The first Edmonton Oilers draft under Peter Chiarelli was an adventure, kind of like a thriller you’re not quite sure you want to be involved in, but cannot bring yourself to look away from, no matter the danger. The team chose a young man who could be the best Oilers draft pick of my lifetime, had him endure the most awkward moment of anyone’s lifetime (Mr. Katz is wooden in public, no other way to put it) and then waltzed into the draft with a wrecking ball. Although this is a draft post, I’m going to start with Chiarelli’s chores and what he got done this weekend.
CHIARELLI’S LIST
Draft McDavid(and sign him)Find a quality goalie option (this is the Talbot item)- Acquire a legit top pairing blue (as always, clear as mud days before bullets fly.
Dougie Hamilton=perfect fit) - Sign a more offensive two-way F
- Ignore MacT re: Marincin (Or trade Marincin for real value and not a damn pick)
Chiarelli managed to draft McDavid (while also saying hello to the city of Florida), now he needs to sign him. There’s no extra credit for this but it’s part of the summer business. The Talbot addition was a major part of the weekend, really huge and based on Darcy McLeod’s work I think this can be judged as a clear win. It is NOT a sure thing, we need to remember it. Just because it’s an ‘Oilogosphere endorsed’ move doesn’t mean this is the dawning of the age of winning every night. This is going to be a tough season if the Oilers don’t add a top defender. I also believe the team needs to add a two-way F, a Pisani, but we’ll see (many don’t agree with me).
The Marincin trade was telegram Sam, we saw it forever. No. 107 overall isn’t much at all, they sent that down the line for Eric Gryba (my daughter, Sens fan, has been mocking me all day. Thanks Pete!) and we are here.
The Reinhart add (for me) is another addition to the prospect group, no more, no less. He’s miles better than Colten Teubert, but teams don’t trade No. 4 overall picks who are working out swell so let’s be real about it. I have said, and believe, it was an overpay.
If Reinhart ends up being Colten Teubert, please hold it against Peter Chiarelli and Bob Green. If he turns out to be splendid, give them credit. In the meantime, let’s not beat each other up too badly, okay? Thanks.
LOWETIDE PROJECTED WEEKEND (KISS OF DEATH)
- No. 1 overall: C Connor McDavid. My guess is he’s at center ice for opening faceoff 2015-16, with Hall and Eberle alongside. Music!
- No. 16 overall: C Joel Eriksson Ek. Impressive C, good offense and a gritty style.
- No. 33 overall: D Travis Dermott. Effective offensive defender, can play defense.
- No. 57 overall: D Ethan Bear. Solid defenseman, built like a brick outhouse, fine shot.
- No. 79 overall: G Matej Tomek. Tomek and Jalad at Tanagra. He’s a good goalie.
- No. 86 overall: C Tyler Soy. Very talented player, spiked in the second half.
- No. 117 overall: D Jeremy Lauzon. Big defender with a range of skills. May be long gone before this.
- No. 124 overall: R Keegan Kolesar. Tough winger with some skill, Oilers looking for this type. He can play.
- No. 154 overall: C Alexandre Goulet. Checking C if he makes it, does a lot well at evens.
- No. 184 overall: C Tyson Baillie. Extreme skill, hard worker, speed only average. Could be a home run pick. Seriously.
Well, the Oilers drafted two of them—that’s progress. McDavid is incredible, just awesome. My God, I damn near teared up when the kid put on the new uniform (and then fell ashen when the Katz video hit. Whatever Scarlett Johansson does to my brain, that video is the opposite) and he’s going to be beautiful for a long time in our town. Ethan Bear? He’s a helluva prospect. More in a minute.
HARVEST MOON, 2015
- Round 1, No. 1 overall: C Connor McDavid. I’m going to quote Red Line here: “Is the kind of player on the ice, and the kind of person off the ice, that you want associated with your franchise.” Well. That’s a compliment.
- Round 1, No.16 overall and Round 2, No. 33 overall: G Griffin Reinhart. I quote Pronman a lot because he combines actual knowledge with nuance. Here’s what he said about Reinhart draft day: Corey Pronman, Hockey Prospectus: What separates him from other big defensemen is that he has the puck skills to make people miss, execute all the little plays in tight quarters, and to deliver crisp, accurate passes consistently. Reinhart also has a more aggressive offensive element to his game as he will join the rush and doesn’t shy from being creative in the offensive end of the rink. He also has a pretty big shot from the point that he can put a lot of his big frame into. The thing that has seen Reinhart establish himself so well in the industry has been his improvements. Believe what you will, I think we need to see him for a season before making any sweeping statements. I remain convinced of two things: It WAS an overpay, and Reinhart is a fine young player. He needs to contribute right away to make this worth the bet and there’s no way I can tell you that’s sure. No way.
