Photo by Bruce McCurdy
Back in the old hippie days, the Edmonton Oilers were very good at finding useful players other teams looked past during free agency. Steve Staios is a great example, and one who reinvented his NHL career and went on to great success. The Oilers of that area found Tim Thomas in Finland, and that was a helluva get, then somewhere near Salinas lord, they let him slip away. Not every “find” has to happen externally, but you need big brains and luck to find those value players who are perfect fits.
The Oilers did some fine work recently in adding useful pieces from the farm with lower cap numbers. Stuart Skinner (drafted and developed), Evan Bouchard (D&D), Philip Broberg (D&D), Vincent Desharnais (D&D), Klim Kostin (trade), Derek Ryan (UFA), Ryan McLeod (D&D), Dylan Holloway (D&D) all (at one time) represented value for dollars and made well below $2 million. That’s eight names.
So this year, there are signed players, or players about to be signed, who should offer value in this range. I would include Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway, James Hamblin, Olivier Rodrigue, Matthew Savoie, Lane Pederson, Raphael Lavoie, Noah Philp, Max Wanner, Ben Gleason, Noel Hoefenmayer and Cam Dineen.
There are also veterans like Connor Brown, Mattias Janmark, Corey Perry, Derek Ryan, Josh Brown, Calvin Pickard, Troy Stecher, Connor Carrick and Collin Delia. These men are signed to value deals, and could have a massive impact on the season. They could also get hurt and be unavailable, or have their skills erode with the aging process.
You know, Staios was signed after being walked by the Atlanta Thrashers. He was their captain, and known at least partly as a forward, and came to Edmonton to find his way. He worked like hell and made it all the way to becoming a top-four defenseman.
So, in summary, we don’t know who on this roster is going to solve the 2RD problem. I’m convinced Philip Broberg should get 20-40 games, and I’m also open to splitting the top two pairs.
I would also suggest that a “Staios” may already be here, or could be on the way. I know it’s difficult after 20 years of Here Comes Belov, but Andy Sutton could flat out play and this management group is better than that one. Operation Finding Staios may well be underway. I think this might be Operation Play Broberg Dammit, but we’ll see.
As far as other potential roster players, I keep circling back to Boris Katchouk.
He was voted top PKer by OHL coaches, he has good speed and size, and is still well-under 30. He doesn’t shy away from physical play. In fact he went after Chara as a rookie.
When I look at his PuckIQ chart, here:https://puckiq.com/players/8479383
He did well on Ottawa and with the Bolts, with lousy Chicago, so were his numbers.
I think he’d be worth it as a 13th or 14th forward. He offers a lot more value on an NHL contract than Gregg McKegg ever did, and offers more upside than Adam Erne, for example.
I like this guy. Good skating, good compete. At current levels can be a 4/5 LW in this team and still young with some room to grow. A great buy low option with some upside to be a nice fit in bottom 6 if all breaks well.
I posted this list last week, these are under most of our radar name
who I think could be considered as targets as a 3rd pair RHD, with the possibility to move to 2RD from lowest to highest salary:
Gustav Lindstrom UFA (could he be this generation’s Staios?)
https://youtu.be/fVQy1-DbwLo?si=XUaH2n7v8KcP9Z__
Jack St. Ivany 3x $775,000
Nick Blankenberg. 2x $775,000
Grant Hutton 1x $775,000
Ronnie Attard 1x $850,000
Max Crozier 1x $867,000
Daniil Miromanov 1x $1,250,000
Michael Kesselring 2x$1,400,000
I really like Miromanov as a target. And Kesselring would be an exciting add for me, with still lots of room for growth.
A lot of RD names thrown out here as trade targets. Some pretty obscure names, and some pretty obvious career 3rd pairing guys.
My question is, how many of these guys are better than Ceci? And if they are, how many cost 3.25 or less against the cap?
Sometimes it’s better to stick with what you have, if the only options are worse, or way more expensive.
