Rumor: Rumors & Proposals Thread | Post Draft, Pre Free Agent Frenzy

[FlameChampion]

Too bad Islanders didn't buy out Pageau. He would be an ideal 3/4C for the Oilers

I was wondering about him before we signed Henrique but he’s not really needed now.

I still see McLeod more as a winger than a center but I don’t mind him in the 4C role. I just didn’t think he was a 3C but he doesn’t have to be with Henrique.

I do wonder if they will try Holloway as a center and McLeod as a LW in preseason and at times in regular season.

 

[Canovin]

I was wondering about him before we signed Henrique but he’s not really needed now.

I still see McLeod more as a winger than a center but I don’t mind him in the 4C role. I just didn’t think he was a 3C but he doesn’t have to be with Henrique.

I do wonder if they will try Holloway as a center and McLeod as a LW in preseason and at times in regular season.

Holloway and Mcleod are better used as wingers. They look lost at C. Pageau would give the Oilers so many options. We might even be able to package McLeod, Ceci and Bourgault for someone worthwhile

 

[Heavy Dee]

Let's not act like Holland didn't contribute to what Jackson was able to do yesterday.

Holland despite his flaws assembled a good team, with a good culture, and greatly improved our reputation as a team that was enjoyable to play for.

Even looking at who we signed all of Janmark, Brown, and Henrique are guys he brought in who stated they bonded with the guys in the room and enjoyed the city and the deep run; they aren't saying that if they weren't already here and gone through that experience.

Then Arvidsson said he talked to his friends and was greatly influenced by Ekholm (who Holland traded for) and Adam Larsson.

As for J. Skinner dude was just bought out having a bad season stats wise by his standards and is critiqued for never being in the playoffs. If you are his agent what team are you going to recommend he sign with? A team that just made it to the Finals so he's likely to pop his no playoffs cherry and 2 of the best centers in the entire league, an absolute no brainer.

While I appreciate the other guys we signed, I don't think anyone aside from this bunch was hotly contested.

In saying that also props to Jackson I don't think Holland would of been capable of doing so much in a single day and such reasonable contracts on top of that, also not sure Holland would have the balls to go over the cap to land Henrique and fix that issue later.

Ya, there is no way Holland would had committed himself over the salary cap like JJ did. Holland just wasn't creative or aggressive enough to take this club to the next level.

 

[McJadeddog]

Holland doesn’t get enough credit imo. The organization was a soup sandwich before he came. McDavid was on a line with AHLers, prospects were handled like grenades, no playoffs… just an absolute shit show from top to bottom. He was far from perfect but at least the organization got some stability under him.

Needed to move on though. We’re trying to win a cup and he just wasn’t nearly aggressive enough. The “squeeze” comment really comes to mind. In a tight cap world you have to be willing to squeeze whenever you can. I don’t think Holland would have done nearly what JJ did this long weekend.

I actually give Holland a lot of credit for how he stabilized things. He has done a lot of things wrong as well, such as the handling of Nurse and his contract, the Campbell signing, and I'm sure some others if I think hard about it (Keith deal comes to mind), but overall I think he was positive for the franchise.

 

[DrDrai]

I feel like Arvy chose us before July 1st. Said Ekholm had convinced him early, there was definitely backchannels occurring. This is a perfect spot for him.

Yet he negotiated with the Flames, to point their reporters said they felt they had him. He took less to try and win, so it's hard to believe the Flames were ever an option, other than to obscure the thing that had happened imo. Hilarious.

It was probably like a scam call with a bunch of other people talking in the background.

"Hi my name is Craig, how are you doing today Sir? That's good to hear, I have a great offer of 4 years at 5 million dollars sir, this offer comes with a lot of perks sir; unlimited access to the stampede, unlimited saddledome wifi and much more. Please press 1 to accept this offer. Sir, I understand but this is a great offer and I'm only offering it to you! So sir will you accept this offer?"

VA-"Yeah, no."

Craig - "He said yeah first, roll the story!"

 

[McJadeddog]

I think you guys need to give credit to yourselves as well. How edmontonians supported Connor Brown when he had tough time last season and that spontaneous standing ovation after he scored is something which has not happened in any other building.

You are special kind of fan base and players now know it. Everyone can support high scorers and jubilate when they hit landmark numbers, supporting struggling players because you love the club so hard is totally another level.

