As you said, he's a quality player locked up for term at a very team-friendly contract. He's not going to be cheap. Offers probably start at a 1st and an A prospect. In other words, you're going to have to give up something you don't want to, not just expendable assets.

A second in a very deep draft and Tyler Benson (probably the best forward prospect in the organization) are not what I would call expendable assets, Khaira is for sure but that was just to make the money work and he’s a useful player for a rebuilding team, he’s by no means essential to the deal.

It’s fair if the Ducks want a first, I’m guessing at that point he would be to costly for the oilers who seem hell bent on not moving their first, however Rakell being on the contract he’s on may be the kind of player that would make them consider it.

Rakell is going to put up 30-35 goals minimum with a guy like Connor. There is no way this happens without far more of an offer.

I don’t think teams punish the Oilers for the likelihood of the departing player to have success with the best player in to world. The Flames traded James Neal for poorly trained Rhino on skates and I think everyone knew Neal was going to score in Edmonton.

That being said I guess Rakell is worth a little more than my initial thought so I added Puljujarvi, a bit of a wildcard but could easily be a better player than Rakell in a couple years.

I'd say a 1st, Khaira, and one of Bouchard, Broberg, or Lavoie would get it done.

How bout RNH for Sprong, Sherwood, Rowney and a 2nd?

In what article did you read that the ducks won’t be competitive for 4 seasons?

If that’s the case there won’t be a deal. Rakell is good and his contract is a appealing but a first round pick in a stacked draft, a top defensive prospect in the league let alone on the team, and a forward shooting the lights out in the Quebec league after making the Canadian national team, for a guy on pace for 46 points is just complete lunacy from the Oiler perspective.

I can’t imagine the oilers have any interest in offloading their third best forward on an already shallow offensive team. I like Sprong but they could have had him on waivers for free. The Oilers are entering a compete window, the Ducks are exiting theirs. The roles in that trade should be reversed in terms of who is buying and who is selling

I’m not worried about “buyers and sellers” just value and divisional rival tax. ANA is trading their best fwd for next to nothing. Khaira has little to no value. Idk much about Benson but just looking at his numbers he’s a playmaker. Ducks have plenty of passers. They need scorers. Plus 21 with zero NHL games on a team that needs scoring depth means he’s probably not ready. And a 2nd isn’t enough.

My overall point with my initial reply was EDM wouldn’t trade RNH for similar value. Why would ANA trade Rakell?

I’ve added Puljujarvi too. Neither Puljujarvi or Benson could have been had on waivers a couple months ago. I guess we have different ideas of “similar values” if more needs to be added on the Edmonton side fair enough, I don’t know if Holland would be comfortable doing much more and may look at other options but personally I like Rakell and would consider a first.

Edit: I also don’t see the need for a division rival tax in this case as the two teams are going in different directions and Rakell will be in decline/gone by the time the Ducks are relevant to the standings again.

There probably isn't going to be a deal then, as I don't see the Ducks moving Rakell for less than that. Like I said before, in order to get a player like Rakell, you're going to have to give up a prospect you're not comfortable giving up. Benson isn't it.

I love Rakell and made this thread about him for a reason but I think you might be over rating him a bit, his contact is great and the skill is there but the reality is that this season and last we are talking about a 40(ish) point player. That’s not worth Bouchard or Broberg. I get that you have to give up something valuable to get Rakell but you need to be more realistic. Christ the Devils got less back for Taylor Hall than what you’re postulating.

Neither Puljujärvi or Benson will make any impact on their ELC which is why they couldn’t have been had on waivers. Also nobody thinks Puljujärvi is a quality player anymore given that no one has paid the premium asked for. He doesn’t have a ton of value. Based on age and lack of NHL experience Benson seems like a “young player filler” in a trade much like Bracco in TOR.

If you’re not offering a 1st+ for Rakell you have zero chance at him. As rental he’s get a 1st. He’s still signed for 2+ seasons. As for the divisional tax, the ducks won’t want to see Rakell 5 or 6 times for the next 2 seasons whether you think they’ll be competitive or not.

I don’t see what your point is about not being in the NHL on their ELC has to do with waivers, the fact of the matter is their both better players than Sprong. Nobody has paid what the Oilers have asked for Puljujarvi because they’re making intentionally excessive requests from teams as they don’t really care if Puljujarvi rots in Finland until he’s 27 if they aren’t going to get return back for him. I think the comparison to Bracco is fair but inaccurate (I believe without looking) benson is a bit younger, and much bigger, the drawback for Bracco is he’s to small to succeed in the NHL, Benson doesn’t have that problem, he hasn’t been in the league yet because the Oilers haven’t wanted to rush him, having him come up to play with Sam Gagner and josh Archibald wouldn’t have done him any good, plus he missed most of his draft +1 season with injury so they weren’t rushing him.