Well, that’s the point of throwing out the names. To generate debate.
Not many takers, this deep into the summer it seems.
I’d say you are correct. While there are potential options that fit that bill (Adam Larsson, Henri Jokiharju, Brent Burns with 50% retained are all 2024 UFAs), it is quite difficult to find an obvious, slam-dunk move for a player that is better than Ceci, relatively cheap and 100% available to start the season.
Ceci has struck out twice in the last two playoffs. We know how it ends with Ceci. Time for something different.
I might be living under a rock on the other side of the country, and not getting all the news, but does anyone think new GM Stan Bowman – who has been out of the league for three years, and who has an entirely shitty track record for at least 6 years before that in Chicago – can actually attain the right players for this team to bring the balance needed on the Defence?
I know it’s just my opinion – and yes, all the Stan Stan will say give him a chance – but I just don’t see it happening. Hoping for the players and fans sake that I am wrong.
I agree but it doesn’t matter when you have friends in high places. Just look at the leaders in the western world for one example. You can fail and keep moving on up!
Only the peons have to work hard and face accountability.
I’m suddenly debating whether the player we disagree most about is Andy Sutton or Jim Dowd, LT.
Couldn’t stand to watch either of them…though Sutton was also a combination idiot and coward on the ice (see the day of the epic Thrashers brawl)…so that probably wins out.
Are you an expert?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab1mHvywIqI
This video must be posted anytime someone mentions Andy Sutton.
If you want your mind blown, imagine this:
Nurse to Chicago for Seth Jones.
Lots of things are possible if we ignore Nurse’s NMC.
Jones has one too.
Lame.
Lets all send a shout out to our man Connor McDavid and his lovely bride Lauren Kyle on their wedding day. Congratulations and happy days forever!
I played some RD, but it’s been 30 years, I was on my offside and my fancies were garbage
Did you have Corgis?
I had great Corgis, until I met my wife who is partial to larger dogs😜
TVR was a RHD name that floated around a lot (as a 3RD, as memory serves), has he dropped off over the last few years? Could he be top-4 on a solid team?
$3MM AAV for two seasons although WAS has enough cover at RHD to trade him outright, and they need to shed $9.5MM in cap before the start of the year.
His numbers actually aren’t bad. He had 4th highest TOI last season so he was top 4. DFF% 49.9 GF% 49.5. I think he may get hurt a lot though looking at GP
Is John Klingberg healthy?
Perhaps a show me deal with a strong team could get his career back on track again.
I think he’s broken, 31 games the last two seasons. Also, on his NHL page he has his tongue up his nose, a rare skill indeed
Justin Barron isn’t signed in MTL.
Could he be an unheralded/emerging blue available in the right deal? Does the experienced Ceci garner enough interest to build a trade?
I agree on both fronts:
Nurse/Bouchard
Ekholm/Broberg
Kulak/Ceci
Stecher (Kemp)
Lets Roll!
Kemp is a draft there (dream that he pops and earns it and jumps both Stecher and Brown on merit).
LOL… WHERE’S JOSH BROWN????
Playing for the Trappers at John Ducey
Here’s the problem. You look around the league and only about 10 teams are pretty solid at 2RD. All the other teams have issues with talent, size or age (too young, too old). So 2/3rds of the league is competing with us to improve that position. Taylor Hall would not get you Adam Larsson today :). Good luck to the new managers fixing this issue. They will have more than earned their pay if they do it.
Oilers actually have plenty of RHD. I think it’s a good idea to wait and see exactly what they have before making some knee- jerk move that in hindsight need not even be considered.
Although finding a team that wants Cody Ceci is step one to freeing up cap space.
Exactly.
I have been trying to apprise people of these market circumstances.
The Senators traded Chychrun for a 33-year-old Nick Jensen and a 3rd.
