We know the easy stuff, try to sign Evander Kane and Brett Kulak, find out about the futures of Duncan Keith and Mike Smith, sign Ryan McLeod and then figure out what to do with Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto. That’s obvious. What are the underlying goals for an organization that went to the final four and will try to go even deeper into the playoffs next season?
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: Is this Oilers’ year to find a world-class agitator in NHL Draft?
- Lowetide: 10 free agents for Edmonton Oilers to target this summer
- Lowetide: What Oilers assets should Ken Holland trade this summer?
- DNB: Oilers commit to coach Jay Woodcroft
- DNB: Which Oilers are most likely to return next season? Who goes?
- Lowetide: Are Oilers prospects Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway NHL-ready?
- Lowetide: How Edmonton Oilers would benefit from signing Andrei Kuzmenko
- DNB: What if Edmonton Oilers trade Jesse Puljujarvi? The case for and against
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers’ Tyler Benson is at a career crossroads
- Lowetide: What does Oilers’ optimal roster for Jay Woodcroft look like?
- DNB: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl’s playoffs for the ages: What’s the legacy?
- DNB & Scott Powers: 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: What Oilers goalie Mike Smith’s unclear future could mean for offseason plans
- Lowetide: Why Jordan Dumais could be NHL Draft steal for Edmonton Oilers
HOLLAND’S LIST
- Sign Evander Kane or acquire replacement (Mason Marchment, Lawson Crouse)
- Solve No. 1 goalie issue (Mike Smith, Jack Campbell, Ville Husso, Braden Holtby)
- Improve RW depth chart (no one is completely safe from last year’s team)
- Skill and speed on every line, with some of that size/speed also coming in larger sizes
- Upgrade the second pairing (Artem Zub, Carson Soucy)
- Improve depth enough so Bakersfield recalls are quality (Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway)
Let’s assume that Holland’s loud noises in free agency are Kane ($7M), Ville Husso ($4.5M) and Brett Kulak ($2M). That’s a reasonable list, no? Substitute any names you wish, but that gets the first two bullet points taken care of and we have more defensive depth, too.
If Holland can trade Tyson Barrie to Seattle for Carson Soucy (I don’t know if he can) then the second pairing could become Soucy-Bouchard, leaving Duncan Keith, Brett Kulak, Philip Broberg, Markus Niemelainen and Dmitri Samorukov to fight it out for 5-7 on the depth chart. The Husso signing assumes Smith retires by the way.
The nut is fitting all of this under the cap, and you’re going to hate everything I’m about to list. Holland will need to offload dollars in a hurry. I have him buying out Zack Kassian, but there might be a trade available and if so, even better. He’ll have to trade the Klefbom contract, with a sweetener, and I think the first-round selection in 2022 of 2023 plus Jesse Puljujarvi and Warren Foegele will be sent away to flush cap and to acquire less expensive options.
Can the Oilers pour enough talent into the NHL roster to keep Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway on the farm? I think so, but much of the success of any such plan depends on the quality of pro scouting. Brad Holland is getting credit for Zach Hyman’s arrival a year ago, but the real test of this group will be in finding the inexpensive NHL plug-and-play forwards.
It’s possible, and Holland doesn’t have to hit on every bet. I will say this: The summer will be easier beause the holes are fewer. They must be filled, and this summer while the team is on a budget.
Who is the last team to parade the cup as a pack while doing full laps of the ice? Now everyone does a little spin on their own. Not saying one is better than the other just wondering when that changed.
When the media took over the celebration and flooded the ice with cameras, cords and idiots 😆
Okay folks…the 2023 Stanley Cup winning odds have been posted.
Colorado is a +500 bet to repeat.
Spoiler alert…if you think the Oilers will in the cup next season, they are at +2000 so now is the time to jump if you want a big payday.
https://www.sportsbettingdime.com/news/nhl/2023-stanley-cup-odds-avalanche-open-favorites/
Nobody cares what the odds are 5 seconds after the cup was dented.
The implication of his last statement is that he believes the Vegas odds related to the Oilers winning the cup next season will doing nothing but get better from this time forward, since he is basically stating the +2000 is as high as it will be. If he believed the odds would get worse, he would telling people to wait before placing bets.
These odds get updated as new information is gathered, from now all the way through to next year’s cup final. He is specifically implying, whatever Holland does this summer, at the draft, trades, free agency etc., at a minimum won’t worsen the Vegas Odds, and since he is saying bet now if you want a big pay day, he actually believes all those actions by Holland will likely improve the odds that the Oilers will win.
Or maybe he is just a disingenuous hack who didn’t realize the implications of what he actually wrote. I’d bet the latter at -50.
As if we weren’t already inundated with sports betting ads we have to get it on this forum within minutes of the cup being won.
Brutal.
Is it?
Makar is likely to play another 10 seasons and at his current trajectory is likely to win at least one Hart Trophy.
He is a generational talent in the mold of Bobby Orr.
Did I mention he is only 23?
I think you can make an argument that he’s the second best player and the best defenseman. Maybe if he takes another step forward and McDavid takes a step back next year, but right now, no, I don’t think Makar is better and imagine not many do.
Plus, McDavid is only 25. People forget how young he is.
He doesn’t really believe it either. He’s just posting the question on here in an attempt to get a rise out of people and to generally be a s&%t disturber. That is about 80% of his M.O.
Comparing Makar to Orr is over the top as well. Leetch is more in Makar’s range. Calder at 21, Norris right after his 24th birthday (6 months behind Makar), and just took Leetch an extra 2 seasons to get his Conn Smythe but the team getting to the final is a huge part of being eligible for that award. Maybe Makar exceeds Leetch in his career, but the Mountain up to Orr’s level is in the Himalayas whereas the rest of the NHL great defensemen are in the Andes. It is just not even close.
Did I mention, by his 23rd birthday, Orr had scored 400 points (6 months younger than Makar is now), almost double what the next highest defenseman in the league had done in the same time span. Makar has 178 points, trailing Josi Carlson and Hedman. Makar is slighly ahead on point per game. Throw in 4 Norris, 2 Hart’s an Art Ross and and Conn Smythe by just after his 23 birthday and this is a knockout in the first round.
Someone’s going senile comparing Makar to Orr.
Revisiting the 1st post of the day:
I just wanted to look at how tough a get this is.
First leaving out the consistent track record part.
This season 17 goalies started 50 or more games.
8 of them had a .916 or better SV%
Now consistency.
