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I call him under rated because of all the talk like the above questioning things about the player that aren't even questionable. Great attitude, great work ethic, great drive and passion. Oilers forwards are better at D than people think as well, the biggest problem in the Oilers defensive zone is a group of defencemen that was not good at actually getting the puck out of the zone. Leads to more time spent in the defensive zone and more potential for someone to get beaten. Give the Oilers a capable puck moving defence and the opinion of the forwards defensive play will change, much like Calgary. The young forwards in Calgary ain't all that defensive either, but between Giordano and Brodie and Russel and Wideman they can get the puck moving in the right direction.

Is that where people drink as much alcohol as they can until they vomit? bolded confirms, but doesn't specify which sport.

So did Tillman. Everyone had him rated as a top draft pick if he had been in the draft. Just goes to show the uncertainty of scouting and why draft lists shouldn't be taken as gospel.

As someone without the option of MTS I wish I could get them to give me a cell phone. Hell I'd take Sasktel as well. You guys are lucky, the big 3 have lower rates in MB because there is more competition from MTS.

No you can clearly see that it was the coach. Rookie year Yakupov led all rookies in goals, tied for the rookie lead in points AND he was the Oilers top goal scorer. More than Hall, more than Eberle, more than anyone on the team. How is that not proving he was a legitimate #1 pick? That was the lockout year, I believe his 82 game prorated goal scoring pace was close to 30 goals. Pretty good for a rookie and #1 overall worthy right? Then year 2 hits and Dallas Eakins comes in and Yakupov looks like he's never played hockey before. But then Eakins is fired in Yakupovs 3rd year and his play visiibily improves but the points are slow coming as his shot is off and he looks like he lacks some confidence. The points do start to come though and his game looks better and he finishes the year with 20 points in the final 28 games. Not too bad right? It is plain as ******* day for anyone who cares to look that Dallas Eakins was the only thing holding Yakupov back. He wasn't the only one. RNH, Eberle, Schultz, Petry, they all saw their games turn around hugely after Eakins was fired. The man destroyed the confidence of that team. He was the only cancer in that room and now that they've done an enema of the entire management that hired him and kept him people will start to realize just how spectacularly that held the team back. So you are basically saying he has had one good lockout shortened season and one good 20 game stretch. I'd want more out my first overall pick. I've seen him play, there is no denying he has a crap load of talent. But for me juries out on whether he has the heart or drive or whatever you want to call it needed to get to that elite status in the NHL. And yes, I expect a first overall pick to show progress year to year to get to that status. One possibility is that it was the coach. Another possibility is he is a streaky player who only shows up when he is motivated to. I'm not saying you are wrong, just saying he hasn't really proven a whole heck of a lot yet. Your theory on the coach is just that ... a theory. Time will tell if it is proven right or not. You are a scientist, you should understand that. Doesn't change the point that Edmonton would be foolish to trade him now because they would be selling low. I am curious though, question for you. If Yakupov is a bust again this year under McLellan, will you put that on the player or will you still blame Eakins for ruining his career? I'm sorry but if you think the 2nd then you really haven't seen him play enough and don't know a thing about the player. He is one of the hardest workers on that OIlers team. The point here, is that he looked like a first overall pick under Ralph Kreuger and Todd Nelson and looked like someone who was just picking up the game of hockey under Dallas Eakins. It's obvious what the problem here was because proven scorers like Jordan Eberle looked like crap under Eakins too. Did you know that Eakins would bench Yakupov if he had a good first 2 periods because he wanted Yakupovs game to end on a positive note? How on earth can you sit there and say it was anything but the ******** coaching of Eakins? Bottles the mind that people are willing to excuse the worst coaching I have ever seen because Russian.

