If Max Wanner was entering his third pro season, I believe we would be hearing voices loud as thunder suggesting an NHL opportunity had arrived. Alas, he has a single season as a resume and I do think that’s not enough by plenty. Too bad, because he’s a fine young prospect and is on an NHL trajectory.
MAX WANNER
You are a dog with a bone with some prospects. I think Max Wanner is going to play in the NHL, possibly for a long time. Would you prefer I talk about a favourite prospect who won’t be an NHL player?
You did that with Marc Pouliot. Fair.
Why don’t you write about another hopeful? This is No. 5 on the preseason, following Noah Philp, Raphael Lavoie, Olivier Rodrigue and Phil Kemp. I wanted to write about Matt Savoie in this series, but I can’t see him making the team. Maybe I will anyway.
Maybe you should consider your readers. Sure. Do they dislike prospect talk?
The Oilers are trying to win Stanley and you’re rambling on about prospects. I can, and have, argued that inexpensive players who can play are more important now. The Oilers don’t have to cash on five at a time, but if (say) Savoie, O’Reilly, Wanner and Rodrigue develop into value contracts and NHL players, that will help.
Just grab a guy off waivers! I’m with you on that, but you can’t get what you need when you need it on waivers. Plus, of course, developing players also means developing assets for deadline trades.
Now you’re talking! Trade ’em all! I am always in favour of dealing picks at the deadline for a team with a chance to win, and would agree that names like Savoie and O’Reilly could be in play in exchange for players with term. However, a player like Savoie is close to helping the parent team, suspect he has as much value to Edmonton as any other team.
You’re addled. No doubt, but in this case (for me) Savoie could fill the slot both Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi occupied until both got too expensive. A skill winger making around $1 million is pure gold in the cap era.
Oilers have those slots covered. Veterans can get hurt and next up on RW is Connor Brown, left wing Adam Henrique (from the third line). Those are less than ideal options, especially Henrique who is ideally deployed as No. 3 center.
Trade Savoie at the deadline! I wouldn’t do it. Jeff Skinner is on a one-year deal, Viktor Arvidsson has an injury history, Zach Hyman is highly unlikely to repeat his offensive performance from a year ago. Nuge is a complementary offensive player (although I’d leave him on that No. 1 line as long as there is chem). Savoie is a fantastic insurance policy for injuries or struggles.
You are way ahead of yourself, sir. We’ll see. The Oilers have talked about moving Savoie to center, and if they decide to turn an undersized skill winger into a two-way pivot then I hope they trade him. Otherwise, I’m all-in on Savoie. All-in on Wanner, too.
Why? There’s no downside in keeping him. Wanner won’t be expensive for years, makes good plays and is on the upswing. I think he will be Vincent Desharnais’ replacement long-term, possibly as early as this time next year.
How? All Wanner has to do is continue his development and gain experience. His skill set is a team need and he could be the No. 3 RH defenseman for the rest of the decade. Smart teams solve problems with a five-year plan, poor teams go month-to-month.
Among the prospects currently in the system, how many are in your ‘no trade’ zone? There are 36 names, and I wouldn’t trade Savoie, Wanner, Berezkin, Grubbe, Rodrigue, Lavoie, Petrov, Philp.
Why? They are all either NHL-ready, or close.
A busy Friday on the Lowdown, noon to 2pm on Sports 1440. Steve Lansky, Tyler Yaremchuk, Oilers TC news, CFL, NFL, Declanations, it’s going to be a rock and roll show! I’m at Lowetide on twitter, in the comments section here and on the Sports 1440 text line at 1.833.401.1440 directly.
Quite a night for Roger McQueen of the Brandon Wheat Kings.
He scored 4 goals on 6 shots including a natural hat trick in the 3rd period.
MacKenzie has him ranked #6 on his 2025 pre-season draft list.
Oh…he’s a 6’5” 195 17 year old right shot centre who might bulk up a little before he starts his pro career.
