Edmonton Oilers

[metaldude26]

Probably the best bet for both sides at this point. Gotta think EDM won't get full value for him, unless a team is willing to gamble. Or package him in a bigger trade.

No, which is why he probably has to get packaged. Or maybe they can score someone else's reclamation project. I'm hoping for something amicable like the Ladd-Ruutu deal from way back.

[deantime419]

Gagner has to go. Just doesn't fit.
I'd target Mike Richards or Vladimir Sobotka as possible L2 C's.
Or draft a center and improve D through trade.
Well I guess our D needs to improve regardless.
Klefbom, Marincin, possibly Nurse will be challenging for roster spots. I think they have to leave a spot or two open for at least one of them to be a regular.
Schultz, Ference, Petry each have carved out their spot in the line up. As everyone can see, we're really just missing that one cornerstone dman and our D look fine on paper. Then again, not exactly an easy hole to fill...

[deantime419]

I've come up with a hypothetical offseason plan for the Oilers.

Trade Gagner and a 2015 4th for versteeg (only making 2.2mil), a 2014 3rd and a 2015 1st.

Sign Grabovski for 2-3 years (4.5ish??).
Sign Kulemin for 2-3 years (3ish??).
Sign Markov for 2 years (5ish).
Sign Gilbert again (should be cheap, 2-3).
Sign Fraser or some "tough" 7th dman for one year for cheap.
Re-sign Schultz to a two year bridge deal.
Re-sign Petry. Dunno to what $$ or term but he was our best overall dman so maybe they give him 4mil per for 4 years?

I've concluded it's unlikely we get any stud dman. Gilbert is still serviceable and underrated after only making 900k last year.
Markov will be a good mentor and take some of the offensive pressure off Schultz. Plus it's better than overpaying Niskanen or something on a long term deal when u don't know if he'll ever be good in our system.

Draft Draisatl but don't rush him. If he's ready he can play line 2/3 and Gordon can shift to fourth line.

Don't rush nurse or klefbom (I think Marincin is already penciled in for a roster spot). If they're ready they'll beat out Fraser or Gilbert.

Curious to know other Oilers armchair GMs thoughts on the upcoming offseason.

[lobo1969]

I've come up with a hypothetical offseason plan for the Oilers.

Trade Gagner and a 2015 4th for versteeg (only making 2.2mil), a 2014 3rd and a 2015 1st.

Sign Grabovski for 2-3 years (4.5ish??).
Sign Kulemin for 2-3 years (3ish??).
Sign Markov for 2 years (5ish).
Sign Gilbert again (should be cheap, 2-3).
Sign Fraser or some "tough" 7th dman for one year for cheap.
Re-sign Schultz to a two year bridge deal.
Re-sign Petry. Dunno to what $$ or term but he was our best overall dman so maybe they give him 4mil per for 4 years?

I've concluded it's unlikely we get any stud dman. Gilbert is still serviceable and underrated after only making 900k last year.
Markov will be a good mentor and take some of the offensive pressure off Schultz. Plus it's better than overpaying Niskanen or something on a long term deal when u don't know if he'll ever be good in our system.

Draft Draisatl but don't rush him. If he's ready he can play line 2/3 and Gordon can shift to fourth line.

Don't rush nurse or klefbom (I think Marincin is already penciled in for a roster spot). If they're ready they'll beat out Fraser or Gilbert.

Curious to know other Oilers armchair GMs thoughts on the upcoming offseason.

Wow, a lot of moving parts.... and probably too many Russians, lol!

I'm not sure Chicago would go for that deal. I think if the Oilers want to market Gagner in a trade they should do so more as a winger then a center.
I've also wondered if MacT would go after Brian Boyle (UFA) but he may cost too much as a 4C and Gordon is already solid in 3C spot. But Boyle would be huge in PK, Faceoffs, and size up the middle for the Oil.

[marshal]

I'll chip in.

* Think the Oilers are better-suited to try getting some size and grit in exchange for Gagner. Versteeg is just another small forward that the Oilers don't need. Not only that - he's probably not going to offer much in terms of offence either. I doubt that Gagner on his own would even get a 2015 first-rounder in return from the Blackhawks. Chicago very likely will seek to add a 2nd-line centreman this summer, but I doubt Gagner makes the cut for them in that role. Bowman will probably seek to shed some cap space in order to ensure that Kane and Toews can be extended long-term. Acquiring Gagner means taking on additional salary.

