redgrant
Registered User
- Nov 2, 2013
- 6,306
- 3,688
The easiest thing to do is over react but Ive tried to look at this trade from several angles. Here are my comments:
1. The first and most important point is this team was awful last year and for several years given the fact they have failed time and time again to address their deplorable defence specifically a top pairing right handed defenseman.
2. No one expected Columbus to pass on Puljujarvi. In fact Chia was shrewd enough to sense this and not trade to obtain an NHL ready winger.
3. As a result of the Hall trade and the events of the draft plus pending UFA signings as of July 1 Edmontons top 2 line winger depth will likely be interchangeable between Lucic Pouliot Eberle Yakupov and Puljujarvi with Draisaitl and Nuge having wing duty options. That means there would likely be a rotation of 6 wingers for 2 top spots if they dont roll 3 offensive lines.
4. The large amount of talented wingers meant that certainly someone was going to have to go to address the lack of that top pairing right handed defenseman. The wing is the easiest position to fill while as we saw today the most valuable commodity is a top pairing defenseman.
5. While I cant prove this I have no doubt Chiarelli spoke with 25+ other teams regarding potential trades for this RHD man. As a result, there is ZERO evidence that some fantasy Hall for Faulk or Hall for Hamonic or Eberle + Nuge for Subban was there for the taking. The trade was the best one available or it was another year with no 25 minute a night RHDman.
6. For all the people upset with this trade its the Einstein quote of 'insanity is doing the same time over and over expecting different results'. Hall on this team with no RHD was a recipe for another missed playoff season. We will have to see if having Larsson playing 25 minutes a night will change anything but it is proven that Hall with no RHD was a flawed equation.
7. On paper the Oilers lose this trade when you say they traded a top 5 winger for a 25 minute a night dman with little offense. When you add in they have a surplus of offensive talent and zero defensive depth things sound better.
8. Teams like Pittsburgh have proven that you can win with wingers like Hornquvist, Hagelin and Kunitz. I cannot think of any team this decade that won without bonafide 25 minute a night dman.
9. Regarding Larsson i havent watched many NJD games to judge. Doing some research today I like first of all that he has tremendous upside and made a massive improvement from last year going by his stats. Hes plays a ton of minutes and it appears he gets a lot of D zone starts against the toughest competition. Also hes locked in for several years on a good contract.
10. The downsides I see with Larsson is his offense. Chiarelli already acknowledged hes not a 'sexy defenseman'. I believe the strategy will be guys like Klefbom and Larsson to outlet to players like McDavid.
At the end of the day Chiarelli was damned if he didnt address the gaping hole on defense. It appears the cost to address this was Hall and the value for Hall was a player like Larsson. Im okay with this as I was not one of the people expecting a Faulk for Hall type trade.
Hopefully things work out. None of us knows for sure right now.
1. The first and most important point is this team was awful last year and for several years given the fact they have failed time and time again to address their deplorable defence specifically a top pairing right handed defenseman.
2. No one expected Columbus to pass on Puljujarvi. In fact Chia was shrewd enough to sense this and not trade to obtain an NHL ready winger.
3. As a result of the Hall trade and the events of the draft plus pending UFA signings as of July 1 Edmontons top 2 line winger depth will likely be interchangeable between Lucic Pouliot Eberle Yakupov and Puljujarvi with Draisaitl and Nuge having wing duty options. That means there would likely be a rotation of 6 wingers for 2 top spots if they dont roll 3 offensive lines.
4. The large amount of talented wingers meant that certainly someone was going to have to go to address the lack of that top pairing right handed defenseman. The wing is the easiest position to fill while as we saw today the most valuable commodity is a top pairing defenseman.
5. While I cant prove this I have no doubt Chiarelli spoke with 25+ other teams regarding potential trades for this RHD man. As a result, there is ZERO evidence that some fantasy Hall for Faulk or Hall for Hamonic or Eberle + Nuge for Subban was there for the taking. The trade was the best one available or it was another year with no 25 minute a night RHDman.
6. For all the people upset with this trade its the Einstein quote of 'insanity is doing the same time over and over expecting different results'. Hall on this team with no RHD was a recipe for another missed playoff season. We will have to see if having Larsson playing 25 minutes a night will change anything but it is proven that Hall with no RHD was a flawed equation.
7. On paper the Oilers lose this trade when you say they traded a top 5 winger for a 25 minute a night dman with little offense. When you add in they have a surplus of offensive talent and zero defensive depth things sound better.
8. Teams like Pittsburgh have proven that you can win with wingers like Hornquvist, Hagelin and Kunitz. I cannot think of any team this decade that won without bonafide 25 minute a night dman.
9. Regarding Larsson i havent watched many NJD games to judge. Doing some research today I like first of all that he has tremendous upside and made a massive improvement from last year going by his stats. Hes plays a ton of minutes and it appears he gets a lot of D zone starts against the toughest competition. Also hes locked in for several years on a good contract.
10. The downsides I see with Larsson is his offense. Chiarelli already acknowledged hes not a 'sexy defenseman'. I believe the strategy will be guys like Klefbom and Larsson to outlet to players like McDavid.
At the end of the day Chiarelli was damned if he didnt address the gaping hole on defense. It appears the cost to address this was Hall and the value for Hall was a player like Larsson. Im okay with this as I was not one of the people expecting a Faulk for Hall type trade.
Hopefully things work out. None of us knows for sure right now.