Honestly the Oil have a lot of young D and a lot of young F. The last thing they need is another 18 year old to jump on with the big club or to wait 3 years for a young D to develop. I'd probably prefer if they tried to trade the pick for immediate help (23-28 yrs of age) on the right side of the blue line.

Otherwise I say take the BPA which to me is Tkachuk but some others I've talked to think Dubois is a better fit.
- RonPielep

Thinking back on it, was this Peter Chiarelli's thinking when he traded last year's 2nd -1str rounder for Reinhart?
I mean look at Barzal....
sure most players never play straight away, but I guess in this case, Reinhart was not really established himself by any means

Nah, im referring to the fact that Shanny refused to mention Mathews specifically when interviewed as if there was any chance they weren't going to take him 1st overall...
- DeflatedPucks

Isn't that what all GMs do all the time?

Mattews looked really pissed that the Leafs won the lottery. He will probably refuse to report to the Leafs and demand a trade.
- mooseknuckle

he has a really good poker face. He had the same exact demeanor for every question in the interview before the lottery as well. PLUS he's not allowed to assume he's being picked first - so there's that.

As long as we have an elite Center to go with our insane depth up front we'll be alright.

Sundin was never the leagues best center but he was elite. Hall of Fame elite.
- Njuice

You guys have poop for talent and to top it off Matthews will end up refusing to play in T.O. Shanny sucked Bettman's Richard to guarantee the first overall pick, so it will be hilarious when Matthews demands to be traded.

You guys have poop for talent and to top it off Matthews will end up refusing to play in T.O. Shanny sucked Bettman's Richard to guarantee the first overall pick, so it will be hilarious when Matthews demands to be traded.
- mooseknuckle

This is good.

You guys have poop for talent and to top it off Matthews will end up refusing to play in T.O. Shanny sucked Bettman's Richard to guarantee the first overall pick, so it will be hilarious when Matthews demands to be traded.
- mooseknuckle

o i get it. it's trolling night in Canada

Yeah, I've heard a few articles and scouts suggest Mathews will be better. Hard to say at this point, but I sure hope its true lol.
- Thecakeisalie

They were pretty dam close if A.M would have been eligible last year. Eichel put up 56 points last year. It's not crazy to think A.M would have been close to the same..... you add a year of pro experience under his belt... No reason to think he's not putting up 60+ points next year....

Isn't that what all GMs do all the time?
- walshyleafsfan

Well I guess in the Crosby/Kane/Tavares years, I think the GM's flat out said who they would be taking plus the usual "we are still gonna take our time and look at all our options"

I think ever since the Hall/Seguin draft, NHL has been trying to put more emphasis on a mystery at the top prospect. Kind of reminds me of NFL, where Goddell told the Rams and Jeff Fisher not to announce who they were picking to create more excitement

You guys have poop for talent and to top it off Matthews will end up refusing to play in T.O. Shanny sucked Bettman's Richard to guarantee the first overall pick, so it will be hilarious when Matthews demands to be traded.
- mooseknuckle

ahhh dang a flames fan... gees kind of respected you guys...

Honestly the Oil have a lot of young D and a lot of young F. The last thing they need is another 18 year old to jump on with the big club or to wait 3 years for a young D to develop. I'd probably prefer if they tried to trade the pick for immediate help (23-28 yrs of age) on the right side of the blue line.

Otherwise I say take the BPA which to me is Tkachuk but some others I've talked to think Dubois is a better fit.
- RonPielep

I'll admit I don't know about all of the Oilers younger players besides the high profile guys. If you are correct then maybe you guys are actually in a good position to trade that pick for immediate help. With the 4th overall as a starting point you can probably find a good, proven young dman for your back end.

yeah I agree. THis year will be inconsistent with so many rookies and probably another high pick. By the season after we'll need to package a bunch of our forward depth for a proven 24-26 year old 1st pairing D and find a quality goalie somewhere. Even a Halak, Crawford type would be sufficient. Not ideal, but good enough.
- Njuice

I think they will still try and develop 1st pairing dman but trading for one, if the price is not so high, will be the ideal situation considering the number of picks that Leafs has.

I'd not be surprised to see them trade for a goalie but many people think that they will wait and get one during the expansion draft. I just wish that NHL moved teams to different market instead of expanding.

The lottery is all above board. Do you think the owners of 30 NHL teams would allow something like this to be rigged? Just because we don't get to see it you better believe there are proper procedures in place.