He must be a cross between Roger Moore (James Bond) and he probably drives like Steve McQueen. Great name.
Thought I would pop in for a daily dose of TGO pissing on the Oilers.
It would be extremely nice if the Oil could keep that St. Louis second round pick.
Dawson Mercer signs for 3X$4 million in New Jersey.
Fitzgerald kicks the can down the road to stay under the cap.
“Fitzgerald kicks the can down the road to stay under the cap.”
Interesting how you never use this language when it comes to the Oilers “kicking the can down the road”…
NJ has a very good record of locking up their young core early.
Jack Hughes
Bratt
Hischier
All under long term deals with Luke Hughes next.
Thing is the Oilers bungled both the Nurse and Bouchard situations since someone if the organization thought signing Kassian and Jack Campbell was a higher priority.
Oilers have a record of locking up their young core early.
Hall
RNH
Eberle
Klefbom
McDavid
Draisaitl
You try to add nuance and context when it comes to other teams but can’t be bothered to do the same for the Oilers and would rather resort to making stuff up.
You could argue that the Oilers locked up their young core and “kicked the can down the road” for some others like Nurse and Bouchard.
I don’t know why you choose to play dumb. You’re an adult.
if you have to ask the question ;)…
Meh. Tom Fitzgerald felt it more important to sign Pesce and Dillon (9.5 million total per year) than lock up Mercer.
It may pay off, it may not, but same energy
How about the Oilers history of locking up their young core early:
Eberle, Nuge and Hall and Klefom – then Drai and McDavid.
All GMs understand the potential value in this and all GMs try and do it. Sometimes current cap situations, given proximity to a championship, preclude it.
Dylan Guenther locked up for 8 years at $7.143 million by Utah.
”Utah locks up Dylan Guenther for his entire prime on a deal that will very likely turn into an absolute steal. (It already looks a little light and it hasn’t even kicked in yet!)
A special player that looks like a future star.”
https://x.com/domluszczyszyn/status/1837225722487918830?s=61
50 career points.
Very good, likely not great, player.
Likely to be value for most of it.
24 goals and 50 points in 78 games played during his 19 and 20 year old seasons would indicate huge upside.
Somehow I suspect you never extolled Sam Gagner’s huge upside when he did that as an 18 year old.
You would be wrong.
Always a big Sam fan…even had the jersey.
Dom has Guenther’s value rising to $11.1 million over the course of the deal.
Dom also stated the above. If we take everything he models as gospel, why hasn’t this been brought up?
Yes, he’s had a very nice first couple of season but the fact is he has 50 career points and he remains unproven, he’s no lock to be a star even if there is a reasonable possibility of that. Its probably going to work out to be a solid deal but there is risk.
Dom’s predictions are opinions not “gospel” and I would agree with this prediction.
Another opinion comes from Corey Pronman who recently ranked Guenther as the 30th best under 23 and a very good bet to be a first line player.
”Guenther had an excellent first full pro season. After coming up from the AHL he scored 35 points in 45 NHL games.
He checks so many boxes you want in an NHL player. He’s got good size, he skates quite well and he has a lot of offensive ability.
Guenther can beat defenders 1v1 often with pace, makes tough plays and has a wicked shot from distance that should make him a weapon on the power play for years to come.
He’s not a highly physical player, but he gives an honest effort and was even killing penalties for the Arizona Coyotes toward the end of the season.
He projects as a top-line wing.”
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5713250/2024/09/03/nhl-players-prospects-under-23-bedard-stutzle-celebrini/?source=user_shared_articleRanking the best NHL players and prospects under 23: Bedard, Stützle, Celebrini top the list
That’s nice, Pronman ranked Bouchard 19th on that list in 2022 – his lists, also to be taken with salt grains.
