Man are things ever heating up on the LA Trade Front right now. All kinds of Eastern Media Types are speculating that coming back in the trade the Oilers would get Kyle Clifford and some other pieces.
*Huffs glue until that makes sense*
Nope couldn’t do it. I couldn’t huff enough glue to make that trade seem OK. Definitely not straight up, and not if he was the central piece anyway. As a throw in to make salary In vs Out work, maybe. MAYBE.
Kyle Clifford is a 10 minute a night 4th line winger whose career high in points was 14. This year he has 5 points on the season.
Five. Points.
Sam Gagner is a former 6th Overall pick one season removed from a 65 point pace who returned to the team early from having his jaw shattered because he thought he was letting the team down by sitting at home letting the bones that hold his face together heal properly.
I recognize he’s having a very poor year, but if his value is so low that all he can get you is a player that wont be in the NHL in 3 years and a bunch of maybes then the simple and obvious choice is to keep him.
If you think, for one second, that the Oilers need Kyle Clifford or that trading their 2C to get him is in any way good value then you need your head examined by a proctologist, because it’s lodged somewhere it shouldn’t be.
So there’s the good news. Craig MacTavish may be a lot of things but he isn’t an idiot. One has to think that if talks are intensifying between the Oilers and Kings AND Clifford’s name is being thrown around it’s in addition to something else that Edmonton could ACTUALLY USE.
Here’s a list of needs the Oilers will have if Gagner leaves and just let me know when Kyle Clifford checks one off
1) Starting Goaltender 2) Size in their Top 6 3) Top Pairing Defender 4) A PP Specialist 5) Bottom 6 that can contribute offensively 6) A new 2C to replace Gagner
So…none of them? Riiiiight. Well at least if the Oilers get Dwight King they can check off…1 of them?
The deal involving Sam Gagner and the Kings is going to involve more pieces coming back to the Oilers. It just doesn’t make sense for the Oilers or the Cap if that weren’t the case. The Oilers would need to retain salary for all 3 years of Gagner’s contract and that is not desirable at all for them so there have to be other bodies coming back. Muzzin, King, Toffoli, Vey? It’s anybody’s guess out there.
LINEUPS
Ben Scrivens is back in and Yakupov swaps places with Eberle. Outside of that I haven’t seen any other major lineup changes. Obviously that changes if Gagner to LA reaches near completion, then things get weird.
Hall RNH Yakupov Perron Gagner Eberle Hendricks Gordon Hemsky Gazdic Smyth Joensuu
N. Schultz J. Schultz Marincin Petry Ference Fraser
Scrivens
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Flying Firsts. There isn’t another team in the NHL that can offer a trio of 1st Overall Picks on a single line. This trio needs to find some chemistry.
2) Block Out The Noise. This is reaching a fever pitch and it cant be easy for Gagner or his teammates to focus on hockey. The Olympic Break is coming up and trade buzz is at its peak. They need to get into the game as early as possible. My preferred method is with physical play.
3) Figure It Out. The club beat the Sabres but only after Bryzgalov put on a show stopping 40+ shots. The Oilers are giving up more shots and shot attempts now than ever. I don’t know what Eakins has them doing to fix that, but they need to figure this out.
Puck drops tonight at 5:08PM on Sportsnet. Game On!
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