Major Edmonton Oilers Trade News

Major Edmonton Oilers Trade News

Let’s start with this. The Oilers acquire Isaac Howard. He wants to go by Ike. So the Oilers acquire Ike Howard from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Apparently Stephen Ellis totally ami. This goes back to his days with the US national development team. Ike. He keeps wanting to be called Ike and no one will call him Ike. Kind of feel bad for him in that sense. Well, do we have to keep that tradition rolling then? Just not listen to him. Yeah. Just keep calling him Isaac. Mhm. Yeah. I think we might have another uh ace on our on our hands here if we uh if we’re not careful. old Ace here speaking, you know, letting everybody know. Call me Ike. It’d be great if like every media member when they go to like Isaac, great to have you. And he just goes, “Call me Ike.” And it’s just like a whole a running stick. Yeah. But the Willers acquire Isaac Howard, Ike Howard from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Sam O’Reilly. So O’Reilly, the 32nd overall pick in the 2024 draft, is out. Ike Howard, the 31st overall pick in the 2022 draft, is in. He won the Hobie Baker Award last year as the top player in the NCAA. He had 26 goals and 26 assists in 37 games with Michigan State University. So, your easy delicious debate for today, Dan. I’ll start with you. Do you like the Ike Howard trade? Um, I have to I think I I got to stay in my congruent line here. uh going into this last week on the episode or on the podcast, I think I said uh don’t raise your your offer any more than that first round pick next year kind of mentality. Uh so I think that’s a little bit little bit we gave them a little bit more than than that first round pick is going to be. Um, but you got to give to get. And we’re in a situation now where uh like the like there’s no more like there’s no more of the like tropes of win or or bust or anything like that. Like it’s just we have to be allin pushing in to show Conor McDavid that we are trying to do something and you’ve got a guy here that can come in and play topline talent for us in the at the NHL level. So you got to pay to get that. We hope he can walk in and play at NHL level in a top line. We don’t know that. He hasn’t played a game played a second in AHL yet. Um we assume I think what I I I would just parrot pretty much what everyone else has said that you swap draft pick for draft pick. Pretty much the same spot, but what you got is a guy with more offensive high uh potential and a guy who’s ready to go right now as opposed to a guy who’s ready to go maybe probably two years away at least in Sam O’Reilly. The only question I have is he a little bit too much of the type of player we have already in terms of games five and six against Florida. We could not get into a scoring area. Yeah, I don’t know if this dude’s going to be getting into a scoring area. It was not easy. They did not allow us to. We had to force our way in there. Is he going to force his way in there? I’m not saying Sam O’Reilly was ever going to, but in terms of bringing guys in the top six, I think we need guys who can force their way in and score those ugly goals. I don’t know if he does that. I’m not against this move. If he’s a guy who can score from the outside on whatever wing it is, cool. But I still think that even with this addition, we need guys who can get to the middle, get to the front of the net in order before we start to really improve our offense. I just before I let you guys answer, I did want to throw something back at you. Did the Trent Frederri 8-year signing signify something to a guy like Sam O’Reilly that perhaps he was going to have a glass ceiling that he was going to have to try and break through anyways? Well, so yeah, Liam and I talked about it like it’s pretty funny to see the people, you know, certain Oilers fans online who a week ago Sam O’Reilly was an underrated prospect who’s going to be an NHLer sooner rather than later. What a talent. And then today it’s like he’s a third line center. I mean, come on. And I get that like on the Oilers, any player who’s a centerman, their ceiling is a third line center because you’re never going to play above Connor and Leon, right? I mean, just to use to talk about it very generally. So, I understand I guess where that could come from of like, okay, O’Reilly will never be more than a third line center. And maybe the Oilers do really believe in Frederick as a guy who for the next eight seasons, like they gave him that contract cuz they said, you know what, you weren’t healthy, but when you are 100%, we think you’re a centerman in the NHL. And then they sat there and said, “Okay, well 1, two, and three on our center depth chart is pretty lined up for the next number of years. We need wing depth more than we need help down the middle.” And I mean, you still have Nooj who can move wherever you kind of need him to. And you know, you can always go find or try to find bottom six centermen as well. That’s why I like the deal is like I think Howard’s the ceiling in terms of the impact he can have in this lineup. Like could O’Reilly have been a 50point centerman who’s a great penalty killer and good at both ends of the ice. Yeah, I think he actually probably will be that. Will O’Reilly ever score 30 goals in the NHL? Probably not. And Isaac Howard can score 30 goals on Conor McDavid’s wing at some point in the next three years, never mind, you know, two, three years from now, O’Reillyy’s probably still just trying to break into the league. Yeah, he’s probably a guy whose production will be even better because he’s on an ELC. I think that’s the thing. And and Rick, what you were saying, like you need guys who get to the middle of the ice. He kind of does. Like a lot of his goals do come from like the center area of the game, which is a positive thing, but he can also rip the puck and be lethal. Like he’s quite a dynamic goal scorer, I guess you could say. I brought that up because I read a report last night. Obviously, it’s just one little report from whoever that that he has issues. If he has if he has downfalls, it is getting to the ugly place on the ice. It is getting to the middle. like you can keep him you can make him more of a perimeter player and I believe we have we’ve had too much of that. We need guys who can get in there and get dirty. Last season he scored 29 goals including the playoffs. 