[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by AlbertaOiler72

I'm not saying they're special...I'm simply listing the youth and room to grow on the Oilers
all these haven't even hit their primes yet...some will make it, some won't

Most won't be on the Oilers after their current contract runs out as the Oilers won't be able to afford them. Have you looked at your salary structure and realized how ####ed it is?

Maroon ($1.5) - McDavid ($12.5) - Jokinen ($1.1M)
Lucic ($6M) - Draisaitl ($8.5)- Strome ($2.5M)
Kaissan ($1.95M) - Nothing-Happens ($6M) - Poolparty ($925K)
Slepyshev ($925K) - Caggiula ($925K) - Letestu ($1.8M)
Parakinen ($725K)

Larsson ($4.167M) - Klefbom ($4.167M)
Sekeras ($5.5M) - Russell ($4M!)
Benning ($925K) - Nurse ($863K)
Fayne ($3.625) - Gryba ($900K)

Talbot ($4.167)
Brossoit ($750K)

RFA
UFA

Try and plug some names and salaries into those holes. Try and get the production you got last season out of some of those names, for players with equal salaries. Things start to fall apart pretty quickly.

he'll get more than Eberle IMO...he's still a good center that's growing into a two-way defender...where was Backlund at 24? not the player he is today

No, he won't. The Tenderness is far from a good center. He's mediocre at best defensively, and he isn't a big scorer. He's being paid $6M a season for what again? He has no potential left to pay for, so what you see is what you get. He's a $3M player, at best, and if you can shelter him from play that exposes his lack of complete game. The return is going to be atrocious, because he's grossly overpaid and the Oilers can't afford to take salary back. This one is going to leave a mark.

Where Backlund was at the same age is irrelevant as the Flames weren't trying to trade him. Stay focused on the Oilers' situation, not the Flames.

because we have no idea what the cap will be in 2 years? we don't know who will and who won't be on the team at that time?

Well, except that we do. It doesn't take a lot to look at the economics affecting the market and realize that sports spending is trending in a negative way and people are no longer paying the dollars to watch sports. That is especially going to hurt the NHL and the revenues they can generate. Revenues are heading the wrong way for the players to execute the escalation cause without hurting their rank and file.

if his performance dictates a major raise then that means the Oilers are successful...same goes with Strome, Caggulia, Nurse, Benning
again, some will get raises, some will be traded/cut/waived/buried

Except the Oilers don't have the money to pay them. That's the point. You're talking about players that are going to be made unaffordable because of the mistakes made by Chia Pet. These guys are going to have to be low-balled if they want to be kept, and very few players are going to accept that. They'll demand opportunity elsewhere. This is where that pipeline is so important. When these second and third tier players need big raises, you trade them and bring in your other prospects. Problem is, the Oilers don't have any to bring in.

other than Nilsson who wasn't an Oiler draft pick, every one of those players are still in the NHL
seems to be the Oilers can draft just fine in the 1st round (it's the other that need work)

Drafting in the top 10 isn't tough. Drafting 1st overall is even easier. Still being in the league is not a great measure when you're talking about drafting that high. Not developing to their potential is the problem.

a little early to judge Nurse and Benning...how good was Brodie at 22?

Again, focus on the Oilers, not the Flames.

these young guys got great experience pushing Anaheim to the limit in the 2nd round...I expect even more growth from them this year

Those young guys got donkey punched by Anaheim. The only reason that series got extended past three games was because of Talbot. Without Talbot standing on his head that series is so out of hand that the Oilers don't have the sack to take the ice in game four.

Talbot had a career year in starts, not save% or GAA

Talbot had a career year in everything, because it was his best year as a starter. There is a big difference in what you do as a starter versus what you do as a backup behind a stacked team. Talbot was all world last year. He takes any step backward and the Oilers are a lottery team. Trust us, we know what its like to have a great goaltender holding up a team, and just how far you can fall when your goaltender can't stop a beach ball. The Oilers will go as far as Talbot can carry them.

except Vegas never had the Oilers as Cup favorite back then...neither did most publications so it's not just Oiler fans

You need to learn how betting odds works. What Vegas says rarely comes to fruition because the odds are not set by people who know hockey, they are set by people willing to make a stupid bet.