This is the “distant” bells list from August of 2017. The list, one of three I publish a few times each summer and early fall, names the players who are coming to Oilers training camp but not considered a realistic option to make the team out of camp. From this mid-summer list, Ethan Bear and Caleb Jones would eventually emerge as NHL regulars, but they had some distance to travel.
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: Finding Edmonton Oilers’ ideal skill lines for 2022-23
- Lowetide: Oilers have room for UFA contract or PTO. Is there a match?
- Lowetide: Oilers question marks as training camp nears
- Lowetide: Xavier Bourgault leads strong group of Oilers prospects graduating to pro hockey this fall
- Lowetide: Predicting Kailer Yamamoto’s Oilers goal total in 2022-23
- Lowetide: Where should the Oilers deploy Ryan Nugent-Hopkins?
- Lowetide: Oilers math shows 41 candidates for 23 (or fewer) jobs. Who could play where?
- Lowetide: Why did Oilers select Nikita Yevseyev at the 2022 NHL Draft?
- Lowetide: Jay Woodcroft is the right man at the right time in Edmonton
- Lowetide: Oilers’ expectations of Jack Campbell in his first Edmonton season
- Lowetide: Who will the Oilers trade for cap purposes?
- Lowetide: 5 Edmonton Oilers training camp surprises
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid and his Art Ross dominance
- Lowetide: Can Oilers’ Darnell Nurse live up to new contract?
- DNB: With Oilers roster intact, stars readying for next step
- Lowetide: 10 unsigned free agents who could help the Oilers in 2022-23
- Lowetide: What are reasonable expectations for the Oilers in 2022-23?
- Lowetide: Oilers’ Evan Bouchard is on the edge of stardom
- Lowetide: How many goals will Oilers winger Evander Kane score next season?
- Lowetide: Four Oilers defence prospects applying for one job. Who wins?
- DNB: Oilers depth chart: Where did they improve and where can they make more moves?
- Lowetide: For Oilers forward Dylan Holloway, the future may come early
- DNB: Oilers’ Brad Holland on AGM role, analytics, working with his dad: Q&A
- Lowetide: Oilers top-20 prospects, summer 2022
- DNB: First-round pick Reid Schaefer can bring ‘big-boy hockey’ to his hometown team
AUGUST 2015
This is August 2015, and man there were a lot of distant bells that summer. This includes some camp invites to the team, must have announced them early that season.
This season saw several surprises later in the year, as Jordan Oesterle played 17 games in 2015-16, Jujhar Khaira got into 15 and Laurent Brossoit (5) all spent time with the big club during the year.
Most impressive of all, Anton Slepyshev made the opening night lineup! He played just 11 games, but he made it all the way up the depth chart in one training camp and dressed for Game One.
AUGUST 2016
I remember this training camp, the Oilers were top heavy due to signings and trade, so the team ran a fairly streamlined camp with most jobs spoken for. Dillon Simpson did get into some NHL games, the other three would down the line. Edmonton had a real lack of depth in this season.
AUGUST 2017
This is partly the result of the 2015 draft (Bear, Jones), some college procurement (Russell) and Benson (from 2016) being one year from turning pro. There was real talent here, but Paigin bolted from Bakersfield and Mantha suffered a career-ending injury.
AUGUST 2018
This is a solid group of (at the time) outsiders, but the fact that several played for the 2018-19 Oilers (Gambardella, Currie, Russell, Jones) tells us the team was still reaching deep during the regular season for players who entered camp as outliers. Chiarelli’s trades made it impossible to build a team with a full boat of prospects pushing each season.
AUGUST 2022
This is the current state of affairs entering this year’s training camp. I wanted to do a longer version of this but for some reason couldn’t find 2019, and as it turns out the 2018 slide makes my point beautifully. There are over 450 NHL games in the books from the August 2018 dirstant bells. That’s almost six NHL seasons.
