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Oilers » Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal

Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847578]	Tue, 23 September 2025 10:31

Mike
Messages: 1888
Registered: August 2005
Location: Moncton, New Brunswick

1 Cup

3 year $8.85M ($2.95AAV)

https://www.nhl.com/news/vasily-podkolzin-signs-3-year-contr act-with-edmonton-oilers

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847579 is a reply to message #847578 ]	Tue, 23 September 2025 10:35

Kr55
Messages: 12068
Registered: May 2002
Location: Edmonton

6 Cups

Mike wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 10:31

3 year $8.85M ($2.95AAV)

https://www.nhl.com/news/vasily-podkolzin-signs-3-year-contr act-with-edmonton-oilers

I like this kid, but damn, that's another overpay. Plus this kid seemed to be just in love with the team and group and should have been easy to get a discount out of. This is giving a blank cheque territory based on his actual performance.

Holloway at 2.3M was unacceptable to us a year ago.

[Updated on: Tue, 23 September 2025 10:43]

"We need to get better immediately. That starts today"
- Lowe, 2013

"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015

5 x $5,000,000

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847580 is a reply to message #847579 ]	Tue, 23 September 2025 10:47

welcometotheOC
Messages: 700
Registered: April 2010
Location: Also, sadly, Cowtown

No Cups

This doesn't start until next season - as percentage of cap it is not an overpay, especially if his offense is waking up (see last playoffs).
Even without that and a small offensive improvement it is fine.

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847581 is a reply to message #847580 ]	Tue, 23 September 2025 10:58

Kr55
Messages: 12068
Registered: May 2002
Location: Edmonton

6 Cups

welcometotheOC wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 10:47

Forgot he's signed 1 more year. Also kinda odd we felt the need to rush this deal and just wipe away some of his incentive to perform this year. He was going to be RFA still next summer.

Right now, this is absolutely an overpay. Guy performed like a 4th liner most of the year, sometimes looking horribly lost. He was given some cherry ice time out of desperation and looked "OK" in those situations, but not at all like a guy that should be a regular in the top 6.

He seems popular in the room, and seems to have Drai treating him like he's his mentor. He really seems to have leveraged that to make us desperate to keep him, rather than us leveraging his comfort to get a discount or even fair market value from him on a multi-year deal.

"We need to get better immediately. That starts today"
- Lowe, 2013

"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015

5 x $5,000,000

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847595 is a reply to message #847580 ]	Wed, 24 September 2025 09:29

Adam
Messages: 7529
Registered: August 2005
Location: Edmonton, AB

6 Cups

welcometotheOC wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 10:47

I don't really agree that it's not an overpay. He had 24 points last year despite spending more time with Draisaitl than almost anyone. Better in the playoffs yes, but we've seen before that that's a small sample size. You shouldn't award contracts based solely on that.

I agree with Kr55 - if Holloway's deal was too much, then paying this player more than Holloway got doesn't make much sense. If he can be a 40-point player, then it's fine, but that's a big if when he has 59 points in 219 NHL games.

The reality is that it's not just the big overpays that hurt this team's ability to build depth. It's all the little foolish things they do adding up. I think I would have liked to at least see a really strong start to the season before I ink this if I'm GM. At this point he COULD become an everyday 2nd liner, or he could be a 4th liner. If it's the latter, he shouldn't be getting almost $3MM/season.

"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
#FireBobbyNicks

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847582 is a reply to message #847579 ]	Tue, 23 September 2025 11:07

Mike
Messages: 1888
Registered: August 2005
Location: Moncton, New Brunswick

1 Cup

Kr55 wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 13:35

Pretty much all the thoughts that went through my head.

I like the kid. And the potential is certainly there for his contributions to increase. But it feels like we're always giving max term and dollars to fairly replaceable guys. Will be shocked if there's not some stupid NMC on it.

Anyway - I don't hate it. Certainly has the potential to pay off, but I can't imagine that's a whole lot less than the absolute max he could have hoped for.

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847583 is a reply to message #847582 ]	Tue, 23 September 2025 11:13

Kr55
Messages: 12068
Registered: May 2002
Location: Edmonton

6 Cups

Mike wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 11:07

Kr55 wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 13:35

Will be nice if he lives up to that deal.

Guess file it along with Frederic and Nurse.

"We need to get better immediately. That starts today"
- Lowe, 2013

"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015

5 x $5,000,000

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847584 is a reply to message #847583 ]	Tue, 23 September 2025 11:24

Skookum Jim
Messages: 5361
Registered: March 2006
Location: Burnaby, BC

5 Cups

Kr55 wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 10:13

...

Will be nice if he lives up to that deal.

Guess file it along with Frederic and Nurse.

..woa.. maybe along side the Freddy file.. but Nurse? .. thats another filing cabinet.. in an underground vault! icon_nod

Pods would have been RFA next year.. but had arb rights.. if he had a decent season I think he'd get a lot with the cap going up.. fingers crossed.

