The Keith trade was a huge win for the Oilers. I was on record as liking trading at the time. The main reason Chicago didn’t keep money was because Keith could retire this summer and the Hawks would have a huge cap hit. They have a profit of $5.538 million this year and $1.938 million next season. If Keith had stayed in Chicago, they likely could have worked out a deal for him to go LTIR this season, earn the remaining $1.5 million, and the Hawks would have gained $5.538 million in cap space with him on LTIR. In the negotiation, this option did not exist, and therefore there was no salary withheld. Advertisement – Continue Reading Below For the Oilers the trade worked out brilliantly. Yes, Keith played top four minutes and for the last three months of the season he mentored Evan Bouchard. Bouchard spoke glowingly of how much he learned from Keith. In one of the first conversations they had, Keith told Bouchard that there was an invisible line in the middle of the ice and everyone would stay on their own side, just to try to make things simpler for the rookie. Of course, sometimes you have to switch sides, but getting used to staying on your side and trusting your partner is the key to success. In the first 44 games of the season, Bouchard played 757 minutes in 5×5 and mostly with Darnell Nurse. His opponent split was 228 minutes vs. Elite (30.1%), 248 vs. Middle (32.8) and 281 vs. Grit (37.1%) via PuckIQ.com. His GF-GA was 7-9 v. Elite, 6-13 v. Middle and 20-16 v. Grit. Total 33-38 (46.48GF%). In those same 44 games Keith’s GF% was 52.8 (28-23) — the best among the Oilers’ top five defensemen. When Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson were recruited, they changed their defensive pairings. They put Darnell Nurse in with Cody Ceci and gave them a heavy dose of Elite competition and paired Bouchard with Keith. Both pairs worked. Advertisement – Continue Reading Below Bouchard played 551 minutes in 38 games, mostly with Keith. Played 124 v. Elite (22.5%), 193 v. Middle (35%) and 234 v. Grit (42.5) His GF-GA was 10-4 v. Elite, 11-12 v. Middle and 8-5 v. Grit for a total of 29-21 (58%). Keith led Oilers defensemen with a 64.86GF% (24-13) under Manson. Munson reduced Bouchard’s minutes against Elite and Middle players by a combined 5%. He protected him a bit more with Keith and it worked. Putting players in better positions to succeed is one of the most important aspects of coaching. Keith wasn’t a Norris Trophy caliber player in Edmonton, but his possession numbers were solid. He finished the season with 52%CF%, 51.9FF%, 51.4SF%, 50.7xGF%, 48.9HDCF%, and on true targets he had 57.8GF% and 63.08HDGF%. He led all Oilers defensemen in GA/60 at 2.14. Limiting the goals is rather important. I can’t understand why some keep repeating that Keith had a mediocre season. He was near the top in most categories and led in some key ones for the Oilers defensemen. Many will report that it allowed entries into the zone. That’s a stat, but it didn’t affect his goals against. And yes, the odd time Keith would get wide shots, but getting beat over and over again doesn’t erase the times he made good plays. I’m still shocked that he gets ripped for Adrian Kempe’s overtime goal. Keith was on the ice for 70 seconds, Kempe had just stepped on the ice and was in full flight, Keith had moved to the middle of the ice waiting to make a change, before Evander Kane fell in the neutral zone and Kempe picked up the puck at full speed. People are acting like Keith made some outrageous play with this goal. Advertisement – Continue Reading Below Keith played top four minutes for the Oilers, helped mentor Evan Bouchard, was a calm voice in the locker room when the Oilers trailed LA 2-1 and 3-2 in the series his teammates said and the Oilers reached the final of the Conference. I don’t see how anyone can see trade as a negative. Keith was a positive influence for one season and is now retired and freeing up $5.538 million. It cost them Caleb Jones, who couldn’t do what Keith did in Edmonton, and a third-round pick. The only way the trade could have worked out better was if the Oilers had made it to the Stanley Cup, but weren’t as good as Colorado. If the Oilers had Victor Hedman in Keith’s place, they still would have lost this series. Colorado was very deep, but Keith’s presence in Edmonton has been nothing but positive when you look at the results and hear Connor McDavid and others talk about what they learned from Keith. He wasn’t much of a talker, but when he spoke about staying calm, even not getting down, when they fell behind the Kings, those words had a significant impact on his teammates. If they think his words mattered, how can people who weren’t in the room claim they didn’t matter? Keith will officially retire this week and then wait three years before becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He had a spectacular career and his one season in Edmonton helped him end his career on a positive note while helping the Oilers gain some much needed playoff experience.

