The Oilers have a young man in the AHL (Matthew Savoie) who is playing well for the Bakersfield Condors. It was an eventful week. It looked like he could miss some time to injury, but instead he delivered a goal and an assist last night in the Vancouver suburbs. It’s way to early to draw conclusions on Savoie, but how well is he playing? Compared to Edmonton’s AHL ‘kids at 20’ over recent history? He’s doing well.
The Athletic article today is about Darnell Nurse, and the innovation that is getting strong results and could solve a problem that is almost a decade old. Story is here.
OILERS PROSPECTS (FORWARDS) IN THE AHL, AGE 20, 2011-12 THROUGH THIS SEASON
Tyler Benson (18-19 Bakersfield Condors) 68gp, 15-51-66 .971 The best scoring season at 20 this century for an Oilers forward prospect, Benson has been unable to parlay that success into an NHL job. Injuries and foot speed were the cause.
Magnus Paajarvi (11-12 Oklahoma City Barons) 34gp, 7-18-25 .735 Great speed, good defensive instincts, and we knew he would be shy of Taylor Hall as an offensive driver. What we didn’t know is that he would also be shy of Jordan Eberle, Sam Gagner and Andrew Cogliano. His .735 points-game total would be a top mark for Oilers prospects of this era, but when you consider he was in the NHL at 19, and scored 15 that season, well, his AHL season at 20 was shy of expectations.
Kailer Yamamoto (19-20 Bakersfield Condors) 23gp, 8-8-16 .696 Skilled winger had a major impact on the Oilers 2020-21 season after a later December recall, but it started with some strong even-strength play in the AHL. Among the best forwards I’ve seen play for the Oilers minor league team, he was everywhere. His career appears to be spiraling, injuries having a great impact.
Matthew Savoie (24-25 Bakersfield Condors) 12gp, 4-4-8 .667 He’s a skill player who can pass, make plays, beat defensemen with impressive dekes and shoot the puck well. A terrific range of offensive skills, he needs to excel this season in the AHL because that league can ruin undersized skill players. One need look only to the name just ahead on this list. Savoie is an impressive prospect.
Dylan Holloway (21-22 Bakersfield Condors) 33gp, 8-14-22 .667 He delivered about the same offense as Yamamoto, in a bigger package. The jury is out on his offense, but he should be more durable than Yamamoto and could push past McLeod in career NHL games before he’s done.
Xavier Bourgault (22-23 Bakersfield Condors) 62 gp, 13-21-34 .548 Bourgault had a fine junior career and his first AHL season had some promising moments. He didn’t build on it, and is now in the Ottawa Senators system. He needs to move the needle offensively, something he was unable to do in his second AHL campaign.
Raphael Lavoie (20-21 Bakersfield Condors) 19gp, 5-5-10 .526 He got some feature time but it was a whirlwind and the pandemic had an impact on all of the young prospects in the system that year. He is in the VGK system now, and started slow with the Henderson Silver Knights.
Bogdan Yakimov (14-15 Oklahoma City Barons) 57gp, 12-16-28 .491 He showed real promise but left for the KHL in the middle of his entry deal. Speed would probably have caught up to him but it would be nice to see these things play out in the Oilers system. He didn’t have a gigantic rookie pro season, but he was a load. Needed better boots.
Marco Roy (15-16 Bakersfield Condors) 42gp, 8-12-20 .476 Oilers signed him to an AHL deal, sent him to the fourth line and gave him PK time on the double. He still managed to outscore the players signed to NHL deals as a rookie pro. I’ll never know why they handled him that way.
Tyler Tullio (22-23 Bakersfield Condors) 63gp, 13-13-26 .412 Two-way winger scored more often than some higher picks after initially being faded as a rookie pro. He’s now in the Buffalo system, not much happening but it’s early days. NHL players do come from this scoring range at 20.
