Sunday Night Pint #5 is in session! Welcome back to those that have been here before and It’s good to see you if you’re new to the Sunday Night Pint. This is our weekly post where we gather a few of the writers here at BLH and go over the week that was in the world of hockey, sometimes more specifically the Edmonton Oilers.
This week we’re joined by Corey Mitchell (@corn_cwm), Zach Laing (@loweded), Rob Cooke (@cooke_rob) and The Oilers Rig’s Alex Thomas!
If you don’t know, Mr.Thomas is the brains (not the beauty, that belongs to Jackie Dawson) behind The Oilers Rig. He knows his hockey and he certainly knows his Oilers! Keep an eye out for him in the future as he could be on your TV sooner than later. Follow Alex on Twitter @alex_thomas14.
The topics today are as such:
So if you’re comfortable in your seat and beer is in hand, let’s get started!
1 – Ads on Jerseys, Yeah or Nay?
AT – Honestly, it totally depends. I would hate it if the jerseys looked like European hockey jerseys or like soccer jerseys. The logo needs to be front and center, not a sponsor. That said, if they elect to go the AHL route and have a minor sponsor, I’d be fine with it. I like the jerseys as is, but I don’t think it’s ruining something sacred like many believe. If the NHL is making money, and they will off this, and the change isn’t too radical, I’m okay with it.
CM – Jersey ads have been a unique conversation point in recent years. You look back to the NHL implementing the “no tuck” rule a few years ago, and the instant conclusion was that ads were coming. And from what I can see on social media is most fans don’t want to see them. Of the four major sports in North America, the NHL has the best looking uniforms, from the color scheme, to the logos on the front. To ruin that look with big money sponsors seems so wrong for so many reasons.
You look at hockey in Europe. Club teams have almost no space left on their sweaters, and the clutter of ads is a major visual turn off. It’s nice to see once in awhile, like during the Spengler Cup, but that’s not something I want to see for an 82 games season, and then playoffs. Unfortunately, the trademark of the Bettman Regime has been to find revenue in non-traditional ways. And if you look at a league like the CFL, ads are small, and don’t take away from the look of the uniform as a whole. So if the NHL follows that model, a modest corporate logo on the sleeve or something, and as long as I can purchase ad free jerseys, I really don’t have a problem with it.
ZL – Aesthetically, I am not a fan of having sponsors on the jersey’s however I do realize that the NHL will more than likely be having sponsors on jersey’s sooner rather than later. It provides a chance for NHL owners to receive more money, and anytime you can add revenue to a business that is a positive. Like with when the NHL first introduced ads on the boards in the 1980 season, fans didn’t like it but they eventually got used to it. Just like we will have to do with the ads on jerseys.
RC – I don’t particularly like the idea myself. With that being said I think that the vast majority of fans will feel that way as well but I don’t see any of us owning a team so realistically our opinions don’t really matter. The league and team owners will see the added dollar signs that will be coming with the addition of jersey advertising. The almighty dollar will win out here and there isn’t really anything that fans will be able to do about it…
BLH – Listen to me when I say this. An a supporter of the Edmonton Oilers, YOU WANT ADS ON JERSEYS! The reason is simple. All these years of sucking ass has landed the Oilers with arguable the best crop of young players in the league. How are they to keep all of them under the cap without extra revenue?
2 – Would You Trade Jordan Eberle for Kevin Shattenkirk (St.L)?
AT – No, I wouldn’t. Jordan Eberle is a tremendous offensive talent, easily the top RW on this roster. I like Shattenkirk as a player, but he’s more of a second pairing guy in my mind. He’s great offensively, but to me, Shattenkirk’s defensive game leaves much to be desired. To me, Shattenkirk is what Justin Schultz should be. He’s a good player, but he’s not a game changer on the blue-line. I’d rather keep Ebs.
CM – For a long time now, I’ve reserved myself to the fact that the Oilers need to sacrifice one of the kids to obtain the assets they need to be a winner. And I’ve stated many times on Twitter, that it should be Jordan Eberle. Hall and Nuge, now with McDavid, have a much higher ceiling than a Jordan Eberle, as much as most fanboys and girls will disagree with me. And if part of the package coming over is Kevin Shattenkirk, than by all means that move should be made.
Two season ago, I was really liking the idea of an Eberle package to Nashville for Shea Weber, which at the time I felt was very realistic. Now, the general consensus is that Weber is a pipe dream at best, but you can do far worse than adding a Shattenkirk to the revamped blue line. I think that deal has more moving parts than just Eberle for Shattenkirk straight across
ZL – This is a very interesting proposal. TSN’s Ray Ferraro suggested the Oilers look for a trade surrounding Jordan Eberle for Patrick Berglund and Kevin Shattenkirk. Shattenkirk is a very interesting player and is thought of to be a player that will soon develop into a top pairing defender in the NHL. He doesn’t necessarily bring a lot of size to his game (6’0”, 202lbs) but since joining the league in 2010-2011, he has scored 215 points ranking him 12th among NHL defenseman since then.
If the Oilers were to make a trade with Eberle and Shattenkirk being two main pieces going back and forth, it could certainly benefit both teams.
RC – Yes I would! Everyday and twice on Sunday! I know Ebs is the current best option on the right side but defenseman with the skill set of Kevin Shattenkirk do not become available very often. I’m sure that the advanced stats will back up my opinion but that is something I will leave to our stats guru, Walt Foddis (@waltlaw69) to discern.
