Rumor: Rumours and Proposals Thread: Comrie to ARI, Dahlstrom to WPG, Everyone else cleared.

[Canovin]

Sprong and Ho Sang will probably get traded now. Teams don't want to add a contract with out sending one the other way.

Makes sense.

Might not even get traded at all outside an overpayment. Anaheim and NYI are just thrilled to have them back to develop for another year and see if they can crack the team next year.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

Other teams' discarded goods are better than our current roster players. Just sayin'.

Not really.

 

[North]

Sprong paced for 26 goals over a full season, not everyone needs to be a 200 foot dynamo.

DeSmith would have made sense but if you doubt him because of our D I’m curious as to your Koskinen/Smith opinion

Koskinen is iffy. He had a couple of good stretches last year and I want him to be that guy but I’m not sure he is.

Smith has more history of better play, last season notwithstanding. He was hurt last season so I’m hoping for a bounce back year for him.

 

[Aerchon]

Actions speak louder than words, Ken. That is not a playoff caliber defense.

We've made one trade and signed a bunch of European players and depth guys who are hardly outplaying one another, let the one guy on a PTO go who actually seemed to mesh into our top 6 and our starting goaltender is a week away from being 50.

Our summer 'moves' are closer to doing nothing at all than making a splash. I get that Holland was hogtied because of the last GM whose name should never be uttered around these parts anymore, but pardon my pessimism regardly the realistic outcome of this roster.

There's a poll questioning if our current W group or the available waiver players are better than one another, and it's a legitimate question IMO. We're up to the top end with contracts, again with bottom end depth players and AHL bait, so I get we can't just pluck away at these players, and yes I get that other teams also passed on these players, but other teams don't have the wingers that we do at the moment.



If there is, I'll take back my statement, but we've seen a lot of this crap in the past. Sitting on our hands until the moment has long passed to do anything about it. Yeah, that dumbass who was in charge last made some moves, but that's an extremely low bar to compare to in regards to being a GM for a team.

Most of what I got from Ken's press conference was "uhhhhhhh" "you know" "uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

Seriously though, Colby Cave is not a 3C.

If Ken Holland legitimately believes this roster is a playoff team then he is as delusional as his predecessors.

I highly doubt he's voicing his real thoughts here though.

So Persson to IR, Manning stays for now as 7th d.

I wouldn't mind seeing Benning traded for a pick or maybe equivalent forward.

I could also see someone like Currie for future considerations to a team with contract spots since people are so concerned with contract spaces and there's a bit of a logjam in Bakersfield.




You would think Oilers fans would have learned not to have blind faith in a GM by now yet here we are.

Exactly no GM is going to come out and say that.

He’s trying to get us through the salary cap squeeze as best he can before he can truly put his stamp on the roster.

I'm glad people are starting to question Holland. His moves this summer speak to doing his absolute best to make the Oilers a contender this year and just... Not doing so well at it. His cap management so far is short sighted. He is not doing a rebuild.

I've evaluated his moves and this roster as nothing but trash. My opinion of him and his work is so low the only way to go is up.

Which is why I am pleasantly surprised at the moment rather than disappointed. The team looks like a disaster to me but he is sticking to his guns. The guys he has picked and that have also shown ok in camp.

While it's a long shot he is approaching this professionally. The goal always should be the playoffs. You don't get real development if it isn't.

Holland is putting trust in his guys and hopefully they reward us all. Worse rosters have made the playoffs.

 

[North]

Not really.

It’s the shiny new toy syndrome.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

I'm glad people are starting to question Holland. His moves this summer speak to doing his absolute best to make the Oilers a contender this year and just... Not doing so well at it. His cap management so far is short sighted. He is not doing a rebuild.

I've evaluated his moves and this roster as nothing but trash. My opinion of him and his work is so low the only way to go is up.

Which is why I am pleasantly surprised at the moment rather than disappointed. The team looks like a disaster to me but he is sticking to his guns. The guys he has picked and that have also shown ok in camp.

While it's a long shot he is approaching this professionally. The goal always should be the playoffs. You don't get real development if it isn't.

Holland is putting trust in his guys and hopefully they reward us all. Worse rosters have made the playoffs.

Yeah, but Holland's tenure has been a personal issue of yours, also, you utterly ignore the fact Lucic is a Flame right now.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Not really.

Have you looked at our wings recently?

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

Have you looked at our wings recently?

Yes and a waiver dump isn’t going to change it at all.

 

[Hopelesslucicfan]

I was promised a trade before end of Tuesday. As 'insiders' are never wrong, I am waiting patiently and sure to not be disappointed.

Didn't he say he had no sources he just had a feeling?

 

[Aerrol]

Didn't he say he had no sources he just had a feeling?

Yeah something like that. It was a sarcastic/mildly hopeful post lol.

 

[CupofOil]

I disagree. If Klefbom, Nurse, Larsson, and Russell are all in top form, and Bear & Persson continue to show what they did in preseason, it absolutely is a playoff calibre defense.

I'm more concerned with offense and goaltending.

If if if. That's a bottom 10 defense and that might be a bit kind considering Larsson's play of the last 2 years and the always present Klefbom injury possibility.

 

[North]

Reading up on DeSmith’s history was a bit if an eye opener.

