Quote:
Originally Posted by Caged Great
The Oilers will be a decent team, but they don't have the ability to afford a proper supporting cast that would push them over the top.
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This is the big thing that's going to keep the Oilers from being successful.
Next year their big free agents are going to be Jesse Schultz, who's shown he's as big a mercenary as it gets. He's not going to want a bridge contract. He's going to be looking for big dollars.
So suddenly you have Hall, Eberle, RNH and Schultz eating up $24 million probably. Petry, who I don't think is great is going to be in line for a bigger deal. lets say 3 so now your at $27.00. Then the next year you get Yakapov wanting the same deal if not more then the other guys so lets say 6.5. your now at $33 million, and you've still got to look at goaltending, their blueline isn't great and their forward depth isn't great and they are going to have to pay to add on to that.
Especially since it looks like their prospect pool especially at forward is drying up. The Oilers are going to be a losing franchise with a flashy top end. Part of the issue is their drafting strategy as well.