CBJ, MIN, ARI and really any other teams that miss on a hypothetical Eichel deal would make sense.

I don't think he's staying in Edmonton, he's come this far, he'd be crazy to not listen to what other teams have to offer. It's hard to get centres in this league, someone will overpay like PHI with Hayes

Jumping on him doesn't sound like the best idea if you want to sign him. Wine and dine him instead.

I believe we match that offer, thanks though.

Seattle's not taking Fischer over Hill for anything shy of draft picks.

Bogosian seems redundant with Lyubushkin already extended. I wouldn't be surprised to see a cheaper option than Gologoski as well given Arizona's permanent status as a cash-poor team. Bunting probably makes less and shifts to RW such that the Yotes can run Crouse - Hayton - Bunting, Bjugstad signs elsewhere and the residual holes are filled with sub-$1M contracts to keep the Coyotes at around a cap hit of $70M.

I wouldn't. I'm perfectly willing to accept he's had a down year but anything over the rumoured $5.5M/5y offer that was mentioned by Seravalli (iirc) isn't worthwhile. Saad and Tatar are going to be had for about $5M each and I'm having an awful time trying to justify why Nuge should make almost $2M more than them. Both Brandon and Tomas are better wingers. The only upside to RNH is his ability to take faceoffs and play down the middle in a pinch. I'd rather just take that extra money and throw it and an additional $2.5M at Danault.

Well, Nuge seems to be close-knit with McDavid. You keep the big guy happy no matter what.
1.25M more isnt gonna break the bank, not when previous admins have squandered quadruple that much on useless players.

Besides, he can PK, PP, slot in C, and is a good 2way player. He isnt the focal point of the offense which is why he isnt generating eye-popping numbers. He knows it, he goes along with it. Why risk someone else who might not fit in and mess with something that, at the very least, can get us to the playoffs each year? Our top 6 has great chemistry. It's the complimentary pieces that get us killed.

Neither RNH or Yamamoto have done much of anything this season. It's every skater on the roster not named Draisaitl, McDavid, Nurse, or Puljujarvi that needs to be put into serious question. Both Saad and Tatar can be used on the power play. Saad has been used on the PK before, but sing that additional money towards either or both of Coleman and Danault supersedes the need to have RNH on the PK. Draisaitl can PK. Yamamoto can PK. God knows Archibald and Khaira aren't going anywhere and all they're good at is the PK.

Nugent-Hopkins does not have enough utility to justify overpaying him to stay on this roster. It's a matter of the financials regarding the entire team, not just the top-six. If he wants the extra $1.25M, then I'd rather find a cheaper winger and take what's now a surplus $1.75M and invest it in a genuine #3C or another quality winger. I'd prefer he stay. I'm a believer in his ability to rebound from one of his worst offensive seasons of all time. The question boils down to whether or not he even wants to stay or if he'll be affordable.

Next year's cap situation looks like it could be tricky depending on how seriously Holland wants to build a contending roster this offseason. That $1.25M could be the difference between keeping Puljujarvi and having to flip him. We can't look at next season exclusively in a vacuum.

You make logical points, there is no arguing that 100% and I agree with your opinion. However, I'm just looking at it from a team perspective. Keeping nuge at say 6.5 (which is what I'm leaning towards what he signs for) does two things for the players in that dressing room: proof of loyalty and of their belief in the dressing room.

When you have two MEGA-stars in McDavid and Draisaitl, they will have an endless amount of suitors. Eastern media is already hinting at "when will mcdavid ask for a trade". Players can say the PC thing and tell you the "shut the outside noise out", but they're human after all. They have families. They have friends. We are not in what some may call a "fabulous" city. I love Edmonton, but it takes someone who truly has lived here to find the good in it instead of "boring, cold, farmland" etc. I believe the team has to show some form of loyalty to its players and RNH is a big cog in this. This may set the precedent for what McDavid might expect when it's his turn to re-up. I would want his mindset to be "they did right by Nuge, they're gonna do right by me" instead of "they tossed him aside when he was down, will they do the same to me?".

