There’s a big trade Oilers fans can see coming from a mile away. It may not happen, but the genesis of the deal came at the NHL draft one year ago. Will we see this deal go down one year later?
I’m not going to spend too much time discussing last season’s rumors (Edmonton and Philadelphia were clearly talking up to and through the draft), but there’s plenty to talk about this summer. First, the draft itself is in Philadelphia, and teams traditionally make a splash to excite the hometown fanbase.
Second, these teams match up so bloody well it’s crazy.
- Example: The Flyers, who have almost no cap space, signed Kimmo Timonen today. Why? Because they had to, there was very little choice. Despite being 900 years old, Timonen can play the game.
Timonen is still facing tough competition deep into his 30’s and his blue bubble in the Vollman Sledgehammer tells us good things are happening. Also notice Braydon Coburn: lighter (less effective) blue bubble, tougher zone starts and the toughest opposition available. That’s a nice season, and a strong recovery from one year ago (Coburn struggled last season). Flyers had to make today’s move.
- Example: In that article, Tim Panaccio says “the Flyers are light years behind a number of NHL Stanley Cup
contenders in terms of young, agile defensemen, and they desperately
need to get faster on the back end.”
Hmm. Braydon Coburn makes $4.5M this coming season and 2015-16 before entering free agency. The Oilers have loads of young agile defensemen, and can take on cap dollars.
Is there a deal there? I think there is. Which defenseman heads out of town? You tell me.
THAT’S NOT ALL…
Let’s say the Oilers trade a young defenseman for Braydon Coburn. That’s not the only match. Among the things Edmonton would find attractive on the Flyers roster:
- Braydon Coburn
- young center like Sean Couturier or Brayden Schenn
- Luke Schenn (for the shutdown role)
- Wayne Simmonds
- Scott Hartnell
That’s a lot. And if you look the other way, there’s another impressive list of Oilers the Flyers might see as options:
- Martin Marincin
- Oscar Klefbom
- 3rd overall selection
- Jordan Eberle
- David Perron
IS THERE A DEAL?
No one wants to trade Marincin, and no one wants to trade No. 3 overall, but the Oilers and Flyers match up. Agile defensemen, cap dollars and a draft day splash could mean Edmonton does some one-stop shopping in Philadelphia later this month.
Thia last season was the season from hell for all us Oiler fans. So much was destroyed; hope, faith, optimism, all gone by November (or possibly before.) Playoffs were not the same, last night’s win for LA was irrelevant for me. The Oilers’ season absolutely took away the enjoyment of hockey for me. Sobbing with Smytty was a combination of sobbing for the team as well as him. I don’t care what we do to improve, I just don’t ever want to feel this negative about my favourite team/sport ever again. Finishig on a high note at the end of the season was great; I just wish we had that drive all season. So, draft and free agency is around the corner, we shall wait and see what happens. I usually get my game tickets the day they are released, I may wait until 4-5 games into the season before I open my wallet. C’mon Oilers, make us proud once again.
I was under the impression watching their first round exit against New York that members of the Philly media were not impressed with Couturier’s 0 points in 7 games while playing lots of minutes.
Not saying one way or another that they’re right for feeling that way, or that the thought is echoed in management, but I’ve seen GMs make crazier decisions than to give up on a kid for not producing in 1 round of playoff hockey.
Quoted the wrong guy, meant to quote camdog….
The Edmonton media still brings up the possibility of bringing back Penner as a value added contract. Suffice to say I don’t put too much credence in what the media says.
Courtier is a 6-3, turning 22 and very good value added contract. To replace Courtier’s minutes in the line up Philly would have to increase their salary, they can’t afford to do that.
You’re logically correct. However, assuming that the Flyers GM follows the same path, how do you justify McDonald on a long term $5m/year deal?
I’m not saying you’re wrong; it is correct to think that trading Couturier based on his playoff performance, given his abilities as a shutdown center, given his scoring rate at even strength, given his record in junior, given his upside, given his size, given his current low price, is flawed. Of course it’s flawed.
The other thing that is often flawed is how GMs analyze their own talent. The Flyers have a demonstrated ability to make questionable decisions. Therefore, it’s not that crazy to think that they might make 1 more. This means it’s worth pursuing. Might not happen, I get that. But it’s worth a shot.
Who cares? Anyone with half a brain would have seen that the Oilers are at least 3-4 years away from ever competing with the Ducks/Blues/Sharks/Hawks and now champs Kings. Only way we ever make it past 1st round is if they move our small team out East.
Dream on fans. Keep on predicting trades, and coaching changes etc. Unless you fire Lowe and become respectable in the league again as a functional business hockey team, no one will ever trade with us or come play here at the city’s joke of the league.