The past 2 seasons (pro-rating games played) 13 goalies averaged 50 games.
4 of them had a .916 SV% over the 2 seasons.
The past 3 seasons 12 goalies averaged 50 (pro-rated) games.
5 of them had a .916 SV%.
The past 4 seasons 7 goalies averaged 50 games.
Exactly 1 of them had a .916 SV% (Vasilevskiy).
Holland said in his year end presser (I think that’s when he said it) that there’s something like 10-12 legit 50-60 game starters in the league, and how hard it is to get one of them.
The goalie described above is far more rare even than that.
Kuemper, Hellebuyck and Jarry (hat tip to Godot) are the only ones that show up on (some of) these lists that are conceivably available.
Now add in their cap hits.
They’re all just as easy to add as Kane’s theoretical cap hit. We’ve been through the ways to shed salary ad nauseam, and if you can get one of these guys then you make it happen (at the expense of Kane, IMO).
You’re getting into real cap gymnastics to add Kane AND one of these guys, but the DoD (difficulty, not darkness) for Kane OR a goalie isn’t that high at all.
A goalie add I think assumes Smith is retired or on LTIR.
-Hellebuyck’s cap hit is $6.2M
-Jarry’s is $3.5M (he’s UFA in a year, so you’d think any transaction would be a trade and sign. His cap remains $3.5M next season though)
-Kuemper’s cap hit is anyone’s guess at this point. Somewhere between $6M and $8M I’d assume, depending on term.
Using Hellebuyck as a middle/high number. His cap is $4M over Smith’s. Foegele replaced by Holloway, and Barrie replaced by someone making $2.25M opens up $4M.
Additional ways to open up money include:
-someone cheaper to replace Barrie
-Kassian’s contract moved
-one of the young wingers moved rather than re-signed for $3M
Finding the cap for Hellebuyck (say) and Kane would require most or all of the above, and gets pretty complicated.
Foegele/Barrie out for one add like this should be pretty straight forward though, and wouldn’t cost the Oilers any additional assets.
This raises a question that occurred to me during tonight’s game.
If Vasilevsky played for Colorado, would they ever lose a game?
Considering his cap is $6M higher than Kuemper’s, probably yes.
$5 million and Colorado could easily find it if they wanted to go in that direction but why would they?
It is $6M because Arizona retained $1M on Kuemper. They’ll need to go some direction (presumably) that pays their starting goaltender more than $3.5M.
Sakic has lots of painful decisions to make. The players should get at a week or two to celebrate before those before they become reality.
Congrats to them though, they did it. Repeating becomes more difficult, but they’ve put themselves in the record books.
Eliotte’s hair steals the show
Not from the back.
Looks like Friar Tuck.
Certainly the best in his position.
Gary too busy to hand out the Cup this year?
Covid.
Makar with the Conn Smythe. Well done young man.
did Connor and Leon win the scoring title
There is no official scoring title for playoffs, but it is possible that with Connor leading in points, it may be the first time it has happened that a player from a team that did not make the final accomplished that feat. I certainly don’t recall it happening. That Leon was 2nd right behind could also be a precedent. They would be first to say though, it’s not enough,the cup is what matters.
Incredibly impressive at the very least.
Kane lead in goals (tied with MacKinnon)
Draisaitl lead in assists (outright)
McDavid lead in points (outright)
Edit: missed Gerta posting this 25 minutes ago
I think Gregor has been discussing this on his show a bit and, while not the first, I think it has happened before – I think.
Geez, Sakic still looks young enough to play. He’s hardly aged.
the hair….
Fuk Sakic and his slew footing team.
Not a big fan of Landeskog after some of his antics in the WCF but that post-game, on-ice interview was something…..
So the Oilers lose, with 3 closely contested games (winnable with decent goaltending), to the SC champs.
OK then, there is a gleam…
2022 Playoff leaders
Goals -13 Kane
Assists 25 Draisaitl
Points 33 McDavid
I think this is accurate…I’m not sure if McKinnon’s goal has been updated on the NHL website
Congratulations to Andrew Cogliano, Stanley Cup Champion.
And to Corey Perry for his historical feat… couldn’ta happened to a nicer guy.
Karma is a bitch, ain’t it?
Holland – don’t sign this f&*%er 😉
Seeing Cogs lift it was special. There’s always at least one guy on the winning team you love to see win it. Sakic is my favorite player who was never an Oiler. I’ve seen him lift it before, but it’s nice to see him lift one as a GM too.
You know…it was also great to see Jack Johnson lift the cup.
After all his parents put him through and the abuse he has taken from many in the hockey community, it was nice to see him get rewarded for sticking to it.
Well with his notoriety he could of been selling cars in his hometown are maybe pushing a wheel barrel in Fort Mcmurray.
But now has his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.
Great story.
Maroon are some other Tampa players are going to pull a Al Secord or Terry O’rielly on these paid off Refs.
It might be Cooper with a Jim Schonfeld tirade
(hat being said, there is some brutal animosity here, old tyme hockey!)
So the penalty doesn’t happen when infraction occurs but when the ref raises his arm? Alright then
It’s pretty clear who the NHL wants to win. Will never wager a penny on this league.
If you think the league signals who they want to win betting should be easier, no? 😉
Good point! Problem is, I naively still believe things will be called impartially.
I just don’t get why the refs, and there are essentially 4 of them on the ice, have become so obtuse?
Perhaps creating, or allowing to fester, controversy, is the modus operandi of the NHL… Jaggeresque (no bad publicity) – no longer a fair tilt in the sporting arena, but rather a WWE scripted / managed incompetence scene. Still love the game and the skill of the players but the officiating is putrid, souring our otherwise glorious game.
And the obfuscation of the league – where’s the meritocracy, transparency? Do the refs even see and learn from their mistakes? It’s like the best refs out of junior and the minor pros who ascend to the NHL suddenly lose their years-long honed instincts to call things as they see them…?
It’s got nothing to do with the meteoric rise in sports gambling, I’m sure.
It was too good a joke to pass up 😉 but you won’t find me defending the reffing. I can put up with the missed calls due to the speed of the game but we all know they ref to the score and where the game is at. Maybe the gambling changes things but I doubt it.
No worries, mate – I can take a dig 😉
FWIW, Colorado are doing a masterful job of clean shutdown hockey now.
They looked half a step faster than TB the entire 3rd period.
Different series if the Bolts had a healthy Point.
