There is out of character and then there is what happened yesterday. The Edmonton Oilers, with no general manager, did the impossible routinely. Signing legit NHL plug-and-play talent on short-term contracts for exceptional value. What the h-e-double-hockey-sticks happened?
THE NEW OILERS DEPTH CHART
We just did this yesterday, and it looks completely different today. Based on the signings and cap number, we can go ahead and place Evander Kane on LTIR with certainty. There’s just no way these moves happen without a trade of someone in the $5 million range, or Kane’s going on LTIR. So, here we go.
CURRENT OILERS ROSTER (IT CHANGES BY THE MINUTE!) (23)
- Goalies (2): Stuart Skinner, Calvin Pickard
- Left Defense (3): Mattias Ekholm, Darnell Nurse, Brett Kulak
- Right Defense (4): Evan Bouchard, Philip Broberg, Cody Ceci, Josh Brown
- Center (4): Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Adam Henrique, Ryan McLeod
- Left Wing (5): Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jeff Skinner, Mattias Janmark, Dylan Holloway
- Right Wing (5): Zach Hyman, Viktor Arvidsson, Connor Brown, Corey Perry, Derek Ryan
- LTIR (1): Evander Kane
I don’t know if the Oilers plan to do more, but this is a team you can go to war with right now. If you’re worried about Ryan McLeod and Dylan Holloway getting ice time, I could suggest to you there’s plenty of age on this roster (Perry, Ryan) and injury worries. Lots of concern around the defense but I’m pleased Broberg appears to be getting a full chance and the Stecher signing late is sneaky brilliant.
- Goalies (3): Olivier Rodrigue, Colin Delia, Connor Ungar
- Left Defense (3): Ben Gleason, Cam Dineen, Noel Hoefenmayer
- Right Defense (4): Troy Stecher, Connor Carrick, Phil Kemp, Max Wanner
- Center (5): Lane Pederson, James Hamblin, Noah Philp, Jayden Grubbe, Carl Berglund
- Left Wing (3): Raphael Lavoie, Drake Caggiula, Matvey Petrov
- Right Wing (5): Xavier Bourgault, Tyler Tullio, James Stefan, Jake Chiasson, Brady Stonehouse
The Oilers did good work here, I especially like the additions of Stecher and Connor Carrick on RH defense. Those two moves alone will give the Bakersfield Condors far more torque in games. I like the Delia signing, it gives Ungar a chance to step in to pro hockey in the ECHL. Perhaps the best move of all is re-signing Noah Philp, who has the potential to be the best NHL player on this list one year from now. The recall options, and there are many, are in bold.
Today on the Lowdown, Sports 1440 at noon, we’ll review the wildest free agent day in Oilers history. We’ll also talk to Daniel Nugent-Bowman at The Athletic about the incredible 24 hour period that brought the team so many free agents. I’m at Lowetide on twitter, in the comments section here and on the Sports 1440 text line at 1.833.401.1440 directly.
As the Oilers prepared for training camps in fall ‘21, ‘22, and ‘23 I thought they stacked up well against the best teams in the Western Conference, but didn’t believe the Oilers were the best. Colorado, Vegas, and Dallas were definitively in the same weight class, and likely even a bit more ready.
After yesterday I no longer feel that Edmonton is among a group of 3 or 4 excellent teams, I feel the Oilers are the alpha of the West, maybe the whole league.
This will be a fun and entertaining season of hockey – I can’t wait to curb stomp the Canucks in 5 games in the second round.
Two thoughts… (stay tuned for the micro podcast)
I’m thinking Derek Ryan goes to Utah at some point. I was thinking next season. But maybe with all this depth it happens sooner. Have to wonder what the only LDS player in the league is worth to Ryan Smith in their inaugural season.
The way Arvidsson was talking about Larsson with Stauffer, it feels like he’s coming home as a TDL acquisition.
I would have a lot of time for both those thoughts.
I can see Ryan being sent down (along with other) prior to the season so that the Oilers can be cap compliant with Kane on the roster, before LTIRing him once the season has officially started. So Utah may have a chance to pluck him off waivers if that kind of thing is important to them.
I suspect Ryan will clear waivers.
I’m not sure they can get cap compliant prior to the season by sending players down with the current roster.
They are at apx $2.5MM over right now and, sure, you can waive and send down guys like Stecher and Brown and Ryan but who else?
Not waiving Broberg or Holloway.
I guess they could do it with Perry but I’m not sure – he may/likely gets claimed, no?
Ryan 900K
Stetcher 787,500
Josh Brown 1 million
Total = 2.6875 million (we are 2.454 million over the cap with 22 players on the roster, including those three).
Doubt any of those three will get picked up on waivers.
There’s no reason for anybody to be traded away simply to be cap compliant on day 1 of the season (though I can see why theoretically they’d like to move out Kane’s contract if he’s not going to be able to play for good chunk of next season).
We’ve been through this process before 2 summers ago. Holloway and Broberg will have handshake deals done under the table, that’ll get swiftly signed the moment that Kane’s contract is placed on LTIR on day 2 of next season).
If Kane comes back at some point next season, then they’ll have to play some cap Twister to make it all fit. But that’s a problem for later in the season, at which time the problem may take care of itself if another player gets hurt.
Actually playing that scenario out further, I’m not sure it all works:
Let’s say Holloway and Broberg both sign for 1.25 million each = that’s 2.5 million.
Kane is 5.125 million and we are 2.45 million over the cap.
Out: Kane 5.125
In Holloway and Broberg 2.5 million + the 2.45 million that we are over the cap by right now – 4.95 million.
That doesn’t leave enough to recall any of Josh Brown, Ryan or Stecher back. We’d be running with a 20 man roster (12F, 6D and 2G) and praying for no injuries to occur.
It’s doable (we did it two seasons ago) but it’s not a great idea.
Then looking at two summers from now … there’s 62 million already spoken for for 14 players, and Bouch and Leon to sign.
Lets say Leon get 12-14 million and Bouch gets 9-10. That’s an additional 21-24 million with a roster of 16 players with a total cap hit somewhere between 83-86 million. That leaves only 8-11 million to flesh out the rest of the roster, with Ceci, Connor Brown and Jeff Skinner to replace, and Ryan McLeod to resign.
They better get a great GM in place soon.
You need to add apx $2MM in cap hit for the Borberg and Holloway signings – we do not want to wait until the regular season to sign them.
Jackson told Stauff yesterday he wants to get them done soon.
I’m not saying the trade would fix the cap situation.
I’m saying there could be mutual interest there, and if he feels there’s no room for him in Edmonton, Utah or maybe Seattle might be nice place for him to finish instead of Bako. He’s 37. I loved his effort in the playoffs but it felt like it was difficult for him at times. Certainly he takes a lot of nasty non calls. So many boarding and cross checking penalties…
Ryan going to Utah would be a little like Christian players wanting to play in Rome? Maybe SLC would be interested in it for marketing purposes but I doubt that would be motivating for Ryan. I think there might be ?one? ice rink in Rome.
Or Christian players wanting to live in Nashville, like Ryan Smyth and Mike Fisher?
