They might have to part with something that stings eventually. I'm not sure Gagner or Pääjärvi bringing back anything worthwhile. They can't trade Hemsky for obvious reasons.
It kills me to say it, but I think Hall is the best trade candidate. To be clear, I am not advocating trading Hall, but if I had to give up one of the young guns, he's the one. Eberle and Nuge are just too slick and skilled; they have to remain, Nail is a pure goal scorer, so him playing with Nuge & Eberle might be sick.
Hall could get you a great return, I would imagine.
And Hall is also the heart of the team.
Yes he is reckless and it gets him injured unfortunately.
But he is never happy with losing and he lets you know, kid wears his soul on his sleeve.
And he creates a lot of offense with his speed, the team is almost boring to watch when he isn't playing. Like really, who tries to block a point blank shot A FEW DAYS AFTER GETTING STEPPED ON THEIR FACE WITH A SKATE IN A MEANINGLESS GAME.
I want him to wear the C. There is no comparison to any other young player in the league. This kid wants to win and he will replace General Horcov as captain.
And I am definitely not even entertaining the idea of trading him.
And Hall is also the heart of the team.
Yes he is reckless and it gets him injured unfortunately.
But he is never happy with losing and he lets you know, kid wears his soul on his sleeve.
And he creates a lot of offense with his speed, the team is almost boring to watch when he isn't playing. Like really, who tries to block a point blank shot A FEW DAYS AFTER GETTING STEPPED ON THEIR FACE WITH A SKATE IN A MEANINGLESS GAME.
I want him to wear the C. There is no comparison to any other young player in the league. This kid wants to win and he will replace General Horcov as captain.
And I am definitely not even entertaining the idea of trading him.
Hall is a guy that gets it. He may not be the most vocal guy but he's a leader on the ice. The whole team is different when he's in the line up.
I liked his exit interview. At 3:10 he gets asked about maybe taking games off to stay healthy. I love his answer. It's like he can't even comprehend what the question is.
They should keep RNH, Eberle, Yakupov and Hall, maybe Smid too, but everyone else should be available. I don't know that they need a new goalie, Dubnyk is OK, but they really need better dmen, and better forward depth. You can bring in quality supporting forwards and quality dmen without dealing superstars, just look at what Florida did last offseason, what Phoenix have done over the years, how Vancouver have brought in guys like Booth/Higgins/Lapierre/Hamhuis, there are endless examples. They should have been making moves like this for years by now, but it's never too late to start. If Tambellini continues to be an impotent GM, who is incapable of adding any talent to the team other than through 1st overall picks, then they need to fire him and hire someone who can actually build a team.
Cute that you leave out Perry's western conference leading 38 goals and Bobby Ryan's 30 goal season (hasn't had one year where he scored less). Hemsky makes just as much as those two players with 1/3 the goal production.
Getzlaf...that's just....yeah...I'm not going there. We'll see how he does this year since his contract is up.
He's a playmaker, so let's stop talking about goals alone. He's been barely under a PPG for multiple seasons on some depleted rosters.
My point is that Perry/Getzlaf/Ryan are great players and that one bad season doesn't invalidate their contracts/prior accomplishments.
They should keep RNH, Eberle, Yakupov and Hall, maybe Smid too, but everyone else should be available. I don't know that they need a new goalie, Dubnyk is OK, but they really need better dmen, and better forward depth. You can bring in quality supporting forwards and quality dmen without dealing superstars, just look at what Florida did last offseason, what Phoenix have done over the years, how Vancouver have brought in guys like Booth/Higgins/Lapierre/Hamhuis, there are endless examples. They should have been making moves like this for years by now, but it's never too late to start. If Tambellini continues to be an impotent GM, who is incapable of adding any talent to the team other than through 1st overall picks, then they need to fire him and hire someone who can actually build a team.
Problem becomes, who do they have of much value if not one of their big 4? MPS? Gagner? Package them with any other currently oiler and you still won't get a very good defenseman in return.
Problem becomes, who do they have of much value if not one of their big 4? MPS? Gagner? Package them with any other currently oiler and you still won't get a very good defenseman in return.
The Panthers got Campbell for Olesz. The Flyers got Meszaros for a 2nd, and the negotiating rights to both Timonen and Hartnell for a late 1st (obviously Hartnell isn't a dman, just had to include him because he was part of that trade). The Leafs got Liles for a late 2nd, Franson for a cap dump, Phaneuf for scraps, and Gardiner for a guy we signed for free as a UFA (when we got Gardiner and Lupul for Beauchemin). The Devils got Zidlicky for a 2nd and scraps. The Sabres got the negotiating rights to Ehrhoff for a 4th, and got Regehr (and Kotalik and a 2nd) for scraps, basically to take on salary. The Habs found Gorges as an undrafted free agent. I could go on for ages, good GMs find ways to bring in good dmen without giving up major assets, especially if said dmen are a bit overpaid. This isn't even including UFAs, and even bad teams in small markets have shown the ability to regularly be able to sign decent UFA dmen. It's possible to bring in solid talent without giving up major assets, especially if you have cap space to burn, *IF* you have a good GM.