Avs probably saying Nick Paul didn’t have possession of the puck … He was just pushing it forward (ala Makar goal vs the oilers) …
Tough start for Makar – takes a neutral zone interference penalty and, after that is killed, loses the puck/giveaway right to Stamkos in the slot for the opening goal.
Imagine if Nurse started a big game like that (which he did in the playoffs)?
Nope, not comparing the players but simply noting that even the top d-men in the league make major mistakes.
Why didn’t Woody play Skinner closing out the year? Would Woody even have a say, does he trust Skinner? I have a feeling Smith will be on LTIR till Feb or even to end his career. I liked Smith and was his fanboy up until this latest 2 year stint. Please LTIR Smith I can’t take another playoff with you flopping and flinching and looking behind you on every second shot.
Jay Woodcroft had Skinner on the roster for MANY games and started him once. After Smith came back, and Skinner was sent down, Smith “got up to speed” and was one of the best goalies in the league for almost two months.
I was also in favor of Skinner getting many starts at that time but, alas, the org was right in “getting Smith up to speed” as it relates to this past season. He was the right guy.
Now, we don’t have as much info on Skinner in the NHL as we could have but, given the team was/is in win now mode, playing Smith down the stretch made sense.
If you are talking about calling Skinner up to play him over the last few games, sure, but, at the same time, he was in a playoff run down in Bakersfield (and actually struggling at the AHL level).
Woody RAN skinner big time over the last few years. I would think he would be fully comfortable with Skinner pencilled in as a 30 game guy – subject to subsequent performance.
Because he was trying to win a job and make the playoffs.
Jay Woodcroft is a very smart man.
So your saying Woody trusted the out going Mikko over Skinner.
Yes, as far as wins in connection with his mandate of “make the playoffs”, Woody trusted the established NHL tender, that has had numerous periods of success in the NHL, and ended up 27-12-4 on the season, over the developing and non-established rookie.
I don’t think playing Mikko was ever controversial. The controversy was playing Smith over Skinner when Smith was struggling with injury and when they were “trying to get him up and running” – that also turned out to be a good decision, as it relates to the 2021/22.
not feeling like we are gonna get Kane.
since Hyman can pay either side, i’d take a run at Nino Niederreiter instead. AND FGS KEEP JESSE!
If the Oilers are able to sign Kane, well, it means a WHOLE lot of money is going out and a ton of cap structuring to get him in.
Presuming they don’t get Kane, I wouldn’t think they’d be out to the UFA market to for a top (or 2nd) tier player at UFA prices.
I would think they re-sign the key RFAs (re-structure a bit with Kass, Foegele, Barrie potentially out) and, essentially, have a similar forward group to this past season with Holloway added – then, if needed, look for an in-season top 6 F addition as they approach the stretch run – if needed.
I liked yesterdays Pretzel, but I love todays Nut.
“Kane ($7M), Ville Husso ($4.5M) and Brett Kulak ($2M). That’s a reasonable list, no?”.
Yes. So reasoanble in fact that I would use it as a baseline. I’ll call this solution Kane and Goalie, “the left wing lock”
Buyout or trade Kassian contract
Trade Klefbom contract
Move any other contracts that are necessary ( Barrie, Foegele ) to add Kane and a Goalie.
I would add to the “Mix” (party mix: pretzels and nuts) a raisin.
Buy more cap space! Just go out and buy it. Send Arizona (or whoever) more picks to retain on whoever we add to the roster via trade. (find a way we can afford Sugar Kane and Salty Soup)
Curious why there is no interest in Jakob Chychrun for the Oilers?
He’s a young, big, mobile, good defenceman on a good contract. Those aren’t available in trade very often and he could completely change the Oilers d-core for the better.
Everyone liked Kulak because of his boots. Well Chychrun brings the boots, plus much more.
Much more meaning 2 knee surgeries with a torn ACL that he got shut down this year for lingering tendonitis.
The cost of acquisition versus the lingering injury history paints a tough picture for a player who, if never injured, would not be available on the market in the first place.
Boots may become an issue sooner than you think. If he were even 5 years older he would be in Klefbom territory.
I love the player, but the Oil aren’t in a great place to give up assets for ‘maybe’s’ imo.
The Oilers cap space is needed for a goaltender and Kane/Kane alternative.
Chychrun requires a boatload of assets, and the dispositioin of Keith.
Chychrun for 3 years, or Broberg for 6 or more. Which is better for continuous contending. The Oilers cannot afford Chychrun in 3 years. And there would be nobody ready to replace him with. Would McDavid and Draisaitl re-sign with no prospect of contending.
If the Oilers are sitting there with Nurse, Bouchard, and Broberg in three years, Draisaitl and McDavid have a reason to re-sign.
Byram and Seider are making an impact early. Broberg had very good year in Bakersfield, and looked better the 2nd time up in the NHL.
Will Broberg move the dial in the next 3 years?
Seems unlikely to me. He couldn’t handle NHL minutes last season. We only have 3 years left on Leon’s contract.
It would be a very high expectation for a young defenseman to do well in his first NA season on NHL ice. He has two more years of development left before Holland’s hand is forced.
Perhaps he has a similar path as Klefbom, excelling in the AHL early in his second season and getting a call up to stay for good in Edmonton. However, Holland is the GM and I expect his playbook will be different.
With a tonne of 1st and 2nd year players in Bakersfield next season, the coach there will have his work cut out for himself. So, I expect Broberg to hit a few speed bumps due to young inexperienced teammates early in the season.
Hopefully the summer efforts reveals a much-improved Broberg. After watching his entire 2021-22 season, I have no illusions that he will be ready for the show early next year. But you never know. But if that is your expectation I would say it is unreasonable based on past results and situation.
I do think he will move the needle by end of year two or beginning of year 3. Just in time to replace Keith.
Chychrun is a flat-out awful bet. We experienced a similar ride with Oscar Klefbom.
Broberg excelled in the AHL in his first N.A. season though…..did he not?
He did a lot of good things, but he did not excel defensively towards the end of the season.
Thus is the roller coaster ride that is player development.
In his last 15 games of the season, his five-on-five possession numbers were over 50 percent, his goal share was exactly 50 percent, 48 percent expected goals. Played some RH side, too, and did well.
Now he did play less per game, but that’s typical of Woodcroft (bringing along players at pace).
https://www.naturalstattrick.com/playerteams.php?fromseason=20212022&thruseason=20212022&stype=2&sit=5v5&score=all&stdoi=oi&rate=y&team=EDM&pos=D&loc=B&toi=0&gpfilt=gpdate&fd=2022-02-11&td=2022-04-30&tgp=410&lines=single&draftteam=ALL
Was going to post something similar.
