Sportsnet: Oilers will not qualify Athanasiou or Benning

[IranCondraAffair]

Your argument makes no sense...why did he pay 2 2nds in the first place when he had how many years to evaluate the player in Detroit? It's not like the dozen or so games in Edmonton were the first time he saw AA.

Holland saw a lot of him and thought he was worth 2X2nds. He is being jettisoned right now because he wasn't good in a short stint in Edmonton. Would they be letting him go if he had put up 11 points or if Covid hadn't happened?

The point I'm trying to make is that, if AA has a good year next season, maybe Holland was initially right to trade for him and maybe a longer shot in Edmonton would have been warranted or he should have been given a second chance in Edmonton but he got f***ed-over by Covid which was outside Holland's control which would vindicate Holland's initial assessment.

 

[Del Preston]

Oilers have to be looking for a bonafide starting goaltender.

Yeah or at least a 1B goalie. They also need another top-six winger, a 3C, and replacement for Klefbom. Holland can't fix it all this offseason but next year he'll have a lot more room to work with.

 

[Junohockeyfan]

Yeah or at least a 1B goalie. They also need another top-six winger, a 3C, and replacement for Klefbom. Holland can't fix it all this offseason but next year he'll have a lot more room to work with.

That's insurmountable given the Oilers capspace and the lack of trade activity due to the flat-cap. There is no replacing Klefbom.

 

[Del Preston]

That's insurmountable given the Oilers capspace and the lack of trade activity due to the flat-cap. There is no replacing Klefbom.

Pretty tough situation and it got worse with the Klefbom news last week. At least there's only one more year of Chiarelli's madness to deal with.

 

[Soundwave]

That's insurmountable given the Oilers capspace and the lack of trade activity due to the flat-cap. There is no replacing Klefbom.

3 years ago perhaps, but Klefbom is not a star player really, he was a team worst -17 on the Oilers D (by a mile), he mainly gets points these days because he passes the puck to McDavid to then run the PP. His shot has gone to crap.

It is a loss but he's also not the player he used to be.

 

[ViewsFromThe6ix]

Holland saw a lot of him and thought he was worth 2X2nds. He is being jettisoned right now because he wasn't good in a short stint in Edmonton. Would they be letting him go if he had put up 11 points or if Covid hadn't happened?

The point I'm trying to make is that, if AA has a good year next season, maybe Holland was initially right to trade for him and maybe a longer shot in Edmonton would have been warranted or he should have been given a second chance in Edmonton but he got f***ed-over by Covid which was outside Holland's control which would vindicate Holland's initial assessment.

He barely got 12 mins a night in Edmonton, what exactly do you expect? Those are fourth line mins...still makes no sense to acquire him after having that much intel on him, then glue him to the fourth line.

I think there are just a ton of excuses being made in this thread for a GM that hasn't been good for a long time, and if other GMs made this same move, they'd be getting bashed on here.

 

[IranCondraAffair]

He barely got 12 mins a night in Edmonton, what exactly do you expect? Those are fourth line mins...still makes no sense to acquire him after having that much intel on him, then glue him to the fourth line.

I think there are just a ton of excuses being made in this thread for a GM that hasn't been good for a long time, and if other GMs made this same move, they'd be getting bashed on here.

I'm not a Holland advocate, just that, on this particular issue, you need to cut him a bit of slack, especially since we don't know how it will play out.

 

[Junohockeyfan]

3 years ago perhaps, but Klefbom is not a star player really, he was a team worst -17 on the Oilers D (by a mile), he mainly gets points these days because he passes the puck to McDavid to then run the PP. His shot has gone to crap.

It is a loss but he's also not the player he used to be.

Hard to replace his 25 mins of TOI per game average.

 

[IranCondraAffair]

Hard to replace his 25 mins of TOI per game average.

On the flip side, assuming the Oilers are willing to spend to the cap, there has never been an easier time to spend 4M on a replacement through UFA.

Lots of quality players will be looking for space and Klefbom on LTIR is not the worst situation to be in, knowing you'll be there to start the season.

 

[DRAGO 18]

AA has absolutely blazing speed some team will absolutely give him an opportunity

 

[Junohockeyfan]

On the flip side, assuming the Oilers are willing to spend to the cap, there has never been an easier time to spend 4M on a replacement through UFA.

Lots of quality players will be looking for space and Klefbom on LTIR is not the worst situation to be in, knowing you'll be there to start the season.

Why look outside when you have the mercurial Russell in the fold. Oiler fans were promoting this guy as a #4/#5D. Well, now that you are in need - you have your man!

 

[IranCondraAffair]

Why look outside when you have the mercurial Russell in the fold. Oiler fans were promoting this guy as a #4/#5D. Well, now that you are in need - you have your man!

Yeah chickens are coming home to roost on that one.