What that tells me is the system is humming and men like Ethan Bear, Caleb Jones and Stuart Skinner, all drafted outside the first round, are being properly developed in the system. It’s a big damned deal.
The men listed here who I believe are locks to make it are Xavier Bourgault. Several more have a chance, none of them first rounders (Schaefer is barely a first rounder). All are forwards, coming right after a large group of distant bell defensemen who made it. The Oilers system is working, especially in the distant bells area.
UNCERTAIN OILERS AUGUST 2022
There are several uncertain Oilers who should be higher on the list, but we don’t know how the team gets cap compliant. Foegele, Yamamoto and Puljujarvi are candidates for trade.
I also have Ryan McLeod (unsigned), Philip Broberg and Stuart Skinner on the list because of reasons. McLeod being unsigned is a concern in the same way Bear being unsigned was at the same time in his career. Broberg and Skinner have competition, but I expect both of them to be on the opening night roster. Uncertain doesn’t mean it won’t happen, just that the chances haven’t reached a threshold yet.
CERTAIN OILERS
This is the certain group, there are one dozen. I have been wrong in the past, mostly due to injury, but these names are a strong set for opening night. I know you’ll want to add others, and that will happen when McLeod signs and management gets the numbers under the cap, but we aren’t there yet.
NEW for The Athletic: Why Oilers prospect Raphael Lavoie is in for a make or break season.
https://theathletic.com/3523341/2022/08/20/edmonton-oilers-raphael-lavoie-prospect/
https://twitter.com/tcwoodcroft/status/1561185334209089537
twoodcroft
@tcwoodcroft
Could not be prouder of Joel Määttä for his performance on the world stage today representing his family , his country and UVM men’s hockey so well. Along with Luca Münzenberger (both
@EdmontonOilers) Ralfs Bergmanis and Ray Vitolins – great job at the WJC.
Some heartening Oiler content in Pronman’s standouts and disappointments from the World Juniors:
https://theathletic.com/3523855/2022/08/20/iihf-world-junior-championship-2022/
Here’s hoping the Oilers can hit on a late round pick.
A couple of prospects panning out better than expected can turn the current team into a juggernaut.
Well i guess Treveling made the best of a bad situation, but his work this summer will not age well. Huberdeau-Gadreau is pretty much a saw off in age/performance, but slow boots will not help Huberdeau retain his level of play. Huberdeau’s bonus laden contract is also buy-out proof in a way that even worse than the Lucic deal.
Tkachuk-Kadri is a big downgrade in age/performance. Kadri will be 32 before the season starts (Tkachuk won’t turn 25 until December) and his historical level of performance is around 50 points. Kadri’s performance will likely degrade fairly soon given his age, and his contract is also bonus-laden though not as bad as Huberdeau. You could actually buy it out after 3 or 4 years with a high (but acceptable) level of pain. But that’s not a great long-term strategy is it?
Columbus did pretty well as Gadreau’s contract is not that bad with only $2 million per year in signing bonus. Gadreau’s speed should help maintain performance as he ages and you could realistically buy-out the last couple of years without too much pain.
Florida also did pretty well in terms of not giving out a retirement contract to Huberdeau or a big contract to Weeger for being Ekblad’s side-kick. Instead, they gave Huberdeau’s money to a much younger player. My only quibble is the Tkachuk contract is also mostly bonus money and buy-out proof, but that’s likely less problematic when the player is only 24 at signing.
It would have been unpopular but CGY should have taken the opportunity to rebuild. They will still be competitive for a couple of years (but won’t win anything) and they are paying for past performance. With few draft picks and aging expensive players, the drop-off will be steep and long lasting starting in 2024 or 2025.
Enjoy the next few years Oiler fans. Holland has set the table pretty well. It may all blow up after the Drai/McDavid contracts expire, but if they win a cup or two, no one should complain.
