Canadian T-Deadline Gameplan: Part II of IV-Edmonton Oilers
Posted 10:13 AM ET | Comments 13
With the NHL trade deadline fast approaching, and Canadian hockey fans everywhere stockpiling the beer and getting the work-escape plans ready, I thought that I would analyze each Canadian teams game plan for trade deadline day, highlighting each teams needs, possible trade bait, and what players they could be targeting. Yesterday, I will did the Calgary Flames (See Archives). TODAY: Edmonton Oilers. Saturday: Montreal Canadians. Sunday: Ottawa Senators. Monday: Toronto Maple Leafs. Tuesday: Vancouver Canucks
Edmonton Oilers:
Needs:
Prospects: With the exception of centre, the Oilers have holes at almost every position on the prospect charts. They severly lack any quality winger prospects with the exception of Slava Trukhno and Devan Dubnyk may not be the future starting goaltender the he looked to be when the Oilers drafted him 14th overall in 2004.
Draft Picks: In this years draft, Edmonton has no second or third round pick and their first rounder from Anaheim figures to be a bottom ten pick. The possibility that they traded Steve Stamkos for Dustin Penner is looking to be very possible and with only 4 picks in this deep draft, the Oilers could use a few more.
Trade Bait:
Jarrett Stoll: Stoll has been rumored to be on the block for a while now as he has struggled so far this season. However teams seeking a gritty, two-way centre to centre their second line would be willing to part with a pick/prospect to get Stoll away from the Oilers.
Fernando Pisani: Pisani has had a rough season, missing 26 games with Ulcerative colitis and struggling in his return. Pisani has never been a big regular season contributor though, rather coming up big during the playoffs. Teams looking for a player who doesn’t shy from the defensive part of the game and can contribute in the playoffs should show some interest in the 31 year old. His salary, 2.5 million till 09/10 is a big deterrent though.
Dwayne Roloson: With 29 year old Matthieu Garon finally finding a home in Edmonton, Roloson has found himself spending most nights on the bench. He is still a good goaltender and any team who lacks playoff experience between the pipes (ie. Pittsburgh) could show an interest in the aging netminder although, again his salary is likely to turn off teams with cap issue as he still has another season at 3 million remaining. If he isn’t traded, K-Lowe will likely buy him out over the summer.
Steve Staios: An aging defenseman, Staios plays with a hard hitting defensive style, although he can still put up decent offensive numbers. Hes found himself falling on the depth charts as Mac-T is giving his younger players more ice-time. He has a cap hit of 2.7 million till the 10/11 season and with the injury to Souray, K-Lowe may be hesitant to deal him
Geoff Sanderson: Another aging veteran at the age of 35, Sanderson wouldn’t bring much return to the Oilers, but he would still be of value to a playoff bound team seeking some offensive depth.
Possible Target Players:
Brian McGrattan: With McGrattan finding himself in the press box on most nights and Chris Neil usually assuming the role of enforcer, McGrattan, who is a RFA, won’t likely be resigned by Murray and could be on the way out. Edmonton, who has needed an enforcer ever since letting Laraque walk, could use him to protect younger players like Gagner .
Summary:
Kevin Lowes contract happy finger following the Cup run has hurt this team. In fear of losing his core players to UFA, he gave them all more money than they are worth. The best that the Oiler fans can hope for now is that Anaheim loses in the first round, giving them at least a first round pick in between 15th-22nd position and pray that Anaheim doesn’t win the lottery with the Penner pick. Your best bet for deadline day is that Lowe deals 2-3 roster players for picks and prospects and perhaps brings in a tough guy like Brian McGrattan to keep opposing players from taking cheap shots at players. Also, while not likely, MacT could be on the chopping block as much of the Oilers injury woes (mostly shoulder, head and knee injuries) can be linked to the bruising run-and-gun style of hockey that he preaches
Edmonton Oilers:
Needs:
Prospects: With the exception of centre, the Oilers have holes at almost every position on the prospect charts. They severly lack any quality winger prospects with the exception of Slava Trukhno and Devan Dubnyk may not be the future starting goaltender the he looked to be when the Oilers drafted him 14th overall in 2004.
