Confirmed with Link: Kris Russell Signed for 4 years @ 4M per

[nabob]

The problem is that the defense is no better than it was last year and with questionable health in Sekera it's concerning. The Ducks toyed with our defense for long stretches and their back end is far superior to ours.

Our defense was in the upper half of the league last season with Klefbom coming off a major injury, Benning being a rookie, and Nurse being young/hurt half the year.

Development from Benning and Nurse, more chemistry and development from Larsson and Klefbom (they're still young as well), as well as still having cap space and assets to improve the defence make your very tired and incredibly pessimistic post pointless.

 

[Soundwave]

The structure of this deal works reasonably well for the Oilers. The only year that is a lock is this year. After that there are ways to move him. Even at the end of this year.

There is no NTC up to June 30th of the second year and the front loading helps. By the end of June in 2019 the Oilers will have paid $9.5M of his $16M deal. They can flip him to a team with budget issues at a cost of just $3.25M per year. They could even eat 25% of the deal to make it even more attractive. In the last year they could trade him on July 2nd and the cost to the team that gets him will be only $1.5M.

While no one will be partying in the streets over this one it is clear that it is structured with a short term mindset if better opportunities come up.

Yeah but by June 2019 the NTC will have kicked in already, no?

 

[Senor Catface]

I did watch him play guy, why do you think I'm voicing my opinion on the matter despite him being flawed? His shot blocking comes from tremendous anticipation. When it comes to clearing or moving the puck, he's very average in those areas but many here are just waiting to call him out for it even if it's the safe play.

Don't forget you break down games as a hobby. Has anyone seen the value in what you do yet?

No no, watching him play only counts if you DON'T like him. Duh.

Watch him again!

 

[Wretched Oil]

I think he'll get traded in the 2018/19 season prior to the trade deadline, but I totally see his worth.

Some players need to help stop the goals

 

[SK13]

Yeah but by June 2019 the NTC will have kicked in already, no?

Limited NTC for Years 3 and 4. So July 1, 2019 is the date his NTC kicks in.

Derek Stepan, for example, was going to have his NTC start on July 1 this year. So NYR dealt him ahead of that.

 

[scliff]

So what do we think happened to priorities number 1 & 2 being to sign McD and Drai respectively before moving on to Russel?

 

[McXLNC97]

So what do we think happened to priorities number 1 & 2 being to sign McD and Drai respectively before moving on to Russel?

Can't technically announce McDavid til July 1st at the earliest....it's probably already done.

 

[SK13]

So what do we think happened to priorities number 1 & 2 being to sign McD and Drai respectively before moving on to Russel?

Guessing they're close enough to done that Chiarelli knows what the budget is going to look like.

 

[scliff]

Can't technically announce McDavid til July 1st at the earliest....it's probably already done.

Ahhh, that's it.

 

[SupremeTeam16]

Chia was in a crap position with the sekera injury and Russell's agent knew it and took advantage.

Like Fourier suggested, the contracts terms are favourable for moving him in the nExt two years and I'm sure chia will do that.

I really don't think Russell took any sort of a discount. The league showed what his value was last season when he sat around all summer waiting for what he believed he was worth and it never came. He's only Gotten a year older since then and his game hasn't really changed or improved. Hope they send him to some bottom feeder as far away from Edmonton as possible next summer.

 

[McShogun99]

So last year we technically traded Yakupov for Russel and a 3rd. This year we traded Eberle for Russel and Strome. I guess we needed to keep a Ference type contract on the team.

 

[Cloned]

Can't technically announce McDavid til July 1st at the earliest....it's probably already done.

This board might melt down if extensions aren't announced on July 1.

 

[bone]

So what do we think happened to priorities number 1 & 2 being to sign McD and Drai respectively before moving on to Russel?

Possibly means that they are already signed, but can't announce by the rules of the CBA until July 1st for at least McDavid, and I suspect they want to announce both at the same time.

Knowing that number they may have wanted to lock up Russell now before other teams get to talk to him, potentially driving the price up.

 

[bone]

This board might melt down if extensions aren't announced on July 1.

Might? I'm sure it will if they aren't announced at the first possible moment.

 

[Cloned]

Might? I'm sure it will if they aren't announced at the first possible moment.

I was being optimistic.

 

[ResilientBeast]

This board might melt down if extensions aren't announced on July 1.

Based on the thread about his new deal a lot of people are ready to trade him depending on that number

 

[aki]

So last year we technically traded Yakupov for Russel and a 3rd. This year we traded Eberle for Russel and Strome. I guess we needed to keep a Ference type contract on the team.

Uh, Russell was already here. We just used some of the cap recovery to give him a $900K raise. Think of it as Eberle for Strome + $2.6M in cap recovery.

 

[McDraekke]

So last year we technically traded Yakupov for Russel and a 3rd. This year we traded Eberle for Russel and Strome. I guess we needed to keep a Ference type contract on the team.

Ference = not playing on an NHL team rightfully so

Russell = best shot blocker in the league last year, and arguably the third best dman available in Free Agency if he made it that far.

Very ****ing different, and comparing the two that way makes your argument completely pointless.

 

[yukoner88]

If we hand this contract out to Russell and the Flames end up picking up Hamonic for picks, whatever faith I have left in Chia will be gone.

you'd think we finished last this season with posts like this.

 

[The Batman]

Bad defenseman, worse contract. Wish they never signed him at all last year.

My thoughts exactly. Never been a big fan of Russell.

 

[McDraekke]

you'd think we finished last this season with posts like this.

Not to mentioned stating it the way he did really minimizes what Calgary would have to pay for Hamonic. 2 x 1st Rd picks is a lot of value, especially if you're in Calgary's position (by this I mean bubble playoff team so the picks could be lottery picks).

Overpaying Russell (and structuring his contract so that we can actually trade him down the road before his NTC kicks in) without giving up assets vs giving up 2x 1st Rd picks for Hamonic is a pretty even matchup in my opinion. Hamonic is easily the better player, but the assets to get him, in my opinion, comes close to outweighing that difference (though I am a fan of defensive dmen, so take that into consideration I guess).

 

[Cloned]

My thoughts exactly. Never been a big fan of Russell.

To be fair though Russell is the only thing right now (and was a big part of it last season too) keeping Nurse from being exposed big time and completely demolishing his value as a blue chip prospect.

 

[Mr Positive]

To be fair though Russell is the only thing right now (and was a big part of it last season too) keeping Nurse from being exposed big time and completely demolishing his value as a blue chip prospect.

We could have thrown picks at Vegas for a Dman or two though. But I like Russell. Just not for term.

 

[McDraekke]

To be fair though Russell is the only thing right now (and was a big part of it last season too) keeping Nurse from being exposed big time and completely demolishing his value as a blue chip prospect.

Without re-signing Russell, and then potentially missing out/being outbid on Hamonic anyways could end up with us having both Benning and Nurse in the top 4. Why anyone would risk that is beyond me. Russell isn't some tire fire defenseman like some people seem to be thinking. It's like they've already forgot about the defense when we went through the Decade of Despair. Russell could have been a #2 for us during some of those years.

 

[yukoner88]

We could have thrown picks at Vegas for a Dman or two though. But I like Russell. Just not for term.

or we can hang on to as many picks as possible and either use them at the deadline, or continue to try to draft and develop organizational depth.