It’s possible but I don’t think he wants to play in a Canadian market again judging by some of the comments he made after the trade, got the sense that he felt the media ran him out of town

Yeah maybe but he still has a house here and his wife is from here maybe he comes back now that chia is gone it's fun to think about tho and that 2nd line would be deadly

I'm curious as to why you have McLeod penciled in as the #3C instead of Marody. I'd rather see him and Bouchard take the extra year in the AHL (and I think Yamamoto could use it too) and just bring in cheap filler guys for a year.

Thoughts on Dzingel > Eberle?

I see Bouchard doing what sergachev did his first year play pp mins but sheltered on the third pair I think reggie would help him I like marody but I almost think hes not fast enough I like the kid line of

Benson McLeod Yamamoto

Also I would love to bring back eberle but if you can get dizingel for cheaper do it but I like ebs because hes been more consistant more of a safer signing you know?

I'd just rather not have another kid go straight from junior to the NHL. Marody's looked fine in Bakersfield thus far. And I'm trying not to get my hopes up with the chemistry those kids showed in preseason. God it would be nice though.

If that's what you'd have Bouchard doing, then I'd rather have Persson do that and give Bouchard big minutes in the AHL. He needs to become more than a PP specialist, and is already starting to show well at evens in the OHL. Give him the extra time to figure out his skating and play away from the puck and he's all but guaranteed to become a top-pairing defender.

I'd take Dzingel at the exact same price point strictly because he's 2 years younger. Likely to be more value in the back end of the contract than with Eberle. It's a bigger risk for sure, but Dzingel has consistently produced with less than what he'd have available to him in Edmonton.

Yeah Bouchard getting big mins would be nice but do you think person would actually be fine? He seems like a pp specialist over in Sweden with bokk an honestly maybe they trade Benning an sekera or Russell in the summer an maybe both Bouchard an person can make it


As for dizingel an eberle I like both love ebs tho but dizingel is faster but eberle just seems more of a safe signing if you can get dizingel at 4x4 that'd be ideal

Persson, from what I've seen, hasn't slowed down since Pettersson left Vaxjo production-wise. I read somewhere that he's become steadier at all facets of the game too. Huge considering he was essentially playing rec league a few years back. He'll do fine with 3rd pairing usage and PP time, which gives Edmonton the luxury of having Bouchard in the AHL.

I wouldn't be surprised if Sekera is bought out this offseason if he's lost a step: his deal isn't full of bonuses, so the savings with his deal only increase with time. Russell can be moved, it's just a matter of where based on his partial NMC. Might be easier after next season. Benning's as good as gone, but they won't recoup much for him. I see the D-pairings looking really similar to what was iced this year; the market for quality defenders is slim this year and Edmonton is still in a financial pickle. Gut feeling says it'll be something like:

Klefbom - Larsson
Nurse - Russell
Jones - Persson

Which I admit is not a hell of an upgrade. There's more mobility on the back end, especially with the bottom pairing, but its still far from a contending blueline.

I have a funny feeling that Dzingel is going to cash in as much as he can this season. I have him pegged at around $5.25M over 6 years. Pricey, but if he continues his production, he's completely worth it.

With Eberle, you know what you're getting for the last productive year of his career, but players are starting to fade sooner with the league getting younger, faster, and stronger every year. Anything over 3 years for Eberle is going to be risky considering he'll be 29 this offseason. I don't know if it's a symptom of playing for the Islanders under Barry Trotz, but his production already looks like it's falling off, and that he might only be a 40-point player for the remainder of his career. Given that Dzingel is younger and faster, I wouldn't entertain an Eberle deal this summer unless he wants to come play here for cheap.

All fair points an I generally agree with all of them I'd love to get dizingel