Confirmed with Link: Kris Russell Signs 1-Year $3.1M Contract

[Blue Line Turnover]

Kris Russell is an amazing D-man. Everything from his physicality, speed, and edge work look awesome. His first pass from his forehand or backhand are superb. I think if he were asked to handle PP-1, he could do it just as well as Klefbom.

 

[Soundwave]

I don't think Russell is being over rated.

His stats over the previous 4 seasons at 5 on 5:

Russell: 2.60 GF/60 teammates: 2.18 GF/60
Russell: 2.51 GA/60 teammates: 2.45 GF/60

That's a pretty large sample size as well... 242 games of even strength play.

This season with the Oilers so far:

Russell: 2.74 GF/60 teammates: 2.75 GF/60
Russell: 1.00 GA/60 teammates: 2.67 GA/60


He's continuing to be a positive factor and outperforms his teammates in terms of GF/GA ratio when he's on the ice.

That GA number for Russell is insane. He's is our calmest defender at breaking up dangerous looking odd man rushes, that's one thing I've noticed for sure.

If he plays this way the whole year, Chia's going to have a tough decision to make.

 

[Raoul Duke]

I don't think Russell is being over rated.

His stats over the previous 4 seasons at 5 on 5:

Russell: 2.60 GF/60 teammates: 2.18 GF/60
Russell: 2.51 GA/60 teammates: 2.45 GF/60

That's a pretty large sample size as well... 242 games of even strength play.

This season with the Oilers so far:

Russell: 2.74 GF/60 teammates: 2.75 GF/60
Russell: 1.00 GA/60 teammates: 2.67 GA/60


He's continuing to be a positive factor and outperforms his teammates in terms of GF/GA ratio when he's on the ice.

That could all be a coincidence over the past 4+ years but I think a much better explanation is that he's probably a pretty good dman who actually makes his team better when he's out there on the ice.

That isn't even counting his PP and PK contributions where he's been solid as well over the past 4 years.

I've just never seen where those advanced stats show him to a be a negative player. Where it actually counts... GF and GA... he's been good.

Like most here, I would also like another RHD who can provide some offense for the PP but re-signing Russell would not be a bad move. He definitely adds stability and makes this D-core better with his inclusion.

So he was allowing slightly more goals against than his teammates prior to coming to Edm and we should expect his current goals against stats to regress to something similar. Am I reading that right?
I agree that he makes the D group better. It was a solid signing in absence of the ideal right shot power play D but there's just no reason to deal with it now.
Signing him takes up the roster spot and cap that should be allocated to a RH PP D, and complicates the expansion draft.
Waiting frees Chia up to move quickly on a the ideal D man, should one become available.
He's an Alberta boy, who's on record as wanting to play in Alberta. The Oil are on the rise. If a better option isn't available by then, tell him the team's interested and we'll deal with it after the expansion draft. He'll understand and he'll wait. He's a patient guy, he waited until the last minute to sign this offseason.
He's good for now but I'm hoping that money gets used on a better D.
The swedes are locked in, Sekera isn't going anywhere, Nurse and Benning will need to be playing.
Russell is holding the only spot left for a puck moving, RHD that can move the puck and be a threat on the power play.

 

[Raoul Duke]

That GA number for Russell is insane. He's is our calmest defender at breaking up dangerous looking odd man rushes, that's one thing I've noticed for sure.

If he plays this way the whole year, Chia's going to have a tough decision to make.

If he can actually maintain that all year, I don't think there's any decision to make at all.

 

[Paralyzer008]

If he can actually maintain that all year, I don't think there's any decision to make at all.

Exactly. If Russell finishes the year at that number, it would be one of the best defensive seasons by a D-man in NHL history.

20 games doesn't make a season. Russell looked pretty solid in his first stretch with Dallas as well. Also had some nice stretches in Calgary. If he was THAT good, both teams would have made better efforts to keep him. Good start with us, especially in his own zone, but let's wait and see.

Leon Draisaitl at this time was on a 116 point pace last year and we were still debating Anders Nilsson vs Cam Talbot. Lots to come.

 

[Dorian2]

I haven't been following the thread here, so sorry if it's been answered.

Any idea when Chia is resigning this guy. He should be all over this like a fly on a big fat juicy runny turd.....

