Eklund: Decision Day For Oilers On Offer Sheets; What Will They Do?

They can match Broberg without any further cap issues. Kane is on LTIR. In fact, they can match both players and make it work if they wanted to. This entire saga has been so full of confusion among fans, and media.

Then a separate deal between the two clubs for more pics and players going to Edmonton suggests that perhaps this wasn't such a sinister thing at all and perhaps concocted between these two gm's

The Blues announced Tuesday that they’ve sent unsigned 2023 fifth-round pick Paul Fischer and a 2028 third-round pick to the Oilers in exchange for future considerations. The swap immediately follows the Blues’ successful acquisition of Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway from Edmonton via offer sheets.

Fischer, 19, is a solid pickup for the Oilers, who presumably acquired him as a sweetener not to match St. Louis’ offer for either player.

This is simply sending a message. The culture is driven by veterans taking discounts to try and win together. Then two young guys hold the team hostage for a payday. Good bye. Take the picks and use that cap space for more value contracts. Smart call. Although the Ceci trade certainly signaled they would keep Broberg. Bit they likely have one more move coming.

Doug Armstrong tried to get these two at the deadline for Buchnevich and the Oilers first round pick. Oilers declined and Buchy resigned with Blues for 6 years and Doug got the two he wanted from the beginning for only a 2nd and 3rd round picks! I think someone out smart the Oilers Jeff Jackson, maybe he needs to go back and be an agent again!

This is simply sending a message. The culture is driven by veterans taking discounts to try and win together. Then two young guys hold the team hostage for a payday. Good bye. Take the picks and use that cap space for more value contracts. Smart call. Although the Ceci trade certainly signaled they would keep Broberg. Bit they likely have one more move coming.
- HockeyBuzzed

McDavid is already on a max deal, and I'm guessing he and Draisaitl will be in the top five highest players by the time McD is renewed. Where's the discount?

A discount is what Stamkos took in TB.

This is simply sending a message. The culture is driven by veterans taking discounts to try and win together. Then two young guys hold the team hostage for a payday. Good bye. Take the picks and use that cap space for more value contracts. Smart call. Although the Ceci trade certainly signaled they would keep Broberg. Bit they likely have one more move coming.
- HockeyBuzzed

who has taken a discount ?

McDavid is already on a max deal, and I'm guessing he and Draisaitl will be in the top five highest players by the time McD is renewed. Where's the discount?

A discount is what Stamkos took in TB.
- Chunk

RNH accepted term to lower the cap hit. So did Kane, who at the time was in high demand. Henrique. Skinner. Arvidsson. Draisaitl will leave some money on the table. He'll still be a top 5 player, but he'll shave off $1M for the collective good. So will McDavid. Pay attention.

It’s a great day to be a Blues fan!

Ek > still waiting for a NJ Devils blogger. make it happen, Man.

They can match Broberg without any further cap issues. Kane is on LTIR. In fact, they can match both players and make it work if they wanted to. This entire saga has been so full of confusion among fans, and media.
- HockeyBuzzed

Thats the shortsighted approach. First off EDM needs to be cap compliant before the season starts. Kane going on LTIR before the season reduces the LTIR space EDM can exceed the cap by, so they cant use the full 5 mill

Kane is also expected to return mid season.

Look at the Oilers Cap situation. They need to pull 4 mill out their butts for a Draisaitl raise and possibly another 4 if not more for Bouchard. Where is this Money coming from?

Sure Ryan, Brown and Perry are UFA but they make like 3 mill combined. You still got to replace those guys. At league min you are only saving 700k

Skinner is UFA but again you need to replace him so you have to subtract 775k from the 3 mill in space gained regardless for a replacement.

You cant move any of the following, Hyman, Kane, RNH or Nurse

The Free space you gain is like 3.675 and that hasnt covered the cost of Broberg yet as he hasnt been added to the equation yet.

Cap could go up, no one knows how much. Pretty Irresponisble IMO to rely on that.

Only option past that would be to trade guys like Henrique and Arvidsson but after replacements at league min you still only freed up 5.45 mill.

So basically by keeping Broberg you need hope you can move both Arvidsson and Henrique, Replace all guys lost with league min players, Hope Bouchard is only going to sign for 8 mill and hope the cap jumps up 4+ mill just to keep both Draisaitl and Bouchard.

You also have to consider that someone could offersheet Bouchard. An offersheet of 1 mill is a 1st, 2nd and 3rd round pick.

