No hard feelings as Yamamoto signs bridge deal with Oilers

Yes, there was a little friction between Kailer Yamamoto's camp and the Edmonton Oilers.

Two sides don't drag things out till the final few days of the off-season without there being a fairly significant difference of opinion about a player's worth.

But with neither side interested in a holdout situation, Yamamoto and the Oilers have agreed to disagree, sign a oneyear bridge deal and revisit the subject again next summer.

“I'm really excited, especially that I got it done before camp,” said the American-born winger, who turns 23 later this month.

“It was never my plan to miss camp. Even if you miss part of camp you're going to be behind the eight-ball. So I'm excited I got it done. I'm excited to see all the guys.”

Yamamoto has been training hard in Spokane, skating with Bobby Ryan, working on his shot and working out in the gym, so it's not like the contract situation set him back any. But he admits getting a little anxious toward the end. His teammates were also getting concerned.

“I talked to my agent close to every day and he told me not to worry, we'll get it done here pretty soon,” he said. “But maybe the last couple of days I was stressing a little bit.

“I was starting to get phone calls from players and coaches asking where I was, so that was a little bit stressful, but as far as the contract being done I wasn't too worried about it.”

Yamamoto made US$832,500 in base salary last year and was eligible for another $230,000 in bonus money for an AAV of $1.124 million. His new deal has an AAV of $1.175 million in guaranteed money.

It's not exactly a massive boost, but as a player coming off an entry-level deal, on the strength of 21 points in 52 games and one goal in the final 25, he had very little negotiating leverage.

“It was definitely different, my first-ever contract negotiation,” he said. “I know it's all business, so you can't really get too mad about it. I know Kenny (Holland) was trying to do what's best for the team and I'm trying to do what's best for me.

“At the end of the day we got a deal done and I'm excited.”

This puts Yamamoto in a Darnell Nurse situation, having to bet on his ability to drive up his value and make the organization regret not tying him up sooner.

Edmonton could have signed Nurse for $6 million or so back when they had the negotiating power, but chose to grind him with a couple of two-year bridge deals. When Nurse had the negotiating leverage as an impending UFA coming off a great season in a rapidly inflating market, he hung a $9.25-million ask on them and the Oilers had no choice but to accept.

That's the scenario all players aspire to, including Yamamoto, but he's a long way from that day right now. All he can do is start putting up the kind of numbers he did two years ago (26 points in 27 games) and start driving up his own value.

“One hundred per cent, that's my goal and I'm excited for the challenge. As long as I go out there and play the game that I know I can play, I think I'll be successful.”

He admits that it all starts with a bounceback year. Yamamoto didn't have a great campaign last season, despite spending much of it with Leon Draisaitl. On a team as deep as it's been at forward in a very long time, he knows he has to produce.

“I felt like I was getting unlucky in the second part of last year. In my first year, things were going in. The second year was tough, but this year I'm setting the bar high and expect a lot more from myself.

“I want to be a top-six player who can contribute offence almost every night. I want to be one of those guys the team can count on to put out at the end of a game and be able to go out and score.”