Broberg had an excellent first pro season across 2 leagues, and IMO he’s going to be a strong NHL contributor (and value deal) over the next 2-3 years (as well as beyond, of course).
I am referring to his AHL season.
In my opinion, he out-performed his development expectations last season by playing those NHL games and is essentially right in line with where Klefbom was at the same age and stage – and vastly out-performed Klefbom’s production in the AHL (caveat: Klef got nominal PP time and that is where the majority of Broberg’s production came from).
“Moving the needle” for me, includes, playing every day minutes and out-performing the contract and, yes, I do think Broberg will do that in the next few years.
Broberg playing mainly 3rd pairing but maybe developing in to a 2nd pair fill-in and then being the main 2nd pairing LD in year 3 of his ELC – that would be massive value and moves the needle in itself.
Replacing Keith and his cap hit as 2LD in 2023/24 for under $1MM – that allows $4.5MM to be used elsewhere, right?
The big question is why are other teams uncovering value for the fourth line 1M contracts while the Oilers are only a stop for fourth liners on their way to Europe? Good question LT, how will they find these plug and play value?
Sometimes when I have spoke in the past the question is “who would i have chosen”
Its irrelevant. I support a hockey team with millions of dollars spent to watch, track, assess hockey players all over the world. I would hire who they tell me is the best. That does not look to be working at all. Besides the off season, how many draft picks have we spent at deadline to get very little gain in the playoffs? Ouch.
Because every team can scout these players and the acquisition cost is equal, so unless you can roll out a Schultz level pitch, the 1M player will likely pick 0 state tax and warm weather. It has very much become a lifestyle league for many (not all) players and their families.
All we can sell is winning. The Jets had it for a few years and lost the lustre. Edmonton and Winnipeg are damn tough markets to sell so like Kenny has said many times ‘the answer has to come internally’.
Its the opportunity cost playing the 4th line forward when the coach could instead play McDrai.
The Oilera 4th line typically gets about 4~6 min 5v5 a game. Even at a respectable 2EVP/60 it would take 10 to 15 games to get 2 points, which give an illusion they don’t score enough.
11F was the right idea whe they need to under utilize the 4 th line to scrap back into the playoff, but that led to wear and tear on McDrai. Hopefully they realize regular season stats is unimportant after they made playoff and load manage a little better next year.
Fair but it would be better if the 4th line played more the 4-6 minutes at evens per game. As I said in another post, we saw in early June that a delta b/w the Oilers and the Avs was the Avs had a bottom six that chipped in on a more consistent basis (and played hard ice-tilting hockey all the time).
Ya, I get 11F means more McDavid and Drai but, ultimately, that is NOT a good thing – we talk all season long about reducing their minutes.
Play them more by choice, not because of lack of options.
The “blame” for overplaying McDrai goes around. The coach chases the W to keep his job and the players chases the Rockets, the Art Ross and the Hart/Lindsay.
There is always a gap in quality (expected gosl differential) between McDrai and whoever else not on their line. The only real motivation for the coach to reduce their minutes are early game blow outs, but those doesn’t happen very often (lack of elite defenseman/system/goalie to shut the door doesn’t help).
The other part of the equation is how unhappy McDrai are re:reduced minutes in their personal trophy quest(esp in the next few years nearing their free agency). How much they want the big prize versus tge easier to attain (for them) personal glory?
I think you’ve hit the main points for Holland’s to do list. I’d add send cap dollars out, or might specifically mention offload Kassian, but that’s sort of implied in order to be able to do the other moves.
I think the speed/skill thing probably gets dealt with thru the other moves listed too.
I think there’s a way these holes are all plugged but it’ll require moving Barrie and Kassian at minimum, and if Klefbom’s contract can be moved, perhaps an item or two can wait till the deadline once some cap space has been accumulated.
Has anybody heard any inkling, from any NHL team, about their pursuit of Evander Kane?
It would be tampering at this point for an organization to let slip rumours.
There is tampering going on in here. But those good at it will keep it quiet.
The rules seem pretty foggy right now. Where I was going, is that there was speculative talk about “teams” that would be interested in Kane at “7M” plus term. Im looking for anything substantial, and wondering if Holland comes in at that number he will likely be bidding against himself.
Brad Holland is a name we are likely going to start hearing more of in the hear future. From accounts, his is quite analytics-driven and the most “progressive figure” in the current management.
I wonder if he will be moved up to management at some point – i believe he’s currently “professional scout”.
I could see the following in two more years:
Ken Holland – POHO
Keith Gretzky – GM
Ken Holland (either AGM and/or Condors GM).
I think and this is a guess, Brad Holland is the Oilers next general manager. Sucks for Keith Gretzky, who has done a fine job.
I don’t know a thing about Brad Holland, he may well be a rock star, but just with everything we lived through with this org, I wouldn’t support the hire. It would just smell bad.
Katz=Gretzky
If Smith “retires” by resting his banged up body on LTIR for the season then there isn’t much point in trading the Klef contract (except to Katz’s bottom line).
With that said, if Smith actually retires, or the team is otherwise not using LTIR reserves then, yes, there would be real benefit to moving the Klefbom contract.
Moving Klef and not being in LTIR does’t really open up much (or any) cap space to start the season but it does two important things (1) it allows the team to accrue the daily pro-rated portion of cap space and bank it for future use and (2) allows the pro-rating of acquired contracts – those two things would be huge for in-season/deadline acquisitions.
Question: If Kass was a UFA, would a team sign him for 2 X $1.6MM?
I don’t know the answer to that question but it might not be no.
I think we can all agree that a trade with 50% retained, even for no return, is markedly better than buying him out. Years 3-4 (the extra dead cap years) are McDavid/Drai re-sign years……
Here is hoping that at least one of Jesse and Kailer file for arb – I have no interest in an actual arb case but the vast majority of cases settle prior.
The arb filing opens up a 2nd buyout window. If Holland has any consideration of buying out Kass, that can can be kicked in to August while he pursues a trade (either full disposal with sweetener or with 50% retained).
Wrong, Year 4 of a potential Kassian buyout would overlap with the next Drai contract…but year 3 will not…and neither yr 3 or 4 overlaps with McDavid’s next contract.