They've long said that "we believe in this core". What message would this send to the rest of the leadership team (of which Nuge is a member of)?

I mean if Nuge walks, Nuge walks of his own free will. I just remember the drama caused by the Ryan Smyth trade and that it effectively started the decade of darkness. The team mishandled that one over a measly 100k or so as the rumors stated. Set a bad taste in the players that remained in the locker room, AND potential free agents shied away as a result. Players talk to each other.

To recap, from a straight numbers perspective you are 100% correct. This will be a minor overpay. BUT, from a business perspective there's definitely more to it than meets the eye.

He’s a UFA. Oilers don’t have the right to match.

Not in the RFA sense, but in what the Oilers are going to give Nuge.
Both sides want to stay, and if the sticking point is 250k, I dont see it as a huge issue.

Both sides want to stay? You sure about that? An awful lot of players want to get out of edmonton first chance they get.

Look man, just because Edmonton aint your team doesn't mean you somehow know how it goes around here.
Media's tough, that's a given. Canadian cities can be tough when teams arent successful.

City isnt what you would call top shelf A1 destination, but the job is hockey and you're paid a ton of money.
Not to mention 2 of the top 5 players in the league.
That alone makes it attractive.

So either you are an American just shooting your mouth off, or a Flames/Canucks/Leaf fan hoping good players do leave, or just a bored troll.

Both sides have been reported to want to get a deal done, obviously for expansion reasons the timing has to be right, but also the flat cap so the terms must be right.
Nuge and Holland have both said the same thing publicly "we want to get a deal done, but it has to be fair for us (both of them)"

Meanwhile, there's Jones in Columbus publicly stating he DOESN'T want to re-sign and will test the market.
In that situation, you would be correct but here we are.

Edmonton has a long history of having a difficult times getting UFAs to come, or stay. That’s just a fact.

Oh so now you're changing it from "out the first chance they get" to "difficulty retaining/signing UFA's". subtle, nice.

As a long term Oiler fan who is also an Edmontonian, I have zero reservations in saying the team was mismanaged for the better part of 20 years.
Management & Ownership issues really put a damper on things here, that much is true.

However, players (and their agents) are starting to change their tune:

1. While we're still cleaning up Chia's mess, we're almost out of it (16.4M in useless cap hit last year)
2. Cupboards have been re-stocked and shows promise for once: Broberg, Holloway, Bouchard, Lavoie, Samorukov, McLeod, Benson, Konovalov..
3. There are only 31 other destinations and all of them have limits to how much they can pay.
4. Connor McDavid & Leon Draisaitl under team control for the next 'x' years; AND neither one signed an "extend me til the first chance of UFA" like Matthews in Toronto.

I will admit, Edmonton used to be number 1 on the no-go list for NMC's and NTC's.
Now we're barely getting a mention, big names are starting to consider us instead of using the hype as leverage.

Your first statement was pure ignorance, and the new one is outdated.
I believe things have changed, albeit very slowly. But still, things changed.

I didn’t change anything. Normally the first chance a player has to hit UFA is the first chance he gets to leave an organization.

Your original point was insinuating that MOST players will do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to leave the Oilers, bar-none, no questions asked, end of convo, nope get me outta here first chance i get!
Your revised point calmed it back down to "they have a track record of having issues retaining old talent & signing new talent".
Big difference, but as I said, subtle.

Still have not addressed any of the points I've brought to light, aside from giving me the definition of Unrestricted Free Agency.

Like I said. You must be new to hockey, just plain hate the Oilers, or are simply just trolling weakly.
Edmonton's had its' issues but we're in a MUCH better position now than in the last 10-15 years.
There is a reason it was called "The Decade of Darkness".

My first post insinuated no such thing. Perhaps you’re defensive about this?
Most wasn’t insinuated. Anything and everything wasn’t insinuated. In fact, i think the oilers always have an option to keep most players, and they have a tool to do it. That tool is money. Who was their last real big UFA splash? Lucic? Guess what they did to get him there? They overpaid him like crazy. It’s a significant trend.

