People are funny. Not in a haw haw look at that funny looking fellow way, more in a ‘why do we say things without thinking’ kind of way. For instance, not long ago I mentioned to a friend my plans to write this piece before the draft. It’s about waivers, and losing players who are useful to other teams via waivers. The response from my friend was ‘you’re always talking waivers, no one is ever lost to waivers’ and that was the end of the conversation.
On an unrelated note, Anton Forsberg signed a three-year deal with a $2.75 million AAV with the Ottawa Senators in March. People are funny.
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: What does Oilers’ optimal roster for Jay Woodcroft look like?
- New DNB: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl’s playoffs for the ages: What’s the legacy?
- New DNB & Scott Powers: What it means for Blackhawks, Oilers’ cap situations if Duncan Keith retires
- Lowetide: Oilers pro scouts have to get it right in free agency this summer
- DNB: Edmonton Oilers offseason priorities: A 10-step plan for success
- Lowetide: What will Edmonton Oilers do in first round of 2022 NHL Draft?
- Lowetide: Can the ‘Connor McDavid will ask Oilers to be traded?’ group please sit down?
- DNB: Oilers end-of-season takeaways
- Lowetide: Young Oilers players poised for bigger roles after playoff run
- DNB: What Oilers goalie Mike Smith’s unclear future could mean for offseason plans
- DNB: Oilers’ season ends, and critical roster decisions will define what comes next
- Lowetide: In defence of Edmonton Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse
- Lowetide: Oilers’ Warren Foegele may be victim of cap crunch this summer
- Lowetide: WHL’s 2022 defence crop attractive target for Oilers at NHL Draft
- DNB and Dan Robson: Connor McDavid is the best skater NHL’s skating greats have ever seen
- Lowetide: Why Jordan Dumais could be NHL Draft steal for Edmonton Oilers
THE LIST
- RD Connor Timmins, Arizona: Two-way D, has some injury concerns.
- LW Adam Ruzicka, Calgary: Huge PF has a chance to be a player.
- RW Mackenzie Entwistle, Chicago: Power winger a little shy offensively.
- LD Dmitri Samorukov, Edmonton: Rugged defender is mobile and can defend.
- LW Aleksi Heponiemi, Florida: High skill, suspect they’ll protect him.
- LC Mason Shaw, Minnesota: Undersized skill center is a PIM machine.
- RW Julian Gauthier, New York Rangers: PF with skill, has struggled.
- RW Alex Nylander, Pittsburgh: Skill winger missed 2021-22 with knee injury.
- LW Alexei Toropchenko, St. Louis: Big winger with some offense.
- RD Cale Fleury, Seattle: Two-way defender has some promise.
This is an interesting list, for some reason I spotted big power forwards several times when skimming rosters. The Philadelphia Flyers are about to hire John Tortorella, so maybe he’ll grab one of these big forwards long before Edmonton has a chance. Then again, Zack Kassian to the Flyers is more possible today than yesterday, so maybe the Oilers will be looking at waivers in the fall. Dmitri Samorukov is waiver eligible, I wonder if Holland packages him with some other asset and gets a needed piece that way. Markus Niemelainen doesn’t have the same range as Samorukov, but he’s from the same family and can stay healthy.
TICK TOCK
We’re mid-week and the draft is July 7-8, and Ken Holland’s laundry list of tasks remains the same. Signing Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson is a priority, and I do think Holland will want to find out about his UFA’s leading up to the draft and free agency. I expect the Jesse Puljujarvi situation might be solved draft week, if this lingers it’s likely JP signs with the other RFA’s (usually toward the end of the summer). I think we’ll see a draft weekend trade, the most likely being No. 29 dealt for two lower picks ala the 2021 deal with the Minnesota Wild.
Players who are vulnerable to trade, in order of danger, are Tyson Barrie, Zack Kassian, Jesse Puljujarvi, Dmitri Samorukov, Warren Foegele. I’m more convinced now than before that Evander Kane is headed to the Philadelphia Flyers. Philly will need to trade an established player to get it done, but they have some fantastic talent and will have zero problems making room. Andrei Kusmenko is a real option for Edmonton.
LOWETIDE AND JAMIESON
A busy day on the show, 10-2 on TSN1260. Bruce McCurdy from the Cult of Hockey at the Edmonton Journal and Scott Wheeler from The Athletic (draft talk!) will appear, and we’ll talk Jays plus ELks. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. See you on the radio!