The idea that you just try Broberg then wait for the deadline to solve the problem if he doesn’t work is not a sound one. If Seattle makes the playoffs, I’m not even sure who will be available for a rental. If they don’t, there will be a lot of teams bidding on Larsson and Borgen.
There are a few top contenders in dire need of right handed defensemen (Oilers, Colorado, and Panthers). There are others in potential need of upgrades (Dallas, Vancouver,Winnipeg, and Toronto).
Even with LA, Doughty’s aging out and Spence and Clarke aren’t there yet. For Carolina, Burns is pushing 40 and Sean Walker might be more hype than ability.
Boston, Vegas, Utah and New Jersey are completely set.
I wouldn’t worry too much about Carolina.
It seems Tulsky has recognized a market inefficiency in the supply of RD.
Carolina has 11 prospect D under contract and 7 of them shoot right.
Scott Morrow seems NHL ready after 3 seasons at U Mass.
Aghhh, Tulsky, what was his role in the Kotkaniemi debacle, two terrible contracts?
What has his role in the build of the team that continued to disappoint and underperform when it mattered?
He was the top dog for what’s being cited as a very “meh” off-season, at best.
Morrow does look like he’s ready, for the American Hockey League – almost 22 – the new age d-men show themselves early I thought.
Jan Rutta
Erik Johnson
Ethan Bear
Henri Jokiharju
Jeff Petry
David Savard
Travis Hamonic
Justin Schultz is a UFA.
What do current UFA d-men have to do with deadline rentals?
Why would you pay assets for a rental instead of signing Schultz to a team friendly deal?
Feel free to start a thread about the topic of your choosing – this one contained a question about potential rentals at the deadline.
#woosh
You’re completely missing the point.
Why would EDM sign Jultz in the
firstsecond place?I’d rather keep Ceci.
That’s a lot of w00f.
Thanks, I didn’t realize that PuckPedia has the same search feature as CapFriendly used to.
Yeah, I had previously mentioned Rutta as cooked.
Petry, Johnson, and Hamonic are also spent forces.
Savard still plays some minutes and I think he used to be good. He might be worth taking a look at.
Bear will be hard to project with his injuries.
So, that basically leaves Jokiharku.
I heard on 1440 yesterday that the Blues are looking to shake things up on their defense.
Last year prior to the trade deadline I looked at Justin Faulk, and he’s not what he used to be, but I do wonder if he could be had with retention and perhaps see a bit of a rebound on a better team.
32 years old, RHD, $6.5MM AAV for this and two more years. Better puck mover than Parayko, shorter contract.
Thoughts?
He’s like Barrie (but bigger still not physical), one way player. I think they need more well rounded two way types and more aggressive defensmen
Agreed.
The pickins are slim, so I’m casting a fairly wide net for players who may be available in a Ceci trade.
There has to be a RD in Europe that can skate and pass better than the RD not named Bouchard
Possibly. Likely, even.
But we could just end up with Auvitu again.
I still want Henrique and JJ to talk Verbeek and Radko (16 team no trade list) into a deal. I have no idea if he would be good with Nurse, but I think that would be a very hard pair to play against
Radko could reignite Nurse’s meaner game. Which corner do you play it to? Lots of dumps and changes. Don’t have to defend the line as much if a lot of players don’t want to cross it!
Preaching to the choir.
Gudas was my #1 target at the deadline last season, Zub a close second.
This year I’m leaning toward a Hail Mary with Charlie McAvoy, or something surrounding Parayko, Pionk, or still Zub. Maybe Mayfield. At least for established players. Guys like Nemec or Jiricek are also intriguing as for the possible Theodore candidates to add to the roster to contribute right away. As always, depends on cost.
IF Gudas were to waive, he’d be a hell of an asset. Paired with Nurse or Ekholm, that would be a murderer’s row for the opposition to encounter.
Connor Carick?
I would suggest he might be in the AHL all year below Stecher/Brown but above Gleason, Dineen and Hoefenmayer on the depth chart.
Speaking of which, Josh Brown on that list?
