I know it's much too early to properly evaluate any of the July 1st moves, but let's review them anyway and see if any of them are trending up or down.
The Oilers entered draft week with the following shopping list:
A veteran winger who could help improve the team at evens and special teams.- Truculence.
- A veteran NHL defensemen.
- A faceoff man to help with PK and to balance the C position.
- A legit option for the moment when goaltending becomes an issue
July 1 moves
- Oilers sign L Ben Eager. The signing addressed the truculence item and since Eager was effectively replacing JF Jacques I think it was a clear upgrade. Eager can take and make a pass. His concussion has had an impact on availability, but I'm generally happy with the signing and the size of role coach Renney has given him. Currently Eager is 4, 0-0-0 and playing 5 minutes and change a night, which is about where we slotted him in the RE series in the summer. Renney is not exposing him too much (a great idea) although I think Eager might find some time on a line up the ladder as the season rolls. Bet you a 2-4 Renney does it when Eager settles in, especially if the PK remains quality.
- Oilers sign D Cam Barker. I suggested July 1 this was a massive risk, and that's about where we are right now. Barker's numbers (7, 0-0-0 +1, 20:35) look fine, but he spends a lot of time resembling John Entwistle during play. The offense has not come on the PP, although he does seem to have an impressive shot from the point. I spent quite a bit of time talking about him on this blog over the summer, suggesting he was an unlikely top 4 solution based on his history. So far that seems to be holding.
- Oilers sign L Darcy Hordichuk. I remain very happy with this signing. Coach Renney wanted an enforcer and Hordichuk is a perfect one, playing in 3 games and averaging just over a minute and a half of icetime. Hordichuk has done less damage to the Oilers than Steve MacIntyre would have, and is an upgrade over Zack Stortini. Hordichuk's injury has allowed players like Petrell to gain a foothold, making him even more valuable.
- Oilers trade for D Andy Sutton. He's exactly what we thought he'd be, depth defender who can calm the waters, block out the sun and penalty kill. He's never going to win a foot race and Theo Peckham should take his job (and hasn't), but 7, 0-0-0 -1 in 16 minutes a night is just fine. I would hope he sits a spell at some point, Oilers tend to rely on the Strudwick man too much, but then again most coaches like safe players.
- Oilers sign C Eric Belanger. Most of us had been calling for this kind of player since about 2007, so when it happened there was much job. So far (7, 0-1-1 -3 in 15:48 a night) Belanger has done well on the PK and given the team strength and experience down the middle. His offense is a concern, and I would think Gagner may be moved to the middle (with Belanger playing 4C) if the popgun offense continues.
- Oilers sign D Corey Potter. As often happens, the pebble signing becomes a rock when it matters. He's 5, 1-2-3 E in 20 minutes a game. A sign that the Oilers are thinking would be a contract extension at reasonable dollars. One way, less than a mil--that kind of thing.
Tambellini got lucky because Ryan Smyth is aggressive on and off the ice, and fortunate because Tom Renney remembered Corey Potter fondly and wanted a center badly (the Oil Change scene where Lowe tells ST that Tom "doesn't want to get shut out" of the centermen who can win a faceoff is pure comedy).
And the whole damn bunch of them have to be in a run of pure good luck based on Khabibulin's early performance. These are high times for the Oilers and they do have a nice group of veterans to go with the wunderkinds. July 1st helped in a big way, but early signs suggest the help came from areas that would not have been considered major.
Corey freaking Potter. Who knew?
i don't mind some boring defensive hockey as long as we win!! looks like those moves have really paid off for the Oilers and i say NUTS to the "Fail For Nail" crowd!
ReplyDeleteThe Oilers have a 3-2-2 record, but fell very short of having 5 wins on the board. If Hemsky can get healthy, this team might be something. Haven't felt this good about the team since...
ReplyDeletehttp://coveredinoil.blogspot.com/2006/05/pants-off-for-ulanov.html
I've been impressed with Corey Potter, he as very good mobility, can skate, and has a hard accurate shot. His defensive game could still use a bit refining, but compared to the rest of the D corps, he's a shining star.