14 of them came from right in front of the net. Nine of them came from the slot area. So that’s pretty good. How physical is the league though? Like I’m just I But you got to get there too. I think you do you do, but if there’s nobody in your way, it’s easy to go there if there’s somebody in your way. I would like to know that he had to go past somebody in order to get there. They’d have to go through and watch them a bit more. We watched a few of them today. He definitely scores from distance quite a bit. He can score. He can rip the puck and I think that’s one thing people really like is like Todd Coulson can shoot, but he doesn’t shoot enough. Yeah, he shoots. And I think that’s something the others haven’t had. I know Jeff Skinner was is a oneshot oneshot guy and has been throughout his career, but I think with a guy like Howard, he’s just a bit more dynamic in that way. I think he skates a lot better than what a Jeff Skinner would have, too. And I just think he fits the mold of what wanted Skinner to be. Ironically, he also took Jeff Skinner’s number, number 53, which is very funny. So, I’m excited for the deal. I think it just moves the timeline a couple years ahead of what when you Sam O’Reilly would have been in the team. And like we already mentioned, like bit of a log gem for him to get into the lineup. Like he might have just been a fourthline center for a while or just kept him in Bakersfield. And I think also like we Stan Bowman said like we want to get younger and he talked about how he wanted to change the look of this forward group. Like going into next year with a top nine that has Seavoy and Howard in it. That gets you considerably younger. Even just comparing it this year versus where we were 12 months ago, Frederick’s only 27 years old. 28 years old, whatever he is now. 27. Oh, he’s still 27. It’s like you have a 27y old, a 21-y old and a 22y old and next year we might be able to add the Russian too. Beskin, which would be unbelievable. Yeah. And especially when you look at kind of the recent history of like Russians coming over and actually stepping into the lineups playing really well. I think about like Veronov in Columbus and how he just walked right into the NHL. I see a bit of a younger lineup in front of him too. Therefore, maybe more enticing to bring them over. Like the Oilers need to win. The the pressure is on to win a Stanley Cup every single year. But when everyone talked about, oh, management this summer needs to prove to Conor McDavid that they can build a contender and whatever. I maybe we’re seeing it taking that more as like he wants management to show him that they’re going to be good for the duration of the contract, not that they’re going to be good for the next two years and then the bottom’s going to fall out this team cuz Heyman and N get a little bit too old and are past their primes and all of a sudden it’s like, oh who’s going to play with Connor and Leon? Bowman, I think, can sit there and go to Conor McDavid at the end of July and go, “Beskin is legit. Here are the comparables for him. We went and got Isaac Howard. We think Matt Seavo is ready. You’re going to have three youngsters in your lineup who are going to be there for the next seven years contributing with you.” Y the McDavid, the thoughts of that people have of McDavid having such a strangle hold on the organization that too is driving mental. Like he doesn’t call Bulma doesn’t call him for every single move. They they’ve shown him the plan and what like the goal is for everything and Conor doesn’t expect nor does he want there’s no way the budget doesn’t run through Conor McDavid at this point. Okay. There’s no way anyone would think he’s Daryl Kates. Like it’s crazy. He’s like I did some market analysis. Beers could be $21. Yes, Connor. Okay. It just drives me a little nuts. Like someone asked it like is McDavid happy with all the moves? It’s like I don’t know. He’s going to have to come play anyway next season cuz he’s under contract. Like they don’t have to make every decision they do. Okay, we should reward it. They have to make every decision based off like this is our plan and we want him to stay. But like if he makes a move they don’t like, it’s not the also the end of the world cuz they’ve made three other great moves. You know what I mean? It’s just a weird thing. Another thing to add to that, this is in no way meant to be disrespectful. Do you think Conor McDavid has watched more than maybe somehow one period of either Isaac Howard or Sam O’Reilly play hockey? He might have seen Howard like a world juniors. Maybe like maybe Christmas time he’s probably not even doing that. Well, that’s the thing. Like he probably isn’t that. They probably just told him be like, “This is what he does.” And oh, it sounds like a great player. Although Connor is just so like he’s that extra level of just like study. He’s studying his game and the game of the guys he’s got to play. I’m not so sure he’s worried about a dude who is drafted six years behind him. But if they go to him, especially not on your own team. Yeah. If they’re like, “Hey, this guy seven goals on the World Juniors on a US team that won the gold medal. He won the Hobie Baker. Like he’s a really good shooter.” Like they’re excited. Like man spoke about it being like m I spoke to McDavid before I signed like he helped recruit him to come to Edmonton. It’s like McD runs through Conor. He’s not just sat on the sidelines in one of these black chairs wearing being like well what’s next? Yeah. Come on Stan do something like he’s actively part of this process too. It’s true. So the Oilers get like how nervous are you