In all the wreckage left from Hockey Night in Canada’s most recent Headlines segment and everything that’s followed, I feel like we’ve missed an interesting sidebar to the conversation. And that seems more than fair given everything we have caught.
To recap: the Oilers are unhappy with the Ryan Strom for Jordan Eberle deal, need help on the right wing and are considering trading away, at the very least, Jussi Jokinen and Anton Slepyshev among others. Oh, and they have to decide what to do with Kailer Yamamoto soon.
And if that wasn’t enough, Connor McDavid set the internet on fire with his choice of a Halloween costume.
It appears Connor McDavid misinterpreted the Oilers’ need for offensive right wingers pic.twitter.com/ogAn8x1mNf
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) October 30, 2017
Rest easy, though, because we at OilersNation are nothing if not meticulous. And one detail that caught my attention throughout all this was Elliotte Friedman making a quip about whether there might be a fit between Edmonton and Chris Kreider during Saturday’s Headlines segment.
“They’re looking for speed –and you know one of the teams that we’re going to watch tonight is the Rangers — and I just wonder, depending on what the Rangers decide to do, if there can be a fit with someone like Chris Kreider.”
Before we get any further, let’s get the obvious out of the way. This isn’t a rumour, and nothing appears imminent. Nor is this something Friedman is hearing from his sources; he hasn’t said as much publically, anyway. It’s just Friedman spitballing based on the two team’s situations, and wondering aloud if there was a fit that made sense for both sides. This is not DEFCON1 or even close to it.
It’s an interesting conversation starter, and this is the place to have that kind of discussion. So let’s dive in and see what kind of a fit Kreider would be with the Oilers and how realistic a trade like this is.
The first thing that jumps out at me is that Kreider wouldn’t help the Oilers on the right wing, as he’s been a left winger for as long as he’s been on the hockey world’s radar. Perhaps the idea here is that acquiring another left winger like Kreider frees players like Drake Caggiula and Ryan Strome to play the right wing on a more consistent basis.
Another angle to consider is that Kreider’s speed would make him an excellent fit alongside McDavid, and with Patrick Maroon’s contract nearing its end, this could provide the Oilers with insurance in the event that they can’t re-sign Maroon. Better still, it’s leverage if the two sides come to crunch time.
And as far as insurance policies go, Kreider is the platinum package. His current contract has him signed for three seasons at a manageable $4.625-million annually. And speaking qualitatively, I just don’t think there are many players better suited to play with McDavid than Kreider is. Kreider can keep up with McDavid, open space and bury his chances whenever his centre finds him.
When one digs a little deeper, the case for the Oilers having interest in Kreider becomes increasingly obvious. He’s a shot generation machine, and when he’s been on the ice for the Rangers in the last two seasons, they’ve come ahead in territorial terms convincingly; Kreider’s Rangers were a 6% more efficient team by shot attempt ratio with him on the ice than when he was on the bench. And perhaps most important, he’s produced like a first line player for the better part of four seasons.
It’s not hard to see why Friedman singled Kreider out as someone that would make sense for the Oilers. In fact, it’s blatantly obvious. The only real question is how the Oilers could get to that point.
One has to imagine that a player like Kreider is going to cost a king’s ransom. That might mean parting with Jesse Puljujarvi or another similarly valuable prospect. And even then, it’s not like the Rangers are sellers. This is a team that went into the season with aspirations of contending for a Stanley Cup.
I suppose the hope, in this hypothetical scenario, is that the Rangers panic, wave the white flag for this season, and continue to turn the corner towards the next wave of talent built around Mika Zibanejad, Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson. That’s not an outlandish thought, and in that vein, Puljujarvi or perhaps an Ethan Bear type of player fits. It might mean the Oilers have to wait them out a bit longer, but it’s an interesting point to consider.
And for an Oilers team that’s one year removed from having McDavid on the books for $12.5-million annually, paying a premium in futures for a move that bolsters the now could be justifiable. Especially if there is a long-term incentive, as there would be in this case: a cost-controlled and cost-efficient first line winger with special team chops.
It doesn’t sound like any such move is on the horizon, or has even been considered by either side. But I’d definitely count this among the more sensible options for the Oilers if their unfortunate start forces them into something of a panic. They could do a lot worse.
The Oilers can’t afford to re-sign Maroon at $4.5M next year to play 1LW so I’m not sure how they fit Krieder’s cap hit in and that doesn’t even take in to account the “king’s ransom” they’d have to pay in acquisition cost.
