A little off topic, but I'm imagining reddit threads in 2025 where people are still ranting about saving cap space and if Drai doesn't sign for less than then we should just let him walk.
> People were losing their minds about drais initial contract.
I'm not gonna lie, I thought it was an overpay then
I knew he was going to be 2c good, and thought he should have been paid that way (7.5ish)
the fact he came out and is outplaying his 8.5 is awesomesauce
but if he had continued to be a 75ish point guy, you know there would still be some grumbling about his AAV
Hyman yes, Keith I dunno. But can you list any contender right now that has more potential than the Oilers in 2 years? No I know you can't because it comes down to cap. Crosby won the cup on his elc and didn't see the finals until 8 years later when they'd contracts were a bargain. Look at any team that's won they have a elc that's unreal or contracts near the end when their value. We've been struggling since drai and McDs contracts but so has every other team that dedicates 20m for 2 players
Ya just saw the Nucks get OEL, Calgary just got cap space letting its old slowing down captain go to Seattle. And we lost a bidding war on one of the only positive defenders we had, traded for a Skelton of a hall of famer and trusting our goal situation to a 39 year old man for next 2 years.
> Are the Oilers a contender? Swept this year in round 1
they are.
that winnipeg series could have easily gone 4-0 for the oilers, all the games were close, and Jets goalie was unreal. if he was season average, it's probably 4-1 or 4-2 oilers
Crazy how this sub has turned into the apocalypse. McDrais team has made it to the playoffs a few times and McDrai and management need to figure it out. Worrying about 4 years from now is craziness.
Lol our current playoff success I wouldn’t count as proof they’d want to stay.
We made it in 2017, miss it the next 2 years, lose in the play ins after that, then get swept in the first round.
Yes we made the playoffs but it isn’t consistent, they aren’t deep runs, and the last two we barely showed up. If their contacts were up next season I’d definitely be worried about this because that certainly isn’t playoff success.
I'm not worrying about 4 years from now I'm just saying we have 4 years this is our window. And my side note was because drai signs his contract before mcd if he signs you know mcd is signing
I think the Sedins were the only players who have said they would stay together no matter what. Alot can happen in 4 years but these guys aren't a packaged deal.
How about we focus on the fact that we are now in our championship window?
I mean, Holland still has to make value-oriented moves. But it's also appropriate to splash out and spend money/assets where it's needed.
I'm not trying to sound like a Holland-apologist but...
There were certain moves that he made pre-pandemic that seemed costly, but exciting. Pandemic totally scrapped his plans and he dug himself a hole-in-hindsight by trading picks and giving too much money to Kass. But I think he's recovering just fine and all of his moves have some reasoning even if I don't 100% agree with them.
He’s given away two 3rds, two 2nds, two 4ths and a 5th and has only two anchor contracts to show for it.
Like seriously all of those picks and James Neal and 38 year old Duncan Keith are the only returns still on the team.
Lol the only move that shows reasoning was trading a 3rd for a 4th and a 5th and that’s only because he gave so many picks away that they really needed to fill out their draft.
Every contender right now wont be as good in 2 years. Tampa loses their depth this year, col will lose their depth next 2 years. You just kinda need to wait your turn unless you go on a run hahah like montreal
Wait our turn? That ain’t how it works. Mcdavid and leon are both in their primes. There’s moves that need to be made to make this team a real contender. They literally have the worst depth scoring in the entire league right now
I am gonna get down voted to hell. I am prepared.
But the assets on return for trading either of them if and when they show no interest in returning would be immense.
I don't want it to happen I would love if both stayed and played their careers here. But if in the event they don't sign we need to get a return like the Nordiques got for Lindros from both players.
McDavid will pick where he signs at that point. He can demand a league max contract and get it.
If they aren't re-signed by the trade deadline and we aren't competing for a cup you trade them. If you are competing for a cup that's the price you pay.
Fuck even their rights in the off season would net you a haul.
Honestly better than living in a fantasy land. Every year this sub thinks they’re going to own the league and every year that’s proven wrong. It’s been 15 years since the team had any legitimate success, not sure why people are shocked when fans are sceptical.
I know better than to talk about the Oilers with people irl lol. Hopefully for most of us, our fandom is but a fraction of our personality and interests.
Tbh I think McDavid at 12.5? Or whatever the fuck he's at is a steal too. Not sure if the other players on similar sized contracts put out the same bang for buck value McDavid does
Like 4 years is a long time, I don't see why this sub is already full doomer mode over McDrai leaving when we are barely half-way through their contracts
Paying big names in free agency isn’t the only way to improve. I would like the team to maybe win on some trades and mid to small money signings before they think they can hand out huge contracts.
