Quoting: Cementhead73
Scratch kulikov. He was horrible on our team. Can't pass, not that great at breaking up the cycle and gets out of position every time he tries to hit someone.
And klefbom will be back now that covid is over so he's not needed. And khaira is broken, I doubt he will play again. He gets knocked right out too easy. And ulmark isn't that good. May as well stick with stalock if you're not going to upgrade.
Getzlaf would be awesome and he's from sask. grew up cheering for oilers so maybe. Tatar and Coleman would be good too.
As for Neal, 1st and jones to Seattle. Just let them have jones and buy out Neal. 1st round pick to save 1.9 million just doesn't make sense
Kulikov- I think that we saw a small set of games with this player. He played 2LD, and I suspect with more time with the team and a less mins (on the third pairing), he'd be a solid defender. I don't think he's a bad player though. He struggled in the playoffs for sure, but so did most of the team.
Klefbom- I highly doubt he'll return. I hope that I'm proven wrong, but a lot of the rumblings locally is that he's likely not going to know until Oct-Nov whether he'll be able to return, and at that point we're going to need someone anyway. There's a reasonable chance he'll retire.
Khaira- I thought this last year, but I found his play for a lot of this season impressive. He's a big guy, good physical game when he's not injured, and should be a solid defensive player on a checking line. He had a few unfortunate injuries, but if he's healthy and ready to go I suspect Holland will keep him.
Ullmark- Strongly disagree here. A lot of what we've seen from this player reflects the team he's on, and the guy has a .917 with
Buffalo in front of him. That's better than Koskinen or Stalock, and I think a change of scenery will be a good chance for him to prove what he's worth. He'll eat a smaller contract for a chance to prove himself on a good team.
As for the Neal trade, they're not going to buy out two players, and it's unlikely that there will be much interest for Koskinen. Friedman has already suggested that they're more likely to buy out Koskinen, but I suspect that Holland won't leave Neal on the team- a first round pick to move a full 5.75 to a team that is better poised for a buyout in exchange for a first is really not unreasonable. Remember, the Oilers have to resign Nurse, Bear, and Puljujarvi next year and they'll all likely get raises (assuming Bear's play improves this year, but he's a hard worker so I think it'll happen).