[Signing] Oilers sign Nikita Nikitin (2yrs, $4.5mil AAV). Blue Jackets get 5th round pick.

[Clever_Iggy]

Originally Posted by Bingo

how many picks to the Oilers have left? 1st, 6th and 7th? Or do they have their 2nd?

Oilers 1st
Sabres 4th (Bryzgalov trade via Minn)
Sharks 4th (Brown trade)
Blue Jackets 5th (Schultz trade) - could this one go back to CBJ for Nitikin?
Senators 5th (Hemsky trade)
Oilers 6th
Oilers 7th

[Parallex]

Uh huh. 4.5AAV for Nikitin... The Oilers are indeed no good.

Seriously, that's bad. Nikitin is a bottom pairing guy, a quality bottom pairing guy... but a bottom pairing guy none-the-less.

Frankly, I'd rather have Smid.

[Burner]

Terry Jones ‏@sunterryjones 12m
Oilers scouts better bring a deck of cards to the draft. Oilers have now traded away 2nd, 3rd and 5th picks. Does Daryl Katz' kid play gin?

[Newfieflamefan]

Originally Posted by Bingo

how many picks to the Oilers have left? 1st, 6th and 7th? Or do they have their 2nd?

Oilers 1
Sabres 4
Sharks 4
Senators 5
Oilers 6
Oilers 7

- Traded 2 to Blues (Perron)
- Traded 3 to Kings (Scrivens)
- Traded 4 to Leafs (Brown)
- Traded 5 to Ducks (Fasth)

- Acquired Sabres 4 - Bryzgalov to Wild
- Acquired Sharks 4 - Brown
- Acquired Senators 5 - Hemsky

-Acquired Blue Jackets 5 for Nick Shultz (Assume pick going back to BJs for Nikitin?)

[CaptainCrunch]

Well this tells you what the Lowe premium is to sign for a poorly run franchise like the Oilers.

I don't think this move does anything but let the Oilers tread water next year.

The kid is just not great in his own end.

[19Yzerman19]

Originally Posted by Clever_Iggy

Looking at the regular season, Nikitin averaged 17:06 TOI in 66 games. Good for 7th on the Blue Jackets. In the playoffs, in 5 games he was bottom pairing (in terms of TOI) 4 times and a healthy scratch once.

Fair to say, but for the two years previous to that he was their top pairing guy with Tyutin and played quite well overall - he was fantastic in 2012. So, sure, not a great year for him (though his Fenwick close % was still over 50% and third on the team), but not sure if you want to judge him based on that or a longer track record.

You may be right though, he may be on a steep and sudden decline. If so, the term limits the downside risk on this one.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Burner

Terry Jones ‏@sunterryjones 12m
Oilers scouts better bring a deck of cards to the draft. Oilers have now traded away 2nd, 3rd and 5th picks. Does Daryl Katz' kid play gin?

Maybe its a bold idea by Mac-T since the Oilers can't develop players after the first round.

[Clever_Iggy]

nm - it's like engaging a post in an argument.

[Clever_Iggy]

Originally Posted by 19Yzerman19

Fair to say, but for the two years previous to that he was their top pairing guy with Tyutin and played quite well overall - he was fantastic in 2012. So, sure, not a great year for him (though his Fenwick close % was still over 50% and third on the team), but not sure if you want to judge him based on that or a longer track record.

You may be right though, he may be on a steep and sudden decline. If so, the term limits the downside risk on this one.

That's fair, I didn't look that far back. Perhaps a new lease on life and the chance to be a top pairing guy is the spark that Nikitin needs.

My bet, with the commitment to team defense, quality defensive partners and cutting edge swarm defense strategy, Nikitin is setting himself up for a trip to Vegas next June to accept his Norris (or the KHL like the many before him).

[19Yzerman19]

Originally Posted by Clever_Iggy

That's fair, I didn't look that far back. Perhaps a new lease on life and the chance to be a top pairing guy is the spark that Nikitin needs. My bet, with the commitment to team defense, quality defensive partners and cutting edge swarm defense strategy, Nikitin is setting himself up for a trip to Vegas next June to accept his Norris (or the KHL like the many before him).

