Confirmed Trade: [EDM/NSH] Mattias Ekholm (4% retained) and 2024 6th for 2023 1st, Tyson Barrie, Reid Schaefer, and 2024 4th

[bucks_oil]

Ekholm is who he always was. A great top-pair defenseman.

Like I said when the trade went down: Ekholm will make Oilers fans realize that Nurse is a wildly-overpaid #3, which is what everyone has been trying to tell them forever.

To me he's more of a wildly overpaid #2. His skating, passing, and nastiness skills are #1D, his brain is a #5D. He plays some of the toughest competition in the league and consistently comes out ahead at EV. So on most nights he's more than carrying the mail in a top pairing role with Ceci as his partner (yipes!).

... and then every 4-5 games he loses a game for you trying to do too much (or quite often, trying to do someone else's job). Frustrating.

 

[The Nuge]

Ekholm is one of my favorite players in the league.

That said this move (or any move to improve Edm d) is like 7 years too late its a dam shame

Almost like having a #1 dman (on an absolute steal of a contract) retire to injury at 26 is something franchises would struggle with.

This has gotta help out the pain of the nurse contact right oilers fans? Got him and nurse for a combined 15 million, not that bad.

Meh. Most level headed fans don’t really care about overpaying their top dman by like 1.25 million

Ekholm is who he always was. A great top-pair defenseman.

Like I said when the trade went down: Ekholm will make Oilers fans realize that Nurse is a wildly-overpaid #3, which is what everyone has been trying to tell them forever.

He’s just not. Nurse is still playing above Ekholm and doing well. Ekholm is the perfect fit as our #2 behind Nurse though. Nurse is a pretty run and gun style player (which I’m assuming is why people tend to massively underrate him?) so having one of the most steady guys in the league right behind him is definitely a good idea

The 4% retention makes me laugh every time

It’s because we’re literally that tight to the cap. We have $167 (not thousand) of wiggle room

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

Sadly he looked really good last night

 

[sepHF]

The 4% retention makes me laugh every time

Gave them exactly enough money to get Bjugstad

 

[5 14 6 1]

Ekholm is who he always was. A great top-pair defenseman.

Like I said when the trade went down: Ekholm will make Oilers fans realize that Nurse is a wildly-overpaid #3, which is what everyone has been trying to tell them forever.

You think Edmonton fans don't know that

 

[Jannik Hansen]

Ekholm has 58 points and a +71 in 96 regular season games for the Oilers. What an absolute beast. This has to be Holland's best trade as an Oilers GM.

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

Ekholm has 58 points and a +71 in 96 regular season games for the Oilers. What an absolute beast. This has to be Holland's best trade as an Oilers GM.

He's one of the best all around defencemen in the league IMO. Top 15 for sure.

 

[GOilers88]

Nashville needs to share their secret recipe for churning out stud defenders.

Please.

 

[zar]

Ekholm has 58 points and a +71 in 96 regular season games for the Oilers. What an absolute beast. This has to be Holland's best trade as an Oilers GM.

Rephrased for you…
This has to be Holland's best trade as a GM.

AINEC. I almost forgive him for trading two 2nd for 9 games of Athanasiou when the Avs landed Toews for the same return earlier in the same season.

 

[The GM]

Ekholm has 58 points and a +71 in 96 regular season games for the Oilers. What an absolute beast. This has to be Holland's best trade as an Oilers GM.

Brilliance by holland, even got the salary retention

 

[Marc the Habs Fan]

Nashville used that 1st on Tanner Molendyk in case people are wondering. Reid Schaefer has had a challenging season as an AHL rookie with only 18 points.

I almost forgive him for trading two 2nd for 9 games of Athanasiou when the Avs landed Toews for the same return earlier in the same season.

The Toews trade was a few months after the Athanasiou trade...and after COVID destroyed all cap growth projections.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

Nashville needs to share their secret recipe for churning out stud defenders.

Please.

