The Cult of Hockey's "Oilers go in big for more scoring" podcast

Let's do this! The Cult of Hockey podcast. By the Faithful and for the Faithful. Today Bruce McCurdy and David Staples dig into Edmonton's free agent mania, with the team signing two top scoring wingers, Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner, bringing back Connor Brown, while saying good-bye to Jack Campbell, Warren Foegele, Sam Carrick and fan favourite Vincent Desharnais.

[@cbzblaze2457]

Massive win today! Cant remember the last free agency going this well. Skinner adds 30+ goals Arvidson adds 25+ goals Janmark Henrique Brown line staying together. No over pays! No long term deals!

[@dwaynesbgb]

Unreal, eh!?

[@stephenphillips6245]

There is only one puck...was hoping the Oil would upgrade thier Dcore

[@kelseywalker2342]

The forward line is wild but I don’t get the logic when the weak spot was clearly defensive depth offence never seemed like the problem playoff scoring they had 1st,2nd,3rd,4th,5th so upgrade the offence and leave the defence as is?

[@stephenphillips6245]

@@kelseywalker2342 I guess they will rely on total team defense to cover the Dcore, lack, of depth.

[@DS-hs3qp]

Foegle was wildly inconsistent...Arvidsson is a huge upgrade.

[@Mineav]

Too bad it took so long to sign Jeff Skinner and Janmark. Would've liked to have heard your reaction, though I imagine you'd both be happy about Janmark, as I am.

[@LibDestroyer-nd7mi]

Janmark huge signing and arvidson we know how he plays great addition Sean brown welcome don't no to much about ya but hope u a bangger

[@aaronst.pierre3080]

@@LibDestroyer-nd7mi Janmark was almost nothing. I've never liked Skinner's game.

[@kenainmeshik]

Everyone is forgetting the fact Broberg beat out Vinny for the 6th spot. I wish Vinny luck but he would be a 7th here next year

[@juleswinnfield6930]

Happy Canada Day and glad to have Janmark signed....

[@Ace96x10]

Ya, I just hope Janmark can produce during the reg season to this year.

[@flipperdoo22]

@@Ace96x10hi Ace! I think even if Janmark doesn’t score much he’s defensively responsible, there’s a reason why the PK was so good this season. Perry however, I’m not thrilled about resigning him. The Perry jinx again! All the other signings I like though!

[@Ace96x10]

@@flipperdoo22 Hi Flipper)) Ya Janmarks D is really solid. If that stays solid, and he produces in the playoffs, all good. Perry can help when 100% healthy, but that doesn't seem to be often lol. Ya all the signings look good for sure. Will be a fun season to watch!! Hope you are well!))

[@KadeRiley-hq8gc]

Happy Canada Day Bruce and David!

[@duaneday5474]

Congratulations Vinny

[@lloydzilinski4401]

Craig McTavish served a year in prison for vehicular homocide as a player with the Boston Bruins, back in the day. The team has a long reputation of picking people from other teams' castoffs, to varying degrees of success. Ken Linseman and Petr Klima back in the day, and Evander Kane more recently. There are many others. The team also has had its share of homegrown problem children, NHL Hall of Famers Frant Fuhr and Mark Messier immediately spring to mind. So it's not that big a surprise that the rumour mill has the Oilers looking at Stan Bowman as a possible GM. In today's P.C. world it's difficult to know where the overall fan base would come down on the hiring of a Stan Bowman. I'd suggest that where Bowman and Quenneville are concerned, vis-a-vis the Blackhawks, the attitude was Win Baby!, whatever the cost. Frankly, I'd personally prefer the Oilers found their GM elsewhere. After the decade of darkness and Connor McDavid going into his tenth season, still with no Stanley Cup ring, with Draisaitl on his team and Nathan McKinnon having long since won a cup, the Oilers' fan base will be on this team very hard this coming season. The team does not need any source of extra distraction, especially one as distasteful as odour that may follow Stan Bowman. Whether this is fair or not, hiring Stan Bowman will bring in another unnecessary sideshow for the fans and the rest of the league.