It’s a great day to be a Blues fan!
- K-man25

Not sure why? Neither player is really going to make a large impact. Holloway is maybe a 3rd line player at best. Broberg is a young D thats played 1 NHL season and only 46 games at that and being paid like a 2nd pair D which is probably at best his ceiling.

Thats the shortsighted approach. First off EDM needs to be cap compliant before the season starts. Kane going on LTIR before the season reduces the LTIR space EDM can exceed the cap by, so they cant use the full 5 mill

Kane is also expected to return mid season.

Look at the Oilers Cap situation. They need to pull 4 mill out their butts for a Draisaitl raise and possibly another 4 if not more for Bouchard. Where is this Money coming from?

Sure Ryan, Brown and Perry are UFA but they make like 3 mill combined. You still got to replace those guys. At league min you are only saving 700k

Skinner is UFA but again you need to replace him so you have to subtract 775k from the 3 mill in space gained regardless for a replacement.

You cant move any of the following, Hyman, Kane, RNH or Nurse

The Free space you gain is like 3.675 and that hasnt covered the cost of Broberg yet as he hasnt been added to the equation yet.

Cap could go up, no one knows how much. Pretty Irresponisble IMO to rely on that.

Only option past that would be to trade guys like Henrique and Arvidsson but after replacements at league min you still only freed up 5.45 mill.

So basically by keeping Broberg you need hope you can move both Arvidsson and Henrique, Replace all guys lost with league min players, Hope Bouchard is only going to sign for 8 mill and hope the cap jumps up 4+ mill just to keep both Draisaitl and Bouchard.

You also have to consider that someone could offersheet Bouchard. An offersheet of 1 mill is a 1st, 2nd and 3rd round pick.
- xShoot4WarAmpsx

I didn't see they should or would match. I said they technically COULD. Kane will stay on LTIR for as long as needed. He'll activate if another high cap hit gets hurt. Bowman knows how to play that game.

I don't think the Oilers care about next year. They are looking to win now. Next summer they can move on from Kulak. Maybe they come to an understanding with Kane. There are options.

I didn't see they should or would match. I said they technically COULD. Kane will stay on LTIR for as long as needed. He'll activate if another high cap hit gets hurt. Bowman knows how to play that game.

I don't think the Oilers care about next year. They are looking to win now. Next summer they can move on from Kulak. Maybe they come to an understanding with Kane. There are options.
- HockeyBuzzed

That's not necessarily how LTIR works. If he is deemed healthy by the doctors, he needs to be activated. I know teams have seemed to get away with this over the past few years, but if a guy is only supposed to be out for 3 months and he's out for 6, I'd guess the league would at least look into that. Bowman "played" that game because P. Kane broke his collarbone, and his expected return lined up with the expected recovery time.

Stan Bowman already sinking the ship.

That's not necessarily how LTIR works. If he is deemed healthy by the doctors, he needs to be activated. I know teams have seemed to get away with this over the past few years, but if a guy is only supposed to be out for 3 months and he's out for 6, I'd guess the league would at least look into that. Bowman "played" that game because P. Kane broke his collarbone, and his expected return lined up with the expected recovery time.
- Chunk

It's cute that you believe this. Any player could walk into a doctors office and be diagnosed with chronic pain. Let's see what more rest will do. Go ahead and investigate. Hey Evander. We disagree with the Oilers doctor and think you are healthy enough to play. Hmm, my shoulder still hurts every day. Oh, I see.

These issues are not black and white. Mark Stone is not injured one day and healthy the next. It is a spectrum. So if Kane seems ready and wants to get back in action...then someone like Hyman or Draisaitl or Ekholm or Nurse or McDavid will suddenly have a lower body injury that a doctor suggests rest will help.

Teams are blatantly doing this and the Oilers will too. My close friend played 6 or 7 years in the NHL. He was in pain every day and said at any moment he could have raised his hand and gone on IR and every doctor would sign off on that as reasonable. But again, kinda cute that you think it's black and white.

It's cute that you believe this. Any player could walk into a doctors office and be diagnosed with chronic pain. Let's see what more rest will do. Go ahead and investigate. Hey Evander. We disagree with the Oilers doctor and think you are healthy enough to play. Hmm, my shoulder still hurts every day. Oh, I see.

These issues are not black and white. Mark Stone is not injured one day and healthy the next. It is a spectrum. So if Kane seems ready and wants to get back in action...then someone like Hyman or Draisaitl or Ekholm or Nurse or McDavid will suddenly have a lower body injury that a doctor suggests rest will help.

