Oilers need to swallow pride and send Leon Draisaitl away

[HometownHockey]

Oilers need to swallow pride and send Leon Draisaitl away

With the Edmonton Oilers 2014-15 campaign now officially in the toilet, Craig MacTavish has to come to his senses. The time for the Oilers GM to swallow his pride and admit he was wrong is now at hand. If he does nothing else, MacT needs to get Leon Draisaitl out of town and keep him from having to suffer through what could arguably end up being the toughest five month stretch this organization has ever had to deal with.

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[smackdaddy]

Pretty sure he'll get claimed, no?

Either way it burns a year

 

[dem]

He's gone after the world juniors...

No way he plays the whole year.

 

[MikeModano9]

Send him to Europe until this team and him are ready for each other.

 

[TheBrew]

Pretty sure he'll get claimed, no?

Either way it burns a year

Only burns a year of ELC, but it will save a year of RFA if the Oilers send him down before the 40 game mark.

 

[TheGuyInTheChair]

If only we could send everyone down.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

He never should've been part of the plan to begin with. I like the kid and his potential but he needs to be far, far away from here.

 

[CornKicker]

he should be playing anywhere but in edmonton, same with crappobello but for different reasons.

 

[Wheathead]

I'd send him to PA. I doubt the Raiders will keep him and will probably trade him to a contender like Kelowna for the Memorial Cup run.

He'll gain more out of representing Germany in the WJHC and going on a playoff run in the WHL than he will in Edmonton getting booed out of the place.

 

[Tirefire]

He shouldn't even have been here for any games. To expect a 19 year old center not named Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemiuex or Sidney Crosby is folly, particularly in our Western Conference.

 

[oilwave]

The year of his ELC gets burnt whether he is here or not. I'd rather waste that year properly developing him than have him up here not developing but also not contributing to the team. (Of course this argument depends on the assumption that he would develop better in junior.)

 

[Faelko]

At this point why not have Lander in that spot? Draisaitl would be better served to be far away from this gong show.

 

[McBold]

Burning a year of Draisaitl's ELC is not such a big deal. I don't see him exploding into super stardom and netting a 6 million/year contract in two years.

 

[Morpheus]

It's time. Don't want to ruin him.

 

[Summary]

It's so painfully obvious yes.

Only counterpoint is I could see keeping him up recently in hopes we could get a win somewhere and not send him down on such a bad note. Problem being we might never win again so there won't be that chance. Of course I'm not saying that's why the team is keeping him here, it's because he's our second line center and we have jerseys to sell.

 

[redgrant]

19 Year Old Centre on Worst Team in League Fails in the West.

Talk about a shock headline.

Now dummies are going to blame us having a "bad draft year" like they do with Nail and RNH and not this organization.

 

[SPIRIT]

Two arguments to send Leon down:

1) Further develop him before full time NHL duty.

2) Get him away from the toxic culture.

He will develop the best playing in the NHL.

Leon will be a great player for a long time. Anyone familiar with German folk know that his mental resolve is much different than the Western brains he's surrounded with.

He is the one to be least worried about.

 

[Summary]

It's worth noting that if we send him down before his 26th game, when he comes back he'll still be considered a rookie. Which is worth something.

If he plays next game that won't be the case.

Could pay dividends later to bring him back more polished and Calder eligible to what we can only hope is a more functional team. Both for his confidence and to sell more hope

 

[cj354]

At this point why not have Lander in that spot? Draisaitl would be better served to be far away from this gong show.

I agree. Give the kid a breather from what must be a daily nightmare lol.

Can you imagine what it must be like trying to learn the NHL game on a team like this ..

 

[Up the Irons]

what this organization should do? Well, here's a fun game. Identify what is the most logical course of action and most common practice for NHL teams, on any given move. Then, identfy the exact opposite action, and there you have what the Oilers will do.

 

[thadd]

I wish we could send everyone short of Eberle and Hall down for a week. Give them players from the Alberta Golden Bears to play with and make Hall coach the team while he plays.

That would sure smarten him up!

 

[McRobbiezyg]

No point letting the kid waste away in this toxic environment. send him to juniors and call up lander.. what have we got to lose?