I honestly didn't even care that much whether he came back this year or not. I mean it's a nice "happy ending" story and all... but I figured Ryan was on a pretty hard downward arc before the year began and other than a solid start (ie Khabbi and several other players as well)... he's shown that he doesn't have a whole lot left in the tank.
I would rather have a younger player with some developing skills playing in the top 9. Smytty brings some "leadership" and intangibles to the ice and the locker room but honestly the negative on-ice performances balances that out and I'd rather they went with a better vet or simply bring up other options within the organization.
My guess is he'll likely be back on a 1 year at a much reduced salary and he'll hopefully be used in a more limited role (hopefully).
He's got 46 points on the season--35th among LWs in scoring. That's a very respectable 2nd liner. If he agrees to 1 year 3M contract (3d line money), they should sign him.
Hall
Paajarvi
Smyth
Hartikainen/Eager
That's excellent left-wing depth. Make Hartikainen earn his NHL roster spot, put Eager in the press-box if need be.
I assume hall on line 1 prv on 2 harti on 3 and eager on 4
Do u think prv can be a legit top 6 forward next season
I do. Theres no reason he couldn't have scored 40 points this year playing with Gagner, but Renney thought Belanger was a great match, and even saw him as a 4th liner and healthy scratch.
Even if hes not, Harti looks good with RNH+Eberle, Hall can drive the other top line.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dixs35
IMO you have to make a choice between Smyth and Jones this off season. The Oil can't/don't need both on this team. I think there is going to be significant turnover in the forward group again this summer. Jones, Eager, Belanger, Gagner and Hordi all get moved or I think. Eager is a guy I would like to see back, because I just don't think Renney knew how to use him properly. I think he got frusturated early in the season with injuries and lack of a role.
XXX RNH Eberle
Hall XXX Hemsky
Smyth Horc XXX
Harski Lander PRV (my hope is they let a line like this grow together and develope chemstry 10-14 min a night)
Petrell(resigned)
Is how I see it shaping up right now unless amnesty actually happens then Horcoff may also be a player leaving as well.
I definitely choose Jones, he can at least chip the puck out/dump the puck in, which Smyth fails to do remarkably often.
If that 4th line, actually is the 4th line im going to pull my hair out. Should easily be playing ahead of Smyth and Horc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ManByng
there's no guarantee that PRV will even make this team next year....Eager could still be traded, he didn't have a great season....and there's no guarantee that Harti will be on the opening day roster either, these 3 are hardly locks for LW...by hook or by crook, the Oilers will resign Smyth me thinks.
Especially if we give the spot to dead weight like Smyth.
If you want to trade Eager, and get a coach that has the balls+IQ to move Smyth to where he belongs, which is nothing more than a 4th liner with some special teams ability, then i'm ok with that.
I'm not dying to dump eager though.
Bottom line, Prv+Harti are easily better uses of roster space and ice time than Smyth.
He's a veteran leader who has put up pretty respectable numbers this year. He's just worn out. Sign him for a 1 year deal to play bottom 6 and PK and see how he does next year
I do. Theres no reason he couldn't have scored 40 points this year playing with Gagner, but Renney thought Belanger was a great match, and even saw him as a 4th liner and healthy scratch.
Even if hes not, Harti looks good with RNH+Eberle, Hall can drive the other top line.
I definitely choose Jones, he can at least chip the puck out/dump the puck in, which Smyth fails to do remarkably often.
If that 4th line, actually is the 4th line im going to pull my hair out. Should easily be playing ahead of Smyth and Horc.
Especially if we give the spot to dead weight like Smyth.
If you want to trade Eager, and get a coach that has the balls+IQ to move Smyth to where he belongs, which is nothing more than a 4th liner with some special teams ability, then i'm ok with that.
I'm not dying to dump eager though.
Bottom line, Prv+Harti are easily better uses of roster space and ice time than Smyth.
Meh its not really a fourth line. The Horcoff line will be the shutdown line and PKing group playing 14-16 min a night with PK included. The European line would be like a third scoring line that is defensively responsible, but has to play sheltered minutes.
Only if he can play RW. I'd rather see Hart and Paajarvi duke it out for the 2nd line LW job and I still like Eager too. Also, if Hamilton is having a good season, he is another LW I'd like to see up. Without Smyth, there's 5 LWers I like and I want to see play next year.
Not a chance. He's done & undoubtedly feels entitled to more than he should actually get
Baseless speculation about a guy who always put the team before himself with one exception. A selfless leader who has won and fought with the best players ever to play the game, yah you are right, who needs that
Baseless speculation about a guy who always put the team before himself with one exception. A selfless leader who has won and fought with the best players ever to play the game, yah you are right, who needs that
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Not baseless speculation. Founded in facts that he always put his desire for the $$$ above everything else
Only if he can play RW. I'd rather see Hart and Paajarvi duke it out for the 2nd line LW job and I still like Eager too. Also, if Hamilton is having a good season, he is another LW I'd like to see up. Without Smyth, there's 5 LWers I like and I want to see play next year.
