How about that game last night Oilers fans? Woooo! Did you expect Edmonton to put the hurt on Columbus like that? They treated the Metropolitan-leading Blue Jackets like they were a beer league team! Wow!
I nearly blew the roof off of my apartment with Puljujarvi scored his goal as well! I’m loving the Grinnin’ Finn more and more! Eberle who? Matt Barz- who cares! McDavid went from top ten in scoring to top three in one game to boot!
Lastly, Laurent Brossoit baby! Shut down three outstanding teams recently and I’m glad because Twitter had become a cesspool of just petty bullshit recently. Now that those folks have nothing to complain about, it’s a bit more tolerable.
Recently Boston Scribe Jimmy Murphy tweeted out that the Oilers were looking at Boston Bruins forward Frank Vatrano.
If – and this is just an if at this point – Frank Vatrano was moved, #NHLBruins may be looking for more in return than one might expect. He's still young and has the potential to find his scoring touch w/change of scenery and good center. I know #Oilers have expressed interest.
— Jimmy Murphy (@MurphysLaw74) December 11, 2017
Now if that name sounds familiar to those who regularly keep pace with the Oilogosphere and Lowetide’s postings, it should. Lowetide has been musing upon Vatrano’s name for a good part of this season to date. Just head over to his site and type “Vatrano” into his search box and you’ll find blogs all throughout November with little bits about one of Chiarelli’s last signings before he was let go in Boston.
I’ll be honest, I don’t know a helluva lot about Frank Vatrano but from my outstanding Youtube scouting background, I can tell you that he’s got an outstanding release, skates well, and doesn’t seem to be afraid to muck it up.
skates hard north south when he wants. Biggest issue is inconsistency and maybe not using his shot as much as he can. Confidence seemed to dwindle with arrival of all the young guns here.
— Jimmy Murphy (@MurphysLaw74) December 13, 2017
Mike Drover from Dobber’s Prospects said this about Vatrano back in September,
Vatrano will be looking to get back on track early this season. Last year, a September injury derailed the majority of his campaign and Vatrano struggled to find ice-time late in the season. While being held to under 14 minutes a game, and not seeing prime offensive ice-time, Vatrano still managed 18 points in just over half a season. Not bad for a player who was recovering from foot surgery. If Vatrano can get the right deployment this season, and remain healthy, he’s a threat for 20 goals and 40-45 points.
And Dobber’s also had this to say in general about the 5’9″ 201lb left-shooting winger,
Vatrano, a late bloomer, isn’t big and his game isn’t well-rounded. But he’s got a wicked shot, and is ready to jump to the NHL.
You’re probably saying that the Oilers don’t require another addition to their bottom 6 but I am very confident in saying that Vatrano would be an upgrade on Drake Caggiula, Anton Slepyshev, and Nathan Walker but he might be a tad injury prone.
If it was me making the deal, I’d be moving Caggiula in a deal for him. I’ve not been impressed by the Drake this season and now that he finds himself in the doghouse a bit, I just feel like perhaps a player like Frank Vatrano would be a better option. I asked Jimmy Murphy what he thought the price would be for Vatrano,
3rd rd pick and second tier prospect
— Jimmy Murphy (@MurphysLaw74) December 13, 2017
That seems a tad high to me. I’d definitely see if Caggiula would get it done. Then again, maybe Caggiula is considered a 2nd tier prospect in Bruins GM Don Sweeney’s eyes… Both Caggiula and Vatrano are RFAs at seasons end by the way.
What are your thoughts? If you watch Boston a bit more, maybe you can enlighten us in the comments section as to your opinion on Frank Vatrano.
