Proposal: Edmonton-Columbus

[Viqsi]

Do this to get Merzlikins to Oilers and Skinner off of Edmonton, and then Columbus flip Evander Kane to Detroit.

Not exactly sure which way you'd wanna do that... Kane to Detroit for Tarasenko plus maybe. You could do something involving Holl plus maybe. Talbot and Skinner swap if both teams want...

However you wanna structure the roster pieces, Detroit has picks or D prospects that could be added to a lesser player (Tarasenko Berggren Chiarot Soderblom or Holl?) to make a deal with Columbus for Evander Kane fair value.

That still requires that Kane be anywhere near the Columbus Blue Jackets at some point and is therefore unacceptable on its face.

 

[lanceuppercut75]

That still requires that Kane be anywhere near the Columbus Blue Jackets at some point and is therefore unacceptable on its face.

Lol. He never has to step foot in the locker room, and the GMs could even agree to announce both the trades at once, so that Jenner, Werenski, Fantilli and Sillinger don't text him to welcome him to the team.

 

[Viqsi]

Lol. He never has to step foot in the locker room, and the GMs could even agree to announce both the trades at once, so that Jenner, Werenski, Fantilli and Sillinger don't text him to welcome him to the team.

I'd be happier if it's worked out that Kane is flipped to Detroit by Edmonton and then we get whatever he was flipped for rather than at any point have him describable as a Blue Jacket.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Ekholm is worth far more than Elvis, even with full retention on Elvis.

Yeah that’s insane. I wouldn’t trade Ekholm for Elvis if Columbus could retain 100% on him. Hes not good. None of his numbers are good. His GSAX stinks, his SV% stinks, he’s 31 and makes 5.4 mil. He’s not the answer for the Oil. He shouldn’t even be a question.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

They have more cap flexibility than we do though. The only reason why their offersheets were effective was due to our cap predicament and team status. They're a retooling franchise. They'd either match or they'd run the price up on every RFA we have from now until eternity.

I'm not sure I buy the 'goalie tiers' either. Year over year you see guys who go from the bottom half of that list to the top half. I lean towards a guy with a clean record of staying healthy and playing large stretches of games consistently.

What you should be considering is if his results are that poor when he’s healthy, what’s going to happen now that he’s well into his 30’s and playing for a team with Cup ambitions?

His last season with a positive GSAX was 2021-22. He was then the worst goalie in the league the year after and has never fully bounced back.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Ekholm
Skinner

for

Elvis @50%

Even if Ekholm is regressing - and he might not be, it could just be injury - there’s absolutely no chance he and Elvis have similar value.

 

[majormajor]

Even if Ekholm is regressing - and he might not be, it could just be injury - there’s absolutely no chance he and Elvis have similar value.

Like I said, he's not being traded to up value in order to get some high value Elvis piece. Obviously Elvis is being traded for Skinner, neither is a high value asset. Ekholm here is clearing salary, that's why the Oilers move him.

 

[Eegs]

What if the oilers are playing 23442D chess and hiring Stan bowman was just a soft ball to deflect when they sign Carter Hart?

Not enough dimensions.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Like I said, he's not being traded to up value in order to get some high value Elvis piece. Obviously Elvis is being traded for Skinner, neither is a high value asset. Ekholm here is clearing salary, that's why the Oilers move him.

Except in this scenario we’re barely clearing anything because most of what’s cleared is going to Elvis. Whose value, let me be clear, I think is approaching cap dump territory. Certainly far more than Ekholm’s is. Hes still a top pairing D for f***’s sake. If we put him on the open market I think he returns a younger top 4 D and a first without breaking a sweat.

Edmonton is a *far* better team with Skinner+Ekholm than they are with Elvis + ~3 million in cap space. It’s not even close. If it wasn’t coming from a decent poster like you, I honestly would have thought that your proposal was insulting or downright trolling. Sorry man you are MASSIVELY off here.

 

[majormajor]

Except in this scenario we’re barely clearing anything because most of what’s cleared is going to Elvis. Whose value, let me be clear, I think is approaching cap dump territory. Certainly far more than Ekholm’s is. Hes still a top pairing D for f***’s sake. If we put him on the open market I think he returns a younger top 4 D and a first without breaking a sweat.

Edmonton is a *far* better team with Skinner+Ekholm than they are with Elvis + ~3 million in cap space. It’s not even close. If it wasn’t coming from a decent poster like you, I honestly would have thought that your proposal was insulting or downright trolling. Sorry man you are MASSIVELY off here.

It's $6m in space. The deal you replied to specifies Elvis at 50%.

I understand if you don't like the Elvis - Skinner swap, that you won't like the deal. That's a separate matter.

I think people are going to want a lot more assurances about Ekholm's health and play level before sending value back for him, especially "a younger top 4D and a 1st" for him. That is a lot to ask for a declining 35 year old on a one year deal. We don't know if he can play up to a $6m standard anymore. The reason this works for Columbus is you probably get a good fit in a lesser role even if he's overpaid. So they're fine with it. It's the Oilers that have to be super cap efficient.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

It's $6m in space. The deal you replied to specifies Elvis at 50%.