OTHER NOTES…

March 26, 2022; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers right winger Zack Kassian (44) against the Calgary Flames during the second period at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports Often the hardest decision is to admit you made a mistake and then try to fix it. Ken Holland overpaid Zach Kassian when he signed him to a four-year, $3.2 million AAV. Back when the Oilers were without Evander Kane or Zach Hyman, Kailer Yamamoto was in the minors and Jesse Puljujarvi was struggling. Holland clearly hoped Kassian would produce more, but he didn’t. The Netherlands could have acquired Kassian, but I actually think trading to Arizona for a 2024 third-round pick and a 2025 second-round pick was the better option. Neither were great, and self-inflicted, but Holland didn’t let the initial mistake soak in and remain damaging. The key to trading Kassian, and opening up $3.2 million in cap space, is making sure Holland doesn’t overpay someone else with that money. Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi could get $1.6 million each and both would have $2.7 million in future seasons. Maybe they come a little lower or higher, but from my point of view it would be a good use of the lid space. I recognize that Puljujarvi can share, it seems more likely that he will, but if he doesn’t (Holland won’t give him away), then I think this increase is fair. Advertisement – Continue Reading Below He could also use some of Keith’s cap space to sign Brett Kulak. There aren’t many lefty D-men on the market, and none I see as a clear upgrade from Kulak. Kulak and Philip Broberg would be the second and third LD pairings. Kulak hasn’t played regularly in the top four, but if Manson plans to run heavy minutes with Nurse-Ceci against the elites again next year, then Kulak, even on a second pairing, won’t be called upon to do much more strong competition from him. in the past, so his signing makes sense. Just remember if they do sign him, and he sometimes struggles in a top four role, don’t freak out, because he hasn’t played there consistently yet. Asking players to do more than they normally do is fine, but if it doesn’t work don’t hate the player, just realize it wasn’t the best plan to begin with. With Detroit acquiring Ville Husso and signing him to a three-year, $4.75 million AAV, Darcy Kuemper and Jack Campbell are the two most attractive UFA goalie options for Edmonton to pursue in free agency. Kuemper made $5.5 million last season ($4.5 million AAV), while Campbell’s salary was $1.8 million with a $1.65 million AAV. Kuemper just won a Cup and even though they didn’t have a great playoff run, he’s still a Stanley Cup champion and that will carry some weight when free agency starts on Wednesday. Kuemper will cost more, but he also has a longer resume than Campbell. Over the past nine seasons Kuemper has started 282 games. He has a career Sv% of .918 and in his last five regular seasons his Sv% from 2018-2022 is .919, .925, .928, .907 and .921. His playoff performance was affected by the fact that he had to go to eye training every few days and suffered vision problems from a previous concussion. Campbell is two years younger than Kuemper, but has far less NHL experience. He started 120 games over the last four seasons. He started 25, 26, 22 and 47 games in that span and his annual Sv% was .928, .904, .921 and .914. He wasn’t as consistent as Kuemper. However, the last two seasons have been pretty close. Advertisement – Continue Reading Below Kuemper started 84 games and went 47-23-7 with a .917Sv%, 2.55 GAA and seven shutouts. Campbell started 69 games going 48-12-8 with a .916Sv%, 2.49 GAA and seven shutouts. Last season was Campbell’s first as a starter. In his first 20 starts, he caught fire with a .939Sv% and 1.89 GAA. But then over his next 19 starts, he posted an ugly .886Sv% and 3.51 GAA. He missed a month with an injury (and maybe some of the previous 19 games the rib injury was a factor), and in his last eight starts, he has a .915Sv% and a 2.59 GAA. It started strong and finished solid, but had a rough middle. Campbell should sign for a lower AAV than Kuemper. Kuemper was fifth best in saves over expected in the regular season and Campbell was 26th among goalies with 30+ starts. Kuemper has been the most consistent goaltender and Edmonton came close to signing him last season before Seattle signed Grubauer and Colorado sent Arizona a better trade offer for Kuemper. Here are the UFA goalie contracts from the past two seasons: Advertisement – Continue Reading Below Matt Murray four years $6.25 million AAV with Ottawa. Jacob Markstrom six years, $6 million AAV with Calgary. Braden Holtby two years, $4.6 million AAV…