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Not baseless speculation. Founded in facts that he always put his desire for the $$$ above everything else
Wrong, Smyth came to camp with no contract more than once during his first stint with the Oilers. And the one exception I mentioned was when Lowe and him played hardball on a contract, and Lowe called Smytty's bluff. I am sure everyone can agree Smyth did not want to leave. You couldn't be more wrong in fact, just because he earned good money doesn't mean he puts it above everything else.
1 year 3M sounds good to me. He's been the face of the Oilers for a long time now, even when he wasn't here. There's no point in getting rid of him. And this year, if i remember correctly, he was one of the few players still performing while we declined in January. His performance was decreasing, but it was lagging behind the team's aggregate performance... One more year absolutely cannot hurt. Maybe this time next year, depending on how we did, this should be discussed more seriously.
If he's willing to accept a 1 year $2 mil contract, I don't see why not.
With managed minutes, he is still an effective player. Give him 8-10 minutes of ES, plus some PP and PK minutes, and I think he gets the same amount of points he did this year.
He's also insurance in case Paajarvi still isn't ready next year or Hartikainen shows up for camp again thinking he already has a roster spot locked down.
That being said, if he wants top-2 line minutes, a longer term contract, or an excessive amount of money, I'm completely ok with him walking.
Does Ryan Smyth really have entitlement issues or is it just fan rumor or speculation? I remember his first go around here, everyone talked about the supposed dislike between him and Hemsky and a big rift between the veterns Moreau Horcoff and Smyth and the young guys.
No, I would not. Early when he was seeing some success he seemed to be just a passenger on a very convenient ride. His line mates made him better than he was and once he got a reduced role with less that great partners he did nothing.
I wouldn't mind his as a supporting player in a bottom six role. Ideally he signs for 2 mill or less and excepts/excels in his role. It would be interesting to see what he could do if he wasn't ran into the ground early, and if the team was in a push for the playoffs. He seems to need something to play for, so maybe if we are contending for a playoff spot, and he isn't over-used, he can be a contributor.
In a bottom six role, sure. Hell, the Red Wings were after him at the deadline. If he's good enough for the Red Wings he should be damn well good enough for us.
In a bottom six role, sure. Hell, the Red Wings were after him at the deadline. If he's good enough for the Red Wings he should be damn well good enough for us.
They were interested in what he could bring between the deadline and the end of the season. There's no guarantee that he would've been offered a deal to come back.
__________________ Treat Others As You Would Like To Be Treated
Smyth is a guy that's made for the playoffs... if he's got anything left to give... that's where he needs to be... grinding it out and busting his teeth for a playoff team going for the big prize.
On the no-hope Oilers... having Smyth grind it out through a long 82 game regular season is futility. I'd much rather have a developing player in that spot. I don't mean a green 18/19 year old either... the Oilers have plenty of 20+ year olds that they can work into the roster that actually can have a future with this franchise when they start contending.
Smyth has a role as a gritty leader on a team that is playing for something... not on a team that is so deep in the basement that they can't even get a glint of sunshine.
I don't think it's as easy as "sign him and play him in the bottom six". No matter how much he has sucked this season, he keeps getting plugged right back into the top six.
I think Smyth's presence on this team has hurt Paajarvi's development. I also think that some players on our team might resent him because he is seemingly handed minutes when he clearly can't handle them. RNH and Eberle must hate carrying his ass. Even Jones was more effective in the top line winger role. I'm also sure Hartikainen wasn't too happy when he was relegated to the second line on Monday in favour of Smyth the day after scoring two goals against Anaheim.
Last edited by OilerTyler: 04-07-2012 at 02:24 AM.
I do. Theres no reason he couldn't have scored 40 points this year playing with Gagner, but Renney thought Belanger was a great match, and even saw him as a 4th liner and healthy scratch.
Even if hes not, Harti looks good with RNH+Eberle, Hall can drive the other top line.
Yes renney never appropriately deployed him. Renney will likely be replaced by next season (I hope) so there is no telling what a new coach could get out of prv.
We could always have petrell and jones/eager on 4 and 3 line and harti and hall on top two, that's if harti looks good (which he has) and prv fails to get going
Not a chance. He's done & undoubtedly feels entitled to more than he should actually get
Wow, and people wonder why they did not salute the fans after the last game.
Smyth is still a quality shut down guy, has tons of leadership and how exactly did you arrive at your conclusion he feels entitled to more than he should actually get?
The price is not going to be league minimum, if will undoubtably be7 figures and his role will be 3rd line shut down with plenty of PK time.