It’s so hard to take you seriously when you are the least sincere person that has plagued this site for eons. How the host puts up with you is one of the great mysteries in life. I’ve said it before; I’m really, really sorry that your life is empty enough that this is your hobby. I feel nothing but pity for you; you clearly want someone, anyone to pay attention to you, but you’re not interesting enough to get that attention on merit, so you are instead the most disingenuous poster that ever was and ever will be here. Please, go for a walk, go on a date, find something that brings you joy beyond trying to bring others misery.
I so agree with this. This “guy” is disingenuous above all else. Why he feels the pathetic need to do it over and over ad nauseam is difficult to fathom.
He is just so incredibly tiresome, petty, smug, smarmy and odious. I dream of a day when he finally awakens to the reality that he isn’t smart or insightful and realizes that he just looks and sounds like a monumental twat.
Sadly I fear my dreams will forever be unfulfilled in this regard.
With this signing kicking in next season, Utah goes into this season with a 23 man roster and nearly $10 million in free cap space.
They could be very active at the trade deadline.
They better be. Otherwise they fade into the background like they did in Arizona
The BCJHL season kicks off tonight….in Spruce Grove.
https://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/local-sports/penticton-vees-set-for-regular-season-opener-in-alberta-7546778
Successful surgery for Evander Kane!
https://x.com/oilersnation/status/1837215913105575978?s=61
More:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/oilers-evander-kane-on-the-mend-after-successful-surgery/
I would add Jarventie to the list. The only thing holding him back from the NHL is injury, IMO. He may be the 4C by Christmas.
For me the no trade list would be Savoie, Jarventie, Wanner, Berezkin, O’Reilly, Akey and Rodrigue. None of them are untouchable of course, but it would take a lot of value coming back to move these players.
So in other words sitting out the trade deadline
I didn’t say that.
We’ll know a lot more about these players by the deadline. To LT’s point, some of them could be critical contributors down the stretch and through the playoffs. You don’t trade that before you know what you have.
Javentie is a winger, no?
Not necessarily. He played most of the past 2 seasons at center, and was reportedly more successful as a pivot both in the AHL and in the NHL.
May I ask where that comes from? That is the first I’ve heard of him playing center.
Curlock doesn’t make any reference to it in his recent write-up with video and lists him as a winger as well.
I had no idea either, but it looks like Jarventie has taken 35 face-offs in the 52 minutes of NHL hockey he’s played. And not a lot of guys switch to C in the NHL after playing wing in the AHL. That definitely makes him a more interesting player.
Sounds like Woody is a guest of Torts at camp.
I’ve never heard of a CPTO (coach professional tryout)…..
Woody and Torts are polar opposites in style.
Hardly took any time or effort. 😎
https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/ottawa-senators-reach-deal-with-ncc-to-buy-land-for-lebreton-flats-arena-1.2177048
Something tells me it’s far from over…
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/is-lebreton-flats-cursed
I mean what could go wrong…
-Unceded Algonquin territory with the possibility of indigenous graves.
-Sold to a 19th century felon.
-Developed into slums.
-Burned down, rebuilt and turned into industrial environmental nightmare.
-Expropriated from poor white folks in the 1960s to gentrify the view of parliament.
-Caught up in legal battle for decades.
-Cheap Trick nearly killed in stage collapse.
Apparently it costs $150 per cubic metre to remediate the land (if necessary), to the tune of more than $60M.
Did Doug Armstrong’s son, just show Ken Holland a decent amount of respect?
There is no way STL offer sheets our prospects if Holland is GM.
I think your readers love prospect talk!
The Oilers and mid-level prospects are in the mutual “eff-n-run” era. One-night-stands.
One can risk paying elite prospects. And prospects that don’t move the needle will be cheap.
The mid-level prospect will be impossible to hang on too because the Oilers will be flying too close to the cap.
I am not investing any emotional energy into the prospects, because the mid-level ones who are interesting to follow their progress will not be long term Oilers.
Skinner over Broberg and Holloway. Cost-controlled Podkolzin over Holloway. Cost-controlled Emberson over Broberg.
