This is going to be a big day in the life of the Edmonton Oilers franchise, and based on what was flying around last night I’d say there is a mixture of good and bad on the way down the transaction wire.
I’m writing this at 10:30 on Tuesday night, and the current guesses are Zach Hyman, Tyson Barrie, Cody Ceci and something coming back for Ethan Bear. Ken Holland and Dave Tippett are entering their summer of spending, and there is no do-over in hockey team building. A signed Zach Hyman is forever. Trading Ethan Bear is final. Many story lines rolling out over the next decade will have their beginnings now, today.
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 Lowetide: Oilers targets for early and late in NHL free agency
- New DNB: Oilers buy out James Neal
- Lowetide: Oilers top 20 prospects, summer 2021
- DNB: Oilers draft day notebook
- DNB: Oilers come under the microscope after passing on Jesper Wallstedt
- Jonathan Willis: Zach Hyman, by the numbers
- Lowetide: If the UFA market fails, can the Oilers find their 3rd-line centre internally?
- New DNB: What I’m hearing about the Oilers offseason
- New DNB: The Oilers must act fast to address their hole on defence
- DNB: Replacing Adam Larsson
- Lowetide: 5 players outside the NHL who could help the Oilers
- Jonathan Willis: Duncan Keith, by the numbers
- DNB: How Ken Holland’s overpay for Duncan Keith limits the Oilers’ offseason options
- Lowetide: 10 free agents for the Oilers to target this offseason
- Jonathan Willis: Yes or no? Have your say on 10 hypothetical Oilers trades
- Lowetide: Oilers 2021-22 roster projection, including trade and free agent targets
- DNB: How do Oilers fans feel about their team’s 2020-21 season?
- DNB: Five offseason scenarios that could upend the Oilers’ best-laid plans
- Lowetide: Why Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard is poised to exceed expectations
- Lowetide: The 7 Oilers roster spots GM Ken Holland must improve this offseason
CURRENT 50-MAN LIST (37)
- Goalies (6): Mike Smith, Mikko Koskinen, Alex Stalock, Stuart Skinner, Ilya Konovalov, Olivier Rodrigue
- Left Defense (8): Darnell Nurse, Duncan Keith, Kris Russell, William Lagesson, Philip Broberg, Dmitri Samorukov, Markus Niemelainen, Oscar Klefbom (inj)
- Right Defense (5): Ethan Bear, Evan Bouchard, Filip Berglund, Phil Kemp, Mike Kesselring
- Center (5): Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan McLeod, Tim Soderlund, Seth Griffith
- Left Wing (6): Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Devin Shore, Tyler Benson, Dylan Holloway, Raphael Lavoie, Ostap Safin
- Right Wing (7): Jesse Puljujarvi, Kailer Yamamoto, Zack Kassian, Kyle Turris, Josh Archibald, Cooper Marody, Kirill Maksimov
The Oilers could add one dozen players today and still have room on the 50-man list. Almost every position has a story line, including goal where Holland would have to offload Mikko Koskinen before bringing in a replacement. Here’s a guess what Holland would like this team to resemble at the NHL level by tonight:
- Mike Smith, Mikko Koskinen
- Darnell Nurse, Duncan Keith, Ryan Murray, Kris Russell
- Tyson Barrie, Cody Ceci, Evan Bouchard
- Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan McLeod
- Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Tomas Tatar, Jordan Martinook, Devin Shore
- Jesse Puljujarvi, Kailer Yamamoto, Zack Kassian, Josh Archibald, Kyle Turris
Holland won’t get all of that done, and the defense is more porous while the goaltending song remains the same. The top three lines would be improved, I don’t know if this team is better with Adam Larsson and Ethan Bear gone. Evan Bouchard’s main skill will be suppressed by the Barrie signing. Holland and Tippett have different answers than I do to the problems at hand, doesn’t mean they can’t succeed. They better be right, because much of this roster is now locked in for the next four seasons. What you hope for is that Holland and Tippett are still in their positions in 2026, because success has come to this roster. Dmitri Samorukov and Philip Broberg are suddenly far more important.
I can see the Oilers dealing any player not named McDavid or Draisaitl, but a value deal like Bear ($2 million) is almost guaranteed to work out for the other team. If the Oilers trade Bear and Koskinen for Kuemper, and Arizona retains, plus Edmonton gets Kuemper signed long-term before the deal? You can justify it. Bear for DeBrusk? That isn’t a deal that makes sense. I like DeBrusk, but he’s a winger, and Bear can play top-four minutes on defense in a two-way role. The die is apparently cast, Bear is heading out of town. I don’t think it’s a good idea, and the chances of this deal landing in the Cogliano-Petry file is enormous. You can see it coming for miles.
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
At 10 this morning, TSN1260, we cover free agency wall to wall. Just one guest, the brilliant Bruce McCurdy from the Cult of Hockey at the Edmonton Journal, he’ll pop in at 10:40. Hyman and Barrie are done, there’s plenty to come. This will be a day that lives in infamy, one way or another. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. Talk soon! And often!
I really appreciate all of you, give me a different way to think about hockey. No joke.
Maybe, we revamp the team with checkers and it’s not so hard on the defence. If it’s in their end it’s better.
