I think the team as a whole was just unlucky and that first line really carried the play. If Gaudreau was invisible and not generating chances then I think the concern would be valid. That just simply wasn't the case.
JG has 11 points in 15 career playoff games (9 in 11 his first go round)
Its nowhere near as bad as people seem to think, in fact its pretty damn good for a young player...and the Flames were the lower seed in all four series he has been in.
(not how buy how many cups) McDavid has 9 points in 13 career playoff games
It was interesting hearing chia pet mention that Draisaitl has shown more as a winger. Sounded like that's where they want him playing.
So I think the delta between Draisaitl and Gaudreau aav is less about position or quality of production and more to do with the oilers paying a higher premium on his UFA years.
Heard Chiarelli say the same thing. Draisaitl on the wing. So not only is he overpaid but the Oilers are going to keep him up with McDavid making them a one line team. Nice.
whatever....prove it on the ice and quit coming up with excuses. I expect a top 10 finish in GA at minimum or the d-corps will continue to be overrated (great offensively, poor defensively)
this reminds me when the Flames added Bouwmeester to Regher and Phaneuf and the Flames never got over the hump
Poor defensively? By what statistic? Almost every measurable metric shows them as a top 10 D group.
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Originally Posted by AlbertaOiler72
Bear won the WHL defenseman of the year, Jones played the most minutes for the US at the WJHC, Yamamoto had the most goals as an 18 year old in the 'dub
not exactly bums
Bear was in his overage year in the WHL. Will he go on to have a sparkling NHL career such as Justin Pogge, Bryan Cameran, Justin Keller? Other guys who excelled in their 5th year in junior? Jones could be decent, but again you're using an average prospect as an example of one of your best. Also using a freshly drafted player as an example also hurts your case. Valimaki was just drafted by Calgary, but if you ask almost everyone here who were our best D propsects, Kulak, Andersson and Fox would be ahead of him. That's what stocked cupboards look like.
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Originally Posted by AlbertaOiler72
he basically re-vamped the entire Bruins d-corps (brought in Boychuk, McQuaid, Seidenberg, Ference) and Horton on his way to a Stanley Cup
and was just up for Executive of the Year...I'll take my chances with him on the helm
Just as many core pieces of the Stanley Cup winning team were acquired by O'Connell and Gorton. Also, he managed to win one cup before being forced to lose guys because of self-induced cap trouble.
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Originally Posted by AlbertaOiler72
you're assuming the salary cap doesn't go up and it stay the same...which it hasn't done since 2010...the only time
and with the Canadian dollar in a slight incline, we can't say for sure where it'll land
Nuge will probably be traded like Eberle to save money and as for filling in the rest? probably depth signings like Jokinen for cheap
because the core is there, just need to fill in around it
Okay, say it goes up by a very generous 3 million (hasn't gone up that much in 6 years). The Oilers now have 17 million to fill 11 spots. 1.5 million bucks/spot. Maroon will need a raise. Benning, Nurse, Strome all need to be qualified. Who's going to take RNH or Lucic in a trade where they don''t send salary back? Who are the prospects that can fill some of those spots on ELC's? The Oilers window is literally this season.
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"Illusions Michael, tricks are something a wh*re does for money ....... or cocaine"
Heard Chiarelli say the same thing. Draisaitl on the wing. So not only is he overpaid but the Oilers are going to keep him up with McDavid making them a one line team. Nice.
Chiarelli and the Oilers were always going to lose either way on this contract because +$20 m is too much money to spend on two players manning the same line, and Draisaitl would never live up to the $8.5 m price-tag playing as a second-line centre.
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Dealing with Everything from Dead Sea Scrolls to Red C Trolls
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Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
Chiarelli and the Oilers were always going to lose either way on this contract because +$20 m is too much money to spend on two players manning the same line, and Draisaitl would never live up to the $8.5 m price-tag playing as a second-line centre.
Yup I completely agree. This is justifiable if they saw Draisaitl as the Malkin to Crosby in Pittsburgh (or vice versa I suppose). However, frigin maroon put up massive points with mcdavid. Do you really need to pay mcdavids line mate $8.5M to put up 70+ points?
Why not invest in a $5-6M player for mcdavid and put those saved dollars to a 2nd line strength, etc....
Heard Chiarelli say the same thing. Draisaitl on the wing. So not only is he overpaid but the Oilers are going to keep him up with McDavid making them a one line team. Nice.
SO much for the OMG we have our Crosby Malkin center icemen in Edmonton now.
Sure he's shown more as a winger on McDavid's line.
For 8.5 million bucks a year, he needs to carry his own s%%t
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My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
In this case, I think that's precisely what happened. There was zero reason to acquiesce to the dry saddle camp short of a threat of losing him to someone else.
Offer sheets are rarely used for a reason, but they are still part of the rules. Im guessing that Liut told Chiarelli and crew that they were sitting on one. Then as September neared, his client was threatening to sign it in order to be established where ever it was he was getting the offer from.
Pure speculation on my part but explains the ridiculous AAV, why a bridge deal wasn't used, and why this happened now without a pressure point to kickstart it. They took 4 months to get THIS deal? Doubtful. Looks like this deal was forced on them and they had to decide yay or nay.
It's an interesting speculation. I generally advocate for saying "okay sign it" but I can see reasons for and against.
For: If it's a bluff, you've called it.
Against: If you can verify the offer sheet without it being signed, you don't need to.
For: The picks plus cap space frequently seem better than matching in these situations. If one's not willing to make the offer, one is getting good value in declining to match the offer.
Against: They're a playoff team, and there aren't any good replacements available on the UFA market. The cap space would not deliver "market value" in this situation.
For: A GM who signs an offer sheet (unfairly IMO) hurts his relationships with other GMs. Force them to pay this cost to mess with your team.
Against: If you keep an offer sheet "hushed up", you're doing the GM who would sign it a favour and building that relationship. This could pay dividends for you later. It's better for you to have an advantage with one GM than for one GM to have a disadvantage with the league (unless the offer was coming from, say, a strong division rival).
For: With the offer sheet public, there's no appearance (to fans, to other hockey presidents the next time you're looking for a job, etc.) that you bid against yourself.
Against: You give up the possibility of an 8-year deal.
For the offer sheet theory to hold up, there's have to be a team that would've made it. I haven't looked into who that might be.
