Proposal: Boston - Edmonton

[FightingIrish17]

I'm not sold that DeBrusk is even that right now, to be honest.

Bear's had a tough couple games since his concussion, but DeBrusk has three goals and six points in his last 30 games dating back to last year, and two of those goals came on the powerplay.

I don't think I'm moving Bear for a guy with one goal at even strength in the last calendar year.

I'm not sure I would move Caleb Jones for him either. Not unless you fear losing him in the expansion draft and want a forward in return (even then, Edmonton should still protect Jones)

 

[ChaoticOrange]

I'm not sure I would move Caleb Jones for him either. Not unless you fear losing him in the expansion draft and want a forward in return (even then, Edmonton should still protect Jones)

If it's me, I'm trading one of Barrie or Larsson for whoever brings me the best return and then trying to chase down a guy like DeBrusk with the resulting assets.

 

[FightingIrish17]

If it's me, I'm trading one of Barrie or Larsson for whoever brings me the best return and then trying to chase down a guy like DeBrusk with the resulting assets.

100%. I think Barrie would carry pretty decent trade value for a contender.

This is good asset management.

 

[belair]

We can agree on that, which brings us to the real point of the thread. Edmonton can add scoring depth without sacrificing Bear. He and Bouchard are the building blocks on that right side and he has a very, very reasonable cap hit.

Edmonton can pick up a top 6 winger on an expiring deal (Palmieri, Granlund, etc.) for much cheaper. Or they could sign one in the off-season when they have more cap space. Either way, it is not good asset management to move Bear for a 2nd line winger.

I don't agree that Bear is a building block. I believe that he's an unfinished product and not the type of project you want to be playing around with while simultaneously attempting to compete in an unforgiving league.

I'm also not really confident that the market for Bear is particularly high league-wide. Factor in expansion and how many teams have top four roles for a young, developing RD where he'd be one of the three most valuable options at the position?

Honestly I believe the Oilers come out ahead in any deal if they can find a player who helps tip the scales--even on our third line.

The Oilers need a forward not unlike Zach Hyman. An aggressive fore-checker and effective puck retriever.

 

[DropTheGloves]

A No to Bear from the Bruins but maybe a RNH move.

DeBrusk and what? I think it makes sense for Edmonton depending on the add(s).

 

[Zenos]

Of course not. The fans, media, and organization did not value him. Bear's underlying numbers are actually better than Petry's (when he was in Edmonton) and he's starting to get the same kind of evaluation by the fans. Hopefully management is a lot smarter this time around.

Please don't conflate a handful of tools on HFOil with all Oilers fans.

 

[FightingIrish17]

I don't agree that Bear is a building block. I believe that he's an unfinished product and not the type of project you want to be playing around with while simultaneously attempting to compete in an unforgiving league.

I'm also not really confident that the market for Bear is particularly high league-wide. Factor in expansion and how many teams have top four roles for a young, developing RD where he'd be one of the three most valuable options at the position?

Honestly I believe the Oilers come out ahead in any deal if they can find a player who helps tip the scales--even on our third line.

The Oilers need a forward not unlike Zach Hyman. An aggressive fore-checker and effective puck retriever.

Great! Sign him in the off-season and hold onto Ethan Bear...

 

[belair]

Great! Sign him in the off-season and hold onto Ethan Bear...

I said not unlike. Hyman is due a significant pay raise in the off-season and is not the type of forward you prefer to commit significant salary to long-term. The Oilers need to find similarly aged (to Bear) options early in their career earnings.

A personal favorite of mine is Pavel Zacha, but has had a season that would deem him untouchable. Another is Nick Paul, who has emerged this season as one of the league's better puck retrieval forwards. These types of players can be plugged throughout the lineup and are a huge impact on the forecheck.

I'll take significant heat from the Oilers' fanbase for suggesting the latter, but forwards like this significantly impact your team's ability to generate and sustain an offensive attack. I'm still not sure what aspect of Ethan Bear's game allows him to be Edmonton's 'best defenseman' statistically. Other than a pretty textbook breakout pass, there's really very little that stands out.

 

[McDNicks17]

And before anyone says: "nUrsE iS eDmONton'S bESt D"

2021
Bear with Nurse: 57.8 xGF%
Bear without Nurse: 61.9 xGF%
Nurse without Bear: 48.9%

2019-20
Bear with Nurse: 50.3 xGF%
Bear without Nurse: 52.4 xGF%
Nurse without Bear: 48.7 xGF%

Nurse's numbers are also dragged up by McDavid. Far more so than Bear.

2021
Nurse with McDavid: 52.9 xGF%
Nurse without McDavid: 46.8 xGF%
Bear with McDavid: 52 xGF%
Bear without McDavid: 49.2 xGF%

This is downright silly.

Bear was paired with Klefbom when away from Nurse and played offensive minutes with McDavid's line while Nurse was paired with Larsson getting ~20% offensive zone starts. Obviously there's going to be a difference in those tiny sample sizes.

Bear isn't even remotely close to Nurse.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Please don't conflate a handful of tools on HFOil with all Oilers fans.

You think HFOil fans are bad, you should see the dumb comments that float around on the Oilers Facebook page.

 

[Zenos]

You think HFOil fans are bad, you should see the dumb comments that float around on the Oilers Facebook page.

No thanks
And to be clear, HFOil definitely isn't all bad. Just not fun to read after back-to-back-to-back losses.

 

[Llamamoto]

Objective numbers >> your eye test

Here are some objective numbers for you:

Darnell Nurse: 16 points in 25 games, +10, averaging nearly 26 minutes a night.

 

[Oates2Neely]

Bruins have no use for Bear. McAvoy Carlo Miller Clifton on the right side are adequate. Not trading DeBrusk for what would be here a 3rd pairing dman.

That doesn’t even take into consideration the expansion draft.

DeBrusk IF moved hopefully goes in a package for an upgrade in the top 6 forward group