The Edmonton Oilers reportedly had interest in at least two different unrestricted free agent centres. Both of them ended up signing in Nashville.

Both Friedman and Rishaug mentioned that Tennessee’s favourable tax situation gave the Predators an edge in their pursuit of Jokinen and Ribeiro. It’s worth remembering that edge Nashville gets over Alberta is awfully small, as both Edmonton and Calgary have fairly good tax situations for professional athletes:

Here’s the other thing: Friedman specifically mentions the Oilers going to five years on Pouliot to get a deal done. Both Jokinen and Ribeiro signed one-year deals – Jokinen for $2.5 million, Ribeiro for just a hair over $1.0 million.

The Oilers aren’t in a bad cap situation, so what’s the problem with going to, say, $2.75 million for Jokinen on a one-season contract? Why not hand Ribeiro $1.25 million?

I’ll admit that Jokinen isn’t a player I’d have had much interest in if I were running the Oilers, but if he’s the player the team targeted there really isn’t any reason not to cough up the tiny bit of extra money necessary to secure his services. As for Ribeiro, the off-ice stuff is a little scary but this is a guy who was valued at $5.5 million per year on a long-term deal not all that long ago; even $1.5 million would be an incredibly low stakes bet with a significant chance of a big payout.

Nashville has a slightly better tax situation than Edmonton. That doesn’t mean the Oilers should have lost out on a centre they legitimately wanted.