Ryan McLeod (19-20 Bakersfield Condors) 56gp, 5-18-23 .411 Speedster posted more even-strength offense than expected and showed he could use his speed at both ends of the ice. Among centers on this list, only Holloway and Yakimov delivered more offense at 20. McLeod has established himself as a solid NHL player, and may end up playing more NHL games than anyone in this group.
Tyler Pitlick (11-12 Oklahoma City Barons) 62gp, 7-16-23 .371 This was a disappointing total at the time. Pitlick would show more offense in the seasons that followed, eventually emerging as an NHL player. He was injured as a rookie, and I wonder if he (and others on this list) might have been better off playing another year of junior, arriving at the pro level age 20 but about to turn 21.
Greg Chase (15-16 Bakersfield Condors) 19gp, 1-6-7 .368 Skilled forward had a tough time getting into the lineup, as the Condors forward group had real depth (Tyler Pitlick, Anton Slepyshev, AHL vet Matt Ford). I think he had real potential, and some of the names who scored in this range (or below) had NHL careers. He was a gritty player, too.
Kyle Platzer (15-16 Bakersfield Condors) 48gp, 6-11-17 .354 Platzer was a rather obscure draft pick in 2013, didn’t play a lot for the London Knights in his draft year. Had a good two-way resume but lack of offense has impacted his pro career. He is still playing in Germany.
Ryan Martindale (12-13 Oklahoma City Barons). 41gp, 6-8-14 .341 He was a center with size, NHL teams covet those two things. He didn’t get enough done offensively. He began his entry-level deal with youngsters Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Sam Gagner, Anton Lander and Chris VandeVelde ahead of him and pushing. Andrew Cogliano got traded, Martindale too, but he didn’t make a dent in pro hockey. His .341 pts-game was a tell.
Reid Schafer (2023-24 Milwaukee Admirals) 63gp, 7-14-21 .333 He’s a big and no one was expecting him to push for NHL work early in his entry deal. He can make the NHL from here, and his six goals in 10 games this season for the Admirals suggests the spike is happening. It’s what we needed to see, but did not see from Bourgault last season.
Curtis Hamilton (11-12 Oklahoma City Barons). 41gp, 5-6-11 .268 A wildly disappointing pro debut based on his final junior season, Hamilton had two-way acumen but stalled early due to ongoing injuries and would play in just one NHL game. His .268 pts-game is among the lowest debuts over the last dozen years.
Matvey Petrov (23-24 Bakersfield Condors) 53gp, 9-5-14 .264 Petrov had to fight Holloway, Bourgault, Tullio, Carter Savoie and others for playing time and it turned into a muddled mess. He isn’t scoring at a higher rate this season, but should get more looks in 2024-25.
Carter Savoie (22-23 Bakersfield Condors) 44gp, 8-3-11 .25 He showed some flashes as a first-shot scorer (he enjoyed a notable career in college) but couldn’t stay healthy and had a massive amount of competition (same age, too) and the group hurt each other’s chances.
Kirill Maksimov (19-20 Bakersfield Condors) 53gp, 5-8-13 .245 A surprising lack of offense from a dynamic junior, sometimes (Marco Roy, Greg Chase) a player gets lost a little as a rookie pro. He had nice range as a player, impressive on the PK.
Jayden Grubbe (2023-24 Bakersfield Condors) 67gp, 8-6-14 .209 Grubbe has size and some range of skills, and guys just like him make the NHL from here. He’ll need to increase his offense, but as a fourth-line C, rugged PK option, he has things in common with Chris VandeVelde and Jujkar Khaira.
Jujhar Khaira (14-15 Oklahoma City Barons) 51gp, 4-6-10 .196 Despite the poor pts-game total as a rookie pro, he had an NHL career. Khaira didn’t play much during his first year pro, but increased his production and gained more playing time through his Condors career. If you’re a Jayden Grubbe fan, looking for hopeful signs, Khaira improved in important areas and found a way to score 11 goals in the NHL three years after this one.
