I like the idea of buying big on Hamilton if Nuge goes to market. That said, I fundamentally hate the idea of RNH testing UFA.

I remain unconvinced that Danault wants to be a #3C for his entire career when his ceiling is obviously higher than that. Probably looking at allocating his money into a more realistic offer for Hamilton (Pietrangelo minimum) and possibly at throwing more money at Hall as opposed to Saad.

I think you're a touch low on Kahun: if he's earned an extension, then he's done so by posting 3rd-line numbers at minimum and he likely comes in closer to what you've offered Coleman.

I'd prefer Holloway to have a season in the AHL - I'll admit that I'm absolute convinced in his current abilities and I've warmed up to his selection - but I still firmly believe in incrementally introducing prospects to harder and harder environments. He'd pair well with Lavoie, and having Broberg off-roster (assuming AHL deployment to start) gives Bakersfield the potential to be a playoff team. There's merit in that kind of developmental environment.

Buying out Neal or retaining 50% in a trade makes more immediate sense for roster improvements than continuing to ice a $6M fourth-liner. I don't immediately like the Goodrow signing either, but I have a personal thing about 4th-line players making over $1M. I'd much rather focus on the strength of the top-three lines and try to shoehorn in some PK specialists for dirt-cheap on that bottom line.

I appreciate the optimism in Klefbom returning, but will he be at top-pair calibre should he comes back? Can't exactly cure arthritis. With money having evaporated into Hamilton and a Hall/Saad in the top-six, what's your longer-term outlook for the blueline? What kind of deals are Jones and Bear signing for after they've expired? Does Nurse stay or go akin to Nugent-Hopkins?

If thats all it costs to get Coleman at least half of the league will be making a call on him. This driving his price way up from that.

If Yamma keeps playing like he has, he'll make more.

Kahun will be a million more IMO.

Holloway will probably have one more year of college or AHL and he's penciled in for 3-4 line to start.

What happened to turris as 3C? holland would never spend that on a 3rd line center.

I don't think archibald is for sale. He kills penalties coach likes him and he scores 12 goals a year.

I don't think they buyout neal till last year of the contract unless they get rid of him some other way.

I can't see them going in on hamilton with bear coming out of nowhere and Bouchard needing some game time. The idea is to ride nurse and bring up the prospects on third pairing isn't it?

I like the team. You probably need like 5 million to sign those free agents though, all of them are a little low. I think they should pay the price and trade Neal if they are serious about contending.

If RNH doesn’t sign an extension by the trade deadline then I for one would trade him. We can’t just let him walk for nothing

If he's a point-per-game winger and the Oilers are in the playoff hunt, who are you trading him for? How much of an upgrade are you getting? Do you downgrade on his production strictly for term?

Think majority of these contracts are too low and optimistic. Especially Hamilton and Coleman.

Yup, it's all doable if they can move the Neal contract. I don't think there will be any takers without serious sweeteners added... maybe Seattle can be convinced but I doubt it. A buyout saves $3.8M.

I like both players but am more realistic I think. IF Hamilton repeats his 70-point pace this year maybe he gets close to Pietrangelo, but there's no reasonable argument to be made that a 40-50 point defenseman should be paid Josi / Hedman / Pietrangelo money well into his 30's.

Coleman probably gets term, but I think $2.5M is plenty for a good 3rd liner.

Lots of great commentary here, thanks for your input. Some notes:

- going after Hamilton isn't dependent on whether or not Nuge goes to market: he's getting the money formerly allocated to Larsson & Barrie ($4.166M + $3.75M = $7.916M). Hamilton + Bouchard are only slightly more at $8.363M. So the Oilers could make a play for Hamilton with or without Nuge. I'm somewhat ambivalent on this as I'm not a huge Hamilton fan, I'd rather re-sign Barrie to another 1-year deal with the intention of grabbing one of the marquee UFA defensemen in 2022: Letang / Giordano / Klingberg / Ekholm would be excellent on short-term deals while Nurse / Parayko / Jones / Lindholm / Rielly / Pulock would be candidates for longer term deals.

- I think Danault wants to win, like most players, and will do what it takes to get his name etched. I don't think Hamilton gets Pietrangelo money (he's not that caliber at all) so I certainly wouldn't do that, and I don't think Hall is worth much (if any) more than Nuge so if Nuge isn't going to take the Oilers offer, why would Hall?

- Kahun has been posting 2nd line numbers the past 2 years, I expect nothing less this year. So this is low for sure, but after bouncing around the NHL the past few years I think he'll trade AAV for term and the opportunity to play with Draisaitl.