Enjoy your breakfast!

 

[Game 8]

I don't think Russell is being over rated.

His stats over the previous 4 seasons at 5 on 5:

Russell: 2.60 GF/60 teammates: 2.18 GF/60
Russell: 2.51 GA/60 teammates: 2.45 GF/60

That's a pretty large sample size as well... 242 games of even strength play.

This season with the Oilers so far:

Russell: 2.74 GF/60 teammates: 2.75 GF/60
Russell: 1.00 GA/60 teammates: 2.67 GA/60


He's continuing to be a positive factor and outperforms his teammates in terms of GF/GA ratio when he's on the ice.

That could all be a coincidence over the past 4+ years but I think a much better explanation is that he's probably a pretty good dman who actually makes his team better when he's out there on the ice.

That isn't even counting his PP and PK contributions where he's been solid as well over the past 4 years.

I've just never seen where those advanced stats show him to a be a negative player. Where it actually counts... GF and GA... he's been good.

Like most here, I would also like another RHD who can provide some offense for the PP but re-signing Russell would not be a bad move. He definitely adds stability and makes this D-core better with his inclusion.

Your numbers line up with my eye

 

[LMFAO]

I haven't been following the thread here, so sorry if it's been answered.

Any idea when Chia is resigning this guy. He should be all over this like a fly on a big fat juicy runny turd.....

Enjoy your breakfast!

I'd guess we won't see a contract extansion untill June 21th (Vegas's expansion draft)

 

[CaptainSexyPants]

Russell was free to talk to every team in the league for the entire off season and signed with us for 3x1.

Sure, reports were that he was asking for 5+ long term and nobody wanted to pay that so he signed a 'prove it' deal. He's proving it.
He also returned a 2nd round pick and 2 prospects at the deadline as a rental. It's not as though no one see's any value in the guy but us.

You can't really think that he's going to sign for 3x1 next year..?

He might be getting a little over rated here.

He might be. And if anyone's guilty of that I'm probably first in line.

There's absolutely no reason to sign him now and many reasons to wait.

This is the mindset I just don't get. There absolutely are very clear reasons to sign him as soon as we are able...(1) not losing him, and (2) saving money. Jan 1 the ball is in our court- he's a home town guy and we brought him in when no one else did, if we make a commitment while it's still early, maybe he takes around 4. If we sit on our hands and cross fingers that something better comes along, which never freaking happens to us, we risk losing him or paying more so that we don't. If he's still looking like a very good 2nd pair guy, why the heck would we want to compete with 30 teams?

I dunno man, to me it's obvious. We finally have a good defenseman fall into our lap and we're finally playing like a good team...and people want to let that go because "maybe we can get someone better". That's a foolish bet; our track record on that front is abysmal.

Say we can get the guy at 4x4 on Jan 1; what's the worry there?
Could he completely **** the bed? ...I mean...I guess...? But is that really more likely than with any other player? We're not paying him for a 20 goal season with a ridiculous shooting percentage here; he's a defensive defenseman, they're pretty predictable. So then what's the likely worst-case? He regresses to...a pretty good #4...? At 4 mil, why is that a problem? If someone better does come along and we can't afford both players, trade him...but let's not bank on that and end up going back to playing Nurse 22 minutes a game.

 

[Game 8]

Sure, reports were that he was asking for 5+ long term and nobody wanted to pay that so he signed a 'prove it' deal. He's proving it.
He also returned a 2nd round pick and 2 prospects at the deadline as a rental. It's not as though no one see's any value in the guy but us.

You can't really think that he's going to sign for 3x1 next year..?



He might be. And if anyone's guilty of that I'm probably first in line.



This is the mindset I just don't get. There absolutely are very clear reasons to sign him as soon as we are able...(1) not losing him, and (2) saving money. Jan 1 the ball is in our court- he's a home town guy and we brought him in when no one else did, if we make a commitment while it's still early, maybe he takes around 4. If we sit on our hands and cross fingers that something better comes along, which never freaking happens to us, we risk losing him or paying more so that we don't. If he's still looking like a very good 2nd pair guy, why the heck would we want to compete with 30 teams?

