freelancer

Edmonton • Canada • 25 Years Old • Male

Free Agency Bits and "Would You Draft Me" Answers

At the bottom of this blog I will have the answers for "Would You Draft Me" original blog can be found here http://my.hockeybuzz.com/...83&post_id=17880

We are one day closer to the draft and one day closer to the horrifying realization that Chiarelli has no intention of "improving" the roster anymore than he has. To recap he has replaced Eberle's production with a player who has never hit Eberle's level of production, and resigned Russell until Judgement Day. It seems Chiarelli is content with the belief that players like Benning, Nurse, Slepeshev, and Caggiula will all improve and develop in a straight line.

Because that is usually how these things work.

Hopefully I will be proven wrong and we can see the Oilers make a few smart moves during free agency and acquire veteran depth in areas of dire need. The biggest challenge facing the Oilers in Free Agency will be to acquire useful players while not going too long on term. "Stop gap" will be the key term here. Depending on how the team intends to utilize Strome the areas of concern are, in order:

1.) #2 Right Shot Defenseman
2.) Top 6 Right Wing
3.)#3 Centre

On defense the only name that I would find agreeable is Michael Stone. He is coming off a rough season and therefore could be had for cheaper. He is the type of player that could fill in a top 4 role (did so with Arizona and Calgary) but when Sekera returns could be ideal on a bottom pairing. He is a volume shooter and would replace Sekera while he is out on the second PP unit.
COST: I would offer Stone 2 years at 3.25 per.

At centre ideally the team needs another right handed player but I would be less picky about that. Hanzal, Bonino, and Boyle are all names that would provide some much needed depth but all three also probably fall into the category of aiming for long term deals. The Oilers were aiming for Boyle at the deadline and I wouldn't be surprised to see them push for him again.
COST: I would offer Boyle 3 years at 3 million per.

Right wing is arguably the worst spot for the Oilers right now. Their best right winger should be playing centre and their newly acquired right wing has had issues even scoring at a top 6 pace. Combine that with hoping for players like Slepeshev and Puljujarvi to take big steps forward and the holes start to add up.

At right wing I am suggesting one year deals for a player such as Iginla, Jagr, or Doan. Iginla would be my first choice as he showed he still has some gas in the tank when he was traded to LA. At worst he is a guy who can play on the third line and at best he could end up playing on McDavid's wing.
COST: I would offer Iginla a one year 4.5 million dollar deal.

Combine all that together and here is a potential opening night roster.

Maroon - McDavid - Draisaitl
Lucic - RNH - Iginla
Caggiula- Boyle - Strome
Pouliot - Letestu - Slepeshev

Klefbom - Larsson
Russell - Stone
Nurse - Benning

Talbot

Thoughts? I'm assuming Draisaitl get's something in the 7.5-8 million a year range which even with the new additions gives the Oilers some wiggle room. That second pairing does not give me a huge amount of confidence but I guess the hope would be that Nurse and Benning take strides forward and can take on more ice time.

I'll wrap this one up fast with the answers from my mystery draft players.

Jero Sueket = Joey Hishon - a bust that was drafted #17 in 2010

Derek Daniel Coga = David Pasternak - drafted #25 in 2014 and has developed into a key player for the Bruins.

Ravee N. Smith = Sven Baertschi - drafted #13 in 2011. Has taken some strides in the past couple years scoring a career high 18 goals last season with the Canucks.

Ziggy Brandon = Valeri Nichuskin - #10 in 2013. Despite some success, issues with his coach has seen him move to the KHL. NHL future unknown.

Tyler Hall = Lawson Crouse - #11 overall in 2015. Too early to know his ceiling but managed 12 points in 72 games with Coyotes.

Jason Laffsfleur = Vladamir Tarasenko - drafted #16 in 2010 and arguably the best player taken in that draft.

This was a fun experiment, thanks to those who took a crack at it!

Thanks for reading!

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