We’d have to clear salary next year to keep this player (in addition to letting Maroon walk) plus pay the pick/prospect/etc. acquisition cost.
Unless there is a big contract going back the other way (Russell, Lucic – both with NMCs), I just don’t think we can fit this player in to our cap structure.
No, I don’t trade the center, Nugent Hopkins, for the winger, Kreider.
Agreed…additionally next year, year after they will need cheaper contracts like Yamamoto or Puljujarvi, trade one of them for Krieder seems counter productive. McDonagh would be an interesting deadline conversation though.
Why would McDonagh be an interesting conversation. Oilers LD Depth: Klefbom, Sekera, Russ, Nurse, Jones.
We do not need a LD.
2 goals in 12 games. Eberle like numbers. Eberle also has 2 goals in twelve games this year. Sign him up. That’s a projection of 14 whopping goals this season. Back up the Brinks truck.
Rick Nash is UFA at the end of this year. Perfect solution for a trade deadline rental. Speed, power, hands, no effect on next year’s cap.
Nash would garner a bidding war. You ready to give up a 1st++ for 2-3 months of Nash?
If we fix things and get back to the top 3 teams in the conference, I would pull the trigger on a serious rental like Nash. If it’s a late first round pick in the 25+ range, I would pull the trigger. He could put a team over the top.
no he wouldn’t and no to trading our 1st rounder for a rental !!
I would consider this for his speed. Larry Brooks (NY writer) has mentioned that Kreider is inconsistent in effort (sound familiar?), but he’s a big body with speed. I would look at trading for him but what would it cost?
With Chiarelli as GM you would have to give up Draisaitl straight up to get Kreider.
“That’s just the cost of acquiring this type of player.”
Chia isn’t THAT dumb !!
Ha hahahahha ain’t that the truth.
Be careful what you say you might just get shot if you mention Chiarelli in a negative way.
Chiarelli is an idiot. There I said it, trash it all you want but it’s the truth. Any GM that wants a player and not pay much they think for a second and say hey let’s call Chiarelli.
Easy pass.
Lucic, and Russel for Nash and Krieder,
A dream world that would be!
than move Caggullia and something for a proper right handed dman
Zuccarello is a better option as we need speed, not necessarily size. He plays LW/RW, comes with less acquisition cost, and cheaper cap hit. Also has 49 pts more than Kreider over the past 4 seasons combined (228 to 179)
Good point agree –
I’d like McDonaugh and Kreider, but not sure where/how they fit in….. It would require someone like Lucic and/or Sekera to waive a NMC, which I don’t see happening.
If you bring in Kreider that means Maroon won’t be signed. Thank Chia for that, Lucic 6m x 7yrs.
nice. i brought up Kreider a week ago. i landed on him by creating the following venn diagram –
Size / PPG / Salary / Playing For A Seller
We can sell some futures for some guaranteed gritty scoring.
McDavid upsets the snowflakes.
http://dailycaller.com/2017/10/30/nhl-star-pulls-off-perfect-donald-trump-halloween-costume/
Nash. Get Nash. Proven. Fits in west with big guy.
Rick Nash
67 GP 38 points age 33 6’3 210 lbs – slow doesn’t fight
75 GP 53 points age 26 6’4 225 lbs fast & fights.
That was Kreider 75GP 53 points is 26 and 6’4 225 s.
I’d trade Puljujarvi and Strome for Kreider, doubt NYR do that deal but I’ve liked Krieder for a long time now.
would be a steal if the Oilers got him.
After watching him play in game tonight he does not look like he is even better than Strome . I’d pass on him .
Ya, his goal was so Strome like tonight……
https://www.nhl.com/video/kreiders-power-play-goal/t-290937602/c-54079703
In my view, the Rangers would need a functional roster player to get the deal done, and I’m not sure who the Oilers can part with right now.
All the chatter on these blogs for the past couple of weeks was about fixing our RW problem. Now we’re talking about trading for another LW ? Might as well offer them Maroon ++ because Kreider would be replacing Maroon at 1LW.
The rangers need a C so the ask would be RNH + +
Some people mentioning that they would want James Neal but after watching a few Golden Knights games would much rather have David Perron.
Perron might be good on McDavid’s wing. He can score when he gets the chance, which he would playing with McDavid. I don’t think that’s an option though… didn’t he not like the way things were ran in Edmonton? I know there’s a new coach and GM now, but the Old Boys are still around so I can’t see it.