Proposal: EDM - ARI

[TFHockey]

Evan Bouchard 24, RHD, 2 years @ $3.9 Million AAV then RFA, 4-13-17 in 17 games
-"High Event" defenseman




Karel Vejmelka G 2 years @ $2.75 Million AAV, 3.18 GAA .901 SV% over 10 games (ouch)
-Not as good as last year, might lose starting role to Ingram

Oilers 3rd round pick 2023 (Traded for Zack Kassian)
Oilers 2nd round pick 2024 (Traded for Zack Kassian)

Arizona gets the best player in the trade and have a ton of draft picks so won't miss these. Bouchard is currently a PPG player but is struggling defensively. Arizona does not have anyone under contact on D next season.

Vejmelka is also struggling but is better than anyone the Oilers have in net right now.
Oilers get some draft picks back and a million in cap space to facilitate another, *bigger* trade.

Click to read more...

 

[Mrfenn92]

Interesting but not sure if Arizona looking for that type of dman anymore with durzi on the big club and soderstrom in the minors.

 

[TFHockey]

Interesting but not sure if Arizona looking for that type of dman anymore with durzi on the big club and soderstrom in the minors.

Could be. Bouchard is better offensively than either player but point taken. Durzi is a pending RFA.

 

[ElPrimeTime]

Evan Bouchard 24, RHD, 2 years @ $3.9 Million AAV then RFA, 4-13-17 in 17 games
-"High Event" defenseman




Karel Vejmelka G 2 years @ $2.75 Million AAV, 3.18 GAA .901 SV% over 10 games (ouch)
-Not as good as last year, might lose starting role to Ingram

Oilers 3rd round pick 2023 (Traded for Zack Kassian)
Oilers 2nd round pick 2024 (Traded for Zack Kassian)

Arizona gets the best player in the trade and have a ton of draft picks so won't miss these. Bouchard is currently a PPG player but is struggling defensively. Arizona does not have anyone under contact on D next season.

Vejmelka is also struggling but is better than anyone the Oilers have in net right now.
Oilers get some draft picks back and a million in cap space to facilitate another, *bigger* trade.

Even with those assets and the 1 mill in cap space, how would you propose the Oilers fill that top 4 RD spot? I like Vejmelka, but without a minute munching RD coming back, we're just creating a bigger hole.

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

Solves one big hole but opens another, although Vej's numbers aren't that impressive this year.
Just go all in to get Saros.

Pay to move bad contracts and empty the cupboard for Saros.
If it fails, you will recoup some assets if Drai and McDavid are eventually moved.

 

[ElPrimeTime]

Solves one big hole but opens another, although Vej's numbers aren't that impressive this year.
Just go all in to get Saros.

Pay to move bad contracts and empty the cupboard for Saros.
If it fails, you will recoup some assets if Drai and McDavid are eventually moved.

Preds fans are not open to trading Saros it appears.

 

[Schemp]

Bouchard is slightly overpaid and as long as the Coyotes don't have a worthy backup in the minors it doesn't make sense. So they would want an overpayment for Vejmelka and an overpayment for taken on Campbell so it would be Bouchard, 1st, & Campbell just for Vejmelka, otherwise why would the Coyotes bother with the Oilers?

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

Preds fans are not open to trading Saros it appears.

Their fans seem to be comfortable living in perpetual mediocrity then. As a Panthers fan, Tallon never pulled the trigger on big trades (more medium ones) and overpaid in FA because he had to attract players.

Zito went aggressive and took them from a bubble team to a legit contender in 3 years with 2 huge trades and smart buy low candidates. Holland is doing Tallon like moves when he needs to be pulling Zito like moves. Go big, time is ticking on the McDrai era.

 

[ElPrimeTime]

Their fans seem to be comfortable living in perpetual mediocrity then. As a Panthers fan, Tallon never pulled the trigger on big trades (more medium ones) and overpaid in FA because he had to attract players.

Zito went aggressive and took them from a bubble team to a legit contender in 3 years. Holland is doing Tallon like moves when he needs to be pulling Zito like moves. Go big, time is ticking on the McDrai era.

I would give up as much as needed for a Saros. Probably some combination of Bouchard, picks and prospects for Saros and Barrie (50% retention).

Then whatever I have left to deal Campbell to a team that can buy him out to fit it all in.

