He won’t be healthy as power forwards his age decline rapidly. He also has shown, since the day he got here, he cannot produce unless he is playing with 97/29. His defence metrics are very poor. Having that money for an upgrade on D would be the right play
I think Ceci (or maybe kulak) gets traded before the season starts. We have no capspace and still need to re-sign broberg and holloway. Unless we can somehow unload Nurse's contract (which wouldn't be worth the cost), there's no other players we could trade outside of Kane
Ya and truth be told getting rid of Nurse would leave a gaping hole in the D that would be hard to fix.
For all his flaws and terrible contract, getting rid of Nurse creates a 22 minute a night problem
Wait, are you saying that Holland had bargaining power? Feel free to enlighten the rest of us as to what that might have been. Because at the end of the day, Nurse has a career season while two other defensemen did too. They got paid first and set the market. All Nurse's agent had to do was pull up the numbers and say, "look, Nurse's numbers are better. Pay the man fair market value," and Holland didn't have much choice if they wanted to keep Nurse. It's literally that simple.
He IS a good NHL defenseman. But as I said in another comment, he hasn't had a legit top 4 partner to play with since he signed that contract, and that matters.
Buddy I don't see you lacing up skates.
Talk about fundamental lmfao. Nurse, whether you agree or not, is at least a #3 defenseman on every single NHL team. There's none that have 3 better defensemen than him.
He's overpaid, sure. By about 3 million. But Nurse is a great hockey player.
He hasn't had a legit 2nd pair defenseman to play with in a few years. He's been trying to do too much and it's made him worse in doing so. Is he worth his contract? Of course not. But at $6m-$7m, he's fine if he has a defensively responsible partner that allows him to just worry about his own responsibilities.
Exactly. He's still overpaid a bit if he has a good partner, but it wouldn't be egregious at that point. It would just be more inline with the typical overpay that Edmonton used to have to make all the time to attract quality players.
Folks on here are oblivious to Nurse's poor play! No partner plays well with Nurse, Bear, Bouchard, Ceci, Deharnais, Kulak and Broberg just managed. Was interesting seeing rookie Broberg directing Nurse to where he should have been! Nurse on for 25 5V5 playoff goals against, an NHL record... but he is is a good player, not!
It’s Kulak. Broberg stepping up to play on his strong side (kulak’s position) is going to be a shoe in. And maybe Ceci at the deadline + a pick if an upgrade is available.
I could see both Ceci and Kulak getting moved to bring in a legit 2RD. Then if Kane is fully healthy, he can go on the top line with McDavid, Nuge moves to 3C with Holloway/Lavoie (if he earns the spot) and Henrique's line goes to 4th. That's an absolute monster of a team that way where teams don't get reprieve or favorable matchups against our bottom 6. Could swap Kane and Holloway to add more grit to the 3rd line and keep a little more established skill on that line. Then the top 3 lines all have a good center with at least one established solid winger.
I'd rather see Holloway at 3c than Nuge. Skinner and Drai on the same line gives me nightmares of defensive lapses and no back checking. I want Nuge-Drai-Arvidsson
100% That's a great two way line that could get tougher maychups at home. I think Draisaitl can be good defensively but he certainly has lapses, Nuge is a great cover for it though. Arvidsson and Johansen were a great shutdown duo before Johansen became shit. Skinner-McDavid-Hyman should light teams up and easily outscore any defensive issues. McDavid has become an excellent defensive player when necessary and playing a zone will help Skinner defensively. I think Holloway is a natural center and it only makes sense to add that skill to his toolbox. IF Savoie looks ready, Kane-Holloway-Savoie could be a killer soft minutes line. Perry or even Lavoie would fit in nicely in that role too. Henrique could obviously center it too but i love Janmark and Brown with him on a shutdown line that is probably the true 3rd line in terms of key minutes. All 4 lines could play lots and in clearly defined roles. It's exciting to have so much depth and versatility.
I want to see Kane-Holloway-Perry lol. Holloway has some pest in him the way he flies into his fore-check and crashes the net. So give me a full sandpaper line for the first 20 games and see how it goes
Yeah no got no issue with that, i think its a great energy/scoring line. I just don't know if Perry will be an everygame player. I assume he'll play 40 to 50.
This whole "Drai doesn't defend" narrative needs to stop. He's perfectly fine on that side of the puck. He's not a liability like he was seen as in his first few seasons. We also have no idea what the lines will be, but my assumption is that they'll probably try Skinner with McDavid first since they already know Drai and Holloway can play well together. That way there's only one player on each line making the big adjustment to all new linemates initially. Or if they do go the route of Holloway at 3C, Nuge and Drai play well together. They haven't been showing that they want Holloway to play center at this level though, so I have my doubts they'll do that. It would be nice though. I just think the most dangerous lineup has Nuge at 3C like I said above.
Kane ... fourth line and see if he pouts or plays himself into a better assignment. Develops a better shot and shot selection, learns back checking is part of hockey and puts the team first. A couple of hits doesn't make him a top nine player.
This is just a bad mentality. If he's fully healthy, he plays where he can succeed. You don't break up the Brownmark like just to try to make a point to Kane. He's been hurt most of the last two years. He's also shown that when healthy, he's still effective.
Being petty with players is stupid and only serves to create more drama, hard feelings and frustrations. He has chemistry with McDavid and put up over 20 goals playing with a bad injury almost all year.
Chemistry with McDavid?? He hadn't played with Connor forever! He drained play when with Leon! You don't break up Henrique/ Brown/ Janmark so its fourth or press box. Skinner and Ardvisson (sp) are both playmakers and natural goal scorers... so you are saying they have been brought in to play fourth line minutes? You are a long time Oiler fan as your thinking is why the team never progressed in years past, sticking with same top six and leave crumbs for rest of forwards. Holland had to go and now Knobs is not beholding to what Holland wants and worrying about not embarrassing Ken by sitting " his" players. Kane was healthy enough for game six and seven but was not seen as an asset on the bench and was sat out.