Travis Ewanyk (13-14 Oklahoma City Barons) 68gp, 7-5-12 .176 The Oilers drafted him way too early. He didn’t post enough offense in junior to project as a productive AHL player, let alone the NHL. He was a pretty famous prospect too. I don’t think a player of his offensive ability at the same age would get much attention at more recent drafts. NHL teams, including the Oilers, have improved in their modeling of potential NHL players.
Mitch Moroz (14-15 Oklahoma City Barons) 66gp, 5-4-9 .136 Big man came off injury at the end of the Memorial Cup and then had some issues in the AHL, among them ice time. Like Ewanyk, he was not a strong NHL candidate based on offense in junior. He did have some fine moments in junior and his career is remembered fondly by Oil Kings fans.
Kale Kessy (13-14 Oklahoma City Barons) 54gp, 2-4-6 .111 The physical winger was unable to score in pro hockey, again predictable based on his junior numbers.
NHL GAMES PLAYED BY THIS GROUP AFTER AGE 20 AHL SEASON
- Tyler Pitlick 420
- Magnus Paajarvi 346
- Jujhar Khaira 337
- Kailer Yamamoto 253
- Ryan McLeod 234
- Dylan Holloway 104
- Tyler Benson 38
- Raphael Lavoie 7
- Curtis Hamilton 1
As is always the case, it’s the two-way types and the rugged fourth liners who emerge from the AHL Sometimes a high-skill forward finds his way and enjoys a strong career, but most often those players are employed for less than 50 AHL games before being elevated. Ryan Smuth (nine AHL games), Esa Tikkanen (15) and Miro Satan (25) prove the point. Kailer Yamamoto (50) and Dylan Holloway (63) got out of Dodge quickly enough, we’ll see about Savoie. I’ll have a similar look at the defensemen later in the week.
REMEMBRANCE DAY
Today we remember those brave souls who left our shores in order to protect our way of life. It is rare to find a family in Canada without a story of someone lost in a conflict. We walk among veterans who risked their lives and still live with various health issues because of the time given unselfishly for love of country. We remember. We are grateful. We are humbly aware that the goodness of our lives came through their sacrifice and at their expense. This is the day to remember what bravery looks like. Thank you to all of the men and women who protect us every day. You are the best of us.
Today on the Lowdown, high noon on Sports 1440, we talk about the Oilers watershed offense (finally!) on the left coast Saturday. Now that the levee has broken, can we expect more regression to the meat? I’ll ask Rachel Doerrie from Betalytics and ESPN. We’ll also chat with Jason Gregor about the Oilers-Canucks, the CFL playoff weekend and the Grey Cup to follow. I’m at Lowetide on twitter, in the comments section here and on the Sports 1440 text line at 1.833.401.1440 directly. We can be heard at sports1440.ca; iHeartRadio; Radioplayer Canada, we tweet out the show after it’s done and you can catch us on Apple and Spotify.
New for The Athletic: The Edmonton Oilers’ new approach to Darnell Nurse deployment and what may come next
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5876412/2024/11/11/oilers-darnell-nurse-pairing/
How about if anyone comes up with a detailed assessment of how they rate each and every one of the Oilers new players this year so far?
Trent Frederick is rumored to be on the trade block out of Boston. He might be a forward Edmonton would have interest in. He will be UFA after this season at $2.3M. I know I would be making a call to the Bruins to see what would be wanted in return for his services. Money in Money out of course. Maybe Jeff Skinner with some money retained.
That might be the worst trade take I’ve seen in years.
Do you think Frederic wouldn’t be a good addition? I don’t understand your logic.
Jeff Skinner is an excellent hockey player who will likely score a bunch of goals for the Oilers this year, and is exactly the kind of depth you want in the playoffs.
You’re not only proposing to trade him for an inferior hockey player – but retaining salary.
