A tear for today

[ponokareefer]

So are there other Oilers fans that are going to jump on the Flames bandwagon again? I, for one, will never.

[Delphinus]

Come on now. You can't expect him to raise a family on a mere $6 million per year.

[ponokareefer]

Apparently, the other issue that came up was the length of the contract. He wanted a 5 year deal and the oilers weren't willing to sign a guy for over 5 million for 5 years when he will turn 36 in his last year.

[muck]

They shoulda dealt with this and signed him back in September..

[demon666]

i am a huge oilers fan that is sad to see smitty go...... a rental player i hope but cant see it....... if he is a rental player why wouldnt they deal him to a team that is in the running for the cup???? not a team that is still 1 point out of the playoffs (as of lastnight dont know if that is still the same) sure we got 2 first round players which 1 of isnt even in the nhl and i dont even know if the other 1 is....... and the 1s round pick in the 07 draft is still at least 3 yrs awayto see if that pans out so as sad as it is it is still done smitty is no longer an oiler and for kevin lowe's sake i hope he brings smitty back to oil country in the off season..........but business is business and no matter how you look at it we would all do the same thing given the opprotunity.....

[ponokareefer]

First off, I hate to ever see Smitty wear another uniform. But if he wants 6million a year, someone else can have him. That type of money is for cornerstone players only, and since he has been here, we have only ever been a marginal team, barely making the playoffs every single year. Last year was an exception, with everything coming together perfectly(well, almost). Do we want to be like the Blackhawks and pay out cornerstone money for guys like aucoin, knabibulin, or havlat? He is in the middle of a career year, and still isn't near the top of the leader board for points. I know he has missed some game with injuries, but still isn't very close. He plays his heart out every single game, but that doesn't mean he should get paid 6 million. A lot of players play their heart out, but they don't get 6 million.

[Doug]

At least you guys still have a hockey team. Could always be worse,

like us.

[Tarolisol]

Originally Posted by ponokareefer

First off, I hate to ever see Smitty wear another uniform. But if he wants 6million a year, someone else can have him. That type of money is for cornerstone players only, and since he has been here, we have only ever been a marginal team, barely making the playoffs every single year. Last year was an exception, with everything coming together perfectly(well, almost). Do we want to be like the Blackhawks and pay out cornerstone money for guys like aucoin, knabibulin, or havlat? He is in the middle of a career year, and still isn't near the top of the leader board for points. I know he has missed some game with injuries, but still isn't very close. He plays his heart out every single game, but that doesn't mean he should get paid 6 million. A lot of players play their heart out, but they don't get 6 million.

What i here he wanted was 5 million and a long term deal which for a franchise player is a good deal. 5 million is market value for him. He was apparently only offered 3.5 for a couple years. Edmontons owners are known for there tight pockets. They put there money ahead of the teams interests.
As for chicago Havlet is an elite player and is worth the money, but needs someone to play with. And bulin is above average goalie, but you cant win with just a goalie, for the most part. This was a huge mistake for edmonton and unless you find a new player to build your team around it will not get any better. Edmonton has enough trouble finding player will to live there why get rid of the only good player who enjoys living there.

[ed99]

3.5 million for 2 years was his previous deal. TSN reported that he turned down 27 million over 5 years. I think Edmonton needed to sign him, and his agent thought so too.