Value of: Signing UFA Andreas Athanasiou

[Mick Jagr]

Is he willing to accept league minimum? If so, I imagine most teams would take a flyer on the guy lol

 

[CupofOil]

What I find incredible here, is that Holland valued Athanasiou's acquisition at 2 x 2nd picks. It not like he didn't know the player well, as he drafted him and had him in his (Detroit's) system for 7 years, so he obviously was convinced he was a good fit for his plans in Edmonton.

After all that Athanasiou plays 14/15 games with the Oilers and is a free agent. I've got to think he's asking for too much, otherwise, I'm sure Holland still sees him as having decent value to his team.

Holland offered him a 2 year deal at a value below his qualifying offer but AA wasn't interested so Holland was interested in bringing him back but just not at the $3M QO or a potentially higher arbitration number.
Stupid move on his part because he won't even get $2M now, maybe not much more than $1M at this point.

Holland made the trade pre-COVID with the assumption of a rising cap so, at that time, he probably didn't see qualifying AA at $3M being much of an issue then COVID happened and that all changed.

 

[Dan Kelly]

I get the sense that AA isn't signed not because teams don't want him, but because he doesn't want to sign for what teams are willing to pay him.

i believe this to be true as well, though it still could be that other teams are perhaps thinking he's just not that good? i think this too because he was underwhelming this past season with the Oilers and i can't blame Holland one bit for using the money he would have qualified AA at towards signing guys like Turris, Ennis, Puljujarvi, Barrie and Kahun! i'd rather see these guys here than AA !

 

[Smartguy]

Not unless he takes 50% or less and only if we move money out. This is also unless Holland hasn’t already moved on. Seems like a lot of conditions on that Garantee?

Also remembering that this would now be the second time Holland has had a difficult negotiation with AA.

Don’t think there is a lot of mutual respect there, and I think the Oilers signing Kahun and Ennis first shows that it is unlikely he would be back, if not guaranteed he won’t be.

 

[Smartguy]

Holland offered him a 2 year deal at a value below his qualifying offer but AA wasn't interested so Holland was interested in bringing him back but just not at the $3M QO or a potentially higher arbitration number.
Stupid move on his part because he won't even get $2M now, maybe not much more than $1M at this point.

Holland made the trade pre-COVID with the assumption of a rising cap so, at that time, he probably didn't see qualifying AA at $3M being much of an issue then COVID happened and that all changed.

Also considering Holland spent that 3M QO and brought in all of Ennis, Puljujarvi, and Kahun for almost exactly 3M.

Argument could be made that all 3 of those are better options for Edmonton next year.

 

[BudBundy]

AA will be back in Edmonton, guaranteed.

Uh, no he won’t. Holland spent the AA money on Kyle Turris, Ben Kahun, and Tyler Ennis, plus brought back RFA Puljujarvi. I, and most Oiler fans, would’ve been quite fine having AA back at or near his qualifying offer. The problem is that AA didn’t like that and was almost certainly threatening to use binding arbitration so Holland had to walk away. AA will be lucky to get an offer close to what he turned down from Holland already.

 

[Dan Kelly]

Uh, no he won’t. Holland spent the AA money on Kyle Turris, Ben Kahun, and Tyler Ennis, plus brought back RFA Puljujarvi. I, and most Oiler fans, would’ve been quite fine having AA back at or near his qualifying offer. The problem is that AA didn’t like that and was almost certainly threatening to use binding arbitration so Holland had to walk away. AA will be lucky to get an offer close to what he turned down from Holland already.

the players the Oilers got with the QA that AA would have gotten will make the Oilers a much better team this year than having AA on the roster! and the Oilers are now spent up to their limit, literally at $0 according to CapFriendly so no AA coming back !

 

[LMFAO]

Til Hoffman and Duclair sign, i have him around 5th okayest ufa left on the market. His production could be replaced this any third round draft pick and lower or a top 3 AHL player.
Browse - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Still pretty incredible that Duclair tought he deserved more than the reported 3 x 4.25M deal the Sens offered.

Now he most likely never gets 10M for the rest of his career.

 

[TS Quint]

Difference is that Galchenyuk is really slow while Athanasiou is one of the fastest players in the league.

Doesn’t matter. Just because AA is faster at getting to the wrong place doesn’t make him any better.

 

[Shaman464]

I don't think AA can be a 3rd liner, the game he plays is fast and dumb offensive hockey. He needs to be put in offensive situations with quick players and he can produce.

