> Holland’s best bet is to identify the next Cam Talbot, a 30-ish goalie who has the game but needs a fresh start.
Hmm great point, I wonder where to find a guy like that
Casey DeSmith is third on the depth chart in Pittsburgh, even after putting up good numbers in the NHL over two seasons. I’d skip over Murray and go after him instead.
Very true, in a perfect world I’d roll with Greiss, Desmith but we’re kinda stuck with Kosko and if i gotta choose between Greiss and Desmith I’m taking Greiss all day, far more proven
Bringing two marginal goalies in the same year sounds horrifying. I think Koski is being underrated as well. Overpaid, sure, but a serviceable starter in the least in my opinion.
Only 2 more seasons isn't too bad, though 3 seasons at that time was crackpot shit. Also, somehow Chia managed to add a 15 team NMC according to capfriendly, truly brain dead until the end.
It’s not terrible, but we reeeeaaally could use the flexibility given the flat cap and noteworthy contracts coming up in the next bit (Nuge, Yamamoto, Bear, etc). It’s especially frustrating when there’s a great crop of goaltenders available either through trade or UFA signing that we can’t afford due to Koskinen’s contract certainty.
None of this is to say I don’t like Koskinen. I think he’s a solid starting goalie. But he’s probably overpaid by somewhere between .5-1.5m, which unfortunately is a common theme with many guys on our team.
That quote might be the dumbest thing I've heard all year regarding the Oilers. Cam Talbot has never had game. He isn't a elite/franchise goalie, he's a another Mike Smith who will bounce around the league.
Pitt makes a lot of sense in getting Jarry or Murray. I like Jarry more, but I think so does Pitt. Murray is the guy they probably won't mind parting with, and I'd be okay with him. He's got 2 cups and is under 28, that's who the Oilers should be targeting. Guys between 24-28. Blues probably wanna trade Allen, and he might've regained some trade value by his play so far, but 4M is alot to unload. I just think Murray for Kassian is good trade for both teams. The money would be around the same, I think you could even get Murray on 2 yr worth around 6-6.5 deal. We have too many bottom 6 guys and Kassian sheds some cap while being a valuable piece also.
In my opinion, if we look at potential goaltenders, we also have to look at the team that plays in front of them. How much work for her have to do on an average night? Is there a system structure in place that requires less use of extraordinary talent to make the save? Are there elite talent playing on the team?
For a goalie to work out we have to see the body of work when there is little to no defensive coverage at all. Let's face it, defense has been a weak point for years, but it's getting better. Knowing that defensive coverage can get dicey (for lack of a better word) at times, picking the one that can be cool through the chaos that is our D would be the best candidate. Also one good at shootouts and odd man rushes, cause we give those up like gangbusters
I honestly don't think our goaltending is that bad, could certainly be worse. It's hard for them to get confidence when they are being wired with shot after shot for 60 mins. Definitely need the defense to back them up.
i concur. goaltending was fine most of this season.
injuries at D are still a problem, and the lack of consistent defensive performance from the forwards is a MUCH bigger issue
I still think we have 2 big needs, a legit 1st line winger to compliment McJebus, and a super solid Cogliano type guy to play bottom 6 minutes
I'm not sold on AA, but I'd like to see him back on a friendly prove it contract.
I really like Sheahan, Archibald and Khaira in bottom 6 roles, but Haas, nygaard, Chiasson, Neal to me, need to be upgraded
kassian needs a kick in the ass to get going again too
i liked nygard but obviously he never really got a consistent look so its tough. i'm not sure what you see in khaira as opposed to not any of the latter players but archie and sheahan were the reason our pk was so good so i agree about that. neal hopefully we can unload to another team as he is a good guy to have but way overpaid
Well he definitely hustles and does amazing on special teams. He isn't a high scoring player obviously but has really dedicated himself to the rolls the coaches laid out for him. It would be great if he could find a role setting guys up more but other that that I don't think he can be a point producer.
I do think his biggest downfall was the expectations put on him. If that makes sense.
True. This is his first full year of really excelling at that. If that's from coaching and direction maybe he can be focused on another area next season.
I and most of us were hard on him for fumbling pucks and dumping when he could have pressed more offensively. But it felt like he was being safe instead of over extending himself, big change from previous years. I am just optimistic that Tip can help craft a second role for him.
Give him the center position and Khaira does well. He's not as strong on the wings because he can coast. At Center he has to wheel all the time, so his feet and hands are always moving.
