Who might the oilers zone in on at Defence?

[The Black Panther]

Trade route currently Edmonton Oilers’ best option to improve defence
BY JIM MATHESON, EDMONTON JOURNALMAY 15, 2015


Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli needs to identify possible peddling partners, deal from forward depth to boost blueline


EDMONTON — How do the Edmonton Oilers get better in goal and on defence?
What is the bigger priority or are they inextricably tied?
Was Ben Scrivens’s .893 save percentage and 3.09 goal average in his 55 games, not nearly good enough in a league where .910 is the usual bar, because his consistency wavered or because the Oilers just give up half a dozen gold-plated chances every game because the puck is in their end too long and Carey Price would look bad, too?
Probably both. If Scrivens had a .920 save percentage and a 2.50 goals-against average in those 55 games, they would feel he’s a legitimate No. 1 and they wouldn’t have five or six different plans of attack on how to upgrade by the draft, albeit taking a leap of faith on backups somewhere else.
On the other hand, if the Oilers had a legitimate Top 2 defenceman who could play 25 minutes a night, they would be in fat city. But they do not. They used Justin Schultz and Oscar Klefbom as their top defensive pairing last season, but they’re in over their heads.
The chances of getting one of those in their prime is slim, for sure.
So, they have to trade for a defenceman, but one that’s considerably older. It’s no secret the Oilers are eyeing the Chicago Blackhawks’ Brent Seabrook, 30, because he has another year on his contract at $5 million before he becomes an unrestricted free agent, and the ’Hawks are once again in a major cap squeeze for next year and beyond.
Maybe there’s some soft interest in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Dion Phaneuf, also 30, but he’s starting a six-year, $41-million deal this upcoming season.
Is he in Seabrook’s league as a Top 2 defenceman? Probably not.
Here’s what the Oilers could be doing to upgrade their defence, even if it’s not landing a legitimate Top 2 guy. They should try to get a very good No. 3, who is young and can play big minutes.
Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher, who needs a young scorer with Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville coming up dry in the playoffs, and Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli, who needs a defenceman who can eat up minutes, should be on the phone to each other.
Chiarelli, who has never had trouble with small defencemen (see Torey Krug and Brad Marchand in Boston), should be making a strong pitch for Tyler Ennis’s best buddy Jared Spurgeon, a solid No. 3 National Hockey League defenceman with strong possession numbers.
And Fletcher should be asking about winger Nail Yakupov because Chiarelli may not be married to the young Oilers as former GM Craig MacTavish was.
Would Chiarelli at least entertain that, most likely asking for a sweetener because Yakupov has more cachet as a first overall draft pick? Maybe.
The Wild like Spurgeon, 25, only his contract is up after next season and he’s a restricted free-agent. They have 20-year-old Matt Dumba, their third-pairing guy and power-play pointman, working at increasing his minutes, and another young Swede, Christian Folin, who played 40 league games.
Spurgeon, who averaged 22 ½ minutes in ice-time per game this past season, may be the best small defenceman in the league with his smarts and the leverage he gets to fend off bigger guys. He’s a better player today than Schultz is.

He makes $3.6 million right now and will be looking for a contract n the $4.5-million range, which is what ex-Oilers defenceman Jeff Petry will get from either Montreal or from another team this summer.
We all know Yakupov was better this past Oilers season with 33 points, but he has played three years now, and while he is an exciting, passionate, Top 9 forward, he’s not necessarily Top 6 in terms of production. Is Yakupov going to be just a 40-45 point NHL player when he gets a little older, or will he be 60-70 points?
The Oilers have lots of holes; they have few at forward.
Would you entertain that trade possibility?
There’s another wrinkle, of course. What if Arizona picks Connor McDavid’s centre/teammate Dylan Strome at No. 3 in the draft, somebody the Leafs covet. Would Toronto, as some have suggested, be on the horn to Chiarelli to ask about centre Leon Draisaitl for the No. 4 choice which, if the Oilers were in a listening mood, would then give them a chance to draft Noah Hanifin at Boston College or Ivan Provorov, the Brandon D man.
Chiarelli, who has seen Draisaitl win the playoff MVP in the Western Hockey League for the Kelowna Rockets, isn’t going to bite on that one. Really, the Oilers have to give Draisaitl another full pro season to see where he fits in, even with McDavid coming.
As for the goalie, do the Oilers have to think of trading their extra pick in Round 1, No. 16 overall, the one they received from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the David Perron trade, to get that hole filled? 0r would the 33rd overall in June and, say, defenceman Martin Marincin get that done just as easily? Maybe the second option.

[Zorro]

They had Jeff Petry and he looked awful In an Oilers jersey.. Now Montreal all of a sudden loves him!!

Would Mike Green, Paul Martin or Christian Ehrhoff be an option??

[PrairieDog]

Would Mike Green, Paul Martin or Christian Ehrhoff be an option??

They need a solid stabilizing presence on the blue line, IMO none of those guys are that.

Seabrook would be great for them but how realistic is that? And would they ever be able to sign him? They need someone mid-long term.

[pmorrow]

They had Jeff Petry and he looked awful In an Oilers jersey.. Now Montreal all of a sudden loves him!!

Would Mike Green, Paul Martin or Christian Ehrhoff be an option??

A good dman surrounded by horrible dmen, horrible centers and a horrible goalie will look bad.

I think any of those three would help Edmonton given what they have now, but the pricetag would hurt their long term plans.

[Zorro]

They need a solid stabilizing presence on the blue line, IMO none of those guys are that.

Seabrook would be great for them but how realistic is that? And would they ever be able to sign him? They need someone mid-long term.

Chris Pronger retired.. Shea Weber is not available.. Sooooooooooooooooooo, ??