I see trying both sides, Tampa lost 3rd energy/gogettm line. You can’t replace that. We gained 2/3 of great 3rd line. Defence is easier in the opposite zone.
Well I’m glad I didn’t spend too much time thinking of specific lines and pairings for next year. I’d love to see Holland’s whiteboard planning for the next few years. What a day.
Next move for Holland will be to try to free up some cap space by off loading Kassian. He’s basically a 4th line winger after the new additions. Nice to have that kind of depth but it’s not an ideal use of cap space.
How much does Holland have left to play with$?
assume Foegel signs for around his QO.
How does Klefbom ltir factor in the above number?
enough to throw at Chara?
If you fill out the roster with Foeglele $2.5M, Yamamoto $2M and Benson 800k (Turris as 13/14F, Lagesson assigned to Bako) Holland has about $800k in cap space. This is including the Klefbom LTIR money.
So there’s next to nothing to play with. Holland can (and likely will) sign a couple more deals like Ryan’s in the $1M range, but unless he moves Koskinen, Kassian or other, there won’t be any other significant adds.
Holland has enough young rookies on the roster
Well Lowetide you pretty much telegraphed todays freeagent seasons moves. NICE WORK!
Good off season so far for the Oilers. Bad day for Benson though. Hope he likes the rain because I see the Kraken claiming him. Still think he is an NHL player just not with his hometown team.
If he cant beat out Shore for 4L or make it as the 13th forward then we arent losing a lot.
This is the correct answer, IMO. And Benson may well win the day.
You’d think they’d give Benson a bit more of a chance at least. I guess it’s the sideburns.
Foegele, Hyman, and RNH are all ahead of Benson — plain and simple. That said, if they decide on RNH at 3C, Benson will have a great opportunity at LW.
Hyman spent 47% of his time at RW last year.
Foegele spent 77% of his time at RW last year.
Nuge spent 29% of his time at C last year.
Shore spent 33% of his time at C last year and another 3% at RW.
There’s TONS of flexibility in this roster, Tippett has the luxury of being able to move guys around in order to add skilled players from the farm (Benson, Holloway, Marody) without anyone being “blocked” per se.
There is also the possibility of Hyman on RW (Puljujarvi/Hyman/Yamamoto) – but this likely presumes an injury or Kassian being moved).
If Benson is good enough he’ll make it and force his way into the lineup and as high up in the batting order as his play warrants. If he’s not, then so be it. Competition is a good thing.
Oilers should pitch a trade with Seattle for Chris Driedger.They have Grubauer, Driedger, Vanecek, and Daccord now in the fold. That’s too many NHL caliber goalies. They’ll be looking to make a deal for some picks and prospects. They are using their cap space as a weapon in free agency to sign more players than they need in future trades.
They already traded Vanecek back to the Caps.
So. Anyone know when the Summer Olympics start?
There’s a ‘Summer’
Olympics now?
What a time to be alive
So I’ll be curious to see how the Hamilton contract ages. Supposedly last offer from Canes was just over 6 mil and I’m guessing that was advanced modeled by their stats gurus
Hamilton and Subban. There’s two polar opposite personalities.
If we can unload Koskinen somehow, what are our options now for a goalie?A quick scan of the current rosters suggest one of these men might be a target…
Juuse Saros Nashville RFA – are they having any problem signing him?
Merzlikens or Korpisalo Columbus – will they still want to move one of them after losing a promising goalie in a fireworks accident?
Ilya Sorokin NY Islanders RFA
Shesterkin NY Rangers RFA
Thomas Greiss Detroit or Calvin Pickard Detroit both 1 year away from UFA. Is either one worthy?
Did I miss anyone? What is your take on any of these players? Note – we don’t have to unload Koskinen onto the same team we get our new goalie from of course…
I’m curious myself about Saros… good numbers in limited work…
Doubt it that Shesterkin is available because Georgiev has asked for a trade. But he’s another you can add to the list.
Thanks. I have not kept up on all these goalers! Georgiev might be something then?
Maybe Driedger in Seattle? They just signed him, but then went and got Grub for $6×6 so now they have nearly $10 million in goaltending.
I don’t see any of the goalies you mention being available sadly. Maybe Korpisalo but his track record isn’t great.
Like or dislike the moves Holland made in the offseason, he filled the holes at forward and defence is some manner or another.
Missing out on all the goalies available seems like the biggest whiff. Next year’s crop of UFA tenders also already looks bad before any re-signings have happened.
Hopefully Holland can make something happen before the season commences.
Kraken need forwards.. maybe Dreidger for a good forward prospect and pick? Possible/desirable?
saros sorokin and shesterkin are not available
The options in net aren’t great right now. I think the play will be to see if Gibson in Anaheim rebounds, let Koski’s last year run it’s course, then make a deal at the deadline with Anaheim.
Barring injury to one of McDavid, Draisaitl they should make the playoffs in spite of a less than stellar goaltending tandem on paper. But goalies are voodoo – Talbot bounced back after a similar year to the one that Koski just had.
Its not a sexy as giving up two first rounders for 1 year of Kuemper, but given the high cost of goaltending today, Holland was probably correct to prioritize fixing the forward lines first.
Also, they have some insurance with Stalock if Koski falters.