@Kent_Wilson
I was looking at something unrelated recently on @EvolvingHockey
and discovered that over the last 3 seasons MacKenzie Weegar
places:
– 4th amongst regular defenders in XGF% (57.3%)
– 2nd in CF% (56.8%)
(at least 2000 minutes played)
Who is zooming who?
That seems like pretty valid offering (even when factoring clear persistent generally nonconstructive motivation behind it).
Weegar is definitely the wildest card of that deal. But he presently is sitting at potentially rental for year status….
If anything, I’d love HH to establish what framework of success he believes neccesary to establish these buy now pay later tactics by treveling could be arguably worth it. If he’s going to try to bother justifying this inception of the flames as being noteworthy then he should be willing to set a bar. But he won’t do that – so like I often do I fail to see how anyone even bothers responding or referencing his response in anyway that validates it as impactful.
I mean hw jumped all over the backend of hyman and Rnh deals …but now old shifting sand is dancing opposite George around it on flames. Digging for anything to turn a few cranks. It’s far more hilarious and enjoyable than it is regrettable that he’s present.
3-on-3 to decide gold??
Absolutely stupid.
What should it be?
5-on-5 until it’s over of course.
Ya know – hockey.
I’m not sure that’s been done in international hockey in my lifetime – usually it goes to shootout after a certain time.
I agree on what it “should be” but don’t think we should be surprised that it wasn’t the case – never has been (to my mind).
Holy Hell – McTavish with a Kemp like game saver…..
That was the greatest goal saving play by a non goalie in the history of hockey, especially considering context.
Will Maatta be involved in the OT 3 on 3?
Yup, second shift.
I think HH needs to have a word with this guy
Harpers Hair
Reply to defmn
June 19, 2022 6:57 pm
Often when older Russians come to the NHL they’re deployed in the bottom 6 and soon yearn for home.
He could have posted that three hours ago and then still made completely contradictory comments an hour ago. Complete loser.
Fitting that today’s post is titled “The Distant Bells” … guess HH didn’t get the message. That tiny Russian will be one and done, and back to Russia in the less than a season. I’m on record stating that I didn’t see what the big deal was … for every Kaprizov, there are twenty other guys who put up similar numbers in KHL and can’t hack it in the NHL. They only sign with NHL teams if they are guaranteed to play in the NHL. The Oilers forward roster was too deep to make him any kind of promise of NHL minutes.
Bourgault is going to have a much longer and more productive NHL career than Vancouver’s new “second line winger”.
I was hoping the Oilers would sign the guy because, why not?
At the same time, I was VERY clear in my position that hope should be middle six and not even a lock to make the opening night lineup.
😉
Yes it happens…sometimes it doesn’t.
But when you get the chance to find out for the price of an entry level contract, you’re already a winner.
Or, of course you could be carrying Warren Foegle on a $2.75 million contract for another two seasons.
Perspective
Well folks, I think we can say the Edmonton Oilers have come a long way, and are in a pretty good place, when the worst thing HH can say is that they’ve got Warren Foegele on the books for 2 more seasons at $2.75M. Egregious.
Give it a rest.
I’m impressed with how much Kuzmenko has improved since he decided to not sign with the Oilers
That’s the power of having not one, but TWO fellow Russian players on the team. Just imagine how good Kuzmenko would be if he had THREE fellow Russians!
And we all know just because you have the same ethnic background you automatically get along
He went from meh these guys go home within a couple of months anyway to the next Kaprizov in the span of a month
It’s in a constant state of motion.
Recall last year Tkachev was a Calder candidate the Oilers let get away, until he wasn’t.
Perhaps this is a new form of player development?
Simply “not signing with the Oilers” provides an automatic elevation to 1st – 2nd line status.
Who needs skating coaches, training partners, workout regimens, nutrition, systems planning, tactics, drills, all that hard work.
Simply “don’t sign with the Oilers” and there you are – first team all star. Just imagine the benefits…
Kane is Gordie Howe mean.
And that’s mean.