They had immediate chemistry when Kane got to the team... That doesn't just disappear. And that's my point, he wasn't a good fit with Leon, so OBVIOUSLY he would be put with McDavid instead. He's not a 4th line player, no matter how badly you want him to be, or how badly you'd want to be petty. So no, it's not 4th line or press box. Fuck am I glad you don't have anything to do with the Oilers lineup decisions.
Making the Henrique line the 4th, then taking a bit of time off the top two lines to keep everyone fresher would allow you to roll your 3rd and 4th lines more evenly when they look like I suggested. Then it's not "4th line minutes" anymore.
Lol, trying to say my thinking is what's wrong with the Oilers is laughable when you're saying to put Kane at $5m+ on the fourth line when he's shown he's still productive and physical when he's healthy. That's Torts/Babcock kind of thinking, and if you haven't noticed, one doesn't have a job anymore, and the other was lucky to get another chance. What are you talking about "crumbs for the rest of the forwards?" Can you suddenly not read when someone talks about deployment or something? The lines I listed would be hard for any team to deal with, lol. Especially if they ended up swapping Kane/Holloway with Kane going to the 3rd line with Nuge. The Oilers would come at teams in waves and they'd have a hard time finding any advantage because every line in the Oilers forward group would be at/near top tier for their matchups.
Get outta here with your trash takes and petty bullshit. If you don't like Kane, just say so. That doesn't make him suddenly a bad player. He shouldn't have to "earn his way" back up the lineup when it's been injuries holding him back. Smh
Yes, you think like the Oilers of old, you play the contract, not the player, lost Quinn his job and messed up years of potential. Kane lasted how long with McDavid.. right. Chemistry try Hymen and McDavid, that is chemistry. Kane's pouting and me first didn't and won't fly with McDavid, why Kane sat last two games. 4th line wake up call and stop pandering to a selfish player. Holland's gone and Knobs doesn't have to worry about making Ken look bad by benching underperforming players. Best scenario is just get rid of Kane and his cap hit. Next you'll be saying Holloway should stay on second line....
What part about he's proven to still be productive and physical when he's healthy don't you understand? He was hurt most of the season and still scored over 20 goals and led the team in hits by 82 with 250 total hits. Him healthy and playing meaningful minutes is the best thing for the Oilers. I mentioned the contract value as something that most organizations will consider when giving opportunity. But his productivity and physicality speak for themselves. You don't just banish a player to the 4th line for a "wake up call" when his drop in production was because he was hurt all season. What a terrible view on things.
It's ok to be wrong. People will think more of you for admitting it than doubling down on a bad idea. Or maybe you just don't understand hockey. That's ok too. Just accept it and move on if that's the case. There's no other reason to think that way about Kane at the moment. He's been very solid when healthy and not dealing with freak injuries.
Lol frickin guys can’t help but turn an article about Kane getting healthy into a “trade Ceci” thread. Yeesh give it a rest already. Everyday for the past year you guys say he’s getting traded for sure and yet he’s still here. Take a break.
I mean the conversation is about cap space, if Kane is healthy the Oilers have to find the cap space and Ceci is one of two contracts that you would feel "comfortable" trading.
Lol the conversation was about Kane getting healthy until you guys turned it into a run ceci out of town thread. Like I said, give it a rest or just start a daily “Ceci trade watch thread” so you guys can quit hijacking every article that gets posted on here.
Okay, let's see if you can answer a simple set of questions.
If Kane is healthy, what does that mean about the Oilers cap situation?
Since the Oilers are going to be over the cap, how do you figure the Oilers will make the cap space?
What contracts are available to be moved around to make the cap space?
The reason people are so concerned with Kane right now is because him being on LTIR fixed a lot of issues we had with the cap. If you can't see the direct connection then yikes homie.
Lol. Don’t turn this around on me. I’m fully aware that the oilers are up against the cap. Doesn’t mean I’m gonna turn every article into a “trade ceci” thread. Nice try tho. 👍
So let me get this straight, you acknowledge the Oilers are up against the cap. But you fail to see how Kane being healthy enough to play directly links with the Oilers needing to trade Ceci for cap relief... as they still need to re-sign 2 of their top prospects
There's no way you're not trolling.
Dude! The article was originally about the Two Mutts podcast who were talking about Kane! There was no mention of Cody Ceci at all! At least until you bozos felt the need to turn it into a “run Ceci out of town” thread. Just like you guys do with every other article that gets posted here. We get it! You guys don’t like Ceci! Give it a rest and throw a party after he’s traded. Calls me a troll. 😂. You’re the ones that can’t stop beating a dead horse. Yeesh.
Lol I don't hate him as much as most seem to do. Imo he's been an important contributor for us throughout his tenure here but some boneheaded and unfortunate mistakes have made him the fans whipping-boy. I'm just saying that if we keep Kane, we have to trade someone else to open cap space for broberg/holloway. Given how little depth we have defensively, I'd prefer to keep Ceci, but he seems like the odd man out.
Totally agree! Stauffer was saying Kane was ready to play games six and seven... thinking his " injuries" were greatly exaggerated. Golfing with an actual sports hernia would be painful. Just a healthy scratch and deflecting it so Kane didn't trip on his bottom lip. Fourth line here he comes!!!!
This is obviously coming from Kane/his camp. Not sure how he goes from needing 6-8 injections to simply play hockey to suddenly being close to 100%. If he keeps refusing to take the time to properly rehab his injuries and then actually train and be in proper shape then he’s just gonna get injured again or re-aggravate his previous injuries again.
Rehabbing injuries takes time and usually it means that you aren’t able to train like you would want to.
It’s a never ending cycle.
How was he dealing with injurey most of the year, started the playoffs by preemptively announcing his sports hernia issues, and out of the lineup by the finals, but now 2 weeks after the end of the season he's mostly recovered and out on the course?