Gibson’s contract has 6 years left (I think) – I don’t see that being moved at the deadline – that’s an off-season type deal.
There will be goalies available during the season, if needed.
Columbus was looking to move one of their goalies before they lost a good prospect goalie RIP.
Georgiev asked for a trade out of NY.
Greiss is blocking Pickard, one of the two might be available?
Are any of these men a fit for our needs and attainable I wonder?
Georgiev asked for a trade before lundquist buyout
I haven’t heard anything since
I think Holland had inquired about Greiss the last UFA period, but then checked down to Smyth after Greiss signed in DET
Not sure if he’s available right now…probably at the deadline though
Saros was just nominated for the Norris, was he not?
Korpisalo was terrible this past season.
At some point, with the cost of moving Mikko, its likely better to have him play out the last year – there is Stalock for cover.
I’m afraid you may be right… I was hoping to uncover a good target though, as next summer looks mighty slim for goalies!
By next off-season, Skinner of Konovalov may have entered the conversation.
Three way trade that could work.
Koski to Buffalo to mentor Luukkonen, Ukko-Pekka, NYR get Dell, save cap space and we get Georgiev.
Buffalo gets a mentor: Miko Koskinen & Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, the Finish duo, can I get a K Alex;
NYR gets cap relief. Word is they want Eichel
We get a slight upgrade in net.
It’s a win win win.
Stalockonovalov
Korpisalo is terrible every season. I don’t understand Oilers fans wanting to dump Koskinen and then pay assets for Korpisalo. Koskinen is the better goalie hands down.
Was he playing defence at an elite level when not playing goal?
Honestly the picture you just painted for next years options is scary. I think Georgiev is our best option at this point fo going a different direction as in a futures goalie. I like the SoCaloil trade idea as it could very well work.
If I’m the Oilers I would just have team practices shooting at Koskinen high glove until he gets stellar at it. If he can make that his strength then he will be fine for next season. A confident Koskinen is a decent 1b goalie it’s just he makes 2 million to much. And unless he experienced goalie voodoo he’s likely one more year and done with our team.
Sabres sign Arron Dell and Craig Anderson.
First team in history to deploy a tanking strategy in the middle of the summer.
To be fair I’m sure it was slim pickings for them.
They might be thinking of playing them both at once?
The ol’ four pad stack!
Maybe they’ll play them as skaters, like you do when you’re 5 years old, just rotate everyone through the positions.
https://edmontonsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/edmonton-oilers/edmonton-oilers-star-players-pushed-hard-to-get-barrie-back
I don’t know if it’s just me but, this year there seems to be a lot of positivity coming from the new Oiler acquisitions about joining the team.
It’s fair to criticize Holland for some of his moves this off season, but at the end of the day, so far it seems like the players are pretty happy, excited, and confident in the team.
If I were someone concerned about Holland’s moves potentially driving McDavid, Draisaitl and Nurse away from the team, I don’t think this off season so far will contribute to it.
Kinda hard to say Holland drove McDavid away when it seems McDavid is getting to play with more of his buddies.
When one considers the fact that Hyman & Foegel have been training with McDavid & Nurse, and Foegel was on the ice with them when he learned he was acquired… One could be forgiven for thinking it was possibly McDavid & Nurse that were pushing the GM to acquire / sign said players.
“I will pass that message on to my nephew, I know he’s very excited to join the Oilers” – Zack Hyman’s uncle (who is a corporate lawyer in Toronto and I am currently dealing with on a couple of files).
Sounds like he has a lot of passion I’m starting to get pumped up this could be our year.
Zach mentioned his uncle in the zoom call and said he’s a huge Oilers fan. Says he got the Gretzky piece that was behind him from him.
Ceci has some interesting numbers
even strength 60% GF with Matheson who was by far his most common partner.
Ceci was 65% without Matheson who was 53% without Ceci
He has pretty impressive GF% numbers
https://www.naturalstattrick.com/playerreport.php?fromseason=20202021&thruseason=20202021&stype=2&sit=ev&stdoi=oi&rate=n&v=t&playerid=8476879
but is more likely remember for his tough time in Toronto
Aren’t they both supposed to be bad players, according to the stats-crowd?
That’s where my impressions were formed. Hell, I even recall a time when Matheson seemed to be the best contract comparable for Nurse.
PuckPedia
:
@PuckPedia
· 2h
Dougie Hamilton’s 7 year $9M Cap Hit deal w/ #NJDevil
Yr 1 750K Salary + $5.5M SB
Yr 2 3.3M Sal+ 3M SB
Yr 3 10.6M Sal+ 2M SB
Yr 4 10M Sal+ 2.6M SB
Yr 5 1M Sal+ 10.55M SB
Yr 6 1M Sal+ 7.4M SB
Yr 7 5.25M Salary
NMC Yrs 1-5, Yrs 6-8 10 team No Trade
@PuckPedia
·
18m
Why this structure?
Highest Pay in yrs 3-5 – Lowest escrow years (6%)
Almost all Bonus in Years 6 – Possible Lockout Year
Low Salary Year 7 – Possible Lockout Year
Compared to flat $9M/year, this saves approx. $600K of escrow which would never be returned
And most importantly impossible to buy out ensuring him the whole contract and not 2/3
Year 7 can be bought out – its all salary.
