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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Oilersnation
What assets should the Edmonton Oilers be willing to give up at the trade deadline?
- Chychrun is a young, cost-controlled defenceman whose results suggest he’s a #2-3 defenceman… Elliotte Friedman has stated several times that the Oilers don’t seem too interested in Chychrun, which is unfortunate.
- If Edmonton deals their first-round pick for an impact player that helped the team obtain playoff success now, they won’t grieve that the prospect selected with their traded pick potentially became an impact player by the time McDavid and Draisaitl’s contracts are finished (as history suggests).
- The Oilers should be all-in, as this is the seventh year of Connor McDavid and the eighth year of Leon Draisaitl. The goal should be to win now, and practically all of Edmonton’s assets should be available.
- The organization should be more concerned with their current ability to win during McDavid and Draisaitl’s prime years, as opposed to being worried about the future when their contracts are nearly over. If the team doesn’t see any significant improvement, the likelihood of McDavid and Draisaitl re-signing is low.
BLH’s Thoughts: Ponder a scenario where Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leave at the end of their contracts. Which teams will be interested in signing them at that point? Are they the kind of teams who would be contenders like Edmonton could be at that time? Do you think the Oilers would simply let them go and not replace them? Reckon there’s a chance they wouldn’t be traded and the Oilers would get a massive return?
Also, if Edmonton starts dealing its futures today, when the time comes where there’s a real possibility of losing Connor or Leon, all that depth they’re building up right now (which will be NHL ready in the next two or three seasons) will be playing for somebody else and the team will be right back where it was in 2015.
What happens if they don’t leave though? Now the club has all this currency built up that they can use to strengthen the already strong roster…
With Chychrun, Edmonton’s not the only team holding off on trading for him. I would think there are reservations about his injury past that have most GMs shy about making a deal for him.
The forensic audit that was performed by Bob Nicholson concluded with the organization declaring it required stability. No more new GMs and coaches every few years. No more turning the roster over season after season. No more trading the kids for pennies on the dollar.
Enter Ken Holland and he’s doing what is required to build a team that can be a playoff contender annually… Which the Oilers have been since he was hired. This season’s been the only one with a massive blip on the radar, hasn’t it?
The last thing this team needs is for management to be running around like a chicken with its head cut off screaming, “PANIC!!!”.
We’ll leave that to the fans, bloggers, and the pundits…
Lowetide.ca
- I missed the Oilers but honestly this team is a lot of work. The team needs a goalie but the management is still waiting on Mike Smith, the team needs a strong left blue but you get those at the deadline don’t you know. Holland said the other day you have to build through the system, and that’s true.
- However, when you have Philip Broberg, Dmitri Samorukov and Markus Niemelainen, it affords one the opportunity to send away a piece of the future for some help right now.
- Holland spent heavily at his first deadline, more discreetly at his second one. I’d suggest the play here is not to wait for this year’s deadline, find a goalie and a defenseman who can settle down the group in the immediate aftermath of tonight’s game.
- What are they waiting for? We’ve always done it this way is the worst answer in history.
BLH’s Thoughts: I really think that there will be teams that lose seasons to COVID and this’s victims might be the Oilers and the Islanders. Man, I didn’t see the Habs sinking this badly either, but here we are.
FWIW, last Friday Bob Stauffer said to keep an eye on Montreal… He expects a lot of turnover there.
Nevertheless, what kind of trade do you think is open to the Oilers right now? One that is fair and won’t get ripped apart on social media? Doubtful.
I mean, let’s just think about the difference in returns Broberg, Niemelainen, and Samorukov would get the Oilers. My feeling is that none of them would bring Edmonton what they need right now.
Are there are a lot of sure starters on the trade market? Because that’s what the team really needs. Georgiev, Korpisalo, these guys aren’t sure starters. They’re 1Bs or backups and “hope” trades. As in, you hope they take the next step in Edmonton if they are acquired and I would have to think we’re past the gambling part of this build.
You don’t buy on the highs and sell on the lows if you’re looking for long-term success.
So, what about this? The Philadelphia Flyers are said to be heading into a rebuild, why not overpay to get Carter Hart? He’s a true no.1 that could grow with the team and he’s a local lad so the trade would get an immediate push from the fanbase regardless of who goes to Philly and I think part of that package would probably need to be the Bison King and Stu Skinner plus picks, unfortunately.
Spector’s Hockey
- THE ATHLETIC: Arthur Staple recently examined some potential external options for the New York Rangers to bolster their top six and their third defense pairing.
- Possible top-six trade targets could include San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl, Arizona Coyotes winger Phil Kessel, Dallas Stars forward Joe Pavelski, Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux, Anaheim Ducks winger Rickard Rakell, Boston Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk and Vegas Golden Knights winger Reilly Smith.
- Turning to defensemen, Staple believes the asking price for Arizona’s Jakob Chychrun and Montreal’s Ben Chiarot could be too expensive. Seattle’s Mark Giordano won’t be as expensive but still won’t be a cheap rental. Nevertheless, he could fill a need for the Rangers. Other options include Seattle’s Carson Soucy, the Chicago Blackhawks’ Calvin de Haan, Philadelphia’s Justin Braun, the Buffalo Sabres’ Colin Miller or Detroit Red Wings’ (and former Rangers) Marc Staal or Nick Holden.
- SPORTSNET/TSN: Eric Engels reports the Montreal Canadiens search for a new general manager could be resolved in the coming days. He’s heard Daniel Briere and Mathieu Darche are among the three finalists for the job.
- TVA SPORTS: Yvon Pedneault took note of John Klingberg no longer being in the good graces of Dallas Stars management in his contract year. He suggested the Canadiens offer up Jeff Petry for Klingberg.
