Rumor: Trades/Proposals: This Offseason can we transition from the "Wasted Years" to living in the Golden Y

[yukoner88]

With the time starting to tick on McDrai hitting their primes, and finally a summer of cap space, who are we to target to bring us from the Wasted Years in our search for meaningful roster depth??

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[Mr Positive]

It's hard to be as excited when you see so many UFAs flub, as it is all about chasing their past performance. It seems like a sucker's game.

I want short term deals for newcomers. Driedger and Ullmark would be great but I dont trust them until they prove they can be good on this team first.

Also do we want to fill all holes, or do we want to leave a realistic spot or two for young prospects to fight for. Bouchard, Holloway, Benson?

Also I would consider McLeod as graduated. So perhaps add a winger/center add to share 3c with him. That's a good reason to add Coleman from Tampa since he played center for the Devils, but he may be too expensive now.

Also I am all for adding Keith, in how it facilitates development of young D. I'd rather not go chasing Hamilton or Jones.

The only true free agent solution I'd get is a top six winger. Hoffman, Tatar, or someone like that. Short term deal. I'd assume Holloway and Lavoie may graduate there in a year or two so dont give too much term

 

[Mcnotloilersfan]

Even on the cheap, I'm less and less interested in Tatar. He has been scratched by two teams now for the playoffs.

I think we are at that point where we are likely a playoff team every season for a while now. We need to make the next step in the playoffs. Even if its 2 million... its 2 million I'd rather use elsewhere

 

[Fourier]

It's hard to be as excited when you see so many UFAs flub, as it is all about chasing their past performance. It seems like a sucker's game.

I want short term deals for newcomers. Driedger and Ullmark would be great but I dont trust them until they prove they can be good on this team first.

Also do we want to fill all holes, or do we want to leave a realistic spot or two for young prospects to fight for. Bouchard, Holloway, Benson?

Also I would consider McLeod as graduated. So perhaps add a winger/center add to share 3c with him. That's a good reason to add Coleman from Tampa since he played center for the Devils, but he may be too expensive now.

Also I am all for adding Keith, in how it facilitates development of young D. I'd rather not go chasing Hamilton or Jones.

The only true free agent solution I'd get is a top six winger. Hoffman, Tatar, or someone like that. Short term deal. I'd assume Holloway and Lavoie may graduate there in a year or two so dont give too much term

Hoffman is not coming to Edmonton on a short term deal. He did his one year stint. He'll be 32 near the beginning of this next year. He'll be looking for as long a deal as he can get.

Tatar might sign for one year. But as we saw with Barrie if they have any success you either lose them or risk pay full price going forward.

 

[McWeber]

Hoffman is not coming to Edmonton on a short term deal. He did his one year stint. He'll be 32 near the beginning of this next year. He'll be looking for as long a deal as he can get.

Tatar might sign for one year. But as we saw with Barrie if they have any success you either lose them or risk pay full price going forward.

Tatar on a cheap one year deal (or any scoring forward) is ideal in my mind. It gives us flexibility to integrate our prospects if they step up and should the FA succeed and want a bigger contract next year we just cut bait for another cheap option looking to pump their numbers. Chances are if they make it to free agency a longer deal isn't worth the risk.

 

[Ritchie Valens]

@yukoner88



Thanks for keeping up with the rock themed thread titles!!! Love your choice!

 

[alphahelix]

Tatar on a cheap one year deal (or any scoring forward) is ideal in my mind. It gives us flexibility to integrate our prospects if they step up and should the FA succeed and want a bigger contract next year we just cut bait for another cheap option looking to pump their numbers. Chances are if they make it to free agency a longer deal isn't worth the risk.

If we sign Tatar cheap as depth filler: cool, whatever.

We need a bonafide top 6 winger with dimensions to his game, hopefully including speed, size and/or physicality to balance out some of the smaller players with a healthy dose of goal scoring capability. There are probably not a lot of great options on UFA, I would have the Halls and Colemans in the “maybe” category to fulfill that role, probably worth a swing. If we signed Coleman as depth we would be in great shape but I’d be willing to try him higher up. If we wind up in the bargain basement trying to fill the top 6 hole with a Tatar we are failures.

 

[CanmoreMike]

But as we saw with Barrie if they have any success you either lose them or risk pay full price going forward.

I don't see this as a downside. If a team signs a player at a discounted deal and he scores 35 goals and 80 points and now wants big bucks it doesn't detract from the fact you got a really good season from a player at a huge discount. To me you want those things. And if players start to realize they can go to Edmonton, have a great year and get paid that should mean there's a line of depreciated assets angling to come to our team.

I fail to see how this is bad.

 

[McWeber]

If we sign Tatar cheap as depth filler: cool, whatever.

