The Edmonton Oilers entered the offseason with some areas of need, and have addressed them. More could be on the way, as No. 4 center is not locked down with a veteran solution, but the price on centers is extreme this summer and there are no perfect fits. Perhaps a trade.
Is that all there is? Is Ken Holland done? What do the depth charts look like? Who ARE these people?
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: Making sense of Oilers’ free-agent haul after initial flurry
- Lowetide: The Edmonton Oilers still have work to do this summer
- DNB: The Oilers roster is improved but evolution must continue into next season
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers top 20 prospects, summer 2023
- DNB: Assessing Edmonton Oilers’ remaining roster needs ahead of NHL free agency
- Lowetide: Realistic draft options for an Edmonton Oilers team low on picks
- DNB: What I’m hearing about the Oilers 3.0
- Lowetide: Why Connor Brown is a fit for the Edmonton Oilers in free agency
- DNB: Connor McDavid’s top-5 moments from another awards-laden season
- Lowetide: Oilers’ Jayden Grubbe and his organizational importance
- Lowetide: 4 impact QMJHL centres for Oilers to target late in 2023 NHL Draft
- DNB: 10 questions with director of amateur scouting Tyler Wright
- Lowetide: Why Oilers’ Dylan Holloway is in prime position for a major role
- DNB: Five burning Edmonton Oilers questions ahead of the NHL Draft and free agency
- Lowetide: 5 quality Edmonton Oilers trade targets for low-budget offseason
- Lowetide: Ken Holland’s Oilers roster construction missing one final piece
- DNB: What I’m hearing about the Oilers 2.0: Evan Bouchard offer sheet? Klim Kostin to KHL?
- DNB: Oilers’ offseason options: Comparing conservative and aggressive approaches
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers targets early and late in NHL free agency.
DEVELOPMENT CAMP ROSTER
The Oilers published the dev camp roster late last night and as always there are some curios. Items that caught my eye:
- Several invites who went undrafted are here, and a couple showed up on my top-126 list for the 2023 selection. I had Antonin Verreault No. 101 and Brady Stonehouse No. 116. Signing either player would be worth pondering.
- The entire 2021 draft is here save LD Luca Munzenberger. Perhaps he’s hurt? This is a player chosen No. 90 overall, and he could sign this summer (he is 20). Injury?
- Ryan Fanti is here, I take that as a good sign. The young man didn’t have a strong year in 2022-23, his pedigree is much more impressive than the performance. Good that he’s approaching next season aggressively (he is 23).
- Ethan de Jong is here, this is an AHL contract and a player we should watch closely in the coming season. He is young and skilled, two things the Oilers need in the system. Don’t be fooled by his lack of an NHL deal.
- Beau Akey is here representing the most recent draft. He is joined by Nathaniel Day and Matt Coppini, so 100 percent participation from the new fellows. It will never be mentioned in the same breathe, but camp attendee Jayden Grubbe is part of the 2023 draft haul (via trade). I expect he’ll be a noticeable presence at this camp.
- Carter Savoie is here, important to make sure he has 10 fingers and 10 toes, and that he’s healthy. The young man waited all his life for an NHL chance and a very early injury a season ago sent him in a frustrating direction. He has some great things on his resume, hoping he gets to show it at this camp and beyond.
- Jake Sloan is here, he’s a big skill center from Tri-City. He is a player I had on my first mock draft of the year back in January.
OILERS CURRENT DEPTH CHART (ESTIMATED)
- GOALIES: Stuart Skinner (NHL); Jack Campbell (NHL); Calvin Pickard (AHL); Ryan Fanti (AHL)
There is one additional player (Olivier Rodrigue, RFA) to add to this group for the coming season. Skinner and Campbell are the NHL tandem, and I’ll suggest Pickard remains the first recall but Rodrigue is pushing him and we’ll watch that battle all year long. Fanti is a wild card but he has ability. Tyler Parks was signed to an AHL deal by the Condors and will offer protection against AHL injury from the ECHL.
- LEFT DEFENSE: Darnell Nurse, Mattias Ekholm, Brett Kulak, Markus Niemelainen, Cam Dineen, Ben Gleason, Alex Peters (AHL), Xavier Bernard (AHL)
One of the strongest positions on the team, the top three names are quality and can help this team win the Stanley Cup. If you look at the performance after the acquisition of Ekholm, the world was a different place for the Oilers. I think Markus Niemelainen is the first recall for a shutdown type, but Dineen and Gleason could be NHL Oilers if there’s a need for a puck mover.
- RIGHT DEFENSE: Cody Ceci, Philip Broberg, Vincent Desharnais, Noel Hoefenmayer, Phil Kemp, Max Wanner
Evan Bouchard (RFA) is the biggest name here and gives the position an impact boost. I like the idea of having two lefties on the right side (Broberg, Hoefenmayer) and both have had success. I talked about Hoefenmayer being a RH option in my two pieces for The Athletic this weekend, and our friend Blue Bullet Brad had some revealing numbers on Broberg playing RH side. Hoefenmayer will be in the mix for first recall along with Niemelainen, Dineen and Gleason. Plenty of defensive depth in the AHL this year.
- CENTER: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Lane Pederson, Brad Malone, James Hamblin, Greg McKegg, Jayden Grubbe, Carl Berglund
Ryan McLeod will join the group (RFA) and when he does Edmonton will have the strongest single position in the NHL. The biggest areas of improvement for this position in 2023-24 include Draisaitl’s improving in five-on-five outscoring, and Brown’s deployment in the Yamamoto/Puljujarvi minutes on the 97 line. I think that Pederson addition is being overlooked, he’s a fantastic get no matter where he plays this season.
- LEFT WING: Evander Kane, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Dylan Holloway, Mattias Janmark, Drake Caggiula, Carter Savoie, Matvey Petrov
Raphael Lavoie (RFA) will be added to this group, and his arrival as an NHL player is needed by the team. This has always been a position of strength, but the club needs Holloway to push now, especially on offense. Evander Kane’s injury produced a player who struggled in five-on-five goal share, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins struggled at five-on-five in the postseason. Some nice players on the farm, excited to see what Petrov can do with the Bakersfield Condors.
- RIGHT WING: Zach Hyman, Connor Brown, Warren Foegele, Derek Ryan, Xavier Bourgault, Seth Griffith, Tyler Tullio, Jake Chiasson
The addition of Connor Brown is the big story here. Added to Hyman and one of the lefties (I’m using Foegele here) the position now has zero doubt about quality unless there’s injury. Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi did good work in Edmonton, but last year was twin valley instead of twin peaks. The summer addressed it.
I’m not sure if it was posted anywhere – but Kurt Overhardt, Gibson’s agent, posted a strongly worded “response” stating that Seravelli’s report on Gibson wanting to be traded is false, unjust and inflammatory (and more).
Lane Pedersen vs Colin Fraser.
Frist off, I would be remiss if I didn’t say that you can’t win the Stanley cup with
Colin FraserLane Pedersen as your 4rth line centre. 😛Right off the bat, Fraser was a 3rd round pick vs Pedersen who went undrafted. However, Pedersen had two things working against him.
First his birthday is August 4rth, so we would have been one of the younger players eligible for his draft year (18 before September 15th). Secondly, he was eligible for the 2015 draft which was a deep draft.
