For many years the Edmonton Oilers have been winning the most difficult awards while getting passed over in the easier ones. It’s the damndest thing I’ve ever seen. Since 2010, the team has been blessed with a stunning group of rookies, none of which could find a way to win the Calder Trophy. An Oilers player has never won the award.
Meanwhile, Connor McDavid claimed Hart Trophy No. 12 for the organization since 1979, that’s 12 of 40 awards. That’s 30 percent of all Hart trophies, an extremely valuable award, belong to the Edmonton Oilers. Incredible.
Calder? Crickets.
THE ATHLETIC!
I’m proud to be writing for The Athletic, and pleased to be part of a great team with Daniel Nugent-Bowman and Jonathan Willis. Here’s the latest!
- New DNB: How re-signing Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for eight years could help and hurt the Oilers
- Lowetide: Can the Oilers’ next wave of prospects help them win a playoff series in 2022?
- DNB: Five offseason scenarios that could upend the Oilers’ best-laid plans
- onathan Willis: How underappreciated Oilers defenceman Jeff Petry became a Canadiens mainstay
- Lowetide: Will the Oilers return to the WHL prospect pool in the 2021 draft?
- Lowetide: Why Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard is poised to exceed expectations
- Lowetide: Oilers’ prospect pipeline could be at stake as AHL coach Jay Woodcroft outgrows his minor-league role
- DNB and Dom: How the Oilers should value pending UFAs
- Jonathan Willis: How the Oilers could make a Jack Eichel-level trade happen this offseason
- Lowetide: The 7 Oilers roster spots GM Ken Holland must improve this offseason
- Lowetide: Caleb Jones, Oilers reach crossroads that could land Jones in Seattle
- Lowetide: What will Oilers do if they must replace Oscar Klefbom?
- Jonathan Willis: What comes next for the Oilers’ Jesse Puljujarvi?
- Lowetide: Why Evan Bouchard, Ryan McLeod and more prospects are options for Oilers in 2021-22
- DNB: Ten teams the Oilers should be targeting for trades ahead of the Kraken expansion draft
- Lowetide: How Ken Holland’s transaction history could foreshadow the Oilers summer to come
- Lowetide: How close to NHL-ready is Oilers prospect Dmitri Samorukov?
- Lowetide: Oilers’ reasonable expectations eat dust during Connor McDavid’s dream season
- Jonathan Willis: Why some of the most popular moves Ken Holland could make would be mistakes
- Lowetide: Why huge Oil Kings goalie Sebastian Cossa could be the perfect first-round fit for the Oilers
ART ROSS TROPHY
- 7 Wayne Gretzky (1981 to 1987)
- 3 Connor McDavid (2017, 2018, 2021)
- 1 Leon Draisaitl (2020)
McDavid is still a very young man and he should win more of these scoring championships as time goes by. Can he catch Gretzky? Hell if I know. I will say this is some impressive run he and Leon are currently on and the next time I bet against 97 will be the first time.
HART MEMORIAL TROPHY
- 8 Wayne Gretzky (1980 to 1987)
- 2 Connor McDavid (2017, 2021)
- 1 Mark Messier (1990)
- 1 Leon Draisaitl (2020)
Winning just one Hart Trophy is a monumental achievement, two is basically a guarantee for Hall of Fame entry. McDavid is too young for talk of such things, but even in the moment we need to recognize greatness as it is revealed to us. I have taken my share of shots at the PWHA over the years, but their unanimous selection of McDavid is a strong and important statement about a truly special talent.
TED LINDSAY AWARD
- 5 Wayne Gretzky (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1987)
- 3 Connor McDavid (2017, 2018, 2021)
- 1 Leon Draisaitl (2020)
- 1 Mark Messier (1990)
Bobby Orr only won one of these, so McDavid getting to three (and within two of 99) is massive. The Lindsay Award has grown in importance over the years, or at least that’s my experience.
POSSIBLE OILERS ’21-22 ROSTER
There’s $1.2 million in cap room left, Oscar Klefbom is on LTIR, James Neal was bought out and Stuart Skinner was lost in the expansion draft.
50-MAN ROSTER (32)
Plenty of work to do this offseason but a big piece (perhaps the most expensive piece) was added yesterday. I see plenty of room (18 spots left!) and among RFA’s expect we can be certain that Kailer Yamamoto, Jujhar Khaira, Tyler Benson and Stuart Skinner will be added. That gets you to 36. What does that mean? As many as one dozen new names coming soon to this list.
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
We’re back! TSN1260 at 10 this morning, it’s the only day this week so get ’em while they’re hot! Bruce McCurdy from the Cult of Hockey at the Edmonton Journal will join me at 10:20 to talk about the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins contract and what he’s seeing in the SC Final. Joe Osborne from OddsShark will pop in to talk NBA, MLB and NHL at 11 and we’ll have a long chat about what we’ve missed! 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. See you on the radio!
Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) Tweeted:
Chris Chelios was 37 when Red Wings acquired him at 1999 deadline.
In 2002 he averaged over 25 minutes/game as Red Wings won Cup.
Keith didn’t have great numbers with bad Chicago teams the past few seasons, but how much was team or him? That is what scouts need to uncover.
https://twitter.com/JasonGregor/status/1410361250874216453?s=20
Sorry LT but I need to say this one more time emphatically.
If there are seniors or homeless people in your neighbourhood…PLEASE go and check on their welfare.
Hundreds are dying needlessly in this heat because they don’t know how vulnerable they are.
A moment of your time could save lives.
Daniel Swain
@Weather_West
Satellite view of British Columbia interior confirms that the severe thunderstorms occurring at present are indeed pyro-convective events: wildfire-generated severe storms, complete with abundant lightning and strong winds. Precipitation may be minimal to non-existent… #BCwx
Michael Reeve
@McIntyreReeve
Update from Mae Webster- BCEHS unit chief in Merritt.
“The hospital, main drag and ambulance station are burnt down in #Lytton. It also sound like a lot of the residents have been taken south and you can’t get through from the north end of Lytton right now.”
Sitting at my kitchen table, sweating to death, thinking about the Oilers. Dreaming about December, I’m a winter guy.
Duncan Keith… I think there is a real chance this happens.
Just adds up. Holland loves his veterans. Klefbom’s leak to Gregor a couple of days ago damn near confirming a massive spot on 2LD. The Oilers actually have the resources and space to make it happen. Keith just switched over to TSC and Gerry Johnson (this matters the least but it isn’t nothing either).
I think it’s damn near impossible Chicago takes Neal back though. Maybe Kassian, but Holland isn’t trading him. I think the price will be a D prospect if it happens, and maybe Koskinen as well.
Not sure if I like it though. Really not sure.
I could see this happening as well
It’s Holland’s MO without a doubt
I could get behind it if there is salary going the other way (Klefbom/Koskinen) and the price point is modest
CHI can’t expect to move $5.3M cap x 2 years in this market and expect a king’s ransom in return, especially for an aging vet
Edmonton has contracts they would like to lose. Chicago is looking to accommodate a respected veteran in his desire to move back to western Canada. Chicago has a veteran GM. Edmonton has a veteran GM.
I think there is a way to make this work from both sides.
Lacking some context but interesting.
Brian King
@Kinger999
·
1m
I’m also not sure how good Dylan Strome is. I know Chicago wants to dump him and he had a rough season. I also know he’s good buddies with 97 and I generally like making 97 happy because without 97 this thing goes up in smoke.
Are you… it’s almost like… based on your posts today… you might be getting back (?) on the bandwagon…?
In any case, I don’t expect you to admit it. I will say, hockey and non-hockey content, value added today. Nice post earlier about ‘win now’ mode.
I thought they would make a play for Strome two trade deadlines ago. If he can be added I’d be listening to how.
My hope?
Strome, Keith
Klef, Jones, Lavoie. No retention on Keith.
Depends on what Bowman thinks of those players, but the bigger a trade gets, usually the less likely it happens.
Adding Keith would be quite cool.
Agreed with you all that this would be very much in Holland’s wheelhouse.