This is what’s annoying with Hyman’s contract structure, the signing bonuses in years 7 and 7.
I thought I read that the last two years are buyout-able….any details on what a buyout after year five would look like?
-$4,129,167
-$3,654,167
-$804,167
-$804,167
per Puckpedia- these are the cap hit numbers, the real dollars are different
those damn signing bonuses are a kick in the junk
@TSN_Sports
·
7m
Anderson signs one-year deal with Sabres.
MORE: https://tsn.ca/craig-anderson-signs-buffalo-sabres-1.1674563
Rick Dhaliwal
@DhaliwalSports
· 14h
Ferland : “My wife doesn’t want me playing anymore. So as much as I love to play and want to play, it isn’t worth it for me to get another concussion and be back in a deep hole. I want to start skating, playing rec hockey, no contact.”
Vancouver Athletic
Tough way to leave the game – hope he can enjoy life after pro hockey.
From players standpoint you have to love your union bosses (mafia) for getting guaranteed contracts 100% unlike other pro sports.
Basketball and Baseball are guaranteed contracts. Like the NHL, they have buy out options but not due to injury. The guaranteed money of the star NFL players dwarfs the guaranteed money in the NHL.
Here’s what I’m seeing as Ken’s strategy.
The Core and the Cluster.
Hyman has been given term so he joins the Core with 93, 97, 25 and 29.
Everyone else is Act 1 of a ten year plan to compete.
Four or five sub-prime players that could develop into Core players including Jesse, Yamo, Foegle and Bouchard.
And without exception every other player is a veteran signed for less than 3 years.
I don’t think any of this is an accident.
Ceci has 4….4 years.
He’ll be here longer than Kassian. 🙂
And on almost the same contract. 🙂
drops mic and runs………
Ceci signed just as he’s entering his prime years.
Kassian signed just as he was about to exit.
Jeff Paterson
@patersonjeff
·
38m
Arizona with 17 picks in first three rounds of next three #NHL drafts
Over reaction to being penalized?
Doesn’t really matter much.
The next two drafts are expected to deliver a couple of generational players and Arizona is well positioned.
With a stockpile of 2nd rounders???
Expected to be deep drafts and they can always use 2nd round picks to move up in the draft.
I sincerely hope that Arizona is the team that gets the next generational player.
Hit the scouting reports man! I’m on the edge of my seat, sweating in anticipation for all the glowing reports of the future Coyotes prospects, depth players and how they’ll lay waste to the rest of the NHL.
The Coyotes will rise to the pedestal of your praise with the Canucks, Avalanche, Kings and every other team not the Oilers.
He really has become that predictable, eh?!?
Honestly I don’t know if I come here for the Oilers info and opinions or just to see what Vaudevillian nonsense he’s putting out.
Likely true.
I would pay a great deal of money for a bottle of good whisky just to be able to sit down with you and hear your story about why you dislike the Oilers. I don’t drink very often these days, but it would be worth it.
Really?
Did you get mixed up?
Wow. With that many high picks, that has the makings of some potentially big Offer Sheets. Wouldn’t that be something if they put in an offer sheet for a certain #1C from a certain west coast Canadian team?
Irrelevant…would immediately be matched.
So, off the top of my head, the following are all trending to be powerhouse NHL teams:
Colorado, Vegas, Carolina, Ottawa, Arizona, Toronto, Seattle, LA…..
Not sure if it’s been noted but Holland mentioned that he may not be done tinkering on the backend. There is a chance he adds a depth guy to the right side.
Personally, with Lagesson as cover 1, I’d prefer to stand pat so there is a view to Sammy to play some games if the opportunity arises.
Michael Stone? Ben Thomas? Connor Carrick?
As a big veteran RHD to fill in for Ceci and Bouchard if either has issues, Stone makes a lot of sense. And he should be cheap, too. His last two 1-year contracts were $700k.
Connor Carrick has been around awhile, and his numbers (WAR) have been decent and he’s relatively young (27).
Thomas (Alberta kid) is only 25 but he also only has 5 games of NHL experience. Tampa is a tough lineup to crack. Maybe he’s a hidden gem.
I think Vatanen would work as a fill-in type player, but I’m not sure how much he’d want.
I was going to say the big guys Eric Gudbranson, and Jani Hakanpaa, but man, their WAR was bad last year and for most of their career actually.
Jason Demers, but I think his game is too far gone as well.
I think it could very well be Stone.
When he was talking about it, it sounded like he was thinking about the left side.
I agree a 4RD should be a target
Bogosian signed in Tampa for 3 x $850k, but he wasn’t signing for that amount in EDM (not sure if I care for that term either, but that’s another story)
our Left D
-Nurse
-Keith
-Russell
-Lagesson
-Sammy
-Niemelainen
-Broberg
I like the depth there, and the AHL guys should get there chance assuming they’re ready
The right side is a big drop off after Bouchard
Find a vet will sign for $1M and understands his role as a 4RD (ie:pressbox)
I would say the Berglund could prove be be a serviceable 3RD but, of course, we don’t know that (and he very well may not be).
