Speculating from an Oilers fan’s perspective, BLH comments on the latest Edmonton Oilers news as well as the freshest NHL speculation featuring players such as Anthony Duclair, Phillip Danault, Patrik Laine, Johnny Gaudreau, and many more!
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The News and Rumors
- Joe Thornton: One of the reasons that Jumbo Joe signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs was because he thinks Frederik Andersen is a top goalie.
BLH’s Thoughts: Shots fired! Has anybody checked Martin Jones for a heartbeat? Thornton is a legend in San Jose and he leaves town for a team that hasn’t been out of the first round for what seems like an eternity because of a goalie upgrade? What happens when Dubas deals Andersen?…
- Ben Pope (Chicago Sun-Times): The Chicago Blackhawks could look to move a defenseman like Calvin DeHaan or Connor Murphy.
BLH’s Thoughts: EVERYTHING MUST GO! CLEARANCE SALE! GET IT WHILE IT’S CHEAP!
Man, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Dustin Keith must be loving this… I wouldn’t be surprised if at least two of those players were moved in the next two or three seasons.
- Arthur Staple (The Athletic): The NJ Devils may have some potential interest in Islanders forward Leo Komarov.
- Alex Galchenyuk, Derick Brassard, Carl Soderberg, Erik Haula, and Riley Sheahan are bargain 3C options for the Islanders.
BLH’s Thoughts: I used to really like Uncle Leo but he’s slowed right down. I’m not sure he’s even a 4th liner anymore. Time has caught up to him in a big way.
Is Erik Haula going to be a bargain deal for someone? I feel like out of all those names, he’d be the one to charge the most.
- Brayton Wilson (WGR550 Buffalo): The Sabres could revisit trading Rasmus Ristolainen this off-season due to the economy.
BLH’s Thoughts: I’d love to have Ristolainen in Edmonton. He’s one of a handful of players in the league that can take the heat from the Lucics and the Reaves. He’d be instant entertainment in the Battle of Alberta. To add to that, he’s no dunce either. He can play the game. You won’t mistake him for Miro Heiskanen, mind you, but he’s a very solid 2nd pair defenseman with one of the harder shots in the league and he hits to destroy.
- Eric Francis (Sportsnet): It is unlikely that the Calgary Flames trade forward Johnny Gaudreau this off-season, but Brad Treliving will continue to listen to offers.
BLH’s Thoughts: Speaking of Flames… This narrative’s schedule is right on time. The off-season begins and the Johnny Hockey rumors are flying, then they die right down until the trade deadline. They couldn’t get Taylor Hall, so they’ll keep their little man.
- David Pagnotta (The Fourth Period): No contract discussions are currently planned between the Montreal Canadiens and Phillip Danault’s camp. There’s no immediate sense of urgency to get a deal done.
- MacKenzie Weegar’s camp is unhappy with contract talks with the Panthers. He wants to stay long-term. The Winnipeg Jets have shown serious interest while Boston, Vancouver, Toronto, and New Jersey have also inquired.
BLH’s Thoughts: I could see the Canadiens moving Danault as early as next season as long as Kotkaniemi and Suzuki are trending well. They’d get a really good haul for him too as he’s one of the best two-way centers in the NHL.
- Brent Wallace (TSN) Anthony Duclair represented himself and turned down a 3x$4.25M offer from Ottawa to test the market. He asked for 5x$5M+…
BLH’s Thoughts: Ouch… That hurts.
- Adam Vingan (The Athletic): Mike Hoffman’s agent Rob Hopper says 13 teams expressed interest, with five or six teams “serious”. There’s no pressure on either side to really do anything.
BLH’s Thoughts: That’s about the state of free agency right now. We wait until things get closer to training camp and the likes. Then we’ll see a flurry of action right before the season starts.
The Oilers Talk
Did you catch this tidbit from yesterday morning’s edition of Oilers Now from Bob Stauffer?
- “I don’t believe that the current incarnation of the Oilers roster will be the same as the incarnation of the roster after the trade deadline, whenever that is. There’s too many moving parts around the league. There’s stuff going on… There’s going to be players poke out and you may see a different type of player added at a certain point that changes the complexion of things.”
So Bob’s doing as Bob does, making something extremely simple sound profoundly formal. The Oilers won’t be standing pat at the trade deadline. Okay… Not much of a prognostication but it’s the “different type of player” comment that has my attention.
Earlier in the show, Oilers coach Dave Tippett was talking about how the Oilers dressing room doesn’t have enough “fire” in it and how likes that Mike Smith brings that.
I’m not sure if that’s enough to go on though if we circle back to the “different type of player” that Stauffer was speaking to.
I would say that someone is going to become available that we’re not thinking about right now and Edmonton might have a chance to trade for him.
Personally, I think it could be a high-end defenseman along the lines of an Oliver Ekman-Larsson (if not him).
Something to keep an eye (ear) on anyhow.
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