Shea Weber To Edmonton? Maybe?

So it seems that the perennial trade winds are blowing. As much, or even more so than, Hemsky getting traded. Or Sam Gagner packing his bags. Way more than Eberle catching a plane to Philadelphia or Yakupov jumping ship. Once again it’s the time of year that the “Shea Weber traded out of Nashville” talk starts coming. The best part being it will continue for the next four months. Yay. I for one am just as tired of them as some. Even though it seems that the majority keeps a glimmer of hope. So right on cue, here comes the Weber to Edmonton talk, once again.

Honestly enough, even though most don’t make it past the Oilers need a premier defender. A trade between Nashville and Edmonton does make a lot more sense than not. Nashville is a team that drafts and develops Elite level defenders. Just look at a short list of guys that have come from the Predators. While drafted by Los Angeles, Kimmo Timonen didn’t play a game until he was traded to Nashville for peanuts. Dan Hamhuis, Ryan Suter, Roman Josi, Shea Weber, Karlis Skrastins, Kevin Klein, Cody Franson, Ryan Ellis and now Seth Jones. While half are elite NHL talents, the rest have had or will have, lengthy NHL careers as very good NHL defenders.

The Predators are a team that have a very long list of seeing potential in defenders and being right for the most part. The problem is that they just can’t seem to be able to draft elite offensive talent. Their longest serving forward was traded this Trade Deadline in David Legwand. While not an elite player, he was a very good two way guy for Nashville. Same went for Martin Erat. The most elite guy they drafted was Radulov and I think everyone knows how that ended. But they just haven’t been able to figure out how to draft offensive guys. Their top point getter is their captain, Shea Weber. For a team that has excellent defense and a top 3 goaltender in NHL, they could use some skilled players.

That’s when Edmonton enters.

We are a team that, while young and not their yet, have guys with elite level talent. problem is we have way too many of the same thing. So, while 28 other teams would be banging down the doors for a shot at Weber, this is one time the Oilers could have their foot inside the door. The problem that continues is what it would take to pry a guy like Weber from Nashville, if you think for one second he could be. That’s were Edmontonians and Oilers fans abroad really have to give their heads a shake. They think yakupov or Eberle should land a Shea Weber. No (insert offensive slang here) Way!

While the city is still emotionally damaged from a horrible split with Chris Pronger. They do remember how good he was. But they mostly remember that we got him for a roster player and two prospects that were middle of the range. Pronger was traded for:

Eric Brewer, who was a very good defenseman. Who coincidentally played for Canada four years before as a 7th defender. Still in the NHL, he was definitely very good. But he was never great or anything more than a 2/3 shutdown guy his entire career. That guy who did make your defense stronger with him playing, but wasn’t overly missed when he was gone. Don’t get me wrong, I was sad to see him go, but he was never going to be a great defender.

Doug Lynch was the second guy in the deal. He played 2 NHL games in his career. Nuff Said.

The last was Jeff Woywitka. A guy who did play 278 games in the NHL. With only 92 in a St.Louis jersey.

But what Oilers fans do remember is we got a godsend in Chris Pronger, a future Hall of Fame defenseman. For only Eric Brewer and two guys they cannot remember. The problem with that is, now Oilers fans expect that to be able to get another Elite level guy.

WRONG

We are in time when, to get good players, you have to give up good players. We are in a time when Potential won’t get you Elite. Only Elite will. So be able to get a player of Weber’s calibre, give your head a shake if you think it will take less than a Jordan Eberle or Taylor Hall. Now lets get a reality check and realize that any conversation with Nashville. The first name they are going to ask for Taylor Hall. That’s it. Shea Weber is a top five defender in the NHL if not a top two, or even top period. Unless you give up a top five left winger, it’s probably not going to happen.

Oiler fans have really got to stop overvaluing our players. We are a 29th place team. TWENTY NINTH. That means that players not named Hall, Nugent-Hopkins, Eberle, Yakupov, Schultz, Nurse or Klefbom aren’t worth crap. Why do you think (if you believe rumors) Gagner was only going to get a 4th liner and 6/7 defender (Martinez and Clifford). And that was only if we retained half of his salary. That should put things in perspective. That’s how much this pile of crap is worth. Nothing.

Yakupov is going to get you, best case scenario, a top 4 defender. And that’s if we add something in like a decent prospect. No way is he going to get anything close to an elite guy. Nurse or Klefbom will get you a good player, but not someone who will be better than them. So that leaves you with RNH, Hall and Ebs. That’s it. And at this point, Hall is the closest thing we have to an elite player. He’s not there yet, but he’s as close as we have. People have to realize, while definitely skilled, the players are all tainted until they help us make the playoffs. Plain and simple. To quite a few fans outside of Edmonton who only see the Oilers when their team plays them. Our young guys are no better than Alexander Semin or Ales Hemsky. All Skill No Kill. Skill players. that’s it. Not players that can lead a team to the playoffs.

