I like the overall strategy and all of the players you-ve targeted to sign. I only demur to the realism of the Palmieri signing -- I don't think he's going anywhere that they don't virtually guarantee him top-6 minutes.

That being said, the bottom 6 was exposed by Winnipeg and I think you're going to have to find some impact players there. But this is a good foundation from which to start.

P.S. Welcome to CapFriendly, by the way. This may be the best initial effort I've ever seen on CF.

I like the addition of Coleman. That 3rd line is very expensive well mainly the two guys are. that 4th line is brutal Winnipeg walked all over the oilers bottom 6 you need a better 4th line if you plan on going far

Thanks, man. I'm not expecting Palmieri to sign and there are other guys out there if he doesn't. If he does sign, he could easily rotate into the top 6 and Yamo or Pulju could come down (preferably Yamo).

Yeah I don't expect any of this to actually happen, but I think Wennberg and Coleman are the two guys the Oilers should try hardest to get this offseason. Palmieri is a proven veteran and could slide into the top 6 and Yamo could slot down if needed, but I don't expect them to sign him, there are other options out there. As for the 4th line, Kahun is good, he was just being played on the 1st and 2nd line most of the season when in reality he's more of a bottom 6 forward. Archie plays good defensively and is able to lay the body. He doesn't make too many mistakes. Ennis is extremely fast and played better than Neal, Chiasson, Turris, etc this season who were all on the 4th line just as often if not more than he was. Obviously it's not perfect but they won't really have to do a whole lot other than keep the other team off the board and try to chip in with a goal every now and then.

Appreciate the feedback!

On average that's a third line salary total for a contending team. I also think that you're underrating Archibald - he's been one of Edmonton's only good two-way players recently. I agree though that they have to move on from Kahun

I appreciate the position. If I'm Edmonton I'd leave Palmieri alone (he's likely staying near NY cuz that's where he lives and is from), sign Coleman like you did but for the third line, and then go after a true top 6 winger like Hoffman, Hyman, or Tatar. You could get any of those guys for about $1 million more than that Palmieri contract

Ah I didn't know that he was from there. Then yeah, he likely is staying in NY. I like your three suggestions. If Hyman hits the open market I would probably prefer him out of those three options, but they're all solid and can play a top 6 role.

Thanks for the feedback!

To play off of @OldNYIFan, I don't suspect Palmieri to leave the Tri-State area: however, if we assign Broberg to the AHL, trade Stalock to a cap-strapped team for spare parts, and drop one of the '5th-line forwards' to be roster-compliant, there's more than enough money to sign Saad or Tatar over Palmieri and push Yamamoto to the #3RW.

The money works but I reckon there's a different #4C signed than Kahun: something more of a guarantee for faceoffs and/or PK I suspect. Even reuniting the Ennis-Khaira-Archiblad line - that was so successful until Tippett just put Ennis out to pasture for no reason - is an option for that 4th line.

Russell and Turris are more apt to be buried than traded: I don't suspect that other teams are going to want to give up anything more than a non-prospect AHL piece for either man. Works out to be about the cost of a league-minimum contract against the cap, but it works.

I understand the sentiment to signing Smith but I'm dissatisfied with the associated risk. Fitness freak or not, 40-year-old NHL players are a crapshoot. NHL goaltenders are a crapshoot. The combination of both is an absurdly risky gamble, especially if the expectation is that he'll be playing 30ish games. Koskinen is not a bad goaltender so long as his workload is reasonable. He has a clear need to put in a bit of work this season (both in terms of psychological work and on-ice work) but the idea of buying him out is a poor one: the extra year of dead cap is a lot more damning than a lot of people expect and the cap situation for next season is much tougher than this year's. Finding a way to offload Koskinen at 50% retention is a much better way of taking him off the roster, but unless the need for cap space is so paramount, I would consider that kind of move a last-case scenario. Comments made during Holland's afternoon presser are very discouraging however as I suspect that he'll default to a buyout instead of doing some due diligence and finding a creative solution.

I'm of a similar mindset regarding getting rid of Kassian but I don't think it happens without some degree of retention, nor do I think it realistic in the first place. His is the first contract Holland signed as Oilers GM: despite Kassian's abysmal season it was injury shortened. Old Dutch will give Kassian another year to figure things out even if the writing on the wall regarding his decline is quickly showing.

Yea but usually on 3 guys your spending that money on just two guys on the 3rd line one is a rookie that doesn’t make more than 900,000 there are far better guys to get in your bottom 6 far cheaper! I’d keep archibald but Kahun and ennis can’t be your 4th line almost every teams 3rd and 4th line would have there way with that line far too small you want your 4th line to have size speed and grit all that line has is archibald.