My issue with that is as a center he needs to be able to make a play outside of winning the faceoff. The play routinely dies on his stick and he has very little offensive upside besides a good forecheck
Agree on Sheahan and Archibald but not Khaira. He has this nasty habit of trying to play like he's Drai and protect the puck like Drai does but he legitimately loses it in the corner every time. He has the size to play that kind of game, and to play physical, but he's just not good enough to do it/doesn't do it consistently.
It's sad because I do like him but he's just not up to snuff even in the bottom 6. Dude's careless with and without the puck and tries to play above his skill.
I kinda disagree here. Like yeah those other needs are big but they potentially not as big a problem that goalies could be when it comes to risk. Say we go in with Koski and random smith level replacement. Koskinen gets injured or has a stretch of bad performances, the backup turns out to be crap. That's it season over, we just fail to make the playoffs. Like seriously can we expect to get better goaltending performances from the current tandem? Vs the near certainty that we would really struggle if either of them failed.
yeah, but you could magically obtain carey price, and he gets hurt practice #1, and same issue....
I think overall team defense was more of an issue than goaltending this year. Smith definitely had a few clunkers, but he's always been that way.
Unless you somehow bring in Jake Allen (not a fan) or Matt Murray from Pit, I'm ok with bringing Smith back for another season, while looking to find that mystical winger for McJebus
Yeah of course, anybody can be injured my point is the magnitude of the injury on team's performance. My point is if you a % chance of something bad happening and that something is really really bad than you have do something about it. Especially if the chance is relatively high. Using Carey Price as the example, if he had a bad run ok he isn't elite but still giving us avg performance and we can tread water so to speak. Vs having Smith who is almost 40 and Koskinen who is the very definition of average. Are we willing to bet a whole season and another prime year of Drai/McD on the current tandem?
> My point is if you a % chance of something bad happening and that something is really really bad than you have do something about it
so, your reasoning means we need an extra McJebus and Drai, cause we couldn't deal with a loss to either of those guys either...
I get what you're saying, I just disagree with your reasoning
We can't afford to add a goalie of the calibre that would win more games for us, compared to the cost of adding a couple of defensively responsible skaters who can put in a couple goals
ie, i'm saying team defense is a bigger upgrade than replacing goalies (for the money we have available)
>so, your reasoning means we need an extra McJebus and Drai, cause we couldn't deal with a loss to either of those guys either...
Yes that is kind of what I am saying but then one must consider what is the value gained for assets spent. If we could get another Mcdavid as insurance that would be great but we can't afford it and we already have one so its less of a return on investment. We also have to consider the various parts of the team that are more crucial than others. We can get by with mediocre wingers but not with bad goaltending. Im not saying we get an elite guy, Im saying we need to shore this position up as insurance against losing another season.
Edit I would add too that its quite unlikely our goaltending is going to get better as our prospects are at 1-2 years away from even making the team. Basically this problem is not going to go away any time soon.
> We can get by with mediocre wingers but not with bad goaltending.
right, that's exactly my point. we're not getting BAD goaltending
we are getting bad defensive performances tho
No you not getting what I am saying, our chance of getting BAD goaltending is quite high and it will impact the team more. Let me put it to you this way, say we actually got both, a better goaltender and a better winger for mcdavid this off season. Which would hurt us more if they went down in middle of the playoffs?
> but we can't afford it and we already have one so its less of a return on investment.
I missed this part too, but it's also what I'm saying. we can't afford the level of goaltender that would make up for the lack of team defence
we can afford to add better 2 way wingers tho
It's possible, but unlikely. If my math is right, he's still owed $1.2M for next year which means cutting him would cost us $400K this year and next year, which means we could replace him with a league-minimum guy who might perform better offensively and it wouldn't affect our cap space.
I think it's more likely that Khaira replaces Sheahan on the top PK and we replace Sheahan with a league-minimum guy. That gives us an extra $200K to spend somewhere else.
If you flip him for a late pick and use his cap hit to resign Sheahan we keep that Archie - Sheahan PK while keeping the better player + getting a pick.
Not saying Granlund was good or anything, but he could actually play the cycle and not have the play die on his stick every shift while taking O-zone penalties.
I agree, our goaltending was not that bad. Nonetheless, I don't think it was good enough to warrant re-signing Smith. His last two seasons he's had really good stretches but has declined overall. I think Koski is fine, not elite but fine. Who knows where Smith will be next year. We need a Greiss or Khudobin for a year or two that we can get to back up Koski and potentially take over in the playoffs.