Again, the only one close to that would be a Taylor Hall. A guy who drives the bus each game. Even though a broken bus. He still drives the play each shift. So if you are going to bring in an Elite Defender you are going to have to give up an Elite, or close to forward. That’s Taylor Hall. But let’s take a step back and take Taylor off the table. What would it take to get a Shea Weber? I would say a top line scorer, a second roster player (preferably a center to replace Legwand) a defender to fill a roster spot and probably a very good prospect or first round pick.

That seems crazy right? Wrong. Shea Weber is a generational talent on the back end. He’s a guy who will be mentioned in the same breath as a Lindstrom, Chara, Niedermeyer, Doughty and Pronger. If he isn’t already. These are all shoe ins for the Hockey Hall of Fame. Not guys who will have to wait, shoe in Elite level players. Guys that can change a game, season and entire team all by themselves. Guys who go to a team and make them so much better it’s scary. Not just good defenders, but game changers. Which is so much harder from the back end. Guy’s who make other teams play a different game because they are on the ice. So it will take a hell of a lot for a team to part with them.

Funny thing is, Nashville could. And that’s only because they seem to have something in the water their that makes defenders very good players. So while he is an elite defender, and will be a huge negative impact on the team to lose him. Nashville is one of the few teams that could survive a Weber type lose. Just look at them after Suter left, Josi took his minutes and ran with them. But what I’m saying is they could very well trade him. But back to what I said before, it would only be for immediate upgrades in so many different area’s.

First I’ll say, we would have to give up a defender to fill a roster spot on the back end. Not a 7th guy, but a decent defender that can take some minutes that Weber played, even though no where near the level. A guy who can play minutes and is actually an NHL defender. While I’m not a fan of him. Jeff Petry is the only name that comes to mind. A right handed shot, who can play 20+ minutes a night.

Next up would be the top line scorer. Do I really have to say who? Jordan Eberle. A PROVEN point producer that can slot in on the top line in Nashville. A guy with skill who can light the lamp. Plain and simple.

Next up is the other top six guy, preferably a center. While I do think they would want David Perron more, Sam Gagner would end up being the name going back. While a risk, he is another skill guy which, sadly enough, would be a huge upgrade in their top six. Just think, their number two center right now has zero goals this calendar year so far. I’m talking about Colin Wilson. No goals, and in the top six, that’s how much they need scoring. Gagner would be an improvement.

Okay so far we are up to, three of our regular players out of the roster. And I’m not done yet. They would still want a pick or prospect. Personally the thought of Nurse and Weber as a top pairing gives me tingles, so Nurse is safe. But who does that leave? Take your pick. If would have to be either Martin Marincin or Oscar Klefbom. I bet your almost ripping out your hair now. But a very good prospect would have to be going back. And that is just to try and out bid teams like the Flyers or any other NHL team.

While you might think I’m crazy. Just think about it this way. Every team would be talking to Nashville. So it would end up being a bidding war. Nashville would only part with him if they did greatly improve the rest of the team in the process. otherwise, what incentive would they have to trade him? Unless they win the trade, no way the give up their current captain.

So now that you see that. What would you rather give up to bring in Shea Weber? Gagner, Eberle, Petry and Klefbom. Or would you rather part with Taylor Hall and let’s say Gernat or Musil? I’ll leave that up to you. All I’ll say is, ELITE DEFENDERS don’t just drop from trees. There will always be very good defenders, but not guys who make a HUGE impact each and every game. While very unlikely, I truly do believe their is a slight chance that Shea Weber could find himself wearing a new jersey before the entry draft (due to be paid $13M in bonuses). It would take nothing short of a kings ransom to make it happen.

Before you start overvaluing the players mentioned above. Right now fans in Nashville are saying Weber is worth even more.

While I do think I could very well cripple the Oilers to make a trade of that magnitude to fill a single need, thus make a few new holes. Forcing us to sign free agents to replace these guys who wont be nearly as skilled. But in retrospect, Nashville has been a team that never has been able to score many goals. Yet they have been in the playoffs or close to making it until the last few game, for many years with no talent. But they did it with a guy named Shea Weber. So is giving up many roster players on a bottom feeding team worth a single very good player? I’ll leave that up to you. All I know is, it could make sense for both teams. No matter how ludicrous it may seem.

Thank you so much for reading! Give me a follow on twitter @shawn_kelemen and let me know what you think. Have a great day!