November 4, 2020 /

(11/4/2020) BLH Trade Rumors and the Latest NHL Speculation feat. Koskinen, Athanasiou, Mike Sullivan, and More!

Speculating from an Edmonton Oilers fan’s perspective, BLH comments on the latest NHL rumors featuring players such as Mikko Koskinen, Andreas Athanasiou, Mike Sullivan, and many more!

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The News and Rumors

  • Lyle Richardson (Spector’s Hockey): “Perry’s been linked to the Ottawa Senators but I wouldn’t be surprised if he returns to the Dallas Stars on a one-year deal.”

BLH’s Thoughts: I can’t stand the thought of a Perry and a Tkachuk being on the same team… Perry would stand to make the most money in Dallas for what it’s worth. 

  • Pierre LeBrun (The Athletic): On the Seattle expansion draft, “The flat salary cap for the next couple of years could change that as there are plenty of teams with salary cap issues. There could be a few teams willing to give up a high pick to a top prospect to alleviate some salary.”

BLH’s Thoughts: I don’t know. I think that GMs might just bite the bullet this time and accept the loss of a good player instead of making lopsided deals to keep them like everyone did with Vegas. There will be teams who have a ton of cap space available to make deals with next off-season, so Seattle won’t be the only option. 

  • Adam Gretz (NBC Sports): The Anaheim Ducks are stuck in no man’s land as they aren’t a playoff team and are not committed to a rebuild. They have a couple of nice prospects in Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale. The Ducks are a cap team with not a great roster and may need to take another step back before they can move forward.

BLH’s Thoughts: Over the last couple of seasons I’ve seen names like Ryan Getzlaf, Cam Fowler, Josh Manson, Hampus Lindholm, Rickard Rakell, and Jakob Silfverberg’s name pop up in the trade rumors. It’s time to start cashing in on these vets or players who might be looking to hit the lottery on their next contract and get the youth movement going. 

  • Bob Stauffer (630CHED): The Oilers could go out and get a goalie around the trade deadline if Mike Smith has shown he cannot be relied upon.
    • “I could see the Oilers adding a firm steady defenceman that changes the complexion.”

BLH’s Thoughts: Stauffer also brought up the names of veteran centers Brad Richardson (NSH) and Luke Glendening (DET) as potential trade targets should Gaetan Haas and/or Jujhar Khaira fail to meet the expectations that the club has for them. 

Can anybody tell me what Stauffer is talking about with regards to the Oilers adding another defenceman who would change the complexion of Edmonton’s defence? It’s a very diverse group of skaters I feel and unless they’re bringing in a superstar, or someone who’s got a reputation of some sort, I have no clue what he’s getting at. 

  • Dan Kingerski (Pittsburgh Hockey Now): Even if the Penguins have another early playoff exit this season, it is unlikely that Mike Sullivan’s job is in jeopardy.
    • The Penguins will probably leave one of Brandon Tanev, Jared McCann, or Teddy Blueger unprotected for the Seattle Kraken next off-season.
    • If the Penguins have extra cap space, Erik Haula should be their top priority.
    • Mikael Granlund “may look good” on their right side.

BLH’s Thoughts: I would say if there’s a really good coach that becomes available this season, anything is possible. Especially if Pittsburgh fails to go deeper into the post-season or possibly misses it altogether as this is a club that looks to be on the downturn. 

Look, if Kris Letang is already saying that he thinks he’ll be dealt sometime in the next two seasons and you’ve got Crosby and Malkin approaching their mid-30s, it’s probably time to start picking up draft picks and prospects in addition to transitioning the coaching staff, not signing big ticket free agents. 

  • Ken Wiebe (Sportsnet): The Winnipeg Jets re-acquiring defenceman Ben Chiarot would be a good fit, but it’s “unlikely” that it happens.

BLH’s Thoughts: If the Jets were getting the Ben Chiarot that helped the Habs defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins during the play-ins, I think that he’d be a great acquisition for Winnipeg, but why would the Habs want to move him? It’s probably a topic worth re-visiting down the road though. 

  • Ryan Daiek (The Hockey Writers): Conor Sheary, Sami Vatanen, Andreas Athanasiou, and Corey Perry are four free agents that the Florida Panthers “need” to target.

BLH’s Thoughts: I would think that Coach Quenneville would dig having Perry and Vatanen on his club. They’d be much easier to coach and their expectations would be tempered a bit more. Athanasiou, last I checked, was dating a young golfer who was based in FLA, so if he signed there, it wouldn’t shock me. I thought Sheary was talking with the Sharks and stylistically, wouldn’t he be kind of redundant on the Panthers roster?

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CategoriesArmchair GM Beer League Hero Edmonton Oilers NHL Rumors

TagsEdmonton Oilers NHL NHL Rumors

Beer League Hero Written by:

I'm the Beer League Hero! I am from Camrose, Alberta but I make my home in Taipei City, Taiwan. I've been through the ups and downs and the highs and the Lowes, the Bonsignores and the McDavids, the Sathers and the Eakins but I'll never leave my Oilers, no matter what! They're with me until the end and then some. GO OILERS GO!