This appears to be the opening night roster for Edmonton, with changes expected today or tomorrow. Markus Niemelainen and Devin Shore are the assumed recalls, with Philip Broberg and Brad Malone ordering breakfast in America. It’s possible the only player on the roster who doesn’t play opening night is Kailer Yamamoto, still recovering from a dent or two late in the preseason. Three rookies, noted by asterisk above.
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: Why Oilers’ Evan Bouchard will be a key to 2022-23 season
- New DNB: A summer day with Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft
- New DNB: 11 bold predictions for 2022-23 season
- Lowetide: What’s Oilers prospect Reid Schaefer’s NHL ETA?
- DNB: Oilers’ missing pieces? Trade strategy? Breakout player? Mailbag
- Lowetide: 5 areas for Edmonton Oilers roster improvement in 2022-23
- DNB: Projecting Oilers’ opening-night roster
- Lowetide: Is Oilers’ Connor McDavid facing Hart Trophy voter fatigue?
- DNB: Dylan Holloway’s emergence for Oilers puts Jesse Puljujarvi’s future into focus
- Lowetide: Is this the year an Edmonton Oilers player wins the Calder Trophy?
- Jonathan Willis: Jakob Chychrun would look good on the Oilers, but is there a deal to be had?
- DNB: Oilers’ Connor McDavid may have 50 goals in his reach, but a bigger goal remains
- DNB: Darnell Nurse’s big-money contract with Oilers isn’t going to change who he is or how he plays
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers reasonable expectations for every player in 2022-23
- Lowetide: Oilers top-20 prospects, summer 2022
SOME NOTES
- Dylan Holloway entered camp with some questions about his wrist and shot. There were reports about his playing with some pain, and that’s not cool. His rambunctious training camp put everything to rest and Edmonton may have added three of four skill wingers (Zach Hyman, Evander Kane, Holloway) in just over 12 months.
- When Ken Holland appeared on Lowetide and Jamieson in the summer, he mentioned that a 21-man roster was possible. It’s a sharp move if it allows for a better roster, and in this case I think it does. Holland doesn’t get much credit for innovation, he’s more of a traditional GM. This represents some innovation.
- Jesse Puljujarvi and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins seem to be on the hot seat with Oilers media and fans, respectively. I can’t see any good reason to move either one. It’s pretty shortsighted to say “trade Puljujarvi because there’s no room” in a league where guys get hurt often. Yamamoto’s injury is an example. If you’re a team that has seven quality forwards, you’re blessed. Play the guy in a slump on the third line.
- Philip Broberg is getting a lot of downbeat verbal online and I wonder why. The Oilers sent him out, partly due to cap issues and partly due to performance. If you’ve been listening, the organization made a point of clearly stating they’re believers. It would be reckless to make a major call on a few pre-season games. It would also be poor form to start your rookie blue in a game when there are better options. What you hope for is that the young Swedish blue gets his game together before the first injury on defense.
- Trading Broberg in a deal for Jakob Chychrun makes all the sense in the world to me, so I can’t agree with the idea of holding on to the young defenseman. I don’t think Broberg gets you Chychrun though, so would like to see the trade in its fullness before hammering on management. If this management team is hesitant to make a move with Arizona, I suspect there are some hidden (Dylan Holloway) costs in the ask.
- I wrote about Evan Bouchard this weekend, just want to take a moment to promote the article (link above). I don’t think most people know how much room to grow he has at this point, and much of it comes from who he is on the ice with at five-on-five. This could be a major season for Bouchard.
CONDORS DEPTH CHART
As you may know, AHL teams can house as many players as they wish, but some of these names will be headed for the Fort Wayne Comets of the ECHL. The men on this list who have a strong chance of playing NHL games this year: Philip Broberg, Mattias Janmark, Klim Kostin, James Hamblin, Greg McKegg, Brad Malone, Xavier Bourgault and Calvin Pickard. It’s a strong AHL team with two or three excellent prospects.
LOWETIDE AND JAMIESON
A busy show kicks off the short work week, we run 10-2 on TSN 1260. Guests include Darren Dreger, Bruce Arthur and Glen Suitor, we’ll be spending heavy minutes on the Oilers trade and moves over the weekend, plus things to come before opening night. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. Talk soon!
Summarizing!
A fine performance for Schaefer as he also tallied a buzzer-beater into an empty net for a 2+1 evening with 4 SOG, giving him 5+1 in four games thus far. Oh, and like Chiasson yesterday, he was named 1st star.
No turkey hangover for Reid Schaefer as he scores to maintain his goal-per-game pace and give Seattle the lead again in period 2.
