Sabres Trade Miller
- Thread starter Ironhead
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Oilers must get a goalie and some D. They may have the offensive talents but Goalie and D wins championships.Agreed. It worked for the Pens and Blues. Now just a matter of time before the Oilers start to shine.
What are the Oilers in, Year 9 of the rebuild?Now just a matter of time before the Oilers start to shine.
Sorry. Don't think you can have both those statements.Though I think Miller is better, Halak is equally as good,
Oilers have had all the opportunities in the world to turn things around, with a string of number one picks, but being run by a bunch of morons does not help the cause. With glaring holes at the blueline and in net, they should have dealt the pick that they took Nail Yakupov with, and maybe have gotten themselves some help where they needed it. The other problem they have, is that they are a really small team, easy to push around. By the time things start to look bright in Oiler land, i fear guys like Hall, Hopkins, and/or Eberle will probably want out anyways.Agreed. It worked for the Pens and Blues. Now just a matter of time before the Oilers start to shine.
As for the Blues, they did fill a need for a top flight goalie, but another problem still remains with the Blues, and that is the lack of a true game breaking forward. The Blues are also not a team who will score a bunch of goals. Having said that, i agree with Kathleen, watching the Western Conference playoffs this year is going to be major fun. You have three of the last five Stanley Cups coming from the Western side (Chicago twice and Los Angeles once), as well as Anaheim, St.Louis and San Jose.
totally agree about the oilers. kevin lowe... the man is an idiot. should have drafted d- man for sure in last draft, and even before. get rid of lowe and bring in someone that,s not afraid to take a gamble.Oilers have had all the opportunities in the world to turn things around, with a string of number one picks, but being run by a bunch of morons does not help the cause. With glaring holes at the blueline and in net, they should have dealt the pick that they took Nail Yakupov with, and maybe have gotten themselves some help where they needed it. The other problem they have, is that they are a really small team, easy to push around. By the time things start to look bright in Oiler land, i fear guys like Hall, Hopkins, and/or Eberle will probably want out anyways.
As for the Blues, they did fill a need for a top flight goalie, but another problem still remains with the Blues, and that is the lack of a true game breaking forward. The Blues are also not a team who will score a bunch of goals. Having said that, i agree with Kathleen, watching the Western Conference playoffs this year is going to be major fun. You have three of the last five Stanley Cups coming from the Western side (Chicago twice and Los Angeles once), as well as Anaheim, St.Louis and San Jose.
Oilers must get a goalie and some D. They may have the offensive talents but Goalie and D wins championships.
The Oil are so worried about trading a guy that will score 70 goals a season at some point they are almost like a deer caught in the headlights.Oilers have had all the opportunities in the world to turn things around, with a string of number one picks, but being run by a bunch of morons does not help the cause. With glaring holes at the blueline and in net, they should have dealt the pick that they took Nail Yakupov with, and maybe have gotten themselves some help where they needed it. The other problem they have, is that they are a really small team, easy to push around. By the time things start to look bright in Oiler land, i fear guys like Hall, Hopkins, and/or Eberle will probably want out anyways.
As for the Blues, they did fill a need for a top flight goalie, but another problem still remains with the Blues, and that is the lack of a true game breaking forward. The Blues are also not a team who will score a bunch of goals. Having said that, i agree with Kathleen, watching the Western Conference playoffs this year is going to be major fun. You have three of the last five Stanley Cups coming from the Western side (Chicago twice and Los Angeles once), as well as Anaheim, St.Louis and San Jose.
They tried to trade out - using the #1/Yakupov pick and prospects to try to get Shea Weber before the Flyers made the offer the Preds matched - but couldn't get anything else that they thought was of remotely equal value for a guy they thought was Bure-like (Yakupov.)With glaring holes at the blueline and in net, they should have dealt the pick that they took Nail Yakupov with, and maybe have gotten themselves some help where they needed it. The other problem they have, is that they are a really small team, easy to push around. By the time things start to look bright in Oiler land, i fear guys like Hall, Hopkins, and/or Eberle will probably want out anyways.
While I think they have over-valued guys like RNH, Gagner and Eberle, I also believe they had the misfortune of getting the #1 pick in drafts without a true franchise player. Lowe is trying to emulate the Glen Sather formula from the 80s - get a bunch of talented young guys and let them grow together.
The main problem is they're not getting and/or developing the talent from later-round picks (Barry Fraser was Sather's chief scout who had an incredible eye for talent both early and late in the draft) which was how the Oilers - and more recently, the Red Wings - built their dynasty in the 1980s. For example, Messier was a 3rd round pick; Anderson & Kurri were 4th rounders. Lidstrom (3rd), Datsyuk (6th) and Zetterberg (7th) provided similar value for Detroit. The current Oilers have no legit top-line/pair guys from later rounds.
An aside: The 3 young Oilers you mentioned are locked up until at least the 2018/19 season. I agree they need some Brian Burke "pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence" to help the young guys develop, but I believe the thinking is these young guys need to learn to battle and stick up for themselves to become champions - again, like the 80s Oilers.
