[Signing] Oilers re-sign Kris Russell (4 yrs, $4 mil AAV)

[kukkudo]

Oil gonna Oil

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by TheKurgan

Positives from this contract:
- Love that Russell gets a huge payday, think he is a quality guy, plays hard and sacrifices his body for the team. Good for him.
- Love that Edmonton is stuck paying him 4 x 4 which will limit them bringing in other pieces to help.

Negatives from this contract:
- Sets a pretty high price tag for 3/4 D-man in the UFA market.

I'd argue that the price for a top 4 D-man is already more than that. Over the last year:

Goligoski- $5.5
Yandle-$6.3
Gudas-$3.3
Lovejoy-$2.6
Schlemko-$2
Hamhuis-$3.75
Polak-$2.25
Demers-$4.5
Dekeyser-$5
Stone-$4
Barrie-$5.5

Clear third pairing guys like Schlemko and Polak are getting over $2. Borderline top pairing guys are getting $5+.

The money is alright for Russell. I don't like the term. 2-3 years should have been the max term.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

i am not following your question:

Year 1: $3 million salary + $2 million signing bonus
Year 2: $4.5 million salary
Year 3: $4 million salary
Year 4: $1.5 million salary + $1 million signing bonus

Total compensation: $16 million over 4 years = $4 million AAV

Told you. Bad Brain Day.

In the tweet they listed the signing bonuses after they listed the annual pay so it seemed like they were paying $3M in signing bonuses in addition.

Your explanation makes total sense.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

I'd argue that the price for a top 4 D-man is already more than that...

Of course it is.

But the problem here is not that a #4 defenseman signed for around market value. It is that a bottom pairing defenseman signed for around second-pairing money, thus driving up the value of virtually every second pairing defenseman.

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Of course it is.

But the problem here is not that a #4 defenseman signed for around market value. It is that a bottom pairing defenseman signed for around second-pairing money, thus driving up the value of virtually every second pairing defenseman.

He's played top 4 minutes on three playoff teams in the last three years.

You can call him a bottom pairing guy, but the evidence doesn't support your statement.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

He's played top 4 minutes on three playoff teams in the last three years.

So did Dennis Wideman.

You can call him a bottom pairing guy, but the evidence doesn't support your statement.

Russell is a "top four defenseman" only by virtue of the very poor defensive depth of the Oilers. He is all heart, which makes him an extremely liable player, but he lacks the size and skill to match. As a fan of a rival team I am pretty pleased at the prospect of the Flames staring down an Oilers defence that has Russell playing as the #3 in place of Sekhera, and then as the #4.

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

So did Dennis Wideman.

Russell, played top two minutes ES for the Flames in 14/15.
Top four minutes for Dallas in the playoffs.
Top four minutes for the Oilers.

Wideman played top four minutes for the Flames in 14/15.
Third pairing minutes for the Flames in 15/16.
And was a healthy scratch in 16/17.

That's a poor comparison.

[Toonage]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

Russell, played top two minutes ES for the Flames in 14/15.
Top four minutes for Dallas in the playoffs.
Top four minutes for the Oilers.

Wideman played top four minutes for the Flames in 14/15.
Third pairing minutes for the Flames in 15/16.
And was a healthy scratch in 16/17.

That's a poor comparison.

They were a pair that whole season.

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by Toonage

They were a pair that whole season.

Yeah, but Russell played one second more per game at ES which got him into the top two.

Different class of player.

[Flamenspiel]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

Russell, played top two minutes ES for the Flames in 14/15.
Top four minutes for Dallas in the playoffs.
Top four minutes for the Oilers.

Wideman played top four minutes for the Flames in 14/15.
Third pairing minutes for the Flames in 15/16.
And was a healthy scratch in 16/17.

That's a poor comparison.

Dallas? You mean one of the weakest defences in the league, in fact he was sighted as one of the reasons Dallas was knocked out so early. Chia, after a couple of good moves is now into that phase where he begins authorizing unsustainable cap hits and eventually has to leave town.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

...Wideman played top four minutes for the Flames in 14/15.
Third pairing minutes for the Flames in 15/16.
And was a healthy scratch in 16/17.

That's a poor comparison.