However it’s probably moot because I think a dozen teams would take Kassian at $1.6M x 2..
Gazolla dropped a tiny nugget on the OilStream pod (with Dusty) on Friday – saying that he hears the org thinks quite highly of Vinny Deharnais. I would also note that Woody specifically mentioned Deharnais and added him to a listed group of prospect d-men.
Personally, I’m not convinced of his skating and defending is that much harder in the NHL with the speed (and skill) but I do wonder if they think Vinny is 4RD depth.
Subject to off-season procurement, I think V. Deharnais will see ALOT of ice in the exhibition season.
Nurse and Broberg can make up for a lot of speed definciences in their partner. One can have one big mobility challenged D if he can make a good first pass, PK, and break a cycle, and has a mean streak.
Not sure:
1) Deharnais should be seeing much time with Nurse (top pairing); or
2) Broberg, even with great mobility, is quite ready to make up for the deficiencies of a mobile-challenged partner….
I do think that part of the gap between the Oilers and the Avs were the Avs had a bottom six that seemed to contribute on a more consistent basis. The Oilers continue to struggle with the bottom six, in particular when injuries hit.
I see 23 man rosters that include the likes of Brad Malone on it. No offence to Brad Malone (really, I like the person and the player in the AHL – great captain, great benefit to our young prospects) but that is simply not good enough. Brad Malone cannot be anything more that 15F/16F on a contending team. This player is objectively worse than Josh Archibald, etc.
We need to improve in the bottom 6 – its going to be tough with the limited cap space and, realistically, Holloway the only material internal addition to the forward group (caveat: Bourgault and when he might arrive).
Lavoie, Savoie, Tullio, Philp, etc. – not really NHL options this year and the org is likely past Benson and Griffith in the NHL (but I hope to have them between the NHL lineup and Brad Malone).
From the arrival of Woody and, coincidently, 5 games after Kane joined the team (can’t forget Kane’s contribution to being able to play the big 3 as centers – Tippett rarely, if ever, had that luxury), RNH, without McDavid and Draisailt, had 2.47 GF/ 2.47 GA per 60 for a 50/50 goal share. And that was with a fair bit of experimenting/shuffling of wingers. I have not dug into which winger combination across the 3 lines produced the best overall results, but they would mostly be small sample sizes. And Connor over this same stretch had a 65% goal share w/o Leon or RNH, and Leon had a 57% goal share w/o Connor and RNH. That’s a good performance when there are enough healthy bodies to make it work (unlike rounds 2 & 3 in this year’s playoff).
As long as the Oilers can have a 2nd LW strong enough to allow RNH to center his own line, the 3rd line should be very decent. McLeod did okay when playing w/o any of the big 3, but still had a 43% goal share when on ice without the big 3 during Woodcroft’s tenure. If RNH has to play LW in the top 6, I am not sure McLeod is quite ready to carry a 3rd line full time with the wingers the Oilers currently have., but he is already as good if not better option than what they had just a year ago.
Can Nuge be that “strong LW” with McLeod solidifying a 3C position?
Nuge McLeod makes 2/3 of a strong 3rd line. If Puljujarvi stays he is the RW.
I do like Malone, but our depth has been poor for years. Malone is a “good story” but really the org should be embarrassed that they have such a hole that their AHL Captain has to come up to show them how to hit and take out the man.
Maroon is 1M and dependable. Perry is 1M. We have been signing Shore and so many bottom guys for so long, I can’t remember all their names.
Winning is the answer if the question is why the Oilers haven’t been able to get inexpensive vets to take discounts to play with them.
Malone is just a spot filler instead of putting in another $1million dollar spot filler that Holland might pick up in free agency.
I think Holland should consider targetting JT Miller in lieu of chasing Kane.
Pros:
cons:
This is an excellent idea but I don’t know the Canucks would do business with the Oilers.
But, if so, the Canucks are reportedly looking for a first round pick, an established young player and a blue chip prospect.
Rick Dhaliwal reported this week that Miller is indeed being shopped with Washington showing significant interest now that Nick Backstrom’s career may be over.
The Canucks and Oilers haven’t swapped many players in a couple of decades at least. (Gagner for Spooner, a pick for Philip Larsen among the few), but if trade happy team president Ruthorford rubs off on Allvin, you just never know who they are willing to trade with. Rutherford traded a lot in Pittsburgh though not much within his division, but in Carolina he traded with everyone and often.
Entirely possible.
Would not pay anywhere near full value without a reasonable re-sign in place.
Creative with the cap and Holland don’t really mix. But maybe he listens to someone (or someone reads this blog and listens to Darcy and the other smart folk of the LT world).
The idea to move Kieth to Arizona to be bought then then he signs here is a smart move. And it is for Keith as well.
Let’s say the they move him and Klefboms salary. (The Klef salary just means they don’t have to worry about ltir). And then they sign Keith for $2.5 million on a 2 year (remember Keith has to ok the move). That’s $1.5 million more then he would have gotten if he played regular this year ($2.5 mill Edmonton, $500k Arizona from buyout). You probably have to add sweetener so you go to the leftorium and deal Samarukov (I do like him. But if you get Kulak on a 3 year deal and you have Broberg in the pipe he has no place).
You can then sign Kulak to $3 mil X 3 years. And it is the same cap as Keith would have been but get both Kulak and Keith. That’s super smart and progressive cap management…… So unlikely.
What are the underlying goals for an organization that went to the final four and will try to go even deeper into the playoffs next season?
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It is a pretty thin line between an organization that went to the final four and an organization that was down 3 games to 2 in the first round. I think we are all a little too focused on the former result rather than the latter in assessing where this team is at.
And, yeah, I know. I am the only one here who sees it that way but if Barrie doesn’t score with 5 minutes to go in Game 6 in LA we are all having a much less pleasant summer here on the board.
I get the impatience given how many wasted seasons this team has spent with incompetent management and mediocre results but I think an assessment from outside our own bubble shows that this team is far from complete.
McDavid & Draisaitl make up for a lot but the reality is that at this moment the team really only has 4 top 6 forwards with the addition of Nuge and Hyman to the other two. Neither Yamomoto nor Puljujarvi have grabbed those other two spots. They work because of the brilliance of McDavid & Draisaitl but on cup contending teams they are very good 3rd liners imo.
Ceci and Nurse are really the only two top 4 dmen on the team. Keith makes up for his aging body with smarts and experience and Bouchard and Barrie add offence at above average rates but it is hard to argue that in their own end they are in the top 8 defences in the league. Are they even in the top half?
