With the recent announcement that the Oil have finally managed to attract a hockey player with a heart beat to play with their team, I think that it's prudent to speculate on some of the finer details of the contract...
Firstly, it should be known that while Lowe stated that he would overpay all FA's that came to his city, it should also be noted that he's trying to sell the city by telling players that they are only obligated to play road games. This is an attempt to limit any time spent in the city at all. I also believe that he is trying to set up partnerships with rival teams to allow newly signed free agents to practise in other cities as well. Each FA that signs with Edmonton will be given a life-sized cardboard cut out to serve as their doppleganger for press conferences, and post-game interviews conducted in Edmonton before or after home games. Intelligence of dialogue is expected to be the same.
Secondly, with the signing of Souray, the Oilers have offered royalties to Souray for each fan that will change their name-bars on the back of their Pronger and Niinimaa to Souray. They will also pay double royalties for those who change the 9 on their Smyth jerseys to a 4, and also change the name bar. It has been suggested that this will add another $2-3 million in bonuses for Souray at $1-2 per jersey (read: Edmonton Formal Wear) changed.
You see? Things are looking up.
Great job Mr. Lowe, we knew you could do it.