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The longer the Kane arbitration lasts the better. If the dog days of August arrive and SJ all of the sudden has a 7M deal added to their books they should be very desperate to dispose of it regardless of all of the bad blood….SJ has 8 RFAs to sign with less than 6M as it stands. Further…if the arbiter upholds Kane’s NTC clause, he has the power to select only 3 teams for SJ to trade with. If he picks Edmonton and 2 teams like Tbay and Col who likely don’t need him and can’t fit him in their cap structure then Edmonton holds all the cards. Kane 50% retained for Kassian and pick might actually be feasible if everything breaks right.
The field is now set for the Memorial Cup:
Host: Saint John
QMJHL: Shawinigan
WHL: Edmonton
OHL: Hamilton
Shawinigan’s schedule:
EDM Tue. 21st @ 4 p.m.
HAM Thu. 23rd @ 4 p.m.
STJ Sat. 25th @ 2 p.m.
All times, at all times, are Boyle time. (Suggested motto: You’re in Boyle Country!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbApgg4ZoCI
-a new venture for all your badlands needs. Is that right Tex..?
-that’s right Edna
Palat catching Nurse puck watching. Oops…that was Makar.
Nurse giving it away in OT. Oops…that was Hedman.
I don’t get why the NHL rule book weighs different penalties so differently
80 seconds left in a tie game. You could literally skate around tomahawk chopping everyone and not get a call but a wobbly puck over the glass is called 100% of the time
I don’t know of a single other rule violation that gets called 100% of the time
Offsides.
Oh..
How about a hit to the head. Lafreniere hit deserves minumium 1 game. Where is player safety
Over the glass is my favourite penalty precisely because it’s the only one called 100% of the time. Every other penalty is random.
I know we’ve been treated to some marvellous offensive displays this year but, for my money, that second goal by TB, 2 on 2, Kucherov and Palat turning Makar and Toews(!) inside out, was the prettiest goal of the playoffs.
Just filthy!
Kucherov has some of Valeri Kharlamov DNA in him. Valeri easily makes top 10 best players ever.
Been doing some reading and thinking, and I don’t think there is a solution to the goalie problem that’s going to make anyone happy. The names we’d prefer to have are likely to come at prices we aren’t going to consider acceptable. Personally, I think there are probably 30-90 guys in the world who can stop around 90% of shots at an NHL level if their feet are set and they see the shot coming, problem is good teams are able to create situations where you can’t set/see, unless they are stymied by better defenses. If Woody and Manson can help us become a team that plays well in our own zone, we could become one of those teams that “goalies just play well for.” Just an idea.
There are reasonable solutions that would make me happy and they aren’t signings but a trade for one of many goalies with one-year left on their deals to partner with Stu – Varlamov, Allen, Talbot, Reimer
I’ve been looking at this for several years now since the Talbot trade to Edmonton. Finding a cheap goaltending option would offer a massive cap efficiency. There will not be very many supporters of this idea, but here it goes….It is on the record here that I was able to identify Forsberg, before Holland signed him, as an inexpensive break-out candidate. I was crushed with the bleeping waiver claim and what a massive mess that became…
My number 1 target would be Kevin Lankinen, who has played behind an abysmal DCorps in his only 2 NHL seasons. He is 27 years old and has played 67 games over his past 2 seasons. His numbers might not be impressive, but his pre-NHL career suggests he is much better than his Chicago numbers. He has only suffered a right hand injury, so no serious injury history and he is at the right age where his game could blossom. He could likely be signed for 2 years at $850,000 or less. Or even a low-dollar 3 year deal.
I have also targeted Charlie Lindgren, who is in a similar boat as Anton Forsberg was when Holland signed him. He turns 29 in December and is coming off a stellar AHL season with excellent NHL numbers in 4 appearances. He’s played a total of 29 NHL games across several seasons. I think his game is also ready to pop. He could probably be signed for 2 x $750 K.
The third goalie I’ve been watching is 27 year old Ken Appleby. He played 3 games for NJ in 2017-18 and posted a 0.945 save percentage. I think he is one of those players that always seems to find himself as the #3 or 4 guy in the pros because he was an undrafted signing by NJ out of the OHL. He has posted decent numbers over the past few years, but has clearly mostly been the #2 or 3 guy in the ECHL or AHL, because prospects (and the shell of Corey Schneider) need to play. When he has played a lot, he wins a lot, I am very high on him. He could easily be signed on a 2 x $750K deal.
