[Signing] Oilers extend Ekholm (3 yrs, $4 mil AAV)

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Bourque's Twin

I hate to say it but the truth is, this is a good signing. They have about $4M per player to fill their roster and stay under the cap next year, so this does the job with a good player. He is really old, but I don't think they'll find much better at that cap hit. They are still missing a #1D and a goalie and a ton of forward depth.

what, no they dont

the contract isn't bad but it isn't a bargain either...he is 39 when its done, he exchanged a few dollars for term.

[Funkhouser]

Hate the Oilers but I have a lot of respect for Ekholm. He is their best defenseman currently, by a country mile. He may not remain it for the next 4 years, but it is not a burdensome cap hit.

These are the types of signings teams make when they need to go all in on the present.

[Calgary4LIfe]

They are an old team, and this is extending an old guy even further, but in isolation, this is a decent deal. Ekholm may be on his last legs, or he may still have a bit more in the tank. 4 million - especially with a rising cap - isn't bad at all for Tanev-lite. He is by far their best defensive defencmen - arguably their only good defencemen, actually, who is good in his own zone. It will be interesting to see how many more seasons he ends up playing, but this is likely a bargain for as long as he is able to play.

[dino7c]

That roster the year after McDavid's contract is up is gonna be something

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

Put me on record as guaranteeing he will not play out this contract and will finish his career on LTIR. There's no way he's making it to 39.

You are probably right. It seems teams simply plan on stashing players on LTIR once their careers are over citing some sort of nagging injury that prevents them from playing such as the Mike Smith thing.

[UKflames]

Looks like they're locking up some vets for their forthcoming rebuild.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by dino7c

what, no they dont

the contract isn't bad but it isn't a bargain either...he is 39 when its done, he exchanged a few dollars for term.

This is a good contract for a ~30 year old

When you're buying into a players mid-late 30s it can't really be looked at in the same light as the above.

1-2 year contracts make sense for players at that stage of their careers. Ekholm was taking a notable down turn over the course of this past season. I dont think he much road left. They already acquired him when he was pretty ripe.

[McG]

Here’s the thing; I was told by someone close to the oilers (unsubstantiated rumour ahead alert) that there was significant concern that the injury he suffered at the end of the season had the potential to be career threatening.

It wasn’t and he played in the playoffs, however it’s the increased likelihood of these sorts of injuries and the recovery time. Oilers would not have signed this contract without confirming that it wasn’t fully healed to be fair.

Are there still rules about signing age, cap hit and retirement? I guess it doesn’t matter as the oilers have skirted this in the past anyway.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

He will be Duncan Keith/Mike Smithed before its over, to be sure.

I do recall that rumour around his injury. He may be damaged goods at this point and that's worth considering before labelling it a good deal.

[Robbob]

looked at Puckpedia and found this:

Revised Rules for 35+ Contracts
The rules for 35+ contracts changed in the 2020 CBA MOU. Now, a contract is not considered "35+" if:

-total compensation either stays the same or increases from one year to the subsequent year

-there are no signing bonuses after Year 1

If those criteria are met, the contract is not considered 35+, and therefore the usual contract rules around burying and buyouts apply. If that criteria is not met, it is considered a "35+" contract (if the player turned 35 by June 30), and therefore:

-If the contract is bought out, the original cap hit each year still remains (no cap hit relief from a buyout)

-If the player is sent down, the cap hit is only reduced by $100,000

So his contract is the the same across and he had no signing bonus after year 1. So it looks like it does not fall under that revised 35+ rule.

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by Bourque's Twin

I hate to say it but the truth is, this is a good signing. They have about $4M per player to fill their roster and stay under the cap next year, so this does the job with a good player. He is really old, but I don't think they'll find much better at that cap hit. They are still missing a #1D and a goalie and a ton of forward depth.

To be honest, I think their forward depth is fine. The problem the Oilers have had for years is having depth play up because they continuously fail to develop top 2-line talent.

Hyman and Nuge are players like a Backlund or Coleman. They are good enough to play up, but they should be more in a 3rd line role. Oilers continue to need them to play up in the top 6 due to 0 new talent coming up year over year.

In a perfect world if the Oilers want to win it all, they need to slide Nuge and Hyman to the 3rd line. They need a true scoring winger have everyone slot in the correct role with the team.

Savoie and Howard will fail without top 2-line roles, we have seen it in Edmonton for years where youth sit on the bench and then goes on to excel elsewhere. They both need PP time.

IMO Hyman and Nuge are 2nd/3rd line guys that should be slotted as the 3rd liners to give the Oilers balance.

Frederic, Kapanen, Janmark, Henrique and Mangiapane all fit well in a 3rd line or 4th line role. Too many of these guys are playing 1st or 2nd line, 1 or 2 of these types in the top 6 is ok, not 4. They have the right depth guys who excel in the playoffs to win.

Same goes with D. They need a true shut down defender. Ekholm might be the best dman, but he is 36 soon. Nothing wrong with keeping him, but they are still overspending on d for what they actually have and top dmen aren't getting 4-6M anymore, cost to pick up someone that fits that role has gone up. Players with existing contracts that fit the role probably are priced much higher than the Oilers have assets for.

I think they need a true scoring winger, top 4 defensive lock down dman and a true #1 goalie to be the best team in the league. They might be able to get away with 2 of the 3 with Mcdavid and Draisaitl, but they will be past their prime soon too. Need to plan for them to be great, but great for 20 mins a game not 23.

[dino7c]

Trent Fredrick is their best winger...its not my Flames homer take its their coaches opinion

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Trent Fredrick is their best winger...its not my Flames homer take its their coaches opinion

I was just looking, he probably is.

Also, if you slot Ekholm on the 3rd pairing, Walman, Nurse and Bouchard are 3 of your top 4 d.

Skinner and Pichard in net?

Take Barkov and Tkachuk out of Florida's lineup, they still have some serious talent. Take Mcdavid and Leon out of the lineup, it still looks very very bad.

Howard and Savoie are the only players that give them a chance to develop a top 6 forward. Question is will the Oilers play them or resort back to point night for the top 2 players? And, are they good enough to be in a top 6 role?

2 cast away prospects is what they have to rely on.

[NegativeSpace]

Normally, they pretend for a while that they aren't going to play McDavid and Draisaitl 30 minutes a night and separate them on different lines. This year the fiction is over and that's the experience. I just don't know how Howard and Savoie are going to develop sitting on the bench for all but 7 minutes a night.

[Plett25]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Trent Fredrick is their best winger...its not my Flames homer take its their coaches opinion

IMO Draisaitl is their best winger

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Plett25

IMO Draisaitl is their best winger

"They dont play together!" Lol