On the Edmonton Oilers …
David Staples of the Edmonton Journal: Bob Stauffer, CHED radio host, talked about the Oilers potential interest in Milan Lucic and the possibilities of trading Taylor Hall or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for a top defenseman.
“Milan Lucic is sort of the physical embodiment of what Peter Chiarelli stated from the get-go needed to happen in Edmonton. He wanted to get bigger, more competitive players… I do think if he goes to free agency the Oilers are going to have a solid opportunity to bring him in, but they’re going to have to move somebody out in the process because they’ve got to address that back-end as well.”
Stauffer also added:
“So do I think Taylor Hall could be traded? I don’t want to see Taylor Hall traded but he gets you the most. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins gets you the second most. To me, right now, Jordan Eberle, I would say it’s better than 50 per cent chance one of Hall or Nugent-Hopkins goes. I would suggest to you it’s less than a 15 per cent chance at this stage that Jordan Eberle goes. It’s incumbent on the Edmonton to use one of the $6 million guys upfront and use that as asset to acquire the defence…If it’s me, I don’t even trade down at this draft. I take Tkachuk…. It’s quite apparent Matthew Tkachuk has closed the gap on Jesse Puljujarvi something fierce here over the last few weeks.”
Chris Nichols of Today’s Slapshot: Bob McKenzie on TSN 1260 on if Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the most sought after player in the trade market.
“I think he’s a hell of a player. Then some people might say, ‘Well, why would the Edmonton Oilers want to trade him?’ I don’t know for a fact it’s on Peter Chiarelli’s to-do list to trade Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as much as it is. ‘We’ve got to get a significant defenseman in here, and that may be one of the roads we have to go down.’ Maybe it’s the Jordan Eberle road. Maybe there’s other things that can be used in terms of the fourth overall pick this year.
“So I think it’s an open canvas for Chiarelli and the Oilers, and an open mind to decide. And obviously it’s what the other team is looking for. If they’re not looking for a center, then they’re not going to want Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.”