- Round 2, No. 57, Round 3, No. 79 and Round 5, No. 184 overall: G Cam Talbot. I like this trade plenty, said so at the time. I thought it would be No. 33 and a second-round pick next season. Seriously, I’m not lying. That’s a nice get. I would run Talbot—Scrivens but have been told I’m crazy for thinking it. Thoughts? Nice. Very nice moment, second best moment of the weekend.
- Round 3, No. 86 overall: Todd McLellan. Actual NHL coach, that’s a big damn deal. I don’t like giving up this pick, and really wonder why the Oilers wouldn’t wait until next year. Offer sheet? Hamilton’s OS would be matched, I’d bet your house. Saad? We live in interesting times.
- Round 4, No. 107 overall: Eric Gryba. Oilers gave up Martin Marincin, another young defenseman and the bleeding continues. It’s incredible to see, just an open faucet that sends good water to the sea, no one notices. Peter Chiarelli, close that faucet. Now! Travis Yost knows more about the Ottawa Senators than you (or me) so read this and acknowledge. He takes tough ZS’s and is third pairing. After that, who knows? I would never trade Marincin for him.
- Round 4, No. 117 overall: D Caleb Jones. I don’t know a fabulous amount about him, so will borrow from ISS scout Phil Myre: “Competitive
defenseman, Plays with a lot of urgency, takes the body, competes. He is a good skater with good mobility. Not creative, he can make a good first pass. Work ethic will help his projection but not dominant in any area”. - Round 5, No. 124 overall: D Ethan Bear. Another player with size and speed from the blue and he also owns a hammer from the point that may be useful in the NHL someday. Bear can pass the puck very well too. I had him No. 38. Love this pick. Big time.
- Round 6, No. 154 overall: D John Marino. Kirk Luedeke: Solid, if not spectacular, all-around defenseman. Trains off-ice with Hanifin. Set for Yale in 2016 and could return for senior year at Catholic Memorial, play another USPHL season, or play next for Chicago in the USHL. Source
- Round 7, No. 208 overall: G Miroslav Svoboda. Young Willis: Svoboda has had two strong seasons at the Czech junior level and his 6’3″ frame gives him good size for the position. He’ll be stepping up to the senior level next year, playing for second division Czech team AZ Havirov. On paper, he’s not a particularly compelling prospect, but he is just a seventh-round pick, he’s big and has shown well in flashes, and what we don’t know from looking at him on paper could probably fill volumes. Source
- Round 7, No. 209 overall: Ziyat Paigin. 20 years old, 6.06, 209. Massive. ISS: Paigin’s upside is based around his raw frame and active, intense defensive game. Long active stick and angles well, needs to focus on foot speed and mobility which will benefit when he adds muscle to his massive frame. Thrives in physical play, likes to finish hits and mix it up along the wall. Can be beat wide by quick opposition forwards catching him on the pivot. Decent skill-set on the puck, although at his best when he simplifies his game.
Top 20 prospects tomorrow. Enjoy your night.
Hey, whose side are you on here anyway?
Schultz won’t be moved unless it’s for value. The organization likes him unlike something like MM.
If we are dumping someone just for the sake of it then there’s two vets that don’t bring anything aside from being a vet. We know who they are.
To Calgary Hamilton for +$6M
We get Connor, Talbot, Reinhart and Gybua for the about the same money.
Moments after the deal with Calgary was announced, a tweet appeared (can’t remember from whom) that the OIlers had offered 16,33 and 57- a better deal than Calgary. Boston countered with those picks PLUS Nurse, and Chia balked.
Not that was a great read. Thank you.
I’d love to see this too. It would instantly ignite the Kitten fight of Alberta back to Battle of Alberta. Maybe it’s my tinfoil hat wearing ways but I’ve felt like Calgary management has been continually going out of their way to inject themselves into areas the Oilers were trying to make deals. Time for a little fuck you too going Calgary’s way by driving the $ up and term down as others have pointed out.
Alpine,
What was the package? Just straight up Nurse or Nurse + picks? Still I can’t imagine he would take CGY’s offer out of spite.
