Edmonton Oilers Trade Talk: “A first and a prospect has to be the asking price.”

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Monday Mailbag – Do the Oilers try re-signing Evander Kane?

Can anyone explain what is going on with the Oilers’ special teams right now?

“Honestly, I’m so dumbfounded by how this is even the same team that was lights out on the PP and PK back in October/November. How does the same team with the same personnel fall apart so spectacularly within the same season? It doesn’t make any sense to me.” – Baggedmilk

What record do you think the Oilers need to have down the stretch to lock in a playoff spot?

“If they go 15-10-1 they’d finish with 95 points. To be safe I’d say they need to go 16-9-1 and finish with 97 to ensure a spot in the dance.” – Gregor

Do you think the goaltending duo is his biggest bet of the season and one that could hurt us the most?

“It absolutely is the bet that will hurt the Oilers the most and it already has hurt them pretty significantly. If Holland doesn’t do something soon, the Oilers don’t have a hope of making the playoffs.” – Yaremchuk

Evander Kane is nearing the 20 games played mark with the Oilers. How would you grade his performance to date, and do you see the club trying to sign him long-term?

“Until I see Kane fly straight for more than a couple of months, I’m not signing him beyond two or three years. History says there’s a risk in that. No reason not to assess after this season/playoffs and a longer look.” – Brownlee

How much pressure do you think is felt within the organization just to make the playoffs? Could missing cost Ken Holland his job?

“I don’t think it will cost Ken Holland his job, but it should. He had so much cap space this summer and he failed to improve the team. That’s fireable in itself right there. I just don’t think Katz will want to stomach $10 million of dead money by firing his GM right now. I do worry about what could happen this summer with Holland in charge though.” – Yaremchuk

BLH’s Thoughts: Obviously Coach Woodcroft has seen enough because he said after the game last night that there’s going to be some personnel changes on the PP. Amen to that!

Edmonton’s PP is so predictable if it can get over the blue line and that blows my mind considering who’s on the bloody thing. Between McDavid, Draisaitl, and whoever is on the blueline, none of those individuals seem to know how to find a shooting lane.

With regards to the PK, I just don’t think they’ve got the right players for it. They’re always leaving the other team’s flank snipers alone and when they’re aggressive they don’t win the battles.

Now, if you’re “dumbfounded” as to why the Oilers were blowing teams out in the first month of the year, consider the fact that most teams take the first month to six weeks to find their feet. McDavid and Draisaitl simply cleaned house (as they usually do in October and November) and then when the rest of the league found their footing, injuries started to take place, COVID put the team in a sharpshooter, and then the coach was axed, their production slowed. I imagine getting 23-25 minutes a night didn’t really help either.

The bloom is off Woodcroft’s rose now and injuries are still kicking the team’s ass. Ken Holland is handcuffed because he doesn’t want to overpay for mediocre players and he doesn’t want to gut the club’s future either. So, he’s left to wait and see if this roster can get its shit together.

If you can show me the crystal ball that told you that after finishing 7th in Vezina voting Mike Smith was going to battle injuries all season, I will admit that Holland’s bet on the goaltending was a poor one.

The fact of the matter is, he tried to bring in Darcy Kuemper and got submarined by Colorado. Same as what happened with Markstrom when Calgary came in at the last second and stole him from under Edmonton’s noses. I can’t blame the Oilers GM for either of those because the final decision was out of his hands. I also can’t blame him for being unable to convince other netminders to give the Oilers a chance. It’s a two way street and even with McDavid and Draisaitl, Edmonton isn’t a desirable free agent destination without massive overpayment. I don’t think it ever will be when they’re competing with cities like New York, Vancouver, Anaheim, Dallas, and Tampa. Even the guys that grew up in the area know better than to sign with their hometown whilst in their primes. Personally, I think it’s a bloody miracle that Holland was even that close to bringing in Markstrom and Kuemper.

