BLH provides you with the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation featuring William Nylander, Mitch Marner, Sami Vatanen, Travis Hamonic, Jesse Puljujarvi, and more!
Woodguy on the 2020-21 Edmonton Oilers.
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Evan Bouchard has been recalled from his loan in Sweden, now he’s got to make the Oilers or his future could be cloudy. Read about that here.
Read what TSN’s Craig Button had to say about Carter Savoie, Dylan Holloway, and the 20201 World Juniors right here!
NHL Rumors and Speculation
- The Athletic: If the fine folks at The Athletic were running the Toronto Maple Leafs were running the team, they’d stay the course and hope that the core in T.O. can find another gear.
- “We haven’t seen this Leafs team find machine-like operation in the regular season. At times, their approach has been concerningly indifferent. The playoffs have left something to be desired as well. If another season goes by and similar issues emerge, Dubas’ job could be in question. He may also feel the need to finally pivot by trading a core piece like Nylander or Marner.”
BLH’s Thoughts: What kind of trade would it look like if Toronto were going to deal one of their forwards? It reminds me of when the Oilers needed to move out some high profile forwards for help on the back-end… Everyone knows your position and they’ve got you over a barrel… As Jonas Siegal says in the post (I’m paraphrasing), keep your stars and improve the periphery. I mean, we’re really just talking about the Leafs finding a better goalie, right? If I were them, I’d see what the asking price on John Gibson was and fail that, Darcy Kuemper.
- Ryan S. Clark/Eric Duhatschek (The Athletic): Could the Seattle Kraken trade for Jeff Skinner and take Jesse Puljujarvi at the expansion draft? Read the latest mock expansion draft from The Athletic and see what their most recent incarnation of the team looks like.
BLH’s Thoughts: If Pulju gets picked up by the Kraken, I won’t be disappointed. I’m setting up the kids here to be Seattle fans and it would be nice to be able to get them a jersey with a name and number on it.
- Elliotte Friedman (Sportsnet): Says that news on Mikael Granlund could be coming soon because the Finn wants to get his family situated. Friedman also noted that the Philadelphia Flyers have shown interest in UFA d-man Travis Hamonic but the word is he’d like to stay in Western Canada.
BLH’s Thoughts: What’s with all this Flyers chatter? Before it was Mike Hoffman, now it’s Travis Hamonic. I was under the impression that Hamonic could take the year off until the ‘VID blows over. Guess we’ll see on that front. I mean, I could see him returning to Calgary on the cheap too though.
- Emily Sadler (Sportsnet): Believes Boston could be a potential destination for UFA defender Sami Vatanen.
- “Boston, who’s currently still playing a mutual waiting game with longtime leader Zdeno Chara, could be interesting here. If Chara chooses not to return, maybe the Bruins emerge for Vatanen.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Vatanen is an interesting Catanen. He’d be a great depth pick-up for any contending club but Boston needs more than that. They need to bite the bullet and bring OEL in I reckon.
- Wayne Scanlan (Sportsnet): Expectations are extremely low for the Ottawa Senators going into the 2020-21 NHL season but Scanlan writes about six ways the Sens could surprise critics in the Canadian Division.
BLH’s Thoughts: I will go on record and say that the Senators will not be the worst team in the Canadian Division. They’re still pretty rough looking, but Winnipeg is a team that seems out of sorts and could be ripe for a real down year.
- Adam Gretz (Pensburgh): Says he has an eye on five Pittsburgh Penguins this season. They’re not the best players on the team nor are they the most impactful. This group of skaters have simply piqued Gretz’s curiosity and he wants to see what they’re capable of over the course of a full season.
BLH’s Thoughts: Man. Just when you think the Penguins have finally hit that roadblock, you take a look at their roster and you still think that there’s no way Sid and Gino can carry it. Unless Tristan Jarry shits the bed this year, I reckon the Pens are going to have a really decent year. Adding Jason Zucker and Kasperi Kapanen to that top-six will not hurt in the least. They’ve got to stay healthy though.
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