The Panthers got Campbell for Olesz. The Flyers got Meszaros for a 2nd, and the negotiating rights to both Timonen and Hartnell for a late 1st (obviously Hartnell isn't a dman, just had to include him because he was part of that trade). The Leafs got Liles for a late 2nd, Franson for a cap dump, Phaneuf for scraps, and Gardiner for a guy we signed for free as a UFA (when we got Gardiner and Lupul for Beauchemin). The Devils got Zidlicky for a 2nd and scraps. The Sabres got the negotiating rights to Ehrhoff for a 4th, and got Regehr (and Kotalik and a 2nd) for scraps, basically to take on salary. The Habs found Gorges as an undrafted free agent. I could go on for ages, good GMs find ways to bring in good dmen without giving up major assets, especially if said dmen are a bit overpaid. This isn't even including UFAs, and even bad teams in small markets have shown the ability to regularly be able to sign decent UFA dmen. It's possible to bring in solid talent without giving up major assets, especially if you have cap space to burn, *IF* you have a good GM.
...and since the lockout the Oilers have managed to grab Pronger, Souray, Visnovsky, Pitkanen and Whitney...and they picked all them up when they were in their prime and their value was high.
It also should be noted that every Dman picked in the top 5 from 2002-2006 has been traded.
High end Dmen get moved and contrary to popular belief...you don't have to sell the farm. It's much harder to acquire a 1st line forward than it is a top pairing Dman.
...and since the lockout the Oilers have managed to grab Pronger, Souray, Visnovsky, Pitkanen and Whitney...and they picked all them up when they were in their prime and their value was high.
It also should be noted that every Dman picked in the top 5 from 2002-2006 has been traded.
High end Dmen get moved and contrary to popular belief...you don't have to sell the farm. It's much harder to acquire a 1st line forward than it is a top pairing Dman.
Excellent post. It is so much easier to acquire top end defensive talent than it is to acquire top end offensive talent. Just look at the top draft picks and who has gotten traded.
...and since the lockout the Oilers have managed to grab Pronger, Souray, Visnovsky, Pitkanen and Whitney...and they picked all them up when they were in their prime and their value was high.
It also should be noted that every Dman picked in the top 5 from 2002-2006 has been traded.
High end Dmen get moved and contrary to popular belief...you don't have to sell the farm. It's much harder to acquire a 1st line forward than it is a top pairing Dman.
I'm not sure if you're agreeing or disagreeing with me, but I totally agree, good GMs are regularly able to acquire good dmen without selling the farm for them (through free agency, smart trades, taking on somewhat bad contracts, etc.). As you mentioned, before Tambellini was hired as GM, the Oilers were perfect examples of this. However, Tambellini has so far completely failed to put together an even decent group of dmen, or of supporting forwards for that matter. The Oilers need a GM who can put together a good supporting cast for their stars WITHOUT trading said stars, time will tell whether or not Tambellini is that GM.
I'm not sure if you're agreeing or disagreeing with me, but I totally agree, good GMs are regularly able to acquire good dmen without selling the farm for them (through free agency, smart trades, taking on somewhat bad contracts, etc.). As you mentioned, before Tambellini was hired as GM, the Oilers were perfect examples of this. However, Tambellini has so far completely failed to put together an even decent group of dmen, or of supporting forwards for that matter. The Oilers need a GM who can put together a good supporting cast for their stars WITHOUT trading said stars, time will tell whether or not Tambellini is that GM.
You don't pass on a player like Yakupov just because you need defense and goaltending. This just makes it easier to trade someone like Gagner or Paajarvi.
Why not try to flip picks with one of the 1-4 teams?
The next picks, while not quite as promising as Yakupov are still pretty good and they can go for the #1 D-man. Of course, the second part of that is that they'd also get an extra pick or two for the flip.
Total speculation, but if the Oilers traded Hall my guess is Eberle wouldn't even think about signing a better deal with the Oilers after his ELC is up. I hope they keep all four.
...and since the lockout the Oilers have managed to grab Pronger, Souray, Visnovsky, Pitkanen and Whitney...and they picked all them up when they were in their prime and their value was high.
It also should be noted that every Dman picked in the top 5 from 2002-2006 has been traded.
High end Dmen get moved and contrary to popular belief...you don't have to sell the farm. It's much harder to acquire a 1st line forward than it is a top pairing Dman.
Though, you're correct, I just have to add:
Pitkanen - Not a franchise dman. Seemed to be, but then hasn;t been as dominating offensively since his rookie season
Bouwmeester - He was going to leave, so the Panthers dealt him.
Whitney - Not a franchise guy and the Pens got Kunitz and Tangradi. Pens need wingers over dman at the time.
Barker - He sucks now compared to what level he could have been at.
Johnson - He was never going to play for Carolina. Kings have plenty of d and with Doughty, there's no need for him.
Erik Johnson - With guys like Ian Cole, Pietrangelo and receiving Shattenkirk back, it made him expendable.
So, 3 of the defense traded were dealt to bring in a team need/were expendable by other prospects. 1 just sucked, 1 was going to leave as a UFA, so his rights were dealt. Not really sure why Pitkanen was dealt.
1. Yakupov seems most tradeable. BC he is a raw prospect, and considering hype. So I'd move him
2. If he'd turn into 100 pps player, next HOFer, GOAT, or something (for the other organisation)-, don't bother Oilers fans- it doesn't mean he'd be that kind of player if he'd play for Oiler organisation.
3. Does Gagner or Hemsky have some actual value ?
4. After all, I think Oilers needs changes in Front Office more than changes on the roster.
