Striking Black Gold

Team: 2022-23 Edmonton Oilers

Initial Creation Date: Jun. 23, 2022

Published: Jun. 23, 2022

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Any serious AGM that tries to keep the Oilers as genuine contenders is going to find that solving every one of the team's issues in a single offseason is virtually impossible: unless there's some miracle trade out there yet unthought of, or some breakthrough player that Edmonton finds for pennies, the Oilers can realistically afford to do three of the following:

1. Improve the goaltending.
2. Improve the blueline.
3. Improve the depth scoring.
4. Maintain or bolster the prospect pool.
5. Eject bloat salary.

I went with options 1, 4, and 5, as I believe I ran par for the course on options 2 and 3. I don't believe in massive roster turnover - most NHL GMs don't - so I limited myself to 4 trades and tried to minimize the number of new faces. Ken Holland has biases with prospects, I tried to respect that. Josh Manson is on the record of not wanting to play in Edmonton, I've respected that as well. In all honesty, I still don't truly believe this is the season where the Oilers can do the thing: Varlamov is still only a temporary solution and the blueline needs more time to get to championship snuff, as I don't think there's a trade or signing the Oilers can afford that gets them over the hump. If they convince Jarry to sign with them the following summer, then I think the Oilers find themselves rightfully in the contender conversation. Vegas scares me, but this roster's good enough to make a series out of it that could go either way. If Colorado keeps the band together that third round series still looks like Everest.

Ducks trade sees two LTI contracts head to California to assist in cap floor-related business with Lavoie as a sweetener. They don't have a prospect like him in their system and I genuinely think he just needs a change in scenery as the Bakersfield staff (including Woody) haven't set him up for much success at all (a lot of non-NHL deals see a lot of icetime in the Oilers' system). I also have the Oilers doing a pick swap with the Ducks: if this is a weaker class, then Anaheim is going to have a want for quality over quantity whereas the Oilers have the opposite want. If the Ducks flip Gibson and Smith is healthy enough to finish his contract, he helps insulate Dostal while playing behind Stolarz. Decent fit.

Saw the Columbus trade on a Blue Jackets AGM. Heard of some Kassian interest coming out of the Ohio hockey media. I like it enough to consider it, as Edmonton is going to bleed assets in a Kassian dump regardless. Bemstrom could be worth betting on.

I think Varlamov's tune changes having seen how the far the Oilers went under Woodcroft and that the Isles' management is going to push hard on him moving on. Something tells me the Leafs win the Husso "sweepstakes". Saw Varly for next year's third rounder in an Isles' AGM. Edmonton needs the retention to accommodate this trade, so a B-prospect is sent to Long Island to compensate. Would be willing to upgrade to a second if the Isles send a fourth back.

I can't see Francis wanting to continue to suck as the newest team on the block after two essentially NHL-ready top-five picks. Mid-round picks and a bottom-sixer for pieces the Kraken could genuinely use while Edmonton saves a pile of cash. Goes to hell if the Kraken drop a Brinks truck on Klingberg, but I don't believe they'll be the team to do it as I firmly believe he stays in Dallas, how boring.

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