Yesterday, I wrote: “Speculation is rife that the team has fired Peter Chiarelli but I got word from a source that the Edmonton Oilers have been shopping Leon Draisaitl heavily.”
Every time I post a rumor or something about someone getting fired, I tell you, the reader, that anything can change and it usually does. I’ve been lucky with the McLellan firing this year and the timing hasn’t come together on the times I’ve written about Chiarelli being let go. But a fact remains when I post a Tweet like this:
BREAKING #OILERS NEWS:
"I've been told that Peter is not at the office today. Sounds like his time is done."
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) January 21, 2019
It’s not 100% untrue. When I contacted my source late last evening I was simply told that he was given bad info BUT at that time, all the arrows were pointing to Chiarelli being axed yesterday, hence why the information was passed on.
Peter Chiarelli might not have been at the office and we all know his time is done. A lot of times decisions are made and then organizations take a day or two to get their things in order before putting out a press release too.
So please, don’t come at me and say, “But you said he was getting fired…” I didn’t say that, I said there was speculation he was getting fired in my post but fans are so bloodthirsty they’re clamoring to retweet or share the news online to rejoice in their victory.
About Being Wrong
I’m happy to be wrong. It happens more often than not and sometimes I get the teams right but the players wrong. Yesterday, something that I posted something didn’t come true. It happens. But that doesn’t mean it won’t come true.
So it’s no skin off my back if you’re wondering. Just as with professional hockey, this is a form of entertainment and you wouldn’t hurt my feelings if you chose NOT to read the content or unfollowed me on Twitter.
In fact, if the things that I put out make you upset or causes you stress, don’t read it. Don’t talk about it. Don’t pass it along… I’d rather you be happy and healthy than the opposite just so I can get a click or a view.
The Oilers NEW No.1 Keeper
I like waking up to Oilers news and I was pleased to see that the Oilers had locked up Koskinen and without a no-movement clause or a no-trade clause to boot! The structure of the deal isn’t buyout proof either. So that’s three wins in one deal in my opinion.
But as usual, there are the folks that didn’t like the deal.
- The Oilers just got shellacked two games in a row, let’s reward the goalie!
- A move involving this much cap space should never have been allowed to occur.
- A 3-year contract and $4.5 million average is a lot to pay and a lot to risk after having only seen 24 starts this season.
Do you think Mikko Koskinen would sign for $4M? (source)
I guess I was only a hair off of what Koskinen actually did end up signing for…
Oilers fans need to get off the ledge and listen to their captain…
“You guys are all talking like the sky is falling.” – C. McDavid says he feels the team has to grind the wins out there is no other way to turn this around. #oilers #cbc #yeg pic.twitter.com/YKBGP5HHvj
— Min Dhariwal (@MinDhariwal) January 21, 2019
The competition for the goalie market this summer will be rife and I am guessing the Oilers are happy with what they’ve seen from Koskinen. So they got business done early. Do you honestly think they’d go into the summer without a goalie under contract?
So Koskinen gets Talbot’s old contract plus a few hundred K more… Who really cares? It was him or someone else for $4M plus. The table has been set for next season and who can honestly say that Talbot has outplayed the Finnish Hodor this year? Nobody can and if they try, they’re delusional.
Maybe the Oilers could’ve held out and got Robin Lehner on a 1-year deal worth $1.5M like the Islanders did last summer. If you believe that, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
The best UFA goalie candidates are as follows:
- Sergei Bobrovsky (CLB) – $7.425M/yr
- Semyon Varlamov (COL) – $5.9M/yr
- Mike Smith (CGY) – $5.66M/yr
- Jimmy Howard (DET) – $5.291M/yr
- Cam Talbot (EDM) – $4.166M/yr
- Robin Lehner (NYI) – $1.5M/yr
So that’s FIVE goalies that are currently making about the same annually as Koskinen’s new contract. Then there’s Lehner and he’s going to get PAID this summer… Perhaps the Oilers could convince the Swedish netminder to sign another one year contract for under $2M with them?… But do you honestly think that’s a realistic proposal right now with the way the Islanders are playing?
