Edmonton Oilers Talk: Archibald Return, Puljujarvi’s Massively Understated Importance, and the Latest NHL Rumors!

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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Edmonton Sun

Oilers Archibald and Stalock making progress with their heart issues

Oilers feisty right-winger Josh Archibald and veteran goalie Alex Stalock, whose heart issues around training camp in the fall derailed any chances of them competing. Now, there there appears to be some good news for both players who discovered they had myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle.
Archibald got COVID-19 this past summer and doctors discovered the myocarditis here when he felt poorly skating. Obviously, the fact Archibald was not vaccinated when he came to training camp remains a major issue if he comes back to play, He would have to be vaccinated to play for the Oilers, with so many games in the U.S. and quarantine procedures crossing the border.
Stalock… got the inflamed heart muscle diagnosis just before he was ready to come to camp and challenge for a job.
“Over the course of the summer and through the fall, he has seen a number of specialists and we have all the reports from them, and our doctors and multiple others have cleared him,” said Holland.

BLH’s Thoughts: Everybody was writing off these two while at the same time we were watching Minnesota prospect Marco Rossi, who nearly died after he got the Rona, rehab and get ready for the year even though he was diagnosed with inflammation of the heart. Now, Rossi has played 2 games for the Wild after a short stint in the AHL where he scored 23pts in 21 games.

So why can’t Archibald and Stalock come back and play this year?

With the way things are going and how Edmonton’s cap is situated, if Archie gets his needles, I think the Oilers will have to pull a Kucherov-like move to get him in for the playoffs. Not sure if it’s as easy as that, but they’ll need to work some magic either way.

What an addition he’d be to that bottom-six!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT_wlngTKFs

The Athletic

Forget the Connor McDavid bump, Jesse Puljujarvi is the real deal after all

Is there a linemate or player type who aids 97 more than others?
After six seasons, Draisaitl and the demon forechecker (Puljujarvi) emerged as the best available candidates for McDavid’s wingers.
Puljujarvi has been a strong addition since coming back from Finland, and with the emergence of Draisaitl on a stand-alone unit, the importance of the big man is more pronounced. Adding Zach Hyman, another exceptional forechecker, gives the McDavid line even more opportunities to turn over pucks for the fleet centre.
The facts tell us the best results at five-on-five for the captain come when Puljujarvi is deployed alongside him (McDavid).
His style and ability are the best match for McDavid, which makes sense since two NHL coaches came to that conclusion based on math and the eye test.

BLH’s Thoughts: A Sofa GM in Taiwan also came to that conclusion back when Todd McLellan and Ken Hitchcock were refusing to play the two together…

https://youtu.be/BhGHO_QCUxk?t=95

Sportsnet

Holland all but confirmed what we’d heard last weekend, that Edmonton is not interested in dealing its 2022 first-round pick. He’d said earlier this season he would move the first if the Oilers were in a strong contender position, but that’s not the case right now.
Two teams you are going to hear in almost every trade rumour: Carolina and Colorado.
Marek mentioned Anaheim, Los Angeles and St. Louis in deep on Jakob Chychrun last weekend. All of those make sense, but that contract is right in the Hurricanes’ wheelhouse.
As Boston welcomes back Tuukka Rask, wonder if Max Domi makes any sense for the Bruins.