As far as free agents go its pretty slim pickings out there for experienced dmen:
Clark, Brett »
Campoli, Chris »
Spacek, Jaroslav »
Eaton, Mark »
Foster, Kurtis »
Huskins, Kent »
White, Colin »
Jones, Randy »
Mottau, Mike »
O'Donnell, Sean »
Rodney, Bryan »
Commodore, Mike »
Bell, Brendan »
Vandermeer, Jim »
That's the list of unsigned UFA dmen from Capgeek.
If I HAD to take one of those, I think I'd go with Vandermeer again. Brings some toughness and grit into the lineup and he's stable and experienced enough that he's not going to hemorrhage goals when he's out there.
I think I rather dress Steve Smith. Biggest thing will be who becomes UFA before the year starts. Could be a short buyout period or at the very least teams looking to move some bodies.
I think there is no better time to trade for a top 4 shut down d man. Matt Green would be the perfect player IMO. We would have to over pay but what a diffrence he would make.
I don't think LA has any interest in moving him. He's become quite an important role player, and was an assistant captain. I have no idea what we'd be able to offer a win-now Kings that we have and they don't.
Wouldn't have to worry as much about depth if we actually had players that are top pairing d-men.
Yeah what is wrong with Tambo.....
So many first pairing D-men on waivers and traded for cheap, and he didn't even get two or three!!!!
But don't touch Ebs, Hall, RNH, Yakupov, to get them....
Unfortunately, no one wants what we have left, and to be honest neither would I. I'm a huge Hemsky fan, but if we can turn him into a "top-pairing d-man" I would sign on the dotted line.
So many first pairing D-men on waivers and traded for cheap, and he didn't even get two or three!!!!
But don't touch Ebs, Hall, RNH, Yakupov, to get them....
Unfortunately, no one wants what we have left, and to be honest neither would I. I'm a huge Hemsky fan, but if we can turn him into a "top-pairing d-man" I would sign on the dotted line.
The reality is.....this is not realistic
Never said anything about Tambo, but the fact is your bottom pairing should not be the ones getting blamed.
So many first pairing D-men on waivers and traded for cheap, and he didn't even get two or three!!!!
But don't touch Ebs, Hall, RNH, Yakupov, to get them....
Unfortunately, no one wants what we have left, and to be honest neither would I. I'm a huge Hemsky fan, but if we can turn him into a "top-pairing d-man" I would sign on the dotted line.
The reality is.....this is not realistic
Can you give examples? I can't think of who you might be referring to.
If Whitney is truly healthy, Smid is ok (there seems to be some uncertainty about this still), Schultz continues along his current path, and no one else gets injured, the Oilers will have a decent defensive corps this season.
That is a helluva lot of ifs.
The biggest "if" for me is that if the season is lost due to the lockout then we may lose 3 of our top 6 dmen due to free agency. Whitney, Sutton and most importantly Smid are all set to become UFA's at the end of the year and though very doubtful, it's actually a possibility that we may never see either of these guys in an Oiler's jersey again. If this turns out to be the case then I think we're in alot more trouble than we think.
I'm pretty sure Tambo will do whatever it takes to re-up Smid, and Sutton could retire depending on injuries, but the Whitney situation is the biggest question mark. What if Whitney is looking for some security and asks for a long term deal? Do we just assume he can return to form from a couple of years ago and give him what he asks for or do we just let him walk for nothing? And what if we do re-sign him and he never returns to his former self? That's a big risk I'm not sure I'd be willing to take if it were up to me. Even Smid's situation scares me a little. As soon as the NHL announces the cancellation of the rest of the season then, in no technical terms, we can pretty much consider Smid a UFA. In saying that, I really believe Smid loves Edmonton and really wants to stay here long term. But what scares me is that what if I'm wrong? What if he believes he can get a better contract if he tests free agency? Even though this lockout benefits the development of a guy like Schultz, it could really be devastating for the rest of our d core.
No doubt if the Oilers lost 3 key pieces of their d-core they'd be in deep ****... as would any team in the NHL honestly. There will probably be many teams in the same boat if the season is toasted so the Oilers won't be the only team with problems. The whole league in general could be ripped apart and there's no telling what the new landscape could look like and how it will all settle in the end.
not worried about anyone important leaving us via ufa if theres no season...more looking at all the great players WE could land if that happens...a lot of skilled big centers to be had i think we have a better chance of snagging getzlaf than losing whitney or smid.. :p
No doubt if the Oilers lost 3 key pieces of their d-core they'd be in deep ****... as would any team in the NHL honestly. There will probably be many teams in the same boat if the season is toasted so the Oilers won't be the only team with problems. The whole league in general could be ripped apart and there's no telling what the new landscape could look like and how it will all settle in the end.
Just based on the speculation/possibility stated above that Smid might be gone as a UFA one day. Again it's all speculation but it's something to talk about especially when we don't really know the outcome of the CBA or even if the NHL will even resume in it's current format again.
Just based on the speculation/possibility stated above that Smid might be gone as a UFA one day. Again it's all speculation but it's something to talk about especially when we don't really know the outcome of the CBA or even if the NHL will even resume in it's current format again.
I'll be very pissed if that happens. For all our gripes about trying to keep free agents, Smid was the guy who went to management and asked not to be traded when his name kept coming up (ex. Heatley-gate). And that was among the downest of times in Oilville. And we badly need what Ladi brings on ice.
Should translate quite well I think. Maybe not the PPG clip he is at right now but definitely better than anything we have had for a long time.
Well his 1.5 ppg clip is dam amazing. I honestly don't know what you predict he would get in a full season in the NHL. maybe not a ppg, but even 60-70 point range is just amazing.
i think we have a better chance of snagging getzlaf than losing whitney or smid.. :p