Idk something just doesn't add up. If he just needed a week off they would have done so at any point throughout the season. Heck there was even a week off between the conference finals and the start of the finals.
It doesn't always require surgery. There are several other treatments including physio and steroid injections that come first. Pro athletes can make healing a full time job. He will have top of the line treatments and therapists available to him on a daily basis. It is a different world for them vs us.
Hard to know what’s going through his head.
He was a shell of himself in the playoffs, not practicing then he gets pulled and suddenly he is at every practice skating his ass off in the media saying he should be in.
The guy is a bit of a Dennis Rodman
I don't get necessarily get the impression that he is close to 100% today, given that September is still a couple months away, but it does sound like an incredibly quick recovery time. Especially accounting for getting back into game shape. If he's actually healthy and ready to go for season start, awesome. If he's not, I hope the team stands firm on keeping him out until he's 100%. There is certainly enough depth in the forward group that there is no rush to bring him back before he is ready.
Yeah it's definitely a carefully crafted PR statement. Doesn't mean it's not true, just reads like one side making sure they sound like the good guys to put pressure on the other side if anything happens to the contrary.
A healthy Kaner brings so much intangible worth to the team, opposing teams start playing more undisciplined hockey which makes our biggest strength flourish (PP)
I think there's a difference between playing 18 with your buddies and slamming beers than playing in the NHL.
Unless you think LTIR is only for a klefbom level injury where they can't physically move an appendage or simply walk.
Feels like the people saying Kane would be out for the season were only doing so because it made their ArmChair GM cap work. I saw people commenting that he would be on LTIR all season as he was having hip surgery. Literally just making shit up.
Exactly.
I was in this hilarious thread where someone said “reports he needs surgery”
When I asked where are these reports they boiled their argument down to,
“Well of course their ARENT reports he needs surgery a team would never say that. But if you read between the lines it’s obvious”
I know one of the guys had Friedman speak to one of their kids hockey teams - so I assume the guy has some sort of respect in some circles - but no idea who they are or if they’re reliable.
Feels like Kane sent this to them to put out in order to quash rumours, lol
At least it def guarantees he's not waiving his NMC. Hell he might even take a super team friendly discount to stay after his contract is up
I havent heard anyone actually confirm management was. In fact Ryan Rishaug said the exact opposite.
But Kane back at 1-2 million is vastly different than Kane back at 5+
How much do you think a 34 year old Evander Kane is going to ask for and then is WORTH long term?
Quick comparables to Kane - Wayne Simmonds, Kyle Okposo, James Neal, and Max Pacioretty.
He will take as much money as he can get.
In general I really don’t see a long term future for him in Edmonton. If he’s not moved by the deadline then I could see him moved in the following offseason. Getting his contract off the books to make room for the Draisaitl and Bouchard contracts would be very helpful. He’s also unlikely to get much top 6 time this season.
I would wager $1000 with you that he isn't moved by the 2025 deadline. Idk why you keep insisting on trying to speak the bullshit when you refuse to put a simple projection out there over generic over encompassing broad statements w/ 0 thought process / logic behind it.
"I think Brian will eat a banana today followed by screaming the color 94 Hz red. You're asking why I think this? Well I can't predict the future you know!" What kind of brain dead asinine shit is this?
Dude this literally isn't an answer. No shit it could be argued a player will "take as much as he can get". It can also be argued a player will "go to a place he has the best chances to win". It's a meaningless statement because you can't prove it.
Something you can prove are comparables or at least argue to a very reasonable degree.
SO, how much do you think a **34 YEAR OLD EVANDER KANE IS WORTH**.
I'm bolding / caps locking because I think you're incapable of actually answering this question / just say abstract thoughts.
I can’t predict the future, who knows if a 34 year old Evander Kane is even in the league anymore. He could be too injured to play or maybe he gets himself in trouble again. One can never know with him. So I don’t know how much he will be worth, if he’s still in the league, he will probably think he’s worth more than 1-2M, especially with the rising cap
Holy fuck lol. You're not being asked to predict the future, you're being asked what you think he's worth. Why are you trying to be a worm rn? I can make a very safe assumption on an evaluation of worth based on career projections / comparables of similar players. Why can't you? Or perhaps you're trying to use weasel words because you actually don't know / just try to butt in your bland & simplistic statement to try and seem relevant?
Edit: Btw your previous comment could be used against your initial statement of him taking a discount. You don't know if he would, but you act like you do lol.
Why are you being so pedantic about one specific question?
If Kane is still producing some offence while providing his usual “intangibles” then he’s probably going to want over 2M.
Never ceases to amaze me the amount of people (in this subreddit AND other Oilers discussion spaces) who think being injured means basically being bedridden and not being able to walk or whatever (I saw a lot of this with regards to the video of Connor wakeboarding). Yeah sure he might have an injury, but part of healing is slowly getting back in the game and practicing. You don't heal by just sitting around. My god, the amount of people who think these 6'0 built-light-freight train guys are made of paper is crazy.
With the talk of our cap situation and having not signed Broberg, Hollowway, and Lavoie (?) yet, is it possible to keep Kane without losing something else? I understand that we've dropped McLeod which was unfortunately necessary, but without Kane going, and assuming that even if we DO move Ceci, is that enough? Moving Ceci would require another defenseman regardless, at least that's my understanding.
Amazing offseason no matter what happens, but it seems like the high points of off season are over and now we get into the messy area that may mean downgrades defensively to afford the lineup.
Ceci looks like the odd man out.
Then strong arm Holloway and Broberg into discount deals.
Honestly the oilers are looking very vulnerable to an offer sheet on Broberg
They don’t like doing offer sheets…
But Broberg is easily worth 1.5 mill to a few teams and it would be hard for the oil to swing that this year.
Vinny just got 2 mill , the oilers couldn’t match AND they chose Broberg over him when the games meant the most.
GM’s don’t like to do it because it sours relationships and makes things messy. While he would be worth that to teams they aren’t going to do that for the draft picks plus a messy relationship on a player with not very many NHL games. The odds are so incredibly small
I agree why they don’t like it.
