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

[MessierII]

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.

Hes good at blocking shots though...

As a skilled shot blocker I dismiss his Corsi outright. Show me his Fenwick.

 

[TheBusDriver]

As a skilled shot blocker I dismiss his Corsi outright. Show me his Fenwick.

Its right there in the link.

FF% 47.6
FF%Rel -3.9

 

[Aceboogie]

His abysmal Possession numbers have been discussed time and time again. It's to the point no side will change their mind

But we can all agree his offensive is putrid. Just no offensive ability whatsoever. He makes smid look like Karlsson

 

[TheBusDriver]

I guess Im just worried they will sign him for waaaaay too much. We have great value in Klef, Sekera, and Benning. Davidson, Nurse, and Larsson to a smaller degree. Lets not give a 3rd pair Dman a 2nd pair contract.

We need that cap space for McDavid and Drai.

 

[Jumptheshark]

someone one is trying to kill me

 

[Glass Eyes]

lol if Kris Russell makes his goalies save percentage better why has that not been the case year over year?

 

[syz]

I guess Im just worried they will sign him for waaaaay too much. We have great value in Klef, Sekera, and Benning. Davidson, Nurse, and Larsson to a smaller degree. Lets not give a 3rd pair Dman a 2nd pair contract.

We need that cap space for McDavid and Drai.

Also need cap space for a defenseman with any offensive ability.

Oilers are committed to Klef, Sekera, and Larsson for a while. Last spot in the top 4 needs to be able to make a play at the offensive blueline.

 

[The Safe Play]

Defenceman better than Russell on this team.

Sekera Larsson Klefbom Benning Davidson Nurse.

 

[alphahelix]

i would be pumped if Russell was the piece we lost in the expansion draft.

If we lose a younger, cheaper, rock-solid defence asset like Davidson, that will burn a hell of a lot more.

If I actually thought Vegas would pick him, I'd say sign him TODAY.

But they won't, so please don't.

 

[nexttothemoon]

Defenceman better than Russell on this team.

Sekera Larsson Klefbom Benning Davidson Nurse.

Unfortunately you do need 6 dmen on an NHL roster... so in cases where you have injuries (like to Nurse for example)... it's good to have at least one more competent NHL dman to fill in.

How many times have those 6 actually been healthy on the roster all at the same time?

 

[MessierII]

Its right there in the link.

FF% 47.6
FF%Rel -3.9

Considering he faces the toughest zone starts on the team that's not too bad at all. About right for 4-5 D man being leaned on that heavily.

 

[Aceboogie]

i would be pumped if Russell was the piece we lost in the expansion draft.

If we lose a younger, cheaper, rock-solid defence asset like Davidson, that will burn a hell of a lot more.

If I actually thought Vegas would pick him, I'd say sign him TODAY.

But they won't, so please don't.

If Vegas signs him then it counts as our player. That's best case outcome for me

 

[nexttothemoon]

lol if Kris Russell makes his goalies save percentage better why has that not been the case year over year?

Well actually when Russell has been on the ice for the past 4 seasons his on ice SV% is 91.93% whereas his teammates without him on the ice have a SV% of 91.60... so "he" does improve it by .33% (not all due to just him of course... but that stat with him on the ice is at least positive).

Increases his teammates shooting pct by 1.7% as well while he's on the ice in that same 4 year time frame... he's positively magical.

 

[Game 8]

Defenceman better than Russell on this team.

Sekera Larsson Klefbom Benning Davidson Nurse.

One game? Lots of nights he has been the best of the bunch!

 

[TheBusDriver]

One game? Lots of nights he has been the best of the bunch!

I can only think of one or two games where hes been great.

He has 0 goals all season and 1 assist every 10 games. How many great nights could he have? lol

Heres a quality look at the Oilers Dmen, albeit about 30 games ago, in December. http://becauseoilers.blogspot.ca/2016/12/an-in-depth-look-at-oiler-dmen-at-23.html

 

[Cawz]

I guess Im just worried they will sign him for waaaaay too much. We have great value in Klef, Sekera, and Benning. Davidson, Nurse, and Larsson to a smaller degree. Lets not give a 3rd pair Dman a 2nd pair contract.

We need that cap space for McDavid and Drai.

I agree and dont think he will be resigned. I think he will price himself off the team this summer. We'll see...

Edit: Although I'd love to keep him on the team. Him and Larsson are eating up all the EV minutes. I just dont see him signing before the summer, as this is his prime earning years. I think he'll take it to silly season.

 

[oobga]

OK defensively. Disappointing at moving the puck. I think he is the worst puck mover on the team. Wonder if those mystery stats that show he is top 2 in the NHL at plays leading to controlled entries is still holding up this year. He does compliment Sekera well since Sek can do so much, and Russell can help clean up some garbage in our zone, but I think we can do much better for that 2nd RHD spot. Need someone that can do well on the PP there if we want to take this team to the next level.

 

[McDraekke]

I can only think of one or two games where hes been great.

He has 0 goals all season and 1 assist every 10 games. How many great nights could he have? lol

Heres a quality look at the Oilers Dmen, albeit about 30 games ago, in December. http://becauseoilers.blogspot.ca/2016/12/an-in-depth-look-at-oiler-dmen-at-23.html

He is a DEFENSIVE defenseman. The problem stems from people not appreciating what those types of dmen can do. He is at the top of the league for blocked shots... you know, that thing that defenseman are supposed to do (suppress shots on net)?

No, he's not going to score you a lot of goals, but christ, the Oilers have needed a stable defense for years and we finally have it and people want to just ****ing throw them out of the city already.

