Should the Oilers trade for D and G upgrades?

[scud9]

Edmonton needs number 1 D. Now top pairing is Nurse and Barrie and they aren't good enough in defence. They concede 1 goal per game on 5-on-5-play. Bouchard starts O-zone 70% and has conceded 4 goals in 6 games. Larsson has also been miserable, actually Russell has the best numbers on 5-on-5-play.

Goalies aren't the best in league but good enough to take Oilers to play offs. Oilers will need better number 1 goalie if they want to be a contender. But to get that you have to give. The goalie market is crowded, there will be also Carolina and Colorado.

 

[NotAVacuumSalesman]

Edmonton needs number 1 D. Now top pairing is Nurse and Barrie and they aren't good enough in defence. They concede 1 goal per game on 5-on-5-play. Bouchard starts O-zone 70% and has conceded 4 goals in 6 games. Larsson has also been miserable, actually Russell has the best numbers on 5-on-5-play.

Goalies aren't the best in league but good enough to take Oilers to play offs. Oilers will need better number 1 goalie if they want to be a contender. But to get that you have to give. The goalie market is crowded, there will be also Carolina and Colorado.

They shut out Montreal last Thursday. I'm not sure where you're getting "they concede 1 goal per game on 5-on-5 play" cause that's blatantly false.

 

[Wings4Life]

Edmonton needs number 1 D. Now top pairing is Nurse and Barrie and they aren't good enough in defence.

They put up 5 goals in regulation against a playoff team. Problem is, they also gave up 6 goals against. They need a big trade to keep the puck out of their own net, or its another wasted year.

 

[NYRKing]

RNH should be traded. Similar to pens trading Staal. They need a Doumilin, plus cap space to fill other needs.

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

RNH should be traded. Similar to pens trading Staal. They need a Doumilin, plus cap space to fill other needs.

Exactly who I was thinking of.

Like did Edmontom ever try to trade him for Markstom?

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

Flames are a giant tire fire bailed out solely by their goalie.

Seems like the Oilers would be fine with good goaltending as well.

Absolutely.

Its absolutely painful that Benning didnt at least get something for Markstrom if hes gonna allow Markstrom to bend us over. Lol

 

[Ted Hoffman]

RNH should be traded. Similar to pens trading Staal. They need a Doumilin, plus cap space to fill other needs.

I would endorse this. When you're giving up 6, the solution to the problem isn't get moar offense so we can score 7 and it's not we can't afford to give up scoring. The Oilers can survive the loss of his offense merely by getting better defensively. OK, he can (sort of) put up points. Big deal. Last night his defense was terrible, and he's frequently been lousy. If his defense is really good in a game, it's passable. Sorry, that's not good enough for the Oilers right now.

He's an impending UFA if I recall correctly. Don't sign him to a new contract. Move him at the deadline, get pieces back, build with those. Start a partial roster overhaul, building up the back 2 lines and most of the defense. It can be done over the summer, it could put the Oilers in position to be among the elite in the league in short order, but it's going to take dealing a couple pieces of the fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuture to make it happen.

I almost bumped the Darnell Nurse is a #1 defenseman thread for the post about Mike Smith's .985 SV%, but decided not to pile on. I will point out that last night he stopped 18 of 24 and could have easily let in a few more beyond the 6 he did. The Oilers need a backup goalie that's not him.

 

[NotAVacuumSalesman]

I almost bumped the Darnell Nurse is a #1 defenseman thread for the post about Mike Smith's .985 SV%, but decided not to pile on. I will point out that last night he stopped 18 of 24 and could have easily let in a few more beyond the 6 he did. The Oilers need a backup goalie that's not him.

Smith was pulled after allowing 4 goals on 11 shots.

Player​	TOI​	Shots Against​	Saves	Goals Against​	Expected Goals Against​	SV%​	GAA
Mike Smith​	22:41​	11​	7​	4​	0.69​	0.636​	10.66​
Mikko Koskinen​	35:40​	13​	11​	2​	0.94​	0.846​	3.36​

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[NotAVacuumSalesman]

Exactly who I was thinking of.