We need a bonafide top 6 winger with dimensions to his game, hopefully including speed, size and/or physicality to balance out some of the smaller players with a healthy dose of goal scoring capability. There are probably not a lot of great options on UFA, I would have the Halls and Colemans in the “maybe” category to fulfill that role, probably worth a swing. If we signed Coleman as depth we would be in great shape but I’d be willing to try him higher up. If we wind up in the bargain basement trying to fill the top 6 hole with a Tatar we are failures.

I am not hoping Tatar is who Holland targets as the answer but getting low risk contracts that have potential to pay dividends seems like a no brainer. I'm at the point where I think we should be willing to pay the piper and go trade for good players with good contracts, especially when it comes to key positions.

 

[Smartguy]

It's hard to be as excited when you see so many UFAs flub, as it is all about chasing their past performance. It seems like a sucker's game.

I want short term deals for newcomers. Driedger and Ullmark would be great but I dont trust them until they prove they can be good on this team first.

Also do we want to fill all holes, or do we want to leave a realistic spot or two for young prospects to fight for. Bouchard, Holloway, Benson?

Also I would consider McLeod as graduated. So perhaps add a winger/center add to share 3c with him. That's a good reason to add Coleman from Tampa since he played center for the Devils, but he may be too expensive now.

Also I am all for adding Keith, in how it facilitates development of young D. I'd rather not go chasing Hamilton or Jones.

The only true free agent solution I'd get is a top six winger. Hoffman, Tatar, or someone like that. Short term deal. I'd assume Holloway and Lavoie may graduate there in a year or two so dont give too much term

The issue is Oiler fans still have PSTD from the last time Chiarelli was in this exact position, where every bet he made went bad. Lucic, Hall trade, Reinhart trade, the lid goes on and on and doesn’t need to be rehashed.

Teams can acquire players or even sign others and still win those deals. Montreal for example is a team that took some risks last offseason and had them pay off, Josh Anderson they bought low on and gave a huge ticket too, Jake Allen signed to a extension before the even saw him play. Joel Edmudson, arguably one of their most valuable D right now.

It all depends how much you trust Holland and Co. to get it right this time.

 

[Fourier]

I don't see this as a downside. If a team signs a player at a discounted deal and he scores 35 goals and 80 points and now wants big bucks it doesn't detract from the fact you got a really good season from a player at a huge discount. To me you want those things. And if players start to realize they can go to Edmonton, have a great year and get paid that should mean there's a line of depreciated assets angling to come to our team.

I fail to see how this is bad.

The downside is that you never get a long term bargain and will most often end up paying even more because of that success. So you are always hoping to get lucky. Unfortunately, most of the time you won't because the players you will most often get on those sort of redemtion deals are the least likely to be successful.

People talk about all the bad long term deals out there. But you seldom hear much about the fact that all the best deals also tend to be long term deals. This is particualrly true for a team's core.

I am not advocating that Holland throws term at every UFA, adn certainly not Tatar, but if the team wants roster stability picking one or two guys to invest in long term is a good stragtegy. The CBA actually has reasonable safegaurds that teams with solid financial circumstances can exploit to mitigate mistakes. But if the plan is ti try an always go short term, which was what the post I was responding to suggested, teh reality is that you will amost never pay anything less than full market value.

 

[NotAVacuumSalesman]

Do we really want Tatar?? He's currently in the PB eating poutine while his team is about to get swept.

Looking at some of these other UFAs like N Foligno or Schwartz with previous M-NTC, I'm wondering if they'd sign here.

Palmieri's probably a long shot to sign here. He's never played in Canada.

 

[Gordy Elbows]

I wish I had some great suggestions to offer. I get skeptical in the off seasons (usually for good reason) regarding trades and acquisitions.
Why? Because of the lousy job the Oilers pro scouts do in identifying players of interest. So, here's some tips for the Pro Scouts:
. if a player has been bought out - leave him there! There's a lot of reasons why teams pay good money to get rid of someone.
. if a player has been waived by his team (some twice), don't expect a miraculous upgrade in their game by signing them here.
. some players are truly looking for a second chance / change of teams to raise their game. Others are looking for a cozy place to retire and get a pay check. Know which are which!
. as part of the consideration, develop baseline averages of the important stats for your top -9 forwards and top-4 defence. Every player you sign had better be on the above average side, in addition to other criteria you're using.

Don't be a Turris - signer for life....quit now!

 

[BarDownBobo]

Just throwing together a few things that have been talked about by some of the local media members here.

Keith@$4.5m for Jones and Koskinen
Patrick for Bear
Crouse for mid picks/prospects

Barrie 4 years $5m
Larsson 4 years $3.75m
Tatar 1 year $3m
Smith 1 year $2m
Starting Goalie up to $5.5m
Yamamoto 2 years $2m
Patrick 2 years $1.175m
Khaira 1 year $1m
Benson 2 years $850k

Buyout Neal
Bury Turris

RNH-McDavid-Pulju
Tatar-Drai-Yamo
Crouse-Patrick-Kassian
Khaira-Glendening-Archibald
Shore/Benson

Nurse-Barrie
Keith-Larsson
Russell-Bouchard
Lagesson

New Goalie
Smith

Third line would be a question mark but three big guys who can skate well, if they click they could wreak havoc. Lineup leaves enough cap room to allow for a potential return of Klefbom in place of Russell. Tatar won’t be the most popular add but he’s a guy who’s shown he can score at ES consistently, and the hope would be that Benson or Holloway could steal his spot similar to what Caufield did in Mtl this year.

