Edmonton Oilers Trade Talk: “If Edmonton does get serious enough to throw in…”

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Cult of Hockey

Have Edmonton Oilers found their missing link on defence?

…big, rough and tough Markus Niemelainen is giving this team a massive jolt of one aspect of the game it’s been desperately lacking: nasty physical play.
He’s the Finnisher, a bull dozer of a d-man, exactly what the Oilers haven’t had with Adam Larsson gone off to Seattle.
For NHL d-men who have played 10 or more games this year, Niemelainen ranks 2nd overall in hits, with 21.1 hits per 60 minutes of play, behind only Mason Geertsen of New Jersey.
Niemelainen not only hits, he hits to hurt, and it’s an aspect of his game that is only growing in magnitude. He wasn’t such a big hitter in major junior hockey.
He’s got almost three times as many hits per 60 as the next most physical d-man, Darnell Nurse.
The 6-feet, 5-inch Niemo skates well enough to hang in the NHL, but his puckhandling, passing and reads are a work in progress. He sometimes struggles to move the puck swiftly and deftly, to make tape-to-tape passes to breaking players.
The key for him is going to be his defensive reads, his ability to stay on the right side of attacking forwards and to make safe and sound plays with the puck, even if he does not make brilliant ones.

BLH’s Thoughts: Earlier in the year we were talking about how this team needs its Eric Cernak… Well, they may have found him in Niemelainen. I mean, I want to know how he went from an average defensive prospect to an absolute punisher at the professional level in North America. Did Manson have a chat with him one day? Was it an internal decision so that he could give himself a leg up on the ever-growing competition in Edmonton’s developmental system on the left side there?

If the Oilers give him the right partner, it will give him more time to work through the speed bumps of becoming an everyday NHL defender, right? There won’t be such a concern with his puck moving and reads because there’ll be another guy there to help out. Ceci would be awesome here, but he’s not a realistic option considering he’s running shotgun with Darnell Nurse or Duncan Keith. So, perhaps they’ll have to go out and get their guy on the trade market unless the Oilers feel like Tyson Barrie or Evan Bouchard could do it.

Scott Mayfield anybody?

Fack! That would be a punishing third pairing…

NHLTradeRumors.me

Islanders and Oilers Emerging as Trade Partners

Varlamov is signed through 2022-23 at $5 million on the cap and with the Oilers current cash constraints, they made need to pay a slightly higher premium to get Isles general manager Lou Lamoriello to retain some salary for the rest of this season and next.
If Edmonton does get serious enough to either throw in a high-end prospect or a second-round pick in 2023 to land Varlamov, it’s likely Mikko Koskinen would also be included to even out the dollars in and dollars out aspect.
He also has 60 games of postseason experience under his belt with some impressive numbers including 34 games recently with the Islanders where Varlamov posted a .922 save % over that span.

BLH’s Thoughts: Varlamov has a M-NTC, so that might be strike one against Edmonton, but as for the idea of bringing him in, I’m of two minds on it.

Seeing as he’s got another year left on his contract, where would that leave Mike Smith and Stu Skinner (who’s an RFA this summer), what’s the cost to acquire him, is Mikko Koskinen going back the other way, and how much more would Edmonton need to pay to get Scott Mayfield too?

If there really is an arms race starting up in the Pacific, the Oilers should strengthen the two areas that win championships, goaltending and defence.

I mean, listen, if the Oilers brought in Ben Chiarot and Scott Mayfield as well as a goaltender like Varlamov or Braden Holtby, that would completely change the narrative around this team and instantly vault them into contenders for the Western Conference championship.

Nurse/Mayfield
Keith/Ceci
Chiarot/Bouchard
Niemelainen/Russell

Smith
Holtby
Skinner

To make it more affordable, maybe you can swap out Chiarot for Soucy (SEA) seeing how the Habs dman is in such high demand. I had a friend ask about Derek Forbort (BOS) and wasn’t he part of the Jets team that eliminated Edmonton in the playoffs last year?

I’m just spitballin’ here folks. If you’ve got a better idea, lay it out in the comment, please! All I’m saying is that if the Oilers have a right proper group of NHL-level defenders going into the playoffs, they’ll be a really tough team to handle.

Spector’s Hockey

DAILY FACEOFF: Frank Seravalli reported the Vegas Golden Knights expressed an interest in a reunion with Marc-Andre Fleury, who was shipped to the Chicago Blackhawks last summer.
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman believes to keep an eye on the Florida Panthers regarding Giroux. “No guarantees, but it makes a lot of sense for everyone involved.”
TSN: Darren Dreger reports the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens discussed doing a larger deal that would’ve included Ben Chiarot going to Calgary before the two sides swung Monday’s deal that saw Tyler Toffoli head to Calgary.
THE ATHLETIC: Arthur Staple reports the asking price for Chiarot is believed similar to last year’s David Savard deal (a first and a third). He also said the Rangers had shown some interest in Canadiens winger Artturi Lehkonen. Staple speculates the asking price could be a first-rounder.
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports the Washington Capitals are looking for forwards. He believes they’ll look to the Seattle Kraken and Vancouver Canucks for options.
TSN: Darren Dreger reports Buffalo Sabres defensemen Robert Hagg and Colin Miller and center Cody Eakin could draw interest in the trade market.

BLH’s Thoughts: Miller and Lehkonen could be on Edmonton’s radar if the Oilers are serious about shoring up the D and its depth on forward.