Whether he's useful will depend on who he plays with and what his role is. If it's Petry, I suspect he'll be stable and reliable enough which is really all the Oilers need from him. He has also been useful to CBJ in the past on special teams, so may see 2nd unit PP time.

I'll say this, I'd rather have Nikitin at 2 years 4.5 than Niskanen at 5 years 6+M, which he might actually get next week.

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Maybe its a bold idea by Mac-T since the Oilers can't develop players after the first round.

I think it is still debatable if they can develop their 1st rounders too....

[#-3]

Originally Posted by Newfieflamefan

Oilers 1
Sabres 4
Sharks 4
Senators 5
Oilers 6
Oilers 7

- Traded 2 to Blues (Perron)
- Traded 3 to Kings (Scrivens)
- Traded 4 to Leafs (Brown)
- Traded 5 to Ducks (Fasth)

- Acquired Sabres 4 - Bryzgalov to Wild
- Acquired Sharks 4 - Brown
- Acquired Senators 5 - Hemsky

-Acquired Blue Jackets 5 for Nick Shultz (Assume pick going back to BJs for Nikitin?)

Well that's not too bad they are only short 1 pick, and with Edmontons draft record is a 4th really different from a 2nd or 3rd.

[ricardodw]

wonder what some team is going to pay Butler. 82 games over 20 minutes a game

on a team with Gio, Wideman, Brodie, Smid, Russell ahead of him on the depth chart he still got a lot of ice time from Hartley.

[bubbsy]

seems they have realized they don't have 5 gio's ready to roll...

Retweeted by Edmonton Oilers Bob Stauffer ‏@Bob_Stauffer 1m
Oilers Senior VP of Hockey OP's Scott Howson "we see Nikita as a top 4 defenceman...and we are still looking for another D"

[sun]

Stepping stone to the KHL.

[EldrickOnIce]

Interesting that after Nick Shultz was acquired from the Oil at the deadline, Nitkinin was the healthy scratch down the stretch and in the playoffs.

So CBJ decided Shultz was better than this guy, i guess.

[Ruttiger]

Seemed to go sideways for him in Columbus after Richards took over as coach. Will be interesting to see if a change of scenery helps and what effect Craig Ramsay can have when he gets to work with Nikitin.

Fingers crossed.

[Scoutski]

Originally Posted by Newfieflamefan

Oilers 1
Sabres 4
Sharks 4
Senators 5
Oilers 6
Oilers 7

- Traded 2 to Blues (Perron)
- Traded 3 to Kings (Scrivens)
- Traded 4 to Leafs (Brown)
- Traded 5 to Ducks (Fasth)

- Acquired Sabres 4 - Bryzgalov to Wild
- Acquired Sharks 4 - Brown
- Acquired Senators 5 - Hemsky

-Acquired Blue Jackets 5 for Nick Shultz (Assume pick going back to BJs for Nikitin?)

I don't actually hate all those trades.. I think it's banking a little too heavily in players that were grown in other organizations considering that their drafting is already not great. Still, a 2nd for Perron and a 3rd for Scrivens still seem like pretty good value to me.

We did a similar thing with Wideman when we traded a 5th for his rights, so I think it's unfair to judge too much. Nikitin can potentially play up to his contract given that it's an inflated UFA signing.

Spoiler!

But I still hope they crash and burn right into 10th in the west.

[Enoch Root]

Essentially it is a N Schultz for Nikitin trade.

As has been said, the short term mitigates some of the risk. Overpayment probably, but $4.5m for a couple years isn't going to be a burden.

Bottom line for the Oilers is that they need some NHL defensemen and they just acquired one, albeit a 5/6, borderline #4 guy.

For me though, this comes down to the role they'll give him. If he is sheltered as a 5/6 guy - great. But that is unlikely. More likely that he will be playing top 4 minutes and facing a lot of top competition.

I suspect he will be in way over his head and his fate will echo that of so many former Oilers; having no chance to succeed in the role given, fans will conclude he sucks and will run him out of town.

[codynw]

Originally Posted by Ruttiger

Seemed to go sideways for him in Columbus after Richards took over as coach. Will be interesting to see if a change of scenery helps and what effect Craig Ramsay can have when he gets to work with Nikitin.

Fingers crossed.

A change of scenery will definitely help. He's a shoe in for the Norris trophy, obviously.