EDIT: Check that – you have them in a separate category I didn’t notice at first.
We don’t know, OP. I agree it’s a long shot, but Vincent Desharnais didn’t have an NHL contract not many years ago.
Stecher, Brown & Carrick are in holding pattern while Maximus Wanner develops. The soon he is ready for NHL action the better. I could certainly see a third pair of Kulak & Wanner, or Broberg & Wanner before we see a third pair of Kulak & Kemp, or Broberg & Kemp. In fact, IMO Kemp is trade bait. Wanner is the future.
I would suggest that there is a MUCH better chance of Kemp receiving NHL games in 2024 than Wanner.
You don’t catch my drift. With Stecher & Brown they can wait for Wanner and move Kemp if they want to. Wanner could even pass Kemp which is like to happen anyway.
Kemp could pass Brown as well.
Beau Akey is likely to pass Kemp as well but that’s not happening any time soon.
I had a convo with a fellow that was a pretty good player in his day, and a hooligan to boot, as was the style at that time. I mentioned the story once that he was playing an off season game against the Jets, buddies coach was one of the Odeleins who arranged it. One of the Jets was running around pretty good, buddy threatened to end his career if he didn’t calm down, apparently he believed him. A true character and die hard Oiler fan
His brother treated him to Game 7, along for the ride apparently was Boston Rob from survivor. He said watching live Drai was really hurt, more than it looked like on TV. I asked him his take on Ceci, he said ‘he’s not good at anything’, which may be the problem there
So to the point of the piece today, do us a favour Stan and find the 2 RD we need and build three pairs that can play in the playoffs. Start the young fella at 3 LD so he can settle in with proper usage that doesn’t ask too much from him (I think he still has some things to iron out), and eventually take someone’s job. It will make me sad if I have to watch what we saw this time and last time again with the D group
If one moves Broberg to the left side, that means the Oilers have to find two right D, not one. And it means losing Kulak.
That is not improving the team. Broberg is going to play on the right side with Nurse, or on the right side with Kulak, if the Oilers make a trade.
To my eye Bro hasn’t nailed down the non puck things that are required. He isn’t great on the boards and dealing with traffic in general. That’s normal for most young D
Putting him at 2 RD (which they very well may to start) is a very big ask and likely to have a lot of wobble. The majority of stats weren’t good, they were lucky in their GF% the only one above water
That may hit his confidence as well. They have 3 RD signed, they would work something out, but to me this issue with not good enough or stable enough D has cost them in playoffs twice now
Deadline pick ups are expensive. If possible it’s cheaper to solve it now. Maybe it works out well at 2RD, I would prefer to have his puck skills on 3rd pair, give him time to get all aspects of his play dialed in, and have 3 pairs that can get the puck up, even out the TOI. It would boost bottom 6 scoring as well
As for Kulak, at some point that cap hit is too much where it’s deployed, even if he is pretty good
There is nothing wrong with playing Stetcher as 3RD at least up to the TD.
A bottom six RD is not nearly as difficult or expensive to acquire at the TD as a top 4 RD should Stetcher/Brown/Kemp etc. prove inadequate.
I think they already have those pairs.
Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Broberg
Kulak-Stecher/Brown
Kulak and or Ceci along with Kemp could capture a suitable RHD to play alongside Nurse.
For me Nurse Bro is not going to work
This is a math interested blog, and the Corgis were bad. Really bad. In the 30’s bad except GF% which reflects luck more than anything
If you’re not Godot it matters a lot to fix this problem asap. It’s a big part of the issues the team suffers. They went on a great heater and had great results post Woody, but a big part of it was giving up leads and comebacks. We know that isn’t the recipe for playoffs
It was also only 65 minutes and mostly against the best team in the league who had top 5 across the board in the regular season in 5 on 5 possession numbers.
The eye test was better than the possession stat test and, in 65 minutes against an elite team and elite possession stat team, maybe the eye test and actual goals means more?
