Rumor: Rumors & Proposals Thread | Does Bowman Make His Mark on the Team Before Training Camp?

[Pass the Saitl Sauce]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1825892804415074400

So Stecher or Brown are our #4 Dmen? LOL

Someone hold me. I'm going to pass out

Sadly I think that’s the plan until the deadline.

 

[jukon]

Sure I didn't read every page, but I didn't see much talk about injury concerns of Broberg. I was always rooting for the kid, but boy was I nervous every time he touched the puck in his own end. Especially in the playoffs.

 

[McTonyBrar]

Other than Bouchard and Ekholm, no one on that back end are good at breakout passes.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Honestly just sign Justin Schultz for now lol

Why? I don’t think he’s better than any of the other bottom pairing we have

 

[WaitingForUser]

Some games Nurse needs a puck mover AND a shutdown guy.

Nurse played very well with Adam Larsson, who isn't a great puck mover. Don't talk about a puck mover for Nurse too much though, there's still Barrie, Justin Schultz and Tony DeAngelo available in free agency - all puck movers who I don't think will help the team.

Actually from what I remember Nurse and Larsson were only good for a very short time. Larsson played primarily with Klefbom not Nurse.

 

[McTonyBrar]

Maybe they have a plan in place?

It sounds like they're plan is to beg for a top 4 dman at the deadline.

 

[TameYew]

Brobergs career stats:

Year	GP	P	+/-	TOI
2021-22	23	3	-8	13:28
2022-23	46	8	+6	12:36
2023-24	12	2	-3	12:42

What screams $4.6M per year?

 

[CycloneSweep]

Why? I don’t think he’s better than any of the other bottom pairing we have

Competition. Sign him to either a PTO or a similar contract to Brown. Let the best players play.

 

[McTonyBrar]

Why? I don’t think he’s better than any of the other bottom pairing we have

He can make breakout passes. Only our top pair can make them consistently. Nurse is shit at them. Kulak is bad at them. I haven't seen much of Emberson so not sure. Brown is just good at throwing punches. Stecher is good at rushing the puck.

In 2007 we barely had any puck moving Dmen. Do you remember how awful the team was?

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

I don’t disagree but I think it’s hard to make a fair assessment without all the facts, we don’t know how willing either side was to negotiate extensions in season. It takes two to tango and at that point both players performances didn’t give them much to negotiate on and it wasn’t going to get worse waiting until the offseason but it could get better.

Let me ask you a couple questions. If you were the Oilers GM, knowing that their is a ton of uncertainty surrounding your cap situation and not even knowing at that point what the upper limit is going to be, between January and April, would you of signed Broberg to a 1.8M cap hit and Holloway to a 1.2M?

And second question if you were either of these players agent and the playoffs just ended and you are just over a week from free agency and you know Armstrong has alluded to using offer sheets and you look at the Oilers cap situation, would you advise your client to take a 1.2 or 1.8 offer at that point or would you tell them to hold off and see if any gm’s reach out on July 1?

I don’t think Broberg ever had the intention of signing before seeing if he could force his way out via offer sheet. But in hindsight I think management screwed up by not getting Holloway done in season. Maybe 1.2M is more than he’s worth at that point and you’re trying to watch every dollar but if you get him signed then it doesn’t leave you as exposed.

Overall, it sucks losing good prospects that you’ve put time into but it’s not a complete loss. They also managed to pick up a top 10 pick who was drafted a year before Holloway and has actually shown more at the NHL level and also added another recent top 10 pick who looks near ready and still has 3 years of elc.

Also, I really like the addition of Emberson. I put a lot of stock into Bruce Curlocks opinion and while I think overall Brobergs potential upside is more attractive I think Emberson is a better fit, both in position and style, for the teams needs right now.

It's coming out with more commentary about the Broberg relationship likely being more fractious than maybe publicly known. It certainly needed more attention and pro-active measures than slow cooking the way they've always done with RFA's. Discuss prospective sign and trade options. Be able to respond if the market changes (as warned going back to June). The Oilers were pro-active with McLeod shortly after their season ended. Made a solid move to create some cap savings and build up an anemic prospect pipeline.

This is not on the players or their agents. They caught the Oilers with their pants down with a known suitor going back to last year's trade deadline. Holloway was critical in this perfectly executed poison pill offer sheet. Again pro-activity to protect an important young player could have mitigated a high risk of two top young players signing the now historic offer sheet. Despite deep agency experience versed in leveraging the system Jackson failed to see danger. Newby Bowman who was hired for living through Cup champion cap dancing missed it too. I highly doubt Broberg or maybe even Holloway would have signed in January (though with Holloway's inexperienced manager it is a possibility).

Polkozlin is one year advance of Holloway. A decent fallback who quite possibly reset as a 3W or 4W vs top 6 projected. A Russian player who always has a door open to return home to play. And an organization that hasn't been a magnet for attracting or keeping Russian talent. Not saying Polkozin is wired that way but risks.

I'm open minded mostly for Emberson given his one year history and performance with Knoblauch. It is possible for young players to be caught in challenging development situations and deliver in fresh situations. Of course that also applies to the Blues steadfast pursuit of Broberg with the value-add of also snaking Holloway for a 3rd.

The net result of failing to see this real threat ultimately is the Oilers organization's loss of value NHL contracts and their top 2 young players. Move out of a 20 minute PK guy who did hard minute icetime, loved and respected as a teammate. Now looking at 3 career 6-7 d-men to step up into minutes and responsibilities on a Cup window team, not non-playoff teams. And likely more assets to bridge the 2RD gulf required for deep playoff runs. Upside is they can look for a natural right hander. The challenge is that quality right hander d carry about a 10% premium on contract costs and are likely rarest of rare commodity to find.

