[Signing] Oilers re-sign RNH (8yrs, $5.125 mil AAV, full NMC)

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

Really don't think Nuge could have gotten $6?

When I see guys like Anderson at 5.5, Gallagher at 6.5, Bjorkstrand at 5.4, Dadonov at 5, and Mantha at 5.7 it doesn't seem outside the realm of possibility that RNH could have gotten $6 in free agency.

Maybe, but realistically i think he'd fetch a little less.

But go ahead and push the hometown discount fantasy. 5.5 is pretty bad for such a long contract that will take you pretty deep into the back half of his career where he may be a non factor cap muncher like Neal.

He wasn't very good this past season compared to some of his other seasons and really lived up to his Tenderness moniker in that short lived faceplant you call a playoff series.

I definitely wasn't nearly as high on him by the end of the year as I was when it began.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

The only current UFAs who made even close to that amount in their last contract are Ovechkin, Geltzlaf and Hall.

On the other hand Brandon Saad would be a clear upgrade and he made $6M in his last contract. He might make $7M next time out. Landeskog would be an upgrade, he made $5.5 and he will get more, but not $3.5 more. Reinhart won't be getting $9M. Johannson won't. Palmieri won't.

If anyone gives Saad 7 million for his 40-45 points a year they should be fired on the spot. I agree with your broader point that nobody will get 9 million or more except Ovechkin. Landeskog may get 8 if he leaves Colorado.

[driveway]

Might have already been mentioned earlier, but Nugent-Hopkins will, if he remains healthy, break the Oilers games-played record in a bit less than 5 seasons.

If he plays out the whole contract, he will be about equal with the Sedins, just outside the top-10 all-time games played with one franchise.

He will then become the GM of the Oilers, as his record holding predecessor, Lowe did, and lead them gloriously, as is tradition.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by cannon7

Good deal. RNH probably could have gotten $6.5M/yr or more.

From who? His points come from PP time with McDavid and can't drive a line, He's a pink slip for any GM that would sign him for $6.5m.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

I could see $6.5, but no more than 5 years ($6.5x5= $32.5).
This contract is better for RNH, worse for the Coil, long term. I don't see a home town discount.

Edit: RNH would need to sign a $3x3 at the end of the 5 year term to do as well as he got here.

[MrMike]

I could have seen an offer from Columbus, or Nashville. The Predators love to overpay for underproducing centers (Johanson, Duchenne, Turris)

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Maybe, but realistically i think he'd fetch a little less.

But go ahead and push the hometown discount fantasy. 5.5 is pretty bad for such a long contract that will take you pretty deep into the back half of his career where he may be a non factor cap muncher like Neal.

He wasn't very good this past season compared to some of his other seasons and really lived up to his Tenderness moniker in that short lived faceplant you call a playoff series.

I definitely wasn't nearly as high on him by the end of the year as I was when it began.

Well I figured $5.5 would be the absolutely floor of what RNH would get paid, so when he came in at $5.125 that was a pleasant surprise.

The list of scoring centers available this year in free agency is a short and underwhelming one..(I cherry picked guys that put up 20+ points last season).

1. David Krejci
2. Alexander Wennberg
3. Paul Stastny
4. Mikael Granlund
5. Nick Bonino
6. Phillip Danault
7. Erik Haula
8. Joe Thornton
9. Travis Zajac

About half the guys there are on the wrong side of 35 years old. I think Granlund and Danault are the only real comparables. It will be interesting to see what they fetch in term and salary.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

Well I figured $5.5 would be the absolutely floor of what RNH would get paid, so when he came in at $5.125 that was a pleasant surprise.

The list of scoring centers available this year in free agency is a short and underwhelming one..(I cherry picked guys that put up 20+ points last season).

1. David Krejci
2. Alexander Wennberg
3. Paul Stastny
4. Mikael Granlund
5. Nick Bonino
6. Phillip Danault
7. Erik Haula
8. Joe Thornton
9. Travis Zajac

About half the guys there are on the wrong side of 35 years old. I think Granlund and Danault are the only real comparables. It will be interesting to see what they fetch in term and salary.

People have already pegged Danault at maybe $4.5 at best, though he’s certainly not a scoring centre. And is RNH really a scoring centre himself these days, or has he become a winger? Your list also is missing some guys who play both positions like Reinhart, Haula, Johansson, Martinook, Gagner, etc.

The question though is not who else is available. It’s how much is RNH worth?

[CaptainCrunch]

I love that the Oilers seem to be determined to bring back the band for next year. RNH was dead during the playoffs, Its going to be a tougher division next year. Smith will be a year older, Koskinan still won't be able to catch.



But they should rack up some more individual trophies.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Its going to be a tougher division next year.

I don't get this at all. Assuming the divisional realignment goes as planned, next year's Pacific Division will contain two (2) teams that made this year's playoffs (and the Oilers are one of them). How is that tougher than the division whose #4 seed rolled over Vegas and made it to the Stanley Cup finals?

I'm not buying the narrative that the North Division was ‘the worst in hockey’. I think the people who do buy it will be in for some surprises in the near future.

[Chi-Town Hustler]

A middling coilers player playing hardball at >$6 mil? Entitled much?

[Iggy Snipe]

I hate to say it, but this is a good contract for both sides. Im surprised Edmonton didn't give him more, just because its EDM, and i'm surprised RNH didn't demand more, just because its EDM. BUT, I must give credit where its due.

RNH could have got more for sure, but the term and the overall cap hit favours EDM to win now, and RNH for security. He basically just signed his final pro contract, as this takes him to 36/37 years old.

