really ratchet up the love.
But this is gone off the charts altogether. Ron's embarrassing himself on a nightly basis and for those who missed Cherry playing air guitar with The Odds and The Hip's Bobby Baker then you sirs haven't really lived.
Ah...I see. I live just outside Vancouver in Abbotsford and have to deal with the fans - especially kids in my classes.
ReplyDeleteFunniest story: I was at the Oil/nucks game out here at the end of the season...wearing my colours as always, and they always say I shouldn't be bringing up the past. And the guy beside me says," what have the Oilers won in the last 19 years? The Canucks have been to the final twice." I respond with correcting him that the nucks have only been there once in the last 19 and note that the year before his "19 years ago" we were winning the cup.
I dunno. That Toronto run was pretty fucking awful. The refs have had their whistles put away for awhile. Hopefully there's no automatic delay of game call.
ReplyDeleteHoly Auntie Niemi.
That's two games of the worst luck I have ever seen any team have.
ReplyDeleteSmilin' Jim is turning my guts.
ReplyDeleteOhh Confetti on the ice. Just give them the cup and be done with it.
ReplyDeleteOverskating pucks and constantly rushing the play made the Sharks completely impotent.
ReplyDeleteFor the next little while, I'm the biggest Bruin fan in the universe.
Well Christ. Sometimes in life the shit just won't stop.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I respect everyones opinion here, does anyone, let me bleeping repeat ANYONE, believe that SMac, Khabby, Fraser, Foster, Brule, Chorney, JVDM, Strudwick gets claimed off waivers?
ReplyDeleteSo when you comment on Reddox, 8 guys that played real minutes for the abomination that is called the Oilers this year would not a bleeping sniff on waivers. But it's Reddoxs fault. Not management, Liam bleeping Reddox
We cannot find real NHL players and let guys who play there heart out leave and suggest we will replace them with Colin MacDonald.
who will bieksa beat up the next round?
ReplyDeletetomas kaberle or martin st.louis?
I think Hughson's gonna go down and lie on the ice so that "Kevin" doesn't hurt his toesy woesy tripping on all the confetti.
ReplyDeleteJesus Christ. Hughson isn't even pretending to be impartial anymore. If these douches win the Cup I wouldn't even blink an eye if he joined the team on the ice for the team picture with the Cup. I'm pretty they turned his mike off after the goal so we couldn't hear his sobs of joy.
ReplyDeleteDennis:
ReplyDeleteI loved Clowe's comments about Bieksa after the Marleau fight. Something about Bieksa thinking he was a real tough guy but he sure liked to pick his spots. Hopefully Clowe gets a chance to kick the shit out of him next year.
I can understand the "Henriks" and the "Daniels", but never the "Kevins".
ReplyDeleteWell my playoff pool team is done. Made it to 3rd place and have a lot of Boston but so do guys with more Van than I. I'd need Recchi to score like ten. Otherwise it's fade back into the pack time.
I've been loving Clowes play these playoffs. He exudes toughness and can play too. It's most impressive when he gets the puck and the defenders stand back like they are trying to outmaneuver a wild bull.
ReplyDeleteThe other Shark that I've been surprised by is Wallin. if he played an entire season the way he's played these playoffs, he'd be very valuable. He's headed to free agency this summer and I wonder who gets him.
@TheOtherJohn
ReplyDeleteWe cannot find real NHL players and let guys who play there heart out leave and suggest we will replace them with Colin MacDonald.
I wasn't suggesting that replacing Reddox with Colin MacDonald was a good idea. More likely it will be the end result of management's failed attempt to replace Reddox with an upgrade or not bothering at all.
That being said, I don't think Reddox sees the NHL ice on anything but a lottery team. If Reddox is slotted on our roster as our best PKer, we're not likely going to be a very good hockey team anyway IMO.
Jay, I think the issue is that there are worse players on the team. If they were going to flush someone, I'd have hoped it was JFJ. If your best PK player is Reddox you're in trouble, if you flush your best PK player and keep JFJ, then you pick 1st overall.
ReplyDeleteThey can of course easily replace someone of Reddox's ilk, an effective 4th line PK specialist. But apparently it's not easy for this management team. We'll see what Tambo does. Larsson would go a long way to making me happy. I just hope whoever they pick turns out to be the right bet.
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ReplyDeleteHughson's great when he isn't calling the Dys game, he really is.
ReplyDeleteBut right now he's just as goddamn bad as Buck Martinez.
And both the Dys and the Heat winning the championship would make for a bad year.
Fuck, maybe that preacher Should have been right;)
wow...just watching the morning news on CBC and the reporters are just fuckin' idiotic. quotes:
ReplyDelete"hopefully the canucks will be taken as Canada's team, but it seems like there's lots of jealousy because Vancouver is the best city"
"everyone knows Vancouver is the best city and now we have the best hockey team. everyone will want to move here and it's obvious we're Canada's team"
Hockey aside, i think Vansnoozer is a pretty boring place that's wildly over rated by people who can't afford to live there. would way rather live in Victoria, because there's none of the irrational city love.
the hyperbole is going to reach a whole new level... i'll bet CBC finds 15 different Olympic narratives and we see the Crosby goal 40 times in the next week.
GO BOSTON!!!
tryoph = how a B goalie (like luongo) triumphs
The Dys *spits* cannot win the cup right before I move there, I won't be able to handle the fans.,
ReplyDeleteI sorta like to pretend that Messier as a Dy never happened. He wasn't very good on the ice and the stories go that he was terrible off the ice.
ReplyDeleteI loved it. Guy goes to a team who he had sent packing from the SCF, takes the C from that bitch Linden and the #11 from a dead guy and goes on to dog fuck his way through a series of campaigns while cashing fat cheques. Once and Oiler...
I'd just like to point out that last night the Dys held a reunion for a team that lost in the finals 17 years ago and followed it up with throwing confetti all over the ice for making it to the SCF.
ReplyDeleteBrian: also, we had another "Gus" Adams reference.
ReplyDeleteI never liked Hughson before his Expos apathy on LT's show so I liked him less after that.
and now I can't stand him.