I dunno man, to me it's obvious. We finally have a good defenseman fall into our lap and we're finally playing like a good team...and people want to let that go because "maybe we can get someone better". That's a foolish bet; our track record on that front is abysmal.

Say we can get the guy at 4x4 on Jan 1; what's the worry there?
Could he completely **** the bed? ...I mean...I guess...? But is that really more likely than with any other player? We're not paying him for a 20 goal season with a ridiculous shooting percentage here; he's a defensive defenseman, they're pretty predictable. So then what's the likely worst-case? He regresses to...a pretty good #4...? At 4 mil, why is that a problem? If someone better does come along and we can't afford both players, trade him...but let's not bank on that and end up going back to playing Nurse 22 minutes a game.

Completely agree!

 

[Raoul Duke]

Sure, reports were that he was asking for 5+ long term and nobody wanted to pay that so he signed a 'prove it' deal. He's proving it.
He also returned a 2nd round pick and 2 prospects at the deadline as a rental. It's not as though no one see's any value in the guy but us.

You can't really think that he's going to sign for 3x1 next year..?



He might be. And if anyone's guilty of that I'm probably first in line.



This is the mindset I just don't get. There absolutely are very clear reasons to sign him as soon as we are able...(1) not losing him, and (2) saving money. Jan 1 the ball is in our court- he's a home town guy and we brought him in when no one else did, if we make a commitment while it's still early, maybe he takes around 4. If we sit on our hands and cross fingers that something better comes along, which never freaking happens to us, we risk losing him or paying more so that we don't. If he's still looking like a very good 2nd pair guy, why the heck would we want to compete with 30 teams?

I dunno man, to me it's obvious. We finally have a good defenseman fall into our lap and we're finally playing like a good team...and people want to let that go because "maybe we can get someone better". That's a foolish bet; our track record on that front is abysmal.

Say we can get the guy at 4x4 on Jan 1; what's the worry there?
Could he completely **** the bed? ...I mean...I guess...? But is that really more likely than with any other player? We're not paying him for a 20 goal season with a ridiculous shooting percentage here; he's a defensive defenseman, they're pretty predictable. So then what's the likely worst-case? He regresses to...a pretty good #4...? At 4 mil, why is that a problem? If someone better does come along and we can't afford both players, trade him...but let's not bank on that and end up going back to playing Nurse 22 minutes a game.

I don't believe he has proven it. He's been very good for 15 games outside of his previous body of work. Which got him 3.1x1 at the absolute end of the off season.
I don't expect him to sign for 3.1x1, but I don't think it'll be much more money than that for 2 or 3 years. He's on pace for all of 15 points and will be 30 and starting his declining years. Doesn't really scream big money to me.
He has benefited from shooting percentages, he was injured when the team's pdo crashed and Talbot fell to earth.
He was a good signing for a team shallow on D, I know what you're saying about waiting for someone better but I think we just see the player differently. You think he might regress to a 4, I think he's a 4 now and will likely regress to bottom pair. In a worst case scenario, it's Ference all over again.
Nurse will pass him by next season, Larsson and Klefbom are better right now. Sekera isn't going anywhere.
The team needs a right shot power play D and cap will be an issue in the future. They shouldn't allocate the roster spot and cap space to another left shot offensively challenged D.
I'm willing to concede that I could be wrong and he will continue his current level of play. Even if that's the case, I'd prefer to know that before throwing money at him.

 

[OilTastic]

That GA number for Russell is insane. He's is our calmest defender at breaking up dangerous looking odd man rushes, that's one thing I've noticed for sure.

If he plays this way the whole year, Chia's going to have a tough decision to make.

if he plays this way for most of the season you re-sign him long term before he reaches free agency at the end of the year.

 

[Tyrolean]

Have a verbal agreement as there is a expansion draft when he i s a UFA. After LV doesn't take him then you can negotiate a real deal.

 

[TheGhost]

Sure, reports were that he was asking for 5+ long term and nobody wanted to pay that so he signed a 'prove it' deal. He's proving it.
He also returned a 2nd round pick and 2 prospects at the deadline as a rental. It's not as though no one see's any value in the guy but us.

You can't really think that he's going to sign for 3x1 next year..?



He might be. And if anyone's guilty of that I'm probably first in line.



