Sean Maloughney: What Is Left For The Oilers This Offseason?

Fist

Suck It Jero !!

Good blog.

Puljujarvi, imo, struggled offensively for the opportunity he was given. I am a big Puljujarvi fan. I want both Puljujarvi and Yamamoto but if forced to pick i would take Puljujarvi due to the aforementioned defensive play + size.

But with offense looking so limited while playing withe best players in the world... I don't know how you bank him being a prime time top 6 option.

I think his defense and size combined with his somewhat paltry offense makes him a perfect top 9 option and a less than ideal top 6 mainstay.

Im not sure if his offense will improve much. He is young and it "should" improve. His first half of the season he looked like he was putting it together... but I can't count how many scoring chances he flubbed. His reach is an asset throughout the neutral zone and defensively but causes him troubles getting shots in and some times board/puck recovery in tight as well.

As of right now without significant adjustments I expect his offense is limited and will be through out his career.

Perfect world Foegele, who i like just not at his cap hit, gets moved and we can keep them both.

Should be able to get a decent return for Egghead, maybe a 2nd. Yama is so inconsistent he might be on the way out as I see Kessel linked to the Oilers and we all know how Holland loves vet players on the downward slide.

I understand JP had a great start to the season and he definitely was defensively sound throughout most of the year. I was really excited at first. However, his play wasn't overly amazing the second half of the year and let's be honest he looked horrible in the playoffs. He looked confused, out of place, he mismanaged the puck most of the time, his forechecking was weak and he was a liability in his own end throughout the playoffs. I was nervous every time he got on the ice. JP seems like a decent regular season player, but when it matters...he looked way out of his league.

Should be able to get a decent return for Egghead, maybe a 2nd. Yama is so inconsistent he might be on the way out as I see Kessel linked to the Oilers and we all know how Holland loves vet players on the downward slide.
- K-man25

Disagree with this. Maybe the year before, but he was excellent last year, especially in the playoffs. Relentless forecheck. We need 3-4 more guys that work this hard.

I under JP had a great start to the season and he definitely was defensively sound throughout most of the year. I was really excited at first. However, his play wasn't overly amazing the second half of the year and let's be honest he looked horrible in the playoffs. He looked confused, out of place, he mismanaged the puck most of the time, his forechecking was weak and he was a liability in his own end throughout the playoffs. I was nervous every time he got on the ice. JP seems like a decent regular season player, but when it matters...he looked way out of his league.
- grovegrizzlies

Yamamoto can stay... I think JP needs to go for sure.

I under JP had a great start to the season and he definitely was defensively sound throughout most of the year. I was really excited at first. However, his play wasn't overly amazing the second half of the year and let's be honest he looked horrible in the playoffs. He looked confused, out of place, he mismanaged the puck most of the time, his forechecking was weak and he was a liability in his own end throughout the playoffs. I was nervous every time he got on the ice. JP seems like a decent regular season player, but when it matters...he looked way out of his league.
- grovegrizzlies

Bang on.

Sean Maloughney: What Is Left For The Oilers This Offseason?
- freelancer

Neither player is worth 3+ mil AAV right now The comparison to Kap is a great one, in that if we pay either player that money it will be as big of a mistake as Pit paying it to Kap. If Poolparty and his agent are demanding top minutes, then he is gone. I like his size and defensive game, but he needs to earn his ice. He was not a true top 6 option most of last season. I am willing to bet if you handed Foegele the opportunities that were afforded JP last year, his offensive output would be very similar. And yet we are trying to dump his 2.7 mil salary to pay JP 3+?

Question for you fine folks. If JP is awarded a number in arbitration, I assumed there were only two possible outcomes; accept it and the player can't be traded this year, or reject and he's a UFA. Is that your understanding of the CBA as well? The Flames had that issue with Tkachuk.

Oh, and BTW the Flames won't rebuild until they have exhausted every angle. We got two guys in the Tkachuk trade that are wanted by their new team. And a third decent prospect, maybe a bit down the prospect list here.

I'd see whether I could package Yamamoto and Puljujarvi for one winger who's already what those two will supposedly maybe someday be. And try to trade Barrie of course.

Neither player is worth 3+ mil AAV right now The comparison to Kap is a great one, in that if we pay either player that money it will be as big of a mistake as Pit paying it to Kap. If Poolparty and his agent are demanding top minutes, then he is gone. I like his size and defensive game, but he needs to earn his ice. He was not a true top 6 option most of last season. I am willing to bet if you handed Foegele the opportunities that were afforded JP last year, his offensive output would be very similar. And yet we are trying to dump his 2.7 mil salary to pay JP 3+?
- Beergu

Great post all around.

How are they better than last year??

No Keith. Likely no JP. Campbell in for Smith/Koskinen is a wash.

