Zero interest at that price. None. I mean, who in their right mind would pay that for OEL if the possibility exists that Pietrangelo could be signed to nearly that exact contract with ZERO assets given up? AZ is dreaming in technicolor on this one.

I think its a bit too much. I'd rather keep my prospects

Rutherford would pay that

That is a very moddest price for OEL first of all. Secondly unlike Pietrangelo, OEL is a guaranteed asset + you are dumping cap the other way so you are getting him technically at a discount. I think 2021 1st + Broberg/Jones + Russell is an excellent deal for Edmonton.

No way that we should include Bouchard or Broberg in any deal. The most that I would do is our 2021 first, Jones and Russell. If push came to shove then I might include Benson but that’s it.

OEL isn't the player he was in 2015 though. He's already declining and he's almost 30, and signed to top-10 defenseman money for 7 more years. That's a terrible deal, we don't want it and we certainly aren't giving up assets for it. Someone suggested James Neal + the 2020 1st, but that's too steep already. Adding Broberg, who was 8th overall and seems to be living up to that billing, who will be a great top-4 defenseman for 10-15 years to that deal is asinine.

Jones is probably as good as OEL right now, he's $850k for the next 2 years. No way I do that.

I mean sure if he keeps up his over ppg pace in the SHL then yes but its also only been 2 games and he had a really rough season last year. OEL hasnt been declining, he was 11th last year in Norris votes. Most of his struggles have come from misuse under Tocchet. Like I said though, Jones is probably fine too, they need to use their expansion slots on someone besides Chychrun anyways.

Fun twitter fact of the day: Most analytics people say OELs closest comparable in player and contract is Subban, so just some food for thought

i mean this is just so incredibly wrong I dont know where to begin.

I mean this is just so incredibly wrong I don't know where to begin.


OEL's 5v5 GF% (rel) for the past 4 years:

2016-17: 45.69% (+2.92)
2017-18: 45.76% (-0.47)
2018-19: 43.93% (-2.74)
2019-20: 48.28% (-3.34)

That's a decline by any measure. And he's nearly 30 on a contract that could possibly land a much, much better defenseman in Alex Pietrangelo without spending any assets. And your suggestion for dumping money the other way was Kris Russell, who is owed just $1.5M on his contract. This is hardly comparable to the $54M still owed to OEL. Remember, AZ is not going to be spending to the cap going forward, they'll have an internal budget probably $10M or more below, and the money owed OEL means much, much more to them than the cap hit.

2022 1st round pick
Caleb Jones
James Neal

How about starting with a look at how they fared relative to their teammates?

Jones
+1.59 CF% rel
+0.90 FF% rel
+2.81 SF% rel
+6.40 GF% rel
+1.91 xGF% rel

OEL
-0.47 CF% rel
-1.94 FF% rel
-3.07 SF% rel
-3.34 GF% rel
-2.77 xGF% rel

You can argue that Jones played a more sheltered role and that makes a difference, and you'd be right. But Jones did spend a significant amount of time in the top-4 replacing Klefbom when he was injured, and his results (+16.03 GF% rel) were BETTER than when he was on the 3rd pair. I guess Adam Larsson is just that good...

Look, I realise that Holland isn't going to want to go into training camp depending on a guy who has just 62 NHL games experience to hold down a top-4 position, but that doesn't mean you throw a bunch of premium assets at one of the worst contracts in the league today.

Something along the lines of Lavoie, Athanasiou, Jones/Samorukov, and Russell for OEL and Fischer probably works for Edmonton. I'd think Holland is willing to give away good young players with Russell at 4 million (2.5 million real dollars) to acquire all of OEL's contract, but NOT Bouchard or Broberg, and definitely not Edmonton's 14th pick until at least after the draft.

Russell is owed just $1.5M. That doesn't even scratch the surface of OEL's $54M owed. Even Neal's $17.25M is less than 1/3 the money owed to OEL. That contract is crippling AZ, there's no need to give up A-level prospects for that. For comparison:

Josi: $61.472 over 8 years ($7.68M per)
McDavid: $57M over 6 years
Ekman-Larsson: $54M over 7 years ($7.71M per)
Spurgeon: $49M over 7 years ($7M per)
Carlsson: $38M over 6 years ($6.33M)
Marner: $35M over 5 years
Tavares: $34.11M over 5 years
Draisaitl: $34M over 5 years
Matthews: $27.07M over 4 years

In a scenario where all teams are facing a drastic reduction in revenue, the OEL contract will be very, very hard to move. Nobody is giving up prime assets and throwing in a $1.5M contract for this beast. It's a McDavid-money level of commitment for a player who hasn't been at the top of his game for several years and will soon be in his 30's.