17to85

which team is going to give you a top 6 forward + for a top 6 forward though? If you want 2 or 3 pieces for Kane they are going to be lesser pieces. The best you could hope to get for Kane is a one for one swap with a guy on a similar level who has worn out his welcome on another team.

Ok, but why do the Islanders do that? That's what people always forget when they come up with trade ideas, the other team needs a reason to do it too.

Except that it really wasn't. Burke was pretty hands off which was a problem many people had. The games where he did take a more active role the defense responded but instead he focussed on being just the head coach... not sure exactly what he did when he did that, but that's the official line. Except what? That it wasn't a disaster or that it wasn't overseen by Burke? I don't know about you, but if I was a Head Coach, and had a reputation as a defensive specialist, I would be heavily involved in fixing or helping fix the problem. The fact that he didn't doesn't make it less of a disaster. My point is last year's defence was a disaster, but nobody should declare this year's D or new DC anything yet. That it really wasn't overseen by Burke. Everything you say is correct, but Burke didn't get himself heavily involved. One of the reason he got his ass fired and why he's seen as one of the worst coaches the team has ever had. That's my point.

It's not the only problem but it's by far the biggest one. Too many players took a step back with Eakins for him to not be problem #1. Nah man, the problem is in Edmonton, you can fire coaches all you want, how many coaches tho need to be fired until you look at the players on the ice? Hall had a good year, point a game player, eberle had a down year but still, he had an ok year, yakupov suffered a little bit of sophomore jinx, longer season then last year also. Im not a huge oiler fan but its pretty obvious there biggest issue is they dont have any nhl d men really. Ferrence? he's a good bottom pairing guy but he aint a top 2 guy and thats what he played this season. Edmontons problem is they have drafted skilled forwards, smaller ones at that and rushed them. Their biggest issue is D by far, They cant play D. None of them can, They just arent a good defensive. Is this not the 3rd or 4th coach this team has had in the last few years? None of them coaches could get the job done, what that means is its not the coach, its the players. Edmonton should have taken Murray instead of Yakupov and should have let a few of their guys play in the minors first (RNH for sure, dudes so small its crazy) Coaches coach man, players play. 3 4 coaches the last 4 years have had the same results really. Eventually you gotta realize its not the coach, its the players. Well let me tell you why I say the coach is the biggest problem.... the PP in the previous 2 years was a huge weapon for that team, it won them enough games in the lockout season to move them up the standings... This season with the same players on it the thing sank to a point where not only were they not scoring on it they were giving up a ton of odd man rushes and scoring chances and goals the other way. Only thing that changed was the coach. Yakupov went from leading the team in goals as a rookie after improving all season to looking like he didn't have a clue how to play hockey. RNH his first 2 years looked like a guy with incredible hockey IQ and then this season looked absolutely lost on the ice. Coach praised him for how much he listened too... It's not that the roster is perfect, it isn't, but the amount of players who regressed under Eakins is too high to keep him. Kreuger may not have been a good coach, but he did more with less. Hell firing Tom Renney was the biggest mistake I think, but just because they've fired a bunch of coaches doesn't mean they've hired better ones. I disagree with your assessment that the Oilers can't play defense well enough, the big problem is they don't play enough offense. The only line that could keep the puck in the proper end of the rink was when they put Hall and Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins together, but the coach in his infinite wisdom only put them together at the end of the year. The rest of the time they could rush the puck up once but then it would get turned over and go back the other way. Any team would look bad defensively if you can't control the puck. People like to pretend they know what's going on by throwing out the nonsense they hear on tv but those guys don't watch enough things that aren't leafs to know what they're talking about anyway. Trust me on this, there are some things the roster needs to improve on, but the biggest issue for that team is that Dallas Eakins is a terrible coach.

The worst part is how the Dippers all brag about their record of balanced budgets... I have no interest in balancing the budget if it means jacking up the taxes every time you start spending more than you have.

Except that it really wasn't. Burke was pretty hands off which was a problem many people had. The games where he did take a more active role the defense responded but instead he focussed on being just the head coach... not sure exactly what he did when he did that, but that's the official line.

Enstrom - 82 games - 10 G, 20A, -9 - 5.75 mill Trouba - 65 games - 10 G, 15A, +4... yeah... we should always ignore the 50+ point seasons Enstrom has put up in the past, that makes complete sense. Enstrom got that payday because he is normally a point producing defensemen. Trouba when he was drafted was seen as more of a defensive guy, but he developed some offense in his post draft year and has shown some good offensive instincts as a rookie, he needs to keep that up though. Purely defensive guys don't get the big pay days like that.

To be completely fair though, a lot of us were throwing him under the bus before he was even officially hired.

not exactly. Sure gravity dictates that it's going to flow downwards, but it will flow in the path of least resistance which right there adds more guiding influences.

all depends on how he plays and how long the Jets want to lock him in for. If you are going to pay a defencemen 6 million a season he has to bring offense as well as defense.

If Etcheverry was some new guy coming in I'd give it more credibility than I do now, but we've seen him do this schtick multiple times before and the same problems are always there. I am not a fan of coaches who stubbornly stick to a philosophy that doesn't work in the long run. It has the making of Mike Kelly all over again.

Its just speculation... really depends on Trouba's next season - if a 21 year old defenceman, dominates - I can think of about eight teams that would give up prospects for him, starting with Edmonton All the over rating of Trouba aside (and yes he is a really good prospect, but he's not the norris winner people want to paint him as yet) The oilers are not likely to thrown an offer sheet at a guy like that, they'd be more likely to use their assets to get someone more proven.Lots of youth and potential on that team already including the defense position what they need are some veterans who can help bring the young players along.