Henrique over McLeod. Stecher and Brown over Desharnais.
We have seen Jackson’s team building preference. Nothing wrong with it. The boss has to do it his way. As a fan, just don’t become attached to the prospect pool.
Broberg leaving was a no-brainer for him. Holloway jumped on his like a dog on a bone and I believe it will cost him professionally and financially in the long run. Armstrong may not get the last laugh. It’s all about the crest players come and go but the crest always remains.
Have to agree with this. Potential is not an asset if you think you are a true contender.
I don’t like where this leads but I agree it is the way it works. This team has 2-3 holes it is still looking to upgrade with little to no cap space available. Prospects & picks will have to compensate for that so some degree.
Depends what is available but I assume that if the ‘perfect fit’ is available all of these prospects are on the table.
What an interesting set of transactions though.
Out (2F/3D):
Broberg (4.58M)
Ceci (3.25M)
Holloway (2.29M)
McLeod (2.2M)
Desharnais (2.0M)
3rd
4th
In (3F/3D):
Skinner (3.0M)
Henrique (3.0M)
Podkolzin (1.0M)
Brown (1.0M)
Emberson (0.95M)
Stecher (0.79M)
2nd
3rd
3rd
Savoie
Fisher
5 NHL players OUT who will be paid $14.3M.
6 NHL players coming IN who will be paid $9.7M.
The Oilers got much strong at F and much weaker on D (IMO).
The Oilers also with a net pick/prospect addition of Savoie, Fisher and a 2nd.
And the Oilers shed 4.5M (once the offer sheets were signed).
And the Oilers would still have Broberg and Holloway (minus Fisher and picks) if not for the first mid-level offer sheets that were signed in more than 15 years.
99% sure Broberg and Holloway departing was not Jackson’s team building preference. Even with that a lot of youth and draft capital was added to the system.
I am going to be in TO for the first time in a long time this week. Any recs for food/drinks around downtown? (I know there are tons but I generally trust LTers recs).
Right downtown(finance district) I find is a little scarce for food spots, especially now that Momofuku closed. But if you’re willing to get over to Kensington Market there’s dozens of great food spots in a couple block area.
Rasta Pasta is an Italian-Jamaican fusion spot that is fantastic, mhmm jerk meatballs and spaghetti.
Chinatown is just a block away from Kensington as well on Dundas so a plethora of options around there for dumplings, dim sum, hot pot, pho, sushi noodles etc.
Swing by Tasty Dumpling and get the soup dumplings if you can 🤤.
There’s a pretty hip cocktail bar too in the area that’s called Oud and the Fuzz. Armenian themed cocktail bar in one of the beautiful old row houses there. They have bands sometimes I hear.
Richmond Station is a wonderful restaurant that is a success story of a local chef who was a contestant on MasterChef. The food is toothsome and the service superlative.
Bellwoods Brewery is a top notch brewery that caters to the higher end of the market.
The Caledonian is perhaps the perfect place to quaff a dram, the selection is as deep as it is far from generic. Knowledgeable staff make it easy and rewarding to imbibe something new.
Pizza Libretto just might change your life if you’re looking for a quality slice of Neapolitan style pie.
Berezkin – slowed down a bit from his torrid early season (now 1G, 3A in 6 games) but I very much look forward to his signing in May.
I wouldn’t have Grubbe on my “no trade” list. I think that trade was made largely due to Philp leaving the org and, since the Grubbe trade, Philp has come back and they drafted O’Riley.
Big year for Petrov in his second year pro. He needs to show real progress and now “Bourgault” his second year. Showed some signs as prospects camp but, for me, as a player with a full year in the AHL behind him, I expected him to be more consistently and overtly impactful.
I really think Lavoie could excel on Henrique’s left wing but I think that Janmark starts there and Podz is locked in the 12F spot and, unless there is another injury, there is no room for Lavoie on the opening roster (unless they run 23 players, including Kane, and take their available cap space down to $100K and crater the accrual).
