Things haven't been too rosy in the Oilers community lately. Sure, we got Milan Lucic but, for many, that still doesn't wash away the bad taste that has been left in our mouths after the now infamous Taylor Hall trade. Life without Hall is still a relatively new concept within the fanbase and I can understand the bitterness associated with it all. Taylor Hall was the original beam of hope for Oiler fans, the first step, the player that would someday lead us to glory and remind of us of just how far we've come. It didn't work out that way, and now the sense of betrayal and alienation that many fans feel from the current Oilers management group lingers and the negativity that has plagued the franchise has crept in once again. For those fans I can honestly say that I sympathize with you, I get where you are coming from. The trade was lopsided in favor of the New Jersey Devils for sure, but that's just not how I roll.
I suffer from a condition that I like to call "Over-Optimism". I like to see the Oilers situation always on the half full side, rather than the half empty. I am sure I have annoyed many people with it, constantly trying to defend the asses of guys like Craig MacTavish and Peter Chiarelli. It's not an easy thing to do, I can assure you, but I find my ways. If you hated the Taylor Hall trade and do not want to hear anything different....then, well, this might not be your favourite blog in the world. I urge you, though, to read on and tell me how much of an imbecile or "mindless sheep" I am to the Oilers! I welcome all sorts of conflicting ideas and opinions!
Ok, lets get into into this pressure cooker. The trade is about a week old as I write this, and the turmoil has not yet settled. First off let's dissect the initial deal without considering the situation of both teams.
The Edmonton Oilers Acquire: (D) Adam Larsson
The New Jersey Devils Acquire: (LW) Taylor Hall
Yea, this looks bad for Edmonton. The deal is, as I alluded to earlier, heavily lopsided in favour of the Devils. If you run the philosophy that the team that gets the better player wins the deal, then the New Jersey Devils run away with the W. This is precisely where many people have a problem with the trade. The Oilers lost a top 3 LWer in the league and acquired a player that, frankly, we don't know a whole lot about. So, while on the surface, the trade doesn't at all demand a reason for justification, looking more stupid than anything else really. However, the more I looked into the reality of the situation the more I came to peace with it and started to spin positives out of it.
The Oilers have lacked a proper defensive group for years (10 !@$%ing years to be exact) and it was obviously time for a big move to be made. Peter Chiarelli saw this, Todd McLellan saw this, and anyone who had watched the team over the course of these 10 hard years definitely saw this. I wouldn't say that the Oilers were going into the offseason lighting the streets on fire in the name of their desperation to find a right shot defenseman, but the urgency was definitely present, and the 29 other teams recognized this as well. No team was going to give away their top-end defenseman without taking the Oilers for as much as they could. Sure, Chiarelli could of stood pat...but that would have most likely have meant another wasted year. You can preach that the Oilers should've traded Eberle or Nugent-Hopkins for defensive help, and I am sure that Pete Chiarelli tried this; only to find out that the best he could do was Nuge for Dumba. It wouldn't have worked; the Oilers were put in a position where they had to lose a deal to address their problems on the defense. It HAD to be Hall....the market forced the Oilers to go all in, and frankly that is just how it goes in the business of the NHL, no one was going to do Edmonton any favours.
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Adam Larsson. Drafted 4th overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 2011 NHL entry draft. This is the guy that will have the microscope placed on him in Edmonton for years to come. Forever known as the guy the Oilers gave up Taylor Hall for. It's an unfair sticker to be placed on his back, yet it's unavoidable in these sort of situations. So, what will Larsson bring to the table, and can we even fathom a future where we come out as the overall victors in this seemingly one-sided deal? I think so (told you I was annoying).
In all honesty though, let's take a closer look at this guy and what he can do. He played top pairing minutes in New Jersey. Roughly 22:31 per night with the club. He played all 82 games last year and was an impressive +15 on a team ranked 30th in their offensive production. His offensive production isn't impressive, having a career high of 23 points, which could be a factor of his former teams horrid production as a whole. He's got assets that Oiler fans should like. First, he's right-handed and can play both ends of the ice well, with a decent point shot, as well as an exceptional first pass. He is sound in his positioning and he fits the bill for Chiarelli's "Size matters" philosophy. 6'3 205lb is what Larsson clocks in at. He faced the best of the best in New Jersey with great poise, and the Oilers should expect the same. He's also a very young defender, being 23, so there is plenty of room for improvement. I envision him and Klefbom manning the top pairing.....the Spectacular Swedes! I'll show myself out for that nickname. Overall, this kid is solid, and we shouldn't be disappointed in his arrival! It looks bad now, but Larsson could change that outlook this season.
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In terms of the rumoured Subban trade, which would have required Edmonton to give up Draisaitl, Pulijijarvi, Klefbom/Nurse and one or two more assets, sorry, I am not willing to create 4 more holes on this team to fill one need. With the Hall trade we traded from a position of strength, young forwards, to address a position of weakness, our defense, and then we tried our best fill Hall's spot with Lucic. Milan Lucic is no Taylor Hall, I get that, but he's going to fill in as well as anyone can fill in for a Taylor Hall.
Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov, Jesse Pulijiarvi, and now Milan Lucic are all Edmonton Oilers. They can handle the offence, and now we have added a key piece to our defensive group that can step in and play 20 minutes each game. The Oilers haven't imploded; they're a more balanced team now if anything. The initial sting of losing such a resilient Edmonton Oiler in Taylor Hall is going to sting, but the joys of returning to the playoffs will soon make us forget how the Devils fleeced the Oilers on that one rainy June day.
The Oilers are a better team out of this entire debacle, that's what I am trying to get at.
Thanks for reading!
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