Yeah we shouldn't need to worry about getting another goal scorer. One or two great defenceman, along with a big #2 center and we should be looking great.
•Top pairing 2 way defense man
•big 2nd line centre
•more grit throughout the bottom 6
•at least one big, physical winger with decent scoring touch for top 2 lines
•legit starting goaltender
The more I think about it the more I believe the Oilers are years away... all that talent and skill up front in itself won't carry them.
Yeah we shouldn't need to worry about getting another goal scorer. One or two great defenceman, along with a big #2 center and we should be looking great.
Really ? I think we need a whole new bottom 6 that hits everything that moves
Short term: A top 4 d-man. Bouwmeester would fit this nicely assuming the price is right. With the addition of Schultz and development of Klefbom/Marincin, I like our defense long term.
Long term: A 2C with size, skill, and grit. Hopefully this can be addressed in the 2013 draft.
Unknown: Goaltending. Dubnyk could already be the guy. Only time will tell. It would be nice to bring in another young guy to compete with him over the next couple of years. If we get lucky Roy and/or Bunz can fill that role in the not too distant future.
Short term: A top 4 d-man. Bouwmeester would fit this nicely assuming the price is right. With the addition of Schultz and development of Klefbom/Marincin, I like our defense long term.
Long term: A 2C with size, skill, and grit. Hopefully this can be addressed in the 2013 draft.
Unknown: Goaltending. Dubnyk could already be the guy. Only time will tell.
I don't understand why we would need a top 4 defenseman.It's like we have plenty of top 4 defensemen, but a lack of defensemen that can play on the first pairing.
Short term: A top 4 d-man. Bouwmeester would fit this nicely assuming the price is right. With the addition of Schultz and development of Klefbom/Marincin, I like our defense long term.
Long term: A 2C with size, skill, and grit. Hopefully this can be addressed in the 2013 draft.
Unknown: Goaltending. Dubnyk could already be the guy. Only time will tell. It would be nice to bring in another young guy to compete with him over the next couple of years. If we get lucky Roy and/or Bunz can fill that role in the not too distant future.
Still ,these defensemen aren't projected to be top line material.
Last edited by oilersfan11: 11-07-2012 at 09:00 AM.
•Top pairing 2 way defense man
•big 2nd line centre
•more grit throughout the bottom 6
•at least one big, physical winger with decent scoring touch for top 2 lines
•legit starting goaltender
The more I think about it the more I believe the Oilers are years away... all that talent and skill up front in itself won't carry them.
I don't think all of these things are needed. You just need the right combination of some of them. The Oilers are close to set for top 6 forwards (though a little depth would be nice) and D seems to be an area where there's plenty of possibilities with Schultz, Smid, Petry. IMO at this point there's a big need for depth pieces, guys that can play
•Top pairing 2 way defense man
•big 2nd line centre
•more grit throughout the bottom 6
•at least one big, physical winger with decent scoring touch for top 2 lines
•legit starting goaltender
The more I think about it the more I believe the Oilers are years away... all that talent and skill up front in itself won't carry them.
I remember when Jason Gregor was talking about what the Oilers needs are and he said that the Oilers need to make 4-6 moves.
I don't understand why we would need a top 4 defenseman.It's like we have plenty of top 4 defensemen, but a lack of defensemen that can play on the first pairing.
We need a top 4 defenseman so Corey Potter doesn't get on the ice. Unless Schultz and Klefbom develop beyond reasonable expectations, we're never going to have a stud d-man (while keeping 4 high scoring forwards).
1) Strong 2 way center to complement RNH's abilities and also create balance in the top 6.
The Oilers will never go anywhere with the top 6 as it currently stands and sorry Gagner fans but he's the weakest link.
2) Strong, physical defenseman. I'm pretty confident that Schultz will be a top pairing defenseman at the very least at some point and that Smid and Petry will be solid 2nd pairing guys. Klefbom is a few years down the line but he looks to be tracking well to be a top 4 defenseman at some point. The biggest problem is that none of them outside of Smid are tough to play against, crease clearers and even though Smid is tough as nails, he's not what i would consider very physical, he's more of the shot blocking, positional sound type. Musil could be that tough guy but he is several years away.
Similar to the top 6, there's not enough balance between puckmovers and toughness and this needs to be addressed if the Oilers want to be tough to play against when the games become tight checking playoff type games. There is a reason why they struggle the most against big, physical teams like L.A., St. Louis and Phoenix.
3) I don't think goaltending is as big a concern as others make it out to be and this isn't necessarily because i feel that Dubnyk is the guy, it's more because i feel that it's easier to acquire a goalie than it is to fill the other positions of need plus i have really high hopes for Bunz down the line and i think that Dubnyk will be adequate enough.
I see this team in the mold of the Penguins and Blackhawks teams (the way they are being built, not saying they will be as good). Even throw in the Red Wings teams who were built primarily with skill. Those teams had mediocre to good goaltending, not superstars.
MAF is good but not a superstar, Osgood was meh as was Niemi so i believe that if the Oilers reach that level, they won't need superstar goaltending to be elite.