As for Evander Kane, he’s been producing at a pretty consistent rate and I like the jam he’s brought. I hope the team considers offering him a team friendly contract this summer once this grievance with the Sharks gets cleared up.

I get the feeling that change is going to happen no matter what in the offseason. I think there’s an age of analytics that’s about to take place with this organization and Ken Holland will probably be part of it. Will Katz fire him? Maybe. Apparently the Oilers owner threatened him at the pro scouts meeting in California prior to Tippett getting axed, but the more prudent thing to do would probably be to let Bob Nicholson move on and punt Holland up the ladder another rung.

I will say this though, when healthy, the team that Holland has built this year is the deepest in decades. So while some delusional bloggers might say he’s made the team worse, I respectively disagree (damn that COVID and damn those injuries, eh?) and next year it’ll be even better with the emergence of Dylan Holloway, Philip Broberg, and Stuart Skinner as full-time NHLers. Hell, Rafa Lavoie and/or Xavier Bourgault might even force the team to make a tough decision.

I understand that Ryan Rishaug has started throwing out the notion that McDavid and Draisaitl might want out if the Oilers don’t go on a deep run (what’s that even mean?) or win a Cup and to that I say, do it. Show the hockey world your true colors. Their best buddy is about to embark on a new long-term $9.5M/yr journey with the team and I’m sure he’d love it if they abandoned him in Edmonton.

And so, that’s why I always say that this team can’t deal it’s futures away when it’s not clear that they are Cup contenders. In the event that Connor or Leon decide to move along, Edmonton needs to have that organizational depth in order to be able to sustain the loss(es) of those players.

That being said, if Leon were to ask to be traded, that’s a guy that’d get you a no.1 goalie… You want a package that includes Carter Hart? Offer Leon to Philly and see what you get. Maybe Hart and Couturier could be had.

The Athletic

Three options to fix Oilers’ troublesome goaltending situation beyond waiting for Mike Smith’s play to improve

Marc-Andre Fleury would be the top name on the market. But he must decide if he’s willing to be traded at all — and have that destination be Edmonton.
Provided they’re on the market available, how high is the price for the likes of Semyon Varlamov, Ville Husso and Braden Holtby? What about the Sharks’ James Reimer, who’s out week to week with a lower-body injury?

BLH’s Thoughts: St. Louis isn’t dealing Husso right now and I’ll be shocked if I don’t hear rumors this summer that they’re looking to move Binnington. Fleury will move to a Cup contender (Hello? Pittsburgh?) and that leaves us with Varlamov and Holtby. I feel fairly confident that a fair deal could be found with the GM of either team considering Ken Holland’s relationships with Lou Lamoriello and Jim Nill.

Alexandr Georgiev (NYR) is getting a lot of pump right now from the pundits and Edmonton nearly struck a deal to bring him to the Oilers in December.

So there are options, but how much is Ken Holland willing to risk here? That is the big question for me and another thing to consider might be that he has a deal or is far along in negotiations for somebody but the other GM is asking to hold off for a bit so his hands might be tied.

Rumors and Speculation

“Colorado has had discussion with Vancouver about J.T. Miller, and they’re one of the teams that reached out to Chicago and asked ‘if Patty Kane is looking to move– give us a call we want to make that happen.” – The Fourth Period
“Jeff Marek reported that the executive team of the Flyers were heavily scouting the Florida Panthers AHL affiliate and when things are said and done, Giroux may land with the Panthers.” – The Daily Goal Horn
“TORONTO SUN: Steve Simmons reports a source claims Marc-Andre Fleury has told the Chicago Blackhawks he doesn’t want to be moved at the trade deadline.” – Spector’s Hockey
“(PK) Subban was told that the team wouldn’t be extending him to another contract. This means that he will absolutely be traded before the NHL Trade Deadline if the Devils can find a team willing to take on his contract.” – The Hockey Writers
“… if Fleury or Varlamov is available, a first and a prospect has to be the asking price. Otherwise, it may be a no-go and hope.” – NHLRumors.com