Yup, he’s in a good spot
He’s got 100 miles of blacktop in front of him and nothing blocking his way
Yeah, Berglund could be the solution (by mid-season?), but I think they’d want a veteran on the right side just in case, and for injuries.
They’ll take a chance on Bouchard (which is a very good chance), but should have some reliable cover.
Nurse – Barrie
Keith – Ceci
Russell – Bouchard
———————————-
Samorukov – Stone?
Lagesson – Berglund
———————————–
Broberg – Kemp
Niemelainen – Kesserling
Munzenberger – Wanner
Cairns
Stone is in the press box most nights. They have 3 possibkle LHD call-ups in Lagesson, Samorukov, and Broberg. Although Niemelainen had a great season last year, he’ll have a tough time passing those 3. Berglund could be a mid-season callup after he gets some North American ice under him. I’m not sure Kemp or Kesserling will have the game to make it, at least not this year.
So they don’t really have a good option to call up for RHD at the start of the season. I know some LHD have played the right side in lower leagues, but I’m not sure it’s what you want when starting them in the NHL.
Well the entire season pretty much depends on which Mike Smith we get and how much Keith has left in the tank
Not quite. The forward group and power play are going to do a lot of damage; enough to make the playoffs even if they suck this season (I’d be shocked if Keith is terrible).
Two years ago Koskinen was the better goalie. Last year, Smith. I don’t know why everyone is tossing Koskinen out with the trash this summer, he could well be the better of the two next season. (I don’t like his contract either).
With JJ and Bear leaving, we don’t really have any concussion concerns on the roster, knock on wood.
That’s a first (in a long while)
From here on in, Kass takes all the fights. 🙂
And he only throws forearm shivers….gotta protect those mitts if he’s going to playing on the top line…right Godot?
This is as close to a balanced forward lineup as we have had in over a decade. Speed and decent scoring and grintensity in bottom 6. And enough pkers to take some of the minutes off the top dogs.
The D and G i’ll reserve judgement until we see if Holland makes his last moves. I’ll admit I’m not excited about our goalie tamdem holding up.
And our D is a bit too reliant on Bouchard making a big move and becoming a decent defensive player and can become our 1/2 RD sometime this year. And our 1D next season.
But I’m hopeful Holland can add a Columbus goalie perhaps and an upgrade on Russell/Larsson at 3LD
https://twitter.com/jfreshhockey/status/1420531182706569219?s=21
Nothing like not signing Grubauer only to trade for Grubauer that you have to sign in one year
The Ryan signing was a pleasant surprise. Like the RNH signing it is a ‘straight-up’ win. The Forwards group is the strongest, in potential, than I have seen on the Oilers in years. YEARS.
Defense went sideways but we still have Samurokov, Bouchard, and Broberg; that’s a win. An extension for Nurse becomes the big priority now. I think we see Koekkoek with a new 1 year deal.
Yamo and Foegele left to sign.
Koskinen is a gift that may keep on giving… thanks Pete. Team needs a goalie, maybe they’ll draft one, I kid, I kid.
Not a fan of the Ceci $, hate the Keith deal, hate the structure of the Hyman deal, and losing Larsson just sucks… but the Ryan deal, for some reason, makes me happier with the world. I give a C+ for this off-season’s work.
Codi Ceci is intriguing to me.
Drafted high. 15th overall.
Had a rough ride on some not very good Senators teams.
Played ok as a Maple Leaf 25yrs old (MLSE Analytics saw something they liked)
Played well as a Penguin 26 yrs old
Now he comes to Edmonton as a 27 year old, with a chance to settle in on a 4yr contract.
More than a reasonable chance we’re going to get to see peak Codi in Edmonton.
Almost like a late bloomer.
What are the odds that Principe makes a “Ceci Rider” reference sometime this fall?
he’s in his prime for the next few years Ceci will cover the bet.
CECI had a 44% CF & -8.3CF%rel on Pitt.
If that is playing well ….. wow
Like LT says,
The folks at @PuckIQ
have Ceci playing quite a bit against elites, last two seasons solid relative to teammates (DFF%RC). Interesting bet. http://puckiq.com/players/8476879?player=8476879&season=all&tier=Elite&group_by=player_season_team
In results that actually matter, he had a 59% goal share (~2.95 GF / 2.06 GA/ per 60). And the team trusted him late in games when holding close leads.
From a farmer of lead.
Ceci has some interesting numbers
even strength 60% GF with Matheson who was by far his most common partner.
Ceci was 65% without Matheson who was 53% without Ceci
He has pretty impressive GF% numbers
https://www.naturalstattrick.com/playerreport.php?fromseason=20202021&thruseason=20202021&stype=2&sit=ev&stdoi=oi&rate=n&v=t&playerid=8476879
but is more likely remember for his tough time in Toronto
He was 48.3% at 5v5 (-2.7%rel). Were you looking at all situations, including his PK?
His numbers weren’t great, but definitely not terrible this year.
The Maple Leafs didn’t see anything in Ceci. Taking Ceci’s last year was part of the price for dumping Zaitsev’s contract on the Senators.
The Leafs signed him to a 1 x $4.5M deal.
https://www.capfriendly.com/players/cody-ceci
If I was a 70 year old GM and had McD on my team, I would push the chips in also.