Suck it up, Three-Meter Mikko is our guy for the next three seasons and I couldn’t be happier for it. That’s one less hole in the lineup I have to worry about and since he shares an agent with Jesse Puljujarvi, maybe the Oilers will get a deal there when he re-signs in Edmonton this summer on a bridge contract.
FYI: I was told that Chiarelli and Gretzky tag teamed this deal and it was Gretzky that called in all of the transactions today. Which makes sense since Peter was out of the office and usually the AGM does handle some portion of the contract negotiations.
Where’s Cam Talbot Going?
My understanding is the Oilers spoke to Talbot about the Koskinen extension a couple of days ago. Didn’t want him blindsided. I suspect Talbot will be willing to accept a trade anywhere at this stage.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) January 21, 2019
I suspect Talbot will be willing to accept a trade anywhere at this stage.
That tells me that once Talbot was informed about the Koskinen signing, he told the Oilers to…
https://youtu.be/L1oD7mFB_SQ
I am of the opinion he’s going East. Talbot is from Caledonia, ON and it would not shock me one iota if Toronto was a destination. I do not think that Babcock or Dubas trust the goalies that they have right now (Sparks/Hutchinson) and they’ll definitely have the cap space to add Dadbot. I like Connor Brown…
I maintain that Philly is interested, Carolina might be interested, it’s possible Detroit could have interest in him if they can’t come to an agreement with Jimmy Howard.
My friend SPR sent out this tweet that makes a lot of sense to me as well,
https://twitter.com/TheOilKnight/status/1087504905508610048
So let’s add Pittsburgh, Columbus, San Jose, and Washington to the discussion.
- Washington – Not in good shape cap wise (only 13k of proj. space) and apart from Burakovsky, I’m not sure I see any other roster players on the team they’d be willing to move on from.
- San Jose – Chiarelli hates dealing within the division if at all possible. But a straight swap Dell for Talbot would be handy to both teams. Sharks could take on the extra $$$.
- Columbus – Would a deal built around Talbot and Riley Nash make sense?
- Detroit – They’ve got ZERO cap space. A deal here would have to benefit the Red Wings financially or the money would have to be a wash. I love Tyler Bertuzzi and Luke Glendening as solid roster adds for Edmonton but I’m not sure why Detroit would make a deal like that apart from to relieve some cap pressure.
- Carolina – Lots of cap room here ($39M). If Edmonton wanted to get creative and find a way to move some salary, the Hurricanes would be the team to do it with. Word has it that Ferland might stay there after all and they just added a physical presence in Niederreiter, so Lucic to the Canes probably doesn’t make a lot of sense. But would they take Talbot, Sekera, a 1st rounder, and Cameron Hebig for Dougie Hamilton and Scott Darling? The Oilers could then just buyout Darling if need be.
- Philadelphia – The Flyers have lots of cap room here too at a shade over $20M. the one scenario I was thinking about with regards to a Leon Draisaitl trade was one that had the Oilers sending him and Talbot to Philly for Sean Couturier and Radko Gudas.The reason that appealed to me is that I think Couturier is one of the league’s ELITE defensive centremen and he’s really emerged as a player who can put up 70+ points a year. He gets a lot of defensive zone starts and his goal share and possession metrics remain in the positives. Similar to Patrice Bergeron I find. He’s also $4M cheaper than Leon and wouldn’t have to play with Connor.New GM Chuck Fletcher is looking to shake things up, this would do it and it would send shockwaves through the locker room in Edmonton… Get your shit in gear or you’re out!
- Pittsburgh – Talbot for Brassard is the only thing on my mind here. The Pens center has struggled to get any traction in Pittsburgh since being acquired last season. Both players are UFA at the end of the year, so no real harm done to any future salary caps. But they would have to fiddle about with their own current cap to make a deal like this OR send a player worth $1.1M to Edmonton in the deal.
What do you think? Would you do any of these deals? Let me know in the comments below!
Cap info courtesy of Capfriendly.
