Player Discussion Andreas Athanasiou

Soundwave

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It's actually probably for the best that he didn't explode with a bunch of gimme points alongside McDavid right away.

Now we can probably sign him much more manageably in the summer, whereas if he had a hot stretch here his agent is probably asking for $4-$5 mill per in the summer.
 

Mr Positive

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AA needed these games to find his spot on this team and work through his awkwardness. This was bad for him if we have many weeks off and then start the playoffs.

I'm a big AA supporter but that was contingent on this last part of the season available for him to work out his warts. I'm not sure I want him in playoff games.
 

Panda Bear

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On the flip side--and this is assuming the Oilers will be holding regular practices--he'll get a good amount of time behind the scenes with Tippett & co to refine his game.
 

Mr Positive

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On the flip side--and this is assuming the Oilers will be holding regular practices--he'll get a good amount of time behind the scenes with Tippett & co to refine his game.
Hopefully the team does this. I assume they are still allowed, but are we sure about that?
 

BigFuzzyDice

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Considering all team functions were cancelled before the season was even suspended.

0% chance theres practices going on.
My understanding is they are all asked to stay in the city as opposed to going to their respective home sites. Technically not allowed to practice in any official form but it wouldn't surprise me in the least to see a few get some ice together .
 
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BoldNewLettuce

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Dec 21, 2008
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AA needed these games to find his spot on this team and work through his awkwardness. This was bad for him if we have many weeks off and then start the playoffs.

I'm a big AA supporter but that was contingent on this last part of the season available for him to work out his warts. I'm not sure I want him in playoff games.

At the rate he was going he would have been riding pine.
 

Mr Positive

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At the rate he was going he would have been riding pine.
that might have been good for him. We have lots of players who are almost locks on the roster now, who went through a period of getting scratched. I still think he would have ended up meeting his potential by the time the playoffs rolled around.
 

SupremeTeam16

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If some we're expecting him to come in and click with 97 and light it up then you we're always going to be disappointed.

What I've seen so far is a player who's compete level is in the gutter, he's been in a system like past years in Edmonton, where there's not a lot of talent and not a lot of structure or accountability. I see a player with a lot of promise and at a crossroads in his career. He's got boat loads of skill including rocket feet, and a decent mind for the game but he's inconsistent and can be unaccountable for his overall play. I've mentioned this before but I believe Holland and Tippett both think a lot of this kid, the tools are there, they just need to get him to play the role.

I'm curious to see how the contract neg goes. I think oil will be angling for a 2-3 year deal in the 4 to 4.5 Range. It's gonna be a tough negotiation, I never thought Holland would trade for AA after what he went through with Ferris and that's what makes me believe they really think highly of AA. But I'm guessing Ferris is gonna want to be paid more in line with last years performance and will point to DET being crap for his poor season this year. He's also got the leverage of being able to not negotiate, sign a q/o and force his way to UFA in 2 seasons but I really think that's not a big deal because regardless the Oilers likely want to sign him relatively short term, see if they can get the player they want out of him and if not deal him and recoup at least some of the cost they paid for him.
 

Mr Positive

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If some we're expecting him to come in and click with 97 and light it up then you we're always going to be disappointed.

What I've seen so far is a player who's compete level is in the gutter, he's been in a system like past years in Edmonton, where there's not a lot of talent and not a lot of structure or accountability. I see a player with a lot of promise and at a crossroads in his career. He's got boat loads of skill including rocket feet, and a decent mind for the game but he's inconsistent and can be unaccountable for his overall play. I've mentioned this before but I believe Holland and Tippett both think a lot of this kid, the tools are there, they just need to get him to play the role.

I'm curious to see how the contract neg goes. I think oil will be angling for a 2-3 year deal in the 4 to 4.5 Range. It's gonna be a tough negotiation, I never thought Holland would trade for AA after what he went through with Ferris and that's what makes me believe they really think highly of AA. But I'm guessing Ferris is gonna want to be paid more in line with last years performance and will point to DET being crap for his poor season this year. He's also got the leverage of being able to not negotiate, sign a q/o and force his way to UFA in 2 seasons but I really think that's not a big deal because regardless the Oilers likely want to sign him relatively short term, see if they can get the player they want out of him and if not deal him and recoup at least some of the cost they paid for him.
i don't see his deal as all that expensive at all. He had one year of 30 goals, without much assists. Other than that it's pedestrian production for a top six player.

Not only that, but negotiators can put things into context. If production were all that mattered, think of the contracts that Maroon and Chaisson would have got playing next to McDavid. Just like that, GMs can and will point out that on Detroit he had too easy of a time getting ice time, and his defensive numbers were very bad. His cup of coffee on a better team was not encouraging too. So I think it's a cap hit of maybe 2-3
 

nabob

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i don't see his deal as all that expensive at all. He had one year of 30 goals, without much assists. Other than that it's pedestrian production for a top six player.

Not only that, but negotiators can put things into context. If production were all that mattered, think of the contracts that Maroon and Chaisson would have got playing next to McDavid. Just like that, GMs can and will point out that on Detroit he had too easy of a time getting ice time, and his defensive numbers were very bad. His cup of coffee on a better team was not encouraging too. So I think it's a cap hit of maybe 2-3

doubtful that his cap hit would go down. At minimum his next contract will be his qualifying offer if it’s a one year deal.
 

alphahelix

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The crazy thing to me is that he’s not “fast”. He is same speed as Ennis or Kassian. Good skaters but not insane. What happened?
 

Blue Line Turnover

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The crazy thing to me is that he’s not “fast”. He is same speed as Ennis or Kassian. Good skaters but not insane. What happened?

I could be wrong, but Ennis doesn't seem that fast; his edge work is high level, though.
AA's speed with the puck is much higher than Kassian, but they may be close in their speeds without the puck
 

Mr Positive

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I could be wrong, but Ennis doesn't seem that fast; his edge work is high level, though.
AA's speed with the puck is much higher than Kassian, but they may be close in their speeds without the puck
AA has been playing conservatively here. He definitely has better wheels than most on the team but hardly shows it (yet)

I get why he's like that. If you skate fast for the sake of being fast, you will very quickly get to the wrong place
 
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Blue Line Turnover

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AA has been playing conservatively here. He definitely has better wheels than most on the team but hardly shows it (yet)

I get why he's like that. If you skate fast for the sake of being fast, you will very quickly get to the wrong place

Yeah, he definitely has an elite level of speed with hands to match, but you're right in that he seems to be a bit timid or leashed. It must be strange to go from a team that, since his rookie season, has had fairly low expectations year after year considering the waning number of fans and overall attention paid to hockey in Detroit compared to suddenly being the focal point of an entire city's population
 

Soundwave

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Sportsnet was showing the Red Wings-Leafs outdoor game from 2017 I think ... man this guy is fast.

I think he hurt himself in the second game with us (where he left the game and didn't return) and was feeling the effects of that from there on.

I still like the skillset a lot, we need to play the long game with him.
 

SwedishFire

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I think this was a gamble from Holland, that went hard on the Oilers. There is a chance that he can turn into a productive piece, but as someone metioned - earlier injuries - is always worrysome and disturbing.
 

Llamamoto

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I think this was a gamble from Holland, that went hard on the Oilers. There is a chance that he can turn into a productive piece, but as someone metioned - earlier injuries - is always worrysome and disturbing.

It's not much of a gamble. It's not like he's a young player waiting to breakout. He scored 30 goals last year on a bad Wings team. Just because of a mediocre first few games with the Oilers doesn't mean it went hard on us. There's a very high chance he reverts back to the 40-50 point pace from last year.
 
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