 

[M Ace]

Preds fans are not open to trading Saros it appears.

Luckily it is Trotz that make the calls then!

 

[McJedi]

Their fans seem to be comfortable living in perpetual mediocrity then. As a Panthers fan, Tallon never pulled the trigger on big trades (more medium ones) and overpaid in FA because he had to attract players.

Zito went aggressive and took them from a bubble team to a legit contender in 3 years with 2 huge trades and smart buy low candidates. Holland is doing Tallon like moves when he needs to be pulling Zito like moves. Go big, time is ticking on the McDrai era.

Time has pretty much run out on the McDrai era. Drai will require a decision this summer if he won't resign and he won't resign if their season craters like it has to this point.

Drai be able to name his price ($15MM AAV?) in a place like Anaheim if he wants to put dollars above all else. Others would also offer that.

And if Drai wants to put winning above all else, he won't re-up in Edmonton either. He surely won't be taking another discount with the Oil to make sure guys like Nurse and Campbell get theirs at >150% of their value.

Can the Oilers even afford to offer him the type of AAV he'll command ($15MM per?).

 

[Czechboy]

It's a reasonable trade offer tbh,

Problem is that our D is terrible and if you remove Bouch it's worse. All our starters seem to consistently have .750 games.lol Vlejmelka would too.

Fix the D first and losing Bouch doesn't help. Yes, I get the D side is ugly but he's Top 10 in D scoring and playing over 20 a night. That has value to a team. z

I would say no but it's a good offer. And I'd love Vlejmelka on my Oilers.

Currently I don't think any goalie could join our roster and have their stats go up.. not even Saros.

 

[TFHockey]

Even with those assets and the 1 mill in cap space, how would you propose the Oilers fill that top 4 RD spot? I like Vejmelka, but without a minute munching RD coming back, we're just creating a bigger hole.

Well that is another thread, but I think maybe trading for Pesce or the like would fill that spot nicely.

Bouchard isn't a minute munching defenseman. He is playing poorly in his own end but scoring at a PPG basis at the other end.

Bouchard is slightly overpaid and as long as the Coyotes don't have a worthy backup in the minors it doesn't make sense. So they would want an overpayment for Vejmelka and an overpayment for taken on Campbell so it would be Bouchard, 1st, & Campbell just for Vejmelka, otherwise why would the Coyotes bother with the Oilers?

Bouchard isn't overpaid.

Vejmelka isn't having a great year so a change of scenery might do him some good. I think even at his lackluster numbers he is better than anyone in the Oilers organization right now. So call him a slight upgrade over Skinner and a big one over everyone else. No one is making an overpayment for Vejmelka right now. Put that thought out of your head.

The Yotes don't have anyone under contract for next year on D. They have 4 pending UFAs and a bunch of RFAs. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have someone who is actually signed.

No one is asking Arizona to take Campbell's contract. He isn't in this equation.

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

Time has pretty much run out on the McDrai era. Drai will require a decision this summer if he won't resign and he won't resign if their season craters like it has to this point.

Drai be able to name his price ($15MM AAV?) in a place like Anaheim if he wants to put dollars above all else. Others would also offer that.

And if Drai wants to put winning above all else, he won't re-up in Edmonton either. He surely won't be taking another discount with the Oil to make sure guys like Nurse and Campbell get theirs at >150% of their value.

Can the Oilers even afford to offer him the type of AAV he'll command ($15MM per?).

Ya but only way one of McDrai would re-sign is winning it all, which requires a true all in push from Holland, something he hasn't done outside the Ekholm move IMO.

Bouchard been a solid draftee.
Hyman and Kane have been decent adds but the Nurse and Campbell deals will likely be the Achilles heel of his eventual firing.

He wasn't aggressive enough to land bigger proven players on defense/goaltending.

 

[McJedi]

Bouchard isn't the problem for the Oilers. Because he makes some high profile mistakes, people think he's worse defensively than he is on a shift to shift basis. He has been, by far, the Oilers best analytical defender this season. I say that as a hockey fan that dislikes the Oil and Bouchard. I'm simply looking at his analytics and they are pretty freaking spectacular as a offensive defender. He'd be really hard to replace in that regard.