ReplyDeleteWhat I like about the current Oiler wins is the feeling that they came about playing "business as usual" hockey. These wins have not come about as a result of being on an Everest-like high (as was the case in game one against Calgary last year), but instead the Oil have been playing textbook hockey. Reminds me a little of the Islanders 82-83 regular season, where they were the best defensive team in hockey, but also one of the lowest scoring. Not saying that the Oil will continue this good play (and in no way am I saying the Oil are Stanley Cup contenders like the Islanders), but over the last few games, they've played as close to textbook hockey as we've seen in a long time.
ReplyDeleteI was finally able to watch an Oilers game, taped the 2-0 shutout from last night, and came away with a reasonably positive viewing on Barker. I see a defender who loves to jump into the rush and has the wheels and moves to do it, unlike other offensive d-men we've employed in the past (I'm looking at Chorney here).
ReplyDeleteWe knew he wasn't going to be Huddy in the defensive zone, but he performed adequeately enough. With more coaching about positional play and boxing out, he'll be a Top-4 option for this team.
Not that we necessarily need it if Corey Potter continues his performances. Guy was good last night, and is giving the club an option to keep Petry developing in the minors.
A legit option for the moment when goaltending becomes an issue. None.
ReplyDelete@LT: Not liking Yann Danis, eh? He should be right in his prime at 30 y.o. He's 3-1-0, 1.73, .941 so far in (obviously limited) action in OKC. He has 49 games of NHL experience with Habs, Islanders and Devils over chunks of three seasons, and has posted a pretty acceptable .912 Sv%. He's not sexy, but he's a fairly legit third tender in my view.
Bruce: I would have liked a more promising long term option. Like that Holtby kid in Washington.
ReplyDeleteSure, or that Price kid out of Montreal. My point is it's a bit harsh to just conclude because ST didn't get your first choice, that he didn't address the matter. Danis isn't terrible.
ReplyDeleteDanis is an AHL guy, the Gerber replacement. I was hoping that Tambellini would be a little more aggressive in this area.
ReplyDeleteLT, I assume when you refer to Barker as John Entwistle, you mean standing still while the action happens, and not the picture of sanity while Pete smashes things and Keith gets blown off the stage?
ReplyDeleteadam james: Correct. :-) Think bass player from Spinal Tap when he's IN THE POD. :-)
ReplyDeleteEntwhistle may have been stationary on stage, but as songs like 'My Generation' and 'The Real Me' attest, the Ox could certainly move on the fretboard.
ReplyDeleteHe also wrote My Wife, great song. Boris the Spider not so much.
ReplyDeleteHe played a decent french horn as well. Great, great band. When Moon was alive, the Who were nearly untouchable.
ReplyDeleteWho is Moon on this team then, or is the choice to obvious?
ReplyDeleteMoon? No one. There are legendary stories about Townshend fretting over Moon because he was child like and clearly the rock and roll life had a major impact on him.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of legendary stories, there's one about the Who, Edmonton Inn and a television about 1968 I'll tell you one day. :-)
Moon should be child like for he was a child when he joined the band. Who were looking for possible new drummers, and someone close to the band (possibly their manager) said they had the guy for them. Moon showed up, played so hard he wrecked their drum kit, and the the rest is history.
ReplyDeleteGuy was the real life incarnation of Animal from the Muppets.
My favourite vandal rockers will always be Scum of the Earth.
ReplyDeleteThat's it for him then.
Lowetide:
ReplyDeleteI strongly believe that the player ST was talking about with regards to him being concerned about playing with young players is Zenon Kenopka. I remember reading maybe even on here that there were concerns about him with younger kids.
Seamus: You know, you're right. I remember that now. Good call.
ReplyDeleteWoodcock with the try for the All Blacks.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about that LT-I know you're trying to run a family friendly blog..:)
ReplyDeleteGerta: Woodcock? I assume the English are up to no good? Aussies? Who are the all blacks? Don't tell me there's a rugby team that worships Johnny Cash? That would be cool.
ReplyDeletelol
ReplyDeleteNot a big rugby fan but I've got the WC final on in the background while I fritter away hours on the internet.
Large men.Very large men.
Rugby is such a tough sport, really brutal. But you know what? Most of the guys I know who played rugby are the mellowest people. Must have gotten it all out of their system on the pitch.
ReplyDeleteOr field. Or battlefield. Or grassy knoll.