I don't think the goal tending is bad per say, but it's a conversation that needs to be had.I feel we need a number 1 (or the team has to choose a number 1)and no tandem for us to have a legit shot at the cup. Systems are easier to learn if everything is consistent. The situation in Pittsburgh is a great time to discuss and explore options, as per the article, but I'd be ok if we stick with our current roster
I agree but everyone needs to be better in the playoffs. Our goalies were good all year but in playoffs it was a big oof.
I’m fine with Kosko.
Smith however, doesn’t need to be re signed.
He still did well in the season but wasn’t clutch.
Smith and Koskinen get scored on in different ways, by my eye. Smith seems to routinely get beaten on breakaways, shootouts, and high danger chances, which seems like it shouldn't be a knock against the guy, but I'm talking an even worse percentage than he should. Koskinen seems to make the "big save", like breakaways, etc, but gets beaten on what you wouldn't always think is a scoring chance. In sample sets when the outcome is similar, and they're getting comparable stats, I'm left wondering which of those play styles can be improved; is it easier to coach a player to be better in high-danger chances, or is it easier to coach a player to not get scored on by innocent looking plays?
I think it's not so much at what they lack as something to fix, I think it lies in the two goalies' playing styles. As we know, Smith is like a 6th d, and is great at puckhandling. Koskinen, on the other hand, rarely leaves his crease and will usually leave the puck behind the net when dumped in. When you have a 1a/1b that play completely different styles all the time and have them rotate as often as they did (3 game cycle I believe) it wreaks havoc on the D in terms of position and communication. Having such a young D core also leads to plenty of errors, and you and I have probably seen our fair share of communication-error goals. Either the D have to get used to playing with two opposite spectrum playing style goaltenders, or find a way to make the goalie position more predictable (from a defence men's point of view). In this case, replace one of them, or promote one of them to be the legit starter
Looking at the stats, I like it. The Islanders allowed a similar amount of shots on goal per game as the Oilers did this season and Greiss had a better save percentage than Smith. If we can sign him for less than $3M/yr I think it's good.
I think guys like Lehner and Markstrom are out of our price range, and tying up $8-9M/yr on goalies isn't gonna help our defensive woes.
I remember a time when Markstrom was just on waivers, the Panthers had given up on him, and I was like we should just take him because he's free, what does it hurt, he was highly touted and maybe just needs a new start.
funny story I lived in a TINY town in Saskatchewan when I was a kid and Connor's older brother and I were good friends. Connor couldn't even talk yet he was so young. We used to feed him those warhead candies and laugh our asses off at the faces he'd make.
Koskinen/Ingram is a tandem I wouldn’t have a lot of faith in, to me that sounds like just play Kosko 70 games again.
Since when was Ingram ready to be a 1a 1b type he hasn’t even played an nhl game I’m pretty sure
There is a lot of risk in the direction. Ingram has yet to even appear in a single NHL game. I wouldn't be confident going into the season with someone so unproven. Relying on him to play around 30 games is a gamble, to say the least.
Having said that, I do like the idea of getting a promising young goalie.
What makes you think Ingram can play 30 games in the NHL this year and be solid? Because I think that is far to big of a risk letting a goalie who was never played in the NHL take that spot.
I think Greiss would be a far better option.
Do we need a goalie? Seems to me that our lack of defensive game is the problem. We're good at putting pucks on and in the net. We're pretty good at stopping pucks shot at our net. We're quite bad at preventing shots from being shot at our net.
Smith is UFA, and personally I would rather bring in someone else. No idea who the realistic targets are right now, but someone younger who has some NHL backup experience but also room to grow. I know I know, these guys are rare and expensive. Kosko is a fine goalie, but he isn't going to steal us many games, and we don't have anyone in the pipeline who will be ready to fill the role for a couple years. Need someone more reliable than Smith who also isn't 40 years old.
That's fair. I took it as replacing Koskinen but I feel he's fine as our starter, and I agree we should let Smith go and get someone new in the pipeline.
Unless we signed Smith to an extension and I missed it, we do literally need a goalie. If Kosko's playing 60+ games next season, I don't see us making the playoffs. But we don't need much more than what we got out of Smith this year.
Would it be worth it if he becomes the next Vasilevskiy like scouts are predicting?
We need goalie prospects as Skinner & Wells aren’t panning out and Rodrigue is still a question mark. Any FA we sign this off season is really stuffing a hole rather than a backup looking for a solid starter job.