The Oilers problem continues to be that they are getting way below their AAV play from Nurse and Campbell (AHL). Ceci is regressing lately. And the bottom of their roster sucks (Holloway, Broberg, Kulak, Connor Brown, Desharnais, McLeod, Ryan). Every one of these guys is having a bad season analytically.

And then you go to guys like Kane, RNH, Ekholm and even McDavid, which are all posting modest/mediocre analytics.... in McDavid's case, by past standards.

The only guys having strong years in terms of their overall analytics are Drai, Bouchard and Hyman.

This is also a club that has suffered from some really bad puck luck as well. Which is exacerbated by defensive brain farts their goalies can't keep out of the net.

But the analytics suggest the Oilers should and could have a much better record than they do.

In summation trading Bouchard for a meh goalie would be throwing the baby out with the bath water and would really have a negative impact on their production from the back.

Again, I don't like the Oilers even a little bit. so this opinion is as unbiased as I can be. If the Oilers deal Bouchard as their first, 2nd or 3rd big move, their GM is an idiot.

 

[McJedi]

Ya but only way one of McDrai would re-sign is winning it all, which requires a true all in push from Holland, something he hasn't done outside the Ekholm move IMO.

Bouchard been a solid draftee.
Hyman and Kane have been decent adds but the Nurse and Campbell deals will likely be the Achilles heel of his eventual firing.

He wasn't aggressive enough to land bigger proven players on defense/goaltending.

I see the problems for the Oilers. Ekholm has been much worse this season than he was last season. RNH is not having a good season either. Kane falls into the same boat.

Guys like Broberg and Holloway don't have much trade value to address immediate needs. Xavier Bourgault has one goal in 10 AHL games. What does the Oilers GM have to horse trade with other than a 2024 1st that today... would be a high lottery pick?

The Oilers season so far is an example of what can go wrong... it has gone wrong. Just wait until someone like Hyman goes down with a 8 week injury.

Bouchard's defensive lapses and mistakes are a problem, but he is definitely not the biggest or even middle level problem for them.

Right now, the best course of action would be to trade someone like Bourgault for whatever goalie you can get and pray the puck luck turns.

 

[BonMorrison]

Preds fans are not open to trading Saros it appears.

This isn't true, it's pretty down the middle.

The ask however is quite large.

 

[Schemp]

Well that is another thread, but I think maybe trading for Pesce or the like would fill that spot nicely.

Bouchard isn't a minute munching defenseman. He is playing poorly in his own end but scoring at a PPG basis at the other end.



Bouchard isn't overpaid.

Vejmelka isn't having a great year so a change of scenery might do him some good. I think even at his lackluster numbers he is better than anyone in the Oilers organization right now. So call him a slight upgrade over Skinner and a big one over everyone else. No one is making an overpayment for Vejmelka right now. Put that thought out of your head.

The Yotes don't have anyone under contract for next year on D. They have 4 pending UFAs and a bunch of RFAs. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have someone who is actually signed.

No one is asking Arizona to take Campbell's contract. He isn't in this equation.

Jeez, what I've been getting at is if the Coyotes trade Vejmelka, then who backs up Ingram? And even if Ingram now shows he can be the #1, he really hasn't established himself as a #1 yet. And as long as the 'Yotes D have terrible bottom blueliners, Veljmalka stats will not be a true description of his ability. And as far as calling Bouchard not overpaid, he makes more money than Durzi and Moser, whom I like better.
And mentioning they have 4 UFA Ds don't mean crap considering they are Dumba, Brown, Stecher, and Dermout. All that means is the Coyotes aren't wasting money on giving those 4 a longer term contract and waiting patiently for the D prospects to mature.

We will not trade Veljmelka without a back up in place and we would prefer Zadorov over Bouchard too!

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Woof. That's a horrific trade for the Oilers. I like Vejmelka but Bouchard is not the asset you dump overboard to stop the bleeding in goal. Spend picks and prospects all you want but Bouchard is a player you keep, coach, and work with.

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

I see the problems for the Oilers. Ekholm has been much worse this season than he was last season. RNH is not having a good season either. Kane falls into the same boat.

Guys like Broberg and Holloway don't have much trade value to address immediate needs. Xavier Bourgault has one goal in 10 AHL games. What does the Oilers GM have to horse trade with other than a 2024 1st that today... would be a high lottery pick?