The Oil have contracts they’d like to lose, but Klefbom’s is the only one that seems plausible to me (maybe Neal with 50% retained and a better prospect/pick the other way?).
Koskinen isn’t ideal because you get a free-ish Keith next season then a $5.3M Keith the following year, when various new contracts are due.
I think straight out retention likely makes the most sense. Keith’s ‘real’ value would be somewhere in the $3M-$4M range I’d guess?
Anyway, agreed there’s a way to make this work.
Chicago is an LTIR team. They would have interest in Klefbom’s LTIR It would let the Oilers escape LTIR hell.
Keith for Jones and Klefbom makes a lot of sense.
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Andrew Kurjata
@akurjata
Village of Lytton, B.C., evacuated as mayor says ‘the whole town is on fire’ | CBC News
More:
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/fire-forces-evacuation-of-lytton-b-c-after-days-of-record-breaking-heat-1.5492913
Now almost 500 sudden deaths reported in BC.
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/heat-wave-update-486-sudden-deaths-reported-in-b-c-over-5-days-1.5492288
Please reach out to the elderly in your community.
Many folks don’t even know when they are in danger.
Been there many times, this is horrible.
Me as well..can’t imagine the horror.
@joandsue
@joandsue
·
2h
Photo credit: Blair Riley. Lytton is on fire. Entire town evacuated on extremely short notice. People scrambling to grab pets while their houses are burning. I’m hearing 20+ structures lost so far https://abs-0.twimg.com/emoji/v2/svg/1f62d.svg
An update:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-wildfires-june-30-2021-1.6085919
I’ve been looking at Dmitri Jaskin’s highlights from his past 2 seasons. He is a good LW net front option. I could see him having similar success as Maroon did with 97 and he would come in much cheaper than many of the LW UFA options discussed.
He is supposed to be signing with AZ for 2 x $1.8 million, but Kenny does like his Euro vets. Are there any other “Out from Left Field” options out there?
I wonder if Holland’s play is to add new LD and keep the Right side status quo (minus Barrie).
Who would hate 2 years of this?
Nurse-Bear
OEL-Larsson
Keith-Bouchard
With Russell as 7D and several young D waiting for an opportunity. I see Lagesson and Jones out of the picture in this scenario. The following season Sammy gets the Bouch treatment as 7D, and Broberg the next season as 7D.
If we net Connor Garland with a retained OEL & Keith, we could do much worse.
I see the transition on defence happening much faster than that.
When you have two of the best LD prospects in the NHL close to ready why take on a declining high long contract?
It doesn’t make sense.
There is likely a dozen LD prospects who would take issue with this assessment.
You are familiar with the Holland modus operandi, aren’t you?
Not saying I want to see this, but there are lots of rumbles. I can see this happening. It would fit with Tippett and Holland’s preferences, IMO.
Cassie sure has a new pep in her step she really must of received a juicy contract from ESPN.
????? (@PaulaC_Four) Tweeted:
I don’t know what kind of camera/filter Sportsnet is using on the panel these days, but all wrinkles have disappeared from every face on it and Cassie’s eyeliner was hovering over her forehead.
https://twitter.com/PaulaC_Four/status/1410421914066046976?s=20
Yeah she’s been looking like cougar material the last couple of games.
Speaking of the heat.
I see it’s 38 degrees in Edmonton today which is what it was here yesterday but the heat dome is sliding east and I’m sitting on the deck with a cool one today at 24 degrees.
Hang in there.
BC interior we hit 47.3 yesterday. A little ‘cooler’ today.
My store wouldn’t stay under 30 inside with air con.
Gross.
Forest fires starting I hope it doesn’t get really bad like a few years ago, hard to breathe.
Helicopter water bombers are seeing heat related engine failures according to local news.
Thank God it’s supposed to drop 10 tomorrow.
The sad thing is BC coroner reporting more than 200 sudden deaths yesterday.
2 people in my neighborhood succumbed.
Let’s hope that some slides and dissipates fast.
75 degrees in Miami today. Nice and cool!
That Caulfield kid with that beauty release has to be the front runner for rookie of the year next year. That would really be something if it’s Caulfield and Hollaway duking it out for the elusive rookie of the year award.
The voters will consider the players body of work.
Holloway would have to blow him out of the water to get a sniff.
Holloway will need 183pts to be considered for the Calder, he’s an Oiler.
If Tampa has a weak link in their lineup I am not sure who it is.
It’s easy when you are 18M over the cap, by the rules or not.
That is 3 x 5M players and a 3M. Extra.
They will look pretty sad by comparison after the reckoning.
For me they will always have the *
Like juice monkey baseball hitters.
For the Bolts it’s by the rules but far from legit.
The whole point of the exercise is to win the Stanley Cup and, if they do that twice in a row, it is all worth it.
Miss Congeniality is a loser.
Are you calling Joe Sakic Miss Congeniality?
At this point, of course.
But I expect he will do something about it as do 70% of Athletic writers who picked them to win the Cup next season.
Its not called the hardest championship to win in sports for nothing.
I agree but I put the blame on the league office. They allowed the cheaters to cheat.
Yup, by the rules.
Doesnt mean they don’t get the asterisk for me.
David Amber (@DavidAmber) Tweeted:
An unbelievable play by both Goodrow and Coleman. #GoBolts so many weapons. 2-1 after 2.
https://twitter.com/DavidAmber/status/1410417759813574656?s=20
Yet one of us stupidly picked the Avs to win it all
Who did you pick?
The team that has the skill of Avs but are dirty like Bruins.
Picked them two years in a row
That was dumb ass luck.
Luck is needed, but please.
Also a shitty play by Price, it’s getting very close to putting Allen in for a game, now, if they want to win.
Carey is doing reg season Carey.
Just read an article suggesting Detroit prospect goalie Petruzzelli doesnt intend to sign his ELC. He’s 6′ 5″, drafted 2017. Does our GM have any attachment?
He’s probably similar to Shane Starrett, great size, good numbers, but won’t get much opportunity, unless he find the right team and lightning strikes.
His predecessor at Quinnipac was 6’4″ and put up similar to superior numbers, but went undrafted & unsigned. This player has played some AHL games, and slightly more ECHL games as a 3rd or 4th G over the past 3 seasons.
Not sure what else to tell you…… Goalies are voodoo…. ? ?
“Keith is 37, so Holland will consider him mid-career” — Lowetide.
Johnny Travolta sure looks good for 67 years old.
He has a preservation room that is the size of a closet. Spends a lot of time in that closet…
Habs are going to steal this one first goal is a must.
The Bolts are in a well deserved pickle for their asterisks Cup run. Nobody hopefully will be doing them any favours and perhaps the expansion draft makes it worse with teams freaking out about losing a player.
Unless GMs are stupid they should not be getting full value on their cap dumps.
If I were Holland I’d be pitching Marody and change if necessary.
Right shot player with C skills. A little older for an AHL prospect but that fits Tampa’s established MO.
Palat or Killorn.
There are more than a few stupid GMs.
Killjoy
And even more desperate ones. You never really hear about how short the leash is from the ownership until after the fact.
Yep.
Pressure to win from ownership has sewered a few GM careers.
Benning will be more than happy to trade a 1st for Johnson
They can re-unite him with Miller for a 19th place finish.
The Sedins are now looking over his shoulder.
Is that a good thing?
Yeah…I think so.
They are very smart guys who have never had a problem saying what they think.
Ah yes and their years of wisdom when it comes to roster construction and management, I guess 4 identical hands that have no idea what they’re doing is better then 2.
I have a lot of time for Duncan Keith. One of my favourites in his prime.
If he can just hold his own with Larsson until Sammie and Bro are full time it’s a win. He would be a top notch mentor, a wildly fierce competitor.
Way better than Kulikov, maybe they retain. He has the IQ, two way game and puck skills that would compliment Larsson.
As we have seen with Perry, meh reg season, having players with that drive and experience, it kicks in playoff time even if they aren’t who they were.
Many Habs have mentioned his leadership in how to approach where they are and how to keep your head together. I think Keith would be that for whomever gets him.
