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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Cult of Hockey
As the Edmonton Oilers battle for a playoff spot their future percolates in Bakersfield: 9 Things
- 6. The Oilers are getting healthy at a critical time. Literally every game is a playoff game from here on in. Jesse Puljujarvi practiced with the club Saturday, there is an outside chance he plays as early as this week. Thursday is a real possibility.
- 2. …I think they will look to add a Defenceman.
- In the past I have mentioned Philadelphia’s Justin Braun (expiring UFA at $1.8m).
- But perhaps with Cody Ceci, Tyson Barrie and Evan Bouchard all healthy they instead look at a left-handed shut-down option?
- In that spirit, here are some other names to watch: Viking, Alberta’s Carson Soucy (the 27-year-old 6’5 LHS has 2 more years in Seattle at $2.75m), New Jersey’s Ryan Graves (a 6’5 LHS with 2 years left at $3.16m), Edmonton’s Brett Kulak (the 6’1 28-year-old LHS has a year left in Montreal at $1.8m) and St. Albert’s Nick Holden (the 34-year-old 6’4 LHS has 2 years left in Ottawa at $1.7m).
- Darkhorse? Detroit’s Marc Staal, a 34-year-old LHS who has a year left at $2m. Of all these guys, I like Graves best. He regularly plays both sides, has had a 5v5 CF over 50% the last 3 seasons, is very physical and at just 26 years old…he would fold nicely into the rest of the core.
- 1.I see Keith Gretzky as a “General Manager in waiting” for this franchise.
BLH’s Thoughts: Ryan Graves would be a solid add and I remember the last time the Oilers had a guy named Graves on their roster, they did ok, did they not?
Can Holland maybe refrain from calling Steve Yzerman this year? Is Brett Kulak better than Philip Broberg? Lastly, I dig Carson Soucy, but he’s got an extra year (like Graves), how will that play into next season’s roster when the team has Broberg, Niemelainen, and Samorukov right there?
Should add, an upgrade to their every night 3rd LSD is a possibility, but they have a pile of lefties already – (Laggesson, Niemelainen, Broberg, Russel, Koekkoek). Meanwhile on the right, they're an injury away from playing someone on their off side… https://t.co/h7DxPHliPf
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) March 14, 2022
Edmonton Sun
Time for surging Oilers to be aggressive buyers at trade deadline
- Holland has to show his players he’s — if not all-in in terms of adding people because of having only $600,000 in cap space, with a dollar-in, dollar-out mentality — at least has the back of core guys…
- He’ll be bringing somebody in over the next week. Probably an older defenceman, over 30 or close to it. Bigger body, shutdown type.
- Come on down, Justin Braun, who has been in 100 playoff games. Or Marc Staal, who just played his 1,000th NHL game, or Seattle’s Carson Soucy.
BLH’s Thoughts: Soucy, Braun, Soucy, Braun, Soucy, Braun… Reckon Edmonton’s got their eyes on Carson Soucy and Justin Braun?…
Ken Holland is most likely going to have to make two, possibly three moves in the next week. One being the aforementioned trade for a defenseman, two being a deal to upgrade the 4th line (speculative), and the third being the trade of one of his extra forwards still on the roster right now in order to fit Jesse Puljujarvi in (bye bye Benson?)
If you’re hoping to see Dylan Holloway this year, I would direct that hope towards Edmonton’s playoff chances if I were you. His wrist still isn’t healed as it hurts him to shoot and faceoffs are pipe dream at this point.
That said, things change all the time and I’m betting things will change numerous times in the next week as we draw closer to the deadline. More names are going to pop up out of nowhere and if Edmonton beats Detroit, Buffalo, and NJ here, that should open up some serious space between them and the wild card teams in the standings and safely into a playoff spot. Maybe Ken Holland has a change of heart and decides to go for it… Maybe he brings in Carson Soucy AND Justin Braun!
I still maintain Scott Mayfield is the guy they should bring in, but maybe that’s a bridge too far… this year.
Trade Rumors
- Spector’s Hockey: Larry Brooks suggests Rangers general manager Chris Drury should hang onto his trade chips until the offseason if pending free-agent center Ryan Strome isn’t signed to a contract extension by the March 21 trade deadline.
- He feels Drury will need them to replace Strome this summer as their second-line center, with the Winnipeg Jets’ Mark Scheifele and Vancouver Canucks’ Bo Horvat as primary trade targets and the Chicago Blackhawks’ Kirby Dach as a secondary target.
- The Daily Goal Horn: Things have been silent recently when it comes to Marc-Andre Fleury in Chicago. Recent reporting suggested that he may opt not to waive his no-move clause and stick it out with the Hawks.
- There are several teams that may be interested in a major upgrade in goal and the Washington Capitals are the most obvious choice. Other teams that should remain on the radar are the Maple Leafs, Oilers, and Avalanche.