I’m very happy with draft day. GR is going to mature like RNH. Without huge fireworks.
I’ve seen him play quite a few times and what I was most impressed with was he was never out of his depth in any situation, has a “fuck-you-not-today” determination and can pass in close, stretch and with his backhand all very well.
You do not expect ANY 22 yr old D to be super elite. If you do you are going to get what you deserve.
This is a complete defenceman. Who was the last guy we could say that about?
I also like his age and where he fits on the D prospect list.
We are thickening the depth chart focused on D.
I’m happy MM will get a chance to put it on the line somewhere else. I will follow him because he does interesting things and he played his heart out for 40-some games for this team beside mud and Jeff.
Money quote right there.
Morning, peeps.
Having a little surf with a nice cup of tea while the kids watch How To Train Your Dragon on infini-repeat, I came across this gem.
https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/kristaps-porzingis-hears-your-boos–knicks-fans–and-wants-to-make-you-believe-014520591.html
The article is good, if crudely written, but a lot of parallels. It seems we don’t own our own narratives!
Apparently it’s now a ‘thing’ for Knicks fans to boo their own draft choices. Huh. Let me try it:
McDavid BOOOOOO…WWOOOOOOOOOOOTTTT!!
I just couldn’t do it!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!
EDIT: Lots of juicy stuff like ‘foreign’ and ‘soft’ and ‘can’t play North American game’ in that link.
The reason Griffin Reinhardt is a divisive player for Oilers fans is that he is actually a unique player, there really isn’t an obvious comparable. He isn’t a player you can describe with one of the common expressions like shut down, two way D, or offensive defenceman. He can, in a single game, or even a single shift, be all three.
I had the chance to see him in the AHL. He is this strange blend of Andy Sutton and Charlie Huddy. The games I watched he headed hunted and rushed the puck like Sutton catching teams off guard repeatedly. Against the rush, including a couple of odd man rushes, Reinhardt played like Huddy.
I came away confused. I find it easy to believe Reinhardt may never be more than a depth defenceman in the NHL because he is still very inconsistent. On the other hand it wouldn’t surprise me if paired with the right partner he turned out to be a #2D who plays 1000 plus games. He seems to be wicked smart and amazingly creative.
v4ance,
There must be something behind that deal, how in the hell do they let him walk when they know they can move Chara for similar picks ?
This blog’s obsession with obtaining a defensemen (any player) does place a tone of value on the players underlying numbers, but the subjective portion of them is almost exclusively contained within the club and agent community.
When we continually try to derive why the answer is 3, but insist we are adding 1 + 1, we need to drop it and conclude the obvious.
And for Gords Sakes, his name is Dougie, what kind of adult doesn’t insist on being called Doug.
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/bruins_nhl/boston_bruins/2015/06/slow_start_for_don_sweeney
Critics in Boston aren’t going to want to hear it, but Sweeney and Co. tried hard to engineer a better outcome — either to keep Hamilton (with an annual offer believed to be in the vicinity of $5 million), or by trading him for more value in draft picks or players. They were close on several deals, but in the end they didn’t happen.
“We didn’t want to lose him,” said one Bruins front office source. “We tried everything we could think of.”
As it was, the Hamilton deal didn’t look good — but may have had a secondary cause.
“It was surprising,” said one NHL assistant GM. “It’s obvious there’s something going on that we don’t know about. From what I’ve heard behind the scenes, his teammates don’t like him. I heard he’s a loner and sort of an uppity kid, and that his teammates don’t like him and it was unanimous.””
Hmmm… I sense some sour grapes. Gotta run the kid down so the trade doesn’t look as bad. Kinda like how they did with Seguin.
Does anyone know what New Jersey and Nashvilles self imposed caps are ?
http://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/787282
Ariz GM Maloney after dealing Gagner to #Flyers: “We didn’t think he could play center at the National Hockey League level for us.” Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) June 28, 2015
As Mirtle points out, Gagner was their highest scoring forward (41pts) last year and only 2 behind the leader OEL at 43 pts. Ouch!
What does that say about the rest of the roster then?
this may or may not be a typo, but either way, it’s great.
That Meddling Gyrba! Get out of my root cellar, you Meddler!
