Confirmed with Link: Kevin Westgarth Added To TC Roster

[McDoused]

It amazes me that in this day and age people still believe this kind of thing.

A slug like Westgarth will do nothing but take dumb penalties, bleed chances against and fight meaningless scraps with some other useless goon in the other bench.

He wont stop anyone from taking any run at any skilled player (especially in training camp where guys are going to be trying to earn a spot/contract).

This team is already going to waste a spot on Gazdic when he's healthy. Lets not waste another on Westgarth.

He's training camp fodder. He isn't going to prevent anyone from taking a run at them but every minute he's on the ice is a minute that one of our assets won't get injured.

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

It amazes me that in this day and age people still believe this kind of thing.

A slug like Westgarth will do nothing but take dumb penalties, bleed chances against and fight meaningless scraps with some other useless goon in the other bench.

He wont stop anyone from taking any run at any skilled player (especially in training camp where guys are going to be trying to earn a spot/contract).

This team is already going to waste a spot on Gazdic when he's healthy. Lets not waste another on Westgarth.

Goons are always looking to make a name for themselves in preseason games, they will find whatever way they can to do that, being the average goons limited skill set it will be through fighting or through hitting; Westgarth provides one such outlet for them to prove themselves, so hopefully they spend a little more denting Westgarth's skull then trying to paste Hall or Eberle through the boards. Also 5 less mins on the ice for fighting lowers the odds of the goon getting a chance to try mugging one of our players. Normally you might laugh at a team putting a 4th liner who can't play hockey against a star player, but in pre-season us running up the score doesn't amount to a hill of beans.

It won't stop an incident like Kassian clubbing Gagner in the face or Weise head-hunting on Hall, but it could mean a few less hits in general and hopefully might stop some silly shenanigans like John Scott attempting to jump Phil Kessell last pre-season off one of the face-offs.

That said if they do spend a two way contract on a useless plug like Westgarth and afterwards talk about being frugal on spending a contract slot on Tkachev I will be pretty enraged.

 

[Valic]

I said hopefully.

Every single time people have actually studied the effects of having a goon in the line up it has correlated with no lowerh than average injury rate to the team with the goon or has shown a higher injury rate.

Employing a person who can't play, whom with recklessness goes out of his way to try punish the other team merely leads to retaliatory play or an increase in overall physicality on the game.

That being said, if they want to keep him on an PTO and sign him to an AHL deal because they think they need a puncher for a pre season game, go ahead, but I would much prefer contract slots going to someone who may one day make a difference like Tkachev instead of someone with the skillset of Westgarth.

 

[Mr Forever]

Isn't Pinnizotto supposed to be our backup fighter?

 

[The Head Crusher]

Doesn't hurt to take a look on a try out contract. Figure he will get cut out right or will be offered an AHL contract by the Barons, but not an NHL Contract.

 

[The Head Crusher]

It amazes me that in this day and age people still believe this kind of thing.

A slug like Westgarth will do nothing but take dumb penalties, bleed chances against and fight meaningless scraps with some other useless goon in the other bench.

He wont stop anyone from taking any run at any skilled player (especially in training camp where guys are going to be trying to earn a spot/contract).

This team is already going to waste a spot on Gazdic when he's healthy. Lets not waste another on Westgarth.

You really think Gazdic is a waste of a spot Spawn? Is he the more talented player, no, but he brings that crash and bang element that we have been sorely missing the last however many years, since really 06 or 07.

 

[knockoutpanda]

You really think Gazdic is a waste of a spot Spawn? Is he the more talented player, no, but he brings that crash and bang element that we have been sorely missing the last however many years, since really 06 or 07.

He can't crash and bang anything because he is chasing the puck in his own zone.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Uhhhhh, ugggghhhh

Even tho its only a PTO, its a waste of a PTO. Get this guy away from the team

Why not invite Penner or loktionov, or someone decent at hockey

Loktionov isn't ready to go, and to quote Bobby Hull, MacT wouldn't piss in Penner's ear if his brain was on fire.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I actually like this PTO and hope that we sign him. He is a better hockey player than Gazdic right now and he knows his role. Add in a guy like Ewanyk or play Hendricks as the 4C and we have a line that will set the tone physically.

 

[SK13]

I actually like this PTO and hope that we sign him. He is a better hockey player than Gazdic right now and he knows his role. Add in a guy like Ewanyk or play Hendricks as the 4C and we have a line that will set the tone physically.