If your socials frequently ask you “what is a woman?”, you don’t drink coffee for religious reasons, and you have small children who are approaching school age, there are probably a few reasons you might want to live in Salt Lake.
I’ve definitely heard of the reverse though, people who have left Salt Lake because they weren’t LDS and they felt that was a problem for them living there.
I don’t think this is really comparable.
Among other things, the world’s 1.2 billion non-Catholic Christians don’t tend to be particularly excited about Rome.
The price of cap space?
Mathieu Joseph was recently traded with a 3rd round pick for future considerations. He hd two years left on his contract.
Dom has his projected value at $3.4m over the next two years.
His actual cap hit is just under $3m for the next two seasons though his actual salary is $3.3m.
Ceci has 1 year left at a cap hit of $3.25 m (actual salary $3.5m).
Dallas traded Radek Faksa ($3.25 million cap hit) to St. Louis today for future considerations.
Nill is up to something.
Well, they have to re-sign Thomas Harley, not sure how much that will cost, but it wont’ be cheap.
Then they only have 11 forwards and 7 defensemen currently under contract (including Harley), with just $7m in cap space (to sign Harley and add 3 roster players).
If they go long on Harley, that could eat up a good portion of their $7m.
I expect they will bridge Harley and wait until Benn’s $9.5 million comes off the cap in the next offseason.
So is this the new handle? 5th or 6th now?
Jackson has a list of candidates for GM to work through and has started to ask other teams for permission to talk to certain people.
May take a couple or three weeks but he is adamant he will “get the right person”.
the ‘right person’ certainly doesn’t include Stan Bowman for many many reasons.
This thread is exhausting.
For anyone downplaying how close we were and what an amazing run that was, eat a dick because it was amazing.
Also, for anyone that thinks this team isn’t better on paper than it was two weeks ago and almost winning the cup, again, eat a dick.
There’s way more to say than that, but if you can’t see positivity from the last few weeks than I feel bad for you.
From my standpoint, I have no time or energy to waste on those who claim to be fans of this team who only have negative viewpoints after yesterday.
Yesterday was historic and I think there is nothing but good things to come for this organization.
One correction, the turn around and playoff run was historic. American Thanksgiving to Game 7 of the Finals. A healthier Drai and the Oilers are Cup champions.
But there is still a small group who think they know best, know all and they won’t be happy until the Oilers are built & play exactly how they think it should be….regardless of how successful the organization is.
Yesterday was absolutely mind blowing. By the time we had re-signed Henrique, it was just getting stupid at that point. I can’t recall a free agency day like that for the Oilers. I certainly didn’t expected it. Incredible run of team-friendly contracts on good players.
Suspense and elation all day long!
Up in LT’s territory we ate tacos. Until they turned our Taco Bell into KFC. And our Taco Time into a daycare.
We had the best player, better depth, better PP, better PK, better defense, better goalie, better team, better coach, better GM, better jersey, better crest, better fans, better city, better country.
Better get a bucket I’m going to throw up.
But not spotted dick,
But seriously though…. why drop Taco Bell for KFC when there are literally 5-6 other fried chicken places around town (all presumably better)? Simply the worst!
Perhaps a bit of a tangent, but most of the Taco Bells in Edmonton were of the half Taco Bell/half KFC franken-restaurant variety.
In recent months they’ve closed down and redone all of those locations, so that now they’re solely KFCs.
Apparently step two of this plan is to build new Taco Bell only locations in those same areas, but unfortunately it appears as though that process is taking far longer than the removal did.
Because Pepsi! 👎 and it’s KFC, not chicken.
In fairness it’s really just the same 5-6 people who complain non-stop about anything and everything. They would have complained about who McDavid passed the cup to first had they won.
Since there is no mute button, it’s just easier to skip over their comments when you see their names and hope they are choking on all those dicks they are eating.
Jackson also mentioned that he’s started talking to other teams about ways to get cap compliance but there is lots of time.
If Edm can make the Cup again, that will be Corey Perry’s 17th straight appearance in the Finals 🙂
I am always excited for Development Camp, this probably doesn’t excite much of the fan base, given the lack of high end prospects. And also because of the amazing and franchise rockin’ FA signings yesterday.
For those not aware, Camp starts Wednesday, with 17 Oilers prospects attending and several others (I haven’t seen a full list yet, but will be in the 30-40 range).
FWIW, all I’ve found is that 2 players from the Q will be in attendance, in addition to Draft picks:
C Vincent Desjardins, 18
D Pier-Olivier Roy, 20
I look forward to more info over the next 48 hrs.
No on ice sessions though.
Beau Akey is participating. At first I was wondering if he was going to be on ice but, well, noone is.
On Oilers Now, Jackson mentioned that they had Sam O’Riley ranked higher than most lists and actually not far off the mid-1st round. He was also quite clear that it’s up to the org to ensure they develop him properly and give him the tools and opportunity to reach his potential.
Lesson from the past few years. Win the Division. Start like a house on fire and don’t let up. How about 35-12-1 start or something like that. Then instead of pressing the gas and overplaying the top guys, Edm can play more balanced minutes. That will pay dividends in Round 2, 3 and the Cup.
Florida just lost in the Cup Final and came back knowing what had to change. No reason Edmonton can’t do the same.
Is this though??
Someone posted previous to the playoffs that “hot teams” that have been playing for their seeding or battling actually have won more often than not?
I agree in premise. But i recall the stats suggesting it was far less relevant than one would think? And any team “costing” into the playoffs often did not do well… so a balance there for sure.
I agree with this but, despite the terrible start, the Oilers did such a good job at, not just getting back in to the race, but solidifying a spot, that they kind of did balance things out down the strech.
In the last 15 games, average TOI for McDavid and Drai were both right at 20 minutes, Ek was at 21 and Bouch at 23.
Pickard also played quite a bit down the stretch if I recall.
CUP comes from top 6 teams in reg season over 80% of the time. Edm needs to be top 6.
Judging by the title of today’s post, it appears that LT’s spirit animal is in fact Krusty the Klown.
What a great day yesterday. Can’t say it enough.
Anyone have any word on any NTC or NMC on the contracts? Hoping none, but was wondering if Henrique would have NTC? Arvidson?
I don’t have “x” so maybe it was posted and if so my apologies.
capfriendly is still live at the minute.
https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/oilers
July 5 is the go-dead date.
That will be a sad date for sure
So many sites have gone away that help us discuss
To help money matters… perhaps Ceci Macleod and Ryan go. Give Sprong 2 yers at 1.5 and give TBarrie a professional tryout? I have never felt Ryan pushed any positives. He is there on the ice and not much else. Surprised Sprong is still available. He’s young.
DR scored 10 goals a couple of seasons ago. I think they were all 5v5 too. He has really slowed down recently though.
Okay. Good to know. His career stats seem to be an upward trajectory.
43 points last year with bottom 6 minutes for Detroit … and they are not a barn burner.
But yes something is up for him to be available still.
One time Ryan was carrying the puck up ice and I decided to make tea and crumpets (Bleckinsale reference) came back sat down and he finally crossed the centre line.