No you can clearly see that it was the coach. Rookie year Yakupov led all rookies in goals, tied for the rookie lead in points AND he was the Oilers top goal scorer. More than Hall, more than Eberle, more than anyone on the team. How is that not proving he was a legitimate #1 pick? That was the lockout year, I believe his 82 game prorated goal scoring pace was close to 30 goals. Pretty good for a rookie and #1 overall worthy right? Then year 2 hits and Dallas Eakins comes in and Yakupov looks like he's never played hockey before. But then Eakins is fired in Yakupovs 3rd year and his play visiibily improves but the points are slow coming as his shot is off and he looks like he lacks some confidence. The points do start to come though and his game looks better and he finishes the year with 20 points in the final 28 games. Not too bad right? It is plain as ******* day for anyone who cares to look that Dallas Eakins was the only thing holding Yakupov back. He wasn't the only one. RNH, Eberle, Schultz, Petry, they all saw their games turn around hugely after Eakins was fired. The man destroyed the confidence of that team. He was the only cancer in that room and now that they've done an enema of the entire management that hired him and kept him people will start to realize just how spectacularly that held the team back.

Yak is the most underrated player going right now. Dallas Eakins ****** that situation up good but Yakupov isn't a lost cause. It took a few games to really start erasing the damage but he did finish the season with something like 20 points in the final 28 games, he's a hard working player with some under rated physicality and a deadly shot. Oiler players shouldn't be valued based on what they showed with the Dallas Eakins Regression Phenomenon (DERP) in place. That's how you wind up trading good defencemen like Jeff Petry for the garbage return McTavish got for him.

The Jets trade for Meyers was a completely different scenario involving a bunch of other pieces as well. Kane had lowered value because of his history with the team, Bogosian was needed to get Buffalo to move Meyers as well. If there was a trade with Winnipeg I think the guy to look at is Buff, but it'll be something built around picks and prospects for him not players.

The other thing that people wrongly assume is that the Oilers are in a situation where they need warm bodies on defense so they'll try and send a #4 D + some crap for a big name. The Oilers have plenty of guys who can play in the bottom 4 of a defense, what they really need are guys who can play top pair minutes on D. It's not just about making trades and getting people, it's about getting the right kind of people.

what did the isles give up for leddy and boychuck?don't need to move the big pieces to fill holes, only to land other big pieces With new bosses in town, my guess is that no one, outside of McDavid, will be left out of conversations of possible scenarios of change. They will want to put their own mark on this team and give a sense of direction this team is taking in quite short order. But again, those new bosses aren't ******* who are in the business of trading top assets for scraps. Especially considering how that Seguin trade that Chiarelli was forced to do worked out for him. You can solidify your D and goaltending without having to give up high end forwards to get OK players in return. Those players should only be moved if you're getting the same kind of star power in return. Look at what Chiarelli did in Boston. That team had great goaltending and defense and he was a big part of building that up and he didn't need to trade high end players to do it. Smart GMs don't over pay for a quick fix. Edmonton isn't in a cap crunch at this time, they can easily fit their young forwards in the mix for at least the length of McDavids entry level contract, after that things change, but by that point perhaps it makes more sense to ship some people out. They will also have the added bonus of recovering some value after Eakins came in and lowered the value of everyone on that team.

Also don't forget about the dark Mike Kelly year.... ugh completely destroyed our team... That was many years ago now, Kelly might have done some damage to the team but... Mack had a chance to fix it and didn't. Kelly had 1 year, Mack had what? 3.. this is walters what? 2nd? And for as much heat as this may get, I think Mike Kelly was quite misunderstood, yup he told it like it was, fans and media didn't like that but... reality is, if he was given 3 years like Mack was, my guess, the team is better off now than it was under Mack canadian depth wise at least... Can talk about Mike Kelly messing up all you want but his main man was John Murphy who is now in Calgary with Huff, Murphy knows his stuff, the 'database' was legit, just never got more than a year to see what it could do. Not sure how Mike Kelly would ever have got that done when he traded our draft picks away like they were Skittles on Halloween. Kelly was not misunderstood...he was terrible. Suggesting anything else is revisionist history. Take a look at the draft picks he traded away in his one year and tell me with a straight face that our NI talent would have been better with him. Also consider that he was going to trade Doug Brown as well. Kelly was the worst thing to happen to this teams NI depth.

Expectations are simple, show improvement.

what did the isles give up for leddy and boychuck?don't need to move the big pieces to fill holes, only to land other big pieces

Was it powered by End Frame? I don't trust those sneaky bastards!