The Oilers season so far is an example of what can go wrong... it has gone wrong. Just wait until someone like Hyman goes down with a 8 week injury.

Bouchard's defensive lapses and mistakes are a problem, but he is definitely not the biggest or even middle level problem for them.

Right now, the best course of action would be to trade someone like Bourgault for whatever goalie you can get and pray the puck luck turns.

Ya package everything ya got, the next two 1sts if need be. Oilers aren't gonna be bad enough to land a top 3 pick anyhow and you've already stated the drafted players haven't progressed.

Pay for quality players now.
Pay to move bad contracts now.
To just continue this current course is depressing for all involved.

 

[TFHockey]

Time has pretty much run out on the McDrai era. Drai will require a decision this summer if he won't resign and he won't resign if their season craters like it has to this point.

Drai be able to name his price ($15MM AAV?) in a place like Anaheim if he wants to put dollars above all else. Others would also offer that.

And if Drai wants to put winning above all else, he won't re-up in Edmonton either. He surely won't be taking another discount with the Oil to make sure guys like Nurse and Campbell get theirs at >150% of their value.

Can the Oilers even afford to offer him the type of AAV he'll command ($15MM per?).

I think if the Oilers come to the conclusion that they have to bail on the McDrai era and trade Draisaitl it'll be in the off season and to a team that will extend him immediately. The odds of the Oilers doing that with a rival club in their division are very low. Anaheim will likely never see Draisaitl as a UFA. He'll get moved out east for a hefty haul and the team that gets him will have a highly motivated #1C. It'll be a killer trade if it happens.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Ya package everything ya got, the next two 1sts if need be. Oilers aren't gonna be bad enough to land a top 3 pick anyhow and you've already stated the drafted players haven't progressed.

Pay for quality players now.
Pay to move bad contracts now.
To just continue this current course is depressing for all involved.

Yep.

There IS an element of luck for how the season has shaken out so far. it WILL get better eventually when a couple guys come out of funks and we'll stop having crazy occurrences like the Broberg play last night.

To a point you ride it out, but part of the problem with a top heavy lineup like we have is when you've got your two best players in a funk like McDavid and Drai are, there's nobody else pulling the wagon forward.

 

[TFHockey]

Yep.

There IS an element of luck for how the season has shaken out so far. it WILL get better eventually when a couple guys come out of funks and we'll stop having crazy occurrences like the Broberg play last night.

To a point you ride it out, but part of the problem with a top heavy lineup like we have is when you've got your two best players in a funk like McDavid and Drai are, there's nobody else pulling the wagon forward.

That is true, but I feel like this is a fair trade right now and would lead to a few other chips falling. Bouchard is a valuable trade asset but gaining cap space and draft capital would allow the Oilers to make bigger trades for a better RHD and a good two way 3rd line center. That is how I see it anyway.

Edit: I should also mention I am a fan of Vejmelka.

 

[ElPrimeTime]

This isn't true, it's pretty down the middle.

The ask however is quite large.

Three-way:

To Nashville: Mrazek, Bourgault, 2024 1st, 2026 1st
To Chicago: Campbell, Petrov/Savoie, 2025 1st, 2024 2nd
To Edmonton: Saros

Trade Breakdown:
Campbell, Petrov, 2025 1st, 2024 2nd for Mrazek
Saros for Mrazek, Bourgault, 2024 1st and 2026 1st

Works out to the equivalent of 3 1sts for Saros and Mrazek for 1 year. Might need another prospect going to the Hawks, but they use Campbell for the year and then buy him out.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

That is true, but I feel like this is a fair trade right now and would lead to a few other chips falling. Bouchard is a valuable trade asset but gaining cap space and draft capital would allow the Oilers to make bigger trades for a better RHD and a good two way 3rd line center. That is how I see it anyway.

Edit: I should also mention I am a fan of Vejmelka.

I like Vejmelka too, but I'm not a fan of the idea of trading Bouchard. Our right side is already abysmal and it's not getting any better by trading the best one. This trade only clears up 1.2 mil of space which isn't a lot and certainly isn't a lot to trade for a better RD.

Trade picks and prospects. As many as you want. Bouchard should go nowhere. The only problem with Bouchard is that we don't have a better RD to play ahead of him.