Lost in all of this drama is that the Oilers just traded their top scorer for pretty much every year of their rebuild on the hopes that Draisaitl's 32 points in 27 games was the real Draisaitl and not the guy who only managed 19 points in his final 45 games. Who was on his line during that tear? Taylor...Hall.

The Oilers need a (frank)ton of things to go right next year.
- AdamFrench

Brown is definitely better than Sosh....I made a mistake in my line up.

Sosh has more flash but Brown is quiet about doing his job....and quietly kicks ass.
- underhill14

Brown is more of a playmaker/2way... as Sosh is more of a gritty/in your face type .. two different styles..

For me, they compliment eachother on the same line

Posted before, but after taxes, Stamkos would've needed 12.4M per year AAV in order to net the same as he does with TB's 8.5/8yr deal.

Here's hoping there's a tax-adjusted cap in the future: NBA is exploring it now.
- gravyface

Oh ya we knew, the tax thing was going to be an issue and the leafs would have to overpay..

The worse part about yesterday was......now we have to 2 years to hear about Tavares and the leafs foolish rumours.
I hope to helll he re-ups sooner than later.

- gravyface

Even his Crosby-esque play didn't help last year.

James Mirtle
9m
James Mirtle‏ @mirtle
Sounds like the Oilers pursued a lot of young defencemen in a Taylor Hall deal. Ristolainen was apparently one. Answer was no.

Oh ya we knew, the tax thing was going to be an issue and the leafs would have to overpay..
- Fakepartofme

I was shocked at how much the difference was.

Even his Crosby-esque play didn't help last year.
- AdamFrench

I think they're going to be ok on offensive without him.

pullmyjujitsu will look good on McDavid's wing; he's probably one of the most complete players in the draft.

I was shocked at how much the difference was.
- gravyface

Lets se what the leafs do now.
Get a quality D? Trade Bozak plus plus plus?
Maybe a short term on the cheap center like Staal? Probably too damn slow.
But he might be good for Matthews to learn from?

I think they're going to be ok on offensive without him.

pullmyjujitsu will look good on McDavid's wing; he's probably one of the most complete players in the draft.
- gravyface

An 18 year old that isn't as good as Barkov?

1. Taylor Hall (F) 82 26 39 65
2. Leon Draisaitl (F) 72 19 32 51
3. Connor McDavid (F) 45 16 32 48
4. Jordan Eberle (F) 69 25 22 47
5. Benoît Pouliot (F) 55 14 22 36
6. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (F) 55 12 22 34
7. Teddy Purcell (F) 61 11 21 32
8. Andrej Sekera (D) 81 6 24 30
9. Mark Letestu (F) 82 10 15 25
10. Nail Yakupov (F) 60 8 15 23

The biggest myth in the entire NHL is that the (frank)ing Oilers can (frank)ing score. They suck Richard offensively.

(frank)er needs to stick to making pizza
- lumlums

I love how pissy you get with this guy over nothing.

But I do love pizza. I hope he makes some for all of us.

Oh ya we knew, the tax thing was going to be an issue and the leafs would have to overpay..
- Fakepartofme

Taxes and Money certainly were not the issue. This was emphasized by the presence of the CEO of Canadian Tire at the meeting on Monday in TO. There were three possible
issues. His financial opportunities in Toronto far exceeded those in Tampa.

1) Stamkos did not want to wait for the Leafs to be a contender
2) Stamkos did not want to be involved in the daily press conferences and constant scrutiny that would have been the routine in Toronto
3) Likes the idea of playing a round of golf or going to the beach in January, when it is freezing in Toronto.

Other stuff - finishing career with one team, taxes, finishing unfinished business is all BS.

Taxes and Money certainly were not the issue. This was emphasized by the presence of the CEO of Canadian Tire at the meeting on Monday in TO. There were three possible
issues. His financial opportunities in Toronto far exceeded those in Tampa.

1) Stamkos did not want to wait for the Leafs to be a contender
2) Stamkos did not want to be involved in the daily press conferences and constant scrutiny that would have been the routine in Toronto
3) Likes the idea of playing a round of golf or going to the beach in January, when it is freezing in Toronto.

Other stuff - finishing career with one team, taxes, finishing unfinished business is all BS.
- winsix

Is this what he told you?

24m
Jeff Marek‏ @JeffMarek
This
George E. Ays‏ @RangerSmurf
Summary of the MTL trade:

PK is what people think Weber is
Weber is what people think PK is


- burn

This makes zero sense.

FA Wishlist? Let's here it.

