Madcombinepilot wrote: ↑Tue Aug 20, 2024 7:36 am
Sounds like a side deal to me. Guess they don’t want the GM hate going back and forth like the Habs and Carolina.
My guess is that its not about GM hate at all, but part of the negotiation with the Oilers to not match one or both.
When the Oilers cleared Ceci, they could legitimately face the Blues and say "we can match both players with Kane on the LTIR." (They could do this and be under the cap with LTIR, but they'd need to waive Pod or Ryan or Perry). Until they move Ceci, they cannot credibly represent this.
The Blues would look at that and conclude they are probably just talking about Broberg, though it is possible they could keep both or just want to keep Holloway. And the Blues say something like, "we aren't doing this to screw you over. We are doing this to add young players with upside to our group; our window is starting to open and we think they can be part of it. So I'll tell you what, we will give you back the sweetener it took to unload Ceci (the third)."
Oilers respond, "thank you, but we are going to need a little more than that. We are thinking a B tier defensive prospect." Blues respond, "that's fine, we can offer one of (Blues provide list of names)." Oilers respond hopefully, "Lukas Fischer?" Blues, "No, Paul Fischer." Oilers, "We'd prefer Lukas." Blues, "not on the table." Long pause. Muffled sidebar. Oilers, "Okay, Paul then. And to complete the deal, we'll send you a player of our choosing that we are going to waive after camp or a draft pick we are not going to sign." Blues, "So long as its an unsigned player or a two-way contract, agreed." Oilers, "agreed."
And the totals since the offer sheets....
From Blues perspective, Holloway and Broberg acquired for a 2d, 2 3rds, and a defensive defenseman prospect who retains modest NHL development potential though probably tops out as a 4-5. (Not counting the player to be named, as it will be at best a would-be-waived player).
From the Oiler's perspective, Subtract Holloway, Broberg, Ceci, and a 4th and get under cap even without LTIR, and add Podkolzin, Emberson (a 6-8 D), a 2d, a 3d, and a B/C tier defensive prospect. Also, from Oilers perspective, no more need to find Kane a surgery, and room to fill out roster with one more league minimum player.
The Oilers are certainly not better as a result of the offer sheet, but they have more flexibility to get better. And given the weakness of the Pacific, they probably don't have any pressing need to get better until the deadline.
