Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation from all of the internet’s best sites including Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, The Athletic, TSN and more!
From NHL Trade Talk
Jim Parsons has written an article questioning whether or not the Edmonton Oilers should reach out to the Colorado Avalanche to inquire about the services of center Nazem Kadri.
There are going to be interesting questions that need answers for both the Colorado Avalanche and the Edmonton Oilers this offseason. Intriguingly, one of them has to do with the same type of player, but each team has a different need. For the Avs, they might need to move some money while getting rid of problem. For the Oilers, they need to find a third-line center with top-six skill, a problem they’ve not found a solution for in a while.
If we assume that Avs’ GM Joe Sakic has decided Kadri is expendable and that his propensity for getting suspended when the team needs him most is unacceptable, he might try to move Kadri for pennies on the dollar. Freeing up Kadri’s $4.5 million for next season has value. For the Oilers, taking a flyer on a player that should be able to offer some of that depth they need has value too. If Kadri doesn’t work out, they Oilers can move on, that is, assuming they don’t give up a lot to acquire him.
In theory, this could be something the Oilers consider looking into. That said, the conversation should be a quick one if the ask from Colorado is high. Edmonton could benefit from a trade like this, but not if they have to give up a lot to acquire Kadri.
(LINK)
BLH’s Thoughts: I’m a huge fan of Nazem Kadri. He’s got sandpaper, he’s annoying as hell, and he wins faceoffs.
Over the last five seasons he has a 51.9% success rate on the dot. To put it in perspective, Edmonton’s best draw taker in that time is Leon Draisaitl and his FO% is 52.7% and the next closest Oiler is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at 46.2%…
Analytically, if you saw his stats without his name beside them, you’d probably say to avoid him at all costs as the river constantly flows toward his net in all facets. Check out the relative metrics here at your own peril.
One interesting stat I found on NHL.com, from 2016-17 until this past season, of the centers who’ve played at least 300 games, Nazem Kadri is 2nd in penalties drawn… Connor McDavid is no.1.
However, this guy is no saint. Aside from some of the garbage hits he’s laid on unsuspecting opponents over the years, he takes a lot of penalties and his special teams deployment over the years has been more or less primarily PP-based. With that being noted, he’s produced quite well in his career with the man-advantage.
Now, Kadri is coming off a real tough year statistically and could be a candidate for a rebound season in a new market. My hope would be that Kadri could channel his inner Kassian and at least tone down the dirty stuff but keep the rest of his skillset that makes him an effective NHL hockey player.
Could Ken Holland find a way to use Kadri’s down season to his advantage in a deal with Colorado? Joe Sakic is no dummy, but if there’s a deal to be had, I’d take an old door-to-door salesman as one who could sniff it out.
From NHLTradeRumors.me
According to Jeremy Rutherford of the Athletic, the St Louis Blues are expected to be listening to some trade offers this offseason on forward Vladimir Tarasenko.
The 29-year-old has two seasons left on his current contract, that sees him making $7.5 million per season. Tarasenko holds a no-trade clause and will certainly have some power in the decision making of this process. Teams he’s expected to be interested in playing for include the Florida Panthers, Washington Capitals and Los Angeles Kings.
(LINK)
BLH’s Thoughts: Yeah… I don’t know here. I’m skeptical that the Blues could unload that deal without paying a pretty penny to do it. Tarasenko’s a shooter and I wonder if his shoulders are shot… If so, he’s going to have a tough time regaining his form as the rest of his contract plays out.
If St. Louis is willing to eat some cash, the number of interested parties would surely grow. However, I’m not confident that the Kings would be one of those. They do need scoring, there’s no doubt about that but one would think there’d be some more feasible options out there and with the likes of Shane Wright and Connor Bedard coming, should they really be in a hurry to get out of this rebuild?
If the Capitals want to go the same route as the Penguins and try to hold on for dear life to that chance at a Cup, Tarasenko could make sense for them. Especially if TJ Oshie is Seattle-bound. A first line of Ovechkin-Backstrom-Tarasenko would be pretty deadly.
For the Panthers, do you think they’ve got an appetite to take on another veteran on a massive salary?
