Fixing The Problems – Part One

First off, I wanna thank Dan Tencer for inadvertently giving me the idea for this series. Last night, Dan tweeted that Friday will be the four year anniversary of the Oilers hitting rock bottom, falling to dead last in the west. Since then, Edmonton has only finished one spot higher and has been tearing us Oilers fans apart.

Over the next three days, I’m going to look towards next fall, and I’m going to attempt the strip this roster and fix the problem. Today, we start with the forwards, tomorrow the defense, and conclude on Friday with goaltenders.

Day One, Forwards:

The Edmonton Oilers have some great forwards, but the unit as a whole, as it was put to me earlier tonight “is simply to built on individual talent.” I couldn’t agree more with that statement. The current depth chart is as follows.

Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

David Perron – Sam Gagner – Nail Yakupov

Ryan Smyth – Boyd Gordon – Ales Hemsky

Luke Gazdic – Mark Arcobello – Ryan Jones

Jesse Joensuu – Anton Lander

Untouchables?:

Yes, there are a few. Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are the Oilers best forwards and should not be moved. The Oilers don’t have a forward with Hall’s ability to push the play, and RNH is coming into his own as a top-line center, something every team badly needs. I’d consider David Perron, the feisty second liner, and Boyd Gordon, the awesome third line center, in this group too.

Hit The Road Jack:

The Oilers have a number of players, and dollars, that will be out before camp next year. First off is Ales Hemsky and his $5 M salary. Hemsky, against my wishes, is not going to get re-signed, and will probably leave in the off-season, opening a spot on the 3rd line. Ryan Smyth and his $2.25 M deal will likely be off the books due to retirement after the season as well, opening the 3rd line LW spot.

I can’t see Ryan Jones and his $1.5 M salary being brought back, while farm hands and possible NHL’ers Steve MacIntyre, Ryan Hamilton and Linus Omark are all as good as gone

Needs:

The Oilers need a lot here. They need a fourth line two-way winger, a third line left and right winger, and arguably need a second line center. If you like Mark Arcobello in that spot, then you need a fourth line center not named Anton Lander or Will Acton.

You also need to make a decision on Sam Gagner. Move him to the wing, keep him at center or move him out of town. It’s one of three options, and I’d hope it is a move out of town or to the wing.

The Oilers will need to add some kind of defense too, and will likely need to trade a forward. I’d put Sam Gagner, Nail Yakupov and Jordan Eberle in the possible on the move category along with the upcoming 1st rounder. They need a good defender, and you’ll only get that with one of the above pieces

Apply Here!:

Who can fill these jobs? Let’s take a look at some possible free agent and trade targets, shall we?

3rd Line LW: Ducks forward Daniel Winnik, a chippy defensive forward, would be a good get for this spot to play along side Boyd Gordon, and would be my top choice. He brings the needed sandpaper, size and physical play. Benoit Pouliot, a big body with skill, Danny Cleary and Mason Raymond are all decent options as well. Ideally though, a guy like Winnik is MacT’s top target.

3rd Line RW: I’d consider dealing right now for Panthers’ forward Scottie Upshall. He’s a decent two-way forward with some skill and is a pest to play against. He’s signed for two more years as well at $3.5 M a year, so he’s affordable too.

Free agent wise, my top target would be Leafs forward Nikolai Kulemin, who has some size, good defensive ability, and a little bit of scoring. He’ll likely be on the market too, and would look good on a line with Boyd Gordon. Boy, a Winnik-Gordon-Kulemin line would get me all kinds of excited…

Other free agent options include Coyotes grinder David Moss, Rangers captain Ryan Callahan (A little unrealistic, but hey…) and Flames forward Lee Stempniak.

4th Line Winger: Doesn’t look like Ryan Jones will return, and Jesse Joensuu has been very up and down this season. As a result, I could see Edmonton adding another bottom six forward, who would replace one of the “non-factors” MacT talked about last April.

Options include in-house draft pick Tyler Pitlick, who looked good in camp and was decent in a call-up stint this fall. He recovers and gets back at it the rest of the season, he might be the right guy. Other options include forwards like Chris Thorburn of Winnipeg and Steve Bernier of the Devils.

So What Now?:

Well in my mind, the following depth chart is what would help the Oilers garner a little more success next season. I came up with this based off both my personal opinion, and things that Craig MacTavish has said before. I also looked at old MacT rosters to see the kind of teams he liked to coach.

Are there bold or sexy changes here? No, not really, just the addition of quality NHL players, which is what this team needs right now. Some veterans too, which is nice. The Oilers need to start fixing this roster via trade. That being said, I’d be looking to off-load forwards and add defense. There are plenty of forwards that fit the team needs in free agency. Clear space for’em now…Here we go…

Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

David Perron – Mark Arcobello – Nail Yakupov/Sam Gagner

Daniel Winnik – Boyd Gordon – Nikolai Kulemin

Tyler Pitlick – Anton Lander – Jesse Joensuu

Luke Gazdic

Tomorrow, we look at fixing the Oilers blue-line problems.