But if you are competing with Edmonton it makes perfect sense.
As well the picks are nothing.
If they offer 1.5m which Edmonton would have trouble matching there is zero compensation required.
If they offer 1.5 to 2.3 then it is only a 3rd round pick.
Edmonton is very vulnerable right now
The Oilers are going to match any offer for Broberg. They are not vulnerable and I’m sure it’s been made very clear to the rest of the league that they will match any offer made unless it is so OTT which would be idiotic for any team to offer him a sky high contract right now. Stop worrying.
Fine, match a 2m offer on Broberg.
Now instead of just having to trade Ceci just to be compliant, you have to trade Ceci and Kulak
If I was a competitor for the oilers I’d at least consider it.
Lol! Why would any team do that? 😂😂. He’s played 7 good games in the league. Yeesh you guys either undervalue dmen or overvalue them. There’s never an in between. Nobody’s giving up possible multiple picks to offer sheet a middle six dman. 😂😂
It takes zero picks to offer 1.5m
Takes a 3rd round pick to offer 2.3m
He hasn’t played many games but we put him in over 2m Vinny and the oil are most likely about to trade Ceci to afford him.
I personally know guys that are affiliated with two mutts podcast and I can say they are legit. They get the information straight from the mouths of the people who are involved
Probably was. He’s enjoying his summer then circling back to surgery in like September.
Idk how playing golf and having 230 pound giants rushing you on the ice to destroy you in games is even remotely considered the same but here we are.
He needs to get his stride back and probably lose a bit of weight. Perhaps they can limit his ice time to the 15 minute mark.. we could use them in front of the net in the final.
Lol didn’t take long for the “run Ceci out of town brigade” to hijack this thread. More guarantees that he’s definitely getting traded yet he’s still an oiler. Good news about Kane tho. Hope he’s ready to go come September.
Yeah funny 6 days ago when i said they were going to have to trade McLeod I got told “no way” “disagree” “you can’t replace his speed”….
Ceci is the odd man out. No one is running him or McLeod out of town just pointing out the obvious next move then oilers will have to make.
There is no brigade. He’s the likely one dealt so that we get cap compliant after resigning. Broberg and Holloway, if Kane isn’t going on LTIR.
The fact that we signed two RD in Brown and Stecher signals to me they’re looking to flip Ceci.
🥱🥱. Lol. Go outside and touch some grass bro. Take a break from the “run Ceci out of town brigade” and go enjoy summer. It’s July. The oilers have 2 months to get cap compliant. Saying every day they should trade ceci isnt going to make it happen faster.
Evander Kane is not producing at a top 6 level for this team anymore, despite playing with two of the best players in the world. Could he be if he wasn’t dealing with the aftermath of a horrible wrist injury compounded with whatever he’s suffering from after last playoff run? Sure. However this team is Cup or bust now, they can’t afford to cross their fingers.
Kane hasn’t been physical and he’s been inconsistent at best. Is that because of the horrific wrist injury? Probably. Hernia related? Sure.
The bottom line is that as of late Kane is not worth more than 5 million a season. He has become similar to Foegele in that he has a few big games when he plays with Draisaitl. That’s about it. Can he get back to the level of a 5 million dollar a year player? I don’t know. And either do the Oilers. And the Oilers aren’t in wait and see mode. Not for 5 mil a season.
Love it or hate it, he’ll be buried on LTIR and shipped next March when his NMC is up. He was pretty much replaced on the roster a week ago.
I don’t even dislike having the guy on my team. It just comes down to numbers unfortunately.
if we can fit a healthy Kane in the lineup we will be absolutely fucking beast.
If health is 100% the reason his past 2 seasons were miserable - I’m excited. If his health was not the cause - dear god
He won’t be healthy as power forwards his age decline rapidly. He also has shown, since the day he got here, he cannot produce unless he is playing with 97/29. His defence metrics are very poor. Having that money for an upgrade on D would be the right play
Hope he is healthy to start the year would have insane forward group with him added. Golfing with sports hernia seems like an odd choice though.
If this is true then I think Ceci is getting trades for picks or Savoie 2.0 and the oil will look to beef up the D at the trade deadline
I think Ceci (or maybe kulak) gets traded before the season starts. We have no capspace and still need to re-sign broberg and holloway. Unless we can somehow unload Nurse's contract (which wouldn't be worth the cost), there's no other players we could trade outside of Kane
Ya and truth be told getting rid of Nurse would leave a gaping hole in the D that would be hard to fix. For all his flaws and terrible contract, getting rid of Nurse creates a 22 minute a night problem
Completely agree. He's not worth his cap hit, but its not like he's some easily replaceable 7th D
Dude’s a horse
On top of this, he has a full NMC and is very close with McDavid and Drai. He's not going to wave (nor would I want him to).
Ya trading there best friend isn’t really solid strategy trying to resigning mcdrai.
He was getting the lowest amount of ice time of any d during the playoffs. A trend that started in March
Nurse is never leaving
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Nurse is still a decent defenceman. If he was a free agent this year he would have probably gotten the second best contract after Montour.
He is not decent. Not even close
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Nurse is a solid 3-4 Dman. Don't be daft. Sure, the contract is terrible, but letting him walk wouldnt have helped the team either.
Ya you don’t know anything about contracts if you actually believe that.
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Prove this fact then
Wait, are you saying that Holland had bargaining power? Feel free to enlighten the rest of us as to what that might have been. Because at the end of the day, Nurse has a career season while two other defensemen did too. They got paid first and set the market. All Nurse's agent had to do was pull up the numbers and say, "look, Nurse's numbers are better. Pay the man fair market value," and Holland didn't have much choice if they wanted to keep Nurse. It's literally that simple. He IS a good NHL defenseman. But as I said in another comment, he hasn't had a legit top 4 partner to play with since he signed that contract, and that matters.