I have been begging Kenny to sign NHL Calibre players. He has done that. Do I agree with all the players he chose to sign? No.
Do I LOVE the fact he tried his best to add NHL Quality Players to this roster? I DO.
Well Done KENNY. WELL DONE ?
65 – not quite 70.
Of note, Lou L. is 78.
Daniel Nugent-Bowman
@DNBsports
· 10m
“I didn’t perform to my own standards. … Maybe I’m harder on myself than I should be with the way my season went. But that’s how I am. I expect a lot out of myself. I’m just looking forward to this new opportunity.”
My conversation with Ethan Bear: https://theathletic.com/2737612/2021/07/28/ethan-bear-on-being-traded-his-time-with-the-oilers-and-looking-forward-to-opportunity-in-carolina-qa/?source=emp_shared_article
Very hard not to cheer for this young man.
#classact
which you were cheering against until 12h ago
Nonsense.
I’ve liked Bear since his debut….calm feet.
Yet you never said anything like that while he was Oiler property since 2015.
He’s no rafferty. You donkey.
right……
That doesn’t even make any sense – its like random words put together.
This
“Not finished tinkering on the blueline, maybe add one more guy. I’m going to let the dust settle for the next couple of days. With the addition of Duncan Keith behind Darnell Nurse, there’s another young guy in Evan Bouchard who is going to play on an every night basis, we’re hoping later in the season he can push for top four minutes. We’re deeper on the back end. We don’t have a lot of money left, but we do have a little so we’ll see what goes on over the next few weeks.”
Reja, you can stop punching holes in your wall now about Bouchard.
I’ve been a fan since they were called the Alberta Oilers and this is the most mobile D we’ve ever had. We are going to score a lot of goals because of the D jumping in. I can’t wait for the headman passes by Bouchard and Keith springing the jackrabbit Mcdavid.
Holland has been saying that vis-a-vis Bouchard for a couple months now.
Want to feel good about the City and the hockey team?
Go watch the first half of the Zach Hyman interview on the Oilers website.
Ditto the Barrie interview. “I had fun playing hockey again last year and that was important for me,” said the just-turned-30-year-old, who inked the contract four days after the birth of his son. “We like Edmonton. It’s a good fit. It’s a joy to come to the rink. It’s a good culture.”
I believe our Oiler team is better today than yesterday
Just need a Goalie maybe they should preform a exorcism on Mikko and drive all the demons out so he plays loose and free.
Contract year 🙂
Good Mikko is actually very good.
Bad Mikko is scary.
Maybe in a contract year we get a full dose of good Mikko.
Maybe his wife should cut him off so he plays with a edge for the first couple of months.
Does that work?
Go in the bush for a couple of months and by the second month you’ll be looking for a snake in a rock pile.
Truth be told, when Smith mentioned prior to the playoffs how hard it was to not have his family around all year long, like he didn’t see them at all during the season, I was wondering if his “being alone” was a factor in his play – more focus.
I do have a tiny concern about this going forward.
Kulikov was 88% on WAR?
huh!!!
Yeah that stat is all kinds of wonky.
Keith and Seth Jones 1%.
That’s what I’ve been saying.
How on earth could the model be inaccurate? Who could have seen this coming?
Well we definitely have a Holland type forward and can’t say I disagree
Stalock may not be a bad option to back up Smith. He earned the starting role and put up very nice numbers on a weak Wild team just 2 years ago. Still need another goaler regardless.
The Sabres have exactly zero signed goaltenders and will be an absolute shit show next year. Kevyn Adams has made some nice moves to tank his team, and after Eichel is traded they will have a nice prospect pool in a few years. KH needs to be on the phone 5 times a day trading Shane Wright for 75 games started from Mikko.
OMG. I just looked at their Cap Friendly page. You’re right on the Goalies, usually there’s a section for them between defence and IR 😀
I was curious about this and decided to check capfriendly as well. Turns out I was too late as it seems they just signed Craig Anderson and Aaron Dell. (Both to 1 year – 750k deals)
That has to be the absolute cheapest goalie tandem in the Modern Hockey Era.
Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) Tweeted:
We have signed goaltender Aaron Dell to a one-year contract worth $750,000.
Welcome to the Sabres, Aaron!
Details: https://t.co/1gUxfi8Nzd https://t.co/XePrNjxTWI
https://twitter.com/BuffaloSabres/status/1420563560074289153?s=20
BOOM! Problem solved.
Bold predictions:
1) the Oiler’s bottom-six puts up better numbers than any previous McD era team.
2) Bouchard is the #2 D on the team by the end of the season.
I don’t think number 2 is all that bold – Bouchard is good and aI think his style will mesh with Nurse – he’ll need some time but his very “hockey smart” and it may not be that much time.
I find the discussion of the d-pairs amusing.
Bouchard is going to pass Ceci on the side of the road a week or two into the season and play top 4 minutes.
And it will be because he’s that good – not because of Ceci’s shortcomings.
I think there may be some ups and downs and agree he’ll take 2nd pairing minutes at times but I don’t know that he passes him “for good” until the end of the year or so. Makes me not love the Ceci term and/or AAV (half the years or half the AAV would have been good) but that’s free agency for you.
