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

[guymez]

Only in Edmonton does your team go from perennial loser to the second round and your fanbase thinks you are doing a poor job.

Why frame this as an all or nothing scenario? Why is it a problem for you and others if some critically thinking fans decide to analyze individual decisions?

Comments like your post dont make a lot of sense to me.

 

[kurtcobang]

Totally agree we came this close to making it to the conference finals, dealt away the player that 99% of the board wanted gone. Resigned a player who was a valuable part of our top 4 D. Now the sky is falling and the regular chicken little posters are losing their **** all over the place.

Who gives a crap what the mains say. The hey mocked the Hall deal for months, they mocked us getting Chia. Now that McDavid swept the awards and we are the most dangerous young team in the west the hate will be coming from every direction, even from some of our own self loathing fans it seems.

I would venture to say the mains are more rational than HFOil this last week. Unreadable garbage some of this
How is Russell bad? Guy was steady all season and playoffs. Of course he's not perfect but he's miles ahead of Ference in every category but "leadership" and so called toughness when he signed here. Who else was available at 4x4?
And the Chia hate is amazing. Almost like we forgot where we were a month ago. The guy seems to know what he's doing if you ask me. The Tambo and MacT ptsd around here is insanity!

 

[ujju2]

I like how it's front-loaded. Makes it much easier to move. Chiarelli's no idiot.

 

[doulos]

Why frame this as an all or nothing scenario? Why is it a problem for you and others if some critically thinking fans decide to analyze individual decisions?

Comments like your post dont make a lot of sense to me.

I have not done what you are accusing me of. Good day.

 

[ujju2]

I would venture to say the mains are more rational than HFOil this last week. Unreadable garbage some of this
How is Russell bad? Guy was steady all season and playoffs. Of course he's not perfect but he's miles ahead of Ference in every category but "leadership" and so called toughness when he signed here. Who else was available at 4x4?
And the Chia hate is amazing. Almost like we forgot where we were a month ago. The guy seems to know what he's doing if you ask me. The Tambo and MacT ptsd around here is insanity!

As someone who admittedly liked Ference more than the vast majority, I have to disagree. That said, I have no problem with the deal.

 

[83to48]

Not happy at all with the term. 2 years sure but 4 is just silly. I know every player has there flaws but seriously Russel is so one dimensional it hurts. This is a player that is the very definition of a bottom pair defenceman. I love his compete and work ethic but too many times have I watched the cycle game of bigger teams just work over Russel and Sekera. He doesn't bring much outside of his own zone and even then he is shaky at times. Needs to be a better puck mover if we are gonna go all the way.

 

[snipes]

Meh, a year longer and a little more than I would have liked but I'm good with Russell on our team.

 

[guymez]

signing bonus in last year makes it buyout proof

"Awesome"

As if the 4 year term wasnt bad enough...Chiarelli relents to tying his own hands on moving the player after 2 years.

F***ing brilliant if true.

 

[J4M13M]

Pretty sure the 4th year was a team option. Allowed them to pay him more now. The last year carries a 2.5M salary, but 1M of that is a signing bonus. So a team would be paying 1.5M for a 4M cap hit. Even if he's hot garbage, someone will look at the economics and take that.

The 3rd year might be problematic, but if he's even decent in year 1 and 2, that's the cost of doing business.

 

[guymez]

I have not done what you are accusing me of. Good day.

Well your broad strokes painted all Oilers fans that dont like this deal with the same brush. What exactly were you trying to accomplish?

 

[Arturs Irbe]

As much as people hate the deal it's not horrible. He was a top 4 D on a top 8 team last year and he's a 30 year old UFA. Did you really expect him to sign for 2 years 3 million?

 

[Soundwave]

Yeah off the "Happy With Chiarelli" train, this one of the last straw.

Legit wish we did not hire him, yes last year was good but a number of competent GMs could have gotten a similar result with McDavid + Draisaitl + Sather gifting them Talbot.

Making a nice move for Maroon (who we're going to lose in a year for nothing) doesn't offset the bad ones or several deals in which we are assuming all the risk.

 

[IAGTTAYM]

With no Sekera to hold his hand next season, combined with an on-ice SV% that will most likely regress, it will become apparent even for slowest kid in class that Kris Russell is not a good option as a top 4 d-man.

 

[smokersarejokers]

its times like this i wish i were a leafs fan

Then be a Leafs fan!

Jeez. In this day and age, you can watch any game you want online and you can be a fan of any team you like.

The fact that it's front loaded makes it easier to move at the end of the deal. They kind of need Russell with Sekera out. He's a big leader on this team and he's probably going to get Eberle's "A".

I don't love the deal, but I don't think this is Nikitin or Ference all over again. I'm certainly not ready to be a Leafs fan!

 

[oXo Cube]

As if the 4 year term wasnt bad enough...Chiarelli relents to tying his own hands on moving the player after 2 years.

F***ing brilliant if ture.

I don't think this is a big deal to be honest.

Someone will take him via trade if they can add a 4M cap hit for only 1.5M in real dollars. Maybe we'll have to give up a small asset to get someone to do that, but there are lots of historical examples.

 

[guymez]

As much as people hate the deal it's not horrible. He was a top 4 D on a top 8 team last year and he's a 30 year old UFA. Did you really expect him to sign for 2 years 3 million?

Russell is not a top 4 Dman on a good team. Thats a large part of the problem.

 

[SDig14]

Russell is not a top 4 Dman on a good team. Thats a large part of the problem.

He sure as **** was last year. And he will be the next 2 years.

Unless you think we somehow won't be good now...

 

[smokersarejokers]

Yeah off the "Happy With Chiarelli" train, this one of the last straw.

Legit wish we did not hire him, yes last year was good but a number of competent GMs could have gotten a similar result with McDavid + Draisaitl + Sather gifting them Talbot.

Making a nice move for Maroon (who we're going to lose in a year for nothing) doesn't offset the bad ones or several deals in which we are assuming all the risk.

HAHA. Love this.

 

[McDoused]

Lol Oiler fans, we re-sign a top 4 dman and everyone's upset.

But but he's not a top four dman, he only plays top four minutes.

 

[Musashi]

Russell is not a top 4 Dman on a good team. Thats a large part of the problem.

We were a good team last year

 

[guymez]

I don't think this is a big deal to be honest.

Someone will take him via trade if they can add a 4M cap hit for only 1.5M in real dollars. Maybe we'll have to give up a small asset to get someone to do that, but there are lots of historical examples.

Here's hoping.
I dont like this deal at all. $4M and 4 years for a soon to be declining bottom pairing dman is not a smart hockey move.

 

[Arturs Irbe]

Russell is not a top 4 Dman on a good team. Thats a large part of the problem.

So top 8 isn't good? We could have beaten Anaheim as well.

 

[doulos]

Well your broad strokes painted all Oilers fans that dont like this deal with the same brush. What exactly were you trying to accomplish?

Not trying to accomplish anything. The fact that we are all here discussing hockey trades on the internet on a Friday morning means that most of us are accomplishing very little currently.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

I don't think this is a big deal to be honest.

Someone will take him via trade if they can add a 4M cap hit for only 1.5M in real dollars. Maybe we'll have to give up a small asset to get someone to do that, but there are lots of historical examples.

There is absolutely zero guarantee someone will take him when he's older and worse.

We said this about Pouliot and Fayne and they're STILL HERE. And if they're still here after tonight then we won't be getting rid of them.

 

[La Bamba]

Russell is not a top 4 Dman on a good team. Thats a large part of the problem.

We were a good team last year. Russell was a top 4 Dman.

Look at Pittsburgh's defence... Russell would've been a top 4 easily