GDB 61.0: SHERMANATOR FEELING THE HEAT?
By Jason Gregor
13 years ago
You remember Chuck Sherman a.k.a "The Shermanator" from American Pie. He wet himself at Stifler’s party after everyone found out he lied about getting some loving. He was embarrassed and never fully recovered. I wonder how Avs GM Greg Sherman, who is far from a geeky liar, felt after hearing Hall of Famer Peter Stastny, father of current Avs forward Paul Stastny, rip him and the entire Avs organization.
"This young team was ready to challenge, almost, for a Stanley Cup this season," Peter Stastny told KMOX radio in St. Louis. "They were so good. All they needed was some more chemistry and some synergies. Instead, they destroyed the team."
Peter are you living in Neverland?
SERIOUSLY
I guess crazy hockey parents aren’t limited to the local community rink. I’m not sure if the senior Stastny has watched many of the Avalanche games this season, but they are far from ready to challenge for the Stanley Cup. Prior to last night’s 4-3 victory over the Blues, the Avs had lost ten straight and they have the worst GAA in the league at a gaudy 3.42.
Paul Stastny wasn’t happy with the trade and expressed that over the weekend, just not in the same fashion as his father, so it seems pretty clear that Dad is speaking on behalf of his son right now. I get that Paul was irked upon seeing his favourite winger, Chris Stewart, leave town, but the Avs’ defence is horrific — they are arguably worse than the Oilers D right now to put it into perspective– and Sherman felt he needed to upgrade his backend.
The challenge for Sherman will be to undercover if Stastny junior is in fact this annoyed with his organization right now, and if so, then Sherman will need to move him or let him see first hand how good Erik Johnson might be. Is Stastny is that unhappy, then Steve Tambellini has to pick up the phone.
Stastny has a big ticket at $6.6 million for the next three seasons, but he’s also been very productive in his first five seasons. Through his first five years he has 312 points in 332 games, clipping along at 0.94 points per game, and he is definitely more of a playmaker than scorer with 211 assists and 102 goals.
His cap it is high, but very few players have produced as much offence as Stastny in their first five years.
Henrik Sedin 221 points in 400 games…0.55 PPG
Daniel Sedin 222 points in 397 games…0.56 PPG
Corey Perry 229 points in 368 games… 0.62 PPG
Jarome Iginla 267 points in 388 games… 0.69 PPG
Rick Nash 276 points in 363 games… 0.76 PPG
Zach Parise 335 points in 407 games… 0.82 PPG
Eric Stall 358 points in 409 games… 0.88 PPG
Brad Richards 368 points in 408 games.. 0.90 PPG
Ryan Getzlaf 339 points in 363 games… 0.93 PPG
Ilya Kovalchuk 379 points in 387 games.. 0.97 PPG
Dany Heatley 389 points in 354 games… 1.10 PPG
Evgeni Malkin 418 points in 352 games…1.18 PPG
Alex Ovechkin 529 points in 396 games… 1.34 PPG
Sidney Crosby 506 points in 371 games… 1.36 PPG
Daniel Sedin 222 points in 397 games…0.56 PPG
Corey Perry 229 points in 368 games… 0.62 PPG
Jarome Iginla 267 points in 388 games… 0.69 PPG
Rick Nash 276 points in 363 games… 0.76 PPG
Zach Parise 335 points in 407 games… 0.82 PPG
Eric Stall 358 points in 409 games… 0.88 PPG
Brad Richards 368 points in 408 games.. 0.90 PPG
Ryan Getzlaf 339 points in 363 games… 0.93 PPG
Ilya Kovalchuk 379 points in 387 games.. 0.97 PPG
Dany Heatley 389 points in 354 games… 1.10 PPG
Evgeni Malkin 418 points in 352 games…1.18 PPG
Alex Ovechkin 529 points in 396 games… 1.34 PPG
Sidney Crosby 506 points in 371 games… 1.36 PPG
Sherman has showed he isn’t afraid to make a major deal, and if Statsny’s words came out of his father’s mouth it would be worthwhile for Tambellini to pick up the phone and see what Sherman would want in return.
I’d trade Sam Gagner and Ales Hemsky for Stastny. I wonder if Sherman or Tambellini would make that deal.
LINE CHANGES
Devan Dubnyk will be back in goal, Gilbert Brule has been activated but won’t play, Steve MacIntyre will replace JF Jacques and Jason Strudwick will replace Taylor Chorney who was put on IR today. The Oilers didn’t skate this morning but it sounds like Colin Fraser will draw in for Linus Omark.
If no D-man gets injured tonight, the Oilers might keep 15 forwards and six D-men for the two home games before the deadline, barring a trade of course.
QUICK HITS
- I’m still perplexed why Taylor Hall and Ales Hemsky weren’t on the same PP unit last night. I know it was only one game, but after scoring consecutive PP goals together against the Thrashers, I don’t see the harm in sticking with them. Switch Hall and Dustin Penner and have Shawn Horcoff go to the net with Hall the shooter and Hemsky the distibutor.
- It’s just a hunch, but something tells me that Tambellini will move Andrew Cogliano before the trade deadline.
- I said it in the summer of 2009, and my thought process hasn’t changed. The Oilers made the wrong decision moving Kyle Brodziak and keeping Marc Pouliot. Brodziak wouldn’t make this team a playoff contender, but it was a small move that really stung. He wasn’t as soft as some in the organization felt, and compared to Pouliot he was a crusher.
- As boring as the Wild are to watch, they rarely make any mistakes away from the puck. Last night the Oilers inexperience was their downfall. They made small mistakes, like not picking up the right man on the backcheck, that led to goals. Once they cut down on those mental/youthful mistakes they will be a much better team.
- If the rumours are true that Ladislav Smid will head to Nashville for Jonathon Blum, then Tambellini deserves a huge pat on the back if it happens. Blum will be a player. Of course, if the Predators, who develop D-men better than any team in the league, want Smid then it’s clear he isn’t as bad as some Oiler fans think.
FIREWAGON HOCKEY TONIGHT?
GAME DAY PREDICTION: The Oilers and Avs are 29th and 30th in GAA this year. After last night’s snoozefest, let’s hope they live up to their defensive weaknesses and we see a flurry of goals. The Avs and Oilers rewind the clock 25 years and excite the crowd with a thrilling 6-5 Avs win.
OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Stastny will be fired up for the game and pot a pair of goals to illustrate that despite being upset he is still their go-to guy. Hemsky will also pot a pair, one coming on a PP when he stays out long and has a beautiful give-and-go with Hall. But it still won’t enough to see them on the PP regularly…at least not yet.
NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: After sitting out the past four games, MacIntyre will want to make a statement and will not only have a spirited tilt with David Koci, but he’ll score his first of the year. SmacIntyre will be so jacked after deflecting home his first geno that during the celebration he’ll jump into the arms of Ryan Jones and go crashing down. After the game, Jones will tweet that he hasn’t been crushed like that since he used the Mark Grace "slumpbuster" strategy back in college.
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