It relates to the upper side and why he ended so high on bob’s list but here is the money paragraph for those who were not watching the whole mvp run live:
What is there to say about Griffin Reinhart? Here’s a guy who played probably every even strength shift against the Petan line or the De Leo line, two monster entry and possession lines. At the beginning of the regular season, those six players carried the puck in an average of 84% of the time. And yet, playing against that top competition, he had the greatest percentage of break-ups and fewest shot attempts against per entry of all Edmonton’s defensemen, rivaled only by Irving, who played cupcake minutes. To see the true impact he had on entries, we can look at his defensive partner Ashton Sautner, no slouch himself, and see how he got burned. After seeing this, I don’t disagree with his choice as MVP of the series
4 things
-The Oilers did not touch the core this weekend. Does not mean they wouldn’t move on of them this summer, but PC wont pull the trigger on one of them unless he gets a wow offer. I love that.
-Im liking the pickup of Reinhart. Yeah, price was a bit much. But he is still 2 years left on his ELC and if covers most of his draft bet he will part of the group that matures with McDavid. I would not bet against Reinhart.
-Im a fan of Gryba. Yeah, not a incredibly skilled D man, but he is an actual NHL player. Yeah, he is a 3rd pairing and we have a few of those. But he is big, strong, nasty. Opposing forwards pay the price in the slot and in the corner. Good on the PK.
-Connor McF&*^kingDavid!!!!!!!!
In hearing about all the teams that killed this year’s draft, I wonder if any will receive the kind of consensus praise that the Habs got right after the 2012 draft. If you go back and look at the coverage, they scored top marks from everyone after they came away with this collection of awesomeness after Galchenyuk:
2012 Entry 33 2 Sebastian Collberg R Frolunda HC [SEL]
2012 Entry 51 2 Dalton Thrower D Saskatoon Blades [WHL]
2012 Entry 64 3 Tim Bozon L Kamloops Blazers [WHL]
2012 Entry 94 4 Brady Vail C Windsor Spitfires [OHL]
2012 Entry 122 5 Charles Hudon L Chicoutimi Sagueneens [QMJHL]
2012 Entry 154 6 Erik Nystrom L MODO Hockey Ornskoldsvik [SEL]
It’s still a little early to judge these guys, but it’s also a reminder that we shouldn’t get too high or low about any team’s performance right after the draft.
All depends on when he needs the free cash. The escalator tipped the balance back to being more averse to the longer cap hit vs the short term and overall savings. If there was a 2/3 x normal term option their would be more buyouts.
Just listened. Fan of the Reinhart family.
Great find.
I think many of the bloggers here are underestimating how good this kid is gonna be. He was a stud in junior with the Oil Kings and at the WJC’s. Progress is never a straight line, but I wouldn’t bet against this kid.
spoiler,
He needs to bring GR on slow and some pressbox is fine as long as it is about helping him see the desired game. Beyond year 1 the goal looks like a lot of minutes and tough comp and def zs. The closer he gets to 23 the bigger the win and the more flexibilty to use fayne and perhaps js optimally. Upside is truly having 3 of his long term top 4 accounted for.
spoiler,
Wow excellent article, this is very insightful. I keep coming back to Chris Philips as a comparable for what we can expect from Reinhart.
Plugger on a Cup Winning team. Becomes UFA when flattered and feted by none other than Hillbillies Lowe+MacT… Offered retirement contract that makes Plugger set for life, playing for his hometown team no less.
Then, New and Improved Coach makes him team captain! Before he’s even met his new team, and he’s Captain!! Now flattered beyond redemption, Plugger naturally tries his plugger-level best to keep up with the impossible situation his hillbilly bosses have put him in.
The puck drops: The team stinks from the get go, but Plugger hasn’t got any real talent or ability. The ensuing shitestorm brings with it a bunker-style mentality. In short, Plugger is no more in control than MacT was during his end of season rant.
New Brooms(the future): Now Plugger turns up for training Camp. Plugger finds himself being asked to meet the new GM + coach. They are friendly, and respectful. They make it clear that Plugger has options. They make him an offer he doesn’t refuse.
I think you have to go to Ference and say, “do you want to sit in the press box all season and next, or do you want us to find you a new home where you will play?” Retain salary if you have to. Always better than a buyout.
And does Ference not have to be wondering where he fits on this team after the Reinhart acquisition?
Keep Niki as insurance in case both Nurse and Reinhart need a little more time and then deal him close to the deadline and bring in Nurse. Or Reinhart, if Nurse beats him out at TC.
I’m just going by Chia’s words… that Gryba will be on the third pairing and his expectation Reinhart will make the team. And then deducing what the D will look like if that is indeed the case.