I still remember Oiler fans pimping Benning, Russell, and AA a few weeks ago as valuable assets. LOL.

 

[Roof Daddy]

I dont understand not qualifying Benning... he's a good 6th defenseman.

As IranCondraAffair already mentioned, the issue isn’t with Benning as a #6, the issue is Benning @ 2 mil.

I’d much rather have Evan Bouchard as a #6, especially if Klefbom is out for a significant amount of time. Sheltered 5 on 5 and #1PP unit for 1/2 the price (outside of hitting bonuses of course, but that would be a good thing).

 

[Soundwave]

Hard to replace his 25 mins of TOI per game average.

It's inflated TOI though because the Oilers only run 1 PP unit for basically the entire 2 minutes, so Klefbom by extension gets all the PP minutes as the Oilers deploy him + 4 other forwards as their setup.

Klefbom is only 3rd on the D in 5-on-5 minutes.

 

[Junohockeyfan]

It's inflated TOI though because the Oilers only run 1 PP unit for basically the entire 2 minutes, so Klefbom by extension gets all the PP minutes as the Oilers deploy him + 4 other forwards as their setup.

Klefbom is only 3rd on the D in 5-on-5 minutes.

I agree with you - Klefbom was never a reliable top-pairing dman. And his injuries compounded the problem.

 

[Kuznetsnow]

Damn Holland was a dud

So many successful reclamation projects obtained all over the league last year... Nichushkin, Fabbri, Namestnikov, Haula, Stephenson, Duclair, and he couldn't hit a single one given that any of those would be a home run with McDavid or Drasaitl. Even Lucic for Neal after Neal's blazing month ended up with him having the more expensive healthy scratch over the less expensive 4th liner. Nothing needs to be said about paying for AA and Mike Green.

 

[Jack Burton]

Benning for Markstrom?

Might be a swap here peeps.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

I'd like to see Dubas sign both, I think Edmonton made a mistake letting AA go after just 9 games I think he could help our bottom 6.

While I wouldn't want Benning in our top 4 but on the 3rd pair you can do a lot worse, we have

 

[Captain97]

Does Montreal have anybody wearing 47?

I want an AAKK47 line.

Not unless Josh Anderson decides to. And that would only be because Kulak keeps 77 but he only wore that this year for Kovy he normally wears 17.

We used to have a 47 but the radiator left for Dallas

 

[CycloneSweep]

It's inflated TOI though because the Oilers only run 1 PP unit for basically the entire 2 minutes, so Klefbom by extension gets all the PP minutes as the Oilers deploy him + 4 other forwards as their setup.

Klefbom is only 3rd on the D in 5-on-5 minutes.

3rd on the Oilers for 5 on 5 minutes but 32nd in the league. Bear, Klef and Nurse played far to many minutes.

 

[BinCookin]

The thing is, with the flat cap, AA just makes too much money.

Now I guess we will see what he is worth... as all 31 GM's can bid for his services.
I expect he will sign late, and for under 1M, because he had too big of an ask for too long, and all the money dries up.

 

[Cup or Bust]

Benning I was never a fan. He is not terrible, but he is an extremely clumsy skater, maybe the clumsiest I have seen in the NHL. He loses his balance a lot and many times for the benefit of the other team. Makes too much for a 7th d-man. Athanasiou I would have liked the Oilers to keep, but not at 3 million with the flat cap and the Oilers have other needs to fill using cap space. He will be a decent UFA signing at a lower cap hit. What really matters is how the Oilers use the cap space opened up with those players leaving.

 

[HolyGhost]

Detroit thanks you. One 2nd round pick for one point. One second round pick for the other point.

And Sam Gagner, as a special bonus and extra thank you. Well atleast we know where all the oilers depth is... Detroit. Great asset management there

 

[Del Preston]

Damn Holland was a dud

So many successful reclamation projects obtained all over the league last year... Nichushkin, Fabbri, Namestnikov, Haula, Stephenson, Duclair, and he couldn't hit a single one given that any of those would be a home run with McDavid or Drasaitl. Even Lucic for Neal after Neal's blazing month ended up with him having the more expensive healthy scratch over the less expensive 4th liner. Nothing needs to be said about paying for AA and Mike Green.

I'm not going to say Holland was perfect last season but he did a lot more good than bad. The Oilers couldn't afford two or three of the players on your list because of cap problems left behind by Chiarelli. The AA and Green trades didn't work out but that's not entirely on him.

James Neal was also never a healthy scratch. He got off to a hot start while playing with an injury, cooled off, and then suffered another injury that sidelined him for a month. He wasn't fully healthy until the play-ins.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

I won't pretend that AA isnt enticing as a buy-low 3rd line type. Hes a bit like Kapanen. Both have crazy wheels but are dumb as a rock and will never live up to expectations.