 

[Ritchie Valens]

@McPlayoffChokers
Wasn't it rumored or speculated Foligno was strictly a rental for the Leafs and he'd be re-signing with Columbus in free agency?

Schwartz though...that is a real possibility. He's from Saskatoon and as I posted in a couple threads back, his dad passed away unexpectedly in November. He may want to play closer to family, especially his mom.

 

[yukoner88]

@yukoner88



Thanks for keeping up with the rock themed thread titles!!! Love your choice!

Thanks for having the wicked idea and going with it in the first place!!

 

[CycloneSweep]

Why is everyone so convinced that Seattle is going to take Caleb Jones?

Guy is a 3rd pairing defender at most who somehow gets overhyped like Derrick Pouliot did.

 

[SDig14]

Why is everyone so convinced that Seattle is going to take Caleb Jones?

Guy is a 3rd pairing defender at most who somehow gets overhyped like Derrick Pouliot did.

It's probably more just that if they go 7-3-1 there aren't a lot of better options than Jones this year. Maybe they can take Skinner or a guy like Benson if left unprotected, but they're not going to even get a guaranteed NHL player from us in expansion.

 

[Klimando Kostani]

Just throwing together a few things that have been talked about by some of the local media members here.

Keith@$4.5m for Jones and Koskinen
Patrick for Bear
Crouse for mid picks/prospects

Reading between the lines of the media it sounds like:

1. Chicago wants to lose all of Keiths salary, willing to eat max .25% or take Jones, AND they don't want to give any picks or prospects.

2. Edmonton wants dollars in dollars out to match, preferably sending back either Neal or Kassian but not Koski cause he's only got one year left?

3. The trade is nowhere near as certain as was originally implied because the media jumped all over the story.

I think Chicago needs this deal more than Edmonton does, hopefully it works out in our favour somehow.

 

[NotAVacuumSalesman]

@McPlayoffChokers
Wasn't it rumored or speculated Foligno was strictly a rental for the Leafs and he'd be re-signing with Columbus in free agency?

Schwartz though...that is a real possibility. He's from Saskatoon and as I posted in a couple threads back, his dad passed away unexpectedly in November. He may want to play closer to family, especially his mom.

re: Foligno, I did hear the same thing but hoping we kick tires before we assume anything.

Would be nice if Schwartz signs with us to be closer to family.

I'm conditioned to think any team with some form of NTC/NMC would have us on there. Maybe players late in their career are willing to move depending on their family situation ie. Schwartz or even Keith.

 

[Paralyzer008]

I'm a Ken Holland pessimist, however...

If he really wanted Duncan Keith, the deal would have been done by now.

It really seems he's willing to dig his heels in and make CHI retain more than they want or take a bad deal or even both.

Which is good, we have all the leverage.

 

[NotAVacuumSalesman]

I'm a Ken Holland pessimist, however...

If he really wanted Duncan Keith, the deal would have been done by now.

It really seems he's willing to dig his heels in and make CHI retain more than they want or take a bad deal or even both.

Which is good, we have all the leverage.

On the last thread, one of the post suggests it should be done post ED so that we don't have to use a protection spot for Keith.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Do we really want Tatar?? He's currently in the PB eating poutine while his team is about to get swept.

Looking at some of these other UFAs like N Foligno or Schwartz with previous M-NTC, I'm wondering if they'd sign here.

Palmieri's probably a long shot to sign here. He's never played in Canada.

Foligno would be a good add as long as we don't go crazy on term. Schwartz is a guy that IMO would really be a great add to our top 9.

 

[Paralyzer008]

On the last thread, one of the post suggests it should be done post ED so that we don't have to use a protection spot for Keith.

Well also because in the summary of DNB's Athletic article, I mentioned an Oilers source was quoted by saying "taking Keith's whole cap hit means no Adam Larsson"

That sounds very...bad.

So, Larsson is the priority and the Hawks have to live with it if they won't retain.

 

[GOilers88]

Hoffman is not coming to Edmonton on a short term deal. He did his one year stint. He'll be 32 near the beginning of this next year. He'll be looking for as long a deal as he can get.

Tatar might sign for one year. But as we saw with Barrie if they have any success you either lose them or risk pay full price going forward.

I think that's part and parcel for our 1-2 punch sort of like Crosby/Malkin.

You hope to find guys on the low who can produce, and get as many games out of them as you can before they need the big payday. The NHL scouting side of things for Edmonton make me nervous for these reasons, like a lot of folks I'm sure. It's not the most sustainable model, but I think it could be the most effective if they can pull it off.

Here's to hoping.