If parties want to form a coalition it should be done before the election so voters know what to expect from a government if they're going to vote for that party. I tend to vote Conservative, but if they really ticked me off I could vote Liberal as well... but there is no way in hell I would ever vote for the NDP so having the NDP in any kind of significant role in governing is something I very much do not want to see.

I didn't like the idea of it back then either. Here's why I find the idea of a coalition between 3 parties undesirable.... They have too many differences between them and it's just a power grab. As much as the system isn't set up that way, the simple fact of the matter is people elected a specific party to govern and they did not want some amalgamation of other parties to run the country.

It's not the only problem but it's by far the biggest one. Too many players took a step back with Eakins for him to not be problem #1.

He has to want help from his coaches first. He reminds me of Burmistrov in that he works hard and has talent but won't adapt his game to what his coaches want him to do. From what I've read about him it sounds like his "people" are a little too involved with his career and it's causing friction with the Oilers' management & coaches. Maybe his agent takes too big a hands on approach, but Yakupov is coachable. The quote everyone brings up is bullshit because it's a kid without a good grasp on the language and it got taken the wrong way. What Yakupov needs is a coach who will sit him down and teach him how to work smarter not harder. Eakins obviously isn't that guy though because everyone but Perron and Hall (and even Hall at times) looks completely clueless about where they're supposed to be on the ice. It's not just defensively either, that team is so disjointed offensively because no one is on the same page. Even RNH who in his first 2 years looked like the smartest guy on the ice looks clueless this year (also praised by the coach for how much he listens) If Craig Mctavish realizes how bad he goofed hiring Eakins and fires him then those players will all of a sudden look a hell of a lot better.

Well it's not quite as simple as that, a coalition has to go to the governor general and convince him that they can govern rather than calling an election. Similarly prorouging is not some evil sin either, hell Chretien did it a ton too, Harper asked the governor general to do it, the governor general has to agree, and that's that. There's nothing scandalous about it. Both sides were using the tools at their disposal to play the game.

As this post actually explains the topic of coversation and doesn't fit with the idea that tburgess has in his head expect it to be completely ignored. Never have I seen someone so consistently miss the entire point of why people say what they say.

Eberle is more of a floater than Yakupov, just because he's from Saskatchewan and was a team canada hero rather than a Russian people over look it though. RNH will become a very good player because he does have a very good all around game and more size than people think. He's 6'1 and yeah he's slight but got more strength than he shows. Yakupov is actually a hard working player, he just needs more help from the coaches he's getting in Edmonton. People really don't have a clue what is going on with the Oilers, they just spout off the simplistic buzz words and expect that it fits. Between Scrivens and Fasth they have a capable goalie tandem now, they have a lot of defensemen in the system just coming into their own. Schultz as an offensive defensemen shows very good potential, Marincin and Klefbom look like top 4 guys in the future, Nurse had a great preseason in Edmonton and had a very very good year in the OHL, if they manage to get a guy like Ekblad in the draft this year all of a sudden they have too many young defensemen with potential. The Oilers didn't build wrong, they just let things get so bad from top to bottom before they actually smartened up that they were in an enormous hole with almost nothing worthwhile in the system.

They should keep the finger pointing out of the public spotlight. Just get it fixed and worry about who pays for it behind closed doors.

Edmonton might move Yakupov or even Eberle, but Taylor Hall is the man for that team. It would take a monstrous overpayment to get that guy. They can't trade Nugent-Hopkins either because they have nothing at the centre position in the system or even in the NHL really. Those two are a nonstarter, others could likely be had for the right price.

There is no chance we could get Hall for that price. He's one of the best offensive players in the league. Those type of guys don't get traded for 2nd pairing dmen & subpar goalies. Yeah but Edmonton's management is confused and desperate. We should be able to take advantage in some way. If anything Edmontons management puts too high a value on their players. Taylor Hall is arguably the top left wing in the league, he is a monster considering how crappy the rest of the Oilers are at generating offense. One of the elite offensive players in the league who doesn't get the recognition because of the team he plays for. There is nothing in Winnipeg that compared to Hall. If you do want to build a deal for Hall though start with Trouba then add something else you absolutely don't want to give up because without Hall the Oilers are lucky to ever win a game.

yes they do and if you don't recognize how good Hall was then I'm sorry

Mike Kelly tried that. He tried to control the message. How did that work out for him? The problem for Kelly was that the message was "I'm ******* insane"

You've got it backwards. Friesen has always been the way he is, that's not a result of the way the team has treated the media just the way Friesen tries to stay relevant in a world that needs newspapers and self entitled columnists less and less. I complain because Friesen is **** at his job, if he doesn't want to do the job well then I am all in favour of the team not giving him anything. He's got to earn it. Nope, you've got it backwards. When Taman was around it was a 'Love In' with the media because he fed them info and bent over backwards to help them out in every way he could. Since Kelly, The Bombers have treated the press with disdain. The result should be obvious to everyone. Try to put the media in their place and the articles they write will have a negative slant. It's the way the media has always worked and the way it will continue to work whether you like it or not. If they like you, they will show more respect and write more positive articles. You, and others, gripe about every article Friesen writes. You don't like the guy so you treat him with disdain and spew negative comments. It's funny because you're actually upset with him for doing the same thing that you do. Is it because he has a bigger audience or that he gets paid? Friesen has always been the same so don't pretend he changed when Kelly came in. The rest of them sure we can debate that, but Friesen has been doing his hypernegativity thing since day one