[TRADE] Oilers Pick Up Henrique, Carrick

[SeaDawg]

Which Oiler d pair do you want playing against Eichel or Mackinnon in a 7 game series?

totally agree...but what dman would you have liked the Oilers to acquire who would be capable of such a role?

[Axeman33]

Talk about not addressing team needs at all. Who's Henrique or Carrick an upgrade over?

The team is still 2 dmen short of a top 4 yet they gave away their most valuable trade asset without addressing their biggest need.

I am going to address both of your points because I cant tell if you are just trolling or if you honestly believe both of those statements and require some education on what just happened today.

Addressing team needs.

There is not one team in the NHL that wont tell you that team depth in the playoffs is truly important, especially down the middle, and the Oilers just filled two important parts in one trade, bottom six depth. I fully expect to see Henrique start at 3C with the potential to get some time on the right side on the second line. I will get into that in a minute but first, starting at 3C. Who have the Oilers primarily been rolling out at 3C? Ryan McLeod. This season, there is not one statistical category that Ryan McLeod is better than Henrique in, other that +/-, and I clearly dont need to explain to you why their +/- is variable. Can you honestly tell me you believe Ryan McLeod is a better 3C than Henrique, especially in the playoffs? By all means, please defend your comment there.

Who have the Oilers primarily been rolling out on 4C? Derek Ryan. Dont get me wrong, I love Derek Ryan. I truly believe he's one of the smarter Oilers but again, if you dont think Sam Carrick isn't an upgrade to Derek Ryan, I once again have to wonder what you are thinking. He's a WAY better FOW guy than Ryan, he's a truck out there who hits everything that moves. He has almost twice as many SOG than Ryan and more goals scored. Again, please explain to me how you do not see an upgrade here.

What this also does is allows the Oilers to move guys like McLeod or Ryan (I dont think he's even in the lineup come playoff time, but we'll see) to the wing, and should one of Henrique or Carrick get thrown out, you now have two natural centers who can slide in and take the draw for them.

The one thing I will say is the Oilers still haven't addressed their RW spot on that 2nd line and the only think I can think of is the deals weren't there. The Oilers paid to have 75% of Henrique's salary absolved and 50% of Carrick's. I am not in the war room with Holland but if you think for a minute that he wasn't pursuing a top six RW, then you probably dont follow the Oilers as much as you may think. Do I think this was plan B? Ya, probably, but I don't hate plan B for what this give Edmonton going into the playoffs. Who's to say Henrique doesn't end up on that spot for an opportunity? We'll see how the lines play out.

As far as your "2 dmen short of a top 4", the only guy who I could see them upgrading would be Ceci in their top 4. If you don't think Nurse, Bouchard and Ekholm are not capable of being top 4 Dmen in the NHL, then again, I wonder your motives here. Ceci is not a fancy player, and yes, I would have loved to have Tanev here instead (the rumors had Edmonton offering their 1st round pick and Ceci for Tanev, which was turned down by Calgary) but the price to acquire him would have been so stupid, we would have been here discussing how Edmonton overpaid for Tanev instead. Ceci is not a great Dman, but he's not a bad one and he still has a cheap (by NHL RHD standards) NHL contract for one more year. Something Tanev also didn't offer.

So I do not think they are two Dmen short in their top four. Maybe one, but not two. Top 4 Dmen aren't cheap, especially right handed ones and they would still have needed a team to take back someone like Ceci and it's not like there's a lot of top 4 guys floating around. I am happy they didn't spend the assets to get Sean Walker out of Philly. He wouldn't do what Ceci can offer IMO. I do think the Oilers still acquire one more depth Dman before tomorrow's deadline simply as injury insurance. I think their top 6 are set at this point, and I am fine with their D. It's not as good as some of the other teams but it's still way better than a lot of other so-called contenders too (Cough cough Toronto).

Is their lineup perfect? No. Is it better than it was yesterday morning. Absolutely. Deeper and more experienced? Without a doubt.

Again, are you just trolling or do you need more information to prove your points to be incorrect?

[Canucks_fan18]

I hate the Oilers. Can't stand their local media and fans. However, this team is legit. Everyone worried about Colorado or Vegas is crazy. They almost beat Vegas last year and Vegas is sputtering this year, and I know they got a couple new players but still. The only thing I can see sinking the Oilers ship is if Skinner melts down and he's been playing great lately.

Again, I would love to see the Oilers swept in the 1st round, I just got a feeling this is their year.

[Axeman33]

I hate the Oilers. Can't stand their local media and fans. However, this team is legit. Everyone worried about Colorado or Vegas is crazy. They almost beat Vegas last year and Vegas is sputtering this year, and I know they got a couple new players but still. The only thing I can see sinking the Oilers ship is if Skinner melts down and he's been playing great lately.

Again, I would love to see the Oilers swept in the 1st round, I just got a feeling this is their year.

