Someone’s In Big Trouba

Okay, before you beat me up and take my lunch money for that pun that doesn’t even really work if you read it out loud, let’s just talk about a few things. A recap, if you will, of a rather eventful few days at a point in the offseason not really close to any major events, when we as hockey writers have to just take it upon ourselves to manufacture controversy wherever we can. I will gladly shoulder that burden.

• By now, we’re all painfully aware of the comments made by Klefbom in regard to Hall and his play against tough competition, and how it was in all likelihood someone in the Oilers organization who made him “clarify” those comments the next morning, when they became a whole lot more politically correct and a whole lot less about Hall

Got an Klefbom update for you: Talked with Oscar again and he wanted to add to his previous statements.. (1/3) #Oilers

— Ola Winther (@OlaWinther) July 31, 2016

First and foremost Klefbom said: "All of our key players underperformed, including myself. Not only Taylor Hall".. (2/3) #Oilers

— Ola Winther (@OlaWinther) July 31, 2016

• Tyson Barrie is going to be an Avalanche… Avalancher?.. for the foreseeable future and not, in fact, an Oiler. Boo-urns.
• Jacob Trouba and Winnipeg management are “far apart on money, term, and usage”, according to comments made by TSN’s Gary Lawless on “That’s Hockey” on Tuesday

But what does it all mean, man?

Well, a few things, maybe:

• The Cubs are still not going to win the World Series
• If one more goddamn Pidgey breaks out of one of my pokeballs, I’m deleting Pokémon Go for good
• Maybe Klefbom gets traded to Winnipeg for Trouba?

I know, I know, that’s ridiculous. I’ll never delete Pokémon Go. So let’s talk about why the Oilers and the Jets do this trade.

Anyone who’s been paying attention the last few years knows that Peter Chiarelli absolutely does not care at all about your opinion when it comes to who he gets rid of from an organization. Phil Kessel, Tyler Seguin, and Taylor Hall can all attest to that. He also has no time for guys who he feels are sources of “character problems” inside or outside the locker room. Do Klef’s comments put him firmly on Chia’s shit list? Who knows. But if the rumours are true that he was the one who got on the phone and laid down the law, you’ve got to think there’s tension there.

Enter, the Winnipeg Jets and their inability to retain young talent long-term. There’s an argument to be made that the Jets are under-utilizing one of their best defensive assets, and it’s probably pissing him off, especially if they’re trying to lowball him on his well-earned bridge contract. Jacob is watching Dustin “The Brandon Davidson Killer” Byfuglien lumber around with a $7.6M contract until 2021 and he wants to get his, too. I reckon he’s asking for something like a $6Mx4 and guaranteed PP minutes, and the Jets don’t want to pony up just yet, on term or price.

Maybe a guy like Klefbom, locked in at under $4.2M for the next 6 seasons looks pretty appealing to Winnipeg right now. Maybe the Oilers take a shot on Trouba (who is pretty much a known quantity at this point, who stays healthier than poor Klef has historically) and give him the $6M he wants for a few years. We’ll be shedding some anchors soon with all the money tied up in Ference and Nikitin, and we have almost $8.5M in cap space left as it is. Woodguy (one half of the very cool WoodMoney stat co-created by BLH’s own G Money) loves the guy, and he’s a lot smarter than me and has the fancystats to prove what an asset Trouba would be. The Oilers so desperately need defencemen who consistently maintain possession and drive offense, which is Jacob’s specialty. Now, that’s not to say the numbers indicate that Klefbom doesn’t do that — because he definitely does — but what I’m saying is that we wouldn’t necessarily miss him all that much. (I mean, I would miss just looking at him at the very least, and these top Google suggestions would seem to indicate the Edmonton area would share my pain.)

But we’ll plop BDavey on the top line on Larsson’s wing and let them just be awesome and rock solid together and out-Corsi everyone in the Pacific. Look at what it does to our defensive lineups:

Davidson – Larsson
Sekera- Trouba
Nurse – Fayne/Oesterle

Holy smokes, right? That’s an objectively awesome defensive lineup. And cheap, too! Dare I say it, that’s a playoff d-core.

And all because Klefbom shot his mouth off a bit to the Swedish press. It sure is nice here in perpetual optimism land, where the glass is always half full and this year is always our year!