The Oilers Offseason Has Been Crazy!

From changes behind the bench to changes in net and big trades, the offseason for the Edmonton Oilers has been moving fast. Join us as we discuss all those changes, and more!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:27

Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Torp, the Oil Rig podcast. As usual, I'm your co-host, FaZe, and I'm here with my other co-host, Greg. Hello, everyone. So this is our, I guess, off-season review almost episode. Things seem to have died down. We're in like almost the dog days of summer at this point. Oilers, for the first time in probably forever, have gotten like unanimously good grades from like everyone, including Oilers haters, I think, in terms of the off-season. No, you're looking at me weird. Am I wrong about that?

SPEAKER_01 1:02

Well, the off-season championships are tough to keep track of. Like I remember there was a brief moment when, what was it, a couple years ago when Skinner Skinner, Jeff Skinner, and Arvidson were like the shiny new toys, and it was right before the double offer seeds happened.

SPEAKER_00 1:19

That's true.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

But yeah, yeah. But so far it's so good.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

I think it was like everyone was like, yeah, that that looks really good. Whereas I think this year, I I think like it's I think for the most part, everyone's been pretty happy. I mean, I think realistically it's the Darnell nurse trade that's really doing it for you. Well doing it for everyone, I think, to say on a hockey podcast. But uh I don't know. Like I think, I think, but when you look at that, I think that's basically what's made people look at the oilers in a positive light. And I think you and I talked about it last time, kind of about how everyone was saying that Darnell Nurse is is worthless and you'd have to pay to get rid of him. So getting a trade where you actually got assets back and didn't, you know, didn't actually retain any cap, I think just surprise a lot of people. Not the two people here, but other people.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

No, it's true. That that's definitely like uh something that a lot of people are happy about. Even some like uh people in my life that aren't deeply plugged into the Oilers have been talking to me about that. So that's a I mean, the more controversial, the most controversial point of the offseason might be the new coach, Babcock.

SPEAKER_00 2:31

Yeah. Positivity. Yeah, it's true. I wanted to start off positive. Uh yeah, the Babcock thing is I'm glad we took some time between that and and having this episode, because I think otherwise I would have uh used our swear limit. I don't even know if we have one, but I definitely would have would have beat that. I don't like it still. I'll say, I guess, trying to put an Euler's positive and spin and whatever on it is I have liked some of the things that apparently have come about about what he said in terms of actual the Oilers and coaching it in that vacuum of a spot, you know, giving McDavid and Drysidle less ice time, telling them as well that they've been part of the problem for for losing. Um, you know, it's a team thing, saying he wants to give other players roles and things. So yeah, those all sound good. And then you remember whose mouth it's coming out of. I I think the fact that DJ Smith is the highest paid associate coach or assistant coach or whatever it's called. It's uh that's that's definitely an interesting thing. And I guess that's the one thing that maybe gives me some, I don't know, like a little bit of a okay, this might not be so bad thing in the sense that it's a built-in contingency plan that has been thought of, I think, that if Babcock does what Mike Babcock does, I'm pretty sure actually he probably said those exact words in that interview. Yeah. If he does what he does, uh you've got your guy waiting there, unlike I think, you know, like with Columbus, where they kind of scramble to have to replace him. Right. It might also be like, you know, to a certain extent, Smith is the buffer. It sounds like actually Smith is gonna be the buffer essentially between Babcock and you know, players, which obviously is a great thing to have to need for your new head coach. Yeah. I might I think I put it in our chats, but I'm like, my my conspiracy theory about this is the others actually wanted to hire DJ Smith, and then they were like, but people are gonna give us a lot of heck for hiring DJ Smith in the most important time. So we do it this way. Babcock does Babcock things, we fire him, everyone's like, Well, it's great that DJ Smith is there.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

Well, like I know that he the DJ Smith is like a classic uh Babcock assistant and often the good cop to the Babcock. He's gotta Yeah, but uh we gotta so yeah, and I think like a lot of the concerning things about Babcock is just like his treatment of people off the the ice. Um so having DJ like someone who knows him, someone who can kind of help smooth over some of those issues for sure is important. Yeah, definitely notable. I mean, he does have the head coaching experience, so like he should be one of the higher paid head coaches or assistant coaches in the league. Yeah. But yeah, I mean, like, as much as it is like a controversial concept of like out of retirement bringing the once disgraced Mike Bagpac back is like is that yeah, I mean, outside of the personality, which is all you know, I've never met the guy, so I I can't speak to any of it myself, but like on the ice, he's exactly what the Oilers need, like a defensive tactician. That's you know, something that and a huge area where this team needs to improve next season.

SPEAKER_00 5:56

I mean, and the and that's the question though, is he? Uh and I don't I don't know. And I mean it's it's just there's a lot of points being brought up about you know, he only you know, he only won the one cup with what is arguably the one of the a great, great Detroit team. You know, didn't win a series uh hasn't won a series since like 2013. And so I think I think there's some questions about that, and also if the guy's been out of the game now for essentially what, like six years. Right. How has it passed him by? But like you're right, I guess in before all the stuff came out, he was a well-respected tactician and coach, like you said. I mean, and I guess I mean even Johan Franzen, I think it was said he was like he was one of the best coaches ever.

SPEAKER_02 6:44

He's just one of the worst human beings. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

Oh, it's I think I think the the other thing too is Babcock's, you know, interview where he basically was again being like playing the victim almost, and that you know, he does it doesn't see that he did anything wrong. I think it's very uh disheartening hoping that you would see some contrition, maybe not a lot, given his ego, but still something. And I don't think that was there. But you know what? At the end of the day, I guess it it would be interesting to know how the rest of the team felt. Obviously, we know Hyman, McDavid, Dry Side all were in the room having those conversations and wanted him. It would be interesting to know how the rest of the team feels about it. But I mean, the interesting thing is how many former players now like Anderson, Frederick Anderson signed, Kasper Kapanen re-signed, like those guys that have played for him before in in Toronto and stuff. So and Hyman again also played for him. So yeah, who knows? Who who knows? But I mean, once again, the organization is the one of second chances to to put it.