Draft year
Fraser: 0.75 ppg / Pedersen: 0.32 ppg – WHL
Draft plus 1
Fraser: 0.76 ppg / Pedersen: 0.76 ppg – WHL
Draft plus 2
Fraser: 1.06 ppg / Pedersen: 1.05 ppg – WHL
Draft plus 3
Fraser: 0.33 ppg / Pedersen: 0.41 ppg – AHL
Draft plus 4
Fraser: 0.54 ppg / Pedersen: 0.70 ppg – AHL
Draft plus 5
Fraser: 0.55 ppg / Pedersen: 0.92 ppg – AHL
Draft plus 6
Fraser: 0.21 ppg (NHL) / Pedersen: 0.2 ppg (NHL)
Draft plus 7
Fraser: 0.27 ppg (NHL) / Pedersen: 0.07 ppg (NHL)
Draft plus 8
Fraser: 0.07 ppg (NHL)/ Pedersen: 0.22 ppg (NHL)
Ken Holland said himself publicly, Pederson and Caggiula were signed for depth and to start in the AHL.
Pederson is a better player than everyone on this board thinks, save me and Ryan.
Is he a better player than Ken Holland thinks? The man who expressed publicly the plan is for him to be depth starting in the AHL?
I believe he is.
I like and respect so much of your commitment and contributions to this community, but on the other hand I often wonder if you ever get tired of being the smartest man in the room? 😉
My point of all of that, is Lane Pedersen is basically Colin Fraser. Of course, the Kings won the cup with Fraser as their 4rth line centre. Fraser had 0.12 ppg that year with 2 goals.
When he was an Oiler, well, we spent plenty of time discussing the need to upgrade Fraser as our 4c.
Sure, and my point is that the Oilers aren’t looking for Lane Pedersen to play center on a healthy Oilers lineup.
I realize that. My point was that he’s not the worst placeholder for 4c. Pretty funny that I get downvoted by the pro Holland crowd for pointing out a nicing signing, by Holland. 🙂
Pederson will soon turn 26 and is on his 5th NHL organization.
He played in Vancouver last season for a team desperate to find a 4C.
It did not go well and he was sent out of town at the earliest opportunity.
1.37 pts-60 at five-on-five and a 7-4 goals share five-on-five. Sure. Expected goals five-on-five: 51 percent. Lane Pederson played well in Vancouver, shy scorer but that isn’t unusual.
He was an astute signing.
Matt Dumba still waiting outside the prom for a date. Is he better than Ceci? Could you sign Dumba for $3 million and trade Ceci for a pick and be better? That’s the only obvious deal I see unless you can get Pesce but that is much much more expensive and something left for the TDL.
The grass is not always greaner.
Sure but Dumba played a lot with Brodin (which means tough minutes) and Goligoski and did fine. He’s not the offensive guy he used to be and isn’t going to be paid like that.
As an aside – man is Spurgeon a player – dreamy numbers. Would he ever look good with Nurse (totally unobtainable).
Hellebyuck and Gibson available in same offseason is interesting
One of those things is not like the other anymore.
John Gibson has demanded a trade and says he will not play for San Jose again.
https://www.si.com/nhl/2023/07/03/ducks-star-demands-trade-john-gibson-report
When did he play for San Jose?
Oops..,Anaheim.
Perfect. Kenny can help out here.
Campbell for Gibson with $1.4m retained.
Who says no to that?
edit. Is Anaheim on Campbell’s 10 team list?
Actually not a bad idea.
Campbell has a no trade clause?
Thats hilarious.
It would appear according to Cap Friendly that both Gibson and Campbell have 10 team no trade lists. I don’t think Gibson would mind going to a contender like Edmonton, so the question may only be can Campbell be encouraged to accept a trade to Anaheim? If we have enough leverage we might shoot for more than 1.4 retained on GIbson. They have oodles of cap space after all, and are not likely to be a playoff team or a max cap team for some time.
And is Edmonton on Gibson’s?
Worth a call to Pat Verbeek to find out. 🙂
I can’t disagree with that.
Why did Gibson wait so long? I wonder if the Killorn signing was the last straw for Gibson?
This far into free agency, there aren’t too many teams that can or would conceivably trade for him now, after blowing their cap space or signing other goalies (e.g. Pittsburg, Ottawa, Carolina).
Chicago – lots of cap space, but they are very much still rebuilding. That said, they have tons of picks and a gaping hole in net.
Buffalo – they have the capspace but they also really like Devon Levi and Luukkonen. Buffalo hasn’t been to the playoffs in years … they have a really fun young team, but its a stretch to consider them a contender.
The two teams I can see having interest, with Gibson having mutual interest:
New Jersey – they probably need a defenseman more after letting both Graves and Severson walk. Brendan Smith and Colin Miller are barely NHL calibre for a third pairing, and Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec and Kevin Bahl are very inexperienced. On the other hand, Vanecek does not have not have a NTC/NMC and they could take on Gibson’s full cap hit
LA – no cap space right now, but they could conceivable package Arvidsson, Copley and their 2024 1st round pick for Gibson with a bit of retention. Their scoring depth would take a hit – Arvidsson is PITA to play against – but this is very doable for them.
That said, the idea of trading for Gibson is a daunting one – still 29 years old, he has 4 years left at 6.4 million per season. His save % the last 4 years has been:
.904
.903
.904
.899
On the other hand, he’s stopped a lot of rubber over that period, and Anaheim was absolutely putrid on defense these past few seasons under Eakins. The last time they had a competent team in 2018-19, he put up a .917
It would cost us our 1st round pick in 2024 and probably another prospect and Anaheim would have to take back Campbell and eat some salary. Both guys could benefit from a change of scenery.
I don’t think the cost would be as high as Campbell, a2024 1st and a prospect. I think with the pressure on Anaheim to replace Gibson it could be Campbell, next year’s second and perhaps 2.4 to 3 million retained. They have oodles of cap space and are not likely a playoff team for the duration of the contract, so time to use the leverage when we have it to also buy some cap space.
That’s a good question and I wondered the same.
Killorn is a quality player today, so while it’s a poor deal because of his age, I can’t imagine that would be related to Gibson wanting out.
If I were to guess ‘why now?’ it would be that it isn’t a brand new request from the last few days but that we’re just hearing about it now.
In terms of actually trading for Gibson, I’d have a really hard time doing it. No way I’d trade a 1st plus for that swap based on what I know now.
But what do I know though? It seems that a lot of hockey people think his numbers are just a product of his team though, and their opinions do mean something.
Since 2017, (minus I think his injury year) Gibson has been in the top 7 or higher for saves against, from what I’ve seen on moneypuck.
That is a workload.
One thing that I’ve been thinking about… and trying to use my minor league goaltending to benchmark.. (lol).
If your team has weak defence, you typically are moving laterally ALOT more in the net, because the opposing team finds seams and has an easier time cycling the puck to find openings & opportunities.
The product of this is, well, more work, but also makes the goaltender need to make “stretch” saves or more acrobatic movements to stop potential goals. Result? more prone to injury I would say… or your joints/ligaments are more fatigued game in and game out. I’m curious if Gibson has a better SV% in the first 20 games of the season compared to the last ~30…
Additionally, I’m sure Gibson is burnt out. I’m not sure if he would be inclined to join the Oilers as our defence will still rely on him to cover more then other teams with better D corps.
This prompted me to look at some stuff.
I realized that if you exclude shootout wins and losses and only count actual goals scored that the Oilers were #2 in the NHL last season in goal differential.
