Is this Oilers team more talented than the one that just lost in Cup Final? | Jay on SC

Is this Oilers team more talented than the one that just lost in Cup Final? | Jay on SC

well the Edmonton Oilers off season is shaping up quite nicely thus far they were able to sign a couple of top six forwards and Jeff Skinner and Victor arson and then Jeff Jack and the acting GM able to bring back most of the teams free agents including Adam Henrik theas Yanmar Cory Perry they bought out Jack Campbell Warren Fogle Vinnie dear among the notables that left town it’s time to bring in our good friend Jason strudwick who is becoming a fan favorite on the show uh just as he was a fan favorite when he played in the National Hockey League for the Edon Oilers many other teams struy great to see you buddy um wow this is a very different day of free agency than Edmonton Oiler fans are used to you know you’re used to the team losing guys and maybe not being able to sign two top six forwards and yet Jeff Jackson had a heck of a day on Monday on paper do you see this as as a more talented group than the one that went all the way to game seven of the cup final my mind there’s no doubt about it you know the that the team on paper today is better than we saw there was two shots away from win the Stanley Cup what a change you know and and one of the concerns going into this for agency you know if you’re a free and you’re like well who am I negotiating with who’s the GM well Jeff Jackson stood up and and along with his other assist and GMS in the group they did a really good job assembling a lot more talent and they got it on budget Friendly Deals Jeff Skinner guy he’s made a lot of money his career I think he’s uh you know 100 million a lot of cash J that’s kind of Jay onr cash y and he now is looking for an opportunity to win he wants to win his stany cup he sees this as a destination and why wouldn’t you want to play a leon dry sadle on the other side you got Victor arson arson is going to be the highman version of a player that McDavid has and now dry saddle has one so I mean dry saddle has got to be the happiest guy heading into these you know this off season obviously not thrilled they didn’t win the Stanley Cup but the team got better I think that’s really important to note okay stry we got to talk more about Jeff Jackson this guy was a wizard on Monday and you know he’s president of hockey operations I think a good portion of the fan base would prefer that he just remained as the team’s GM uh I know he doesn’t he said publicly he doesn’t want to do it but shouldn’t he do it I mean it seems like he’s really good at this well he seems really common measured approach and I give the guy a lot of credit not a lot of experience in that role right now but I mean he took it over and I think you know he did benefit from the fact that the team is really good and people want to come here and he was opportunistic you know the arson the situation with Jeff Skinner um you know he was opportunistic but he also got the deals done he understood what the team needed and addressed those needs in a major way you know a lot of fans slot that some of those needs would be addressed perhaps towards the trade deadline well they’re addressed in the summer yeah sure there’s some salary cap issues I have to figure out does someone go in LTI or maybe someone get squeezed out but he did a good job in a situation where you’re right he doesn’t even want the job who does a job that well that doesn’t even want it I’ve never done a job well and I wanted these jobs so here’s a guy who didn’t want the job and did a really good job with it so it’s it’s really impressive and um I guess now for him he’s got to take a deep breath look around and figure out who is potentially going to take that GM job does he want it does he find someone internally is there someone outside that wants to do it um these are Big moments for the Mt owners and big decisions and it seems like Jeff Jackson’s not afraid to add you know smarter or I know not maybe unfair to him but people who are as smart or smarter than him into the fold to help him do what they want to do which is ultimately wi it’s down the cup with Conor McDavid and Company well you know stry there’s a great history of former agents becoming GMS laqua K Hugh and Montreal there’s no reason why it couldn’t happen so we’ll we’ll definitely monitor that situation there are some lingering questions for the seon oiler team they want to get Dylan Holloway and Philip broberg under contract and and the future of Evander Kane is is a huge one uh we know he was dealing with significant injuries throughout the postseason you know there’s there’s no talk of him waving that no trade clause yet you know a lot of people think maybe he could be headed to ltir what would you Jason strudwick like to see happen with theander Kan I love Evander Kan the player when he’s healthy and we haven’t seen him healthy for quite some time you know he said he was dealing with this injury a hip uh you know maybe a sports turny or something since before Christmas so that’s a long time they’ve got to get sorted out Jeff Jackson talked about the idea of them taking some time figuring this out what does this look like how does it feel um they’re getting second opinions you know all that stuff to figure out what the plan is so he could very well Stell on ltir but they’ve got to make sure they get hallay and broberg figured out that was like two Acquisitions at the deadline hallay last year and broberg spent most of the year in the miners they came up in the playoffs and they played pretty big roles specifically broberg there was nice for broberg he wasn’t your fifth six defenseman this guy is Young he can skate he’s big and he’s Swedish and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love Swedish defenseman on their team that’s absolutely true um you know as good as the team looks Jason is there is there a need in your mind that this team still has to address as far as the roster is concerned well the depth UPF front seems to be covered we’re going to assume let’s just play for a game right now that everyone fits on this roster