This is the mindset I just don't get. There absolutely are very clear reasons to sign him as soon as we are able...(1) not losing him, and (2) saving money. Jan 1 the ball is in our court- he's a home town guy and we brought him in when no one else did, if we make a commitment while it's still early, maybe he takes around 4. If we sit on our hands and cross fingers that something better comes along, which never freaking happens to us, we risk losing him or paying more so that we don't. If he's still looking like a very good 2nd pair guy, why the heck would we want to compete with 30 teams?

I dunno man, to me it's obvious. We finally have a good defenseman fall into our lap and we're finally playing like a good team...and people want to let that go because "maybe we can get someone better". That's a foolish bet; our track record on that front is abysmal.

Say we can get the guy at 4x4 on Jan 1; what's the worry there?
Could he completely **** the bed? ...I mean...I guess...? But is that really more likely than with any other player? We're not paying him for a 20 goal season with a ridiculous shooting percentage here; he's a defensive defenseman, they're pretty predictable. So then what's the likely worst-case? He regresses to...a pretty good #4...? At 4 mil, why is that a problem? If someone better does come along and we can't afford both players, trade him...but let's not bank on that and end up going back to playing Nurse 22 minutes a game.

Two words: expansion draft. If the Oilers extend him January 1 (or anytime before the expansion draft), it means that they either have to expose Russel, or all of Maroon/Pitlick/Slepyshev. If they wait until after the draft, they can protect 7 forwards instead of 4, as Russel wouldn't require protection as a pending UFA.

 

[CaptainSexyPants]

Two words: expansion draft. If the Oilers extend him January 1 (or anytime before the expansion draft), it means that they either have to expose Russel, or all of Maroon/Pitlick/Slepyshev. If they wait until after the draft, they can protect 7 forwards instead of 4, as Russel wouldn't require protection as a pending UFA.

Five words: it doesn't work like that.
Teams can't 'hide' their UFA's by signing them on June 21st. Vegas can negotiate with Russell as a UFA during the expansion draft window and if he agrees to sign with them, that becomes their Edmonton selection. IE; Even if he is unsigned he's exposed.

Why would Vegas do that? Well...Russell at, say, 4.25x5 vs...
Benoit 'healthy-scratch-and-never-hit-20-goals' Pouliot
Brandon 'won't-play-a-full-season' Davidson
Patrick 'one-season-till-UFA' Maroon
Tyler '25-years-old-and-49-career-games' Pitlick
...I know who which of the 5 options I'd take if I were them..

Also, doesn't really matter if "all of" player x, y and z are exposed because we only lose one of them. We have 4 high end assets at forward, if we had a 5th it'd be another story but we don't, so protecting 4 and 4 is fine. It's pretty simple, really; if we see Russell as a more important player than any (not all) of Davidson, Maroon, Pouliot, Pitlick, etc., then there's no reason not to sign him ahead of the draft.

 

[oilinblood]

That GA number for Russell is insane. He's is our calmest defender at breaking up dangerous looking odd man rushes, that's one thing I've noticed for sure.

If he plays this way the whole year, Chia's going to have a tough decision to make.

If it wasnt for the fact Russell makes Sekera better, i would put him with Larsson and green light the guy. his puck retrieval is top notch.

But Russell works really well with sekera to give us 3 competent d pairings.

 

[CaptainSexyPants]

Have a verbal agreement as there is a expansion draft when he i s a UFA. After LV doesn't take him then you can negotiate a real deal.

This might work too but if he keeps up his current level of play I'd rather not risk it, personally. Russell went so long without a contract because he believed he was worth 5+...if he goes this whole season kicking the same amount of ass that he is now, I don't think he'll be content with ~4. If we get him around Jan 1 he might.

He's just a flat out smart defender, I don't see a lot of luck in his game and how he's performed so far. So he's a pretty safe bet in my mind and I just don't see the sense in risking it. Especially when you look at the benefit of who we'd be protecting...Davidson or Pouliot probably get exposed regardless, and protecting Maroon + Pitlick + Slepy isn't really a huge plus, in my mind. Much as I like em, they're not ultra-key guys and I don't really think Vegas is going to select one of them anyway.

 

[Alawishis]

Five words: it doesn't work like that.
Teams can't 'hide' their UFA's by signing them on June 21st. Vegas can negotiate with Russell as a UFA during the expansion draft window and if he agrees to sign with them, that becomes their Edmonton selection. IE; Even if he is unsigned he's exposed.