I would not chase a trade for an expensive iffy goaltender (like Gibson) and I would not chase an iffy injury-prone UFA. I would sign all three of these guys, Appleby would be the designated vet for Bakersfield, while giving Fanti or Rodrigue the nets as the #1 in either Bakersfield or Wichita. In a pinch, Appleby would be a decent call-up option.
Bring all 3 of these guys into camp and let them duke it out, but I would plan on running 3 goalies (the first 2 + Stu Skin) to start the season, because relying on a relative rookie back-up is not the greatest plan. As good as Skinner has looked in the AHL, he is still inconsistent and in the NHL he only played against cellar dwellers.
Scary plan, I know it seems that way, but I am confident that all of these guys could put up decent numbers behind a solid D-corps.
Interesting data points and options. Would consider the AHL vet/NHL ready option per LT but we don’t have unlimited Conner/Leon years, and can’t risk a season without a goalie who is has at least been a decent backup in the NHL. DeSmith seems like the min bar.
Nice target, but I expect he would be in demand and might prefer the NE US.
There are only so many starter jobs for contenders, if he wants one of those: Toronto, Washington, Edmonton -> Campbell, Husso, DeSmith.
Of course there are other options for all sides but for cap strapped contenders looking for cheaper younger talent with some experience, and young backups looking for a shot to be a starter on a contender, them is the options.
Ron McLean: “ It is a penalty. You know why? Because it’s Makar. … Tampa Bay’s just going to have to learn – you can’t put your stick on a great skater.”
If only we had a player that was a really great skater.
McLean is a houseboy he’ll say what ever he’s told to say by the State run Station.
I think he’s an errand boy sent by grocery clerks to collect a bill.
He would still be doing weather reports in Red Deer if it wasn’t for his colleague making him look good in a foolish manner. Nevertheless he was making big money then he stabs his mentor in the back over what?? I don’t know how this man can look anyone in the eye.
I miss Don, he might have been too into the rough stuff, but he was a truth teller.
Now we have a circle jerk with them laughing at how stupid they think their audience is.
Don taught me that if I’m really lucky, I will live long enough that some of my attitudes and ideas will not be considered okay by society. I hope that by the time I’m Don’s age my grandkids will be willing and able to talk me along and explain what I’m missing.
Watch hockey 40 years ago there was way less high sticking. Players knew better and had way more control with their sticks excluding Glenn Anderson.
Kiss kiss Mr. Betman!
That’s my Ron McLean impression. Not bad eh?
Wow, Colorado choking out Tampa in their play just as they had the Oil.
Tampa will adjust.
Done. Avalanche got some early bounces and a gift of a 5 on 3 (no surprise, Denver ref bias going on 6 years), tie game in 3rd
Personally I hope Colorado wins so I don’t have to watch the hockey world pretend that the NHL is running a fair league that is okay to gamble on when a team 18M over the cap wins.
Daly says league does not think changes are needed to the LTIR system – that one does surprise me a bit given previous intel from the GM meetings in the winter.
PR GUY: So lots of our people think we run a crooked league.
NHL GMS: Do they have evidence?
PR GUY: Nothing that will stand up in court.
NHL GMS: Oh thank God, you scared us for a minute! Haha you must be new here, we do what we want and never have to face any consequences for it, no matter how corrupt or absurd it seems! Are there any of those peanut butter and blow sandwiches left?
Record revenues for the NHL, per Bettman so, when that damn escrow balance is paid off in a couple of years, the cap is indeed going to spike!
Per Rishaug:
Bill Daly says Kane/SJ arbitration situation could stretch past the start of free agency. Arbitrator isn’t available until after June.
What a surprise
I think this is actually to the Oilers benefit. If his UFA status is unclear on day one of free agency, teams are going to spend on other players. This will push his contract down.
The Oilers need to get creative and they may need more time. They won’t be big players in free agency aside from the goalie and maybe some small moves. If the Kane thing stretches into the late summer, I think that plays into the Oilers hand.
if Kane can’t get the day one big bucks, he might consider coming back to the Oilers on a short term lower AAV contract, or maybe even the rest of his San Jose contract, retained, with Kassian headed the other way. (One can only hope)
Interesting that the agent goes out of his way to let people know they are not close to a deal with Calgary.