Now trash please…… 🙂
There is nothing Philly has that really interests me……….how about we trade Eakins, Bucky and Lowe for the Schenn brothers?
No one has mentioned that trade.
If Braydon Coburn was all that , Philly would not be trading him, Flyers are a team in desperate need of D-men and they are going to trade their so called “Best D-man”
A team that needs D-men does not trade D-men that are good.
Red Flag
True that!
#foolsgold
I hear what you’re saying but have to disagree and remind you we’re Oiler fans.
Here’s a sad statement… A playoff team’s (Philly) under performing defence-men would be the Oiler’s (perennial bottom dwellers) best defence-men.
He would be far from the end all answer but Coburn would be a welcomed improvement on this team. If Philly wants to shed some cap and doesn’t ask the sun&moon, a Coburn deal could benefit both teams.
i understand the idea behind players like Nail having “low trade value” and Perron having “high trade value” so let’s trade him, but i still believe there are teams out there willing to take a gamble on Nail showing his immense potential down the road every bit as much as some fans sing the praises of Couturier, and he hasn’t set the world on fire either, but his *potential* is definitely there, so why couldn’t we expect to get the same value back for Nail as the Flyers would expect for Couturier? or put it this way….why would the Flyers expect to get full value for Couturier, but we have to settle for less for Nail?
If Oilers did trade for Coburn they would be getting a 2nd pairing D-man.
He is not a first pairing D-man and never will be.
And yet in the real world Coburn’s Vollman sledgehammer superimposes over both Zdeno Chara and Ryan McDonagh.
They faced almost exactly the same level of competition and all performed well.
Coburn is not one of the best 10 D in the league. That’s why he only makes $4.5M a year not $7-8M a year. He is most definitely however a top pairing D. To suggest otherwise is sheer stupidity.
That is why Philly wants to trade him, because he is a top 10 d-man in the league. Every team in the league would be knocking at the door if they used your logic.
Advanced stats can be helpful but the eye test is better. You think this is some secret formula using Vollman sledgehammer . It must be easy then to build a winner.
Hate to break it to you but Edmonton is far from the only team interested in Braydon Coburn.
If you think the only viable solution is a top 10 D in the league you’re going to be disappointed.
FYI…Phi doesn’t “want” to trade Coburn anymore than the Oilers want to trade Eberle or Yakupov. They need other players which means giving up a player of value.
Reading is fundamental.
In my opinion the 3rd overall holds a certain value that should be utilized unless an exceptional offer comes along. Not one of the Philly players listed is worth that one pick on their own. A multi player deal could work however.
Flyers get: Gagner+(Eberle or Perron)+(Marincin or Klefbom)+ 3rd overall.
Oilers get: Couturier + Luke Schenn + Simmonds
Couturier is that 2nd line Center the team needs. Luke Schenn is likely a 3rd pair D but solid in that role. Simmonds would replace Ebs and bring the physical element missing in the top 6.
For the Flyers they get a Stud in Eberle or Perron. They get Marincin or Klef which have more upside then Luke Schenn. And 3rd overall to draft possibly a Yound Stud D man or a very good future C.
High price to pay but how else would you get a 2nd line Center and a top 6 physical winger?
If Ekblad fell to #3 and Oilers traded that pick to the Flyers they may have a small chance of getting Sean Couturier since the draft is in Philadelphia they may want to make a big splash with the so called coming of the next Chris Pronger .
That would be the only trade I would make with the Philly. Oilers are not making the playoffs next year and 2015 is supposedly full of top end D-men if that is what they want. Oilers are building for the future and not just for next year.
Braydon Coburn has 22 points in his last 115 games. 6 goals. On a team with pretty good offence. He turns 30 next year. . D-men peak
around the age of 29. So Oilers must understand what they would be trading for.
I’d take Coburn over Petry all day.
In 2 years I’d take Petry over Coburn. I actually don’t think there’s much difference between them. Give Petry another 2 years of experience and pair him with defensively reliable forwards, and well they are the same player.
The only gem on the Flyers that I’d really pine for is Voracek. Getting him in some kind of package would be the coup de grace, give us two top centers (one with size), and suddenly we’re at least legit.
Maybe Marincin and the 3rd for Voracek and the 17th, something like that… anything, but this is seriously the one guy I’d target who could be had, I think, for a fair price. They’ll want too much for Simmonds, Schenn, etc., just like they’ll want too much for Voracek, but if you get Voracek, you know it’s going to pan out. Take the sure thing, and he’s still a kid. Kopitar-like tendencies. Perfect for what this team needs.
