NEED A CENTRE, CAN’T AFFORD A CENTRE
By Jason Gregor
10 years ago
The Oilers need another NHL centre. Plain. And. Simple.
In a best case scenario they will start the season with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Sam Gagner and Boyd Gordon as proven NHL players, leaving Anton Lander, Marc Arcobello, Will Acton and Andrew Miller to battle for the 4th spot.
In a realistic scenario, they likely start the season with two healthy, proven NHL centres. Ouch.
You need depth down the middle and on the blueline to win in the NHL, and right now the Oilers depth down the middle is thinner than Strudwick’s hairline. As a follicly challenged man, I am well-versed in thinning/receding hairlines, and the Oilers’ centre depth chart has about as much chance of success as my hair growing back if I suddenly started using Propecia. It ain’t happening.
You need depth down the middle and on the blueline to win in the NHL, and right now the Oilers depth down the middle is thinner than Strudwick’s hairline. As a follicly challenged man, I am well-versed in thinning/receding hairlines, and the Oilers’ centre depth chart has about as much chance of success as my hair growing back if I suddenly started using Propecia. It ain’t happening.
I knew when the "dream" was over, and the Oilers need to recognize you can’t compete in the NHL with no depth down the middle.
Taylor Hall is not the answer. He’s a dominant winger. He is comfortable as a winger, and while I’m sure he could play centre for a short time, that doesn’t solve the Oilers lack of depth. Using Hall or Ryan Smyth as centres should only occur when injuries have depleted your lineup, not for the opening game of the season.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and I never expected Craig MacTavish to be able to overhaul a team that has missed the playoffs seven years in a row, into a playoff contender over one off-season, but if he wants to give his team a chance to fight for the playoffs, he needs to bring in another proven NHL centre.
I understand the need to give guys a chance, and Acton might be the one who surprises people the most, but it is still a risky venture to start a season with a lack of at centre.
SLIM PICKINGS…
The free agent crop of centres isn’t great: Mikhail Grabovski, Tim Connolly, Matthew Lombardi, Manny Malhotra, Marty Reasoner, Kyle Wellwood, David Steckel and Jerred Smithson. Vinny Prospal and Steve Sullivan have also played down the middle, but they are 38 and 39 respectively.
Grabovski, Connolly, Lombardi and Wellwood are the best offensive centres, but Lombardi and Connolly are injury-prone while Wellwood is buffet-prone.
Malhotra’s eye injury made it hard for him to be effective last season, and he’s a 4th liner at best. Steckel is good in the faceoff dot, but does he compete hard enough in other areas of the ice? He also would only be a 4th line guy, not someone who could fill the void until RNH is healthy.
The best option would be signing Grabovski for one year. Yesterday, Cam Charron and I were discussing the similarities between Grabovski and Alex Semin. Last summer, Semin didn’t sign a contract until July 26th. The Hurricanes gave him $7 million for one season. Many scoffed at the deal, but Semin proved them wrong producing 44 points in 44 games and the Hurricanes signed him to a five-year extension.
I see Grabovski as a cheaper version of Semin.
Signing Grabovski for one year at $4 to $5 million would be a good move, and I ‘d like to believe the only reason MacTavish hasn’t done that already is because he doesn’t have the cap space.
How a team who finished 30th, 30th, 29th and 24th the past four seasons doesn’t have the cap space to sign a top-nine forward is mind-boggling, but it’s even worse that they don’t have cap space to sign a quality centre man.
I’d much rather have my team short on winger depth, than depth down the middle. Right now the Oilers have too much money wrapped up in forwards, specifically wingers.
The Oilers have seven forwards, only two centres, making $3.5 million or more.
The only other team in the western conference with that many big ticket forwards is the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs have Paul Stastny ($6.6 mill cap hit), Ryan O’Reilly ($5 mill), PA Parenteau ($4 mill), Nathan MacKinnon ($3.75 mill), Gabriel Landeskog ($3.575 mill), Alex Tanguay and Matt Duchene ($3.5 mill). But four, five if you include Tanguay, who play centre.
Here is how the rest of the western conference looks with forwards making $3.5 mill or more.
5 forwards: Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, San Jose, Vancouver and Winnipeg.
4 forwards: Los Angeles, Minnesota, Nashville and St.Louis.
3 forwards: Calgary and Phoenix.
2 forwards: Anaheim.
4 forwards: Los Angeles, Minnesota, Nashville and St.Louis.
3 forwards: Calgary and Phoenix.
2 forwards: Anaheim.
The Oilers have too much money tied up on the wings. I don’t doubt MacTavish realizes that, which is why he stated in April that he’d be looking to move Ales Hemsky, but unfortunately for the Oilers that didn’t materialize.
Because of that the Oilers find themselves near the cap ceiling, with no room to add a quality centreman. It is a major issue, and could become a catalyst for the Oilers missing the playoffs for an 8th consecutive season.
It is a huge risk to enter the season with only two healthy NHL centres, but as of today, it looks like the Oilers will do exactly that.
PARTING SHOTS….
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If you are in a need of a few good books to read to tie you over until the Oilers’ rookie tournament starts on Thursday, September 5th, here’s a few I recommend.
- If you don’t know, the rookie tournament goes Sept 5th to 9th in Penticton. The Oilers play Calgary on the 5th, Winnipeg on the 7th and Vancouver on the 8th. The games will be streamed live on oilers.nhl.com.
I love true stories. The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz is a must read. Rawicz is a Polish man who was arrested by the Soviets and placed in a Soviet labour camp. It talks about his escape from the camp and his incredible journey from Yakutsk to India. A truly sad and heroic tale.
I couldn’t put down The Book of Negroes by Canadian author Lawrence Hill. It was a captivating tale of slavery, with a strong tie to Canada and sadly reminds us of the terror we are capable of inflicting on another human.
Predictably Irrational focuses on behavioural economics and irrational/rational human behaviour. What is behind our decisions? It is an interesting read if you want to better understand yours or others decisions relating to social or market norms.RECENTLY BY JASON GREGOR
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