I don’t see Edmonton being in on him, but who knows? Anything can happen in this league.
From The Athletic
Daniel Nugent-Bowman recently wrote about the Edmonton Oilers’ potential expansion draft plans. He talked about what format they’re likely to use, possible pre-draft acquisitions, who might be left unprotected, and more!
“The Oilers were thought to be leaning toward protecting eight skaters and a goalie a few weeks ago. They will almost certainly go the 7-3-1 route now. I’m told by a team source who has knowledge of the current protection plans that the only way they’ll revert to an eight-skater plan is if pending UFA defencemen Adam Larsson and Tyson Barrie are re-signed ahead of the expansion draft.
The locks for protection are Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto up front and Darnell Nurse and Ethan Bear on the back end. That leaves three more spots to protect for forwards, one for defencemen and one in net to be determined.”
Forward
- “Barring a trade or sudden change of heart, a team source said there are four players under consideration for the last two or three forward spots: Josh Archibald, Tyler Benson, Zack Kassian and Jujhar Khaira.”
Defense
- “The smart money is on Larsson re-signing at some point. Everything is settled if pen hits paper before the expansion draft. The Oilers would then have their three defencemen ready to protect.”
- “It’s likely Oscar Klefbom will be available for the Kraken. This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise based on the suboptimal outlook Holland presented at his season-ending news conference regarding Klefbom’s playing status.”
- “Without adding a new blueliner, the final slot would come down to Caleb Jones or William Lagesson.”
- “The impression I get is that the organization wouldn’t be as concerned with losing either player as it might have been a few months ago.”
Goaltending
- “It’s unlikely Koskinen is protected given his salary and body of work. Skinner could have some untapped upside, whereas Stalock has experience and could be a cheap backup option for next season.”
- “But even if the Oilers retain Smith, they’re expected to bring in a more reliable 1B goaltender to support him. That netminder could be signed in free agency or acquired via trade.”
(LINK)
BLH’s Thoughts: From what I’ve been told, Seattle has interest in Kassian. Now, if that’s true, perhaps something could be arranged that would benefit both teams there, but would you want to deal Kass within the division? I think I’d rather have him on my own club as opposed to playing against him multiple times a year.
If I had to pick three players between Kass, Archie, JJ, and Benson, I think I would go with Benson, Archibald, and Kass because the team lacks physicality as it is and these are Edmonton’s go-to guys in that regard. Plus, if I can trade Kassian and get a decent-to-good return, why bother losing him for nothing to Seattle?
With Tyler Benson, there’s till some hope that he’ll be a productive NHL winger and he’ll be on a cheap contract for the year. In addition to that, there’s definitely a market for this player and I’d be keeping that in my back pocket come trade deadline time.
Jujhar had a helluva year but I think it’s time to give him his opportunity to go out and ply his trade elsewhere. He’s simply been too inconsistent over the years and selfishly, I want Luke Glendening on my 4th line and JJ’s physicality could be replaced by a Brett Ritchie or even better, a Barclay Goodrow. I reckon at the end of the day if things haven’t played out well for JJ, he could always circle back and re-sign with Edmonton because the team knows what he can bring and he knows the systems.
Moving on to the defensemen…
Klefbom getting left off the protected list is probably because Edmonton doesn’t think the Kraken will take on a contract that might not be covered by insurance. Meaning if Klef can’t play, Seattle has to pay him instead of getting the majority covered.
My prediction is that Caleb Jones or William Lagesson are taken but may never play for Seattle or only play a handful of games for them, just as many who were taken by Vegas like Griffin Reinhart.
My protection list:
- Connor McDavid (F)
- Leon Draisaitl (F)
- Kailer Yamamoto (F)
- Jesse Puljujarvi (F)
- Josh Archibald (F)
- Zack Kassian (F)
- Tyler Benson (F)
- Darnell Nurse (D)
- Ethan Bear (D)
- *Adam Larsson (D)
- Alex Stalock (G)
*If re-signed before the expansion draft. If not, I’d guess William Lagesson gets protected instead.*
What’s your list look like? Leave it in the comments section so we can compare!
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