BLH – I would also do this trade but I’d expand it horribly into a blockbuster and try for David Backes as well. Maybe you throw in Draisaitl with Eberle and they send back Backes and Shattenkirk. Seasoned vets have a certain value to teams like the Oilers who are coming up and big mean veterans who have a good 5 – 6 years left who’ve work the ‘C’ on their chest for a good portion of their career is something I’d be willing to pay dearly for.
3 – Who Are Your Top 5 International Players of All-Time?
AT – My top five? Oh Jeez, that’s tough. Being so young, it’s hard for me to look back and pick the top-five international players ever, but I’ll try…. In no particular order, I’ll take Wayne Gretzky, Mike Eruzione (Come on, that’s the best hockey moment, like, ever), Dominik Hasek, Mario Lemieux and Mark Messier.
CM – My top 5 international players? Obviously no list is leaving off Jari Kurri or Teemu Selanne. Add Pavel Bure to that, and now you’ve got three. My last two might go off the board a bit. Sergei Makarov and Vladislav Tretiak, two of the great players from that powerhouse Soviet team.
ZL – Wayne Gretzky, Viacheslav Fetisov, Nicklas Lidstrom, Sidney Crosby, and the obligatory Connor McDavid. Hehehe!
RC – Obviously as a Canadian born and raised guy my list is made up of some of the best Canadians to ever play in some form of IIHF tournament. Wayne Gretzky has to top the list for sure. How can he not? At the 1987 Canada Cup he lit up everyone for 21 points in 9 games and Gretzky himself says it is the best hockey that he ever played.
His linemate at that tournament would be my second choice for this list. Mario Lemieux was a fantastic player on the international stage and one of very few people that can claim to have won the Stanley Cup, Canada Cup, World Cup, and Olympic gold during their career.
Next on my list is Captain Canada, Ryan Smyth. No player has represented this great nation more than Smytty. He has done everything that can be done internationally and when I call him Captain Canada I do so because it is a very well deserved moniker for him.
Following Smytty is Jordan Eberle. He was the most clutch player I have ever had the pleasure of watching at the World Junior’s and his goal against the Russians in the dying seconds of the game is right up their with his first NHL goal for highlight quality.
My final choice for the list is likely one that not a lot of people will agree with but I am going to go with Eric Lindros. At the junior level the Big E was as dominant as any player I have ever seen and his 42 points in 29 international junior games is pretty damn impressive. Of course that isn’t even including the 34 points in 36 games at the men’s level. Those 34 points include 1 goal that he managed during the 2002 Olympic games.
BLH – Jeez Cooke, you damn near have a post on its own there. Lol. My top five international players of all-time are Valeri Kharlamov, Peter Forsberg, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Slava Fetisov.
Bonus – Who’s Your Favorite Player to Hate?
AT – My favorite player to hate? That’s tough, but I can’t stand Zack Kassian and Ryan Kesler. Really, I hated those good Canucks teams, they had a cocky arrogance to them even though they have never won a thing. Kassian was a total goon, just a guy with no regard for other players. Kesler just killed the Oilers and played a pest game. That said, even though I hate Kesler as a player, I have a lot of respect for him.
CM – My most hated player, for whatever reason, is Ryan Kesler. I’m guessing it’s got to do with how much he really personified what being a Vancouver Canuck meant while he was with them. I never want to see him win a Stanley Cup. And actually, throw the caveman Kevin Bieksa on this list too. Two guys that I cannot stand watching play the game, throwing dirty shots on the ice, and turtling until a ref for linesman comes in.
One of my greatest joys recently as an Oilers fan was watching Kesler get tuned in by Sam Gagner. So yeah, forget those guys. Didn’t like them as Canucks, don’t like them as Ducks. And just to cover all my bases, Aaron Ward can take a walk off a bridge too
ZL – Anybody on the Calgary Flames. Just because I live in Calgary, and it’s not easy being an Oilers fan in Calgary.
RC – This is a hard question for me because the Oilers have really been irrelevant the last half decade and it is hard to really get a hate on for anyone when our team was so god awful. If I have to pick one player that I truly hated it would have to be Ryan Kesler. To me he epitomized the “whiny player”.
He is known as a diver and a player that isn’t afraid to embellish a lot if it will get him the call he wants. He has always managed to play fairly well against Edmonton as well so that kind of irritates me a little bit more about the guy.
Another guy that definitely deserves some hate mail from Oilers fans would be the goof Zack Kassian. After his stick swinging incident from a couple seasons back where he nearly decapitated poor Sam Gagner I find it very hard to feel anything but loathing when his name is mentioned.
BLH – We have quite the Canucks theme going on here… But it really is hard not to hate at least 3 players that were on that team in the last 5 years or are currently on. Kassian, Kesler, Bieksa, and Burrows come to mind immediately. I imagine Prust will fill the void this season. But I have a feeling the kid Ferland in Calgary is going to creep into these lists in the very near future.
So there we have it! Jersey ads are cool… Kinda. Ebs is on his way out and everyone hates the Canucks and Flames! Obviously.
Thank you for joining us for the Beer League Heroes Sunday Night Pint #5! We hope you enjoyed the read! Let us know in the comments below what you think about ads on jerseys or a potential Eberle trade!
As always, if you’re looking for a sweet t-shirt to show off your NHL ’94 pride, head on over to the Beer League Heroes T-Shirt Shop and find your favorite player in 16-bit! You can also pick up the Official Beer League Heroes shirt and the NEW “Straight Outta Oil Country” top!
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Take care and until next time!
– BLH
**PS** Thanks goes to all of the readers who participated on Facebook! You’re all AWESOME!
