From Dave Staples of the Cult of Hockey:
My sense is there was little or no appetite in Edmonton for another Ryan Smyth scenario. We could not have the team’s top forward unsigned all year and heading towards unrestricted free agency, forcing the team’s management to cringe — even if it was just a little, tiny twinge — every time Smyth had a great game because it made it just that much harder to either sign or to trade the Mullet Man.
So it was best to deal with Horcoff right away — either by a signing or a trade — and full marks to both Oilers GM Kevin Lowe and Horcoff for settling sooner, rather than later.
Read more reaction from Cult of Hockey here.
From Jonathan at Copper & Blue:
5.5 million cap hit per season really isn’t bad for what Horcoff brings to the table; while I doubt he’ll be consistently as effective as he was last season, he should be a first-line, 70-point, tough-competition outscorer for at least the next 2-3 years.
Read Jonathan’s entire post here.
From Allan Mitchell of Lowetide:
This is a very good day, and if the numbers are cap friendly it could be a great one.
UPDATE: Stauffer on the Team 1260 is saying 6 years/33 million for a 5.5 million per season cap hit.
I’m having a beer, and then I’m having another one.
Read more from Lowetide here.
I agree with the Oiler blogosphere, this is a good day for Oilers fans.
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