Sprong is the most sheltered empty calorie forward in the league. With the acquisition of Skinner and Arvidsson and resigning of Henrique, Sprong’s not good enough to even play on our PP2. Not sure that guy even knows where his own zone is.
I’d be on board with Sprong for the fourth line along with MacLeod & Holloway.
Nuge-McDavid-Hyman
Skinner-Leon-Arvidsson
Janmark-Henrique-Brown
Holloway-MacLeod-Sprong
Not sure they need Tyson Barrie .
Hey LT… congrats on the new relationship. Some say it is with Kate Bleckinsale. If so… she is dating up.
The English call soccer football… what do the call hockey- ice skates game?
Seriously… congrats. Those butterflies in the tummy and anticipation of the next date jitters make life wonderful.
Maybe he got Diane Lane’s attention after all these years and postings.
Well LT would be dating up and she can lace her own skates… thank you very much.
Question. If any contract under 1.15 million can be buried in the minors with no affect on the cap, what is the point of 2 way contracts? Why did Hamblin get a 2 way deal, instead of just a 775k 1 way deal and put him in the minors?
The 2-way deal will likely earn less when in the AHL.
The full dollar value is only paid when in the NHL.
A 1-way deal requires the full payment, regardless of where they are.
Hamblin will make 80k in the minors according to CapFriendly.
Some two way deals give, say $775k if you play in the NHL and say, $250k while you’re in the AHL. Not sure about the waiver thing, I dont think that’s correct.
I have wondered this also. You could entice better players by not structuring an AHL/NHL differentiation. But still enjoy burying a contract. No? Yes? Is there a cap in minors?
This does happen from time to time but generally with AHL vets. It is still real money for the owner so not worth paying top dollar for most prospects. And many of the young guys are under contract so don’t have any mobility/option to choose other AHL teams. Two way contracts offer massive incentive to play to your potential/improve/buy in to the system.
The owner has never shied away from using his financial power to help the club in this way.
He has had no problem signign players to one-way contracts that will likely play in the AHL – such as Lane Pederson last season.
Troy Stecher and Josh Brown are both on one-way deals and both likely to spend much time in the AHL.
The owner has also agreed to sign players to two way deal with very high AHL salaries and even AHL deals (not NHL contracts) with very high salaries.
No cap in the AHL.
My first impressions. The signings are pretty good at hockey, but that Florida team will run right over them.
Unless there is a Zadorov to go with them somewhere….
You sound like you’re still sad.
Umm…Janmark and Brown were two of the most energetic checkers against Florida. Arvidsson is tough as nails. Henrique was just fine for us. Maybe Skinner is a little one-dimensional, but even then, he’s pretty good at that dimension.
That’s 1/5 that might have any difficulty with Florida.
I will be defending my position tomorrow.
There was a reason Janmark, Brown, Henrique emerged as a second line. What is the reason? Its critical, because they passed so many others. We have to learn here. What went wrong, what went right.
And Corey Perry? Ridiculous signing
Derick Ryan? Is he signed or where is he at? Love him, but no spot this year.
a) it was day one of free agency
b) Janmark-Henrique-Brown all back is huge, with solid help in top 6 as well
c) day 1 of playoffs is a couple days away
Plenty of time to see how the roster shakes out by training camp and opening day (including RD). I get that Game 7 loss still stings, but that was a extremely productive and efficient day 1 by the management team.
I see what you’re saying but having a proper top 6 will help
Part of the juice the Panthers had was only having to handle one line in the end
Last Monday night I turned the TV off before I had to watch that assortment of shitbirds raise the cup.
Then I turned the radio off, the blogs off and even the old Al Gore.
Im quiet, but I’m still pissed. I don’t respect that Florida team much.
So I jumped in late yesterday with lots to talk about and then, my oh my….
Oilers have been busy
Yea I turned it all off as well. Panthers kind of a despicable bunch. Bennet and Turtle are major league A holes and got away with murder. NHL officials don’t really referee they just try to manage the chaos.
In an earlier post someone mentioned something about “moving the goalposts.” I will change the context somewhat and remind that for years, maybe decades, we discussed how building a consistent winning organization will attract free agents.
Now that this is upon us, we have a number of posters saying 1) this is not true, and/or 2) Holland deserves no credit for the successful state of the organization. Both positions are disingenuous.
Holland did everything he said he would do, except win Stanley. While winning Stanley was the goal, losing in Game 7 is still a huge accomplishment. 30 others teams were not playing in that game. Before yesterday there was no rationale reason to not expect the Oilers to be a serious contender in 24/25, and yesterday increased the odds.
I think people just harbor resentments and it’s difficult to let go. Maybe the collapse of the Oilers after the 2006 run has people afraid that everything is about to fall apart.
Oilers are in a great position now. Players leaping at under-value contracts in order to be on a contender, that’s nothing to sneeze at.
Not thinking that things were left undone isn’t harbouring resentments, especially from 18 years ago
Some are fine with a G7 appearance, some think it was there given enough help upstairs. Last year as well
The Oilers got to the Stanley Cup final because of and in spite of Holland.
Holland was Moses. He led the Oilers out of Egypt and through the desert, but wasn’t going to get them to the promised land.
Didn’t they wander for 40 years? Doesn’t look like it with JJ at the helm.
Yes it did not have to take 5 years, starting from such an advantage
Hell of a season for a guy that you repeatedly said couldn’t build a winner.
Hell of a playoff for a team you repeatedly said couldn’t win because the shitty GM got a bunch of old guys.
I responded to your earlier comment before I saw this. It comes down to what people believe is driving them forward. Many folks here aren’t old enough to remember the Oilers last time they had an all time great. Their memories of the team doing well are around 2006, a decent team with a few really good players, but nothing out of the ordinary. Well maybe Pronger was
I think maybe that’s why people are really underestimating what having a player like Connor brings to the team, and how it raises the level of all of the other players. His impact is like no other player, except maybe Crosby in prime. His impact is enormous. Maybe it’s hard to perceive if you haven’t seen it before up close, on your own team. Or maybe people who are old enough don’t think Gretzky also brought the transcendent effect, but he did, it was pretty apparent after he was gone
It’s more than knowing he’s the best player. It’s why these rare players usually win multiple cups when they come along. Usually before they are as old as Connor is in his 9th year. I could post a bunch of stats, but this run was driven by Connor’s line and the top pair. A lot of players did not do well
The D group has been a point of discussion since before the 2023 playoffs, it failed them again, and Leon hasn’t had good enough wingers ever. To me it is player growth that got them this far, and Connor getting better every season
Holland didn’t do nothing, he got Ekholm for one. But imagine if those two longstanding issues had been addressed a few seasons ago? It was possible, it didn’t happen, so I give the special players most of the credit
curious if anyone could share a website that would show points/60 with and without.
i am interested to see the with or without numbers for a number of players and how much their production increases as a result of ice time with mcdavid or draisaitl.
