Team: 2021-22 Edmonton Oilers

Initial Creation Date: Jul. 28, 2021

Published: Jul. 28, 2021

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Teams lose great players all the time, but it does not mean that the team will get worse . . . Look at the Islanders after losing Tavares or the Oilers after losing Hall. Nobody predicted that Larsson would leave, but Holland has to play the hand he is dealt. He offered Larsson a better deal than Seattle but Larsson left for non-monetary reasons. So why all the doomsaying?? I see lots to like in Holland's moves:

Hyman Signing:
Okay, term and cap hit are brutal, but it did not cost any assets. Hyman has basically made Mitch Marner look way better than he is . . . imagine he did the same for Puljujarvi or Yamamoto? He makes the team unquestionably better and can play with McDavid, Draisaitl, or RNH. The team is better after signing Hyman.

Bear/Foegele Trade:
Foegele is demonstrably better than anyone the Oilers have had at 3LW or even 2LW if we are being real. Is Bear better than Ceci? NOBODY KNOWS! I love Bear, but Ceci played better than Bear last year for Pittsburgh and is much more physical. Also, if/when Ceci files for arbitration, the Oilers get a second buyout window. The trade is borderline brilliant.

Tyson Barrie Signing:
Barrie wanted north of $8m a few years ago and north of $5m this year apparently. He is literally the TOP SCORING DEFENSEMAN IN THE ENTIRE LEAGUE. The Oilers' power play is the key to the team's success and Barrie is the lynchpin in it until Bouchard takes over. Nurse simply does not have the passing ability that Barrie has. $4.5m for 3 years is totally reasonable.

Duncan Keith/Caleb Jones Trade:
Klefbom being out meant that Holland needed a 2LHD. Keith admittedly struggled on a terrible defensive team for the last couple of years and played huge minutes. In retrospect, Holland probably overpaid for Keith, but Keith is still waaayy better than Caleb Jones. The chances of a 3rd round pick materializing into an NHL player are very, very small. So basically, Holland traded a marginal, struggling defenseman drafted in the 4th round and low draft pick for a solid veteran defenseman who won 3 Stanley Cups and 2 Norris trophies and is a natural leader to fill a 2LHD role. Could have done much worse than that under the circumstances. Oh yeah and if Duncan Keith retires after this season, Oilers get a BONUS against the cap of $3m and Chicago gets a cap recapture penalty.

Bottom line is that the Oilers are much better than last season hands down, even if they had to give up a lot of cap room to get there.

If it were me, I would find a place to send Kassian/Koskinen and try to sign Grubauer or something. We shall see I guess