Confirmed with Link: Oilers sign Connor Brown to 1-year incentive laden deal ($775K caphit, potentially $3.25M in bonuses)

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

4 or 5 firsts is a ridiculous overpay for a guy like Konecny just to dump Campbell.

Those first can be used in a much better way to upgrade the team.

is it really?

Then do something better. You have a 2 year window

 

[joestevens29]

Hes been far better in the last 3 games. Anyone who actually watches & has even a remote understanding of the game would see & know that.

Listened to part of interview with him. The guy really spelled it out quite well. He's actually surprised that he feels as good as he does that past few games.

Can tell he has a lot of confidence and that the points will come.

Didn't shy away that he was bad the first few games either.

 

[LTIR]

Listened to part of interview with him. The guy really spelled it out quite well. He's actually surprised that he feels as good as he does that past few games.

Can tell he has a lot of confidence and that the points will come.

Didn't shy away that he was bad the first few games either.

That's all great but if there is a way to get out of that 4M cap hit next season you make it happen.

 

[joestevens29]

is it really?

Then do something better. You have a 2 year window

Traded a first rounder for a 5th rounder is better than what you suggested.

 

[fuswald]

That's all great but if there is a way to get out of that 4M cap hit next season you make it happen.

Actually 3.25 next year.

So far Brown has not shown his worth and has 1 game left to prove it.
If still nothing then he better be gone. That is what the audition is for.

Unless he is willing to renegotiate for more time.

If still kept with nothing to show then we know McDavid is wearing the pants in this family and / or Holland doesn't ’t care.

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

Traded a first rounder for a 5th rounder is better than what you suggested.

With the age of your wingers and lack of prospects you guys have a 2 year window. Then you are toast. 2 years might be being nice, it's a young mans league.

Obviously with a dumb post of trading a 5th for a 1st you are just confrontational and argumentative.

You realize 4/5 late first round picks with your drafting history will net you crap all. Even if it does, it's 6 years down the road who cares.

TBL traded 2 firsts for Hagel 2 for Coleman etc. You also have to dump Campbell, I'm not far off here

 

[CupofOil]

Vegas is the team to beat until they start showing any signs of weakness. Which they have not.

The only other team that has maybe earned the right to be considered as such is maybe Colorado because they won the previous Cup and look strong also, but even they don't get that full benefit of the doubt IMO because they are a considerably less deep of a team than that 2022 squad was.

No one else in the West has earned f*** all to be claiming themselves as the "team to beat". Team to beat are walking around with Stanley Cup rings from last year.

Right now the West is Vegas and Colorado above the pack, with Edmonton maybe (provided they want to get off their asses and work and get back into a winning record), Dallas, etc. in a middle tier below that.

Vegas is a machine. I thought that they'd fall of a bit because I feel they overachieved a bit last season, had a really high shooting percentage etc., but they're the real deal.

They're like the Boston of the East. A system team where every player lines 1-4, pairings 1-3 play exactly the same way and where you can plug in just about anybody into the system and they'll find success. There's plenty of talent, on Vegas in particular, but it's just one of those franchises that plays a real TEAM game and gets the most out of their role players.

On the other hand, the Oilers are a team with elite talent at the top that plays like individuals often times and has a tendency to get the least of their role players.

 

[Soundwave]

Vegas is a machine. I thought that they'd fall of a bit because I feel they overachieved a bit last season, had a really high shooting percentage etc., but they're the real deal.

They're like the Boston of the East. A system team where every player lines 1-4, pairings 1-3 play exactly the same way and where you can plug in just about anybody into the system and they'll find success. There's plenty of talent, on Vegas in particular, but it's just one of those franchises that plays a real TEAM game and gets the most out of their role players.

On the other hand, the Oilers are a team with elite talent at the top that plays like individuals often times and has a tendency to get the least of their role players.

The Oilers have poor goaltending and defense. I'd say they got just about everything out of McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, RNH, as you're going to get last year, even the bottom 6 overperformed and they still couldn't beat Vegas because the D and goaltending got completely outclassed.

 

[Soundwave]

I love how easy posters make this sound and that the players on min wage could be any good. We have seen what happens when we cheap out on the 3rd and 4th line. Foegele has been out performing Brown all year

If you are recognizing the situation is ridiculous ... congratulations. You've recognized the stupid bind Holland has put us in.