And he’s an effective prick, they need more of that.
And Keith is a first class prick.
One up for that one
If these rumours are true, I imagine KH would be interested. The oilers are not in serious contention next year – still another growth year. But they would certainly like to have more playoff success. The following year the team should really be pushing top 4. Having Keith’s experience for these two years would be valued even if he is 6/7 D at worst for the final year of his contract.
Not rumours.
The Hawks, Keith and his agent are collectively looking for a landing spot.
I’m not sure the Oilers can’t be in serious contention this coming season – an off-season’s worth of work to do. Habs finished in the 20s last season but are in serious contention this season, it appears.
Pretty sure the oilers aren’t going to have a top 8 goalie next year. They may the following year and then they will be true contenders.
That what happens when the GM has the balls to go for it.
Just look the Habs offseason acquisitions.
I’m not as good as I once was,
But I’m as good once as I ever was!
– D Keith
Lol
Mark Spector
@SportsnetSpec
Oilers in ongoing talks with agent JP Barry over Adam Larsson contract. Will speak “a few times” this week, per source. Flyers one of several teams watching negotiations closely.
Connor said he’d love to represent his country in the Olympics if he’s “lucky enough to make the team.” With a little luck he might make the team.
Friedman reporting Chicago working on a trade of Duncan Keith to a Pacific Northwest or Western Canadian team.
Keith apparently wants to move closer to home and his son in Kelowna.
He has 2 years left at just over $5 million per but is owed only about $3 million cash for those 2 years because his contract was front loaded.
He might work in the Klefbom spot but I wonder what they want in return. Jones likely wouldn’t get it done; would the Oilers part with Samorukov?
Chicago is over a barrel due to the stated limited market, Keith still having a decently large cap hit and his stats are dropping.
Shouldn’t take much if the Oilers want him. Not sure they do.
I don’t think they’ll want much back…they will be trying to make room for young D.
I’ll take that as an emphatic NO. I haven’t watched him this season but his numbers are reasonable and I assume he can still skate. That contract is shitty but maybe they would relieve us of Neal to get it done.
You are kidding right?
Uhh, yes, of course I was kidding! Getting an early start on April Fools, 2022. Gotchya!
It’s the heat !?
Way too much for the cap relief and player age.
Kemp or a lesser forward prospect. The guy they let walk might have worked, they like that type of Euro.
The only thing id part with for Keith is Neal
Neal for Keith? Or something to that effect?
You would have to think the targets would be EDM, CGY, VCR and SEA.
Don’t see a fit in CGY with Giordano there.
VCR maybe if they could send Eriksson the other way. Loui only has 1 year left and not much cash owing after a signing bonus paid out July 15th. CHI might find that attractive.
I would think Seattle would need a sweetener to take him but he might be a valuable mentor for an expansion team.
The problem with Neal is he still has term and money owing.
Neal would be easier to buy out than Keith, so maybe they like that. Not sure if Edmonton would do it though. I wouldn’t.
Why?
Both have 2 years left and Neal’s cap hit is higher.
Because of how his contract was structured, Keith has a buyout cap hit of about 4M in 2021-2022 and 4.6M in 2022-2023 before dropping to 600K for two years. A Neal Buyout would be 1.9M for 4 years. So they save more cap on those first two seasons, which are likely to be at the same cap of 81.5 Million. If they want to go after Hamilton, Jones or Eichel they may want that extra cap space for those first two seasons.
Duncan Keith played 23 minutes per night this season though. Even though he’s declining I’m willing to bet he’s still a top 4D and he’s going to be a beast in the playoffs.
A Neal buyout, when all is said and done, saves you 4 million in cap space. I would much rather have Keith that buyout the Neal contract.
Because I could just buy out Neal myself. Why have a 37 year old Keith with a cap hit of $5M for 2 years, when I can get a better dman for around the $3M I save from the Neal buyout? Just gives me more options.
Just for argument’s sake, who is available to play LD for $3M? Personally, I’d like them to target a younger, established Dman to fill that spot, but I hate to give up assets for a guy who really can’t handle the role (I.e. Kulikov).
So what do you expect to pay for a younger established D both in acquisition cost and cap hit? There is a large difference in preference and budget!
You need to pay for quality so I’m willing to part with anyone except 97,29,25,93. Pretty much any roster player, draft pick or prospect would be on the table — depending on return.
Fair enough and completely logical if we didn’t have Samorukov and others knocking on the door. These young men will be on cost effective contracts when other players ie Nurse need to get paid!
They really only need a placeholder. Bro and Sammie are going to play in the league, might as well be us for a change.
If Sammie hasn’t lost anything bcs injury he might win the 3LD out of camp. The next year Bro could be pushing as well.
I know they liked him plenty at camp but Sammie has the KHL experience and is more seasoned and a little older.
They won’t break them both in closely most likely, but trading one given their ages is a bad idea.
Trade Bear Jones Lags first IMO. More established value and none have the potential the other two have.
Which is why teams have probed for Sammie. He has all the same tools as Nurse, minus a little boots.
They have a good chance but I would prefer someone proven until they show they can do it. Neither guy has played an NHL game. Samorukov has shown flashes of good and bad — his year in Bakersfield was so-so. Last year was apparently great in KHL but you can thrive over there if you aren’t a great skater. Can he do the same here? Only time will tell but I want someone who can do the job for the next 2-3 years who I can count on.
This is similar to my hesitation with locking in to another LW for term and material cap (with guys like Holloway perculating that will likely be ready for that top 6 spot in relatively quick order).
The Oilers have Nurse locked in to 1LW for a decade (well, they will). Can the Oilers lock in to another top 4LD for term and big cap? They’ve got two guys percolating, one might arrive as soon as this season. I would suggest that, within a two years, one of Broberg or Sammy will be legit 2LD ready.
Sammy might be quicker. Yes, I guess you could call his season as a Condor “so so” but I would say uneven. He was a rookie pro and struggled early. He struggled with trying to play the same game as he did in junior – he was so overly aggressive at defending the blue line and the gap that he got beat a lot early. Sammy actually settled in and started to play some really good hockey but then he had that facial injury that took him out and, when he came back, the team was a tirefire. He was playing well though. Then, of course, he killed the KHL this year.
Maybe they’d like Koski.
Lowetide (@Lowetide) Tweeted:
@Alex_Thomas14 He’s eroding for sure, but he still played over 200 minutes against elites and came out with a plus number relative to other ‘Hawks blue. Third pair? Keith for Koskinen? Keith is 37, so Holland will consider him mid-career. https://t.co/6xIvcN1j5n
https://twitter.com/Lowetide/status/1410359425655709700?s=20
Vancouver makes sense if Eriksson is going the other way. Not sure why Vancouver would do that though.
Seattle?
Even if they retain a bundle ($2.0m+ or so), I don’t see where it makes sense for the Oilers
AND
Even if Neal is going the other way it doesn’t make sense because Neal is worth $3.8m in open Cap space to the Oilers – which can be spent on better assets than Keith.
Without more information it’s hard to make this make sense.
Vancouver would be weighing whether or not to sign Edler or acquire Keith.
If Chicago retained half and took Loui, it would make sense….otherwise no.
Its Ken Holland and unfortunately he likes grey beards
I’d do Neal and Jones/Lagesson for Keith. Turning dead and wasted cap space into a usuable asset in a position of need.
The Blackhawks are an LTIR team. So they would likely have interest in Klefbom.to add to their LTIR spending pool.
i.e. Jones and Klefbom for Keith. I figure this would be the deal or something like this.
Getting out from LTIR would be really beneficial to the Oilers. Chicago already has Seabrook and Shaw on LTIR, so they can just pile on Klefbom to LTIR to create cap space to sign players.
Keith is a really nice bridge contract to Broberg or Samorukov. Covers off the Spezza/Thornton thing in Toronto and the Perry thing in Montreal.
Getting out from LTIR is as probably as much benefit as getting rid of Neal. It would mean the Oilers could accrue cap space in season to be able to made trades at the deadline.
