Speculation: Trade Rumours and Proposals Thread Part 18:Soli Smells Like He Needs a Shower Edition

[The Perfect Human*]

Agreed, I cannot fathom how people are so willing to move RNH, unless the return is Crosby, Stamkos, etc. it makes 0 sense to move him. J. Schultz IMO is another untouchable, he chose us over 29 other teams and while some posters like yourself aren't as thrilled with his potential as posters like myself are, he still brings us something that we lack as a team and in a big way.

I'd also be very hesitant to move Klefbom and to a lesser extent Marincin.

Well yeah, I don't move J.Schultz unless it's for an upgrade. He brings too much offensively to just let him go for someone who can't put up points or man the PP.

That being said, my definition for an "upgrade" on Schultz is probably much different than yours. For example, "upgrades" to me would include guys like Shattenkirk, Voynov, D.Hamilton, MDZ, Justin Faulk, John Carlson, Jared Cowen, Roman Josi, etc

From the way some Oiler fans talk about him they don't move him unless it's Pietrangelo/OEL/Subban coming back.

Click to read more...

 

[Raab]

Not like we have a #1C or anything...because that's an easy asset to acquire...

Dont need an elite #1 center when you got 3 star wingers. Right now what center do we have on the team that is top 10 in scoring? What about top 30? Are you saying Gagner is protected? What this team needs is a few two way guys who can go against the other big centers in the league. Now don't get me wrong RNH is a hell of a player so I'd expect a significant return if I was moving him, but I just don't think trading a winger is worth losing our secondary scoring. On top of that RNH still hasn't proven he'll be any better then someone like Mike Ribeiro, when he starts putting up 90 point seasons maybe I change my tune but right now thats still a what if.

 

[The Perfect Human*]

Dont need an elite #1 center when you got 3 star wingers. Right now what center do we have on the team that is top 10 in scoring? What about top 30? Are you saying Gagner is protected? What this team needs is a few two way guys who can go against the other big centers in the league. Now don't get me wrong RNH is a hell of a player so I'd expect a significant return if I was moving him, but I just don't think trading a winger is worth losing our secondary scoring. On top of that RNH still hasn't proven he'll be any better then someone like Mike Ribeiro, when he starts putting up 90 point seasons maybe I change my tune but right now thats still a what if.

When's the last time a team won the Cup without a #1C, thanks to their "elite wingers"? When ANA won in 2007 McDonald was a legit 1C, and Getzlaf had basically assumed the 1b role in the 2nd half of that season. The '03 and '00 Devils featured Gomez in his prime. The '95 Devils had a prime Broten. '93 Habs a prime Damphousse.

Look at all the trouble STL is going through right now because they have 2 #2C's in Berglund/Backes. They are literally elite at every other position, with great depth (W/D/G). But without that one piece, that one #1C, they aren't able to score that "clutch" goal when they need it. They don't have that offensive difference-maker.

 

[doubledown99]

Dont need an elite #1 center when you got 3 star wingers. Right now what center do we have on the team that is top 10 in scoring? What about top 30? Are you saying Gagner is protected? What this team needs is a few two way guys who can go against the other big centers in the league. Now don't get me wrong RNH is a hell of a player so I'd expect a significant return if I was moving him, but I just don't think trading a winger is worth losing our secondary scoring. On top of that RNH still hasn't proven he'll be any better then someone like Mike Ribeiro, when he starts putting up 90 point seasons maybe I change my tune but right now thats still a what if.

Wow there is so much wrong in this post that I'm not going to even bother.

Nuge is untouchable. End of story.

 

[Raab]

When's the last time a team won the Cup without a #1C, thanks to their "elite wingers"? When ANA won in 2007 McDonald was a legit 1C, and Getzlaf had basically assumed the 1b role in the 2nd half of that season. The '03 and '00 Devils featured Gomez in his prime. The '95 Devils had a prime Broten. '93 Habs a prime Damphousse.

Look at all the trouble STL is going through right now because they have 2 #2C's in Berglund/Backes. They are literally elite at every other position, with great depth (W/D/G). But without that one piece, that one #1C, they aren't able to score that "clutch" goal when they need it. They don't have that offensive difference-maker.

The Boston Bruins?