As a PP winds down, he takes a pass at the right point, moves around a defender and rips a backhand from the right dot that finds the back of the net:
https://twitter.com/TheWHL/status/1580038473784102912?cxt=HHwWgMDQlduntu0rAAAA
Upon review, the shot must have been last touched by a teammate as he now gets his first helper of the season rather than his 4th goal.
He finally does get a goal, a shorty as Seattle now leads 4-2 late in the third.
He wins a race to the puck along the boards, chops it free and goes in alone, sniping 5-hole:
https://mobile.twitter.com/TheWHL/status/1580053453212377088?cxt=HHwWgIDTzdCPve0rAAAA
Kings with 5 right shot players on the ice at the same time.
Sounds like they need to raise that banner just like the Canucks cap champions banner
Rangers fans chanting, “we want the cup” in game 1
and now, “Igor’s better”, lol
Shesterkin. .963
unfortunately, there is already comparisons being made re: “stat comparison in first 100 games” between shesterkin and lundy.
I hate it, pointless comparisons. That being said, 4 of lunquists first 5 years he played 70+ starts a year. redic.
THE CONTEST now known as – HUNTER1909’S OILERS DYNASTY MARCH™
Here is how it works.
Same rules same everything and all of the previous records will be retained for posterity. Here is how to play: Predict the total points that Oilers finish the season with.
Tie breakers: a) – How many points Connor McDavid gets b) – how many goals Leon Draisaitl scores c) – Where Oilers finish(1-16th in the West)
To Recap: 1 – Predict Oilers final regular season point total 2 – Connormcdavid points 3 – leondraisatl goals 4 – oilers finish in the West(1-16)
DEADLINE!! PUCK DROP PENGUINS GAME 6!!
Bonjour
1. 111
2. 131
3. 69
4. 1st
Au revoir.
“When a group of players want to play for their goalie, rather than with him, it’s a little bit of a competitive advantage,” said Woodcroft.
It was when Mike Smith let in a 150 footer during the playoffs, and seemed to blame his d-man before it even went in, that I said out loud, “what an *******.”
It’ll be interesting to see how the team reacts to playing for, what all accounts say, a genuinely good goalie (re: not cray-cray).
Watching the TBL@NYR game.
The new digital rink board advertising is amazing.
Gotta think this is a huge new revenue source for the league.
I just caught the end of the game and noticed the boards. Good to see the NHL engage in some innovative broadcast technology. It wasn’t disruptive at all, and will compound advertising revenue with parallel custom ads for local / national and international feeds.
Hopefully it helps revenue and alleviates some of the cap crunch caused by covid.
Just noticing in the LAK – VGK telecast that secondary camera angles can show different ads than the centre ice cam.
Going to be a steep learning curve for directors.
Im not sure but I think the secondary camera views are showing the actual local ads on boards. A tell is when you’re not on the primary cameras, you can see those boards with the rectangle digital screen inserts. They’re not visible on the augmented board cameras.
So with the short roster no cap space issue on LTIR, in the event a larger ticket player goes in LTIR, we’d be able to run 23 during that injury? Eg any or Nuge/Kane/Hyman spend a month on IR, that would be a period of a full roster? (Such as two 1mm+ players). Janmark + Obviously not desired but would have a side benefit from an overall team fatigue point of view.
Just a note for those with access to Sportsnet radio.
There us a new one hour program featuring Dimitri Filipovic and Cam Charon at 2pm Pacific time.
Just listened to the inaugural hour…great stuff.
Also, Ray Ferraro will be doing a segment every Friday on the Sekeres and Price podcast…he’s always worth a listen.
Am I the only one who looks at that AHL roster and thinks that it looks de decidedly sparse on defence? This now with Samorukov gone? While I understand the rationale, who is pushing up next year? I can’t think of any John Marino level types in NCAA to be excited about (not that that got us anywhere).
Sail on, Angela Lansbury.
Made me sad.
Winner of the day: Bauer
Just out of curiosity, if we decided for the majority of the season to run with 11 forwards, what do we figure the ice time will look like for the centers? 22/22/16?
Pardon I didn’t think about pp time together, so 24/24/20?
Thanks OP. So Holland was trying hard to trade Puljujarvi, no takers. 30 other GMs weren’t interested, or at least not for what Holland demanded. That’s interesting to me.
I suspect the same for our friend Warren Foegele.
I found that interesting as well. ( other players comment)
My hunch – we would had to pay extra for someone just to take
Foegele’s 2.75 million dollar cap hit.
agreed.
There is a huge difference between “No Taker” and willing to return enough value in Holland’s mind.
