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House Keeping and Major Renovation |
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Here in Canada the long weekend is over, down south the party is just ramping up. After a furious few days that ended with Friday’s signing of Lucic things really settled down as Chiarelli said they would in the Lucic press conference.
The dust is settling here, a couple minor moves got made, development camp opened, and Ethan Bear signed his ELC. So far that’s mostly housekeeping but the Oilers are in a position where there’s at least one more major renovation needed.
HOUSE KEEPING
In addition to their big ticket item, the Oilers also brought back Mark Fraser from the dead (Binghamton). Fraser played exclusively in the AHL last year and given how many LHD this club has I think it’s fair to say the Oilers arent expecting him to do anything other than patrol the blue in Bakersfield.
He’s too slow for the NHL, that was true 3 years ago when he was Oiler before and it’s still true today.
The club made another AHL acquisition when they picked up Taylor Beck. He has NHL size at 6’2”, 203 pounds, but he couldn’t find a way to stay up with either Nashville or the Islanders. Again, I think before people get too far ahead of themselves with these deals, it’s safe to assume Beck is headed for California too.
The more exciting news for Oiler fans is that Ethan Bear signed his entry level deal ahead of development camp. Edmonton’s defensive prospects are overwhelmingly left-handed and lack offensive punch. Bear is a righty who just finished an incredible season with the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Bear was drafted in the 5th round, 124th overall. He lacks height but is a stocky 5’11” and 197 pounds. He has progressed offensively every full season he’s been in the WHL and last year put up 69GP, 19-46-65 to be among the leaders in WHL scoring by defensemen. He followed that up with a dominating performance in the playoffs, going 18GP, 8-14-22.
He ranks very high on the list of Edmonton’s current prospects because of what he’s accomplished and the position he plays. He just turned 19 and is not eligible for the AHL, so he looks bound for Jr hockey again this year. I think he should have been a Team Canada development camp invitee, but he wasn’t. I have thoughts about that which I will keep to myself for now, however I’m very sure he meets all the criteria to be there.
Thankfully he and the Oilers could find a way to get the job done with the contract, because he’s exactly what the Oilers have needed: a late pick right-shot defender with the ability to impact the game. Hopefully he keeps developing and we see him transition to the professional game smoothly after next season. No need to rush him at all, not even as Edmonton’s NHL defense remains incomplete.
MAJOR RENOVATION
Edmonton’s defense today is not complete. I know that Chiarelli said he was happy with the blueline, but that cannot possibly be true. The Oilers blueline was among the worst in the entire NHL for its offensive contributions and absolutely nothing has changed with Larsson added to the top of the right side.
Today this blueline looks like this:
Klefbom Larsson
Sekera Fayne
Nurse Davidson
It’s hard to imagine that this is a winner. I haven’t seen anything in Larsson to suggest he can transform that top pairing into a killer pairing. It’s still likely going to depend on Klefbom’s ability to move the puck. I have a lot of faith in Klefbom’s ability, by the way, but there are big concerns. His foot, for example, was so impacted by his multiple staph infections that he needs to have specially made equipment.
This is a concern. If everything is great after his new boot and his skating isn’t impacted at all then we are still all systems go on the Klefbom rocket to stardom. However, if this becomes a Ryan Whitney kind of problem then I’m very afraid for the Swede.
I think everybody is waiting for Chiarelli to pay the price necessary to get Tyson Barrie. The only question is “What is this going to cost?” I would suggest it should be more than what Edmonton paid to get Larsson, except they paid an extremely high price for that. Based on that deal, Edmonton should have to clone Hall and deliver the Avalanche at least an entire line of Halls for Barrie.
Barring Katz revealing that he is indeed an evil scientist, I doubt that will happen so we wait around for another trade involving a high end Oiler player. Edmonton may also opt to put in an offer sheet for Barrie. Albeit, I would expect not one that is built for a long term commitment, but one that takes Barrie directly to free agency. The threat here being that if the Avs accept the offer sheet then they are committing to losing Barrie for nothing when he becomes a UFA.
Edmonton’s defense today lacks an established Power Play option and someone who can provide significant offense at even strength as well. It’s not just about transitioning the puck up to the forwards (although that’s very important). There are no opposing defenses worried about covering the points when the Oilers come to town.
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