- I like the idea of giving Holloway a year (or part of one) in Bakersfield, and I presume Holland does too. However, AHL playoffs / Calder Cup is not a priority for this organization (IMO), the success of the Oilers NHL club is the only thing that matters. I'd do what's best for the team and if Holloway is ready to step up, that's where he'll be. IMO he and Puljujarvi would be the perfect linemates for McDavid - he's a one-man zone entry / scoring chance machine, but his sorties are often one-and-done and these two, while being able to keep up with his rushes, can also cycle the puck like crazy, adding more opportunities for McDavid to create scoring chances. We saw what happened when Tippett put Draisaitl and Yamamoto with McDavid against Vancouver - 2 minutes of o-zone time resulting in a goal. That's what I'm trying to re-create here without using either Draisaitl or Yamamoto on the line.

- I hate buyouts, but Neal's contract might come to that. Or Robidas Island with a skin condition! I agree re: Goodrow, I was at the end and didn't feel like researching 4th liners PK history, so I just stuck him in.

- Yeah, I'm not actually that optimistic about Klefbom, but if he's 90% he'll be able to play top-4 with a strong partner. I have him at the top here because (a) I wanted to keep Nurse-Bear together, and (b) people here would freak out if I put Nurse-Bear ahead of Klefbom-Hamilton just due to reputation.

- Good question re: Jones / Bear / Nurse future contracts. The truth is that we don't know what will transpire over the next 2 years, but with Bouchard, Samorukov and Broberg coming, there are options. The Oilers will have to be very careful not to give too much AAV+term to the wrong defenseman (and maybe I've already done so with this AGM).

- I think Nurse should be treated like any other UFA - give him a fair offer akin to his abilities, but know that there are options in the marketplace. If Nurse is demanding more AAV and / or term than I'm willing to give him then I'd look at signing (say) Ekholm to a 3-year deal instead, or Giordano to a 1-year deal to see if Broberg can step up in that timeframe. There are options aplenty in 2022.

For the sake of argument players like Eakin and Girgensons are getting that rate of salary, and no one in their right mind would consider them third liners in a good team. Coleman's one of the better mid-6 assets in the league, and is likely to get paid as one.

Provided he repeats a season like the last, I do expect him to go in the $3-4 mil rate. See Marcus Foligno's new contract for instance. Should he hit free agency, that contract will become the bare minimun he'll earn.

Hamilton...ehh. i think only a total overpayment would convince the guy to relocate in west Siberia. I can't see a realistic future where the guy puts on an Oilers shirt without earning at least $10M AAV. Frankly, I can't see any reason why he'd leave the Canes.

LOL at you using two of the worst signings in the past year to compare:

https://www.capfriendly.com/forums/thread/381335

https://www.capfriendly.com/forums/thread/379537

Both were unforced errors on the part of a rookie GM in an organization with a skeleton support staff. Even CFer's knew they were bad deals.

And there's no need to attack Edmonton like that. I've been there in the winter several times and it's nothing like Siberia. Hamilton is Canadian and played for several years in Calgary, I'm sure he knows too. Maybe he doesn't leave Carolina, but he isn't getting $10M from them or anyone else. He simply isn't worth that. There's not even any argument to be made that he's worth as much as Pietrangelo ($8.8M) or Josi ($9M), let alone much more than both.

Worst signings...debatable. Not my favorite ones, but still viable examples of it. If you want to think other mid-6 contracts, check Kapanen, Johnsson, Kassian etc. There's a load of other examples.

One thing that might make Hamilton a bit more enticing UFA piece compared to Petro and Josi is that he's younger. He'll turn 28 this year, so should he hit free agency, there'll be a load of teams to offer him a big contract. And since the max term contract would only run until he's 35, signing him with even bigger money might come to question. To be frank, I don't see any team signing him with less that $9,5M if he hits free agency. He's an absolute premium asset to any free agency market.

And yeah that West Siberia is a figure of speech used in one Finnish podcast I listen to...sorry if it offends people.

All of those guys signed pre-covid, they aren't comparable contracts AT ALL. Two of them were RFA deals too - meaning the players were <25.


We'll see, but I don't see any justification for paying him that kind of money. He's had one half season playing at a top level in his 8 year career, the rest of the time he's been a 40-50 point guy who isn't very good at passing and is only average defensively. Any GM giving him max term at $9.5M is going to lose his job because of it.

The age shouldn't matter here as the role of these players is more or less same, and their cost is unlikely to change as they get re-signed. Pre covid contracts or not, they're the finest examples. There's not a single viable example after covid example for a player like Coleman as the situation in the summer is likely going to change.



Hamilton has been slowly developing into one of the best d-men in modern hockey. I think $9,5M might come to question, should he continue in the way he has played recently.