Do you still believe in this core?

[StoveTopStauffer]

point 1. holes? two soft wingers? I don't call that a gaping hole, but you can. we traded for Paron. they are not exactly the most difficult commodity to find.

point 2. Weber and Subban? how about Hall, RNH, Couturier, J. Schultz, Meyer? I'll take it, its realistic and possibly doable.

point 3. and 5'10" ectomorphs become 6'2" mesomorphs all the time, too, huh. Solf, nice guys can become nasty is you ask them... right.

hey, you can deny what your eyes see and focus on 'number one picks'.... 'best player available'... 'highlight reel goals' all you want. I watch Anaheim and St. Louis and say 'that's what wins'.

and, for the 2000th time, I'm not saying get rid of all of them. Just one or two. what is so bad with trading 1 or 2 good players for 1 or 2 or 3 other good players? what is so hard to understand about this? are you in love with these precise 5 players (that are 29th in the league) and just can't imagine life with 3 of them + 2 others?

Anaheim and St. Louis aren't the only teams that win. Chicago is certainly not built the same way. Pittsburgh is not built the same way. Avalanche aren't built the same way. Winning in hockey isn't one dimensional.

Trading good players is fine but how about you attempt to build a team without trading them first. Then if you've exhausted than avenue then go down the trade route.

I don't like the Oilers management but selling off a Nuge or a Hall would be a huge waste of time and assets. You don't take to give up 4 or 5 years later. Give me a break.


I'd like to see this team with a D core that doesn't consist of ZERO #1, #2 and #3 caliber Dmen. Eberle maybe gets you a #3 with upside.

 

[Up the Irons]

Anaheim and St. Louis aren't the only teams that win. Chicago is certainly not built the same way. Pittsburgh is not built the same way. Avalanche aren't built the same way. Winning in hockey isn't one dimensional.

Trading good players is fine but how about you attempt to build a team without trading them first. Then if you've exhausted than avenue then go down the trade route.

IMO, they are at the exhausted point. this is the 5th season at the bottom. And it is a flawed avenue: they don't have a 2C or a 1 and 2D, or a true power forward. how long do you wait for an incomplete lineup? it seems like its is precisely the amount of time it takes for Nurse, Klefbom, Reinhart, and Moroz to be contributing members of the team.

it just seems like such a nobrainer to me. too much of one thing (small danglers), and nothing of the other, and what you don't have is actually more needed then the thing you do have. so, what do you do?

for Eberle and Yak to be 'untouchable' is foolhardy. they are interchangeable parts.

 

[Moose Coleman]

point 1. holes? two soft wingers? I don't call that a gaping hole, but you can. we traded for Paron. they are not exactly the most difficult commodity to find.

Just how many 30 goal scorers do you think are available in a given year? And for what assets?

Strikes me that "trade away our kids for defensemen and then we'll find replacements somehow" is as much magical thinking as "if we draft enough top picks, that will solve our problems".

point 2. Weber and Subban? how about Hall, RNH, Couturier, J. Schultz, Meyer? I'll take it, its realistic and possibly doable.

That's not really any better than what we have TBH. A third line centre and a oversized question mark, not even an elite D? For Eberle and Yak? That's actually kinda terrible.

point 3. and 5'10" ectomorphs become 6'2" mesomorphs all the time, too, huh. Solf, nice guys can become nasty is you ask them... right.

I don't care about that stuff. You don't have to be huge and mean to be an effective player.

hey, you can deny what your eyes see and focus on 'number one picks'.... 'best player available'... 'highlight reel goals' all you want. I watch Anaheim and St. Louis and say 'that's what wins'.

St. Louis hasn't won jack and Anaheim is pretty average size-wise.

and, for the 2000th time, I'm not saying get rid of all of them. Just one or two. what is so bad with trading 1 or 2 good players for 1 or 2 or 3 other good players? what is so hard to understand about this? are you in love with these precise 5 players (that are 29th in the league) and just can't imagine life with 3 of them + 2 others?

I though that was obvious: you just won't get the value for them, something you implicitly acknowledge above.

That said, I'm fine with trading Eberle as I feel he would have the most value and has the lowest upside. I've never said otherwise.

 

[Sweetpotato]

I believe in Hall and Nuge, they're skilled upper echelon players that have been well documented as players that hate to lose. Move Eberle this draft for a myers or bogosian type defenseman, draft Bennett or Ekblad and maybe even move peices for Eller and Bolland for two cheap centers that can contribute as #2 and #3. Bunch of stuff.

