February 4, 2020 /

2019/20 Edmonton Oilers GM53: Oilers @ Coyotes – 3P2W – Is Edmonton’s First Rounder in Play?

If the Edmonton Oilers win their game this evening and get some help from the Bruins, Lightning, and Sharks, they’ll move three points ahead of Vegas for 2nd place with two games in hand. Also, they’ll be four and five points ahead of Calgary and Arizona with one and two games in hand over those teams respectively.

But should they lose and Calgary and Vegas win… The Pacific will stay tighter than a nun’s… Well, you get the point. Calgary will draw even in points, Arizona will be one back, and Vegas will jump ahead of the Oilers.

Edmonton needs to continue on this hot streak and grab that separation at the very least to provide some sort of buffer should they falter down the line a bit.

Nice to see Mr. Matheson getting on board with the rumor mill. In my previous post, I did mention that the Oilers were looking to re-sign Sheahan and Archibald.

What Would You Expect in Return for a First Round Pick?

Yesterday on the Jason Gregor Show there was some chatter regarding Oilers GM Ken Holland now being in a position to help his club and that Edmonton’s first-round pick in the 2020 NHL entry draft should be in play. To add to that, Bob Stauffer said on “The Panel”, a feature on the Oilers YouTube channel, and I’m paraphrasing; that fans could expect Holland to bring someone in to help the Oilers’ top-9 forwards.

So… I guess they’re not expecting Tyler Benson to be that help? The more I think about it, the more I wonder if a Tyler Benson call-up is more of a showcase to other teams that a tryout to see if he’ll fit on the Oilers roster… Only time will tell on that though. Edmonton is in a pretty good spot having two of their top forward prospects lighting up their respective professional leagues. Benson in the AHL and Jesse Puljujarvi in the SM-Liiga and both wingers no less.

Now, if you’re asking me who might be some players that I’d move Edmonton’s first-rounder for, two names come to mind, Tomas Tatar (MTL) and Rickard Rakell (ANH). I don’t know if either team would have an appetite to move said players but they’d be a massive help for the Oilers going into the stretch drive. Kyle Palmieri (NJ) is another player I really like but I’ve heard the Devils would prefer to keep him for the young players on the team as someone to guide them through this rebuild.

I know Jason Strudwick brought up a JT Miller-like trade yesterday on Gregor’s show with TSN’s Ryan Rishaug and the conclusion was that Holland should be using that first-rounder to bring in some help he feels that this team can do some damage in the post-season.

Personally, I don’t think he trades the draft pick before the draft. He won’t have a 3rd round pick, so the talk is that the Oilers may trade down at the draft in order to grab one should their first pick fall in the 18th-23rd overall range. And if we’re being honest, at that point in the draft, especially this one, there’s going to be about 15 guys that you could slot in there. It’s a deep draft this year.

What do you think? What would that sort of trade look like right now for the Oilers?

Three Players to Watch for the Coyotes

  • #91 Taylor Hall – Arizona’s best player over their last five games and an ex-Oiler means he’ll probably score a point or two tonight. Edmonton left him alone for a split second during their last meeting and he scored. So they might want to avoid giving him any time on the puck if the goal is to win this game.
  • #75 Kyle Capobianco – This fella is a smooth-skating offensive defenseman. Having watched the Oilers farm team in Bakersfield take on the Tuscon team that Capobianco has been playing for a few times this year, I can safely say that he’s got great wheels, he’s a very solid playmaker and a scoring threat from the blueline. He should end up being a better version of Jordan Oesterle.
  • #83 Conor Garland – What a fantastic season this little skiller is having for the Coyotes. He’s a constant threat when he’s on the ice as he finds the soft ice very well. The puck seems to follow him around and he’s no stranger to burying it behind the opposing netminder when the opportunity arises.

No new lines have been posted for Arizona but Raanta has been confirmed as the starter. That’s good for Edmonton because he’s been absolute shite in his last couple of starts and with the Coyotes best defender out of the lineup… Woof!

