Good Lord, where to start! That trade deadline was a farce for the Oilers!
Well I guess we should start by trying to figure out if the hamster wheel in Craig MacTavish’s head is actually turning. The only thing that comes to mind is that he has some divine plan to flip these picks for actual NHL players. I mean if he’s still trying to stockpile draft picks I think he may have lost the plot a little.
I truly want to believe that he has this grand plan to make major moves at the draft. I want to believe that he’s going to go to Sunrise and come home with a no.1 goaltender and a top pairing defenceman or no.2 centre. Now, these don’t have to be superstars, they just need to be effective experienced NHLers.
The way I see it is the team is in a position to sacrifice the scoring from the wings to shore up the defense and goaltending. Would I like to see Eberle or Yakupov go, no! I like those guys, Yakupov more so. Hall on the other hand… I know he’s an elite player and I’d like to reserve judgement until he’s had sufficient time with Todd Nelson coaching him but a player like Hall would definitely bring back a good haul if traded. Are wingers not easier to acquire anyhow?
Is it too far fetched to dream of a summer that would see the Oilers net Johnny Boychuk, Jonathan Bernier and Ryan O’Reilly? What about Martin Jones, Brent Seabrook, and Sean Couturier? Would you give up a part of parts of the young core to acquire any of those players? If Edmonton’s first rounder fell to 4th or lower, would you be willing to part with that?
Then again, the prospect cupboard is lacking some true impact players. If the Oilers drafted the following players with their first 6 picks, would you be happy? Click on the players’ names for a bit more information.
– Noah Hanifin – This young lad could very well have an Aaron Ekblad-type of impact.
– Jansen Harkins – A very good two-way centreman with a lot of gumption.
– Mackenzie Blackwood / Ilya Samsonov – Top rated NA/European goaltenders
– Vladdy Tkachev – A poor man’s Russian Marty St.Louis?
– Dmitri Yudin – Big dman with a cannon from the point! Was on full display at the WJHC.
– Reid Gardiner – Stocky winger out of Saskatchewan. Can score and will throw down too.
From a long-term developmental standpoint, those six players would have the pipelines bursting with talent. But we wouldn’t see them for at least two seasons and they wouldn’t be making an honest impact for 3-5 years apart from maybe Hanifin so as long as he’s not the next Cam Barker.
I just keep thinking that MacTavish believes he has more time to turn this ship around but in reality he’s probably got this upcoming off-season and if he can’t do anything to improve this roster, he’ll be shown the door. It feels like he’s either way out of his depth as GM or he’s dilly dallying and messing about. It’s almost to the point where he’s drawing comparison’s to Tambellini with regards to his fear of doing something significant to alter the shape and direction of the Oilers.
He doesn’t hold his cards to close to the vest either and tends to let everyone know what he’s doing, right? I mean shouldn’t he be giving Todd Nelson a bit more credit for what he’s done with this team since Eakins was fired? MacTavish just needs to come out and say he’s going to wait and see who shakes loose on the coaching market and isn’t willing to hand the whistle over to Nelson quite yet. One has to ponder if that could also have a lot to do with why he isn’t making huge moves ahead of the summer…
With all of that said, it’s going to be a busy summer for MacT and Howson… Don’t F* it up or there might just be… Regrets…
Our good friend Dave Gordon will be participating in the MS Bike from Leduc to my hometown Camrose! The MS Bike is the largest cycling series in North America. Since 1989, cyclists of all ages and fitness levels have joined together for the MS Bike every year.
MS Bike provides Canadians with the opportunity to ride through scenic and often spectacular parts of the country while raising money to help end MS. Every year more than 10,000 cyclists participate in one- or two-day tours between June and September. All you need is a bike and a passion to end MS to participate!
Dave’s goal is to raise $3000 for the MS Society of Canada. If you could find it in your heart to help Mr.Gordon out with a donation, he along with the thousands of others inflicted with this unfortunate ailment would be grateful.
-BLH
*If you liked what you read here today, please share it and feel free to use the comment section at the bottom to let me know how you really feel about the present and future state of the Edmonton Oilers.*
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