If Flames lose Gaudreau to free agency (Philly would do better trying to get Johnny, IMO), would they to go after Kane?
I think that would be great as they can pay for his McDavid level production for him to play with Lindholm or Backlund.
If they do lose Gaudreau, I think they’d look hard at Forsberg or Giroux or maybe Kadri.
Remember when the flames had a deal for Kadri and he said, nope, no thank you?
That was fantastic, and still is.
Neither of those guys would sign in Calgary unless they were completely overpaid…..and even then not sure they would lol
I was wondering if you folks think the heat wave in the states will affect the games going forward. It is pretty crazy right now.
The two teams have agreed to play the game in an indoors arena.
A better question is, can COL keep the lights on?
could get pretty warm with an arena full of crazy fans.
Interesting. Colorado is pretty high, Florida may be a problem .
Jailowe talking about Woody, other coaches getting hired
Holland is just waiting until the market is set so he can pay top cheddar for Woodman
Zing!
Terry Jones
@byterryjones
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22m
-30-
Terry Jones
@byterryjones
My last scoop. At 1 p.m. today, after beginning my career at The Edmonton Journal in 1967 I received a phone call from Toronto informing me my position had been eliminated by Post Media. Thank you all so much for reading. Hardly the way I hoped it would end. -30-
Assholes. Nobody loves the Oilers more than Mr.Jones.
He undoubtedly has a generous defined benefit pension, and there is substack.
Postmedia Network – Wikipedia
These guys are worth knowing about, as per the above link they control 90% of Canadian dailies and weeklies. Basically, if it isn’t CBC, the Beaverton, the Tyee or the Narwhal, Postmedia owns it.
Black Press is also a huge player:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Press
They own the “local” paper on Haida Gwaii of all places. Damn thing never turned a profit without government subsidies, so of course a bunch of billionaires bought it. And continue to collect those subsidies. Damn welfare billionaires, dodging taxes and living on handouts while we have to work for a living paying for their space ships. *shakes fist* IMO consolidation of media allows consolidation of ideologies, narrows the Overton window, and limits the ability of voters to consider different perspectives and reach nuanced conclusions. “Beware him who would deny you knowledge, for in his heart, he deems himself your master.”
Okay got on a tangent there, sorry. Getting back to the point, I’ve read Mr. Jones’ work for a long time. I was glad he was spared the axe when Postmedia first took over both Edmonton papers. Fifty newspapers owned by fifty people employ fifty sports writers. Fifty newspapers owned by one person employ two or three sports writers. Sucks for the writers and the readers, who have fewer perspectives to read, but at least those hardworking billionaires are making bank. *whaps himself on the nose with a rolled up newspaper* Sorry I’ll be good.
I find this sad news.
I never like to see people lose their jobs, so this is unfortunate. I certainly can’t say I agreed with all of his points of view, particularly his over the top criticism of Mikko after bad games while ignoring the many good games he did have, since that didn’t fit the narrative. That being said, there was not a bigger booster of all things Edmonton than Terry Jones and for that he will be missed.
Mikko is thankfully gone, he was a nice guy, he made over 16 million for 1 play-in win. Now he’s in Switzerland neighbours with Shania Twain. Mercifully he won’t beat his record of letting in the first 4 shots for Goals. I would of personally drove him to a airport free of change. I don’t want a team of smiley nice people. I want a Stanley cup with pricks that are nastier then Kane.
When I was a kid and cheering for the 80s Oilers, the violence just seemed normal. Now when I youtube “mark messier elbow”, I’m sickened. I get that that was a different time, I’m not judging, I’m just saying that knowing what I know today I do not want to watch a sport with that kind of culture. Being a decent person matters more to me than supporting one particular hockey team. I stopped playing goal for a team because I thought they were dirty players (an indoor soccer team of all things, there are some filthy players there). I’m an athlete first and a sports fan second, and I would rather lose fairly than cheat to win, or worse yet, intentionally risk my opponent’s health to win. If the Oilers win a Cup with a bunch of Marchands, Kadris and Tkachuks, I won’t be watching.
Why do you think Nuge can’t win a face-off because he doesn’t cheat. Only cheaters are good face-off men. Did Bobby Clarke ever lose a face-off. Speaking of Clarke Utube Clarke breaking Kharlamov ankle. Nasty
Thanks for your perspective, very much appreciated.
