You know, I went back and read some old threads on the main boards with the whole Pronger fiasco, the Heatley thing, Nylander, and man did it bring back old bitterness. I can't wait till we're good enough to be contenders and gloat about it, because everyone kicked us while we were down.
So excited for Yakupov and Schultz to be a part of that. And the Ducks fans that invade every mention of Schultz on the boards crying foul......their tears taste sweet.
I'd like to be gracious about getting all this high end talent, but all other players and fanbases absolutely trashed us when we went through the Pronger/Heatley years, and trashed us when we decided to rebuild because we couldn't get good players to come to Edmonton. Can't wait till we're a good playoff team man. I can't wait.
This lockout really has the potential to set Dubnyk back, especially if he doesn't play anywhere for an entire season. After being a backup for his professional career, he really needed to have a whole season to prove to himself, management and fans that he could take on a #1 role and thrive. Not sure how he'll do with a whole year off.
Bigger impact, Schultz, as he'll have better opportunities due to the position he plays.
I agree. With Scultz we've got someone who can feed our snipers the puck and probably pitch in for more goals than I'm expecting. I'd be thrilled to see him average over 15 goals per season... but something tells me I might be underrating him.
I agree. With Scultz we've got someone who can feed our snipers the puck and probably pitch in for more goals than I'm expecting. I'd be thrilled to see him average over 15 goals per season... but something tells me I might be underrating him.
Uh, that's a pretty unrealistic expectation. Average 15 goals a season? Not even Drew Doughty averages anywhere close to 15 a season (he's only once in his career done 15 or better).
I think that's setting the bar way too high.
EDIT: Wait I think you're referring to Yakupov here, it's hard to tell from the way you worded it.
There's still a large learning curve for any rookie in the NHL being a d-man even with the added development years Schultz has.
Yakupov is going to get to play with RNH or Hemsky probably full stop. With his toolset he's going to cause some damage for sure.
agree... yakupov is setup much better than schultz is
schultz will probably be forced into a top-4 role before he is ready... this on top of the fact that defence takes a long time to master... he'll likely do some damage on the PP and look pretty bad at ES
yakupov on the other hand, has almost a perfect scenario to walk into... he's not under pressure to lead the team in scoring or anything... will get to play on the PP and 2nd line with skilled players.... won't be expected to play much defence either ..... forwards almost always progress faster as well
What is Dubnyk doing anyways? He should be trying to play somewhere and play as much as he can. It will be very hard for him to live up to that contract from the sample size we have seen thus far.
You know, I went back and read some old threads on the main boards with the whole Pronger fiasco, the Heatley thing, Nylander, and man did it bring back old bitterness. I can't wait till we're good enough to be contenders and gloat about it, because everyone kicked us while we were down.
So excited for Yakupov and Schultz to be a part of that. And the Ducks fans that invade every mention of Schultz on the boards crying foul......their tears taste sweet.
I'd like to be gracious about getting all this high end talent, but all other players and fanbases absolutely trashed us when we went through the Pronger/Heatley years, and trashed us when we decided to rebuild because we couldn't get good players to come to Edmonton. Can't wait till we're a good playoff team man. I can't wait.
You just mentioned Pronger and Schultz in the same post! You cant do that! Dont you know that Edmonton got four first-rounders back for Pronger and Anaheim didnt get anything back for Schultz??? Dont you know!?!?
If you didnt, a Duck fan should be aroun shortly to let you know.
Uh, that's a pretty unrealistic expectation. Average 15 goals a season? Not even Drew Doughty averages anywhere close to 15 a season (he's only once in his career done 15 or better).
I think that's setting the bar way too high.
EDIT: Wait I think you're referring to Yakupov here, it's hard to tell from the way you worded it.
I think that Schultz is going to put up a lot of points and a very impressive amount of goals. I think that Hopkins and Eberle need to get used to having a guy that thinks the way they do on the point, though, which is why it's great that they're playing together in the AHL this year.
Just think our top 6/top 4 will have Petry, Schultz, Yakupov, Hopkins, Hall, Eberle and maybe Hemsky might be effective with all of the passing going around.
