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*Quick Update*
The Oilers announced they have signed AHL forward Patrick Russell to a 1 year deal. Russell is a big right winger who was 5th on the Condors in scoring last season. The 25 year old had 14 goals and 13 assists in 68 games. Aside from a callup due to injury I don't see Russell with the big club at any point this coming season but this is a good depth signing for the farm.
Oilers wheeling and dealing left and right. Have traded a conditional 2020 7th round pick for the rights to left winger Nolan Vesey. The 2014 6th round draft pick is a left winger and had 11 goals and 14 assists with the University of Maine last season.
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There has been a fair amount of buzz regarding rumours that Chiarelli is open to trading a veteran Oiler player in order to bring in a right shot offensive defenseman. Because of this we get tweets like this.
Makes complete sense right? Oilers have great depth on the left side and Ristolainen is a top pairing right shot. Sounds like a no brainer.
Except all of that is totally wrong.
Take away Klefbom and the Oilers left side looks sub-par. They have Andrej Sekera who may or may not be able to return to the level of play he brought in the 16/17 season, Darnell Nurse who has taken great strides forward but has not shown he is ready to consistently handle top 4 duties, and Kris Russell who belongs on the third pairing. What the Oilers are calling an abundance depth on the left side is what the rest of the league calls having capable defensemen.
“But Sean, Ristolainen is a consistent 40+ point defender who logs big minutes and plays on the top pairing in Buffalo. Surely that’s worth trading Klefbom for.” Well made-up internet arguer let me show you a quick comparison of the two players. This is a HERO Chart taken from the 2016/2017 season in which both players had their most productive season.
The only area where Ristolainen leads is in ice time (averaging over 26 minutes a game) and looking at his ability to generate shots as well as prevent shots well..... it shouldn't surprise anyone that Buffalo has had issues keeping the puck out of their net the past four years. Ristolainen's CF% has been below 50 since entering the league. This is not a player who helps to move the puck in the right direction.
It isn't just possession numbers; at even strength Klefbom is by far the superior player. Having played almost 100 fewer games than Ristolainen, Klefbom has 2 fewer goals at EV. Keep in mind over the past few seasons Oscar has also managed this playing roughly 4 minutes fewer a night.
The only area where Ristolainen surpasses Klefbom is in terms of powerplay totals which have helped to inflate his stats. Of Ristolainen's 120 assists... 68 of them have come on the powerplay which again is due to the sheer bulk of minutes Ristolainen gets. Last season Ristolainen averaged a full 1 minute more per game on the powerplay. Ristolainen might be a top 5 defenseman in terms of PP production but he is not the player you want on the ice for the remaining 56 minutes of a hockey game.
It is not Ristolainen's fault that his team has been forced to play him way over his head for the past three seasons but for those who think acquiring Ristolainen gives the Oilers a sure thing top pairing right shot I would take a closer look. To my eyes Ristolainen would be best served on a second pairing with a more defensively responsible partner. If the Oilers were able to make a move that resulted in Ristolainen playing with Sekera on the second pairing I would happily embrace it.
The biggest fault of Klefbom is his injury history but a healthy Klefbom is head and shoulders better than Ristolainen. Fans should not be so quick to get rid of the closest thing the Oilers have had to a #1 defenseman in the last decade. Chiarelli needs to stop trying to fill holes by creating new ones. It's the equivalent of moving water from one side of a sinking vessel to the other.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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