It’s a little awkward, but you can get it from NST.
https://www.naturalstattrick.com/playerreport.php?fromseason=20232024&thruseason=20232024&stype=3&sit=5v5&stdoi=oi&rate=y&v=t&playerid=8478402
I use NST as well but the line tool does rates and with/without.
https://www.naturalstattrick.com/linestats.php?fromseason=20232024&thruseason=20232024&stype=3&sit=5v5&score=all&rate=y&team=EDM&vteam=ALL&view=wowy&loc=B&gpfilt=none&fd=2024-04-20&td=2024-06-24&tgp=2000&strict=incl&p1=8478402&p2=8477934&p3=0&p4=0&p5=0
The line tool has a cleaner output and is easier to use, but it does not give you points/60, unfortunately. Those are goals for on rates while the player is on the ice, not their actual points per 60.
I’m not necessarily posting this as an endorsement of the idea, but I wonder if the Oilers might be considering a low cost/term reunion with Tyson Barrie should Ceci be moved on. He was certainly well liked in the room.
at less than 1.15 i would have time for barrie. fully buryable in the minors if need be.
No idea, but they must have their eyes peeled for a defenseman. Probably not a high priority item — they can likely wait until the trade deadline, if required.
Defense is what we need, offense is solid.
Strong day yesterday for the Oilers. Very impressed with what the organization did. Who ever was making and involved in the decision making are to be congratulated. Going to be interesting to see how the line-up and cap situation unfolds.
I imagine that nothing more is done until they know what is going on with Kane who is getting a second opinion
Another free agency win: every other Pacific division contender had a brutal day 1 of free agency.
Seattle signed two of the worst deals on the day.
Vancouver made a series of lateral moves.
Vegas lost a bunch of depth. Martinez, Stephenson, marchesaut.
Hanifin in, Martinez out is a big improvement for Vegas. They are retooling their forward group. It is unclear whether they will be better or worse.
Remember Hertl will be healthy. Eichel, Hertl, Karlsson. They are still really strong down the middle.
Hanifin was acquired last year.
Hertl, Eichel, and Stone are never healthy.
Hanifin was traded to Vegas on March 6th.
He played only 16 regular season games for them.
Great. I was talking about moves teams made or did not make on July 1.
Irrelevant since their late additions are still with the team.
And your suggesting that Hertl is is always injured does not hold water and while the Knights have had numerous injuries doesn’t mean they will again.
Last year = last hockey season.
So whatever contributions Hertl and Hanifin make next season won’t count?
Read my initial post.
OK, do the Oilers get to count Henrique as an addition from last year?
Why do you keep changing your handle?
Janmark was acquired two years ago. Brown was acquired last year. Henrique was acquired at the trade deadline. Ditto Stecher.
Puckpedia has the Perry bonuses:
$150K for 15 GP, $50K if team wins 2nd Round (+ Perry either 50% of Round 2 GP or 50% Round 1 & 2 GP), $50K if team wins 3rd Round (+ Perry either 50% of Round 3 GP or 50% Rounds 1-3 GP)
—————————-
I loathe the games played bonus at 15 games. That’s essentially locking in an overage for the Oiler reducing next year’s cap, in year 1 of the Drai/Bouch extensions.
Good for Perry, I guess, but he’s made over $92MM in salary in the NHL, does he really need to dig in for that $150K? Does it effect his life one iota? It very likely does effect the Oilers’ next year.
I don’t know how the NHL contract rules go, but my presumption is the 15GP criterion is basically a way to lower the cost of a buyout if his year is a disaster? i.e. I presume all parties think he’s going to have a near-complete season but this is a bit of an insurance policy.
No, its a one-year contract, there is no potential buyout
15 GP is such a poor bonus structure. Come on JJ….
Don’t disagree, but it’s a massive improvement over Brown’s 10 game $3 million or so bonus that’s carrying forward to this year.
Essentially it’s a contract that is fully able to be buried if he’s not usable. And if in fact we can use him he gets a few extra dollars
Apparently they like him in the room.
They don’t need him on the ice.
Get good players…keep good players… (who knew). plus two legit wingers for Drai? Skinner and Arvidsson….very astute work.
It has me dreaming a bit about next season.
It would sure be nice to have home ice advantage all the way to the cup, not to mention a division title!
Watching those career highlight packs over at YouTube—-Skinner and Arvidsson are both skilled goal scorers with great shots and one timers to boot. Both are excellent PP guys too, opening up more coaching options. (Injury cover)
It is great time to be an Oiler fan. So many possibilities. (Could Skinner pull a Hyman, and pot 50 playing as Leos winger?) I predict many legendary moments from the giants who walk among us.
I am very happy for you LT. Congrats.
LT, you should add Daniel D’Amato RW (formerly Henderson player) and Alex Kannonk Leipert LD (formerly Abbotsford player), who signed AHL deals to Bakersfield roster.
What’s D’Amato with giving him a day to relax and catch up first?
I did some projections today based on this roster and probable roster progressions, as well as probable replacement costs for aging out players etc, until 2030. With Kane on LTIR or traded, we can stay under the cap and have a very solid roster until 2030. We may need to be running a 22 man roster for 2025/26 and 2026/27 to absorb the new contracts for Drai, Connor and Bouch, and 2025/26 might be extremely close, but preliminary numbers are looking promising!
— I thought of LTs kids after he made his announcement. My mom lost her dad when she was in her 20s
— When my grandmother started “dating” again my mom and siblings were very angry and resentful for awhile.
— But Grannie got a 2nd lease on life in her 60s loved her new husband our families blended and the kids realized how much she deserved someone.
— All the best in your 2nd act and be mindful of your kids: might be tough at first but they will get it.
— Sorry for posting about you LT: I know you don’t like the attention: but many of us care and have sent well wishes.
— the general level of competency and lack of head scratching is nice.
— None leaked. Sure there is a some truth in the Oil now being a desired destination for someone like Skinner
— For those less that thrilled with old Dutch’s playbook over his tenure : this is is what we hoped for IMO
— What could have been with a more progressive management group during the $21mm McDrai era that come to an end after this season.
I think at least one Cup
Hindsight. The team has improved every season and is there now. Def some screw ups and decisions that would be taken back now but Holland said mistakes would be made and they were but good things were there as well. The team has gotten better. Its time to get that cup, whether next year or the year after.
I would take what Holland did after the mess of PC anyday. PC was absolutely horrendous.
— there a big difference between the potential severity of “mistakes” possible on this set of moves with this management vs the mistakes made by Holland : the term and dollars for the goalie, Nurse and say Hyman.
— one of those worked out, one a complete disaster and the other a major overpay with lack of understanding of market. They were all just big swings.
— some of these moves might end up mistakes but not crippling ones.
You conveniently dismiss how deep in the muck we were before Holland arrived. Holland was the right man for the right time. Astute, steady hand who cleaned up the mess and laid a solid foundation both on and off the ice. Now is JJ’s/new GM’s time. Different circumstances and different type of executive needed. I am confident more than I have ever been that JJ will make the right moves to continue this teams evolution, both on and off the ice.
— were you confident that Holland was going to make all the right moves and that he would win a Cup during his tenure.
— For those who had no expectation that Holland would win a cup because there was so much heavy lifting that 5 years wasn’t enough: that’s fine to have this opinion.
— But for those who feel there ought to have been more accomplished during the 21mm McDrai era, I think they tend to recognize the positives of Holland and be dissatisfied with the era, especially seeing what has happened in the last 48 hours.