Three Players to Watch for the Oilers

  • #93/29/56 RNH-Draisaitl-Yamamoto – I know it says “Three Players to Watch” above, but describing this line’s performance since Moneymoto was promoted as “on fire” is an understatement. They’ve really been the team’s no.1 line over the last 11 games and have to be one of the highest-scoring trios in the league right now. 35 points between the three of them over their last ten compared to the 25 from Connor’s line.
  • #44 Zack Kassian – Kass and Khaira are the only forwards not to have scored a goal in Edmonton’s last ten games. He’s due now that the pressure to kick the shit out Matthew Tkachuk has passed. (*EDIT: Kassian scored last game vs. CGY. This is what I get for taking stats from dailyfaceoff.com as gospel… Egg on my face. F*CK!) 
  • #89 Sam Gagner – It’s hard to argue that he’s played well recently and I’ve been impressed with his efforts in small bunches of games this year. His heart and hands have been on full display during this heater the Oilers are on and I’m rooting for him to keep his spot in the lineup and I’m also hoping he returns next season on the cheap. I feel like his presence in the locker room has been similar to what Matt Hendricks brought when he was an Oiler.

As far as I know at this point, the lines will be the same as they were vs. Calgary on the weekend. It was reported that Tyler Benson was rotating in and out with Jujhar Khaira on the team’s 4th line during practice yesterday. I haven’t the foggiest as to who the starting netminder will be either. Smith got the boot in the last one and Koskinen came in and finished that out in clinical fashion, so flip a coin I say.

The Next Ten Games (51-60)

  • vs. St. Louis Blues (31-12-8) – I’m not 100% sold that the Oilers will be focused on this game seeing as they play Calgary the next night. They have played well against the league’s best this season at times though. Can McDavid and Draisaitl beat the Blues in this one like they did at the All-Star game? (WIN) WIN
  • @ Calgary Flames (27-19-6) – If you thought last night’s game was fun with all the fights and cheap shots, this game is going to be bonkers. It always seems to be in Calgary. Losing three times to the Flames and that post-game celly by Rittich will be eating away at the Oilers. They’ll be doing their damnedest to bring home the two points. (WIN) WIN
  • @ Arizona Coyotes (26-21-5) – The Oilers put up a touchdown on the Coyotes right before their bye-week and I don’t imagine that sat well with Taylor Hall and co. That said, they’re on a bit of a slump in their last ten (4-5-1) and Edmonton is flying high as of today (6-2-2). On the other hand, just when the opportunity presents itself to the Oilers they usually take the night off. (LOSS)
  • vs. San Jose Sharks (22-26-4) – Man, this Sharks team is bad. With Vlasic, Karlsson, and Burns on the back-end no less… Can you believe the Golden Knights fired Gerard Gallant to hire San Jose’s old coach? I think this will be a scheduled win for McDavid’s boys. Watch out for shenanigans from Evander Kane and Timo Meier. (WIN)
  • vs. Nashville Predators (23-19-7) – Since the Preds hired NJ’s old coach, they haven’t been scoring much and that’s not a good sign when you go into Edmonton. Couple that with Pekka Rinne’s game falling right off of a cliff and the Oilers should be able to walk away with two points. (WIN)
  • vs. Chicago Blackhawks (24-21-6) – The Hawks are coming on as of late and I think they could pull this one off in Edmonton. Maybe Drake Caggiula does the ex-Oiler thing and scores. (LOSS)
  • @ Tampa Bay Lightning (30-15-5) – This will be a fine test for the Oilers. Tampa has found their stride at the right time and are looking very dominant. Might we see another ex-Oiler in Pat Maroon score or drop the flippers? I expect McDavid to be flying in this one. (LOSS)
  • @ Florida Panthers (28-16-5) – This match-up is going to be a fun one. The Panthers have some really fun players to watch like Huberdeau, Barkov, and the very underrated Vincent Trochek. Which Sergei Bobrovsky might we see if he gets the call though? (WIN)
  • @ Carolina Hurricanes (29-18-3) – It’s hard not to like what they’ve build in Carolina. Andrei Svechnikov is already a scoring phenom at 19-years-old and it’s hard to overlook the wonder Finns (Aho/Teravainen), right? How will this team be sans Dougie Hamilton though? Can the Oilers sweep back-to-backs again? (WIN)
  • vs. Boston Bruins (29-10-12) – Edmonton goes from one team who doesn’t lose in OT to a team that seemingly only loses in OT. The Oilers gave the Bs a pretty sound beating last time they played and we’re close to the trade deadline here so I’m not sure what the rosters will look like. I like Boston for this one though. (LOSS)

(Standings as of January 20th, 2020)

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CategoriesArmchair GM Beer League Hero Edmonton Oilers NHL Rumors

TagsEdmonton Oilers Edmonton Oilers trade rumors NHL

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!