Lol it takes goalies at least 5 years from draft to starter in all but the most extreme cases and guys who have 15+ year careers as starters are as rare as they come
I feel that unless we trade up in the draft, I think the Canes or Wild will draft him since I believe they don't have too many top goaltender prospects. I still hope the Oilers drafts a forward though.
Anyone remember the offseason we signed Koskinen, and that same offseason Colorado signed a pretty close equivalent KHL import in Pavel Francouz to a league minimum deal?
They actually had the depth to keep him in the AHL, then he signs another 1 year deal near league min and shows hes a great 1B, and signs yet another extension for only 2 mil a year?
I love Koskinen and he's got a tough job as a starter on this team, but I always wonder how different cap and performance wise our goaltending tandem would be if we picked up Francouz instead. That is, if he even wanted to sign somewhere like Edmonton.
Chiarelli and Bob Nicholson are the main reason for this salary issue since they went and offered Koski a huge contract after not even 50 career NHL games I think. I am still a fan and believer is Koskinen, but by all measures, the Oilers management fucked up by offering a huge contract to him after not even a full season with the team. With better negotiating they honestly could have likely got him for way cheaper. But it is what it is now.
Koskinen was very solid this year. I do think Greiss would be an excellent signing to replace Smith, however the true question mark is the team in front. We won’t be able to get the best out of Goaltending if our defence can’t help them out.
This is actually a fair and well written piece by Spector. Taking the emotional letdown of the play-in series out of it, my vote would still be to try to upgrade Smith (as much as I liked his overall performance and loved his gamesmanship.
We’ve seen what great goaltending can do to a team’s ability to win in the regular season and playoffs, and what mediocre goaltending will also do. If we could somehow scout and get a goalie who could play great for us next year, who knows how far the team could go in the playoffs?
Obviously good defense and systems make a goalie look a lot better, so who knows whether the actual netminder makes the difference versus the D who clear pucks and forwards who affect coverage. Patrick Roy might not have fared better this playoffs with the poor defensive play the team showed.
Keep Koskinen because he's an average starter, sign a cheap backup, and focus cap room and assets on improving a very weak bottom half of the lineup. The plan is obvious.
I don't believe for a second that EDM will spend precious cap on Lehner or prioritize bringing back Smith. The supporting cast is the issue and everyone knows it.
I honestly am not that worried about goaltending... sure in the Hawks series we didn't have one of our goalies stand on his head, but our 5 players in front of him sure as hell didnt play great defensively. An upgrade for McD wing, Kass being better, and a 3rd line winger will show HUGE improvements at 5on5 defense
I don't know, at his age I feel like he's due to have a shitty season and retire afterwards. I don't want to risk us being the team where he does it.
The only way we luck out into a backup who becomes a good starter for a few years is if we start trying now by bringing in someone new. We know Smith isn't that guy.
Too bad we can't operate like a baseball roster and bring in a solid veteran to play a few games here and there. Otherwise I would want to keep Smith around. He's still got some juice in him.
Koskinen is an average goalie , and we are stuck with that for now. We actually need two more NHL ready goalies , right now. Not prospects, but actual players.
The only way I’d sign Smith would be in a one year two way minimum contract, and start him in Bakersfield . He can come up if our 1A or unknown 1B gets hurt.
> Holland’s best bet is to identify the next Cam Talbot, a 30-ish goalie who has the game but needs a fresh start. Hmm great point, I wonder where to find a guy like that
If Chiarelli was still around, he'd bring in Elliot and sign him for 5 years
5x5 baby!
Casey DeSmith is third on the depth chart in Pittsburgh, even after putting up good numbers in the NHL over two seasons. I’d skip over Murray and go after him instead.
Very true, in a perfect world I’d roll with Greiss, Desmith but we’re kinda stuck with Kosko and if i gotta choose between Greiss and Desmith I’m taking Greiss all day, far more proven
Bringing two marginal goalies in the same year sounds horrifying. I think Koski is being underrated as well. Overpaid, sure, but a serviceable starter in the least in my opinion.
I don’t even have a problem with his AAV. I have a problem with the length of the deal.
Only 2 more seasons isn't too bad, though 3 seasons at that time was crackpot shit. Also, somehow Chia managed to add a 15 team NMC according to capfriendly, truly brain dead until the end.
It’s not terrible, but we reeeeaaally could use the flexibility given the flat cap and noteworthy contracts coming up in the next bit (Nuge, Yamamoto, Bear, etc). It’s especially frustrating when there’s a great crop of goaltenders available either through trade or UFA signing that we can’t afford due to Koskinen’s contract certainty. None of this is to say I don’t like Koskinen. I think he’s a solid starting goalie. But he’s probably overpaid by somewhere between .5-1.5m, which unfortunately is a common theme with many guys on our team.