NHL.com has them tied for 3rd (which includes counting a GF or GA for a SO win/loss) but based on Natural Stat Trick (does not include SO goals) they were 2nd (not tied) to Boston.
What I actually went looking for though was the poor flailing Oilers defense part. The part that Gibson would want to avoid.
It’s true that by some measures the Oilers were average or below last season. Not below average by much, but there are some examples.
5th in corsi against rates
13th in fenwick against rates
19th in shots against rates
17th in goals against rates
14th in expected goals against rates
10th in scoring chance against rates
10th in high danger scoring chance against rates
Of course there is no comparison at all to the Ducks. They were literally dead last in every measure.
The Oilers were more than 10 corsi and fenwick events per game better than the Ducks.
They were more than 7 shots against and almost a full expected goal against per game better too (3.00 xGA/60 vs 3.89 xGA/60).
Actual goals against were 3.09 to 4.03. And the Oilers also scored almost a full 1.5 goals per game more than the Ducks (3.93 to 2.48).
Goal differential was +69 vs. -129. The Ducks last season were worse than any DoD Oilers team.
Gibson may well not be interested in coming to Canada or Edmonton, but suggesting it would be because of the Oilers poor team defense is pretty absurd.
There were whispers in early June that Gibson wouldn’t mind a change of scenery – although the whispers were coming primarily from Seravalli at the time
There was a couple quotes from Lisa Dillman of the OC Regsiter at the time regarding Gibson’s future as well – a google search can find them quickly as they’re still current
And as OP pointed out with the most current post in this thread, Gibson’s agent is denying the trade request entirely , so, who knows
Actually I would aim for even more retained. Say half. That us uf Anaheim missing out on other available goalies like Hellebuck, et al. WE would have the leverage, time to use it if that is the landscape at the time.
.
@JonathanWillis
If the Oilers:
– buyout Campbell and sign a Stalock-type at league-minimum
– trade Kulak without retaining $
– go 12/7 with league-minimum types in the end-of-roster slots
they’d then have ~$10.3MM in cap space for next season, enough to go long on both Bouchard & McLeod.
Why would you trade Kulak?
To free up cap space obviously.
Highly extreme and unlikely. I CAN see moving Campbell to someone with goalie issues and getting a 2m backup/1B goalie, which I think is possible next offseason.May be no need to trade Kulak at that point and still keep Bouchard and McLeod. You are overreacting sir. Still lots of road between now and then and may not be as dire as you paint when all is said and done. No need to throw out the baby with the bathwater, especially as the baby isn’t in the bath yet. TIme to back away from the ledge methinks.
Not my baby nor my bath water.
Young Willis has come up with a radical but sensible plan to avoid Capaggeddon.
With the Brown bonus and the high likelihood that Bouchard and McLeod are forced to eat one year deals, they will be demanding huge raises next offseason and the Oilers will be shedding players like a skid row stripper to accommodate them.
Then young WIllis needs to back away from the ledge. I have been proposing for some time that the play with the goalies is to keep our powder dry until the trade deadline. Then, If Stu holds the crease still and Campbell has not rebounded, include him in another trade as a poison pill for someone with injury issues at goal.. Or, if he has rebounded he can be the trade himself. We need to move to a <=2m backup/1B goalie if Stu repeats his current performance. Of course, if Campbell has rebounded as well, maybe we ride them both and do the deal in the offseason. Depending on the final bonus carryover Kulak may not need to be traded at all. That is an extreme case of robbing Peter to pay Paul that may not be necessary. I would think if the young uns at F contribute well enough that Foegle may be the one to trade IF NECESSARY, not Kulak. WE have more potential cover at F than D, and will have more certainty in the extent of that cover by season’s end.
I was hoping they’d bite bullet and do buyout then sign stolarz to backup skinner.
I just have odd feeling stolarz very well might be one of those “out of nowhere” late bloomer type goalies. He’s got NHL tools just seems more a question of injuries/opportunities
Having the cap space to lock up young emerging players to max term deals is essential to long term success,
Keeping it invested in underperforming aging goaltenders is not good business and there are numerous examples of this.
I like how in HH world Bouchard went from passed by on the side of the road to superstar just by needing a contract. I can’t wait from him to get a contract and go to the overpayed goalpost
He’s far from a superstar but he is a good second pairing D who will put up points on the PP and those guys get paid.
Makar is a superstar and Sakic wisely locked him up early.
The massive overpay for Nurse should provide you with what the alternative looks like.
Makar can play 1st pairing level defensively. Bouchard is 3rd pairing level defensively.
Who’s signing max term deals? Not Makar, Matthews, Marner, Byram, Hughes, Robertson, Oettinger, Werenski, Dahlin, Laine, etc etc, etc.
Who suggested max term deals?
You realize there is a massive difference between the 6 year $9 million deal signed by Makar and a 1 year “Eat This Evan” cheap deal right?
@DKingBH
It’s crazy that we’re watching Holland making the same mistakes with Bouch as he did with Nurse and no one in the media will touch it. And just like with Nurse, this was all avoidable
Harpers Hair
Reply to maudite
July 3, 2023 5:45 pm
Having the cap space to lock up young emerging players to max term deals is essential to long term success,
So you would rather sign Bouchard to a one year deal rather than a long term deal and then pay the price next season?
Lest we lose track of what’s being said, is locking up young emerging players to max term deals essential to long term success?
Yes…if at all possible.
Covid and the flat cap have changed the nexus somewhat.
Changed the nexus in what way?
TBay bridged every one of their key players before eventually giving them long term deals.
The Leafs didn’t sign any of their young core for max term.
Colorado gave less than max deals to Makar, Rantanen, Toews, Girard and now Byram.
Carolina gave shorter deals to Teravainen, Neclas, Pesce, and we don’t know what they would have done with Aho if Montreal hadn’t stepped in.
Florida didn’t give max term to Barkov, Reinhart or Bennett.
Dallas bridged Robertson, Oettinger, Hintz.
These are before covid and during the flat cap. I’m not sure there are any teams who haven’t bridged at least some of their key players.
And this list would seem indicate that locking up young emerging players to max term deals is absolutely not essential to long term success.
How many of those players were forced to accept cheap one year deals?
Are you trying to reply to this? (and repeating yourself?)
As I said Bouchard hasn’t signed a 1 year deal. Last intel we heard was that it would be 2 years.
Multiple of the young emerging players on the mentioned teams signed 2 year deals for under $3M.
Do you think something would fundamentally change if Bouchard were to sign a cheap 1 year deal instead of a 2 or 3 year deal?
This would only make sense if a long term deal was viable with our cap situation. Most other teams are in similar positions to some degree due to the cap freeze. Nurse as well was an inherited Cap crunch that necessitated the bridge deals. HIndsight is 20/20 but foresight is not. Context is a thing.
Yes. Ideally two years, but if Bouchard wouldn’t go for the 2nd year, I could live with one. I’d cede him arbitration as early as possible.
Add Mr. King to the too long a fan of a losing team club.
How many of those players were signed to cheap one year deals coming out of their ELCs?
Bouchard hasn’t signed a deal yet as you’re probably aware. Last intel I heard suggested 2 years was most likely.
The majority of the relevant deals on the teams I just listed were for 2 or 3 years. Many of them were ‘cheap’ in the same way Bouchard’s deal will be.
If Bouchard signs a 2 year deal, he will be giving up many millions in career earnings.
He would be turning 26 shortly after that deal expires and likely will only receive one more lucrative contract in his career while his draft cohort are raking in many millions more.
