One of the more debated things in Oil Country is the core of the Edmonton Oilers. Is this core good enough? Can the Oilers win with Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov as the big four forwards? Are these guys the reason for the terrible results seen during this rebuild? Will Edmonton move one of these guys for help in other areas this off-season?
First off, let me say, it is NOT the fault of the core why the organization is where it is. The blame falls to management, which has failed year in and year out to properly insulate these players. They’ve all been put in positions to fail, and have not had the veteran help that is needed to succeed.
John Tavares, Steven Stamkos, Patrick Kane, these guys have all had the veteran help that the core in Edmonton simply has never received. To blame the misfortunes of this organization on these guys is absolutely absurd, it’s inaccurate, and it misses the point.
This is the conclusion that bad organizations come to. None of these guys have hit their prime yet, trading one of them now would simply be a waste of time for everyone involved. You don’t dive in the standings like this team has, only to trade off the ‘reward’ for all the terrible hockey. You build around these guys, something Edmonton has not done yet.
On Sunday, Matt Henderson of Oilers Nation had a great post on keeping the core together, while Jonathan Willis touched on it as well in this piece, also over at ON. In both pieces lies a quote from Oilers’ GM Craig MacTavish from Saturday night, where MacT gave his thoughts on this group.
“Well absolutely. I think those players that you mentioned (Hall, Eberle, RNH), including Yak, are players that are very deserving of our organizational support and I certainly appreciate their commitment to our organization over this lengthy rebuild that we’ve been all enduring. Those players are going to be very well supported by the organization and that’s my job.”
If there is any one singular positive to the Craig MacTavish era to this point, this is it. Trading the core players for pennies on the dollar is just an awful idea. Dumping Taylor Hall now? A complete waste of time, same goes for dumping Jordan Eberle, something that was mentioned far too many times this past season.
Trading RNH? I’ll need to take some time off. Nail Yakupov? I thought we just figured this kid out!
The point is, trading from the core right now is just not a smart idea. I know, I know, I know, I’ve wrote about how the mix is all wrong before, and I still believe that, but putting that on the core isn’t right. The mix is wrong, but it’s the mix of complimentary players that is the problem here.
Edmonton can still add a big center without ruining the core, and they can a veteran two-way winger too without touching this group. Same goes on the defensive end, real help can be added without trading one of these big four players, I promise.
Taylor Hall’s trade value might be at an all-time low right now, while Nail Yakupov’s value isn’t close to the potential of the player at this time. Moving one of these guys for pennies on the dollar would only push this rebuilding process back another few years.
Sure, you might get a top-four defender for Jordan Eberle, but who plays on the top-line in the right wing spot? Is Teddy Purcell the guy you want to move up there? I don’t think so. Sure, you’d fill one hole, but you would simply just be opening up another hole. You simply can’t move one of these guys right now.
A time may come where trading a Jordan Eberle or Nail Yakupov makes sense, but I’m here to tell you that now is just not that time. The Oilers aren’t deep enough for that kind of move, and they have yet to set this core up with a competent roster than can supplement this group. Giving up on them before that happens is pure incompetence.
I don’t agree with Craig MacTavish on a number of things, but we are on the same page here. MacT understands that he has a core group, and understands that moving away from them is a massive mistake.
My favorite part of the quote? Like Henderson mentions in his piece, is the final part of that. MacTavish understands what his job is, and that is to support these guys. If Edmonton wants to turn things around, supporting their core is the most important thing.
That means giving these guys an actual starting goalie, giving them a real top-pairing defender, and giving them actual depth at the center position. No more rushing young players, actual NHL players who can support these guys are needed. Is MacTavish starting to realize this? I’m not sure, but this quote is certainly implying that the message might have sunk in.
Does MacTavish live up to his word and support this group over the summer? I’m not sure, but what we do know is that MacT has made a decision on this group, and it’s a vote of confidence. One question from the audit has apparently been answered, the Oilers aren’t blaming their failures on the core. That’s likely the correct verdict.
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