It’s that time again Oilers fans! It’s time to talk about which unsigned veterans you’d like to see come to Edmonton on a professional tryout.
Now, if you remember, last season the Oilers gave Alex Chiasson a PTO and he came in, performed well, and was given a contract for the year. Then he proceeded to bury the biscuit 22 times! An excellent example of a PTO that worked out.
But what about an offer or offers that didn’t? Well, we don’t have to look that far back, do we? Last season, then GM Peter Chiarelli also signed defenseman Jason Garrison and forward Scottie Upshall to PTOs as well and what transpired was Upshall’s knee was fooked and Garrison ended up getting signed but it was quite apparent that he didn’t have the boots for the game at the NHL level anymore and eventually made it to the Djurgarden in Sweden via Chicago.
So as you can see, it doesn’t always work out when you’re signing these guys. Most of the time they’re well into their 30s and past their prime. These are players that are just looking to stay in the NHL at this point.
And that brings us to some of the candidates that I believe would serve the Oilers well if they would come to Edmonton on a pro tryout.
- Thomas Vanek (LW/RW) – 64gp 16g 20a 36pts 14:06 TOI/gp
- Patrick Marleau (LW/C) – 82gp 16g 21a 37pts 16:20 TOI/gp
- Riley Sheahan (LW/C) – 82gp 9g 10a 19pts 14:39 TOI/gp
- Justin Williams (RW) – 82gp 23g 30a 53pts 17:27 TOI/gp
- Brian Boyle (LW/C) – 73gp 18g 6a 24pts 12:44 TOI/gp
- Magnus Paajarvi (LW/RW) – 80gp 11g 8a 19pts 13:28 TOI/gp
- Joe Morrow (LD) – 41gp 1g 6a 7pts 13:57 TOI/gp
- Michael Stone (RD) – 14gp 0g 5a 5pts 15:56 TOI/gp
- Marc Methot (RD) – 9gp 0g 0a 0pts 16:56 TOI/gp
- Ben Hutton (LD) – 69gp 5g 15a 20pts 22:21 TOI/gp
- Jamie McGinn (LW/RW) 19gp 4g 3a 7pts 10:40 TOI/gp
Just for what it’s worth, Jason Gregor said recently that he believes Boyle has contract offers on the table, so that more or less removes him. Justin Williams is taking a break from hockey right now and if he was to return, you’d have to think Carolina would be his first choice. I have heard Michael Stone’s name in connection with the Oilers before, so there’s that. And I have a sneaky feeling that local Edmonton super-agent Gerry Johannson might be trying to get Joe Morrow a PTO from the Oilers.
Of course, if the Oilers are planning to just play out the season, then this exercise is really a waste of time, but even though my feeling is that there’s not much to look forward to this year, you might not share that opinion.
As I’ve said time and time before, the Oilers need more veterans on their team but not just any old player with a decade of experience. These individuals need to be players who the team can still lean on off the ice and on it.
Milan Lucic, for example. After a season and a half whatever game he had, left him and that wasn’t the only thing that left him. His swagger and clout in the locker room left him too I believe and now he’s getting mentioned in the same breath as Andrew Ference.
What a crock of shit that comparison is by the way. Since when do we compare a 28-year-old forward in his physical prime to a 34-year-old defenseman who was breaking down at obviously in the back nine of his career? Maybe it’s a Boston thing OR… maybe it’s an Edmonton thing where whoever is the GM of the bloody club thinks that they’ll be the one that will bring back the 80s dynasty.
You cannot build a champion on the back of teenagers and kids barely old enough to buy a beer in the States. It happened once and I’m betting it’ll never happen again. So stop trying to do it and at the same time, stop giving the keys to the city to said teenagers and kids barely old enough to buy a beer in the States.
Lucic says, "I just want to be part of the group."
Was he not part of the group? Did a portion of the group in Edmonton maybe cause him to feel unwelcome? https://t.co/d0brXbIL8M
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) September 5, 2019
Anyways, back to what I was saying about veterans. Just listening to Lucic’s comments above, vets like playing with other vets… The more the merrier, but they have to be able to play the game and be effective. It’s not enough to have a Stanley Cup ring or two nowadays. It’s not enough to be able to lead the league in blocked shots or be the scariest fighter in the NHL. You have to be able to score too.
I just reckon that the power balance is shifted too far towards “The Core” right now. It needs to head back the other way a bit and that’s why I like the signing of Mike Smith. He doesn’t take any crap from anyone, teammate or not. Same with James Neal I’ve heard. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad one, we’ll have to wait for that to be seen.
My belief is that the Oilers are still looking for a center for the third line and that they’re pretty much stocked on the wings. That analysis is one done on paper though and when camp gets going, you never know what’s going to happen. So if I had to choose out off of the list of players above, I’d offer PTOs to these three,
- Patrick Marleau
- Marc Methot
- Riley Sheahan
A part of me would like to see Paajarvi and Gagner reunited and for Thomas Vanek to finally make it to Edmonton all those years after being offer-sheeted by Kevin Lowe. What about you?
Patrick Marleau can still contribute in every facet of the game. He can be used on both special teams’ units and as a middle-6 forward. What he did for Mitch Marner in Toronto is so sorely needed in Edmonton. McDavid has nobody to lean on for leadership advice and let’s get this out there right now. Just because he’s the best player in the game doesn’t mean jack about his leadership abilities. It’s not on one player anymore anyhow when it comes to leading a team, it’s on a group.
I like the idea of Marc Methot pairing up with Oscar Klefbom or a young guy like Caleb Jones. He was Erik Karlsson’s rock for many years in Ottawa and if I’m not mistaken, he held that same role in Dallas as John Klingberg’s partner. He’s only played 45 games over the last two seasons though, so there’s that… Maybe he’d just be another Jason Garrison…
As for Sheahan, I’m getting tired of the Oilers being shite on the faceoff. Nuge has been in the league for nearly a decade and he’s never been good at faceoffs. Why?! Why hasn’t this former 1st overall pick done anything to improve arguably the most important aspect of a center’s game in all of that time? Maybe the should’ve moved him to wing earlier in his career…
Sheahan won’t score you many points, but I think it’s prudent to ask if he’s a better option than Colby Cave, Kyle Brodziak, or Gaetan Haas.
The one thing that is going to irk you about these three players is that their advanced analytics are poor and is that something that a coach like Dave Tippet would be able to work with? Basically, with Marleau and Methot, the ice is tilted pretty severely when they’re out. It’s a bit of a new thing for Marleau, do he might be able to snap out of it, but I’m not sure Methot would be able to.
Click the names to see their career analytics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.
If you’re asking how the Oilers would fit any number of these guys in, it’s simple. I don’t believe that anybody would claim Kyle Brodziak or Colby Cave if they went through waivers and if one or both of Haas and Nygaard couldn’t cut it, they could have their deals mutually terminated and back to Europe they would go.
The problem with adding players is that there’s a limit on contracts though… Oilers are tight to the 50-man ceiling as it is and they’d definitely want to stay around 47 contracts if possible. They’d have to get creative, that’s for sure.
What do you think? Who’d you like to see come to Edmonton on a professional tryout? Let is know in the comments below!