We've had this debate before, but Westgarth's use in an NHL line-up is limited to exactly one function: Grab other Westgarth's, punch like mad, and then they can both sit their useless ***** in the penaty bench area so the real players can play hockey.

At the very least, Gazdic will throw hits and be noticable. Westgarth can't play with third line AHL players.

Only reason I'm not mad about this is, I want somebody to grab the goons in Calgary so someone like Pouliot doesn't feel like they have to.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

We've had this debate before, but Westgarth's use in an NHL line-up is limited to exactly one function: Grab other Westgarth's, punch like mad, and then they can both sit their useless ***** in the bench area so the real players can play hockey.

At the very least, Gazdic will throw hits and be noticable. Westgarth can't play with third line AHL players.

I've seen Westgarth have more impressive shifts against us than I have seen from Gazdic. I do not see Westgarth as a threat to Luke, but I'd like to keep him or another decent skating heavyweight around to play a 4th line role if needed. I don't mind having a 4th line filled with toughness especially for a team as young as ours is in terms of our core players.

 

[SK13]

I've seen Westgarth have more impressive shifts against us than I have seen from Gazdic. I do not see Westgarth as a threat to Luke, but I'd like to keep him or another decent skating heavyweight around to play a 4th line role if needed. I don't mind having a 4th line filled with toughness especially for a team as young as ours is in terms of our core players.

Yeah, but our fourth line is meant to check. It's Gordon and Hendricks. Probably the toughest zone starts and assignments on the team.

 

[Spawn]

You really think Gazdic is a waste of a spot Spawn? Is he the more talented player, no, but he brings that crash and bang element that we have been sorely missing the last however many years, since really 06 or 07.

Yes I do think Gazdic is a waste of a roster spot. He's a complete and utter liability on the ice. He's so far removed from NHL caliber play that any gains you get from the odd lumbering hit he throws is lost by the fact that he spends the rest of his ice time chasing the puck in his own zone.

The Oilers might lack crash and bang, but its not worth sacrificing an actual NHL player to have it. Not to mention there are literally a hundred crash and bang guys pining away in the minors who are better hockey players than Gazdic ever will be. Any dozen of them could hit just as effectively and not be as much of a liability on the ice the rest of the time. I place zero value on some guy who can go out there and knock some other player out.

As SK13 pointed out in the post above. Our 4th line looks to be Hendrix-Gordon-xxxx. Luke Gazdic is grossly ill equipped to face the defensive assignments they are likely to receive. Kevin Westgarth as well.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Yeah, but our fourth line is meant to check. It's Gordon and Hendricks. Probably the toughest zone starts and assignments on the team.

Perhaps we see Gordon as the 3C and Hendricks as the 4C? Maybe I'm reading too much into this and this is only a temporary thing, but if we sign Westgarth I could see us playing a two headed monster on the 4th line similar to what Calgary has done in the recent past.

Hall-RNH-Eberle
Perron-Draisaitl-Yakupov (soft minutes)
Pouliot-Gordon-Purcell (checking line)
Gazdic-Hendricks-Westgarth

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

Yes I do think Gazdic is a waste of a roster spot. He's a complete and utter liability on the ice. He's so far removed from NHL caliber play that any gains you get from the odd lumbering hit he throws is lost by the fact that he spends the rest of his ice time chasing the puck in his own zone.

The Oilers might lack crash and bang, but its not worth sacrificing an actual NHL player to have it. Not to mention there are literally a hundred crash and bang guys pining away in the minors who are better hockey players than Gazdic ever will be. Any dozen of them could hit just as effectively and not be as much of a liability on the ice the rest of the time. I place zero value on some guy who can go out there and knock some other player out.

As SK13 pointed out in the post above. Our 4th line looks to be Hendrix-Gordon-xxxx. Luke Gazdic is grossly ill equipped to face the defensive assignments they are likely to receive. Kevin Westgarth as well.

People always look at line-ups as fixed things like you are always out there playing with your linemates as they show-up on the whiteboard, that's not the way things work particularly for face punchers. In any non-blowout game Gazdic shouldn't be getting much more then 5 minutes of ice time, Gordon will be playing somewhere around 15 minutes so 10 of those minutes will be filled by one of Hall, Perron, or Pouliot most likely and that's a trio that while not necessarily defensive stalwarts I don't have an impending sense of apprehension with any of them out there on the ice. I'm sure our coaching staff will shy away from putting Gazdic out there for any semi-important defensive zone draw, so he will likely be primarily limited to line-changes on the fly and barring an icing he shouldn't be forced into a defensive zone draw.