I think Bouchard is the defacto #1RD by Halloween. Nurse will carry Barrie. Bouchard, Keith. And the 3rd pair will get 8 minutes a game and some PK time.
The D and goalies don’t look as good as the forwards but I don’t think they’re bottom of the league either. Decent cover at all positions at least, and i can see an addition or two before trade deadline if needed.
Nurse-Barrie
Keith-Ceci
Russell/Lagesson-Bouchard
[Probably one depth signing]
Samorukov, Broberg, Berglund
Smith
Koskinen (may still get traded)
Stalock, Konovalov, Skinner
I will forgive KH for his obtuse Keith trade if Ryan and Foegle combine for 25 goals.
Or if Keith actually ends up playing well?
Capfriendly tells me Kulikov signed with the Wild for 2x 2.25, a bit surprised he got that much. If the Oilers get some D depth I am thinking something under 1m would be safer. Would be ok re upping Koekkoek on the cheap.
With Russell and Lagesson as 3/4LD, I’m OK on betting on Samorukov being able to fill in if both fail/get hurt (or Sammy blows the AHL away).
Me too, but if we predict 12 or so D will be used, it means another depth D or 2 would probably be ideal, since I’m only seeing 10 or so I’d be comfortable getting any NHL minutes. Can be a vet on a 2 way rather than a Koekkoek type, but with the lack of depth on the right side, I’m not super worried about blocking Samourukov with a Koekkoek resigning.
Hyman – McD – Puljujarvi
RNH – Draisailt – Yamamoto
Foegle – Ryan – Archibald
Benson/Shore – McLeod – Marody/Kassian
Holloway, Lavoie
Forwards look good, cover at every position, hopefully they don’t need too many games out of guys who fall outside these 16.
The forward lines are deep now. I really hope we see Benson-McLeod-Marody as a line next year at the NHL level.
Me too, but I think there may have to be an injury or Kassian trade for that to happen.
This will be an excellent regular season team. Should be a good battle with Vegas for tops of the division. Only problem I see is a top 6 with Ceci, Keith and Barrie is going to have difficulty matching up against the other playoff bound teams. All the same, glad KH improved the bottom 6 today.
I give Holland more than a passing grade.
Solid work today. An “A-“
Please Koskinen and a 2023 2nd for Dreidger. Come on Francis, Grub is your main man Kosky can backup great!
I wonder how Driedger feels about the contract he signed given he was brought in as a starter and is already a backup. #4dchess
Also looking at what Ullmark got from Boston, he probably should have waited until day 1 of free agency.
Site worked amazingly well today.
Thank You LT. Thank You Ryan.
Holland just needs to add a goalie and they can do another season of Oil Change.
Doesn’t sound like that’s going to be in the cards. Looks like plan is to put a better team in front of the goalies and kick the problem down the road to next year. So which goalies are UFA next year?
I think the only notable one is Fleury.
Merzlikins is a UFA next summer too. He fits in with the Oilers group age-wise, he turns 28 next April.
Still could be a trade if he can move Mikko, but yeah it doesn’t look likely.
Its funny nobody quizzed Holland on this during the media avail. Surely it is an extremely important position and some of the warts of the team can be hidden by a good goalie. With all the changes in the forwards and defense, I’ll be disappointed if they come back with the same duo at the net. I still keep seeing the 4-0 on 4 shots that Koski gave up against the Canucks.
Surely Holland can entice somebody to trade a good goalie to the Oilers…
Nugent-Bowman tweeted a quote from Holland re: not getting a goalie. Essentially Holland said he couldn’t get in on the goalies without being able to move Mikko.
I’ve been hard as nails on Mikko ever since he shit the bed against the Flames in there first meeting in Calgary. I gather that the Holland chasing of Markstrom messed with his head. He has one year to prove he still belongs in the NHL maybe he’ll play more relaxed and go a heater like he did the previous year.
This verbal about Mikko not being able to play in the NHL is somewhat ridiculous isn’t it? He has some rough games and stretches last year but he also had a couple solid stretches and, at the end of the day, his numbers weren’t THAT bad and better than many other goalies such as Gibson, Korpisalo, Holtby, etc.
It’s when he lets the goals in that’s a bit of a back breaker. Consistently letting in the first or second (or first four!) shots of the game. That being said, Talbot did the same thing in his last season as an Oiler, then had a couple of bounce back years.
Koski has the tools to be better, he just needs to be more focused and better prepared at the start of games.
Haven’t watched the availability yet. The UFA goalies weren’t cheap either (for the most part).
Mikko *should* be fine, but it sure would be nice to get the incumbent for Smith/Koskinen in place.
19/20 CHI 3gm 13 GA. 4.33GAA
20/21 WPG 4gm 14 GA 3.50 GAA
20/21 Final 4 3 series team 4 wins GAA: .75, 1.25, 1.75
1980’s Goaltending avg .865
Ron Gunville table hockey goalie movement position (PH1 of tracking) comes to NHL. JVB, ROY
More shots now hit the goalie rather than open space in net elevation.
A move to .912 – .916 approx. .048 jump.
way more than doubling range of bad to good starting goalies.
Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) Tweeted:
Hearing the Coyotes are trading Darcy Kuemper to Colorado for a first-rounder pick and defenseman Conor Timmins.
https://twitter.com/CraigSMorgan/status/1420528874144747523?s=20
Joe gets Kuemper at $4.5 million but moves out RFA Connor Timmins ($2M) for a net cap hit of $2.5 million.
Tidy work.
Of note, after acquiring Kuemper and signing Landeskog, Colorado still has $10 million in cap space.
And I think thats with a 17 man roster, with Jost yet to sign. Then, add 5 more guys. That should take up that cap space.
With a 17 player roster and with a very injury prone tender (and a team with a history of having playoff issues due to tending injuries)
Minus a 1st round pick and the goalie the team was confident infront of.
A bit messy.
That looks like a win for Arizona. Good job Holland driving up the Kuemper price.
We should note that they’ve retained $1 mill.
Colorado loading up to offer sheet Pettersson? Possibly trade for Eichel?
This trade in isolation is still a win for Arizona.
Even better.
Pretty hard to offer sheet when you dont have your first round pick
Holland already had a better Goalie in the bag.
His name is Mike Smith
Holy crap.
traded that much to get a Grubauer caliber goalie that will want Grubauer sized paycheck in a year
why not just sign Grubauer
Joe was on it? “It” being airplane glue?
Life is different at the top of the mountain.
One year at a time.
Its basically 2 first round picks.
Timmins was picked at position 32
To be replaced by Justin Barron who was picked 27th overall.
The Avalanche D depth just keeps coming.
Timmins goes from an A prospect/young player to some filler in one day
Hardly filler…he’s a very good young player.
Thing is…Colorado has more where he came from.
On the opening day of UFA season HH has officially moved on from waxing lyrical about the Vancouver Canucks to shouting about how amazing the Colorado Avalanche are.
Been here long?
I liked Justin Barron alot at the World Juniors – he will be nowhere near the NHL this year. Sakic probably won’t make the mistake with rushing him like he did Byram.
This is all nonsense.
Sakic didn’t “rush” Byram at all.
He was ready but sustained an injury.
Barron also doesn’t need to be rushed either.
The Avalanche D depth is spectacular.
Not even the biggest Sakic fan-boy can honestly opine that his season didn’t fall well below expectations. Can’t get much more sheltered or play more with a team’s best player….. and to still have negative relative numbers across the board.
Its hard to do.
More nonsense.
Byram just turned 20 and your heart throb will soon be 22.
No comparison in ability or upside.
Noone is talking about ability or upside – bringing that up is nonsense.
We were talking about his performance this past season – below expectations.
Ya, Joe screwed up. He wanted Grubauer back but was too cheap to get him. His backup plan was Anderson but he missed on him. So he had to give up assets for his third option.
Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) Tweeted:
The #coyotes now own two first-round picks and five second-round picks in the 2022 draft.
https://twitter.com/reporterchris/status/1420531267490177026?s=20
More magic beans. So they might be good in 5-6 years from now.
Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) Tweeted:
Darcy Kuemper on going to the Cup-ready Avs: “It’s an unbelievable team and the opportunity to go and play for a team like that doesn’t come around all that often so I am super excited.”
https://twitter.com/CraigSMorgan/status/1420543284682706944?s=20
I don’t know if I would’ve traded Koskinen straight up and a 1st for him, let alone this package. I’m happy the Oilers didn’t out-bid here. But I also think Koskinen is a fine 1B if he can stop the first damn puck.
Don’t fall into HH trap of choosing any of 31 NHL teams to argue against our support of the Oilers.
HH only has 1 team: Thenmighty Vancouver Canucks. When HH talks about other teams superiority to Edmonton, respond with a comparison or question regarding his beloved Canucks. His team that didn’t make the playoffs last year and has never won Stanley.
Looks like the Pacific is going to be a stronger division this year (assuming there is a Pacific) Golden Knights, Oilers, and Jets should all be strong teams.
Pacific Division is going to be; Vegas, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Anaheim, L.A., San Jose, Seattle.
Winnipeg is in the Central.
Two horse race
Let’s just say Seattle making the playoffs isn’t going to be surprising. Vegas should win the division, Oilers should get second. After that? I wager it goes Seattle, with the rest in some weird mish-mash of horrible-ness.
My bad, forgot Jets were central
I stand by my wild LA for 3rd shout from earlier today.
Wait. I missed all the Brogan Rafferty chat earlier. That’s why you have them above LA!
I apologise for foolishly doubting the great lord Brogart Raffamuffin.
I have Vancouver ahead of Seattle. Not enough scoring on the Kraken.
Oilers could challenge for top spot if the goalering is average. Big if.
Wait for it.
Seattle still has $15 million in cap space and a ton of D to trade.
It’s hard to keep track of all the teams you swoon over. Van, avs, Tampa, Vegas….is it actually 31 teams? You only get one horse in the race, and it’s a big fluffy orca in your case.
All the goalies gone. Oh well.
Maybe it’s a good thing?
Maybe Arizona needs a Koskinen? with a pick or two?
What’s Buffalo going to do in net? They could use Koskinen, but would he accept a trade there?
Hard to believe Koskinen has any type of NTC. Cripes.
Oilers could then chase Merzlikins? Just throwing shite at the wall.