SPEAKER_01 7:52

No, I mean it's like the encouraging part is like exactly that kind of like at least willingness to hold McDavid and Drysidel accountable. I mean, clearly that's something that they wanted, like someone with a an ego big enough to tell them, like, no, you're not going up, you're not staying out the whole power play. Yes, things like that, you know. Like, I mean, and I I think one of the points I was making uh closer to when it happened is like if if we're if if the coach is calling out the stars like that, it becomes easier for everyone else to kind of fall in line too. Like they they can see like, hey, he's not holding back against anyone. I gotta be like on my P's and Q's, I gotta be so there should be like, you know, even if it's not sunshine and butterflies, there should be a lot of of buy-in, you know, from the whole team understanding their role. And like speaking of Hyman, and formerly under Mac Mike Babcock, is like he's Babcock's the one who really gave Hyman his chance. Like he was kind of a fringe prospect that that Babcock like kind of stuck onto a scoring line, and uh it's something that he uh Babcock like really believes in is like having the different styles on each line. It's like even if there's some nobody, Zach Hyman is like, we need someone to forecheck on this line, you know, like he has his little favorite guys that we're not expecting that he's gonna be like they work hard, so they're gonna be in this good spot that no one's expecting them to be in. Which in the end does give your lineup like a bit more depth, does give each line a bit more like of an identity, per se, you know, like so. I think, and you know, if we're talking about things that are different than knoblock, is like that's probably one of them as well, is like having kind of a more of like a concept of what each line should be, as opposed to like we're just gonna go with the flow here, you know, yeah, make David, you're up, things like that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

No, and that's yeah, that is fair. And that that definitely was like one of our criticisms, and like you said, everyone's criticisms of Nablock. So yeah, I mean, we'll see. It'll be interesting to see. Yeah. I guess, you know, we've got we've got we've got some young players though. You know, you hear these horror stories about Badbuck. So you've got some young players in Savoy, Howard, Samansky, now Mukama Dullen, even Emberson and Statsny to a certain extent. Like that's that's a concerning thing for me almost in that is is I mean, you bring up Hyman and that's true, but Hyman also plays a different game. Like maybe Emerson will be fine with his his toughness. Um, Samansky, same, but like, or like, you know, grit and and what have you, I should say. Right. But I mean, we'll see. Again, and that is they basically said it multiple times in that press conference that that's why DJ Smith is there to a certain extent, is basically be that conduit, to be the protector of the players, or whatever you want to call it. But yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

I mean, some of it too, I think it's the unique position with like Dreidle and of course even more so McDavid, where like they kind of like set the tone for the organization so much that and like you hear about how McDavid and they're always welcoming everyone's families, they're always hosting everyone. They're it's like in a way, like if he's got someone's back, it's gonna be like more meaningful than even the star players and captains for other teams.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

Like Yeah. I mean, it was interesting though, because it's also one of the tweets that comes out. I mean, again, how how much thought can you potential out of these, you know, whatever reports and stuff, but it was like something along the lines of, you know, McDavid, Dreiside, Al Hyman, like believe they could at least they could wrangle in or protect the other players and stuff. So if that's the case as well, like as long as they are alive to that issue, I guess, and are willing, you know, you know, not willing, like they're willing to actually stand up for your teammates and not look the other way, which as leadership they of course should do. Then again, maybe and then you know, maybe that helps. I don't know. But it's definitely it's it's an interesting thing to happen. And, you know, McDavid and has to is gonna wear this however it goes. Uh obviously, we all hope it it works out well. But he and whether or not it's fair that the organization, you know, trotted him and again, Hyman and Dry Slead out is saying they're on board. I know some people have some criticisms about that too, and I can definitely see that. But anyway, let's get off that. I'm depressing you phase. I'm so yeah, because I swear to this also laugh season, and now you're making me sad again, remembering I just keep keep like it's a mental, like what's it called? The block or whatever, just being like, that didn't happen. But yeah, like going back to you know, the offseason like trading nurse. Right. In a way it sucks, but I think that deal, like I I think you know, the Shakir has some good he's a former first-round pick, he's still only 24. You've now got him two years under $2 million a year. Like, I think that's great. I mean, the other prospect they got too seems like he could be something. But then you look at what we've done with the cap space, like getting that 9.75 or sorry, 9.25 off the books has changed the Oilers' like financial situation completely. Like you they went ahead and signed Ryan Shea for the 4 million, and that's a that's an interesting contract. I think it's with the cap going up, it it's obviously the term is long, but like it's low enough that I think unless he d is not an NHL or by any means, which doesn't look like it's gonna be the case, at worst it's a slight it's a it's a kind of like when Brett Kulak signed for 2.75 for playing the third line role, right? Like all I know is a lot of people are like that one. Like I I I know the few times I watched Shay, you know, the twice times we saw him against Edmonton and then a few times here and there, I was always really impressed with him. So I was really excited about that signing.

SPEAKER_01 14:07

Yeah, the the new blue line, there's a lot to I've been I've been writing about it a lot. So I love writing about defense.

SPEAKER_02 14:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:16

I so Shea is definitely interesting. I'm really a fan of those two. I've been thinking a lot about just like how they line up and stuff. And for me, I'm kind of expecting uh Shay to play with Murphy in kind of a shutdown role.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:35

Uh just because first of all, first of all, the thing is that uh that that Shay, I don't know, he he can be the primary puck mover on a pairing. Yes. Uh which Murphy obviously needs. I think it wasn't pretty with Wallman last year. I mean, with Murphy in particular, but low-key with everyone. Um I I think it's a funny thing that like everyone's so fixated on Nurse and how much money he's making and how much he's really contributing. He was clearly always ahead of Walman on the depth chart, no matter how many times they tried to put Wallman ahead of him, if they still ended up back at Nurse.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

I think Wallman had his his injury issues as well.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

Yeah. So I mean I I have hope that Wallman's gonna bounce back. I do too, but it's just something that no one is really talking about. And I think like Wallman, for example, so I looked at a bit at uh McMahdoulin's numbers last year and usage last year, which was his first full season in the NHL. And like for most of the season, he was on a shutdown pair with Mario Ferraro, who's a more another more like defensive type. He actually had really a lot better, like expected goals numbers play driving with Dmitry Orlov. So to me, like I can see some similarities between Orlov and Wallman. I could see that pairing working out. And as a younger guy and as Wallman, you want to put him in more offensive situations. Like, I could see, hey, we're gonna put you guys in a bit more like Bouchard and Eckholm can handle anything. Shea and Murphy can handle the heavy defensive load, and like, and then maybe we can get some some kind of cushy spots to and and yeah, first former first rounder Makama Doolin, like he's always a really raw guy. We've seen him come into his own. Like his stats actually look really good despite being on a like an overmatched sharks blue line. And yeah, I feel like it's all kind of coming together. Like maybe there's some kind of Pod Colzin similarities here where you know it just wasn't really working out, but he's plays hard and there's a lot of physical traits that you can get behind, and it's like it seems like it's kind of all uh coming together. So I I'm a big fan of yeah, shit, those two ads of Shea and and Makabadulan. I think that's like really gonna be a good thing to solidify like three strong pairs for the Oilers, you know.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

I find it really weird, not really weird, but I was surprised that they signed Stasny and for the amount that they signed him for. Now you got eight defensemen on the roster.