Davidson and Nurse are not better than Russell yet. And I have my doubts that they will ever show the same defensive prowess that Russell has. Will they score more points? Clearly. But that's not what he does.

And for the record, I also think we need an offensive dman. But not at the expense of our best defensive dman. Davidson has been putrid since back from his injury, and prior to that it's a bit of a small sample size. Same goes for Nurse. Why do people have a love affair with jettisoning veteran players who do their job functionally for potential? I get that this is the "Hockey's Future" forums, but come on guys. We've needed this type of dman for years and we have him. I'm not sure why people seem to think that now that things are stable, might as well shake it up. Hope for the best and cut ties with the stable situation we are in.

They should be looking to sign him for a similar contract, max 4m for a couple more years. Try and convince LV to take Pouliot instead of Davidson. But if Davidson is what we lose in the expansion, we're still leagues better off than some other teams and what they will lose.

 

[Speed220DChalavan]

He is a DEFENSIVE defenseman. The problem stems from people not appreciating what those types of dmen can do. He is at the top of the league for blocked shots... you know, that thing that defenseman are supposed to do (suppress shots on net)?

The problem is he doesn't suppress shots. Every single defenceman on the team is worse off playing with Kris Russell than without. Math doesn't like - Russell is a parasite.

And every parasite needs a host.

No, he's not going to score you a lot of goals, but christ, the Oilers have needed a stable defense for years and we finally have it and people want to just ****ing throw them out of the city already.

The salary cap is an efficiency game. You can't improve our team paying Kris Russell for poor production, on the wrong side of 30, and in an area where there are several internal replacements who do the job more efficiently and are 5-10 years younger.

You just can't.

Davidson and Nurse are not better than Russell yet. And I have my doubts that they will ever show the same defensive prowess that Russell has. Will they score more points? Clearly. But that's not what he does.

Jesus Christ.

 

[McDraekke]

The problem is he doesn't suppress shots. Every single defenceman on the team is worse off playing with Kris Russell than without. Math doesn't like - Russell is a parasite.

And every parasite needs a host.



The salary cap is an efficiency game. You can't improve our team paying Kris Russell for poor production, on the wrong side of 30, and in an area where there are several internal replacements who do the job more efficiently and are 5-10 years younger.

You just can't.



Jesus Christ.

So all of the shots that Russell blocks mean nothing? Please explain that.

And instead of just saying "Jesus Christ," try explaining your case against my argument. Please explain how we have "several internal replacements who do the job more efficiently."

 

[Musashi]

If it wasn't for Talbot having everyone's back when it comes to turnovers, the sentiment towards Russell would probably be even worse compared to our other dmen.

But you can't tell me that this team is having the success it's having despite Kris Russell routinely playing top 3 minutes on our back end as if he's some kind of black hole, like the advanced stat gurus like to push him as.

His next contract will definitely create a lot of risk around going forward with him but there is a lot of proof of him playing big minutes on competitive playoff clubs.

Thinking guys like Nurse, Davidson, and Benning, who haven't made a dent in lessening Russell's role, can be given a top 4 role on the right side creates a lot of risk as well while potentially doing a disservice to their development and our defense.

 

[MessierII]

So all of the shots that Russell blocks mean nothing? Please explain that.

And instead of just saying "Jesus Christ," try explaining your case against my argument. Please explain how we have "several internal replacements who do the job more efficiently."

This is the biggest problem with the analytics community. Their word is gospel. If a player doesn't match their bible of advanced stats they are deemed useless. Meanwhile useless players like Mark Fayne continue to get support despite not doing anything well at the NHL level. The attitude of advanced stats bloggers and supporters has held the stats back more than anything.

 

[oilersrule14]

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.

Granted, when looking at shots or offensive numbers, it looks like Russell drags Sekera down. But when you look at goals, that's not true at all:

Sekera with Russell:
GF/60: 1.74
GA/60: 1.31
GF%: 57.1

Sekera without Russell:
GF/60: 2.58
GA/60: 2.21
GF%: 53.8

The quick answer to this is that if the shots are being dragged down, but the goals aren't - attribute it to luck/it's not sustainable.

It's worth noting though that in either Edmonton or Calgary, every single defenceman he has played with has had a better GA/60 than without him. That's Sekera, Larsson, Wideman, Hamilton, Brodie, Butler, Engelland. It's also worth noting that every single one of those defenceman except Larsson was worse in CA/60 with him that without. If you want to account his offence and use GF% and CF%, it's still almost the same effect. Every single defenceman except Hamilton this time had a better GF% with Russell and every single defenceman except Wideman had a worse CF% with Russell.

 

[Musashi]

The problem is he doesn't suppress shots. Every single defenceman on the team is worse off playing with Kris Russell than without. Math doesn't like - Russell is a parasite.

And every parasite needs a host.

You do have to admit though that he looks great filling out that #4 jersey

 

[Cawz]

If it wasn't for Talbot having everyone's back when it comes to turnovers, the sentiment towards Russell would probably be even worse compared to our other dmen.

But you can't tell me that this team is having the success it's having despite Kris Russell routinely playing top 3 minutes on our back end as if he's some kind of black hole, like the advanced stat gurus like to push him as.

His next contract will definitely create a lot of risk around going forward with him but there is a lot of proof of him playing big minutes on competitive playoff clubs.

Thinking guys like Nurse, Davidson, and Benning, who haven't made a dent in lessening Russell's role, can be given a top 4 role on the right side creates a lot of risk as well while potentially doing a disservice to their development and our defense.

Yup, pick your poison. Either overpay Russell in a depth d role, or play someone with far less experience in that role and hope they can handle it without stunting their development.