He would be an upgrade in every aspect over klefbom. Klefbom has a great co tract when he is playing. He has played 1 full season prior to this one. OEL has missed less games over 10 years than Klefbom has in 1 season. So even if he does slow down or get long in the tooth, his skating is phenomenal, and he doesn't get hurt,sooooo what's the Downside? He's a number 4 instead like Jaybo? O ya and he would be able to hit McDavid in stride.
He is a legit #1 or would be for Oilers hands down over any player. Huge upgrade. Gives Broberg and other young D a legit example. He is a captain and prob new A which helps room.
He played with Larsson already ,that would put him with his international partner and his old coaching staff.
It completely changed the look of the team by adding 1 player.
I get why most are worried , but the injury thing nuked that for me especially if it's klefbom going other way.
I agree with a lot of what you’re saying, my concern is that with a player like OEL who’s game relies so heavily on his sublime skating, losing a step can really hinder his effectiveness, especially with the fact the league is becoming faster as a whole. I think you have to weigh, how many seasons of top end play are you going to get out of him vs. where the cap will eventually go. If you can get 3 seasons of top pairing play followed by another 2-3 of top 4 play then it could line up well with the transition of some younger players as well as increases in the cap making his contract less of an issue.
My opinion is I believe he would come here and provide at least 2 seasons of top pairing play as the type of defender our blue line is lacking.
However it’s very important for the Oilers to take care of their due diligence on this situation. The facts are he’s a player with two seasons consecutive seasons showing regression, he has a nmc and their team is desperate to shed that large salary commitment that comes with substantial risk if he can’t halt the regression in play. If there’s only a few teams that are willing to take on that cap hit for that term and he’s unwilling to waive for most or all of them, I think it’s a situation where the Oilers have to set their price and stick to it.
Considering everything I’d be comfortable doing 14 + a prospect like Maksimov/Lagesson + Neal for the purpose of buyout with us maybe retaining some on Neal. Possibly swapping Samorukov in as the prospect to get a deal done, with maybe a pick or prospect coming back to us.
Some might find that underwhelming but the situation feels like a team desperate to get out from under a huge monetary obligation and between the fiscal position of many teams in the league and the players nmc, they don’t have many options or hold any of the cards.