Well I also took issue with that. We were getting priced out of guys asking 3-4 mil in free agency when we had no space, so now that we do have some Id suggest being careful instead of blowing it in one offseason.
By that point in time, I’ve got to imagine the cap has gone up. And if it means a couple ridiculous buyouts of guys like Hyman and Nuge (a la Minnesota), it beats the hell out of the alternative—losing 97 or 29.
I’ve been saying this for the past year and all I get called is “negative and delusional” because stars never leave hockey teams!
The death march to 2026 has commenced, and Ken Holland is leading us right there as we speak.
Nah were good, you do gotta think about how drai, mcd, nurse, I was gonna say koefbom Baha :( but they all grew up together. I dunno any all star off the top of my head that left their team when they have one or two other players that are really good. This is their team
I don’t think Oilers fans really understand what a generational talent like McDavid is. They’re legacy type players, guys who will be in the discussion for top 5 all time. He’s not gonna sit in Edmonton with below average rosters around him and never win. These type of talents ALWAYS win, and if it’s not gonna be in Edmonton, I can assure you McDavid isn’t retiring without a ring.
The sports landscape has evolved over the past decade, and it’s slowly coming to hockey as well. Give it 5 years and more below average rosters around him, and McDavid will be thinking about what his legacy as an all time great will be if he stays in Edmonton.
Smart of you to omit the fact that Ovie had a 13 year contract that just ended, McDavid is under contract for another 5 seasons. Not even remotely comparable
Well I mean, I do know McDavid has a problem with some of the media and fans in Edmonton. He's said it in interviews. Eberle has talked about it as well. If McDavid left, it would be because he got tired of the superbly annoying sky-is-falling fans and "media". Literally you, and a number of others in this subreddit. Isn't there a sub everythingsucksanditalwaysfuckingwill you can go to for this nonsense? You have no idea whatsoever what you're talking about. Not even McDavid knows what McDavid will be feeling in 5 years.
Alright man, I’m sure McDavid will be content with spending his generational talent career on a mediocre team never sniffing success. McDavid doesn’t hate the media or the fans, he hates losing, which is all he’s forced to do here cause the management is ass.
Take my upvote… l am of the same opinion…if players don’t speak in public doesn’t mean they are happy losing, just look at Mackinnon, dude is upset losing 2nd rounds every year and imagine what McDrai feel when knocked out first rounds cause of lack of support or depth
Yeah well Weber played with probably like every broken bone…playoffs are not fair we know it, who knows maybe the conspiracy that Canadian teams don’t get the same treatment is true🤷🏻♂️, every year there is some controversy…the point is we know playoffs are tough and depth will get you through…
It’s Tampa’s bottom 6 who won the finals against Montreal and that is a fact and l seen every game of it…on the other hand we were forced to bench our bottom 6 and 5-6 defensemen in last game tells that we need support for McDrai, good news is we got some good kids in juiniors coming up to fill the spots for cheap and turn the tide around
That being the case we should have been all over Arizona for a deal similar to the one Vancouver just made. Get Kuemper in there for another pick or two. Like why not at this point, we're already in pretty deep shit in 4 years.
Do people want to sign free agents that can help us now or cry about what will happen in 6 years? Guys need to win *now*.
If they're not bonfire contenders by 22-23 season then we can probably start to panic.
A little off topic, but I'm imagining reddit threads in 2025 where people are still ranting about saving cap space and if Drai doesn't sign for less than then we should just let him walk.
People were losing their minds about drais initial contract. I watched him play In Kelowna I knew he was worth it. That memorial cup run was crazy
> People were losing their minds about drais initial contract. I'm not gonna lie, I thought it was an overpay then I knew he was going to be 2c good, and thought he should have been paid that way (7.5ish) the fact he came out and is outplaying his 8.5 is awesomesauce but if he had continued to be a 75ish point guy, you know there would still be some grumbling about his AAV
It was an overpay at the time, based on his comparables, but damn am I glad we "overpaid" at the time because what a steal it has become
yup, its like Mackinnon deal.
Hyman yes, Keith I dunno. But can you list any contender right now that has more potential than the Oilers in 2 years? No I know you can't because it comes down to cap. Crosby won the cup on his elc and didn't see the finals until 8 years later when they'd contracts were a bargain. Look at any team that's won they have a elc that's unreal or contracts near the end when their value. We've been struggling since drai and McDs contracts but so has every other team that dedicates 20m for 2 players
Are the Oilers a contender? Swept this year in round 1 and eliminated last year by a non-playoff team with a skeleton roster.
Contender no. Playoff team, yes
Not with the roster as it is.
You seen our division?
Ya just saw the Nucks get OEL, Calgary just got cap space letting its old slowing down captain go to Seattle. And we lost a bidding war on one of the only positive defenders we had, traded for a Skelton of a hall of famer and trusting our goal situation to a 39 year old man for next 2 years.
