Ken Holland has been fired by the Edmonton Oilers (Hoorah!), but has been replaced by me (muahaha). I've gone ahead and made a few moves that would allow Edmonton to be better positioned to not only make the playoffs, but have a lengthy playoff run. The Oilers are in dire need to address the goalie and defencemen positions, but also need to be able to lift the load off Mcdavid and Draisaitl. Here are my reasonings for the trades:
1. Chychrun Trade: This one is obvious, the Coyotes are expecting an "Eichel" like return in a deal for their star defencemen, and the Oilers have the pieces to offer. The Oilers acquire a dominant two-way defencemen that can play at all strengths, at all ends of the ice, and can produce offensively 5v5, and a depth winger than can help fill out the bottom six. The Coyotes receive a young middle-six forward with the potential of being a top 6 forward in Yamamoto, a top defensive prospect who has been broadening his game in the AHL within the last month (Broberg), a forward prospect that has recently been nominated for the hobey baker award for most outstanding foward in the NCAA (Savoie), a tough forward but also a cap dump since Arizona is open to cap dumps (Kassian), another cap dump in Koskinen, a first round pick in 2023, and a third round pick in 2024. Both teams get what they want and are better from the trade in the present and future.
2. Chiarot trade: I understand the Canadiens are probably looking for a first round pick for Chiarot, but I can't help but wonder if they'll bite on Tyson Barrie 1 for 1. As bad as he is defensively, Tyson Barrie is still a great offensive defencemen with good puck moving abilites and powerplay quarterback capabilities. With Petry's regression from last season, and the career-ending injury to Weber, I wouldn't be surprised if they'd accept this trade, as they are still wanting to compete despite being last in the league. The Oilers acquire desperate defensive help that can help round out the top 6 dman, while also ridding Barrie's contract and allowing Bouchard/Nurse/Chychrun to take over on the top PP (Holland should have let him walk).
3. Holtby trade: this was the easiest trade to make, as the Oilers are in need for goaltending and the Stars are letting Oettinger take over as their starter. A second round pick is a fair trade for a starting capable goalie as a rental for this season, and potentially a short term deal in the offseason.
I also signed Eric Staal as a FA to help round out the bottom six. Staal will help accelerate the scoring on the 3rd line, and can be interchanged between the 3rd and 4th line. He can also help out on the PK or the powerplay if the Oilers wish to run a completely different PP2.
This is what I would do to try to turn this trend around, let me know what you think in the comments! Cheers!
barrie provides no value for MTL. a chiarot for barrie trade doesnt make sense for MTL unless theyre sending wideman the other way + getting a second at least
Chiarot trade: I understand the Canadiens are probably looking for a first-round pick for Chiarot, but I can't help but wonder if they'll bite on Tyson Barrie 1 for 1 (...) as they are still wanting to compete despite being last in the league.
The only trade that could make sense for Barrie is either Armia or Hoffman, aka another player with term that wouldn't be super attractive on the trade market. Ben Chiarot can land valuable futures that are more beneficial to the future of this team than Barrie. And nothing suggests that they still want to compete despite being last place, players are automatically sidelined with very minor injuries, key veterans (Edmundson/Byron/Price) are not being rushed to come back, players miss games for very odd reasons (Romanov & Evans both missed time because their equipment was lost in travel or something like that), Dominique Ducharme is still employed). Actually, everything hints to the opposite, they're not looking to compete.
Chiarot trade: I understand the Canadiens are probably looking for a first-round pick for Chiarot, but I can't help but wonder if they'll bite on Tyson Barrie 1 for 1 (...) as they are still wanting to compete despite being last in the league.
The only trade that could make sense for Barrie is either Armia or Hoffman, aka another player with term that wouldn't be super attractive on the trade market. Ben Chiarot can land valuable futures that are more beneficial to the future of this team than Barrie. And nothing suggests that they still want to compete despite being last place, players are automatically sidelined with very minor injuries, key veterans (Edmundson/Byron/Price) are not being rushed to come back, players miss games for very odd reasons (Romanov & Evans both missed time because their equipment was lost in travel or something like that), Dominique Ducharme is still employed). Actually, everything hints to the opposite, they're not looking to compete.