The fans wanted Brown to score SOOOO badly, lol. It was an honest reaction when he scored, everybody was legit happy for him.

He'll be 24 years old and saw that there's zero chance he will get NHL games in after the free agency day we just had. Signing a Perry would have been a huge statement for him.

Its the age players like him need to get their chance if they're ever going to have an NHL career. That's not going to happen with the Oilers.

He would be one injury away from being a callup though. The Oilers are the oldest team in the league, so there is a very high probability that he gets a callup this year.

 

[Canovin]

With Henrique on the team, I hope we at least give Anaheim a call and see if Gudas would want to play here

 

[oXo Cube]

Ya, there is no way Holland would had committed himself over the salary cap like JJ did. Holland just wasn't creative or aggressive enough to take this club to the next level.

The frustrating thing about Holland for me was that I never felt he needed to be creative. The impossible to get pieces were already in place for him from day 1. We didn't need Kenny to turn water into wine we just needed him to get off his ass and go to the liquor store.

Doubly annoying that he did do that a few times which proves he was entirely capable when he wanted to be.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

That’s the headspace veteran NHL mgmt guys operate in.

They can’t believe people question their decisions, have someone promoted above them or heaven forbid not have their contract extended.

Take a guy like Chia, he should be working at his local hardware store after the job he did here and yet he just moved onto another exclusive NHL gig.

Kenny’s record here was debatable at best and yet he probably assumed he could sit in this role until he wanted to leave making 1 signing a summer and then pontificating that his hands are tied due to the cap to anyone who would listen.

Kenny's record isn't "debatable" IMO, he turned the franchise around...he took a horrible Oilers team in 2019 and turned them into a perennial playoff team and Cup contender....and that includes losing TWO top-pairing d-men due to FA and injury (Larsson and Klefbom)
the days of Ty Rattie and Tobias Rieder were thankfully over

he made mistakes for sure (signing Campbell, Nurse extension, Keith trade) but did way more good than bad

 

[Zerotonine]

I actually give Holland a lot of credit for how he stabilized things. He has done a lot of things wrong as well, such as the handling of Nurse and his contract, the Campbell signing, and I'm sure some others if I think hard about it (Keith deal comes to mind), but overall I think he was positive for the franchise.

You think the only reason people might be giving holland credit is due to the previous GMs we had running yhongs and hpw bad they actually were

Tambaleni, mactavish, Chiarelli lolol let's be honest the bar wasn't set far off the floor. So Holland who was semi competent and showed half a brain looks like scotty bowman compared to the previous guys

 

[Kepler 186f]

I've tried a few of the German beer, but no Belgian yet. Going to have to get one of those gents to buy some so I can try it.

Drank way too much beer in Germany and Belgium. Great stuff.

 

[OilerTyler]

The fans wanted Brown to score SOOOO badly, lol. It was an honest reaction when he scored, everybody was legit happy for him.

Certain posters on here (shouldn’t be hard to guess which ones) were saying that the reaction to Brown’s first goal was embarrassing and the fans shouldn’t have been celebrating him with the year he was having.

 

[onetweasy]

Kenny's record isn't "debatable" IMO, he turned the franchise around...he took a horrible Oilers team in 2019 and turned them into a perennial playoff team and Cup contender....and that includes losing TWO top-pairing d-men due to FA and injury (Larsson and Klefbom)
the days of Ty Rattie and Tobias Rieder were thankfully over

he made mistakes for sure (signing Campbell, Nurse extension, Keith trade) but did way more good than bad

I would say some of the debate would start with his contract negotiations as you point out, his trade deadline acquisitions in the earlier years, his rather traditional view when it came to managing the cap aka just kind of sat and did very little. For example, there is zero chance Holland would have pulled off the July 1 JJ just did.

That said, I am roasting the guy. He was more good than bad IMO but he didn’t hit a home run when he was here and there was a reason his contract wasn’t extended and he should be aware of that.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

I would say some of the debate would start with his contract negotiations as you point out, his trade deadline acquisitions in the earlier years, his rather traditional view when it came to managing the cap aka just kind of sat and did very little. For example, there is zero chance Holland would have pulled off the July 1 JJ just did.

