CopperAndBlueGM
Registered User
- Mar 9, 2017
- 119
- 41
Upon joining the HFNHL Oilers Organization it was clear there was a lot of work to do:
Fast forward 3 months to the offseason and the Oilers found themselves unable, due to financial considerations, to resign some players and released many others whose HFNHL careers were likely done. As a result the team entered free agency needing to fill 6 forward positions and two defensemen just to meet the minimum league roster requirements and had to do it without overspending if they hope to avoid bankruptcy part way through the 2017/18 season.
On that front the Oilers have been somewhat successful having added four forwards (Sharp, Vermette, Korpikoski, and Bennett) and two defensemen (Wideman and Fedun). While many critics will focus on the fact that the players signed are largely short term band aids, and they are correct, these are what makes sense for the team right now as it tries to get its foundation back in order.
So far the team has managed to keep its salary commitments reasonable at an estimated $59M for the 2017/18 season (depending on ratings) but will likely add to it a bit as it tries to close some holes in the bottom 6 forwards on the cheap.
Of course GM Niece is still assuring its fans the team is committed to winning and that making the play-offs, not improving the teams draft position, remains the focus.
As it stands the team lineup would look like this (start the mocking here folks):
James Neal- Frans Nielsen - Patrick Sharp
Andrew Cogliano - Paul Stastny - Tyler Johnson
Lauri Korpikoski - Antoine Vermette - Brett Connolly
JT Brown - Greg McKegg - Beau Bennett
Dennis Seidenberg - Trevor Dailey
Dennis Wideman - Jordie Benn
Andrej Sustr - TBD (Fedun, Marchenko, or Bortuzzo)
Chad Johnson
Joonas Korpisalo
The team is currently evaluating its options on the trade front in terms of a reasonably priced bottom 6 forward or two that can contribute in some way (i.e. not just a warm body) and that does not require further mortgaging the future.
- Team was in a financial jam having nearly gone bankrupt before the play-offs and at the salary cap
- The prospect pool was more a small puddle
- The team was laden with over-priced veteran players many of which were in their final HFNHL seasons or bound for Europe
- The weakest draft crop I can recall
- An expansion draft that all but assured there being almost no free agent market
Fast forward 3 months to the offseason and the Oilers found themselves unable, due to financial considerations, to resign some players and released many others whose HFNHL careers were likely done. As a result the team entered free agency needing to fill 6 forward positions and two defensemen just to meet the minimum league roster requirements and had to do it without overspending if they hope to avoid bankruptcy part way through the 2017/18 season.
On that front the Oilers have been somewhat successful having added four forwards (Sharp, Vermette, Korpikoski, and Bennett) and two defensemen (Wideman and Fedun). While many critics will focus on the fact that the players signed are largely short term band aids, and they are correct, these are what makes sense for the team right now as it tries to get its foundation back in order.
So far the team has managed to keep its salary commitments reasonable at an estimated $59M for the 2017/18 season (depending on ratings) but will likely add to it a bit as it tries to close some holes in the bottom 6 forwards on the cheap.
Of course GM Niece is still assuring its fans the team is committed to winning and that making the play-offs, not improving the teams draft position, remains the focus.
As it stands the team lineup would look like this (start the mocking here folks):
James Neal- Frans Nielsen - Patrick Sharp
Andrew Cogliano - Paul Stastny - Tyler Johnson
Lauri Korpikoski - Antoine Vermette - Brett Connolly
JT Brown - Greg McKegg - Beau Bennett
Dennis Seidenberg - Trevor Dailey
Dennis Wideman - Jordie Benn
Andrej Sustr - TBD (Fedun, Marchenko, or Bortuzzo)
Chad Johnson
Joonas Korpisalo
The team is currently evaluating its options on the trade front in terms of a reasonably priced bottom 6 forward or two that can contribute in some way (i.e. not just a warm body) and that does not require further mortgaging the future.