 

[Soundwave]

I'm glad people are starting to question Holland. His moves this summer speak to doing his absolute best to make the Oilers a contender this year and just... Not doing so well at it. His cap management so far is short sighted. He is not doing a rebuild.

I've evaluated his moves and this roster as nothing but trash. My opinion of him and his work is so low the only way to go is up.

Which is why I am pleasantly surprised at the moment rather than disappointed. The team looks like a disaster to me but he is sticking to his guns. The guys he has picked and that have also shown ok in camp.

While it's a long shot he is approaching this professionally. The goal always should be the playoffs. You don't get real development if it isn't.

Holland is putting trust in his guys and hopefully they reward us all. Worse rosters have made the playoffs.

We are in this situation because of Peter Chiarelli, a guy you were defending and calling for optimism on last season.

What did you realistically expect here, that Holland could snap a finger and fix everything in one off-season with very little cap room given to him?

He showed restraint in not taking on any long term contracts to give the team long term cap flexibility, they will have cap room next summer because of that.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

Reading up on DeSmith’s history was a bit if an eye opener.

How so?

 

[CupofOil]

He's talking about playing big games to get to the second round.

What?

We're trying to get out of November in a decent way here, Kenny.

What is he supposed to say? That the season is over before it began?

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Yes and a waiver dump isn’t going to change it at all.

An incremental upgrade is still an upgrade. Our wings are pathetic. Even Bakersfield has better wingers.

 

[ohheyhemsky]

How so?

I'm assuming this:


Allegations

In 2014, DeSmith was faced with allegations regarding domestic abuse while attending the University of New Hampshire. He was suspended from the New Hampshire Wildcats as a result.
DeSmith pleaded not guilty to every charge against him on December 4, 2014, with the exception of a disorderly conduct violation. He was sentenced to pay a $124 fine. He also signed a diversion agreement that included community service, which lead to all charges being formally dismissed after twelve months.

 

[North]

How so?

@ohheyhemsky responded.

I did google and a couple of articles had more details on the arrest.

 

[Aerchon]

We are in this situation because of Peter Chiarelli, a guy you were defending and calling for optimism on last season.

What did you realistically expect here, that Holland could snap a finger and fix everything in one off-season with very little cap room given to him?

He showed restraint in not taking on any long term contracts to give the team long term cap flexibility, they will have cap room next summer because of that.

Chiarelli is to blame for sure. And I did not support him or his moves last year.

But Hollands moves have not given the team long term cap flexibility. To say so is just bizarre.

If he could have he would have signed a UFA to a long term deal. He just couldn't get anyone of value. You don't make 4 year buyouts unless that is the situation.

 

[destro909]

I think that Holland made exactly the right kind of moves this summer. He brought in 4 bottom six forwards to improve our depth and PK, all on one year contracts so there is no long term commitment. He traded Lucic for Neal who has a better contract and is more likely to contribute offense this season. He also brought in Smith as a cheap 1B goalie on a one year deal.

Anyone who was expecting anything more needs to take a closer look at our cap situation and the quality of players we have. We had no cap space to bring in a top six forward, and no one was going to take our cap dumps without significant overpayment (see Toronto and Marleau). We are weak at almost every position, so we can't trade from one position to improve another.

Is the roster he assembled going to make the playoffs? I'd say the odds are close to zero. I'm not even sure this team will do better than last season. However, he has set things up well for a big improvement next season. We have enough depth that we will not need to rush prospects into the NHL this season, so they should continue to develop in the AHL. And we will have a lot more cap space to work with next summer as some of the bad contracts come off the books.

I know that patience is thin but it's about time that the Oilers start working towards long-term goals instead of short-term, knee jerk reactions. In a few years this down season will be worth it, maybe even as early as next year.

 

[jukon]

Cave for Sprong?

One of the few players that we have at that price point which Kenny didn't bring in. We have enough centres, if we needed to Khaira/Granlund/Gagner could fill in during injury.

 

[Soundwave]

Chiarelli is to blame for sure. And I did not support him or his moves last year.

But Hollands moves have not given the team long term cap flexibility. To say so is just bizarre.

If he could have he would have signed a UFA to a long term deal. He just couldn't get anyone of value. You don't make 4 year buyouts unless that is the situation.

You were getting angry at me as I recall for calling him out and not being optimistic and going at Chiarelli.

The Oilers will have $8 million or so in cap room next year most likely to go after a big fish signing if they want. He could have instead signed guys like Ferland if he really wanted to but he held off on that.

 

[McBooya42]

Somewhere in between is the sweet spot, AKA, acting like an NHL GM.

You mean like Holland JUST did?

 

[McTonyBrar]

Actions speak louder than words, Ken. That is not a playoff caliber defense.

His actions have been better then any GM we've had in the last 20 years. Thats sad

 

[CupofOil]

Chiarelli is to blame for sure. And I did not support him or his moves last year.

But Hollands moves have not given the team long term cap flexibility. To say so is just bizarre.

If he could have he would have signed a UFA to a long term deal. He just couldn't get anyone of value. You don't make 4 year buyouts unless that is the situation.

The Lucic trade alone gave them more flexibility. Everything else was a 1 year contract, no long term commitments. This is Chiarelli's mess, not Holland's. We'll be able to properly judge him next off-season when he has more flexibility. There was just no flexibility to feasibly do much of anything this off-season as most of us knew going in.