Jackson has to think about more than just this year, from his POV frankly this year isn't as important as next off-season. Next off-season he has to resign Draisaitl with aging RNH, Kane, etc. on the books, they are going to need that entire 5 million in cap raise to be able to refresh the lineup and add to it.

We can't have a $3.225 cap penalty for next year. No way.

Just because Holland doesn't care because the team didn't give him a new contract, doesn't mean Jackson can have it. He is going to hire the new GM, and then what? New GM is instantly handcuffed and can't do much in the summer roster wise? That's then a Jeff Jackson problem.

 

[CupofOil]

The Oilers have poor goaltending and defense. I'd say they got just about everything out of McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, RNH, as you're going to get last year, even the bottom 6 overperformed and they still couldn't beat Vegas because the D and goaltending got completely outclassed.

Vegas rolls their lines and pairings. Vegas played well within a system.
Yes, they have good personnel on defense no doubt but Vegas just plays more of a team oriented, fundamental game.
Adin Hill was a cast-off prior to last season. The system is a big part of their success.

As far as the Oilers getting the most out of their players. It's the same old thing over and over again. They have new guys/prospects that bubble up and play well for a while then as time goes by, the production disappears.

Guys like Hyman, Kane and RNH are always going to produce because of McDrai but I'm going to beyond that to the role players. McLeod can't piss a drop of offense anymore, same with Holloway, 4th line non-existent again this year, Ceci great the first year and hasn't fallen off a cliff since, Ekholm struggling this season although that could be due to lingering injury, Bouchard struggling, shine came off of Desharnais after a strong start, same with Skinner etc. etc.
There's a ton of other examples of this from previous years when guys fell off after a strong start. Something about this place eventually gets to players where their play eventually falls off the longer they're here.

Vegas, on the other hand, consistently gets the most out of their players. Hell, most of their players right off the bat with their initial year was a bunch of cast-offs who had new life in Vegas and it's still happening with them. Also happened with Seattle funny enough including our former Adam Larsson.
Yes you need the talent but a good environment/system is also important.

 

[bone]

The Oilers have poor goaltending and defense. I'd say they got just about everything out of McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, RNH, as you're going to get last year, even the bottom 6 overperformed and they still couldn't beat Vegas because the D and goaltending got completely outclassed.

While it's likely all related, I still think the issue was as much composure as it was defense or goaltending.

They constantly got destroyed the next couple shifts after a goal for or against. 7 times in a 6 game series they allowed a goal against within 2 minutes of either a goal for or a goal against. 32% of Vegas' goals were scored within 2 minutes of another goal by either team. There was also a goal against within the first minute of a game (granted they responded to that one also inside the first minute)

5 times they allowed 3 goals in a period. 15 of the 22 goals against occured in 5 of the 18 periods meaning they only allowed 7 goals in the other 13 periods (a 1.61 GAA over 72% of the periods) and one of those was an empty netter.

Settle the f*** down. Good teams will score goals against you. It's okay. You just got to limit it to one when it happens and not turn it into 2 or 3 in a short period of time.

On the positive side of it they also scored 4 goals within 2 minutes of a goal for or against, but that's likely the only reason the series stayed close.

 

[MessierII]

The Oilers have poor goaltending and defense. I'd say they got just about everything out of McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, RNH, as you're going to get last year, even the bottom 6 overperformed and they still couldn't beat Vegas because the D and goaltending got completely outclassed.

That’s not the only reason they lost. Top 6 couldn’t score 5 on 5 outside of Draisaitl in game 1.

 

[Soundwave]

Honestly any series where your goalie is like a .875 save percentage and the other team has a .934 going in net is pretty much an auto loss.

You can't win.

It was like the Oilers-Red Wings series (round 1) 2006 ... Manny Legace (.884) versus Dwayne Roloson (.929). Red Wings also out in 6.

Holland's seen that movie before I guess.

 

[guymez]

Vegas rolls their lines and pairings. Vegas played well within a system.
Yes, they have good personnel on defense no doubt but Vegas just plays more of a team oriented, fundamental game.
Adin Hill was a cast-off prior to last season. The system is a big part of their success.

As far as the Oilers getting the most out of their players. It's the same old thing over and over again. They have new guys/prospects that bubble up and play well for a while then as time goes by, the production disappears.