@ Lowetide
ReplyDeleteIn the bar.
I know it wasn't Sheldon Souray they were talking about but that's the only name I could think of when viewing the scene.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen Oil Change yet, but from the promo the guy I thought of was Todd Fedoruk.
Doritogrande
ReplyDeleteI was finally able to watch an Oilers game, taped the 2-0 shutout from last night, and came away with a reasonably positive viewing on Barker. I see a defender who loves to jump into the rush and has the wheels and moves to do it
Seriously? "The Wheels".... Seriously? He's the slowest guy on the ice.
Danis is an AHL guy, the Gerber replacement. I was hoping that Tambellini would be a little more aggressive in this area.
ReplyDeleteLT: Well in his last two N.A. seasons (2008-10) before spending a year in the KHL, Danis played 10 games in the AHL and 43 in the NHL. He was in the bigs for all but a month or so of those two years. To me he's a legit "borderline NHL goalie".
With a decision finally made on JDD, a guy like Holtby likely would have created another three-headed monster, no? Under the circumstances (which applied to both Tambellini and the market) I think Danis was a reasonable stopgap. Obviously your mileage varies.
If Khabi had only one year to go on his deal this past summer, I'd have agreed with you.
Well at least he's not the Monster.
ReplyDelete@LT: For sure. :) We don't really know what we've got, that's for sure, although given Khabi's health history I suspect we'll get a chance to find out at some point.
ReplyDeleteBy the numbers, though, Danis is at least decent.
Is that Sarah Silverman?
ReplyDeleteYes. Sarah Silverman. Funny and airborne.
ReplyDeleteWow!
ReplyDeleteI knew she was funny and always thought her good looking but something about that pic puts her more into the attractive/hot category for me, thanks LT :)
I follow her on Twitter. She's smart, funny AND hot.
ReplyDeleteLT: Great post. I loved the line about Hordichuk making himself useful...
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bruce Re: the goaler situation. Holtby would have been a dream come true, but how often does that ever happen? Danis is playing well, and more importantly so are Dubs and Khabi... High times indeed.
My guess is that it was Barker that ST was referring to, if I am right airing that was both low class and stupid, considering they signed him anyway.
Extremely happy with the summer acquisitions, except 13, who has been decent at times, but just garbage behind and around his own net.
bikinigirl:
ReplyDeleteBlue Jackets inquire about Omark as per Garfield
Blue Jackets willing to do a multiplayer deal.
Note that she says Garfield which usually is a signal that this is inside info which is pretty accurate.
Has bikini girl had anything right since July 1?
ReplyDeleteWell I think she's got a inside source, and Omark to CBJ makes sense. What makes sense coming back?
ReplyDeleteLT. on July 1, it appeared that she had some one in the know. Not so much lately that I can see..
ReplyDeleteBut then, who am I? Just another fan
Has bikini girl had anything right since July 1?
ReplyDeleteShe said Chorney was going to be put on waivers about a day before it actually happened, if I'm remembering correctly. Could be wrong, though.
The top 10 prospect list from Hockey Futures for Columbus
ReplyDeleteRyan Johansen, C
David Savard, D
Matt Calvert, LW
John Moore, D
Tomas Kubalik, RW
Cam Atkinson, RW
Cody Goloubef, D
Boone Jenner, C
Will Weber, D
T.J. Tynan, C
Noodles
ReplyDeleteShe also said they were sending Lander down so maybe that was a shot in the dark.
Colombus doesn't have much that the Oilers need. They're weak on Defense and their bottom six is full of Hordichuk/eager types with Boll/Dorsett.
Maybe Clavert, but I doubt they move him.
Regwald:
ReplyDeleteWith their awful start they may look at blowing it up, which likely means they aren't going to part with prospects.
I don't see a deal that makes a ton of sense
Back to the Cogs discussion from earlier posts. He had the 2nd least ice time on the Ducks today - 8:01 only Brookbank had less. He was even on the day in a 5-4 loss. Went 1 for 3 on the dot.
ReplyDelete@itsaleaf,
ReplyDeleteI think Howson's job is on the line. If he wants Omark to jump start his team and offence, then he will part with prospects and draft picks.
Do the Oilers need more prospects and draft picks in exchange for Omark? I would argue they should start looking for real NHL players at this point... the prospect cupboards are pretty stocked.