Scutlz is going to score tons. If Petry builds confidence on his fine play last year you'd think that his numbers would increase dramatically.
Even without the powerplay (Which is going to be scary) we'll be able to bring firewagon hockey back to the NHL. An average of 15 goals per season (from Scultz) isn't lofty IMO.
Looking at the 2013 UFA list and assuming we will be more of a destination team by then, it will be interesting to see if we can upgrade the roster.
Edmonton UFA's:
Whitney, Ryan
Khabibulin, Nikolai
Smid, Ladislav
Sutton, Andy
Jones, Ryan
Hordichuk, Darcy
Petrell, Lennart
If the only player we retain from that group is Smid, who would likely be an easy sign since he loves it here, we could start looking at chasing some better players. Just for argument sakes, lets say we are able to sign the following players.
RW- Clarkson
D- Fistric
Let's also assume the following prospects make the club:
I have little interest in signing Clarkson. Even if he proves not to be a one hit wonder, we already have Hall, Eberle, Yakupov, Hemsky, Hartikainen and Paajarvi on the wing. Clarkson is going to be 29 and looking for his one big pay day. There is no reason for the Oilers to be the team that massively overpays him. It would be spending money for the sake of spending money. If we're going to overpay a winger that can score goals while banging bodies...lets bring in Clowe.
Both players will play significant roles on the team; however, Schultz has the potential to be the biggest difference maker. We already had several key prospects and young players up front, but really had minimal prospects ready to step into a NHL role on the back end.
When you consider that the Oilers had a top 5 PP with Petry, Whitney, and Potter being our weapons of choice on the blueline, it's hard to imagine how effective it will be with a true PP QB back there like Schultz.
If it's true that Ralph Krueger was our PP tactician last year, we could (should?) have the best PP in the league.
When you consider that the Oilers had a top 5 PP with Petry, Whitney, and Potter being our weapons of choice on the blueline, it's hard to imagine how effective it will be with a true PP QB back there like Schultz.
If it's true that Ralph Krueger was our PP tactician last year, we could (should?) have the best PP in the league.
I don't think we're at the should point yet. The players that constitute it are still very young. It definitely could be the best in the league as soon as next year.
You think you're going to sign Clarkson, who just scored 30 goals and put him on the 4th line? Holy crap that line is Expensive.
Hall RNH Eberle
Clarkson Gagner Yakupov
Smyth Horcoff Hemsky
Hartikainen Lander Paajarvi (Hemsky and Clarkson can switch positions)
This is pretty much exactly the way I see our forwards lining up for 2013-14. Except that I would have Harty on the 2nd line LW as we won't be able to afford a higher priced UFA. Then you have a guy like Eager or Pitlick or Jones as the 4th line winger. The 3rd line is your vet line that draws the tougher matchups and your 4th line is the young, cheaper line.
As far as the PP goes, obviously having Schultz on the point and Yakupov as another forward option is going to help. No reason whatsoever for us to not have a top-5 PP for a long time. We were already pretty decent on the PP and should only get better with the added experience for our young guys plus the addition of Yak and Schultz.
When you consider that the Oilers had a top 5 PP with Petry, Whitney, and Potter being our weapons of choice on the blueline, it's hard to imagine how effective it will be with a true PP QB back there like Schultz.
If it's true that Ralph Krueger was our PP tactician last year, we could (should?) have the best PP in the league.
Nothing is guaranteed. Last year could have just been a case of everything going right with the man advantage. I only say that because we saw the Penguins have the 6th worst PP in the league back in 2009-10. They were also in the bottom half in 2008-09. Just because you've been good and it looks like you've gotten better....that doesn't mean that will be the case.
You just mentioned Pronger and Schultz in the same post! You cant do that! Dont you know that Edmonton got four first-rounders back for Pronger and Anaheim didnt get anything back for Schultz??? Dont you know!?!?
If you didnt, a Duck fan should be aroun shortly to let you know.
That's true...and rough. Feel for the ducks fans on that one.