Guys like Hyman, Kane and RNH are always going to produce because of McDrai but I'm going to beyond that to the role players. McLeod can't piss a drop of offense anymore, same with Holloway, 4th line non-existent again this year, Ceci great the first year and hasn't fallen off a cliff since, Ekholm struggling this season although that could be due to lingering injury, Bouchard struggling, shine came off of Desharnais after a strong start, same with Skinner etc. etc.
There's a ton of other examples of this from previous years when guys fell off after a strong start. Something about this place eventually gets to players where their play eventually falls off the longer they're here.

Vegas, on the other hand, consistently gets the most out of their players. Hell, most of their players right off the bat with their initial year was a bunch of cast-offs who had new life in Vegas and it's still happening with them. Also happened with Seattle funny enough including our former Adam Larsson.
Yes you need the talent but a good environment/system is also important.

Systems matter and the Oilers players (for reasons I dont understand) have a lot of difficulty adhering to a system. A strong system can be very difficult to defeat and it was on full display last playoffs. Vegas dismantled the Oilers. Its an equalizer when you have every player on every line fully committed playing exactly the same way. The talent level means less.
This team either wont or cant play a tight system like Vegas and on top of that they burn through coaches.
So far this season the team has shown that they cant seem to adapt to implementing a new system. Its been a massive fail up until now and that obviously has to change.
We shall see how things go.
If they cant figure things out this season (become a systems orientated team) then its pretty clear that this group never will.

 

[KlefDown]

seriously wavie this clown

but because he's connor's friend and just came off an injury it won't happen

 

[nexttothemoon]

We have to also realize that McDrai are now likely "sub/co-managing" this team alongside Holland as well.

It's obviously the case that the Oilers want to keep McDrai around past their current contracts and what McDrai say with regards to players coming-going is part of that strategy to keep them.

If those two want Foegele around... ok he stays... if those 2 want Connor Brown around... ok Holland goes out and figures a way to get him onto the roster.

Katz & Co. know how their bread is buttered... they know the chances of doing much without McDrai is pretty slim (at least in the short term)... they know attendance could/would plummet with a McDrai exit from the org and that directly affects the bottom line of Katz and they want to keep McDrai happy and have as high a chance of seeing them both re-sign as possible.

Some of these moves (including the Jackson hire) are explainable through the filter of McDrai having a direct say in which transactions are made with regards to the roster (and possibly even the coaching as well).

 

[guymez]

We have to also realize that McDrai are now likely "sub-managing" this team alongside Holland as well.

It's obviously the case that the Oilers want to keep McDrai around past their current contracts and what McDrai say with regards to players coming-going is part of that strategy to keep them.

If those two want Foegele around... ok he stays... if those 2 want Connor Brown around... ok Holland goes out and figures a way to get him onto the roster.

Katz & Co. know how their bread is buttered... they know the chances of doing much without McDrai is pretty slim (at least in the short term)... they know attendance could/would plummet with a McDrai exit from the org and that directly affects the bottom line of Katz and they want to keep McDrai happy and have as high a chance of seeing them both re-sign as possible.

Some of these moves (including the Jackson hire) are explainable through the filter of McDrai having a direct say in which transactions are made with regards to the roster (and possibly even the coaching as well).

I wonder how many players on a championship caliber team like Vegas are helping to run the team?

 

[Soundwave]

We have to also realize that McDrai are now likely "sub-managing" this team alongside Holland as well.

It's obviously the case that the Oilers want to keep McDrai around past their current contracts and what McDrai say with regards to players coming-going is part of that strategy to keep them.

If those two want Foegele around... ok he stays... if those 2 want Connor Brown around... ok Holland goes out and figures a way to get him onto the roster.

Katz & Co. know how their bread is buttered... they know the chances of doing much without McDrai is pretty slim (at least in the short term)... they know attendance could/would plummet with a McDrai exit from the org and that directly affects the bottom line of Katz and they want to keep McDrai happy and have as high a chance of seeing them both re-sign as possible.

Some of these moves (including the Jackson hire) are explainable through the filter of McDrai having a direct say in which transactions are made with regards to the roster (and possibly even the coaching as well).

Probably just means then that Brett Kulak is dumped at the trade deadline for a cheaper salary retained defenceman. Or Cody Ceci.