SPEAKER_02 17:01

Three goalies.

SPEAKER_00 17:02

But the interesting thing, and three goalies, but the I think the big thing with the defensemen is you still only have like for right-handed defensemen, you only have three of them. So signing Stazny, that's a fifth left-handed defenseman. He's making one point five over one point five million. And in my head, he's the odd man out. Like he is the eighth defenseman, so it's it like it, but our I guess the question is, and you know, if you didn't have the three goalies, then carrying 8D is probably not a bad thing. But by all accounts, they're gonna be carrying three goalies because you're not waving Devin Levi after what you paid to acquire Freddie and like I know Freddie Anderson, Jari both also have injury issues, so I feel like that is probably what there's some banking on at some point injured, so who cares? But yeah, like I I found that interesting, and it'll be interesting. So I think I mean the one thing that's nice is it gives you a lot of options. Like you've now got Muchamad Mook Mohammed Mook Madullan, you've got Emerson, and you've got Stazny battling for that number six spot. Similar to last year with Regula, Emerson, and Stazny, but you know, Ember Emberson, you know, Regula struggled a bit, Emerson ran with it at that point, and now you've got these three guys again. You know, it'll be it's not a bad thing by any means for sure. And I guess it's it's trade capital at the end of the day, but I did found that interesting. But and again, like going back to trading nurse, like I think I think he's gonna do well in San Jose. I'm gonna be like completely honest. I think I think there's gonna be a lot of people saying that, you know, oh, the oil is trend to trade in blah, blah, blah, just like it always is with anyone you ever get rid of. But yeah, I think he's gonna do well, and I'm I'm hoping that'll be good. I think it's one of those things where it's it's a it's a toll both on him, on the team, just like in fresh start is needed, and maybe same thing with Mook Madoulan as well. So yeah, and again, we go back to that cap space. We we have a full roster. I mean, yes, only 12 forwards, but we have a full roster signed with almost 5 million in cap space. Like the interesting thing is with the playoff, because it's like, oh, the trade deadline space is 21 million, but of course now the playoff cap changes things. But it still works really well because the thing is, is with that 4 million in space and 21 million at the deadline, assuming we keep that, you can add, you can still add in that player. And what's the beauty of it is that if unless Jari does end up regaining the form to the point where he's now your starter again or whatever, in the playoffs with Levi and Anderson, that's a $2 million like goaltending. You save that six million that Jari's putting in, guess what? Now you can use that for a six million dollar player. And if you already have the four five million in space, you have an $11 million player that you can acquire at the trade deadline. Like, or you know, two players, but you've got that space. So it's it's it's in really good situation, I think. Uh so I I don't know if the oilers are still looking to add or whatever. Uh, my hope would be that they don't use maybe that whole four or five million dollars if they do make an ad right now.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

Um keep some room open.

SPEAKER_00 20:15

But yeah, I mean it they're in a good spot cap-wise, which right before the nurse trade, they were not.

SPEAKER_01 20:21

Yeah, no, it's a huge contract to get rid of, and obviously a lot of like his haters thought, like you were alluding to before, that like you couldn't even like pay enough to get rid of it. So yeah, the fact that like we're talking about useful players that they got back is is I don't know, impressive. A testament to like the sharks, they also signed Truba, who like was ran out of the the New York from the Rangers, and everyone thought he was done, and he had just like a great tenure with the Ducks. Like, so like you were saying, that fresh start, like it can, it can it can do a lot like to recontextualize a a player in a way, especially something like defense. It's like so much about what you bring and then how that fits into the rest of the blue line, like uh yeah, so good for him. I'm happy that it seems like everyone's gonna be better off for it.

SPEAKER_00 21:13

I think so. I will say it's hilarious, like Truva and Nurse. I'm like, if that was a pairing, that is the both the scariest pairing, I think, for both teams playing. Because it's like if you're the opposing team, either of those guys could easily knock you on your ass. Like you're they catch you, you're dead. But at the same time, they are a little error prone, you know, they're and so they can easily get beat pretty badly at the same time. High I think they're gonna if they're a pairing, they're gonna be a high event pairing.

SPEAKER_01 21:44

Right. Right. I mean, in some ways, like, yeah, not to turn this into a sharks podcast. But yeah, there's lots of just interesting discourse about like, are you trying to accelerate like a rebuild? And how does that actually uh end up working historically? And Maybe it doesn't matter with the rising cap and like they didn't have any defensemen at all. So this is kind of like at least some stability to hopefully like make things easier for Dickinson and the young guys coming up to to actually have a chance as opposed to being thrown to the wolves a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 22:16

But yeah. I think that's true. And I mean the interesting thing is then like talking about Anaheim, for instance, like that Carlson Offersheet, Evan Veninskyov signing. Like I I gotta be honest, like I think Anaheim went from being like one of the most promising they played last year to potentially like a team that you know talk about accelerating a rebuild, they might have done it wrong because of these controversies.

SPEAKER_01 22:44

I mean, yeah, leaving themselves. It blew up in their face like a Verbeak. Like I kind of from afar was so intrigued because every time, oh, we're supposed to take Fantilly, no, we're taking Carlson Seneca was like a and like all his kind of like risky and well, we're trading for Truba and Krider, and it's like everything he touched was was working out. And it all kind of blew up in his face. Yeah, spicy.

SPEAKER_00 23:09

It's definitely well and it goes back to like well, like the rumors that he's like been playing hard he plays hardball with all of his young guys. Um you know, Ziegris went out the door, McTavish out the door, uh Zellweg are now out the door. Like so maybe, you know. I I think that everyone I think everyone going into this upcoming year were like, well, Vegas is Vegas. Right. Anaheim had a good year. San Jose is on the rise. So it's gonna be like Arthur Oilers, the fourth best team. And now I think it's like Oilers are solidly top three now without because if you look at Anaheim's defense, it's not good. Well, they don't have the caps.

SPEAKER_01 23:50

They gotta figure it out somebody. No, I mean the the slumber party continues, right? I mean, we'll see. I think that like yeah, you never know.

SPEAKER_02 24:01

I mean the Kings might have a good regular season, I I suppose. They have to be the oldest team, right? Like there's there's no way there.

SPEAKER_01 24:15

The Kraken, you know, there's some there's some young talent that could start to Yeah, no, I mean the Oilers like I I think maybe this is part of the the tone change that hopefully Babcock is gonna bring is like no more of these slumber party starts to the season where oh we're three and eleven, oh no big deal. It's okay. Yeah. Unbelievable, these guys.