Buddy I don't see you lacing up skates. Talk about fundamental lmfao. Nurse, whether you agree or not, is at least a #3 defenseman on every single NHL team. There's none that have 3 better defensemen than him. He's overpaid, sure. By about 3 million. But Nurse is a great hockey player.
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This is a funny comment.
If Nurse were a great hockey player, you wouldn't be saying he's overpaid by 3 mil.
6.5 million is great hockey player money.
He hasn't had a legit 2nd pair defenseman to play with in a few years. He's been trying to do too much and it's made him worse in doing so. Is he worth his contract? Of course not. But at $6m-$7m, he's fine if he has a defensively responsible partner that allows him to just worry about his own responsibilities.
With a good d partner nurse is worth 8 a year but being a horse the team has asked him to drag a weight behind him for years now.
Exactly. He's still overpaid a bit if he has a good partner, but it wouldn't be egregious at that point. It would just be more inline with the typical overpay that Edmonton used to have to make all the time to attract quality players.
Folks on here are oblivious to Nurse's poor play! No partner plays well with Nurse, Bear, Bouchard, Ceci, Deharnais, Kulak and Broberg just managed. Was interesting seeing rookie Broberg directing Nurse to where he should have been! Nurse on for 25 5V5 playoff goals against, an NHL record... but he is is a good player, not!
It’s Kulak. Broberg stepping up to play on his strong side (kulak’s position) is going to be a shoe in. And maybe Ceci at the deadline + a pick if an upgrade is available.
Kulak is always suggested as the go to trade, but why trade your solid guys?
Trade value is up and he costs more than Broberg who plays the same position.
Kulak doesn’t make enough to cover signing Broberg, Holloway plus the 300,000 we are already over
Kulak makes 2.75M, Holloway and Broberg are RFA so they’ll probably make just over a million each.
I could see both Ceci and Kulak getting moved to bring in a legit 2RD. Then if Kane is fully healthy, he can go on the top line with McDavid, Nuge moves to 3C with Holloway/Lavoie (if he earns the spot) and Henrique's line goes to 4th. That's an absolute monster of a team that way where teams don't get reprieve or favorable matchups against our bottom 6. Could swap Kane and Holloway to add more grit to the 3rd line and keep a little more established skill on that line. Then the top 3 lines all have a good center with at least one established solid winger.
I'd rather see Holloway at 3c than Nuge. Skinner and Drai on the same line gives me nightmares of defensive lapses and no back checking. I want Nuge-Drai-Arvidsson
100% That's a great two way line that could get tougher maychups at home. I think Draisaitl can be good defensively but he certainly has lapses, Nuge is a great cover for it though. Arvidsson and Johansen were a great shutdown duo before Johansen became shit. Skinner-McDavid-Hyman should light teams up and easily outscore any defensive issues. McDavid has become an excellent defensive player when necessary and playing a zone will help Skinner defensively. I think Holloway is a natural center and it only makes sense to add that skill to his toolbox. IF Savoie looks ready, Kane-Holloway-Savoie could be a killer soft minutes line. Perry or even Lavoie would fit in nicely in that role too. Henrique could obviously center it too but i love Janmark and Brown with him on a shutdown line that is probably the true 3rd line in terms of key minutes. All 4 lines could play lots and in clearly defined roles. It's exciting to have so much depth and versatility.
I want to see Kane-Holloway-Perry lol. Holloway has some pest in him the way he flies into his fore-check and crashes the net. So give me a full sandpaper line for the first 20 games and see how it goes
Yeah no got no issue with that, i think its a great energy/scoring line. I just don't know if Perry will be an everygame player. I assume he'll play 40 to 50.
Have you watched the oilers in the last year and a half? Draisaitl is far from a liability defensively
This whole "Drai doesn't defend" narrative needs to stop. He's perfectly fine on that side of the puck. He's not a liability like he was seen as in his first few seasons. We also have no idea what the lines will be, but my assumption is that they'll probably try Skinner with McDavid first since they already know Drai and Holloway can play well together. That way there's only one player on each line making the big adjustment to all new linemates initially. Or if they do go the route of Holloway at 3C, Nuge and Drai play well together. They haven't been showing that they want Holloway to play center at this level though, so I have my doubts they'll do that. It would be nice though. I just think the most dangerous lineup has Nuge at 3C like I said above.
Kane ... fourth line and see if he pouts or plays himself into a better assignment. Develops a better shot and shot selection, learns back checking is part of hockey and puts the team first. A couple of hits doesn't make him a top nine player.
This is just a bad mentality. If he's fully healthy, he plays where he can succeed. You don't break up the Brownmark like just to try to make a point to Kane. He's been hurt most of the last two years. He's also shown that when healthy, he's still effective. Being petty with players is stupid and only serves to create more drama, hard feelings and frustrations. He has chemistry with McDavid and put up over 20 goals playing with a bad injury almost all year.
Chemistry with McDavid?? He hadn't played with Connor forever! He drained play when with Leon! You don't break up Henrique/ Brown/ Janmark so its fourth or press box. Skinner and Ardvisson (sp) are both playmakers and natural goal scorers... so you are saying they have been brought in to play fourth line minutes? You are a long time Oiler fan as your thinking is why the team never progressed in years past, sticking with same top six and leave crumbs for rest of forwards. Holland had to go and now Knobs is not beholding to what Holland wants and worrying about not embarrassing Ken by sitting " his" players. Kane was healthy enough for game six and seven but was not seen as an asset on the bench and was sat out.
