Confirmed with Link: Letestu signs with Edmonton

[EspenK]

He's versatile for sure but we don't want the most expensive 4th line in the NHL this year, so good on him getting 1.8 per for 3 years with an up and coming team.

That's why we should have bought out...Bo...nevermind

Take your pick.

 

[Tulipunaruusu*]

I didn't think the Jackets should have matched the contract DMac got in Florida, but I would have been fine with matching Letestu's EDM contract.

In the Blue Jackets Letestu doesn't really have likely path out of the fourth line so career option-wise it might not be the best for him. Alberta is also his home region?

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Good for him. He's a versatile player who will help Edmonton.

Letestu wasn't good enough for top tier Canadian juniors and didn't make the NHL until he was 25. Now he's set for life with a $5.4 million deal and gets to play near his home town.

With the logjam at forward here some pieces had to go. He was one of them.

 

[JKG08]

In the Blue Jackets Letestu doesn't really have likely path out of the fourth line so career option-wise it might not be the best for him. Alberta is also his home region?

Thats a very good point. He might have been willing to take 1.8M per in a situation where he can likely play more minutes and be closer to home where as with CBJ, he basically knows he's a 4th liner and a thousand miles from home. Edmonton also has lower tax rates than Columbus so we would have had to offer him 2M or more for it to really make sense for him to choose CBJ over Edmonton.

 

[Crede777]

Maybe this will be the year Chaput steps up.

 

[WannabeFinn]

I love Letestu but if we want to commit big $$$/term in order to have an elite top 9/top 4 we can't afford to be paying 4th liners/3rd pairing players more than 1m/yr.

Thanks for everything, Mark. Go have fun with McJesus

 

[EspenK]

I love Letestu but if we want to commit big $$$/term in order to have an elite top 9/top 4 we can't afford to be paying 4th liners/3rd pairing players more than 1m/yr.

Thanks for everything, Mark. Go have fun with McJesus

We could. Go play with the cap.It could work especially if we move a guy like Hartnell a few years from now. If you're right get ready to bid adieu to Calvert.

 

[JacketsDavid]

Ryan Rishaug ‏@TSNRyanRishaug 43s43 seconds ago

1.8 per year for Letestu

Good for Mark. IMO you avoid signing bottom 6 forwards (or too many of them) to multi year deals.
Fine player but if we need a 4th line C you can sign one for $800k for 1 year in a week or so.

 

[Crede777]

Good for Mark. IMO you avoid signing bottom 6 forwards (or too many of them) to multi year deals.
Fine player but if we need a 4th line C you can sign one for $800k for 1 year in a week or so.

Yeah, good thing we didn't do that for Boll. Holy crap can you imagine?

 

[LoveCBJ]

Damn, I liked his play on the penalty kill. Sad to see him go. Good luck.

 

[Xoggz22]

3 years at 1.8 fits the cap by my way of thinking. I think that was a dumb move. Karlsson better be the 2nd coming.

If they didn't sign DMac for three years last year they weren't thing three years with Letestu this year.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Yeah, good thing we didn't do that for Boll. Holy crap can you imagine?

 

[blahblah]

It's a little odd to me that JK gets worked up over a year of a deal on veterans like he does. Dollars and term seemed quite fair, so I don't know what the deal was here.

Sorry to see him go. I hate Edmonton a little less today. I hope he does well but Edmonton still sucks.

 

[The Jones Zone]

If I had been stuck on a line with Boll like He was I'd get out of town

He was poorly used last year and I don't blame him for leaving one bit regardless of contract

Complete Mismanagement of a quality Center

 

[CBJWerenski8]

aron Portzline ‏@Aportzline 29m29 minutes ago

#CBJ Mark Letestu is from Alberta, but said leaving Columbus feels like leaving home. “I wanted to see it through here. I know it’s ...

Aaron Portzline ‏@Aportzline 29m29 minutes ago

"...a special place; a lot of good things are going to happen. I wanted to see it thru and be a part of it. Now I’ll be watching from afar.”

Aaron Portzline ‏@Aportzline 26m26 minutes ago

#CBJ felt it couldn't match Letestu's offer from #Oilers. #CBJ Jarmo Kekalainen: "It's hard. But you have to take the emotion out of it."

Aaron Portzline ‏@Aportzline 2m2 minutes ago

#Oilers Mark Letestu: "I tell people that Edmonton is where I'm from, but Columbus is our home. That's what I told people."

Letestu was class from start to finish

 

[EspenK]

aron Portzline ‏@Aportzline 29m29 minutes ago

#CBJ Mark Letestu is from Alberta, but said leaving Columbus feels like leaving home. “I wanted to see it through here. I know it’s ...

Aaron Portzline ‏@Aportzline 29m29 minutes ago

"...a special place; a lot of good things are going to happen. I wanted to see it thru and be a part of it. Now I’ll be watching from afar.”

Aaron Portzline ‏@Aportzline 26m26 minutes ago

#CBJ felt it couldn't match Letestu's offer from #Oilers. #CBJ Jarmo Kekalainen: "It's hard. But you have to take the emotion out of it."

Aaron Portzline ‏@Aportzline 2m2 minutes ago

#Oilers Mark Letestu: "I tell people that Edmonton is where I'm from, but Columbus is our home. That's what I told people."

Letestu was class from start to finish

Well unless he is suddenly full of bs it doesn't appear that the Edmonton climate or closeness to his home town were big reasons why he isn't here anymore.

As to the bolded I just don't get it. Buyout Bourque and or Boll and you pay for a good part the extra year of Letestu. Hell, even buy Letestu out of the third year and you 'd have a lower cost. I'm just never going to understand this move. Hopefully by morning I can compartmentalize this and move on.

 

[Socks]

Quotes of Tube being über classy.

God I'm gonna miss this guy. He's one of the truly good ones.

 

[Tulipunaruusu*]

He could buy himself out of a job if he would be buying out at every given turn.

Also signing someone and then trading him away or buying him out wouldn't gather very good reputation around the league or the team. Contract security is also one thing to consider - like climate or tax aka the money but yeah why bother...

There should be contract negotiations 101 available since everytime around this gets to very basic stuff... shoot for the stars.

 

[Viqsi]

God I'm gonna miss this guy. He's one of the truly good ones.

Likewise. Hope he can help get things back on track up there.

 

[HockeyGuy1964]

1 good thing about it is I get to watch all his games on TV rather than streaming them on the internet.

May even need to look into Oiler season tickets.

 

[elmariachi227]

Too bad you didn't follow them last year, you could have gotten a lot of free jerseys!

 

[CBJSlash]

Honestly, the more I look at our forward lines, I don't see rolling four lines in our future. 4th liners will have to PKers if they want to sniff 10 minutes a night.

 

[DarkandStormy]

Honestly, the more I look at our forward lines, I don't see rolling four lines in our future. 4th liners will have to PKers if they want to sniff 10 minutes a night.

Campbell over Letestu made this happen. A 4th line of Calvert - Letestu - Bourque/Rychel/Morin? They'd play 11-12 minutes (if not more) a night, with both Calvert and Letestu contributing on the PK as well.

 

[EspenK]

Campbell over Letestu made this happen. A 4th line of Calvert - Letestu - Bourque/Rychel/Morin? They'd play 11-12 minutes (if not more) a night, with both Calvert and Letestu contributing on the PK as well.

And Morin would have a heck of a commute.

 

[Hipster Letestu]

Although I'm sad to see him go it's not overly surprising to me. He's proven himself to be a legit third line center and we just don't have a space for him to play there. I don't think he would have been happy playing fourth line minutes. Guess it's time to find a new name.