Quote:
Originally Posted by Cleveland Steam Whistle
I agree with everything else you said, having to give up Smid, terrible asset management IMO. But in isolation, spending what they spenton Bryz, given it's a short contract has the potential to pay off big. It likely won't, but the upside to Bryz his definetely high reward, even though I agree he likely won't pay off. But that's the definition of low risk / high reward.
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How will it pay off though?
The Oilers are 14 points out, they play in the toughest division in hockey, and nearly half of their remaining games are in-division.
They are abysmal defensively, and have only subtracted on defence.
Lets face it. If one is being realistic, the best case scenario for the Oilers with Bryzgalov is that they pass Calgary and finish 6th in the division. I have made my opinion absolutely clear that teams should always strive to be better, even if only one position better, so I cannot fault the
intent.
The problem is, I do not think Bryzgalov makes the Oilers better. He's been regressing rapidly and he is walking into a team that is a complete disaster defensively. I think simple adrenaline may give both him and the Oilers a short term boost. But until they start adding pieces on defence, rather than subtracting, and until the forwards begin to give a damn about supporting their goalies, Edmonton is going to flounder.
tl;dr: They are doing this pretty much only to pass the Flames, a team that many expected to be 29th best or worse.