Also there are going to be multiple teams where the need for a tough guy won't be very pressing and we can suit up another forward.

Lastly just to stick up for Gazdic and having watched a semi-reasonable amount of AHL hockey, he really is one of the best hockey players as far as heavyweight fighters go in the AHL, if you are talking middle-weight types I would be more inclined to agree with you, but the list of heavyweight fighters who are even semi-decent at hockey is very small.

Perhaps we see Gordon as the 3C and Hendricks as the 4C? Maybe I'm reading too much into this and this is only a temporary thing, but if we sign Westgarth I could see us playing a two headed monster on the 4th line similar to what Calgary has done in the recent past.

Hall-RNH-Eberle
Perron-Draisaitl-Yakupov (soft minutes)
Pouliot-Gordon-Purcell (checking line)
Gazdic-Hendricks-Westgarth

I hate the two headed monster that is a Burke trademark, hiding one forward is easy, when you need to hide two forwards on your roster it's really hard to ice 4 effective lines. If you had a really strong experienced line-up it's a little more doable but still not a very good idea IMO, if one of our young guys is having a horrible night and needs to be benched that begins to put a lot more strain on the group as a whole, I don't want to see Eakins running our top guys ragged with 25+ min nights with any kind of frequency.

I think a heavyweight fighter in Gazdic and a middleweight fighter in Hendricks is reasonable protection for our group, also Pinizzotto is a better player then Westgarth IMO and is a pretty good fighter. On the farm we will also have Kessy and Moroz, while I think Westgarth is a better player then the latter two at this stage of their careers I don't see much reason to bring him on with semi-reasonable depth waiting in the wings

 

[joestevens29]

Pre-season is full of dumb meatheads looking to make a name for themselves. It is MUCH better for Westgarth to distract them with a fight than for them to take Eberle's head off. Gazdic might not be ready for TC anyway because of his surgery.

I would he shocked if he gets a contract.

Neilson and Fraser or I guess Chase as some people still say said this exact samething today. There is far too many player in pre-season and early in the regular season trying to make a name for themselves. Rather have Westgarth being the primary target for them. And I don't even think it's just for Eberle, Hall, Yak etc.. It also takes a bit of of guys like Hendricks and Ference.

 

[joestevens29]

Perhaps we see Gordon as the 3C and Hendricks as the 4C? Maybe I'm reading too much into this and this is only a temporary thing, but if we sign Westgarth I could see us playing a two headed monster on the 4th line similar to what Calgary has done in the recent past.

Hall-RNH-Eberle
Perron-Draisaitl-Yakupov (soft minutes)
Pouliot-Gordon-Purcell (checking line)
Gazdic-Hendricks-Westgarth

I highly doubt they are going to go with Gazdic and Westgarth in the lineup at the same time.

 

[McDoused]

Am I the only one who has Pitlick penciled in as our fourth line winger? Maybe I'm just a huge fan of the kid but he's the type of guy that every team wants. Pitlick can add size, toughness, hits, speed, energy and can actually play the game. If he's healthy he's a lock for this team.

I see Gazdic and Lander battling for that 13th and 14th spot up front. I don't see Gazdic playing every night. I have no issue with him being the 13th guy and dressing for some of the more psychical games.

 

[joestevens29]

Am I the only one who has Pitlick penciled in as our fourth line winger? Maybe I'm just a huge fan of the kid but he's the type of guy that every team wants. Pitlick can add size, toughness, hits, speed, energy and can actually play the game. If he's healthy he's a lock for this team.

I see Gazdic and Lander battling for that 13th and 14th spot up front. I don't see Gazdic playing every night. I have no issue with him being the 13th guy and dressing for some of the more psychical games.

He definitely has a good shot at it, but when it comes to guys battling for 4th line roles and less I really don't commit to anyone. A lot can happen in camp that can change things. Generally I'd say waivers would come into play, but this year it appears everyone has to clear anyway so that's not an issue.

There is also the wild card in Joesnuu. As bad of a season he might've ended up having, he was looking pretty darn good until injuries hit him early. He comes into camp the way he did last year and MacT/Eakins will have a tough time deciding who they are going to risk losing on waiverzs.

