Qualifying Offers Announced
by Scott Reynolds on Jun 28, 2010 3:30 PM MDT
in News
Email
PrintToday was a big day for many of the prospects, suspects and almost-maybe-kind of-established NHL players with the Edmonton Oilers because today was the day that the Oilers issued qualifying offers (on time!). So often this day isn't newsworthy, but that's not the case this year. The following ten players received qualifying offers: Gilbert Brule, Andrew Cogliano, Jeff Deslauriers, Devan Dubnyk, Colin Fraser, Sam Gagner, Jean-Francois Jacques, Ryan O'Marra, Theo Peckham, and Liam Reddox. Players who did not (yet?) receiving a qualifying offer are: Josef Hrabal, Bryan Lerg, Geoff Paukovich, Ryan Potulny, Marc Pouliot, and Vyacheslav Trukhno. Those guys will become unrestricted free agents on July 1st. After the jump, I'll have a short discussion on each of the guys in italics as I found those three decisions pretty surprising (I wish Jacques' name was in italics, but that one really shouldn't come as a surprise).
Ryan O'Marra - His performance in 2009-10 was definitely a step forward from his previous seasons, but there are a lot of steps to go before O'Marra will be a competent
Ryan Potulny - Ryan Potulny had more goals than every Oiler not named Dustin Penner, Gilbert Brule and Sam Gagner. His qualifying offer would have cost $654,500 and needed to be a one-way deal because he played in more than 60 games in 2009-10. The Oilers, apparently, didn't want to give Potulny a one-way deal I wonder if the Oilers were aware of this 60-game rule with ten games to go in the season. Potulny only played 64 games, so sitting him out for five of the last ten would have made it easier to retain his rights. I suppose it would have been pretty cold to sit Potulny for five games because they wanted to have the option of a two-way qualifying offer but it's probably what they should have done as now Potulny will likely be lost for nothing.
Marc Pouliot - I can't believe they didn't qualify Pouliot, but did qualify Jacques. Further, it's shocking to me that this player has no value. The qualifying offer could have been a two-way deal, so the lack of an offer means that the Oilers simply didn't want him in the organization. I would have thought a two-way deal would have been great for the Oilers. If he competes and wins a spot at camp, great, but if not, he gets waived and helps the Barons. Should he get claimed on the way down, at least the Oilers get a few thousand dollars for their trouble. An odd, odd decision here.
Ryan Stone - You may have noticed that Ryan Stone's name isn't on either list. That's because he's an unrestricted free agent as of July 1st. It will be interesting to see if he signs with the Oilers before that date.
31 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I think Potulny didn’t get qualified because the Oilers were afraid he would go to arbitration.
(He had a lot of goals.)
I think there are a limited number of arbitration decisions that a team can walk away from, so it is counterproductive to waste them on a lower level player. It might be possible to re-sign him anyway if nobody else bites.
Ditto for Pouliot. It might be good for Pouliot to sample the market and see what the league thinks of him. Again, the Oilers can always still sign him.
The limit is a per year thing so I doubt they were worried about that unless they’re seriously considering walking away from Brule’s deal. The big thing is that they wouldn’t be allowed to walk away if it was a low level award. I don’t know the exact number but it’s something around $1.5M or less that you’re not allowed to walk away from, so that could have been a legitimate concern. It would suck to be forced to pay him, say, $1.1M on a one-way deal.
As for signing them anyway, I expect both Pouliot and Potulny to sign elsewhere. It doesn’t sound like the Oilers are interested in giving Potulny a one-way deal, and he should be able to get that from someone. With Pouliot, it seems like the lack of a QO was a signal from the org. that they just don’t want him. At least, that’s how i would take it if I were Marc Pouliot. He probably wants a fresh start.
by Scott Reynolds on Jun 28, 2010 4:01 PM MDT up reply actions
In fairness to the Oilers, this assumes that there is another team that’s willing to take on the risk of being forced to pay Ryan Potulny $1M. I assume that they tried to move him at the draft and found no takers.
by Scott Reynolds on Jun 28, 2010 7:47 PM MDT up reply actions
I cannot believe that there are no takers for Potulny. Maybe they were asking for too much or something like that. The media has always talked nice about the player and he produced well. I am sure there will be some team who will snag him up. Look for Howson, he is looking for a 4th line center. Maybe the teams did not want to give anything up, they thought they can take a run at him in the FA.
