Real Life Podcast: The Free Agency Reaction Episode

It’s a special free agency edition of the Real Life Podcast, and that meant the boys had to get back on the grind and talk about what happened so far on the first day in free agency.

Kicking off the podcast, the guys got started with some of the news and stories they didn’t have a chance to get to since the last time everyone was in the same room together. From what they did after Game 7 in Florida to Tyler’s hotel room having sewage backing up into the sink, there was a lot to catch up on after the guys hadn’t done a show together in a while.

Turning the podcast back to the Oilers, the boys started by looking back at Ken Holland’s tenure as the team’s GM and whether it was a successful five-year run by him. As you’ll hear, the guys aren’t willing to give Holland as much credit as others. Even though the Oilers just made it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, no one was saying it was a mission accomplished for Uncle Ken.

The discussion then turned to what the Oilers did on the first day of free agency: They locked in Viktor Arvidsson to a two-year deal, Corey Perry to a one-year contract, Josh Brown to a three-year deal, and Connor Carrick to a one-year deal. While it was certainly an eventful day, that doesn’t mean everyone was totally on board with what happened. Of the moves the Oilers made, only Arvidsson gets a passing grade from the squad, but it’s noteworthy that everyone agrees they’re probably not done.

Finally, the guys wrapped up the Monday episode of the Real Life podcast with a few stories from Tyler about what it was like to cover the draft in Las Vegas at the Sphere. According to Tyler, it was beautiful to look at the Sphere, but it was one of those things that would have been better experienced in a different setting than trying to do work while the walls were moving. It was a long stretch on the road for old man Yaremchuk.