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Morning, folks.
Tough couple days in and around the Edmonton area if you’re like me and have some kind of investment in the Oilers getting better with every move they make. The Duncan Keith deal is done and dusted and it only took about 24 hours to see them have to sit out a unique opportunity because they’ve already cast their lot with him.
The Minnesota Wild, in what can only be described as a massive overreaction to the looming expansion draft, bought out both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter yesterday. Parise’s been a bit of a fringe player lately but Suter is still very much a productive top four D. Suter is what Ken Holland thinks Duncan Keith is:
Ryan Suter, bought out by MIN, is still a very strong offence driver but he's been carried defensively by his partners in recent years. Plays big tough minutes and should be a heavily-desired UFA. #mnwild pic.twitter.com/Eb3kKM4SRs
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 13, 2021
Patience is a virtue, as they say. In this case, impatience will hurt you. The Oilers are a worse team today on paper and they have ~$5MM less to fill the holes in the roster than they did two days ago, none of which were filled by the Keith trade. Rough.
To rub salt in this festering wound, it was reported that Nick Leddy would be made available in trade, and that the Islanders are aware that the return will be depressed:
Nick Leddy, reportedly on the trade block, has not been a strong playdriver at all in recent years despite strong offensive zone playmaking and prolific zone entries. #Isles pic.twitter.com/XjWJmSLqso
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 13, 2021
That’s not a pretty player card, but consider that Leddy’s 9 years younger, his results are better, his cap hit is basically identical, and the commitment is for only one season. Still not the quality of player they need, but compared to Duncan Keith it’s not even close in terms of which acquisition would have been less damaging for Edmonton.
To make matters worse, word on the street is Adam Larsson’s negotiations are far from a sure bet, and that he might end up somewhere else.
It’s been a banner start to the most important summer in franchise history for Ken Holland, a GM who shouldn’t be GM anymore.
How embarrassing is this?
— archie senderson (@PJthe2nd) July 13, 2021
No way Bob Nicholson even interviewed this dumb fuck for the gm job. pic.twitter.com/RGgBcJagci
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The Hungry Wolf (ON)
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OILERS NOTES: Keith Will Fill The Big Hole In Klefbom’s Continued Absence (ES)
Does the contempt for the fans in these pro-Keith articles bother anyone else? It’s all so irksome. They’re pissing on our legs and telling us it’s water. Constantly. It’s sending me rn.
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WWYDW(TE): How About Ryan Suter? (ON)
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0-5-5 in 23 AHL GP at 23 years old. You tell me.
Superstition (LT)
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