Souray Signs with Edmonton
(Source)
Some quick thoughts:
- Paul Kariya likes playing in places like Anaheim, Nashville, St. Louis, away from fans that will hold him accountable. Obviously Souray does not share this sentiment, moving from Montreal to Edmonton.
- Being an Alberta boy probably played heavily into his signing. Maybe the Oilers should target key Alberta born players if they're really having trouble drawing stars...start with that Ryan Smyth guy-I heard he's good.
- I really enjoy and agree with Lowetide's description of Souray as a 'Chaos' defender. Many times Souray will be just as likely to cost you a goal as score one or prevent one. That said, Souray can be a force at times.
- I was initially against getting a guy like Souray (a Chaos defender), but the Oilers need bodies and some good PR. In that sense this is probably a good move.
- There's been a lot of speculation about the Oilers starting defensive groupings. I think we can now see the team starting to take shape:
Souray - Staios
Pitkanen - Tarnstrom
Smid - Greene
Pitkanen - Tarnstrom
Smid - Greene
- Pitkanen could be put with Souray, creating a Staios-Tarnstrom tandem, but I like the idea of sheltering Pitkanen from too many minutes/responsibility early, and I like Steady Stevey Staios playing with Sheldon 'Chaos' Souray.
- Will the Oilers be able to still find room for that desperately needed forward?
- What did Souray cost?
- Has Lowe done enough to stay the execution?
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5 comments:
As a Flames fan, Im glad the Oilers got Souray. That should worry Oilers fans.
He was on the ice for like 66 goals last year at ES. Far and away the worst on the habs. And he wasn't playing against tough competition (Komisarek saw tougher minutes). This gives Edmonton a nice looking first unit PP (Pitkanen and Souray), but might actually make them worse off at any other time. All for 5M+/year with a no movement clause thrown in. And that's not considering the fact Souray had a tremendous career season with a shooting percentage that was a full 5% higher than his prior career average...meaning the chances of him repeating that performance are slim.
Ugh.
Wow am I glad we got Regehr for 4 mill.
Like I said, he's a chaos defender. I would have agreed with you 3 months or so ago - Souray is drastically overrated, and this deal ($5.4 avg/5) is a bit of an overpayment.
But the Oilers need bodies, and Souray was probably one of the better options out there. Is the team better than they were yesterday? Absolutely.
Wish the deal was shorter term though - Souray should have been a stopgap solution. Although I suspect his salary is low enough (and front loaded enough) to move him in the future.
Regehr at $4 is something only Sutter could have pulled off.
One thing I'm really excited about is seeing Souray's amazing shot. It's beautiful.
Welcome home Sheldon!
Calgary does look pretty good and I'm glad because I thinks it's pretty great Alberta has two NHL teams.
Can't wait...
Hey, the OIlers needed help on the powerplay so this is a good move. I think he should be paired with steady Steve....he needs help 5x5. Yup, Oilers needed bodies.
Lowe gets a stay for now. If we're out of it by Christmas, he'll be gone.
dude, am i gonna see you at the DHA mon/tues ? i skip town on wed so it'll be a supershort camp viewing for me....
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