Edit: You don't think St. Louis would have made it past LA if they had Hall and Eberle on their top line? We have potentially two 40 goals scorers in Yak and Hall and a guaranteed 60+ point playmaker in Eberle. Can't believe so many posters are willing to trade our most proven young player in Eberle but aren't even willing to consider moving a maybe player in RNH.

 

[OnTheBrink]

The Boston Bruins?

Edit: You don't think St. Louis would have made it past LA if they had Hall and Eberle on their top line? We have potentially two 40 goals scorers in Yak and Hall and a guaranteed 60+ point playmaker in Eberle. Can't believe so many posters are willing to trade our most proven young player in Eberle but aren't even willing to consider moving a maybe player in RNH.

RNH arguably had the best rookie season of the big 4 forwards and his sophomore season despite being injured all year greatly improved his 2 way game and still put up decent offensive numbers, he would be the last player I trade behind Hall, saying that I wouldn't trade any of the big 5 unless a big overpayment including a bonafide #1 D is included, it just opens other holes in the roster. I would look at Gagner, Harti, Hemsky, N. Shultz, 7th overall pick, 2 rounders and 2014 picks to fill the holes in the Edm roster.

 

[ConnorMcNugesaitl]

For the life of me I can't understand the Oilers fanbase. This is the group of fans that for years cried for a rebuild because the foundation was absent and the team was going nowhere.

Now the team is experiencing the growing pains of rebuilding has a tremendous group of top line forwards and a group of young defensemen that look very promising one who not only just played his first pro season but his first full season and not the college length.

So what do these fans do? They turn around and want to fire and trade anyone and everyone on the team for some sort of rebuild shortcut and a sniff at the playoffs regardless of what it does to the looks of the team going forward. It's just puzzling, I have no idea how it seems that this large group of people lost their patience and their sense of perspective on any gains the team has made over the last year.

 

[OnTheBrink]

For the life of me I can't understand the Oilers fanbase. This is the group of fans that for years cried for a rebuild because the foundation was absent and the team was going nowhere.

Now the team is experiencing the growing pains of rebuilding has a tremendous group of top line forwards and a group of young defensemen that look very promising one who not only just played his first pro season but his first full season and not the college length.

So what do these fans do? They turn around and want to fire and trade anyone and everyone on the team for some sort of rebuild shortcut and a sniff at the playoffs regardless of what it does to the looks of the team going forward. It's just puzzling, I have no idea how it seems that this large group of people lost their patience and their sense of perspective on any gains the team has made over the last year.

Agree with you see above post, would hate for Edm to trade years of contending with the strong young forward group of Hall, RNH, Eberle, Yak, Pajaarvi and Gagner (last 2 could be moved but only for better fits) and a solid young d core with J Schultz, Smid, Petry, Klefbom, Maracinin, Musil (though lacking true #1 damn) to speed up rebuild by a year or two. That being said Edmonton has one of the worst cast of supporting players in the league and need to do a much better job at surrounding their young stars with quality players that are harder to pay against. Which iseems to be harder to do then said.

I think a good trade for Edm would be; and Ranger fans have agreed its a fair deal,

7th overall + Harti + Ana 2nd rounder for MDZ + JT Miller Edm adds a top 4 dman and a young 3rd line Winger without dipping into core players.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Well yeah, I don't move J.Schultz unless it's for an upgrade. He brings too much offensively to just let him go for someone who can't put up points or man the PP.

That being said, my definition for an "upgrade" on Schultz is probably much different than yours. For example, "upgrades" to me would include guys like Shattenkirk, Voynov, D.Hamilton, MDZ, Justin Faulk, John Carlson, Jared Cowen, Roman Josi, etc

From the way some Oiler fans talk about him they don't move him unless it's Pietrangelo/OEL/Subban coming back.

I disagree that the bolded players would be upgrades. IMO he could end up being better than Shatenkirk, I don't see enough of Carlsson so I won't touch that one, and Cowan is just a whole different animal. He is a physical beast. I'd love to know what Justin Faulk brings that Schultz doesn't though.

Speaking of Shattenkirk in his rookie season with the Avs prior to being traded let's look at his stats:

46gp. 7-19-26 -11 67sog.

