Edmonton Oilers Rumors: Holland in Discussions with the Sabres, Stars, and Bruins?

Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with excerpts from 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 Sun (Rob Tychkowski)

TYCHKOWSKI: Losing Larsson for nothing a tough blow for Oilers

On a day they were expecting to lose a prospect or mid-level piece, the Oilers were left gasping for air from a massive body blow before the expansion draft even took place.
This wasn’t a case of the Oilers being outbid, either. Larsson, signed for a very reasonable $4 million a year, money the Oilers could willingly match and even exceed. They had multiple offers on the table of varying term and salary, and he passed.
It has to be a bit unnerving when a veteran player who was part of the leadership group, someone with intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the team and the organization, decides he wants to leave.
The Oilers, who boasted a reasonably good back end last year, are now in a very difficult position with only Darnell Nurse, Ethan Bear, Kris Russell, Evan Bouchard, William Lagesson and newly acquired Duncan Keith signed for the upcoming season.
That isn’t a blue line that will take a team very deep in the playoffs.
They need to guard against a panic move, overpaying an older player out of fear of being left standing at the alter when all of the top UFAs have signed elsewhere. That’s where organizations can run into long-term trouble.
If one core leader walked away, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that another one might. That could send the whole house of cards tumbling down, so it would be in Edmonton’s best interests to starting winning right now.

BLH’s Thoughts: Tych is right, that defense isn’t one that’ll take a team deep into the playoffs, but it is one that will take the team TO the playoffs. Mark my words, Evan Bouchard is going to blow the doors off of the league next season and the Oilers are going to bring someone in to help with the departure of Larsson.

I’ve been told that Edmonton has been talking to the Sabres and the Bruins and that Sam Reinhart’s name has been thrown about. The speculation is that the Oilers have their first rounder, Tyler Benson, Ethan Bear, and depending on the return, Kailer Yamamoto in play.

Man, I'm getting some real juice from some sources of mine…

Sounds like there's a bit of disbelief in the hockey world that Larsson actually signed with Seattle.

I've also been told that Adam might've wanted to play in a less intense hockey market.#LetsGoOilers

— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) July 21, 2021

From The Athletic (Daniel Nugent-Bowman)

The Oilers must act fast to address their hole on defence after Adam Larsson signs with the Kraken

How did this happen? And where do the Oilers go from here?
A source with knowledge of the negotiations said the Oilers’ last four-year offer made this month was for more money than Seattle’s. They had previously offered $3.9 million per year in June but upped the ante. They were also willing to give Larsson a five-year contract; though the salary on that term is unclear, it’s believed to be for a lesser AAV.
“I don’t know his reasons why he decided to go,” Oilers GM Ken Holland said. “I know it wasn’t about money. I’m disappointed he’s gone.”
An Oilers source said, however, they wouldn’t have had any protection issues had Larsson signed before last Saturday’s roster freeze. That would have required the Oilers to make a side deal with the Kraken to discourage them from selecting one of their veteran rearguards or go with an eight-skater format and possibly try to block off a forward.
The top right-shot pending free agent defencemen are Hamilton (expensive and not expected to sign in Edmonton), David Savard, Jason Demers, Travis Hamonic, Sami Vatanen and Jani Hakanpaa. The trade market doesn’t appear to be very robust.
“Give us a chance to do whatever we’ve got to do and then you can ask those questions once you see what’s finished,” Holland said about replacing Larsson.”
Holland basically has a week to 10 days to recover from the blow. If he can’t, this once-promising offseason could result in a disastrous knockout.

BLH’s Thoughts: I’ll say this though and it’s going to sound cryptic, but Ken Holland isn’t going to sit around and cry over the fact that Larsson’s gone. He’s saying to the fanbase to give him a chance do his job and judge him on it later.

I can tell you the Oilers are working on something right now and I am of the belief that they’re in the process of acquiring a notable addition to their defense. The kind of move that might leave you picking your jaw up off the floor. #expectheunexpected

I wasn’t given any names or teams, but I wonder if John Klingberg would make sense for the Oilers. The Oilers could really use a RHD now that Larsson is a Kraken and Klingberg has one more year left on his contract worth $4.25M. There’s also the connection between Jim Nill and Ken Holland to consider as well as the constant rumors connecting Seth Jones to Dallas. If I recall correctly, Jones just had a home built in Dallas and they’re most likely looking to acquire cheaper assets like Ethan Bear or other futures to save some skrilla for Caleb’s big brother.

Doing this deal would still allow the Oilers to bring in a Hamonic, Gudbranson, Hakanpaa, or Bogosian too…

Obviously with Larsson leaving Oilers, they need right-shot shutdown guy to replace him. Travis Hamonic is out there but his No. 1 target would probably be UFA David Savard. Exactly same player as Larsson, only 31.

— Jim Matheson (@jimmathesonnhl) July 21, 2021

From The Cult of Hockey (Bruce McCurdy)

Zach Hyman in Edmonton, Oilers talking possible sign-and-trade deal with Leafs — NHL insiders

[Darren] Dreger on TSN talking Hyman: “We know that there is communication with the Edmonton Oilers. What is this deal going to look like? There are some who believe that it could reach upwards of 6, 7 years, maybe north of $40M believe it or not.”
Chris Johnston: “With Zach Hyman in Edmonton visiting the #oilers today, as @JasonGregor reported, there remains a possibility of a sign-and-trade scenario with the #leafs that could get him a max eight-year term.”
Elliotte Freidman on Sportsnet Central: “Thursday the freeze ends at 1pm Eastern. I think you could potentially see a Zack Hyman deal in Edmonton, and we’ll see if Toronto makes a trade with them so Hyman can get the eighth year and Toronto can get a draft pick out of it. The Maple Leafs are a little short on draft picks.”
Should Hyman come to terms on an extended deal as now expected, he and RNH would project to fill top six spots on the left side for the foreseeable future. What opportunity that leaves for up-and-comers on the port side like Dylan Holloway, Raphael Lavoie and Tyler Benson is an open question.

BLH’s Thoughts: Ken Holland is all about forcing his young players to beat a veteran out of a job. So I’m not worried about Lavoie and Benson per se because at some point Josh Archibald and Zack Kassian will move on and a guy like Lavoie will slide right in. Benson’s future is most likely on Edmonton’s 4th since it looks like Edmonton will have Hyman, RNH, McLeod/Holloway in the top-9. Dylan Holloway is being projected long-term as a center, most likely a 3rd line center and at this point, there’s no competition there.

https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1418153062359867394

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