As an Oiler fan, I can't stand the majority of their fans online either. Their media is no better or worse than any other market. Well, maybe Toronto, Montreal or Boston is worse, but in general all local media have one job to do that and is to promote their team so I am fine with the media. Oiler fans, particularly those online, are simply vial. They complain when the Oilers (primarily Holland) doesn't do anything, and they complain when he does do something because it's never enough. It's annoying to read.

[Invictus]

Which Oiler d pair do you want playing against Eichel or Mackinnon in a 7 game series?

Not going to find a bottom 4 dman capable of stopping those two OR McDavid/Draisaitl.


Really the only one capable of shutting down those players would be Makar.

[Axeman33]

https://twitter.com/TSNRyanRishaug/s...77082057945247

Henrique on left wing with Kane and Draisaitl.
McDavid Hyman and RNH back together.

For those keeping track, he's now an upgrade over Janmark on the 2nd line.

[chuckcouples]

Does adding Henrique and Carrick to the Oilers without giving up a roster player make the team better? Of course it does as they added without giving up anything.

Was this the best use of their first round pick? Absolutely not.

Hanifin went for about the same as the Oilers paid for Henrique and Carrick. Tanev went for less than what the Oilers sent to Anaheim. Sean Walker went for way less than the Oilers sent to Anaheim. That's just a list of guys that have already been traded that would have been a better use of the Oilers first round pick. I am sure there are more dmen out there that would be a big upgrade on Ceci, Kulak or Desharnais that the Oilers could have got for a 1st round pick.

[Axeman33]

Does adding Henrique and Carrick to the Oilers without giving up a roster player make the team better? Of course it does as they added without giving up anything.

Was this the best use of their first round pick? Absolutely not.

Hanifin went for about the same as the Oilers paid for Henrique and Carrick. Tanev went for less than what the Oilers sent to Anaheim. Sean Walker went for way less than the Oilers sent to Anaheim. That's just a list of guys that have already been traded that would have been a better use of the Oilers first round pick. I am sure there are more dmen out there that would be a big upgrade on Ceci, Kulak or Desharnais that the Oilers could have got for a 1st round pick.

They received not one, but two centers, both at 50% retained for their 1st round pick. Who else managed to do that? Sure others added one player for a 1st but they got two and got Anaheim to retain the max on both. Id say that was a 1st well spent.

Not to mention, as I said earlier, no way Calgary was trading either Hanifin or Tanev to Edmonton without an overpayment. Walker wasn't going to help Edmonton. He wasn't the type of Dman they were looking for.

[lobo1969]

As an Oiler fan, I can't stand the majority of their fans online either. Their media is no better or worse than any other market. Well, maybe Toronto, Montreal or Boston is worse, but in general all local media have one job to do that and is to promote their team so I am fine with the media. Oiler fans, particularly those online, are simply vial. They complain when the Oilers (primarily Holland) doesn't do anything, and they complain when he does do something because it's never enough. It's annoying to read.

Agreed 80% of Oiler fans are horrible. Natural born complainers/know-it-alls who I can't stand to be around. Much like the general population of the entire province.

But the local media is fairly even keel though, there are some personalities I don't really like but their opinions aren't constantly outrageous.

[SeaDawg]

Does adding Henrique and Carrick to the Oilers without giving up a roster player make the team better? Of course it does as they added without giving up anything.

Was this the best use of their first round pick? Absolutely not.

Hanifin went for about the same as the Oilers paid for Henrique and Carrick. Tanev went for less than what the Oilers sent to Anaheim. Sean Walker went for way less than the Oilers sent to Anaheim. That's just a list of guys that have already been traded that would have been a better use of the Oilers first round pick. I am sure there are more dmen out there that would be a big upgrade on Ceci, Kulak or Desharnais that the Oilers could have got for a 1st round pick.

They received not one, but two centers, both at 50% retained for their 1st round pick. Who else managed to do that? Sure others added one player for a 1st but they got two and got Anaheim to retain the max on both. Id say that was a 1st well spent.

Not to mention, as I said earlier, no way Calgary was trading either Hanifin or Tanev to Edmonton without an overpayment. Walker wasn't going to help Edmonton. He wasn't the type of Dman they were looking for.

I have to agree with Axe on this one, chuck. I honestly get the frustration in that I'd have been thrilled if we upgraded our second pairing RD. However, I just don't think the trade was out there. No way Calgary was going to deal Tanev to us.

Hanifin plays LD (I think), and I'd prefer Nurse to him. Again, I'm biased but I like Nurse as a 2nd pairing guy.

It takes time to build the defense...but they've tried. They drafted Bouchard and brought him along nicely. They drafted Nurse and although they probably thought he'd be a first pairing guy, it's clear to me he's more a 2nd pairing player. Getting Ekholm was huge and I don't think they get enough credit for that deal.

I think eventually they will find their second pairing RD...it just couldn't happen this year and I'd prefer that they pivoted and got Henrique and Carrick for the playoff run instead of holding onto that 1st round pick.