I suppose it could happen but he should fire his agent if he accepts that,
Which ones were 1 or 2 year deals.
Be specific.
You’re making claims like this, so surely you have a good handle on the contracts handed out by those teams?
Most of the young emerging players for those teams got bridged for 3 years, but the 1-2 year deals handed out include Teravainen (2 x $2.86M), Neclas (2 x $3.0M), Lindell (2 x $2.2M), Byram (2 x $3.85M).
How exactly would it matter if it were a 1 or 2 or 3 year bridge?
Also, it’s pretty funny to watch you twist yourself into knots trying to simultaneously argue Bouchard:
1) is a 2nd pair defenseman, and that
2) he should fire his agent if he doesn’t get PAID NOW
One is ceding the player arbitration at the earliest opportunity on a one year deal.
The player and his agent have a say in this.
JW is on to something.
Its kinda crazy Oilers have more or less been in cap handcuffs for a while, due to contracts which sour or from buy-outs. The flexibility is about the same as mine. I am not flexible lol.
I get the contract terms are toxic and a challenge for next year, but so much can change over the course of a year. I’m happy Brown is on the team next year and that the Oilers found their own way to circumvent the cap, since it’s pretty much required to win the cup.
Dump Campbell for Gibson instead of a long term buyout. Worried about a $3M cap penalty next year so you hamstring the team with an 8 year buyout?? I like Willis but this tweet leans towards click bait.
If we’re being fair to Willis (and showing only that quote in isolation isn’t being fair to Willis) he discusses all the positives and negatives and himself says “It’s debatable in either direction.”
https://twitter.com/JonathanWillis/status/1676001812456030210
Certainly it does. Moving on from Campbell by buyout is NOT tenable at all, only works if you can trade him with little or no retention in the deal.
Mr. Willis has drunk the losing hockey team Kool-Aid for too long. There is no guarantee McDavid and/or Draisaitl re-sign. Contenders need depth.
Bouchard is undeveloped enough defensively that one should not want to pay for the offense until one is confident he can actually defend at a minimallly effective level.
McLeod doesn’t bring enough offense to worry about not going long term, especially with minimal PP time. His salary is not going to run away.
we’ve done it. JW gets slammed. this blog has come full circle
HH slams everyone. Jon’s tweets were interesting and compelling, and he didn’t endorse one way without also giving full bloom to the other. It was a well thought out tweet thread by him and of course no surprise because Willis is a smart fellow.
I don’t think the Oilers organization, led by Mr. Katz, is willing to compromise this season in any way. The Connor Brown signing proves the die is cast. If the club can acquire an important piece at the deadline, there will be a willingness to sacrifice any asset that isn’t nailed down.
Bouchard’s next contract has already been sacrificed. The only real question is will Edmonton be able to sign Bouchard next summer or will the team be forced to make a trade?
That’s the shame of this and another reminder this team needs an analytics department. HOW MANY Stanleys would Edmonton own today if they’d just kept Dellow and listened to him? Or hired away Tulsky?
The Oilers need to hire someone. Then build a time machine back to the moments before the Griffin Reinhart trade.
New Because Oilers:
If Woodcroft trusted McLeod more, the Oilers may have beaten the Golden Knights
https://becauseoilers.blogspot.com/2023/07/if-woodcroft-trusted-mcleod-more-they.html?m=1
Excellent article, thanks.
Small sample alert, but I was also thinking that the Oilers might have won if Woody trusted Campbell more in the playoffs.
Skinner didn’t lose any games that the Oilers won in front of him, pretty much all year.
Campbell lost a lot of games that the Oilers won in front of him, pretty much all year.
It makes it a pretty simple decision for the coach as to who to start, the goaltender who doesn’t lose games the team in front of him wins.
Skinner’s losses are mostly games that the team in front of him lost.
Skinner wins the games that he is supposed to win, and couldn’t bail out the Oilers in the games they played like shit.
With that way of thinking Florida wouldn’t have made it to the Cup Final. Skinner was toast after shitting the bed again in game 5 the Knights knew this the Oilers knew this I knew this the only ones that weren’t aware of this were the rose coloured glass wearing Skinner fanboys club. Between playing Yamo in the top 6 against a heavy team like Vegas and his unwillingness to start Campbell Woody should of been fired.
You wouldn’t be HH in fake glasses and a wig, would you?
You only get so many chances at the Cup the previous year we all watched Smith wither against the Av’s yet all and all it was still a successful year after taking out the Godless Flames. If Woody starts Campbell in game 6 we get the bounce cat all the way to the Cup. Last year was not a successful year in my books. I’m glad Holland finally took away Woody’s fascination with plugging Yamamoto in the top six.
NST has its flaws in how it determines high danger (and it doesn’t further bi-fricate the 5-alarm chances) but NST has the Oilers with the higher expected goal share at 5 on 5 and overall.
Memory has Hill stealing game 6.
I don’t disagree that, during the regular season, Skinner generally played along the lines of how the team played but I do think the contributed to some losses in the playoffs and certainly did not steal any games.
Goaltending made a difference in the series
I’m glad your finally seeing the Trees through the Forest.
I’ve never provided any other opinion on Skinner’s play during the playoffs….. this isn’t “finally seeing anything”.
interesting !
Fantastic article. I hope the Oilers’ coach and management take note.
McLeod struck me from the beginning as having a good defensive conscience, and it’s good to see him demonstrating that more as he develops.
https://youtu.be/7WpsLb6N5ks
First dev camp interview is up. Akey seems like a terrific kid, excited to watch his progress as he is my favourite non 1st round pick in many years.
He said he has already put on 15 lbs. in the gym this offseason, hopefully will make his elite skating all the more explosive as he becomes the go to dman in Barrie next season.
Development camp roster:
https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-release-development-camp-roster-announce-12-invites
Is there an echo in here?
https://lowetide.ca/2023/07/02/low-budget-2/#comment-1226039
Adding to his skating would be great, but I’d like to see his defensive game grow.
15 pounds should help there too.
Even with steroids that would likey by impossible. Of course, its good to hear that he’s working hard and getting stronger.
I put on 30 lbs in a half year in my early 20s. And no it wasn’t all in the waist
graduated high school 130lbs
graduated undergrad 140lbs
graduated med school 180. Stayed there for next 15 years
Sorry but its impossible to put on that much muscle in that time period.
Much of that is water retention, glycogen stores, etc.
Listening to the development camp interviews now and he did say he put on 15 pounds (in the gym) not 15 pounds of muscle.
He could definitely be 15 pounds heavier with some muscle, some fat, some water, some glycogen, etc. in there.
Bruce McCurdy with a thoughtful examination of the Brown deal.
https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey/will-2023-24-season-be-ken-hollands-last-as-oilers-gm-connor-browns-bonus-structure-might-be-a-signal
Deja Vu…
https://lowetide.ca/2023/07/02/low-budget-2/#comment-1226043
Cam Talbot looking forward to playing for the Kings:
“He noted that the way McLellan likes his teams to play lends itself to not surrendering a ton of second chances or Grade A looks – backed up by the stats, which show that the Kings gave up the second fewest number of high-danger chances in the NHL last season. Talbot called himself comfortable playing behind McLellan’s system and structure, from those four seasons together, which was another selling point in choosing the Kings.”
https://lakingsinsider.com/2023/07/02/cam-talbot-talks-signing-w-lak-they-want-to-win-im-at-the-point-in-my-career-where-i-want-to-win-too/
Too bad the King’s defensive structure won’t stop Talbot from letting in soft goals on the first shot of the game.