It’s quite curious how Scungilli has done a complete 180 since last playoffs.
Against Vegas the 5v5 GF-GA were all that mattered. Despite the Oilers winning the fancy stats battle they fully owned their goal differential.
Now in 2024 GF% reflects luck and the fancies are what really matters. Weird.
Sorry completely not on topic but wondering if anyone has insight:
I have a friend moving back to Edmonton this season and as a treat he bought season tickets. Because his account was registered from a foreign country, they audited his purchase to confirm he wasn’t a re-seller. They told him he needed to commit to a majority of the games. He told them he is committed to all but 16, and was working on finding friends for those games. That means he would be attending 64% of home games himself.
64% is by my math “a majority”. The Edmonton Oilers sent it to review. They decided it did not meet their threshold, and cancelled his order.
He paid to be on a waiting list.
He bought flights that were based on returning for opening night.
He is negotiating to find an apartment in the bloody Ice District.
He was all in on the Oilers this season, save for two stretches he needs to be out of town for family reasons and returning to the Philippines to sort some stuff out. A major treat to himself after living abroad for several years and the passing of his father, and now with some inheritance and between jobs back in Canada, he wanted to get his shit together in Edmonton and enjoy the Oilers while doing it.
They refuse to reinstate his order. They refuse to allow him to purchase other tickets even if he commits to attending 100% of the games himself — but thats the point of the waiting list so that ship has sailed. He is reduced to sending photos of himself as a child in Oilers sweater with the Cup, sometime in the 1980s, to lend evidence to his commitment. Still, no. Nothing. He’s out of luck this year. They tell him there remain packages and individual game tickets. They thank him for his support of the Edmonton Oilers.
So my question is: How messed up is this? Why? Does he have recourse? This seems outrageous, and as it lands during a week when the MACRO narrative is the Oilers don’t care one iota about their fans, this MICRO anecdote lends further evidence that indeed this franchise is full of itself.
We deserve better. I’m starting to think its totally rotten in there.
They’re in a tight spot with predatory ticket resellers.
I buy tickets on occasion from a local guy who has an entire row, and about 10 other pairs of seats elsewhere in the arena. So he’s doing the exact same thing they’re trying to avoid, but actually lives in town (although he goes to some games, as do the folks who initially bought in on the tickets with him).
While not helpful now, my suggestion to your friend (and anyone else who may be abroad wanting to buy tickets) is to use a VPN located in Canada.
Aside from escalating his case publicly, I’d start with Twitter/TikTok/Reddit/Facebook/etc before going to the local news media, it doesn’t sound like there’s much he can do.
Damn. He had me down for a BOA. Was going to fly back to Edmonton for it.
I think what is so frustrating for him was he entered in complete good faith, and they wouldn’t let him adjust his plans once finding out 64% didn’t meet their “majority” threshold. Which is just arbitrary and weird. He would have made alternate plans to meet their threshold seeing as the plans he is making to attend 64% of the games is a total life overhaul.
They just asked him to be honest and then pulled the rug out from under him.
Just a kid from St Albert looking to be a “Tier 1 fan”. This organization can’t even treat the monied fans with respect. This is what I’m struggling with.
He has mentioned he might escalate on social media, etc. Not something I would do but he’s not as shy as me. Anyway lets see if he makes a big stink.
The “vibes” whiplash between where we were even at the start of this week to now, has me reeling. I think this is the worst week since Gretzky was traded.
That sucks when real fans get caught up in these things. I cannot understand why in this day and age, with the technology available, they can’t sort these things out better. They have no trouble pillaging electronically what they want to, apparently can’t figure out other things so they don’t put people in bad positions
I totally get the predatory reseller problem.
The communication and obstinance from ticketing is really too bad in this case.
