It might be an unpopular opinion, but I don't think Ekholm is two 1sts better than Barrie. But it does help Edmonton to have someone more defense oriented.
Karlsson is and now was 100 percent the wrong move for the Oilers. This is the right one. Ekholm and Bouchard will work like magic. Absolutely love the return for us. Poile has been absolutely insane!
Finally, some good news. Unreal that Broberg, Holloway and Bourgault werent involved. We finally get to see Bouchard's worth on the top PP instead of focusing on his mental lapses. Hope you fantasy players picked him up!
Ekholm was always an underrated defenseman to me, really love this for EDM bc they now get to avoid Karlsson massive length of a contract. With that said, they over paid.
Nashville: Acquires a younger #4, a former 1st round pick, a 1st round pick, and a 4th.
Edmonton: Acquires a Older Injury Prone #3 that will hurt in year 3 & 4 of the contract. Might be a slight upgrade now, but holy **** is this bad long term.
What?? Nash gets a one dimensional offensive defender, a prospect that should have been picked in the second round and a late first(which has a 2% chance of becoming a nhl star). Oilers get arguably one of the best two way defenders in the league. Lol
Nashville: Acquires a younger #4, a former 1st round pick, a 1st round pick, and a 4th.
Edmonton: Acquires a Older Injury Prone #3 that will hurt in year 3 & 4 of the contract. Might be a slight upgrade now, but holy **** is this bad long term.
I agree 100%. This only makes the Oilers a little better right now, but by as early as next season, that could change. Next year, Nashville will either resign Barrie or trade him for a profit. The year after that, the Oilers could be looking to dump Ekholm at a loss, or buy him out.
Ekholm was always an underrated defenseman to me, really love this for EDM bc they now get to avoid Karlsson massive length of a contract. With that said, they over paid.
How did they overpay? You would have crucified Holland had he done nothing! They had to give up something, other teams were bidding, they needed Ekholm badly.
Its TDL prices not the offseason. I dont see how they could have done better than this. Nashville also does well as they can flip Barrie next season or maybe this season for picks.
This is a win-win trade.
Barrie, I know, they could have still used but still they gave up nothing worthwhile for a legit prime top4 piece that they needed with size that can shutdown the opposition and we break up that Nurse-Ceci pairing.
What?? Nash gets a one dimensional offensive defender, a prospect that should have been picked in the second round and a late first(which has a 2% chance of becoming a nhl star). Oilers get arguably one of the best two way defenders in the league. Lol
Not sure if you noticed, but Ekholm has been playing 2nd pairing TOI this year and his analytics have fallen. Given his age and injury history, that's not a good sign. Like I said, it's an upgrade, but the picks/prospects added here are worth way more than the slight upgrade.
What?? Nash gets a one dimensional offensive defender, a prospect that should have been picked in the second round and a late first(which has a 2% chance of becoming a nhl star). Oilers get arguably one of the best two way defenders in the league. Lol
It might be an unpopular opinion, but I don't think Ekholm is two 1sts better than Barrie. But it does help Edmonton to have someone more defense oriented.
That is the big thing. Synergy between the pairs was needed more than anything. Nurse shouldnt be this bad. He needs to settle down and I think Ekholm could do that for him if paired together.
Not sure if you noticed, but Ekholm has been playing 2nd pairing TOI this year and his analytics have fallen. Given his age and injury history, that's not a good sign. Like I said, it's an upgrade, but the picks/prospects added here are worth way more than the slight upgrade.
I don't care if its a .0001% upgrade. McDrai's window is now and for morale, alone, it would have been a good move. Then, you consider that they both, McDavid and Draisaitl, need new deals in 3 years, this kind of commitment to winning is what will keep them in Edmonton and NOT holding on to lottery tickets because they could be worth something in 2026 when their contracts are up and they have all the cap space in the world. That isnt shortsighted either, Keeping the best players in the world happy will always come before some draft picks and mid prospects