Of course, Ryan and/or Perry could/should be at risk but I don’t think either are to start the season – MAYBE Ryan.
I wouldn’t trade Grubbe. Not because he’s particularly valuable but because this team has been searching for a 4RHC with size who can check, PK and win faceoffs for 20 years. Ryan, Pederson and Philp may be ahead of him but this is a player type they’ve expended significant effort to find and he’s 22 while they are 26. They’ve also drafted or acquired Savoie, O’Reilly, Wakely, and Copponi while looking for another RHC. If someone made “an offer you can’t refuse”, obviously you take it but his value is low enough that I can’t see how trading a lefty instead wouldn’t be the correct call.
Fair enough – just noting the depth of prospect at the position that you reference. Since Grubbe was added, so have been Philp and O’Riley.
O’Riley likely the Henrique 3C replacement of the future and Philp being the 4C replacement of the future, maybe VERY soon.
I’m not saying to use Grubbe as a throw-in but I don’t have him close to a “no-trade list” – I know that Philp is 4 years (or so) older but Philp was so far ahead of Grubbe after their first years of pro its tough for me to imagine Gubbe passing Philp any time soon – Philp might be that 4C for the next 4, 5, 6 years.
Its interesting, and this was brought up yesterday – after the trade, a few people in the org confirmed they were going to start Savoie at center but, since then, we’ve seen him play wing with O’Riley for three games in Penticton and, yesterday, he was on the wing with Pederson as his center (and Lavoie – a potential 1st line in Bako).
The Savoie talk could of been plan C if Leon didn’t resign. Now they have a few years to whip O’Relliy into 3rd Centre line shape. I have a good feeling about O’Reilly they identified, chased and snatched him up. I think Hunter really likes and will pump this player all year in London. Savoie-Jarventie-O’Reilly have me super-excited about the future up front.
I think he’ll get the Dylan Holloway treatment. Play him wing in the AHL until he’s good, then switch to centre in the AHL but play him wing on his call-ups.
Of course all the prospects and picks are “up for trade” but I do think the org would require a slam-dunk return, and a player with term (and under control) in order to trade Wanner. It was the prior regime but they are reeling from the Michael Kesselring trade and I think Wanner is a year away, at most, from helping this team.
Wanner might be more “hands off” than Akey who likely has the potential to play higher in the lineup if he hits his potential. Wanner and Savoie, I think the org would be remiss to trade either of those players.
I think most Oilers fans are excited about the potential of Max Wanner to be an NHL player. We almost always see a adjustment period for “non-elite” prospects making the jump from the CHL to the AHL, in particular 20 year old d-men. Of course, Wanner had his ups and downs but he was a mainstay on the blueline from game 1 of the regular season – he showed that he belonged from the very beginning.
Oilers fans that haven’t seen this guy play are going to love him as he is an absolute bruiser out there – he likes to hit and he hits hard. I see alot of Jason Smith in this player.
I’ve posted before that I’m not sure Keith Gretzky is quite as enthused. Gretzky is more “honest” about the prospects when he’s on Oilers radio than Woody was or Chaulk or Pracey are but he does seem to almost go out of his way to talk about how raw Wanner is and how he has alot to fix in his game.
I’ll give some kudos to Cam Dineen on Wanner’s first year pro – that was his most common partner and they worked well together.
i have noticed this with KG and his discussions around Wanner… he never mentions other players as harshly. I wonder if this goes back to the suspension and whatever happened… it seems like he has something personal he cannot move past and is holding something against maximus.
For me it was Lavoie they rarely gave a kudos to this player. A N.H.L cup of coffeee with a cheque a few springs ago would of done wonders for his confidence and bank account. Just like Podkolzin Lavoie needs a new beginning he’s been overcooked by our management. Podkolzin and Lavoie seem to be equals yet Podkolzin was desired he’s been given a huge push he’s even been interviewed like he’s a rock star. I think Podkolzin seizes this opportunity like Kostin did. As for Lavoie he needs to show in camp and his agent needs to find a team for him when he hits the waiver wire.