I think Malone and Bougault have a chance at the opening night roster – Malone as an extra forward type and Bourgault if he shows well on a skill line.
Sure!
Once they star in training camp so they are kept later than the rest of the tryouts and AHLers, manage to keep improving as the veterans start to play harder than earlier, then be able to hold their own against the cut throats like Kadri of the NHL and keep perfectly healthy or close to it, but then they stand half a chance.
_Sure!
Once they star in training camp so they are kept later than the rest of the tryouts and AHLers, manage to keep improving as the veterans start to play harder than earlier, then be able to hold their own against the cut throats like Kadri of the NHL and keep perfectly healthy or close to it, but then they stand half a chance.
-Anton Lander superfan-
I love the distant bells. Everyone cheers for them. They’re like found money.
From this years list, if I was taking one bet on who would play NHL games per position, I would take Petrov, Philip, Lavoie (because Bourgault doesn’t count), Kesselring and Fanti.
Also, what happened to the leftorium?
Weird Saturday comment:
In regards to who are the best play by play analysts, I have to recommend John and Gale play by play commentary on A Cappella performances as featured in the films “Pitch Perfect”
Oilers have a good play by play team last year.
My wife and daughter love that movie. The play by play is hilarious.
Best of Show … more of the same. Deadpan, funny.
I’m willing to commend Treliving for making the best of a bad situation…and I love watching the arguments develop about whether the team is better this year and how much they will suffer as these contracts and players age….future cap increases….100 point players etc…
But one thing I’m not hearing much of is the goal scoring drop-off from the trades.
I doubt Huberdeau or Kadri even flirt with 40goals…This version of the Calgary flames will struggle to score, and with the direction the league is going, more speed, emphasis on skill, I think the team will struggle to make the post-season.
It’s also likely Hockey and Tkachuk regress and would have on the flames if they stayed
None of the four players involved are top tier, even if good players. Those types have great seasons but only the very best can do it year after year
flames also added a really good top 4 (at least, maybe top pair) D. It is entirely possible they are better than they were. For a while anyway
The Panthers got nowhere with their blazing offense
I expect there is still another shoe to drop in Calgary.
Treleving is obviously all in and still has some cap space.
Have seen some chatter about moving Lucic to Anaheim (Lucic lives in SoCal in the offseason) which could clear another $5 million in cap space and Anaheim could use more D.
We could only hope they trade the last of their futures to try and compete with the Oil
I think Johnny has 100 point season after the abuse he took on his decision I think he’ll play with a chip on his shoulder and score close to 45 Goals. Everyone is patting Treliving on the back like he’s the second coming of Sam polluck. Johnny took less last contract, then Brad tried to weasel him again last off season. Huberdeau is a pass first player that needs 2 wingers that can work the boards and have hands. Kadri’s good if you don’t depend on him which won’t happen in Calgary I can see the fans turning on him in 2-3 seasons.
It’s possible, but I think it’s quite unlikely.
I agree Gaudreau and Tkachuk would most likely have regressed even if they’d stayed. It’s entirely possible neither hits 100 points again.
More important than their points, their line was +60 at even strength. No one’s done that since Gretzky, Kurri and whoever played with them.
The Flames team was +85 on the season, almost entirely driven by that line at 5v5, and there’s almost no chance the replacements are going to post +60 seasons (Gretzky in 86-87 is literally the last forward to have a better +/- than those three Flames linemates last season).
IMO Weegar won’t be enough to offset that.
Great points
The thing that remains is that teams adjust. Which is the reason so few players remain ‘dominant’
Perhaps that line if together next season may have been there. Or cap attrition and opponent adjustments would mitigate it
As you mentioned it was a +/- outlier. Outliers don’t usually last and the players involved are to me not elite
The question I have is how much of the bad situation was of his own making? ie The coach he hired and not signing Goudreau the previous year when he wanted to sign!
My “concern” is the 5 on 5 scoring – the Gaudreau/Lindholm/Tkachuk was BY FAR the best 5 on 5 line in hockey – this 5 on 5 outscoring, while likely an outlier, was the best in years.
