The Oilers’ GM said it best. In 10 days there will be 8 pissed off teams looking to change their rosters because they failed to make the 2nd Round of the Playoffs. The Oilers are looking for Defensemen, specifically top tier defensemen. If they could, I’m sure they would draft Ekblad to fill that need but they will be at the mercy of the 2 teams who draft ahead of them.
Edmonton’s silver haired, silver tongued GM also said that he doesn’t think he needs to pay the price of a core player to get that desired blueliner. That, ultimately, will be up to the market to decide but the Oilers are poised to take a Center with their pick and that means Gagner should be available. There is also a growing number of young defenders in the system plus the 2015 1st rounder that can be dangled too. Is that enough for a legit top pairing guy? MacT seems to think something similar can get the job done.
So who will those 8 livid teams be in 10 days and what do they have to offer? My money is on the 1st round flameouts being the Kings, Wild, Stars, Blues, Wings, Lightning, Blue Jackets, and Flyers. At least that’s the way I filled out my Bracket on the NHL’s Bracket Challenge (entry Arch’s Terrible Bracket). If it plays out the way I anticipate (and now we’re just guessing at things) then the off-season could get interesting with clubs like Philly, St Louis, and the Kings. All 3 of those teams have high expectations of themselves but could easily be sending players to the World Championships instead of the Cup Finals.
We can cross names like Pietrangelo and Doughty off the wishlists right now, but there will be players who will be made available if their teams no longer think they can win with the current mix. I’ll be looking for teams who struggle with depth down the middle or are perhaps getting a little long in the tooth. Those are the places that Edmonton can offer help without damaging their own efforts to rebuild.
I always come back to Philly because they are so unpredictable at the Draft and with the makeup of their teams. They just forked over a huge contract to MacDonald and with that I cant help but think that MacTavish will finally get his hands on Coburn. Of course there are plenty of other interesting names out there like Letang, Niskanen, Wisniewski, and anybody in a Kings sweater but those stories will start to unfold as the 1st round wears on.
For now, though, the Oilers will just watch (like the rest of us). Which team will bow out in the next 10 days and lose faith in its roster? Which team could use a 2C or young legs on the back end? Those are my biggest questions for the playoff bound teams.
For the record, to even my own surprise I have chosen the Sharks and Bruins to meet in the Finals. Sharks. Good grief.
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