Like did Edmontom ever try to trade him for Markstom?

Markstrom was UFA and Holland did try to sign him but he chose Calgary (they paid more and he's got a friend there as well in Lindholm).

https://thehockeywriters.com/edmonton-oilers-missing-on-markstrom-good/

That link is a good read regarding risk giving out long term contracts and ties into the Barrie signing too.

TLDR; If they went all in on Markstrom, they wouldn't have enough cap space to sign Barrie.

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

Markstrom was UFA and Holland did try to sign him but he chose Calgary (they paid more and he's got a friend there as well in Lindholm).

https://thehockeywriters.com/edmonton-oilers-missing-on-markstrom-good/

That link is a good read regarding risk giving out long term contracts and ties into the Barrie signing too.

I know he was a UFA. I am talking about prior to him becoming an UFA.

It was pretty clear well before he hit UFA that it was looking unlikely Van would resign him.

So did EDM make an offer etc before that.

I understand risks. But you can not look at risks in a vacuum eg the risk of the contract only.

You also have to consider the risks of not getting a bonafide tender.

And as much as I am not a big fan of Markstroms contract what are the risks? 6mill x 6 years until hes 36. Its hardly the most egregious contract.

For Vancouver it was a different story considering we already had Demko.

 

[2023FriendshipTour]

Oilers still aren't great at 5v5 play and are a tire fire on D. Markstrom would help that, but they would still be fodder for top end teams. Like most of us teams in the North they have lots of holes and little cap.

 

[NotAVacuumSalesman]

I know he was a UFA. I am talking about prior to him becoming an UFA.

It was pretty clear well before he hit UFA that it was looking unlikely Van would resign him.

So did EDM make an offer etc before that.

I understand risks. But you can not look at risks in a vacuum eg the risk of the contract only.

You also have to consider the risks of not getting a bonafide tender.

And as much as I am not a big fan of Markstroms contract what are the risks? 6mill x 6 years until hes 36. Its hardly the most egregious contract.

For Vancouver it was a different story considering we already had Demko.

Signing a UFA only requires term/dollars and other clauses attached to it instead of using assets for a trade. You have to remember this team had no depth prior to the last offseason and they're definitely not trading Nuge for Markstrom if that's what you're suggesting. They'll have roughly 24.5M this coming offseason to make moves for a #1 goalie and fix some of the things Chiarelli did.

Edmonton has always struck out on signing UFAs to long term contracts. It doesn't work out for them ever. Most of the examples are on that link.

 

[Volica]

Flames are a giant tire fire bailed out solely by their goalie.

Seems like the Oilers would be fine with good goaltending as well.

Flames are top ten team in xGF%, Scoring chances and high danger scoring chances, while also being a top half possession team. They are second in the league in SV%

Edmonton is a bottom 5-7 team in terms of chances against, shots against, high danger chances against, goals against... they are bottom 4 in SV%.

What that points to is Calgary being a solid team with a great goalie. What that points to is Edmonton being a porous team that gets bad goaltending on top of it.

If Calgary is a giant tire fire bailed out by goaltending, Edmonton is a radioactive wasteland bailed out by the fact they have the best player on the planet.

 

[Canadienna]

Blaming the defense is just lazy. They’re not the problem. We need to upgrade Koskinen, but we knew that, hence Holland going after Markstrom this summer. And it’s weird to call an offense “red hot” when the 3rd line has combined for 9 points

Actually I think solely blaming the goaltending is the lazy argument.

Oilers are 29th in the league for xGA, ahead of only VAN and OTT.

Oilers are 30th in the league for D zone giveaways.

I think Goaltending is also an issue, but you'd need a damn good goalie to cover those stats up...

 

[Rubi]

Lets face it.. this season is a write off for the Oilers. The highlight of the year, as usual, will be the 2020 Draft where they will wisely use their remaining 1st, 4th, 6th and 7th round picks.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Flames are top ten team in xGF%, Scoring chances and high danger scoring chances, while also being a top half possession team. They are second in the league in SV%

Edmonton is a bottom 5-7 team in terms of chances against, shots against, high danger chances against, goals against... they are bottom 4 in SV%.