Now J. Schultz'

48gp. 8-19-27 -17 85sog.

Hell J. Schultz outscored Shattenkirk this season as a rookie. I would wait until saying that in all certainty that Shattenkirk >>> J. Schultz TBH, IMO that book has yet to be written.

 

[The Perfect Human*]

The Boston Bruins?

Edit: You don't think St. Louis would have made it past LA if they had Hall and Eberle on their top line? We have potentially two 40 goals scorers in Yak and Hall and a guaranteed 60+ point playmaker in Eberle. Can't believe so many posters are willing to trade our most proven young player in Eberle but aren't even willing to consider moving a maybe player in RNH.

....David Krejci was near point/game in their SCF run. He is a clear-cut #1C...

No. STL wouldnt' have made it past LA with even Hall/Ebs on their top line because they would have been obliterated/contained by the LAK defense. Eberle obliterated, Hall contained. Best forward in that group is Anze Kopitar - whoah he's a C!

 

[The Perfect Human*]

Agree with you see above post, would hate for Edm to trade years of contending with the strong young forward group of Hall, RNH, Eberle, Yak, Pajaarvi and Gagner (last 2 could be moved but only for better fits) and a solid young d core with J Schultz, Smid, Petry, Klefbom, Maracinin, Musil (though lacking true #1 damn) to speed up rebuild by a year or two. That being said Edmonton has one of the worst cast of supporting players in the league and need to do a much better job at surrounding their young stars with quality players that are harder to pay against. Which iseems to be harder to do then said.

I think a good trade for Edm would be; and Ranger fans have agreed its a fair deal,

7th overall + Harti + Ana 2nd rounder for MDZ + JT Miller Edm adds a top 4 dman and a young 3rd line Winger without dipping into core players.

MDZ>7th overall
JT Miller>Harti+2nd (He's a 15th overall pick and projects to be a top-6 F once he finishes development).

 

[Bryanbryoil]

For the life of me I can't understand the Oilers fanbase. This is the group of fans that for years cried for a rebuild because the foundation was absent and the team was going nowhere.

Now the team is experiencing the growing pains of rebuilding has a tremendous group of top line forwards and a group of young defensemen that look very promising one who not only just played his first pro season but his first full season and not the college length.

So what do these fans do? They turn around and want to fire and trade anyone and everyone on the team for some sort of rebuild shortcut and a sniff at the playoffs regardless of what it does to the looks of the team going forward. It's just puzzling, I have no idea how it seems that this large group of people lost their patience and their sense of perspective on any gains the team has made over the last year.

Anyone actively looking to deal Hall, Eberle, RNH, Yakupov, or J. Schultz are doing so based on knee jerk reactions. We hold the 7th overall pick in this draft and should be able to come out of this draft with a soon to be NHL 2C. We have Klefbom coming down the pipeline as well. This team needs a bottom 6 that doesn't suck, brings physicality, and like MacT said "at the best of times not hurt the team" or whatever isn't good enough. We need guys like Brian Boyle, Bickell, etc. guys that can bring the pain and put the puck in the net. We do not need to move out our high end talent unless you include Gagner and Hemsky in that grouping IMO.

 

[The Perfect Human*]

I disagree that the bolded players would be upgrades. IMO he could end up being better than Shatenkirk, I don't see enough of Carlsson so I won't touch that one, and Cowan is just a whole different animal. He is a physical beast. I'd love to know what Justin Faulk brings that Schultz doesn't though.

Schultz is about the same level of Dougie right now, the reason I'd do that deal 1-for-1 is because of the potential of Hamilton.

As for Voynov, to me he's clearly on another level when compared to Schultz - and both players were taken in the same draft. He's already a #2 defenseman for LAK, playing + hockey and leading their D in ESP. At 22, he's anchoring the 2nd pairing for a contender (as some #2 Dmen are entrusted to do, like Shattenkirk). He also averaged more than a minute more of PP time per game than Schultz. To me, at his age he's a slightly inferior PP player than Schultz, while being a MUCH better ES/PK player. In my mind he's not only the better player now, but projects to be better down the road as well.