I’ve always thought Koskinen was really, really technically strong and used his size incredibly well. I think his reputation did not reflect his ability because, to my eye, the most difficult saves he made usually appeared very easy. My lasting memory of Koskinen will be HDSC’s “just hitting him” while he is in perfect position with really good post integration. For others, their lasting memory will be him whiffing on the 4th shot of That Game. That’s cool too.
I was a big fan at first I think it was Kurri who told the boys back home that Mikko has done his time had he”s mentally ready to come back to the NHL. He just never improved after the first year and they obviously couldn’t trust him in the pressure cooker games. Edmonton is hard on Goalies because we’ve had the best on many occasions. When we won our fifth cup you couldn’t score on Ranford after the first round unless it was on scramble with 4 shots. I’ll take Tommy fuking Salo over Mikko or Smith. Speaking of Smith he’s going to ride off to the LTIR Sunset next year. Boook it!!
I think Spec, Matheson, Jones and Ryan want a busy summer to write about and entertain the Oiler hockey fans all summer long – look at that lazy Holland not addressing those big contracts … we need to change those big contracts for this big contracts.
Apparently 30% of the conference final team needs to be traded off the team.
Holland had that summer last year, this year is internal growth, it is boring for the hockey fan. Go to Alberta Beach and watch the water lap onto shore, maybe the Pope will walk by and you will have a Summer of 22 story???
The dream we can trade all our expense guys and get the same or better performance for way less does not happen across 6 players.
Not Jones.
I think Hoglander would be a good acquisition. No idea on costs or availability, but he played with skill, has a great motor, and was inexpensive. Not big but physical play was not a problem.
Funny you mention this, I like the player as well. Probably a 3rd line player – but I love the compete. I doubt Vancouver wants to let him go though.
He is, essentially, Vancouver’s version of Yamamoto.
Why does he score more like Kassian? Or Derek Ryan?
In 20/21 season he was giving the Oilers defence fits. He was around the puck, on the puck. He regressed this past season, but I think he would be a bargain at 1M easy.
I like the stories of how Joe Sakic goes about acquiring players.
He doesn’t wait and then go work the phones to see whos out there. He identifies targets early, he identifies types his team needs, who may or may not be available, and works the other GM until a bargain can be struck.
I assume you are referring to this story in the Athletic this morning.
https://theathletic.com/3365788/2022/06/15/artturi-lehkonen-avalanche-canadiens/?source=user_shared_article
You can bet Dawson Spriggings was a big part of the process.
Yes, and also in regards to picking up Devon Toews. Great article at TheScore.
I think when Kane signs his next contract Oiler fans will be thinking “hey, we could have swung that”
Yet you still don’t think it will be with the Oilers?
Im like everyone else, love to have him but there is still risk so everything hinges on price and term.
What I don’t want to see is we let him walk and then find out he signed for a very reasonable price and term elsewhere.
I think Holland will put something on the table, I hope Kane and agent will cycle back to Oilers once they learn the market and allow Holland an opportunity to meet another offer or pass. This seems straightforward but I fear the organization does not always do the simple things.
That sounds a lot like ‘damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t’.
No its simple. Sign him at a good rate.
But make sure you don’t assume you can’t sign him, and let him go to another team.
Not complicated.
Do you want to share what a ‘good rate’ means to you?
There seems to be a huge range of opinions, so at least we’ll know whether you think Kane’s deal ends up being overpay, value, or a missed opportunity.
Dmitri Samorukov is waiver eligible, I wonder if Holland packages him with some other asset and gets a needed piece that way.
===============================
That is my expectation for the reasons you list. Injuries & Niemlainen have cost him. Timing is everything and last September was Dimitri’s time until injury derailed things.
Too bad. I had high hopes for him as a player.
That could definitely be what happens, but I think it depends a lot on what Samorukov’s trade value is (which is inversely proportional to how likely he’d be to clear waivers).
I have no idea what his current trade value is, but we do know that last summer Arizona preferred Connor Timmins and a lower 1st round pick to Samorukov and a higher 1st round pick. And we know that Samorukov’s value has dropped since then due to injury, performance, and now being waivers eligible.
If there’s not much value to be had (from trading him), I think Holland will very likely keep him.
My guess is that he’s this years Tyler Benson, and he’ll get the #7D spot out of camp with the chance to work his way into a bigger role (hopefully with a different outcome than Benson). We were talking about Benson being traded this time last year, weren’t we?
