Oilers Make Sabres Burn
Whether it was desperation or a savvy hockey move, the Edmonton Oilers took the hockey world by surprise when they offered restricted free-agent Thomas Vanek a seven-year, $50-million contract. The move infuriated the Buffalo Sabres, who quickly matched the offer, and threatened to go after the Oilers’ young talent.
Did the Oilers make a mistake? Absolutely not. Given how many first-round picks fail to pan out, the Oilers figured it was better to go after a young talented goal scorer even if the price was a package of first-round draft picks.
Of course, the Oilers move means general managers not only have to worry about unrestricted free-agents but their better players, who are restricted free agents. It’s enough to make them pull what little of their hair they have left!
Ironically, the economic sanity the NHL wanted when it went to war against the players two years ago seemed like a distant memory given the size and length of the free-agent contracts were handed out these days.
For more thoughts, check out the Off Wing Opinion, who calls the Oilers’ move “desperate” to deflect the spotlight away from a “consistent record of failure”, while James Mirtle calls it a “fiasco”.
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POSTED IN: Free-Agents
2 opinions for Oilers Make Sabres Burn
adena
Oct 2, 2007 at 10:09 am
We are sell DDO, Dungeons
Joshy 79
Oct 2, 2007 at 9:57 pm
good choice
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