Just watched TSN’s insider panel Cup predictions:
three panelists picking EDM-COL west conference finalists, two picking CAL(spits)-COL west finals
three picking Carolina getting to finals
one picking TB
one picking Pitt
(three picked Toronto getting to the conference finals and losing)
All 5 panelists picking Colorado for the repeat cup champs.
booo…
I haven’t had a chance to listed to Woody’s post-practice yet but, from listening to Holland live just now (as per my summary), there is a chance the Oilers may have to play short tomorrow as both Foegele and Yamamoto are game time decisions and neither have been cleared for a game yet.
Broberg is being sent down to get Shore up.
I presume Malone is staying for now.
They may be 11/6 if both can’t play.
Wait till flu season hits. You can’t run a team shorthanded for long stretches you’ll burn players out which leads to more injuries. This is nothing new Holland already putting to much pressure on Woody.
Yeah, Draisaitl will have his usual terrible month (December, I seem to recall?)
Holland on Oilers Now (lots of paraphrasing as I am doing this in real time):
1) Firstly, excited to get going. We feel very proud of what we were able to accomplish last year. Goal is always the S. Cup. Start fresh tomorrow. Got to play your way in to the top 8….. Got to re-prove yourself all over again. Feel good where team is at. Some internal growth and some moves we were able to make over the summer.
2) Bob brings up goal – Talked about Campbell last season, his great start and his good play in the playoffs. Likes he’s played in a high pressure market. LIke his age (30). Lots of teams were looking for goalies nd only 3-4 available. Feel good about Skinner but he’s 23-24. Were 18th last year in GA and about 13th in combined save percentage. Certainly the 18th has to improve and even the 13th. Not looking to be in the top 5 necessarily but want to be in the 8-10 range at lest. Feel good about Campbell at 30 and Stu at 23-24. Need to focus on playing team defence.
3) Bob asks about Holloway and asked if Holland is surprised . As we went in tot he draft, we had Broberg and Bouch so our focus was on a forward. Tony Granato and I had a great relationship. He led the AJHL in scoring as a 17 year old. Talked to Granato about playing centre or wing. Great speed. Big and powerful. Question was about how much offence he could produce at the NHL. Granato had big plans for him in his second year. He was top 5 in scoring as a 19 year old – that’s tough to do. The scaphoid sent him back. Had 22 points in 33 games at AHL. Were looking to bring him up but then he hurt his leg. Keith Gretzky said he was starting to really take off at the end of the year. He’s played his way on to our team. Half way through last year I asked Keith to start introducing PK in to his game. He started to PK. Because of his skating there might be the ability to get some breakaways if we can get him on the PK. I told him to find a place to leave.
4) Broberg and if there a chance he’ll be reassigned – Phil knows this. We don’t know the status of Yamamoto and Foegle for tomorrow. We are hoping both will play. As insurance we are sending Broberg down after 5pm today and we are recalling Devon Shore. If Yamamoto and Foegele both can’t play then we’ll have to go 11/6 and we’ll be one under the limit.
We are running with ah 19 skater roster and I anticipate at some point we will play short this season but the emergency rules will allow us to call up a player thereafter. I hope to have a full lineup tomorrow but it will be game time and made after morning skate.
5) Want the young d-men to play and we will be moving guys up and down all season.
6) Jesse – When year ended last year, Jesse was disappointed in how his year finished (and I was). I knew we were going to be tight on the cap. I told a number of players (not only Jesse), if you hear your name out there, its probably real. As I went through the process, Jesse is here. He had a great start to last season. His role diminished down he stretch. I said, lets start all over again and see how this thing goes. With Jesse on the team and with Foegele on the team…… we signed Janmark as an insurance policy if I made some off-season moves. Ultimately we put Janmark on waivers and we feel the moves we made put the best team on the ice. Lets see how the next 6-7 weeks go. Janmark wants to to be in the NHL.
7) Trade – having Broberg and Niemo. Kesslering had a great camp. He shoots right but he’s a good young guy. Ceci, Kulak, Darnell all with term. Going to be tough for Sammy to get ice and he’s worked very hard. Hopefully it works out for Sammy! We got some more depth up front. This gives an opportunity for both.
8) Demers – Been talking to his agent. We aren’t going to sign him to a contract but we like what we’ve seen. Deharnais is out for another month. We’ve signed him to a 25-game PTO at Bakersfield. He’ll help us down there. I’ve told Jason if a team calls and want to sign him, he’ll give US an opportunity to match.
9) Philp and a hold-up with immigration – Last year on ATO, its an amateur tryout not getting paid. Now he has a contract. We applied with immigration a month ago. We aren’t sure why Philp hasn’t been approved, other guys have. We are hoping to have him ASAP. We are calling every couple of days to figure it out.
