|
Oilers Have Three Holes to Fill |
|
|
|
|
|
Craig MacTavish has packed his brief case and went home for the night. If there's more deals to be done today, it will be a shock.
Was today a good one for the Oilers? I'm not sure. It wasn't bad. Just not sure if it was good.
Adds:
1. Andrew Ference - This deal made more sense to me after he was interviewed and said he can play both the right or left side. The Oilers D, as of now?
L1: Smid/Petry
L2: NSchultz/JSchultz
L3: Belov/Ference
The good news is that all three pairings are more or less equal in quality. The bad? They're all more or less same in quality. Still no clear top pairing on the team. But, it's an improved group from last season, so allow yourself to be happy a bit.
2. Boyd Gordon - It's taking me a bit to wrap my head around the money here. $3mil per for three seasons for a physical player who will play 3rd line shutdown minutes? New Oiler Jason LaBarbera says that Gordon is an animal, and the Oilers desperately needed one. Good enough for me. At worst, he's Horcoff at $2.5mil less cap hit.
3. Jason LaBarbera - A very solid signing. A decent backup at a low price ($1mil per).
4. Jesse Joensuu - Big Finnish forward that was part of the Islanders. It's more or less like replacing Lennart Petrell with Lennart Petrell.
5+6. Will Acton and Ryan Hamilton - Players who will be in the AHL and could be called up as required.
So the Oilers D is more-or-less set and so is the goaltending. But the forward lines? Three holes to fill still.
- Need a 2nd line LW
- Need a 3rd line RW
- Need a 4th line RW
Rumor is Ryan Jones is being considered. He'd fill the 4th line RW spot if he does.
As for the other two positions, one will be filled via Ales Hemsky trade. Most-likely, the 3rd line RW will come from a Hemsky deal. I will do a blog on just him tomorrow, if he isn't dealt before then.
But the 2nd line LW? This is the complicated one. There's not much left in the UFA tank to fill this.
I floated an idea on Twitter that almost no one liked. Obviously, the Oilers are having serious trouble re-signing Sam Gagner. There's more UFA options still available at center. So deal Gagner for a quality 2nd line LW with size, and sign a UFA center to fill the void.
Sign Grabovski. He and Yakupov on the same line would be total speed demon.
Look, I know it's not a perfect plan, but sooner or later the Oilers need to make a real move, dealing a player of quality to get quality back in return. Signing a UFA, especially if they turn out well, is like finding the toy at the bottom of the box of cereal. Grabo stunk last season, but he's got so much offense to his game. If he bounces back the Oilers win.
Maybe Gagner to St. Louis for TJ Oshie or David Perron?
I could go through about 10 different teams that could use Gagner. The Oilers could definitely turn him into a 2nd line LW.
MacT and the Oilers are not done. The most interesting part of this play is just about to begin.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»