Besides if the lottery were rigged Toronto would've won last year and Arizona would've won this year. Straight up.

But Laine scores more goals and has a deadly shot. I hope you guys somehow land a good RHD, you need one badly. What's out there?
- TML4Life85

Yeah I just think Laine is a riskier pick, goal scorers can be streaky and I think Pulju is the better skater with a better 200ft game.

Shattenkirk, Hamonic and Trouba seem to be the targets in most discussions. Otherwise I've heard proposals for people like Brodin (lefty) be discussed as well as the infamous Hall for Subban proposals.

ahhh dang a flames fan... gees kind of respected you guys...
- orienbrady22

To me they're like (frank)ing unicorns. Never actually met one (although I'm on the easy coast)

You guys have poop for talent and to top it off Matthews will end up refusing to play in T.O. Shanny sucked Bettman's Richard to guarantee the first overall pick, so it will be hilarious when Matthews demands to be traded.
- mooseknuckle

OHHHH YEAH DARE BUHHD!

BECAUSE MATTHEWS WOULD LOVE TO PLAY IN A DYING PROVINCE WITH AN EVEN poopTIER TEAM. (frank) I FEEL SO BAD FOR MCDAVID HAVING TO WITHSTAND THAT poopTY PROVINCE. YOUR PROVINCE IS poop. (frank) ALBERTA.

I'll admit I don't know about all of the Oilers younger players besides the high profile guys. If you are correct then maybe you guys are actually in a good position to trade that pick for immediate help. With the 4th overall as a starting point you can probably find a good, proven young dman for your back end.
- Thecakeisalie

Yeah, whenever you deal a top 5 pick there is a lot of risk it turns out to be an elite player and you get fleeced in hindsight. But ultimately I think that is a risk the Oil should be willing to take at this point.

Besides if the lottery were rigged Toronto would've won last year and Arizona would've won this year. Straight up.
- Njuice

I don't think the league would have wanted Toronto to win if it really was rigged. I don't think adding the next great thing would increase interest in hockey all that much in TOR. But if Carolina or New Jersey won...

You guys have poop for talent and to top it off Matthews will end up refusing to play in T.O. Shanny sucked Bettman's Richard to guarantee the first overall pick, so it will be hilarious when Matthews demands to be traded.
- mooseknuckle

1st overall

leafs

Well I guess in the Crosby/Kane/Tavares years, I think the GM's flat out said who they would be taking plus the usual "we are still gonna take our time and look at all our options"

I think ever since the Hall/Seguin draft, NHL has been trying to put more emphasis on a mystery at the top prospect. Kind of reminds me of NFL, where Goddell told the Rams and Jeff Fisher not to announce who they were picking to create more excitement
- DeflatedPucks

Just seems bizzare to say it. If Shanny said we wants AM, then he gets a serious injury, do you just go up to the podium on draft day and say "in light of AM'S injury problems, the Leafs are proud to select their 2nd choice Patrick Laine"

https://twitter.com/timan...status/726567022528712704



PS: Shanahan retweeted this

To me they're like (frank)ing unicorns. Never actually met one (although I'm on the easy coast)
- walshyleafsfan

Lol im in Ontario and don't think i've ever met one either.

I don't think the league would have wanted Toronto to win if it really was rigged. I don't think adding the next great thing would increase interest in hockey all that much in TOR. But if Carolina or New Jersey won...
- DeflatedPucks

yes but hockey related revenue in the league SKYROCKETS with lengthy leaf playoff runs. One home game in the cup finals in Toronto could bring in as much revenue as 41 regular season home games in Arizona(obvious exaggeration) but a strong Toronto team benefits all teams.(stupid revenue sharing horsepoop mother(frank)ing bullpoop)

https://twitter.com/timandsid/status/726567022528712704



PS: Shanahan retweeted this
- lumlums

(frank)ing love Lou's face.

Yeah I just think Laine is a riskier pick, goal scorers can be streaky and I think Pulju is the better skater with a better 200ft game.

Shattenkirk, Hamonic and Trouba seem to be the targets in most discussions. Otherwise I've heard proposals for people like Brodin (lefty) be discussed as well as the infamous Hall for Subban proposals.
- RonPielep

I hope you go for one of those 3 and forget Subban. He's good but you don't want that contract on your team.

You guys have poop for talent and to top it off Matthews will end up refusing to play in T.O. Shanny sucked Bettman's Richard to guarantee the first overall pick, so it will be hilarious when Matthews demands to be traded.
- mooseknuckle

Classy