Why would Vegas do that? Well...Russell at, say, 4.25x5 vs...
Benoit 'healthy-scratch-and-never-hit-20-goals' Pouliot
Brandon 'won't-play-a-full-season' Davidson
Patrick 'one-season-till-UFA' Maroon
Tyler '25-years-old-and-49-career-games' Pitlick
...I know who which of the 5 options I'd take if I were them..

Also, doesn't really matter if "all of" player x, y and z are exposed because we only lose one of them. We have 4 high end assets at forward, if we had a 5th it'd be another story but we don't, so protecting 4 and 4 is fine. It's pretty simple, really; if we see Russell as a more important player than any (not all) of Davidson, Maroon, Pouliot, Pitlick, etc., then there's no reason not to sign him ahead of the draft.

I think we're all on the same page. I don't think theGhost is suggesting this would be "hiding" Russell. LV would still be free to pick him the only difference is they are picking a player who is not signed to a contract (UFA) so the onus would be on them to see if they could sign him after they picked him. They don't want to pick him and then lose him to free agency a few weeks later.

It's a lot like the situation of a playoff rental player. The attraction is not as great to pick up Russell if they can't be assured he will sign a contract with them. It's possible Russell will go for the payday or he may want to stay on a team that has potential and plays where he wants to live. We know Russell has stated that he wants to play in Alberta, that's a big deal to him.

If Chia makes a verbal deal with him to sign him for X dollars and Y term after the expansion draft then we don't have to use a spot to protect him and doubtful LV takes him. LV would just ask him if he'd consider signing with them if they take him and it likely he says he wants to play in Alberta. Now it is possible Calgary tries to snipe him off of us, they have a history of that. They might top our offer, then it's hard to say how it plays out. I can't see him wanting to play in Calgary over Edmonton unless they offer significantly more.

I hope it works out and we are able to sign him long term for reasonable money.

 

[CaptainSexyPants]

I think we're all on the same page. I don't think theGhost is suggesting this would be "hiding" Russell. LV would still be free to pick him the only difference is they are picking a player who is not signed to a contract (UFA) so the onus would be on them to see if they could sign him after they picked him. They don't want to pick him and then lose him to free agency a few weeks later.

It's a lot like the situation of a playoff rental player. The attraction is not as great to pick up Russell if they can't be assured he will sign a contract with them. It's possible Russell will go for the payday or he may want to stay on a team that has potential and plays where he wants to live. We know Russell has stated that he wants to play in Alberta, that's a big deal to him.

If Chia makes a verbal deal with him to sign him for X dollars and Y term after the expansion draft then we don't have to use a spot to protect him and doubtful LV takes him. LV would just ask him if he'd consider signing with them if they take him and it likely he says he wants to play in Alberta. Now it is possible Calgary tries to snipe him off of us, they have a history of that. They might top our offer, then it's hard to say how it plays out. I can't see him wanting to play in Calgary over Edmonton unless they offer significantly more.

I hope it works out and we are able to sign him long term for reasonable money.

Vegas gets to negotiate with him during the draft though, so they won't be scared to take a UFA who might bolt on them immediately. They know right away if they have a deal and if Russell says yes then he signs immediately and they pick him. If he says no then they'd just pick someone else from us.

People are saying we could just agree to something ahead of time, he says no to Vegas and we sign him on July 1st. That's possible, sure, but it comes with risks. 1) If we agree to 4.25x4 and Vegas offers 5x5, Russell may say forget it, they obviously value me a whole lot more than you do. 2) What if the reverse happens and instead of us skirting the rules a little bit with a July 1st signing, Vegas does it? They talk to Russell and agree to a deal to be signed July 1st, then they take Davidson from us? We lose both of Russell and Davidson to Vegas. (That's conspiracy theory stuff but my point is simply that we're not in a no-lose spot by waiting. It could bite us.)

As for him wanting to play in Alberta...yeah, that might be a preference for him, but Calgary traded him at the deadline due to his contract demands, if I'm not mistaken? So I wouldn't bank on a large hometown discount. And, like you said, we wait long enough and Calgary becomes a likely competitor as well. They were in on him all the way up to his signing with us.