And then there is the goalie situation where we are waiting for our number one goalie to decide if he can make his body return to the ice in his 41st year.
Happy for the season we had but to me there are a lot more personnel question marks than a cup contending team with little cap room should have.
jmo
You don’t think Bouchard is a top 4 D?
Not yet in his own end. As I said he makes up for his defence with his offence but on a cup contending team Bouchard is not yet a top 4 dman in his own end with the other team holding the puck.
He will be with another season of experience maybe even a top pairing. He has the size, pedigree and hockey IQ but requires more seasoning. His skill set and tool box are in my opinion unquestionable.
Could well be although young d don’t always progress in a straight line. I wasn’t questioning his potential, just to be clear, just where he was at last time seen on the ice.
Exactly so.
And those who see a final four appearance as evidence of a sustainable progression only need to look at teams that have reached that level and quickly regressed….happens all the time.
Which brings me back to our conversation of the last few days as to when is the time to push all the chips in.
I know. Like a dog with a bone. 😉
Given the ticking time bomb represented by the Draisaitl and McDavid contracts, I don’t think the Oilers are in a position to accommodate a “just wait until next year” phase.
If your window to win is reduced to a 2-3 year time frame, the odds of success are very low. And let’s rememberHolland has committed significant cap and term to Hyman and RNH who are already entering their 30’s
While the cap situation MAY look better a year from now, Holland’s track record in that area is hardly reassuring since he essentially created the issues himself and may well do so again. (Kassian buyout?).
The Nurse contract overpay tells me that he hasn’t really learned much from his mistakes and it bears watching what he will do with Evander Kane.
Going all in now would certainly require some major surgery (such as a Nurse trade mentioned elsewhere) but waiting too long has great risk that you’ve paid your elite stars very well without having won anything.
And again. I have never said “wait until next year” no matter how many times you type it. I said build and improve the many areas in need but not go all in because we don’t have anything in the ‘all in’ pile.
The idea that they can trade Nurse and remain as cup contenders is fantasy land imo regardless of whether or not his contract is an overpay and without that trade ‘major surgery’ is just empty rhetoric because the only contracts that would qualify for that description are Hyman, Nuge and Keith who all have no move clauses one year into signing them.
I am happy to debate what they should do this summer but part of this being a math blog means that numbers with dollar signs in front of them are part of the discussion as opposed to “lets sign every highly paid guy who might make this team better”.
It is not reasonable to agree that the team has many holes, no cap room and still think this is the summer to go for it.
I understand clearly that you are calling for incremental improvement but my point, for several reasons, is that it is likely not going to produce a championship.
I won’t bother to state them again but do take issue with your suggestion there is “nothing in the all in pile”
There always is.
Fair enough. I should have said there is not much in the ‘all in pile’ this summer compared to a lot teams they will have to compete with.
I think the hardest part is getting the top end players. The Oilers have those but have pissed away seasons building depth. That depth is close now through internal cost controlled players.
Having watched how long it has taken Colorado to get where they are is instructive. The skill was not enough last year. It took another year to balance the lineup and build the chemistry/experience. This is a tough league to climb up in.
After all it was you who agreed with my original gloomy summary of how many holes there still are to fill before they are balanced.
The question becomes then, how do you fill those holes?
Using your example of Colorado…I see the Oilers about 3-4 years behind the Avalanche in team building unless Holland pulls some rabbits out of his hat.
So how did Sakic build a juggernaught?
I would suggest he did it by not being afraid to make big moves like the Duchene or Barrie trades among many others.
As you have noted, even when you get to the doorstep, it often takes one or two seasons to tweak and balance the lineup to get over the hump.
Problem is the Oilers are actually significantly older in average age than the Avalanche who are going to get even younger if Kadri leaves and when Erik Johnson is done.
So,I would have to ask what you think a reasonable time line is for the Oilers being an actual cup contender?
23/24 as I posited when I started this conversation. Sakic started with a blank slate and built slowly and smartly. Holland inherited a mess with 2 of the best players in the league being paid handsomely into their 2nd contract.
And, of course, Sakic was close to running out of rope as GM just before they turned the corner and he was proclaimed a genius.
Timing isn’t everything in life but it sure is a lot of it.
Your comparisons of Holland vs Sakic are disingenuous. Holland in 3 seasons has alread gotten his team to the final 4. It took Sakic 9 seasons to get there. And its total BS to try to point out what Sakic started with versus Holland claiming Holland inherited McDavid/Draisaitl as if Sakic started from scratch. In 2013, Sakic became the man who had final say on all hockey decisions inheriting a line up that included Matt Duchene, taken 3rd overall, Landeskog taken 2nd overall and sat down in the top chair just in time to draft MacKinnon first overall. Throw on top of that O’Reilly and Barrie substantially outperformed their 2009 draft positions so he had some good pieces to use and or trade. He did not start from nothing. Overall the team had been poor but he still have very good assets from the start. He then got to draft Makar at number 4 because they were still a terrible team 4 seasons after he was in charge. Things finally turned around in season 5 for Joe and even that was followed by 4 seasons of playoff disappointment not getting to the semis.
Great for Sakic if they win this year, but it has been a long road and overall his 9 year run looks like it might finally get to the ultimate prize. But it is patently ridiculous to compare Holland’s 3 year term to Sakic’s 9 years and claim that Sakic is the far superior GM. But, then again, being patently ridiculous on discussing the Oilers is your forte.
This is nonsense.
First of all I did not directly compare the work of Sakic and Holland since but since you seems to need to cling to your delusions why not compare their work over their overlapping years.
Who bought out Sekera needlessly?
Who traded Neal for Lucic and is still paying for?
Who signed Kassian to a ghastly contract that needs buying out?
Who overpaid Nurse based on a PDO heater?
Who thought going into a season with a 40 year old goaltender was a good idea.
Which team has millions in dead cap space while the other has ZERO.
Now you take a look at Sakic’s last 3 year record and I think you’ll should be mollified.
In the last 3 years Sakic did:
Sign Donskoi to a 4x$3.9M deal
Traded Ian Cole for Greg Pateryn
Added completely done Devan Dubnyk for the stretch run last season
Traded cost controlled 1st rounder Tyson Jost for part time rental Niko Sturm
It’s not actually all roses.