I didn’t say what you said i said, and you’re getting really defensive and i don’t know why. I like the oilers. They’re super fun to watch. I hope they keep RNH at something reasonable. I hope they can get a d man and a goalie without having to overpay. It is better than it was 15 years ago, as the world has gotten a bit smaller, but the trend is still definitely there.

Let's not ninja-backtrack and pretend the above doesn't convey anything negative about the team.
Literally your words, not mine. Can't just weasel outta this. Don't be a smartass.

Lucic was from the Chiarelli era was he not? Koskinen too.
Neal, though indirectly, is also caused by one of his mis-plays as a last way out of that horrid contract.
As I said, we're still cleaning up the mess.

Responding to your points with fact isn't being defensive.
Calling you out for back-tracking isn't being defensive.
However, actually back-tracking and trying to flip the script like what you're doing is.

Look, let's not pretend you had some epiphany with "I like the Oilers" because if you actually did, I wouldn't have had to point out the things I did.
You had your viewpoint, I gave you plenty of reasons as to why it does not apply anymore. Changing the story now doesn't help at all lol.

The insinuation part was what was defensive. You took a simple statement and made it something much bigger. I haven’t changed anything about what I’ve stayed, and if you want to circle back to my original statement, i stand by it 100% and haven’t changed it at all through this conversation. Edmonton has a hard time keeping/acquiring talent when the open market is involved. It’s very simple, and it’s very hard to argue against....unless you’re from edmonton, love the city, and you don’t like the facts. I understand that. Edmonton could be awesome for you. Guys with 8 figures in the bank seem to think there are better locations for them.

Is this where i say lol? I’m confused because i thought you were supposed to say that after something funny, but you just said it after something boring.

As the reader, I am not privy to your thoughts and therefore judge your statement by how it sounds: condescending.

With each reply, your original opinion became more and more tame culminating with "I like the Oilers", in an effort to push the "why are you so defensive" narrative.

Condescending Opinion -> Outdated Revision -> Reversal of tune + "Why are you being so defensive"
"..players wanna leave first chance they get" -> "has difficulty retaining/adding players" -> "i never said it like that" + "i even like the oilers"

Why can't you accept the fact that your opinion was wrong? Doesn't make you less of a person, really.
Oilers = Siberian Gulag back in the day, yes. Not anymore.

It isn't even about me liking Edmonton as a city or not, facts are there: there are finite playing spots in the entire league, even if Edmonton isnt the premiere destination, it certainly isnt as bad as Buffalo/Ottawa simply because of new management, revamped prospect pool, and 97 + 29.

lol is there because it's laughable to me how you think you can simply weasel your way out of this fun exchange without acknowledging the above.

I haven’t really expressed an opinion. I’ve just stated a fact regarding a long existing trend.

Stop writing four paragraphs to express a thought that could take up a short sentence.

Dude, has it ever occurred to you that everything you put out there is an opinion?
Facts change, is the moral of this story. You don't seem to want to accept that.

Sorry, I didn't know reading was an issue. Can I still use up to 4 syllable words though?

2+2=4 is not an opinion, its a fact.

Just like edmonton having a tough time in UFA.

Listen to yourself. 2+2=4 is indeed a fact because there is no room for variables.

A certain place being a "bad destination" is riddled with variables.
You've stated it's fact because of history. I've given you reasons as to why it may be wrong/changing.
You refusing those reasons without providing any counterarguments short of your initial sentiment is being a piss poor loser and a bad debater.

They're not the same!
Hahah this is getting real fun.

Talking to you was fun for maybe a post or two.

Here’s an opinion of mine, one of the first I’ve ventured. I think you love your city, and you’re super offended when people point out an objective truth that NHLers don’t fancy it as a destination to play. Luckily, I live in a city that is a bit more of a destination, so I’m not in touch with what you’re feeling. I imagine it’s kind of brutal, so I’m just going to let this be. Good luck in free agency this year.