Monday Mailbag – Who to Offer Sheet?

Another draft is in the books and the Oilers, somehow, found a way to win the day despite not trading for a defenseman, or making any moves whatsoever. If you have any draft related questions, feel free to hit me up on Twitter or by email and I will get them in for next week. This week, we explore who the Oilers could target with an offer sheet, whether or not we should be worried about Ethan Bear’s Team Canada snub, and Patient Pete® keeping cards close to his vest.

I think it is wise. Chiarelli (imo) does have some misdirection in his playbook and that is wise as well. Tambellini did not say a lot, he really didn’t. MacT, new to the job, perhaps revealed too much.

Neither. It’s what GMs do. GMs will sometimes provide a heads-up to reporters close to the team they trust but it takes time for that relationship to unfold. Chiarelli has been here just over a year.

I don’t have strong feelings on it one way or the other. I always respected and appreciated Craig MacTavish’s point of view that the fans were like shareholders and deserved direct, honest communication but I also saw how badly that worked against him over time. Peter Chiarelli is probably better off playing things safe.

Yes I do. The best GMs in the league do not show their hands. I can’t understand why a fan would want to hear the whole plan. It weakens the GM’s position.

It’s a nice change of pace. Tambellini was even worse with his marble mouthed rambling, so it’s even more refreshing the times Pete DOES talk, he’s succinct and easy to understand.

I like that Chiarelli doesn’t tell anybody anything, but it’s not nearly as entertaining (or angering) as MacT was. Not to mention, Chiarelli hasn’t provided us with on NationGear design yet whereas MacT was a t-shirt quote machine. 

No. I think he is a bona fide prospect and will probably force his way into the picture.

No. Bear has a solid season to build on moving forward. That’s more important at the bottom line at this point.

Not really, no. As a June 1997 birthday Bear would have been the youngest defenceman invited to the camp. No defenceman drafted after him in 2015 was invited; Alexandre Carrier’s the only post-100 pick from that season to be brought in on the blue line and he’s nearly a full year older. Defencemen of Bear’s age and draft pedigree just don’t come to these camps; even the fact that we can talk about him being in the conversation is impressive.

These are the top junior players in Canada. There is no shame in not being invited to the camp. Many who aren’t go on to great NHL careers. Some who are go on to great careers as accountants.

It’s concerning that Team Canada seems to make these strange calls every year, but I’m not worried about Bear, the player. If and when he’s invited to training camp further into the season, I’m sure he’ll make the team outright. And worst case scenario he doesn’t make the team, and it puts a chip on his shoulder and he takes even more steps forward in his development this year.

If this kid can improve on the season he had last year there’s no way he won’t be on the team in December. Unless, of course, that Canada wouldn’t value a point-per-game type defenseman. 

I think the league should make the game more entertaining by calling the damned rule book. I do like the smaller goalie equipment idea.

Almost everything. The list is long, but one thing that sticks out because it just happened — if you’re going to spend the time holding an awards show, a showcase for the best in the game, make it something special. Personally, I’m not big on awards shows, but if you’re going to do it, do it right. It’s beyond lame right now.

I don’t follow other major sports, so I’m not really qualified to answer this. I’ll say this, though: Games tend to be funner to watch when scoring goes up, and the league has been flat-out bad at encouraging this.

This is a tough one. I like that NHL players are reserved when compared to some of the other top sports. I like to think it allows the class of the people involved to shine through. There is no doubt that a player like Johnny Manziel garners a lot of attention for the NFL but he is a complete joke. I said that from the first minute he got national attention. That type of “promotion” is not what the NHL is about. I prefer to have the NHL guys be more reserved and not have cases like Manziel.

Start letting the personalities throughout the league shine through. PK Subban should be on TV ALL THE TIME, and who wouldn’t watch an Alex Ovechkin-based reality show?

Stop teaching the players to be robots. It drives me crazy when a guy shows some personality and then takes shots about it. The league needs more guys like Brent Burns and PK Subban out there having fun. After all, it is a kid’s game that we’re talking about here. Hockey is supposed to be fun. Keep it that way.

Seth Jones gets mentioned a lot. It is such an obscure option I don’t spend much time on it.

Don’t have one. I think offer sheets are a bad idea. You always overpay. Make a hockey trade.

Seth Jones. He’s a great fit for need, and the Blue Jackets’ financial situation is awful.

I am not a fan at all of offer sheets. Yes they are a part of the fabric of the NHL but as a GM I would not use one so I don’t think PC should.

Though I saw plenty of valid arguments as to why the Blue Jackets would have matched despite what the Oilers may have offered, I was on board with Edmonton taking a swing and throwing an offer at Seth Jones. HOWEVER, now that Jarmo Kekalainen gifted the Oilers Puljujarvi I think the Blue Jackets have done enough for the Oilers this offseason. So unless they get a deal done over the next few days I’d look at offer sheeting Hampus Lindholm. Again I doubt the Ducks wouldn’t try to match, but why not try!

I love offer sheets. The NHL is supposed to be entertaining for the fans and offer sheets add to that. I would love if the Oilers put in an offer sheet on Seth Jones. Even if Columbus matched it would screw them cap-wise and I’m all for putting the screws to other teams. I WANT MOAR BARN FIGHTS!

Montreal Expos 2.0, home game. I will cry during the anthem, partly because I will not know the words, but also because my team will be back where they belong.

The Masters.

I’d be interested in going to the Ivan Hlinka tournament, or spending a season following a team somewhere in Western Europe. Where’s Linus Omark playing next year?

I wish I could travel back in time and watch Gregor and the 1996 JR D All-Star Game in Rolling Hills. They still talk about his three shifts in the first period as complete greatness. Those three shifts have been compared to both Nadia Comaneci with her perfect gymnastic scores and Celine Dion singing “Its all coming back to me now.”

Wrestlemania! Let’s go!

I always thought it would be cool to go to the Superbowl. Same goes for the World Series. Basically, what I’m saying is that I like the idea of skipping the playoff process and going right to the finals. Gotta love a shortcut. 

 

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