I understand if you don't like the Elvis - Skinner swap, that you won't like the deal. That's a separate matter.

I think people are going to want a lot more assurances about Ekholm's health and play level before sending value back for him, especially "a younger top 4D and a 1st" for him. That is a lot to ask for a declining 35 year old on a one year deal. We don't know if he can play up to a $6m standard anymore. The reason this works for Columbus is you probably get a good fit in a lesser role even if he's overpaid. So they're fine with it. It's the Oilers that have to be super cap efficient.

Okay, it’s 50%. So it’s Elvis for Skinner, which is a straight salary swap for the most part if it’s 50%, except skinner is younger and has been good more recently than Elvis has, and we dump Ekholm - who, allow me to stress, despite being old is still a top pairing defenceman - off a cliff for.. nothing? Absolutely nothing? Not a single asset? And you’re defending this standpoint?

This works for Columbus because they get a top pairing defenceman, at worst very good top 4 defenceman, for absolutely free. They like that? Well no shit eh?

You are monstrously overrating how badly the Oilers need cap space. More accurately, you are a vulture circling what it thinks is corpse that’s nowhere near dead. Ekholm was very good this year before his injury. He’s expected to make a full recovery and be ready for camp in September. And not for the Blue Jackets, either.

Really help me here.

Skinner, 26 years old, 51 games, -1.5 GSAX, makes 2.6 million.

Merzlikins, 31 years old, 53 games, -8.2 GSAX, makes 5.4 million. Columbus retains 50%.

*why* in God’s name is Edmonton throwing in Ekholm for this swap?? It’s a win for CBJ already to get five years younger and get the better goalie.

 

[majormajor]

Okay, it’s 50%. So it’s Elvis for Skinner, which is a straight salary swap for the most part if it’s 50%, except skinner is younger and has been good more recently than Elvis has, and we dump Ekholm - who, allow me to stress, despite being old is still a top pairing defenceman - off a cliff for.. nothing? Absolutely nothing? Not a single asset? And you’re defending this standpoint?

This works for Columbus because they get a top pairing defenceman, at worst very good top 4 defenceman, for absolutely free. They like that? Well no shit eh?

You are monstrously overrating how badly the Oilers need cap space. More accurately, you are a vulture circling what it thinks is corpse that’s nowhere near dead. Ekholm was very good this year before his injury. He’s expected to make a full recovery and be ready for camp in September. And not for the Blue Jackets, either.

I'm an Oilers fan too, I have been since the f***ing Cape Breton Oilers were the affiliate. I've made countless puck GM rosters for the Oilers trying to figure out how to make cap space. It never dawned on me to move Ekholm because he was such an important player up until this Spring. I know how good he has been, you don't have to tell me. But he wasn't that this time and he's 35. You can't say with absolute confidence what his level is going to be and you can't say that the OIlers couldn't massively use $6m in cap space. That would be huge. I'm not the only one wondering if it's time to move Ekholm - the fact that I'm a Jackets fan came in later, when I put two and two together and realized they need a veteran shutdown LD and have cap space to burn.

I could be persuaded though that there will be clubs out there willing to send more for a year of Ekholm, there's a lot of cap space floating around. Maybe that incentivizes the Jackets to put in a good D prospect or something.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

I'm an Oilers fan too, I have been since the f***ing Cape Breton Oilers were the affiliate. I've made countless puck GM rosters for the Oilers trying to figure out how to make cap space. It never dawned on me to move Ekholm because he was such an important player up until this Spring. I know how good he has been, you don't have to tell me. But he wasn't that this time and he's 35. You can't say with absolute confidence what his level is going to be and you can't say that the OIlers couldn't massively use $6m in cap space. That would be huge.

I could be persuaded though that there will be clubs out there willing to send more for a year of Ekholm, there's a lot of cap space floating around. Maybe that incentivizes the Jackets to put in a good D prospect or something.

If Edmonton is willing to move Ekholm, they will get significantly better offers than ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. I am ABSOLUTELY confident that his level will justify a trade return better than thin air, I’ll tell you that much. Trading Ekholm means relying more heavily on Darnell Nurse and that’s ALWAYS a f***ing disaster.

Cap space is only valuable if it’s being used for something. The UFA market is bullshit this year. There’s barely anything worth going after.

I’m not making shortsighted snap decisions to wrap him up in pretty paper and a bow and deposit him in Ohio based on seven playoff games where he clearly came back too early from injury.

 

[Junohockeyfan]

Allen, Lyon, Forsberg. Offer sheet Hofer. Saros if Nashville goes full rebuild which it sounds like they might. I’d take Gibson over Elvis too.

Elvis is Latvian Stuart Skinner at double the cap hit. Big no thank you.

You have no capspace to use to offersheet Hofer! You gonna spend 4M you don’t have? lol

 

[YP44]

Columbus should not do it, but the goalie Edmonton should be going for in Columbus is Tarasov.

Don't see a fit between these two clubs.

Detroit has too many goalies, Edmonton could sniff there, although not sure how many (that would be available) are an upgrade on Pickard.

 

[Fro]

You don't want Tarasov...hes not good...bad form, bad positioning, bad attitude