10) 6 at home and 9 out of 12 at home. Showed the guys in camp, if you get to 20 or so game and in a playoff spot…….. need to get off to a good start. If you bank some points, players can relax a bit. If we didn’t last year, the crater would have de-railed us. Important to get off to a good start, especially with all these home games.
Excellent-thank you
Why not just give Demers an AHL deal instead of pro tryout? This org doesn’t usually nickle and dime people so if it’s about cost that’s something a bit different. Very curious to me.
I believe if he signs an AHL deal, he loses the ability to sign an NHL deal with another team, so he loses that flexibility.
I thought he can sign a deal in the year – normally he wouldn’t be able to negotiate with another org but Holland could just give him the green light to do so. Maybe it’s visa issues like OP said, or maybe you’re right there’d be no way to get out of his AHL deal.
It may also be due to visa issues – they are having a hell of a time getting Philp the requisite immigration clearance – have been trying for close to a month I guess (per Holland) – not sure what the hold up is but they keep trying.
I think it’s just that they’re not sure enough on him to give him a deal, and they want Desharnais, Kesselring and Kemp to get lots of ice one they’re all healthy.
Regarding the ATO, you mention Holland talked about the Desharnais’ injury when asked about it. IIRC Holland also mentioned Desharnais’ injury when asked about the original camp PTO they gave Demers.
Seems that he’s just someone to ‘balance the D pairs’ at this point, whether in camp or in Bakersfield.
If he takes steps in Bakersfield they might consider a proper deal, but at this point he’s simply somewhat useful as an experienced RD. He also has no better options, so to an extend the team is doing him a solid.
Jakob Chychrun gets you about 50 games a season on averave and has a 6.9 shooting %
This is a player with an average points production and a crap shooting %
Why is everyone saying give the farm away fro this player.
He has only played 60 games once in his career , lots of hype, but not worth what Arizona is asking
At some point (possibly very soon), Broberg will become a diminishing asset. The Oilers need to be careful not to wait too long to either fully commit or sell him off before the drop in value. My personal opinion is that he’s still the same player he was when he was drafted.
This was the scouting report on him then:
“There are a few other concerns regarding Broberg’s game, mainly surrounding his hockey sense. He can sometimes be a bit frustrating to watch, due to the fact that he repeatedly makes the same mistakes and rarely adapts to his surroundings.”
https://eprinkside.com/2019/06/22/post-draft-prospect-profiles-philip-broberg-no-8-to-edmonton-oilers
This scouting report points out the issues of his lack of hockey sense in his offensive game, but the lack of hockey sense is most notable in the defensive aspect of the NHL game. He gets lost out there and doesn’t seem be able to read the play. No matter how tall or fast he ever becomes, he’ll never be a good NHL player without that ability. Given that he’s likely been playing hockey for 16 years already, I’m not confident another year or two will be of any help in that department.
If they can turn Broberg into 50 games / year of Chychrun, they should jump all over it. But how much more do they need to include, and is Broberg already a “throw-in” piece of that trade.
Yep. Scouting report looks spot on.
Here is hoping some development time in the AHL helps him there.
Sometimes Dmen take longer to think the game….tools are there.
A shocker in Calgary.
Flames sign Michael Stone to a one year contract.
Dom L. with the personal prediction sees the Oilers as Cup Champs.
Thinking back to the Eakins 2-14- 6 stretch in Nov/Dec 2014.
My oh my how far we have come.
And there is still so much left to do.
Bold predictions on the year – McD hits points levels only seen by two players. Draisaitl scores 70, Bouchard wins the Dman scoring race and Barrie is 3rd behind Makar. The Oilers as a team score 365.
It’s puff puff pass, not puff puff puff puff………
Well done. Slow clap.
Ha! If they trade for Patrick Kane early enough they could be the 6th team EVER to score 400 goals in a season. (The other 5 were all Oilers teams from the 80’s. That’s right, no other club has ever hit 400 but Edmonton has done it five times.)
#400goalclub #keepitinthefamily
Funny thing is we didn’t really have a deadly power play. The Oilers would try to draw a 4 on 4 which they were bonkers on. We were also absolutely deadly on the shorthanded goals per season.
Two insane Oilers records from the 80’s: 36 shorthanded goals and Grant Fuhr’s 14 assists. Oilers also scored 27+ SHG in a season 4 times, which no other team has done once.
With speedsters McLeod Holloway as well as Hyman’s ability to rag the puck and his chemistry with Nuge on the PK should have teams worried about going to gung ho on there PP’s.
1)
This is likely the case but, personally, if Yamo was healthy and they weren’t likely to go 11/7, I’d be amenable to Broberg/Malone down and Janmark up. I think Janmark is higher tier player than Shore, despite exhibition which, of course, we know only can mean so much.