Teams are blatantly doing this and the Oilers will too. My close friend played 6 or 7 years in the NHL. He was in pain every day and said at any moment he could have raised his hand and gone on IR and every doctor would sign off on that as reasonable. But again, kinda cute that you think it's black and white.
- HockeyBuzzed

All I said is that you can't just stash a guy on LTIR without an actual cause. Sure, players are always injured, but from what I understand LTIR requires a higher threshold. I look forward to seeing how the Oilers navigate the next two years. Sincerely.

All I said is that you can't just stash a guy on LTIR without an actual cause. Sure, players are always injured, but from what I understand LTIR requires a higher threshold. I look forward to seeing how the Oilers navigate the next two years. Sincerely.
- Chunk

You are correct, you will find that you cannot have an intelligent conversation with this guy because he is one of these know it all types.

How he predicts that all those players (Henrique. Skinner. Arvidsson. Draisaitl) are lining up to voluntarily take reduced contracts is pure madness. And to say Kane took a lower contract to play in Edmonton is also BS, he is a head case that no one wanted, and most knowledgeable hockey fans were surprised the Oilers paid him that much.

All I said is that you can't just stash a guy on LTIR without an actual cause. Sure, players are always injured, but from what I understand LTIR requires a higher threshold. I look forward to seeing how the Oilers navigate the next two years. Sincerely.
- Chunk

Hossa went on LTIRetirement for a fabricated allergy that he played with for decades. Kucherov and Stone both were LTIR scams recently.

Hossa went on LTIRetirement for a fabricated allergy that he played with for decades. Kucherov and Stone both were LTIR scams recently.
- jfkst1

"Fabricated Allergy":

PRAGUE — Marian Hossa shocked the NHL world before the 2017-18 season when he announced that he would no longer play hockey because of a progressive skin disorder that stemmed from an allergic reaction from his equipment.

And while hanging up the skates was tough, Hossa doesn't have any regrets about it. The side effects from the medications weren’t worth it, and he tried everything before making the call to stop playing.

“Definitely it wasn’t an easy decision because I still felt like I had a lot in the tank to give,” Hossa said in an exclusive interview with NBC Sports Chicago. “That's why it was kind of difficult. But health is first. I have two young daughters and I just have to look in the future. It was tough to play with the pills every day, putting [them] into the body. I had to stop this, I had to make a big decision and the decision was I cannot play under these conditions.”

More than two years later, the 40-year-old Hossa still looks like somebody who can play hockey at a high level. But it’s not worth risking again with his body in a much healthier place.

“I feel way better,” Hossa said. “I didn’t put equipment on for two years, I didn’t skate for basically two years. Feeling good, skin is healed and enjoying time with the family.”

You're adorable.

You're adorable.
- Chunk

I don't fault Hossa or the team for taking this route. His game was in decline which should be expected at that age. But believing the players or teams at face value regarding LTIR just proves you are very naive.

I don't fault Hossa or the team for taking this route. His game was in decline which should be expected at that age. But believing the players or teams at face value regarding LTIR just proves you are very naive.
- jfkst1

The Blackhawks were allowed by the league to place him on LTIR because he was not going play the entire year. They traded his contract to the Yotes in the summer of '18 because they knew he wouldn't play again. I'm fully aware that teams take advantage of it as much as they can, but there still needs to be a minimum threshold of injury or inability to play to be placed on LTIR. This is not controversial.

All I said is that you can't just stash a guy on LTIR without an actual cause. Sure, players are always injured, but from what I understand LTIR requires a higher threshold. I look forward to seeing how the Oilers navigate the next two years. Sincerely.
- Chunk

Still not getting it. Finding an actual cause is extremely simple. Every single player could legitimately declare they have chronic pain in their back, shoulder, knee, wrist. And any doctor could legitimately state that a period of rest and rehab could be beneficial. There. Done. So if Kane says he's ready, then someone else can rest.

As for discounts, do you really think Henrique couldn't make more money elsewhere? Do you really think Skinner and Arvidsson couldn't sign for more money elsewhere? All these guys left money on the table for a chance to win. Try to keep up.

They can match Broberg without any further cap issues. Kane is on LTIR. In fact, they can match both players and make it work if they wanted to. This entire saga has been so full of confusion among fans, and media.
- HockeyBuzzed

it impacts all salaries down the line for all players on their team and it eats away and any cap space they need at the deadline. There was not a chance in heck they were going to match Broberg.