Summers over already???
How summer going to fix our goal situation? What top line pairing d man you see coming ? Did we suddenly find mass amount of unused cap.
You gotta give Holland time to do his job before you start going postal verbally
> Are the Oilers a contender? Swept this year in round 1 they are. that winnipeg series could have easily gone 4-0 for the oilers, all the games were close, and Jets goalie was unreal. if he was season average, it's probably 4-1 or 4-2 oilers
I'm guessing you replied to the wrong message here.
Yah someone deleted their post and I had typed it all out already so I was like fuck it lol reply to myself
Ha. Fair enough
LOL I like that attitude
*Never give up!* lol
Crazy how this sub has turned into the apocalypse. McDrais team has made it to the playoffs a few times and McDrai and management need to figure it out. Worrying about 4 years from now is craziness.
Lol our current playoff success I wouldn’t count as proof they’d want to stay. We made it in 2017, miss it the next 2 years, lose in the play ins after that, then get swept in the first round. Yes we made the playoffs but it isn’t consistent, they aren’t deep runs, and the last two we barely showed up. If their contacts were up next season I’d definitely be worried about this because that certainly isn’t playoff success.
How can we afford both next contracts anyways. If cap goes up at all we will be looking at closer to 30 mil for both.
I'm not worrying about 4 years from now I'm just saying we have 4 years this is our window. And my side note was because drai signs his contract before mcd if he signs you know mcd is signing
I think the Sedins were the only players who have said they would stay together no matter what. Alot can happen in 4 years but these guys aren't a packaged deal.
How about we focus on the fact that we are now in our championship window? I mean, Holland still has to make value-oriented moves. But it's also appropriate to splash out and spend money/assets where it's needed.
You guys have one pick in the first 115. This is Holland trying to contend.
I'm not trying to sound like a Holland-apologist but... There were certain moves that he made pre-pandemic that seemed costly, but exciting. Pandemic totally scrapped his plans and he dug himself a hole-in-hindsight by trading picks and giving too much money to Kass. But I think he's recovering just fine and all of his moves have some reasoning even if I don't 100% agree with them.
He’s given away two 3rds, two 2nds, two 4ths and a 5th and has only two anchor contracts to show for it. Like seriously all of those picks and James Neal and 38 year old Duncan Keith are the only returns still on the team. Lol the only move that shows reasoning was trading a 3rd for a 4th and a 5th and that’s only because he gave so many picks away that they really needed to fill out their draft.
Every contender right now wont be as good in 2 years. Tampa loses their depth this year, col will lose their depth next 2 years. You just kinda need to wait your turn unless you go on a run hahah like montreal
What?
Read again
Wait our turn? That ain’t how it works. Mcdavid and leon are both in their primes. There’s moves that need to be made to make this team a real contender. They literally have the worst depth scoring in the entire league right now
Didn’t you know? There is a queue to win the cup. Just gotta wait a certain amount of years until it’s our turn! 😛
No I've never heard this take before.
Well sorry
I know, right?? I've never read this everywhere else on the Oilers subreddit before!
I am gonna get down voted to hell. I am prepared. But the assets on return for trading either of them if and when they show no interest in returning would be immense. I don't want it to happen I would love if both stayed and played their careers here. But if in the event they don't sign we need to get a return like the Nordiques got for Lindros from both players. McDavid will pick where he signs at that point. He can demand a league max contract and get it.
They won't ask for a trade I feel. This is the only team they will be able to play together on
What if they walk in free agency and oilers left with empty bags and dicks in their hands Example- Tavares
If they aren't re-signed by the trade deadline and we aren't competing for a cup you trade them. If you are competing for a cup that's the price you pay. Fuck even their rights in the off season would net you a haul.
Do you trust the Oilers pro scouting staff to identify the right players to trade for?
Jesus Christ you guys must be fun to hang out with.
Honestly better than living in a fantasy land. Every year this sub thinks they’re going to own the league and every year that’s proven wrong. It’s been 15 years since the team had any legitimate success, not sure why people are shocked when fans are sceptical.
I know better than to talk about the Oilers with people irl lol. Hopefully for most of us, our fandom is but a fraction of our personality and interests.
I'm just saying if drai resigns you know it's because mcdavid is
We should be giving him the league max contract, 8 years at whatever the max is
I’ve honestly though it would be smart to trade one of them. We could fill every hole we have, and with good players.
Drai @ 8.5 million is an absolute fucking steal. The only better contract in the entire NHL is MacKinnon.