I think arbitration was a significant risk with this player. You can’t walk away from a low award which means any team trading for him risks being forced to pay him just over $1M on a one-way deal. I like the player, but he’s not really worth that. I do agree that someone in the NHL will give him a one-way deal though.
by Scott Reynolds on Jun 28, 2010 7:56 PM MDT up reply actions
They’re all in bold, Scott. They’re links.
SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there). Link now 100% less broken.
Thanks Doogie. I didn’t notice that. In my editor file they look different but not in the published piece. I learned something new!
by Scott Reynolds on Jun 28, 2010 3:54 PM MDT up reply actions
I hate seeing Potulny go without seeing what his potential could very well be. In the final 15-20 games from last year, he was one of my favorite players to watch. He had a knack for the net, good hands & looked like a team player; something sorrily missing from ‘09-’10. (My 1st post on here..been a C&B fan for a couple of years..this site is amazing)
Thanks, and welcome! Is that gonna be your permanent moniker? We experience quite enough painful losses around here!
Writer for The Copper & Blue and primary shareholder of Zorg Industries
"Never be ashamed of who you are" -- Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
by Bruce McCurdy on Jun 28, 2010 4:13 PM MDT up reply actions
No, thank you! This site is by far the greatest place for Oiler info on the net; I spend hours here. I get so sick of the main media outlets & their incessant arse-kissing; there has to be criticism to go with the praise.
Yes, we cerainly have over the past few years. It’s a nick I’ve used for years now – it’s the name of some instrumental music I write. Ironically, it suits the last year’s campaign, huh?
The Edmonton Oilers are fucking retarded. If I were Taylor Hall I’d run.
by Benjamin Massey on Jun 28, 2010 4:46 PM MDT reply actions
didn’t he grow up a broons fan? with all due respect, i wonder how badly he was hoping they’d move up to get him.
by Passive Voice on Jun 28, 2010 7:57 PM MDT up reply actions
Well sometimes a team doesnt dole out qualifying offers as I think it has to be higher than the one they had previously signed the players for. So a team may not qualify an RFA and then sign them to a contract less than what they would have to give had they qualified the player. I think that is the case with at least one of them(i am guessing Pouliot). Interestingly, the Canadiens hadnt qualified their Pouliot either and ended up signing him yesterday.
The Benoit Pouliot thing was odd because they signed him to a deal that was worth more than his qualifying offer. They must have had it pretty much worked out already not to bother with his QO.
As for the Oilers and Marc Pouliot, I don’t know what they think they’re going to save. His QO would have been $866,250 at the NHL level and they could have made it a two-way deal. There isn’t a whole lot of savings to be made here which is why I think he’s likely gone. But we’ll see. They have a couple of days to come to negotiate before he’s unrestricted.
by Scott Reynolds on Jun 28, 2010 7:54 PM MDT up reply actions
Scott, i think the reason O’Marra got qualified based on the player for whom he was traded for. Thats the only thing i can think of
If they were protecting K-Lowe’s ass, they wouldn’t a let Pouliot go for SFA.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and primary shareholder of Zorg Industries
"Never be ashamed of who you are" -- Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
by Bruce McCurdy on Jun 28, 2010 7:13 PM MDT up reply actions
I think the reason O’Marra got qualified is that Steve Tambellini is literally the stupidest man on the planet.
I shared a flight out of LAX with him and K-Lowe. I should have bombed the plane.
by Benjamin Massey on Jun 28, 2010 7:26 PM MDT up reply actions
RYAN O’MARRA AND JEAN-FRANCOIS JACQUES BUT NOT MARC POULIOT! THIS STILL INFURIATES ME! THIS WILL NEVER STOP INFURIATING ME! HOW CAN ANYBODY BE SO BLINDLY IGNORANT TO THE REALITY OF WHAT WINS HOCKEY GAMES?!?!?!?!?!?
by Benjamin Massey on Jun 28, 2010 8:18 PM MDT up reply actions
Hits. Sandpaper.
Grit.
Fights.