2)
Its manageable for now but, if there is even one more minor injury in addition to Yamo, we are already getting in to short rosters and then emergency call-ups. It’ll work for the short term, however, at some point, cap will likely need to go out in order to provide some breathing room. There will be injuries upon injuries and anything less than 10 games and 24 days causes roster issues.
3)
I don’t disagree if we were talking about peak Chychrun but when will that player be available? Will he ever? I mean, if we are taking about the hear and now, Chychrun had ankle and wrist procedures this off-season and he is still recovering from the wrist and hasn’t been on the ice at camp for the Yotes. There are accounts that he might start skating soon but how long until he’s 100%. Given his injury history in his short pro career – shoulder, knee, ankle, wrist. will there ever be “peak-Chychrun” again?
4) Yamamoto on the 4th line at practice yesterday and today is likely a function of him being banged up and potentially not able to play on Wed but I wonder if its also, partially, function of, well, him not doing anything in exhibition to seperate himself from Jesse. In fact, I would say, given the last two games, Jesse did more at 5 on 5 than Yamo. I remember one play from Yamo – it was a spectacular play to set up Drai for a SH tap-in. Did Yamo do anything memorable at 5 on 5?
5) Holland is on Oilers Now at 1:05 today. Subject to lawyering requirements at the time, I can summarize in real time if there is interest….?
If Holloway plays top 6 either Yamo or J.P drop in the batting order. Some players figure it out early Holloway fits the mold.
LT said…
Spending time on social media wil rot your brain, Allan.
I recall from last year at this time, there was also the call that it would be a major season for Bouchard. He played alright last season, but middle of the pack and some pretty serious wobble.
I am also hoping that Bouchard can take a major step and become a top pair dman this season as this is his time to make that jump (or last year would have been nice), but I’ve seen enough Dmen come through to the NHL that I know it’s possible he is already at his ceiling and will end up 4-6 on the depth chart for his career.
Time will tell and this season will be a big tell. I hope he focuses on defensive consistency this year rather than point totals as seemed to be the bent last year. That will take him higher in his career and the offense will naturally follow.
Bouchard hadn’t turned 22 yet and had 21 games of NHL experience going into last year. He had a phenomenal season. If you were expecting zero defensive wobble, your expectations were set way too high.
She was discussing the expectations of others not herself, comparing last year to this year. You’re only agreeing with her observation: he had some serious wobbles last season.
And she’s right that defense is presently the limiting factor to Boosh’s potential career, and also right in that he needs to take a step forward in that particular skillset this season.
I’m not sure. I think my expectations for last season were reasonable for a top 10 drafted Dman. Sometimes they turn out to be top pairing Dmen at age 21 or earlier. But many don’t. Like you, I’m hoping he does turn out that way and has a few years to go before we have him surrounded as a player. But the reality is that many top drafted Dmen end up on the bottom half of the depth chart.
I should add that I think that’s still pretty good or at least in line with his draft pedigree. All good things for Bouchard.
Do you think Bouchard’s play last year was that of a 4-6 dman?
Time for the usual round of ‘of courses’
Of course, it is way too early to make a call on Broberg. Still way too early.
However, I do find it increasingly difficult to to see him as an elite 1st pairing D.
I just don’t see a lot of upside there. No flashes of elite at all.
Now, I can see him turning into a very fine 2nd pairing guy and that is gold.
I just think -given where he was taken ( and who we passed on ) we *may* need
to re-set our expectations for this player.
Still really like the kid. Lots of time for him to develop in the AHL here. No panic
But, I think even Kenny thought he would be on the team to start this season.
How many AHL games did you watch last season? Is your opinion based solely on the preseason?
Zero AHL games. But he played almost 30% of an NHL games last year.
Plus, Broberg’s work this fall.
Ken Holland’s exact expectation was that Broberg “would have to play his way off the team”. Conversely, Holland said of Holloway that he would have to “play his way onto the team”. Both of these items have come to pass.
Yep. No question Ryan Murray ( 4th team in 4 years) beat him out.
And same with Niemelainen/
I’m still not sure how Niemo beat him out, you know, given the amount and rate of goals scored against when he was on the ice.
Based on my personal eye test (not worth much, of course), Niemo only out-performed Broberg as it relates to expectations of each player not as it realates to actual straight performance.
I am a fan of what Niemo brings and the impact his physicality can have but those big hits don’t equate to defending and moving the puck and Niemo struggled even more than Broberg in exhibition.
Oilers needed some physicality to balance out the D Nemo brought it Sammy didn’t.
Dang!
The Condors team will be fun to watch when they get Lavoie and Savoie back.
I hope it’s in time for Nov 11 when they visit the Gulls in San Diego
“Trading Broberg in a deal for Jakob Chychrun makes all the sense in the world to me, so I can’t agree with the idea of holding on to the young defenseman.”
