Quoting: mokumboi
1 - I don't think there's any way those two both finish their contracts in STL. So that's where I'm coming from. This whole idea that we will have to wait 5 years to be competitive is crazy to me. People are conflating how they feel about the roster today with what can happen as time moves on and moves get made. Where was Vancouver last season? Or Winnipeg? Look at how Jersey have fallen. And Seattle. And the Wild. So much can happen, even in one offseason. Or one full year.
2 - I'm not super concerned about Saad. Hayes I would obviously like to move. I'd have liked for him to already been moved, if I'm being honest. Our little garbage slump lately has affected a lot more than just our playoff outlook for this season.
3 - Broberg is a legit complimentary top 4 Dman whether the Oil realize it or not. And how many times in Blues history have we taken some guy that was not thriving elsewhere and then he played the best hockey of his career in STL? We could list names for a long time, man. Broberg is still an excellent prospect, and the Oilers are still a team that routinely mishandles excellent prospects.
For the last point. I think there's something extremely flawed about how the Oilers draft and develop. They seem to rush guys to the NHL too quickly and then when they start to sink they don't really give them a life raft killing confidence. It's why i'm fairly concerned about Holloway as well. I have a hard time squinting enough to see Broberg as more than a bottom pairing guy who has the tools to play higher but not really the toolbox to do it. I would love to be wrong on the player. I've also just seen the Oilers do this mishandling and wait too long, again this could be heavily clouded by Puljujaarvi, Yakupov, and Paajarvii along with a few others. I just feel like we've seen this play out before. A late 1st would at least give us flexibility to make a move.
As for the where was Vancouver last season, that's a bit of an extreme point. Vancouver made alot of good additions. My general concern is how night and day this team looks routinely. That paired along with the areas we have major deficiencies in I don't see the players rebounding or us being able to patch it over. We have a very strong 1st and 4th line. However, our middle 6 is an absolute nightmare of consistently inconsistent veterans who are payed to provide more. This will open up a bit with Kapanen expiring, and I think we can fill that spot via Snuggerud internally. But Hayes, Saad, Schenn, I don't think they're going anywhere, and I don't think they're going to become any more consistent. I know this is odd to say because Saad is generally the most predictable player in terms of outcomes you will find. He'll get near 20 goals and near 20 assists. But boy when he isn't scoring he is doing virtually nothing. Schenn, probably a 3rd liner at this point in time. Always had been streaky, but this is a new level of not scoring a goal in 15 games, then scoring 4 in 5, and now on another dry streak for 15 games. Hayes gets a breakaway or two a game somehow yet is the slowest player in the NHL. I jut don't see a rebound here. We're already getting an ascension from Thomas, Parayko probably playing the best hockey of his career, and Binnington/Hofer being outstanding and are teetering .500, how much more can we jump if we're strapped up to the cap with aging contracts getting hypothetically worse?