— I rue what could have been…(while still looking forward to what may come)
A lot of people overstate what Holland did and Chia didn’t. Chiarelli started a lot of the organizational improvements, nobody remembers. PC gets blamed for everything that happened, but it’s clear to me that the BoB and possibly DK were interfering. They didn’t with Holland or why would he come with his resume? That is probably his biggest contribution, causing the end of that
And I wasn’t a fan of PC, but it was a different time for the org. It doesn’t have to take years to fix a mess either, Zito proved that. Zito just tried to move his cup winning anchor D, that’s active. Multiple comments here have detailed how the recent cup winners built, and all were active, not passive, and right about what they did. No crippling unmoveable deals, some they had to work around they didn’t sign, like Bob
Pic wouldn’t post so deleted it.
Great last couple days ! I am pretty happy with what went on with the team both players and def contractually. Added talent/depth where needed and we can add a nice D man at the deadline. This is a nice team, 4 lines deep now, The second line can now fully be that, Drai has more help. Injuries, luck will contribute but this team is loaded for next season. Bro will just get better and more comfortable. We got a chance here, onto next season!
Won’t be able to add a locker room attendant if they use LTIR
I sure hope we see (Holloway-Philp-Lavoie) in the new year instead of whatever fourth line they piece together to start the season. The top nine looks to be all set.
I think Holloway and Philp will get their chances. Holloway lead the team in hits during the playoffs and they’ve been desperately searching for a #4RHC for so long that he’ll get his shot for sure. Lavoie may have to cut those sideburns.
I’m hoping Lavoie can still make an impact, for when the two old guys (Perry & Ryan) go MIA.
Nuge McD Hyman
Skinner Drai Arvidsson
Brown Henrique Janmark
Holloway McLeod Kane
Perry/Ryan
To make cap work something has to give, but I see no room for Lavoie or Philp unless injuries become a thing.
I can see Philp taking Ryan’s job on merit but that will take some time during the season
I’m curious how Brown will be next year. Anytime you have a major surgery it takes at least a year to recover.
I don’t understand your comment. Is Brown scheduled for a major surgery this summer?
He’s talking about Connor Brown and his recovery after surgery last year because he started 2023-24 badly and ended it very well. 2024-25 should see him back to full health and we’ll see what he can really do
Agree on the healing, depending on ice time, and who he plays with, I say Brown will be a 35-45 pt responsible player. He will be jacked that he is healthy and he should start the year on a better note of course.
if the janitor line stays together they will have a full season to gel and should be demons out there. That goes for a bunch of the lines. Coaches will mix of course as needed.
Also his confidence will be there after those playoffs.
I’m hoping to see 10-20 EV/SH goals from each of those three next season and it’s amazing that all three are back
To be honest, I think this is one of the reasons Brown signed that contract. Didn’t quite rehab his image with the overall results last year – if he feels like he is finally healthy and getting back to previous levels of play, then he has a good chance at earning a nice retirement contract somewhere next year
Looking at this roster, as constructed today, and here are my predictions:
Division champ. For sure.
League champ. D’uh.
Cup Champ. It’s a given really.
Super Bowl Champ: I think it’s a lock.
Grey Cup: Probably.
UEFA Cup: I think we’re close.
Allan Cup: We have the power.
Canada Cup: Only a time machine away.
Davis Cup: I like our chances. McDavid has that serve, you know?
Indy 500: Isn’t this premise already as thin as floss?
Cup of Noodles: I think this is less Simpsons’ rake, and more just awful at this point.
Apologies…but damn, I’m excited!!!!
Compare day 1 of free agency today to 2006 when we were coming off a game 7 loss. By that point, I think we had already traded our best player and watched all our FAs sign elsewhere.
I just looked through all of the players that left from summer 2006 to fall 2007 and it’s actually shorter to list all the players that stayed than the ones that left. Hemsky, Horcoff, Stoll, Pisani, Staios, Torres, Moreau, Greene and Roloson (9 Players) and that is down to 5 by 2008. That was a rough ride
And many of the ones that stayed got overpaid.
not sure why Perry gets resigned
Connor and Leon wanted him back. Nothing else to it.
Because his cap hit is minimal and he knows what it takes to win, and helps off the ice
The stars aren’t young but need the grounded perspective. Connor is pretty high strung, remember how he looked at the start of last season?
So now you like Perry? A couple posts ago you were all about guys outscoring or at least running the fancies to outscore. I give props for the gymnastics.
I think its a nice send off that Jeff went and re-signed pretty much all of Holland’s guys. Copy-catting is the best form of flattery after all. He did spare his old client Warren, but hey if other GMs are about to screw up like Dubas did when Holland plucked Hyman from him, take advantage all day.
Pretty nice acknowledgment from Jeff that Holland knew exactly what was going on and had all the right guys to win the Cup.
Look he didn’t even touch the defense! Left it the same and signed quite possibly the worst RHD in the NHL as a backup in case things falter.
Necessary? Did I say they shouldn’t sign Perry? If you like to have a go at people with nothing else to add, while also being disingenuous, perhaps you could do that at another comment section, there are lots. Respect LTs. I try to or there would be other words here
Watching Perry and McDavid hug at the end of game 7 before they left the ice made it very clear to me why Perry was going to be resigned. That hug was more than just 2 people who played hockey together for 6 months.
Game 4 against Dallas. Oilers down 2-0 early. I believe it was Perry who played a massive part on the bench in calming the troops and keeping the belief.
Perry brings value, can still play, and I think Connor and Leon made it clear they wanted him back.
Because Kane is out and they like someone that can get dirty
He’s there to deal with issues like Kane so Connor and Leon don’t have to.
This is really it. It’s easier to be the “reasonable cop” than the bad cop. When Perry yells at guys to do something it’s easier for McD/Drai to say “well, he should be nicer about it but yeah, you gotta back check”
Perry also can do that and has the rep to be listened to. That isn’t an easy balance, not being a top player and also having the cred. He can also beat most of them up
With Kane’s availability in doubt for assorted reasons, they are now long on skill and short on A-holishness. Remember the interview where they talked about the other team having agitators and the Oilers laughed and said “We got Perry.”
Solid choice as 13/14F if the kids need more playing to on the farm before graduating.He can also teach the young uns something about grit, determination and how to get under the opponents skin…
14 B2B on the schedule and 17 of the final 29 games are on the road.
I counted 12, so nice to know I was in the ballpark and not misreading it – that’s horrendous. Almost as if the league wants to punish players if they want to play in extra-curricular tournaments…
Interesting. In 2023-24, the Oilers played 10B2B, all between Dec 21/22 and the end of the season. That’s pretty much the same this coming season, 10 between Dec 21/22 and the end of the season, w/4 before that.
Last season, it was 10 games in the last 18, this year, 9 in 16 (but only 14 in March). Presumable they’ll be a little fresher.
Looks like two of the B2Bs are all the all home games variety. Always thought that was kind of weird. Kind of mitigates the home ice advantage a bit.
Id love to know what, if any, impact of fans giving brown a standing ovation when he scored his 1st of tbe season had on him resigning a “i feel like i owe you guys something” 1 year conrltract.