 

[CornKicker]

lol at people saying westgarth is an enforcer

 

[Moose Coleman]

People always look at line-ups as fixed things like you are always out there playing with your linemates as they show-up on the whiteboard, that's not the way things work particularly for face punchers.

So why even bother wasting the spot instead of having someone who can, you know, play?

In any non-blowout game Gazdic shouldn't be getting much more then 5 minutes of ice time, Gordon will be playing somewhere around 15 minutes so 10 of those minutes will be filled by one of Hall, Perron, or Pouliot most likely and that's a trio that while not necessarily defensive stalwarts I don't have an impending sense of apprehension with any of them out there on the ice.

This goes against the idea of rolling three scoring lines and feeding tough zone starts to a fourth line. If you're sticking, say, Hall on the fourth line to start in the d-zone, that's a waste of his talents. A fourth line (a complete fourth line) should be able to handle 10 minutes a night minimum IMO.

I'm sure our coaching staff will shy away from putting Gazdic out there for any semi-important defensive zone draw, so he will likely be primarily limited to line-changes on the fly and barring an icing he shouldn't be forced into a defensive zone draw.

Gazdic is a liability whenever he's on the ice. If he starts in the o-zone, the puck is coming the other way in a hurry. If he starts in the d-zone, the team is gonna bleed out. Waste of a roster spot.

 

[CupofOil]

Odd that they would add a useless plug when there's a perfectly decent option like Penner that they can extend an invite to and i'm far from a Penner fan.
I guess this is insurance until Gazdic's injury is 100% healed.

 

[Alex87]

It amazes me that in this day and age people still believe this kind of thing.

A slug like Westgarth will do nothing but take dumb penalties, bleed chances against and fight meaningless scraps with some other useless goon in the other bench.

He wont stop anyone from taking any run at any skilled player (especially in training camp where guys are going to be trying to earn a spot/contract).

This team is already going to waste a spot on Gazdic when he's healthy. Lets not waste another on Westgarth.

Agree with this. I like MacTavish, and I think he's brought a level of intelligence to the role of GM that I'm not sure I've ever seen during my Oiler fandom (going back to the 90s - too young to remember the 80s). But with signing Macintyre last year, and bringing in Gazdic, I think it shows he is ass backwards on the role of the "goon" player in the NHL.

If it's just to add some competition at camp, great. But if he gets a contract I'm going to bang my head against a wall.

 

[joestevens29]

Agree with this. I like MacTavish, and I think he's brought a level of intelligence to the role of GM that I'm not sure I've ever seen during my Oiler fandom (going back to the 90s - too young to remember the 80s). But with signing Macintyre last year, and bringing in Gazdic, I think it shows he is ass backwards on the role of the "goon" player in the NHL.

If it's just to add some competition at camp, great. But if he gets a contract I'm going to bang my head against a wall.

Again when the players ask for it you bring it in, especially such a minor piece to the puzzle. The 4th line goon is hardly ever the reason you lose a game.

 

[CupofOil]

Yes I do think Gazdic is a waste of a roster spot. He's a complete and utter liability on the ice. He's so far removed from NHL caliber play that any gains you get from the odd lumbering hit he throws is lost by the fact that he spends the rest of his ice time chasing the puck in his own zone.

The Oilers might lack crash and bang, but its not worth sacrificing an actual NHL player to have it. Not to mention there are literally a hundred crash and bang guys pining away in the minors who are better hockey players than Gazdic ever will be. Any dozen of them could hit just as effectively and not be as much of a liability on the ice the rest of the time. I place zero value on some guy who can go out there and knock some other player out.

As SK13 pointed out in the post above. Our 4th line looks to be Hendrix-Gordon-xxxx. Luke Gazdic is grossly ill equipped to face the defensive assignments they are likely to receive. Kevin Westgarth as well.

I don't disagree with some of this in regards to his defensive play but i wouldn't say that Gazdic is completely useless.
There were some games when he and his line played a good crash and bang game. Put him on a line with Gordon and Hendricks and his defensive shortcomings become masked.

I've not a big fan of "goonery" but he definitely had use in the Winnipeg game when the Jets were chirping Yakupov and Gazdic came to his aid. That made Yak feel 10 inches taller and he subsequently went after (I forgot who it was, Bryan Little maybe?) knowing that Big Brother had his back. Those are the type of things that bulid team unity so i have no problem with Gazdic being on the roster on a temporary basis.

What i don't want to see is another Gazdic in Westgarth being added to the lineup. One is plenty enough.