Edmonton Oilers Talk: Puljujarvi or Yamamoto? There Can Be Only One… And Do the Oilers have the Next Nik Hjalmarsson Coming?

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 Cult of Hockey

All systems go? Yes. Edmonton Oilers sign Kailer Yamamoto to a one-year deal

Yamamoto’s offence crashed last year, but he still was involved in Edmonton’s top line when teamed for a small sample size of even strength minutes with Draisaitl and McDavid. Yamamoto’s solid defensive play was the glue to that line, as he often moved down to cover the defensive slot, allowing Draisaitl and McDavid to hunt pucks and take off on the attack. In that role, think of Yamamoto as a smaller version of Esa Tikkanen with Jari Kurri and Wayne Gretzky.
Would it have been better if the Oilers had found a way to sign Yamamoto to a two or three year deal?… But with Yamamoto’s huge drop off in attacking play, was he not better off to take the lesser contract this year, get to camp on time, earn a spot again in the Top 6, have a big year and then negotiate a new longer term deal?
Where will the Oilers find the money to pay players like Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi, both on expiring contracts now, if they have big years?
- it’s hard to imagine the Oilers will have the cap space to keep both of them, even if both turn out to be outstanding two-way players in Top 6 roles.
Most likely, Edmonton will likely have to pick one of Yamamoto or Puljujarvi and move the other. Get ready for that controversy and that debate, Oilers fans, because it’s coming.

BLH’s Thoughts: Funny comparison Yamamoto to Tikkanen is. The reason for that is because Ken Holland went out and got Hyman, who is basically Tikkanen, no? Other teams hate the guy because he drives them nuts in the corners and in front of the net.

I, for one, cannot wait to watch the internal competition between Pulju and Killer. My money’s on Jesse, but never discount a guy with as much heart as Yamo.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Zack Kassian gets a lot of time in the top-six, even if he’s struggling and the reason I say that is because the Oilers are going to have to move him at some point, so his tires will need pumping. The other factor is, they might want to suppress Yamamoto’s or Puljujarvi’s numbers a bit just in case they need to go to arbitration next summer.

The Athletic

Filip Berglund, sleeper option for Edmonton’s defense

Berglund still has much to recommend him, including two-way ability, size (6-foot-3, 209 pounds), handedness (he’s a righty) and pro experience (five years in the SHL, one of the world’s best leagues).
As a two-way player, he has the puck headed in a good direction, and, last season aside, outscoring opposition is possible with Berglund playing a second-pair role.
As the SHL and AHL are similar in quality based on NHL equivalency, he should be able to slide into a second-pair role with the Condors on opening night.
As he was often paired with Philip Broberg when they both played for Skelleftea, that could be the entire second pair for coach Jay Woodcroft in Bakersfield at the beginning of the season.
The fastest way for Berglund to make the NHL with the Oilers is via the penalty kill.
Berglund has been effective in the discipline for much of his career, so it’s safe to assume he’ll get plenty of work in the AHL, and if he lands in the NHL, his penalty-kill work might be why.
He’ll be 25 in May; Berglund is older than the recently traded Ethan Bear, who was drafted the year before (2015). Time is of the essence.
A player like Berglund fits Holland’s prospect template; his pro resume has more lines than any Oilers pick in recent memory.
He’ll start in Bakersfield and build from there. Don’t forget about Filip Berglund; his resume suggests he’s a useful player who could make it to the NHL in the next couple of years.

BLH’s Thoughts: Well, the Oilers aren’t going to need high-end offensive defensemen anytime soon with Barrie and Bouchard on the roster, but they will need Niklas Hjalmarsson-types. So, the question is, can Filip Berglund be the Swedish version of Kris Russell? If so, he may earn himself some time in the bigs, but he’ll have competition from the likes of Phil Kemp, who has age on his side, holding a fire to his ass.

I think the challenge to these dmen in Bakersfield should sound like this, “Can you make a veteran NHL defenseman obselete? What can you do to make us choose you over a guy that’s got more than 500 games in the NHL? Because that’s what you’re going to have to do to play for the Edmonton Oilers.”

Spector’s Hockey

THE ATHLETIC: In his latest mailbag segment, Eric Duhatschek was asked which club makes the most sense for the Buffalo Sabres to trade Jack Eichel to get the best return.

It’ll take a team willing to make a bold move in order for the Sabres to get full value for him.
The Columbus Blue Jackets’ Jarmo Kekalainen and the Minnesota Wild’s Bill Guerin are two general managers with the courage to wade into an Eichel deal.
The Calgary Flames and Anaheim Ducks as long shots.

The Dallas Stars’ depth between the pipes could make them the first place to call, especially if Ben Bishop returns from knee surgery.

Braden Holtby could be an affordable option.
Blue Jackets netminder Joonas Korpisalo could also get moved.
Others could include Detroit’s Thomas Greiss, Edmonton’s Mikko Koskinen and Los Angeles’ Jonathan Quick.

BLH’s Thoughts: I fully expect the Edmonton Oilers to be neck-deep in the goaltender market all year poking and prodding to see if a quality netminder, possibly a no.1, can be wiggled free.