Rumor: Rumours & Proposals | Chia Talk Ban | Oilers Sign KHL G Mikko Koskinen, What's Next?

[MoneyGuy]

Yeah, it would be such an Oilers thing to eat 40% of the salary of Sekera and give up a draft choice to dump a player who was good pre-injury. And will be again.

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[Joey Moss]

when I think of Draisaitl I think of Tkachuk bouncing off him and the ridiculous series against the Ducks

when I think of Nylander I think of him bailing on the puck to avoid a hit in the last minutes of game 7

He wanted absolutely no part of Chara there.

 

[McFlyingV]

He wanted absolutely no part of Chara there.

This guy as our 2C in the playoffs?

 

[Little Fury]

Maybe. Or maybe Nylander isn't as good as you think, or Draisaitl is better than you think--maybe it's both.

It's not about Drai being good or bad, it's about balancing the roster.

Their best prospects are wingers so there's no way I'd give up a major asset to get another young winger. Sign a stopgap or two and develop Puljujarvi, Yamamoto and Benson.

Yeah but our best prospects are still just prospects. And our development sucks.

Karlsson is great no doubt but he's 5 years older than Draisaitl, has an injury history and is sure to cost in the 12M neighborhood. He'd be great to have but I'd rather keep Drai and build around the 2 centers, I'm just a big Draisaitl fanboy so there's some bias coming from me.

I think the defence needs someone who can move the puck and there's no better d-man in the world than EK. The cost will be high but what's the saying? "That's the price you have to pay."

I cringe at the thought of this team without Drai at 2C if they make playoffs. RNH or Nylander (as was suggested above) are not going to cut it in the 2C slot in the western conference playoffs.

As it stands, the Oilers D isn't going to cut it in the playoffs either. Look at the teams doing well this year: they all have D that can transition the puck.

We have the centre makeup we want for playoffs, we should be figuring out how to build around them on D and on the wings. I'm less worried about the wings because of our winger prospects.

So how do you fix the D without actually trading anything of value?

when I think of Draisaitl I think of Tkachuk bouncing off him and the ridiculous series against the Ducks

Who what now?

when I think of Nylander I think of him bailing on the puck to avoid a hit in the last minutes of game 7

Well, you know what they say: one instant of one game is all you need to define a player forever.

 

[Little Fury]

This guy as our 2C in the playoffs?

JimMoraPlayoffs.gif

 

[soothsayer]

It's not about Drai being good or bad, it's about balancing the roster.

The point is that Draisaitl is so much better than Nylander that you'd be unlikely to justify the balanced roster you end up with. Balance for the sake of balance doesn't quite cut it.

 

[Little Fury]

The point is that Draisaitl is so much better than Nylander that you'd be unlikely to justify the balanced roster you end up with. Balance for the sake of balance doesn't quite cut it.

I think the drop in quality from Drai to Nylander would be more than offset by the addition of a top end D man. It's the same theory behind trading Hall for Larsson and bringing in a objectively inferior player to replace Hall, except in my scenario the D actually gets fixed.

 

[Jet Walters]

McDavid/Nylander/Strome down the middle is the exact opposite of balance.

 

[soothsayer]

I think the drop in quality from Drai to Nylander would be more than offset by the addition of a top end D man. It's the same theory behind trading Hall for Larsson and bringing in a objectively inferior player to replace Hall, except in my scenario the D actually gets fixed.

I understand. It just makes me cringe to think of Nylander replacing Draisaitl, without having a concrete name being mentioned as the added piece on defense. Chiarelli's moves have totally conditioned me against proposals like yours. The defenseman coming back, for me, would have to be a total gamebreaker, like Doughty on an extension.

 

[Little Fury]

McDavid/Nylander/Strome down the middle is the exact opposite of balance.

Are you sure you know what balance means in this context? The Oilers are currently imbalanced because they have three quality centres, no quality wingers and a middling, one-dimensional D corps.

I'm suggesting away they could improve the D corps at the price of a slight downgrade at forward, but that the improved ability at the back end would mitigate that drop off.