I think he means that the team is still looking to compete next season, which BTW I agree with. I don't think we are going full rebuild mode just yet.
One can argue that Yamamoto, Broberg, Savoie and the first, minus one of the cap dumps, is the proper value for Chychrun. (I think it's a little short in light of what I'm willing to part with as the Los Angeles GM, but let's accept that premise for the purpose of this discussion.) That leaves the other cap dump plus the third for Crouse, which is clearly inadequate.
If you want to get rid of Koskinen (for cap purposes this season) and Kassian (for cap purposes in the future), it's going to cost you at least one other major asset just for Chychrun alone.
Hard to sign a guy who is already with another organization
I'm aware of the PTO with the Iowa wild, but this does not mean he's signed with the Wild organization. He's merely using the Iowa Wild as a conditioning stint for the Olympics, he'd need to sign an NHL two-way or one-way contract to play with Minnesota, and is technically still a free agent. Though I do see it likely he resigns in minnesota once the Olympics are over.
One can argue that Yamamoto, Broberg, Savoie and the first, minus one of the cap dumps, is the proper value for Chychrun. (I think it's a little short in light of what I'm willing to part with as the Los Angeles GM, but let's accept that premise for the purpose of this discussion.) That leaves the other cap dump plus the third for Crouse, which is clearly inadequate.
If you want to get rid of Koskinen (for cap purposes this season) and Kassian (for cap purposes in the future), it's going to cost you at least one other major asset just for Chychrun alone.
Thank you for addressing this, the cap dump prices have to also be considered, which I have forgotten. Koskinen would be an easier cap dump for this season than Kassian, and the price for Koskinen's cap dump should be less than Kassian's. However, I do see that Savoie, a third, and an NHL piece would be an adequate starting offer for Crouse. My original deal for Chychrun was Yamamoto, Broberg and a first round pick, which I believe is a fair market price for Chychrun. He won't receive an Eichel-like return, but his contract will allow him to fetch a return of a middle-six F/bottom-four D, a top prospect and a first round pick.
It'd be awful for them to do so. It's not very Jeff Gorton-esque either, as he was really committed to losing for a few years in NY.
This is more of a conversation starter than a trade, as I could see Barrie fitting into Montreal as their PP QB while Romanov develops, but it's hard to determine what Gorton will do with Montreal with their current situation, and they very well could stand pat or sell ahead of the deadline. Bergevin let a lot of key pieces go last off-season, and Chiarot will likely be dealt for a pick or prospects rather than a player to replace him.
The only trade that could make sense for Barrie is either Armia or Hoffman, aka another player with term that wouldn't be super attractive on the trade market. Ben Chiarot can land valuable futures that are more beneficial to the future of this team than Barrie. And nothing suggests that they still want to compete despite being last place, players are automatically sidelined with very minor injuries, key veterans (Edmundson/Byron/Price) are not being rushed to come back, players miss games for very odd reasons (Romanov & Evans both missed time because their equipment was lost in travel or something like that), Dominique Ducharme is still employed). Actually, everything hints to the opposite, they're not looking to compete.
I like Hoffman for Barrie a lot better than Armia for Barrie. Hoffman would be a nice addition to the middle 6 of edmonton and it hasn't worked out well for Montreal for him. I think the swap of terms is also a fair price.
I like Hoffman for Barrie a lot better than Armia for Barrie. Hoffman would be a nice addition to the middle 6 of edmonton and it hasn't worked out well for Montreal for him. I think the swap of terms is also a fair price.
That's interesting since Edmonton's problem has never been to score on the power-play. Armia is greater two-way value than Hoffman at even-strength, the numbers just don't show up when he's deployed strictly as a shutdown forward like this season.