Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Edmonton Oilers make changes, change nothing.

The Oilers made a high profile move today, acquiring Derek Roy from the Nashville Predators in exchange for Mark Arcobello. I assume the main goal was to bring in some veteran leadership to help push those young kids along.

I understand Arcobello isn't a major prospect, and an undersized forward isn't something you build your team around, but it's not like he's a total slouch.  A defensively responsible forward, he can handle minutes on the power play and penalty kill.  Plus, he's only in his second season and he's shown some signs of success in the NHL so far. And his 28 points in 15 AHL games while the NHL was locked out show his potential could actually be pretty high. Small Sample Size, I know...minor league, I know. This isn't the basis of my argument. Still, two points per game over double digit games is impressive, and it's not like this was in junior hockey when stats like those are more common. He was playing against professional hockey players.

Edmonton is full of young players, but that's exactly what a rebuilding team needs.  Just because it hasn't worked so far doesn't mean the solution is to get rid of young, cost controlled players for aging veterans(who are also undersized).  Arcobello is an RFA after this season and I can't imagine he'll demand a high cap hit. When your team already has $22 million locked away for Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Benoit Pouliot(!!!) for the next four plus seasons, a guy like Arcobello is exactly what they need, especially considering they'll need to worry about a Draisaitl contract extension in a couple years(and the Yakupov contract that expires this season). That's not even including the David Perron, Teddy Purcell, and to a lesser extent, Boyd Gordon contracts all expiring after next season.  They're going to be in some trouble financially pretty soon. Because there's only so much money you can devote to a group of forwards, especially when it's obvious their main problem is defence.

Plus...plus...Roy just finished clearing waivers. Like...JUST finished clearing waivers. If Edmonton wanted him, they could've just...had him. Without giving up anyone in the process.


Josh Cooper from Puck Daddy has a different opinion. He thinks the move was good for both teams(he was half right).  Using an Oilers Nation quote, he writes this:

Wait … but if Roy was on waivers, why did Oilers GM Craig MacTavish trade for him?
There is actually solid reasoning behind this says Oilers Nation:
 Arcobello is on a cheap, one-year contract worth $600,000; Roy is on a cheap, one-year contract worth $1.0 million. Arcobello has 12 points in 36 games; Roy has 10 points in 26 games ...
 ... For one thing, this reduces the dollars the team is taking on significantly
The team SIGNIFICANTLY reduces the amount of dollars it's taking on? The difference between $600,000 prorated and $1,000,000 prorated is going to be like $200,000. How is that significant? I know I mentioned earlier that the Oilers might be in trouble financially, but not this season. And if the difference between $200,000 is make-or-break, that's some kind of financial trouble.
and for another it doesn't add a contract to the 50-man list.
Ok, well that part makes sense, I guess...
And ...
They get a player who has been a more effective scorer at even-strength this season.
They get a veteran with 692 games of NHL experience rather than a sophomore who has yet to reach 82 games
When you put it that way it sounds like Edmonton got what it needed in this case.
Ok. I get it. Right now, Derek Roy might be a little bit better than Mark Arcobello. But your team is 7-22-7. You're ten points behind Buffalo. The Buffalo Sabres that are last place in shots per game AND shots allowed per game. BUFFALO. Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.  The BUFFALO!!!! SABRES!!!!!!!! RIVET!!!!!!

 
This seems like the kind of move a contender would make to bolster their roster before their playoff run. It's not going to do anything for Edmonton. First of all, it's been five years since Roy has had any sort of legitimate success in the NHL, and now that he's on the wrong side of 30, I can't imagine this will help resurrect his career. But more importantly, he signed a one year contract in the summer. I doubt very highly he's going to re-sign with Edmonton if he could potentially spend his twilight years on a contending team.

So what does this move do? Marginally improve the team now while hurting their future? Cool. Nice job. I mean, at this point the season's a total wash, so what's the upside to a slight roster improvement? Best case scenario with this deal is they move from 30th in the league to 29th or 28th, and then their odds at McDavid/Eichel go down.
But acquiring Roy wasn't all Edmonton did. No, no, no. They also acquired Matt Fraser from Boston in a waiver deal. Wow! Matt Fraser!  You might remember him as the centerpiece of the deal that sent Tyler Seguin to Dallas. Or, maybe not. Anyway, here's a picture of Matt Fraser whiffing on a slap shot and breaking his stick.

Nice form.

Apparently this is the only thing he's ever done, otherwise I assume they would've found a better picture of him.
A quick recap of what out buddy Matt brings to the table:
51 NHL games. 6 goals, 2 assists, 8 points. 17PIM, 65 hits 10:27ATOI, 25 career seconds short-handed, 13:22 career powerplay. So, a 4th liner who doesn't contribute on special teams, doesn't provide offence, and isn't overly physical.  Nice. A good depth move, says Oilers Nation. Hey, at least he's not undersized!
The only problem I see with this is that he adds a contract to the 50-man list.......
and for another it doesn't add a contract to the 50-man list.
Oops.

Monday, December 1, 2014

Looking forward to watching some All-Stars? Montreal, Riga, Chicago, and Pittsburgh are.


Ladies and Gentlemen, your 2015 NHL all star team! The Chicago Blackhawks/Montreal Canadiens/Pittsburgh Penguins!

Now, your starting lineup, based on leading votes per position in each conference.

In the Western Conference:

Starting Goaltender, from the Chicago Blackhawks, Corey Crawford!
At Defence, from the Chicago Blackhawks, Duncan Keith! And from the Chicago Blackhawks, Brent Seabrook!
At Centre, from the Chicago Blackhawks, Jonathan Toews!
At Left Wing, from the Chicago Blackhawks, Patrick Sharp!
And starting at Right Wing, from the Chicago Blackhawks, Patrick Kane!

Now, for the Eastern Conference:

Starting goaltender, from the Montreal Canadiens, Carey Price!
On Defence, from the Montreal Canadiens, P.K. Subban! And from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Kris Letang!
At Centre, from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby!
Starting Left Wing, best player in the NHL, most certainly better than Nicklas Backstrom...Zemgus Girgensons!
And starting Right Wing, from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Evgeni Malkin!

I wonder who's going to win the Phil Kessel award at this year's mid-winter classic?