John Carlson is already a #2 defenseman for the Capitals - arguably their best 2-way defenseman (ahead of Green and Alzner). He is far and away better than Justin Schultz, and ahead of Voynov as well. Big body, and a great ES player. This a no-brainer 1-for-1 deal in my mind, for a guy that again, was picked in the same draft year as Schutlz

Justin Faulk is nowhere near the PP threat that Justin Schultz is, but again is one of those guys that is a great even-strength player. In my mind his injury was one of the bigger reasons for CAR's late-season meltdown, along with Ward's injuries. He's 2 years younger than Schultz - part of his allure is the potential factor.

I'm going to be honest, I value even-strength efficacy over PP production. The Oilers PP was 3rd in the NHL with Jeff Petry/Cory Potter/Tom Gilbert as their main triggermen. They put Justin Schultz there and feed him heavy, heavy minutes (3:12 for Schultz vs 2:28 for Potter, 2:05 for Gilbert, and 1:15 for Petry) so he can accumulate PP points, and they slip to 8th place with Schultz. This is with essentially the same group of players on the top unit to play with. Schultz's contribution to our PP's success is minimal compared to lesser-heralded players in the same position/role.

To have a complete player like Voynov/Carlson manning the point at ES coming at the expense of a bit of PP efficacy is well worth it for me.

 

[The Perfect Human*]

Speaking of Shattenkirk in his rookie season with the Avs prior to being traded let's look at his stats:

46gp. 7-19-26 -11 67sog.

Now J. Schultz'

48gp. 8-19-27 -17 85sog.

Hell J. Schultz outscored Shattenkirk this season as a rookie. I would wait until saying that in all certainty that Shattenkirk >>> J. Schultz TBH, IMO that book has yet to be written.

Shattenkirk was 1 year younger in his rookie year, coming out of college just like Schultz.

Why are you excluding his play with the Blues, arguably his best play of the season? What if we eliminated Schultz's best 10-game stretch of the season? Be fair to Shattenkirk and look at the season as a whole:

Shattenkirk: 43pts (28ESP+13PPP) in 72gp = 0.60pt/g, 0.39 ESP/g
Schultz: 27pts (12ESP + 15PPP) in 48gp = 0.56pt/g, 0.25 ESP/g

Shattenkirk not only scored at a higher clip, he did so playing 2min less/game, and was better at even strength production.
Let's also point out that it was his first year of pro hockey, and he didn't suffer that "burnout" garbage people have been proposing for Schultz.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Schultz is about the same level of Dougie right now, the reason I'd do that deal 1-for-1 is because of the potential of Hamilton.

As for Voynov, to me he's clearly on another level when compared to Schultz - and both players were taken in the same draft. He's already a #2 defenseman for LAK, playing + hockey and leading their D in ESP. At 22, he's anchoring the 2nd pairing for a contender (as some #2 Dmen are entrusted to do, like Shattenkirk). He also averaged more than a minute more of PP time per game than Schultz. To me, at his age he's a slightly inferior PP player than Schultz, while being a MUCH better ES/PK player. In my mind he's not only the better player now, but projects to be better down the road as well.

John Carlson is already a #2 defenseman for the Capitals - arguably their best 2-way defenseman (ahead of Green and Alzner). He is far and away better than Justin Schultz, and ahead of Voynov as well. Big body, and a great ES player. This a no-brainer 1-for-1 deal in my mind, for a guy that again, was picked in the same draft year as Schutlz

Justin Faulk is nowhere near the PP threat that Justin Schultz is, but again is one of those guys that is a great even-strength player. In my mind his injury was one of the bigger reasons for CAR's late-season meltdown, along with Ward's injuries. He's 2 years younger than Schultz - part of his allure is the potential factor.

I'm going to be honest, I value even-strength efficacy over PP production. The Oilers PP was 3rd in the NHL with Jeff Petry/Cory Potter/Tom Gilbert as their main triggermen. They put Justin Schultz there and feed him heavy, heavy minutes (3:12 for Schultz vs 2:28 for Potter, 2:05 for Gilbert, and 1:15 for Petry) so he can accumulate PP points, and they slip to 8th place with Schultz. This is with essentially the same group of players on the top unit to play with. Schultz's contribution to our PP's success is minimal compared to lesser-heralded players in the same position/role.