Lavoie didn’t earn or deserve a call-up until around February 2023 and, by that time, the Oilers were batling for playoff positioning and in the stretch drive getting ready for the playoffs.
Lets not forget, until December 2022, Lavoie’s arrows were down. Chaulk helped change his game completely and he started to become a consistent impact player at the AHL level but that didn’t start until late December 2022/January 2023.
You keep talking about this call-up he should have received but I don’t think it was reasonable given the player’s small track record and what was happening with the NHL team – waiving someone on the NHL roster for this cup of coffee would not have been conducive to winning Stanley.
Do you believe they handled Lavoie correctly ? when a players streaking at his age with draft pedigree wouldn’t that be a time to throw this player in a couple of games with maybe him catching fire. I’ll take Lavoie over Erne or Sutter
I believe he should receive a real opportunity at this year’s camp and he likely won’t and that will be a mistake.
In the past, yup, he’s been handled just fine given his performance.
He middled with inconsistency during his first season and half and didn’t deserve or earn a sniff of the NHL. The time you say he should have got a cup of coffee was after about a month of play that looked like he could be an NHLer but I noted above why a call-up didn’t make sense.
Not a single team wanted him for free last October – 31 GMs were provided the opportunity to place Lavoie on their roster, all declined.
Lavoie bullied the AHL for 6-7 games and earned a call-up. I would have liked to have seen him play with better and more established players than James Hamblin but, at the same time, Lavoie did not do what Klim Kostin did – earn an everyday roster spot from the 4th line.
Lavoie was then inconsistent again once returned to the AHL, struggled to score at 5 on 5, couldn’t handle PK minutes and was good but inconsistent. He did not earn another call-up.
It’s Podkolzin job now the new kid in town. OP you have a way better sense of these two in the AHL than anyone on this board. Who’s the better player? Why doesn’t Lavoie see are deserve a push? Holland buried is own pick for the Ernes of the world. I hope Lavoie does get a fresh start and scores 20 goals with his quick release and big frame.
Podz was very good in games against the Condors this past season but I didn’t watch him in his non-Condors games.
I’m not sure why you would ask my why doesn’t Lavoie deserve a push – it makes me think you don’t actually read my posts in full – I’ve been posting for him to get an opportunity as 3LW all off-season.
What I like about the philosophy from Kalle Larsson regarding development is that he believes the best players will show themselves anyway. Their goal is to shorten the track it takes for that player to reach their inevitable potential.
They recognize how much internal drive and discipline it takes. Injury luck is a factor, but the cream rises to the crop. Their plan is that it’s while in Oiler silks (and preferably on a cheap contract).
Wanner looks like he has it. Benson did too. We wait.
I think nobody expecting Wanner to break camp or do anything speaks to the depth of team (overall, not necessarily RHD), downplaying by the org, and a little bit about his style (no big boxcars).
This is a good thing. There’s always a runaway train that gets beat to death round these parts where they can never reach the expectation placed on them in spite of the repeated mantra here that AHL players are historically destined to be the 6’s, 7’s, and 9’s.
Benson before and Lavoie for the past few years. Many here want their guy to get his chance now so they can say ‘I told you so’. It’s part of the fun, but puts unrealistic expectations on the player.
Wanner, a 7th rounder, treading water and not being out of place in the AHL at 20 has covered the bet. Everything after this is a credit to the young man (and the org).
If the Oilers new modus operandi is how they operated last July 1, when they signed Jeff Skinner for one year, rather than sign Holloway and Broberg, then every decent (but not elite) prospect is going to be offersheeted out of the organization.
If one operates close to the cap, it means one cannot jackboot ones decent prospects, and demand they sign their name to a crap contract.
