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This from the Edmonton Oilers, news that they have signed winger Kailer Yamamoto to a new two-year, $3.1 million per season contract.

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My opinion

  1. One of Oilers GM Ken Holland’s final pieces is now complete. Yamamoto is now signed for two years. That means when he’s up for his next contract, he’ll still be a restricted free agent. Notably, the two-year commitment is a year longer than Jesse Puljujarvi got, and Yamamoto also received a hundred thousand more per year. In other words, the Oilers have shown him more commitment than Puljujarvi received.
  2. Yamamoto made $1,175,000 million last season, so this represents a huge raise for the player. He earned the promotion with solid play, putting up 1.64 points per 60 at even strength, the level of scoring you’d expect from a third-line winger. He was just behind Jesse Puljujarvi, 1.82 per 60, and Derek Ryan, 1.75 per 60, but ahead of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 1.52 per 60.

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  1. Some players, like Warren Foegele and Jesse Puljujarvi, withered during the playoffs in terms of their two-way game. Others, such as Zach Hyman, Zack Kassian and Evander Kane, stepped up. Yamamoto stayed about the same in terms of his major contributions in Grade A shots compared to his big mistakes in Grade A shots against. He was the Oil’s third-most effective winger in the playoffs by this metric, compiled through intensive video review at Cult of Hockey.
  2. It has long been reported that players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl want to have Yamamoto on their line. Why is this happening; For one thing, Yamamoto is a smart defensive player who fills in defensively when McDavid or Draisaitl move out of the defensive position. For another, he’s been part of three of the most successful Oilers lineups in the McDavid/Draisaitl era, according to Natural Stat Trick.

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Combines great on lines with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl (13 goals for, five against), Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (44 goals for, 23 against) and also with McDavid and Evander Kane (17 goals for, nine against) . 5. On Twitter, Hall-of-Fame hockey writer Jim Matheson said of the signing: “Very fair contract for Yamamoto, but absolutely the Oilers need to trade someone to get under the cap with McLeod likely getting $1 to $1.5 million new deal coming. You still feel Fogel is very likely to go. I wouldn’t trade Barry. Too valuable for PP.” And Oilers insider Bob Stauffer said: The EdmontonOilers avoid arbitration with Yamamoto, who is a durable spark plug that the best EDM players love to play with! Strong in elf retrievals. He continues to develop his offensive game…and is a part of both the PP2 and PK units.”

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  1. The most important information came from PuckPedia: “After signing Yamamoto for 2 years $3.1M Cap Hit, #LetsGoOilers are $6.8M over cap with 21 players (12F/7D/2G) on Projected Roster . With Klefbom ($4.167M) & Smith ($2.2M) at LTIR, effectively $423k over the cap.” This news comes as the Oil still need to sign Ryan McLeod. Clearly, a key player still needs to go away if the Oilers are going to be under the cap. Who will be; Jesse Puljujarvi and Warren Foegele are the top two candidates, it seems, with Tyson Barrie a distant third.

Policy Basics

Wild West Politics: Danielle Smith Fights the Sacred Cow, Leela Aheer Fights the Raging Bull Leela Aheer, second from left, walks with her sons and husband Malkeet Aheer, second from right, on the boardwalk in Chestermere, east of Calgary, Wednesday, June 8, 2022. She has joined the Alberta UCP leadership race . Photo by Jim Wells/Postmedia

In Cult

McCURDY: Bouchard graduated with honors STAPLES: You understand the value of Tyson Barrie McCURDY: Ryan McLeod is the Oilers’ new poster boy for developing from within LEAVINS: Ken Holland’s picks during August’s Dog Days

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