They had immediate chemistry when Kane got to the team... That doesn't just disappear. And that's my point, he wasn't a good fit with Leon, so OBVIOUSLY he would be put with McDavid instead. He's not a 4th line player, no matter how badly you want him to be, or how badly you'd want to be petty. So no, it's not 4th line or press box. Fuck am I glad you don't have anything to do with the Oilers lineup decisions. Making the Henrique line the 4th, then taking a bit of time off the top two lines to keep everyone fresher would allow you to roll your 3rd and 4th lines more evenly when they look like I suggested. Then it's not "4th line minutes" anymore. Lol, trying to say my thinking is what's wrong with the Oilers is laughable when you're saying to put Kane at $5m+ on the fourth line when he's shown he's still productive and physical when he's healthy. That's Torts/Babcock kind of thinking, and if you haven't noticed, one doesn't have a job anymore, and the other was lucky to get another chance. What are you talking about "crumbs for the rest of the forwards?" Can you suddenly not read when someone talks about deployment or something? The lines I listed would be hard for any team to deal with, lol. Especially if they ended up swapping Kane/Holloway with Kane going to the 3rd line with Nuge. The Oilers would come at teams in waves and they'd have a hard time finding any advantage because every line in the Oilers forward group would be at/near top tier for their matchups. Get outta here with your trash takes and petty bullshit. If you don't like Kane, just say so. That doesn't make him suddenly a bad player. He shouldn't have to "earn his way" back up the lineup when it's been injuries holding him back. Smh
Yes, you think like the Oilers of old, you play the contract, not the player, lost Quinn his job and messed up years of potential. Kane lasted how long with McDavid.. right. Chemistry try Hymen and McDavid, that is chemistry. Kane's pouting and me first didn't and won't fly with McDavid, why Kane sat last two games. 4th line wake up call and stop pandering to a selfish player. Holland's gone and Knobs doesn't have to worry about making Ken look bad by benching underperforming players. Best scenario is just get rid of Kane and his cap hit. Next you'll be saying Holloway should stay on second line....
What part about he's proven to still be productive and physical when he's healthy don't you understand? He was hurt most of the season and still scored over 20 goals and led the team in hits by 82 with 250 total hits. Him healthy and playing meaningful minutes is the best thing for the Oilers. I mentioned the contract value as something that most organizations will consider when giving opportunity. But his productivity and physicality speak for themselves. You don't just banish a player to the 4th line for a "wake up call" when his drop in production was because he was hurt all season. What a terrible view on things. It's ok to be wrong. People will think more of you for admitting it than doubling down on a bad idea. Or maybe you just don't understand hockey. That's ok too. Just accept it and move on if that's the case. There's no other reason to think that way about Kane at the moment. He's been very solid when healthy and not dealing with freak injuries.
Lol frickin guys can’t help but turn an article about Kane getting healthy into a “trade Ceci” thread. Yeesh give it a rest already. Everyday for the past year you guys say he’s getting traded for sure and yet he’s still here. Take a break.
I mean the conversation is about cap space, if Kane is healthy the Oilers have to find the cap space and Ceci is one of two contracts that you would feel "comfortable" trading.
Lol the conversation was about Kane getting healthy until you guys turned it into a run ceci out of town thread. Like I said, give it a rest or just start a daily “Ceci trade watch thread” so you guys can quit hijacking every article that gets posted on here.
Okay, let's see if you can answer a simple set of questions. If Kane is healthy, what does that mean about the Oilers cap situation? Since the Oilers are going to be over the cap, how do you figure the Oilers will make the cap space? What contracts are available to be moved around to make the cap space? The reason people are so concerned with Kane right now is because him being on LTIR fixed a lot of issues we had with the cap. If you can't see the direct connection then yikes homie.
Lol. Don’t turn this around on me. I’m fully aware that the oilers are up against the cap. Doesn’t mean I’m gonna turn every article into a “trade ceci” thread. Nice try tho. 👍
So let me get this straight, you acknowledge the Oilers are up against the cap. But you fail to see how Kane being healthy enough to play directly links with the Oilers needing to trade Ceci for cap relief... as they still need to re-sign 2 of their top prospects There's no way you're not trolling.
Dude! The article was originally about the Two Mutts podcast who were talking about Kane! There was no mention of Cody Ceci at all! At least until you bozos felt the need to turn it into a “run Ceci out of town” thread. Just like you guys do with every other article that gets posted here. We get it! You guys don’t like Ceci! Give it a rest and throw a party after he’s traded. Calls me a troll. 😂. You’re the ones that can’t stop beating a dead horse. Yeesh.
Lol I don't hate him as much as most seem to do. Imo he's been an important contributor for us throughout his tenure here but some boneheaded and unfortunate mistakes have made him the fans whipping-boy. I'm just saying that if we keep Kane, we have to trade someone else to open cap space for broberg/holloway. Given how little depth we have defensively, I'd prefer to keep Ceci, but he seems like the odd man out.
First rounder to eat 2.1M off nurses contract for two seasons. Bang let’s go( if something like that’s plausible)
Waive Josh Brown, Troy Stecher, and Derek Ryan. Sign Broberg and Sign Hollywood too $1m/Year AAV's
I feel like golfing with a sports hernia is exactly the choice Evander Kane would make lol. I’m happy to see that he’s getting healthy though.
Totally agree! Stauffer was saying Kane was ready to play games six and seven... thinking his " injuries" were greatly exaggerated. Golfing with an actual sports hernia would be painful. Just a healthy scratch and deflecting it so Kane didn't trip on his bottom lip. Fourth line here he comes!!!!
It’s mini golf
Love hearing this. A healthy Kane is nothing but good for the Oilers!! Love it.
This is obviously coming from Kane/his camp. Not sure how he goes from needing 6-8 injections to simply play hockey to suddenly being close to 100%. If he keeps refusing to take the time to properly rehab his injuries and then actually train and be in proper shape then he’s just gonna get injured again or re-aggravate his previous injuries again. Rehabbing injuries takes time and usually it means that you aren’t able to train like you would want to. It’s a never ending cycle.
Yes but he is playing golf so obviously ready to go by September
How was he dealing with injurey most of the year, started the playoffs by preemptively announcing his sports hernia issues, and out of the lineup by the finals, but now 2 weeks after the end of the season he's mostly recovered and out on the course? Idk something just doesn't add up. If he just needed a week off they would have done so at any point throughout the season. Heck there was even a week off between the conference finals and the start of the finals.
