HockeyBuzz Hotstove: Which Pacific Division team has had the worst off-season to date?

Tanner, you kill me.

Mocking the oilers by pointing out the great pickups the leafs made? The guys you listed are a has been and 2 never will be’s. all 3 were on non playoff teams last year, playing 4th line minutes or being healthy scratched. Oh, the leafs also added Ceci and Harpur to their blue line, probably 2 of the 5 worst dmen in the entire league. Yes, they shed a bit of cap space (probably still not enough to get Marner signed)......but don’t act like they had some flawless summer.

Tanner, you kill me.

Mocking the oilers by pointing out the great pickups the leafs made? The guys you listed are a has been and 2 never will be’s. all 3 were on non playoff teams last year, playing 4th line minutes or being healthy scratched. Oh, the leafs also added Ceci and Harpur to their blue line, probably 2 of the 5 worst dmen in the entire league. Yes, they shed a bit of cap space (probably still not enough to get Marner signed)......but don’t act like they had some flawless summer.
- sensarmy_11

Not to mention that 36-year old Spezza is coming back for 1-year to try and win a Cup. So he picked his hometown Leafs who are a legit contender. Edmonton would not be on his radar. So it's not like Holland dropped the ball here. Spezza's agent probably approached the Leafs and said my client would be interested in playing for peanuts if you have a role for him.

Unpopular opinion: Smith will make the Oilers a better team both on and off the ice.

1. He makes a better breakout pass than 3/4 of their dmen, no joke. The less time the Oilers atrocious blueline handles the puck the better. Smith is probably the only goaltender in the NHL that can effectively act as a 3rd dman.

2. Bringing in an intense veteran who hates to lose should be a big help in that dressing room. There is not enough leadership in that room.

You know your posts are questionable when Calgary flames fans are defending Edmonton. There wasn't much Holland could do this season, there was too many garbage contracts, with too little cap space. I am curious what Todd and Tanner would have done that Holland didn't try or at least consider.

Im not sure how we had a bad off season.. Yeah we didn't add any huge pieces but we added tons of speed and depth into our bottom six forwards and cut out some dead weight as well as drafted two gems in Broberg and Lavoie. Smith is also an upgrade over Talbot although our goaltending is still a huge question mark. People seem to forget for the first two months of the season Kosk was a beast putting up the second best numbers in the league. All until his glove seeminlgy got exposed. Replacing guys like Reider and Brodziack with anybody that can actually skate is a win on its own (yeah Reider can skate but 0 goals really..). With the potential of guys like Benson, McLeod and others joining the forwards as long as possibly two great puck movers in Jones and Bouchard on the back end and its really hard to tell what we will have next year. Considering he actually hasn't watch the team play a game yet and we have no idea who is going to crack our roster next year I'm glad Holland did not pull the trigger on a potentially stupid move like a Zaitsev or Ericcson.

You know your posts are questionable when Calgary flames fans are defending Edmonton. There wasn't much Holland could do this season, there was too many garbage contracts, with too little cap space. I am curious what Todd and Tanner would have done that Holland didn't try or at least consider.
- vertigo2002

Why we did or didn't do anything is irrelevant to the question being asked. Which is who had the worst offseason the pacific?

There is no question in my mind that the Oilers did have the worst off-season, we made 0 steps in improving. You could probably even make the argument we got worse in some areas. Where as others made attempts at improving, whether they work out is a different matter.

The article is who in the Pacific, not the league

HockeyBuzz Hotstove: Which Pacific Division team has had the worst off-season to date?
Name a Pacific team ,that's done worse !
Maybe Anaheim ?

Unpopular opinion: Smith will make the Oilers a better team both on and off the ice.

1. He makes a better breakout pass than 3/4 of their dmen, no joke. The less time the Oilers atrocious blueline handles the puck the better. Smith is probably the only goaltender in the NHL that can effectively act as a 3rd dman.

2. Bringing in an intense veteran who hates to lose should be a big help in that dressing room. There is not enough leadership in that room.
- Saskabush

If Smith in goal means Russell never touches the puck with anything but his shinpads, I am all for the signing.

The article is who in the Pacific, not the league

HockeyBuzz Hotstove: Which Pacific Division team has had the worst off-season to date?
Name a Pacific team ,that's done worse !
Maybe Anaheim ?
- Sharksfan68

I mean, I'd rather have our offseason than giving a 1st+ for JT Miller and paying Myers 6mil, but that can be a matter of taste.

I mean, I'd rather have our offseason than giving a 1st+ for JT Miller and paying Myers 6mil, but that can be a matter of taste.
- MaximumBone

Both Jt miller and Myers are upgrades on what they had.
On a young team that made some strides last year and is looking to take another step.

Now is Myers overrated? Could have they got jt cheaper had they waited ? Both probably yes.
But fact is, those players made them better now.

The oilers were already worse and now are further behind.