Carol Kane’s character’s admonishment of Bill Crystal’s character in the Princess Bride would suit you well. Ever since your bandwagon, front running mentality got you to board the Avalanche/Sakic train 2 years ago, you have not stopped comparing Sakic’s work to Holland’s. Your main purpose for pointing out what any other GM does is in an effort to disparage anything done by the Oilers. It’s a results business and Holland in 3 years taking over a non-playoff team got his team to the semis. Far further than you ever processed they would get to. When will the rubber meet the road? You constantly miss on this.
And I am not saying Holland is the currently the better GM, but I am not saying he is worse or that there is a large gap. Sure Holland makes mistakes, but one you pointed out, his fall back position to bring back a 40 year old tender, resulted in a goalie that was a major contributor to getting them into the playoffs and the 3rd round of the playoffs. Meanwhile Markstrom, the 2 year ago attempt, was a playoff failure for the Flames.
Your hate for everything Oiler distorts your objectivity to a point of pure stupidity!
It is a good point. But few teams are absolutely great with few holes. So much drafting, so many trades, proper cap management, so many things need to go right.
Every team has weaknesses. Oilers are making progress but it is never 3 steps forward, its always 2 steps forward and 1 back.
Question this year is what steps will have the most significance this year.
Holland has had enough misses! He has to hit on everything he does from here. Any set up that we work with needs to include Puljujarvi signing. An item that should be seriously considered is dealing Nurse. We have to stop overpaying every reasonable talent! When you have to pay to remove a player from the roster (I am looking at you Keith, Kassian!), you are making poor deals. Best remove Nichols and Holland from decision making process, obtain a reasonable set of analysts for talent evaluation and cap management. The organization needs to stop taking their fans for granted!
Nurse isn’t overpaid. He isn’t underpaid either, but the Oilers had two time to lock him up before salaries for defensemen reset and the Oilers didn’t do it.
The Nurse haters have to get over it. The Oiler are pot committed to Nurse. Which is fine. He is a very good D, worth every penny he is being paid.
If one trades Nurse now, one is basically setting the organization back five years, and one might as well trade McDavid and Draisaitl too, because without Nurse there are no Cups for the duration of McDavid’s and Draisailt’s current contracts, and little chance that they would re-sign if that is the case.
Exactly.
I am not a Nurse hater. I’m concerned with the percentage of cap he takes up. We could do with less at that position to get other positions upgraded.
Add: Trade for stop-gaps signed for 1 year that could reasonably play 50 games while Skinner shows where he is at and what he will be ready for in the near/medium term: Potential Options: Varlamov, Allen, Talbot, Reimer
Jarry.
The talk has JP moving out possibly. But can we see a scenario where KY is moved instead due to higher trade value and JP recovering possibly due to a shoulder injury prior to the playoffs?
I can’t see where moving JP brings any great cap savings. A cheaper player can be found but the performance level will assuredly be lower. If Jesse’s agent starts negotiations with an absurd contract request then 13 obviously wants out and something would need to be done. Woodcroft will likely be the deciding factor in this one way or the other.
If Woody and the core want him back, he will be, Otherwise, you need to make a smart trade and not simply give him away. I am thinking a Kirby Dach, or Kaapo Kakko, or Necas from Carolina.
Jesse’s value is low at the moment so would have to add quite a bit to those deals. I would prefer trading this year’s first and keeping JP.
I hope they keep both but either could be moved for value.
As far as JP’s shoulder injury goes, I believe he sustained that in the last game of the playoffs, not prior, right?
With that said, I do think (a) Covid (with apparent lasting symptoms), then (b) a 6-week LBI that, apparently, effected his skating going forward and (c) another illness that kept him off the ice for a week – that is was “cratered his season” as far as production.
I think both Kailer and Jesse likely come in around $3MM and, presuming no Kane, I see no reason to not keep both who will likely out-perform that cap hit on 2-year deals (or 1 or 3 years, depending on where we get to).
A bit of money out will be required but that’s part of the plan in any event.
He definitely slumped in a major way after returning (14GP 0-2-2), but were there any actual reports of lingering symptoms?
I don’t recall hearing that, but could be mistaken (and he was right back to playing 17 minutes a night through January as well).
IF signing a 31 year old power forward with a checkered past to a long term contract that is more than $5 AAV is the answer you are asking the wrong question.
I don’t really care about his “checkered past” – I’m most concerned about him turning 31 to start the season.
I think we best get prepared for a summer of many debates possibly arguments. The Oilers are close and Holland is going to do what he feels is right to win the Cup next year. I suspect we see some of the future disappear to get to that goal. There will be many unpopular moves and we won’t know until this time next year if they were the right ones.
I see more of this as we get close to the trade deadline
My recollection is Lawson Crouse was touted as the next Milan Lucic prior to the draft in 2015. I didn’t think he looked all that good on the 2015 Canadian junior team and he has mostly underwhelmed since being picked 11 overall. He finally had his first decent season this past year in the NHL, playing most with Kessel, a lot with Keller and Galchenyuk was his most common center. He got 34 points in 65 games. He plays physical and his salary would be a lot cheaper than some other options (maybe around $3 million) but what would Arizona want in exchange for his signing rights. There are a lot more viable options for the Oilers in their top 6 than Crouse.
Am I wrong, or wasn’ there a lot of talk on these boards that the Oilers should draft him that year, until….we won the lottery!
I don’t think the math was great on Crouse, his stock was more related to size, so I’d guess the temperature on drafting him on this blog would have been pretty cold.
Interesting comment there, LT, re: no one on RW being safe.
JP is controversial; I’d be extremely surprised if KY is moved out. Or at least I was, obviously you have better info than I do.
I do think you have to be a bit careful with what you pay KY. Love the player, but if JP pops and Bourgeault develops, he would play 3RW.
If it’s cap room you’re after, I think Barrie is the guy you can trade without bringing salary back. Picks plus prospects.
I would play Kulak on the second pair and have Broberg on the third pair.
Bcurlock made this point on Twitter: Samorukov went on a boxcar heater towards the end of last season. He’ll need some games next season.
I don’t see the point in bringing in Soucy to block Broberg. They need him to start learning at the NHL level, with an eye to jumping into the top 4 two years from now.
I agree re: Broberg, his numbers were good in the little minutes he did get, I think he’s ready to play sheltered minutes.
Sammy went on “more than a box-car heater”, his entire game was a heater as he really stepped up with increase role and minutes as the d-corps felt the tole of injuries and call-ups.
Sammy should definitely be in conversation for a roster spot come September/October.