I don’t think they intend to pay their Aulie $1.25Mper year. That is salary they are intending to use. Gryba is the de facto 3 RD right now. Davidson should be the new Aulie and eating popcorn.
So if they are hoping Reinhart makes the team that’s an awkward amount of money sitting in the press box and an upset vet who wants to play. Possibly your captain. Very awkward.
So I definitely agree with you there’s a plan and another shoe or two to drop… but from Chia’s words on his flow chart he’s unsure whether that will be near future or down the road, it depends on opportunity.
I like him.
oilswell,
Agreed. Just want to make sure Calgary doesn’t get to have Hamilton at less than full value.
Not sure Reinhart doesn’t start in the A if he’s waiver-eligible.
I see him as the swap out for Marincin on the depth chart.
Gryba is the swap out for Aulie.
Would love to see Ference traded (retaining salary) and Nikitin swapped or bought out as they aren’t part of the plan.
Suspect Chia has a plan here that is working.
During the draft Matty mentioned a Shattenkirk rumour. Anyone think there is something to that? The implication was that it was linked to #16 but perhaps something that could be circled back to?
This is year old news on Reinhart but here’s an absolutely incredible study by Megan Richardson on Zone Entries during the Oil Kings – ‘Hawks epic battle.
https://shinnystats.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/118/
Some of you may have read it before, but if you haven’t, it is a fantabulous read and represents a heap of hard work by Ms. Richardson so please give her some traffic.
It shines a light on Green’s comment that a year ago the value of Hamilton versus Reinhart might have been reversed.
The Oilers were run like a Senior team under Lowe+MacT. They had a decent team they inherited from Sather in the 90’s, and of course Lowe had his single lucid Lifetime Experience trading for Chris Pronger,
Since then…One Gigantic steaming pile of California Seal level buffoonery. Calgary, you have to give credit. They hired a very good coach in Hartley. Burke seems to have found himself in Cowtown; no more bombast just quietly builds his team up until Boston’s Millennial meltdown, that’s actually left Oilers fans depressed on McDavid Draft Weekend.
Flames have many players I like. How can anyone hate Monahan? That said, Oilers under Chiarelli are already showing signs of proactive management. I’m only a Tier Zero fan. Wtf do I know? Training Camp will reveal a lot.
Yup. We agree except for the amount appropriate for Hamilton.
Yes, and he said Gryba would be third pairing. So we now know who the intended 3rd pairing is next year.
And we know Fayne will not be playing 1st pairing minutes.
So we know this much for sure is the plan right now:
XXXXX Schultz
XXXXX Fayne
Reinhart Gryba
Probably fair to say Klef gets the spot beside Schultz.
That leaves Ference, Nikitin, Nurse for the 2LD hole. And one of Ference or Nikitin in the press box.
Can’t imagine Chia is too happy about that.
I don’t see how he can make the remark he did about Reinhart and not be thinking of some way of dumping one of Ference or Nikki. Maybe the plan is to bring Reinhart in slow with some press box time and then dump Nikki at the deadline?
Dunno, still think Chia would want to throw one of those boat anchors overboard sooner rather than later.
oilswell,
I think you set the price as high as you are prepared to go to get the asset you want.
Four years takes him to the end of his RFA years. Perfect.
A CBA expert can help with the structure here but I would aim to fall just shy of the $9.3M limit that triggers the four firsts as compensation, so let’s say you go $36 million over 4 years.
Calgary matches and vows to remember but the fact Boston failed to exact full value from an asset doesn’t mean that you let a divisional/provincial rival get a free pass to the net.
#finishyourcheck #osHamilton
We should start a campaign 🙂
F#@k’n try and rain on my McDavid day? I think not.
You’re fine so long as you’re trading those picks for other quality prospects on ELCs.
Glad to see some of you writing Friday night took your Valium. Underpay/overpay. All of you please move on from your nickel-diming every breath the Oilers take.
You got set up by Lowetide ever since the lottery. What was it, six weeks of the Lowetidians telling Chia what he should do from their own MacT-BBQ’d minds? You bought the Oilers koolaid with your unconscious mind so much that when the day came for action you couldn’t keep up with the thought process that was being unveiled. You were programmed to grab Evgeny Svechnikov (19th to Wings) or Jeremy Roy (31st to Sharks) and players like that. Indeed the six weeks were filled with more talk about 16 than anything else.