What that points to is Calgary being a solid team with a great goalie. What that points to is Edmonton being a porous team that gets bad goaltending on top of it.

If Calgary is a giant tire fire bailed out by goaltending, Edmonton is a radioactive wasteland bailed out by the fact they have the best player on the planet.

Calgary is a middling team with good offense, average to below average defence, but with excellent goaltending.

10th in XGF, 18th in XGA.

Edmonton is a middling team with fantastic offense, poor defense, and poor goaltending.

3rd in XGF, 27th in XGA.

The question isn't if edmonton needs help on the blueline - any team that lost their #1 defenceman for the season would - or in goal. The question is how do they get it without blowing up the future or what's going well now.

 

[Volica]

Calgary is a middling team with good offense, average to below average defence, but with excellent goaltending.

10th in XGF, 18th in XGA.

Edmonton is a middling team with fantastic offense, poor defense, and poor goaltending.

3rd in XGF, 27th in XGA.

The question isn't if edmonton needs help on the blueline - any team that lost their #1 defenceman for the season would - or in goal. The question is how do they get it without blowing up the future or what's going well now.

Impossible, because they have nothing of value on the roster outside of ‘what’s working’ or futures.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Lets face it.. this season is a write off for the Oilers. The highlight of the year, as usual, will be the 2020 Draft where they will wisely use their remaining 1st, 4th, 6th and 7th round picks.

... we have a winning record, dude, and beat the wheels off of the Jets at 5 on 5 all night long last night. Change your underwear and wake up from your wet dream.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Impossible, because they have nothing of value on the roster outside of ‘what’s working’ or futures.

You mean teams want to keep their good pieces while trading underperforming ones? I for one am absolutely shocked by this revelation.

 

[2023FriendshipTour]

Calgary is a middling team with good offense, average to below average defence, but with excellent goaltending.

10th in XGF, 18th in XGA.

Edmonton is a middling team with fantastic offense, poor defense, and poor goaltending.

3rd in XGF, 27th in XGA.

The question isn't if edmonton needs help on the blueline - any team that lost their #1 defenceman for the season would - or in goal. The question is how do they get it without blowing up the future or what's going well now.

I'd imagine with some cap space going into next off season there will still be some deals to be had in a flat cap world. The fact there is a 14 day quarantine makes trading a nightmare anyway this season.

 

[Clumsyhab]

Could the Oilers go after Jake Allen? Habs need another Centre.
Could a trade happen with RNH for Allen + Tatar?

 

[Volica]

You mean teams want to keep their good pieces while trading underperforming ones? I for one am absolutely shocked by this revelation.

I meant more of Edmonton having essentially two A+ pieces, a few B pieces and then a whole bunch of garbage. I mean, putting Yamamoto up could garner someone with extra D to make a deal, Nuge could fetch something. It’s more so just not having the horses in the race versus having horses that just aren’t pulling their weight in this situation.

Outside of that, it’s only firsts that’d get people thinking.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

Smith was pulled after allowing 4 goals on 11 shots.

Player​	TOI​	Shots Against​	Saves	Goals Against​	Expected Goals Against​	SV%​	GAA
Mike Smith​	22:41​	11​	7​	4​	0.69​	0.636​	10.66​
Mikko Koskinen​	35:40​	13​	11​	2​	0.94​	0.846​	3.36​

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Damn, that makes it look even worse. It's OK, though, the Oilers should focus on scoring 7 or 8 goals instead to make up for that kind of play. I hear it's pretty easy, just load up on offensive-oriented players and eschew any attempt to play basic defense.

 

[NYRKing]

Exactly who I was thinking of.

Like did Edmontom ever try to trade him for Markstom?

I think they tried to sign Markstrom but missed. However, to do think they can eventually land a solid netmindet but D is the key.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Could the Oilers go after Jake Allen? Habs need another Centre.
Could a trade happen with RNH for Allen + Tatar?

The money won't work and the value isn't very good for Edmonton. Allen only works when he has a better goalie in front of him.