But didn't you point out that we have guys that hit so why would we need JBO to hit? Especially if he plays 25 mins a night.
Not sure if sarcastic...
When you have J.Petry as your second bigeest hitter you know your D group is in trouble.
Jbo, Whitney, Petry, Schultz, Schultz, Smid would be the least physical group in the entire league.
Teams that missed out on Suter will now be willing to give a lot more then a 2nd tier prospect + 2nd rounder for JBo. With cap going up his salary is hardly a crippler. Expect Smid to get north of 5M next season.
I pointed out that JayBo doesn't hit, because he hits less than most of the defenders on our team, who really don't hit that much in the first place. We need a physical defensive defensemen, with the capabillities for some play making ability. I just don't think that person is Jaybo.
Smid, Sutton (not many minutes), Peckham (not many minutes). That is the depth of our phyiscal defensemen.
So if we can't get a physical d-man we should just continue playing guys that aren't NHLers? Seems stupid to me. Take what you can get for top 4 d-men, if you haven't noticed they aren't easy to come by.
I always thought he was a great comparable to Gagner (besides position). No way Gagner settles for much less than this on his next deal, even if his numbers stay the same.
So if we can't get a physical d-man we should just continue playing guys that aren't NHLers? Seems stupid to me. Take what you can get for top 4 d-men, if you haven't noticed they aren't easy to come by.
Most here wanted us to get a top 4 Dman so one of Smid,Petry,N.Schultz and Whitney can get bumped down to 3rd pairing. Then we landed J.Schultz.
IMO we have enough top4 Dmen in the system and just need to wait it out. Did we really trade Gilbert for a bottom pairing D? If J.Schultz is as good as Gardiner then getting a top 4 Dman is not a priority.
I agree it looks high, but Voracek is a pretty talented young forward with tons of upside. He will likely be taking a step forward the next year in minutes and linemates. If he spends time with Giroux, which seems likely, this contract will look pretty good in a couple years.
Anyone want visnovsky back as a stop gap till the young kids get better?
Cant say no to him if he is willing to come back. Just not sure what we promised J.Schultz to lure him here. If it was top unit PP time then we should look for a more physical Dman to compliment what we have.
Most here wanted us to get a top 4 Dman so one of Smid,Petry,N.Schultz and Whitney can get bumped down to 3rd pairing. Then we landed J.Schultz.
IMO we have enough top4 Dmen in the system and just need to wait it out. Did we really trade Gilbert for a bottom pairing D? If J.Schultz is as good as Gardiner then getting a top 4 Dman is not a priority.
Two problems with waiting.
1. the window of championship potential gets smaller with every year we wait for the D to catch up to the O.
2. risk losing or 1 or 2 of the fab 4 as they get impatient and lose confidence in our management.
If you want to wait it out, don't get too attached to any of the fab 4 wingers. this appears to be the strategy of Oilers' management. this leads me to believe that the real core of the team is the propect D and the Fab 4 are assests. They will move 1 or 2 of Hall/Ebs/Yak to supplement the core when they are finally ready to win which will be in 5 to 7 years (if this is the strategy)
Most here wanted us to get a top 4 Dman so one of Smid,Petry,N.Schultz and Whitney can get bumped down to 3rd pairing. Then we landed J.Schultz.
IMO we have enough top4 Dmen in the system and just need to wait it out. Did we really trade Gilbert for a bottom pairing D? If J.Schultz is as good as Gardiner then getting a top 4 Dman is not a priority.
Out of the projected top six, two have a combined 108 NHL games experience and another has no feet. We need another body.
1. the window of championship potential gets smaller with every year we wait for the D to catch up to the O.
2. risk losing or 1 or 2 of the fab 4 as they get impatient and lose confidence in our management.
If you want to wait it out, don't get too attached to any of the fab 4 wingers. this appears to be the strategy of Oilers' management. this leads me to believe that the real core of the team is the propect D and the Fab 4 are assests. They will move 1 or 2 of Hall/Ebs/Yak to supplement the core when they are finally ready to win which will be in 5 to 7 years (if this is the strategy)
1. I dont think Klefbom and Schultz will have to do much catching up. It is not just waiting but also developing.
2. Adding another offensive Dman will bump Schultz down to 3rd pairing. What if he gets impatient\frustrated and requests out.. Also, do we really want him paired up with a Peckham or Whitney minus a foot for a year?
I dont mind adding a top 4 Dman after Christmas but not before seeing what version of Whitney\Peckham are we getting and how is J.Schultz handling NHL opponents.