To have a complete player like Voynov/Carlson manning the point at ES coming at the expense of a bit of PP efficacy is well worth it for me.

I love how you completely leave Schultz' play in the AHL out of the equation since that was his best hockey prior to getting burned out. I also love how you compare him to other guys in his draft year when he was a rookie pro last year. Voynov has many years of pro under his best as does Carlson. I also love how you portray your point as if J. Schultz hurt our PP last year and that he single handily dropped our PP efficiency. I guess the injuries to RNH and Eberle had nothing to do with that right? I mean our PP before RNH was awesome with guys like Gilbert right?

You value ES production yet fail to mention how snake bitten as a team the Oilers were at ES, perhaps good ES teams have lots of ES producers and you don't just crap on a single players ES production vs. his peers because his team as a whole blows at ES.

Shattenkirk was 1 year younger in his rookie year, coming out of college just like Schultz.

Why are you excluding his play with the Blues, arguably his best play of the season? What if we eliminated Schultz's best 10-game stretch of the season? Be fair to Shattenkirk and look at the season as a whole:

Shattenkirk: 43pts (28ESP+13PPP) in 72gp = 0.60pt/g, 0.39 ESP/g
Schultz: 27pts (12ESP + 15PPP) in 48gp = 0.56pt/g, 0.25 ESP/g

Shattenkirk not only scored at a higher clip, he did so playing 2min less/game, and was better at even strength production.
Let's also point out that it was his first year of pro hockey, and he didn't suffer that "burnout" garbage people have been proposing for Schultz.

I figured that the 46 and 48 game samples would be the most relevant TBH since Justin didn't play an 82 game NHL schedule. Also because it showed that he hasn't always been a + player and that yes being on a different TEAM can make a player look better. A -11 with Colorado and a +7 with St. Louis is a massive difference.

You calling burnout "garbage" shows me how when you have a dislike for a player that you will pull out every imaginable stop to try and paint them as crap when it is far from the truth. Shattenkirk was broken in slowly and had 0 points in 10 AHL games that year, I HIGHLY doubt that he was played for 30ish minutes a night in all situations like Schultz was in OKC PRIOR to an abbreviated NHL season. Since you love Shattenkirk so much, I propose you an avatar bet that Schultz outscores Shattenkirk next season. Saying that Faulk > J. Schultz is as laughable as saying that Seguin > Hall and that Hall has 3rd liner skills. Speaking of Seguin, when is he going to start playing in the playoffs? Speaking of teams making a difference for players, imagine if he was this much of a no show for the Oilers? It wouldn't be pretty, surely even you with your laundry list of biases can now see that we made the right choice by taking Hall?

 

[Raab]

RNH arguably had the best rookie season of the big 4 forwards and his sophomore season despite being injured all year greatly improved his 2 way game and still put up decent offensive numbers, he would be the last player I trade behind Hall, saying that I wouldn't trade any of the big 5 unless a big overpayment including a bonafide #1 D is included, it just opens other holes in the roster. I would look at Gagner, Harti, Hemsky, N. Shultz, 7th overall pick, 2 rounders and 2014 picks to fill the holes in the Edm roster.

I don't want him traded I just think I'd personally deal him before any of the other young guns and he hasn't shown enough to be protected IMO.

 

[Raab]

....David Krejci was near point/game in their SCF run. He is a clear-cut #1C...

No. STL wouldnt' have made it past LA with even Hall/Ebs on their top line because they would have been obliterated/contained by the LAK defense. Eberle obliterated, Hall contained. Best forward in that group is Anze Kopitar - whoah he's a C!

If we ever dealt RNH I'd hope a half decent center is part of the return.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

If we ever dealt RNH I'd hope a half decent center is part of the return.

So a downgrade then? I really think that you greatly underrate RNH.

 

[Raab]

So a downgrade then? I really think that you greatly underrate RNH.

Be curious where you see him in his prime?

 

[The Perfect Human*]

I love how you completely leave Schultz' play in the AHL out of the equation since that was his best hockey prior to getting burned out. I also love how you compare him to other guys in his draft year when he was a rookie pro last year. Voynov has many years of pro under his best as does Carlson.