So the Tampa model comes into play, where one trades all the draft picks and prospects for cost-controlled younger players with an established level of play. One sells the upside call on one’s draft picks and prospects for certainty. But Tampa had a Cup or two under their belt before they started doing this, and they have not won a Cup doing this yet, although they are hanging with the contenders.
Prediction: All the prospects will be traded.
If Wanner is any good, then some team with cap room will duplicate the Broberg offersheet.
If one wants to keep Wanner, one has to resist the urge to sign the Jeff Skinner’s, and pay him enough not to go the offersheet route.
Most GM’s will end up doing what Brisebois does, trade the emerging player for an established young player with cost certainty.
The contending dilemma. Cost certainty and an established level of play VS buying the call (and paying the premium) on a prospects’ upside.
Tampa had zero Cups when they traded a first for Blake Coleman and another for Barclay Goodrow. Both players had affordable pacts with another year to run, & each won 2 Cups during their 1.2 seasons in Tampa,
It’s not worth posting facts. Godot theorizing in a post-factual universe.
True and this narrative he is flogging is starting to register on the OCD grudge scale.
“So the Tampa model comes into play, where one trades all the draft picks and prospects for cost-controlled younger players with an established level of play.”
I thought Tampa was following the Tanner Jeannot model where they trade all of their prospects and picks for a player without an established level of play or high ceiling.
Jeff Skinner has a real chance to have the best value contract in the league.
He is a high end 5 on 5 goal scorer and point producer – very very high end.
If the opportunity is there to to sign that player at 1 X $3MM its a no-brainer
A greater truth may never have been spoken.
After following the early development and subsequent careers of Hall, Gags, Cogs, I tend to agree that a winger is a winger.
Hall at centre talk lasted seconds (pre-McDrai), while previous success in junior kept Cogs and Gags miscast for half their time in the bigs.
Except it isn’t a move to center. By all appearances, Savoie played almost his entire WHL career at center (~2,400 faceoffs in 183 games played doesn’t happen for a part time center).
Guy Carbonneau was an under-sized junior and AHL scoring phenom who got himself into the hall of fame (along with 3 cups and 3 Selke’s) by becoming a great two way player, playing 3rd or 2nd line center.
https://www.hhof.com/induction_archives/ind19Carbonneau.shtml
Not saying it doesn’t happen. Saying often it’s a mistake. Cogs n Gags did most their junior scoring as pivots, and Cogs in particular was initially stubborn about that being his role in the bigs. Took a trade and time for him to change his tune. Meanwhile Oilers not hanging onto him as a responsible winger is just another DoD missed opportunity
Again though, Savoie has been a center most of his life. Why assume right away he is only a winger and not capable of being an NHL center? If he can’t play center well in the AHL, move him over to wing then. The transition from center to wing is generally easier than the reverse.
Easy to say in hindsight that Gagner and Cogliano were better off long term on the wing but the Oilers needed centers at the time and both got several Calder votes playing center their rookie seasons. And Gagner had some decent seasons at center for the Oilers in 08/09 and 11/12 on some really bad teams.
I’m surprised we’re not getting Swiss-A Geneve Servette updates around here. MAP and Hartikainen are still both going strong.
Interesting. I feel like Savoie has a better chance of making the team than most of the other hopefuls.
High enough pedigree that if he performs in camp they might forego Bakersfield. Not that I expect him to make the team, but I would not be surprised.
In any case, IMO he would be a worthy inclusion in the TC Hopeful series.
The difference with Savoie is he is new to the organization so they likely want some observational/development time to see how he progresses. They don’t really know what they have yet.
And he is auditioning for a skill role, where there is currently less demand on the big club.
That’s true, but the team is set up better for 3 scoring lines (landing spots for Savoie) then they have been in quite some time.
Would be a kick in the nuts to Lavoie if they give Savoie as shot at 3L and waive him.
