The Edmonton Oilers hired an excellent free agent in Eric Belanger. Since the lockout, July 1st has been a good (Roloson) and bad (Khabibulin) day for Oilers fans. 2011 was a busy day for the team, and Belanger's signing would have been a welcome item on any July 1st 2006-11. A solid NHL veteran, an actual NHL player who could help on the penalty kill, in the faceoff circle and chip in offensively.
It was too long coming, but the hole at center was finally addressed.
NHL Prediction for 11-12: 68, 13-23-36 (.529)
- Your centermen aren't scoring much. Horcoff (13-18-31) and Belanger (13-23-36) are going to see a lot of the tougher minutes and end zone faceoffs. RNH (8-23-31) and Sam Gagner (numbers to come) will see the PP time and get great opportunities.
- What role do you have Belanger in? Heavy PK minutes and a lot at even strength. Very little powerplay time, as I think it'll go to the two young C's.
- How does that compare to his role last season? In Phoenix, Belanger played 14EV, 1.5PK and 1.5PP minutes a night. I have him getting similar EV minutes in Edmonton and about 2.5PK minutes a night. Very defensive role.
- Similar to Horcoff. Right. Belanger, Horcoff and Smyth are the adults up front, I think the coach is going to ride them heavily, along with someone like maybe Eberle.
- Who does he play with? I'd like to see him with the two Swedes (Paajarvi and Omark) but he's a plug and play center. He could probably help Hall-Eberle and would fit very nicely between Smyth and Hemsky. A really good signing.
- What will be his most important role? The penalty kill. Not just faceoffs (although that's a Godsend for this team) but also because he's a veteran player the coach can send out there when things are melting. It's been years since the Oilers had one 2-way center on the ice and another on the bench waiting his turn.
- He wasn't used much on the PK in Phoenix. I don't know where this got started, but Belanger was in fact one of the top 4F's for the Coyotes a year ago. Phoenix--a team the Oilers could copy in many ways--has a plethora of guys who can PK. The best among them were Hanzal, Fiddler, Korpikoski and Belanger.
- What about faceoffs? Led the Coyotes with 1297 sorties and a 55.3%.
- Why do you like this signing so much? It made so much sense, the price was excellent and it opens up all kinds of possibilities.
- Is he a better player than Horcoff? Don't know. However, I believe there's a chance Horcoff will have a better season because Belanger is on the team.
- How good was his PHX season last year? Belanger was 2nd among C's in 5x5/points per 60 in PHX (1.85); 3rd in CorsiRel; 46.6 in Zone Start and 49.4 in zone end; among Coyotes centers, he faced the second toughest opponents (Hanzal) and played with the third best options.
- What can we say for certian about Belanger? We could use two more just like him to place on the wings.
10. Is he a better player than Horcoff? Don't know. However, I believe there's a chance Horcoff will have a better season because Belanger is on the team.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with this. You see it all the time in baseball, an experienced hitter is inserted into the line-up and all of a sudden, other guys start hitting better. It's happening with Beltran in S.F. right now and as a Sox fan, when Gonzalez was added to the team in the summertime, Ortiz hasn't been this productive at the quarter pole since Manny was hitting in front of him.
Smyth and Belanger are the first two players to come to the Oilers for something other than money in a long, long time.
ReplyDeleteSmyth is here because, well, he's Ryan Smyth.
Belanger *is* here for somewhat more mercenary reasons, but it seems like he signed here primarily for term - and that is a very good thing.
it is hard not to like a guy who looks for term to give his family some stability and sees Edmonton as a fine place to do that.
i really hope he does well, because the difference between taking elite draft picks and building a championship team around them is the difference between teams like Pittsburgh/Chicago and teams like Columbus/Atlanta is the ability to surround that talent with mature, depth players that punch above their weight.
it my be a somewhat unreasonable expectation but if Eric Belanger is the first of those players, i'll be very, very happy.
plus he's already provided me the opportunity to instruct my american wife on the proper pronunciation of "Belanger", which means he's already a winner on the 'household entertainment value' front.
ReplyDeleteYears ago, the Orioles had a nifty SS named Mark Belanger. The difference between the way he pronounced his name and the way Belanger pronounces his is crazy.
ReplyDeleteI'm content with the forwards.
ReplyDeleteJust wished Tambo did something about the defence. Spending that sort of cash on Barker (and more importantly using up a roster spot) seems counter-productive.
Goalie is still an issue as well.
We could use two more just like him to place on the wings.
ReplyDeleteAnd one more at centre.
Agree the forwards look better - but I wish we had used the Jones money to hire someone better than Jones for the 3rd line. A RW of Hemmer, Eberle, Omark could use a better defensive player than Jones - that contract is just poor value for the money and he doesn't fit the role. Not sure what role he even plays to be honest - oh yeah I forgot - he's great in the room :(
ReplyDeleteIf Horcoff is healthy he probably has his best year since signing the big contract - and Belanger would be a big part of it.
God I love this signing. He's been often mentioned as a #3 or #4 guy on the depth chart, but I believe he's a #2 (behind Gagner) come November.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see him play between Hall and Eberle. I think he provides a little bit more offensive pop than Horcoff at this point in their careers. As such I think he would be a better fit with those two as opposed to PRV and Omark.
Wouldn't surprise me if he also took over some PP duty from Gagner especially if the Oil struggle in that area out of the gate.
Just a wonderful signing. 3 years isn't too long and the cap hit is a beauty.