Seems to mostly boil down to:
-Have people that can identify them (it's more than just points or physical attributes)

-Have a plan to develop them that doesn't involve throwing them on an NHL roster at 18 or 19, and if they're not ready, they're not ready (funny story was Ekholm was so bad in a brief stint in '11-'12 Trotz called him out and he was sent back to Sweden for the year)

-Have good established NHL defenseman that can insulate their development for their first couple NHL seasons

 

[Sheikyerbouti]

Nashville knows what they are doing, especially with D. I don't think this trade was bad/good in hindsight because I don't think Nashville/Edmonton could have reasonably predicted this renaissance.

New system, new role, new player imo. He's been an MVP since game one here.

 

[zar]

Nashville used that 1st on Tanner Molendyk in case people are wondering. Reid Schaefer has had a challenging season as an AHL rookie with only 18 points.

The Toews trade was a few months after the Athanasiou trade...and after COVID destroyed all cap growth projections.

Thanks… I knew it was around the same time. Even worse that Holland blew his load on AA, when he actually could have landed Toews.

 

[Dan Kelly]

Nashville needs to share their secret recipe for churning out stud defenders.

Please.

Nashville and Anaheim have a knack for finding good d-men! Can't blame them for not sharing the secret !!

 

[Just Linda]

Ekholm has 58 points and a +71 in 96 regular season games for the Oilers. What an absolute beast. This has to be Holland's best trade as an Oilers GM.

I'm sorry, I think there's a typo here. +71 in just over a season is too insane to be real. I mean, I know it's the truth, but damn is that impressive.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

I'm sorry, I think there's a typo here. +71 in just over a season is too insane to be real. I mean, I know it's the truth, but damn is that impressive.

+71 is almost like something u see in NHL24.

 

[CookiesAndMilk]

Nashville is smart to sell on him. Get the sense he’s going to start declining soon.

Dude, your takes are f*cking gold lol.

 

[herzausstein]

Nashville used that 1st on Tanner Molendyk in case people are wondering. Reid Schaefer has had a challenging season as an AHL rookie with only 18 points.

The Toews trade was a few months after the Athanasiou trade...and after COVID destroyed all cap growth projections.

WRT Schaefer.... he had an extremely slow start to the season. 12 of his point have come in his last 23 games played (that leaves 6 in the first 34). Still not a tearing it up but a significant improvement from the first half if the season. Still hope for him if he can keep figuring things out.

 

[Jared Dunn]

Ekholm has 58 points and a +71 in 96 regular season games for the Oilers. What an absolute beast. This has to be Holland's best trade as an Oilers GM.

Worth noting he only has 3 out of 44 points on the power play this year. Would imagine that puts him in the top 10 for ES points by D

 

[herzausstein]

Worth noting he only has 3 out of 44 points on the power play this year. Would imagine that puts him in the top 10 for ES points by D

He's 11th for EV points (1 point is short handed) for D. Bouchard is 7th with 44.

 

[Jojalu]

Dude, your takes are f*cking gold lol.

Evem if that were true, Edm has already recieved full value from him.

He has changed thewhole team. Bouchard isn't having the season he is without Eck.

Nurse doesn't have to take as many tough mins.

Grand slam of a trade for Edm

 

[TS Quint]

Rephrased for you…
This has to be Holland's best trade as a GM.

AINEC. I almost forgive him for trading two 2nd for 9 games of Athanasiou when the Avs landed Toews for the same return earlier in the same season.

As a Wings fan, I’m not a fan of Holland but there had to be a trade with the Wings where he had a better trade. On further inspection…. Holland is worse than I thought. He made a couple decent moves dumping players but acquiring players he’s terrible. I can’t believe this clown is able to live off his reputation from reshaping the Wings into the cap era.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

Nashville knows what they are doing, especially with D. I don't think this trade was bad/good in hindsight because I don't think Nashville/Edmonton could have reasonably predicted this renaissance.

New system, new role, new player imo. He's been an MVP since game one here.

Wouldn't have predicted his game elevating necessarily, but we've talked up how good Ekholm was for years, and how he was a legit top pairing guy, and even had latent offensive ability that just never got to come out because of his partners and role in Nashville. As always, other fans would always downplay the individual and credit the overall strength of the Preds defense, or other individuals on it, instead.

It was a f***ing gut punch to trade the guy, but it was just the right time to make some big changes.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Elkholm is still the Oilers number 1D. Anyone who believes otherwise and that Nurse is their number one is out to lunch.