travel_dude

Hamonic and Wideman do not really belong in the same sentence. One was an offensive guy that couldn't skate very well or defend beyond a hip-check or deflecting the puck in his own net. The other is less offensive minded, but knows how to defend, how to hit and rarely is in the wrong place. He's more like a Gio than Wideman. Engelland was noticebly slower than the players he was defending against. Engelland also struggled with the first pass/clearing the puck. I liked his PK most of the time. Stone is better all-round. He's closer to a top 4 than Engelland. Maybe the difference isn;t dramatic, but it's enough to add to this team improvements. The only chemistry was Gio-Hammy. By exploiting that, Gully ruined part of Brodie's season. It was a huge adjustment for Brodie. He never fully recovered. Part of it was mental, but the other part was the parade of players. Stone at least gave him the semblance of a true top 4 partner. Just speculation on my part, but Hamonic should provide Brodie with the same level of support that Gio did.

And by the same logic, they got Russell and Strome for Eberle. What an awesome deal that is. Let's add it up: Hall + Eberle + 2015 1st and 2015 2nd for Larsson + Lucic + Russell at $4m x 4 years. Davidson for (a few months of) Deharnais so they wouldn't lose anybody important. Hahaha.

When we traded for and signed Dougie, there was a lot of excitement for having a pretty darn good top 3. Took awhile, but it turned out well. Let me put it another way. Not having Wideman has improved our team by leaps and bounds. Engelland, bless his heart, was not top 4 material. So, we have improved just replacing Wideman with Hamonic. Stone replaces Engelland. That is more than a small upgrade.

That's what I would expect out of him. Wasn't it also him that talked about trading Hall netted Lucic and Larsson?

You had listed Hamonic-Stone as the PK, which I was commenting on.

Pairing him with Stone on the PP should resolve this. He didn't have enough time to trust Stone enough and the rest of the time he was with the unmentionable.

Hammy was effective in getting the shot on net, but mostly wristers. Gio had a very hard time getting his shots through. Almost every one-timer he had resulted in a broken stick or blocked shot. I agree that Stone has a good point shot. I'm not sure I agree running with two RHS on the same PK unit. Maybe you could swap in Stone with Gio and leave Hamonic with Brodie on the PK. Or even Gio-Hamonic and Brodie-Stone. Hammy is a bit underrated, but I would just give him more minutes elsewhere and save him for the PP and evens.

Good summary of the two players. I think a lot of people would have liked to have Larsson, as a young guy with potential. Had we dealt a 1st and 2 2nds for him, there would have been more complaining, though. The Oilers paid big for potential, but as you say, also paid for a top 2. They also paid almost as much for a player that Vegas took for nothing. We have paid for two top 4 players with nothing more than a handful of draft picks. And one of them is already a top 2. We didn't have to send away our top scoring LW to do it.

I think Sarich was the #4 at the time, but whatever. I doubt there was enough patience to play out the season with those guys all on the same team, and if you believe rumors Phaneuf had to go anyway. Stone is there to be an upgrade on the 3rd pair. That is wonderful. Hamonic had one bad season in his career, so I don't think we need to worry about him.

Went back to the scouting reports. They must have seen things that we tend to miss or he has lost a step in his first couple of years in NA. At least his +/- has rebounded. For what it's worth, his draft year scouting reports: https://www.nhl.com/flames/news/what-scouts-say-oliver-kylington/c-772908

My opinion of Spoon is based on his career to date and his lower ceiling. THose with lesser offense at the jinior and AHL level tend to not get above the 3rd pair. I know he played with Jones his last season in Portland, so his numbers were inflated that year. Had one ok year in the AHL and never really got back there. Saying that, it's more how I view the prospects above him. They have unique skill sets or elite skating/scoring. By this time next year, Spoon could be past Kulak. Just don't know right now.