See above. No D in the 2012 draft was worth the #1 pick.totally agree about the oilers. kevin lowe... the man is an idiot. should have drafted d- man for sure in last draft, and even before. get rid of lowe and bring in someone that,s not afraid to take a gamble.
The Oilers drafted Darnell Nurse in the 2013 draft after trying to trade up to get Seth Jones when he fell to the 3rd, and later 4th pick. And keep in mind Aaron Ekblad is in the 2014 draft.
It's not easy to make trades for first-line/pair talent in the NHL - especially for top defencemen - in the salary cap era. I know the Oilers have previously tried and are trying desperately to get Weber - if they don't get him or someone similar before next season, then you can call the Lowe/MacTavish era a failure. Until then, patience - Nurse, Klefbom, Marincin, Musil, Simpson, Gustafsson and Gernat are all good (not great) D-men in the system and will fill out the 3-6 spots well. Nurse may even be a #2. And Justin Schultz will only get better.
Love the trade for both sides.Ryan Miller and Steve Ott have been traded to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Jaroslav Halak, Chris Stewart, William Carrier, a first-round draft pick in 2015 and a third-round draft pick in 2016.
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Wow...WOW! I though Miller would go, had no idea to such a good team.
Many shocks here added in. Blues giving up on Halak shocks me. Though I think Miller is better, Halak is equally as good, and surprised St Louis let him go. Also surprised at the picks St Louis gave up..
Buffalo I thought might trade Miller, but never thought Ott too. He is a warrior, and probably the only player on Buffalo who would give 100% despite the score. Big hole to fill in centre.
Win for both sides though, as St Louis now looks every bit as deep as Chicago and Aneheim. The west will be fun to watch this yr in the playoffs. While Buffalo now has 10 picks in the first two rounds of the 2014 and 2015 Drafts combined.
Buffalo going nowhere this year or the next two-three. Stockpiling talent is the way to go. Both the 2014 and 2015 drafts supposedly have a lot of high-end talent. Hopefully get rid of bad contracts (one or more of Christian Ehrhoff [$4M/year until 2020/21!], Tyler Myers, Ville Leino) and get prospects and/or top picks for free agents-to-be (Ryan Miller [check!], Steve Ott [check!] and probably Henrik Tallinder, Matt Moulson and maybe even turn around and flip Jaroslav Halak.) I think they could even get a decent return for Chris Stewart - Ottawa had serious interest in him before the Olympic break - but there's no rush as he's under contract for another year.
St. Louis didn't have the horses to get through the battles in the Western conference. Too good to stand pat, but not good enough to challenge for the Cup as they were. Halak is/was too inconsistent and Miller is one of the 5 or so best goalies in hockey. Ott is made for the playoffs and adds grit + scoring. One more tough two-way forward (too bad they had to give up Stewart) and they'll be the (on paper) favourite.
I think the Oilers need to give up on the idea they will ever get Shea Weber. A few things about Weber...why would the Preds want to get rid of him anyways? On the playing side, he is one of the premier D-men in the entire league. On the monetary side of things, they have already paid out more than half of his deal, so there is no financial incentive anymore to getting rid of him.
The Oilers could have traded down in the 2012 NHL Draft, as Yakupov was highly enough rated that teams would have moved up to get him. I agree that there were no D-prospects worthy of taking at number one that year, but they could have traded down, possibly still get a high pick, as well as a serviceable defenceman/goalie prospect. Rumours had Columbus offering their #1 (which was 2nd overall) and Jack Johnson, for the #1 pick. Oilers possibly could have had Johnson, and taken Ryan Murray (who will be a decent d-man). We will never know for sure, but point is, Oilers did not need Yakupov, and could have dealt the number one pick before the draft, or right after they did take him. Yaks still has value and a high ceiling, but Oilers will have a tough time getting value for him right now. They could have fallen further down in the first round, and drafted one of two very good goalie prospects in Andrei Vasilevski, or Malcolm Subban.
Eberle is a player with silky smooth hands, but does not do much else. RNH needs to badly bulk up, or he will continue to be easily pushed off of the puck his whole career. Gagner is decent, but not really a second line center, and paid way too much to be a third liner. Hall is awesome and fearless, but if he does not tone down his game, he will always continue to miss time with injuries. Justin Schultz is way over-rated, but he does have potential to be a fine offensive D-man. Hopefully, one of Nurse, Klefbom and Marincin will develop into the very least, a solid number two defenseman for the Oilers. It is sad to see this once proud franchise struggle for this long. The other problem they have is their coach, Eakins, he is a nut job. Way out of his element the first time around as an NHL coach.
As for the Blues-Sabres deal, it really was a good deal for both teams. Hopefully the Sabres draft well in the next few years, and some of their recent picks develop into prime players for them. They really seem to have an abundance of decent defence prospects on the horizon. Not sure if Enroth has number one goalie potential though. I also hope Ryan Miller gets his Stanley Cup ring, as he really is one of the good guys in the game, Ott as well.