I can definitely see us being a top choice, if not #1 to Russell. Home town, McDavid, new building, team's playing well and he's a key part of that...I just think the risks of waiting outweigh the benefits. If Jan 1 comes, he's playing at the same level, and he's willing to re-up for a reasonable amount, I say just get him locked in.

 

[MoneyGuy]

Best thing about Kris Russell is Goldie Hawn.

 

[Alawishis]

Vegas gets to negotiate with him during the draft though, so they won't be scared to take a UFA who might bolt on them immediately. They know right away if they have a deal and if Russell says yes then he signs immediately and they pick him. If he says no then they'd just pick someone else from us.

People are saying we could just agree to something ahead of time, he says no to Vegas and we sign him on July 1st. That's possible, sure, but it comes with risks. 1) If we agree to 4.25x4 and Vegas offers 5x5, Russell may say forget it, they obviously value me a whole lot more than you do. 2) What if the reverse happens and instead of us skirting the rules a little bit with a July 1st signing, Vegas does it? They talk to Russell and agree to a deal to be signed July 1st, then they take Davidson from us? We lose both of Russell and Davidson to Vegas. (That's conspiracy theory stuff but my point is simply that we're not in a no-lose spot by waiting. It could bite us.)

As for him wanting to play in Alberta...yeah, that might be a preference for him, but Calgary traded him at the deadline due to his contract demands, if I'm not mistaken? So I wouldn't bank on a large hometown discount. And, like you said, we wait long enough and Calgary becomes a likely competitor as well. They were in on him all the way up to his signing with us.

I can definitely see us being a top choice, if not #1 to Russell. Home town, McDavid, new building, team's playing well and he's a key part of that...I just think the risks of waiting outweigh the benefits. If Jan 1 comes, he's playing at the same level, and he's willing to re-up for a reasonable amount, I say just get him locked in.

Yes, they will be able to negotiate with him. Like I said if he tells them he wants to play in Alberta, it would be foolish for them to take him. Wanting to play in Alberta was a big reason for him coming here in the first place. I don't see how this changes unless we try and lowball him, or he decides he wants to go for the big money instead this time around.

As for the risks, yes, those are the risks myself and others have outlined.

 

[CaptainSexyPants]

Yes, they will be able to negotiate with him. Like I said if he tells them he wants to play in Alberta, it would be foolish for them to take him. Wanting to play in Alberta was a big reason for him coming here in the first place. I don't see how this changes unless we try and lowball him, or he decides he wants to go for the big money instead this time around.

As for the risks, yes, those are the risks myself and others have outlined.

Agree to disagree, I guess.

IMO players want to play where they're wanted; it's why so many UFA-to-be's end up signing with the team that threw a draft pick for their rights. We go to June 20/July 1st and the message we've sent to Russell is that he's not a priority and we're a-okay letting him go elsewhere. Expecting him to hold any sort of loyalty towards us after that and be happy to come back at a hometown discount is wishful thinking, in my mind. I think at that point he goes back to the highest bidder, as he tried to over the summer.

 

[TheBusDriver]

Reminder that Russell has 5 pts after 47 games, all assists.

Gryba has a higher scoring rate.

I really hope we dont resign him for anything more than 2.5 mil for 2 years. Hes a bottom pairing D IMO. I wouldnt resign him at all.

http://public.tableau.com/shared/W9BSNWB3M?:display_count=yes - His HERO chart

 

[Cawz]

Reminder that Russell has 5 pts after 47 games, all assists.

His job isnt to get points. His job is to help get wins.

 

[TheBusDriver]

His job isnt to get points. His job is to help get wins.

Well hes doing the opposite.

http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/r/russekr01-advanced-5on5.html

GF% 50.0
CF%Rel -5.7
PDO 100.5

So hes been slightly lucky, and still is just getting to 50/50 in Goals For %. And when looking at his CF%Rel we see that wont likely continue, his GF% will likely get worse.

When you look at his HERO chart you can see that, except for TOI, hes in the bottom 30% of all Dmen in every stat they track and the bottom 2%(!) of two.

Just for reference, heres his most common D partner, Sekera. Imagine how much better his stats would be if he didn't have to carry Russell on his back.