Like of course 1 goal away from stanley cup game 7 OT is pretty attractive. I just imagine based on last couple months of season, point i started to comment that he was becoming much more noticable in positive way game to game, and continued through playoffs -> surely he could gave gotten a 2 million dollar contract from someone if only taking a x 1 year.
To end of feb
49 GP, 0 G, 5 A, -9, 13:15 min/g
(Icetime declined from 15:45 min/g in october to 10:50 min/g in february)
Final 2 months:
23 GP, 4 G, 3 A, +1, 12:12 min/g
Playoffs;
19 GP, 2 G, 4 A, +4, 11:55 min/g
Combine last 2
42 GP, 6 G, 7 A, +5, ~12 min/g
Potentialky a 10-15 G, ~30 pts, plus even strength player, part of excellent PK for 1 million is nuts value.
It’s ~4M on the cap, that is the why
Brown has specifically cited that ovation and the support he received during the year in general as massive factors.
“My heart is in Edmonton”
It’s crazy that we got a $9 million player in Skinner for $3 million. I was checking other $9 million-ish forwards, and there’s Kaprizov (9.0), Meier (8.8), Larkin (8.7), Laine (8.7), Crosby (8.7), and Guentzel (newly signed 9.0). Sure, Skinner is overpaid at $9 million but he’s a talent. He should produce well in our top 6, and he’ll be excited to finally be in the playoffs after missing out for 14 years.
Buyout makes it possible
Yes, I saw that. It’s great that Skinner chose us and was willing to take a pay cut because presumably he wants a Cup over money (he’s made his money).
Yes it is great. The Cup run helps, but I think it’s more about the players these wingers get to play with. There are only a handful of really top centres, and the Oilers have 2
Could this be our Kariya and Selanne in Colorado moment? At least with the similar premise, not the exact 1-1 comparison in player quality. Hopefully with better results!
Skinner is NOT a $9 million dollar player. The Oilers are not getting a $9 million dollar player. Fair value is probably more like $5 million. Still a large discount.
I don’t understand the fanfare for the GM. Yes, good moves. But the Oilers are a team that just went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and they’ve retained their core.
This isn’t like the 2006 run where Pronger asked for a trade right after the loss and everyone knew the team (to lean on the Farm Report) “got blewed-up good, yeah real good!” That’s a big difference.
Teams that look like fun places to play, where there is a good chance for success, they’re magnets. Players were rightfully skeptical of the Oilers but the past 3 playoff runs have erased all skepticism. Oilers won’t be surprising anyone, anymore.
The Oilers are a team that didn’t win the Cup because the former GM went into the playoffs undermanned on D, as so many people said as far back as the summer previous
The game 7 thing is a red herring. That does not gaslight the problems and lack of action or lack of decision making. What was amazing about game 7 is that a beaten up McDavid and a young guy on a historic heater at D dragged them that far, with 6-7 guys not doing anything helpful or worse
I can think of 1 guy making 9.25 who was an absolute train wreck that made everyone else around him worse
😢
Yuuuuuuuuppppp!
Nurse with Broberg as like plus 4 or something like that in the final five games of the final.
The problem was not Nurse, but the guys they played with Nurse before Broberg.
Those are easy criticisms to make, but I don’t see many other teams signing top talent to short contracts at near league-minimum.
Montreal signed Slafovsky to an 8-year $60 million deal. Oilers aren’t in a position where they have to tolerate such high-risk deals, as there’s more certainty in the position and direction of the team.
What you see as previous decision-making problems of the Oilers GMs, I suspect has more to do with lack of available options.
We don’t have to agree, I hear your point of view but think it’s wrong
Holland had little to do with the success, he hampered it. Same roster problems as when he came. Nobody is all bad at a job or all good really. Ekholm was a big boost, but that was an obvious choice anyone would make, if they were willing to pay through the nose as Holland did. Not because Ekhlom isn’t great, it’s because he was old. Holland paid peak years price
Slafkovsky just turned 20 and is 6’3 238lbs and can skate. He scored 20 and 30A. Locking him up at 7.6M deserves a bonus to the GM, the risk was doing what Holland did with Bouch and costing the team 2-4M in extra cap. You have to know what you are looking at. See them early or if they don’t have it trade them while they have cache
I suppose I’m not trying to convince you of anything. I’m just trying to understand your opinion.
Your argument appears to be based on hidden knowledge. We have no idea what deals were available to Holland, and which ones were not.
You appear to be presuming every deal that was made by every other GM was transparent and available to Holland as well, and I think there’s no reason to believe anything of the sort. GMs don’t generally project all their impending deals to invite competition. Sometimes there are messages sent, but the information is limited. In many cases, nobody but the involved parties know anything until the official paperwork reaches the NHL.
Bingo.
The way I look at it is based on what the Oilers need and what other teams do and have done. That is the foil, our competition, we don’t have to know the inner workings we can look at actions and results
Willis had a tweet up about it once. He was getting at the things we read around here about what ‘can’t’ happen. He referred to the Knights and the thinking that you can’t get top players especially RS. They got a top 10 C RS and first pair RD he pointed out. They traded for Stone. McCrimmon said they identify areas they want to improve, and they go out and find the solution
Every team can’t go out and do that, there are only so many players like that to get. But you also don’t have to leave roster holes or weaknesses, and even after yesterday there is still a key one at 2RD. The teams that have been the most successful are active, have a clear plan, and go after it. The teams that lag are inactive, don’t or can’t find and make deals, or are wrong for whatever reasons
We saw a lot happen yesterday, it was exciting. It’s been a long time for Oiler fans. LT on his show today was saying how things like the deadline or free agency in the past were filled with excitement and dread for Oiler fans, and how different it was this time, all smart moves and despite anything else, they actually got done
This early after the season the team is set except one position. It’s more talented than it was. Depending on what else happens they may not need to do anything much at the deadline (saving assets) unless there is an injury
That seems to ignore teams inherent strengths and weaknesses. Is the Rangers GM just that much more smart than others, or is their relative success a reflection that taxes are low in the US (compared to Canada) and celebrities enjoy the anonymitiy of living in Manhatten? When Montreal was annualy a Stanley Cup contender, was that genius management or an NHL that was biased towards its only French team?
Is Winnipeg’s management really that bad, or are their problems a reflection of the difficulties of a struggling team in a Canadian market? The same could be said of Ottawa or Calgary.
My impression is that NHL management is generally pretty good across-the-board, and managers mostly just work with what’s available to them. Every once and a while managers luck into fantastic situations (endless 1st overall picks, like the Oilers, trades being better than expected) and every once and a while there’s some bad luck (draft picks not working out, injury stuggles, a trade that’s less than what you hoped for). Sometimes managers lean towards sacrificing the short term for the long term, or vice-versa.
I suppose I lean towards thinking people seeing too much genius or failure in management.
This is ridiculous.
The Slafovsky deal is NOT a high risk deal because it would be a 1/3rd buyout, not a 2/3rds buyout.
“Game 7 is a red herring”.
Ya sure, only if you ignore how injured and ineffective Drai was in the Finals. A healthy Drai would have had the Oilers, warts and all, hoisting the Cup. No team is perfect, even the SC winners.