[Updated on: Tue, 23 September 2025 11:26]

McDAVID! Oh YEAH Baby!! (Thank you Lord!)
Tic-Tac-Tao!
Keep on Rockin' in the Free World

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847585 is a reply to message #847578 ]	Tue, 23 September 2025 13:18

inverno76
Messages: 2481
Registered: September 2005
Location: Prince Albert, Saskatchew...

2 Cups

Still adjusting to the new cap era, and I suppose this is an affordable deal now. 1M-2M players will be ELC’s and rehab players.

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847589 is a reply to message #847585 ]	Tue, 23 September 2025 17:04

oilfan94
Messages: 494
Registered: June 2006
Location: USA

No Cups

inverno76 wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 15:18

Still adjusting to the new cap era, and I suppose this is an affordable deal now. 1M-2M players will be ELC’s and rehab players.

Inflation is hitting everyone, including the Oilers.

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847596 is a reply to message #847585 ]	Wed, 24 September 2025 09:36

Adam
Messages: 7529
Registered: August 2005
Location: Edmonton, AB

6 Cups

inverno76 wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 13:18

Still adjusting to the new cap era, and I suppose this is an affordable deal now. 1M-2M players will be ELC’s and rehab players.

I don't really agree with this. Teams need to understand where they have negotiating power. Podkolzin has an ideal situation here. He's getting to play with top players in a significant role. He's got a decent shot at winning a Cup. He hasn't put up any numbers to speak of, and he is only RFA. What's his leverage? A potential arbitration 10 months from now? He better perform if he wants to get anything decent from the arbitrator.

If he outperforms, then maybe it works out, but he hasn't shown tremendous hands as an Oiler despite being given a lot of opportunity. We will see. I hope I'm wrong here.

"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
#FireBobbyNicks

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847597 is a reply to message #847596 ]	Wed, 24 September 2025 09:39

Kr55
Messages: 12068
Registered: May 2002
Location: Edmonton

6 Cups

Adam wrote on Wed, 24 September 2025 09:36

inverno76 wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 13:18

Still adjusting to the new cap era, and I suppose this is an affordable deal now. 1M-2M players will be ELC’s and rehab players.

This is what I was trying to convey too. Instead of us using how much he loves the team and relationships he is building and what a golden opportunity he was gifted here to encourage him to sign cheaper to stay, it seems like he actually used that leverage against us. We paid him top dollar because we like him so much, and we seem almost desperate to keep a guy that has been a career 4th liners so far. Seems to always work out that way with Oilers management these last couple decades.

"We need to get better immediately. That starts today"
- Lowe, 2013

"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015

5 x $5,000,000

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847599 is a reply to message #847597 ]	Wed, 24 September 2025 11:56

Mike
Messages: 1888
Registered: August 2005
Location: Moncton, New Brunswick

1 Cup

Kr55 wrote on Wed, 24 September 2025 12:39

Adam wrote on Wed, 24 September 2025 09:36

inverno76 wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 13:18

Still adjusting to the new cap era, and I suppose this is an affordable deal now. 1M-2M players will be ELC’s and rehab players.

Death by a thousand cuts. An extra $500k here, a million there. And we have room for one less impact player somewhere down the road. I keep going back to the same question every time I see Oilers deals announced: if THIS is what they settled on, what the hell was the initial ask?

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847600 is a reply to message #847599 ]	Wed, 24 September 2025 13:20

Kr55
Messages: 12068
Registered: May 2002
Location: Edmonton

6 Cups

Mike wrote on Wed, 24 September 2025 11:56

Kr55 wrote on Wed, 24 September 2025 12:39

Adam wrote on Wed, 24 September 2025 09:36

inverno76 wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 13:18

Still adjusting to the new cap era, and I suppose this is an affordable deal now. 1M-2M players will be ELC’s and rehab players.

Maybe this helps make the case to McDavid that he really does need to give us a good discount to keep these kinds of guys around that he and the teammates love :)

"We need to get better immediately. That starts today"
- Lowe, 2013

"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015

5 x $5,000,000

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847601 is a reply to message #847597 ]	Wed, 24 September 2025 15:31

Adam
Messages: 7529
Registered: August 2005
Location: Edmonton, AB

6 Cups

Kr55 wrote on Wed, 24 September 2025 09:39

Adam wrote on Wed, 24 September 2025 09:36

inverno76 wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 13:18

Still adjusting to the new cap era, and I suppose this is an affordable deal now. 1M-2M players will be ELC’s and rehab players.

Yes - in talking to his agent, I'd have been pointing out HOW much time he played with Draisaitl, as compared to, say, Jeff Skinner, and then at how Skinner outscored him last year scoring 3 more points in 10 less games, with worse linemates at every turn. Podkolzin hits more, but how much are you paying for someone doing that? Yes, Skinner is making $3MM this year in San Jose, but A) he was UFA and B) he's got a much stronger track record to fall back on.

