Edmonton Oilers

[Godin]

The Oilers have not announced the signing yet so I am still hopeful it is not true. That is way too much money for way too long for such a big question mark.

I think they're afraid to.

[Daydream Nation]

I was shocked to see that contract for Koskinen. He's been league average for a third of a season.

[SeaDawg]

wow...that Koskinen signing is just another sign of the Chiarelli's incompetence.

If you like Koskinen, sign him to a more reasonable deal. Or, wait a while to sign him, to see if he can play well to end the season and (cross fingers) into the playoffs.

I remember being excited when the Oilers replaced MacTavish and Lowe with Chiarelli and McLellan. I naively thought it was a positive sign, moving away from the old Oilers guard to personnel from outside organizations who have had some success. Boston seemed like a well organized team with a proven playoff record, and despite San Jose's lack of playoff success, McLellan seemed to bring the best out of the Sharks in the regular season.

Man was I ever wrong. I really didn't think it could get any worse than MacTavish/Lowe.

[als_revenge]

I can't believe how many Canadian teams are absolute gong shows over the last few years...

[The Comish]

It's worth noting Marc Bergevin was also seen as incompetent at this time a year ago and somehow almost everything he has touched since then turned into gold. I still think he has serious flaws as a GM but somehow the results are there. I just doubt Chiarelli has a chance to turn anything into gold on next year's Oilers.

Maybe the Oilers grab that gold draft card like in 2015...Go Oilers...

[Shift Disturber]

Maybe the Oilers grab that gold draft card like in 2015...Go Oilers...

Like that will make things better for them.

[The Comish]

Like that will make things better for them.

Yeah, but imagine the uproar around the league. It doesn't take much to make Oiler fans happy these days...

[metaldude26]

I don't hate the Koskinen deal. I think a lot of this is colored by how angry people are at Chiarelli's other moves, which were horrible from the second he executed them. Koskinen seems like a solid 1A option, and his new deal reflects that. If you wait until the summer, maybe you don't get him at all so this sets them up to spend $6.5-7.5M on the position if they can sign a decent 1B option. There is downside in the contract but there is also upside. If Koskinen continues to produce at league average then this is good value. I'd like it a lot more at $1M cheaper, but inflation is a factor here. It's also worth considering that most every goalie is already on their downturn by the time there's enough track record to know for sure that they were good. Look at how quickly it turned for Talbot. Maybe that's a reason to not sign Koskinen, but are there alternatives? $4.5M for a legit #1 is under market. I'm not willing to bet on Koskinen being a legit #1 but 1A, I can get there, so this is fair.

The real problem is that maybe they don't have the money to spend $7M on the position and maybe that means they need to skimp elsewhere, but $7M is less than 10% of the cap. Every team needs to be able to afford that, especially when every bonafide #1 gets at least $6M. The problems are Russell and Lucic getting too much, the problems are turning Eberle into Spooner who is now waived. The problem is 2.25M for Manning who is a healthy scratch. These are enough to fire Chiarelli. I'm not going to let that color my opinion of the Koskinen signing. I don't hate it, and I've hated just about everything Chiarelli has done.

I'd also point out that Koskinen apparently does not have a NMC, which gives options. If the absolute worst case scenario plays out, they could demote him, and I wonder if Koskinen, a former star in Europe would accept that. It could be a path to a mutual agreement to terminate, which wipes the money off the books. It's an unlikely scenario, but a plausible out should the worst happen.

[Shift Disturber]

Yeah, but imagine the uproar around the league. It doesn't take much to make Oiler fans happy these days...

At that point the NHL may just have to scrap the lottery.

[ericdaoust]

The Koskinen gamble makes a lot more sense when the rest of the foundation is solid. In Edmonton that's clearly not the case.

[MZac]

At the end of the day does it really matter which goalie is on this team? They can't play defense and their power play isn't good enough to keep them in shootouts, so anyone backstopping them is going to look terrible on any given night.

I don't love the money but I don't absolutely hate it. Chia has done much, much, worse. Term is fine. NMC not being there is nice. And at this stage it doesnt much matter who's back there.

[Axeman33]

I wonder what the Koskinen signing means for Talbot. He's been miserable most of the year and has zero confidence right now. Does he re-sign and take a bargain contract and hope he can turn it around or does this mean the Oilers are ready to move on and simply trade him by the deadline or let him walk if they cant get a deal done. Interesting times ahead and we get to watch PC steer us into those times for now.

[metaldude26]

I wonder what the Koskinen signing means for Talbot. He's been miserable most of the year and has zero confidence right now. Does he re-sign and take a bargain contract and hope he can turn it around or does this mean the Oilers are ready to move on and simply trade him by the deadline or let him walk if they cant get a deal done. Interesting times ahead and we get to watch PC steer us into those times for now.

Insider's have indicated that this is the end for Talbot in Edmonton, either via trade or contract run out this summer.

[SeaDawg]

I just really don't like the deal for many reasons: too much term and too much money for an unproven goalie...they could have waited a bit longer to sign him (maybe not until the summer, but I don't see the urgency to sign him now)...they have major cap issues and other roster spots to fill, so I don't know why they've taken a gamble here. They needed to be more conservative and not take such a huge risk. I know this has potential to pay off if Koskinen can play well, but it also has potential to look like another really bad move by Chiarelli if Koskinen struggles (and given the make up of the team, there is a very good chance he will struggle).

Also, I know that if they waited until the summer Koskinen might have cost them more; however, there are lots of pending UFA goalies out there and I would have preferred them to sign someone like Mrazek to a one-year "show me what you've got" type of contract for a bargain price. That, imo, would be a good move. Maybe bring in someone like Ward to back up Mrazek. Koskinen isn't the long-term solution, even with this contract, so why not take a risk on a younger and cheaper goalie instead.

[metaldude26]

It's happening:

Ryan Rishaug
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It is my belief a change is imminent at the GM position in Edmonton. It’s no longer a matter of it, but when Peter Chiarelli’s is let go. I’d expect news shortly.