Edmonton Oilers Have To Find Value Contracts on the Free Agent Market

Oilers Strategy is to Build Around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl With Value Players

Earlier in the week, on an episode of TSN’s That’s Hockey, Gino Reda and Frankie Corrado discussed how the Edmonton Oilers are building two players and finding value on the open market.

NHLRumors.com Transcriptions

Gino Reda: “One final question: your former player in this league, say, for example, an outside player now is a free agent, is a UFA looking for a place to pay? Would you be willing to take a bit of a haircut financially, because you look at a team that’s got the combo of Draisaitl and McDavid, and they’ve got a real chance to win, and they’re locked up long term, would you be willing, is that the way the Oilers work at this and say, we can’t give you what you’re worth, but we’ll give you your best shot to win.”

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Frankie Corrado: “It depends where you’re at in your career and what you’re looking for.if you’re a player who’s kind of designed.”

Reda: “Is that something the Oilers have to do in order to win.”

Corrado: “They’re gonna have to find some value elsewhere, no doubt about it. And that was always the thing with Toronto was they had to win early. They had to find value elsewhere. The same thing is going to go for the Edmonton Oilers. The thing they’re going to have going for them, and I would argue they’ve had this going for the last little while, is Connor McDavid.

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Players say, I want to play with Connor McDavid. This guy is going to win a Stanley Cup sooner rather than later, if I tie myself to him.”

Reda: “Ride his coattails to a championship.“

Corrado: “Sure. And you know what? If you look around the league, Jeff Skinner is a great example. You get bought out. You say, I got that money already. Let’s go try and win something. Let’s go try and play a Stanley Cup playoff game for the first time in your career.

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Like, you will have instances like that pop up where players say, okay, the eight-year,  $68 million deal, that’s not on the table for me right now. So what’s the next best thing? Let’s position myself to win a Stanley Cup. So then the longer term deal is available for you afterwards. When you’re branded a champion.” 

Reda: “It’s a big roll of dice if you’re going to pay top dollar for talent. It helps when they deliver McDavid and Draisaitl. The pair have combined to win four of the last eight league MVPs.”