[@vernseidlikoski6667]

I hope Coffey is back as coach,I feel our d-core took a big step wit him back there.

[@Ace96x10]

yes, but anyone would have been a giant step up from what Woody and Manson did to that poor D core till they got fired at 3-12? Worst D system I've ever seen, even worse then "swarm defense".

[@許志權-e1v]

I'd have preferred Sam Carrick over Perry. Can't deny Perry's experience, but it has to be noticeable through his play on the ice. Will it be for another year? Carrick is a right shot center with 53% on faceoffs and would provide the toughness that the Oilers need a little more of.

[@TH-tl6sy]

I dunno about skinner He is lowsy defensively and he's slow. But he does have finish. No physicality also. Who knows maybe they can get him to buy it and play defensively. Losing Foegele, you get older, slower, and less physical, but more finish. Oilers were 1 shot 1 goal 1 bounce away so I can see it, however you'd have to work for thar goal. Don't understand paying perry 1.4 mil to likely be a bench warmer. Aside from that I like what they did. Obviously Kane is gone to make it under the cap. When Kaner is healthy he's fast tough physical and has finish. I think we got deeper but time will tell.

[@matthewwheatley42]

Interesting to see Connor Brown come back for $1 million - though his playoff performance might have resulted in bigger offers from elsewhere - maybe felt guilty about the signing bonus from last season?

[@dianedyck3474]

Also I think he was grateful because we gave him every chance to get back to where he was…now it’s payback time…I’m loving a healthy Connor brown!

[@darcyriopka2738]

I liked Deharnais. I’m glad he got a decent payday in Vancouver

[@dianedyck3474]

I just listened to Jeff Jackson interview and he said that they are working on something with Henrique….i hope they get that worked out because I like Henrique!

[@CC-of5xl]

They did

[@LibDestroyer-nd7mi]

2 years 3 mill​@@CC-of5xl

[@snach9700]

Oil has skinner and janmark!!

[@StevenBiggar-mr5zq]

Nashville going be a power house,,nexts year hello Bruce

[@dianedyck3474]

I’m thinking the oilers will also be more of a power house after these signings!

[@cbzblaze2457]

Nashville will remain average

[@thekiltedzombie8230]

They should make McLeod room with Arvidsson...grit through osmosis.

[@LibDestroyer-nd7mi]

Driasitle arvidson and kane . McDavid hyman Skinner and nugg is our all around great vet

[@diywarren1776]

73 would’ve been a 7th defense at 1.5m had he stayed anyways so Brown isn’t raising alarms for me yet

[@dwaynesbgb]

Exactly. Dumb take by anyone bitching about that swap

[@SamayelIam]

Imagine ... a D core that got us to the finals ... Bouchard/Eck ... Nurse/Broberg ... and the other two ... for under 25 million ... a good d core with a shutdown system that can work ... the goalies ... solid skinner/pickard for leage value goalie tending tandum ... offense ... yowsa. I hope kane gets his silky mits back ... but they were severed in a horrendous injury. Glad to get rid of whatshisface for Henrique. Our third line, for 6 million (henrique, brown, janmark) ... YES PLEASE ... what connor did for the #18 Hyman ... you don't think could be done with $3M Skinner ... Good Value goaltending! Good D! Superb offensive depth with a veteran attention to detail in the D zone. we traded Foegle for Skinner! who gets more value? Ceci and 27 ... i like them both ... that said, Ceci plays pretty soft for his $X million. Ceci and 27 ... name a better bottom pairing in the league. So GLAD to get Henrique. Foegle for henrique at 3 million? ALL DAY. Good times. /extend Drai for 2 years at 11.9. and 2 years from now hopefully 2 cups later ... connor signes for an 5 yr extension at 12.9 (because nobody wants to be a 13 million dollar man) ... and will connor dominate when he's 38? never know ... damn good team! looking forward to 2025

[@sanpotkins4705]

We need Kane on LTR. We need Kane. We want Kane. Come on guys!

[@DS-hs3qp]

Josh Brown is a depth signing only....he will never play in the top 6 unless injuries.

