Edmonton is No Good Episode 4: New Rink, Same Stink

[Gaudfather]

Even the Blackhawks, which have a much better management group than the Oilers, have been showing the strain over the past two playoff seasons of having $21MM tied up in your top two contracts.

The end result of these top heavy contracts is being you need to have an offsetting amount of younger inexperienced, players being able to step in and play some meaningful roles as well. With first round exits the last two years the Blackhawks are showing that is harder than it seems, to be a formula for success.

With the Oilers, if they tie up $20+MM with McDavid and Draisaitl, the odds for success could be even longer. The wailing and gnashing of teeth up there with first round playoff exits (assuming they make the playoffs) will be the best entertainment value there is.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Gaudfather

With the Oilers, if they tie up $20+MM with McDavid and Draisaitl, the odds for success could be even longer. The wailing and gnashing of teeth up there with first round playoff exits (assuming they make the playoffs) will be the best entertainment value there is.

And if you took McDavid and Draisaitl out of the team, along with their cap hits, the Oilers would stink even worse.

The moral being, without good young cheap talent, no team will go very far in a cap world.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Oh Oilers the Salary Cap is the fire in which you burn.

Which, if you think about it, is rather ironic considering they were the Poster Child for: "Why the NHL needs a Salary Cap."

[-TC-]

I keep mentioning to my oilers fan friends that they are in cap jail and I get blank stares most of the time....

the level of obliviousness is stunning, I really believe they have no idea as the local market media doesn't ever report the negative.

it's all mcjesus and plan the parade bs.

[indes]

Listening to Sirius NHL Network and they seem to think Oilers are coming out tops in the west, the hype train is in full force. Curious to see how they deal with the pressure, I really don't see that team doing near as well as last year.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

And if you took McDavid and Draisaitl out of the team, along with their cap hits, the Oilers would stink even worse.

The moral being, without good young cheap talent, no team will go very far in a cap world.

To be fair, the Blackhawks won multiple Cups with two players tied up at about $20 million.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

To be fair, the Blackhawks won multiple Cups with two players tied up at about $20 million.

To be fair $12.6 million is not $20 million.

Cause if you're talking about Kane and Toews, that's what they were making.
So unless they had 2 guys making $20 MM I don't know about, or they've won a few cups I don't know about, it's not really comparable.

What they have done is bow out in the 1st round 2 years in a row with 2 guys tied up at about $20 MM.

[JFK]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

To be fair, the Blackhawks won multiple Cups with two players tied up at about $20 million.

To be factual the Blackhawks have won zero Cups with Kane and Toews taking up 21 million of the cap between them. Those contracts kicked in during the 2015-2016 season, their last cup was the season before that.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

To be fair, the Blackhawks won multiple Cups with two players tied up at about $20 million.

As some one said, at the time they won, the cap hit was much less.

The Hawks also had a some very good cheap talent, which allowed them to stay competitive even as they had to move some players due to cap issues.

[formulate]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

As some one said, at the time they won, the cap hit was much less.

The Hawks also had a some very good cheap talent, which allowed them to stay competitive even as they had to move some players due to cap issues.

Not to mention artificially low cap hits for Keith and Hossa by virtue of contracts that would now be illegal for cap circumvention.

[GoJetsGo]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

And if you took McDavid and Draisaitl out of the team, along with their cap hits, the Oilers would stink even worse.

Yes but that's because they've pissed away a bunch of other cap room like idiots.

If it was just McDavid and Draisaitl and they had smart value contracts outside of them, it wouldn't be as bad. But beyond the 20+ Million they'll pay those two, check out their other contracts:

Ryan Nothing-Happens + Frankenstein Lucic = 12 Million

Sekera + Russell = 9.5 Million



No Good!

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

To be fair, the Blackhawks won multiple Cups with two players tied up at about $20 million.

They have won exactly zero playoff SERIES with two players tied up at about $20 million.

[IgiTang]

Lol @ the Blackhawks comparison..

Yeah, sure the Oilers have 2 talented guys who are arguably as good as Toews and Kane, however, the Oilers need the following type players

Keith, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson, Saad, Hossa, Crawford, and proper bottom 6 guys like Byfuglien who was about to become a franchise player, and Grit like Brouwer etc...

Oh and don't forget Future hall of fame coach Joel Quenville.

The Oilers are no where close to what the hawks were when they were about to offer Kane and Torws their massive paydays.

[Mister Yamoto]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

To be fair, the Blackhawks won multiple Cups with two players tied up at about $20 million.

Penguins too.

But we are not being fair. The Oilers will have to bear the burdens of having the best player in the game for years to come. It's gonna be a trainwreck, you just can't look away !!

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

The big question for me is if Draisaitl can create enough on his own consistently away from McDavid. We have had short sample sizes thus far. Is Draisaitl the beast during the Anaheim series? Or is he a very strong complimentary player who struggles somewhat when he is 'the guy' on a line? We don't have enough of a sample size in his young career thus far, but I would bet the truth is somewhere in the middle. On which side of the fence he leans to will be really interesting, and that is why any long-term deal with high dollars at this point carries some risk with it. He MAY not be that guy, or he may end up truly an elite center.

That's a question that might never be answered if Draisaitl stays in Edmonton.

When Detroit won their cup in 2008, Zetterberg played 60% of his playoff icetime with Datsyuk.

That was Babcock. McLellan is from that same school. I'd say odds are high that Draisaitl gets a pretty good amount of icetime with McDavid every season they are on the same team.

[JFK]

Originally Posted by Mister Yamoto

Penguins too.

Hey, guy. Did you just ignore the half dozen posts above yours? It's not the Penguins as well because the Hawks haven't done that. Even Malkin and Crosby don't take up 20 million, and I'd easily take that pair over Kane and Jonathan Toews. The latter being one of the most overrated players of this generation.

[JFK]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

That's a question that might never be answered if Draisaitl stays in Edmonton.

When Detroit won their cup in 2008, Zetterberg played 60% of his playoff icetime with Datsyuk.

That was Babcock. McLellan is from that same school. I'd say odds are high that Draisaitl gets a pretty good amount of icetime with McDavid every season they are on the same team.

So Zetterberg and Datsyuk played great in 2007-2008, and that means Drai won't have to answer if he can play away from McDavid? Well okay. I'm always amazed at the random one-off situations you can find to either support your Oilers or discredit the Flames. We'll forget about other factors to that cup win too.

Leon's going to have to produce about 25 more points to be put in that catagory.

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

When Detroit won their cup in 2008, Zetterberg played 60% of his playoff icetime with Datsyuk.

Niklas Lidstrom was also playing 26 minutes a game.

[vilzeh]

Originally Posted by Roughneck

Niklas Lidstrom was also playing 26 minutes a game.

About to say the same thing, thanks.

[JD]

Actually it's amazing to me how much I'm hearing and reading in the media that the Oilers' future is full of Stanley Cups. I get that they've improved (finally) and made some noise even, but really?

I guess time will tell but I'd be shocked if they were an actual contender this coming year. Years beyond that, who knows, every off-season sees turnover, but I don't see this coming version as much more than a top-3 in the Pacific type team. Which means they could win a round or get hot and win two. But all the way? Stranger things have happened I guess.