Erik Cole?

One cripple for another, and we give up 5 years of potential? No thanks. Pitkanen is one of a kind in this franchise, and we have 3, possibly 4 players that could become like Eric Cole if only they'd put their games together. I'm talking Penner, Torres, Jacques and maybe (MAYBE) Stortini. He's only a 60 point player, and we said no to one that was a hell of a better hockey player (albeit as injury-ridden) in Ryan Smyth.

Pitkanen is one of a kind in this franchise, and we have 3, possibly 4 players that could become like Eric Cole if only they'd put their games together.

I'd say Jacques and Stortini have less of a chance of becoming Eric Cole than Tom Gilbert and Denis Grebeshkov do of replacing Joni Pitkanen.

I like Pitkanen, I think the sky is the limit as far as his potential goes; on the other hand, he's either injury-prone or has a low pain threshold, and his character has been questioned so many times that there must be something to it. I doubt he ever reaches his full potential; more likely he settles into a reliable #1 defenseman, and that's pretty valuable, no doubt.

But if the trade is, say Cole and a 2nd for Pitkanen, AND Cole signs a 3-year extension, AND Lowe goes out and gets a top-pairing defenseman, I'm a fan. What are the odds of those three things happening? Pretty low, I'd guess.

Anyways, in 2005-06, Cole was a PPG player. In 2006-07, he was a 30-30 man, the guy we want Penner to become. In 2007-08, he hit 50 points. So he could be anything between 50-80 points, in my estimation, likely but not definitely the 60-point player you project. I think he's close to on-par with Penner, but clearly above anything Torres will likely ever do, and I think opponents would have a heck of a time trying to match, say:

Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky Cole-Gagner-Nilsson

as the top two lines.

A selection of players who are UFA in one season,
their G/60 & Pts/60
[I've included two Oilers for comparison]:

MARTIN HAVLAT....0.91..2.61
MAXIM AFINOGENOV.0.78..1.74
ERIK COLE........0.74..2.03
ALES KOTALIK.....0.72..1.24
STEVE REINPRECHT.0.70..1.96
MIKE CAMMALLERI..0.62..1.91
DUSTIN PENNER....0.56..1.29
ROBERT NILSSON...0.54..2.40
TIM CONNOLLY.....0.31..2.40


I have trouble with a Pitkanen trade for any of them.
But, Stoll or Torres.....

Cole may be 29, but Pitkanen has the knees of a 32 year old.

That being said, I'm still in the keeping Pitkanen crowd. He had a poor season last year but he still contributed positively. He's had 4 coaches in 4 seasons (or something) and I'm a believer in a better season next year with another year under MacT/Huddy.

With Detroit playing so well with several puckmovers, I could see the Oilers getting an overpayment for Pitkanen (ie a better package than Cole). Thats the only scenario where I'd move 25.

Do we really need another forward? Are these trades under the assumption Stoll/Torres/Pouliot/Schremp are traded for picks? I'm fairly confident the kids wont decline much and Stoll will rebound. If anything Cole does add toughness to our team but scoring-wise, he isnt much better than what we got. Pitkanen is still in our top pairing for D - I'd pass.

A selection of players who are UFA in one season,
their G/60 & Pts/60

Was that for this season or career? Because those are nice numbers for Cole, and I'm also surprised at how nice Afinogenov's are. I wouldn't touch Havlat with a ten-foot pole; he's more injury-prone than Souray.

Do we really need another forward?

Not as much as I think we need another defenseman, but my preference would be a third-line shutdown centre. The comments coming out in the media seem to indicate a desire for a sniper; frankly a guy like Cole would improve our offensive depth so much that I think it would be a strong step forward if we can do it without compromising our defense.

I would assume right now that we're operating in a world where Glencross walks, and at least one forward, probably Torres, leaves town at the draft.

Those numbers are for this past season.
Horcoff was 1.18/2.59

"I'd say Jacques and Stortini have less of a chance of becoming Eric Cole than Tom Gilbert and Denis Grebeshkov do of replacing Joni Pitkanen."

What I menat was there is no defender on the team with the raw skills that Joni Pitkanen has. Gilbert and Grebeshkov may have the potential to be top-pairing defenders, and right now I agree with that statement, but they do not have the vision and certainly not the legs that #25 has. It's that skating stride that makes Pitkanen one of the 10 best defenders in the NHL in my books. I guess I'm sort of banking on potential here, but when I see the raw physical skills that Pitkanen has (remember, he's 6'4") he could be good. Nik Lidstrom good.

I may have missed my scouting report, but I see Erik Cole as a big body advertised as having "soft hands", is unafraid to use size to his advantage, and has average to above average speed. That description fits Penner and Jacques to a T, as well as a young Raffi Torres, back when he had half a brain. Yeah, Stortini was a stretch, but he's to Cole in my example what I think Grebeshkov is to Pitkanen in yours.

On another note, am I the only one who doesn't want to see a single change to the roster this season aside from dumping Roloson? I think we'd be in the hunt for a playoff spot next year based solely on getting bodies back from injury.

Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky
Nilsson-Cogliano-Gagner
Pisani-Stoll-Moreau
Pouliot-Brodziak-Stortini

Pitkanen-Staios
Gilbert-Grebeshkov
Souray-Smid

Garon

...Looks like a playoff roster to me, using the last 20 games as a starting point for a decent sample size as a reference point.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure this team contends for a playoff spot as is, especially with a little bit of health.

I still think you're selling Cole a little short, but I agree on Pitkanen; he could be a franchise defender, but I don't think he'll ever get there. He'll still be pretty darn good though.