I agree but it is highly unlikely Holland would deal the contract before he knows he’s done or says publicly
I think Holland knows. I think he has known for a long time. Klef wants to try and defeat the odds and I applaud him for that but defence in the NHL is a tough gig with a shoulder that has not been right for what? 8 years?
I wish Klef nothing but good health but I think Holland knows.
So are you saying Neal and Jones for Keith? Klefbom and Jones for Keith? Or Neal, Klefbom, and Jones for Keith?
Any or all of the above.
The Klef and Jones for Keith is an excellent proposal. Getting those LTIR dollars is huge for the Oilers and they help Chicago.
No you keep Klef even if you know hes not returning. That LTIR space could come in handy
No, not at all – it would be much better to not have the cap hit at all than to have it and use LTIR reserves.
What do you think of Godot’s trade proposal above?
If Larsson is signed we leave Keith unprotected. I doubt Seattle takes him but if they do we lose Klef’s cap hit for Jones. If they don’t take him we have an overpaid 2LD for a year or two while Sammy & Broberg make their way.
Personally I think it is a win/win and maybe Holland can grind a little retention money out of Bowman.
I don’t think they have to include anything near as good as Jones to make the trade happen.
I would make Jones’s inclusion dependent on a retention. Especially considering Jones’s own salary point.
I wouldn’t call your ancillary bet win-win, but I would say that you’ve done well to mitigate the losses. Those are worthy wagers.
It was really Godot’s idea. I think it has merit.
Absolutely.
But the unprotected bit is yours, no? The ancillary move.
Just thinking out loud about how it could play out.
Retaining works against not protecting.
They may have to protect. Or forego the retention clause and see if you can include an additional player actually named Dylan.
We should leave something for Holland and Bowman to do don’t you think? 😉
I don’t know enough about Strome to have a handle on his worth. I read that Chicago is looking to move him so it shouldn’t take much. Are you thinking for the 3C spot?
Nope. Wing. But handy that like Nuge, he can cover. I think Nuge at 3C is better than Strome.
So say Holloway – Nuge – Yams, with Hollow Man taking the FOs.
Then one has the option of going either 3C or top 6 LW in free agency. …A better chance of signing a reasonable solution.
Strome would be a pretty solid bet as the 2nd top 6 LW IMO (this based on his scoring and on ice stats). 3C would be as backup I think, not sure what Munny had in mind.
He’s scored 2.22 5v5/60 since joining Chicago (WTF?!).
$3M cap hit for 1 year and $3.6M qualifying offer (I think).
Grew up with and played with McDavid. Almost sounds too good to be true.
Agreed. I thought they would make the play two trade deadlines ago actually, but maybe the price was too rich compared to AA.
There’s talent there. The problems are in his head. Bring him to his buddy.
And lol… win-win.
Sure sounds like a similar, but better bet than DeBrusk.
Agreed. And IMO those are the top two “available” options.
Yeah, in that category.
With DeBrusk in particular and the $4.4M (?) QO, I wonder if he’ll be any better value than one of the UFAs.
Depends which one, and for how much obviously, but Schwarz or Granlund at 3 or 4 years x $4M-4.5M. Is DeBrusk a better bet to cover that? Tough to say IMO, especially when you account for assets out in a trade.
Ahh, got ya.
The more I think about it, I dunno why the Kraken wouldn’t want a player like Keith, they’d probably name him captain. They wouldn’t give up assets to acquire him from Chitown, but plucking him in the draft for zilch-ass I could see.
Keith at this point isnt worth anything more than Neal. If youre adding Jones you may as well toss in a 2nd or 3rd and ask for Strome too
I see that he’s declining but he still averaged 23 minutes a night and was -13 on a mediocre-bad team.
I think he could be a pretty good placeholder until the prospects are ready.
If you can do Keith 1.5m retained for Lagesson after expansion draft, I say you do it.
If you can offload either Neal or Koskinen for him, you have to do it.
Wow, I’m actually agreeing with HH… I don’t see any flying pigs though.
Per Nugent-Bowman, Klef and Holland are scheduled to meet and talk next week.
The Oilers have locked in a top 6 LW position for the next number of years – Ryan Nugent Hopkins, a legit top 6 player in the NHL – numbers-wise, even with last season, a legit top line player in the NHL (total production).
The Oilers need a second top 6 LW for this coming season but can, or rather, should they be “big game hunting” which comes with term? I mean, if they lock in a second big contract on LW what becomes of the likes of Holloway and Lavoie (who I believe plays LW at the NHL level, if he makes it)? Are we blocking? Does this mean that Holloway projects as 3C even though his skill-set seems to be perfect for McDavid?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying not to commit to an external option for term here, just asking for thoughts on if its the right path?
You can’t plan for Holloway or Lavoie to be top 6 LW’s until they actually do it. For next year, I’m signing another top 6 LW, but I would limit the term to 3 years max. Worst case, Nuge moves to 3C to make room for Holloway.
Yes, that’s the thing – they need someone in the short term but don’t want to commit too much term as there will be younger and cheaper (and likely better) options in the medium term.
Max 3 years makes sense but that won’t get a Hyman, Coleman, Saad, etc. to sign in Edmonton – in my opinion.
You could still get a Saad as he plays a lot of RW also. Could be moved over pushing yams down to 3R. Id be fine with 5yrs of SAAD. Coleman and Goodrow play all 3 forward positions and fairly well. So you could say the same thing there. Having a Holloway or the likes forcing their way up isnt a bad thing. Just gives us greater depth. I dont know about everyone else but im quite fine with youth pushing up the lineup if its creating 3 scoring lines.
If it comes to it holloway could always move up to play left wing in the top 6 and nuge could play 3c
A good team that is “win now” mode as the Oilers should be would maximize their performance now.
That team would require Holloway and Lavoie earn spots higher in the lineup and, if they do, trade the player that had previously blocked them or move that player down the lineup.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a lineup that would feature players like Yamamoto, Holloway or Lavoie on the third line in fact it would strengthen the team immeasurably.
This is exactly the way that TBL built their dominant team with former top 6 players moving down to the bottom 6 or traded as players like Point emerge.
Yes, it leads to cap issues down the road, but a smart GM deal with that on a year-by-year and a player-by-player basis.
The alternative is to always be in next year country and watching the team accomplish very little while your cap issues eventually surface anyway as your core group ages and needs to be paid.
All of this, of course, has to be accompanied by fiscal discipline in not paying excess dollar or term for bottom 6 or bottom pairing defensemen that are freely available and cheap every offseason.
Good post. One of the reasons to not overpay Larsson.
As always your thinking and logic is flawed. Home grown young D on the third pairing with a home grown veteran. This also allows a value contract moving forward with the young D. There will be a short period where the pairing will be somewhat more expensive. This will be offset by the high value cost controlled D as he moves into the top four. All in now is only a smart play when your core players are aging out!
Contracts age out quickly.
Nice
Good post HH
My vote is for a 1-2 yr deal for a Saad type. willing to overpay a bit to keep the term short. Shouldn’t be a tough sell to get a top LW on a short term contract to play with the best player in the world.
Ease Holloway in and if he pops or Lavoie then that is a bonus!
Nothing wrong with a 3 year deal for Saad or comparable as long as there is no NMC attached.
A player like him will always have trade value especially at the deadline.
Except there is no reason he won’t get term. Maybe not the cap hit he wants, but I’m pretty sure everyone knows his quality and there are no red flags.
I agree with LT he and Coleman are likely staying south of the border. Especially Coleman, it is possible Holland can pitch Saad with Connor.
Not a show me, he doesn’t have to show anything, but anyone who loves hockey first should be very interested in the empty spot on Connor’s LW.
Potential career changing as in HOF type decision at his age.
Yes, a three year deal would be ideal but that would likely have to be a material over-pay on AAV in order to get it done. Negotiating as a 29 year old vs a 32 year old.
The top of the market for 28-29 year olds are going to demand, and get, term.
I see a few directions the team can go to allow for prospect growth into the top 6:
A) Top6 LW with higher cap higher term but positionally flexible. For example Hyman or Coleman play LW & RW and can switch if someone is pushing/slumping.
