Bob McKenzie says Jordan Eberle is likely to be traded

This in from TSN Bob McKenzie on Toronto 1050, his speculation that Jordan Eberle will be traded by Saturday: “By no means is it 100 guaranteed that Eberle will be traded period. It’s not 100 percent guaranteed that he’ll be traded by Saturday. But I’d be the least surprised guy in the world if he was.

“I would say it’s more likely than not that the trade happens before the freeze on Saturday for obvious reasons, you know, protection issues, whatever the case may be.

“You get all sorts of people who will say that Jordan Eberle is being made a scapegoat for a bad playoff and that he been a pretty good player for them over the years, and I think he has. But I also think that the Oil recognize that at some point in time even if it’s not now, it’s probably a year from now they desperately need, you know, they can’t afford to pay Jordan Eberle $6 million, is what it boils down to. And that’s what they’re paying him. they can afford it right now. So if they wanted to wait a year they could. But I think they recognize that there is, even in spite of a bad playoff, there’s significant interest in Jordan Eberle. And I think they want to turn the page and I think they want to bring in a different asset and they want to use those dollars elsewhere. understanding of the situation is they’ve got plenty of offers on the table right now Authentic Atlanta Falcons Jerseys Cheap Supply From China and enough that they look at it and say, ‘Realistically, yeah we could do some of these or we very close that something could be done here, so why wait?’ take

What does it mean when Bob McKenzie says Jordan Eberle will likely be traded by Saturday? In the hockey world it means just about everything. McKenzie is The Bobfather, one of the most credible and sober hockey reporters on the planet, if not at the top of that list. Of course, McKenzie isn saying this Eberle deal is a sure thing, but as much as this trade has been rumoured in the past, it certainly feels like a sure thing now that Eberle is going to be moved sooner than later. Hell, every few minutes I keep checking Twitter expecting to see if the particulars of the trade have been posted.

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What else does it mean? The key is to focus on the timing of what McKenzie is suggesting here, that this trade will come before the roster freeze on Saturday when teams give their list of protected players to Vegas. That means the trading partner will be a team with a massive interest in making this deal before that roster freeze, which narrows down the list of possible destinations considerably. If Eberle were being traded for another forward like him who is simply going to be protected in expansion, what is the rush in making such trade by Saturday? There is none.

The only reason I can think from the Oil point of view for rushing is that maybe they are hoping to get a deal signed with right shot college free agent forward Spencer Foo. Moving out Eberle fast might help in that regard, giving Foo comfort he have a real shot at an NHL job next year. But that just a thought and likely nothing to it. In the end, Edmonton is set on its own protected list so it has no compelling reason to rush a trade in before the expansion draft freeze on that account.

While Edmonton isn rushing, other teams are in a rush, so this may be the Oil best chance in years Authentic Atlanta Falcons Jerseys Cheap Supply From China to bring in a Top 4 dman at a discount. When looking for a potential trade partner in a rush, the obvious teams have a valuable defenceman they are going to lose to Vegas, that they can protect, so they prefer to move him for a forward they can protect. Any deal with such a team would have to make cap sense for both the Oilers and its trading partner.

The New York Islanders, who are said to be at or near the top of the Oil list of potential trading partners, have at least four solid d men to protect in Johnny Boychuck, Nick Leddy, Calvin de Haan and Travis Hamonic, who requested a trade to a western Canadian team last year and had a down year this season. De Haan is a restricted free agent while Hamonic makes $3.8 million per year for the next three years. I just guessing here and all I ever do is make educated guesses as I have no NHL sources but to make a deal work for Hamonic, maybe the Oilers would have to retain some of Eberle salary or maybe take on an unwanted salary for next year, such as Nikolai Kulemin, who makes $4.2 million per year but is on an expiring contract. Kulemin had 12 goals in 72 games last year.

The Avs, the other team rumoured to be near the top of the Oil list, have no reason to rush for a trade, as they have few players worth protecting in expansion. If a deal needs to be done by Saturday, I can see why that deal would be with the