Hall for PK? I think that's an Edmonton win
- claude1971

There's certainly some names beyond karlsson where the oilers send hall packing. subban's one. Oel another. Hedman etc

Most young established franchise defenders would be near impossible to refuse

But the hamonics and 2nd tier guys like that, as good as they are, no chance. And a meaningless add in doesn't change it

Except Yakupov, they've actually done pretty well. They just suck at surrounding those guys with good players.
- James_Tanner

IMO,

RNH has underwhelmed for being a top pick and has not established himself as a true #1 Franchise Center you hope to get out of a number one pick.

Yak is bordering on bust status. He is a reclamation project at this point.

Those two guys needed to hit for Edmonton, and didn'T yet....

But I've seen you say that Hall's better than some other players because of his Defense. But then you value Doughty only on offense when you should compare his defense to some of the other defenseman in the league. I would say it's head and shoulders above Giardi's as well as most others in the league. You say that playing defense as a forward should get you a higher standing in the rankings, but then out of the other side of your mouth don't talk about Doughty's defense at all. I'm confused, is defense important, or only points...
- SDSabre

The Dan Girardi reference was a joke. I do think Doughty's a great player, but Karlsson is closer to Bobby Orr than Drew Doughty.

The difference here is that Karlsson - even without the points - is still pretty good at defensive play, despite his reputation.

so by default am I your favorite poster on this site now
- DDM-Coga

You always were buddy.

The Dan Girardi reference was a joke. I do think Doughty's a great player, but Karlsson is closer to Bobby Orr than Drew Doughty.

The difference here is that Karlsson - even without the points - is still pretty good at defensive play, despite his reputation.
- James_Tanner

out of curiosity James, which d-man's best years did you prefer, Paul Coffey or Ray Bourque?

I get that the comparison from D to F isn't perfect, but it just seems like your bending what you value to fit your current narrative. For the record I'm in the camp where I think Hall is probably the #4 winger in the league, and agree with you that Karlsson is arguably the best D in the league, but I just can't discredit 41 points more by Kane while playing with equal, or worse line mates. I'd also rank Benn over Hall based on a combo of superior production, and at the very least equal defensive play.
- Girouxsalem90

You're being very reasonable. I rank Hall over Benn because he's two years younger. But if you want to go with Benn, it's Pavement/Radiohead distinction.

You're a clown. You stalked James for months about his Gormley comments. (frank)ing loser.
- rangerdanger94

stalked lol; sure why not

....yet here you are following me around knowing my post history. yet I am the fn loser...good stuff.

I'm confused, are you saying that you were joking in your blog?

In that case you really need to help us readers better understand when you're serious about a ridiculous statement, and joking, because in all seriousness it's almost impossible for us to understand.
- nikel

No, I am usually pretty serious, but I guess I have a bit of a weird sense of humour. It's not beyond me to go a little over the top with my tongue in my cheek, but I'll let you know if anything is ever getting severely misunderstood.

The Dan Girardi reference was a joke. I do think Doughty's a great player, but Karlsson is closer to Bobby Orr than Drew Doughty.

The difference here is that Karlsson - even without the points - is still pretty good at defensive play, despite his reputation.
- James_Tanner

Haha I understood the joke, was just using the same reference point for a discussion . And like my I said, I'm not gonna argue who's better than who as far as defenseman goes, or forwards for that matter. My point was that Doughty is a top 5, possibly top 3 D-man in the league (all-around play). That falls in line with the narrative that Hall should only be traded for a bona fide #1 D-man on a team. I guess I just don't see why the D-starved Oilers wouldn't do this, especially after acquiring another top offensive player in the draft.

Tanner is willing to go OEL for Hall, straight up.
- ItHossaGood

That's a trade Phoenix wins all day. OEL is a great defenseman, but you can't even quantify properly at this point how good icing two lines where McDavid is on one and Taylor Hall on the other is.

You can run with analytics all you want. Hall's team has been a bottom feeder all 6 of his seasons. Ovi's is knocking on a conference championship every year. Something has to give.

You can run with analytics all you want. Hall's team has been a bottom feeder all 6 of his seasons. Ovi's is knocking on a conference championship every year. Something has to give.
- Buffalo--Sabres

I can actually see that changing big time this season, and i don't put the six years of failure on Hall at all.

Kessels' teams in Toronto sucked balls......Kessel in Pittsburgh wins the cup.

IMO,

RNH has underwhelmed for being a top pick and has not established himself as a true #1 Franchise Center you hope to get out of a number one pick.

Yak is bordering on bust status. He is a reclamation project at this point.

Those two guys needed to hit for Edmonton, and didn'T yet....
- ImThatGuy

I think most people dont realize how bad the oilers were when they started winning lottery picks. Taylor hall and the nuge stepped in as 18 yr olds and were by far the best players on the team.
Nuge was a skinny 18 yr old who got thrown to the wolves, facing thornton ,backes,kopitar,night after night...
He is just starting to fill in, mature,develop..He will be a great pick up for any team if he does get traded

Think the problem is defence is SUCH a big premium to acquire via trade when you are talking top two pairing, hell even top four. Oil coming in from a weak position trying to make said trade doesn't help. Add in who their GM is and his penchant for some questionable moves.... yeah, perfect storm!

Honestly the Oil need to move some of the forward talent out. Yak is definitely in play it seems, and honestly if they want a top two d you would think it would be Nuge in play as the big chip, but everyone is going to want to sell high and that is where I can see teams pushing not for him but for Hall.

Should Chiarelli do it? Likely no, as I don't see any team moving a Doughty, Karlsson, Weber etc. Oil are going to possibly make a bad move to try and shore up the defence.
- Roadrunner75

Yakupov has no real trade value, so might as well put him next to McDavid and let him score 40 goals.