JMO, but I still think Samorukov has a chance to make it as an Oiler.
I’m hoping he gets another chance. His injuries always seem to come at inopportune times.
I just wonder how many rookies Holland is willing to go with on defence in what should be a contending year. If Broberg has the inside chance and Bouchard is in his 2nd year is that his limit?
Does Kulak want to play for 3rd pair money?
A lot of questions and I fear Samorukov could get lost in the shuffle or be seen as replaceable. Too bad for me as he has been a favourite of mine for some time now.
Yeah it’s certainly possible he gets lost, and you’re right his injuries have been particularly un-timely. Too many young D could be a challenge as well.
I think/hope Holland won’t move on from him without getting real value (and it’s not like the Oilers are deep in defense prospects any more).
I hope he gets another chance too, and agree he’s probably a better hockey player than Niemalainen. Woodcroft and Manson will tell Holland how they rate all these young guys as well, if they haven’t already.
He needs to play and be seen by other G.M’s for his value to go up. His first 2 shifts where he got lit up then benched and finally sent back down to Bakersfield did not help his value.
Samorukov is probably (a lot) better than Niemelainen. One would think all involved would like to see him under Manson in the NHL before the team moves on.
There is little doubt that Sammy is “better than” Niemelainen.
Niemo has some attributes, that’s for sure, but Sammy has the more tools and the one thing Niemo is “better at”, truculence, well, Sammy has that in him as well.
Trading young players always comes with risk for sure and dmen seem harder to predict than forwards. I agree he is probably a lot better than Niemelainen. I just think his timing (due to injuries) has put him in some jeopardy of being traded.
“ the most likely being No. 29 dealt for two lower picks” I realize the statement deals with the Oilers Draft position and not the player, but it sent a Chiarellian chill down my spine reading it.
Exact same reaction here.
Our host likes to play with our emotions. 😉
Barrie to Pittsburgh for Kasperi Kapanen makes sense to me. He is also from Finland and this may be someone that can help Jesse along.
Kapanen put up 1.6 pts/60 at evens (1020.7 min) and 2.4 pts/60 on the PP (126.9 min) this past season which are good numbers. Two problems are that he will want a raise from his last contract ($3.2) and he does not PK so where does he fit. JP had better numbers last year and will be a cheaper RW option and he costs us nothing. If Holland does not trade JP or KY then the top 3 RWs would be KY, KK and JP with a total cost of around say $8.5.
I think the target from a Barrie trade needs to be a good young LW who is low cost.
I agree on a LT winger is probably the target. I just don’t see anyone on Pit I like to trade for Barrie. I like KY but he is too small to play his style for a long time. I’m concerned his injuries will add up over time.
ZK probably will be gone
Barrie to the NYI in the Varlamov and/or Mayfield deal.
Lou L. has expressly stated his desire to improve offence from the back-end.
I wonder what it would cost to get both of them (if Varlamov has a change of heart on Edmonton)?
Maybe Barrie and the 1st? That’s a lot for two guys with only one year left on their deals, but a starter/1A goalie and a quality RD for under $6.5M is a lot of value.
That might be a trade that Jesse is worked in to?
There is also Beauvillier but I think his contract is looking a bit bloated these days.
Potentially Puljujarvi, I guess. And no, Beauvallier doesn’t look like a good target for the Oilers.
As far as waivers go remember that Ned was waived by Carolina the previous season and no one picked him up
Yep.
Stolarz. Forsberg. Two good backups. Stolarz traded for Talbot.
I guess they call them trade trees – the direct and indirect ramifications that team business has on player movement. The main one for the oilers in recent memory was the Eberle one.
Does Smith have one more year in him? Can Skinner make the jump to being a solid backup, and if Mike’s wheels fall off, a starter? If Smith makes it through the year, does he have another Playoffs like this year in him, where single event mistakes a killers?
Who exactly is out there? Does KH even see goalie as a priority?
You mean does Smith have one more half year in him, that’s what he gave us last year. We cant go another year with a goalie circus. Cut bait with Smith and get decent starter to pair with Skinner. This should be KH priority this summer.
Haha the funny thing is that was my position last summer. I was gobsmacked and frustrated by the Keith trade because it robbed us of the ability to address our goaltending (and I really liked Bear and wanted to watch him play for the Oilers more). In the end, if we had expended assets and/or cap space on a better goalie who got us to the WCF, we’d probably call that a win.