guys that Sam O’Reilly is going to blow up in our face? Not nervous at all. I think I think they’ll trade him. I don’t think you can really be that nervous just because we’re going to be the player that has the impact first. Yeah. Yeah. Like if you have two great years of Isaac Howard, then Sam O’Reilly comes in as a rookie and puts up 55 points. I don’t think you’re sitting there being like, “Shit.” But the impact O’Reilly can put up in a season probably isn’t going to be one that you sit there and go, “Man, I really wish we had cuz it’s not going to be very flashy.” He’s going to do a lot of things that the technical guys see and the real hockey watchers see. But in terms of flash and dash, he’s not going to do a lot of that, I don’t believe. Also too, and this is going to come across weird considering the organization, but like pretty sure Tampa haven’t developed like a strong player in a few years. I’m just trying to lock in this like re tagle they got from Chicago. Yeah. Like all the other guys are through like the last time they drafted a player and he played in the NHL was Dylan Duke from the 2021 draft. How things were go for him? I have no idea who he is. Was Darren Radish one of their picks or did they acquire him? They he was a free agent I believe. Oh wow. Like they last first round pick that played games for them was Nolan Foot who they traded away. Like it’s just I they’re a great organization. I’m not saying it or not, but like they’re probably looking at O’Reilly being like, damn, we need some talent in this pool as well. He’s he’s probably that best prospect now, I would think, not knowing much about him. And that’s the other part of it for them is that that was a sunken it was a sunken cost in the sense that Howard was not going to be there at the end of the day. So yeah, and again, I give actually give them credit for not just caving to the 2027 first round pick or whatever other offers might have been. The other side of this too is this deal doesn’t happen if Isaac Howard Howard doesn’t sit there and go, I’m I want to go to Edmonton. He talked in his introductory press conference about how he’s watched every Oilers playoff game over the last two years and like how that had an influence on him. I mean, he’s a kid from Hudson, Wisconsin, who was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning, one of the at that time they’d been in three straight Cup finals, like premier organizations in the league. And I know things soured for like reasons that don’t really have anything to do with their on ice product, but it is kind of cool and it speaks to where the Oilers are at that an American-born prospect didn’t quite necessarily force his way to Edmonton, but he was forcing his way somewhere and he was all right with it being Edmonton and he played Mark Messi in a movie. Yeah, he did. That was weird timing on that. And also, I love the helmet by the way. Yeah, it was with how like you look at that US development team. He was on rocky forced his way to to Pittsburgh or out of Winnipeg I guess you could say like Kadocier forcing himself out of Philadelphia. His buddies or at least guys he played with were doing what he kind of did in Tampa Bay but they were going to markets that like would benefit them in America. He did it to come to a Canadian team. Although forcing your way out of Philly is kind of a weird choice. It was strange one but more ice time in Anaheim I guess. Do you buy anything? I mean Nick Albera loves on the Emon Oilers online. Um he was like Howard’s cocky attitude will wear thin. I don’t think it will because I think the Oilers room is is strong enough. They withtood a Vander. I was going to say do you think he’s cocker than Evander? There the internet on the Oilers subreddit. There was some user last night that was really trying to make him wholly unlikable throughout the entire evening. But uh also easy to be cocky when you’re winning the Hobie Baker and you’re the best player at Michigan State. Dressing room. A lot different when you walk in and Connor and Leon. If you step out of line, you have Connor. I maybe wouldn’t even be that scared of if Leon were to look at you and be like, “Fucking figure it out. Not here.” Yeah. You probably like, “Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Mr. Dry Idol.” True. I asked Stephen Ellis about this, too, but like he’s a guy that’s always been overshadowed. Like he led the American team in goals. Yep. Like he’s he was the guy. He was scoring all the points without being captain. And he was not the captain of those teams. No. But like they had other great players and I know a few of them went off to play like World Junior’s games and stuff like that, but you don’t just stumble into 33 goals on a team like that. You know what I mean? Like he’s an he is an elite capable capable of being an elite player. I think I just want to see how that plays out like on the ice and what his character is like once he actually kind of fits into this team where he where it is. If he is going to be this, you know, smug little cocky guy on the ice that’s going to piss off some people or if he’s going to be if he’s going to piss off the other team, I’m all for it. Exactly. Also too, like the Oilers have openly, like there’s been open reports about it being like they miss having younger characters in the room. Like they miss the whole that energy. Yeah, the energy they bring. Evan Bard needs friends. They traded all his friends. I I think it’s a good move. And um whatever helps Nick Alber sleep at night, he’s my friend. Poor Nick.

Today we discussed our initial reactions to Edmonton Oilers trading Sam O’Reilly for Isaac Howard, where The 2025 Hobey Baker award winner was the top player could fit in the lineup next season, and which centre he could fit best next to. We also talked about the mini youth movement that could be happening next season in Edmonton and what the expectations should be for young players like Howard and Matt Savoie.

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