I don't see why they even have to trade a forward. If they sign Lucic, they have the best forward group ever assembled in NHL history and that isn't a joke or an exaggeration.

Hall- RNH - Eberle
Lucic - McDavid - Yakupov
Pujar..not even gonna try that one yet - Draisatil - Pouliot

I mean, that is a terrifying linup.

Why not trade Nurse (lots of potential, but pretty lousy so far) and a couple firsts for Shattenkirk or whoever you need? Then sign Zack Redmond and Jason Demers as UFAs and you have a really good D when you add in Klefbom, Sekara and Davidson.

IMO,

RNH has underwhelmed for being a top pick and has not established himself as a true #1 Franchise Center you hope to get out of a number one pick.

Yak is bordering on bust status. He is a reclamation project at this point.

Those two guys needed to hit for Edmonton, and didn'T yet....
- ImThatGuy

RNH is undeniably a first line centre. At worst, he's in the 20-30 range, but that is still good. Yakupov I wouldn't give up on yet.

Yakupov has no real trade value, so might as well put him next to McDavid and let him score 40 goals.

I don't see why they even have to trade a forward. If they sign Lucic, they have the best forward group ever assembled in NHL history and that isn't a joke or an exaggeration.

Hall- RNH - Eberle
Lucic - McDavid - Yakupov
Pujar..not even gonna try that one yet - Draisatil - Pouliot

I mean, that is a terrifying linup.

Why not trade Nurse (lots of potential, but pretty lousy so far) and a couple firsts for Shattenkirk or whoever you need? Then sign Zack Redmond and Jason Demers as UFAs and you have a really good D when you add in Klefbom, Sekara and Davidson.
- James_Tanner

my man.

Yakupov has no real trade value, so might as well put him next to McDavid and let him score 40 goals.

I don't see why they even have to trade a forward. If they sign Lucic, they have the best forward group ever assembled in NHL history and that isn't a joke or an exaggeration.

Hall- RNH - Eberle
Lucic - McDavid - Yakupov
Pujar..not even gonna try that one yet - Draisatil - Pouliot

I mean, that is a terrifying linup.

Why not trade Nurse (lots of potential, but pretty lousy so far) and a couple firsts for Shattenkirk or whoever you need? Then sign Zack Redmond and Jason Demers as UFAs and you have a really good D when you add in Klefbom, Sekara and Davidson.
- James_Tanner

The fun you or I could have as GM of the Oilers.

So you wouldn't trade Hall for Doughty because it would be an idiotic move?? I think you're the idiot for suggesting such nonsense.

The Oilers would take Doughty in a heartbeat straight up for Hall.

The fun you or I could have as GM of the Oilers.
- mykokes

And still wouldn't win because their defense sucks & all the money is tied up in the forward group meaning you won't bring in any help on the blue-line.

That's a trade Phoenix wins all day. OEL is a great defenseman, but you can't even quantify properly at this point how good icing two lines where McDavid is on one and Taylor Hall on the other is.
- James_Tanner

True, and I agree but having Sekera is a top line player is so , I think that this needs to be addressed before anything else for the Oilers (maybe internally with the jump of Nurse et al). Trading Hall doesn't have to be part of that, but would net the highest return/ top line young D-man

out of curiosity James, which d-man's best years did you prefer, Paul Coffey or Ray Bourque?
- mykokes

Bourque, who had 4 90 point seasons. But advanced stats weren't around to colour my opinion back then so I don't know who is actually better.

Plus, if Bourque scored 90 points on Boston, would he maybe not have outscored Coffey if he played with Gretzky etc.

RNH is undeniably a first line centre. At worst, he's in the 20-30 range, but that is still good. Yakupov I wouldn't give up on yet.
- James_Tanner

I think he's still projecting as a top line center for a good team. Problem in Edmonton is thus far, it's been a terrible set up. With McDavid knocking him down one slot, he has the potential to be one of the best #2 centres. Though, I'm stuck on whether I would slot Draisaitl or RNH there in a few years time.

stalked lol; sure why not

....yet here you are following me around knowing my post history. yet I am the fn loser...good stuff.
- rinaldo

In the case of Rinaldo vs Ranger Dangers, I take Rinaldo all day. You are awarded $50 Schrute Bucks, sir.

Haha I understood the joke, was just using the same reference point for a discussion . And like my I said, I'm not gonna argue who's better than who as far as defenseman goes, or forwards for that matter. My point was that Doughty is a top 5, possibly top 3 D-man in the league (all-around play). That falls in line with the narrative that Hall should only be traded for a bona fide #1 D-man on a team. I guess I just don't see why the D-starved Oilers wouldn't do this, especially after acquiring another top offensive player in the draft.
- SDSabre

I will admit I was being a little over the top when I said I wouldn't trade Doughty for Hall. I might not, but it clearly isn't a ridiculous idea. I just exaggerated to make a point and it got a little out of control.

Yakupov has no real trade value, so might as well put him next to McDavid and let him score 40 goals.

I don't see why they even have to trade a forward. If they sign Lucic, they have the best forward group ever assembled in NHL history and that isn't a joke or an exaggeration.

Hall- RNH - Eberle
Lucic - McDavid - Yakupov
Pujar..not even gonna try that one yet - Draisatil - Pouliot

I mean, that is a terrifying linup.

Why not trade Nurse (lots of potential, but pretty lousy so far) and a couple firsts for Shattenkirk or whoever you need? Then sign Zack Redmond and Jason Demers as UFAs and you have a really good D when you add in Klefbom, Sekara and Davidson.
- James_Tanner

You're a Great writer, and I enjoy your stuff. but Jesus, Why do u do this ?

My team is about to get torn to pieces after that beaut