What was his excuse when he was with the Wild then?
.915 and .911.
No excuses needed.
And yet Guerin still felt the need to go and get Fleury? He knew that Talbot’s play was about to fall off a cliff.
.898 last season.
35 years old
A history of letting in soft goals at inopportune moments.
He gets an extra 1 million for playing 10 games.
Jack Campbell was at .888.
He is soon going to be 32.
History of wildly inconsistent play…cap hit $5 million for the next 4 seasons.
Seems to me a $1 bet on Talbot is superior.
Yeah – you keep bringing up Campbell, but he’s not being relied upon to be a starter … we’re rolling with Skinner, who was runner-up for Rookie of the Year. If Campbell shows a pulse next season, Holland will trade him to some goalie-needy team (there are always a few … maybe it’ll be LA). If not, then he’ll get bought out next summer.
Who exactly is LA’s starter HH?
Skinner aint the answer; decent #2 but that’s it
Two months ago Aidan Hill wasn’t the answer – a decent #3, that’s it, right?
Campbell has a 920 career save percentage in the Playoffs.
Turns 36 years old this week as well. How did it work out for him playing TMac’s system his last year in Edmonton?
About as well as the rest of the team that finished 14th in a 15 team conference.
Because Talbot gifting the opposition multiple games in a row, and throughout the season, had nothing to do with that result.
Okay then.
The whole team was a dysfunctional tire fire.
He got chased out of town because he was providing slightly below avg numbers on a elite defensive team
Nah, he wanted out after the Wild acquired Fleury.
Well documented at the time.
And ask yourself, why did the Wild acquire Fleury?
I still smile when I remember the final minutes of that series final game.
All kings still sitting outside blue line waiting for play to come to them…then they defense stops just stares at them with puck in dzone still takes a moment for them to register they no longer have luxury of not forechecking.
That system quite likely does make a goLue look better. That said, I hope they never manage to get anywhere in playoffs playing one if the least enjoyable styles of hockey one might draw up.
Money aside, I like the team better with Yamamoto, Kostin, and Bjugstad, over the team with a hopeful Connor Brown upgrade.
But then money isn’t an aside.
The roster isn’t set yet.
I’m just catching up, but it looks like Holland has beefed up everywhere possible and has just enough to get Highlander and Bouchard signed.
Do you really see any additions of note left to come?
I’m not ruling out anything.
He could get a guy like Stastny or Toews for $1MM, or make a trade.
Off-season just started.
I’m in the Stastny camp if there’s any money left when the music stops
I would have loved it if Bjugstad could have been squeezed in. If he was that 3-4 line center he could get a lot accomplished
from there.
Eichel ate Bjugstad alive. One needs a depth centre who can fail against Eichel more slowly, even if Woodcroft now knows that he should not play Bjugstad against Eichel, like ever.
How much $$$ are left?
You can’t say with any certainty right now until the Bouch/Mcleod deals are done – $5M??
After that, there might be room for a $775k contract..although if you start moving/removing guys from the NHL roster and configuring a 21/22 man roster, you can add as many $775k guys as you want, they’ll just be in the AHL
*forgot about Lavioe in this discussion, although he fits into the $775k narrative
If we assume Lavoie, Pederson or Caggiula are the 13th forward atleague min then there is $6,382,500 in cap space left.
The $6,382,500 has to cover Bouchard, McLeod and the 4C if they run a 22 man roster.
They could also run a 21-man roster, in which case there would be $7,157,500 for Bouchard, McLeod and the 4C/12th forward (in that case I am assuming none of Lavoie, Pederson or Caggiula are on the roster).
While true, it’s always disappointing to compare end of season rosters to beginning of season rosters.
Not sure I’d take Yamamoto and an unknown Kostin from last off-season over Brown from this off-season.
By the end of the year, Lavoie and Holloway may have pushed the memory of Kostin and Bjugstad completely out of mind… Or possibly not.
Yeah comparing to an end of season roster is usually disingenuous considering the rentals brought in for the playoffs. This goes for every team. The Toronto media were lamenting the Leafs losing all these players they brought in at the deadline, but in reality few of them were likely to stay and they had some cap room. For most cap teams that are in their window there’s almost always a drop off.
Unfortunately, its all the Oilers can do with the cap. Finding replacements for replacements.
Kostin was a good catch in the cracks. So was Maroon. You could debate that Talbot for the price we paid was also in that range.
Trading breadcrumbs for a slice ain’t bad.
That being said, sometimes show me contracts are the ones that make the most difference – I hope its not negative. If Brown doesn’t pan out, fireworks will be brought out earlier then Jul 2024.
I will enjoy mr 97 and 29 for as long as they are on board this ship, but when the Ark is at capacity (mr cap room), it is difficult to add substantial pieces.
Oilers have minimal movement to add / swap at the moment;
I don’t think Toews will be a gamechanger based on his health. If Oilers are looking for leadership in Toews, that even more of a red flag as there should be adequate leadership with this group now. Its not 2016.
@jonassiegel
Brad Treliving says Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi were signed in part to change the personality of the Leafs: “We need a little bit more snot to our game.”
If “snot” is what they wanted, they should have gotten Mucus Foligno and Teddy Booger instead.
(looks both ways) (does it again)
Oh, and thanks for letting me say “booger” in this forum.
We’ve come a long way since saying “booger” cost one’s job.
I had that KISS poster on my wall – great TV show
That’s right, fellow babies!
God I loved that show. I had dreams about Bailey Quarters.
Me too, and they were NSFW….
Is that you Gene?
Well they sure have a lot of ‘snot’ on their bottom two lines and their second and third D pairings … really bad putrid snot that will struggle to keep the puck out of their net when the top two lines and top pairing are off the ice.
He overpaid for Kampf, Reaves, Domi and Klingberg. And signed Bertuzzi for 1 million more than Bunting, despite both both posting compatible numbers over the past two years.
And Treliving still hasn’t solved their biggest dilemma … getting extensions for Matthews and Nylander done. At this rate, both of those guys are going to realize that the Leafs are a deeply flawed team, will string Treliving along all season long without signing extension, knowing that Treliving won’t be able to move them in a capped out league, then bolt for US teams next summer … just like Gaudreau, leaving Leafs fans with a lot of snot in their noses, and tears in their eyes.
They’re also still over the cap and need to sign their RFA starting goalie. Assuming they buyout Murray that will help, but they likely still need to trade at least one other body to make this all work.
If Treliving wanted snot, he shoulda stuck with the Phlegms.
This is the front runner for Quote of the year.
Elliotte Friedman
@FriedgeHNIC
Detroit has put Filip Zadina on waivers
This was a Holland pick was it not?
Yes. A Tyler Wright selection.
https://theathletic.com/1074388/2019/07/12/the-oilers-have-a-new-amateur-scouting-director-what-can-we-learn-from-tyler-wrights-track-record-at-the-draft/
they had Q Hughes playing in their backyard and opted for Zadina ….
Most obvious & pressing area of need Top 4 RHD.
We would all feel better if there was an upgrade to Cody Ceci.
Who is a serviceable NHL d-man with a reasonable cap hit.
I have full confidence that KH will be willing to package CC with a draft pick and a prospect at the trade deadline to bring in a significant upgrade.
In some respects, this is a better time to do it as (hopefully) the trade would inject some energy into the team at the right time.
