On the Edmonton Oilers …
David Staple of the Edmonton Journal: Staples looks at some reasons the Edmonton Oilers should look at trading Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
- It’s time for a change
- Trading Jordan Eberle would create a bigger hole than if they traded Nugent-Hopkins.
- He was a first overall pick, has had some good years and there is still lots of cachet in this player.
- Nugent-Hopkins game may have plateaued, so it might be best that the Oilers move him before others realize.
- Nugent-Hopkins defensive play hasn’t improved much.
- He isn’t a physical force
- How many third line centers make $6 million?
- He’s redundant on the power play
- He’s more valuable to other teams than he is to the Oilers
Chris Wescott of EdmontonOilers.com: The Oilers dropped back one slot to No. 4, but there will be plenty of options that fit their need.
“What’s exciting with the second tier is that there’s a lot of defencemen and there’s a lot of good-sized forwards,” said Chiarelli. “Those are two needs we’re looking at so we’re going to look a little more closely. If we keep the pick or we move it and get another pick, there’s still a lot of those good players that are big or are defenders.”
GM Peter Chiarelli is open to all options, including dropping back and collecting more assets, or moving the pick outright.
“As a manager, you have to be available to anything that comes forward with regard to improving your team,” he said. “You could take a position not to move a pick and just call it a day, but I want to improve this team and we’ve drafted a lot of players in our group right now and I think it’s an opportunity to look at a lot of different options with players that are already NHL players. I’ll certainly look at those options.”