Draft Picks: In this years draft, Edmonton has no second or third round pick and their first rounder from Anaheim figures to be a bottom ten pick. The possibility that they traded Steve Stamkos for Dustin Penner is looking to be very possible and with only 4 picks in this deep draft, the Oilers could use a few more.
Trade Bait:
Jarrett Stoll: Stoll has been rumored to be on the block for a while now as he has struggled so far this season. However teams seeking a gritty, two-way centre to centre their second line would be willing to part with a pick/prospect to get Stoll away from the Oilers.
Fernando Pisani: Pisani has had a rough season, missing 26 games with Ulcerative colitis and struggling in his return. Pisani has never been a big regular season contributor though, rather coming up big during the playoffs. Teams looking for a player who doesn’t shy from the defensive part of the game and can contribute in the playoffs should show some interest in the 31 year old. His salary, 2.5 million till 09/10 is a big deterrent though.
Dwayne Roloson: With 29 year old Matthieu Garon finally finding a home in Edmonton, Roloson has found himself spending most nights on the bench. He is still a good goaltender and any team who lacks playoff experience between the pipes (ie. Pittsburgh) could show an interest in the aging netminder although, again his salary is likely to turn off teams with cap issue as he still has another season at 3 million remaining. If he isn’t traded, K-Lowe will likely buy him out over the summer.
Steve Staios: An aging defenseman, Staios plays with a hard hitting defensive style, although he can still put up decent offensive numbers. Hes found himself falling on the depth charts as Mac-T is giving his younger players more ice-time. He has a cap hit of 2.7 million till the 10/11 season and with the injury to Souray, K-Lowe may be hesitant to deal him
Geoff Sanderson: Another aging veteran at the age of 35, Sanderson wouldn’t bring much return to the Oilers, but he would still be of value to a playoff bound team seeking some offensive depth.
Possible Target Players:
Brian McGrattan: With McGrattan finding himself in the press box on most nights and Chris Neil usually assuming the role of enforcer, McGrattan, who is a RFA, won’t likely be resigned by Murray and could be on the way out. Edmonton, who has needed an enforcer ever since letting Laraque walk, could use him to protect younger players like Gagner .
Summary:
Kevin Lowes contract happy finger following the Cup run has hurt this team. In fear of losing his core players to UFA, he gave them all more money than they are worth. The best that the Oiler fans can hope for now is that Anaheim loses in the first round, giving them at least a first round pick in between 15th-22nd position and pray that Anaheim doesn’t win the lottery with the Penner pick. Your best bet for deadline day is that Lowe deals 2-3 roster players for picks and prospects and perhaps brings in a tough guy like Brian McGrattan to keep opposing players from taking cheap shots at players. Also, while not likely, MacT could be on the chopping block as much of the Oilers injury woes (mostly shoulder, head and knee injuries) can be linked to the bruising run-and-gun style of hockey that he preaches
I agree they would need a few prospects make them strong in years to come however now let them dally away as a mediocre team.
Edmonton is the perfect place for McGrattan.McGrattan for Sanderson is a pretty good trade IMO
Um, the Oilers do not need prospects at all. They are stocked full of great prospects at every single position. That statement is completely false. The Oilers are so stock full of prospects that they were willing to give up their picks in the first three rounds this year for Penner.Forwards:Centers - Cogliano, Gagner, Pouliot, Schremp, O'MarraWingers - Brodziak, Nilsson, JF Jacques, Bodie, Nash, TrukhnoDefence - Gilbert, Grebs, Chorney, Plante, Syvret, PeckhamI'm sure I am forgetting some, but the cupboard is hardly bare in Edmonton. This team needs a superstar forward, and that's it. Everything else can be provided internally as these prospects develop - it will take a couple of seasons, but mark my words, this team will be DEADLY in 2-3 seasons if a superstar can be traded for or emerges from within the system.
sheck, half these guys you're listing off are NOT impact players and prospects do NOT equate to success... just ask Florida. Sure I'd love to count Jay Harrison and Darryl Boyce as bona fide players, but even if they make the show, they aren't going to make a big impact. Prospects are always an asset regardless of organizational depth, the more prospects you have, the more able you are to parlay them into assets later if you find that you don't need them. There is a lot more wrong with Edmonton than just lacking a great forward, Vancouver is a team that just needs a great forward... Edmonton needs a helluva lot more.