SPEAKER_00 24:40

Yeah, like I think Yeah, let's let's hope that's the case for sure. Like last year that really did sink them, I think, because they unlike the years before where they did catch into gear last year, I think they were always kinda double clutching, even when they did look like they were getting going. So And we talked about it before too. I think the long off season this year will actually be helpful for the team. Yeah, and I mean it'll be interesting. I think I think there's a lot more positivity going go and right now, and I think going into the season, there's gonna be a lot more positivity than there was last year. I think last year going into the season there wasn't a lot of positivity, if I'm being perfectly honest. Like there's a lot of frustration going into it, and I just compounded.

SPEAKER_01 25:24

Right. There was like getting so close two years in a row, there's a lot of lot of emotions, I suppose. Yeah. And yeah, there's some room to to breathe, some room to maybe like reexamine some of the team's attitudes and approaches.

SPEAKER_04 25:41

One thing I've kind of noticed with a lot of the prospects too is a lot of them are the same archetype. A lot of them are that like power forward defensive-oriented forwards. And you see you saw that even in the most recent draft. Outside of Gaston, a lot of the forwards that the Oilers drafted were those kind of low, low ceiling but high floor defensive-oriented forwards, right? So the Latvian guy can't, I cannot pronounce his name to save my life. Yeah. But the Rudolph for Zalkins, that he's very much like a surefire kind of bottom six guy who should slot in nicely, add some grit, add some physicality, and add some play supporting. And that's kind of what the oilers have wanted out of Shamansky, and that's kind of the role he's filled. Exactly. Yeah. And even with a guy like the they extended Dak recently, right? And he plays that same kind of gritty in your face grinderslash two-way four type role, right? Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 26:42

And like, okay, at what point though do the oilers have to go back to like really focusing on drafting skill again? Like I know they look at it and they're like, you've got McDavid and Dry Siddle, obviously, Howard, it's avoid. Right. But like you gotta replenish it again, like how with Holloway gone, for instance. That was kind of your Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:57

They did get gastrine, like, as you were saying, Tyler, where it's like he's got he's more of an offensive, like dangler kind of type, you know. But it's a good point. I mean, we did see something like the opposite of what we're talking about when they traded Sam O'Reilly for uh Isaac Howard, yeah, you know, which I don't know if they're having regrets about or not.

SPEAKER_02 27:21

I don't think so.

SPEAKER_00 27:24

I think I think it's nice to like I think he's still gonna be given. I think I I think there's a little too much hype for an overager in the OHL and a little too little hype for an underager in the AHL.

SPEAKER_04 27:37

Right. I do think one thing that the Olizar are probably regretting is not watching more film on Isaac Howard before they traded for him because a lot of the things that he struggled with even this past season were very evident from his NCAA film, right? Like you knew he wasn't all hockey sense, and that was something I was gonna have trouble translating. And obviously it worked well at the AHL level, but I'm still unf he has that NHL level hockey sense in him for Howard.

SPEAKER_00 28:05

Yeah, I can see that. I don't know. When I was watching him in the NHL, I I thought as as he played more and more, he was getting better and better. I just don't think he got the opportunity. I agree with setting him down, especially in that situation. I think he's a guy who is a very confident player, or needs to be a very confident player, I should say. So that's why I was like, I'm okay with him going down, with him going down the NHL and ripping it up, and then he comes up to the NHL hopefully next year, and with that confidence. I I get I get the whole stuff about cocky sense, but for my limited viewings of him, I can see a player there still. Like, I don't think we're talking about a guy who i I don't think yeah, like I think he can still be a good player and be a top six guy.

SPEAKER_04 28:48

Yeah, absolutely. And don't don't get me wrong, like I still think he has a chance to be an NHL guy. I just I think there's a lot of expectations on him coming into this season, right? As a Hobie Baker and as the media kind of hyped up, they were expecting him to come in and be like a 70-point guy, and he wasn't that, right?

SPEAKER_00 29:08

Yeah. Well, and I don't I don't know. I don't know if everyone was necessarily expecting that right off the hop, but yeah, I think the expectations were too high for him last year from the outside.

SPEAKER_01 29:18

Yeah, I mean, it's it's as dangerous of being kind of like a player that's more like one-dimensionally just a skilled offensive guy, is that you kind of become a tweener where you can't really be trusted in a bottom six role and your confidence is gonna erode down there anyways, and but you gotta be able to put up enough points to like warrant getting, you know, scoring looks every game. So it can be like it's a dangerous archetype of player to like it to be. It's it's it can be tough because yeah, it might depend a lot on what role is even open on the team, you know.

SPEAKER_04 29:55

Yeah, and it kind of goes back to that thing that we were talking about earlier about just that skill and then I guess hard skill, right? Soft skill versus hard hard skill. And Howard, he played very well in the AHL this past season, but he's the type of guy where if he's not scoring two or getting two assists, you don't really notice him all that much. And as both of you guys have kind of said, like in that bottom sixth, he's not gonna be dependent on as a scorer. So you're kind of relying on him to be a player he really isn't, and how much of his life of success was more or less due to coaching choices rather than the actual player that's there.

SPEAKER_00 30:32

Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, he he's yeah, he's not gonna be a bottom six guy, he's gonna be a top six guy, or he's not gonna be an NHL or I think. I don't know, like yeah, you want a complete player and you want a guy who's gonna be doing other things, but I don't know. I I don't think you can be like he's he's not gonna be as long as he is passable defensively and isn't getting turnstiled every shift as a top six forward and he's scoring 20 plus goals a year. I I think that's more than enough. Like, I don't we don't need another, you know, $15 million player. If you can do that and come in at six million dollars a year in the future, that's great value, and that's what we need. And you got this top centers we got.

SPEAKER_04 31:11

Absolutely. And speaking of some guys that could come in and slot in the in the near future here, I kind of just want to talk about some some of the underrated prospects flying under the radar that maybe not everyone has seen or really heard of in oil country. And you guys are welcome to find in if you you have additions too. But one guy that I was really impressed by this last season was David Lewendowski out of Saskatoon. She, the main question coming into this season was she has physicality, he has the wicked shot, this dating's passable enough. Is he gonna find that offensive consistency? And boy, did he ever. He was one of the driving forces of that blades team. And she's another guy where she's that Josh Samanste type, like two-way forward physical, power forward type guy who's gonna go in and be a reliable, reliable, I believe, third line guy of the future.