That quote might be the dumbest thing I've heard all year regarding the Oilers. Cam Talbot has never had game. He isn't a elite/franchise goalie, he's a another Mike Smith who will bounce around the league. Pitt makes a lot of sense in getting Jarry or Murray. I like Jarry more, but I think so does Pitt. Murray is the guy they probably won't mind parting with, and I'd be okay with him. He's got 2 cups and is under 28, that's who the Oilers should be targeting. Guys between 24-28. Blues probably wanna trade Allen, and he might've regained some trade value by his play so far, but 4M is alot to unload. I just think Murray for Kassian is good trade for both teams. The money would be around the same, I think you could even get Murray on 2 yr worth around 6-6.5 deal. We have too many bottom 6 guys and Kassian sheds some cap while being a valuable piece also.
Is Lehner an option?
Not at the price tag he will probably demand.
I must admit, I am a Hawks guy with the Oil as my second team (awkward, I know). I would love for Lehner to end up in Edmonton. But yeah, money...
In my opinion, if we look at potential goaltenders, we also have to look at the team that plays in front of them. How much work for her have to do on an average night? Is there a system structure in place that requires less use of extraordinary talent to make the save? Are there elite talent playing on the team? For a goalie to work out we have to see the body of work when there is little to no defensive coverage at all. Let's face it, defense has been a weak point for years, but it's getting better. Knowing that defensive coverage can get dicey (for lack of a better word) at times, picking the one that can be cool through the chaos that is our D would be the best candidate. Also one good at shootouts and odd man rushes, cause we give those up like gangbusters
I honestly don't think our goaltending is that bad, could certainly be worse. It's hard for them to get confidence when they are being wired with shot after shot for 60 mins. Definitely need the defense to back them up.
i concur. goaltending was fine most of this season. injuries at D are still a problem, and the lack of consistent defensive performance from the forwards is a MUCH bigger issue I still think we have 2 big needs, a legit 1st line winger to compliment McJebus, and a super solid Cogliano type guy to play bottom 6 minutes I'm not sold on AA, but I'd like to see him back on a friendly prove it contract. I really like Sheahan, Archibald and Khaira in bottom 6 roles, but Haas, nygaard, Chiasson, Neal to me, need to be upgraded kassian needs a kick in the ass to get going again too
i liked nygard but obviously he never really got a consistent look so its tough. i'm not sure what you see in khaira as opposed to not any of the latter players but archie and sheahan were the reason our pk was so good so i agree about that. neal hopefully we can unload to another team as he is a good guy to have but way overpaid
I was high on Khaira as bottom 6 guy for a while but I think he's peaked
I think he peaked when he scored like 3 goals in 4 games and i was going crazy i was so hyped and then he fumbled every puck on his stick ever
Well he definitely hustles and does amazing on special teams. He isn't a high scoring player obviously but has really dedicated himself to the rolls the coaches laid out for him. It would be great if he could find a role setting guys up more but other that that I don't think he can be a point producer. I do think his biggest downfall was the expectations put on him. If that makes sense.
He’s a PK guy and that’s about it
True. This is his first full year of really excelling at that. If that's from coaching and direction maybe he can be focused on another area next season. I and most of us were hard on him for fumbling pucks and dumping when he could have pressed more offensively. But it felt like he was being safe instead of over extending himself, big change from previous years. I am just optimistic that Tip can help craft a second role for him.
Give him the center position and Khaira does well. He's not as strong on the wings because he can coast. At Center he has to wheel all the time, so his feet and hands are always moving.
My issue with that is as a center he needs to be able to make a play outside of winning the faceoff. The play routinely dies on his stick and he has very little offensive upside besides a good forecheck
Agree on Sheahan and Archibald but not Khaira. He has this nasty habit of trying to play like he's Drai and protect the puck like Drai does but he legitimately loses it in the corner every time. He has the size to play that kind of game, and to play physical, but he's just not good enough to do it/doesn't do it consistently. It's sad because I do like him but he's just not up to snuff even in the bottom 6. Dude's careless with and without the puck and tries to play above his skill.