Actually, there isnt as much wrong with the Oilers this year as the media makes it out to be. Most of the problems have been due to injury AGAIN. Last I checked, the Oilers were sitting at around 230 Man-Games lost to injury this season. And these are not players who are third and fourth line players. We have lost Pitkanen, Greene, Moreau, and Pisani for lenghtly periods of time this season, as well as Horcoff, Souray, and Torres to season ending injuries. I think that it is a huge testament to the depth of the organization that this team is sitting at the .500 mark right now.Also, I never said that the above prospects were ALL going to turn into elite/impact players, but saying that Edmonton's primary need is more prospects just isn't true. Their primary need is a 90 point a season forward, and we all know those don't grow on trees. I just hope that KLowe can pull off some kind of a deal to bring in the elite scoring forward that this team needs.
Sorry, I should point out my own mistake here. "And these are not players who are third and fourth line players." Moreau and Pisani are for sure third liners, but my point is that the vet core of this team has been injured for most o the season, relying on the kids to hold the ship together. Considering the team is at .500, I believe things are very positive in EDM right now.
Sorry Tyler_312 your wrong.Lowe could try to trade Reaseoner
sheck: Like I said: the Oilers don't have much prospects other then at centre. Young players don't qualify as prospects. Players who are not playing at the NHL level. I used hockeysfuture.com in regards to prospects. Much of the others that you list aren't going to amount to much in the NHL. Forwards: Centers - Cogliano, Gagner, Pouliot, Schremp, O'Marra(I said other then at centre) Wingers - Brodziak (No longer a prospect), Nilsson (His rookie season was 2 years ago), JF Jacques (Projected to be a 3rd liner at best), Bodie (Projected to be a 4th liner at best), Nash (Is a centre), Trukhno (Like I said, other than Trukhno) Defence - Gilbert (Age 25 and fulltime NHLer: Not a prospect), Grebs(Age 24, Same case as Gilbert) Chorney, Plante (Both are quality prospects although Plante is struggling in the WHL), Syvret, Peckham (Both are projected to be 7th defenceman at best)The Oilers have a great young NHL line-up and should have a bright future, but other then those playing in the NHL, and at centre, the Oiler lack the strength at almost every position
and Joey Moss, you're right, they probably would trade him, I missed him when I was writing this thing.
Sure young players qualify as prospects. Why wouldn't they? Most of these guys are under 25 and have less than a full season in the NHL under their belts - that doesn't qualify as a prospect? That's like saying Nick Foligno isn't a prospect anymore because he has played 37 games. I completely believe that Foligno is still a prospect, don't you? The Oilers just had three first round selections last year and there is certainly enough depth right now from a young player/prospect persepective. Lowe needs to get us a high profile forward. That is his first priority for sure. Also, you cite hockeys future, where the Oilers are listed at 7th in the league with regard to their prospects. I wouldn't call that bad, would you?
LOL - I just realized that we are simply debating semantics here! I definitely agree with your trade bait section. All of those players could be dealt. Although I doubt anyone will take Roli's SCF hangover contract, Steady Steve would be a great pickup for a lot of playoff bound clubs. I still disagree with the propects comments, though, but I guess our definitions of a prospect/young player differ. :)
I'm gonna have to disagree with your rosy coloured painting of the Oiler's season... injuries are an excuse. I'm so tired of teams claiming injuries as a season destroyer. Yes, it really sucks that Souray and Horcoff have long term injuries. But really, no one seems to care that injuries have played a serious role in the downfall of the Maple Leafs with them losing Toskala, McCabe, Kubina, Colaiacovo, Antropov, Ponikarovsky, Steen, Tucker, Wellwood for periods (some extended) during the season. Now I will be the first one to admit that this Toronto team blows, but its not injuries that makes them blow, injuries just amplify the problem... its the same in Edmonton... injuries magnify the holes that exist on a flawed roster.
on the bright side, Edmonton, unlike Toronto, DOES have some pretty strong young players and prospects and the future will be brighter...