Me:

Brian Campbell: vet presence; plays like a "modern defenseman" (and was doing it 10 years before it became en vogue); PP QB.

Justin Schultz: this will get lambasted, but he's a right-hand shot, fits our age bracket, and looked a helluva lot better on a competently-coached team. He would look decent as our #4 with Gardiner.

Matt Martin: if the price is right, but bit of a logjam with Laich/Michalek/Greening all likely playing the wing.

I love how pissy you get with this guy over nothing.

But I do love pizza. I hope he makes some for all of us.
- Fakepartofme

This.

Taxes and Money certainly were not the issue. This was emphasized by the presence of the CEO of Canadian Tire at the meeting on Monday in TO. There were three possible
issues. His financial opportunities in Toronto far exceeded those in Tampa.

1) Stamkos did not want to wait for the Leafs to be a contender
2) Stamkos did not want to be involved in the daily press conferences and constant scrutiny that would have been the routine in Toronto
3) Likes the idea of playing a round of golf or going to the beach in January, when it is freezing in Toronto.

Other stuff - finishing career with one team, taxes, finishing unfinished business is all BS.
- winsix

Nah, I'm not buying it: he's got Sportchek already, Bauer, Nike, Tissot, etc.

Canadian Tire would've been a nice addition, but a multi-million a year gap in earnings (i.e. if we offered him 10-11/7yr) adds up.

And he wants to win, first and foremost, and TB is a helluva lot closer than TO is.

Lets se what the leafs do now.
Get a quality D? Trade Bozak plus plus plus?
Maybe a short term on the cheap center like Staal? Probably too damn slow.
But he might be good for Matthews to learn from?
- Fakepartofme

No - please, no more short cuts, we've had years of short cuts. Take our lumps on this one and move on. Need a top 4 d-man - CBJ bought out Tyutin yesterday and remain in cap jail. Maybe Lou can fleece them again. Forget has beens like Staal and Nash. At $4 million Bozak can stay until we have something better - our cap situation is not tight now that Stamkos is not part of the plan.

Doughty
Weber
Kieth
Karlsonn
Subban

- Santo_44

And that's Weber on a better team.... Watch Subban get the Norris next year!

3. The Hall trade finally brought some truth to a boatload of Edmonton rumours. There was definitely discussion with Minnesota on a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins/Matt Dumba deal, but the Oilers made it very clear that wasn’t enough to pry loose Nugent-Hopkins and asked for more. That’s where it fell apart. One of the things Edmonton is looking for is a another second-round pick, because they owe one to Boston for Chiarelli’s hiring.

This makes zero sense.
- Phenom

It's pretty clear and very accurate.

What are you having trouble understanding?

FA Wishlist? Let's here it.

Me:

Brian Campbell: vet presence; plays like a "modern defenseman" (and was doing it 10 years before it became en vogue); PP QB.

Justin Schultz: this will get lambasted, but he's a right-hand shot, fits our age bracket, and looked a helluva lot better on a competently-coached team. He would look decent as our #4 with Gardiner.

Matt Martin: if the price is right, but bit of a logjam with Laich/Michalek/Greening all likely playing the wing.
- gravyface

Ixnai to Martin.....but I mind dont Shultz...in he right position he played very well. He was asked to do too much in Edmonton.

No - please, no more short cuts, we've had years of short cuts. Take our lumps on this one and move on. Need a top 4 d-man - CBJ bought out Tyutin yesterday and remain in cap jail. Maybe Lou can fleece them again. Forget has beens like Staal and Nash. At $4 million Bozak can stay until we have something better - our cap situation is not tight now that Stamkos is not part of the plan.
- winsix

I agree. but it wouldnt be a short cut to win....maybe someone for Matthews to learn from.
Id rather he learn from Staal than Bozak or Kadri.....cause they still have a lot of learning to do.

Bergevin called weber "diamond in the rough". He doesn't think weber will decline.


Id be furious if I was a Habs fan.

Nah, I'm not buying it: he's got Sportchek already, Bauer, Nike, Tissot, etc.

Canadian Tire would've been a nice addition, but a multi-million a year gap in earnings (i.e. if we offered him 10-11/7yr) adds up.

And he wants to win, first and foremost, and TB is a helluva lot closer than TO is.
- gravyface

His financial opportunities in Toronto - were significantly better than in any other market - not even close. Note that Canadian Tire owns (among others)

Sportschek, National Sports, Hockey Experts, Sports Experts, Intersport, Pro Hockey Life. Partsource and Marks. He was told flat out that if he came to Toronto that his sponsorship money would increase dramatically.

this was not about the money or taxes