It’s fair if you want a first, as I said Rakell is the type of player I’d consider that for.

I don’t see why the ducks would be so unwilling to play Rakell 4 (which is how many times division teams play eachother) times a year if they aren’t trying to compete anyway, what’s the disadvantage of him scoring goals against you in games you aren’t expecting to win, I fail to see the logic in that.

Neither is better than Sprong. Sprong has 19 goals in 40ish less games than Puljujärvi. The ELC point is that if they havent played in the NHL on their ELC they aren’t eligible for waivers. As for the Benson and Bracco comparisons, it’s not that Bracco is too small it’s that he’s poor defensively and based on Benson’s numbers he probably has the same problem.

That’s smart, EDM is gonna waste a number 4 overall pick for nothing because they’re stubborn.

You’re right it’s 4 or 5 times for divisional opponents. I fail to see the logic that a team as young as the ducks can’t be playoff competitive next season(decent amount of cap room) or the year after(plenty of cap). Sending Rakell to EDM doesn’t help those playoff chances.

Just because someone would be playing with Connor doesn’t up their value js

Rakell for Nug one be a good one for one.

Exactly. The Oilers already pay McDavid for his production, should they pay their trading partners for his production too? That's ridiculous.

So... you're saying Rakell is worth 2x or 3x what Jeff Carter cost LA? Carter was acquired for a late 1st the following year and defenseman Jack Johnson. That's like EDM's 2021 1st + Matt Benning.

In the 3.5 seasons prior to the trade, the then 27-year-old Carter's boxcars looked like this: 275, 130-106-236 [0.86 P/GP] +41
In the last 3.5 seasons, the 26-year-old Rickard Rakell's boxcars look like this: 259, 97-94-191 [0.74 P/GP] +1

Carter was signed for 10 more seasons, Rakell for 2 more.

"Benson is a strong, grinding winger who possesses both excellent passing ability and a quality shot. Strong along the wall and able to bully his way through traffic, Benson is willing to battle through to the open slot and can be difficult to handle in front of the net for smaller defenders. Benson is a capable two-way player that can be counted on to play in all situations..." – Aynsley Scott

"Plays an excellent two-way game and is a leader on the ice." - Future Considerations

"Benson is a guy who is going to give it his all every shift and in all three zones. Has good size and strength and plays with a physical edge and competitiveness." - ISS Hockey

"Benson’s offensive ability, leadership and complete game made him a real threat for the Giants." - Jameson Ewasiuk at Dobber Prospects

"When healthy, he has an excellent all-around game... He’s very strong, highly competitive and is reliable in both ends." - Jason Gregor

I see that I’ve been spinning my tires in this argument lol.

If you think that waiver fodder Sprong is a more valuable asset than Benson or Puljujarvi, or that this horrible Ducks team is somehow going to be a playoff contender in the next two seasons then you’re too blinded by your bias for this conversation to be constructive.

And as for your sarcastic remark about Puljujarvi, he’s made it clear he isn’t playing in Edmonton, the team that drafted him and by rule has his rights until he is 27, so that pick is already “wasted” why would we do a favour to that player or a competing team by sending him there for low value?

So why is he still in Bakersfield when EDM struggles to score so mightily?

Imagine thinking you can determine a teams future by just looking at the standings.

Imagine not understanding why teams don’t make waiver claims the day before the season.

Imagine thinking that keeping a player overseas because as an organization you do an awful job at developing said player is the best way to go about it.

What? Edmonton is 12th in the league in goals per 60 on the season with 3.10, and 2nd in scoring over the past 10 games with 3.99. I'm not sure I'd quantify that as 'struggling mightily' to score.

But why Benson isn't in the NHL is answered with one word: Holland. He likes to over-ripen his prospects and doesn't like to break in more than one at a time. If you look at how they've been handled you'll see what I mean. Bear made the team out of camp - Oct 2. Once he was comfortable in his role Holland called up Caleb Jones, who got his first appearance Nov 14. Again, a period of time to get comfortable (team and player) before Yamamoto joined the team - Dec 31. Benson is the next recall, the feeling is that he'd be here right about now but for one thing: the Oilers are in their bye week right now and have 10 days between games - they don't play again until the 29th. During this period the AHL team plays 4 games, and it's better to have him playing and continuing to develop than lying on a beach in Mexico, which is what the NHL team is probably doing right now. Unless he gets injured this week, I expect him to get recalled next week. They'll want to give him (say) 10 games pre-deadline so they know what their shopping list should look like.

McDavid, Draisaitl, and Kassian (one line) has scored 42% of those goals. The rest of the team struggled mightily.

You’re blaming Holland that 21 year old needs more pro experience? Really? Lol that’s funny.