Why The Oilers Need To Consider Cutting Connor Brown
The experiment is not working. It was a worthwhile gamble, but we know our answer now. Connor Brown just ain’t it. Not in real life and not in fantasy either . Except it’s not that simple. The Oilers have a decision to make and frankly, I’m not sure what they’re waiting for.
Brown, 29, has played seven games with the Oilers. He has zero points and a -5 +/- rating. Honestly, I’m not sure what he provides other than getting cardio in. The real problem is the fact that Brown signed a weird contract because of salary cap issues in Edmonton. Brown signed a one-year, $775,000 deal with the Oilers but there is a catch. If Brown plays ten games he will receive a bonus of $3.25 million that’s counted towards the cap next year. The Oilers were allowed to do this as an injury incentive since Brown missed most of last season with a knee.
Sorry, not sorry, there is just no way the Oilers can afford to bite that bullet. Not with the way Brown has looked. Not with the cap expected to go up next year only to flush it down the toilet for a player not helping you while not even being on the roster past this year. It just can’t happen. It would be a totally different story if Brown was producing. Zero points in seven games tells most of the story.
This was always a possibility but it doesn’t look like Brown is the same player coming off the injury. With the way the contract is designed, there is no way Edmonton can risk keeping Brown while praying that he figures things out. The Oilers need to cut their loss while they still can or that’s going to be an unforgivable mistake that prevents this team from actually winning the Stanley Cup.
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