I agree Jeff Skinner is a good hockey player, who may not necessarily be a good fit for this Oiler hockey team and has mainly been used in the bottom six. Which is why we keep hearing he is on the trade block. Frederic is a different kind of player that could add a physical edge to the bottom six, who happens to be six years younger than Skinner, and both are UFA next season. Not to mention who may be a better fit with the team. I’m not proposing anything. I just think Frederic might be a valuable addition.
If the Oilers are trading Jeff Skinner I hope they’re aiming at a team with a defender they want rather then a expensive 4th line winger. Yes I know he’s listed as a center, he’s just one that couldn’t win a draw against a wet paper bag.
That’s true his FO% is 42% that’s why the Bruins like to use him on RW. He’s got a physical edge that would bolster the bottom six, plus he’s scored 18 goals this past season for the Bruins & 17 the year before. I’m not saying they should trade Skinner; I was thinking of options available via trade with the Bruins to attain his services.
We need some grunts after we burn out Podkolzin and Perry. I was hoping Jarventie would swoop in after Christmas. There’s a reason we got him for 50 Cents on the Dollar the kid is a hypochondriac.
Podz isn’t burning out anytime soon. But Perry, we’ll see. I would love to see the Oilers line up including Podkolzin, Frederic & Kane.
From the two games I watched him play, Jarventie is not the type of player you describe.
Hard on the forecheck in the middle of things not easy to play against.
I still don’t think he’s the player style you are envisioning – he’s not busting ass in on every dump looking to bang bodies. At least not from the 2 games I watched.
Then what good is he?
I would suggest there are various types of player style that can help a hockey team win.
Actually now is the time to fleece Boston in some form of massive trade involving Hyman and a goalie plus Nurse – then I woke up.
“@AHockey1993
Since October 15th the Edmonton Oilers are 7-4-1. At 5v5:
-Getting a .926 SV% (8th)
-Have outscored opponents 27-19
-Have a 55.42 xGF% (4th)
-Have a 57.29 HDCF% (4th)
-100.7 PDO
Once they solve the PK, this team is about to go win a TON of games.”
This helps put the season into perspective quite nicely.
The start to this season has been better than last. Just think how this season would be if they could kill off a penalty, and if they could score on the power play.
Special teams have been horrendous.
Thanks for the Monday cheer. Now go listen to some Pantera and think about what you’ve done. 🙂 🙂 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYfljBCpmE4
Here we go guys. How about trade Darnell Nurse to Buffalo for Henri Jokiharju & Mattias Samuelsson?
Nurse would be their 4th best left handed dman. Not even Chiarelli would do this.
It would be great from an Oiler point of view. Laughable from a Saber point of view.
I’m just hoping that Right Side Nurse suddenly and magically sees the ice better and we can finally rely on him like the stud he should be. I think that mentally he has struggled, or struggled in new ways, since signing that fat contract (and y’know, injuries). Time to get him out of his own head and playing like he can. likely. play?
Maybe in Buffalo he might see the ice better on the right side. LOL. Paired with Owen Power, or Rasmus Dahlin.
Oilers could have a nice second pair with Samuelsson & Jokiharju.
Nurse is an Oiler for years to come.
Coffey should be able to focus a lot on Nurse this season and by playoffs Nurse is going to be making close to his cap hit.
Someone with more understanding about contracts might be able to say exactly when Oilers can ship him out whether he likes it or not to 10 destinations or something.
Apologies for my lack of up to date information.
Matt Benning on waivers now. Too bad we can’t claim him and send Dermott down. I believe the veteran issue would again be a problem. The extra salary on Benning as well not ideal as a 7th dman.
When I saw AA is also on waivers I had to go to puckpedia to double check his salary. 4+ million! I assumed they’d made a mistake saying annual and maybe they meant it was the total of the 2 year contract. Nope AA in fact makes over 4 million per year lol.
