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
Off the Top of My Head
- In the next week or so, we’ll get details about an outdoor alumni game between the Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens Feb. 4 at Saiker’s Acres in Sherwood Park – best known as site of the World’s Longest Hockey Game.
- Glenn Anderson, Fernando Pisani and Georges Laraque will play, while Kevin Lowe will coach the Oilers alumni.
- Lucien Deblois, Richard Sevigny and Yvon Lambert, who played in 2003, are back and will join Mike Keane and Shawn Belle for the Habs. Kyle Brodziak, Jason Strudwick, Louie Debrusk and Sean Brown are among those who’ll join Anderson, Pisani and Laraque with the Oilers.
- The 10-man rosters will be announced next week. Teams will play three, 15-minute periods and the game will be called online by Jack Michaels and Bob Stauffer.
- Bill Zito has made some smart moves since taking over as GM of the Panthers.
- One of the things Zito has done is assemble the kind of scoring depth through four lines the Oilers haven’t been able to surround Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl with so far.
BLH’s Thoughts: Correct me if I’m wrong, but given the choice, where do you think more NHL players would like to play, the frozen tundra of Northern Alberta or the sunny beaches and tax haven of Southern Florida?
You can argue that Zito has done a better job than Holland until you’re blue in the face, but any GM that signs on with the Oilers is instantly handcuffed by its locale and everything that entails.
If the Panthers don’t win the Cup this year, I wonder if their diehard fans (what?) will go online and moan about how their management wasted the “bargain” years of Barkov and Huberdeau…
As for the Habs/Oilers Alumni game, that sounds like a fantastic idea, but you reckon a lot of folk are going to tune in to watch Lucien Dublois and Kyle Brodziak go head-to-head?… All the luck to ’em though. I hope some bigger names show up and it’s a massive success.
Lowetide.ca
- There are several stories that could dominate for Oilers fans this week, including a suddenly substantial group of prospects pushing from Bakersfield. Dylan Holloway posted three assists in two games on the weekend, as he made his professional debut. Raphael Lavoie scored an impressive goal (what a shot!) and now has scored 7-4-11 in his most recent 11 games, with 51 shots in those games. Philip Broberg picked up an assist in the two games and is now 2-15-17 in 24 games. Stuart Skinner is in Edmonton after posting a .925SP.
- After many years of treating the farm team like an affliction, the current Oilers management may be relying too much on the collective futures in Bakersfield. Can these kids deliver?
BLH’s Thoughts: The kids are alright at the moment, but it has to be said that we shouldn’t not get overexcited about their production. Peaks and Valleys, as I say constantly.
What we want to see is complete domination for long periods of time, statistically and visually. When Puljujarvi was down there as an 18 year old he was a AHL superstar and that continued as he spent time down there as a 19 year old and a 20 year old. Conversely, Kailer Yamamoto, to me, didn’t appear as impactful to the eye as Pulju but he put up great numbers.
With a guy like Lavoie, he’s got a history of going ice cold and becoming a tad unhinged. Sure, he’s got a great shot and his size is ideal, but that other stuff has to find it’s way down the road and out of his game.
Broberg, I feel like he’s got some Kronwall in his game. There’s a physical side to him that comes out every now and then and we know that sometimes NHL coaches will eliminate certain aspects of a young player’s game to make them safer players to deploy. I find that with defenders, the offense they found in junior and the minor leagues tends to calm down at the NHL level. So, will Broberg’s next National Hockey League coach (whoever that is) play him to his strengths or ask him to up the physicality? He’s a big boy, he could do some damage if he wanted to.
As I said this morning about Holloway, he’s flying on adrenaline right now. Let’s give him some time to acclimate to the AHL to see how he performs when he’s been down in Bakersfield a while before we get all hard thinking about how he’ll look on Connor or Leon’s wing.
Now, that said, he might not even get time to get used to the AHL life before Ken Holland recalls him to Edmonton…
We’ll see how we do though. The Evander Kane news should get cleared up this week and the Oilers will need to deal with an extra LWer on the team should he join Edmonton.
Daily Goal Horn
- Edmonton has kicked tires on Columbus’ Joonas Korpisalo but are not willing to pay the steep price to acquire. Rumblings say the Blue Jackets want a first round pick.
- …with the Flyers in a free-fall could goalie Martin Jones be available? Elliotte Friedman thinks that’s a possible avenue for the Oilers.
- Koskinen will be a UFA at the end of the season. Should Edmonton be willing to add a second round draft pick a team with cap space may take him. The Coyotes and Red Wings are prime targets for that.
- The Rangers, who are expected to be very active at the Trade Deadline have spoken to the Bruins about Jake DeBrusk, per Jeff Marek.
BLH’s Thoughts: I could see Ken Holland attaching a 2nd round pick from another year in a deal to either get rid of a goalie or to bring one in… He’s got a full register of draft picks available in 2023 and 2024 to delve into to help accomplish his goal of acquiring help in between the pipes.
Although, stay away from Martin Jones I’m thinking. I mean no offense to Jones as a human, but his netminding has been below average for quite a few years now.
And a first rounder for Korpisalo? No thanks. Maybe that stance changes if they’re talking Merzlikins though.