ReplyDeleteIf we're looking for Defense... I just can't imagine that Columbus would trade a member of their already weak D-core for a forward. Mind you, this is the same Howson who claimed Moreau off waivers... so stranger things have happened.
Sometimes when I write, I end up with a shiny pile of cinderblock. It would be easy enough to back my post up to the digital landfill and tip it into the digital bit bucket of infinite bandwidth. I try not to do that. For one thing, you soon forget what you unsaid. For another, it disturbs What Lies Beneath, to reference a movie I've never seen, though I admire Zemeckis for allowing his actors to walk without talking (there are scenes in Contact where every person in the room is in motion--it's a nightmare to scoreboard). Cinderblock dispatched, sometimes I clue into what I'm really thinking.
ReplyDeleteIn the previous thread, LT was parsing Omark. This post has more to do with parsing than Omark, so I'll continue here, at greater remove from cinderblock.
There's perhaps six times I've read a chapter or an article that changed my view of the world instantly and forever. One of those was by Seymour Papert, a book already venerable, which I encountered in the early 1980s in which he talks a fair amount about his mentor, the Swiss developmental psychologist Jean Piaget. Piaget was smart about kids long before most anyone else; he was able to see the world as kids do, on their own cognitive terms; would have been a great coach.
Papert was big into Logo, a programming language designed for children (and child-like adults). I recall he had some tiny mechanoids that would perambulate about under very primitive algorithmic control--absurdly primitive: a photocell, a few gates, and a motor drive. These circuits predated Logo. The kids had fun, but it was all very dull to read about.
Except for one thing: the brilliant research students in his lab did not find it at all easy to infer the circuitry of these perambulators from their behaviours, even though the circuit elements were basic and few, and they were slapped together by children with no particular guile.
The insight Papert developed is that the human mind is surprisingly obtuse about parsing behaviour originating from rule based systems (though some of us learn to do it professionally as lawyers or programmers). Humans are good at parsing goal directed behaviour. We're so good at it we parse every twitch of the eyeball, with jealousy and deference.
Also around the same time I read a study about how people interpret silence: the lack of an overt response. Not very well. We fantasize outcomes ten times worse (usually) than the real explanation (the other party was swamped with other things).
The upshot of this is that if a person locks himself in a room, devises a mechanistic decision procedure, but decides not to explain this to the outside world, the outside world will almost certainly confabulate wildly. Smartest Guys in the Room illustrates this nicely by pointing the camera at the upper floors of a shiny, anonymous office tower while Tom Waits' What's He Building? lays on the dark commentary in the background. Even when it's right to harbour dark suspicions, we tend to guess wildly off the mark.
(checks behind the shower curtain)
(it was nothing after all)
ReplyDeleteOne thing that comes across very strongly in many of LT's posts is the sense of time and place. I love those posts. There was glee (one presumes) and disappointment (frequently documented). The sad demise of the Expos leaves a mark on a man's soul. Then Pocklington comes along with a rivet gun and completes the job. Deep in your psyche you start looping The Seventh Seal. Dark portents and omens are everywhere.
Dark wisdom of the heart is the soundtrack of life, but it still doesn't help you parse mechanism. The Oiler's management and coaching staff are particularly terrible about locking themselves in a dark room explaining nothing, with here and there a sudden jailbreak to do something truly crazy; opinions vary on which acts were the craziest. The only thing we can see with clarity is whether the talent has any; and not even immediately--with rare exceptions.
My feeling is that LT's parse on Omark casts Omark into a dark Swedish movie. I'm more inclined to view this as a mini-Enron moment: Omark was handed a little chunk of Logo code and failed to digest; it's a little map of the ice surface painted with areas of "more ice time" and "less ice time" with "you are here" painted on the later, backed up with credible deterrent: we're all going to abide by this, win or lose. (The funny thing about group standards is that they rarely take effect until management proves its willingness to step off the cliff.)
Another vantage point to bear in mind is that young adults tend to view things through the filter of how it looks to their social peers; embarrassment has a neural superhighway to fear, this fades as we age and our fate becomes less socially relevant. Renney is maybe thinking "what don't you get about this simple map?" while Linus is mainly thinking "this sucks" which is what the human brain at that age is optimized to process.
