News Article: Oilers sign Gambardella

[ImmuneEH]

So it's probably in his AND our best interests that he does come over, I guess?

That's my guess. He and Bear would make an excellent pairing, and he might even earn a first pairing spot right away. However, the big drag is that there aren't any Russian players on that team (to my knowledge). The language/culture barrier could be enough for him to want to stay in Russia.

 

[McFlyingV]

By then our AHL defensive depth will be pretty impressive.

For 2017-18, it may look like:
Simpson/? (I'm predicting a F/A signing, or a trade) Fayne is probably bought out, and it would be nice to have a veteran presence in his absence.
Paigan/Bear
Jones/Mantha

I'm thinking that if Reinhart survives the draft, he'll be our 7D. Both Oesterle & Reinhart are good players, and could possibly be #6's on other teams depth charts (Oesterle at least). Have to think Oesterle jumps ship, as he isn't leapfrogging Nurse for an NHL job and has lower priority than Reinhart for future call-ups.

Another story is our RW cluster****.
Slepyshev is expendable if...

• Pitlick shows up to camp 100%. For a bottom 6 role, I think Pitlick is a stellar option.

• We sign Spencer Foo. This is a NCAA free agent who posted a very strong junior season. Edmonton is one of the likely suitors. Signing Foo gives us insurance in case Pitlick gets injured yet again.

I'd hate to lose Slepyshev, because I think he has top 6 potential on either LW or RW. It would also be great to see what he's like after another off-season of training. However, we could probably solve our 2RD problem by including him in a package deal.

Or even something like Slepyshev + 5th round pick for Brandon Montour. Anaheim likely loses Silfverberg due to expansion, while also being deep on RD. Montour was dominant in the AHL, most shots this year (or maybe last year) and also the PP QB for his team. He's someone that would really push Benning.

Whoops quoted you too early lol.

Yeah I think its a possibility that Oesterle jumps ship, but I hope he doesn't and sticks around for another year because I think he's NHL ready. The one thing Oesterle does have going for him is that he's been playing the right side in Bakersfield on the top pair with Reinhart. That bodes well for him if he sticks around because we could use another mobile puck mover who plays the right side.

I think Slepy will be fine to make the team next year even if its in a bottom 6 role and he's still exempt from expansion draft. He brings enough with his size, speed, and physicality to be an effective bottom 6 forechecker. I think Pitlick will sign here given that the team showed confidence in him this year, and I hope he'll bounce back.

Foo would be a solid pickup, but I don't know that he'd be taking a spot from Slepy or Pitlick off the bat if he did sign here. Foo doesn't bring the same physicality and size as those 2, and he'd need to be a major surprise to crack the top 6. I think he'd much more likely start in Bakersfield if he signed and have to work his way onto the team. Foo just doesn't strike me as a guy you'd put on the 4th line, and would need to be in more of a top 9 scoring role.

 

[ImmuneEH]

I really love the trend of these character guys coming in. NHL'ers like Lucic, Kassian, and Maroon. College kids like Caggiula, Benning, Gambardella. Everything I've read about 'Gardella is that he is a very hard working guy and all of the anecdotal stuff has been positive. Has a lot of support behind him.

 

[McMozesmadness]

Gone

 

[McMozesmadness]

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Still think this guy will be an NHLer one day. Came on really strong at the end of the season and he has a great motor.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Gotta improve his skating IMO.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

I guess with overage college players, they have to show a lot upfront, or they're not worth developing much further.

At 24 years old it's generally WYSIWYG.

 

[Bank Shot]

Him done.

 

[CycloneSweep]

I guess with overage college players, they have to show a lot upfront, or they're not worth developing much further.

At 24 years old it's generally WYSIWYG.

Some college guys work up to be decent bottom 6 guys thru the AHL grind but not all.

 

[ohheyhemsky]

He's a Vande Velde, Cornet clone.

Nothing will come of this guy on our team.

 

[Delicious Pancakes]

He's a Vande Velde, Cornet clone.

Nothing will come of this guy on our team.

Gambardella has quicker, better hands and better finish than Vande Velde and Cornet. Not saying he's going to be an NHLer but it's an odd comparison, especially when McMozes just posted a video where that's evident.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

ahh....Paigin....

I forgot about ye.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

He's a Vande Velde, Cornet clone.

Nothing will come of this guy on our team.

Vande Velde played 300 nhl games, that’s not such a bad thing really.

 

[Aceboogie]

He's a Vande Velde, Cornet clone.

Nothing will come of this guy on our team.

Sign me up for this lol. Vande Velde was a successful NHL pick

 

[joestevens29]

Sign me up for this lol. Vande Velde was a successful NHL pick

Not sure what his deal was this year, but 16 points in 27 games in the Swedish league. If he played a full year would've been close to leading point getter on his team. Good to see him still having success

 

[Spawn]

Sign me up for this lol. Vande Velde was a successful NHL pick

That’s a peculiar way to put it. Chris vandevelde played 30 games as an Oiler (never more than 12 in a season) and spent 7 years with the organization before moving on and eventually finding a niche roll on a different team for a couple seasons.

A successful pick either contributes to your team as an nhler or helps you acquire something that eventually does. Vandevelde did neither of those things.

Maybe he was a successful nhl pick. He wasn’t a successful oilers pick.

 

[Aceboogie]

That’s a peculiar way to put it. Chris vandevelde played 30 games as an Oiler (never more than 12 in a season) and spent 7 years with the organization before moving on and eventually finding a niche roll on a different team for a couple seasons.

A successful pick either contributes to your team as an nhler or helps you acquire something that eventually does. Vandevelde did neither of those things.

Maybe he was a successful nhl pick. He wasn’t a successful oilers pick.

How is it peculiar? he was a successful pick whether it was on the Oilers or not. The Oilers made a ton of bad decisions with younger players back in the day. Even a moderately smart team would have kept him. The Oilers moved Cogs, Green, Stoll, Rieder and others when they were relatively young. They moved a fair amount of young players before they should have. All of those players went on to have good careers, and the first 3 were already good with the Oilers

 

[joestevens29]

How is it peculiar? he was a successful pick whether it was on the Oilers or not. The Oilers made a ton of bad decisions with younger players back in the day. Even a moderately smart team would have kept him. The Oilers moved Cogs, Green, Stoll, Rieder and others when they were relatively young. They moved a fair amount of young players before they should have. All of those players went on to have good careers, and the first 3 were already good with the Oilers

I kind of doubt it. After 7 years I don't see a lot of teams holding onto many prospects that haven't found a full time gig in the NHL.

Teams also start looking elsewhere as waivers becomes an issue and they rather have more certainty to what is happening with their AHL talent.

I also don't know why Stoll and Greene would be in that list. We moved them for Lubo. Even Reider, he still hasn't proved much.

I'd go one more step further and say this team is pretty good at holding onto guys too long ;Reddox, JF Jacques, Pouilot, Jdd, Stortini, Peckham, Gagner, Harti

 

[Senor Catface]

ahh....Paigin....

I forgot about ye.

It's kind of funny if you google his name.

Oh, what a difference two months does to a headline.

 

[joestevens29]

It's kind of funny if you google his name.

View attachment 130371

Oh, what a difference two months does to a headline.

That's gold. I love it.