Does that mean I endorse a Smith/Skinner tandem? Hell no! I don’t know what to do, but something needs doing. I do think if the Oilers own-zone play continues to improve, they can reasonably expect goalies to play well for them (in general).
Evander Kane is interesting in many ways – including the fact that he hasn’t blabbed around to the entire universe exactly what he wants out his career and his next deal – which is more old school than most players today.
Does he want rings?
Does he want max money?
Does he want a certain type of life for his kid/family?
Does he like adventure or stability?
What has he learned for the past few years?
Because we don’t know the answers to these questions or even have much of an indication – anything on his future is an utter guess.
He could be buying a house next to 97 or be looking to top up his future business fund or just want to move on to a town he hasn’t seen yet…it’s clear as mud. He can do what he wants. He earned that by putting up the numbers and seamlessly joining this Oilers team mid-chaos.
I believe a certain Abba song captures Kane’s agent’s feelings on the subject.
Take a chance on me?
I believe he’s referencing “Money, Money, Money”
Kane’s plan is clearly to marry a rich man to make his life easier. /s
It’s funny because if he decides to stay with the Oilers on a much lower cap hit contract, “I have a Dream” could also work.
“The winner takes it all” could definitely work for Oilers fans who want Kane to come back, and he goes elsewhere.
Haven’t listened to much Abba in a while. Nice change of pace.
Mama Mia?
Another town, Another train?
Disillusion?
Dum Dum Diddle?
Winner takes it all?
Yeah, okay i had to look those up, but there were so many! Im not disc jockey LT
Fernando, obv. Kane came within 1 goal of matching the legendary Oiler’s playoff output in ‘06.
I see this situation as similar to Patrick Maroon. He scored 27 on McDavids wing and we all assumed he was moving to bigger contract. He signed for 1.5. in St Louis. Then the narrative was his son was there. True, but also true – he did not get any big contract offers.
He has gone on to considerable success and proved valuable as a fourth liner. But yeah, the league said “McDavid factor” in regards to his 27 goals and he did not receive a big contract. I think Kane will have similar challenges.
Maroon’s agent got greedy and cost him huge. In a twist of fate without being effed over Patty would not be going for his 4th cup in a row.
Maroon never earned himself a $7M x 7 years deal independent of McDavid though.
“No, there is no concept of a ‘cap credit’ for current teams that may lose a player to retirement,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly wrote in an email Tuesday.
The Oilers were told at the time of acquiring Keith that they would gain only Keith’s cap hit and not receive an additional cap credit at any point if the blueliner retired.
https://theathletic.com/3365644/2022/06/15/oilers-blackhawks-salary-cap-duncan-keith/
I like how the NHL makes up rules on the go. Like you did sign this contract with everyone you know.
But I don’t think Keith retires
There’s a few things that come to mind with this. One being that if they were told at the time of acquisition, then they asked. If they asked, then they knew the implications. If they knew the implications and still went ahead with the deal…?
That’s some Chiarelli level dealing. That’s up there with Hall for Larsson 1 for 1.
On top of this, isn’t the CBA very clear on this? Wasn’t this rule included for the very purpose of stopping teams signing contracts they had no intention of honoring?
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. I’m not suggesting a conspiracy against the Oilers, though it may seem like that. More of a Life of Brian “He’s making it up as he goes along!”
When was the last time a Canadian team received a controversial decision in their favour by the higher ups.
“The 2015 NHL Draft Number 1 overall draft pick goes to…oh no. Oh, hell, no. That can’t be right.”
Found footage!
That wasn’t a “decision”, that was pure chance.
Come on, Bruce, you know I was joking, right? Clue is in the “found footage”.
Kubrick’s last masterpiece
You can see Daly in the background of the moon landings.
We’re still waiting!😉
The Flames, when they got the extra third-rounder along with Lucic, because Neal’s 19 goals in a shortened season prorated to 21+ goals (even though Neal had not scored in two months).