B) Top6 LW with lower cap higher term. For example Tatar may be less than other candidates like ~$4M range and then maybe not a big deal if he moves down to 3LW if Hollow or other pushes.
C) Top6 candidate who isn’t established yet with lower cap so not a problem moving to 3LW, someone like Warren Foegele.
D) Trade for a Top6 LW with reasonable cap & shorter term, example Killorn for a 2022 2nd.
Any of these options could be workable if we get a good player on a reasonable contract.
I specifically like Killorn for option D but that depends on his NMC and being willing to come here. Hyman <= $5M is alright. Tatar <= $4M short to medium term would be reasonable.
Option C, unproven candidate is not my favorite because it feels like we’ve been trying that with little success for some time. I might be open to it for 3LW if it doesn’t block Benson.
Cooper Marody has reportedly unfollowed the Oilers/Condors. It looks like he wants a trade.
The info is up at BLH.
Maybe they’ll add Benson as a throw-in.?
Marody deserves a shot. Hope he gets it next year with the Oilers.
Who is Nashville’s farm team? Maybe they are looking for a country singer?
Chicago…he will have to pick up some blues licks.
I thought these kind of players that haven’t been given a chance can’t ask for a trade. They have to keep their mouth shut and watch their dream window get snuffed out.
Didn’t we hear Caleb Jones had done this too?
From the Wheeler piece sounds like Savoie could well be our Caufield, blowing up in the middle 6 for under a million.
Extreme talent and already improving his weaknesses. Excellent choice young Carter.
Looked up that he’s already 190, a bit shorter Kessel. Nice. Excited to follow his progress.
Question on the cap room with Klef on LTIR – is that 1.2M of LTIR reserves left (that is, is the cap hit $83.2M) or is it $1.2M of real cap room under the $81.5M
Scenario 1 means the team can acquire a $1.2M player at the deadline as they accrue no cap space during the season (assuming no additional players on IR and a “bloated roster).
Scenario 2 means the team is accruing some cap space daily which is being banked and they would also have apx $2.5M of LTIR reserves – that would be great for in-season acquisitions.
CapFriendly.com User-Generated Roster
One Trade Only: Caleb Jones and 2022 2nd to Philadelphia for Nolan Patrick
FORWARDS (14)
Right wing: Jesse Puljujärvi ($1,175,000) – Kailer Yamamoto 2yrs ($2,200,000) – Zack Kassian ($3,200,000) – Josh Archibald ($1,500,000)
Centre: Connor McDavid ($12,500,000) – Leon Draisaitl ($8,500,000) – Nolan Patrick 2yrs ($1,200,000) – Jujhar Khaira ($1,200,000) – Ryan McLeod ($834,167)
Left wing: Brandon Saad 4yrs ($5,000,000) – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($5,125,000) – Dylan Holloway ($925,000) – Devin Shore ($850,000) – Tyler Benson ($800,000)
DEFENSE (8)
Right: Tyson Barrie 3yrs ($4,500,000) – Adam Larsson 4yrs ($3,500,000) – Ethan Bear ($2,000,000) – Evan Bouchard ($863,333)
Left: Darnell Nurse ($5,600,000) – Alec Martinez 3yrs ($4,000,000) – Dmitri Samorukov ($825,000) – Kris Russell ($1,250,000)
GOALTENDER (2)
Mike Smith ($2,750,000) – Mikko Koskinen ($4,500,000)
AHL BURIED (1)
Kyle Turris ($525,000)
BUYOUTS (2)
Andrej Sekera ($1,500,000) – James Neal ($1,916,667)
RETAINED SALARY TRANSACTIONS (1)
Milan Lucic ($750,000)
DETAILS
Roster Size: 24
Salary Cap: $81,500,000
Bonus Overages: $341,326
Cap Hit: $79,830,493
Cap Space: $1,669,507
Oilers lose either William Lagesson or Tyler Benson to Seattle
Oilers draft G Sebastian Cossa if still available at 19 otherwise they select RHD Corson Ceulemans
Oilers look for a way to trade for G Elvis Merzlikins (moving Koskinen)
Mike Smiths Salary includes bonuses
Klefbom LTIR for the entire season
What’s your plan in the year following when Nurse and JP require new contracts? All plans have to have a contingency that allows the ability to re-sign Norse and JP. The rule is live for today but plan for tomorrow.?
I do like your roster.
Gotta be some AHL’ers (cheap NHL contracts) ready to graduate by then, forcing a cap-trade of some sort. I am far (that’s like Star Wars “far”) from an expert, but who would have to leave is for others to speculate.
Depends.
You’re starting off with $1,66 million in cap space.
Mike Smith still here and is now a backup for $1.5m. (saves $1.25m)
Kassian has to go summer 2022 (saves $3.2m)
Russell ($1.25m) will be gone.
That’s $5.7 million. + $1.66 = $7.36m
$2m for Nurse ($7.6m) and $2.7m for JP ( $3.87m ) leaves you with $2.66m
Lets assume Koskinen money goes to a new goalie. ( $4.5m + 1/2m from above) = $5m
Leaving you with approx. $2.16m in cap space.
The following year $2.25m comes of the books (Lucic and Sekera)
Its tight. But it buys you time to see what you’ve got in the kids. At some point you may have to make a decision to move one the Dmen. Hopefully they dont all of NMC’s
No to Bouchard as 7D for another season.
Is a rotation possible for the regular season where each RHD takes every 4th game off (or the equivalent).?
With the exception of Nurse, we’ve been doing something similar on the left side all of last season.
Plus there are always injuries.
We could have done that this season, Tippet decided not to, so no I don’t think that is an option.
Bouchard has potential to be a top D in the league, it would be horrible mismanagement to have him bench warm. Also cap mismanagement considering his value contract.
Obviously they didn’t believe Bouchard was an option.
I’m betting they do now.
It’s much more obvious tthat he has to be part of the roster this year than it was last year. imo.
Tippett repeatedly said he wanted 4 proven pkers in the lineup which Bouchard still is not. That means Bear and Larsson would stay in and if Barrie is with Nurse, you don’t rotate your 1RD or a D you just signed for $4.5M and is the top scoring D in the league.
I guess Bouchard is going to have to learn to kill penalties.
Or in rotation your PK pairs would be
Martinez Larsson
Nurse Bear
Martinez Samorukov
Samorukov Larsson
Rinse and Repeat
Sure, that has to happen on the job. So basically they put him in during a PK but what if he’s struggling. The next PK they may want to go with someone with more experience, hence the 4 proven PKers. It’s not that they don’t want him to learn to penalty kill, it’s that they don’t want that process to cost games. So last year we had Jones and Lagesson who were also learning to PK in the NHL (and struggling at times). So that’s why there had to be 2 RD PKers. This seems to be how Playfair and Tippett want to run it and it seems reasonable enough. So the roster needs to take this into account.
No Tippett really couldn’t! The reality is he didn’t have the luxury because he only had one two way right D and that was a still young Bear. They couldn’t afford to sit Larsson because Barrie is a defensive liability when not playing with Nurse. The coaches number one priority is to win games NOT player development! Ther was also the problem with rotating second pairing left D because other than Kulikov it was hit or miss.
If they have our all-around best right handed defenceman playing tiddlywinks in the hotel room for another wasted year of development I’ll come unglued.
How come you’re not employed as an NHL coach with all your smarts? Just because YOU say it, no matter how many times you say it, doesn’t make it so!
The Nuge signing is great IF they actually use him to greatest effect. The DRY line showed three players with great chemistry, ability to dominate games. Dismantled PRIOR to playoff disgrace and never really given a chance since. If Holland acquires enough quality to ensure McD and Drai can play apart, no excuse to not go back to what HAS worked and go with it. We all know DRAI/McD is is shiny. But it screws up team balance and does NOT WORK in the playoffs.
