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 the Edmonton Journal
Bottom-six forward Devin Shore will be back with Oilers
- “The fourth-line forward Shore, who is getting a two-year, one-way contract for $1.7 million — $750,000 for the upcoming season and $950,000 in 2022-23. He could be taken in the expansion draft by Seattle because he won’t be protected as one of their seven forwards, but the Oilers are rewarding a solid roleplayer who came to camp this past January on a tryout and signed a two-way $700,000 deal.”
- “(Alex) Chiasson, Tyler Ennis, Gaetan Haas and Patrick Russell are all UFA forwards, with Holland trying to decide which ones to bring back for low money. Another unrestricted forward, Joakim Nygard, signed a six-year contract with Farjestad in Sweden.Dominik Kahun can also become unrestricted if the Oilers decide not to qualify him to keep his rights at five per cent over his $975,000 salary, or $1.23 million.”
(LINK)
BLH’s Thoughts: Gaetan Haas has also joined Joakim Nygard by heading home to Switzerland on a 5yr deal with his old club EHC Biel-Bienne. I reckon that made the decision to sign Shore to this deal a lot easier.
I’m a little disappointed that Haas went home because I loved his unpredictability, his physical assertiveness, his quickness, and oddly-timed bouts of skill. He was a fun player to watch despite not being able to score.
If I had to guess, I wouldn’t expect more than one of the players in that list of three remaining names to return. Chiasson didn’t have a great year and while Ennis was good in spurts, he couldn’t hold down a spot in the lineup consistently. Patrick Russell, as much as I love his heart and work rate, if he couldn’t get into more games this year than he did, I don’t see him in Edmonton’s plans.
As for Devin Shore, he won the coach’s trust with his play. Simple as that and NHL head coaches aren’t fans of volatile performing hockey players. Hence why Haas is outtie 5000 and Shore is back, but I don’t get the outrage. If Shore is your 13th or 14th forward, what’s the problem?
From NHLTradeRumors.me
2 Winnipeg Jets Who Could Be Traded
- Sami Niku: The Jets have used Niku sparingly over the course of the last three seasons and the player would love a chance to play regularly, and could likely be finding that somewhere else.
- First-Rounder: The Jets have a number of key players returning and signed long-term and could use the pick to acquire some more fire power up front for their top-two lines.
(LINK)
BLH’s Thoughts: Niku has been a dominant player in the AHL for three seasons now amassing 80pts in 114 games so far (if my math is right). You have to wonder if there’s a reason someone else hasn’t traded for him by now. Maybe he’s like Ryan Murphy, a great producer in junior, the AHL, and overseas, but struggles at the NHL level. The Finn is 24 years old now and the chances to make the show are fading away fast.
Edmonton Oilers Targeting Tampa Bay Lightning Forwards
Once general manager Ken Holland sorts out his internal free-agent decisions, look for the Oilers to contact the Lightning to gauge the market on a few of their forwards. The Lightning have to make moves before next season as they were so pressed up against the salary cap this season…
You can expect the Oilers to have interest in Alex Killorn, Ondrej Palat and Yanni Gourde. They each have their own no-trade protection, however skating with Connor McDavid is normally good for your pocket book so the decision should be an easy one.
The Oilers have some young defensive depth that could entice the Lightning, and won’t cost a ton on the salary cap which for Tampa Bay, may be the most important thing.
(LINK)
BLH’s Thoughts: I’ve been a massive fan of Palat’s for a few years. His two-way game is elite and recently we’ve talked about Edmonton targeting Alex Killorn.
Brian Lawton was on Oilers Now this week and he said that the Oilers might be able to acquire Killorn for less than a 1st round pick IF they timed things right. Otherwise, a first-rounder plus more will most likely be the cost to bring him to Edmonton.
Lawton compared the potential deal to the JT Miller trade that sent the forward to Vancouver from Tampa Bay for a first round pick in 2020, a 3rd rounder in 2019, and goaltending prospect Marek Mazanec.
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