SPEAKER_00 32:02

Do you think he has the offense to like push up and be a second line guy?

SPEAKER_04 32:06

So it's weird because if you watch him, his shot is unreal. It's just can he get into those offensive position positions enough, or can he, I guess, manipulate or have enough offensive deception to be a consistent generator in that role, right? But I think the floor is very high for him, as I said. I think he's a realistically a fourth, third line guy. But for a fourth-round pick two years ago, that's certainly not too bad. That's kind of a uh dark horse and a little bit of a gem, I think they found there.

SPEAKER_00 32:38

So, what you're saying is we're not probably not gonna get a Lewandowski Dreiside of Symansky line at any point in the future. Probably not, but hey.

SPEAKER_04 32:49

Yeah, if I'm wrong, I'm I'm not gonna be upset type of deal. I think, and you mentioned the Team Germany stuff. I think he will have Lewandowski and Simansky and Dreisend will have to be prime contributors for Germany, even at the senior level. So I wouldn't be surprised if you see him in the top six in the world championships, for example, for Team Germany, right? But kind of kind of move moving on to one other guy that really impressed me this last season was Astra Barnett. I plays out of the University of Michigan for uh in the United States of Lazar. He was a fifth-round guy in 2025, and he was one of the guys that we came in. Really, the hopes weren't too high, and then he kind of just blew us all out of the water, right? He made team USA for the World Junior Championship. He was a consistent shutdown guy for the University of Michigan and slowly crawled from like their seventh guy, seventh defender to like a reliable, like top four guy. And I think as he matures and as he ages and grows more into his like 6'1 frame, yeah, there is gonna be a quality shutdown guy there for him. And I know we're kind of like picking straws here, but for a fifth-round guy, I think he realistically could be like a third-pairing guy. And there ain't nothing wrong with a third-pairing response, responseful defensive shutdown guy, right?

SPEAKER_00 34:11

Well, and the interesting thing is like you're saying as a shutdown guy, I'm just looking at his stats, uh, obviously never really seen the guy, but like putting up 18 points in 40 games as a rookie or a freshman defenseman, that seems like pretty good numbers for a shutdown guy, no?

SPEAKER_04 34:26

Yeah, it uh it absolutely is, and especially for his freshman season at one of the most prestigious universities in uh the United States for hockey, at least at the University of Michigan, there it's hard to get ice on there.

SPEAKER_02 34:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:40

And he proved the season that he's got that dog in him, right? And obviously the offense is a little sprinkled on top, but yeah, I think I think we have a reliable defensive shutdown guy who possibly even two-way guy as he ages up. And I think that's definitely a guy to keep your eye on if you're an Oilers fan.

SPEAKER_00 34:59

I mean, he only got he only got two less points than other Oiler draft pick Aiden Park on the same team, or two more points, I should say, than the center Aiden Park. So I mean.

SPEAKER_04 35:09

Yeah. Uh Aiden Park was in a little bit of a different situation where he was kind of more of a depth guy. Like he he was a consistent like fourth line guy, probably getting nine, ten minutes a night, where Barnett was kind of the peliny kill specialist there.

SPEAKER_02 35:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 35:24

So uh it's it's interesting, and you bring up a good point about both uh Oiler prospects playing on the University of Michigan. One thing I've kind of noticed in the last couple of seasons here is the Oiliers have habits of drafting from the same organizations, right? So this last draft, we had Andrew Robinson and Caden Harvey both drafted out of Windsor in the OHL. Uh, we had Rudolph Burzlurkins from Muskeon, and then we had Bauer Berry two seasons ago from Musculon as well. And they have a tendency to rely on some teams more than others, which is a little bit interesting in my opinion. But just something to watch for, right?

SPEAKER_01 36:03

It reminds me of Mudzenberger and Joel Mada were on the same NCAA program, and it's not not that relevant anymore, but yeah, they both played for the University of Vermont. Vermont, I believe.

SPEAKER_04 36:20

And part of that is like how how much of that went into the fact that it was Jay Woodcroft's brother coaching there, right? And one thing interesting, though Matt, I was talking with our editor Sean the other day. They still have Joel Mata on their like reserve list, which is unusual for a guy that went to college and they didn't sign. And I think it I think there's a loophole where if they sign a European pro contract before they get their like degree convocated or whatever, they they're able to hold on to their rights or something. Yeah. He shouldn't be on their reserve list still, but he is. So just a little fun little loophole, I suppose.

SPEAKER_00 36:59

But I mean, going back to the the having two players from the same team, like last you know, this spring they signed Owen Michaels out of Western Michigan. And then the guy they got it, the second guy in the nurse trade is Zach Sharp also on the same team.

SPEAKER_04 37:11

So Yeah, Zach Sharp's another guy who we just we just did our top 10 rankings for the prosp Oily's prospect pool this year. And he was he was a guy that for me at least earned an honorable mention because I I've liked what I've seen out of him. He's a reliable two-way guy. He's smart with a puck. And yeah, sure, maybe he needs a little bit more poise here and there, but I think he could grow into a very respectable role at the bottom of the lineup. And that's not too bad for a guy that you just throw in as like an extra plus one for an already wicked trade that you got uh Darnell Lurks like rid of, right?

SPEAKER_00 37:50

So do you say generally like the order's prospect pool, despite you know, trying to do a lot of using the future to pay for now, prospect goals not looking too bad.

SPEAKER_02 37:58

Is that fair to say?

SPEAKER_04 38:00

I I think the fair assessment is when it comes to depth, they have a lot of guys that could be good depth pieces in the future, right? I know granted you never draft a guy thinking, oh, he's gonna be an AHL guy, but there's a lot of mid-late-round picks here that realistically could turn into middle six or like third line guys, like uh Tony Lafreniere, David Lundowski, Asher Barnett, Malcolm Gasvin, Rudolph William Nickel. Even like a con yeah, William Nickel, even like a Connor Kleinberg, right? He's proved his that he has some worth at the NHL level, all albeit in a very specific role.

SPEAKER_00 38:37

But I'm I'm the one guy it seems in other countries, maybe not a huge how good you play. I I I think I what I've always said is I think I was excited by him, and I thought like I was like, Yeah, I can see it. He came up here, he played okay, like you know, scored a goal, had some fights and stuff, and it was great, and then just went down to the AHL and just kept fighting. And it in my mind, I'm like, dude, you need to go down and play hockey, learn, like be the best, you know, be a scorer in the AHL, and then you can come up to the NHL and be that guy. But if he I'm worried that his development got screwed up by that call-up, to be perfectly honest.