If the Oilers thought that claiming Matt Benning would the NHL team, I don’t think the veteran issue in Bako would stop them.
Benning is at near $500K over league min and is signed for next season.
I haven’t paid attention to him recently but I do no that Jason Demers was a hard no on a claim and doesn’t think he’s an NHL player any longer – he’d prefer a Philp call up.
Lost me here
With Savoie I believe the plan will be to keep him playing 20 plus minutes until the deadline. At that point he is the cheap player to replace anyone moved out in a deal. If the deadline is played right we should get a top 4 rhd and top 6 offensive winger while only paying for the dman.
Evander Kane will be reappearing by that time too. Do they really need a top six winger? Or are they better served with a top four Dman. OR maybe even a good goaltender.
The top 6 guy coming in would be Savoie. Then we fix that and go top 9 offensive winger.
Trick is money as always, I think we will need to move cap out to bring in any real assets. This all depends on injuries from now until then. Right now we are set for a 5 million cushion at the tdl. That of course is only if no ther call ups are needed until March.
As to Goalie that’s a rough topic. Skinner is very streaky, when he is on he looks great but those bad games are horrid.
What makes you think Savoie would or could play in the top six this early in his career?
Not even Kane will be guaranteed a place in the top six on his return. There’re so many things that could possibly go wrong it’s tough to put a handle on anything. On the other hand, good fortune could prevail. It’s crazy.
Talent is why he can play in our top 9. I did correct that in my first reply.
I would think he will make a bigger difference than Kane when they both are in the NHL this season. Kane will not be in mid season shape like a guy who played first line minutes all season.
Goal will be to have 4 lines and just as a quick thought process this is how I think it will play out.
McDavid, RNH, Hyman.
Draistl, Skinner, Arvidsson.
Henrique, Kane, Savoie.
Philp, Janmark, Brown
Perry, Podkolzin.
3 offensive lines with a pk line for tough dzone times.
OH… You’re back pedaling now. It looks wonderful on paper. Do you think there’s any truth to moving out Jeff Skinner> And do you think Podz is a good fit with Leon? There are just too many possibilities to consider..
I corrected myself after your first reply, not back peddling just agree that was a high bar.
Moving Skinner out …. maybe we will see by March.
Podz as a good fit ….. let’s let that sample fill out a little before judgements.
Besides my writing a line up does not mean there is no room for change as line ups are very fluid based on recent play and injuries.
Won’t be quite the same but Kane hadn’t played in 3 months or so when he joined the Oilers in 2022 – didn’t take him long to catch up to the NHL…..
He was fully healthy and training at that time from what I recall.
It might be better to expect the Kane we got back after the skate cut.
Kane has the superstar ability to always show up for games. Like McDavid, Jagr and before him Kane is unstoppable and therefore is worth keeping on IR until March lol
The 2010 Draft was a major one for the Oilers, with 11 picks representing the most of any draft in the cap era not to mention their first #1 overall.
Taylor Hall was on the vanguard of “late birthday” forwards, & of course he made the NHL right away. More problematic were the next 3 forwards, Tyler Pitlick, Curtis Hamilton, & Ryan Martindale, late birthdays all. All were turned pro in 2011 when each was 19, despite different circumstances— Hamilton had 4 years in the Dub by then, Pitlick just 1 — & they wound up getting in each other’s way. Todd Nelson had a strategy for a while of alternate healthy scratching 1 of the 2. Both were a hundred miles removed from special teams opportunities. Then injuries hit.
it was a beginning of a long fascination with late birthday selections, esp in the forward ranks. Despite just 30% likelihood of being born Sep 16 or later, the following were Edmonton’s top forward selections from the 13-year span 2010-22:
2010 Taylor Hall LB
2011 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
2012 Nail Yakupov LB
2013 Marco Roy LB
2014 Leon Draisiatl LB
2015 Connor McDavid
2016 Jesse Puljujarvi
2017 Kailer Yamamoto LB
2018 Ryan McLeod LB
2019 Raphael Lavoie LB
2020 Dylan Holloway LB
2021 Xavier Bourgault LB
2022 Reid Schaefer LB
So 10/13 = 76% against 30% odds. 5 of the last 6 had birthdays in the second half of September for pete’s sake, making them the oldest of their draft class so perhaps appeared more advanced? All turned pro just 1 year later making them among the youngest of their rookie class,
Some good players in there obv. but not sure it was a winning strategy overall.