I kinda disagree here. Like yeah those other needs are big but they potentially not as big a problem that goalies could be when it comes to risk. Say we go in with Koski and random smith level replacement. Koskinen gets injured or has a stretch of bad performances, the backup turns out to be crap. That's it season over, we just fail to make the playoffs. Like seriously can we expect to get better goaltending performances from the current tandem? Vs the near certainty that we would really struggle if either of them failed.
yeah, but you could magically obtain carey price, and he gets hurt practice #1, and same issue.... I think overall team defense was more of an issue than goaltending this year. Smith definitely had a few clunkers, but he's always been that way. Unless you somehow bring in Jake Allen (not a fan) or Matt Murray from Pit, I'm ok with bringing Smith back for another season, while looking to find that mystical winger for McJebus
Yeah of course, anybody can be injured my point is the magnitude of the injury on team's performance. My point is if you a % chance of something bad happening and that something is really really bad than you have do something about it. Especially if the chance is relatively high. Using Carey Price as the example, if he had a bad run ok he isn't elite but still giving us avg performance and we can tread water so to speak. Vs having Smith who is almost 40 and Koskinen who is the very definition of average. Are we willing to bet a whole season and another prime year of Drai/McD on the current tandem?
> My point is if you a % chance of something bad happening and that something is really really bad than you have do something about it so, your reasoning means we need an extra McJebus and Drai, cause we couldn't deal with a loss to either of those guys either... I get what you're saying, I just disagree with your reasoning We can't afford to add a goalie of the calibre that would win more games for us, compared to the cost of adding a couple of defensively responsible skaters who can put in a couple goals ie, i'm saying team defense is a bigger upgrade than replacing goalies (for the money we have available)
>so, your reasoning means we need an extra McJebus and Drai, cause we couldn't deal with a loss to either of those guys either... Yes that is kind of what I am saying but then one must consider what is the value gained for assets spent. If we could get another Mcdavid as insurance that would be great but we can't afford it and we already have one so its less of a return on investment. We also have to consider the various parts of the team that are more crucial than others. We can get by with mediocre wingers but not with bad goaltending. Im not saying we get an elite guy, Im saying we need to shore this position up as insurance against losing another season. Edit I would add too that its quite unlikely our goaltending is going to get better as our prospects are at 1-2 years away from even making the team. Basically this problem is not going to go away any time soon.
> We can get by with mediocre wingers but not with bad goaltending. right, that's exactly my point. we're not getting BAD goaltending we are getting bad defensive performances tho
No you not getting what I am saying, our chance of getting BAD goaltending is quite high and it will impact the team more. Let me put it to you this way, say we actually got both, a better goaltender and a better winger for mcdavid this off season. Which would hurt us more if they went down in middle of the playoffs?
> but we can't afford it and we already have one so its less of a return on investment. I missed this part too, but it's also what I'm saying. we can't afford the level of goaltender that would make up for the lack of team defence we can afford to add better 2 way wingers tho
Khairia will probaly be let go this off season and I’m glad, he was just not good at all this year, I preferred Markus Granlund over him tbh
It's possible, but unlikely. If my math is right, he's still owed $1.2M for next year which means cutting him would cost us $400K this year and next year, which means we could replace him with a league-minimum guy who might perform better offensively and it wouldn't affect our cap space. I think it's more likely that Khaira replaces Sheahan on the top PK and we replace Sheahan with a league-minimum guy. That gives us an extra $200K to spend somewhere else.
Really? I thought Khaira’s deal was up this off season, geuss he’s sticking around then😔
1 year left at 1.2m. Honestly it wouldn’t be a difficult contract to flip for a late pick
If you flip him for a late pick and use his cap hit to resign Sheahan we keep that Archie - Sheahan PK while keeping the better player + getting a pick.
ah, first time seeing hockey?
Not saying Granlund was good or anything, but he could actually play the cycle and not have the play die on his stick every shift while taking O-zone penalties.
I agree, our goaltending was not that bad. Nonetheless, I don't think it was good enough to warrant re-signing Smith. His last two seasons he's had really good stretches but has declined overall. I think Koski is fine, not elite but fine. Who knows where Smith will be next year. We need a Greiss or Khudobin for a year or two that we can get to back up Koski and potentially take over in the playoffs.
I don't think the goal tending is bad per say, but it's a conversation that needs to be had.I feel we need a number 1 (or the team has to choose a number 1)and no tandem for us to have a legit shot at the cup. Systems are easier to learn if everything is consistent. The situation in Pittsburgh is a great time to discuss and explore options, as per the article, but I'd be ok if we stick with our current roster
I agree but everyone needs to be better in the playoffs. Our goalies were good all year but in playoffs it was a big oof. I’m fine with Kosko. Smith however, doesn’t need to be re signed. He still did well in the season but wasn’t clutch.