So here we have Renney's secret skating sauce exhibited under high public scrutiny by fragile type A talent with the emotional wiring of young adulthood which cares a lot about optics--optics that mainly play into a vacuum of wild presumption as parsed by heart-break and swollen digits on the odometer of life. What could possibly be mistranslated?
I suspect OTC had a lot less secret sauce making the optics of riding the pine a lot more transparent. And I bet some players prefer it like that.
The little piece of magic in the modern coaching style is getting the players to where their instincts aren't compromised under adherence to the coach's Logo subroutines. Instincts are faster than habits, and habits are faster than briefing notes. In hockey, speed is beauty. First the coach tears it apart, and then he puts it back together. Maybe.
There's always much debate about the blender madness.
itsaleaf said...
ReplyDeleteColombus doesn't have much that the Oilers need.
Actually they have draft picks, Clitsome, and Savard...exactly what the Oilers could use. In particular Savard. IF you can do a deal to get him you bloody well better get it done.
With Carter on the shelf I don't really get why Omark would be much of a target but who knows? Maybe Gagner + Omark.
The Oilers were hot for Johansen in the past. I'm sure they're still interested, but I wonder how many assets we'd have to move for this particular magic bean?
ReplyDeleteMight be just me but I wonder if Silverman would come with a weed-whacker?
ReplyDeleteDoes Columbus have Craig Millar and Barrie Moore?
ReplyDeleteI have Jeff Beck blaring out my speakers in a vain attempt to raise my soul before the work day. If Scatterbrain doesn't do it then 'Cos We've Ended Up As Lovers most likely will do the trick. Definitely a top-10 moment in the history of recorded electric guitar.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it does seem that Renney and Omark haven't ended up as lovers. If the Oil want to try and make the playoffs this year they would be a fool to trade Omark. Having a player of that calibre that can sub-in across the top-9 everytime Hemsky 'makes love' to his shoulder is a real bonus.
That said, this may well be about personalities. Having highly competitive players who don't want to be dropped is one thing, but the suggestion is that Omark is a diva who takes it to a level that can't be good for team dynamics. Of course, we never know quite how these personality things are really playing out, but they are an important aspect of all managerial decisions which are never made purely on skill/ability.
I was finally able to watch an Oilers game, taped the 2-0 shutout from last night, and came away with a reasonably positive viewing on Barker. I see a defender who loves to jump into the rush and has the wheels and moves to do it, unlike other offensive d-men we've employed in the past (I'm looking at Chorney here).
ReplyDeleteDg,
It was different watching it in the building.
You could see the lanes open up and who Barker should pass it to, and he rarely did.
Often the Oiler's F had to circle back and re-start the break out because he held the puck too long, or passed it to Sutton instead of his first forward option.
Hanging on to the puck too long got him in trouble a couple times since either he or Sutton lost possession and there wasn't an Oiler winger in the zone to help.
Luckily none of this resulted in goals against.
After one of the times that the forwards had to come back and re-start the break out, Barker went up to Hall before the face off to talk and Hall just glared at him then ignored him.
He was also very rarely (if ever) first to a loose puck.
He just mosey's everywhere. Frustrating to watch.
Also,
re: CLB rumours. Howson may do something stupid to save his job. Any way to land Savard here is probably a very good thing.
6'2" 220lbs, RH 2 years (including this one) left on his ELC. Good point totals in the AHL last year.
Not sure he's an upgrade on Petry at this point, but another RH NHL ready Dman is a good thing.
Would you do Omark+ for Savard? Because I imagine that's what it'll take.
ReplyDeleteWhat would be the +?
While Savard would be nice, I would take a run at Johansen first. You have to take a run at the best player available. A 1-2 punch of RNH and Johansen down the middle is as close as we could ever hope to get to Crosby-Malkin.
ReplyDeleteIf it cost the Oilers Hemsky and Omark to get him it would be absolutely worth it.
2012/2013 forward lines:
Hall - RNH - Eberle
Smyth - Johansen - Gagner
MPS - Lander - Hartikainen
Eager - Belanger - Horcoff
That said, Savard would be a nice consolation prize.
Any chance that Khabibulin's early season heroics gets Howson interested? They desperately need goaltending help.
