Earlier Oilers Now! host Bob Stauffer put out this incredibly “cryptic” tweet about the Oilers bringing in a centre on a PTO and as Stauff says there, all of the Oilers top pivots will be playing at the World Cup of Hockey in the Big Smoke (Toronto) at the beginning of training camp.
Oilers will have 3 C's (McDavid, Draisaitl, RNH) at World Cup. Don't be surprised if Oilers invite a C in on PTO for training camp
— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) August 28, 2016
WHO THEY BRINGING IN?
Well, I was talking to friend a friend of the blog and he mentioned Dominic Moore and his name was tossed out there by Sammi Silber over at Oil on Whyte.
“However, his problems stem from capitalizing on opportunities, and he can be inconsistent at times. Overall, he is a decent forward to fill out the third or fourth line,a and would be an upgrade over Letestu.”
I don’t agree here. Moore is 36 years old and is barely a 4th line centre in the league right now and he’s left-handed BUT his name is one of two that I’ve been told the Oilers are looking at bringing in.
Silber also mentioned the oft-injured David Legwand and the towering Paul Gaustad. Both of whom the Oilers could’ve had in the past but passed on and at this point I don’t see them wanting to get that much slower or that much older.
NAME NO.2
is cody Hodgson a UFA?
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) August 28, 2016
Cody “mutha fackin'” Hodgson eh? Here’s a kid, 26 years old only, who can’t seem to find a place to get set up and it’s a shame really. I really liked him in junior and he was looking like quite the prospect. A back injury is what derailed him if I’m not mistaken…
That’s a lot of usage of the word “lack”…
The former 10th overall pick from the 2008 NHL Entry Draft (Vancouver) spent the first two seasons of his career in the Canucks’ organization before being moved to Buffalo for current Oiler, Zack Kassian. Then he spun his wheels in Buffalo for four seasons putting up 99 points in 218 games (approx. 0.45 ppg) and after the Sabres got tired of his inconsistent play, he was bought out of his 6 year deal with four of those years remaining. Hodgson found a lifeline in Nashville but unfortunately his scoring touch was still in Brampton (Hodgson played for the Brampton Battalion of the OHL).
I’ve shat on him a bit here but IF he could rekindle the touch he had in 2012 and to a lesser extend in 2013, the Oilers would really have a nice complimentary centre in the three-hole.
So here’s the thing, Hodgson is a right-handed centre and that truly is what the Oilers are looking for. Nobody’s saying that if the Oilers offered him a PTO and he accepted it, that he’d be an Oiler come October. If the boys are going into camp with Letestu, Caggiula, Platzer, Chase, and Lander… The more NHL-level talent (if you can still regard Hodgson as that), the better.
Speaking of Lander, expect him to spend the remainder of his contract in Bakersfield. I don’t think the Oilers have time for him anymore since his offense packed its bags and went back to Sundsvall. He’s more or less in the same boat as Hodgson and if he were right-handed, we wouldn’t even be talking about this.
The one thing that both Lander and Moore have over Hodgson… They can win a draw. Hodgson’s career FO% is 46.4 and that’s not good enough.
WHAT ABOUT THIS GUY?
What about former Calgary Flame, Bill Arnold? Apart from having one of the most old-school names in hockey, Arnold was a decent scorer in NCAA with Boston College (144pts in 159gp) and put up respectable numbers in the AHL as well (60pts in 113gp).
“Arnold’s calling card screams two-way centre with shutdown capabilities. Whether it fully translates over to the NHL, or even AHL, remains to be seen. Judging from praise from his coach at Boston College, he can be counted upon to be responsible in all three zones. Coach Jerry York was able to deploy and utilize Arnold in all situations, including both the power play and penalty kill.” – Matchsticks and Gasoline
“Arnold is a hard-working center with some offensive instincts who can play the defensive shutdown role. He puts up solid offensive numbers by driving hard to the net in the attacking zone. Arnold is a physical two-way center with great character and an excellent work ethic. He is solidly built and has greatly improved his skating since his early college days but must continue to add mobility to compete at the NHL level. He can play on both specialty teams. Arnold has the hockey smarts to exploit his opponents’ weaknesses and recognize where his wingers are on the ice.” – HockeysFuture.com
So from what I’m gathering is that he’s a hard-working centre who can be utilized in a middle-bottom six role. He’s right-handed and he’s only 24 years old. I wish I could’ve found more info on his faceoff numbers in the AHL to give me a better idea of how he was on the dot. I really feel that the person playing 3C on the Oilers is going to have to be able to win draws as McDavid, Nuge, Draisaitl, and Letestu aren’t what you would call specialists in that area… Yet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhR8NbUjUFk
Now Letestu… Mr.”I got over the Taylor Hall trade in about two days”. HA! That made me laugh when I read that and I’ve got some more time for Letestes now. We all know that players do not talk poorly about traded teammates. It’s taboo amongst the hockey players fraternity but Letestu is no.3 (make it no.4 if you read into the Bob Nicholson comments on
We all know that players do not talk poorly about traded teammates. It’s taboo amongst the hockey players fraternity but Letestu is no.3 (make it no.4 if you read into the Bob Nicholson comments on Oilers Now! from last week) in the last 30 days to speak in such a manner about Hall… Poor guy, can’t keep his shit together, can he? Do you think if he can bring it all in and harness those emotions that he’ll be a more valued veteran player that a young one? I dunno, to me he’s our generation’s Mike Gartner just from a skills and production view point.
