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And Tambellini Does...Nothing |
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Why always wrong?
I don't get it. I don't. Add today's lack of results to the growing stack of disappointments for Oilers fans. The team went into the draft weekend knowing they had to acquire at least one immediate Top 4 defenseman. They also had a number of lame players to deal for any return...anything...it didn't matter if it was a 7th round draft pick. They needed to go.
What did Oilers management do all weekend? Seriously. I know they went to the draft to draft players, but they have Stu MacGregor for that. What the hell was the rest of the Oilers management team doing? Playing Angry Birds?
It sounds like Oilers management almost screwed up the obvious Yakupov pick, too. I am hearing little bits of information suggesting Oilers management weren't the ones who picked Nail Yakupov; Daryl Katz did. Management wanted a defenseman, but Oilers owner Katz was the person who decided the matter for the team. If this is true, hats off to him. Sometimes the owner needs to be the owner when the employees stop doing their jobs. I wonder how Katz is at acquiring defenseman?
So why didn't Oilers GM Steve Tambellini acquire a defenseman? A range of reasons:
- Whenever the Oilers call someone to ask about a D man, other teams immediately ask for one of Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, and now, Nail Yakupov. The Four Oilmen are untouchables, especially if the owner says they are. Anyone knocking this concept should keep in mind these four kids are the marketing face of the franchise, and are literally worth millions in revenue. Yakupov stole the show the week of the draft, and that type of personality keeps fans come to games not only in Edmonton, but league-wide.
- Teams were offering up deals for Sam Gagner, but like I said a few days ago, the Oilers don't really want to deal him unless they have a quality #2 center coming in from somewhere to replace him. Shawn Horcoff is no Top 6 forward (everyone knows this), and Eric Belanger is death on a stick. It's either Gagner on Line 2, or move Hall to center. And I'm not sure moving Hall to center is in the best interests of the team.
- Sadly and obviously, the trade market for Ales Hemsky still isn't there. I'm sure the Oilers received offers, but they were likely more the type the Dallas Stars received for Mike Riberio (a 2nd round pick and unproven youngster Cody Eakin). The Oilers could likely acquire a D man for Hemsky, but he's not going to be of good enough quality to improve the team significantly. Think someone like Andrej Sekera.
- I think some of this comes down to the Oilers management team being completely unwilling to make a mistake. Funny how that works: The team is making a mistake by not being willing to make a mistake. Worded another way, the Oilers are unwilling to move any quality prospects like Magnus Paajarvi, Teemu Hartikainen, Tyler Pitlick, David Musil, Martin Marincin and so on for the sake of acquiring an immediate player. Keep in mind the Oilers have some quality prospects, but prospects are just prospects. It could take a moving a few, combined with perhaps the addition of a draft pick, to acquire any defenseman of significance. It could be a deal that makes the GM look terrible five years from now, when those young prospects are putting up huge numbers and the defenseman traded for is gone.
Steve Tambellini will make it sound like teams are overvaluing their own players, but he needs some sort of excuse to explain his own poor job performance. Obviously Top 4 D-men are in demand, and other teams know it. They aren't going to cough up anyone of quality without receiving a quality return. That's the way this works. You give something; you get something.
So what happens now? Next up will be the Oilers hiring a Head Coach and making qualifying offers to players. I was hoping a few clowns were going to be traded away; now the Oilers need to decide if the "clowns" should be just allowed to walk away.
It's almost a given Linus Omark will not be qualified. He's going back to Europe, as no team in the NHL were willing to give up even a 7th round pick for him. Take care, little dude.
I'm not sure what Tambellini's inadequacy in making deals means for the future of Chris Vandevelde. The Oilers need to shed some contracts, not for money reasons, but for number reasons. Obviously, there was no deal to be made for Eric Belanger either this weekend, meaning we're stuck with him. That reality might spell the end for Vandevelde in Edmonton. I'd rather have Vandevelde, but Belanger has a way of ruining everything he touches and we're stuck with him.
Cam Barker, of course, won't be qualified, but we knew that from before.
Here's a few other random notes from a very annoyed Oilers blogger:
- The Oilers panicked and drafted Mitchell Moroz 32nd overall. I'm not sure what I think of this pick. It's not a knock on Moroz; the kid is a beast and he could be a NHL player in four years. But yikes, they stretched making that pick, especially considering some of the other players who were still available at 32.
