This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!
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The Athletic (Mitchell)
Lowetide: What should the Oilers expect from Cody Ceci in his first season?
- Oilers fans will remember Cody Ceci as a member of the Ottawa Senators, where he played tough minutes at a young age and struggled.
- Some might recall his one year in Toronto, where Ceci played fewer minutes against elites and had much better results.
- Ceci had an interesting season five-on-five, finishing ahead of Kris Letang in points per 60 (1.23 to 1.22) while playing second or third pair with Matheson.
- Ceci looks like, and at times the results resemble a shutdown defender. He is not that player type, though. He’ll bring more offence than Larsson, but in shot and goal suppression the difference is notable.
- It’s safe to conclude that Ceci will improve the puck movement and contribute more at five-on-five than Larsson, but will also allow more shots (and opportunities) than Larsson would have if he turned in another healthy season.
- Ceci’s skill set matches the description of a two-way defender, so viewing him as a replacement for Larsson is unwise.
- The contract is long but affordable, and if it comes to it, tradable.
BLH’s Thoughts: I’ve been reading and hearing, for what seems like years now, that NHL defenses should be chalk full of puck movers. Well, we’re going to see if the analytics community is right. It didn’t exactly work for the Avalanche in the playoffs last year, but that’s only one year and Vegas worked them over pretty good.
I’m taking the piss a bit here because Vegas simply outmuscled Colorado and the refs put their whistles away amongst other issues. All I’m saying is that the absence of a cycle breaker beyond Darnell Nurse is going to be felt. That said, nobody is saying that one of Edmonton’s dmen won’t emerge as the club’s new defensive stalwart or that the fancy stat ultras won’t be right and having more puck movers on defense will translate to more goals.
I like Ceci, he’s got good size, he gets around the ice well, he’s improving with experience, and he’s a player that the Oilers can move up and down the lineup. He’s a defenseman that provides the club some flexibility in multiple facets and to me, I can’t find fault in that.
The Cult of Hockey (Leavins)
The curtain draws open wide on Ryan McLeod’s Edmonton Oilers career
- Certainly, a player with skating skills that approach an elite level.
- He is a young prospect with remarkable defensive instincts for his age.
- Related but not, he was also just a shade under 51% in the face off circle.
- And we also witnessed an impressive amount of ice in his veins, given how reliable he was down the stretch and in the playoffs.
- To my eye, taking a more direct line to the net would really help in the production department.
- McLeod seems poised to play with better wingers than we’ve seen on the Oilers 3rd Line in some time.
- …a hint that the Oilers are serious in giving McLeod an even shot at the full-time job is the off-season chatter than Kyle Turris (the only other serious contender for one of those 4 center spots) may spend most of camp at Right Wing.
- PROJECTION: Ryan McLeod is likely to break camp in either the 3 of 4C slot, depending on how the battle with Derek Ryan goes. But the opportunity very much seems to be there for McLeod to grab.
BLH’s Thoughts: Who do you think will be Edmonton’s 3C in 2021-22? I feel like it should probably be McLeod going off of TOI because he’s got the physical traits and with Ryan’s age, the team might want to pick their spots with him.
When McLeod gains more confidence and man strength, I think we’ll see him drive the net more often. It’s not something that’s brought him success in the past mind you, but once he gains a familiarity with the league and establishes himself on the team as a full-time member, he’ll start to take more risks.
Until then, I’ll be happy to see him use that elite skating and those soft hands to be one of the team’s best defensive hockey players on the ice at any given time.
NHLTradeRumor.com
- Earlier this offseason NHL Trade Rumors was reporting New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald was looking to trade P.K. Subban.
- With one year left on his contract, Subban makes $9 million against the cap so the Devils would need to retain salary to make any trade realistic.
- Some reports have the Boston Bruins interested in a Subban trade.
- NHL Trade Rumors earlier this offseason had the Ottawa Senators interested in a Tomas Hertl trade.
- Lyle Richardson of SI.com reports Hertl is entering the final season of his four-year, $22.5-million contract.
- Richardson went on to say Hertl could command between $7 million and $8 million on the open market next summer.
