The Edmonton Oilers aren't chasing a move for Anthony Mantha or anyone else just yet.
David Pagnotta said on Inside Sports this week that Edmonton plans to stay patient, taking advantage of any real opportunity rather than forcing something.
That patience lines up with earlier reporting connecting the Oilers to Mantha on a possible two-year deal, a fit Pagnotta himself first floated just last week on the same show.
Edmonton finished the season 41-30-11 for 93 points, 14th overall, a respectable year that doesn't demand any desperation moves this summer.
Leon Draisaitl still carries a $14,000,000 cap hit, and any addition Edmonton makes has to work around numbers like that already locked into the books.
Pagnotta didn't hedge on the show, framing Edmonton's approach as deliberate rather than passive.
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Why patience could still land Edmonton a value signing
Waiting out the market is a real strategy when cap space is tight, since players still unsigned by late summer often end up signing for real discounts.
Mantha delivered 33 goals and 64 points in 81 games this past season on a $2,500,000 prove-it deal, exactly the kind of value case that fits patient shopping.
GM Stan Bowman has stayed disciplined with cap decisions since taking over, and this fits a pattern of letting the market come to Edmonton instead of overpaying early.
Coach Mike Babcock inherits whatever roster Bowman builds this summer, and patience now could shape exactly what tools he has to work with in October.
Patience is a fine strategy until the good options are gone. Edmonton is betting there's still a name out there worth waiting for.
If the price on someone like Mantha keeps dropping through August, Edmonton's approach starts looking less like caution and more like real strategy.
Should the Oilers be more aggressive instead of waiting for opportunities to fall into their lap?
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