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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Oil on Whyte
Armchair GM – Goaltending Edition
- …if the trade deadline passes without some help coming from between the pipes, then we can consider the offseason the time to swap out the Oiler’s goaltenders. That’s where I’m thinking the change will be made.
- Edmonton Oilers trade Mike Smith and a 2022 sixth round pick to the New York Rangers for the negotiating rights to Alexander Georgiev and the Ranger’s 2022 fifth round pick, and then sign him to a three year, $8.0025 million contract ($2.6675 million per season cap hit).
- Edmonton Oilers sign Marc-Andre Fleury to a two year, $4 million contract plus bonuses of $1 million for games played ($2 million base cap hit, $500K bonuses per)
BLH’s Thoughts: I can entertain the idea of the Oilers trading Mike Smith in the summer to make room for the new starter and to keep Stu Skinner around, but these two names and the contract details don’t seem in line with reality.
If the Rangers stay hot, why would Georgiev want to leave unless he’s got eyes on being a starter and if that’s the case, how many proper no.1 goalies are making $2.6M/yr? In my opinion, he’s not simply going to sign a multi-year deal for his qualifying offer.
I’m willing to bet that MAF signs in Pittsburgh to see out his career this summer.
So, with that said, I’m of the belief that Ville Husso (mentioned here well before Friedman brought him up this week) is on Edmonton’s offseason wanted list. If Darcy Kuemper makes it to market, I think he’ll also be a serious consideration as will Braden Holtby.
The Athletic
Six signs of positive change surface for the Oilers in Jay Woodcroft’s victorious coaching debut
Instilling confidence in the Bakersfield crew
- Tyler Benson and Ryan McLeod were the only players to skate fewer than 10 minutes, 7:13 and 7:06, respectively.
- Markus Niemelainen and Philip Broberg, both called up Thursday along with Woodcroft, each played 11 minutes.
- Bouchard only played 13:31, but he was the primary power-play quarterback.
Dispersing the ice time
- Woodcroft spread out the ice time more evenly than his predecessor, especially through two periods.
- Though the Oilers didn’t have a power play over the first 40 minutes, superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl spent less time on the ice than Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, Kailer Yamamoto and Evander Kane.
Forwards getting out of slumps
- Puljujarvi scored that power-play goal, an insurance marker in the third period. It was his first goal since Dec. 16.
- Hyman scored his 14th goal of the season and 100th of his NHL career.
Ceci’s breakout
- Ceci played a season-high 26:24, which happened to be tops on the team — bettering Darnell Nurse by 21 seconds.
- He scored his second goal of the season, a rocket from the blue line.
Not backing in
- Under previous bench boss Dave Tippett and associate coach Jim Playfair, who ran the defence, a huge problem for this team was allowing rush chances.
- Blueliners had a tendency to back in to the top of the faceoff circle or even as far as the hashmarks, which gave opponents Grade A shot attempts.
The best of Smith
- Smith might have been the reason they won the game. He was tremendous, especially in the first period when he made 18 of his 37 saves. Natural Stat Trick had the high-danger chances at 5-0 in the Islanders’ favour heading into the intermission.
BLH’s Thoughts: The biggest thing I noticed was a renewed sense of purpose with this group. There was a willingness to compete from the onset of the game until the final seconds. Also, I felt like the players were ready to go to battle for each other and prior to this match I was starting to get concerned we might see a repeat of Taylor Hall’s final year when nobody was sticking up for each other.
Now, that could be the new coach bump that some teams get when somebody else takes over behind the bench, but it could also be who this team truly is too and for whatever reason got lost under Tippett and Playfair in December and January.
Spector’s Hockey
- TSN: Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun, Montreal Canadiens blueliner Ben Chiarot and Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury fill the top-three positions in TSN’s Feb. 11 trade bait list. Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux and Dallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg round out the top five.
- San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl, Seattle Kraken defenseman Mark Giordano, Columbus Blue Jackets forward Max Domi, Vancouver Canucks center J.T. Miller and the Coyotes salary cap space fill spots six through 10.
- Coyotes winger Phil Kessel, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Mark Pysyk, Blackhawks defenseman Calvin de Haan, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nick Leddy and Winnipeg Jets center Andrew Copp sit at positions 11 through 15.
- Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry, Boston Bruins left wing Jake DeBrusk, Sabres defenseman Colin Miller, Stars goalie Anton Khudobin and Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen are at 16 through 20.
- New York Rangers winger Vitali Kravtsov, Ottawa Senators center Chris Tierney, Red Wings defenseman Marc Staal, Kraken forward Calle Jarnkrok and Coyotes center Johan Larsson round out the list.
BLH’s Thoughts: With Jay Woodcroft behind the Oilers bench, that’s thrown my radar off a bit with regards to trying to anticipate who Edmonton might look to add. I wonder if Marc Staal and Johan Larsson might catch their eye. Colin Miller’s tenacious style of defending might be tempting for a playoff run. I mentioned Andrew Copp yesterday because I think he’s somebody who could play up and down the lineup and provide some more bite with a splash of goal-scoring. And Phil Kessel sure looks like the kinda guy Ken Holland would bring in, doesn’t he?
To me though, the team needs to upgrade it’s blueline if the post-season is on the cards. They’re too fragile as it stands and if the plan is to stand up at the blue line, teams are going to do the soft chip and chase to get behind Edmonton’s dmen and to keep the puck away from Mike Smith. That means the Oilers defensemen will be forced into some more puck battles and that’s where a couple of bigger bodies will come in handy.
Scotty Mayfield is my guy right now because he’s done some fantastic work in the playoffs, he’s a right-shot, big bodied, a mean SOB, and there are no questions with regards to work rate and willingness to get physical.
The more cerebral option might be Justin Braun. He’s not as physical, but he plays a smart game.
