Around the NHL - Episode XXXX

[JD1]

This. The 2 year contract basically all but guarantees you lose your best D in 2 years (probably about a 80-90% chance). Now they are a soft contender so maybe that's the price of doing business, you can't trade those kind of guys off your roster. They win a Cup in that time period and no one cares. But that's a team that's low on cap space and liquid assets. Losing a guy like Nurse for nothing will hurt a lot. If he's a long term piece he's gonna cost a whole lot more than his new cap hit in UFA and more quality production on his resume vs what he would have gotten right now or in the summer on a 7 or 8 year deal. Like with Mark Stone, you'd rather just trade him in the offseason as a RFA rather than take the short term deal. He's more valuable that way.

Now McDavid is out 2-3 weeks. That might be enough to sewer their season. Be interesting to see if Holland does anything desperate to keep them afloat. Its such a weird roster. So many useless plugs and buried contracts and holdovers from Chiarelli. Will be interesting to see what Holland does when some of the garbage expires, but signing guys like Manning, Chiasson and Kassian make me think he'll continue in his predecessor's foot steps.

You dont think Holland understands that? What do you take him for? A couple of decades in the business, regarded as one of the best GMs in the business. Seriously do you believe he is a fool? Nurse will either be signed when the time comes in two years or moved. You can't make these players stay in a market. Surely as a regular poster here and what we've been thru you understand that a player has to want to stay.

 

[stempniaksen]

You dont think Holland understands that? What do you take him for? A couple of decades in the business, regarded as one of the best GMs in the business. Seriously do you believe he is a fool? Nurse will either be signed when the time comes in two years or moved. You can't make these players stay in a market. Surely as a regular poster here and what we've been thru you understand that a player has to want to stay.

I mean, surely you can see the flip side given what happened with our very own RFA that was signed straight to UFA.

I'm still not overly sure what the downside was to going with a 1 year deal, instead of the one he signed that walks him straight to free agency. Nurse wouldn't have enough leverage (unless he wants to sit out) to turn down the 1 year deal, and I can't see him getting much more than he signed for in year 2 if the team took him to arbitration. End result is still the guy playing out 2 years as an Oiler, but it leaves open the option of moving him in the summer to a team he'd re-sign with (as opposed to the situation now where the Oilers will have ~6 months (January to June 2022) to figure out what to do with him (add to that the lost leverage of dealing him as a pending UFA as opposed to an RFA who could be re-signed).

Personally, I just don't understand what the Oilers (or anyone really) has to gain by giving into the players demands and signing them to a deal that essentially walks them right out the door.

 

[Micklebot]

His current contract provides known cost certainty....an unsigned RFA does not

Not willing to sign...ya...its a redflag....but it doesn't take too big a brain to understand that sometimes life doesn't unfold in the same manner as it does in fantasy land. Calling the deal brutal .... it's far far more likely that Holland was told he would not sign away ufa years so Holland did what he could and got the guy signed for two years. Keeps him for this run. And has two opportunities to trade him at the next two TDLs. Brutal analysis is what that post was...

Nice to see you resorting to condesension...

He didn't need to sign him now to keep him for this run. He could have waited till the offseason. Should he choose to trade him this offseason, a two year deal, cost certainty or not, hurts his value because he's UFA after two seasons and you can't even enter negotiations to extend him until a year after acquiring him. He's now a very risky player to trade for, thus making him much more difficult to trade for full value.

If he plans on keeping him for the 2 years and hopes to extend him after, sure he gains some short term cost certainty, but he gave up his biggest stick in negotiations (arbitration and RFA status) and gave up on any chance of Nurse changing his mind and agreeing to a longer deal to get there, so I don't know that he got a better deal out of doing so in the short term. There's a reasonable chance he might save some cap space in year two of this contract when compared to letting it go to arbitration and signing 2 one year deals, but based on other recent deals, he didn't really sign at a discount, so it will take a bit of a breakout on Nurses part to do so imo.

 

[GCK]

Nice to see you resorting to condesension...

He didn't need to sign him now to keep him for this run. He could have waited till the offseason. Should he choose to trade him this offseason, a two year deal, cost certainty or not, hurts his value because he's UFA after two seasons and you can't even enter negotiations to extend him until a year after acquiring him. He's now a very risky player to trade for, thus making him much more difficult to trade for full value.

If he plans on keeping him for the 2 years and hopes to extend him after, sure he gains some short term cost certainty, but he gave up his biggest stick in negotiations (arbitration and RFA status) and gave up on any chance of Nurse changing his mind and agreeing to a longer deal to get there, so I don't know that he got a better deal out of doing so in the short term. There's a reasonable chance he might save some cap space in year two of this contract when compared to letting it go to arbitration and signing 2 one year deals, but based on other recent deals, he didn't really sign at a discount, so it will take a bit of a breakout on Nurses part to do so imo.

Most GMs don’t want to take core pieces to arbitration. If they have a good relationship I see no issues with a 2 year deal in this circumstance.

 

[Micklebot]

Most GMs don’t want to take core pieces to arbitration. If they have a good relationship I see no issues with a 2 year deal in this circumstance.