SPEAKER_04 39:18

I don't know if it got screwed up by it, but yeah, like obviously, I think we all kind of knew he wasn't gonna be like a long-term NHLer, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_02 39:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 39:29

Right? Like, and you can see that even in his play in Bakersfield, and you you will have saw this last year when he played with Flint. Like, he's an energy guy. His whole role is to go in there and get get his teammates, get his buddies ramped up and ready to go. He's gonna run over some people, he's gonna cut off angles, he's gonna be a board play specialist and just be a machine to play against, but he's not gonna be the guy that goes out and sets up nice goals or the guy that gets plays move moving forward, right?

SPEAKER_00 40:00

No, but he's gotta go out there and actually be, you know, positive on the ice. He can't be going out there uh in that goon role. There's no longer a goon, there's no enforcers anymore. And it seemed like after that, you know, having that fight and getting sent down, he was like, fighting's what got me a lot of attention up there, and that's what I'm gonna do. And like to a certain extent, yes, but also like go be a good player. Yeah, maybe he's not gonna score even in the AHL level very much, I shouldn't say, but like be a be a net contributor. And that's my worry with him. And so, like, if I'm the Oilers, that's what I'm setting him down and saying, and being like, you need to be able to play hockey because when you come up to the NHL, it's a fast game. And if you want to play that energy role, you can't be throwing yourself out of position to throw that big hit. Because yeah, you'll hit it once and it's gonna be great. But at the NHL level, unless you are the best hitter in the league, you are going to lose, you're gonna miss more often than you're gonna hit if you're throwing big hits. So that's where I think for me it's the frustration that it's like there is a player there, there's tools there that potentially are getting ruined by this hype that I don't think is yeah, that's that's where I come from.

SPEAKER_04 41:10

I think what? I think you're 100% right there. And that that is the worry with him is that he's just gonna become my goon. And yeah, there's definitely more to him than that. But I wouldn't say it's a hundred percent likely that he elevates his game to that next level. I think the player that you see now is a player that you're gonna get in five years, maybe a little bit b a little bit stronger, a little bit bigger, and a higher compete level. But yeah, I I don't know. And that's that's the issue with a lot of those guys, like a lot of those late draft picks that you have is you want to pick someone who is constantly going up and not just like going up and then middling, right? And that is uh that is a genuine risk with uh clan with a guy like Kleinberg.

SPEAKER_00 41:54

Yeah, and I mean I think I would be like what would be amazing, I guess, in terms of his career to a certain extent, or the goal, I guess, almost would be kind of like a less fighting Zack Stortini, like a faster Zack Startini, essentially. Because I mean, you know, as much as you want to beg on Stortini at times or whatnot, like he was still he he knew what he was doing on the ice, he knew what his limitations were, and he played that fourth line role, he knew what he was. So I think that's in terms of you know being able to play hockey. And so I think if you're Klanberg, maybe you show him and be like, listen, this is Stortini out there. Look at some of his his however many highlights Stortini has. But like, you know, watch him play and watch, you know, kind of and watch those kinds of guys on how these tougher guys who are less skilled and who maybe shouldn't be in the NHL from a skilled basis were able to make decently long careers. It's because they thought the game, they knew where to go and stuff.

SPEAKER_04 42:54

And I one thing that I find interesting too is we have a guy like Zach Hyman, right? And I think Hyman could be the perfect role model for a guy like Kleinberg, right? I'm not saying they play exactly the same game, but I'm saying like if he does get another spell in there with the Oilers this upcoming season or something, I say a guy like Hyman, who has that more finesse with hard skill, takes him under his wing and goes, Hey kid, but like this is what you need to do to be a successful NHL.

SPEAKER_02 43:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:24

It is kind of like it is how we open the show, was kind of talking about Babcock and how Hyman really got his first NHL opportunity under Babcock and the maybe Babcock's ideas of like having more set role players where Hyman, I mean, he was a pretty effective AHL scorer at that point, but he was kind of an unexpected addition onto a scoring line because he played a certain role. And the other thing that Hyman did really well that I think like speaks to what you're talking about is is that every year, like especially Before he came to the Oilers, we saw Hyman adding tricks to the tool bag, like different little puck moves, different little hesitations, different different little like ways to hold on to the puck longer to be more effective with the puck. Because his effort level was always elite. It's just refining some of those things. And we are always expect it to be like, oh, by the time you're 22, you've got it all figured out. But like for someone like him that didn't have that as like a teenager coming into the draft, is like you're still able to like maybe add some tools if you keep like working on your craft like in an honest way, you know.

SPEAKER_04 44:36

And I I think you're 100% right there. And part of the thing that frustrates me with the new age NHL is there's a lot of guys who or a lot of individuals who write off players who don't make the MHL by the time they're 20, 21, 22, right? Like if you're having success and you're elevating your game at the age of 23, 24 in the AHL, there's a realistic chance that you've still become a reliable NHL.

SPEAKER_01 44:59

Look at Ryan Shea, right? That's another good example. Even Kasperi Kapanen on the on the Oilers, like a former first-round pick, but like right now he's playing a a lot more of a complete game where he's willing to do the dirty work as opposed to just like maybe a bit more dipsy-doodling like when he was younger. It's like it sometimes it's as much like a mentality thing as it is like who you are and what your age is, you know.

SPEAKER_04 45:25

Yeah, and like I do think that's where a lot of late bloomers like we'll see, like a William Nickel, maybe even like the goal go-time prospect that uh Daniel Salomon kind of bloom as they age and get those mentalities and get those characteristics in ingrained in their game, right? Because with the Oilers draft capital these past couple years, you're gonna have to rely on the late bloomers more than the guys that are gonna be ready at the age of 19 or 20 or whatever, right? So I think if I had to say one thing to the people listening, patience. Thrastic Pool may not be the best, but we need to have patience.

SPEAKER_01 46:05

Yeah, well, we saw some we saw some like super encouraging things towards the end of Bakersfield season where like Nickel and um Lewandowski and Lafreniere kind of got a handful of games and kind of acquitted themselves pretty nicely.

SPEAKER_04 46:19

Yeah, and like I I I'm seeing a lot of things that like out of out of Bakersfield. One thing that will be interesting is with the whole goalie shuffle, where does everyone end up there?

SPEAKER_01 46:31

Yeah, right. I think, yeah, it'd be terrible not to have Samuel Janssen playing in the AHL next season. Connor Unders.