* Personally, I wouldn't be supportive of an attempt to get Grabovski. Have never seen him as a team player and think he's immature. I think he'd be a poor influence in the dressing room for the other guys. I bet Grabovski is going to get $5M+ this summer as he is likely the highest-sought centreman who is eligible for free agency other than Stastny. Think the Oilers should try to get one of Ott/Fiddler/Boyle/McCormick to centre a 3rd/4th line.

* I'd rather see Kulemin acquired over Grabovski. He's more physical, younger and more defensively responsible and getting a player with these attributes is needed. Their roles are different, but the Oilers really need to focus on defending and their bottom-six isn't great. I'd also consider guys like Stempniak/Winnik/Vrbata/Moss for a defending role.

* The Oilers could definitely use a PP QB like Markov. Unfortunately, I'm thinking that Markov isn't going to consider EDM much of a desirable destination if he wants to win. He'd be looked to as a leader for sure, but the Oilers would likely have to overpay considerably to sign him. Probably at $6M+ at least, I'd think. Ideally, I think Markov would be a great addition. He could help mentor Schultz and work with Ference as a leader for a seemingly disjointed team.

* I'll admit I'm biased, but I despised Gilbert when he was an Oiler and it doesn't surprise me at all that he's UFA and near the bottom of the pool for defencemen. He had one good season in EDM and then fell flat on his face. Oilers are much better-off not trying to experiment with him as they did with Grebeshkov.

* The Oilers need to replace Smid or upgrade from what he provided. Think they need to get an Orpik/Greene/Morris type - a top-four/six defender who is extremely physical and will make opponents "pay the price" so to speak. Fraser is a 7th defenceman on pretty much every NHL team. Get more consistency and better all-around ability instead of an AHL guy.

* Absolutely agree about Schultz. Sign him to a two-year deal worth a decent amount as a "tryout" for a possible long-term extension. Really like what Schultz brings offensively, but he needs to improve big-time in his own zone and in terms of physical strength. He could probably benefit from more experience on the blue line.

* If Petry is re-signed, it should be to a one-year deal only. He skates well and *can* move the puck well at times, but his defensive acumen is not good at all. He gets beaten to loose pucks and is out of position a lot. Some games he'll come out hitting hard and motivated and others, he appears indifferent. Unless Petry improves his play significantly, I don't see him as part of the Oilers' core a couple years from now. I think Klefbom, Gernat and Nurse all have more upside compared to Petry.

* I think a top-pairing defenceman is a possibly to acquire, but it's going to cost at least one of Eberle/Hall/RNH/Yakupov. I love Eberle's ability and confidence with the puck, but think Hall and RNH are the only two untouchables on the team. I'd probably offer up Yakupov before Eberle, but either way one of them (plus another piece, likely) would be needed to get a substantial upgrade on the back end. If this year's draft was more highly touted, EDM's 3rd-overall, along with one of the "big four" forwards might get that defenceman, but this isn't the case.

* If the price is acceptable, I'd hope that the Oilers can trade up in the draft to get Ekblad. I realize that this is highly unlikely, but he'd be the best prospect EDM could get. Ekblad is predicted to transition right into the NHL next season and would improve EDM's defence considerably. Not sure if he has Weber/Doughty potential (probably not), but he'd form one-half of a pretty good pairing with Schultz. The EDM media (guys like Staples and Matheson) are pretty high on Draisaitl and the Oilers could use a big pivot for future seasons. I'd agree that Draisaitl shouldn't be rushed. He would undoubtedly need seasoning in the CHL/AHL next year.

* Agree about Klefbom. I was a bit unsure about him being brought up late this past season for fear of exposing him to a turbulent dressing room, but he played well. He needs to continue that kind of play to make it on the team this fall, though.

[deantime419]

Great to see the forum is alive!
Marshal, who do you have in mind for L2 center and what are you hoping Gagner fetches?

Thoughts on the Umberger rumors?
I know Versteeg and Grabo aren't big but they're feisty.
Grabo has played tough minutes before too. And wasn't Versteeg a part of Chicago's checking line in 2010 with Bolland and Ladd?