If Podkolzin wasn't here, is another team playing him in the role he's currently got? If he's not with Draisaitl but playing on, say Detroit's third line - what does that do to his production? If he wins an arbitration award next year that we walk away from, he could very well end up on a one-year deal somewhere and then if that doesn't go well he's struggling to find work.

He's now got a home here for the next four years - I think he should have had to leave more money on the table in order to get that.

"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
#FireBobbyNicks

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847586 is a reply to message #847578 ]	Tue, 23 September 2025 14:51

smyth260
Messages: 1211
Registered: November 2007

1 Cup

No matter the GM of this team, they all seem to hate cap flexibility.

I like his game, but this is a lot and essentially a 4 year commitment to a player that has a career high of 26 points. You don’t do term on those players.

Clean house or bust

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847587 is a reply to message #847586 ]	Tue, 23 September 2025 16:00

Skookum Jim
Messages: 5361
Registered: March 2006
Location: Burnaby, BC

5 Cups

smyth260 wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 13:51

its only really an additional 3 year commitment.

Compared to what some of the upcoming RFA's will sign for.. this might not look to bad a deal in hindsight.. a decent comparable might be Evangelista in Nashville.. he's currently RFA.. no hammer.. similar numbers as Podz.. Evangelista turned down 3x3M from Nashville .. rumour is he's looking to bridge on a 2 year instead.. if he improves and gets more points during the bridge deal, plus a bigger team cap.. he'll be getting a lot more than 3M.

Unfortunately I think the market is going up.. all teams have left is the ELC's to keep costs down.. need to bet on a young guy for term.. and that the bet comes up 7's all across.

McDAVID! Oh YEAH Baby!! (Thank you Lord!)
Tic-Tac-Tao!
Keep on Rockin' in the Free World

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847590 is a reply to message #847587 ]	Tue, 23 September 2025 18:09

smyth260
Messages: 1211
Registered: November 2007

1 Cup

Skookum Jim wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 15:00

smyth260 wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 13:51

They didn’t need to sign him 1 year before his RFA offseason. This deal further limits their flexibility for 4 years. That’s a long time for a career high 26 point player.

Clean house or bust

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847591 is a reply to message #847590 ]	Tue, 23 September 2025 18:12

welcometotheOC
Messages: 700
Registered: April 2010
Location: Also, sadly, Cowtown

No Cups

Not the same player, but that is what people said about Holloway and Broberg. The Oilers absolutely cannot afford to lose any more even decent young players. If he has a better season points-wise he would be another relatively cheap offer sheet target.

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847592 is a reply to message #847591 ]	Tue, 23 September 2025 18:33

Kr55
Messages: 12068
Registered: May 2002
Location: Edmonton

6 Cups

welcometotheOC wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 18:12

Would we categorize Podz the same as we prospects that never really got a shot on a big club to show what they can do? Those guys never got to a point where the team that drafted them threw the towel in because they failed pretty badly to do anything with opportunities they were given. Podz looked like a struggling 4th liner for extended periods this season even for us.

We’ll see how this turns out. But we definitely need him to do more than he has ever consistently shown in 217 career games (more than Broberg and Holloway had combined when they left Edmonton) for this to look like a fair deal.

"We need to get better immediately. That starts today"
- Lowe, 2013

"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015

5 x $5,000,000

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847593 is a reply to message #847592 ]	Tue, 23 September 2025 19:24

Skookum Jim
Messages: 5361
Registered: March 2006
Location: Burnaby, BC

5 Cups

Kr55 wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 17:33

welcometotheOC wrote on Tue, 23 September 2025 18:12

Not sure comparing to Holloway is completely fair.. we could have signed Holloway for less than the 3M we've signed Podz to next year (maybe 750K less).. but it looks like Holloway's next contract as RFA (next season) will likely be over 5M or maybe 6M (he's got arb rights) .. while we'll have Podz at 3M next year .. so is Holloway worth twice as much as Podz.. ? maybe .. but hopefully Podz narrows that gap this season.. icon_smile

McDAVID! Oh YEAH Baby!! (Thank you Lord!)
Tic-Tac-Tao!
Keep on Rockin' in the Free World

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847594 is a reply to message #847593 ]	Tue, 23 September 2025 21:43

welcometotheOC
Messages: 700
Registered: April 2010
Location: Also, sadly, Cowtown

No Cups

First 4 words: "Not the same player" ....

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Re: Oilers Sign Podkolzin to 3 Year Deal [message #847588 is a reply to message #847578 ]	Tue, 23 September 2025 17:02

Rutuu
Messages: 163
Registered: March 2011
Location: Brisbane

No Cups

Well...there's a good chance in year 3 this will be a good deal to get to the cap floor if we're doing it right.

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