Comments on: Trimming the Fat

By: Racki

Racki — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:59:06 +0000

Noob: Ya, these smallish contracts may not seem like much, but they add up. Nilsson, Staios, Moreau and Pisani all have deceiving contracts. They may not seem like much, but a couple mill here and there adds up quick. I’m not saying let’s get rid of all of them (although I think Chucker would be on board with that!), however moving even a couple of them would do us wonders as I’m sure there are much cheaper alternatives out there.

Horpensky: I’ve been suggesting sending Nilsson down to the minors (possibly claimed on waivers), but you know in 2 or 3 years if he suddenly finds his A-game, the fans are going to erupt. But honestly, while it is bad asset management, his value is likely at a low. We might be able to salvage a pick for him via trade. And I don’t really see a package of Nilsson and Staios being that appealing, but you never know. But I would say those would be separate transactions. As for Staios to Nashville, if he could weasel out Jordon Tootoo, I’d be surprised. Although maybe we could sweeten the deal a bit. However having him on our 4th line would be great. I know there’s a lot of people out there who can’t get over the hate for the guy, however.

Chucker: yah there are a couple of guys here that can replace Nilsson if we lose him. And in 2 or 3 years we’ll have even more once some of our prospects are ready to step into the league.

By: chucker

chucker — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:39:39 +0000

I can agree with that. Especially Staios. Peckham can replace his grit. The RHD thing is an issue for sure, but he really isn’t used to that strength anyway in my opinion.

Nilsson could easily be replaced by Schremp if need be for offense. He’s also cheaper. There is basically no skill loss by trading these two from what I can see. I’d rather have Malholtra in the lineup.

Nilsson is a bit of an enigma though. He has tremendous skill rivalled only by Hemsky IMHO but doesn’t seem to be able to capitalize on it. It could bite us in the butt, however I would still do a deal for picks and prospects/defenssive D-man.

By: Horpensky

Horpensky — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:27:49 +0000

So suppose we do move Staios and Nilsson, do we just give them away for a bag of pucks? What would we get in return.. future considerations? Jordin Tootoo? I guess Staios’ contract is only for another 2 years, which is nothing for Nashville, but seems like an eternity for us. Nashville has been pretty quiet this offseason.

By: Hockey Noob

Hockey Noob — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:09:56 +0000

Hey Racki,

Isn’t that Penner on the boat in the photo? lol j/k

Yeah, Fake Craig McTavish–over on Lowetide, pretty much summed our cap situation best with the death by a 1000 paper cuts analogy. Nilsson clearly an optimal choice for reasons that many have already identified. Yeah, he doesn’t provide much offense for a 1 dimensional player. As well, his 5v5/60 is the worst among forward skaters on the team last season.

I agree with you about Staios in terms of having respect for a veteran Oiler player. On the other hand his cap hit of $2.7 million is a ton of money for a 3rd pairing dman. Moving Staios and Nilsson would be a pretty good starting point to get some cap space.

Lowetide seems to have a feeling that a trade might occur prior to the start of this up coming season. It would be great if he’s right.