So can we go forward with a little more perspective of the big picture. This is not an overnight fix. Quit pontificating on every morsel that Lowetide throws out there for you to feast on. He’s just doing his magnificent job. And those of you putting a lot of thought into your words, it is much appreciated. Let us learn to appreciate the bouquet of this wine we are being fed now with the remodelling of this team. This is a heavenly time in Edmonton the next few years. McBuddha has arrived, the youngsters are in town next week and Chia is probably not finished with his handiwork. For Allah’s sake, try to enjoy some of this stuff. Do not become OilersNation, where the presentations are good but the commentary after is grade school.
Couple different thoughts: (1) To see a GM carved up, read Ty Anderson (No Future: Sweeney trades set Bruins back . . .) on Hockeybuzz,
(2) Watch the video on Ziyat Paigan on YouTube, mentioned by LadiesloveSmid at 8:35 p.m. Saturday on this Harvest Moon blog. It’s just dreamy good stuff. He doesn’t look like one of the last picks taken.
(3) The Oilers stole the idea of drafting Marino from Lowetide’s list. Our guru had him at #112.
All three guys they traded for were in some way an acquisition of something lost…
1. Gryba of course is Chia getting back the pick he cost
2. Reinhart s getting back the Oil King they all loved, including, from parsing his words, Chiarelli.
3. When Olczyk was scouting College he pushed hard for Talbot to sign, but he chose the Blueshirts instead. So they again re-coup the one that got away.
That seems like a strange coincidence of redemption.
Impossible to create any productive dialog.
I just look to different sites when he goes off. Total put off for sure
Agree completely, well, maybe except I’d target the 7.3 aav. I think the argument is untenable that Chiarelli failed in acquiring Hamilton: that wasn’t in the cards. However if Calgary is able to sign Hamilton at less than say 6.5 aav then Chiarelli (and several other GMs) wasn’t doing everything possible.
Just meant if I thought of it that way,,, equivalent value to what was taken.
I would have thought long and hard on Barzal, especially if I thought I could get Beauvilier too… but would still have likely taken Svechnikov. Who fits the profile you describe.
I’m guessing the Oil did really want a defenseman there and thought the best available was Reinhart, who would be farther along than anyone they took and had the benefit of familiarity.
All I hope is that trading away all of our 2nd and 3rd round picks every year doesn’t become a habit.
Any success you get simply won’t be sustainable in the long term if you don’t have a steady stream of quality prospects on ELC’s.
Hmmm. Sounds so familiar.
Stupid iPad autocorrect. Signed, not sighed. Presser, not Pressure.
I understand why LT killed the edit function this weekend, but those of us on devices need it back at some point.
FPB94,
Blown opportunity wasn’t not getting Hamilton. It was not getting someone more proven than Reinhart. The Oilers traded those picks for Hamilton, but then Sweeney decided to ask for Nurse, and after getting rebuffed, took CGY’s worse package.
draft summary
chia didn’t trust the scouts and wasn’t going to take heat for another failed 2nd and 3rd rounder
Trade picks for need
What we need inthe worst way is a Nikitin buyout and a top 5 FAa defenseman sighed.
But since MacT and Howson are still there, I’d bet there’s no way we cut bait.
Hearing Chiarelli’s pressure where he “gives props to MacT” made me beyond queasy.
What really has changed here?
Maybe Chia has to wait until we miss the playoffs next year to be able to eject them.
FPB94,
Exactly! Everyone wins.
Doug McLachlan,
Yeah. Honestly who cares if the Flames hate you they already wont trade with you anyway. Well except for Ladislav Smid.
Gordon should land a second round pick to a contender at the deadline next year. That would/could be a high second for Boston and we’re done that that crap.
As for the idea of OS for Hamilton we all know Calgary is going to match. Good. This is hockey. Finish your check, Chia!
$8-$8.5 X 4 yrs. Saw the suggestion above was that it takes him right to UFA, perfect. In the unlikely event that Calgary doesn’t sign – all the better.
Compensation of two 1st rounders, 2nd and a 3rd. Go for it. Set it up with as stupid a signing bonus so that the AAV is the $8-$8.5 but that the actual “salary” portion is at the Hall ceiling of $6.
If there are two franchises that should be throwing offer sheet elbows at each other it should be the Oilers and Flames.
Finish your check, Chia!
Chia expects him to be good enough to be in edmonton next year. 7th makes sense. So the opportunity is there for him to earn a 3rd pairing shot and prove he is developing towards 34 or 23.