I don’t agree. The addition of Ekholm takes the pressure off the top pairing. A more sinister weakness could pop up in goal or even left wing.
We don’t know what we don’t know. Ceci had a strong run Jan-Jun 2022, and was hurt last season.
Making a big move now, unless it’s Pesce for something that doesn’t fracture a position, should wait for later.
One thing we could really use is a savvy veteran centre for the bottom six. Someone who can put the team on his shoulders and turn the tides with a timely PK, when 5v5 play starts to fall off, or when defending a lead.
This team can’t be all Connor and Leon, all the time. They need some run support.
Not sure if Capt. Serious is the right guy, but he’s definitely the archetype.
I got time for Captain Serious on a cheap 1 year deal ….
I don’t think it’s a fit. The team doesn’t need that veteran prescience anymore as they have matured.
For a player with history of Towes it might be very unsatisfactory playing 4th fiddle and watching everyone around you exceed you.
I’m not sure if they need the veteran presence or not but they could sure use the on-ice skill set.
If Toews signs with the Oilers, he would we well aware of the expected role, I would think.
I do wish this team had a Boyd Gordon to lean on – and not, this time, to grind into fine powder. #Atlas ##Sisyphus
I’d like some offence to go with the leadership.
I honestly don’t think anybody can lead from the 4th line. Or 8 -10 minutes.
Better to find a follower who will sacrifice everything in those minutes.
Vegas fourth line says hello.
Give me Toews on the 4th line – he doesn’t have to play every night. Oilers can put together a load management program for him … on the off nights, they can run 11-7.
Toews has to give us 8-12 minutes a night, and win face-offs in the D-zone to get the puck moving in the right direction, a skill that he is still the best in the league at.
Quick shifts, instead of the long ones that he used to take, which he can no longer play, to keep him fresh.
No pressure to drive offence.
A living legend who can increase the team’s defensive IQ by teaching the young forwards on the bottom of the roster the ins-and-outs of two-way play in the NHL.
One last shot at glory – only question remaining is does he feel he has enough left in the tank? Because if he does, then he fits the mold of someone who will “sacrifice everything in those minutes.”
Toews is interesting, Stastny would be better and I’m fine with Pederson. I think people are underrating him.
Stastny has that “old guy without a Cup” vibe going for him too.
Is it health that has you picking Stastny?
Redbird, are you in Ireland now? If so, I hope you are able to enjoy a gourmet 7-course Irish dinner – 6 Guinness and a potato. 😀
Arriving there Thursday. The Jameson tour is Friday, Guinness on Saturday!
The Guinness Storehouse is a bit of a tourist trap. Dublin is otherwise a terrific place to visit. The bar on the second floor of the Whiskey Museum has an excellent selection – they offer flights with generous amounts of Irish Whiskey for a very reasonable price.
Thanks
Also, there is a great food tour of Dublin to learn more about Irish food – the stew at the 2nd last stop was incredible; the guide was excellent. I went to some really great restaurants when I was there a month ago … their lamb is in season right now, and it is incredible. Lots of great seafood available there too.
I’m a fan of Ceci, or at least the 2022 version. But if this team wants a Cup, they need to aim higher for 1RD. Pesce feels like the perfect option. He’s like an Ekholm on the right side. Prior to hearing he’s available I’d been leaning toward Parayko but his back injury history gives me pause.
Now, procuring those players (like Ekholm) comes at a retail cost. Who could we procure to similar effect, but at a wholesale price?
Pesce is the perfect option, however what do you need to give up, Oilers can’t afford him on salary.
I can’t see Pesce shaking loose unless the Canes get Karlsson. In that scenario, Pesce would presumably want to play out next season on a contender, instead of a bottom feeder in SJ, before becoming UFA next summer. The Sharks would then flip Pesce for Ceci, who might be attractive to them with a bit of term remaining, or could be flipped later for more picks/prospects.
LeBrun has been going on about the proposed deal with PHI that got held up by a condition in the CBA
He mentioned in late June that D’Angelo was being traded back to Carolina for a late pick, but the CBA mandates that 12 full months have to have elapsed in order to consumate the trade – that takes it to July 8
The thinking is if D’Angelo arrives back in CAR, Pesce may then be available
We wait
Jeff Marek saying this morning that Carolina (and Seattle) are in hot pursuit of Erik Karlsson.
Pesce might be going the other way.
Oh for sure..a lot has changed since June 24
I’m just saying (well, it’s LeBrun that’s saying) that there appears to be a D’Angelo trade to Carolina in the hopper
SEA could take Karlsson with minimal retention as well (although it appears they have some RFA’s yet to sign)
its about time Carolina started doing some dumb things.
DeAngelo is a 3rd pairing defenseman who needs to be heavily sheltered.
It’s not really clear what Carolina’s plan is really … they’ve been linked to both Karlsson and DeAngelo, but a RHD set of Burns, Karlsson and DeAngelo would be an adventure, and is not really the type of identity that Brind’Amour’s teams are known for.
DeAngelo was effective with the Canes when they could shelter him on the third pairing to feed him with heavy PP1 minutes. But Burns is far superior in that role, and doesn’t need to be sheltered as much. Burns and Karlsson did not work well together in SJ, so it’s hard to understand the rationale for wanting to run that back in Carolina.
Then they sign Orlov to huge dollars, which is great in a vacuum … but what does that signal to Skjei, who probably is not looking forward to being bumped down to the third pairing one year away from UFA status?
Honestly, people go on and on about the Canes and their analytics and how well run their organization is … but this off-season I don’t see a coherent plan to team building. Their D was not the problem last season. They needed a veteran top 2 centre to balance out their lines, yet they’ve passed on some of the guys that were available (ROR, Duchene, RyJo, Dubois) in favour of signing another winger (Bunting).
Their other problem was goaltending … specifically Raanta and Andersen’s inability to stay healthy. Yet they signed these guys to extensions, instead of looking for a better option (Hellebuyck) who can shoulder a starter’s workload.
Best as I can tell, they are waiting to see how things shake out in Toronto … if Matthews and/or Nylander make it to UFA next summer, they are going to have a boatload of cap space.
Can’t trade a player to a team and have them retain 50% and then trade that player back. Last trade was July 8 so have to wait until after
Yes
There were several comments yesterday that expressed the view that Connor Brown, because his full bonus payment is achieved with a mere 10 games played (the actual minimum allowed under the CBA to be able to provide a substantial games played performance bonus), did not take a discount of any kind to play with the Oilers.
It is reasonable to expect that Connor Brown will play at least the 10 games and therefore very likely to achieve the bonus and be compensated a total of $4 million for his 23/24 season. It is worth noting that besides Brown himself playing less than 10 games, Max Pacioretty, Gabriel Landeskog, Josh Norris, Sean Couturier and Ryan Ellis are notable players who played less than 10 games due to injuries, while Jakob Voracek managed to get to 11. Like Landeskog, Brown is coming off a major knee injury. Landeskog is undergoing his 3rd procedure since last playing in the Stanley Cup finals in 2022. The risk to Brown seems small, but he will have given up a lot of guaranteed money in 23/24 if his knee hasn’t healed properly.