Ah 2010. We thought it was magnificent but it turned out like always.
Sure, but Once McDavid signs Oilers have got between 7 and 10 contending seasons ahead of them.
I’d like to give a shoutout to Jesse Puljujarvi who’s rookie season in the AHL is highly underrated in my opinion.
Once he finally got sent down right after he hit 40 games on the NHL roster (to vest a year of service towards UFA status – a “deal” I’m positive his agent had with management), he had 28 points in 39 games as a fresh 18 year old, the youngest player in the league.
That AHL season from Jesse, at that age, was excellent.
JP had Gordie Howe size and always seemed strangely dangerous to the opposition.
Its different watching Savoie than some of the other higher touted players in Bako such as Holloway and Yamo. Those two had very high motors and were noticeable shift in and shift out. Savoie doesn’t play to that tempo but he’s noticeable a few times again when he shows high end puck skills and/or smart.
He’s get better hands than either of those other two.
I think Savoie could be one of those players that’s more effective at the NHL level than the AHL level as he will have more skill and hockey smarts to play with.
Great pass for goal and great one-timer to finish a sweet play by Griffith.
His boxcars don’t jump but he’s playing on a very light offensive team, in particular with the injuries and call-ups.
His boxcars in junior jumped out, and he’s still finding his way. I agree he is less likely to transport the puck in the same way as Yamamoto (or McLeod, who was exceptional in this area), but from the blue line in, he has the puck A LOT and he’s diabolical.
I don’t think we disagree, beyond the boxcars. This is a small sample, as I mentioned in the piece.
I worry about his size, like I worried about Yamamoto’s size. Plus, I think the team misses Ryan MacLeod. So, if it were up to me, I never would have made that trade in the first place.
Yamamoto needed to “play in the guts of the game” to be effective – he needed to play in the inside and disrupt on the forecheck to be effective – his game required initiating contact (and it invited contact).
Savoie doesn’t shy away, and he does engage and initiate, but his game isn’t predicated on it – he’s got more skill and that is his calling card, from what I’ve seen.
I also think that Savoie has a thicker/stalkier build than Yamo.
I agree. But he’s still on the small side.
I see a comparable to Caufield of the Canadiens.
We can only hope.
Savoie is listed ’27’ pounds heavier at 1 inch taller
You didn’t need to worry about Yamamoto’s size.
He was too small to play more than a few seasons in the NHL, and that’s in itself no mean feat.
If he loves to play hockey, he should go and play in Switzerland
The early returns on the McLeod trade don’t look good.
Undersized forward with 8 points in 12 games in the AHL in his draft plus 3.
Who knows what the future holds with Savoie. But… What happened to win now?
One could use “draft plus 3” or one could use “as a 20 year old in the first year of his ELC – a rookie pro” – depends on the narrative right?
Also, one could include the context of the team and player that has been provided in the blog and comments – 8 points in 12 games is not as underwhelming as it looks on first blush.
Funny to be reminded of Kyle Platzer, he is exactly the first player I thought of when William Nicholl was drafted, due to the several similarities of their draft year circumstances for the Knights. Early days but very positive arrows for Nicholl so far!
With the new NCAA rules I wonder whether the AHL or 1-2 years of college is the better option for CHL grads.