By the way: no chance in hell I’d trade Klefbom. No chance, not until I’ve seen more, because what I saw late in the year reeked of stardom, or defensive stud, whatever term you want to use. The kid’s got some serious tools, including size, smarts, and can really skate. You can’t trade that off this team, that would be a huge mistake. Marincin’s toolkit is a little different, and he does have big upside, too, but it’s Klefbom’s tools that could make him a true stud in every category. Maybe I would choose Petry to move, though I’m a fan of his, simply being afraid of trading Marincin’s upside away. But I wouldn’t touch Klefbom or Nurse. Heck, I’d keep them over Justin Schultz, too.
agreed about Klefbom. The kids awesome, always positive, always smiling, awesome name for a defencemen. Best Oiler D-name since Beaukeboom! I think he has potential to be a shut-down D that can put 25-35 points.
They better not be trading Marincin. The kid is gold. best rookie defense I have seen in an Oilers uniform in forever.
Philly will sell their collective left nut at the draft to retool their defense.
Whatever we think or may believe Philly is not a contender for the Sc with that defence.Its built to imo compete against teams like SJ and LA rather than Montreal or Pittsburgh.
They are slow and plodding. Coburn pretty much turned into a pylon when push came to shove.Speed killed him.He could not defend against the rush at all.
I like Coburn as a defensive option for the Oilers.I like him because he would not be asked to do anything other than defend from the blueline in. You pair him with JS or JP and that makes JS chaos a little more manageable.
Luke Shenn I would take without reservation and say thank you very much.Pair him with Ference and you have a solid 5-6.Petry and Marincin would do nicely in a 3-4 role.
Brayden Shenn imo is so undervalued its a wonder that Philly has let him get to RFA status.They have painted themselves into a corner with BShenn. Can’t pay him because they dollars to shore up their defence. They have Scott Laughton chomping at the bit waiting in the wings.
On the Oilers I see him as a solid second line center.I would take him with no reservations.
What will it cost? Not a hell of a lot. Philly does not want salary back unless it comes with JP attached or JS attached to it.
Will it cost us the number 3? Not a chance. If we really wanted B Shenn all we would have to do is offer sheet him. Philly has no cap room to match the offer.But why bother.Philly has to decide sooner or later that their not going to compete at the next level with the defence that they put on the ice last year.
If I am Philly and here it is Lowetide the 3-1 deal is their best option.
Of the top 20 tough comp EB+VGA/60 Dmen
15 faced 1sts with 1st and 2nd teamates.
5 faced 1st with 3rd/4th tea mates.
lovejoy
Bellimore
oduya
Fowler
Marincin
What the h…… would you trade the Dmna driving our 1st comp D pair success.
marincin was the 3rd best tough comp Dman keeping Shots to perimeter behind Chara and Lovejoy.
Marincin, Klefbom, Nurse, Ference & Schultz are all safe from being traded in my opinion. Every other defenceman in the organization is likely available in the right scenario. Would love to see Coburn in Oilers silks but I’m thinking Klefbom or Marincin would have to part of that deal for the Flyers to pull the trigger.
Why trade a young defenceman , why do we always offer up our young D and Perron .Why not trade someone like Nuge , what is he gonna be , hes so small will he ever really be an effective centreman in the NHL ??? Why not trade Nuge for Simmonds and Coburn , draft one of the 3 excellent centres available this year and sign another centre this summer and go from there . I think its time to start considering the NUGE as a bust .
I know you’re joking.
at 0.75pts/gm after 3 seasons and you call him a bust?
*whistles at the sky and walks away*
Pretty much i would , do you think Colorado would trade him for landeskog even up right now ???He will never be able to compete with the big centres in the west , heck that kid in Calgary dominates him , he is just too small and weak , hes not a 1st line centre in todays NHL .
When I think I have heard it all a gem like this comes up. If you think Nugent Hopkins is a bust then you are an idiot, especially when you run your mouth saying “that kid in Calgary dominates him”.
Do you think Calgary would trade NUGE for Monahan one for one , would you ?? Name calling the first resort of people who cant back up their argument lol
Let me guess next your gonna wait for me after school when you leave your Moms basement and beat me up cuz youz a gangsta !!! LOL
Coburn was a turn over machine in the playoffs this year.. I’d take Simmonds couturier and b schenn in a heart beat though
I agree that we should not call each other names. In fact, Guy – I think you are a beautiful flower that is special in many ways.
However, your hockey knowledge is not one of them. I can pretty much see why Jeremy got upset. Your opinions are so wrong it is offensive to some and causes others to post for the first time ever!I say this without malice: you are either A) a very effective troll or B) not watching the games
If you think that Monahan>Nuge and are confident or even remotely comfortable with calling Nuge a bust then, then, then…
Then there is no need to begin the discussion.