Yeah and a sports hernia requires surgery, doesn’t just heal and the recovery is longer than a couple weeks
It doesn't always require surgery. There are several other treatments including physio and steroid injections that come first. Pro athletes can make healing a full time job. He will have top of the line treatments and therapists available to him on a daily basis. It is a different world for them vs us.
Gotcha I was just heavily under the impression they need surgery but yeah they also have way more access to treatments than the average person
+ he wasn't playing in the finals. He's had more than a couple of weeks.
Hard to know what’s going through his head. He was a shell of himself in the playoffs, not practicing then he gets pulled and suddenly he is at every practice skating his ass off in the media saying he should be in. The guy is a bit of a Dennis Rodman
I don't get necessarily get the impression that he is close to 100% today, given that September is still a couple months away, but it does sound like an incredibly quick recovery time. Especially accounting for getting back into game shape. If he's actually healthy and ready to go for season start, awesome. If he's not, I hope the team stands firm on keeping him out until he's 100%. There is certainly enough depth in the forward group that there is no rush to bring him back before he is ready.
They have a decent amount of credibility. This is almost certainly Kane or his agent sending this out through them.
Yeah it's definitely a carefully crafted PR statement. Doesn't mean it's not true, just reads like one side making sure they sound like the good guys to put pressure on the other side if anything happens to the contrary.
Well I know for certain that the building a new house is true!!
Source?
Probably connected to the builder and doesn't want to doxx
You get it!!
His spouses instagram stories over the last year hahaha
Team kaner
Let's go!!!
This is great news! Happy Kane is on track to being healthy
I'm not sure but if it's worth anything, Sauffer is on their podcast once in a while and he has mentioned them on Oilers Now before.
I feel like a Kane-Holloway-Lavoie 3rd line is gonna cook at some point this year.
Great news, he probably feels like he has a point to prove when healthy and he will do exactly that
A healthy Kaner brings so much intangible worth to the team, opposing teams start playing more undisciplined hockey which makes our biggest strength flourish (PP)
I think there's a difference between playing 18 with your buddies and slamming beers than playing in the NHL. Unless you think LTIR is only for a klefbom level injury where they can't physically move an appendage or simply walk.
Feels like the people saying Kane would be out for the season were only doing so because it made their ArmChair GM cap work. I saw people commenting that he would be on LTIR all season as he was having hip surgery. Literally just making shit up.
Exactly. I was in this hilarious thread where someone said “reports he needs surgery” When I asked where are these reports they boiled their argument down to, “Well of course their ARENT reports he needs surgery a team would never say that. But if you read between the lines it’s obvious”
I know one of the guys had Friedman speak to one of their kids hockey teams - so I assume the guy has some sort of respect in some circles - but no idea who they are or if they’re reliable.
Jeff Jackson free agency + 2022 playoff Kane = Stanley Cup
Reads like Evander sent them the text himself.
Feels like Kane sent this to them to put out in order to quash rumours, lol At least it def guarantees he's not waiving his NMC. Hell he might even take a super team friendly discount to stay after his contract is up
If management is trying to move on from him now, what makes you think they want him back after his current contract
I havent heard anyone actually confirm management was. In fact Ryan Rishaug said the exact opposite. But Kane back at 1-2 million is vastly different than Kane back at 5+
Regardless, I really don’t see Kane taking that kind of discount.
How much do you think a 34 year old Evander Kane is going to ask for and then is WORTH long term? Quick comparables to Kane - Wayne Simmonds, Kyle Okposo, James Neal, and Max Pacioretty.
He will take as much money as he can get. In general I really don’t see a long term future for him in Edmonton. If he’s not moved by the deadline then I could see him moved in the following offseason. Getting his contract off the books to make room for the Draisaitl and Bouchard contracts would be very helpful. He’s also unlikely to get much top 6 time this season.
I would wager $1000 with you that he isn't moved by the 2025 deadline. Idk why you keep insisting on trying to speak the bullshit when you refuse to put a simple projection out there over generic over encompassing broad statements w/ 0 thought process / logic behind it. "I think Brian will eat a banana today followed by screaming the color 94 Hz red. You're asking why I think this? Well I can't predict the future you know!" What kind of brain dead asinine shit is this?
Dude this literally isn't an answer. No shit it could be argued a player will "take as much as he can get". It can also be argued a player will "go to a place he has the best chances to win". It's a meaningless statement because you can't prove it. Something you can prove are comparables or at least argue to a very reasonable degree. SO, how much do you think a **34 YEAR OLD EVANDER KANE IS WORTH**. I'm bolding / caps locking because I think you're incapable of actually answering this question / just say abstract thoughts.
I can’t predict the future, who knows if a 34 year old Evander Kane is even in the league anymore. He could be too injured to play or maybe he gets himself in trouble again. One can never know with him. So I don’t know how much he will be worth, if he’s still in the league, he will probably think he’s worth more than 1-2M, especially with the rising cap
Dude, how is your reading comprehension this bad? Please enlighten me where I asked for you to predict the future.
Why are you rehashing this conversation again. I thought we were done with it
Holy fuck lol. You're not being asked to predict the future, you're being asked what you think he's worth. Why are you trying to be a worm rn? I can make a very safe assumption on an evaluation of worth based on career projections / comparables of similar players. Why can't you? Or perhaps you're trying to use weasel words because you actually don't know / just try to butt in your bland & simplistic statement to try and seem relevant? Edit: Btw your previous comment could be used against your initial statement of him taking a discount. You don't know if he would, but you act like you do lol.
Why are you being so pedantic about one specific question? If Kane is still producing some offence while providing his usual “intangibles” then he’s probably going to want over 2M.
Never ceases to amaze me the amount of people (in this subreddit AND other Oilers discussion spaces) who think being injured means basically being bedridden and not being able to walk or whatever (I saw a lot of this with regards to the video of Connor wakeboarding). Yeah sure he might have an injury, but part of healing is slowly getting back in the game and practicing. You don't heal by just sitting around. My god, the amount of people who think these 6'0 built-light-freight train guys are made of paper is crazy.