Other than Driedger that lineup is the worst case scenario IMO
Was feeling good about Holland after the RNH-contract win. Then I heard him on the Nielson show this morning. A bit rambling (typical), but he stated that with a salary cap draft and develop are absolutely the #1 way to build a winner – not free agency.
Holland has traded 2 x 2nd, 2 x 4th and 1 x 5th (I am not including the 3rd that the NHL stole – Lucic) for no gain.
Holland needs to pick a road and stay on it or this team will stay in the middle of the pack.
I listened to that spot this morning I didn’t come away with the same take as you.
The take away, for me, is that acquiring via external free agency is very expensive (even without such a thing as an “Oilers tax”) and you can’t just build through free agency, there needs to drafting/development and trades.
Not sure if this has been discussed previously, but wondering if Jaden Schwartz might want to take a Tyson Barrie-type contract. Western Canadian guy, led the Blues in playoff goals during their Cup run, coming off a rough year. In a typical 82 game season, I think his level is 20-25 goals, 30-35 assists, and missing a handful of games. I do think the Blues have enough space to re-sign him, but I think he would be a good fit next to McDavid.
He is always injured. If one is going for that type of winger, Granlund is the better choice.
I think it was easier to entice a Tyson Barrie with probably promised PP1 time and cherry picked minutes with Connor and Leon which would pad his stats for his next contract. With the RNH signing there’s no room left on PP1 unless your the in front net presence which means Neal is bought out are on LTIR.
https://theathletic.com/2572074/2021/06/30/the-gifted-evaluating-oilers-prospect-carter-savoie-is-about-what-he-is-not-what-he-isnt/
Wheeler with a deep dive on Savoie. Really think he could be Phil Kessel for us if he wants to be.
“Evaluating …Carter Savoie is about what he is not and what he isn’t” … oh ohh.
I have some second or third hand intel on Savoie. (sorry LT, you can feel free to delete)
We’ve probably all heard that he was initially cast in the mould of the very talented player that lacked work ethic in the gym.
But something at U of Denver rubbed off on him and he’s training much harder now.
It’s interesting, Eberle has never been regarded as a fitness freak.
I remember Strudwick once joking how Eberle was cut…like a coach. lol
779 regular season games later, he’s still doing enough to be an effective NHL player.
These skill guys just need to find enough motivation to train hard enough to make it to the NHL.
And to think Guy Lafleur used to smoke cigarettes in between periods.
Perhaps what rubbed off on him at U of Denver is that school is hard and making money is even harder.
Could be.
There’s a lot of these guys that should make it, but don’t presumably due to lack of drive.
It’s hard to comprehend when you’re that close with all of that talent.. to not go all in with fitness consultants, training, skating coaches, whatever you need.
An NHL career is a pretty good gig, and losing out on one due to lack of effort is leaving a lot on money and everything else on the table.
I don’t remember ever hearing about Rob Schremp working with a skating coach, skills coach, fitness consultant, or trying to improve his first step.
Savoie is literally the only prospect I ever talked about (outside of the first round) before the draft, that the Oilers actually selected.
I’m cheering like hell for the kid. 🙂
Seems appropriate to laud the Commander in Chief of the team after he won another Hart trophy. Let’s never take for granted what kind of talent McDavid is and how much he cares about the team and winning.
Which is why I think Holland has to make it his number one mission from God (a la Blues Brothers) to get him the proper winger he deserves. When apart from Drai he’s been gifted with the likes of the Ty Ratties and such of this world and you haven’t heard a peep from the guy. That has to change now. Next year they’ll be playing in the old divisions and last time I checked the Pacific is going supernova in terms of changeover with certain teams.
Zach Hyman might very well be that type of winger he needs or he might not be. I’m of two minds on the player. Living in Toronto has forced me to see this guy on a day in day out basis and he’s shown that he’s not afraid to muck it up, get the garbage goals, create turmoil for the opposing side, all those cliches. More than that though, the ‘higher’ end talent that Toronto has, loved having him on wing. His work ethic is uncompromising and he gives it his all on every shift.
On the flip side, he’s not a Drai. He’s not a winger that opposing D say ‘uh oh, I’m in for a world of hurt.’ His presence isn’t that of a Kucherov, Panarin, etc… and that’s what I think McDavid deserves at this point. An elite winger that allows for Leon to drive his own line and really give the team options. Who could that player be? Not sure at this point because the acquisition cost would be dear and/or wouldn’t fit in the current cap budget.
Maybe I’m dreaming in technicolour, but I’d sooner sacrifice the likes of resigning Barrie in order to get that winger.
In my opinion OEL is not the answer to the Oiler’s issues on the back end. It might not be a popular choice but Tony DeAngelo (Rangers buy-out) will be available shortly and his cost acquisition could be on the cheaper end in terms of dollars. Bit of reclaimation project for sure but Holland has that reputation.
I know you have Skinner being lost to expansion, I’m betting it doesn’t happen. I think he’s the protected goalie asset out of what we have.
Hyman at $5 mill is really the upper marker that I’d be in any way comfortable with, I’d rather it was $4 mill, so $4.25-4.5 in the Toffoli region is probably acceptable. There are other wingers I’d push harder for, Saad, a year of Hoffman, a year of Schwartz.
I guess one plus side of Hyman is the ability to play right or left wing, if Holloway emerges quicker than expected Hyman can shift to right wing on the 3rd line – or bumps down one of Jesse or Yamo if they hit the skids.
Still, I think he’s expecting to get paid by someone so I’d rather go after Saad or as I say, the one-two year stop gap of Hoffman/Schwartz that can keep Holloway out of the firing line until he’s overcooked.
If one is paying Hyman $5 million, just go out and pay more and get Saad instead.
Lowetide’s roster above has too many $3 million guys. A barbell strategy is better.
Go at least one better player, and fill in with stop gaps. Cluttering up the roster with middling guys at $3 million, and one ends up with a roster of Kassians.
Tampa has shown that good established veterans in their peak career 25-29 cost $5 million something.
Hyman is near the end of the age range, and only has performed for only one team.
Saad is a wee bit younger, is actually a left shot, and has performed well for three different organizations. He is NOT a one team wonder like Hyman, with the centre of the universe hype machine behind him.
Trading for Palat or Killorn as a bridge to the kids makes a ton of sense this year.
NEW for The Athletic: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ future value to the Oilers will be defined by his adaptability.
https://theathletic.com/2680466/2021/06/30/lowetide-ryan-nugent-hopkins-future-value-to-the-oilers-will-be-defined-by-his-adaptability/
There it is!
Very good night for McDavid, though, except in the minds of some Leafs fans (but not their media – since I imagine several of those 100 1st place votes are based in Toronto), the outcome was known with several weeks left in the season.
A little unfair to compare McDavid’s Lindsays to Orr’s. First of all, the award didn’t exist until the end of his 5th season, and he’d have won 1 for sure in 69/70. And for those who think the voting on that trophy is better than for the Hart, there is no way as good as Ratelle and Clarke were that either should have been considered more outstanding than Orr in 72 and 73 and he probably should have beat out Esposito in 74 as well. Despite how many trophies he actually won, he still was under appreciated amongst his peers at the time. Without Orr, Phil Esposito likely makes the hall of fame but I doubt would have been in the discussion for top 100 all time.
Further evidence of the politics factoring in to the Lindsay (or Pearson as it was called then) at least several years ago is Mike Liut beating out Gretzky in 1980-81 despite him breaking Esposito’s points in a season with 164 points and Orr’s single season assist record with 109. While there are some years where it is reasonable to argue that the Hart and Lindsay should go to different players, that year was not one of them. That vote was pure politics among players who still didn’t like the upstart kid.
LT, give the people what they want (or maybe just what I want) and pencil in Benson as your 3rd line LW.
Benson is the same height and 3 pounds heavier than McGinn. He’s been a much better AHL scorer (McGinn put up 27 points in 73 games at age 20, Benson 66 in 68 games). Benson is good enough to be a 3rd line winger right now, and at a fraction of the price of McGinn. At this point, Benson is in Wade Boggs territory and the Oilers are Mr. Burns.
