We arent going to retain and only get a 5th. I know Pageau doesn't look valuable to outside fanbases but he does a lot for this team and isn't getting dumped with retention. Hes probably a net zero at 5 mil

Don't think we are going to be moving Kostin provides physicality that we will desperately need if we play a significant amount of rookies.

Also I think if we take Ceci it would be for FC

You already won the deal in a landslide, and you're asking Edmonton to sweeten it further?

Top-4 RHD are like gold in this league - if you can get one by offering an overpaid 4th liner, you jump at that.

You're losing on the Ceci and Kulak trades, both players have more value.

And dedicating $5M in precious cap space to Pageau and Kostin seems wasteful. You could upgrade Carrier to Montour with that money.

Overall I do like the direction you're going though.

I'd say he's net neutral around 3.75 to 4mil but I get your point. What would be a fair return in yours eyes?

I really value what Pageau brings and think he'd be key to making our 3rd line a Stanley Cup winning one. As for Kostin, I mostly just want to move on from Ceci. If it's for cap space or for a likeable 4th liner, I don't care. I don't want to commit big money or term to a RD behind Bouch and particularly not one that I don't think is a good fit alongside Nurse (both are puck carriers with varying degrees of coverage issues). I'm looking for the understated & cheap fit that helps facilitate long-term roster depth which I think Carrier does while also being a better fit with Nurse.

Whether they win the Cup of not, I think it's critical that EDM gets younger and faster this offseason.

Stand corrected

I'm afraid I don't get what you mean? EDM is the one giving the 3rd (albeit in '26) and getting the lower pick this year.

Ceci has been bad at best, we can easily just get a player of his caliber or better in FA, might as well just do that if we have to pay for Ceci

It's interesting to me to see the disparity between professional opinions on Ceci and fan opinions.

Ceci has been a top-4 defender in the NHL for 8 seasons, for 4 different teams and under 7 coaches. There is no debate on what NHL people think of him at this point, and yet fans treat him like he's worthless. Your opinion, and that of many others, just can't be reconciled with the facts.

Look at the current playoff run as an example. Ceci JUST scored a huge goal in G7, nobody cares. Dump him. He's #2 for 5v5 TOI among Oilers defensemen, he's worthless. He's #3 for PK TOI and hasn't allowed a goal against, fire him into the sun.

I mean, it's pretty clear the Oilers coaching staff values what he brings, otherwise they would fade his TOI. They haven't.

See my comment above. It's 100% clear that NHL people don't agree with your position, I would assume SJS would think similarly.

Or he continues to be passed around lol

hes -6 and is a turnover machine, I understand he plays with Nurse who is also underperforming, but Ceci is not a top 4 caliber RD on a good team, maybe on San Jose, but that's why there's no reason for us to pay for him.

If we pay for an RD we are going to pay for one that is a top 4 RD on any hockey team.

admittedly I don't watch every oilers game, just the few I have seen he has not been good

i dont think the pens need to trade for a bottom pair D. i think theyre better off rolling with the internal options they have. they need a 2nd pair LD, but not a bottom pair D

The #2 defenseman (5v5) on a Final Four team isn't good enough to play top-4 on the worst team in the league.

Got it.

Imo at no retained anything would be good, rather have the 5 million in cap space so maybe a 5th is fair

Taking back a 1-2 million contact/retaining that much at the very very least a 3rd

The way I'd look at it
4-7th for retained salary
2nd/3rd for Pageau at the player at the cap hit

Irrelevant, it’s the trade value that is in question.

I already addressed that.



Edmonton declines hard.

It can be reconciled, just with a different set of facts. Another way to frame it is that he's been a flawed 2nd pair RD on 2 different teams without better options (EDM and TOR) and a good 3RD on PIT.

I see a flawed 2nd pairing RD that has specific weaknesses that EDM has seen exposed in all 3 of the its playoff runs (to varying degrees) while playing alongside Nurse: below average skating and not good enough decision making to make up for it. I could also delve into chance and scoring metrics or microstats to bolster my case but those are secondary to my case. Maybe the shortcomings of the pairing are more on Nurse than Ceci but Nurse isn't going anywhere so, for change to occur, Ceci has to move either down or out. For me, the answer is out as I have upgrades that I want to make elsewhere using the extra 2.5mil I gain from moving on from Ceci.

It's entirely plausible that he returns more than I have him doing but, as I've said to you before, I'm taking the middleground between what EDM fans see and what opposing fans see. Ceci for FC or a late pick is such a middleground and I've done similar with my proposal of Kulak for a 4th. If every fanbase just keeps yelling into the ether that their guy is definitely worth a 2nd or will definitely cost a 2nd to move, no compromise or better understanding is reached. I prefer continuing the discussion and fine tuning trade proposals to see exactly where the line is for other team's fans instead of shouting into the endless void. In doing so, when a trade eventually happens, I can better understand how close/far fans are/were from reality.

I legit said he was good enough to be top 4 on San Jose but that doesn’t mean we pay for him.

He’s not a top 4 on a good team, so why do we pay for him? No point

You're just setting him up for a lay-up with that reasoning He's currently a top 4 D on a great team.

That came out wrong, I just think on a team that has a good d-core he’s not a top 4

Whatever I don’t have time for this anymore 🤣

IMO the Islanders just arent retaining on a deal unless its like less than 1 mil in a player swap. No retention I think you could get Lamoriello to add a 4th or so. With 1 mil retention, he should get a 2nd IMO. IK that may seem like a lot but Pageau at 4 mil is pretty fair for a great defensive 3C who wins faceoffs.