Below is a list of targets our beloved Lowetide has come up with (Here’s the link). Now, I’ve been wanting to comment on something like this for a while now but my time is split between running around Taipei for work and my two young children at home, I haven’t had the chance. So I’d like to use Lowetide’s list and comment on each player because if anyone has their eye’s on the ball regarding the Oilers, it’s LT.
RD Josh Manson, Anaheim Ducks. A dream solution to 2RHD.
– Perfect dman for the Oilers right now. I agree with LT here. He’s as mean as his old man but doesn’t quite have the shot. Skates better and is a tad smarter though. Fearless.
RD Radko Gudas, Philadelphia Flyers. Duck killer, if acquired.
– Some might be scared off by his previous run-ins with player safety but he’d neutralize any threats from the opposition and be a mentor to someone like Darnell Nurse and Matt Benning. This guy is an absolute tank and his shot may very well be one of the hardest in the league. Players get hurt when he takes the ice one way or the other.
RD Alex Petrovic, Florida Panthers. Rugged D, good possession numbers.
– I’m not as sold on Petrovic as LT. He’s only okay to me. Kris Russell was a better defender with worse possession numbers for Edmonton in my opinion. There are better players out there and yeah, he’ll drop the gloves but he’s not a great scrapper.
RD Travis Hamonic, NY Islanders. A rumored target.
– Hottest rumor out there has Hamonic coming in for Eberle but I can’t see it. He’s better than De Haan I reckon but isn’t as consistent as of recent. The Isles would be better off finding a way to keep him but if Edmonton could get him, he’d be right up there with Manson as a very nice piece to add to the Oilers puzzle.
RD Mark Pysyk, Florida Panthers. Panthers young and emerging blue.
– Bob Green must be salivating at the thought of reuniting Griffin Reinhart and Mark Pysyk. Not only that but seeing as Reinhart looks to be the hill that Peter Chiarelli will die on these days, I’m sure he’d also be okay with him coming to Edmonton and attempting to re-animate that old Edmonton Oil Kings partnership. Is he a 2nd pairing dman though? Griffin sure isn’t.
RD Justin Faulk, Carolina Hurricanes. He brings a lot of offense, bigger ask obvious.
– Is Faulk a better version of Justin Schultz? As LT says, he brings a lot of offense but he hemorrhages chances defensively and is that the kind of player you want partnering up with Kris Russell next season if KR were to be re-signed?
RD Kevin Shattenkirk FREE AGENT (80gp, 13-43-56). One year at big coin?
– Boy, that is a big ticket for one year. That being said, it’s a great opportunity for both parties to hit a home run as it’s well known Shattenkirk would like to be beamed up to the Rangers and New York needs to rid itself of one of Marc Staal or Dan Girardi before stumping up for Shattenkirk. And the Oilers could use the year to rip up the league offensively before McDavid’s new contract kicks in and that would also give them a year to find a replacement for Shattenkirk internally or externally.
RD Sami Vatanen, Anaheim Ducks. Talented, inconsistent.
– Apparently, the teams are lining up for this Finnish defender even though he won’t be ready for the beginning of next season. I like him but man, coming back from that shoulder surgery will be hard. I can’t see him being as effective until the 2019 season. Not worth it to me.
RD Jason Demers, Florida Panthers. Veteran D visited Edmonton as UFA last summer.
– Honestly, I think that Matt Benning can do an equal-to-better job than Demers and he’s a helluva lot cheaper.
LD Kris Russell FREE AGENT. GM and coach like him, good chance he’ll return.
– I dig Russell but not at $4Mx4. Anything over $3M is an overpayment in my opinion.
RD David Savard, Columbus. Rarely mentioned but an interesting option.
– Really emerged this season on the Blue Jackets’ blue line. Very much an all-round defender but I think the Oilers are looking for somebody with a bit more offensive flair.
RD Matt Dumba, Minnesota Wild. Power play option, chaos in his game.
– Dumba isn’t a puck rusher like a Kris Letang but he’s got a cannon like Ryan Ellis. He hits like Scott Stevens but he defends a bit better than Justin Schultz. So plainly put, he has his pluses but the warts are pretty apparent too.
LD Ryan Murray, Columbus Blue Jackets. Doesn’t seem a fit.
– That’s a good summary of Murray from LT. Is he better or worse than Kris Russell in your opinion?
RD Cody Franson FREE AGENT. His fancy stats: Out of the blue and into the black.
– I reckon I heard Jason Gregor talking about how Franson has trouble pivoting and is Marshmellow Man soft…
RD Tyson Barrie, Colorado Avalanche. He had a poor year, but has talent.
– His price point is up there at $5.5M per year and he really is chaos defensively but he puts up the points and he doesn’t take shit from anybody. Just ask Pat Maroon. Could cost the Oilers dear to acquire him.
LD Brian Campbell FREE AGENT (80gp, 5-12-17). The man can still wheel.
– I like this option because it could be very helpful to the Oilers salary cap. I don’t think he’d cost very much, he’s a veteran (which I think the Oilers could use more of), and as LT says, he can still skate. Think of him as a 2006 Bret Hedican type.
LD Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins. Played over 23 minutes a game this past season.
– On the last year of his deal, making $4M, still plays a beastly game. I really believe he’d make a positive impact of the Oilers could get him. That said, the relationship between Boston and Chiarelli since his firing has been frosty at best.
RD Michael Stone FREE AGENT (64gp, 3-12-15). Last chance Texaco.
– He’s going to get the same kind of money that Kris Russell is going for, isn’t he? I don’t like it long-term. The Oilers need more offense in a defenseman for that kind of money on the 2nd pairing.
There are a couple names I believe Lowetide failed to mention, one being Jacob Trouba. I think he’d fit in well in Edmonton and surely that trade demand out of Winnipeg is still lingering. The other being Noah Hanifin.
Don’t ask me why Ron Francis would even entertain the notion of dealing him. Maybe they reckon he’s going to ask for a pretty penny once his entry-level contract is up and they like Slavvin and Pesce in the long run a bit better. And with the likes of Roland McKeown, Hadyn Fleury, Jake Bean, and Klaus Dahlbeck coming up, perhaps they feel they could really cash in on him…
If that really is the case, I’d be happy to send Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to Carolina for Hanifin. I’d add to that to make it happen too. Noah Hanifin is a better version of Seth Jones and we saw how well he’s turned out for Columbus.
If I had to choose a top 5 out of the list of Lowetide’s above who I think the Oilers are after, I’d go with this:
- Kevin Shattenkirk
- Travis Hamonic
- Tyson Barrie
- Matt Dumba
- Justin Faulk
My top 5 would be different:
- Josh Manson
- Radko Gudas
- Travis Hamonic
- Tyson Barrie
- Zdeno Chara
Which dmen would you like to see the Oilers pursue? Are there any on Lowetide’s list above you wouldn’t tough with Zdeno Chara’s stick? Let us know in the comments below!
Do not go after Manson, all I’m saying is the guy overachieved in the playoffs. Let him stay in Anaheim and let McDavid expose him for many years. Shattenkirk would be nice, but can’t see it happening. If you can get someone like De Haan or Hamonic for Ebs that would be great, trim some fat elsewhere and sign Oshie.
Josh Manson had been good all season. Not sure why you think he’s over achieved.