 

[soothsayer]

Are you sure you know what balance means in this context? The Oilers are currently imbalanced because they have three quality centres, no quality wingers and a middling, one-dimensional D corps.

I'm suggesting away they could improve the D corps at the price of a slight downgrade at forward, but that the improved ability at the back end would mitigate that drop off.

Who on D would you have in mind? You have got to have a hypothetical player in mind. So it technically would be Draisaitl + Nurse for Nylander and [insert blank].

 

[McTrashBoat]

Who what now?

two separate incidents, note the 'and'

 

[Little Fury]

I understand. It just makes me cringe to think of Nylander replacing Draisaitl, without having a concrete name being mentioned as the added piece on defense. Chiarelli's moves have totally conditioned me against proposals like yours. The defenseman coming back, for me, would have to be a total gamebreaker, like Doughty on an extension.

Karlsson and OEL were the two I'd mentioned that would make sense.

 

[Little Fury]

two separate incidents, note the 'and'

Apologies I read it as "in".

No question when Drai is on, he's a force. When he's on.

 

[McTrashBoat]

Apologies I read it as "in".

No question when Drai is on, he's a force. When he's on.

f*** yeah he is

 

[Faelko]

Are you sure you know what balance means in this context? The Oilers are currently imbalanced because they have three quality centres, no quality wingers and a middling, one-dimensional D corps.

I'm suggesting away they could improve the D corps at the price of a slight downgrade at forward, but that the improved ability at the back end would mitigate that drop off.

I think the assumption is RNH is now a winger, that leaves us 2 quality C & 1 quality W. The trick is to find another quality W to play with Draisaitl IMO.

I don’t see an easy fix for the D unless we get lucky with a good player in the draft.

 

[Little Fury]

I think the assumption is RNH is now a winger, that leaves us 2 quality C & 1 quality W.

So my proposal would leave us in basically the same boat we're in now, but with a better D.

The trick is to find another quality W to play with Draisaitl IMO.

Well, i'm told that finding high end W is as easy as reaching out and picking one off the elite winger tree.

I don’t see an easy fix for the D unless we get lucky with a good player in the draft.

Realistically, that's absolutely correct. If we end up picking at 10 and all the good D men are off the board, I think one needs to think about alternatives because we aren't going anywhere with the D as it is IMO.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

a proposition which ive found delightfully tantalizing is Mikko Koivu for scraps

 

[McFlyingV]

I think the assumption is RNH is now a winger, that leaves us 2 quality C & 1 quality W. The trick is to find another quality W to play with Draisaitl IMO.

I don’t see an easy fix for the D unless we get lucky with a good player in the draft.

Pretty much this. The hope is we can get first half Lucic back (there's no way he can be as bad as he was in the 2nd half, nobody can hit the post or miss like 15 consecutive empty nets and repeat it), and have one of Puljujarvi (who I don't think is far off) or Yamamoto step up and solidify themselves as a good winger for Drai. I'd hope they bring in a safety net player like Vanek (a vet on a short deal who can score) just incase.

As for the D, there's a few things to consider. For starters, no we don't have a stud D, but the likelihood of us acquiring one is not great anyways. You simply can't trade Draisaitl because this team becomes even more one-dimensional if you have the 2nd line revolving around a centre like RNH or Nylander. I think we need to try to get a Dman through the draft if we aren't picking 2 or 3 this year. Our D isn't great, but its likely not anywhere near as bad as it was last year. A hopefully healthy Klefbom and Larsson are bound to see bounce backs, and its way too early to write off Sekera who will now have the whole summer to get back into game shape from his surgery.

As for Nylander, I'm sorry but he is a massive downgrade from Draisaitl. Not only has he not proven he can be effective at centre in the NHL, but he's also incredibly soft and we know exactly how that will go in the playoffs. At least last year we saw that good goaltending and defence by committee was enough to push this team to what should have been the Western Conference Finals. I'm not willing to lose Draisaitl to see what a #1D and 2 skilled finesse top 2 centres can do.