Ironhead, who will score 70 goals in the league one day? Did you mean Taylor Hall? If so, i really don't think so.
The Oilers could have traded down in the 2012 NHL Draft, as Yakupov was highly enough rated that teams would have moved up to get him. I agree that there were no D-prospects worthy of taking at number one that year, but they could have traded down, possibly still get a high pick, as well as a serviceable defenceman/goalie prospect. Rumours had Columbus offering their #1 (which was 2nd overall) and Jack Johnson, for the #1 pick. Oilers possibly could have had Johnson, and taken Ryan Murray (who will be a decent d-man). We will never know for sure, but point is, Oilers did not need Yakupov, and could have dealt the number one pick before the draft, or right after they did take him. Yaks still has value and a high ceiling, but Oilers will have a tough time getting value for him right now. They could have fallen further down in the first round, and drafted one of two very good goalie prospects in Andrei Vasilevski, or Malcolm Subban.
Eberle is a player with silky smooth hands, but does not do much else. RNH needs to badly bulk up, or he will continue to be easily pushed off of the puck his whole career. Gagner is decent, but not really a second line center, and paid way too much to be a third liner. Hall is awesome and fearless, but if he does not tone down his game, he will always continue to miss time with injuries. Justin Schultz is way over-rated, but he does have potential to be a fine offensive D-man. Hopefully, one of Nurse, Klefbom and Marincin will develop into the very least, a solid number two defenseman for the Oilers. It is sad to see this once proud franchise struggle for this long. The other problem they have is their coach, Eakins, he is a nut job. Way out of his element the first time around as an NHL coach.
As for the Blues-Sabres deal, it really was a good deal for both teams. Hopefully the Sabres draft well in the next few years, and some of their recent picks develop into prime players for them. They really seem to have an abundance of decent defence prospects on the horizon. Not sure if Enroth has number one goalie potential though. I also hope Ryan Miller gets his Stanley Cup ring, as he really is one of the good guys in the game, Ott as well.
Ironhead, who will score 70 goals in the league one day? Did you mean Taylor Hall? If so, i really don't think so.
So you're calling for a Sabres vs. Oilers cup final in a few years.I think the Oilers need to give up on the idea they will ever get Shea Weber. A few things about Weber...why would the Preds want to get rid of him anyways? On the playing side, he is one of the premier D-men in the entire league. On the monetary side of things, they have already paid out more than half of his deal, so there is no financial incentive anymore to getting rid of him.
The Oilers could have traded down in the 2012 NHL Draft, as Yakupov was highly enough rated that teams would have moved up to get him. I agree that there were no D-prospects worthy of taking at number one that year, but they could have traded down, possibly still get a high pick, as well as a serviceable defenceman/goalie prospect. Rumours had Columbus offering their #1 (which was 2nd overall) and Jack Johnson, for the #1 pick. Oilers possibly could have had Johnson, and taken Ryan Murray (who will be a decent d-man). We will never know for sure, but point is, Oilers did not need Yakupov, and could have dealt the number one pick before the draft, or right after they did take him. Yaks still has value and a high ceiling, but Oilers will have a tough time getting value for him right now. They could have fallen further down in the first round, and drafted one of two very good goalie prospects in Andrei Vasilevski, or Malcolm Subban.
Eberle is a player with silky smooth hands, but does not do much else. RNH needs to badly bulk up, or he will continue to be easily pushed off of the puck his whole career. Gagner is decent, but not really a second line center, and paid way too much to be a third liner. Hall is awesome and fearless, but if he does not tone down his game, he will always continue to miss time with injuries. Justin Schultz is way over-rated, but he does have potential to be a fine offensive D-man. Hopefully, one of Nurse, Klefbom and Marincin will develop into the very least, a solid number two defenseman for the Oilers. It is sad to see this once proud franchise struggle for this long. The other problem they have is their coach, Eakins, he is a nut job. Way out of his element the first time around as an NHL coach.
As for the Blues-Sabres deal, it really was a good deal for both teams. Hopefully the Sabres draft well in the next few years, and some of their recent picks develop into prime players for them. They really seem to have an abundance of decent defence prospects on the horizon. Not sure if Enroth has number one goalie potential though. I also hope Ryan Miller gets his Stanley Cup ring, as he really is one of the good guys in the game, Ott as well.
Ironhead, who will score 70 goals in the league one day? Did you mean Taylor Hall? If so, i really don't think so.
Shack, too funny. Not a chance in hell that either the Oilers or Sabres win the Cup in the next 3-4 years. Hawks, Ducks and Blues are all stacked young teams who will all have a big say in who will be the champions in the next few years. The only thing that stopped the Hawks from being a dynasty, was the salary cap. Can you imagine adding Byfuglien, Ladd, Bolland, Niemi and Campbell back to this squad?
Oh, and don't forget Versteeg. Chicago just has to make good on the young players and drafts in return to be a contender for a long time. Their core is young and in their prime still.
