This morning the Edmonton Oilers called up forward Patrick Russell from the Bakersfield Condors due to an upper-body injury that has taken free-agent summer signing Tobias Rieder out of the lineup for, according to head coach Todd McLellan, about a month.
This is a move that I had predicted a mere handful of days earlier and the reasons I thought that he’d be a candidate for the call-up are thus:
- He’s not 20 years old
It’s pretty obvious that Mr.McLellan is not keen on taking on any young players this season unless he absolutely has to. Patrick Russell is 25 years old.
- He’s very hard-working
This player is a meat and potatoes kind of guy. He grinds, he goes to the dirty areas and he’s big enough (6’1″ 205lbs) to handle what NHL defenses will be throwing at him. I feel like he’s an AHL version of Patric Hornqvist.
- He was a late cut from the Oilers two seasons ago
Surprised me too that season. It’s obvious that McLellan and Chiarelli agree on one thing and that is they see potential in Russell.
- He’s moving the needle offensively at the AHL level
The Dane has been really racking up the points for Jay Woodcroft’s Condors this season. 4 ginos plus 5 apples make 9 points in 11 games for Patrick Russell. He’s already 30% of the way to his previous season’s totals in 1/6th the time. If there was ever a point in his career that he might get a shot at the NHL, this is it!
No word on if he or Cooper Marody will be inserted into the lineup for the game in Calgary but whoever plays, I wish them well!
A Trade That Makes Sense
I’ll tell you a trade that doesn’t make sense. Jesse Puljujarvi for Tyler Toffoli. Why in the world would LA trade a proven scorer who is under contract and is young for a player who has yet to realize his potential?
LA still has some very good players on its team and it wouldn’t surprise me if this season was merely a blip on the radar and an on-the-fly rebuild might take place. Something where they simply trim the fat and bring in fresh blood. Faster fresh blood to be more precise.
I don’t believe the Kings to be a team that would trade for players who still need developing because finishing last in the NHL doesn’t guarantee you the 1st overall pick, it simply guarantees you the best odds. So why gut the team and start from scratch when the core of the team is Kopitar, Doughty, Quick, Carter, Kovalchuk, Muzzin, Brown, etc?
The Kings aren’t “blowing it up” Chucky.
Besides, it’s incumbent on the Edmonton Oilers management to do what’s right for Jesse Puljujarvi and get his development back on track. It would go a long way in rehabilitating their poor reputation when it comes to developing good NHL players and if done properly, would give the Oilers a top-6 threat on the wing.
Now, this is just me spitballing, but would it not be smarter to find some players that are struggling to get any traction this year or are upcoming UFAs?
I am of the belief that the Oilers need players who are actual top-6 skaters or can play in the top-6. Right now they’ve got Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Leon Draisaitl as those players and McLellan is moving the chairs around the boat deck to try and find a fit.
I imagine Milan Lucic will go back into the top half of the lineup with Rieder out and I wouldn’t be surprised if he started producing a bit more up there. He definitely deserves a chance as he’s been working his ass off in these first 18 games. So let’s hope that this promotion pays off for him and the team.
The Oilers won’t be acquiring a top-6 winger any time soon though.
The price is going to be dear and not worth it in the long run. They’ve got such a nice collection of prospects that are growing into professional hockey players in their system right now and it’d be a shame to give up on those to try and patch things up in the short term when they’re right in the thick of things with the roster they have.
I’d be keeping an eye on Pittsburgh though. They’re last in the Eastern Conference and that’s with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Kris Letang, and Matt Murray. Weird, right? Something has to shake out of the Steel City. Rumors have players Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, and Olli Maatta being available.
I’d take me some Guentzel. The kid has shown an ability to score and his contract is quite fair as well at 734k. He’ll be an RFA this summer and I would expect whichever team he’s on to be prepared to give him something that starts in the $5M range. Could the Oilers afford him?
Anyhow, here’s a list of players that I believe could help the Oilers and at a reasonable price (whatever that means).
- Justin Williams (CAR) – W – $4.5M/UFA – 18GP 1G 10A 11PTS – 140 Playoff games 94pts
- Nick Cousins (ARI) – C – $1M/UFA – 17GP 1G 4A 5PTS – 52% FO%
- Brendan Perlini (ARI) – LW – $863k/RFA – 17GP 2G 3A 5PTS – 6% SH%
- Darren Helm (DET) – C/W – $3.85M/Expires 2020/21 – 18GP 1G 5A 6PTS – 3.3% SH%
- Bryan Rust (PIT) – W – $3.5M/Expires 2021/22 -16GP 1G 3A 4PTs – 62.9% D-zone Starts
- Ryan Spooner (NYR) – C/W – $4M/Expires in 2019/20 – 16GP 1G 1A 2PTS – 12:41 Avg TOI
With Williams, I just wonder if the Oilers are in a playoff spot and the Hurricanes aren’t, would he put Edmonton on his list of teams he’d be willing to be traded to. Cousins has come up quietly in trade rumors and he might be a better option than Ryan Strome at 3C. Perlini is a total longshot but this guy shoots like there’s no tomorrow, lefty though. Helm is a player that I think would give the PK a boost and he’s a veteran who’s played alongside some pretty legendary players. Rust is having a really tough go in Pittsburgh, would a Strome/Rust trade make sense? And finally Ryan Spooner is a player who Chiarelli has experience with, he looks like he’s in the doghouse with the Rangers new coach too.
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!