I’m with you on this one.
Instantly boosts the left side D to be the best since:
Klefbom
Sekera
Nurse
—-
Nurse
Chychrun
Kulak
That is a solid LD.
As long as you are ok with Cychrun only playing 45 games per season….fill your boots
For sure. Way too much risk on Chychrun given the apparent ask. No chance I include Holloway in any deal and if you’re giving up Broberg, Jesse and a 1st that’s way too much quality and potential.
Put another way, I think if you’re giving up those assets you need to aim higher. In that case, I would be all for it as well.
I have no interest in trading for Chychurn. The player is not as good as his reputation. Sometimes being the best on a bad team just means you’re not that good. As Oiler fans, we’ve seen this. Could he be decent behind Nurse? Sure. Do I want to make room for his 4.6M to do this? Hell No. This team needs depth, not mid-sized contracts tied to questionable players. Injury, unsustainable shooting percentage in 20-21, performance and acquisition cost all make this a bad, bad plan for the Oilers.
If you were going to go for this player, it would have made much more sense while the team still had Sammy. Now it’s seems foolish.
Dang. Thanks team. I whole-heartedly take this comment back. Good points all around.
I’ve been reflecting on what an important player Brad Malone is to the organization and wandered over to
CapGeekCapFriendly to check out his remuneration.Holland re-upped him for two years back in June with an AHL salary of $250k for 2022-23 and 2023-24.
There’s also a note that says: “MINIMUM GUARANTEED SALARY: 2022-23: $350,000 | 2023-24: $300,000”
Does anyone know how that works? How can he be guaranteed more than his minor league salary if it happens out he doesn’t spend significant time on the NHL roster this season?
FWIW, I think he’s worth every penny and more. $250k for what he adds to player development might be the best value contract on the team. I’m surprised that more teams don’t embrace this model (but I haven’t checked extensively, so I could be wrong!). What’s to stop any team (besides a spot on the 50-man) from signing a Malone-type player to a larger salary (say, right up to the limit you can bury in the AHL). This feels like the kind of thing that the Leafs/Panthers/Hurricanes would do, but somehow aren’t.
The Oilers (for once!) are actually exploiting a market inefficiency.
That’s a good question, I thought the difference would have come in the form of a signing bonus but there’s nothing listed on capfriendly.
It’s actually not that uncommon. It acknowledges that a player has ‘call up’ potential and guarantees that he will be paid accordingly even if the phone never rings for him.
This means that:
1) for every day he’s on the NHL roster, he gets paid his pro rata daily share of his NHL comp;
2) for every day he’s on the AHL roster, he gets paid his pro rata daily share of his AHL comp;
3) he is guaranteed to get paid that guaranteed minimum so, even if he is never on the NHL roster and spends the entire year in the AHL, he’s end of year comp will be topped up to the guaranteed min amount.
I also agree that Malone has been, and remains, a very important part of the organization and his value is in his role with the Condors, as the captain of the Condors, being a plus 2-way AHL player and, most importantly, from MANY accounts, a fantastic mentor and role model for younger prospect. Yamamoto, among others, gives major props to Malone for development, not only on the ice but off the ice including learning how to “live as a pro” with hockey being your job, etc.
They pay him normally during the season and then will “make him whole” at the end of the season if he didn’t make enough during the season. He does only have to be on the NHL roster for about 38 days to make $350k or 19 to make $300k so the organization he’s likely to pass those numbers but it is an extra incentive for a veteran to sign knowing he might only play in the AHL
Regarding the Condors roster, are we still only allowed to ice a maximum of five “veterans”? I know this was something in the AHL rules back when I only had an AHL team in my city, something like 250 professional games or more qualified you as a veteran.
I can see as many as six forwards plus Pickard being considered for this clause, but have not checked on actual games played for anyone.
I believe goalies are exempt from the max 5-vet rule.
I think its 320 games (AHL, NHL, high European league)
That’s not correct. 13 skaters on any game roster must be listed as “Developmental.” 12 of those skaters must have played less than 260 pro games prior to the season beginning. And one of the thirteen can have played up to 320 games in prior seasons.
Anyone under 25 on July 1 of the season in question is exempt. ECHL is exempt. Goalies exempt. Playoff games are exempt. And any games in a pro league at Junior age are exempt.
IIRC the ECHL vet rule is even more strict. Last I looked, just 4 vets on the entire roster including reserve list, not just the game roster.
I took the summer off from posting but of course read daily. LT your words are captivating and inspiring! Can’t wait to read your book and of course gift it to my Dad.