Much more important in terms of risk for Brown though, is that with any other team that he negotiated with that was not cap constrained, he could have potentially signed a multi-year deal. The Oilers, with the performance bonus structure, were limited to one season. A competing team with cap could have offered anywhere from 2-7 seasons. Even if Brown hits his 10 games or even plays most of the season, if he gets badly injured again, or plays no where near the level he did prior to the injury, his contract(s) for 24/25 and beyond could be substantially lower or even nothing compare to what he could have locked in with a team willing to offer term this season. To compete against the Oilers, other teams likely could have offered 2 or 3 seasons or more at or near $ 4 million per season which, financially under his circumstances, would have been significant value.
Connor Brown is taking a fairly sizeable financial risk with his one year deal with the Oilers. That’s pretty significant for a 29 year old who missed almost an entire season with knee surgery. It is not accurate to say the Connor Brown really didn’t give up anything to play for the Oilers.
Connor Brown did the Oilers a huge solid.
With the available dollars (750K!), they wouldn’t have been able to sign a competent 4th liner, let alone a middle-six veteran still in his 20’s. Sheesh, even Yamamoto signed for $1.5M!
Brown gets paid out his market value IF he stays healthy, and even then the payment is deferred to the end of the season. And as you mention, he takes the risk of not locking in a multi-year deal.
Could pay off for him big time if he scores 25-30-55 alongside a top centre.
There is no doubt the Oilers are likely to get a big value contract this coming season out of Brown.
Its also true that, unless he gets a season ending injury in October, there will be an apx $3MM dead cap hit for the OIlers next season even if he struggles or gets hurt later, or takes 4 months to become comfortable with his knee (or the entire season) as is often the case with ACL surgery.
Great post.
Brown’s knee injury I can imagine was a huge eye opener in regards to how quickly he could move from NHL to putting his name on a car lot.
He managed to protect his future the best he could, while still allowing himself a shot at glory.
He’ll be going balls to the wall to get that one final big payday.
He is taking a “risk” by not signing a long-term deal but I don’t think he’s taking “less” to play in Edmonton.
I think he’d be stretched to find a team willing to give him $4MM for term.
He maxed out what he could get for one year ($4MM) to put himself in the best position in the entire league to accumulate maximum production this coming year, and then sign another contract off that boosted production with a rising cap.
is the Connor Brown deal a “cap circumvention”?
Was last season’s Patrice Bergeron contract also cap circumvention? He similarly earned a performance bonus of $2.5MM with 10 games played.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
It is fully within the rules and the intent of the CBA. Unlike the perception that teams, players and their doctors might play fast and loose with injury recovery times to miss the time between the trade deadline and the start of the playoffs (eg. Kane, Kucherov, Stone), there is no grey area for team to exploit with bonuses. Bonus structures in contracts are allowed on ELC’s, 35+ contracts and players who spent at least 100 days in the final year of their last contracts. And all bonused that exceed the cap (to a 7% maximum I believe) by years end get carried forward to the following season. And since any team that uses bonuses that go over the cap end up paying for it the following season, the cap is kept whole.
The injury bonus structure was put in so that good players who had bad injuries with some uncertainty about their recovery in their last season on a contract still had a decent shot at getting a good contract for their next season, while mitigating the risk for the signing team.
Well said.
The Oilers didn’t do it first.
Immaterial to the question, but plays into justifying the playoff circumventions of Chicago, then Tampa, then Vegas. Redbird is correct to point out the difference. Along with other bonus comps, even severely front- or back- loaded contracts aren’t cap circumvention. Teams were given (too much) flexibility but there were rules that governed behaviour. No loopholes or grey areas were exploited to force some restraints on those contracts after 2013. NHL should have no problem doing likewise with LTIR Miracle Babies and addressing the rule book’s inconsistency with spirit and intent except for, well, “X didn’t do it first” says every other GM.
The D is not good enough to win the cup.
Oilers need a 4th line C
Goaltending is a hope at the moment.
Oilers may be a better team 23-24 but so will some other teams.
Who exactly? Game it out for me who got so much better?
In the West I don’t see anyone really. Dallas got older, Minny ran in place. Avs, Vegas, Seattle and especially L.A. all got worse.
Oilers seem better than everyone in the Conference.
Lets go East. Pens fo sho but man that Jarry contract is something else, Carolina maybe and maybe the Devils (defense and goalering still issues) got better. Maybe the Rags as well but that whole team is sorta paper tigery to moi. Cats maybe ran in place, that backend is weak IMO. Boston, Tampa and the Leafs got worse.
Dunno there Rondo. I know your schtick so I don’t expect a change in attitude but I think most of the Oilers comp got worse not better.
You sound like a fan. You’re not being objective.
Clown world with some fans here. No one( playoff team potential) in the west is getting better except the Oilers. Ha
I am a fan for sure. But its not a crazy idea to suggest the Oilers are the goods. Betting odds seem to agree
https://www.vegasinsider.com/nhl/odds/futures/
Who else got better?
Vegas is older with about 14 million set for IR at some point in the season and Barbashev is clearly a step down from Smith.
Meanwhile everyone else got outright worse and or older.
I’m sure HH will pop in to tell us how all those +32 contracts in Dallas and Seattle are actually the smartest thing anyone has ever done and aging curves only apply to the Oilers but whatever. Older, slower and now less dynamic on the backend for Dallas and less dynamic offensively for Seattle.
Colorado – any news if Nichushkin will play? Not sure I like the locker room dynamic of a guy who bails on his team half-way through the first round of the playoffs under very unusual circumstances (to put it nicely). Maybe that’s why they went and grabbed RyJo and Drouin…
L.A. – hahahahahahahahahahah
Soooo who’s left?
How did futures work last year at this time.
The Top Eight teams this time last year were
Avs, TBay, Canes, Rags, Cats, Knights, Leafs and Oilers (last four were tied in odds).
https://www.caesars.com/sportsblog/2023-stanley-cup-futures-posted-avalanche-lead-way
Boston, Dallas, Devils and Kracken covered the bet with ease. Blues, Flames, Pens and Caps came up short.
The Oilers did about as expected.
I concur with this LA assessment.
Now let’s look at Seattle and its improvements.
Andre Burakovsky…only 49 games last season.
Shane Wright
Kailer Yamamoto
Tye Kartye
Ryker Evans PPG RHD
They still have $14.5 million in free cap space and are trying to land Erik Karlsson who as you know just won the Norris Trophy.
Their only loss thus far has been 3rd pairing D Carson Soucy to Vancouver but replaced him with Brian Doumolin.
Sooo three rookies, Yamo and a career high 22 goal scorer eh?
Shaking in my boots there alright yup hahaha.
Burakovsky scored 22G and 61P in his last full season and was on pace to top that last season.
Worth noting Connor Browns career high is 43 points.
Shane Wright is a former top pick.
Ryker Evans destroyed the AHL with a PPG playoffs helping his team to game 7 of the championship series.
Tye Kartye looks to be be better than Dylan Holloway.
Yamamoto will be properly slotted on the third line of a team that already has tremendous depth scoring.
With more than $24 million in cap space, the Kraken are far from done while the Oilers struggle to sign their RFAs and don’t have a credible 4C.
Seattle HAS improved significantly and will improve much more before the season kicks off.
Its absolutely wild to include Yamo in a team upgrade for Seattle after crapping on him during his Oilers career and talking about the Kraken having absolutely no need for him do to their elite winger depth.
Its weird that losing a player that scored 21 goals and 46 points in 66 games isn’t a loss but adding Yamo is a gain.
No mention of a near historic team shooting percentage at 5 on 5 that will certainly regress.