[@kelseywalker2342]

I’m a flames fan all the way through but even I can tip a cap 🧢 to that forward lineup it is absolutely bananas. It’s a burn the boats scenario this next season for the oilers imo because after that you’re looking and 13-15 mil for Leon and 9-10 for Bouchard that cap starts to look pretty tight. I will be uncomfortable and stressed probably all year I assume haha

[@tomkennelly7393]

Good work guys

[@nathanpaul88]

LETS GOOOOOOOOO🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@diywarren1776]

Maybe the current roster including aging heavy guys plus new additions will be the groundwork for our LTIR advantage this time around

[@TheGiftRF]

I like where your head's at

[@zigfield723]

Skinner? Janmark?

[@deanmccullough7967]

Send Kane to the minors.

[@randyscott4120]

Nice boys! Happy Canada Day

[@sanpotkins4705]

Kane cannot escape! Try and imagine super Softie Jeff Skinner having the same effect as Evander Kane did against Miller and Zadorov or Drew Doughty in LA. Getting rid if Darnell is a super dumb idea.

[@MrPetzold123]

Who is this Jeff Jackson guy ? He just out-GMed Ken Holland 6-0 😂...now he just needs to LTIR Kane and give "(almost) no salary but the ring is coming boys" to Broberg & Holloway and you can start planning the parade 🤘...

[@daveb99]

Happy Canada Day guys! What a day!

[@jayb5071]

The only problem left darnell nurse

[@detectaholic728]

Oilers opt to go smaller with Skinner and Arvidsson and lost toughness with the departures of Foegele,Decharnais and maybe even Kane. They’ll be deadly on the rush but weak on the boards. Need tough grinding players for playoffs.

[@SF1886]

Warren wasn’t tough. Brown replaced Vinny and Kane isn’t going anywhere until March 1st when he doesn’t have a NMC. Also Arvidsson is great on the boards.

[@sum87itt]

Sorry David, but you are completely out to lunch on analytics and where the numbers are coming from. You should check these guys out and see what they are doing.

[@747Cone]

Don't waste your breath. He's stuck in his ways for at least the last decade. He's had arguments against many analytics pioneers that have gone on to be hired by NHL teams. Bruce is much more open minded and I would surmise that is in no small part due to his science background.

[@dwaynesbgb]

People that are mad at the Josh brown signing, are dense lmao. He didn’t replace Vinny, broberg did. Brown will be In the ahl.

[@dianedyck3474]

I’m sorry we lost desharnais!

[@FightingSiouxHockey]

Brown looks to be an upgrade to Vinny imo... He can kill penalties, be physical and will drop the Mitts without hesitation. I like the trade! 😎👍

[@dwaynesbgb]

Not me

[@Dan-013]

Everyone has to be a Stanley Cup discount to play in Edmonton, this is why all the bigger names went elsewhere (DeBrusk) etc

[@CC-of5xl]

What bigger names? They signed Skinner the guy every playoff team was trying to get

[@gordtulk]

Desharnais is a dime a dozen player. Fan nostalgia is of no value.

[@aaronst.pierre3080]

I wonder why we went for Arvidson over Foegele.

[@CC-of5xl]

He's a much better player. They NEED top 6 wingers especially in Draisaitl's last year.

[@joeydrummer7929]

Classic oilers not adding defense and just concentrating on scoring only lol. You guys can score like Jesus . Fix your defense . That’s how you win cups.

[@SF1886]

Rewatch the SCF. Their problem was scoring in the games 1, 2 and 7

[@joeydrummer7929]

Yea defense is more important and is more of the issue with Edmonton . They struggled to score cause they were up against a very good defensive team . Just like when they played us last season. Their defense made a lot more mistakes then our defense did and that lead to goals. Good defense leads to offense . Edmonton definitely stepped it up defensively this season , but it was mainly on their penalty kill. One of the best penalty kills I’ve seen . And as you saw that really good defense on the penalty kills leads to offense and you scored multiple shorties in the final. You just need some improvement there and you can win a cup. The only argument I could see for adding offense to the Oilers would be bolstering the bottom 6 to give them more depth. But between improving the defense and bolstering bottom 6 I’d pick improving defense any day. Again. Defense wins championships. And Edmonton has probably the most offensively off the charts players of any team in the league including the greatest player in the world and one of the best players in the league who are both basically magical when it comes to producing offense . The offense is fine . Defense was the way to go in regards to fixing and they screwed that up. Just my opinion though. If they win a cup this year or next I’ll come back and admit I was wrong.