I would probably take it a step further to split them by handedness: LD Valimaki Kylington Kulak Olas-Mattsson Healey Spoon RD Andersson Fox The disparity between LD and RD is fine, since we have 3 RD that have long careers (if they stay) ahead of them. The LD spots have Gio tailing off in a few years (3+) and only Brodie being a long term fixture. Call me old school, but I would like to see Healey get a game or two in, just to see his open ice hits. Maybe even Olas-Mattsson for his solidness. DOn't know if he has NHL capability, though.

It's hard to say about any of them at this point. DO we have a good development coach at the AHL level? Has Gillies' surgery set him back a little more than expected? Consider last year a rookie year for Gillies. This is the important development year for him. Parsons looks elite at an early stage, but it was junior or WJC. Excited, but let's hold off on Price talk for a little bit. Let's see the positives in having 2 high rated G prospects and one that surprised coming over to NA.

Again, please move this discussion out of this thread to the Oilers thread.

Maybe we can just stop talking about Oilers here. Lost of discussion in the NHL Talk, Oilers thread. BT has done a good job selecting players that appear to be NHL capable. Whether they make the NHL is anyone's guess at this point.

Go look at the Bakersfield Condors stats from last year. What great prospects do they have there that have any NHL upside? Most of those that did are on the NHL team. They have guys in junior like Ethan Bear and Caleb Jones, but they are the few and far between. Their newest guys are just that. New draft picks. We have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL. You may not see it, but it's there. When you can let guys like Falkowsky go, you know you have enough depth at that position. Two AHL capable goalies and two relegated to the ECHL, plus another guy that will stay in junior. Traded away one we didn't even have space in the system for. Our forward group consists of guys that could make many NHL teams and some guys that were rookies last season.

Next year.... 22m with 5f, 5d and 1g signed. Have to fill it out with deals for another 9F, 2D, and 1G. 3 RFA's to sign this year. Let's be honest, you can't just play all AHL players to fill the roster. the following year.... 28m with 4f, 5d and 0 goalies... Have to fill it out with deals for another 10F, 2D, and 2G. An additional RFA to sign, plus Backlund's deal kicks in.

Paying for playoff performance and supposed grit. That's the issue. He shows up against Anaheim or whoever, then the regular season can be somewhat overlooked. Look at the long term impact, not just this season: Backlund re-signing Bennett Tkachuk Smith a FA in two years.

I agree that Bouma was a mistake; should have gone to arbitration and only would have been stuck with a shorter term. Murphy was reported to be a take-and-buyout part of the deal. I would have like to see what he had and simply sent him down. I guess it's a question of clogging up the AHL to, so whatever. Raymond was a rookie mistake. No excuses. Brouwer - well, umm.

I don't have a big issue with bringing in players that give you top 9 depth. If you are going to do that, then you better be ready to move out at least a 4th liner. Ferland played well enough to finish the season to be looked upon as a good top 3 option. But, you need depth to be able to replace him if he doesn't work out. Bring in Marleau and Janko, move out Bouma and Stajan. Bring in Hamonic, Murphy/Andersson and Kulak, move out Bart. I'm thinking in terms of player development and competition. Don't waste away a prospect because you have a vet that plays just well enough to be in the lineup.

We should get to hear Jim Hughson talk about a bunch of things this year: Eddie Lack's dad 20-something Sam Bennett Ferkland running around like a bull in a china shop Johnny Hockey, winner of the Lady Byng trophy Matt Tkachuk, most reviled player in hockey since his dad

This is the most bizarre trade I have heard of. Lack at 50% Murphy and 7th for Kanzig and a 6th? I'm not a Lack fan, but even if he fails, we can lose most of his salary by waiving him and sending him down. We were never going to use Kanzig.

I don't dispute any of those players as a good guy to bring in to turn into a starter. Saros would likely be an expensive trade, so you would probably have to do a 1st. The other guys? Not really sure. But that would also have to include signing a FA goalie to be the fall back or 1a option. It's one thing to continue a rebuild, but another to risk on a young starter. He fails and you are in lottery territory.

He got a goalie that pplayed well behind a good team. Now he has a goalie that played okay behind a bad team.

No, that is what is read.