 

[SoftDumps]

I absolutely believe RNH and Hall have to stay here. Vital to get this team going. Eberle might be able to fetch us something we need (i.e. top pairing dman) and is likely the most expendable of the upper echelon players on this team. Absolutely cannot trade Yak right now while his value is so low, and I think he will turn it around and be a big piece for us going forward anyways.

I actually do think this core can win. This team looks miles better if we can snag a couple minute munchers for the blueline. Our goaltending at least looks somewhat competitive going forward.

 

[oilman9482]

If they mature as people and take their nutrition and strength training more seriously then... yes.

We don't need these guys eating subway, and partying after games when they are 25 or 26 years old. Hopefully they settle down soon and take their careers more seriously.

 

[Soundwave]

I don't believe in the core per se, because right now it looks like Hall/RNH/Yakupov are three of the weaker no.1 overall picks of the last 10 years or so (at least from the forwards that were picked).

Maybe they can change that, but I don't have much faith in the management to supplement what's on the roster either.

Scrivens will probably make the Oilers a lot better next season though.

Colorado's core is considerably better built, I hate to say it but I wouldn't be shocked if Calgary rebuilds much more quickly than us.

 

[Mr Forever]

I believe the core holds tremendous value, and likely has more value to the team in trades than it does to the team on the ice. If they could draft Bennet or Reinhart and build around him, Nurse, RNH and Yak, it would greatly help the team IMO.

I think it would be best if they moved Hall and Eberle specifically for significant returns and brought it veteran guys to take over the true leadership roles. Fill the rest of the line up with older, two way players and bring in a top D man and all of a sudden this team is built from the D.

XXX-RNH-Yak
Perron-Reinhart/Bennet-XXX
Hendricks-Gordon-XXX
Gaz-Lander-Pitlick

XXX-Nurse
Petry-Marincin
XXX-Ference

Scrivens

 

[McDeepika]

I just see don't see any way that Yakupov and Eberle can both be on this team going forward. We already have Perron and Hall who are very steady wingers. We don't need 2 more.

Move Yak/Eberle for a dman or a #2 center and this core starts to look much better.

 

[Mr Forever]

I just see don't see any way that Yakupov and Eberle can both be on this team going forward. We already have Perron and Hall who are very steady wingers. We don't need 2 more.

Move Yak/Eberle for a dman or a #2 center and this core starts to look much better.

Eberle would be a great fit in LA, IMO.

 

[Up the Irons]

I believe the core holds tremendous value, and likely has more value to the team in trades than it does to the team on the ice. If they could draft Bennet or Reinhart and build around him, Nurse, RNH and Yak, it would greatly help the team IMO.

I think it would be best if they moved Hall and Eberle specifically for significant returns and brought it veteran guys to take over the true leadership roles. Fill the rest of the line up with older, two way players and bring in a top D man and all of a sudden this team is built from the D.

XXX-RNH-Yak
Perron-Reinhart/Bennet-XXX
Hendricks-Gordon-XXX
Gaz-Lander-Pitlick

XXX-Nurse
Petry-Marincin
XXX-Ference

Scrivens

I kinda think this is their unofficial, but true plan. They don't seem at all in a hurry to compete, or even be respectable, during the Hall/Ebs contracts. They just want to limp along, feed us some bs every fall, tinker here and there, all along they r looking at 2017 as the moment to go for it.

Who knows, the bold move may be coming this summer, but I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[Suxnet]

Why does Yakupov keep being put on the same level as Eberle? Yak >>>> Eberle. Blah blah blah points. I see one guy who plays with passion while the other thinks he's playing in an all-star game. The points will come for Yakupov when Eakins quits being a jackass.

 

[Mr Forever]

Why does Yakupov keep being put on the same level as Eberle? Yak >>>> Eberle. Blah blah blah points. I see one guy who plays with passion while the other thinks he's playing in an all-star game. The points will come for Yakupov when Eakins quits being a jackass.

Eberle supporters bring up his production, but I want to know how many NHL points Eberle had when he was Yak's age.

When you watch the player, it's pretty obvious who has a better skill set and a better game.

I agree with you, Eakins is really ****ing Yak over, and it may end up completely ruining him as a player or running him out of town, which really sucks for us.

 

[McShogun99]

More then likely Yakupov is gone this off season, even though i'd prefer it to be Eberle. I just think Yakupov has the higher ceiling and it might be time to break up the clique. Maybe a deal centered around Stewart and Myers.

 

[mangdas]

They really need to deal Eberle at draft for a more suitable player. Watching that lazy dog cough the puck up and quit when the going gets rough (as Hrudey said about the core recently) is a perfect indicator why change is needed.

 

[Up the Irons]

Just how many 30 goal scorers do you think are available in a given year? And for what assets?