For sure
Too bad for your friend. It doesn’t help him, but I live on the west coast and have had season tix for just 2 years now. I make about 1/3 of the regular season games, sell 1/3 and donate a 1/3 to seats for kids. Anyway, they weren’t going to sell me the Heritage tix because I had been flagged as a re-seller. In the end the team’s season ticket account manager sorted it all out for me. Just relating the story because the team rep went to bat for me and in general has been a great resource and helps as best he can when things have popped up. Just want to give them a shout out for the great job I’ve experienced.
Do they take issue with you only attending 1/3 of the games? Or have you not needed to divulge that, even after they flagged you for the Heritage game? Someone will definitely need to go to bat for my friend.
I was up front with my ticket rep & because I (unfortunately) mostly sell through Ticketmaster on the Rogers app, they have all the usage data. Once I explained my circumstances they backed me up and recognized me as a fan and not a reseller
Stew MacDonald is the President and Chief Revenue Officer.
When I lived in Edmonton, I interacted with him a few times and found him to be more than reasonable and helpful.
I would suggest your friend contact him and see if he can help.
Concur.
.
That era of Oilers also had Claude Julien in pocket, at a time of great need for structure and defensive awareness.
Man.
Yes they did.
What are the odds we could trade for that donkey in WPG, Neal Pionk?
One year until UFA, 28 years old, top-4 RHD, and hairy arsed on the pro side of the ledger; on the con side, he’s got 6-team no trade clause, only league average skater, AAV is $5.875MM.
Haven’t dug into his fancies (beyond looking at his NHL Edge skating data). Strictly off the eye test, WPG’s team mix, and cap status. Also, Chevy and Bowman have a long standing relationship that may work in our favour.
I’ve thought about him as well before. PuckIQ is ok, not great. His main partner was Dillon by far, maybe that was the issue, with Morrisey way better. But the attitude he has is 100% on target, he’s nasty
He’d be a great addition to our top-4. My hunch is that he’d do better on our team, considering QoT. He’s perhaps the closest to a prime-aged Gudas target I’ve found yet.
Does his style match-up with the style of play many seem to think is needed to be Nurse’s partner.
What style is that?
Gap tight, retrieve and pass better than incumbents and former one. I think a big part of the problem is giving up ice and thus getting hemmed in too much. Then the breakdowns start if they have to defend too long
Yeah I was asking Sierra to see if we’re on the same page. I know what you’re looking for haha.
And largely agree. Less Kris Russell and more Mattias Ekholm. But right handed, and preferably a better than average skater (Pionk is average according to NHL Edge data).
Six team no trade for a US player on a Canadian team……..
The $5.875MM cap hit sees like a primary hurdle….
NTC – if he wants to have a legit chance to win, there are few better teams.
$2.625MM between Pionk and Ceci. With WPG sitting on $6.6MM in cap space and a 23 player roster, I’m sure there could be a deal made amongst old friends like Chevy and Bowman to retain some salary.
I’m not saying this deal happens tomorrow. Rather, suggesting there may be a viable upgrade on Ceci in a very thin market.
Maybe it takes something like a three way trade involving a couple more assets and some salary retention. I don’t know. I do, however, like the player and think there may be a stylistic fit in EDM.
Nurse-Pionk might be a heavy pairing that could do some damage to the opposition.
Pionk may have negotiated a 6 team clause to on the premise of “I’m getting traded, its not going to be to another Canadian team”. Or maybe not.
I think the Jets are also trying to win now, so they likely only make the trade if they think it makes their current team better unless the futures and/or cap values are so appealing they have to, right?
Yeah, none of us knows his list for NTC destinations. That’s what makes it fun to talk about.
My point about besties Chevy and Stanley is the main thrust here… in an ideal world a successful sales pitch can be made to highlight the skill gained versus the attributes sent away.
Pionk’s fancies are no screaming hell, outside of one or two isolated elements. Ceci is a well rounded player, by the numbers.
There is meat on the bones here for a fair deal to be struck, in my opinion. If you disagree, by all means… state your case by traits, and/or the numbers.