- Unlike 2010 or 2011, I don't feel much confidence for the group drafted today by the Oilers. By the end of the 3rd round, the Oilers had drafted four wingers (three left and a right). Daniil Zharkov, who the Oilers drafted 91st overall, could be an absolute steal. I'm not sure what I think of the Jujhar Khaira pick. He's big, but I'm not sure if he brings more to the table than that.
- Okay, I know you're all waiting for it, so here it is: My comments on the JVR/Schenn deal between the Leafs and the Flyers. Ready? Sounds like a perfectly logical and equal deal to me.
I know. I'm disappointed too that this is all I can say.
The Leafs needed a Top 6 forward with size. James van Riemsdyk is locked in to a contract that might be a slight overpayment, but it's not that bad either. Could be a 30 goal guy. Schenn, I believe, couldn't reach his full potential in TO because of the log jam of quality defensemen on the team. In Philly, he'll get Top 4 minutes and he'll be with his brother. This is a win/win deal if I've ever seen one. Very equal and completely helps both clubs.
- Which brings me to my comments yesterday about the drafting of Morgan Rielly taking the Leafs out of the Justin Schultz hunt. You'd think the Schenn deal today opens the spot Rielly might have filled.
I'm not sure what to say here, folks. The Leafs without Schultz have a Top 4 that's pretty solid. Jake Gardiner has tremendous potential. Dion Phaneuf is a player many people make fun of, but I've seen him do some amazing things. JM Liles is not a player I'm a fan of, but he's a Top 4 talent. I do like Carl Gunnarsson, and believe he's a Top 4 talent too. Cody Franson is a player I would have loved for the Oilers to acquire in a deal, and it still could happen...especially if Schultz signs in TO. Without Schultz, the Leafs have five guys who can play in the Top 4. The math in itself doesn't work.
Here's the other question I have about Schultz to Toronto: Phaneuf, as we know, is a warrior, and the #6 guy Mike Komisarek is...or is it "was"...one of the game's more feared hitters. After that? Liles is a little guy, Franson is a wuss, Gardiner and Gunnarsson aren't there to be physical. Conclusion: If the Leafs need to add someone, it's a brute; not another puck mover. They perhaps have too small of a D now. The last thing Justin Schultz is going to bring to the Leafs roster is physicality.
Final Thoughts
The Oilers might have screwed up this weekend in a number of days, but only team management actually know what's been discussed. I have heard the Oilers could be adding Marc Methot in a few days as a "depth" defenseman...provided they also add UFA Justin Schultz, everything will be fine with the Oilers D next season. The group of Petry, Whitney, Schultz, Schultz, Methot and Smid wouldn't be perfect, but it would be a huge improvement over what the Oilers put forth last season.
I suspect the Oilers will be very quiet on July 1st, aside from the Schultz situation. With Schultz being allowed to start negotiating with teams from late-Sunday on, his situation will be the first thing resolved when UFA season starts. Past Schultz, the Oilers really can't do much on July 1st without moving out some bodies.
There is absolutely no way the Oilers will deal for Roberto Luongo. None. Especially not for Sam Gagner. Tambellini might not have a job after this weekend as it sits now, so I'd hate to see what would happen if he went to ownership recommending a deal for Luongo. The Oilers might go find a backup (would it be ridiculous to suggest they deal for Steve Mason to see if they have revive his career?) but I'm 100% sure Dubnyk will be the starter in Edmonton in 2012/2013.
Aside from twisting Justin Schultz's arm, the Oilers, it's rumored, will hire their new Head Coach over the next couple of days. Considering the timelines, and comments I've read from Ralph Kreuger about the situation, I feel safe to predict he'll get the job.
Which brings me to a final thought for today: If Daryl Katz stepped in to decide the Yakupov situation, and I think he did, what's stopping him from also deciding the hiring of Krueger? Katz knows Oilers fans, for the most part, despise the idea of hiring Brent Sutter. Krueger, on the other hand, has the support of most fans. Perhaps Steve Tambellini's greatest nightmare when it comes to running the team wasn't the hiring of Craig MacTavish as people suggested. Maybe his nightmare is the owner, who appears to be completely fed up of watching his franchise be mismanaged.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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