Of course, Huburdeau scored well at 5 on 5 but not near the levels of Gaudreau, not even close. He made alot of hay on the PP.
If Kuzmenko is such a guarantee for Vancouver, Corbin Knight (FLA 5th round, 2009) should get a guaranteed spot in our top 6. He finished 5 pts behind Kuzmenko. Or maybe Shipachyev? he’s 35 yeah, and couldn’t cut it in the NHL with the Knights, but he did finish 14pts ahead of Kuzmenko the great.
And if you squint hard
really hard
Harder
you can almost see Kaprizov in all of those players.
But Kuzmenko had very similar ppg last season to Gusev which is about the level player I’m expecting
It’s all about adaptation and fit.
Some Russian players can adapt seamlessly and others can’t.
And sometimes it’s about finding a fit and feeling comfortable.
Vancouver has a bit of an advantage in that they have two other Russian speakers in the system…Podholzin and Klimovitch…so that should help.
The Canucks also have a long history of incorporating Russians so another advantage.
Never a guarantee but a zero risk bet that could pay off big.
well yeah it can work out. That’s why I wanted the Oilers to sign him
but we’re talking about from Gusev to Dadonov range player. There’s no Kaprizov here
There is absolutely no way to know that.
Different skills translate to different leagues in different ways.
If played in a feature role and on PP1 (no guarantee of either) he could hit big.
Too many extraneous factors at the moment to be definitive
Oilers hate Russians unless Igor Ulanov 2.0 appears.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Which is – you know precisely why – when you wax all dreamy about how such and such a player WILL absolutely be a great addition to “whoever” while on every possible occasion dismiss ANY player the Oilers sign, your credibility here runs astonishingly low. You shit on absolutely any Oiler move and blow sunshine on any move by whoever happens to be your current favourite. A favourite we all know depends entirely on who presents the greatest possible challenge to the Oilers.
Honestly the routine is so predictable and so soul deadening dull it never fails to stun the senses.
Do you have any examples of this?
Good Lord.
Tkachev
Draisaitl/Colborne
Bouchard/Rafferty
Weegar
Nuge
Kane
DiPeietro (has his trade request been granted yet?)
Meyers
Lehkonen
Nichushkin
Kadri
Georgiev
Broberg/Zegras/Boldy/Caufield
Podkolzin
That’s without thinking much about it.
Thank you!
I only see 5 Oilers in that list.
Rafferty was a joke…and a serial killer.
I’ve always said Bouchard’s ceiling is a second pairing D…still think that.
Not sure what your beef is with Nuge…I’ve always liked him but his new contract is likely to age poorly.
I would still take Zegras, Boldy or Caulfueld over Broberg and virtually every analyst I’ve seen would too.
Not sure what you’re getting at with Podkholzin but he’s trending very well to be a top 6 forward…still very young.
I’ll give you Draisaitl but I’m hardly the only one surprised by his development.
You seem to have come to some conclusions on Georgiev, Myers, Weegar and something addled about Kadri but I have no idea what you’re thinking.
HH, you move the chains. It’s part of your charm. Denying it seems silly, like Sonny Bono claiming he had a good haircut. Own it. It’s you!
The Rafferty thing is a joke now. It most definitely didn’t start as one for you.
Don’t forget Ty Dellandrea
His commentary on the bulk of your posts is axiomatic.
Examples? Well without too much exaggeration very very close to EVERYTHiNG you post.
As I said stultifyingly repetitive. To the point of near pathological eye rolling and head shaking.
Sometimes I wonder if HH posts so much on other hockey blogs he forgets what he posted and where.
There are days he contradicts himself multiple times in one day, or seemingly forgets he made some asinine prediction or comment here.
Give me an example.
Thank you.
Have lived for most of a no playoff hockey season in Vancouver, and since then have happily and easily been able to laugh at Canucks of Vancouver endlessly.