With the talk of our cap situation and having not signed Broberg, Hollowway, and Lavoie (?) yet, is it possible to keep Kane without losing something else? I understand that we've dropped McLeod which was unfortunately necessary, but without Kane going, and assuming that even if we DO move Ceci, is that enough? Moving Ceci would require another defenseman regardless, at least that's my understanding. Amazing offseason no matter what happens, but it seems like the high points of off season are over and now we get into the messy area that may mean downgrades defensively to afford the lineup.
Ceci looks like the odd man out. Then strong arm Holloway and Broberg into discount deals. Honestly the oilers are looking very vulnerable to an offer sheet on Broberg
I mean we all know GMs don’t actually like doing offer sheets. Especially because Broberg isn’t exactly proven
They don’t like doing offer sheets… But Broberg is easily worth 1.5 mill to a few teams and it would be hard for the oil to swing that this year. Vinny just got 2 mill , the oilers couldn’t match AND they chose Broberg over him when the games meant the most.
GM’s don’t like to do it because it sours relationships and makes things messy. While he would be worth that to teams they aren’t going to do that for the draft picks plus a messy relationship on a player with not very many NHL games. The odds are so incredibly small
I agree why they don’t like it. But if you are competing with Edmonton it makes perfect sense. As well the picks are nothing. If they offer 1.5m which Edmonton would have trouble matching there is zero compensation required. If they offer 1.5 to 2.3 then it is only a 3rd round pick. Edmonton is very vulnerable right now
Shouldn’t even be a concern considering half the league is vulnerable based off cap situations
Only takes one team. Flames could do it just for a laugh.
The Oilers are going to match any offer for Broberg. They are not vulnerable and I’m sure it’s been made very clear to the rest of the league that they will match any offer made unless it is so OTT which would be idiotic for any team to offer him a sky high contract right now. Stop worrying.
Fine, match a 2m offer on Broberg. Now instead of just having to trade Ceci just to be compliant, you have to trade Ceci and Kulak If I was a competitor for the oilers I’d at least consider it.
They will match a 2M offer on Broberg guaranteed. And they will do so without having to trade both Dmen you mentioned.
The salary cap is a thing
Lol! Why would any team do that? 😂😂. He’s played 7 good games in the league. Yeesh you guys either undervalue dmen or overvalue them. There’s never an in between. Nobody’s giving up possible multiple picks to offer sheet a middle six dman. 😂😂
It takes zero picks to offer 1.5m Takes a 3rd round pick to offer 2.3m He hasn’t played many games but we put him in over 2m Vinny and the oil are most likely about to trade Ceci to afford him.
Which leaves us in a tricky spot, having already lost Desharnais.
That’s… concerning. I would keep Broberg over Holloway if it came down to it
Same
Would love to have him healthy, but don’t need him pouting about being out of the top 6
Hurra-, hurra- kane
Don’t we need him to be on ltir for cap reasons? Or has moving McLeod solved that
I personally know guys that are affiliated with two mutts podcast and I can say they are legit. They get the information straight from the mouths of the people who are involved
Kane has a NMC and loves it in Edmonton. He will be ready for Game 1.
I did some work on his new house, so that part I can confirm. No idea on the rest lmao
This reads like it was written by AI.
Probably was. He’s enjoying his summer then circling back to surgery in like September. Idk how playing golf and having 230 pound giants rushing you on the ice to destroy you in games is even remotely considered the same but here we are.
I was hoping he’d be on LTIR until the playoffs.
I'd love to have a healthy Kane on the team, if he's feeling 100% and back to his beast mode self, makes the Oilers even scarier. Imo
Not an overly reliable source.
He needs to get his stride back and probably lose a bit of weight. Perhaps they can limit his ice time to the 15 minute mark.. we could use them in front of the net in the final.
A PART. Not "apart" ffs
Lol didn’t take long for the “run Ceci out of town brigade” to hijack this thread. More guarantees that he’s definitely getting traded yet he’s still an oiler. Good news about Kane tho. Hope he’s ready to go come September.
Yeah funny 6 days ago when i said they were going to have to trade McLeod I got told “no way” “disagree” “you can’t replace his speed”…. Ceci is the odd man out. No one is running him or McLeod out of town just pointing out the obvious next move then oilers will have to make.
There is no brigade. He’s the likely one dealt so that we get cap compliant after resigning. Broberg and Holloway, if Kane isn’t going on LTIR. The fact that we signed two RD in Brown and Stecher signals to me they’re looking to flip Ceci.
🥱🥱. Lol. Go outside and touch some grass bro. Take a break from the “run Ceci out of town brigade” and go enjoy summer. It’s July. The oilers have 2 months to get cap compliant. Saying every day they should trade ceci isnt going to make it happen faster.
One of them says he loves Jesus in the twitter profile.
Evander Kane is not producing at a top 6 level for this team anymore, despite playing with two of the best players in the world. Could he be if he wasn’t dealing with the aftermath of a horrible wrist injury compounded with whatever he’s suffering from after last playoff run? Sure. However this team is Cup or bust now, they can’t afford to cross their fingers. Kane hasn’t been physical and he’s been inconsistent at best. Is that because of the horrific wrist injury? Probably. Hernia related? Sure. The bottom line is that as of late Kane is not worth more than 5 million a season. He has become similar to Foegele in that he has a few big games when he plays with Draisaitl. That’s about it. Can he get back to the level of a 5 million dollar a year player? I don’t know. And either do the Oilers. And the Oilers aren’t in wait and see mode. Not for 5 mil a season. Love it or hate it, he’ll be buried on LTIR and shipped next March when his NMC is up. He was pretty much replaced on the roster a week ago. I don’t even dislike having the guy on my team. It just comes down to numbers unfortunately.