Ceci has been very much worth his contract so far. Yeah I know it's only 20 games into the season, but the community here was 100% wrong on this player (at least, the first page of comments). So far this is looking like a steal - he's replaced Larsson defensively while also adding offense and puck moving that Larsson can only dream about. Ceci and Keith have been getting all the tough zone starts and have been doing fine largely due to Ceci's smart play.

Too much knee-jerk often results in a plate full of crow. Lesson learned? We'll see.

Hmm, Carolina is currently #1 in the league while Edmonton is #2 by points percentage. Maybe, just maybe they know things that you don't.

Still feel that way?

pic.twitter.com/JsrZMwqbbb

— CanadiensFan (@GuhleSzn) November 29, 2021

You're joking right?

The decision to sign Cody Ceci to a 4-year deal this summer is looking even worse now than it did on the day it was done. And it looked pretty bad then. #LetsGoOilers https://t.co/k4VdvX76pS pic.twitter.com/1oss2rTi1d

— Patrick Bacon (@TopDownHockey) November 7, 2021

🤷‍♂️

Of course it's easier to go back months ago and call the rightfully valid opinion on the signings a bad opinion. It was a bad contract when it was signed and there's not much room for debate, but good for Edmonton for figuring it out.

Yo, can you not tag literally everybody in this thread?

Also, I wouldn't say the community was 100% wrong on Ceci. He's a good defenseman, but this contract isn't amazing or anything. I'd say he's doing his best to prove the critics wrong, but it's not like he's performing at a level that was unexpected for him. Plus, I think the main criticisms with this signing come from the fact that Holland let Larsson and Bear go just to replace them with Cody Ceci. It's not a good look to downgrade the defense like that, especially after trading for Keith without retention to fill up the saved cap space. While I'll admit that this contract is better than the immediate reactions would suggest, there's no way you can say "the community here was 100% wrong on this player".

And again, please don't mass-quote people.

I'd still have rathered that the money between Barrie and Ceci was part of what they threw at a Hamilton-Pysyk duo but yes Ceci has been for the most part more than worth his contract.

1) We are a quarter way through the season. Maybe wait until the season is over before you make these smug ass comments.
2) This is why people don't like you.

I quoted everyone one page 1 who had a hugely negative take on this signing, which was, well, everyone. I don't believe that crossed any lines - what do you say, @BeterChiarelli ?

Can't admit when you're wrong, huh? Not surprising... and I wasn't aware this was a popularity contest! Sometimes going against the current is the right thing to do, but of course it's not going to be popular. I don't give a sh*t whether random strangers on the internet "like" me.

You care enough about random strangers to quote all of them who posted on the first page because Ceci has been slightly above mediocre for 20 games, and you care enough to personally quote me because you believe the Oilers and Hurricanes starting out good somehow forgives them having lackluster offseasons.

Normally you post statistics and analytics to prove your point. Don't see those here this time around. Might have something to do with Ceci's 5v5 CF%, FF%, GF% and xGF% all being under 50%. Relatives in the negatives too.

It's great that you believe Ceci has been worth his money so far; but it's 20 games into a four year contract and he doesn't have a good track record. His numbers so far really don't back up his value either.

I mean you actually responded to these users so it's not as if you did this explicitly to mass tag, but like I'm getting really comfortable with the idea of a cap on the number of users you can quote in a post, ESPECIALLY in the case where it's to dunk on people after a 20 game sample size.

At the end of the day, I dont know if this whole exercise was worth anyone's while and I really don't want to have to lock this thread because you didn't take the high road in this scenario.

I'd probably change your tone on how much you care about people "liking" you online if I were you. I can only go to bat for you so many times before the bank of my good will runs out. Why be anything less than your best self while you're in this community? What purpose does pissing everyone else off serve?

I'm not aware of any time you went to bat for me, what is that all about? Did you think I was asking you to defend me?? Because if you reread my post clearly that isn't the case: I was basically accused of violating the forum rules so I proactively asked a mod to tell me if I had.

Your response, while answering my question, was something less than impartial. Thats not cool coming from a moderator. I expect better.

According to Cult of Hockey, Ceci has made the fewest mistakes on Grade A chances against (per 15) of any Oilers defenseman. His negative numbers come from being stapled to Keith who isn't suited to the shutdown role they're asked to play constantly.

Yep, lol

According to Cult of Hockey, Ceci has made the fewest mistakes on Grade A chances against (per 15) of any Oilers defenseman. His negative on-ice numbers come from being stapled to Keith who isn't suited to the shutdown role they're asked to play constantly.

His contract is still way to high and long

I don't think that's reasonable. His AAV is 108th among defensemen, that puts him as a mid-pack 4th defenseman on average, not counting the many guys on ELC's and RFA contracts, which probably push him down to an average 5th defenseman in pay. He has EASILY been better than a league average 5th defenseman so far this year.

Look at his advanced stats. He's been ****ing awful. No way is he paid like the leagues 5th defender

His on-ice numbers are being dragged down by Keith and massive D zone starts. He's been fantastic so far - well above expectations. Not to mention that he's being paid like a 3rd pairing guy yet actually facing much tougher comp and much higher ice time.

Just to comment on Ceci. He was very much maligned in his one year as Leaf. But. once a player gets a reputation on CapFriendly, it's hard to shake. I'm not sure if it was great value when he signed his latest contract, but as you suggest Ceci has played to contract and more. He plays heavy minutes, including the PK where the Oilers have the sixth ranked team.
It's almost similar to Leafs Holl. Don't know why folks think a RHD who plays 20 minutes a night, hard minutes, for good team isn't good enough. Plus he makes just 2m.

His defense has looked good. but his offense has been ****ing terrible