When the game gets to heady, AA's weaknesses come out. There's a lot of teams moving to that smart, both sides of the puck type of play than there are looking for all offense all the time. And unfortunately, that really limits who might be interested in AA and how they might be interested in using him.

You never actually watched him play. have you? His problem isn't he isn't smart. He sees the ice just fine, and can read plays equal to other players of his skill level. His problem is he just doesn't care. He plays when and how he wants, and the rest of the team and coaches be damned. This means he takes a ton of shifts off. I use to tell people on the wings board that most of the time having him on the ice was a defacto 5 on 4 advantage for the other team. But the second he clicks in and wants to play, he's electric. He can beat all 5 skaters on the other team, and do it will being one of the fastest dudes on the ice. And that ability to read the game at that speed is proof enough he's not dumb.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

A tonne of Oiler fans will come in here likely and say he sucks but that isn’t true.

He had a solid first game, if I’m not mistaken got hurt halfway through the second game, struggled for obviously what was left of the season, rumor was though he still fighting that injury.

He had a very good play in series, arguably one of the best Oilers in game 2, hit the bar on a wide open net in game 4 that would have put them ahead in the third. He was severely snake bit that series.

Athanasiou hits the crossbar on wide-open cage to keep game tied - Sportsnet.ca

Not saying he was perfect but he was far from as bad as some fans will say, he’s certainly deserving of a contract on a team looking for some potential help in their top 6.

No, he sucks. He's a one dimensional player that if he's not giving you that dimension, he's worthless.
And if people want to rag on guys for being injury prone... AA has been "injured" for the past like year and a half.

There are definitely better uses of 2M than to sign Andreas Athanasiou.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

I don't think AA can be a 3rd liner, the game he plays is fast and dumb offensive hockey. He needs to be put in offensive situations with quick players and he can produce.

When the game gets to heady, AA's weaknesses come out. There's a lot of teams moving to that smart, both sides of the puck type of play than there are looking for all offense all the time. And unfortunately, that really limits who might be interested in AA and how they might be interested in using him.

ALL he can be is a third liner. If you put him in your top 6, you are shortcircuiting what that 2nd line should be doing.

He needs to be put in positions where he can just do whatever he wants and damn the consequences and you'll get some value out of him.

 

[Fatass]

No, he sucks. He's a one dimensional player that if he's not giving you that dimension, he's worthless.
And if people want to rag on guys for being injury prone... AA has been "injured" for the past like year and a half.

There are definitely better uses of 2M than to sign Andreas Athanasiou.

The longer AA goes without getting signed the less he’s going to get. I see him finally signing a one year deal for around 1.5

 

[Drew311]

I get the sense that AA isn't signed not because teams don't want him, but because he doesn't want to sign for what teams are willing to pay him.

By this point I think this is the case for all mid-tier free agents. Basically a game of chicken between teams and free agents, and I have a feeling the free agents will lose the majority of the time. Maybe Hoffman gets what he wants eventually and might have to wait until after the season starts.

 

[Mrfenn92]

My guess is a one year deal, a bit over a million. He’s still young and has skill. To me he just sort’ve needs to humble himself and develop a checking line personality.
Become the new hagelin/grabner.

 

[Syckle78]

He would be a good cheap value signing for Toronto who is really lacking secondary scoring.

 

[TS Quint]

You never actually watched him play. have you? His problem isn't he isn't smart. He sees the ice just fine, and can read plays equal to other players of his skill level. His problem is he just doesn't care. He plays when and how he wants, and the rest of the team and coaches be damned. This means he takes a ton of shifts off. I use to tell people on the wings board that most of the time having him on the ice was a defacto 5 on 4 advantage for the other team. But the second he clicks in and wants to play, he's electric. He can beat all 5 skaters on the other team, and do it will being one of the fastest dudes on the ice. And that ability to read the game at that speed is proof enough he's not dumb.

He’s always bad without the puck. It’s just streaks of good and bad luck. He gets streaks of bounces where is goal sucking works then streaks where the defacto 5 on4 situation blows up in the teams face. He is consistent in his game or the lacking parts of it. It’s like looking at a PK week by week. The short snippets don’t tell the story. It’s just not enough data. In the long run he is what he is.

 

[Dan Kelly]

ALL he can be is a third liner. If you put him in your top 6, you are shortcircuiting what that 2nd line should be doing.

