Edmonton Oilers Trade Talk: “Watch to see if the Oilers also look at…”

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The Hockey Writers

4 Trades Oilers Could Make as Follow-Up to Evander Kane Signing

The focus for GM Ken Holland should be adding a goaltender… The big get would be a player like Jeremy Swayman out of Boston or Marc-Andre Fleury out of Chicago, but those are lofty goals.
The team is now operating out of LTIR and one way to clear up some of the space they’ll need is to move defenseman Tyson Barrie. If Edmonton can either swap his salary for the salary of another blueliner or move him in a deal and use that money to acquire other players, Holland should consider it.
Should the Oilers successfully pull off moving salary from the roster — whether that be in the form of Barrie or Kassian — the team can target the left-shot defenseman they’ll need to round out their blue line… Brayden McNabb would have been a nice grab from Vegas, but the Golden Knights just re-signed him. Someone like Vladislav Gavrikov out of Columbus or Jack McCabe out of Chicago might be a fit.
Elliotte Friedman mentioned in a recent 32 Thoughts post, “watch to see if the Oilers also look at Kevin Stenlund.” He’s a physical forward out of Columbus that could offer some size and grit on the Oilers’ fourth line. What makes him attractive for the Oilers is that he provides some of the same elements a player like Zack Kassian does, but at a fraction of the cost.

BLH’s Thoughts: Stenlund doesn’t offer the same elements as Kassian. For one, he doesn’t fight or hit. He’s a big bodied center who offers more skill than grit. Previously I likened him to former Chicago Blackhawk Viktor Stalberg, but that wasn’t a good comparison as Stalberg got into some fights and laid the body when he was in the NHL at least.

I was talking to a good friend of mine and we’ve come to the conclusion that Seattle is Edmonton’s best bet at getting a good deal for Tyson Barrie. They could include Kassian or Yamamoto or possibly Koskinen and get back some pieces they need like Carson Soucy, Chris Driedger, or potentially Mason Appleton depending on which way the wind is blowing in Northern Alberta.

Gavrikov in CBJ sounds like a pretty good option for Edmonton, but I think McCabe is pretty much untouchable in Chicago though. That said, I don’t think the Oilers are looking at a 2nd pairing defender with how Nurse and Keith are playing. I’m very certain that the club is scouting some players in the New York Rangers organization and my guesses are they might be Jarred Tinordi and Morgan Barron.

Now, I’ve asked around and Tinordi, who’s one of the more willing tough guys in the league, has had some conditioning issues this year and from what I’ve been told about Barron; he sounds like he’s outgrown the AHL and he’s been fantastic on the faceoff dot this year. He’s not a power forward per se, but he won’t back down from anybody either.

Here’s the thing, we know that Ken Holland is looking for six in his bottom six and a shutdown defender with some bite for this defense. These guys fit the bill and to add to that, both Barron and Tinordi are over 6’4″, 220lbs, and are contracted through next season.

Kurt Leavins from the Cult of Hockey reckons the Oilers might be willing to spend up to two key futures assets to bring in a goaltender and if that’s the case, Jeremy Swayman just might be that guy but the likes of Vitek Vanecek (WAS), Kaapo Kahkonen (MIN), Alexandr Georgiev (NYR), and Ville Husso (STL) are also out there. I just don’t know why any of those teams would move their highly regarded backups mid-season.

What I would say to that is prepare yourself for the chance that Edmonton’s current group of goaltenders gets them to the playoffs and Holland addresses the position this summer. One guy I’m looking at is Husso, because he’ll be a UFA and he’s coming right into his prime at the moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK0F52UvHTc

Edmonton Sun

OILERS NOTES: Puljujarvi has been around net but pucks not finding ways in

Jesse Puljujarvi remains the loveable Bison King to Oilers Nation, but the right-winger hasn’t been an animal around the net for three months now.
- Now, the arrival of Evander Kane will be eating into his power-play time, as well, with Kane and Zach Hyman also getting work as the net-front presence. So, Puljujarvi’s ice-time average of 17:14 could be dropping. He played 14:58 and 14:42 the last two games.
The Oilers put defenceman Slater Koekkoek on waivers Tuesday, presumably to get the injured Tyson Barrie back on the roster against the Capitals.
Marc-Andre Fleury remains a Chicago Blackhawk in good standing but he’s still the hottest name for the trade deadline March 21 with the Oilers and the Capitals both likely interested.
Mike Smith, on long-term injury (tendon tear in his thumb) practised Sunday with the main squad in Ottawa, but Stuart Skinner backed up against the Senators on Monday.
…they like Lagesson’s heaviness on the back end. Also with the surprisingly good play of rookie Markus Niemelainen in his call-up, he’s entered the picture along with Philip Broberg.

BLH’s Thoughts: So, I noticed something in Pulju’s game against Ottawa that I’ve not yet seen so much of so far in his young career and that was him laying the body with a bit more ill intent. I have to say, it’s about time.

If Dave Tippett chooses not to use JP on the powerplay, that’s his loss and in my opinion, a poor decision. Kane and Hyman are strong and have good hands and great shots with finish, but they don’t have the size Jesse has either. If part of the plan with the man advantage is to use Evan Bouchard’s shot, I truly believe, bias aside, that Puljujarvi is the better net-front presence. Besides, yanking him around like that probably isn’t going to do the club any favors when it’s time to get Pulju re-signed this summer.

We spoke above about the Oilers spending multiple futures on a young goalie, but I just remembered that Brian Lawton was saying that now’s the time for the Oilers to spend handsomely on a no.1 goalie like Marc-Andre Fleury…

Reckon William Lagesson’s getting a bit of a showcase here as we creep up to the trade deadline?

Spector’s Hockey

THE JEFF MAREK SHOW: Elliotte Friedman believes Petry will draw interest in the trade market based on his performance during last year’s playoffs. He expects the blueliner will be traded but isn’t sure if it’ll happen at the trade deadline or in the offseason.
DAILY FACEOFF: Frank Seravalli recently reported Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg and forward Nick Paul has garnered attention in the NHL rumor mill.

BLH’s Thoughts: For what it’s worth, Oilers play by play colorman Bob Stauffer is a huge fan of Nick Paul and has brought his name up on multiple occasions.