I'm not buying this argument. I find that these older players coming out of college are much closer to their peak-level of performance than they are as young teenage pro rookies. I feel age is a bigger factor into their development than what "pro year" they're in.
How much better did a 23-year old Gilbert get from his rookie season? How much better did a 23-year old Petry get from his first full NHL season?

And re: the burn-out - where was Carlson's burn-out in 2010? McDonagh's a year later? Both were leaned on Schultz-style in the AHL in their first pro years and performed even better later on in the season.


Age to me is a bigger factor than "pro year".

I also love how you portray your point as if J. Schultz hurt our PP last year and that he single handily dropped our PP efficiency. I guess the injuries to RNH and Eberle had nothing to do with that right? I mean our PP before RNH was awesome with guys like Gilbert right?

Injuries to RNH/Eberle this year are like injuries to RNH/Hall the year before. The PP still performed. You arguing that I'm suggesting Gilbert is a PP wizard while Schultz is some goat is nonsensical. My point is that core top-unit group of Ebs/RNH/Horc/Gagner/Hall in some combination is an elite-level group of PP forwards. There was production before Schultz came. There was production after Schultz came. He's not why our PP was top-10 last year, nor was Gilbert/Petry the reason it was top-3 the year before. They are interchangeable parts on an otherwise elite unit.

You value ES production yet fail to mention how snake bitten as a team the Oilers were at ES, perhaps good ES teams have lots of ES producers and you don't just crap on a single players ES production vs. his peers because his team as a whole blows at ES.

So you don't think Schultz's inability to get the transition started as an "offensive defenseman" was a contributing factor the Oilers poor ES production?

Obviously this team's inability to score is a confounding factor in all this - but his addition to the team has seemingly done nothing to improve the team's ES production (1.71 ES goals/game this year, 1.70 ES goals/game the year before).

And forget numbers, just watch Justin Schultz try to get the transition started at even strength. It's something he's not able to do with any ease. I'm sure he'll learn it with time. But I don't think it will be at an exponential rate. He simply can't rely upon the college-style "rover" plays where he leads the rush into the opposition zone because he's not an elite-level skating defenseman like Karlsson/Niedermayer/Keith/Letang are/were. You need that level of skating to come back and be the first guy back.

Schultz IMO is cognisant that his elite-level college skating is merely "very good" skating at the NHL level. It's why he's shown a hesitation to lead the rush the way he did in college. It's something Brendan Smith in Detroit is slowly starting to figure out right now as well.

I figured that the 46 and 48 game samples would be the most relevant TBH since Justin didn't play an 82 game NHL schedule. Also because it showed that he hasn't always been a + player and that yes being on a different TEAM can make a player look better. A -11 with Colorado and a +7 with St. Louis is a massive difference.

No, it wouldn't. Shattenkirk got steadily better in his rookie season. Schultz's production got steadily worse. The most objective thing to do is use what you have - the entire season - as a comparison.

STL finished 10th last in the league that year. EDM finished 7th last. A +7 on a 10th last team is much better than a -17 on a 7th last team. And he was playing top-4 minutes throughout that season.

You calling burnout "garbage" shows me how when you have a dislike for a player that you will pull out every imaginable stop to try and paint them as crap when it is far from the truth. Shattenkirk was broken in slowly and had 0 points in 10 AHL games that year, I HIGHLY doubt that he was played for 30ish minutes a night in all situations like Schultz was in OKC PRIOR to an abbreviated NHL season.

Where were Carlson and McDonagh's burn-outs in 2010 and 2011 respectively after being thrust into the same role in the AHL early in their pro careers?

Since you love Shattenkirk so much, I propose you an avatar bet that Schultz outscores Shattenkirk next season.

I'll certainly take that deal for ES production. Not the >3min of PP time Schultz gets on a #1 unit that produced just as well with him that they did without him.

Again, like I said earlier, I value ES play over PP production.

For example, a player that puts up 35 points with a 25:10 ES: PP ratio playing secondary PP time is more valuable to me than a 40-pt scorer with a 10:30 ES: PP ratio on an elite top unit on which he has seemingly done nothing to improve their production.