ReplyDeleteTrade idea that wont happen:
NK + Hemsky + Sutton + Omark
Savard + Johansen + Pick
or some combination thereof.
That would be a desperate move by a desperate GM, but it gets them alot of what they need(Goaltending, scoring and size on D) without costing a roster player.
"The Corey Power Potterplay" - Courtesy of Mark Lee.
ReplyDeleteI'm all about Potts, always great to see fellow MSU Spartans make the jump (and several of the good ones over the years have worn Oiler silks).
Re Savard from HF:
ReplyDeleteThe blueliner was awarded with several awards for his efforts, including CHL Defenseman of the Year honors, the QMJHL's Emile "Butch" Bouchard Trophy for best defenseman, and the Kevin Lowe Trophey (sic) for best defensive-defenseman.
There you go, he's a natural.
I agree though. You first try to pry Johansen loose by adding in Hemsky or Gagner. If that doesn't work, then Omark for Savard, Moore, or Cody Goloubef would be fine.
Often the Oiler's F had to circle back and re-start the break out because he held the puck too long, or passed it to Sutton instead of his first forward option.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that about him all year, but I actually thought he was better in that regard last night. Of course, I PVR'd the game and watched it at 1:00am after a night out, so my viewing was a little fuzzy.
I've been comparing him to a quarterback who takes too long to scan the field and ends up having to throw the ball away. A lot of people will say that he's not making any mistakes because he's not getting sacked or throwing interceptions, but the play still isn't moving forward unless he hands off to the runningback (or in this case, his defense partner).
Galchenyuk out for the season, as per Bob Mackenzie
ReplyDeleteRelease here
If Howson traded Johansen, he would have to fire himself.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I would like to see him here, 6'2" RH centers with that kind of skill would have a steep cost. Certainly more than Omark. Omark might get you Boone Jenner, someone who could be a decent 3/4 line center down the road.
As for adding Hemsky, does he really have much trade value now? Hemsky can be a great player, but you would have to be crazy to give up anything for him.
Decide for yourself how much weight you want to put on it but I've heard from friends who might have some insight that CBJ might be in make the playoffs now mode not so much to save Howson's job but to save the team.
ReplyDeletePut another way, it wouldn't stun me if Johansen was available.
The package for Ryan Smyth and Dustin Penner was a 1st, + prospect. I don't think that a healthy Hemsky for Johansen is out of the question.
ReplyDelete....+ Fraser
ReplyDeleteRemember those halcyon days when Howson was seen as a young, bright GM that was a loss for the Oilers and was going to do big things in CLB?
ReplyDeleteI recall a week there where LT was so fed up with the home side he threatened to start writing about the Blue Jackets as an example of doing things the right way.
Now the over/ under on Arniel must be at 10 more games, with Howson almost certainly gone by no later than the draft.
I still won't be surprised to see the Oilers finish behind CLB this year, but not meeting high expectations is a killer.
....+ 7th Round pick.
ReplyDelete....+ Conditional 2nd..
ReplyDeleteIf he's done for the year, it'll be very interesting to see how far Galchenyuk falls in the draft. Someone could get a huge gift late.
ReplyDeleteGernat has the ever coveted Glow In His Eyes
ReplyDeleteSomeone get that boy a sandwich!
Columbus is a cap team-according to capgeek they are right up against it...so any Hemsky deal would have to include salary coming back.
ReplyDeleteIf Howson is desperate,I'd love to "help him out".
Rumours surrounding the Carter trade suggested that Johansen was completely untouchable for Howson. If he wasn't putting Johansen on the table for Carter I highly doubt that any combination of Hemsky, Omark, etc. will persuade him to do so.
ReplyDeleteAnd though Johansen is a very attractive asset, we do seem to be set at centre for the foreseeable future with RNH, Gagner, Horcoff, Belanger, and Lander.
We should also not assume that Johansen is a surefire NHLer. He put up good junior numbers, but on an absolutely stacked Portland Winterhawks team. A team which is still fairly good without him.
Attn: Punters
ReplyDeletePeter Budaj starts for MTL against FLA tonight in MTL.
FLA is currently +110 money line and +190 if they win in regulation.
Now that I have posted this, he'll shut out FLA of course.....