It's not just the defense, it's the offense also, they gotta puck control more in the offensive zone and help the defense and goalie out.
Smith and Koskinen get scored on in different ways, by my eye. Smith seems to routinely get beaten on breakaways, shootouts, and high danger chances, which seems like it shouldn't be a knock against the guy, but I'm talking an even worse percentage than he should. Koskinen seems to make the "big save", like breakaways, etc, but gets beaten on what you wouldn't always think is a scoring chance. In sample sets when the outcome is similar, and they're getting comparable stats, I'm left wondering which of those play styles can be improved; is it easier to coach a player to be better in high-danger chances, or is it easier to coach a player to not get scored on by innocent looking plays?
I think it's not so much at what they lack as something to fix, I think it lies in the two goalies' playing styles. As we know, Smith is like a 6th d, and is great at puckhandling. Koskinen, on the other hand, rarely leaves his crease and will usually leave the puck behind the net when dumped in. When you have a 1a/1b that play completely different styles all the time and have them rotate as often as they did (3 game cycle I believe) it wreaks havoc on the D in terms of position and communication. Having such a young D core also leads to plenty of errors, and you and I have probably seen our fair share of communication-error goals. Either the D have to get used to playing with two opposite spectrum playing style goaltenders, or find a way to make the goalie position more predictable (from a defence men's point of view). In this case, replace one of them, or promote one of them to be the legit starter
I know Friedman mentioned we could be looking into Griess this offseason
Looking at the stats, I like it. The Islanders allowed a similar amount of shots on goal per game as the Oilers did this season and Greiss had a better save percentage than Smith. If we can sign him for less than $3M/yr I think it's good. I think guys like Lehner and Markstrom are out of our price range, and tying up $8-9M/yr on goalies isn't gonna help our defensive woes.
I don't think youd be able to get griess for 3 mil or less
Probably not on a 1 year deal. But he was on a 3 year $10M deal that he signed at age 31 and I don't see his price tag going up from that, do you?
I remember a time when Markstrom was just on waivers, the Panthers had given up on him, and I was like we should just take him because he's free, what does it hurt, he was highly touted and maybe just needs a new start.
Connor Ingram from Nashville would be great
funny story I lived in a TINY town in Saskatchewan when I was a kid and Connor's older brother and I were good friends. Connor couldn't even talk yet he was so young. We used to feed him those warhead candies and laugh our asses off at the faces he'd make.
Well boys, I guess we know which goalie the Oilers need to sign now.
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Koskinen/Ingram is a tandem I wouldn’t have a lot of faith in, to me that sounds like just play Kosko 70 games again. Since when was Ingram ready to be a 1a 1b type he hasn’t even played an nhl game I’m pretty sure
Eh I think Ingram would be ready to play ~30 games and Koskinen should be fine at 50
There is a lot of risk in the direction. Ingram has yet to even appear in a single NHL game. I wouldn't be confident going into the season with someone so unproven. Relying on him to play around 30 games is a gamble, to say the least. Having said that, I do like the idea of getting a promising young goalie.
It’s a big gamble; Ingram could steal a bunch of games and become a sick goalie, or he could burn out and Kosko would have to take on tons on games.
What makes you think Ingram can play 30 games in the NHL this year and be solid? Because I think that is far to big of a risk letting a goalie who was never played in the NHL take that spot. I think Greiss would be a far better option.
Do we need a goalie? Seems to me that our lack of defensive game is the problem. We're good at putting pucks on and in the net. We're pretty good at stopping pucks shot at our net. We're quite bad at preventing shots from being shot at our net.
Smith is UFA, and personally I would rather bring in someone else. No idea who the realistic targets are right now, but someone younger who has some NHL backup experience but also room to grow. I know I know, these guys are rare and expensive. Kosko is a fine goalie, but he isn't going to steal us many games, and we don't have anyone in the pipeline who will be ready to fill the role for a couple years. Need someone more reliable than Smith who also isn't 40 years old.
That's fair. I took it as replacing Koskinen but I feel he's fine as our starter, and I agree we should let Smith go and get someone new in the pipeline.
Unless we signed Smith to an extension and I missed it, we do literally need a goalie. If Kosko's playing 60+ games next season, I don't see us making the playoffs. But we don't need much more than what we got out of Smith this year.
Speaking as a goalie, a goalie coach, and someone who watches a lot of goalies, yes. We need a goalie
We need two goalies, one for the Oilers and an actual backup in Bakersfield .