Lowe with a couple of comments about RNH.
ReplyDeleteI was on the road the last couple of days but just wanted to express my disappointment with the Oilers not picking up Colin White-and then hearing the scuttlebutt today that they were interested in him after he hit UFA but lost out to the Sharks(big surprise)
I like the Belanger signing but as others have pointed out,the D is still lacking and the goaltending needs work.
And off topic-I'm in Edmonton visiting the family this week-are the potholes bigger this year or
is it my imagination? The suspension on my Jetta is really taking a beating.
Potholes are bad, but the worst thing right now is that in order to turn left in the west end you need to drive to St. Albert.
ReplyDeleteI guess it's somewhat encouraging that they appear to still be looking to upgrade the team-the last couple of years they've put up a "gone fishin" sign the 2nd week of July and then headed to training camp.Maybe patience will pay off with a nice trade but that Colin White opportunity was just served up on a platter.
ReplyDeleteWe'll see.
Adding a 35 year old centre to a rebuilding team that is likely 3 years away from the playoffs is just odd.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they're thinking they have a playoff team.
Right.
Belanger is 33, but don't let that slow you down.
ReplyDeleteThe Oilers are not three years from the playoffs either, but that's DSF folks.
ReplyDeleteDSF's point being that Belanger is not part of the future. He is a transition player. Hopefully, by the end of his contract, Lander is playing at the level that Belanger is at right now.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what to make of this guy. He does sure seems like a legit player that you can plug into your lineup without worry. How the Oilers plan to use him is the question.
ReplyDeleteI have the feeling that he will play the Colin Fraser role the way that they hoped Colin Fraser would play the role. A solid 3rd-4th line center that can be relied on to fill the gaps when necessary.
With Gagner still on the roster come opening day, I can't see Belanger's role being very prominent in terms of ice time. He's the guy who will get shafted when it comes to opportunity and will look like a very average player in games. When you look a bit deeper though, you will realise all that he brings to the table. It is an important role that gets overlooked a lot and one that we've complained about forever. I'd go as far as to compare him to Marty Reasoner. I do have the hope that he is a better player than that, though.
It's a funny thing with role players. You always want them to do more and it kind of takes away from the value that they actually bring. If Jarret Stoll was still playing for the Oilers I'd still be waiting for him to have a "Breakout year".
A solid signing and I hope for the best. I just don't expect him to uproot a guy like Gagner at this time.
10. Is he a better player than Horcoff?
ReplyDeleteIF he's even remotely close that pretty much says it all regarding the ridiculous paycheque Horcoff earns....O wtf...if he's 1/3 the player Horcoff is that contracts still ridiculous.
"Steve Smith" said...We could use two more just like him to place on the wings.
And one more at centre.
Sadly, utililizable C's are still out there but drawing zero interest from Tambourini. He should be done assessing the team enough by March 1 to realize he should have grabbed one.
Why do you like this signing so much? It made so much sense, the price was excellent and it opens up all kinds of possibilities.
ReplyDeleteYeah, this contract sure makes the Jones signing look horrendous.
Is he better than Horcov?
From the 47 gp last season:
Horcoff:
5v5/60= 1.47
5v5 G/60=0.37
+/-/60= -.19
rel corsi = 7
4v5, GAON/60 = 15.43
5v4, GFON/60=5.99
Belanger...
5v5/60=3.05
G/60=.60
rel corsi+=6.4
+/-/60 = +.76
4v5, GAON/60=6.64
5v4, GFON/60=3.58
Obviously, there's other factors like team effect and QOL comp/team, etc.
From last year, Belanger's numbers look superior to Horcoff at evens and pk though belanger doesn't appear to be a PP superstar.
As LT said in a previous post, plenty of people have Belanger penciled in as the 4C. I'd be surprised if that's the role he plays ala Colin Fraser.
Sadly, utililizable C's are still out there but drawing zero interest from Tambourini. He should be done assessing the team enough by March 1 to realize he should have grabbed one.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure there's anyone left out there of Belanger's calibre. Anyway, Tambellini seems to be working on the assumption that RNH makes the team, which is really unfortunate (especially since before the draft, the consensus - from the Oilers and the hockey world in general - seemed to be that he could use another year in junior).
Even if RNH *does* make the team, though, we're still short an NHL centre, since you'd want to be carrying five centres on your NHL roster. I guess we'd have five if Brule were healthy, but that just doesn't seem likely.
Lowetide said...
ReplyDeleteBelanger is 33, but don't let that slow you down.
I doubt the 15 months between Belanger's 35th birthday and his age when the season starts will play a major role in a rebuild.
It's an odd signing for a rebuilding team.
Out of curiosity, DSF, what would you have done with the centre position this off-season in Tambellini's place?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure there's anyone left out there of Belanger's calibre. Anyway, Tambellini seems to be working on the assumption that RNH makes the team, which is really unfortunate (especially since before the draft, the consensus - from the Oilers and the hockey world in general - seemed to be that he could use another year in junior).
ReplyDeleteEven if RNH *does* make the team, though, we're still short an NHL centre, since you'd want to be carrying five centres on your NHL roster. I guess we'd have five if Brule were healthy, but that just doesn't seem likely.
Sounds ludicrous I know but spend $900k - 1M and bring Madden in for a year to be #4. Don't see that he's announced his retirement or signed someplace else. Pretty decent stats last year all round and his presence would send RNH back to junior for the year he needs.