which we know they don’t salary cap wise let’s just assume they do I think up front they’ve got a lot of depth there that the return of Adam Henrik I’m a big fan of this player I remember watching him play for New Jersey in the sty Cup final now a decade ago when I had a full head of hair and I love the way this guy plays like he just he’s smart and you can’t teach smart smart is just what he is and he affects so many parts of the game makes his Wingers better so that is a need that they talked about but he’s now back henrik’s there what I’d like to see is another P moving defenseman on the back end we’ve got Bard who’s probably the most naturally gifted Puck mover the ERS have and obviously his point toal is reflected that the other guys you know they can move it competently but they don’t move it like that I think another uh Puck mov defense would be really nice you look at the Florida Panthers they had fors link they had Montour both are both really good at moving the puck I think that extra little pass getting out your Zone means you spend less time in your zone so that’s something I like to see them do can they do it this summer I think it’s going to be impossible Jay but we’ve seen you know previously they traded for uh Matia SE maybe that’s a something they can do towards a deadline find a guy that fits that mold to add you know it’s not that what they have now isn’t working it’s just if you really want to make sure you have all your everything’s you know lined up perfectly Jay that’s probably what I’m looking for okay and then the Leon dry cidal contract situation is sort of the cloud that hangs over this team right now would you Jason like to see something happen this summer or would you be okay if the team is doing great this season and they just walk Leon right into free agency and deal with it at that time o fans are going to hate me but you you can’t move Leon Drell away this guy is such an important part of your team uh arguably one of the best two three four five players in the league doesn’t matter when you’re when you’re talking that height but I actually what I think would make sense for Leon and everyone is extending Leon for one additional year I know this is probably not going to work but the reason I do that it’s hard for Leon to sign with the unkknown of what Conor McDavid does next summer and good players want to play with good players let’s make no mistake about it if Leon stays he wants to stay knowing that Conor is going to be here so is it fair to ask his friend to make that decision well in advance of when he has to make it and and I’m not saying he wants to to go or wants to stay or whatever but I think that for both of them to walk out the same time then they can decide what they want to do and how they want to do it again it probably won’t happen that makes a lot more sense so ask me now if if he doesn’t sign do you do you move him away no because your team is poised built and ready to compete for another Stanley Cup and you know there’s nothing more important than that to the team and to this band base okay Jason strudwick the way this last week has played out are the Evanson Oilers not only clear favorites in the Pacific Division but the clear favorites in the Western Conference I think they are you know Jay they’ve done so many good things and they they learned a lot in the playoffs and I you know when you play you don’t always understand how hard it is I never got to the standard Cup final but as watched this team grow and develop I’ve seen them understand how hard it is to win they’ve learned every lesson they they’ve had heartbreak you know losing to the Stanley Cup champions three seasons in a row three seasons they’ve seen it they’ve tasted it they were two shots away from winning the Stanley Cup this past year and get Florida full marks they won it Florida is not as good as they were last year they’ve lost a couple players uh you know Vancouver gave him a good run and having difficult Health he will help Jake de bruss I love that addition but I’m not sure they’re at the same point with some of the changes they’ve had on that group you know Calgary Seattle the Kings you know I don’t think Vegas going to be the same so I think in Pacific Division you can pretty comfortably say the olders will be first then you look at the central you know probably Dallas again they’re a good team but again the olders took that step they learned how to win so you know if you’re if you’re picking who you’re going to think make to the final I’d go with the olders right now because of the moves they’ve done Jay but as importantly or maybe more importantly the lessons they’ve learned and unfortunately a lot of times winning takes a lot of heartbreak it is it is heartbreak after heartbreak when you’re trying to get that Wayne grety rookie card and you’re open pack after pack after pack but finally you get it and then you realize it was worth it all that struggle is worth it and I feel like the olders are heading in that direction uh man this is a a great chat and you know I hope I get to talk to you before this season begins but I hope you have a great summer strudy and maybe just a little time off from Ryan Rashad just a little space for the two of you yeah everyone needs break from him everyone needs time on right he’s a little bit bossy I didn’t realize he was so bossy but the good thing is every time I get a text from him he wants me to do something I pretend oh sorry my phone died and I answer him the next day that’s why that’s my go-to actually should I have said that now he’ll know my trick yeah okay we won’t show anyone don’t worry nobody he won’t see this he won’t see this he never watches the show stry you’re the best thanks for this e

Is this Oilers team more talented on paper than the one that just lost in the Stanley Cup Final? Should Jeff Jackson be the Oilers general manager? What do you want to see happen with Evander Kane? What is the Oilers biggest remaining need? How do you see the Leon Draisaitl situation playing out? Is Edmonton the clear favourite to win the Pacific Division? Jason Strudwick joins SC with Jay Onrait to discuss all that and more.