If you’ve been around long enough, the start of NHL free agency was always a day when the Oilers had to overspend to get players to come here or weren’t even an option guys would consider. Edmonton was always a team that had big dreams of success, but the actual results made it nearly impossible to convince UFAs that they were on the cusp of something without having to overpay them.
That’s why I’m still so shocked about what happened on July 1st. Not only did the Oilers find a way to bring back the bulk of their pending free agents, but they were also able to add real value to the team without breaking the bank. This is all new for those who have been around a while. Who would have ever expected the Oilers to sign Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner and bring back Adam Henrique for a combined total of $10 million? That trio would have probably cost the Oilers $15 million+ not that long ago.
If you had told me that the Oilers would be able to lock in a trio of quality forwards first thing in the morning when I launched the live blog, I would have thought you were already into the Canada Day sauce. I never would have believed you.
Having a banner day like we saw on Monday is so far and above any other free agency day we’ve ever had — Zach Hyman’s incredible deal aside — and it’s been a lot of fun to watch Edmonton become a very real destination for UFAs that want a chance to win. I’m sure going to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final went a long way when it came to recruiting, but getting guys to sign team-friendly deals that work for both money and term is something we’ve never experienced.
When the Oilers drafted Connor McDavid back in 2015, a lot of us hoped that the team would automatically become a destination where free agents would want to play. And while that happened a little bit — Milan Lucic was the first big name that comes to mind — the team generally had to overpay on both term and money to make it happen. But that wasn’t what happened this time around. Instead, Jeff Jackson was able to find quality players on value deals that are incredibly low risk.
I don’t think I’m talking out of school when I say that being this aggressive is the exact approach that so many of us have wanted the team to take over the years, and I couldn’t be happier now that it’s actually happening. Despite claiming that he doesn’t want to be the general manager, Jeff Jackson is sure connecting on some big swings while sitting in the chair. Is it possible for a guy to win GM of the year if he’s only on the job for a month or so? What is it going to take to keep him there?
Even though it wasn’t a free agent signing, yesterday’s trade that saw Ryan McLeod being moved to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Matt Savoie is the exact kind of wheeling and dealing that will keep the Oilers’ Cup window open. As much as I liked Ryan McLeod, it’s hard not to be thrilled that Jackson was able to acquire a Top 10 NHL prospect for a player and prospect that got pushed down the depth chart by all of the action that happened earlier in the week.
Back to the original point of the article: the start of this summer has been unlike any I’ve experienced with this team, which has me excited to get through the off-season and into the new season. Even though there’s plenty of work left to be done before we get there — a Draisaitl extension would be very nice — it’s hard not to imagine what’s possible for a very good hockey team that just got better this past week. Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t remember being this excited to get going before the first week of July was over.
After begging for the Oilers to go all-in on their roster for years, this summer feels like the first time they’ve actually been willing/able to do it. For the first time I can remember, the Oilers are the team on the winning side of these mind boggling deals, and that’s going to take a minute to get used to. As Frank Seravalli always says, “Winning is the best deodorant,” and the Oilers are finally doing enough of that where guys have seemingly stopped caring that the weather gets cold in February.
If you have a chance to win it all, then there will be players who will sign up for less, and if this last week has taught us anything, people believe the Edmonton Oilers are close. That’s an exciting twist for anyone who can remember thinking that signing Ben Eager, Darcy Hordichuk, and Eric Belanger on July 1st would be what it took to push the Oilers over the top.
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