He was third in ATOI and fourth in EVATOI in 2016–17.
... Fourth in ATOI in 2015–16, and fifth in EVTOI among defensemen.
... Third in ATOI and third in EVATOI in 2014–15

The point stands: The Oilers's defence is bad, and it pushes Russell up the lineup into a position he does not play well.

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

He was third in ATOI and fourth in EVATOI in 2016–17.
... Fourth in ATOI in 2015–16, and fifth in EVTOI among defensemen.
... Third in ATOI and third in EVATOI in 2014–15

The point stands: The Oilers's defence is bad, and it pushes Russell up the lineup into a position he does not play well.

Oilers finished 8th in Goals against last year, and their defence was bad?

Seems like a reasonable discussion can't be found here.

Cheers!

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

Oilers finished 8th in Goals against last year, and their defence was bad?

Seems like a reasonable discussion can't be found here.

Cheers!

I think most on here would suggest their GAA was more due to Talbot then the strength of their bottom two pairings.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

Oilers finished 8th in Goals against last year, and their defence was bad?

Seems like a reasonable discussion can't be found here.

Cheers!

You're kidding right?

http://www.foxsports.com/nhl/stats?s...=1&sortOrder=0

Look who faced the most shots against in the entire league this season and it isnt even close.

I'll give you one guess.

We're being unreasonable?

Oilers fans see that and just see: "We're number 1! We're Number 1! 5 more cups baby!"

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

Oilers finished 8th in Goals against last year, and their defence was bad?

Seems like a reasonable discussion can't be found here.

Cheers!

Was more of a result of an unreal season from Talbot than a result of the defense.

The blue line is still very underwhelming. Not terrible, but closer to average. The goaltending was above average, which then gives you the net result.

Try not to get cocky over there, though. Never seen a fan base talk so much in absolutes after a single good season.

[CaptainCrunch]

Watching the Oilers last year, the only reason why we didn't have a record number of this guy scored pictures was because Talbot used the God Mode cheat code.

Why I believe that the Oilers defense was certainly improved by Larsson, it was pretty much bailed out by Talbot more then it should have been.

[Locke]

On top of which, he faced the most shots against in the entire league with the league's #1 shotblocker in front of him!

How many more horseshoes do you want?

[TheScorpion]

Talbot faced the most shots (and it isn't even close!) because he played the most games by far. Come on, we're better than this.

I get that we're a Flames-oriented forum, but I think that some people are being a little unreasonable when talking about the Oilers. I didn't want to post this in E=NG because that's not the place for this, but I think we need to recognize that the Oilers are building a decent enough team up there that is enviable in some respects. Just blanketing anything vaguely close to praise for them with a "Hahahaha! Edmonton is No Good!" doesn't really reflect well on this site as a whole... I think they're better than we give them credit for.

The Oilers' defence is fine, and if any other team had it, it would be respectable, but since it's the Oilers', it sucks?

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by Locke

You're kidding right?

http://www.foxsports.com/nhl/stats?s...=1&sortOrder=0

Look who faced the most shots against in the entire league this season and it isnt even close.

I'll give you one guess.

We're being unreasonable?

Oilers fans see that and just see: "We're number 1! We're Number 1! 5 more cups baby!"

Oilers were 9th in the league in shots allowed.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Talbot faced the most shots (and it isn't even close!) because he played the most games by far. Come on, we're better than this.

I get that we're a Flames-oriented forum, but I think that some people are being a little unreasonable when talking about the Oilers. I didn't want to post this in E=NG because that's not the place for this, but I think we need to recognize that the Oilers are building a decent enough team up there that is enviable in some respects. Just blanketing anything vaguely close to praise for them with a "Hahahaha! Edmonton is No Good!" doesn't really reflect well on this site as a whole... I think they're better than we give them credit for.

The Oilers' defence is fine, and if any other team had it, it would be respectable, but since it's the Oilers', it sucks?

No one is saying its the worst defence in the world, but lets be honest, even look at it this way:

The next two guys on the list are Frederik Andersen who played 7 fewer games and Rask who played 8 fewer games.

In 7 fewer games Andersen faced 65 fewer shots. Okay, Toronto's Defence is nothing to write home about, but thats fairly decent.

In 3rd place with 8 fewer games played Rask faced 507 fewer shots. Thats ~63 shots per game.