BLH provides you with the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation featuring some new rumblings on the Edmonton Oilers and could the St. Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres swap slumping snipers PLUS MORE!!!
Could Tyson Barrie be trade bait for the Oilers? Read about that here.
This is not the kind of news Edmonton Oilers fans will like.
*NEW* What’s the plan for Edmonton’s defense after this season? Check that out here!
*NEW* Are the Edmonton Oilers poised to make a tough trade before next year? Maybe…
NHL Rumors and Speculation
- “Chris Johnston also reported on Saturday Headlines that once Tanner Pearson is healthy from injury, they will look to trade him for some future assets.With the Buffalo Sabres trading Eric Staal earlier this week, Friedman is reporting Sabres GM Kevyn Adams is getting a lot of calls and the one player the teams want is Taylor Hall.Friedman is reporting the St. Louis Blues are in desperate need of scoring and have interest in Hall. The Blues have the cap space to make the trade but are they willing to give up the asking price of a first round pick?”
Scott Burnside of The Athletic (mailbag):
- “Steve Yzerman expects to open spots for his younger players with several trade deadline moves. It becomes a question of how many veterans can he jettison out of Detroit. Players like Luke Glendening, Marc Staal, Bobby Ryan, Darren Helm, etc are all very expendable.It appears Don Sweeney is likely not to trade Jake DeBrusk for a top-four defenseman. The allure is there but the fear of him turning into a perennial top forward is too.”
Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus of The Athletic:
- “Eric Staal netted the Buffalo Sabres a third- and fifth-round pick. The Blackhawks might be able to get a late-round pick for Carl Soderberg or Lucas Wallmark, and it might not even be worth it.”
- “The timing (of Mike Hoffman’s healthy scratch) couldn’t be more intriguing as the Blues were mentioned by Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman on Saturday night as a team that might be interested in Taylor Hall. Friedman noted the Blues were having trouble scoring and while we’re not going to make the immediate assumption that a Hall-for-Hoffman trade is in the works, some have wondered if there are dots that can be connected here.”
What I’m Hearing On the Oilers (Take It or Leave It)
I got word not long after Eric Staal was traded to the Montreal Canadiens that the Oilers were in on him and almost had a deal that would’ve seen two veteran bottom-six forwards and two mid-round draft picks in future drafts go to Buffalo for a salary retained (50%) Staal. The deal would’ve been a “money in, money out” trade but apparently it fell apart because the Habs wanted the higher of those draft picks to be in this year’s draft and Edmonton didn’t have it.
As surprising as it may sound, one of the players getting a bit of attention from GMs calling Edmonton is Alex Chiasson. They like his size, character, net-front ability, and what he brings to the dressing room and I think the club is ready to make Jesse Puljujarvi the full-time crease crasher on the first unit PP. It wouldn’t shock me at all if he was moved along before the trade deadline as Holland has made him available since the last off-season and his $2M+ salary comes in handy when trying to acquire a player whose contract is of equal footing or more.
Word is, the Vancouver Canucks are looking at a 3rd round pick and another asset for Brandon Sutter. For the Oilers, if they wanted him, they’d have to give up that pick in the 2022 or later. I’m thinking their offer is Chiasson and/or Turris plus a pick.
Tomas Tatar… Remember the name Oilers fans. I’ve heard Bob Stauffer (630CHED) say it and it’s been passed on to me as well by my own sources. Also, Vlad Namestnikov. I’m lead to believe he was one of Edmonton’s targets at last season’s trade deadline as well.
Some quiet whispers on Sam Gagner coming back to Edmonton before the trade deadline. Everyone in the organization loves Samwise and he loves it there too. Didn’t want to get dealt last year but understood and is a good soldier. I would imagine if he isn’t dealt for, there’s a chance he could sign with the team in the summer. Stauffer has also mentioned this in the past.
My source informed me that Edmonton has been chatting with Montreal and Detroit the most… My question is, how many times can Ken Holland go back to the well in Detroit? We can’t forget that he really wants Luke Glendening too.
Some teams are asking about William Lagesson as a depth option.
I know that the Oilers are really looking to find a left-winger for Leon and one name that keeps coming up in my DMs is Rickard Rakell from the Ducks. They need to find a really good solution for their top-six on that left side, right? And Dylan Holloway is at least one full AHL season away, in my opinion, from breaking into the NHL.
My feeling is that Edmonton will move at least two forwards and a defenseman to gear up for the playoff run this year. If it were me, I wouldn’t sell the farm, but I would be open to moving a defender like Caleb Jones because he can’t seem to find his groove or a way to get the coaching staff to trust him and he’s young, with a lot of potential, and cheap. I really dig Lagesson but I wouldn’t mind a more veteran 2nd pairing player than him or Kris Russell and Kyle Turris is a player that reminds me so much of the Jussi Jokinen experiment. It’s not working, move him along and offer him the opportunity to catch on with another club, maybe a rebuilding one closer to home.
In the end, there are implications with regards to the expansion draft to consider as well. If Holland decides to go with the group he has, nobody should be surprised.
So that’s that. I don’t know if I’ll hear much more by the deadline, you can take it or leave it and we’ll all see what plays out.
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