I got my fix of sports this summer:
*My former team the Ladner Pioneers won the President’s Cup Senior B National Lacrosse Championships at the Bill Hunter Arena. An absolutely grueling tournament 8 games in 7 days with a 25 man roster (18 runners and 2 goalies dress per game).
*A former athlete I coached played in the Minto Cup for the Victoria Shamrocks (they didn’t win a game but were in every game) and the big surprise of the Jr A National Championships was that the Edmonton Miners were a goal away from the first Alberta team to win the Championshuips. They were full credit for an excellent tournament.
*The Mann Cup (Sr A National Championship) was a best of 7 thriller. With all games being played in Peterborough over 9 nights with the hometown Lakers beating the Langley Thunder.
*In the Professional Lacrosse League (A player owned Pro Field League that rose above the MLL) showcased a number of great Canadian players in a tight game.
*The Rugby Championships saw the All Blacks looking less than stellar at the beginning but they managed to pull off the victory at the end with a changing of guards at Flyhalf. Springboks Defense is outstanding they will be a threat as always in the World Cup. Argentina is closing the gap on the big 3 southern hemisphere teams.
*The first round of playoffs in the AFL (Aussie Rules Football) was incredible. It got less competitive from there as the cream rose to the top and Geelong took the Premiereship.
*And I got to go see the Jays on Saturday night. Wow what a gut punch. Toronto sports teams doing what they do. Still fun to be at.
And of course now it is time for the Oilers to start. I rewatched the playoffs a number of teams when there were no sports to watch. From these repeated viewings I have no doubt that Woodcroft can adjust lines from game to game and within games to match up with the Oilers opponents. Shuffling players from line to line and flip flopping between 12+6 and 11+7. Woody is the coach this team needs and is ready for the challenge.
Thanks for entertaining my ramblings!
Lacrosse the fastest game on two feet. 40-45 years ago I thought Lacrosse would take off and have a money making league with a loyal fan base. For some reason it just never materialized and it never was marketed correctly. It’s nice to see players making some dough in the leagues now. Once you play Lacrosse it’s in your blood for life.
I like the idea of trading for a high-end D to play behind Nurse. I am no longer convinced that Chychrun is that player.
There is also no rush. The team, as is, is certainly good enough to compete for the division title. Wait until closer to the deadline and see how things are shaking out. Maybe Broberg just needs a few weeks.
Ray Ferraro seems like a real class act. I will miss him on TSN.
At least he stayed with the station (ESPN) still doing NHL games. Good for him to get the Xmas season off.
Gang of Four reference! Just when I thought I couldn’t love you any more. Entertainment! is such a kick-ass record in a great year for rock n roll (London Calling, Unknown Pleasures, Fear of Music, Damn the Torpedoes, Rust Never Sleeps, Setting Sons….)
Influential guitarist Andy Gill is sadly gone, but they are still touring and I was able to see them in St. Louis just a few months ago. Jon King is still crazed with intensity on stage and took great delight in smashing a microwave oven with a baseball bat.
I saw Gang of Four at Carleton University in Ottawa in the summer of 1981 and it was a life-changing experience.
Amazing. One of the things I try to tell my kids about that period (1977-82) is that SO many interesting things were happening all over. It went from me listening ton Dave Mason singing “We Just Disagree” to Television and Talking Heads in North America and all those fantastic British sounds. Plus the Pretenders, who were British via Cleveland.
That sure looks like a nice lineup. Everything has fallen into place. The other thing is, when injuries happen, like they always do, this roster appears to have a way to adapt.
The fourth line doesn’t seem to be as set as the top 9, we will be seeing plenty of different revolving combo’s, which will be interesting to watch. Of course, they will go with 11 forwards and 7 D. The D was a veteran presence, if in fact those are the pairings LT has put together, they nailed it. I believe in this year’s goaltending. Very impressed. That sure looks like an impressive lineup.
Let’s say the ask is Broberg, a 1st and Puljujarvi for Chychrun. If Chychrun comes in and has a great 80 games then you could argue it would be a good trade. Instant upgrade. Puljujarvi and Broberg may never pan out. On the other hand if Chychrun keeps following his injured riddled trajectory which is probably more likely and all three assets become useful players then this trade would be a disaster and talked about for years. Broberg may be as good as Chychrun in two years without the injury problems. Too much risk for me.
Do you think they really need Chychrun ? They look pretty good as is. On the other hand, sure he would be a great fit. But at what cost? that’s the tough part. That might be a trade deadline consideration, and maybe, by then, it might not even be a consideration at all.
Keep Broberg, JP, and the first for the time being. Reevaluate closer to the deadline.
Unless we’re talking about trading LTIR contracts, some B-prospects, and futures for Chychrun, I am not a fan of acquiring him.