I agree Sierra. I think it’s amazing how far they got and to me the biggest reason was Connor and Bouch doing what they did. Of course others contributed as well
Usually teams that have players not playing well, especially when it’s quite a few and half the D corp, don’t get to the finals. The Oilers couldn’t before, but because Connor’s game has gotten to such a high level his line was able to carry the team even with him hurt
It was widely discussed here and by many in media that the Oilers needed to improve the D group, especially Nurse Ceci. Even before 2023 playoffs. They went to the cup final game 7 with one functional D pair. That does not happen very often. Bro came in and helped more than Ceci or Des could, but Nurse Bro numbers were not good still, they got lucky in goal share
That is why I think Connor Leon when he was healthy and Bouch drove the results. Even with the deadline adds without their performance they couldn’t have done it, I think it was those key players taking a step was what happened, not really what Holland did
Holland getting Ekholm was important, the biggest thing he did for the team. He added some free agents this run, but left the biggest problem unresolved. He spoke about it last summer, not seeming to realize that improvement was needed. He referenced losing to cup winners and what he saw as success. I think it cost them the Cup, even with no Drai really or Kane in the finals
If this was a typical team, I might see it differently, Holland’s reasoning might seem accurate. But it’s not a typical team, it has a top 5 all time player on it who’s 27 and improving every season. It has another elite forward, and a D that scored at historic playoff levels. Usually teams in this situation win more than one Cup, and usually while the key player is younger. Gretzky, Lemieux, Crosby
So I see the success as player driven because they couldn’t ice good enough wingers to play with Leon, or a good enough 2nd pair because he kept Ceci, long standing issues. If management had addressed those issues they would have the cup. Maybe more than one
Remember when everything had to be done one thing at a time otherwise the whole domino pile would fall according to that “smart” former GM this team had…
Amazing what a non-GM with some skill and the ability to see a larger plan while task-switching can do…
To me it’s also about drive. Jackson has to prove himself, win his accolades
Holland was 2 years from CPP and had done it all in his career already, had his props, and his work reflected a guy in no particular hurry with a vague plan and lots of talk about former success a decade or more previous
I think Holland contributed to the franchise and is a good man. That his action was what it was given who he inherited on his roster to me says that he was not competent, at least not anymore. I say that because I don’t doubt his intentions, but I saw what happened and didn’t happen, and I saw yesterday. Those goal posts are in cement
I’m not referring to Holland.
What former GM then?
Among the people to say this over the years was MacTavish who is often is referred to as “smart”.
Right. For me I was immediately worried when he said ‘bold moves’. Hold my beer and of course the other GMs wouldn’t after that
Much better coach than GM IMO. Also I can’t imagine how much ‘input’ he was getting from many people
I’m not so sure that the new mgmt group has the day it had yesterday (and they had one helluva day!) without the run to the SCF by the team constructed by the former ‘smart’ GM…. So much easier to attract talent at a discount when your team is perched on the precipice of glory.
Not true. They had been in contention for several playoffs, and had two of the best forwards widely acknowledged, one the world’s best. If you couldn’t sell that…
Maybe if people didn’t come it was because they could see the problems and that there wasn’t anything done to fix them. KH left with the same roster problems as he came into
You hit the nail on the head in one of your previous responses….
Fair enough!
Not Holland.
QFT.
Mark Hunter will be the next GM. It is he who is pulling the strings behind the scenes between the draft and free agency. 😉 And he’s already done an amazing job. Should have been Leafs GM many yrs ago instead of Dubas. Why ppl praise the utter complete failure Dubas is beyond me. He destroyed the Leafs organization after being handed the most optimal situation in the league with young talent and all his draft picks and managed to bleed their talent and depth and squander many future picks. How he got rewarded for a performance worse than Chiarelli, by having a chance to destroy a 2nd legendary franchise in Pittsburgh, is beyond me. He is a very politically correct speaker who knows how to say the right thing. The 2 biggest analytics guys Dubas & Chayka are the 2 biggest Gm failures. Analytics has a place in hockey, a small place. it cannot be quantified like it is in baseball because baseball is 1 on 1 and the stats are more accurate and the game situation is always the same, unlike with hockey. it’s the equivalent of reading stat the same on an NFL defense when the team is up large and playing prevent defence. Thats what all these analytic thumpers fail to understand. A big part is that it makes them feel good, like they are a scout/gm just by sitting at their computer and munching numbers. Again analytics has a place, but a very small place in hockey
Hope it aint Bowman
Where’s Mark hiding out, and why hasn’t he already excepted the position as Oiler GM?
Man the goalposts move around here a lot, and HH has been on holidays or something
Jackson absolutely killed it, that’s what competence looks like. Hopefully it wasn’t just good fortune, but a look at the future
There are 24 on the roster and 8 are D. They are 2.454 over the cap. I have no idea what’s coming but my guess is Ceci given they divested of Des and Foegele. That would take the 3 worst playoff guys off the roster
Ceci seems like a no brainer, won’t be surprised if Mcleod is also on the list.
I think whoever is making decisions has had enough of incompetent players and players with a lack of the testicular on their crests as Dr Messier diagnosed
Too many oldsters… need some youngsters and speedsters, too.
Same no brainer it’s always been tho: Who do you find that’s better for that cap hit?
I wouldnt be surprised if they give Broberg the chance to hold down the spot he owned when dropped right into playoffs.
Ceci, brown, stretcher are your stop gaps. Target RHD im season if Bro doesnt manage to keep hold of the ring he clearly grabbed firmly at end of playoffs.
They have to shed cap and have 8 D, we’ll see
The only dman they could trade, acquire a replacement, and get under the cap is Nurse. And I don’t see that happening.
You could trade Ceci or Kulak, but then you have to replace them so it becomes a net zero game.
Unless you think Brown or Stecher can be a full time 3rd pairing guy. I don’t. I think they are competing for the 7D job. I find it curious that they signed 3 righty dmen to compete for the 7D job. Seems like overkill when they already had Kemp and Warner on the farm.
I think Kane is going on LTIR. That’s the only thing that makes sense right now.
And Kemp. Not inconceivable that Kemp challenges these guys.
Oh, he has been around here and there – using a different handle.
Always. You and I have the courage of our convictions
Yes we want Cecie replaced … there is lots of runway between here and the trade deadline … this roster is not complete … next year is 100% all IN year no exceptions … that much is clear
Imagine in Nurse is something other than horrific in next years playoffs
Ryan swapped for Philp in-season (if needed due to Philp pushing or Ryan, well, giving in to farther time) saves $125K.
I’m not sure how Josh Brown got $1MM X 3 and Troy Stecher got $775K X 2. I am off base in having Stecher WELL ahead of Brown on the depth chart (as 7D for now)?
Stecher is way undersized for an NHL D and Brown is a big tough guy that can skate
Stecher is better at hockey.
Didn’t Phoenix have Stecher ahead of Brown too?
Nope, I agree with you OP. Stetcher had injury problems and that often makes a player like him nervous about getting a contract so that might explain him taking that offer. As I mentioned yesterday I had him pencilled in at $1 M on my roster projection.