If Smith in goal means Russell never touches the puck with anything but his shinpads, I am all for the signing.
- Beergu

We bought out sekera and kept Russel instead


I don’t even know what to say about this organization

Unpopular opinion: Smith will make the Oilers a better team both on and off the ice.

1. He makes a better breakout pass than 3/4 of their dmen, no joke. The less time the Oilers atrocious blueline handles the puck the better. Smith is probably the only goaltender in the NHL that can effectively act as a 3rd dman.

2. Bringing in an intense veteran who hates to lose should be a big help in that dressing room. There is not enough talent in that room.
- Saskabush

Fixed

I think Holland has done just fine... he's not making knee jerk trades and stupid signings like Chiarelli. He did the best he could with what he had to work with.

You want a bad offseason look no further than Anaheim.

I think Holland has done just fine... he's not making knee jerk trades and stupid signings like Chiarelli. He did the best he could with what he had to work with.

You want a bad offseason look no further than Anaheim.


- Reveen.

If it was immediately after he was fired in Edmonton, I'd agree with you, but, he's been in San Diego for four years and done a pretty good job there. It seems like he's learned from past mistakes. Given that Anaheim expects a lot of players from the Gulls to make the NHL over the next couple of years, I think he makes a lot of sense. Not saying he'll be perfect, or even a great coach, but I don't think he'll be the disaster he was in Edmonton.

We bought out sekera and kept Russel instead


I don’t even know what to say about this organization
- HB77

I didn't expect that Holland would be able to do much this off-season, but this alone puts him at a failing grade so far IMO. I guess I don't know the specifics of what a Russell buyout would look like vs. a Sekera one, but I have a feeling Sekera looks good in Dallas this year.

Ya let's ask the two biggest morons Tanner and Cordell, two guys who know nothing about hockey other than hating the oilers...every blog they draw somehow always bashes the oilers...lol clowns

Holland has a plan, he didn't want to lock himself into long term deals when he knows next off-season he has over $24 million in space without any trades...I'm glad he didn't go after the overpayed guys...

Ya let's ask the two biggest morons Tanner and Cordell, two guys who know nothing about hockey other than hating the oilers...every blog they draw somehow always bashes the oilers...lol clowns
- oil90

They stated what is obvious to everyone but you, that the Oilers blow chunks just like you clown!

Why we did or didn't do anything is irrelevant to the question being asked. Which is who had the worst offseason the pacific?

There is no question in my mind that the Oilers did have the worst off-season, we made 0 steps in improving. You could probably even make the argument we got worse in some areas. Where as others made attempts at improving, whether they work out is a different matter.
- rathagor

The Flames only move so far was to give too much money to a goalie who was awful last year, and they lost a productive 4th liner. The Sharks got worse. The Knights got worse. None of the playoff teams did anything to improve themselves. The Flames are going to end up giving Tkachuk too much money and will likely have to move out another useful piece to get that done. The Sharks gave Karlsson too much money and didn't address any of their issues.

At the very least, the Oilers reduced the distance to the playoff bar. Granlund isn't a complete scrub and Smith was a good pickup.

Holland has a plan, he didn't want to lock himself into long term deals when he knows next off-season he has over $24 million in space without any trades...I'm glad he didn't go after the overpayed guys...
- oil90

Is that you Kenny?

They stated what is obvious to everyone but you, that the Oilers blow chunks just like you clown!
- Kevin R

The Flames only move so far was to give too much money to a goalie who was awful last year, and they lost a productive 4th liner. The Sharks got worse. The Knights got worse. None of the playoff teams did anything to improve themselves. The Flames are going to end up giving Tkachuk too much money and will likely have to move out another useful piece to get that done. The Sharks gave Karlsson too much money and didn't address any of their issues.

At the very least, the Oilers reduced the distance to the playoff bar. Granlund isn't a complete scrub and Smith was a good pickup.
- Hunkulese

I disagree about Smith. We ended the year with Stolarz as our backup who had a 0.901 save percentage last year and is 25. We replaced him with Smith who had 0.898 and is 37.

I mean, I'd rather have our offseason than giving a 1st+ for JT Miller and paying Myers 6mil, but that can be a matter of taste.
- MaximumBone

Although not perfect, Vancouver has taken a huge step forward. There’s zero chance that the Oilers finish in front of them. They’ve built slowly and addressed areas of weakness.
Oilers take 1 step forward then 2 back. Smitty becomes your most Effie time passer from your own zone.

I disagree about Smith. We ended the year with Stolarz as our backup who had a 0.901 save percentage last year and is 25. We replaced him with Smith who had 0.898 and is 37.
- rathagor

Smith had an awful start to the year, but turned it around after the all-star break. He was the Flames second best player after the break and was miles better than Koskinen, Stolarz, or Talbot. If you get that Smith, the Oilers have a shot at the playoffs. You have to go back years to find a stretch where Talbot was any good.