Oilers Untouchables. #1

[McDavid The Saviour]

I wish we could have rated our votes and entered our top 3. Hard to pick one but I'd say RNH for sure since McDavid wasn't an option and centre is so important. But TBH my vote went to Nurse because we need defense so bad and I watched the OHL playoffs this year and he was way better than I thought. I'll admit to being disappointed when MacT chose Nurse over Nichushkin at the draft but after watching the playoffs I think he is going to be a stud (reminds me of Pronger with better wheels).

 

[BasedGOD*]

Yakupov, Hall, Klefbom & McDavid are off the table.

Schultz, Nurse, Draisatil, Eberle, RNH & Lander are peices that need to be kept unless it's an absolute no brainer offer.

 

[LTIR]

Picked Nuge ..

Hall. Our best player & if we trade him, we're gonna find ourselves in the Pens situation. Great centers, no wingers to play with them.

Without Hall EDM still would have Eberle, Pouliot and Yakupov or even a converted Draisaitl. A lot easier to find a top 6 winger via trade.

Without RNH, McDavid would be beating Yak's -33 next season and Oilers would be bottom 3 again.. McDavid, Draisaitl, Lander, Gordon just doesnt work unless its the year 2018.

Hoping McLellan gets Hall and Eberle fix up their game without the puck.. If not I will never consider Hall to be a superstar in this league. The flyby stick checks just dont work.

 

[LTIR]

I wish we could have rated our votes and entered our top 3. Hard to pick one but I'd say RNH for sure since McDavid wasn't an option and centre is so important. But TBH my vote went to Nurse because we need defense so bad and I watched the OHL playoffs this year and he was way better than I thought. I'll admit to being disappointed when MacT chose Nurse over Nichushkin at the draft but after watching the playoffs I think he is going to be a stud (reminds me of Pronger with better wheels).

Lets not get ahead of ourselves.. Nurse looked good in Juniors but so do many other 20yr olds who never make it to NHL. Petry looked and played like Pronger in college.. Smid looked like a franchise Dman as an 18 yr old NHL Dman. Nurse will be a good NHLer but is far from a sure bet to be a top pairing Dman let alone a star in the NHL.

 

[Zaddy]

I'm going against the consensus and will say Nurse.

I feel that outside of McDavid, he will be most key to the Oilers success going forward if he reaches his potential not only because of his ceiling but also because of his style of play and leadership qualities. McDavid will be wearing the C but I feel that Nurse will be the real captain.

If the Oilers get a #1 Dman/top pairing Dman, it will have to developed from within and Nurse is the best chance of having one. If he doesn't develop into that, the Oilers could be in big trouble because I don't see another team giving the Oilers one of theirs so they can't afford to deal him under any circumstance unless it's a surefire, young #1 coming back in return.

I went with Nurse as well. With us getting McDavid and wingers in general being the least important position I think he has the edge. It's just so incredibly rare to find a player like Nurse who has that combination of size, speed, skill with leadership and a mean streak. I don't even know if there's a player in the NHL right now who's like that. Even if he doesn't develop his offense to be a real #1 he is still going to be incredibly valuable to this club going forward.

Hall would be number two for me but realistically he could and maybe should be number one. When was the last time a team had a generational centre coupled with an elite winger? I just hope it's as good as it sounds because if there's one guy we could get a real good return on and help balance this team it would be Hall.

 

[The Nuge]

With McDavid coming in, our most untouchable player imo is Klefbom. He's our best dman, and we can't afford to move him. If we move Hall or Nuge, we can still get by. Without a major overhaul on defense, Klefbom is just too important. And I'm not saying he's the 2nd most valuable guy on the team.

 

[joestevens29]

I don't know that I would choose Nuge or Klef just because they are the best at their position and they play a key position.

Not too down play Nuge, but the guy has never had more than 56 points. Not exactly amazing numbers after 4 years. Like the guy and think he's still developing, but take Hall out of this lineup long-term and I don't know that Nuge would've been able to carry this team.

 

[Aceboogie]

I would trade anyone besides McDavid if it was a FV deal.

Eg Hall for OEL, Eberle for Josi, Yak for Larsson, LD for Jones

However I cant see Nurse or Klefbom being moved, 2 pillars on D. Only traded for bonafide upgrades

RNH is a stud and a good #1C and pretty young. Not many upgrades u26 in the league. Hall is a beast and one of the best wingers in the game. He is the figurehead of the rebuild so itd be hard to trade him. Eberle is a stud but could be dealt

My order of not tradeable is below (not best tho):

Mcdavid- Not traded for anything
Nurse- hard to get an upgrade
RNH- go with the #1C. Might change next year if LD & mcDavid breakout
Hall- star player
Klefbom- looks like a stud, but not upside of Nurse...yet
LD- Blue chip prospect, but could be traded if cant adjust to wing and we need D
Eberle- Very good, but holes in the game
Yak- Love the kid, but needs to bring it next year. Wouldnt trade him till next offseason until his value increases

 

[dustrock]

Can't believe people would vote for Nurse.