He is a decent #2 Centre, and you would be hard pressed to find a #2 Centre in the NHL that your only paying 5.125 mill per season.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

I don't get this at all. Assuming the divisional realignment goes as planned, next year's Pacific Division will contain two (2) teams that made this year's playoffs (and the Oilers are one of them). How is that tougher than the division whose #4 seed rolled over Vegas and made it to the Stanley Cup finals?

I'm not buying the narrative that the North Division was ‘the worst in hockey’. I think the people who do buy it will be in for some surprises in the near future.

I don’t think you can look at Montreal’s success and say they are a 4th place team look how good the division is. They are either a 4th place team getting lucky or a good team that underperformed due to injuries / Covid.

At best you could them to the list of competent teams in the divisions. It does not mean the other teams are better. I see Montreal as a team like the 04 flames. Hot goalie, well coached but limited top end and they are without a Prime Iginla. I would say their performance in the playoffs is the aberration and their regular season a lot closer to reality.

I would agree that next years pacific is not going to be a good division either.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by GGG

I don’t think you can look at Montreal’s success and say they are a 4th place team look how good the division is.

No, but I think it puts paid to the established narrative, which, you may recall, went like this: ‘The North Division is the worst division in the NHL. Whichever team comes out of it is going to be slaughtered in the semifinals.’ I saw that exact thought expressed over and over on this board, and look what happened.

It doesn't seem to me that there was any particularly weak division this year, though the Central, I believe, was particularly strong.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Iggy Snipe

I hate to say it, but this is a good contract for both sides. Im surprised Edmonton didn't give him more, just because its EDM, and i'm surprised RNH didn't demand more, just because its EDM. BUT, I must give credit where its due.

RNH could have got more for sure, but the term and the overall cap hit favours EDM to win now, and RNH for security. He basically just signed his final pro contract, as this takes him to 36/37 years old.

He is a decent #2 Centre, and you would be hard pressed to find a #2 Centre in the NHL that your only paying 5.125 mill per season.

Hah

"EDM" and "win now"

That's a 404 error if I ever saw one.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

No, but I think it puts paid to the established narrative, which, you may recall, went like this: ‘The North Division is the worst division in the NHL. Whichever team comes out of it is going to be slaughtered in the semifinals.’ I saw that exact thought expressed over and over on this board, and look what happened.



It doesn't seem to me that there was any particularly weak division this year, though the Central, I believe, was particularly strong.

Yeah, I see this quite differently. The Habs's success in the playoffs has all the earmarks of a hot streak, which can happen to any team at any time, and can result in them beating anyone. Montreal was playing their best hockey of the year in a three-week stretch, which had them go 8-2 v the badly depleted Winnipeg Jets, and the Vegas Golden Knights just as their Vezina winning goalie lost his stride.

It's a week or two late, but they are suffering the relentless slaughter nearly everyone predicted would occur once they got out of Canada.

In short: yes, the Canadiens suck.

And yes, the Canadian Division was awful.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Hah



"EDM" and "win now"



That's a 404 error if I ever saw one.

Well, they certainly won't be winning anything later. Now is as good a time as they have had in decades, which is pathetic.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

It's a week or two late, but they are suffering the relentless slaughter nearly everyone predicted would occur once they got out of Canada.

That is not the slaughter anyone predicted. What was being predicted was that they would be totally unable to compete with the winner of ANY of the three U.S. divisions. That turned out not to be the case.

And yes, the Canadian Division was awful

What's your evidence for that proposition? I see plenty of people saying it, but nobody provides any evidence. That doesn't pass the smell test.

One or two bold but foolish posters tried to make a case that the North Division sucked because it didn't have a team in the top 5 of the overall standings. That only proves that there was more parity in this division than the others. (Note that the North also did not have a team in the bottom 5.) In the absence of any interdivisional games, it means nothing.

Others have suggested that the North sucked because Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews were able to score so many points, so all the teams must be bad defensively. That also means very little, as we are talking about two of the three or four best offensive players in the league, both in the age range where one would expect their offensive production to peak. Again, in the absence of any interdivisional games, you can't draw any conclusions from that.

The only meaningful argument I've seen depends on looking at the previous season's standings. If you do that, you see a group of middle-of-the-pack teams and two bad ones. Well, one of the bad teams made major changes, and won the divisional playoffs after a mid-season slump that nearly put them out of the playoff running; the other bad team remained bad. Of the two teams that showed major improvements, one relied on a career year from an antediluvian goalie; the other actually paid attention to defensive play for the first time in years, and cut its GAA by 0.6 per game. Both those things will move you up in the standings in any division.

Here are the winning percentages of all seven North Division teams in 2019-20, when they had to play U.S. opponents, and in 2020-21, when they only had to play each other:

         19-20 20-21
Toronto   .579  .688
Edmonton  .585  .643
Winnipeg  .563  .563
Montreal  .500  .527
Calgary   .564  .491
Vancouver .565  .446
Ottawa    .437  .455
TOTAL*    .542  .545

*Adjusted for unequal GP in '19-20.

The effect of removing all those vastly superior U.S. teams was to increase the average record of the North Division clubs by .003. Not much of a difference, is it?

I'm waiting for any other argument, but I've yet to hear one.

[Yrebmi]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

T ...

         19-20 20-21
Toronto   .579  .688
Edmonton  .585  .643
Winnipeg  .563  .563
Montreal  .500  .527
Calgary   .564  .491
Vancouver .565  .446
Ottawa    .437  .455
TOTAL*    .542  .545

*Adjusted for unequal GP in '19-20.

The effect of removing all those vastly superior U.S. teams was to increase the average record of the North Division clubs by .003. Not much of a difference, is it?

I'm waiting for any other argument, but I've yet to hear one.

I find this interesting.
Calgary and Vancouver took big hits. Coaching and talent loss respectively?
Toronto and Edmonton took big steps up. why?

Edmonton feasted on Ottawa I guess.