PerformanceMcOil
Registered User
- Aug 2, 2005
- 474
- 227
Here's the full interview:
http://video.oilers.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=628006
around 1:05 he talks about how his long term deal was basically a low-ball offer (something someone that "didn't have confidence in their ability" would have taken).
I think you are reading into things way out of context. Reading all the comments as a whole, I think it is pretty simple. MacT offered a long term deal based on where he felt Petry was. Petry's camp wanted a long term deal based on what they think he could be (plus I presume a UFA years markup).
Without knowing what was offered/asked for, it is impossible to judge if MacT is undervaluing Petry, or if Petry is intent on cashing in as a UFA.
Well, if he thinks Petry is better than Nikitin, why doesn't he buyout Nikitin and keep Petry? I'll answer my own question: the guy that pays the bills is way past tired of paying people to not play/work for the organization. Me thinks Mr. Katz isn't too impressed that he has to pay Eakins and Kruger to not coach, while simultaneiously paying Nelson to coach here.
A few problems. First, we again have no idea what kind of term/$$$ Petry is looking for. For sure this season Petry>Nikitin, so yeah, in a vacuum if the choice was one or the other, ok. But, the cap is looking to go down, and worst case is Nikitin is gone after one more season, whereas if we pay Petry too much over his real value, we will be stuck with it for 4-5 years most likely (I can't imagine him signing a two year deal at this point).
Besides that, this is all based on the assumption that Nikitin is useless. But I think that remains to be determined. First, he showed well at times, but struggled with injuries. Second, we haven't seen him under Nelson. His shot is certainly an asset to the PP, at least potentially.
Anyway, cap space is looking to become a premium asset over the next few seasons. If you can get Petry at a reasonable deal, then absolutely he should be signed (and I guess we have to see how the market shakes out this offseason). But I think his point about having too many 4 million defencemen is a good one. We need a couple of those guys. A couple of cheap fillers/up and comers, and one or two high end guys. We got tonnes of the 3-4 types, and we need to find a way to get the top end guy, which means we gotta have some cap space to spare. That said, Petry is certainly better than unused cap space, so I can see the argument for overpaying a bit too.