He needs to be put in positions where he can just do whatever he wants and damn the consequences and you'll get some value out of him.

i think we were all fooled by his 30 goal season. now we think he can do it again but really he was lost when he was put beside McDavid. he reminds me of Boone Jenner, who also had a 30 goal season but has never had another....both Jenner and AA are 3rd liners max in my opinion !

 

[BKarchitect]

i think we were all fooled by his 30 goal season. now we think he can do it again but really he was lost when he was put beside McDavid. he reminds me of Boone Jenner, who also had a 30 goal season but has never had another....both Jenner and AA are 3rd liners max in my opinion !

Difference is Jenner is a good grinder and leader and teammate when he's not scoring...

I didn't mean the AA to Chucky comparison to be stylistic - they are in fact almost polar opposites in some big ways. Simply meant that AA is probably looking at a cheap 1-2 year prove it deal. Which is fine, somebody will get decent value based on his hockey abilities. I have a bit more faith in AA than Chucky simply because the NHL is about skating and AA has that in spades. And his "good" season is closer in the rearview than Chucky's.

But like Chucky, I predict when he signs there will be slightly excessive hoopla about what a bargain and high upside steal he is and once again, that's ignoring everything we know about said player. Neither is a player winning teams are going to be craving. They aren't high intensity players. They've shown zero improvement or maturation of their games. But because they once upon a time had a good statistical season and are considered young (although, again, neither guy is "young" by the measure of players who rely simply on putting up offensive totals) - they are considered high upside guys. But they really aren't - they are who they are. In fact, the best for AA, as mentioned above, is that he turns himself into a speedy role player who plays within a system. He's not suited for a high ES ice time top 2 line on a quality team.

 

[ShelbyZ]

Wonder how bad AA and Ferris regret not taking the 2 year deal Holland offered after his ELC expired...

IIRC, Holland offered 1 x $1.2M or 2 x $1.9M, which prompted a hold out from AA's camp to get $187,500 more on the 1-year. AA then puts up a less than stellar season that nets him the 2 x $3M deal that just expired.

Had he taken the two year and still put up the 30 goals in 18-19, he probably gets more money and term and he'd currently he under contract instead of sitting around as an unsigned UFA in an offseason with a flat cap where teams are looking to save as much as possible.


I also wonder how much of a factor his age might be in the NHL interest/offers he's getting. He doesn't turn 27 till after 7/1/21, so if he signs a 1 year deal, he can still become an arbitration eligible RFA next summer. Perhaps teams are trying to get him on a 2 year deal so they can avoid all that given the uncertain cap situation that could continue.

 

[McVespa99]

Yah I think AA made a big mistake not taking the deal offered. I have trouble seeing him getting much more than 1 million at this point. Not that making a million dollars a year would suck

 

[Jumptheshark]

He needs to come down on his demands

 

[Taytro]

You never actually watched him play. have you? His problem isn't he isn't smart. He sees the ice just fine, and can read plays equal to other players of his skill level. His problem is he just doesn't care. He plays when and how he wants, and the rest of the team and coaches be damned. This means he takes a ton of shifts off. I use to tell people on the wings board that most of the time having him on the ice was a defacto 5 on 4 advantage for the other team. But the second he clicks in and wants to play, he's electric. He can beat all 5 skaters on the other team, and do it will being one of the fastest dudes on the ice. And that ability to read the game at that speed is proof enough he's not dumb.

This is not how he played in Edmonton, in Edmonton he looked like all he wanted to do was get focus on getting a luck in the net and had no idea what to do when the puck got out of the offensive zone. He was regularly out of position unless there was offensive potential on the play. He had no clue how to play the rest of the time. Your effort level comments might be true, but I did not see a smart hockey player who can contribute outside of the offensive zone.

ALL he can be is a third liner. If you put him in your top 6, you are shortcircuiting what that 2nd line should be doing.

He needs to be put in positions where he can just do whatever he wants and damn the consequences and you'll get some value out of him.

Your second point is 100% accurate but thats not what I want on a 3rd line. He needs to be on an offensive line, a 3rd line needs some accountability in their own end and he doesn't have it. I'd want him to be on a purely offensive second line that gives up a goal a game, but scores 2 goals a game. But that's not how Edmonton is built.

 

[ManwithNoIdentity]

Honestly shocked he hasn’t been signed by somebody yet for secondary scoring

That said, he’s speedy but very one dimensional. When he’s not hitting those notes than he’s pretty invisible on ice

 

[ManwithNoIdentity]

Are you Athanasiou’s agent?

Ironically his agent has been known to be a pain