Gernat has the ever coveted Glow In His Eyes
ReplyDeleteHow is his Glow In His Eye/60 compared to Fire In The Belly/gm?
@ Ribs
ReplyDeleteGernats got 16 points and is +8 so far this year. Whatever he is, or isn't eating needs to be force fed to the rest of the prospects.
@ Woodguy
ReplyDeleteHas your bankroll recovered from the pre-season sure thing, lead pipe lock?
Columbus is a cap team-according to capgeek they are right up against it...so any Hemsky deal would have to include salary coming back.
ReplyDeleteIf Howson is desperate,I'd love to "help him out".
I noticed that too. (they have 3.5MM in LTIR room though...)
I also noticed that Savard makes about $100K more than Omark.
Hmmmmm.
V3.2 may be assuming that 89 is a RW long term too. Which would make 23 even more expendable in their eyes regardless of what they do with 83.
Matt.N - No Doubt. Glowing eyes for everyone!
ReplyDeleteHas your bankroll recovered from the pre-season sure thing, lead pipe lock?
ReplyDeleteYes.
In another fit of idiocy I put the rest of my roll on Green Bay -4 in Atlanta.
The line went to -6 by game time if I remember correctly (placed my bet Sunday night).
Green Bay won 25-14.
I have since then pledged to:
1) Never put more than 10% of my roll on 1 game
2) Never, ever, ever bet on NHL pre-season again.
I had to check on another website WG because I didn't believe they were up against the cap. Maybe Huselius is the answer if a ton of money is exchanged-with the poor start and the injuries/suspensions and the 6000 fans in attendance,maybe Howson DOES do something desperate.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what contracts the Oil could take off of CBJ to sweeten the deal for Savard or Johansen?
ReplyDeleteClosest thing CBJ has to Omark is Kristian Huselius, who I would suggest is a player they badly miss. He's skating but still out for another month or so. Huselius is a proven soft-minutes, secondary scoring guy, whereas Omark only projects to be that sort of player at this point.
ReplyDeleteThrowing a life buoy to a drowning team is one thing, an anchor something else entirely. I can't imagine an offensive player who has yet to be on the ice for a goal for in an hour of even strength time and a quarter of an hour of powerplay time is likely to set Howson's heart racing. He's got enough slumping players already.
Judging by TOI, Pahlsson is probably the guy that they most want to dump. Brassard is also not playing much and has a $3.2M cap hit.
ReplyDeleteTwo other points worth noting about Columbus' cap situation: Johansen was a very high pick so his cap hit is almost $2M he may not actually be a good value this season. Also, Mason can be bought out for 1/3 of his contract at the end of the season, so a Khabi for Mason deal may not look great this season, but he could be cheaply dumped at the end of the season whereas Khabi is on a 35+ contract.
The package for Ryan Smyth and Dustin Penner was a 1st, + prospect. I don't think that a healthy Hemsky for Johansen is out of the question.
ReplyDeleteMatt - the point is that no-one will believe that Hemsky will ever stay healthy for long. A healthy Hemsky is always going to be one hard hit to his shoulder away from being a broke Hemsky. For a GM, he's an incredible risk, and that's why his price will be lower than his calibre suggests.
The little piece of magic in the modern coaching style is getting the players to where their instincts aren't compromised under adherence to the coach's Logo subroutines. Instincts are faster than habits, and habits are faster than briefing notes.
ReplyDeleteI remember sitting down with George Kingston and Wally Kozak once and asked them about systems, and they said hockey was changing to the point where systems had to be balanced with philosophies, such as, "We will always pressure the puck carrier, no matter what."
I think Omark, because of his training in another system, may be thinking philosophically, while Renney is still caught in a systems mentality.
Just my two cents.
According to Gregor, Hemsky still not skating, still at least two weeks away.
ReplyDeleteAt least two weeks now? He tweeted this earlier today...
ReplyDeleteHemsky at least a week away from practicing with team according to Renney.
In any case, I hope he takes the necessary time and comes back in full form. Crossing my fingers before we find out he needs to get scoped and is done for months.
Ribs: I think the difference is a week away from practicing, two weeks away from playing.
ReplyDeleteAssuming he doesn't get reinjured in practice. :(
I'm shocked that Hemsky is taking so long to recover. It's just not his style......