That said, I'm fine with trading Eberle as I feel he would have the most value and has the lowest upside. I've never said otherwise.

There r more 30 g scores available the D and certainly more wingers. Just look at today, vanek, St. Louis, Callahan, Hemsky.

It really comes down to what is more valuable. 1,2&3 D >>>> one dimensional wingers. it wasn't always so, Lafleur, Bossy, Hull, but it is today. I think change happened because of Lidstrom and Pronger. Many of us haven't come around to this.

 

[Mr Forever]

They really need to deal Eberle at draft for a more suitable player. Watching that lazy dog cough the puck up and quit when the going gets rough (as Hrudey said about the core recently) is a perfect indicator why change is needed.

Agreed. He has a lot of value around the league, and hold more value to this team in a trade than on the ice. We need to learn from past mistakes and move him before his value dries up.

 

[LTIR]

Why does Yakupov keep being put on the same level as Eberle? Yak >>>> Eberle. Blah blah blah points. I see one guy who plays with passion while the other thinks he's playing in an all-star game. The points will come for Yakupov when Eakins quits being a jackass.

Yak has all the tools and elite skill but is having trouble with the basics.
Only reason he is not in AHL is because he was picked 1st overall.
At this point Lander >>>> Yakupov. Wish him the best but Yak has long ways to go before he can be considered a CORE player on this team.

To me he is nothing more than a passenger at this point with occasional glimpse of his elite skill. We need him and Hall to start playing 100ft hockey instead of the pond hockey they like to play.

No I dont believe in this core!

 

[Up the Irons]

Agreed. He has a lot of value around the league, and hold more value to this team in a trade than on the ice. We need to learn from past mistakes and move him before his value dries up.

Now that is something I won't be holding a my breath for.

 

[Paralyzer008]

Only one other team I can think of has had a worst 5 year run than the Oilers

The Nordiques

Luckily, they did find their way, and won a few cups with the core they built.

 

[frag2]

Eberle supporters bring up his production, but I want to know how many NHL points Eberle had when he was Yak's age.

When you watch the player, it's pretty obvious who has a better skill set and a better game.

I agree with you, Eakins is really ****ing Yak over, and it may end up completely ruining him as a player or running him out of town, which really sucks for us.

Yep. Eberle is one of the biggest floaters out there now that it's annoying to watch whenever he's on the ice.

At least Eakins for a bit realized it a demoted him to third line for a bit last night and swapped Yak in his place.

 

[Bangers]

Only one other team I can think of has had a worst 5 year run than the Oilers

The Nordiques

Luckily, they did find their way, and won a few cups with the core they built.

And the Nords' 1st overall picks were all traded before the Avs won the cup.

 

[Replacement*]

Yak has all the tools and elite skill but is having trouble with the basics.
Only reason he is not in AHL is because he was picked 1st overall.
At this point Lander >>>> Yakupov. Wish him the best but Yak has long ways to go before he can be considered a CORE player on this team.

To me he is nothing more than a passenger at this point with occasional glimpse of his elite skill. We need him and Hall to start playing 100ft hockey instead of the pond hockey they like to play.

No I dont believe in this core!

Yak is 19. Is going to be a player with a pretty good center of gravity that can play physical and one of the few talent forwards on this club willing to muck it out. This guy could be better than everybody on this club and maybe even including Hall.

Due to age and relative inexperience I definitely give him the benefit of doubt. This guy could turn out to be a power forward for all we know.

 

[Paralyzer008]

And the Nords' 1st overall picks were all traded before the Avs won the cup.

Foreshadowing

 

[Zaddy]

I don't believe in the core per se, because right now it looks like Hall/RNH/Yakupov are three of the weaker no.1 overall picks of the last 10 years or so (at least from the forwards that were picked).

Maybe they can change that, but I don't have much faith in the management to supplement what's on the roster either.

Scrivens will probably make the Oilers a lot better next season though.

Colorado's core is considerably better built, I hate to say it but I wouldn't be shocked if Calgary rebuilds much more quickly than us.

Have to agree. The Flames are actually looking quite good. Some guys are improving more/faster than I anticipated.

Ortio looks like a solid goaltender and they have Gillies coming up. Markus Granlund has been really good both in Abbotsford and in the NHL since the call-up. Reinhart is progressing nicely and Sean Monahan looks really good.

It's so sad to say but at this point I favour the Flames over the Oilers in terms of which team will become a solid playoff team first. Quite ridiculous considering how few high picks they've had. The difference being they've actually been able to hit picks outside the 1st round.

We really should be ahead of those guys. Here's to hoping MacT does some bold moves this offseason. I'm pleased with what he has done so far but this summer it's time to make a drastic change to this club.