I know nothing about Brown though so no idea if that was a good signing or not. I just assumed he was a #7 guy or to be stashed in Bakersfield in case of injury.
I’ve discounted this as a realistic option until I listened to Jackson yesterday where he advised that they were still in the consultation phase on Kane – need to talk to specialists and then his agent, etc. to formulate the plan. Oh, and the important “we need to take care of his healthy first”.
I think there is a legit chance he’s on LTIR to start the season but that is not the same as being on LTIR for the entire season which is not the same as being on LTIR for the entire season and then being ready for the playoffs.
I think almost all of us would like a fully healthy Evander Kane on the roster come playoff time.
Lets not forget that, if Kane is on LTIR, the team will not accrue any cap space during that time and, if he’s activated, they need to fit in his entire cap hit (not just “what’s left).
Kane on LTIR to start the season may be the best way but it limits cap space to improve in-season.
He might not be ready for game 1 of the playoffs. But for game 2 … well, maybe ;-l
There’s the possibility Kane could miss the entire season and not be available for the playoffs, he may also never be a top six option for the remainder of his career, but that remains to be seen. If he isn’t willing to waive his NTC, what other option is there but LTIR. That is why it’s wise to take care of Evander and be certain of a full recovery. There’s no rush, Jeff Skinner allows the Oilers time to do so. They don’t even need Kane this regular season, they’re making sure they don’t need to make in season improvements, right now. They have good depth. So, it’s all good.
The unknown here is, well, the reality – we are just speculating that Kane will not be ready to start the season and eligible for LTIR and, if he isn’t “unready” that he would just agree to be place and not play (and a doctor available to sign off on this).
There’s still more than 4 months to sort it all out. I’m sure you’ll stay tuned.
3 months…..
Yes, I will stay tuned and discuss it in the meantime when its specifically and expressly in the blog of the day as a discussion point.
So we are a Ceci upgrade away from LT having to dust off the balance photo again
I think we are there ….
2RD is still a problem – but it’s pretty much the only problem – lot of time to focus on that one issue if Broberg doesn’t solve it all by himself.
I imagine Coffey thinks he can work with Broberg and turn him into a solid 2RD, after turning Bouchard into a Norris calibre 1RD.
If Coffey comes back as coach, right?
I don’t think that’s solidified yet (at least not officially/publicly).
I wouldn’t be surprised if Mark Stuart gets promoted to full time D-coach and Coffey goes back to being full time spy.
Just my speculation though.
There is an interview out there, I believe it was year end, where Coffey said he enjoyed coaching more than he thought he would and loved being in the room with the guys.
Now not saying that means he is returning, but that’s a good sign.
Both Broberg and Kulak have played at RD. AS a pairing, they can switch sides as abilities and needs warrant…?
Pretty much every contender has issues. The Oilers and Dallas and Florida have the same one, each needs a legit right D.
The OIlers might have a solution depending on the level of Broberg’s play.
The only way yesterday could have been better would be no Jeff Skinner, a traded Ceci, and a signed Matt Roy.
one of our main struggles this season was finishing and jeff skinner improves that dramatically compared to foegele.
Skinner would of been tied for 4th in goals while 6th in points among forwards on the Oilers last season. For 1 year at 3 million it’s a very good signing. He still has his shot, he’s coming into a veteran laden room, he most likely ends up 4th in goals while 6th in points among forwards again.
The Dallas situation is somewhat deceptive.
They re-signed Nils Lundqvist yesterday and have been stocking up on right shot D in the draft.
In addition to that they signed Ilya Lyubushkin and Matt Dumba to round out the roster.
With Heiskanen playing RD on the top pairing, the position is no longer a weakness.
Florida still has $7.3 million in cap space so could address the position.
Lundvist averages 4:28 in the playoffs last year. If you take out the 2 clear outlier games he averaged 3:36. That shows how little faith the coach had in him.
Are either of Lyubushkin or Dumba better than Suter? They got 3.25 and 3.75 respectively for 2 years each. The fact theyre natural rightys help but they both put up less points and had way worse +/-.
All had very similar deployments for zone starts. Dumba got caved in on Arizona and Tampa. Lyubushkin at least sruvived post trade deadline in Toronto but looking at these 3 players Suter still looks the best by the numbers and as we all saw in the playoffs… he sucked.
Stars have an elite 1LD playing right side then two 3RD in Dumba and Lyub, then a 7th or 8th dman in Lundqvist.
Lundqvist is the same age as Broberg.
He has played 156 NHL games while Broberg has played 101.
Not all players, particularly defensemen, develop at exactly the same pace.
You seem to be forgetting that Dallas also has Thomas Harley, Esa Lindell as well as a significant number of highly regarded D prospects 3 of which are right hand shots.
Lundqvist is a year older than Broberg- he turns 24 this month.
After playing 5 minutes per game through three rounds, Lundqvist lost his job to a career AHLer who hadn’t played in the NHL in almost 4 seasons whereas Broberg, blocked by Ekholm/Nurse/Kulak on his natural side forced his way in to the top 4 on his off-side and was one of the team’s best 3 d-man.
Lundqvist, lol.
Why do you keep changing your handle?
You live in an interesting world where nothing the Oilers do is good enough for you. Within 1 game, 2 goals of the Cup and you still refuse to give any credit for the team they had/have and for any moves they make.
Still sore about the “old guys”? Yesterday must have been a terrible day for you.
Go Oilers!
Dragger with a couple of interesting notes on with Dusty this morning.
With Skinner, it came down to Toronto and Edmonton.
Henrique had a number of teams and offers including Tampa, STL and Winnipeg which offered $3.5MM X 3.
Henrique kind of said at the end of the year that his goal with the next contract was winning more than money. I can’t see Tampa, St Lou or Winnipeg winning the cup anytime soon.
Turns out getting to game 7 of the SCF makes you an attractive target for signing free agents!
Has the league announced yet how many draft picks the Oilers have to forfeit for yesterday’s fleecing?
Calgary is hording our 2nd rounders!
“Wingers are easy” (once you come within a game of the SC). 😁
Can’t understand how a guy that doesn’t want to be GM and doesn’t really have any experience at that position probably has the best first day of Free Agency in Oiler history. Great job JJ!!!!
Because he has experience! Just from the other side.
Maybe they’re thinking history will repeat itself. A senior executive Dale Tallon built Chicago into a Cup winning team, then Bowman came along and lorded over his largess. In Edmonton, a senior executive (Holland) built them into a team one win away from winning Stanley, now Bowman will come in as a lucky charm or something to get them over the finish line.
Bowman is to hockey like the monarchy is to the Brits. He’ll get another chance somewhere, but I’m hoping that the Oilers give someone else a shot at their GM chair.
Parsing from JJs comments yesterday, I get the sense he did not and does not have Bowman on his radar. Noncommittal, almost to the point of damning with faint praise…
He was also an AGM in Toronto, wasn’t he?
That does look to be the case. After practicing sports law for a few years, he became the TML DOHO and then later the AGM and DOHO, crossing a few GMs, and ran the Marlies, until Burke came along and he left the Leafs.