He’ll bust and be back on the front line by February.
I’m excited to hear how calgarys and Vancouver’s distant bells are better than Oilers distant bells.
Also don’t count out LAs distant bells
Can’t forget:
-Anaheim
-Seattle
-St Louis
-Arizona
-San Jose
-Dallas
-Pittsburgh
-Washington
-Colorado
-New Jersey
-NYR
-NYI
-Philadelphia
-Toronto
-Columbus
-Carolina
-Boston
-Buffalo
-Detroit
-Florida
-Montreal
-Winnipeg
-Ottawa
-Tampa Bay
-Chicago
-Minnesota
-Nashville
-Vegas
All of their distant bells are significantly better than the Oilers team in general. And, all of their 25+ distant bell players are going to be the next Kaprizov or Panarin. The Oilers are meandering still by icing the likes of Bouchard, who, is not even as good as Anaheim’s Brogan Rafferty and Rafferty is in the AHL. Embarassing.
Rafferty signed with Seattle this summer.
That’s why they’re no longer interested in Barrie, much less Bouchard.
Yes, Seattle have achieved a lot in the playoffs Oilers need to treat carefully.
I am embarassed. How could I miss this. When a talent like Rafferty changes teams, everyone should know it. This is like me not knowing when man landed on the moon, or that Gretzky was traded, or where I was when the Oilers won the McDavid lottery.
Montreal Maroons!
The decade of Darkness was filled with the exact same players.
I did not get a chance to comment on our neighbors to the south yet.
Like them or not, this summer has worked in spectacular fashion for the Flames. In my opinion, Calgary peaked. They were playing, to my eye, as greater than the sum of their parts which should be a testament to their coaching. Still, there was a smell, seemed like they were about to expire and go stale. Lost interest.They have no star prospects coming, the coach is abrasive, the star players look tired. I didn’t see them going farther with that group. That usually means dropping out of playoffs for a rebuild. But nope.
Looking backwards: They move Hamilton and they improve. They let Gio walk and they improve. This must have been encouraging. Johnny walks and Tkachuck bails. Now Monahan exits. Who is left from the old core? Backlund?
They did have a group of players that they developed. Anderson, Kylington, Mangiapane, Dube. Solid, no star power.
But they players they brought in via trade: Hanafin, Toffoli, Lindholm, Huberdeau, Weegar, very encouraging trades, few blunders.
Signings: Coleman, Markstrom, Kadri, Tanev, Zadorov Gudbranson. All seemed to work out – also encouraging.
I have not seen a team turn over their core like this, mid stride, hardly missed a beat. Some emerging home grown talent but no star players. Trade their way out of trouble. And even Lucic worked out for them. I don’t think Flames fans have any right to be complaining about their GM.
Future might be in question. And with too much turnover, the roster may not gel,(think Buffalo). But some credit due to GM.
When it comes time to play the Oilers, whether they are better or not I don’t really care. They should be a good team in the NHL, like many others, until Sutter wears out his welcome.
Regardless of their best efforts they cannot match the Oilers down the middle and the supporting cast that is now in place. Close games and no freebies but the Oilers are a better team.
Oilers in 5.
Flames getting better simply helps the Oilers play to a higher level before eliminating the contending teams.
I like a decent Flames team. Evander Kane gives Kadri the “Philly flu” that night he wants lol
The Oilers have 4 ex Maple Leafs on the roster now, that has to be some kind of record for them.
Does this mean Mathews will be convinced by his ex-teammates to sign with us at the 1st opportunity he gets to chase the Stanley cup?
Can anyone help me figure this out?
I seem to read nothing good about Tyson Barrie ever coming from Oilers fans yet in a March fantasy ranking he’s rated 15th in the entire freaking NHL.
Then Darnell Nurse is ranked 10th, yet all we read is how overpaid he is.
Well just by using that silly metric you are paying 5 mil for 5 spots
Silly it might well be; what is your method?
