On the Phantoms.. he isnt a 4th line NHL player..
- jak521

sounds good

Simmer has played LW before, both here and in LA. Read, Umberger, Bellemare, Raffl and Akeson can play either side, too.
- Tomahawk

Then why did they never try Simmonds-BSchenn-Vinny?

Then why did they never try Simmonds-BSchenn-Vinny?
- Feanor

Dunno... maybe a bad defensive line > bad defensive line w/ 2 off-wings?

No.. it shows me that they have serious hope that he can play a full season at the level he did in 2011-12. They ( like the Flyers) put themselves in a position of weakness by trading for him prior to UFA. They liked him, made him their priority, and then signed him to a deal paying 2x what he was making in his last contract. In the mean time, all of his numbers have steadily declined, and he is now more of a 3rd pairing guy.

Technically, if you wanna break it down even more.. he was 7th among d-men in TOI for the Blue Jackets last year.. So, yea.. a 4.5 million dollar reserve d-man.
- jak521

So you're saying that Edmonton put themselves in a position of weakness, to sign a declining 7th defenseman. And drastically overpaid for him at 4.5M a year? They must not know what they're doing.

Simmer has played LW before, both here and in LA. Read, Umberger, Bellemare, Raffl and Akeson can play either side, too.
- Tomahawk

I doubt that Wayne Simmonds doubt ever becomes a full time left winger on this team.

So you're saying that Edmonton put themselves in a position of weakness, to sign a declining 7th defenseman. And drastically overpaid for him at 4.5M a year? They must not know what they're doing.
- MJL

They must not know what they are doing. They have been at the bottom of the league now for nearly a decade.. and show no signs of improvement. Honestly, it is moves like this that have them in this position in the first place.

But then again... I am arguing with a guy who thought Randy Jones was a legit top 4 NHL d-man.

But then again... I am arguing with a guy who thought Randy Jones was a legit top 4 NHL d-man.
- jak521

They must not know what they are doing. They have been at the bottom of the league now for nearly a decade.. and show no signs of improvement. Honestly, it is moves like this that have them in this position in the first place.

But then again... I am arguing with a guy who thought Randy Jones was a legit top 4 NHL d-man.
- jak521

Randy Jones doesn't have anything to do with this discussion. But if you have to bring Jones into it, how strong can your position be?
Now back to the topic, none of what you state here points to signing Nikitin as a bad deal. What's really going to determine how good of a deal it is, is what always determines it. And that's how good Nikitin plays for them. He could outplay the deal, and it could turn into a bargain.