Saying that Faulk > J. Schultz is as laughable as saying that Seguin > Hall and that Hall has 3rd liner skills. Speaking of Seguin, when is he going to start playing in the playoffs? Speaking of teams making a difference for players, imagine if he was this much of a no show for the Oilers? It wouldn't be pretty, surely even you with your laundry list of biases can now see that we made the right choice by taking Hall?

I'm more excited about the performance of a 20-year old Faulk, given his developmental potential than a 22-year old Justin Schultz. Yes, I'll maintain that. To me they're of equivalent value at this point.

I honestly don't know how other fans around the league perceive it, and I'd be interested in seeing how a Main Board Poll rates it.

 

[Valic]

Be curious where you see him in his prime?

Top 5 Center in the league.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

So I've heard mention of "oh noes who plays Centerz" with the Nuge possibly not ready for the start of the season, the trading of Gagner, buying out of Horcoff and buying out/trading/getting rid of Belanger.

From the UFA group there are some guys you can use to "patch" the spot until the Nuge gets back.


2nd/3rd any 2 of Roy, Bozak, Cullen, Weiss, MacDonald, Fillpula(Hemsky83 will love this because Detroit *Drools*) Lombardi and

3rd/4th any 2 of Chipchura, Gordon, Adams, Lapierre, Steckel, Regin, Brent, Hall and Santorelli

So maybe

MacDonald 1yrs $5M, Cullen 2yr $4M, Gordon 2yr $1.75M and Chipchura 1yr $1M

Then you have some depth if other changes are made. Not saying their world beaters, just some depth along with The Nuge and Lander (and maybe a 2013 1st rounder) when the group is healthy.

 

[CupofOil]

Dont need an elite #1 center when you got 3 star wingers. Right now what center do we have on the team that is top 10 in scoring? What about top 30? Are you saying Gagner is protected? What this team needs is a few two way guys who can go against the other big centers in the league. Now don't get me wrong RNH is a hell of a player so I'd expect a significant return if I was moving him, but I just don't think trading a winger is worth losing our secondary scoring. On top of that RNH still hasn't proven he'll be any better then someone like Mike Ribeiro, when he starts putting up 90 point seasons maybe I change my tune but right now thats still a what if.

LOL, of course it's a "what if". He was still young enough to play in the WJC this season for cripe sakes so of course, he's filled with "what ifs".
I see you proposing RNH deals a lot and i, for the life of me, can't understand why.
It seems that you dislike skilled players and just want a team full of coke machines.
I understand that the team needs toughness in the worst way but there is no way (absoutely no way) that any of "The Big 4" forwards should be dealt now especially RNH who IMO, is the biggest untouchable on the team.
The Oilers lose any realistic trade with RNH going the other way.

I will go on record now guaranteeing that he will be at the very least a top 10 center in the league within the next 3 seasons. Not only does he have elite level offensive skill but his defensive game has come a long way and he not only doesn't shy away from physicality, he initiates (when healthy) so there is no way that he should be dealt under any realistic circumstance. Dealing him is the definition of insanity.

First, there was the poster saying that Arcobello is a better option than Gagner and now this?
Man, it's gonna be a loooooooong offseason around here.

 

[duul]

Looking on the main board there are a couple trades I would love to see this offseason.

Trading our #1 pick this year for Edler seemed to be agreed upon for the most part, but obviously tinkering can be had.

Acquiring Johnny Boychuk for a 2nd round pick + a B level prospect is what most Boston fans find appropriate because they are trying to dump salary.

Those two acquisition immediately make our defence one of the best in the league.

Edler-Boychuk
Smid-Petry
Schultz/Klefbom-Schultz

 

[Beerfish]

Looking on the main board there are a couple trades I would love to see this offseason.

Trading our #1 pick this year for Edler seemed to be agreed upon for the most part, but obviously tinkering can be had.

Acquiring Johnny Boychuk for a 2nd round pick + a B level prospect is what most Boston fans find appropriate because they are trying to dump salary.

Those two acquisition immediately make our defence one of the best in the league.

Edler-Boychuk
Smid-Petry
Schultz/Klefbom-Schultz

Depending on what happens in Boston they could be a target to trade our 1st rounder to. Edler would be a nice player to get, pretty high price to pay to get him.

Boychuck is one guy I have thought the oilers would go after for a while now.