Reading the comment that we lots of top 4 d-men in the system got my attention. Klefbom and schults should be the top pairing. But guys like marcinin, musil, teurbert and other should be handled carefully and we should not put the cart before the horse with them
Out of the projected top six, two have a combined 108 NHL games experience and another has no feet. We need another body.
We have plenty of bodies. Infact too many that we will have to waive a Dman before the start of the season. NHL game experience is overrated considering Petry played top pairing minutes last season and Schultz is suppose to be better then Gardiner.
Lets say we add a Visnovsky or a Rozsival.. What do you do if Whitney gets back to his pre-injury self? Play Smid and Petry on the 3rd pairing? That will go well when it comes to resigning them next season.
I always thought he was a great comparable to Gagner (besides position). No way Gagner settles for much less than this on his next deal, even if his numbers stay the same.
Yeah sounds about what it would cost to get Gagner for 4 years.
We have plenty of bodies. Infact too many that we will have to waive a Dman before the start of the season. NHL game experience is overrated considering Petry played top pairing minutes last season and Schultz is suppose to be better then Gardiner.
Lets say we add a Visnovsky or a Rozsival.. What do you do if Whitney gets back to his pre-injury self? Play Smid and Petry on the 3rd pairing? That will go well when it comes to resigning them next season.
You move them.
What do you do when Petry takes a step back, Schultz needs AHL, Whitney goes down, Potter plays like he did in the 2nd half and Peckham is still timid?
Have guys that can play is never a problem. You waive the lessor guys if you have to. Or late in the year you move the Visnovsky or Rozsival or whoever.
VV has an outside shot at claiming a 4th line spot and relegating Belanger to the pressbox or (doubt the Oilers would do this) OKC. He's in a fight with Belanger, Petrell, Lander, Hartikainen and Jones. I wouldn't be shocked to see VV get 30+ games this year.
As for Plante...he's a top end AHL defenseman, along the lines of former guys in the system like Dan Smith, Dean Arsene and Danny Syvret. I expect he'll be a top pairing guy on the farm and be fighting with Teubert, Marincin and Davidson for call-up opportunities.
VV has an outside shot at claiming a 4th line spot and relegating Belanger to the pressbox or (doubt the Oilers would do this) OKC. He's in a fight with Belanger, Petrell, Lander, Hartikainen and Jones. I wouldn't be shocked to see VV get 30+ games this year.
As for Plante...he's a top end AHL defenseman, along the lines of former guys in the system like Dan Smith, Dean Arsene and Danny Syvret. I expect he'll be a top pairing guy on the farm and be fighting with Teubert, Marincin and Davidson for call-up opportunities.
I think if Lander or VV, (even Petrell?) impress then a vet line is a huge option. Move Horcoff to the wing and have Belanger play 3rd line with him and Smyth or Yak (in this case...not a vet line). Regardless of the fact that Bely occasionally begins to figure skate around the opposition when they have the puck...he is still the best option on the dot.
1. the window of championship potential gets smaller with every year we wait for the D to catch up to the O.
2. risk losing or 1 or 2 of the fab 4 as they get impatient and lose confidence in our management.
If you want to wait it out, don't get too attached to any of the fab 4 wingers. this appears to be the strategy of Oilers' management. this leads me to believe that the real core of the team is the propect D and the Fab 4 are assests. They will move 1 or 2 of Hall/Ebs/Yak to supplement the core when they are finally ready to win which will be in 5 to 7 years (if this is the strategy)
To be honest, you don't see the glass as " half empty", you see it as broken and jagged.
We get it man, everything is going to fail because of failing and things.
What do you do when Petry takes a step back, Schultz needs AHL, Whitney goes down, Potter plays like he did in the 2nd half and Peckham is still timid?
Have guys that can play is never a problem. You waive the lessor guys if you have to. Or late in the year you move the Visnovsky or Rozsival or whoever.
The thing is that we just re-upped Sutton and Peckham. You dont add a Rozsival and waive one of these before the season even starts.
If Petry takes a step back, or Schultz struggles then you look for help on D. You dont assume the worst and keep adding bodies. If we are looking at worst case scenerios then D is hardly the worst area of concern. By this logic we should be looking for another offensive C since RNH could get hurt again or go in a slump next season. Another goalie would also help.
As for Plante...he's a top end AHL defenseman, along the lines of former guys in the system like Dan Smith, Dean Arsene and Danny Syvret. I expect he'll be a top pairing guy on the farm and be fighting with Teubert, Marincin and Davidson for call-up opportunities.