He is heavily sheltered (ArmchairGM has done some nice work breaking this down). Injured often. Takes more hits than he gives. Underwater relative to teammates unless he’s on a PDO heater.
I’m not sure I understand the love for this player. If someone can make a case beyond age and contract, I’d be genuinely interested.
Aside from the above, we already have Kulak signed to a better contract through his prime years. I’d be willing to wait and see if he can deliver something resembling his playoff performance going forward before I went shopping for a 2LD. Chances are Broberg is the one promoted (on merit) right around the time Kulak’s contract expires.
He would be behind Nurse, who will still be getting big minutes. He would side in on the second pair and Kulak would slide down to the third. There wouldn’t be much room for rookie D-Men, except for Bouchard. Murray would be the 7th D and since he plays either side, that’s ideal. But why not give the young guys a chance?
I think the main argument FOR Chychrun is here:
https://www.naturalstattrick.com/playerreport.php?fromseason=20212022&thruseason=20212022&stype=2&sit=5v5&stdoi=oi&rate=r&v=p&playerid=8479345
Strong offense for a Dman and strong SF% and xGF% relative to team.
His GF% (rel) has been less consistently good, and as mentioned he’s been sheltered and has had consistent injury issues. Plus the reported ask is really damn rich.
If someone else can give a stronger recommendation/explanation I’d like to hear it too, as I’m not convinced how high end this player is either.
I’d also like to see what Kulak, Broberg and Murray can bring before seriously considering a move like this.
Offense is good, and outshooting the opposition is good also, but I’m not convinced on xGF.
With Nurse, Bouchard and Barrie (for now) I’m less inclined to believe we need more of an offensive push from the back end. And we still have yet to see where Broberg’s offense lands.
I’d like a younger version of Adam Larsson, or Radko Gudas to balance the d-corps. Someone like Scott Mayfield or Artem Zub would fit the bill nicely.
I won’t make an argument for trading for Chychrun – nobody knows exactly what it would take and that is always a major factor – but I will remind that last summer there was a discussion here regarding trading for DeBrusk.
It was virtually unanimous here that he wasn’t worth acquiring based upon his numbers. The arguments against trying to acquire him – if you go back and read them – were pretty much exactly the same as the arguments being made this summer regarding Chychrun – allowing for one being a forward and the other a dman.
DeBrusk, of course, had a pretty good season after all of that and talk of him wanting out of Boston died down.
All I am saying with this is that the numbers tell a story – and it is a story that has a lot of value. It establishes a base line. It establishes a value point. But if they told the whole story teams wouldn’t spend the money to scout other teams. There would be no talk of players being ‘over valued’ or ‘under valued’.
I agree that there is significant risk in acquiring players whose role requires them to live up to their cap hit or trade value. It is possible to look dumb and numbers are an easy argument to make as to why the GM should have known better.
But the numbers don’t tell the whole story and never will. And if you only ever go by them you will pretty much always be a mid pack team because every team has guys who can supply you with numbers.
There are a lot of teams out there rumoured to be interested in Chychrun and none of them has been willing to pay the ask – probably because of all the question marks you mentioned. But the fact that they are interested also indicates that they see potential above what the numbers say his value is.
Yup, I believe we’re in agreement relative to the above.
If we made acquisitions solely on numbers we’d have a team full of Faynes and Fistrics.
The numbers are a supplement to the eyes.
Chychrun is a famous player, and he’s earned that.
Unfortunately I see more downside risk with him than I do upside. Unless his multiple recent injuries are ironed out and he’s likely to improve with a higher level of support. It’s tough being (among) the best player(s) on a perennial basement dweller, as we well understand in these parts.
THE CONTEST
now known as – HUNTER1909’S OILERS DYNASTY MARCH™
Here is how it works.
Same rules same everything and all of the previous records will be retained for posterity.
Here is how to play: Predict the total points that Oilers finish the season with.
Tie breakers:
a) – How many points Connor McDavid gets
b) – how many goals Leon Draisaitl scores
c) – Where Oilers finish(1-16th in the West)
To Recap:
1 – Predict Oilers final regular season point total
2 – Connormcdavid points
3 – leondraisatl goals
4 – oilers finish in the West(1-16)
DEADLINE!! PUCK DROP PENGUINS GAME 6!!
Prospectrum!
The good news is Reid Schaefer is scoring at a goal-per-game pace. The “bad” news is it’s only been three games, and there are no assists so far. Will he continue on a Cy Young trajectory? We wait. In the meantime (and in between time), he is the only Oilers NA amateur prospect to ply his trade this day. Puck drop is 8 p.m. Heisler time.
It is hard to get assists when they blow the whistle every time you touch the puck because you’ve put it in the net again. 😀