Weird timing on that Simmonds extension in Toronto...he has to know he's not getting protected in the expansion draft. Why not just wait a few weeks?
Around the League 2020/2021 Thread | Stanley Cup Final Edition
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Why would Seattle take him at his age? He’s not worth much of anything in trade. 2 year deal also makes it unlikely for anyone to take him even if he can be buried in the A with no cap consequences. Toronto has the cash to not even think about it. But it uses up a contract slot. Spezza also signed.
Egghead1999
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I find it is weird to sign it now too, including Spezza signing; maybe it is a sight that their GM is double down his own vision.
Why would Seattle want a cheap veteran everyone agrees is a top culture carrier and leader? On an expansion team? Kinda feel like that question answers itself. Very much in the same vein as Thorburn and Bellemare being picked by Vegas.
Agreed.
I’m not a huge RNH fan but this is a good move for the Oilers over the next handful of years which is what they are about right now.
Melvin
21/12/05
Its risky, but i dont think its like the worst signing. The NMC can hurt, but i think its fair if he is taking that amount. I figured he would get at least 6mil open market.
StickShift
In a pickle 🥒
It’s incredible the consistency that they’ve had with their Stamkos-Hedman-Kucherov-Vasilevsky core.
They’ve been to the conference finals in five of the last seven Stanley Cup Playoffs. They’ve made the finals three times. They’ve only missed the playoffs once during that time.
One may look back on this era in years to come and think it is disappointing that Tampa only won one Stanley Cup. This team may need to keep on winning Cups to properly secure their place in history.
Who was available from those teams Win and Phi at the time? Part of taking Thorburn was LV moving up in the draft as well.
I think there might be some decent options from Toronto to select over an aging veteran such as Simmonds. Who knows what went into the contract negotiations. Maybe Simmonds asked Dubas who Seattle has contacted him about or whether Dubas has reached out to Francis.
krutovsdonut
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rnh contract seems like the future. get strong supporting cast guys under $6m by any means possible.
Calling a below average 2C whose number's are inflated playing with McDavid and Draisaitl a "strong supporting cast guy" is questionable, IMO.
Blue and Green
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Agree. Nugent-Hopkins is a competent 2C who is playing on the wing because the Oilers have two of the very best centres in the league. If one of McDavid or Draisaitl goes down with injury they have a serviceable replacement on hand. He wanted stability and the Oilers accommodated in exchange for a lower AAV.
He is an important player for Edmonton though. A lot of players exercise their no trade clause not to go there and they generally need to pay a big premium to attract FA’s. Keeping decent players like RNH who actually want to play there at a fair cap hit should always be a priority.
Melvin
21/12/05
8 year contracts should be reserved for elite players. Not 29 year olds who are easily replaceable.
krutovsdonut
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well he ain't chopped liver either. he can't be replaced on the open market at that price, and the oilers have few spare assets to mortgage.
Disagree. I think if you have $5M to spare, RNH-level guys are a dime-a-dozen, and certainly don't need 8 years of term + an NMC.
krutovsdonut
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tell me how the oilers easily replace rnh at that salary? and while we are at it, what happens if you are wrong and the team goes backwards as a result? their number 1 priority is ensuring they field a strong enough team to keep him from requesting a trade. rnh is a known quantity.
krutovsdonut
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who do you have in mind that the oilers can sign or trade for this summer?
Alex Killorn, Ondrej Palat, Jason Zucker, Viktor Arvidsson, Reilly Smith, Joonas Donskoi, JT Compher, Alex Kerfoot.
All guys on capped out teams that could easily be available without much going the other way if you're willing to take the full cap hit. Hell, even the 3 years Tyler Johnson has left represents better value than this RNH deal, and you're probably getting a decent sweetener with that.
Plus there are lots of interesting names on the FA market likely looking to sign show-me type contracts: Joel Armia, Tomas Tatar, Jaden Schwartz, Erik Haula, etc.
And that's not even getting into guys on teams that might be getting squeezed due to the expansion draft (Greenway, Appleton, Dickinson, etc).
If you're a team with cap space and expansion protection slots this off-season, it's a buyer's market for secondary offensive pieces.
Fatass
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Danault is going to be one of the most sought-after UFAs this summer (assuming Montreal doesn't re-sign him, which is what I have my money on). For Edmonton to land him they'd have to dramatically overpay all otehr bidders. They're smart to stay out of that, at least.
Fatass
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Just thinking 5 mil x seven years for Danault is way better than keeping RNH. Danault is what the Oilers need. RNH is status quo.
krutovsdonut
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you have to field a team for 60 minutes a night. the only name on that list that even half way makes sense is zucker and he is older, makes more and scores less and played under 16 minutes a game last season and the pens are not giving him away. this is real life, not a video game. rnh plays nearly 21 minutes a game. there is no depth behind him. if you give away an asset to replace him with a donskoi (14 minutes) or (14:30) kerfoot and let him walk, i think mcdavid requests a trade the next day.
krutovsdonut
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he'd be a decent replacement defensively, but i don't know if he could handle all the roles and minutes and they'd have to pay him more than rnh and he will likely get 5 or 6 years.
Players that played lesser minutes on better teams will play more minutes on worse teams.
That's like calling Tyler Myers a #1 defenseman because he's the Canucks even strength ice-time leader.
Replacing RNH with a cheaper player allows you to build depth behind him.
Zucker, I guarantee you, is the odd man out on a cap-strapped Penguins team this summer. Burke does not like small forwards.
Out of curiosity, did you think JT Miller was a downgrade on Sam Gagner when the Canucks got him since Gagner played 18 minutes a night for the Canucks but Miller played 14 minutes a night for the Lightning?
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