SPEAKER_04 46:39

But then you have a guy like I believe they re-signed Tompkins. Yeah, I still think. So Tompkins has another year. So and then you have a Jari who's gonna be like a third string guy who realistically you probably could send him on waivers and have him play the odd AHL game. I don't know how likely much they'll do that, but like it's a very crowded pool with not a lot of opportunity. But one thing I'm really looking forward to, and I've been a big fan of this guy since day one, is Levi coming into the system. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:10

I mean, I I gotta I gotta figure that Unger and Tom, like I think they're gonna run the three. Well, we were talking about this before AK1, Tyler. That probably they're probably banking on the fact that Jari and Anderson are both very injury-prone goalies, so it's like realistically, one of them is gonna be hurt at any given point. So we're not actually running three goalies on the roster.

SPEAKER_02 47:29

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 47:30

But I gotta assume that Unger is gonna be getting a chance in the AHL full-time this year because of it, he's a bit older than Janssen, right? Like, and then Jansen gets the majority of the stars in the E.

SPEAKER_04 47:42

I I would I would sorry, uh I'm gonna agree with Greg here. I actually preferred Johnson, and I think they should send him up sooner rather than later, right? Okay, because he played very, very well with the comets this past season. I think he deserves a chance. Obviously, yeah, I know understat line was good, but if you look at the breakdown game by game, there was a lot of inconsistencies, which does raise some questions for me, right? If it if you're throwing a guy in, and I talked with Sean about this earlier, it's it's the Stuart Skinner special, right? Where you don't know if you're getting six goals or if you're gonna get a shutout. Right. So when it comes to that goaltending pipeline, I think if I'm the Oilers, you have to put Johnson above. But as I said, it's so crowded that yeah, like really what can you do?

SPEAKER_01 48:34

Yeah. It's like unfair of me to say that like I I would prefer just to have like an unger at Janssen tandem in the AHL and get them both at least 30 starts.

SPEAKER_00 48:43

Well, yeah, like who cares about Tom Kids?

SPEAKER_01 48:46

But yeah, but like the thing is is like I don't if you're gonna start Jansen in the ECHL, like why did you bring him over from Sweden? Like he was playing so well in the the All Svenskin, he was starting to get some time in the SHL, like, and you brought him over to kind of demote him to a worse league, and he played really well, and you're gonna do it again for a second year in a row. Like, to me, that's just I don't I don't really understand the plan of all that.

SPEAKER_04 49:11

Well, and and that's my mentality exactly. Like, why like why not just let him develop in the SHL if you're just gonna play him in the ECHL ELC?

SPEAKER_01 49:20

No, I'm frustrated by it, as you can tell.

SPEAKER_04 49:22

It's starting to get heated. But but but no, I I I do think like and and that's one of my biggest quips with a lot of organizations is don't bring a guy over just for the sake of bringing him over, right? Like Johnson had had a lot of he was building a lot of momentum, working on his game, finding success, and he kind of interrupted this for a stint in Bakersfield, right? And one other thing that kind of and this kind of going off topic, yeah, but I think we will see the Oilers continue to use Bakersfield extensively next season as well. Like out of all the NHL teams, the Oilers probably use their ECHL the most, right? So, like a guy like James Stefan, Brady, Stonehouse, both are go both we haven't talked about Nick Daniel Bay yet, yeah, who got, I believe, more starts than than Johnson did in the ECHL.

SPEAKER_00 50:10

39 to 34 or 39 to 33, excuse me.

SPEAKER_04 50:13

Smack Capone, too, yeah. But yeah, so it's uh it'll it'll be interesting to see where the Oilers think all of these guys' momentum shouldn't go heading heading into next season, right?

SPEAKER_00 50:24

Yeah, I mean it's it's interesting. I uh I guess when you look at going back up to the NHL level though, like do you guys think that leave like Levi's now the guy of the future at this point? Or is it are they like what are you what are your thoughts there? Is it still maybe Jansen or I'll I'll like Greg go first.

SPEAKER_01 50:40

I I was definitely like going into the offseason hoping that they took a swing on a younger guy who was on the cusp of the NHL that uh to me seemed like an affordable bet with a lot of high upside. So I was looking a lot at Cosa and Levi, and there was maybe a couple others around the league. So I'm super stoked that they ended up with Levi. I think it's a it's a great bet. There was a few situations around the league where it's like one of these goalies is gonna get lost on waivers. So I think like it's a completely appropriate bet, especially like pairing it with the Frederick Anderson signing, is like because we saw like it was Anderson. I mean, he probably gets a lot of flack just for his time with the Leafs, but like he was great with the Ducks. He was yeah, he's he's been a good goalie that's flirted with top tenies here. He's flirted with top ten results for a lot of his career. He's never been a Vesna guy. And we saw even heading into the cup final where he was maybe a Khan Smythe candidate. That said, he hasn't been able to like keep it up and finish the job done. Like Carolina's basically needed to carry three goalies because he's injured all the time now. So yeah, I I think it's like a very nice uh tandem that they built, and and for me, Levi's a huge part of that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 51:58

Yeah, and I I'll kind of echo that too. I know we're doing a lot of agree in this episode, so apologies to the listeners. But one thing kind of going into this offseason, I knew that they either had to go after Levi or Casa. And yeah, as much as I'm sad they didn't get Casa, I'm I'm very happy they got Levi prove proven, tried and tested guy at the AHL level. He's had that NHL experience, there's lots to like about him. And without a doubt, as crowded as the prospect pool is, she is miles above the rest of the guys that we've talked about so far.

SPEAKER_02 52:32

Yeah, sorry, sorry, Under.

SPEAKER_00 52:35

Yeah, I mean, I know, and I was super excited to get him. I mean, it's it's there's uh there's some people that I've like that were for whatever reason crashing out about it, being like, you gave up a third-round pick for a guy who you know was like fourth on the depth part in Buffalo and you know only had an 872 last year. And it's like, well, the guy is 24 years old, good results in the AHL. So yeah, I think I guess it'll be interesting to see if Levi does take that step this year and runs with it.

SPEAKER_01 53:06

Here's my question for you guys is like if you were gonna guess that there's 84 games next year, how many starts the three goalies are gonna get, like what what what do you think the split ends up being between the three of them?

SPEAKER_02 53:19

Is it gonna be like 30, 30, 30?

SPEAKER_01 53:22

Or what's ideal? Like what what it what do we think that the Oilers are hoping for, maybe?

SPEAKER_00 53:27

I think they're probably looking at something around the lines of like 30, 30, 30 or whatever the math is, divided by three, with the hope that Levi takes the ball and runs with it and maybe starts 40 plus. I think that's what they're hoping for.