Chicago won't be letting Seabrook go.. They will cost cut in other area's..

[The Bottlenecker]

I wouldn't be surprised if they go after Petry again. He is a UFA come July 1, isn't he? Maybe he will see the changes / acquisitions (#1 overall) that have been made in Edmonton recently as positive, and want to go back to the team where he played for almost five seasons. It could happen.

[Axeman33]

I wouldn't be surprised if they go after Petry again. He is a UFA come July 1, isn't he? Maybe he will see the changes / acquisitions (#1 overall) that have been made in Edmonton recently as positive, and want to go back to the team where he played for almost five seasons. It could happen.

Considering the way Petry was handled in Edmonton, I doubt he would want to come back and I wouldn't blame him.

I don't think he leaves Montreal.

[metaldude26]

Petry won't be back. They could've kept him with a reasonable offer but they seemed intent on moving him. Looks like Montreal wants to re-sign him now, which is great for Petry.

I'd chuck $5 million a year at Andrej Sekera. He might be the prize of this summer's unrestricted free agent market. I see a lot of similarities to Anton Stralman from last summer. Solid puck mover, with excellent possession stats, still in his 20's. That's a guy who can help you now and down the line, assuming you can convince him to sign.

[YzermansLegacy]

This all comes down to Schultz in my eyes, and more specifically, PC's outlook for him.

If PC believes Schultz can become a top-2 guy, then adding any solid veteran (Martin, Ehrhoff, Franson) from FA is a solid move. Between one of those FA's, Klef, Marincin, Fayne you've got your 3-6 guys. If Nurse can be a top-2 and Schultz can be a top-2 - the Oil are in pretty good shape.

The real issue is if PC doesn't see Schultz as a potential top-pair guy. Then adding another 4-6 is nice for the short term, but doesn't address the top-pairing hole. (Especially since Nurse only projects to be top-pairing - he isn't yet).

Then the Oil are stuck having to a) find an available top-pairing guy and b) paying a hefty price to land him. Seabrook would be an ideal fit, but like others said, I don't think he'll be available this year. I don't personally like Phaneuf as the go-to guy on D. Spurgeon, etc are middle-pairing short-term upgrades.

So I think more realistically, PC will be forced to deal one of his kids for young D who projects to be a top-pairing guy. Jones in NSH likely commands Draisaitl+. Gudbranson in FLA might take Yaks. Same for Larsson out of NJ. Bogo/Risto just aren't going to be available from BUF and I don't see WPG moving anyone but Toby (who isn't what the Oil need).

If they pull the trigger on a mid-tier FA, then perhaps PC is giving Schultz a longer leash to prove himself. If they don't, then I think PC will move one of the kids to get that young stud D to round out the Nurse/Klef/Schultz/Marincin future. Fun to watch what'll happen for sure!

[Doug Glatt]

The Oil should go hard after Cody Franson. I think he is the best all-around free agent D. They have plenty of cap space and it's time for them to step up and get serious about bringing in some veteran talent to bridge the gap to all those talented prospects.

[JagrBomb]

The Oil should go hard after Cody Franson. I think he is the best all-around free agent D. They have plenty of cap space and it's time for them to step up and get serious about bringing in some veteran talent to bridge the gap to all those talented prospects.

and then reunite him with phaneuf!

one can only dream.

[Doug Glatt]

and then reunite him with phaneuf!

one can only dream.

Not an outrageous idea, a decent one really. I think Phaneuf is still a good player, he got caught in the gravity well of the black hole that opened up beneath the Leafs, and a fresh start outside the overheated media cauldron of TO might be just what he needs. The Leafs are shopping him and there is no doubt the Oil have plenty of attractive assets to make a deal.

What the Oil really need is for the same great situation that the Isles fell into last year, where a couple of cap-strapped teams will give you an entire top pair of D in exchange for peanuts. That event lifted the Isles to finally achieve their potential as a team.

[metaldude26]

The Oil should go hard after Cody Franson. I think he is the best all-around free agent D. They have plenty of cap space and it's time for them to step up and get serious about bringing in some veteran talent to bridge the gap to all those talented prospects.

I don't get the love affair with Franson. He's never been a strong possession guy. He's productive on the power play and a physical presence but it has never translated to five-on-five play. I thought it was a mistake for the Predators to give up what they did for Franson. Some of that was because of Nashville's already obvious strength on defense but it also spoke to Franson's overrated status.

Right now, I'd say Franson is a better version of what Justin Schultz is for the Oilers. Upgrading that is fine as long as they don't blow their wad to do it. The issue I have is that it's also redundant. I think I'd rather play the bridge contract game with Schultz and hope he grows into a Franson (or better) than to pay the UFA price for Franson over a longer deal.

I do think that there is a team out there that could use a guy like Franson but that team needs to have a lot more stability on the rest of their roster. Not sure they have the cap space but I like the thought of Franson on the Canucks. They could use an offensive guy like Franson on their power play and have some consistent stay-at-homers who could help insulate him.

[Axeman33]

I honestly wouldn't hate Phaneuf in Edmonton, if the Leafs are willing to eat some of that crappy salary.

Phaneuf at $5M makes sense. Phaneuf at $7M? No thanks.

[Doug Glatt]

Yes it was a head-scratcher for Nashville to give up so much for a guy that very obviously had no place on their team. But I think Franson is a good top pair option for a team like the Oil. He puts up solid offensive numbers, can be a monster at times. His eagerness to hit people is an area of leadership that a timid young team like Edmonton could benefit from. I guess it all depends on cap hit and term, like always. The Oilers have to get serious about their back end, signing Franson out of FA if no trade develops would be an expensive but useful upgrade. Then re-sign Schultz and things look quite a bit better.