Definitely depends on what your fantasy league scores
but Nurse is the points vampire everyone thought Faulk was. We were so worried about not overpaying forwards that play heavy minutes with Mcdavid and Drai that we forgot about not doing that with D
at least overpaying at top of depth chart is a lot better than at the bottom
Each spot costs more as you get to the top! Or else everyone would have the number 1.
Certainly Barrie seems to be underestimated. He did what he was asked to do, and became a valuable player. Saying he’s redundant due to Bouchard is kind of like saying Leon is redundant because of Connor. Skill is skill, we want all we can get. (and afford)
Unfortunately its just a money thing, a that puts him in the discussions. As for fit I believe Tyson is very tight with the team and they do not want to part ways. If he is moved its absolutely a last resort.
Bouchard a rookie cannot be counted on by any other metric than being Bobby Orr 2.0
Barrie takes the heat off of the hopefully emerging Bouchard next season as well. And, suppose there is only one of these top offensive players and he gets injured??
I agree with your first paragraph.
On paragraph two, I don’t agree it’s just a money thing (though that’s part of it).
There seem to be quite a few people out there who think Barrie is almost worthless because of what he can’t do, while giving little or no credit for what he can (the stuff that’s made him the #7 scoring defenseman over the past 5 seasons).
Yeah, I was thinking about that and of course you are talking about defending the net and physicality. These are fair concerns.
Have to be careful what we wish for. Bring in Gudbranson and we would get that physicality but are we better? Maybe more balanced. As far as defending goes, Barrie showed he has it in him when playoffs roll around.
Also, when building a team, managing those player relationships is critical. We can’t see inside the room. Players will play for each other, that is their number one motivating factor. You don’t want that room upside down.
Oilers have little need for a knuckle dragging defenceman – last season they had sime guy up from the AHL who was doing more than half of the so-called heavy to play against D-men… not sure what his name was lol
Trading skill for toughness unless you’re getting some kind of superstar champion hard case like Clark Gilles…
Nope, they don’t and, yes, Nimeo was a hunter last season.
I have him in the AHL to start the year but, of course, he’ll see NHL games given how many d-men team’s use.
For me, Dimitri Samorukov has the inside track on the 7D job, on merit.
He also brings a hard, aggressive, mean, keep your head up style – nope, he’s not the “hunter” than Neimo is but a higher skilled, broader skilled and NHL ready defender.
Completely agree.
If Barrie was an ace defensively, he wouldn’t be making $4.75 mil. He’s ok defensively only, which is why his cap hit is where it is.
I thought all of Barrie’s value is due to McDavid – subtract Connor and Barrie is a net negative player……
Not sure if this is serious or facetious 🙂
Of course I wasn’t serious….
OK, good to hear!
There are some (many) that do have that opinion, mind you……
It’s odd not to see Tyson Barrie not in with the certain Oilers. But that would be 13 . Are you superstitious ? I know I am .
No, not superstitious. Barrie is uncertain due to trade worries. He might be offloaded to get under the cap. I don’t think it will happen, as the Oilers don’t have another RH option qualified to take that spot. However, until the team figures out the cap, we wait.
Are Bourgault and Schaefer the only two 1st rounders to appear in the distant bell category (on these lists)?
Makes sense since they’re two of the latest 1st’s the Oilers have had in decades, but still a good arrow for organizational depth/development I think.
Even as recently as Yamamoto/Bouchard, those guys got NHL cameo’s immediately on being drafted, and rightly didn’t appear on the ‘distant bells’ lists for those years.
Luckily (for the current Oilers cap) McLeod didn’t just spend the season in a prominent role (vs Bear at 1RD).
He should be a lot easier to sign, though you’re certainly correct it’s a concern until a deal is actually signed.
Easy.
Just tell McLeod the team might be thinking about letting him sit out training camp and he’s going to scream at his agent to sign immediately.