SPEAKER_04 53:44

Yeah, and I think kind of turning back to our conversation about Kleinberg and how Hyman could be a great mentor for him. I think the same is true for Levi. I think Anderson could be a great mentor for him and kind of ease him into that role because even when Levi was with Buffalo, he never had that pro uh proven tried and tested veteran goalie to mentor him. Right. They just had three guys that were basically the same age. Yeah, pretty pretty much, right? So they were just running with whoever they could, and yeah, people might say, well, here's fourth in the depth chart in Buffalo. Yeah, the depth chart for goaltender development in Buffalo is stacked. So fourth there, I'll take that any day of the week, right?

SPEAKER_00 54:27

That's if there was a number above one, that would be it in the Oiler's depth chart.

SPEAKER_04 54:30

So But kind of going back to the initial question, I think you you would realistically want like a 35, 35, and then 15 type number, that being f Anderson, Levi, and then Jari. I think Jari only steps in realistically because of his contract. And because and if Anderson gets hurt.

SPEAKER_01 54:54

I see. That makes sense. I mean, it kind of sucks for Jari to be like on the back burner a little bit, but given that yeah, given that Anderson is likely to to get hurt at some point, you're not gonna be putting Levi like, okay, now you have to start every game. Right. It's like there's he's still gonna be able to kind of like find his own footing as a full-time NHL or for the first time in his career.

SPEAKER_00 55:18

Well, and I I mean I think we all agree Anderson's likely the day one starter, right? Like I think that's yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 55:24

Yeah. There's I've never been as sure about Oily's goaltending as I have been right now. Because, well, think of it this way. You could you come into the off-season with the major hole of goaltending and Darnell nurse, right? And you leave that off-season with way improved goaltending, a brighter outlook for the future, and an extra nine million of cap space now. How how is that not a win-win-win for the oilers?

SPEAKER_00 55:51

No, totally. It was it was very good work. And yeah, like the nurse trade, getting rid of the contract, like that just that opened up so much flexibility. And yeah, I mean, getting Anderson on a $1 million deal is an absolute steal. And that extra $1.8, if he does make it in bonus, that goes next year, and that's not really that big of a deal again with the cap going up. So, like, you know, you have you have a total of eight million dollars or something on your three goalies right now. That's not bad.

SPEAKER_04 56:20

With with what, six being Jari?

SPEAKER_02 56:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 56:26

Like, so yeah, it's definitely I'm not saying like they're gonna be one of the best goaltending teams in the league. I think they'll be respectable, but it's definitely looking a lot more confident than it was this time last year.

SPEAKER_00 56:41

It's actually 7.1875 for the three goalies. Might actually be the cheapest goalie tandrandom in the league. Tri-tandem, yeah. Tri-tandem. Yeah, I think, yeah, we'll see how it goes, obviously. I think and on signing Colton Dak as well. I'm really happy they got that done. I think he brings a lot like as a guy or another guy who he's who maybe Kleinberg should be looking to replicate it is Doc. Obviously, Doc is more skilled, but like That's a good point.

SPEAKER_04 57:15

I'm a big fan of Da Doc. And yeah, I think you make the perfect point there, FaZe. Like, yeah, he he is another guy that Kleinberg should be replicating, and I think he's kind of the longer term answer to the whole Smansky and everyone that they were kind of trial and error erroring error whatever last season. And I think the future is bright for him, and I think he could be a very respectable NH.

SPEAKER_00 57:42

I think so. I think getting him for two years, just like getting uh McMillad in for two years, though those are smart contracts. They give you that extra year. So if the guy doesn't pan out, then whatever. But if he pans out, you've again in terms of cap space, like you you've really saved yourself some powder for for the next couple years. So I I think there's some good bets in here, and I like that the oilers have gone away now from that two-year span of you know trying to get the the cheap veteran guys who are just looking for a cop and going back to some some younger guys, you know, going down the podcals and kapanin' route where you can see that they can provide a lot of value, and if it works out, like you're you're golden.

SPEAKER_04 58:30

It's always a good day when you get better and younger at the same time. And cheaper. And cheaper. Even even a guy l like Mukum Dulin, who they got from San Jose there for for nurse. I think realistically he can step in and play the same role Nurse did. Yeah. For what? Like seven million dollars cheaper?

SPEAKER_00 58:52

8.5. Yeah, no, it's it's good right now at least. Uh we'll see, we'll see how things actually play out. But on paper, I think definitely gotta give the oilers an A grade, I think, for the off-season. Well, A minus. It could have been an A plus. If it wasn't for freaking Vegas, it would have been an A plus plus, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_01 59:13

I mean, I yeah. Off-season championships don't matter, but it's a good time. It's a hopeful time for sure. There's a lot to feel good about.

SPEAKER_04 59:23

I don't know if I was on the podcast this time last year, but it definitely seems like we're all a lot more positive. Right? And yeah, it's it's it's the future's looking bright as long as the Oilers aren't don't become their own worst enemies. Which they never do. Never.

SPEAKER_00 59:40

Never.

SPEAKER_04 59:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 59:42

Well, I mean, yeah, like it's yeah, I think it's it's nice to end to to look at it as a on a positive, like the weak spots on the team. You know, there's still question marks, I would say, but I don't think there's there's weak spots, but they've left themselves some room, at least, like I said, that if there are weak spots you can shore it up. And you know, if you've got this prospect pool that's you know decent enough anyway, maybe like you have some some ammo if you do and need to shore it up. You know, if if Ty, if you're this, you know, gung-ho on some of these guys, you gotta think, especially these are low ceiling, high floor guys. NHL GMs love those guys. So, you know, if you're high on these guys, I'm sure there's someone out there who would trade established players for them. You know.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:26

Yeah, and it's one of those things where it's just, yeah, maybe in five years they're not in a great spot. But for right now, as the cup windows open, I think guys like you know, like an Isaac Howard, like uh even a Viljami, uh Marjala and Quinn Hudson and all of them, they can be serviceable serviceable guys at the NHL level in the next this season or next. And yeah, like they're not gonna be game breakers, but not every player is a game breaker and everyone needs depth. And you know what? If you realize we have too many, get rid of a couple, okay. Yarventi and Smancy, trade trade them away and get recoup a little bit of value from them, right? Because as you said, NHL general managers do tend to like that cheap depth and go from there, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:12

Yeah, no, I agree completely. Well, thanks everyone for listening. Tyler, thanks for coming on and uh giving us some information about prospects that Greg and I totally knew so much about and had definitely heard of before. And as so I'm sure so many of our listeners have as well. Um but yeah, thanks guys. And like we said, check us out. We all write for theoilrig.ca. So you know you won't hear our beautiful voices, but you'll be able to read our beautiful writing and agree or disagree as you will. And we'll see you guys next time.