Don Cherry tells me that every week.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Marc Pouliot has more grit than Ryan O’Marra after falling into a rock polisher.
by Benjamin Massey on Jun 28, 2010 8:28 PM MDT up reply actions
Sometimes what wins a game is a hero. Tell me how many times do you remember Marc Pouliot being a hero in an Oilers win? A game star, even? Me neither. At his best he was vanilla.
Poo was a guy who never could figure out how to carpe the diem. Too bad, cuz he sure in hell looks like a player.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and primary shareholder of Zorg Industries
"Never be ashamed of who you are" -- Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
by Bruce McCurdy on Jun 28, 2010 8:40 PM MDT up reply actions
Tell me you didn’t just condemn Marc Pouliot because he doesn’t score enough BIG GOALS. Tell me that didn’t just happen.
by Benjamin Massey on Jun 28, 2010 9:56 PM MDT up reply actions
He fucking well better be. I’m a little on edge right now you may have noticed.
by Benjamin Massey on Jun 28, 2010 11:18 PM MDT up reply actions
Nah, not trolling, just trying to get a handle on what the org. may be thinking.
There’s many more ways to being a difference-maker than scoring BIG GOALS, but given Pouliot’s reluctance to become “Guy Carbonneau”, his mediocre production and constant injury battles, it seems his was one position that they deemed needing improvement.
Personally I’m kind of sad about it. I’ve been preaching patience and holding out hope for this guy forfreakinever. I still think he might “get it” and become a useful player on another team. I have few concerns, however, that he will suddennly blossom into a star.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and primary shareholder of Zorg Industries
"Never be ashamed of who you are" -- Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
by Bruce McCurdy on Jun 29, 2010 4:53 PM MDT up reply actions
Firstly, I think that “he’s not the hero often enough” is a terrible reason to junk a guy who plays mostly on the fourth line. That said, from memory, I remember a couple of stand-out performances but the one that sticks out most is a game against Calgary in 2008-09 where he was a part of a beauty three-way passing play with Moreau and Pisani that resulted in a goal. I remember him being good in general but that play stands out. Didn’t get an “official” star selection though. Seeing that, I was determined to find an instance where he was selected as one of the three stars. Sure enough, my determination was rewarded! Twice! And who knows, maybe there are some others hiding away.
by Scott Reynolds on Jun 28, 2010 10:06 PM MDT up reply actions
I’m honestly more annoyed that we didn’t keep Potulny. Looking up and down the roster I’m hard pressed to say the guy who got called up and scored fifteen goal in limited minutes was part of the problems. Considering the fellow had popped about forty in the AHL the season before it doesn’t strike me as being a fluke and he had decent size ontop of that. Pouliot at least had been given so many chances and made nothing of them that I can justify the Oilers giving up on him. How they can justify ditching a guy who scored fifteen goals while keeping JFJ and Ryan O’mara on the roster is beyond me.
Yeah, I’m not sure that they’re going to have a better 13th forward this year. What were they looking for in a 13th forward, especially considering how inexpensive he is?
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
Northwest Standings
Oilers Schedule
Next 5 Games
Toronto
|
Wed 02/15 | 8:00 PM MST |
|
Colorado
|
Fri 02/17 | 7:30 PM MST |
|
Vancouver
|
Sun 02/19 | 7:00 PM MST |
|
@
Calgary
|
Tue 02/21 | 7:00 PM MST |
|
Philadelphia
|
Thu 02/23 | 7:30 PM MST |
Last 5 Games
|
@
Ottawa
|
Sat 02/11 | OT - W 4 - 3 |
|
@
Detroit
|
Wed 02/08 | L 2 - 4 |
|
@
Toronto
|
Mon 02/06 | L 3 - 6 |
|
Detroit
|
Sat 02/04 | SO - W 5 - 4 |
|
Chicago
|
Thu 02/02 | W 8 - 4 |
In Association With
Latest Puck Daddy - NHL from Yahoo! Sports
- The Chicago Blackhawks’ losing streak is bad for everybody
- According to NHL, here’s why Dominic Moore escaped suspension for Fedotenko hit
- How Mats Sundin’s no-trade clause controversy made fans reconsider loyalty in NHL
- Nordiques Nation invades Hockey Day in Canada
- Youth hockey coach, parents clash over alleged tirade over 9-year old’s 200th goal puck
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
