TSN: Darren Dreger and Ray Ferraro on the Ray & Dreg Podcast on what kind of trade the could spark the Edmonton Oilers and what kind of approach does Oilers GM Ken Holland have?
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Dreger: “Last week on the podcast, we talked about how we’re going to continue to chew on the Edmonton Oilers because it felt like after the coaching change, okay, you got the bump. You know, they’re going to turn a corner here. Let’s watch them run now and maybe we’ll have something positive to say. And we did, we did for one episode, I think and now all of a sudden here we are talking about how Kenny Holland is going to drag this team out of the mud.
And so my sense from, from talking to some people around the organization is that at least the general manager, I can’t speak for senior management or ownership, they may have a different view on this entirely is why not wait. You know, make the players earn that big trade. You know, if you’re gonna throw futures into an equation, into a transaction, and you’re not convinced, that goalie, that defenseman coming back is going to actually turn things around and make it better.
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Or even worse, you’re concerned that there’s something else that is missing. Maybe it’s not a player, maybe it’s just the group. You can’t fix it with one trade. Do you sell off those future assets at this point, Ray? Or if you’re Kenny, if you’re not pressured into making a trade, do you just sit tight and make these players earn it a little bit more?
Ferraro: “Well, I do think there, sometimes there is value in shuffling deck chairs around and what I mean by that is that you’re you’re not necessarily making a trade with, of huge impact of player. Yet sometimes it’s a jolt, or somebody catches fire that comes over in a trade.
Now, just before I got to the New York Islanders, the Islanders made a trade in like November of the year before and they got Mark Fitzpatrick and Hubie McDonough from the LA Kings. And it wasn’t, you know, it wasn’t earth-shattering trade by any means. They went something like 22-5 after the trade. Like, like it shouldn’t have impacted is my point the way it did, except it did.
And so maybe that’s the type of deal that that you look at first. Hell, it’s no secret they, they could use another goalie but, but everybody else knows it too. Like, do you think they’re getting a bargain?
I will say this and I know Ken quite well, is that, I know he takes a lot of heat in Edmonton right now but one thing he won’t do is even if, even if this is his last year, and I have no idea but it’s the last year on his contract, he’s not going to blow out a bunch of future assets just to save himself.
If it’s not the right move for the team and the organization. He’s not going to make it and I think there’s that must be hard to do. Because it would be easy to blow out a bunch of future first-rounders and, and such but man they’re, they’re in an, just an unbelievable predicament. I just, I just keep going back to two months ago when most of us had them in the Western Conference Final at least.”
Dreger: “Yeah, yeah.”
Ferraro: “And it’s the same team, except clearly it’s not the same team.”
Dreger: “Do they miss the playoffs? I mean, not that to radio you here because we all think back to the St. Louis Blues having a terrible first half, a magnificent second half on route to winning a Stanley Cup. It doesn’t feel the same. I mean, we can’t know for sure, but to bounce over the teams that the Oilers have to bounce over to get into that wildcard spot, is a pretty tall mound.
Ferraro: “Well I saw something to get the 95 points and the pace percentage they have to play at, it seems like it can’t happen. Except it happened a year ago. Like, like could it happen, I don’t know, can Skinner get, catch fire again? And hell the other night in Carolina when he fell in warm-up and went sliding through the Carolina team to the other blue line and then…’
Derger: “You love that do you?”
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Ferraro: “Oh, I do because it’s just so, like it’s something he does every game, but the way things are going you falls, slides to the Carolina blue line, gives up four goals in 13 minutes, like what the hell else is going on? Like right, like it’s uh, sometimes the snowball does get bigger, and that’s what it feels like right now in Edmonton. And how, they’re not going to win any games given up five and six goals and it happens way too much.”
