I don’t think 3 years @ 3.75 is an unreasonable contract for what Kassian brings.
- Wildschwein

I disagree. We need every extra cent for two wingers to bolster our 2nd line and Kassian only lives up to the contract if he stays with McDrai (not likely). Complimentary players to a wonder duo shouldn't get paid.

I disagree. We need every extra cent for two wingers to bolster our 2nd line and Kassian only lives up to the contract if he stays with McDrai (not likely). Complimentary players to a wonder duo shouldn't get paid.
- MaximumBone

Speaking of which, what are your thoughts on said wingers? Should the Oilers trade for cost controlled skill, or explore the upcoming UFA market?

@Wreck: Its Friday, i wanna trade and be also the first trading with ya... take a few beers/Scotch and finally send an offer.
- VeryModernMan

Ryan Johansen and Tony DeAngelo for Bergeron.

Then i can wear my M.A. Bergeron jersey again.

Speaking of which, what are your thoughts on said wingers? Should the Oilers trade for cost controlled skill, or explore the upcoming UFA market?
- Wildschwein

Gotta weigh the cost-benefit of long term UFA deals but not paying acquisition cost VS cost-controlled asset but paying a premium. As such, I think going both directions would be wise. I've rank ordered some options for each category:

2nd line W in trade: Ehlers, Zucker, Anderson and Debrusk
2nd line W in UFA: Granlund, Kreider, Hoffman and Galchenyuk

3rd line F in trade: E Staal, Hinostroza, Foegele and Wood
3rd line F in UFA: Leivo, Fast, Eakin and Janmark

Kassian replacement in trade: Blais and Cehlarik
Kassian replacement in UFA: Toffoli, Brodzinski, C Smith and Pitlick

Some of those guys can fit in multiple categories, but I left them where they'd be best suited on our team. Given the bolded and the assumed goal of retaining the D depth we're building, we could see something like this:

McDavid- Draisaitl- Blais
Granlund- RNH- Yamamoto
Benson- Staal- Leivo
_____- _____- _____

Klef- Larsson
Nurse- Bear
Willy- Jones

That's around 13 to 14mil in adds to our F group without giving up Nurse or Klefbom and keeping the trades relatively minor (no huge trade for Ehlers). Given our 24mil in default cap space and an additional 3.95mil gained through a possible Neal buyout and what we drop via these trades (Khaira's 1.2mil in Blais deal, Chiasson's 2.15 in Staal deal and Russell w/ 1.5mil retained in separate deal), that leaves ~14 to 16mil (give or take a bit) for signing Nurse, Bear, a backup and the remaining F spots.

@Bone: Nice analysis.

@Wreck: Bergy will be difficult to part, and absolutely not for Johansen.