Its one thing to take Klefbom off their roster for the entire year...but you neglected both Larsson and Barrie from their dmen signed.
The exposure requirements require signed in 2021-2022 so no, Barrie and Larsson do not meet that standard at the moment, as they are UFA for that season.
Great signing. only issue with russell this year is his contract. Going forward he will be the 7th dmen on a team that will have Bouchard and BRoberg probably in the line up. russell can play both sides so when one needs a break or needs to sit or injury russell can slide in easy. lots of value in that for 1.25. can also play as high as a 4d in a pinch for a short stint.
We already knew Klefbom was going to be unavailable for the entire season: my issue is there were better defenders than Russell that could have been had for a lesser or equivalent price on a two-year deal. Extending Russell purely for the sake of expansion at an AAV above the buriable limit does not improve the roster today or next season. At best it's a lateral move, and given that Russell's already among the worst defencemen in terms of transition and production, I think it fails to even meet that echelon. Can Russell be expected to be as defensively reliable as he continues to age and take the abuse of blocking the most shots in the league? Why pay more than league minimum if you know he's going to drop off and isn't expected to play every game as a #6 or #7?
Given Holland's moves this summer, improving the blueline and it's ability to transition has been evident. This move doesn't fit that narrative.
I'd rather have an NHL defenceman. None of Ceci, Johnson, or Russell are in that camp, and I'm not certain as to how those two are relevant to this conversation.
Throw out a name then... Who is this better defenseman that costs less then russell but is better. also have to keep in mind you are not only paying this imaginary player you still are dinged for 4 million on russell this year.
this signing is not bad at all. Help with the ED if needed. Serviceable 6-7 dman. Next year will probably have broberg or bouchard or both in the line up. young dmen need time to adjust and may need a game off her and there. With russell he can play both left and right as an organization its great to have the flexibility even if they pay just or what you can burry in the minors.
worse comes to worse you pay the 100K while in the minors not really a big deal.
Throw out a name then... Who is this better defenseman that costs less then russell but is better. also have to keep in mind you are not only paying this imaginary player you still are dinged for 4 million on russell this year.
this signing is not bad at all. Help with the ED if needed. Serviceable 6-7 dman. Next year will probably have broberg or bouchard or both in the line up. young dmen need time to adjust and may need a game off her and there. With russell he can play both left and right as an organization its great to have the flexibility even if they pay just or what you can burry in the minors.
worse comes to worse you pay the 100K while in the minors not really a big deal.
I'm high on Bowey and Koekkoek as Russell replacements.
I posted what next year's blueline is apt to look like and I don't personally find it to be all that enamouring. It's skilled and young, but inexperienced. I have a lot of reservations about the structure of next year's blueline, and a Koekkoek/Bowey type at least adds more than one dimension of effectiveness to that back end over Russell.
Hard to expect a guy to mentor two potential top-pairing guys when he himself was never at that level.
I'm high on Bowey and Koekkoek as Russell replacements.
I posted what next year's blueline is apt to look like and I don't personally find it to be all that enamouring. It's skilled and young, but inexperienced. I have a lot of reservations about the structure of next year's blueline, and a Koekkoek/Bowey type at least adds more than one dimension of effectiveness to that back end over Russell.
Hard to expect a guy to mentor two potential top-pairing guys when he himself was never at that level.
hes not their mentor. he is their stop gap when they need a break. Mentorship would come from barrie this year nurse and klefbom if he is back next year.
Bowey will cost you the same if not more than russell
Koekkoek probably less.
With what the oilers have both those players dont have a veteran presence if anything it makes the defense weaker and and less stable for next year on top of adding 2 potenial rookies. JOnes in year 2 and bear in year 3 id rather go with the player with 850 games played can play L and R vs a Dman with 150 GP and can only play one side.
hes not their mentor. he is their stop gap when they need a break. Mentorship would come from barrie this year nurse and klefbom if he is back next year.
Bowey will cost you the same if not more than russell
Koekkoek probably less.
With what the oilers have both those players dont have a veteran presence if anything it makes the defense weaker and and less stable for next year on top of adding 2 potenial rookies. JOnes in year 2 and bear in year 3 id rather go with the player with 850 games played can play L and R vs a Dman with 150 GP and can only play one side.
Neither Bouchard nor Broberg should be in the NHL this year, which discounts Barrie as a mentor unless they resign him. Nurse/Klefbom can at least get them up to speed on how to manage the minutes, but we're still talking about a completely different caliber of rearguard here.
There's no benefit to the number of games played if the man in question is completely ineffective at two-thirds of his job and is statistically expected to regress at the only thing he does well. If veterancy was all it took for a player to be quality, the early 2010s Oilers would have never been as bad as they were. They had a lot of guys that played a lot of games. The problem? The skill and ability wasn't there. Both Bowey and Koekkoek have played effectively 2 seasons of NHL hockey: these aren't players that need to learn to adjust to the pace of the game, and they've proved competent in a bottom-pairing role (the exact same place we expect Russell to occupy). Even if they cost more, the club as a whole gets more by investing in them today: you gain a competent defender that can split time with Russell and outright replace him next season.
Russell is incredibly ineffective on his off-side. He's bad enough to the point where it's genuinely detrimental to the team to run him there, and as he regresses with age it's bound to get worse. Please re-up on his underlying numbers before committing to ascribing Russell a level of quality that he just simply isn't anymore.
Neither Bouchard nor Broberg should be in the NHL this year, which discounts Barrie as a mentor unless they resign him. Nurse/Klefbom can at least get them up to speed on how to manage the minutes, but we're still talking about a completely different caliber of rearguard here.
There's no benefit to the number of games played if the man in question is completely ineffective at two-thirds of his job and is statistically expected to regress at the only thing he does well. If veterancy was all it took for a player to be quality, the early 2010s Oilers would have never been as bad as they were. They had a lot of guys that played a lot of games. The problem? The skill and ability wasn't there. Both Bowey and Koekkoek have played effectively 2 seasons of NHL hockey: these aren't players that need to learn to adjust to the pace of the game, and they've proved competent in a bottom-pairing role (the exact same place we expect Russell to occupy). Even if they cost more, the club as a whole gets more by investing in them today: you gain a competent defender that can split time with Russell and outright replace him next season.
Russell is incredibly ineffective on his off-side. He's bad enough to the point where it's genuinely detrimental to the team to run him there, and as he regresses with age it's bound to get worse. Please re-up on his underlying numbers before committing to ascribing Russell a level of quality that he just simply isn't anymore.
yes he is not an analytics darling. maybe you should read up on every article written since on how this is a great signing. And agree with me on his versatility. and ability to play defense. yes he is getting older and yes will decline but as a 6-7 dman is perfectly capable of playing 10 mins or less a night. they are not looking for an offensive defenseman in this role they are looking for a player that can eat a few minute. can block shots pk and knows how to play against NHL players. there is a reason the other to are free agents and really have not been able to lock down a job.
The oiler mistakes inthe past are to move on from proven veterans like russell and gamble on unproven younger talent that has resulted in no steady play and bottom of the standings out comes.
The team needs stability. tippet knows exactly what he will get every shift with russell as he has played 850 games where the other 2 are a crap shoot. and clearly they those 2 still have much to learn or the team that had their rights would not let them go to free agency.
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