Oilers got one versus the Flames just this year! 😀
I’m not a Canucks fan but I know lots of them and sometimes I totally get why they feel the way they do about this league. The completely crapshoot nature of the “NHL Wheel of Justice” is clearly and obviously BS and as near as I can tell there has never been a time where the NHL was a fair league. There is no consistency in this league, there is no forethought, there is no concern for avoiding the appearance of impropriety, there is not even a concern for the basic fairness of the league or the integrity of the process by which games are won or lost, and there is incredibly, habitual, casual contempt on open display for their own customer base. This league is riding hard for a fall.
Lets say Kuzmenko does sign the one-year ELC for the Oilers, what would/will that mean for off-season roster building and procurement?
I mean what can we hope for from him and, more importantly, what can we expect from him.
He had a very good season in the KHL – some like to compare his numbers to Panarin but, of course, Panarin put those numbers up at 23 and Kuzmenko at 26 and, to this point, its a one-season outlier.
From accounts, he’s not a great two-way guy, he’s not a plus skater but he can shoot and pass.
Can we pencil him in as a replacement on McDavid’s wing (or Drai’s)? That seem like a high risk to think he can cover that spot.
Can we pencil him in to the 3rd line as Foegele’s replacement? Doesn’t seem like his game would be suited there – maybe though as Nuge or McLeod are the likely centers and there is skill there.
I’m all for signing this guy, hope they do, there is no risk. At the same time, he may not even be “good enough” to make the NHL team. Maybe he is and maybe he is a legit top 6 complimentary producer? We don’t, and won’t, know.
Can we “count on him” when putting out the vision for the first game in October?
In the two years before this one, he was behind Vladimir Tkachev on his own team in scoring despite playing 25% more games last year (he played fewer games the year prior, but still had a lower P/G). This year, Tkachev managed to play in 4 NHL games and did pretty well in the AHL. He’s definitely a prospect of note with a real chance of an NHL career, but still a jump to expect a top 6 NHL role at this time. Don’t get me wrong, I think he fared well despite being 8th on his AHL team team in scoring. It’s an adjustment, but that’s also kind of my point.
As you are, I’m also in favour of signing Kuzmenko, but would still be expecting our replacement to Kane to come from some other source, even if it’s internal.
That’s all totally fair.
I’d add a few points in favor of Kuzmenko though. First, while Tkachev did outscore him by a bit the previous 2 years, Kuzmenko took a scoring step this year that Tkachev never did. Kuzmenko scored 1.18 points/game, while Tkachev’s KHL high (immediately before signing with the Kings) was 0.84 points/game. That’s a pretty big gap in peak performance.
They both played 45 games in their last KHL seasons:
Tkachev 45 11-27-38
Kuzmenko 45 20-33-53
Kuzmenko is also 15-20 lbs heavier at the same height (or 1 inch taller, depending on the source), so he should be a bit better equipped to deal with the NHL game.
I think Kuzmenko is a clearly better NHL prospect than Tkachev, though I definitely also agree we shouldn’t be expecting him to be able to replace Kane on the 1st line.
FWIW they were less than 3 years apart in their final KHL seasons (Panarin turned 23 in October, Kuzmenko started the season at 25, turned 26 in February).
And also FWIW, Panarin’s was also a 1 season outlier at the time (albeit he was younger).
Panarin scored 31, 19, 40 then 62 points before signing.
Kuzmenko has scored 31, 33, 37, 53.
My expectation for Kuzmenko is a top 9 winger. Hopefully he can grab a spot next to McDavid or Draisaitl, but I think it’s pretty safe/fair to pencil him in somewhere in the top 9 (as you note, with Nuge or McLeod at 3C, line 3 does not need to be a ‘checking line’).
If Kuzmenko signs a 1 yr with us, would he come a UFA at the end of the 2022/23 season?
If he does would it be wise to sign him to a 2 yr contract?
If I understand correctly, no team can sign him to a longer contract. Because it’s his first NHL contract, it’s an ELC, and because of his age (25+) the contract max length is 1 year.
I see average skating not big no particular great aspect to his game fairly skilled euro player
Thats worked well for Holland and the Oilers before right?
Is he a professional flopper like hass was?
From what I’ve gathered from friends who follow the KHL closer than I do average skater is underselling him, not elite but above average especially wrt acceleration which is crucial in the NHL. And his hands are at the high end. People have sort of waited for him to put all his skill together for a few years but it didn’t happen until this year. The big question mark in their opinion is how he’ll handle the increased physicality of the NHL. If he’s strong enough on the puck and so on.
He’s a right hand shot which is a plus. Could he fill a spot as a shooter on the PP?