Nikita Nikitin Placed on Waivers

The Oilers have placed Nikita Nikitin on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the Bakersfield Condors. Let’s see if anyone takes the penny before he gets there.

For a lot of Oilers fans, Nikita Nikitin was the goat that wouldn’t stop giving. Unfortunately, the gifts Nikita Nikitin has been spreading around are giveaways and wide open chances to score. As a general rule, being overpaid to play awful defense isn’t a magic trick you can pull off forever. Obviously the new coaching and management team don’t see the same top four defenseman that Craig MacTavish thought he saw. Frankly, I was starting to question the benefits package offered to Oilers employees. Surely, vision care has to be included.

Anyway…

As we all know, things didn’t start off well for Nikita Nikitin in Edmonton. The guy reportedly showed up to camp in year one of a $9 million deal out of shape! There is basically nothing on earth that I wouldn’t do for $9 million. Not only would I have been playing defense, I probably would have offered to drive the zamboni and sweep the stands after games. Not showing up to camp in shape when you’re a professional athlete is like paying a hooker with a personal cheque — dumb. All this before his first season had even started!

In total, Nikita Nikitin played 42 games for the Edmonton Oilers and most of those were terrible. For the those wondering, that equals to $107,142 per game if the Oilers end up paying his entire $9 million contract. That’s a sweet gig if you can get it. In some way it’s amazing that the same guy that traded Magnus Paajarvi for David Perron was able to swing and miss so badly.

NINE. MILLION. DOLLARS. At least he was great defensively, right?* 

Farewell, sweet goat.

You were going to be my goat pick again this year and in that way I’m sad to see you go. I’m sorry things didn’t work out between us, but we’re going to have to move on and see other people. I’m sorry to say that this is probably harder on you than it is on us. We’re not going to make up excuses and say “it’s not you, it’s us” because clearly you were the problem.

On the bright side, we’ve given you plenty of bus fare to last you for a while.

Take care, Niki.