Its up to Lavoie to make the impression at camp – Knob does not know this player. He’s starting camp on the same line as Savoie. We’ll see how it goes, starting Sunday afternoon.
As of right now, there isn’t room for either unless they want to take the unused cap to apx $100K cratering accrual and/or waive Ryan or Perry (or Podz).
I guess. Savoie is a much higher pedigree and higher scoring player than Lavoie ever was.
Lavoie is a strong AHL player and ‘deserves a shot’ but it’s not like he’s breaking the doors down. Also turns 24 within the week, is off ELC, and has passed through waivers. The upside isn’t in the same ballpark IMO.
Definitely could learn more, but 3 of Lavoie’s 7 games last season were under Knoblauch, and Lavoie would have been around the team (practicing presumably) with the team during the playoff run.
Knoblauch would also have coached against Lavoie a fair bit in the AHL over the last few years. So not a total unknown.
Right now, no, but a single injury and the team is back to not being able to accrue (essentially) any cap space, even with 12F and 7D (ie – Kane and another on IR). In that case putting Kane on LTIR wouldn’t really be meaningful in terms of Cap accrual (or lack thereof).
So it’s very possible that there would be no Cap reason not to keep a healthy 13th and 14th forward. Perhaps there ends up being room for both of them (or others) without any impact on the cap.
Fro sure Savoie has higher pedigree and a bigger upside – I’m not disputing any of that. I think the org would prefer Savoie to spend some time in the AHL and if Lavoie can’t outperform the 20 year old that is waiver exempt, well, that’s likely on Lavoie.
Given how sparingly the Pacific teams play the Atlantic teams, I would suspect Knob would only have seen Lavoie a couple of times in the AHL
Any injury to a forward would certainly open the door for him to stick. Likely he goes down. If he produces he likely gets a call up before Xmas. He has all the tools if he can stay healthy
Agree a call-up later in the season is more likely.
Actually LT just did write about Savoie. It started out about Wanner as the #5 but the content is mostly about Savoie. 🥸
And I agree with you. Not likely Savoie starts in Edmonton but not a complete surprise either.
Wanner looked pretty darn good to me in the game against Vancouver in Penticton – the only one I got to watch. If Emberson can’t hold 2RD and they are forced to make a trade I suspect Wanner is one of the pieces to go the other way.
You are indeed correct.
Very curious to see how he fares this season.
And Wanner would certainly be among the deadline trade possibilities but let’s hope not.
Emberson growing into a legit 2RD makes this team a cup favourite. Wanner growing into a 3RD by March takes care of all family business on the back end.
Probably too much to ask, but that would certainly be nice.
I think the plus for Wanner is that he will likely get opportunity. RHD is very thin. Knock knock.
If Emberson cannot hold or grown into 2RD then there will be a trade. I would think Wanner becomes part of that package with Emberson dropping down to 3RD.
You might be right. But I hope not. Wanner and Savoie are the only strong contenders for future value contracts. That said, the Oiler do not have many high value assets to snag a dman. Hopefully Emberson crushes it. That would solve a lot of problems.
Yup. Can Emberson grow into the 2RD spot is the story to watch for the first few months of the season barring major injury.
And I also hope to see Wanner & Savoie stay with the team. Maybe get some games after Christmas.
As I have argued before, youthful enthusiasm is a real asset during an 82 game grind and is something this team will be missing this season for the most part.
I was just looking at the broadcasting schedule and noticed that there is games on TVAS, can anyone fill me in on what that is? I googled the hell out of it and got nothing.
TVA sports, french Canadian sports channel, doesn’t seem to be an English broadcast on some of them dates. 🙁
There will not be any games that aren’t viewable with an English broadcast.
Aside from the Monday night games streaming on Prime, all the games will either be regional on SN or national games (CBC/SN).
Not sure which games you’re referring to but a few Oilers games will be exclusively on Amazon Prime Monday Night Hockey.
https://www.primevideo.com/salp/nhl