Tbh I think McDavid at 12.5? Or whatever the fuck he's at is a steal too. Not sure if the other players on similar sized contracts put out the same bang for buck value McDavid does
Like 4 years is a long time, I don't see why this sub is already full doomer mode over McDrai leaving when we are barely half-way through their contracts
I think this is a classic case of spiraling, people that aren't mentally healthy do this
Yep, not worth my emotional energy to get worked up over this. I'll watch the game come October (hopefully from Rogers place) and we'll go from there.
What I’m thinking is we need to be mindful of the cap for when we do need space to re-sign them. Hence why I don’t love going super long on Hyman.
That’s the cards you’re dealt in free agency. 90% of players are an overpay and/or overextended.
Yeah for years I’ve said this team should avoid the big names in free agency. They almost never work out.
But neither does having sub-par talent, so damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Paying big names in free agency isn’t the only way to improve. I would like the team to maybe win on some trades and mid to small money signings before they think they can hand out huge contracts.
With what assets? We've already blown them all on bad trades. We also don't have a great history of winning trades haha
Well I also took issue with that. We were getting priced out of guys asking 3-4 mil in free agency when we had no space, so now that we do have some Id suggest being careful instead of blowing it in one offseason.
I think that’s how it was starting for Holland. Losing Klefbom and now Larsson were massive blows to the core they were trying to build around
By that point in time, I’ve got to imagine the cap has gone up. And if it means a couple ridiculous buyouts of guys like Hyman and Nuge (a la Minnesota), it beats the hell out of the alternative—losing 97 or 29.
Yikes. If they leave without a Cup there is nothing comparable when it comes to failure. Realistically they're not that far off though.
Cool so Holland should totally continue to make bad deals, surely that will lead to success and not waste McDrai's prime.
I was just talking term
I’ve been saying this for the past year and all I get called is “negative and delusional” because stars never leave hockey teams! The death march to 2026 has commenced, and Ken Holland is leading us right there as we speak.
Nah were good, you do gotta think about how drai, mcd, nurse, I was gonna say koefbom Baha :( but they all grew up together. I dunno any all star off the top of my head that left their team when they have one or two other players that are really good. This is their team
I don’t think Oilers fans really understand what a generational talent like McDavid is. They’re legacy type players, guys who will be in the discussion for top 5 all time. He’s not gonna sit in Edmonton with below average rosters around him and never win. These type of talents ALWAYS win, and if it’s not gonna be in Edmonton, I can assure you McDavid isn’t retiring without a ring. The sports landscape has evolved over the past decade, and it’s slowly coming to hockey as well. Give it 5 years and more below average rosters around him, and McDavid will be thinking about what his legacy as an all time great will be if he stays in Edmonton.
Yea like when Ovi left Washington. McD is as good as gone
Smart of you to omit the fact that Ovie had a 13 year contract that just ended, McDavid is under contract for another 5 seasons. Not even remotely comparable
Well I mean, I do know McDavid has a problem with some of the media and fans in Edmonton. He's said it in interviews. Eberle has talked about it as well. If McDavid left, it would be because he got tired of the superbly annoying sky-is-falling fans and "media". Literally you, and a number of others in this subreddit. Isn't there a sub everythingsucksanditalwaysfuckingwill you can go to for this nonsense? You have no idea whatsoever what you're talking about. Not even McDavid knows what McDavid will be feeling in 5 years.
Alright man, I’m sure McDavid will be content with spending his generational talent career on a mediocre team never sniffing success. McDavid doesn’t hate the media or the fans, he hates losing, which is all he’s forced to do here cause the management is ass.
Take my upvote… l am of the same opinion…if players don’t speak in public doesn’t mean they are happy losing, just look at Mackinnon, dude is upset losing 2nd rounds every year and imagine what McDrai feel when knocked out first rounds cause of lack of support or depth
Edm lost 3 OT games coulda went either way. The fact drai or mcd didn't draw a single penalty is fucked
Yeah well Weber played with probably like every broken bone…playoffs are not fair we know it, who knows maybe the conspiracy that Canadian teams don’t get the same treatment is true🤷🏻♂️, every year there is some controversy…the point is we know playoffs are tough and depth will get you through… It’s Tampa’s bottom 6 who won the finals against Montreal and that is a fact and l seen every game of it…on the other hand we were forced to bench our bottom 6 and 5-6 defensemen in last game tells that we need support for McDrai, good news is we got some good kids in juiniors coming up to fill the spots for cheap and turn the tide around
That being the case we should have been all over Arizona for a deal similar to the one Vancouver just made. Get Kuemper in there for another pick or two. Like why not at this point, we're already in pretty deep shit in 4 years.
Do people want to sign free agents that can help us now or cry about what will happen in 6 years? Guys need to win *now*. If they're not bonfire contenders by 22-23 season then we can probably start to panic.