Simpleton
Joined: Jun. 2017
Posts: 1,365
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I'm not sure that a 3rd round pick is enough to entice Vancouver into taking on that contract, but i think you've got the right idea. Moving Sekera would probably be a lot easier, and I suspect Buffalo would not be the only team interested in that deal. Its highly unlikely that Calgary has any interest in Kris Russell, but some other team might. There is no pressure to trade Mantha since he will remain on the LTIR until his contract expires.
I think Panik, and Connolly will command bigger salaries than you've proposed. If Sutter comes to Edmonton in a Lucic deal, Holland will probably look for another top six forward, instead of signing Brassard. He'll want to go with McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, and Sutter down the middle. Panik can play on either of the top two lines in Edmonton, and so can Connolly. If Puljujarvi can play on the second line, then Holland needs a guy who can challenge Panik, on the left wing. Tyler Ennis and Brandon Pirri could be relatively inexpensive options to play on the second line, but they are small, and so is Pageau. I would hope that Holland takes a run at a player like Donskoi, to push Puljujarvi and buy time for Yamamoto to either become an NHL player or be moved elsewhere in some kind of deal. I think Donskoi would be a much better acquisition than Pageau.
The forward lines could look something like this:
Panik - McDavid - Connolly
Ennis - Draisaitl - Donskoi
Benson/Khaira - Nugent-Hopkins - Puljujarvi
Khaira/Gambardella - Sutter - Kassian
There is plenty of potential for that kind of line-up to provide three competitive scoring lines that are defensively responsible. The fourth line could also have some surprising jam. Within the roster, there is opportunity to swap Donskoi and Puljujarvi, and perhaps Ennis and Benson as the season progresses and the younger guys start to realize their potential. Or, the coach can distribute time relatively evenly among the top three lines, something like an average of 17-minutes per game. The Oilers would be significantly improved if they had the depth to play their centres at their natural position.
Playing Nurse ahead of Klefbom doesn't make sense to me, especially if Larsson remains in the top pair. Nurse will need to play with a RHD who is a good passer and a solid defender; Larsson is only one of those. If Stone is out because Calgary doesn't want Russell, then perhaps Holland passes on DeMelo and looks for a solid top-4 puck moving RHD. Jones can move to his natural position, rather than the right side, and pair with Benning.
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