Value doesn't matter, the key fact here is that Edmonton isn't trying to move Hall, you want an elite star player you gotta pay up. He's an untouchable so to get him better offer your untouchables. You don't need to trade elite players to fill holes on defence or in net. What is happening is people are getting this idea that the Oilers are so desperate for a body on D or in net they'll make a stupid trade, not going to happen. You want Hall or Eberle or Yakupov or RNH or Draisaitl then untouchables need to start being touched.

No it wasn't. The first round pick, well woopdeefrickindoo. One year of buff a first round pick and table scraps ain't enough to get the conversation started about Hall. You know what might get a conversation started? Meyers or Trouba. I wouldn't trade Trouba straight up for Hall. Myers and a 3rd for Hall is fair but Deadmonton would be better off with Buff and Stu in the locker room and the 1st rounder...they need some backbone on that team. They will certainly be making a trade for one or more D men and I am thinking one will be an offensive minded one. That's fine you wouldn't trade Trouba straight up for Hall, but Edmonton isn't trading a guy like Hall for a poor return. You want a young player who has already been top 10 in scoring twice you gotta give up something that hurts to give up. He is an elite forward, the cost is big considering he's on a good contract long term.

Fan anger? from who? 20 people on a message board? i mean, i like this place, it's cool but if you think they are doing damage control cuz 20 people on a fan forum are complaining, c'mon man. It was on twitter for like a minute or so, i doubt hundreds of people called in and told them to shove it in a minute. 20 fans online showing displeasure translates into many more in the real world. They jumped on the damage control quickly before the vultures in the media really got hold of it.

I actually know Rotor in real life through mutual business acquaintances. He is not blowing smoke. I'm not at liberty to discuss his personal life but it is very safe to assume that he knows Tillman very well. Is he the father of the babysitter? What too soon? Damn it! I had to go out this afternoon, I was totally going to make that joke.

I honestly think the Leafs entire rebuild plan was to try and win the McDavid lottery and nothing more. Why else fire Carlyle and install a pure scapegoat as head coach? They tried to dive down the standings to win McDavid, they didn't and now they go all in on Babcock which is not a scorched earth rebuilding move. They will pretty much have to just have Shanahan/Babcock be the GM too cause who is going to want to go into a situation where they'd be a GM on a team where the team is more committed to the coach and the coach and whatever Shanahan calls himself have said they have final say on players?

I've been with Rogers for many years, but only because the only other option at the time was Telus, and I tried them and their network and service sucked even harder than Rogers, if that's possible. I should look at switching again. Anyone who poops on the CFL poops on me. And I don't like being pooped on. You may wish to consider Koodo- we've been with them for 6 years and have had excellent coverage and service when needed. Thanks for the tip. Once the truth is known and it is indeed shown that Rogers is trying to kill the CFL, I am done. No way am I supporting a business that has that kind of attitude. NO WAY. Plus Koodo has really funny commercials. Isn't Koodo just owned by Telus? Telus are a bunch of assholes too, but but not as big as Rogers I suppose. Rogers are basically the devil.

more likely scenario, they were planning on closing training camp but when the fan anger rose they did damage control.

"We can't believe this player was still available with our pick, we had him rated as the best player in the draft the whole time" Things every GM everywhere says after a draft. I think it applies here too. Doing a sell job for public consumption. Obviously they like the guy enough to give up a first round pick but I'm not getting super pumped because they're blowing a ton of smoke up his ass right now.

I did say if you can get a first and a prospect that's about the best you can hope for, but keep in mind that first round picks are going to be harder to pry out of teams that aren't certain of their playoff spots going forward. With the changes to the draft lottery teams giving up potential lottery picks will be much less likely. Simply put Buff has a big salary and he does have some question marks about his work ethic. I'd take him but not for the premium some of you think he's worth. Edmonton doesn't have to give up their big pieces to plug a hole temporarily. You want one of those pieces offer something with some long term benefit to it.

"Everything the Bombers do is great" all the complaints stem from the initial tweet that said training camp was closed to the public. It's not about it being in a different location, it's about the surprise news that the public couldn't attend then the scrambling by the club to say "nononononono that's not what we meant! stay tuned!" They coulda had a plan in place to let fans watch well in advance but instead they are in panic mode because they got caught napping on the job.