Imagine logging into Lowetide to spend your free time hyping up Tye Kartye and Ryker Evans. And also hyping up Kailer Yamamoto after being down on him for years.
How exactly did Vegas get worse?
Well they did lose Reilly Smith so that isn’t nothing.
In general though, it does feel like many of the West’s top teams treaded water or took a slight step back (although Duchene could have a big year in Big D)
They essentially swapped Smith for a full season of Barbashev.
Barbashev is 27…Smith is 32.
Barbashev scored 18 points in the playoffs. 7 goals.
Smith scored 14 points 4 goals.
While they had both in the playoffs Vegas has the potential to add another player at the deadline
No Reilly Smith. Can Karlsson shut down McDavid all himself?
They lost Reilly Smith to resign Barbashev. They’ve added nothing else. Their scoring depth has taken a significant hit, and one of the original misfits is no longer with their organization. They got worse.
No it hasn’t.
Smith’s career high is 27 goals 60 points (in different seasons)
Barbashev scored 26 goals and 60 points in his last full season in STL.
Barbashev is 5 years younger and their cap hits are identical.
Barbashev also can play centre…Smith never has.
No brainer.
Barabashev isn’t a downgrade and they have the same team and all major draft picks
The were outrageously lucky but will again be a tough out
Important to remember that a full season of Mark Stone (should that happen) makes them MUCH, MUCH better.
Betting on a full season from Mark Stone is a fool’s bet.
Most balanced view regarding Vegas is that they treaded water this off-season which is just fine for a team that just won the Cup.
But they are one Robin Lehner coming into training camp, declaring himself fit to play drama from complete cap space armageddon.
I like Bill Foley … I think he has a well-run organization. Vegas is going to be good next season, if they can get over the Cup Hangover, which a lot of teams have had difficulty with in modern times.
Lehner is facing potential fraud charges in connection with his bankruptcy.
As for Stone…no one knows.
Kane was still playing despite his legal proceedings.
The fraud charges won’t prevent Lehner from being Lehner. If he wants to play, he’s going to show up to training camp or he may show up in the middle of next season. If Vegas tries to bury him, he’ll immediately take to social media to let everyone know.
He’s got two years left on his contract – lots of time for this to play out.
He’s a total wild card.
I’m not sure how one doesn’t understand that the team that won the cup had Smith and Barbashev and the team starting next season has Barbashev and no Smith
It depends how good Broberg is. It is time to find out. Play him with Nurse.
Here’s hoping Broberg takes a big step this year, if he doesn’t though that spot can be addressed at the deadline.
It’s time to shit or get off the pot when it comes to Broberg ice time.
It was time last season and they were doing it, a good stretch of games paired with Broberg on the 3rd pairing and they were doing well and he was coming along quite well.
Unfortunately, Kulak was struggling with the 2nd pair role and the PK was losing games on its own – enter Ekholm and Deharnais and Broberg’s deployment suffered.
I hope the coaching staff does not make the same, in my opinion, mistake, again with this player.
1) I’m not positive that’s true if Ceci is close to 2021/22 Ceci. For all we know, Broberg is about to pop Klefbom style and I’m highly confidant Bouchard will continue to improve in multiple areas of his game.
2) Agree on the 4C – this is a cheap in-season acquisition if Toews isn’t able to play this year (and sign cheap with the Oilers).
3) Meh – Aidan Hill was less than “hope” 2 months ago.
4) There are many good teams, yes – only one will win. It might be the Oilers.
Ya, Drai’s away from McDavid goal share last seen was, well, something i hope we don’t see again. Its interesting that Yamo tends to help outscoring, and I think he was solidly plus at 5 on 5 last season, and Drai still lost the battle.
Would Brown help the outscoring more than Yamo? On the surface he should be Yamo has been a strong outscorer with Drai for years.
——————–
I hope Pederson is 14F (with Lavoie beating him out for the roster on merit plus another) but, right now, he’s the “best option” at 4C and, while he may tread, I’m not enthused about that. Inserting Pederson in the lineup likely means 3 forwards playing 4 minutes on that night, given history, right?
I’m curious to know if the Oil played 11/7 while loading up 97/29? Perhaps sporadically when trailing?
What about Broberg back to the left side if there is an injury there and Phil Kemp’s debut as the call-up?
Could be, but it isn’t an obvious choice. Kemp’s foot speed isn’t terrible, but if you have him and (say) Desharnais on RH side for a game, well that’s a slow position overall.
This is true but, at the same time, none of the other three options warm the heart, right? Dineen is what he is, and its not a solid defender even at the AHL level and, while Niemo can blow the opposition up, he also leaks goals against – perhaps he’s still developing but, for me, not a great option (although a few games here or there isn’t the end of the world).
We’ll see. I don’t see Kemp as a guy who emerges suddenly. If he has an NHL career it’s more likely going to resemble Brad Werenka’s progression.
Sure and, if I’m not mistaken, Brad Werenka started playing NHL games around the age of 23 and Kemp is currently 24……
Werenka played a few games per season for three or four years. It was a progression. I don’t see Kemp stepping in and becoming a regular. I don’t see the others doing it either, but do believe several of these new hires are better skaters.
That’s kind of what I said originally – simply wondered of the possibility that, if there was an injury to a left shot d-man, that Broberg would switch back to the left side and Kemp called-up – as an injury call-up, for a few games – see how it goes it he’s continuing to progress.
Yes. And I’m saying Kemp is unlikely to be the first player recalled due to foot speed. It’s a disagreement, but not worth this many posts.
Skinner and Campbell are the NHL tandem, and I’ll suggest Pickard remains the first recall but Rodrigue is pushing him and we’ll watch that battle all year long.
A strong development year for Rodrigue last season but Chaulk did ride Pickard when he was healthy. Pickard is a high end goalie at the AHL level, and winning is important, but the kid needs to start at least 50%, in my opinion, at least to start the season and let them, as you note, battle.
That wild Kampf deal early really set the market in an expensive way. I had him on my radar as an apx $1.25MM short term signing.
The Philp retirement also hurts – not that he was likely to be able to win a 4C spot out of camp but he was at least a realistic internal competitor – we really don’t have any unless they are thinking about Holloway (and I presume he earns more than 4th line minutes on merit) or go Nuge/McLeod (and, again, McLeod could use more than 4th line minutes).
They could acquire this in-season but that would likely make Woody go to 11/7 more than, at least, I want.
Here’s hoping Jonathan Toews is healthy enough to take on that 4c role.
Take another kick at the cup. I’m sure Duncan Keith is working on it. Paul Stastny would be intriguing as well. I guess we shall see what happens. Maybe Gubbe will be a pleasant surprise?
Yup, I’d be happy with the Toews signing.
It would likely be a mid-late summer signing after he’s got in to his off-season training and determined that he is healthy and motivated enough for a full NHL season.
We know the org is interested and has indeed “tasked” Duncan Keith with charming his old teammate (as per Spector a few weeks back).
Time will tell if he’s willing to sign for league min to play in Edmonton – seems a bit unlikely to me but maybe he does want play in Western Canada and try and win a cup in Canada? He’s eligible for performance bonuses but they can’t really go there with the $3MM (plus) dead cap hit looming for next season (plus the Neal dead cap).
Geez, that center depth chart is thin without McLeod.
I mean, RNH can play centre. Same with Ryan in a pinch.
Janmark and Holloway can also move to centre in a pinch. The Oilers have plenty of centres.
and, of course, McLeod will be signed and in the lineup.