As much as id hate to trade Pulju, this is a fair return, adds to depth, Blocks virtanen from getting in and get to see the Clouder brother play together

however with the hockey canada investigation ongoing, Michael Mcleod is a bad trade piece

Would no Mikey + higher pick (Bastian + 2nd or something) still be enough to bag Pulj?

Yea thats perfectly fair, but only if edmonton is dead set on trading him

I make that move any day of the week. Even with the hockey Canada investigation, Ken Holland is clearly willing to go after bad ideas.

Oilers take this in a heartbeat imo. Best return I’ve seen offered for JP

The thing is, it's a whole lot of nothing for a top 6 player

Ducks don’t really need Johnsson.

Trading a guy who's proven capable to play high up in lineup for a couple guys to compete for 4th line minutes..... I don't see much sense for Edmonton.

Educate (or Amuse) me as to why you believe Nathan Bastian & Michael McLeod are both nothing's?

I don't believe PJ & The Oilers are a fit or belong together personally and the Oilers need both Physicality and Cap Space badly

The Better Question might be why NJD needs PJ when they already have Alexander Holtz?

Wouldn't the counter argument to that be that anybody could play high up if they had McDavid and Draisaitl as line mates and considering the fact PJ did, he isn't considered to have done that great!?

I mean, I’m a devils fan and it’s kinda not a lot to give up for JP. Mcleod and Bastian are both on the grit line, but I think if both Oilers and Devils fans think its great value, then its a fair trade. I think that it def works to improve the devils too 9 and the oilers depth. Holtz-Hughes-Pulj could probably be a great line.

McLeod is depth, other than faceoffs he has little utility and it's looking like Boqvist will take his spot. Bastian is very good for a fourth liner, but nowhere near as good as Puljujarvi

McLeod and Bastian are role players and are useful as 4th liners, but are certainly expendable. I just think it would be funny if these two were traded together as they played junior, AHL, then NJD-to-EDM together. Other than Bastian’s brief stint in Seattle, they have been together since they were 16.

JP wasn't projected to return a lot in a Trade anyways, most "experts" said EDM'd be lucky to get a 2nd or 3rd Round Pick for him.

4th line is typically your Short Shift = Energy line, however you chose to use it: Aging Veterans, Hard Checking, High Speed/Intensity Shifts or a Combination of the 3

Michael McLeod is a Defensive Specialist who's substantially better at Faceoffs than Ryan McLeod and Better on the PK too, but having both on a line or PK together would be amazing for the Oilers. One is Right Handed and the other is Left Handed, which gives you options & advantages, especially at the Faceoff Dot. Michael's Giveaway Takeaway Ratio is excellent as well. He's a Great Bottom-6th Depth Player, who could likely put up 15-20 Goals and 0.50PPG+ if he was awarded more time on ice. Pool Party isn't a Top-6 Player with the Oilers anymore either, he's a 3rd liner

Everybody talks about the Great Big Josh Anderson, well what about the Super Cheap Great Big Nathan Bastian!? Let's compare:

Bastian Shot Percentage: 12.4% Goals: 12 (9 Even Strength + 3 PP) ATOI: 11:54TOI Games: 72 Total Playing Time: 757 minutes
Anderson Shot Percentage: 12.6% Goals: 19 (17 Even Strength + 2 PP) ATOI: 17:14TOI Games: 69 Total Playing Time: 1189 minutes (45% more ice time than Bastian)
Pool Party Shot Percentage: 8.8% Goals: 14 (10 Even Strength + 4 PP) ATOI: 16:14 Games: 65 Total Playing Time: 1055 minutes (37% more ice time than Bastian)

Bastian Average Minutes Per Goal: 63.08 Cost Per Goal: $68,750
Anderson Average Minutes Per Goal: 62.58 Cost Per Goal: $289,474
Pool Party Average Minutes Per Goal: 75.36 Cost Per Goal: $83,929

My point is Bastian contributed just as much as Pool Party & Josh Anderson but take in to consideration the quality of line mates and you really should be blown away and amazed. I think Bastian hovering around the net on the PP would be more effective than Pool Party.

If I could get both Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian in exchange for Pool Party, I'd do it. The Physicality and Utility you get out of these 2 Guys is worth more than 1 Bison King imo and you can always move them up the lineup, which given more TOI and not just being in a Shut Down role, they'll give you more offensive production as well

He's probably the best oiler in terms of goal differential. Every single player he teamed up with had improved numbers with Jesse on the ice. Oilers are getting two 4th liners that will be fighting for a job with a number of guys who are proven capable of doing that job.

Yeah, I don't look at it that way. Just because they play on the 4th line for 1 team doesn't mean they're 4th line players for life. Besides, JP's a 3rd Liner now himself

There'd be absolutely no fight, Michael McLeod & Nathan Bastian would walk on and guys like Derek Ryan, Brad Malone Devin Shore and even Dyllan Holloway would step aside, since they couldn't play that Bottom-6 role as good as these two will. I'd put the McLeod Brother together with Bastian on line 3. Great Shut-Down/Checking line