Third line C should be addressed via trade. Goodrow is just okay, but why go the UFA route when McLeod, Holloway, or even Nuge could better fill that role in two seasons? I’m not saying stand pat. If you can swing Nolan Patrick or preferably Kadri, that’s much better. Kadri has two more years at 4.5 million, which is plenty of runway for the young forwards to develop.
Khaira scored well last season and is a good PKer, he should be the 4th line LW and that pushes Shore into the pressbox.
Also, Archibald is not good enough to play on the third line and Kassian is a flaneur.
If this team pays Adam and Jamie 8 freaking million to be the 2nd pairing we’re all fucked.
Larsson $3.5m Martinez $4m
Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) Tweeted:
Jonathan Toews reveals he was dealing with Chronic Immune Response Syndrome. Great to see him back on the ice and looking ahead to 2021-22.
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1410247857077108736?s=20
Great to hear he’s coming back. That’s a brutal thing to go through, I’m no Chicago fan but he’s a stand up player, delighted he’ll be back in the league.
I hope the kid makes a full recovery. The league is way better with him in it.
“We’re back! TSN1260 at 10 this morning, it’s the only day this week so get ’em while they’re hot!”
Oh great. So now we’ve got to wait until Thursday for news of the Larsson signing.
‘…while getting passed over in the easier ones.’
Leon not being on the 2nd All Star team is just another example. Better to much, much better than Huberdeau in most, if not all, metrics. From TOI to +- to Pts, 5v5 stats, PP stats, everything. My personal favorite is TOI. Leon played 201:05 more 5v5 minutes and was +22. How this player, the 2nd leading scorer in the league, is not an All Star is baffling.
I think it’s positional. The whole Ovechkin RW LW thing, blocking Hall.
The voters probably used the (lame) rationale that Leon is a center?
Good analogy. Had to chuckle when reminded of Hall getting screwed on that one.
Leon played almost 2/3 of his 5/5 minutes without McDavid, plus even when he played with McDavid, it was debatable as to who the center was shift to shift. Pretty tough to call him a winger for this season’s all star votes. He probably had a stronger claim in 18/19 when he got votes and wing and center and he was more of a winger that year.
You have to go back to 1961 to find where 2 centers from the same team were 1st and 2nd team all stars (Beliveau/H. Richard). Gretzky/Messier were the same year only after Wayne went to LA (89/90). None of Yzerman/Federov, Sakic/Forsberg, or Crosby/Malkin have turned the trick even though all those players have several all star selections each. I think for both to have a real shot to make it at center in one season, they will have to play separately 5 on 5 for 80-90%% of the time or more and still finish 1-2 among centers in scoring.
Joel Osbourne. Jays. Enough said.
Except maybe all the upsets in footy.
Whoa!…..18 spots left!
I wonder how many hours Ken and Dave spend in the office, feet up, cold coffee, just staring at the whiteboard?
With an abacus, some carbon paper, and some duo-tangs.
duo-tangs lol, I had to think for a second to remember what they are.
Is Bouchard still eligible for the Calder? Might be the best chance for an Oiler to win one if he does get Barrie’s role next year in terms of powerplay time.
No
Correct, played 6 games or more twice so he’s no longer eligible.
No. But if he had matriculated in the KHL he would be.
He would of been better off in Europe running the PP and getting minutes then driving cab for the Oilers and having to listen to their lame excuses why they weren’t playing him.
Thankfully, he was able to play in Europe and run a PP and also get to play NHL games and practice with the likes of McDavid, Leon and Nurse on a daily basis and learn how to be a pro, etc. from those guys.
I wonder if playing against McDavid in practice would have benefits?
Having legit established NHL players, playing well, ahead of him is a lame excuse? That’s interesting.
Is Konovalov eligible? Asking for a friend.
Being an Edmontonian transplanted out east, I don’t get many opportunities to catch 97 in the flesh. Did once in Edmonton. Flew out to catch one last game in the old barn, the second to last ever, a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Flames, if you recall. I believe it was 5-0. Could have flown to Amsterdam and had way more fun in the same amount of time and for the same dollar.
Since, me and my wife have attended one Oiler road game per year when they swing out here. Few times in Montreal, once in Toronto – and then once we booked it down to Philadelphia where my wife’s sister lives. Her and her boyfriend know nothing of hockey, so we dragged them with us.
We are also Gritty Stans in this house so would prove to be a great afternoon win, lose, or draw. Well, it was a loss. Not without its fair share of memories – the greatest being the goal 97 scored, pictured above, and our seats were damn near that exact angle. From the nosebleeds, but still… To see that goal develop, the touch from Kassian, the roof with half of south Philly hanging off him…
Greatness.
I am cursed. I think I’ve seen Connor play 4 times live, and I believe his boxcars have been 0-0-0 -5
ouch! Hope you have better luck going forward.
chuckle….
That’s like a reverse lotto win.
Seriously. What are the odds.
Never, ever, ever go to a game.
I’m reverse that with Neal. He’s scored every time I’ve went to a game that he’s played in – including the 2 goal game against LA, and the 3 goal new year game against the Rangers (last game I was at).
*granted I only made it to those two games that season due to my daughter being born right in the middle of October 😀
No “Nuge Locked n’ Loaded” post. Nice off speed pitch. Sa-wing batta batta.
“… their (PWHA) unanimous selection of McDavid is a strong and important statement about a truly special talent.”
Will it result in any changes to the way the game is officiated?
“Talent so special, we want to challenge him with even fewer penalties drawn in 2022. Opposing team will also be required to enlist one 6th skater hereafter called ‘slasher’ or ‘interferer’ “
Only way to know if greatness is ‘true.’
Will it result in any changes to the way the game is officiated?
Probably not.
But surely the Lindsay means there are players who are enticed to consider Edmonton as a destination worth considering.
That Oleksiak deal would be a disaster. Hyman is overrated.
Agreed, both contracts would be regretted almost immediately.
I really think Kulikov is a good stop-gap solution. You need someone on a one or perhaps two year deal, because Samorukov/Broberg will not be long.
Downvote from me on McGinn or Woodrow at those prices. Put Benson in the lineup. I Holloway will be in the AHL for one year max.
Save your money for a really good LW (Hall) and an elite 3rd line C (via trade Kadri would be my target, and then Nolan Patrick).
Your saying get Kulikov just to piss in my cornflakes. Kulikov sucks shit. His stats prove it, the eye test proves it, and every Winnipeg Jets fan knows it.
Maybe give Andrew Ferrence a call…see if he wants 2M free money. I mean, if your signing Kulikov….mayas well sign Ferrence too.
I don’t believe recent stats prove it – to the contrary, no?
Depends which stats you want to look at OP. Any one of us can cherrypick stats to manipulate good or bad. Are you asking about the stats with the Oil? The stats with the NJD? Or the stats With Winnipeg? The overall body of work? I did not see him play much in Jersey, but when I did watch, he was just as poor as he was in Winnipeg where I watched him nightly….fumble and bumble for 3 years. The player is a giveaway machine. But I’ve mentioned all this before. ;many here seem to think he walks on water and deserves a contract. Not sure what led them there, or why. I saw him very bad in Edmonton too…not only that, he made Larsson worse too.. Larsson was not good in the playoffs and I attribute most of that to his new partner.
If you are signing Kulikov as a #6 or #7 d that is fine. The player can play to this level. If you are signing him as a #3 or #4 d, then your making the same mistake that Winnipeg did. Think Andrew Ferrence levels. The two could have been twins if they were judged by their talent.
Connor’s greatness is worthy of the accolades he receives.
As for his future LW I think the best target is one from the Leaves. He is 27 years old, a former 30 goal scorer – with multiple 20 goal campaigns. Good size – 6.1 207lbs – and strong skating. Had a down year or two but finished in the Leaves vaunted top 6.
Alex Galchenyuk
That’s interesting. He’d be cheap, so there’s zero risk to signing him.
In the last 5 years, Oilers players have won 4 Ted Lindsay awards and 3 Hart Trophies
You would expect them to be a contender that frequently goes far into the playoffs, right?
