Maybe the best way to start this post is to say that I didn't love this summer for the Oilers, particularly the decisions on defense. I cannot recall a roster position where I disagreed more with Edmonton's transactions than the defense this past summer. We will see by the end, but my guess is there would probably be only two or three of the same D between the group the Oilers chose and the group I probably would have tried to assemble.
Having said that, even amongst the fans more skeptical of Oilers management, there were three forwards most were in favor of Edmonton having signed - those being Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent Hopkins, and Derek Ryan. The Ryan deal I have no issues with; a quality player at a reasonable rate. With Hyman and Nugent Hopkins, I would rather have seen EDM pay them more per year for a shorter term. Without question, from the outside looking in it is impossible to assess if that were possible, however, there is more than enough information to suggest I am more allergic to term with late 20s/early 30s players than is Holland.
Keeping those 3 signings leaves a depth chart and cap situation as follows:
I have removed the Neal cap hit to reflect his buyout. In Hollands position I would have been very aggressive in trying to find a trade prior to a buyout, or working a deal with SEA. It is again impossible to evaluate what could have been done here, we simply don't have enough information, so this is a move to keep for purposes of this exercise.