Giving up an asset to move Klefbom doesn’t free up any cap space. And if Smith retires, he’ll likely be on LTIR as well. The way to free up cap space was raised with Stauffer this week. Trade Keith to a team struggling to hit the floor (Arizona), they buy him out and for $500k of cash get a 5M cap hit. Then he signs in Edmonton for minimum.
Not sure a player can retire AND be on LTIR.
And the Keith scenario is not allowed. That is classic cap circumvention. Unless Gary says you can do it.
It’s been done before. Washington traded Brooks Orpik to Colorado, they bought him out and Washington resigned him. And, yes, people have retired on LTIR many times. Pronger, Hossa, etc.
Those players were not officially “retired” under the NHL rules. They had verifiable medical conditions that prevented them from playing. They went on LTIR and collected their salary for the remaining term of their contracts.
If Smith says he is retiring, the balance of his contract is eliminated. He doesn’t get paid and the Oilers have no cap hit from him next season. If he has a verifiable medical condition than prevents his from playing he still gets paid, and the Oilers have to deal with his cap hit, which can be put on LTIR if they need to to say under the cap. A player cannot say, I feel like retiring, just put me on LTIR.
Since Smith played the last game of the Oilers playoffs, unless he actually hurts himself seriously, he likely would not be eligible at the start of next season to suddenly go on LTIR.
Yes I understand all of that. Apparently he has enough underlying injuries that going on LTIR won’t be an issue.
Not sure you do understand – Those players all had long terms left, so it was in their interest to stay of LTIR and THEN retire. You cannot retire and LTIR retroactively.
If Smith wants, he’ll talk to Holland, be put on LTIR which would effectively mean he’s retired after his contract runs out. Unless Kenny does something stupid and signs him for another year.
Yes. That all semantics. Pronger and Hossa both were said to have retired when they went on LTIR.
Yes there is rumors about that based on comments by Friedman and Marek, but it still not an easy hurdle to clear. In Zetterberg’s case it was a degenerative back issue and with Hossa it was a worsening skin condition. In both cases the issues had been well known and documented for the last few seasons of their playing career and time, therapy or medical procedures were not going to help them get better. It is notable that their willingness to play through those issues dropped off commensurate with the severe drop off in their cash salaries. If they had retired, Detroit and Chicago each would have been huge recapture penalties since Zetterberg and Hossa were on pre-2013 very long term front-loaded contracts.
For Mike’s sake, I hope he is not dealing with something that has become chronic (like Klefbom’s shoulder) that could impact his on going quality of life.
There were lots of questions from the league over that trade and dump. The feeling from the league was a “fool me once” attitude – that they probably not let that happen again.
Why would you sign him back?
Lol, as always, LT with the meta-view, big picture question!
Why indeed! That’s walking around money.
If you don’t, how do you convince him to get traded to Arizona to be bought out? He has a full NMC and if he wants to play, it will be for Edmonton (Close to where he wants to be and a competitive team). I suppose if he preference is to retire, he might do it to get a little money ($500,000 each year for two) instead of nothing if he retires from the OIlers, but that scenario seems implausible.
Meh. It’s a sunk cost. Just ride the wave and say goodbye next spring. Paying for the right to re-sign him suggests he’s a player who can’t be replaced. That just isn’t true.
But in this scenario, you’re not paying for the right to resign him. Yes you have him anyway, but can a creative solution be found to lower his cap hit for 2022/23. The status quo is he is $5.5 million against the cap. If allowed, a trade to Arizona and he gets bought out, Keith gets paid a total of $1 million over 2 seasons for the buyout, Arizona gets $4.5 million in cap hit in 22/23 and $500,000 in 23/24, and say Edmonton resigns Keith for $ 1 million. Keith is $500,000 ahead, and Edmonton is ahead in cap by $4.5 million. The question is what would Arizona want to make that happen, and would giving up what Arizona would want be worth is for $4.5 million in cap space in 22/23.
The other question is would the league treat it the same way as Orpik/Washington. Based on Daly’s investigation, he did not believe the trade, buyout, and resigning with Washington had been coordinated or prearranged, so the NHL took no action. The NHL has not indicated whether if it was clear that it had been pre-arranged what they would have done.
For a million or less, why wouldn’t you?? Issue was always the contract, not the player.
If Smith actually retires, he’ll be off the books completely. If he “retires by way of LTIR”, which is probably approved given actual health issues, then, yes, there is no point in moving Klefbom.
If the plan is actually LTIR for Smith, there is zero point in paying to trade Klef’s contract (except for Katz’s bottom line).
If Smith actually retires, or comes back to play, it would be FANTASTIC to get rid of Klef’s contract.
Moving Klef and not being in LTIR does’t really open up much (or any) cap space to start the season but it does two important things (1) it allows the team to accrue the daily pro-rated portion of cap space and bank it for future use and (2) allows the pro-rating of acquired contracts – those two things would be huge for in-season/deadline acquisitions.
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As far as trading Keith to a team like Arizona to buy him out (and then re-sign him), ala Orpik, I just don’t see Keith agreeing to it.
Yes, I understand, given he only gets paid $1.5MM this coming season, it could actually mean he gets paid more but, at the same time, this is a proud and confident player with a Hall of Fame legacy – I’m not quite sure he has any interest in “being bought out” being on his resume – for a couple hundred grand.
Soucy – Booshy?
Of corsh, Mish Moneypenny.
The only issue this summer is find a goalie that has a consistent track record to play 50 games and have a +.916 SA%.
Maybe not the only issue, but to my mind the number 1 issue.
Jake the snake Allen?
Stuart Skinner. .913 Sv%; 2.62 GAA in the NHL who played 48 games last year in total. .920 Sv%; 2.21 GAA in the AHL all for a cap hit of $750,000.
Sometimes the answer is sitting right in front of you while you keep sweeping the horizon for something that isn’t there.
He could be the answer or part of the answer but wouldn’t want to bet the whole pot on a young and basically unproven goalie. Hopefully he turns out to be a stud.
Not the whole pot but I think that if Kane comes back and uses the available cap money the offence is good enough to secure a playoff spot with a Reimer level vet as the second goalie and then Holland has to overpay at the trade deadline to get ready for the playoffs if it isn’t working well enough.
Husso seems like the move to me, depending on his asking price. No assets required and he had a very solid year. As with all goalies there is some risk. And it’s hard to know what the team’s current status with Finnish players is.
Easy peasy, right?