Wednesday, June 19, 2013

A Look into the UFA 'Left Wing' position in Edmonton



We all know the Oilers are looking for a top 6 big forward with experience to play on the first or second line. Question we have is, is their one on the UFA radar? There is some confusion out there on certain players being a Center when they are really a winger and vice versa. Also moving a player from LW to RW or vice versa is not always a good choice. Sometimes because of their shooting angles a player is better moving up a specific side.

 i.e: Eric Cole moved to his off side on wing during his spell. Even Yakupov on LW to start the year. Yakupov is much better and more comfortable on the RW. Having said that currently our top wingers are....

LW; Hall, Paajarvi
RW; Eberle, Yakupov
(assuming Hemsky is moved out) Truth is, Paajarvi as much as I love what he brings is a 3rd line LW at this point in his career and can fill in on the 2nd line with injury for a short spell. We really are in need of a LW player. So, let's see what is out there on the Left Wing UFA Market.

Brenden Morrow
Ryane Clowe
Simon Gagne
Clark MacArthur
Dustin Penner
Valtteri Filppula
Danny Cleary
Vinny Prospal
Mason Raymond
Matt Cooke
Raffi Torres
Victor Stalberg
Bryan Bickell

There are some others but not ones that I would even think the Oilers would consider. Do any of these players stand out to you. Remember this player just needs to be a fill gap for 2 or 3 years. After that they should be more developed in their system or trading for a upgrade. Whats your thoughts?

I personally like the idea of one of Morrow, Filppula, Stalberg or Bickell. Anyone else only for bottom 2 lines to round out what we will need. Not much out there for left wing on the UFA market. BTW...Clarkson in NJ is a natural RW and the experiment on LW did not have positive results in NJ so I do not think you can move him there.

Looking at whats out there, I would prefer to make Gagner our second line LW and bring in a big Center. Our lines would look to be adjusted  from here...

Hall/RNH/Eberle
Gagner/ ? /Yakupov
Paajarvi/ ? / ?
Brown/ ? / ?

What are your thought? Going to be a interesting next 4 weeks. I expect by July 15th we will know where this team is sitting player wise going into next year.


2 comments:

  1. Eric Nystrom is available as well, is he not? Great 4th line LW option who would come a decent price.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes he is. I didnt mention him as was looking at top 6 forward but did say even the UFA's available are more 3rd line guys then 2nd or 1st. Not sure I am big on Eric Nystrom as a upgrade on what we have used. Some like him but not a believer myself.

    ReplyDelete

Keep it nice, keep it civil. GOILERS!


Two Guys & Hockey Talk NHL News (CLICK PIC FOR LINK)

The Faithful Followers

Oilers Jambalaya is in no way, shape or form associated with the Edmonton Oilers or the Bakersfield Condors. This is a fans blog for fans. We happen to love those teams, so we write about them.