ReplyDeleteSo, nine days ago 83 was gonna need 5-7 days to rest and then another 5-7 to strenghten. So, that's 10 to 14 days. Nine days have since passed and we can now tack on another 14 days.
ReplyDeleteso, 10-14 days has already turned into at least 23 days.
Hemsky is such a waste of talent and everyone's time.
Of course 23's future is tied into the health of 83, the ability of 89 to make hay on the RW and also just how comfortable the Oilers are with breaking 57 in as primarily a 4th liner and PKer who'll get little to no chance to put up any points. I could also throw in the idea that the Oiles will send 93 back to the WHL but I don't think anyone believes that's actually gonna happen.
Another thing that could hurt 23's chances of sticking around are how well 44 plays as that would lessen the need for another top four D. And as good as 44 has looked so far he'll look even better once the rust shakes out of 6's head and he's able to pull it out of his ass and stop making bad decisions.
I don't mind 93 sticking around as long as we have the vets to take the tough matchups but I'd rather have 57 down in OKC even if it's for just half-a-season. I think he's the closest kid we've had to emulating 10 given the defensive skills apparent off the hop and even 10 spent 20-odd games in the minors.
Hemsky's health and the team's decent play means we may actually be in a position of leverage when it comes to his negotiation. Of course who knows if we give him the home town raise unlike other teams.
ReplyDeleteSo if Hemmer is weeks away, do you just run Gagner in his spot and nothing changes? Or at some point do you roll Gagner back to centre and flush Lander to the minors and either run with Omark as a spare or call up Harsky.
Renney's comments including Hemsky
ReplyDeleteMy patience with Hemsky ran out the day after last year's trading deadline when he went down for the season.
ReplyDeleteI love the guy as a talented NHL player but I would move him as soon as he's healthy-that's just me and everybody has their own opinion but I just don't have any more time for him.
If 56 keeps putting up close to a PPG down in OKC at the 20 game mark then I don't think it's fair to keep him there.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I have liked 57's last two games I would still put him down in OKC for at least 20 games so we can foster his offensive potential as well.
SO, for me, you kill a lot of birds with the same stone by putting 89 at pivot, moving 57 to OKC and giving 23 one last 10-15 game segment just to see how much he can create. I Still don't believe there's a role for him going forwards given the TOI he's likely to receive but one last shot would at least give the org more intel to go on.
Remember when all those people were idiots for wanting to trade Hemsky at the deadline last year?
ReplyDeleteAnother asset pissed away.
Once Hemmer is healthy,
ReplyDelete4-93-14
94-10-83
23-89-91
55-20-28
Petrell and Lander go to OKL.
Then Tambo can bring one of them up when Hemsky gets sore a week later.
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ReplyDeleteFussy Britches proclaims...
ReplyDeleteRNH will not be going back to Red Deer, he will stay with the Oilers ..as per Garfield
A fairly safe thing to say.
Why would we send Lander and Petrell down to the AHL?
ReplyDeleteBoth those guys offer balance and are doing good work on the PK.
I like what Renney said the other day that our PK unit is almost like a sub culture.
Package Omark, Hemsky and Gagner for a good defensemen and call up Harty.
Ribs,
ReplyDeleteI am betting if we polled the website, we'd come up with a pretty high number of people who would make that same prediction. No news there.
Now, if the poll was, do you think the Oilers should send RNH to Red Deer, there would be a whole larger number in support of that for the chance at the World Jr's and just all the Sutter family that is involved in the Red Deer operation ... LOL
I think the league wide perception of Hemsky is that he's really just damaged goods at this point. If the plan is to trade him, they need to do it ASAP and offload him to a desperate team willing to take a chance on him to try to make the playoffs because at the deadline no team in its right mind will target him as a playoff rental given his brittleness and the higher physical intensity of the postseason.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Lander, I really don't think he needs any AHL seasoning. What he needs is some decent wingers to play with. One can only hope that the coaching brass will come to their senses and HS the both Eager and Hordy (at least for a game every now and then) so that Lander does not always have to be burdened with a deadbeat on one of its wings. Or even better, both Eager and Hordy gets injured for an extended periods of time so that Lander can have some real hockey players to play with for a longer stretch. I think his effectiveness will manifest itself once he gets better linemates.