This management group was working with a largely table set roster to run at a hopeful return to the Cup. Instead they've created more question marks this season and in fostering a desired winning window with its two super elites on the clock with their contracts.

 

[Faelko]

Brobergs career stats:

Year	GP	P	+/-	TOI
2021-22	23	3	-8	13:28
2022-23	46	8	+6	12:36
2023-24	12	2	-3	12:42

What screams $4.6M per year?

It’s the potential of Broberg and the fact that he was an Oiler prospect that has people upset. He’s absolutely not worth 4.6M right now, maybe never will be. I think the Oilers did the right thing but it still sucks to see him go.

 

[nerevarine]

Now that this broberg and holloway unpleasantry is behind us can we get back to what actually matters, getting leon signed long term?

 

[TameYew]

It’s the potential of Broberg and the fact that he was an Oiler prospect that has people upset. He’s absolutely not worth 4.6M right now, maybe never will be. I think the Oilers did the right thing but it still sucks to see him go.

Exactly. The entire team is focused on winning a cup. They can't tie up 4.6M of the cap to "potential". It was a good plan to have Broberg audition for a 2nd pairing spot but there were no guarantees that he could handle it. Especially having to babysit Nurse.

 

[BIeucheeseWithWings]

Now that this broberg and holloway unpleasantry is behind us can we get back to what actually matters, getting leon signed long term?

Seriously. Everyone in the media "It's signed/agreed upon. Just waiting for the announcement." Now would be the perfect time to announce it.

 

[Canovin]

Ryan Johansen bought out. Do we have room for him? haha

 

[McDrai]

Something I think isn't really being talked about enough but with Holloway out and Kane on IR the bottom 6 to start the year is:

Janmark - Henrique - Brown
Podkolzin - Ryan - Perry

I know that third line caught lightning in a bottle down the playoff stretch but that is... not very good.

That 4th line is downright horrid. Ryan and Perry are cooked. Could be salvaged if one of the two is in the press box. Otherwise, that line is getting caved in routinely.

 

[McJadeddog]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1825892804415074400

So Stecher or Brown are our #4 Dmen? LOL

Someone hold me. I'm going to pass out

Having Stecher and Emberson both in your lineup is pretty bad.

We were looking for a RHS D last year for our 2nd pairing as well and couldn't find one. Why do we think we'll get one this year? Very risky.

 

[Macblender]

That 4th line is downright horrid. Ryan and Perry are cooked. Could be salvaged if one of the two is in the press box. Otherwise, that line is getting caved in routinely.

Legit we can spread some of our top 6 wealth which is wild and when Kane is back it will push janmark down.

Lots of options I would like to see a 4c PTO or league min contract for a vet who wants a last kick at winning. Wheeler is my dream 4c if you can convince him injured last year but all around better than Ryan.

Fourth line also won’t matter when our top 3 play the bulk of all the minutes they will be a 10 min a night line max

 

[McTonyBrar]

Having Stecher and Emberson both in your lineup is pretty bad.

We were looking for a RHS D last year for our 2nd pairing as well and couldn't find one. Why do we think we'll get one this year? Very risky.

Insanely risky. The only time we ever got one via trade was Larsson and that was in the Summer where we had to give up Taylor Hall.

How on earth does Bowman think we can get a RHD top 4 dman at the deadline? Do we even have a first rounder?

 

[Macblender]

Having Stecher and Emberson both in your lineup is pretty bad.

We were looking for a RHS D last year for our 2nd pairing as well and couldn't find one. Why do we think we'll get one this year? Very risky.

We were looking at D or a forward last year.

I think with how aggressive JJ is I would be shocked not to see us land something.

 

[McTonyBrar]

Guys we think we can get a Top 4 RHD at the deadline. Didn't we try that last year as well? The only time we got one via trade was Adam Larsson and that was after we had to trade Taylor Hall. This is a terrible plan

 

[The Nuge]

I’d be making a phone call to Johansen’s agent today. He might have fallen off and not been worth remotely close to what he was paid, but for a million dollars to play 4th line center, he’d be worth a look. Especially after losing a potential center in Holloway

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

I’d be making a phone call to Johansen’s agent today. He might have fallen off and not been worth remotely close to what he was paid, but for a million dollars to play 4th line center, he’d be worth a look. Especially after losing a potential center in Holloway

Why do we need more forwards?

 

[McHelpus]

I’d be making a phone call to Johansen’s agent today. He might have fallen off and not been worth remotely close to what he was paid, but for a million dollars to play 4th line center, he’d be worth a look. Especially after losing a potential center in Holloway

We don't have cap space?

 

[Roof Daddy]

Guys we think we can get a Top 4 RHD at the deadline. Didn't we try that last year as well? The only time we got one via trade was Adam Larsson and that was after we had to trade Taylor Hall. This is a terrible plan

Oddly enough, Adam Larsson will likely be the target this time around (barring Seattle making a playoff push).

I could see around the 40 game mark (if SEA is out of contention), something like this…

To EDM: Larsson (double retention)

To SEA: 2026 1st + STL 2025 3rd

To 3rd team: 4th rd pick/prospect

I would say that D corps heading in to the playoffs would - at the very least - be same caliber as last year:

Ek-Bouch
Nurse-Larsson
Kulak-Emberson

So couple that with a better forward group than last year and I think we’re still the favourites for the cup.