Good/great teams don’t let half arsed players dictate to them.
That’s for the Lowe+MacT Oilers.
There is no real evidence that there is anything contentious going on – this is one of those “end of summer” pieces of business that happens after the mid-late August “summer break” with routine.
Holland even said less then a week ago, it will be done and he’ll be in camp – we know Holland doesn’t spout inaccuracies on these things – he has no problem saying “we aren’t close”, etc.
There isn’t any real reason to think there is any issue here.
This is a late summer piece of business.
For me, I will have no concern until a week past Labor Day (and would feel that way even if Holland didn’t give the “100% lock signed and sealed for camp” verbal.
McLeod has zero leverage so he’s going to sign. His payday is down the road.
And it’s easy to forget 1 million US as a kid isn’t exactly hard done by
He’ll squeak by. Maybe get a new whip
After Canadian/Albertan taxes, NHLPA dues, agent fees, escrow, etc., he may still be eating KD for his meals.
I kid.
Samorukov, Niemelainen, Bourgault, Holloway, Broberg – STAY HEALTHY!
who down votes a message for players to stay healthy?
I agree that Broberg isn’t a stone-cold lock, so I guess, uncertain, but Holland continuing to talk abut needing progression from him this off-season and then stating expressly “he’d have to play himself off the team at camp” is getting close to that threshold.
He’ll be on the opening roster submission due to those bonuses but, I guess, not necessarily for game 1 – seems highly likely, bordering on certain, but not quite there.
Yes. That’s why he’s on the uncertain list.
Yup!
I like that you are conservative with calling things certain when there are plausible scenarios where they may not be with the team. You basically only allow injury as a reason for them missing the team, which no one can ever predict. It’s a long summer, you don’t need to commit yourself for a while.
Tyler Benson – saves $100K on Devin Shore
Dimitri Samorukov – saves $150K on Slater Koekkoek
I think Sammy makes it on merit. Not sure about Benson – that 13F, if there is one, could be a Malone given the coach’s preferences and loyalties.
Holloway may be in tough at his max ELC cap hit but they do need to find a way to get him on the opening roster submission in any event (due to his bonuses).
Would Derek Ryan get claimed? I wonder if they waive and assign just for the opening roster submission (to keep Holloway) and then reverse for game 1?
Shore is so far beyond what Benson provides at the NHL level. I’m continually astonished people still see an NHL player here.
If he doesn’t come to camp having performed a miracle of improvement to his skating a la Leon, he won’t play another game in the NHL.
I guarantee you. This is not an NHL player because he can’t skate at near an NHL level.
Shore’s issue is that he’s at the point where players of his type step off the cliff as players. Age is unkind to the fringe. Benson’s problem is that he has work to do in order to grind his skills into something useful for an NHL team.
It’s possible they are both close to the end of their time in the NHL. I’d bet on Shore over Benson for career GP from this point on, though. Benson had his chance with Edmonton, didn’t click.
Shore has accomplished much more in the NHL than Benson has. The current coach also chose Brad Malone over him in the playoffs for that “defensive 4th line role”.
LT, you’ve got Benson listed as RFA but he signed that 2-way league min deal (with a solid AHL and guaranteed min) deal.
I don’t think McLeod will turn in to a Yamamoto like situation where he isn’t signed until like the even of camp and it seemed to lead a slow start (I think he even missed the first day or two, could be wrong).
Holland was very clear that it would get done and he’d be there for camp.
I suspect it happens in short order after Labour Day.
I would presume Holland signs McLeod once he has a better handle on the salary cap situation once the dust settles. e.g. if Kenny has a couple extra dollars after making whatever transactions are needed to get compliant, he may sign McLeod for 2 x 1.3 instead of 1 x 1 (or thereabouts).
That’s a great point.
Good point, and could happen, but I wonder if McLeod would prefer the one year deal. He won’t have arb rights next off-season (I don’t think) but he may think he will earn a larger pay day on a second bridge.