The team needs better depth on the wing and on defence, but Pittsburgh is a prime example of how important it is to have 2 game-breaking centres. Letang is pretty average on the defensive side of things, and they showed last year that you can win the cup without a #1D in the lineup.

 

[McFlyingV]

JimMoraPlayoffs.gif

I mean if all you're building for is to get to playoffs, then you're doing it wrong.

 

[Jet Walters]

Josh Anderson

Mats Zuccarello with 50% retention

RNH McDavid Anderson
Lucic Draisaitl Zuccarello

What would it take? That's a balanced top 6.

 

[belair]

So my proposal would leave us in basically the sam boat we're in now, but with a better D.

Well, i'm told that finding high end W is as easy as reaching out and picking one off the elite winger tree.

Realistically, that's absolutely correct. If we end up picking at 10 and all the good D men are off the board, I think one needs to think about alternatives because we aren't going anywhere with the D as it is IMO.

Your proposal would also ultimately leave us with a significantly more expensive defense, a weaker center depth and someone who could essentially be viewed as a replacement for Jordan Eberle. We don't require the significant change you're suggesting.

Our current need is at right defense. We have a valuable trade chip in Oscar Klefbom that could be parlayed into addressing that need. Several teams will likely be seeing some significant turnover this summer due to inflation of their respective payrolls. The goal should be to address our need by taking advantage of someone else's. If we ultimately cannot do that, I'd prefer to stand pat than forego the type of turnover that you've suggested here.

 

[Little Fury]

As for the D, there's a few things to consider. For starters, no we don't have a stud D, but the likelihood of us acquiring one is not great anyways. You simply can't trade Draisaitl because this team becomes even more one-dimensional if you have the 2nd line revolving around a centre like RNH or Nylander.

How? Are D men not an important part of the team make up?

As for Nylander, I'm sorry but he is a massive downgrade from Draisaitl. Not only has he not proven he can be effective at centre in the NHL, but he's also incredibly soft and we know exactly how that will go in the playoffs.

He's 21 and grit is overrated.

At least last year we saw that good goaltending and defence by committee was enough to push this team to what should have been the Western Conference Finals. I'm not willing to lose Draisaitl to see what a #1D and 2 skilled finesse top 2 centres can do.

Good goaltending and D by committee might get you int the playoffs and maybe be enough to win a round or two but you can't win a Cup that way. Trade Drai for Karlsson and you have the two best players in the league at their position on the same team. If you can't win with that, you're sure not winning with half of that.

The team needs better depth on the wing and on defence, but Pittsburgh is a prime example of how important it is to have 2 game-breaking centres. Letang is pretty average on the defensive side of things,

Letang is better than any Oilers D by a country mile and they have Kessel who would be the second best player on the Oilers.

and they showed last year that you can win the cup without a #1D in the lineup.

Yeah you can win without a #1D if you have two generational talents up front plus Kessel, who would be the second best player on the Oilers.

 

[guymez]

Apologies I read it as "in".

No question when Drai is on, he's a force. When he's on.

He was disengaged far too much last season. He wasnt alone either.
When key players are disengaged everything else is virtually irrelevant.

 

[Little Fury]

Your proposal would also ultimately leave us with a significantly more expensive defense,

Significantly more expensive and significantly better D.

a weaker center depth and someone who could essentially be viewed as a replacement for Jordan Eberle.

Which is also a pretty significant need last I looked.

We don't require the significant change you're suggesting.

No and it's not happening but they should consider it if Karlsson was coming the other way.

Our current need is at right defense. We have a valuable trade chip in Oscar Klefbom that could be parlayed into addressing that need. Several teams will likely be seeing some significant turnover this summer due to inflation of their respective payrolls. The goal should be to address our need by taking advantage of someone else's.

If all you're doing is moving Klef for an older, more expensive and roughly equivalent D man who happens to be right handed, are you really that far ahead or are you just creating depth at one position (RHD) at the expense of another (LHD).