While Holland may have no cares about next season, Jeff Jackson is certainly responsible for it now, really if anything next year is more on Jeff Jackson than this year is. This year Jackson gets a pass because he's new. But next season? He is going to hire the new GM. He is on the hook for performance. Can't hire a new GM and anchor them day 1 with a 3+ million dead cap hit when you already have almost 2 million in previous dead cap.

And really, this is basically how the NBA is run. LeBron basically has a say in the roster make up and coaching hires, so does Durant, probably so does Steph Curry (they resigned Draymond Green largely because Curry wanted him back). Giannis doesn't probably specifically but the Bucks took his comments about potentially leaving dead serious and went out and made a huge trade to get Dame Lillard as a second superstar for him to play with.

 

[Exile of Atlantis]

I wonder how many players on a championship caliber team like Vegas are helping to run the team?

I would suspect letting the inmates run the asylum gets you a comfortable asylum, rather than a championship.

 

[bellagiobob]

We have to also realize that McDrai are now likely "sub-managing" this team alongside Holland as well.

It's obviously the case that the Oilers want to keep McDrai around past their current contracts and what McDrai say with regards to players coming-going is part of that strategy to keep them.

If those two want Foegele around... ok he stays... if those 2 want Connor Brown around... ok Holland goes out and figures a way to get him onto the roster.

Katz & Co. know how their bread is buttered... they know the chances of doing much without McDrai is pretty slim (at least in the short term)... they know attendance could/would plummet with a McDrai exit from the org and that directly affects the bottom line of Katz and they want to keep McDrai happy and have as high a chance of seeing them both re-sign as possible.

Some of these moves (including the Jackson hire) are explainable through the filter of McDrai having a direct say in which transactions are made with regards to the roster (and possibly even the coaching as well).

Barrie was extremely tight with McDrai, and they traded him.

 

[joestevens29]

Systems matter and the Oilers players (for reasons I dont understand) have a lot of difficulty adhering to a system. A strong system can be very difficult to defeat and it was on full display last playoffs. Vegas dismantled the Oilers. Its an equalizer when you have every player on every line fully committed playing exactly the same way. The talent level means less.
This team either wont or cant play a tight system like Vegas and on top of that they burn through coaches.
So far this season the team has shown that they cant seem to adapt to implementing a new system. Its been a massive fail up until now and that obviously has to change.
We shall see how things go.
If they cant figure things out this season (become a systems orientated team) then its pretty clear that this group never will.

Struds, Brown and Gregor touched on this yesterday. Mainly Struds talking, but he said it's not really the system that this team always struggles with. There is just a breakdown by the players and the decisions they make, regardless of the system.

Seems anytime the offense starts to move the puck around the guys regardless of system find a way to breakdown.

Barrie was extremely tight with McDrai, and they traded him.

Judging by his wedding he seems to be extremely tight with everyone he's ever played with

 

[Soundwave]

Struds, Brown and Gregor touched on this yesterday. Mainly Struds talking, but he said it's not really the system that this team always struggles with. There is just a breakdown by the players and the decisions they make, regardless of the system.

Seems anytime the offense starts to move the puck around the guys regardless of system find a way to breakdown.

It's almost as if they're bad defensemen, lol.

 

[CornKicker]

The Oilers have poor goaltending and defense. I'd say they got just about everything out of McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, RNH, as you're going to get last year, even the bottom 6 overperformed and they still couldn't beat Vegas because the D and goaltending got completely outclassed.

id argue you are wrong, with injuries to RNH, hyman and kane were significant issues in that series. depsite that the oilers outplayed vegas the majority of the series. i do agree the goaltending needed to be better and the 4-6 min defensive lapses that created 2 losses were significant.

 

[joestevens29]

It's almost as if they're bad defensemen, lol.

Not just the defenseman. Struds breaks down a lot of goals against the Oilers. A lot of times it's our forwards making the wrong decisions.

I mean you're not wrong either, but it's not just a defenseman issue with this team.

 

[Soundwave]

Not just the defenseman. Struds breaks down a lot of goals against the Oilers. A lot of times it's our forwards making the wrong decisions.

I mean you're not wrong either, but it's not just a defenseman issue with this team.

It's just not a very good I.Q. team when it comes to defensive hockey. Even the goalies make stupid plays with the puck constantly, causing turn overs. I think Skinner almost gave Calgary a freebie goal again in the last game but scrambled back into net to make a save.