Yeah, most GMs try to get a deal signed before it gets to arb. Holland had ~4 months to make something happen. This isn't normal; how many other GMs with good relationships with core pieces walk them right into UFA?

 

[GCK]

Yeah, most GMs try to get a deal signed before it gets to arb. Holland had ~4 months to make something happen. This isn't normal; how many other GMs with good relationships with core pieces walk them right into UFA?

Ones that have cap issues over the next couple years.

 

[Micklebot]

Ones that have cap issues over the next couple years.

Well it's highly unlikely he gained any cap flexibility for next year with this deal instead of waiting till the offseason and worst case signing a one year deal, and any improvement on the year after would be minimal unless Nurse breaks out, in which case he is screwed when he needs to re-sign him two years from now. I just don't see how this contract benefits the team in any meaningful way, but I see a lot of potential pitfalls.

 

[GCK]

Well it's highly unlikely he gained any cap flexibility for next year with this deal instead of waiting till the offseason and worst case signing a one year deal, and any improvement on the year after would be minimal unless Nurse breaks out, in which case he is screwed when he needs to re-sign him two years from now. I just don't see how this contract benefits the team in any meaningful way, but I see a lot of potential pitfalls.

Nurse was looking for the Chabot deal so they couldn’t go long term.

 

[TheDebater]

Ouch

 

[RAFI BOMB]

Bouwmeester collapsed on bench in blues ducks game.

Hopefully he is okay.

 

[TheDebater]

Hopefully he is okay.

That is horrifying, I really hope he is ok.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

 

[TheDebater]

Great news that he is awake and talking:

 

[DJB]

Hopefully just a simple syncopal episode.

Although chest compressions indicate a cardiac arrest.

(However often times in stressfull situations like a syncope even first responders unnecessarily give CPR, I've seen it as I'm a Paramedic )

The fact he was concious and alert rather quickly with no defibrillation indicates to me that it was unlikely cardiac arrest

Again I hope it's simply a syncopal episode and nothing cardiac​

 

[JungleBeat]

Lots of time left to try and convince him to sign longer term, It's highly unusual to resign an RFA to a 2 year deal that brings them right to UFA. You could hold off and go to arbitration in needed, and then repeat the process in a year and be no worse off, at least in terms of having to re-sign him as a UFA in two years.

You're right that if the player has no interest in signing beyond his RFA years, there isn't much you can do, but I'm not sure what the rush was to get something done now was, and if he isn't willing to commit now, that could be seen as a big red flag. If they do decide to trade him in the offseason, I would think his current contract would reduce his value compared to if he was an unsigned RFA.

Nurse is replaceable on the Oilers. Bear is doing solid as a rookie and Bouchard is probably going to be on the roster next year. Jones and Broberg are waiting as well.

 

[Beville]

Hopefully he is okay.

Shades of Jiri Fischer that

 

[BondraTime]

Marchand with one of the nicest assists you will ever see. Unbelievable

 

[Beville]

Marchand with one of the nicest assists you will ever see. Unbelievable

And he tops it all off with a little spear on Petry too...

 

[Agent Zub]

Lol Quinn Hughes might put up more points this year than Brady will in a career year.

4th in NHL D scoring :0

 

[FormentonTheFuture]

Lol Quinn Hughes might put up more points this year than Brady will in a career year.

4th in NHL D scoring :0

Cool post after a night where he has zero points

 

[GCK]

Lol Quinn Hughes might put up more points this year than Brady will in a career year.

4th in NHL D scoring :0

Hughes looks awesome although I still like Makar’s game better.

Brady has a chance to be the best power forward in the league. There are a bunch of Quinn Hughes coming in the next few years since the game has changed

 

[FormentonTheFuture]

Hughes looks awesome although I still like Makar’s game better.

Brady has a chance to be the best power forward in the league. There are a bunch of Quinn Hughes coming in the next few years since the game has changed

ya but Hughes is a special defenseman with his whopping 6 hits on the year

 

[Dingle]

What is happening with Johnny Gaudreau? ei is on his way to one of his worst years, the team is in danger of missing the playoffs..and last year's playoff run by him was abysmal. 5 games, 1 point. first round exit.

Is this just a down periode, or a begining of the end.? Is his 5-9, 165 lb body breaking down???? He was the poster boy for the "new/smaller player" generation...

 

[DJB]

Turns out Jay bo was defibrillated by paramedics so obviously a much more serious issue than I previously theorized.

That's a tough break and could be a multitude of different reasons for needing it.

Again hopefully a full recovery.

 

[jhutter]

What is happening with Johnny Gaudreau? ei is on his way to one of his worst years, the team is in danger of missing the playoffs..and last year's playoff run by him was abysmal. 5 games, 1 point. first round exit.

Is this just a down periode, or a begining of the end.? Is his 5-9, 165 lb body breaking down???? He was the poster boy for the "new/smaller player" generation...

I wouldn't say that his body is breaking down. He had a career year last year, so that alone makes this season look worse than it actually is (on pace for 66pts/20 goals). With that said, I don't think he's a player that is going to take a team deep. I anticipate he gets dealt at the draft unless Calgary miraculously has a successful playoff that he plays a big role in.