Year 2 of the Ken Holland era has ended and the team has won a grand total of 1 play-in game and 0 playoff games.
Don’t blame it on Chiarelli, it’s been 2 years. A better and more creative GM would have fixed it by now, just look at Bill Zito in Florida.
Safely getting to the playoffs is not to be underrated. Might have to change coaches to solve the playoff thing. If the Oilers keep getting to the playoffs, the chances of McDavid and Draisaitl staying for their careers increases significantly.
Tippett has one more chance. Woody will be warming up in the bullpen.
I know you have made some Woody posts and had some opinions in the past that I rag on you for. I am curious what your take on Woody is now though?
Do you see Woody being a coach who could potentially take the Oilers to the 2nd round of playoffs and beyond?
True #BoyWondercroft was collateral damage when I was sending heat seeking missiles targetted at #flattops.
I said his lack of head coaching experience was a risk when the Oilers hired him for Bakersfield.
But he’s earning his stripes and doing pretty well. If the Oilers don’t win playoffs rounds next year, I could see both Woody and Manson returning to the big leagues.
Thanks for that. I haven’t followed the Condors much since Woody has been behind the bench but from what I read he sounds like he has been excellent.
I hope when Tippett is done Woody gets a shot.
Holland has done ok the last two years with the resources he had. The Kassian contract and the overpay in the AA trade were not great but did not significantly handcuff the team.
Old Dutch has a history of overpaying older vets, but was that really his doing or did ownership muddy the waters?
THIS is the summer where the rubber hits the road. Holland has started well – RNH at $5.125m x 8 is good for both player and club. A dynamic #1LW is required and we will see if Old Dutch can deliver.
Strap in tight as it is going to be a wild ride for the next 2 months!
Zito took over a team that had a similar record to the Oilers last year, and led them to second place in their division and a first round exit. What other team did that? The year over year improvement on Florida doesn’t appear to be much different than for the Oilers particularly when considering most pundits’ assessments of the relative merits of each division aren’t worth much.
Wow, why the big disagreement here? McDavid is 24, with a HOF career already & zero team success. I’ve learned from last 2 seasons of playoffs that June hockey is a weak link sport! Edmonton isn’t as good as the McDavid line, they are poor as the Turris/Shore lines. Piss poor job on F depth done by GM last 4 years.
Would you rather hyman or saad? I’m leaning towards saad. Younger and left handed
I think he might cost more. I think Hyman will also cost more, by the way.
not or
and
kidding……;)
Saad. Not even close. Hyman would be great at a reasonable deal under $4 mill, but he might actually get paid more than Saad.
Saad, but doubt Oil sign either.
I am nervous with the reports that Holland is looking at OEL. Please no. Hopefully someone on our Pro Scouting team pulls him back from getting involved.
I also recall a rumor that we were going to sign RNH and Hall for $12 M combined. That would mean $7 M for Hall. Thoughts?
I’m not aware of any reports on either matter.
OEL is okay as long as Holland dumps Neal and Kassian in the deal, and doesn’t give up too much in terms of prospects. That way. OEL cap hit is negative for the first two years in terms of already spent cap.
Pushing already dead and wasted cap space into the future for a player today in an area of need, if structured correctly is not necessarily a bad trade.
You’ve proposed this before and while I understand your reasons, I don’t agree (and I believe that is the general consensus).
We kicked some potential pain on the Nuge contract down the road in order to help now and the premise here would be the same but the pain being push is real and its spectacular. Nuge may not even create pain in the last few years of his deal but its almost a certainty that OEL as $8M for the next six year will create huge pain in years 3-6.
I’m not sure I take OEL’s contract for free even with dumping Neal and Kassian – that pain after year 3 is just too much.
Not to mention, Samourkov may be better than OEL within a year or two. Maybe Broberg as well. Maybe Klef is available as well.
No thank you to this player given his performance the last couple of years.
If AZ retains half, then I think about giving up an asset.
It depends what the add from Arizona is on the OEL deal.
The Oilers have some cap space. They can use it on the free agent market, or they can use it on the trade front.
If they use it on a trade, or trades, the best value might be in solving another teams problem. As long as the Oilers are fairly compensated for solving that problem.
OEL has negative value because of his contract. I’m betting he is still a top 4 dman, and will be for most of that contract. What does Arizona add to get rid of the contract. Do they take James Neal? Do they throw in draft picks, or prospects? Do they throw in another quality NHL player?
What about Tyler Johnson in Tampa? What would the Lightning add to get rid of that contract? Killorn? Palat? Draft picks or prospects?
OEL and Johnson would both fill a current need for the Oilers. And the only acquisition cost would be cap space. And the Oilers should be able to get other assets in these trades. Either players, picks, or cap relief from one of their bad contracts.
I’ve moved on from my Sam Reinhart and Dougie Hamilton obsessions to convince myself the Oilers should be the team to prey on Tampa’s cap situation.
TB is desperate to move Johnson’s contract as you note. I believe a relatively painless package of picks, prospects, and inexpensive plug-and-players gets a return of Johnson, Killorn, and Palat.
Works for both teams. And the TB forwards bring a culture of winning with them.
It also reduces the number of UFAs KH needs to chase. No need to get in a bidding war over Hyman or Saad.
Does that work for Johnson, Killorn and Palat, all three of which have legit trade protection and would be agreeing to a reduction in take home pay.
I haven’t watched OEL recently but those who follow his team have been pretty consistent in saying he’s terrible now. Now perhaps that’s ‘terrible’ as viewed through the lens of former greatness, but still, why even go there.
Saw OEL live in Phoenix 6 or 8 times a year up until last winter.
He was definitely a top pairing guy in my viewings.
Don’t know what happened last year, but if it’s not injury related, I can’t see him falling off the cliff at 29. Too good a skater and puck handler for that.
Maybe he just had an off year, on a bad team in turmoil?
Killorn, Palat…Yes !
OEL, Johnson…No !
Not a huge fan of OEL, especially at $8.25m, and a trade for OEL only makes sense, at least to me,if Klefbom is out.
Starting point would have to include a pick up of Neal’s contract and some salary retention on Arizona’s part:
… $8.25 – 5.75 = + $2.5m /year for years 1 and 2
So if Arizona picked up the $2.5m that leaves a contract of $5.75m /year for 5 years with the heavy hits coming in years 3-5 because we aren’t getting any Cap relief on Neal (regardless of buy-out).
So… is OEL worth $5.75m /year? Not so sure. He would be 2nd pair in Edmonton so that helps a bit. Still, not so sure.
Cannot forget that Neal is a buy-out. So tossing him in a trade isn’t an ‘OF COURSE!’ kind of transaction. The buy-out frees up $3.8m or so in space at a reasonably low cost of $1.9m.
We don’t have a spare 2nd round pick and some team out there is going to give AZ positive value in a trade on OEL (a prospect, a 2nd rounder and a bad contract).
The equivalent for us: Jones, a 2022 2nd and Neal
To be honest, I think we can get more back out of Jones, a 2nd, and $3.8m in Cap space.
I’m ok with bringing OEL In if it involves something like garland and a goalie. If they bring in those guys they need to dump other guys back to Arizona. If you can remember Larson and OEL were money in a pairing in the worlds a few years ago
If we can do something like OEL and Kuemper for Neal, Koskinen and Samarukov and Kemp….well….I could live with that.
I still wouldn’t do it without ARI retaining a material amount.
Unless OEL recovers, which he very well may, Sammy himself may be better than hi in fairly short order. Darcy K would be great but 1 year until UFA.
Can’t commit to that OEL contract – not for 6 years – not with Nurse here and Sammy, Broberg coming in behind – they “aren’t there” yet but they are coming – highly reasonable to think one will be a 2LD in the new few years.
Underpants all over Toronto are tied up in knots this morning.
Not to mention Van Island…..
We get the hardware, they get 2 first team All-Stars.
I’ll take it.
We re-sign Nuge, they re-sign Simmonds.
I’ll take that too.
We sign Shore, they sign Simmonds – I’ll take that – seriously, given their production and usage this past season.