[marshal]

I'm thinking that the Oilers are gonna have to rely on a trading partner whose depth at centre is as bad or worse than theirs. Anaheim is apparently after a centreman, but it's likely Spezza or they could very well go after Stastny in the summer. Dallas could be a possibility, but I'm sure they want to see how far Seguin and Nichushkin can/will progress.

Nashville is a possible suitor for Gagner in my mind. The Preds are very shallow up the middle and have been having to rely on Fisher/Cullen/Wilson, none of whom are really top-six forwards. Gagner isn't a prototypical "Smashville"-type player, but he could help create offence among their forwards. The Preds have lots of cap space to afford Gagner and I'm sure he'd be able to help out on their PP as well.

In return, I could see Gaustad heading the other way. He's huge at 6'5, 225 lbs and would finally provide the Oilers with a fourth-line centreman with a lot of size who wins more faceoffs than he loses. Gaustad's tenure with the Preds hasn't turned out nearly as well as would have likely been hoped, but neither has Gagner's. The Oilers probably aren't going to get much of return other than a player who can help them out with depth either in the bottom-six among forwards or top-six for defencemen.

I wouldn't be very hopefuly to see Umberger acquired in exchange for Gagner. I don't see the benefit in getting a guy whose play in his own zone isn't a significant upgrade over Gagner. Umberger has size, but he doesn't use it very effectively.

I've never been big on Grabovski. I think he has a shitty attitude and isn't able to take responsibility for any flaws in his game. Don't think he'd be an appreciable asset in the dressing room. I don't see how Versteeg addresses any problems for the Oilers either.

[deantime419]

Versteeg I viewed more as a throw in to give us an actual NHL calibre forward making only 2.2mil than a big solution. The pick was more valuable of the two assets. Plus Chicago would have to give some salary back in a trade I'm assuming.
I viewed Grabo as a stop gap solution while Draisaitl develops. Not the ideal solution but a better fit than Gagner and again at least giving us a quality top 6 forward.
Gaustad is interesting but arguably overpaid for what he's shown in NSH.
I'd prefer that contract to Umberger's but I'm praying Gagner can fetch more than that.

[spoilers]

Am I the last Oilers fan that still likes Gagner? I realize there is an excellent chance he gets moved....and that bums me out! Plus moving him now would be selling low in my opinion. He had a rough year, but in his defence the start of the year was railroaded by that ape Kassian. Then he was brought back too early due to the Oilers desperate need of a C. It didn't seem like he could get things going after that.
oh well...damn, I haven't fully recovered from losing Hemsky yet, not Gagner too!

[golfguy1672]

Am I the last Oilers fan that still likes Gagner? I realize there is an excellent chance he gets moved....and that bums me out! Plus moving him now would be selling low in my opinion. He had a rough year, but in his defence the start of the year was railroaded by that ape Kassian. Then he was brought back too early due to the Oilers desperate need of a C. It didn't seem like he could get things going after that.
oh well...damn, I haven't fully recovered from losing Hemsky yet, not Gagner too!

I like gagner. Think he is valuable player. Not strong enough for centre though and given babe size of the oilers better forwards, he doesn't fit in with them. He could easily go to a situation where he gets sheltered by bigger guys and is on the wing and excel. Just won't happen in Edmonton.

Definitely selling low but if he were playing to a sell high, he wouldn't get dealt

[metaldude26]

Gagner needs the Derick Brassard treatment.

[MXHockey]

They need to move Gagner and acquire a two way center.

[joeb323]

Oilers sign Nikita Nikitin to a 2 year deal, 4.5 mil per season.

Huge overpayment, but they're paying for the short term and the fact that no one wants to play here. While the price is steep, it's a decent stop gap solution until players like Nurse and Klefbom are regulars in the lineup in a couple years.

[Axeman33]

Oilers doing some window shopping on Mark Fayne as well. Would be a solid addition to the back end. Very under rated and solid defensively.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=455686

[MXHockey]

Oilers doing some window shopping on Mark Fayne as well. Would be a solid addition to the back end. Very under rated and solid defensively.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=455686

Don't mind this one bit.........go MacT.