That said, I am roasting the guy. He was more good than bad IMO but he didn’t hit a home run when he was here and there was a reason his contract wasn’t extended and he should be aware of that.

disagree

signing Zach Hyman was a grand slam...trading for Ekholm was at least a 3-run homer haha

 

[Kaniac]

Holland did exactly what he set out to do. His 5 year plan was to build a team that is a legit threat for the Stanley Cup. 1 win away from the cup, I'd consider that a success. Taking over from Chia's disaster and than having to deal with COVID, it wasn't an easy task, can also throw in Klefbom's Injuries and Larsson's heart break. If either of those guys were still around, Nurse wouldn't be making 9+ million. He did what he needed to do, now it's time to take the next step and Jackson's first swing is a homerun. Not saying he was perfect, far from, but he did his job.

 

[LTIR]

Is Boqvist still around on the market?
Ekholm-Boqvist could work.

 

[McShogun99]

Kenny's record isn't "debatable" IMO, he turned the franchise around...he took a horrible Oilers team in 2019 and turned them into a perennial playoff team and Cup contender....and that includes losing TWO top-pairing d-men due to FA and injury (Larsson and Klefbom)
the days of Ty Rattie and Tobias Rieder were thankfully over

he made mistakes for sure (signing Campbell, Nurse extension, Keith trade) but did way more good than bad

If we had Holland as GM in 2015 we would have had a cup by now. Chia is such a garbage GM that set this team back years.

 

[LTIR]

Holland did exactly what he set out to do. His 5 year plan was to build a team that is a legit threat for the Stanley Cup. 1 win away from the cup, I'd consider that a success. Taking over from Chia's disaster and than having to deal with COVID, it wasn't an easy task, can also throw in Klefbom's Injuries and Larsson's heart break. If either of those guys were still around, Nurse wouldn't be making 9+ million. He did what he needed to do, now it's time to take the next step and Jackson's first swing is a homerun. Not saying he was perfect, far from, but he did his job.

Yup, the only miss was Campbell and no one saw it coming.

 

[oXo Cube]

I would say some of the debate would start with his contract negotiations as you point out, his trade deadline acquisitions in the earlier years, his rather traditional view when it came to managing the cap aka just kind of sat and did very little. For example, there is zero chance Holland would have pulled off the July 1 JJ just did.

That said, I am roasting the guy. He was more good than bad IMO but he didn’t hit a home run when he was here and there was a reason his contract wasn’t extended and he should be aware of that.

I view it the exact opposite way tbh. Holland was more bad than good, but he did hit a couple full on grand slams that cover up the rest of his really rather poor body of work.

 

[McShogun99]

Is Boqvist still around on the market?
Ekholm-Boqvist could work.

I wanted us to sign Boquist but I think that ship has sailed with us signing Brown and Stecher. He probably wants to go to a team where he can showcase his skill set and get PP time.

 

[Canovin]

I wanted us to sign Boquist but I think that ship has sailed with us signing Brown and Stecher. He probably wants to go to a team where he can showcase his skill set and get PP time.

If we LTIR Kane which seems most likely, we can fit him in. Even if we have no use for him, it's a good idea to build him up and trade him at the deadline

 

[bobbythebrain]

Fyi. Brown, Janmark and Henrique were Holland signings.
Fyi, JJ"s job was made easier due to a cup final game 7, 1 goal difference

Some of the Holland bashing goin on is simply moronic tbh

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

That’s usually what I’d have from either brewery, or dunkels. Been a while though for either. I’m going to see if I can find some microbrewed German beers next time, there is a specialty beer store nearby that has one of the best import selections in Edmonton

Fahr is excellent! Their Hefe is really good. Our Beer Page – Fahr Beer

 

[McDNicks17]

Fyi. Brown, Janmark and Henrique were Holland signings.
Fyi, JJ"s job was made easier due to a cup final game 7, 1 goal difference

Some of the Holland bashing goin on is simply moronic tbh

Does that Cup Final happen without JJ firing Holland's coach?

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

Katz paid 200 million CAD for the Oilers and as of 2023 is worth 2.6 billion cad lol EIG were very foolish

The Oilers in large part are worth what they’re worth because of the revenue the new building - district generates. EIG couldn’t afford to build what Katz built. The Oilers wouldn’t even be in Edmonton anymore as the old arena was untenable from a financial situation with a failing ice plant.