Edmonton Oilers Trade Talk: “Teams have been calling about center…”

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

Evander Kane’s presence was felt in his Oilers debut — mainly because of his impact on the lineup

He tipped in a point shot midway through the first period, allowing the Oilers to open the scoring for the first time since Dec. 16, a span of 11 games.
Kane’s mere presence had such a massive impact on the Oilers, something that could help return them to a formidable status in the Western Conference.
They could still use another top-nine forward or two. One addition is expected to be 2020 first-round pick Dylan Holloway, who’s off to a great start in the AHL with five points in his first five games after he missed 10 months due to injury.
Another defenceman is probably needed, and everyone knows about the goaltending situation. But Kane’s presence on the ice means the forward group is much more complete than it was before his arrival.

BLH’s Thoughts: Oh… So now it’s a good thing that Evander Kane is on the Oilers because his arrival will usher in the return to “formidable status” in the West? I guess it was some other team that won the previous three games…

Suppose DNB is over all of Kane’s off-ice stuff now that the Oilers are winning again.

I shudder to think what Frank Seravalli is going to say when Gregor and Yaremchuk ask him about Kane’s performances so far. His comments will probably be prefaced with some sort of qualifier to let the audience know he’s still miffed about the whole signing.

Cult of Hockey

Player grades: Four-line scoring spree as Oilers drop Habs 7-2

#13 Jesse Puljujarvi, 5. As usual he got his big body in good spots and disrupted the flow. But didn’t have a lot of flow of his own.
#97 Connor McDavid, 5. An uncharacteristically quiet night, contributing to just 1 Grade A shot after piling up 14 and 12 in the prior two games… Played just 17:27 as the Oilers played with a multi-goal lead for the last 48 minutes.
#71 Ryan McLeod, 5. The only Oiler not to record a plus on the night, and didn’t muster a shot either.
#91 Evander Kane, 6. Made an excellent first impression, deflecting home Bouchard’s shot to open the scoring, something the Oilers hadn’t done for a month and a half. Otherwise appeared fairly rusty, not surprising in that he hasn’t played an NHL game all season nor a pro game of any description since mid-December.
#37 Warren Foegele, 8. All over the puck all night, leading the Oilers with 7 shot attempts and 2 takeaways while earning the primary assist on both of Draisaitl’s goals. Made a number of fine passes. Tower of power.
#29 Leon Draisaitl, 7. Not on the very top of his game, but still managed to find the twine twice — his ELEVENTH brace of the season… Led the Oilers with 5 shots — all of them dangerous — and 10/18=56% on the dot, though his clean faceoff loss led directly to Montreal’s powerplay goal.
#18 Zach Hyman, 9. Found instant chemistry with RNH and Kassian on a revamped third line that on this night was Edmonton’s best. Broke out of his extended offensive drought in a big way, scoring twice and adding an assist.
#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 7. Played a strong game at 3C between Hyman and Kassian, chipping in 1-1-2, +3.
#2 Duncan Keith, 7. A solid night’s work with a couple of secondary assists and a +2 rating. His “active stick” contributed a couple of good defensive plays, deflecting pucks out of danger. 1 shot, 2 blocks.
#6 Kris Russell, 7. His 900th game as an NHLer was a good one. Rang the post with a good outside shot through a double screen, then seconds later fired another point shot that Hyman tipped home for the 2-0.
#74 Stuart Skinner, 6. Struggled from the outset with puckhandling and rebound control, failing to contain the first shot he faced, a 132-footer (!) from Jeff Petry that nearly ate him up.

BLH’s Thoughts: Look, I’ll take the 2pts against MTL’s AHL team considering what this team has been through. Usually, the Oilers play down to their opponent, so this was a very nice surprise.

Interesting that Kane was the guy to break that first goal curse the Oilers have been suffering through and it wasn’t a pretty goal either. A gorgeously tipped shot, but aside from that, his poor conditioning was very noticeable. That’ll come though and I’m looking forward to seeing him compete with Brady Tkachuk and Tom Wilson in the next two games.

Jesse… My boy, he’s got to shoot that puck when Leon sets it up on a tee for him. Silly guy was trying to be a good teammate and get Draisaitl his hat-trick. Pulju’s heart is way too big for this team. Such a gent, he is.

Tell ya what, the pairing of Ceci and Keith are flying right now. Might be the best d-pair on the club at the moment and I’m eating it up. Funny how quiet the folks are who were really against those two moves this summer…

Big fan of the three-headed dragon btw. It’s weird what happens when the team that Ken Holland built in the summer starts to get healthy and the roster finally starts to come together.

Now, if I had to make some moves to upgrade the team, I might start with the 5,6,7 spot on defense. They could use some beef there if the GM isn’t going to recall Niemelainen and it looks like Tyson Barrie has become surplus to requirement. That bargain contract he signed this summer should make it a tad easier to move to Seattle, eh? 😉

Lastly…

Just remember, before Bob Stauffer was talking about it on his radio show, you read about the 2008 Stanley Cup-winning Red Wings’ massive late-season slump and recovery right here first.

Now, if you don’t remember, in the ’08 season, Ken Holland’s Red Wings had a stretch from mid-January to late-February where they won eight games in a row and then they went cold and lost ten of their next eleven. Well, right after that slump, they won five on the trot and actually only lost four of their final eleven games that year before their march to the Cup.

In that whole slump n’ rise, he made two moves, acquiring Brad Stuart for a 2nd (Peter Delmas) and a 4th round pick (Ben Chiarot) and in a minor league trade, he dealt Brett Engelhardt for Francis Lemieux.

I think the point I’m trying to make is that if you think Ken Holland is going to be pressured into making a move for the same of making a move just to try and relieve some of the pressure on the club, you’re kidding yourself and he was right, the answer was/is in the locker room.

For once, the players on this team aren’t getting bailed out.

Now look, the Oilers are on a four-game winning streak (one more win and they’ll be on par with that ’08 Detroit club’s streaky late-season form) with the same goalies they had during the slump, the same defensemen, and the same forwards aside from Kane.

Gotta trust the process, man.

Spector’s Hockey

SPORTSNET: Teams have been calling about center J.T. Miller, who’s signed to a bargain contract running through 2022-23. The Canucks aren’t under pressure to move him now but the offers might be better for him at this year’s trade deadline compared to next year’s.
- Winger Brock Boeser is owed a $7.5 million qualifying offer after this season. If the Canucks are uncomfortable with that, do they attempt to trade him at the deadline…
TVA SPORTS: Kent Hughes, the new general manager of the Montreal Canadiens, acknowledged the importance of Carey Price to the organization, calling him “untouchable”.
THE ATHLETIC: Fluto Shinzawa reports there’s no trade imminent for Boston Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk. His inconsistent play means the Bruins won’t get top assets in return.
MLIVE.COM: Forward Vladislav Namestnikov is having a good season and would draw interest if the Wings decide not to re-sign him.