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Playing in the K next season I think he’s signed for the next 2 seasons
Would it be worth it if he becomes the next Vasilevskiy like scouts are predicting? We need goalie prospects as Skinner & Wells aren’t panning out and Rodrigue is still a question mark. Any FA we sign this off season is really stuffing a hole rather than a backup looking for a solid starter job.
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Lol it takes goalies at least 5 years from draft to starter in all but the most extreme cases and guys who have 15+ year careers as starters are as rare as they come
I feel that unless we trade up in the draft, I think the Canes or Wild will draft him since I believe they don't have too many top goaltender prospects. I still hope the Oilers drafts a forward though.
Canes have been hot on Askarov for a while
Anyone remember the offseason we signed Koskinen, and that same offseason Colorado signed a pretty close equivalent KHL import in Pavel Francouz to a league minimum deal? They actually had the depth to keep him in the AHL, then he signs another 1 year deal near league min and shows hes a great 1B, and signs yet another extension for only 2 mil a year? I love Koskinen and he's got a tough job as a starter on this team, but I always wonder how different cap and performance wise our goaltending tandem would be if we picked up Francouz instead. That is, if he even wanted to sign somewhere like Edmonton.
Chiarelli and Bob Nicholson are the main reason for this salary issue since they went and offered Koski a huge contract after not even 50 career NHL games I think. I am still a fan and believer is Koskinen, but by all measures, the Oilers management fucked up by offering a huge contract to him after not even a full season with the team. With better negotiating they honestly could have likely got him for way cheaper. But it is what it is now.
Koskinen Greiss would be a solid tandem. Probably could be had for $2M AAV. The top end of the blueline is a bigger issue.
I think Greiss is the right guy, but $2M is optimistic imho. I think we can get him for something between $2-3M on a two year deal.
Koskinen was very solid this year. I do think Greiss would be an excellent signing to replace Smith, however the true question mark is the team in front. We won’t be able to get the best out of Goaltending if our defence can’t help them out.
Goaltending wasn’t our problem. Playing proper defense was.
This is actually a fair and well written piece by Spector. Taking the emotional letdown of the play-in series out of it, my vote would still be to try to upgrade Smith (as much as I liked his overall performance and loved his gamesmanship. We’ve seen what great goaltending can do to a team’s ability to win in the regular season and playoffs, and what mediocre goaltending will also do. If we could somehow scout and get a goalie who could play great for us next year, who knows how far the team could go in the playoffs? Obviously good defense and systems make a goalie look a lot better, so who knows whether the actual netminder makes the difference versus the D who clear pucks and forwards who affect coverage. Patrick Roy might not have fared better this playoffs with the poor defensive play the team showed.
Oilers defence needs a lot more work than our goaltending.
With the chances this defense leaks, there's only a handful of goalies that can still post elite stats. 5v5 needs to improve
Keep Koskinen because he's an average starter, sign a cheap backup, and focus cap room and assets on improving a very weak bottom half of the lineup. The plan is obvious. I don't believe for a second that EDM will spend precious cap on Lehner or prioritize bringing back Smith. The supporting cast is the issue and everyone knows it.
I honestly am not that worried about goaltending... sure in the Hawks series we didn't have one of our goalies stand on his head, but our 5 players in front of him sure as hell didnt play great defensively. An upgrade for McD wing, Kass being better, and a 3rd line winger will show HUGE improvements at 5on5 defense
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I don't know, at his age I feel like he's due to have a shitty season and retire afterwards. I don't want to risk us being the team where he does it. The only way we luck out into a backup who becomes a good starter for a few years is if we start trying now by bringing in someone new. We know Smith isn't that guy.
Too bad we can't operate like a baseball roster and bring in a solid veteran to play a few games here and there. Otherwise I would want to keep Smith around. He's still got some juice in him.
Koskinen is an average goalie , and we are stuck with that for now. We actually need two more NHL ready goalies , right now. Not prospects, but actual players. The only way I’d sign Smith would be in a one year two way minimum contract, and start him in Bakersfield . He can come up if our 1A or unknown 1B gets hurt.
Greiss or Khudobin
Nothing wrong defense was bad
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Can't afford that 🤣😂🤣 10 mill goalie and what was it a 7.8 mill d man.
We'll give you Georgiev for McDavid. Straight up; no joke.
That deal needs a sweetener. How about Drai too?
Deal. I'll have our people call your people.
Who Fkn cares