Probably cause not having to buy out a player is ideal.
Agreed. I don't care what the stats say, having a guy with Keith's pedigree around won't hurt this team. He's a Stanley Cup champion who knows how to win. You hear it every year in the playoffs. Teams need to learn how to win. Need to have players who have been through the ups and downs of the playoffs to keep the team from going into lulls. If we don't have a suitor for James Neal's contract, and don't intend to buy him out, Duncan Keith is a better option than Neal for the Oilers. He's a placeholder for Broberg or Samorukov, and a stop-gap if Klefbom can't play. I'm not willing to part with any assets other than a B prospect or late round draft pick on top of Neal, but if we are spending the 5 million anyways, I'd prefer it be on a piece with a chance to contribute in a meaningful way. I'd rather bet on Keith than Neal.
Yeah you're right it's WORSE than a Ference situation. Ference was 3.25 million when the cap was still growing at a rapid rate. Keith is an over 5.5 million dollar cap hit in a frozen cap lmfao. You can get a solid #2 or 3 dman whose young and/or in their prime for that kind of money. Who cares about leadership or winning pedigree or whatever the f***? Pretty sure major Cup contributor Milan Lucic decreased our chances of winning and hurt our players' development if anything.
Pretty sure 5.5 million in cap space hurts this team. Pretty sure near league bottom defensive metrics hurts this team. Pretty sure Milan Lucic was a Stanley Cup champion who knew how to win. I'm fine with trading Neal for Keith if we're not planning to buy him out, but lets not pretend like this guy is a positive value asset.
Keith plays a cerebral game tho. That's huge for our players.
Ah yes, that cerebral game really coming in huge there helping him to a whopping 3rd percentile even strength defensive metrics. What a huge help! Obviously his abysmal defensive metrics are partly due to him playing far too many minutes and facing higher quality of competition than a 37 year old should be, but chances are he'd be well below average even in a reduced role.
I'd take Koskinen over Keith every millisecond of every day simply because you only have to deal with Koskinen for 1 more year and Keith's albatross is 2 more. Neal and Keith are both terrible and can be swapped 1 for 1.
What does he bring to the team exactly? Near league bottom defensive metrics? Declining speed and puck skills? Awesome!
Paying Neal 5 million to sit in the press box hurts this team. If the decision is made NOT to buy out Neal, I'd rather have Keith. End point. LD is a huge question mark for the Oil this year with Klefbom's uncertainty. With Nurse playing 25 minutes a night, I'd be good with Keith playing 18. I wouldn't trade assets for Keith, but if we are carrying a boat anchor on the team, I'd rather Keith than Neal.
If you could swing a 1 for 1 deal with Neal and have them retain a little . Then he brings exp and winning to the dressing room. I’ll take that over Neal.