No offence, but he's not even on the roster yet, and not in the same way as McDavid.

 

[McGoMcD]

Close between Hall and Nuge, I went with Nuge. His work ethic puts him above Hall in my books. He has so much drive to win.

 

[Oilception]

With McDavid coming in, our most untouchable player imo is Klefbom. He's our best dman, and we can't afford to move him. If we move Hall or Nuge, we can still get by. Without a major overhaul on defense, Klefbom is just too important. And I'm not saying he's the 2nd most valuable guy on the team.

I disagree

If we were trying to get an established #1 D and we had a package and they wanted To swap in Hall I would really not want to

But if we are trading for a established number 1 D and they want us to include Klefbom Im all for it

Voted Hall

I also feel we can skip the next one, Whoever loses out of Hall/ Nuge will win the next one by a landslide

 

[CupofOil]

Can't believe people would vote for Nurse.

No offence, but he's not even on the roster yet, and not in the same way as McDavid.

Because this is about long term projection and importance to the team going forward. If we're just basing it on current importance to the team then of course Hall or arguably RNH would be the most untouchable outside of McDavid.

If Nurse fulfills his potential, he'll be the pillar on D that the Oilers have been looking for since Pronger. Not to mention the unique skillset that he brings to the table with size, speed, physicality, defensive awareness and leadership.
I wasn't the biggest Nurse fan this time last season but he has improved leaps and bounds this season, it has been quite remarkable to see his progress.

I think the Oilers can offset the loss of anybody up front outside of McDavid. If they lost Nurse, it's a barren wasteland on D. I like Klefbom well enough but I don't see him having the same impact that Nurse can potentially have.

 

[Oilers10]

Keep Nuge. Nuge/McDavid is gonna be scary when they both obtain their man strength by 24/26 years of age.

 

[McOvechking]

I voted Taylor Hall. He's just an absolute superstar.

 

[RattsSSV]

It was very close for me between Hall and RNH, however in order to give McDavid the best chance we need to surround him with talent.

Voted Hall.

 

[TheGuyInTheChair]

RNH is most valuable at this point of time. Our only experienced top 6 center.

Hall is better.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Until Hall buys in and plays a better 2 way game it's RNH for me. Hall has the strength and speed to be a great defensive player when he applies himself we've all seen it, I'd just like to see more of it.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

Until Hall buys in and plays a better 2 way game it's RNH for me. Hall has the strength and speed to be a great defensive player when he applies himself we've all seen it, I'd just like to see more of it.

that and his offensive game.

He might be top 3 in the entire league at gaining the zone. But, please, not at all costs.
...and his "I need three shots/game" to make my numbers strategy should not be at all costs either.

I think he will get beetter and maybe his strategy was good for being a star player breaking in.....but its not a smart way to play and it needs to end.

 

[Aerchon]

There are no untouchables according to Peter.

Hall is my pick tho.

 

[Faelko]

Can't believe people would vote for Nurse.

No offence, but he's not even on the roster yet, and not in the same way as McDavid.

I can't believe there's votes for Yak.

 

[Gunnersaurus Rex]

Where's the Kevin Lowe option ???

 

[rosemount289]

Look one player.............???

Look one player does not make a team..........look at Pittsburgh they have Crosby and Malkin and they barely made the playoffs.

You need a least two scoring lines so to me the four players I would have to keep are Hall, RNH, Eberle and McDavid.

All the rest you can move for defensive help.

 

[Spawn]

With McDavid coming in, our most untouchable player imo is Klefbom. He's our best dman, and we can't afford to move him. If we move Hall or Nuge, we can still get by. Without a major overhaul on defense, Klefbom is just too important. And I'm not saying he's the 2nd most valuable guy on the team.

Klefbom is a bottom pairing d-man on the majority of teams in the league. He wouldn't even crack the roster on a handful of them. Just because he's one of our better d-men here doesn't mean he's actually a top end player.

With or without Klefbom, without a major overhaul on defense we still have a **** defense.

With Hall we have one of the best in the world at Left Wing. Without him we're stuck with Benoit Pouliot and Matt Hendricks.

You are never going to get an upgrade on Taylor Hall's position. Not unless you manage to pry Ovechkin or Benn away from their respective teams.

In my eyes, this is easily Taylor Hall. We have no one on the team, or in the system who will be able to replace what he can do for this team. The only one else worth debating is RNH. But honestly, he is going to effectively be replaced as the teams top line center within a calender year. Short term he'll be needed to shelter McDavid, but that wont be for very long.

 

[sepHF]

Hall.

I might have voted RNH if McDavid wasn't one the way.

 

[shoop]

Close between Hall and Nuge, I went with Nuge. His work ethic puts him above Hall in my books. He has so much drive to win.

Agreed. Coupled with centres have slightly higher value than wingers. I also wonder about the Hall being a jerk to Yak rumours. Not sure if their is any foundation in that one, but I wouldn't be shocked if that were true. I just feel Nuge is a better locker room guy than Hall.