They will be filling with rookies expecting them to shine. I don’t see it going well in a division that will be otherwise improved outside of SJ.

"How are they better than last year??

No Keith. Likely no JP. Campbell in for Smith/Koskinen is a wash.

They will be filling with rookies expecting them to shine. I don’t see it going well in a division that will be otherwise improved outside of SJ."

Campbell/Skinner is likely better than KoskiSmith. Keith was an easily replaced #5 role player/depth d-man on the Oilers.

A full year of Woodcroft, Kulak, and Kane is better than late season additions.

The loss of Yama or Pulj will hurt IMO but we do have a pipeline of solid young prospects that could/should be able to replace a lot of what they bring. If Foegle is traded and we manage to keep both Pulj and Yama this team will be for all intents and purposes will be the same or better than its 4th best OA Oilers team of last year.

Vegas got worse and missed the playoffs last year. Calgary got at least slightly worse. Seattle much better but they were so bad hard to say if it will matter. Im worried about Van and the Kings, they could be good. Ana still isnt a good/great team despite improvements. SJS...

The Pacific is still very open with Edmonton arguably the best of the bunch.

The Oilers could struggle, could fail, could suck but right at this time looking at the big picture its hard not to say they are "better" or in a better position anyways than they were to start the year last year.

"How are they better than last year??

No Keith. Likely no JP. Campbell in for Smith/Koskinen is a wash.

They will be filling with rookies expecting them to shine. I don’t see it going well in a division that will be otherwise improved outside of SJ."

Campbell/Skinner is likely better than KoskiSmith. Keith was an easily replaced #5 role player/depth d-man on the Oilers.

A full year of Woodcroft, Kulak, and Kane is better than late season additions.

The loss of Yama or Pulj will hurt IMO but we do have a pipeline of solid young prospects that could/should be able to replace a lot of what they bring. If Foegle is traded and we manage to keep both Pulj and Yama this team will be for all intents and purposes will be the same or better than its 4th best OA Oilers team of last year.

Vegas got worse and missed the playoffs last year. Calgary got at least slightly worse. Seattle much better but they were so bad hard to say if it will matter. Im worried about Van and the Kings, they could be good. Ana still isnt a good/great team despite improvements. SJS...

The Pacific is still very open with Edmonton arguably the best of the bunch.

The Oilers could struggle, could fail, could suck but right at this time looking at the big picture its hard not to say they are "better" or in a better position anyways than they were to start the year last year.
- Aerchon

The full year of Woodcroft is the biggest thing for me. Tippett was a horrible coach. Full year of Kane is the biggest thing for McD. Anything less than fighting for tops in the division this year would be extremely disappointing. Not because we are a true contender, just because there really isn't a true contender in the division. Still some things that need to be sorted out though.

Still think we need an elite defender. Felt that way for about 17 years

"How are they better than last year??

No Keith. Likely no JP. Campbell in for Smith/Koskinen is a wash.

They will be filling with rookies expecting them to shine. I don’t see it going well in a division that will be otherwise improved outside of SJ."

Campbell/Skinner is likely better than KoskiSmith. Keith was an easily replaced #5 role player/depth d-man on the Oilers.

A full year of Woodcroft, Kulak, and Kane is better than late season additions.

The loss of Yama or Pulj will hurt IMO but we do have a pipeline of solid young prospects that could/should be able to replace a lot of what they bring. If Foegle is traded and we manage to keep both Pulj and Yama this team will be for all intents and purposes will be the same or better than its 4th best OA Oilers team of last year.

Vegas got worse and missed the playoffs last year. Calgary got at least slightly worse. Seattle much better but they were so bad hard to say if it will matter. Im worried about Van and the Kings, they could be good. Ana still isnt a good/great team despite improvements. SJS...

The Pacific is still very open with Edmonton arguably the best of the bunch.

The Oilers could struggle, could fail, could suck but right at this time looking at the big picture its hard not to say they are "better" or in a better position anyways than they were to start the year last year.
- Aerchon

Smith was 16-9-2
Koskinen was 27-12-4
Skinner was 6-6-0

Campbell was 31-9-6

I don't even see much of an improvement over Koskinen. And that was with a more experienced D corp in Toronto. Overall, the D in EDM is weaker than the group that finished the season strong under Woodcroft. Goals for was not a big issue anyway, so adding Kane for a full year doesn't really make them more likely to win the Pacific.

Still think we need an elite defender. Felt that way for about 17 years
- HonkyTonkMan

Nurse is paid like one.....that is as close as we will get.

Nurse is paid like one.....that is as close as we will get.
- Beergu

There’s only a handful of elite defenders in the league by Pronger/Lidstrom/Chara standards anyway.

Nurse is paid like one.....that is as close as we will get.
- Beergu

Weegar 3.2 > Nurse 9.2
Let’s hope he breaks out this year!

JP signed.

1yr 3M.