[@shrubbber_8]

It’s a great place to live if you’re a sled dog

[@Dan-013]

I’m thinking Holland would of done ✅ much better today, then what the Oilers got

[@dianedyck3474]

Not a chance!

[@SF1886]

😂 Good one

[@juleswinnfield6930]

A big 👎to that GM.

[@dianedyck3474]

A big👏🏻to the gm

[@sanpotkins4705]

I wouldn't do this but...With some salary retention...trade Broberg to Philly for big bad Rasmus Ristollinen who could play rights side double jeopardy next to Darnell; creating a killer shutdown pairing....Right now there is no denying Broberg is our 3rd D man headng up that second pairing...even on his offside....the economics of this don't look good and eventually this young colt Broberg is going want money and bust out of the kernel we've been keeping him in....Broberg should have played all of last year here. Its been a while but developing talented assrts in an organization eho then push out underachieving vets is a New Good Thing!!!!!

[@sanpotkins4705]

Please guys give us 1 every 10 days.....I get sick massively sick of Gazolla and Eric er Lt.

[@Ace96x10]

Nurse is a pretty good D man at 4.5 mill a year. I thought the Oilers would keep Foegele, none of the guys coming in are as productive, but maybe playing with Dria will help that. The others going are no surprise. Is the team better for these moves? I'm not all that confidant that they are. But ya maybe.

[@CC-of5xl]

What are you talking about? Skinner's career high(a year ago) is literally double Foegele's career high lol. Arvidsson has had 5 season's of more goals than Foegele's career high

[@Ace96x10]

@@CC-of5xl He had 5 more points last season then Foegele. Career highs from yrs ago isn't worth a damn. Foegele is getting better every yr. Skinner isn't. Arvidsson seems to have a lot of health issues almost every year. So your banking on him being healthy, and Foegele not getting any better then he is now, and Skinner not declining. Ok. Did ya think Jack Campbell was gona be better then Koskenin too? Every year for 50 yrs people tell me the new guys coming in are gona oh so very good, and it's not often true, not counting obvious good moves like signing Hyman. I said "ya maybe", but people like you always seem to be able to read the future perfectly till the future becomes today.

[@CC-of5xl]

@Ace96x10 Foegele is 28 for the type of player he is the chances of getting better are lower than him getting worse and he only hit 30 points once before last season. Skinner had 82 the season before you're talking like that's a long time ago lol. He also played with Draisaitl last year so you're comparing his inflated stats to Skinner who played on a terrible team and Arvidsson who played on a D 1st team. Away from Draisaitl Foegele has proven to be a 20-30 point guy. His comparable would be Maroon when he got to play with Mcdavid vs away from Mcdavid.

[@CC-of5xl]

@Ace96x10 I'll also add that last part is ridiculous. The Skinner and Arvidsson contracts are as of signing being viewed as better risks than Hyman's was at the time. Do you see a single person in the media outside of Edmonton claiming these are bad contracts? These aren't Oilers signings of the past that Oilers media tried to sell as good. These are deals that other fanbases and media are jealous of.

[@Ace96x10]

@@CC-of5xl So your argument is now based on you saying "The Skinner and Arvidsson contracts are as of signing being viewed as better risks than Hyman's was at the time", and that no one is diss'ing it outside of Edmonton. An amazing assertion which, even if true, totally miss's the point. Edmonton media has a long and rich history of calling player acquisitions all kinds of things and then being proven totally wrong, so if that's your basis for your position..wow. Lastly, you choose to argue about a point you can't prove, while what I said is "Is the team better for these moves? I'm not all that confidant that they are. But ya maybe." What part can't you yet grasp?