I feel like a lot of our prospects fail at age 20 because the jump from Junior to AAA Pro is too overwhelming.
imagine if most prospects could play CHL until 18/19 then NCAA until 22 then AHL . development would help but they would take spots from others in schools
I’m fine with that, there are plenty of schools for kids that are not trying to turn pro as a first option.
I think the programs will sort themselves out, some schools will trend more towards the temporary prospects & others will focus more on the 4 yr student athletes.
Or perhaps a healthy mix.
I wonder. Drafting kids is a crap shoot. Would now be a good time to talk about raising the draft age by a year. There is going to be alot of chaos from this change already.
I find it very difficult to get revved up for these prospects as very few every play for the big team. They never had it or they find it after we give up on them. Such a sad record.
I think it’s doubly difficult now that there are so few. This generation of forwards did have a tough time though. In the last dozen years, the number of top draft picks occupying prominent roster spots was incredible. So, while we can agree that most of these fellows didn’t get it done, there was a degree of difficulty not seen in some other organizations.
Who would give this a down vote! I agree but even those who had some game, we just gave up too quickly or lost them to mistakes by management. And now the cupboard is bare. I wish Eberle was still here. Miss him a lot.
The Eberle trade, and the Hall trade, were just spectacularly stupid. Beyond the pale.
Moves like that created a lot of cynicism in the fan base too
I miss Adam Larson more than Taylor Hall. Oilers were fleeced on both trades.
The loss of Larsson for basically nothing was huge. He should of been signed or traded. We all know the circumstances but the bottom line is Holland was the boss and we lost a valuable trade chip that cost us big time on the domino effect of replacing Adam.
Shit happens.
The Oilers tried hard to sign Larsson – they had contract talks leading for months leading up to the end of that regular season – it wasn’t until the end that Larsson decided that he couldn’t re-sign in Edmonton.
There was no time to trade him and I am quite certain noone would have been in favor of trading him at the deadline when the Oilers were a playoff team.
That was circumstances – not management.
I thought that Ryan Strome outperformed Eberle in the 2-3-4 years after that trade, in particular if one is talking value for cap hit.
The Strome for Spooner trade, on the other hand……..
I don’t care who you are Sather traded Coffey it’s all about the team. Larsson was heading to free agency and was not signed. As a team first G.M there has to be a line in the sand by which Larsson needed to be signed or we are trading you. Same thing would of applied with Leon if he wasn’t signed by such and such a date let the auction begin. A team first G.M can’t be all buddy-buddy with everyone in saying that we lost Broberg and Holloway in a ambush from a buddy of Holland & Sons.
It wasn’t about money. He wasn’t going to sign in Edmonton for personnel reasons. So, they left him unprotected. Seattle claimed him and signed him for less money than what Edmonton would have signed him for.
I know the scenario if he’s not signing you trade him. You don’t allow valuable commodities to walk for free. When your making a shade less than it cost for the six-million dollar man you can’t continue to leak assets left-right-centre.
1) They did NOT know he wasn’t signing
2) As a pending UFA, the teams that would have been looking to acquire him were playoff teams looking to move futures for rentals.
You are suggesting that the manager make the team materially worse heading in to the stretch run when the team was gearing up for a playoff run – while the player was in active negotiations with the team.
Sather would have traded an important roster player for draft picks/prospects as the Oilers geared up for a playoff run? I’m not so sure about that.
Strome solidified himself at 3c. It was a real head scratcher trading him for Spooner of all players.
The Decade of Darkness crushed a lot of dreams, or at least derailed them. Imagine having a Pajaarvi waiting in the wings now, expectations and deployment would be so different…
The DOD was an adventure.
I actually find it harder now.it’s 3 am and most of the pretty girls left over an hour ago. There’s still a few people mixing drinks or dancing to the music, but the party’s already over. The people still mulling about are just trying to figure it out.
The Oilers have a clapped-out prospect cupboard and a mostly aged-out roster.
Holland and Bowman have completed the trifecta: capped out, clapped-out, and aged-out.